The present invention provides a novel agent for prophylaxis or treatment of inflammatory bowel diseases for oral administration or intra-intestinal infusion, which comprises as an active ingredient a compound of the formula (I):

The present invention relates to a novel agent for prophylaxis or treatment of inflammatory bowel diseases, more particularly an agent for prophylaxis or treatment of inflammatory bowel diseases which comprises as an active ingredient sulfodehydroabietic acid or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof, and a use of said active ingredient in preparation of an agent for prophylaxis or treatment of inflammatory bowel diseases, and further relates to a method for prophylaxis or treatment of inflammatory bowel diseases.
Inflammatory bowel diseases include intractable inflammatory diseases of large and small intestines which are caused by various nosogenesis, for example, ulcerative colitis which is a cryptogenic diffuse non-specific inflammation wherein mucosa on the large intestine is mainly invaded and erosion and ulcer are formed, or Crohn""s disease which is a cryptogenic non-specific granulomatous inflammatory disease accompanied by fibrosis or ulcer. In addition, the lesion of the intestine in Behxc3xa7et""s disease which is a chronic systemic inflammatory disease is also included.
The nosogenesis of ulcerative colitis, Crohn""s disease, or Behxc3xa7et""s disease has not been clarified yet, but their immunological mechanisms have recently attracted a lot of attentions. In the medication of these inflammatory bowel diseases, immunosupressants, steroids, salazosulfapyridine, etc. have been used, but they cannot exhibit sufficient effects in certain patients. Besides, they should be improved with respect to side effects, and under these circumstances, it has been desired to develop a medicament being more effective and having a high safety.
On the other hand, sulfodehydroabietic acid or a salt thereof has been known to exhibit an inhibitory activity of acid secretion or pepsin secretion, etc., and to be useful as an agent for prophylaxis or treatment of peptic ulcer (gastric ulcer, duodenal ulcer) or gastritis (JP-A-58-77814, JP-A-63-165361, JP-A-2-167258). It is considered that peptic ulcer (gastric ulcer, duodenal ulcer) or gastritis and inflammatory bowel diseases are different in not only their lesion regions, but also their nosogenesis is quite different. In the nosogenesis of peptic ulcer such as gastric ulcer and duodenal ulcer, the digestion by gastric juice cannot be left out of consideration. In the medication of these diseases, a medicament exhibiting an inhibitory activity of acid secretion such as a histamine H2 receptor antagonist or a proton pump inhibitor is mainly used in the medication of peptic ulcer and gastritis. On the other hand, an immunosupressant, a steroid, a salazosulfapyridine, etc. is mainly employed in the medication of inflammatory bowel diseases, which is quite different from the medication of peptic ulcer or gastritis.
It has not been known at all that sulfodehydroabietic acid or a salt thereof is useful in the prophylaxis or treatment of inflammatory bowel diseases.
An object of the present invention is to provide a novel agent being useful in the prophylaxis or treatment of inflammatory bowel diseases.
During the studies on a novel remedy for inflammatory bowel diseases, the present inventors have found that sulfodehydroabietic acid disclosed in JP-A-58-77814, JP-A-63-165361, etc. or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof exhibits an excellent effect in the prophylaxis or treatment of inflammatory bowel diseases, and have accomplished the present invention.
That is, the present invention provides an agent for prophylaxis or treatment of inflammatory bowel diseases, which comprises as an active ingredient sulfodehydroabietic acid (chemical name: (+)-(1R,4aS,10aR)-1,2,3,4,4a,9,10,10a-octadehydro-1,4a-dimethyl-7-(1-methylethyl)-6-sulfo-1-phenanthrenecarboxylic acid) of the following formula (I):
or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof.
The present invention also relates to a use of said sulfodehydroabietic acid (I) or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof in preparation of an agent for prophylaxis or treatment of inflammatory bowel diseases.
Moreover, the present invention provides a method for prophylaxis or treatment of inflammatory bowel diseases which comprises administering said sulfodehydroabietic acid (I) or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof orally or parenterally to a patient being suffering from an inflammatory bowel disease.
The active ingredient of the present agent for prophylaxis or treatment of inflammatory bowel diseases, sulfodehydroabietic acid of the formula (I) or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof, is a known compound, and can be prepared, for example, by the methods disclosed in JP-A-58-77814, JP-A-63-165361, JP-A-2-167258, or by a modified method thereof.
The pharmaceutically acceptable salt of sulfodehydroabietic acid of the formula (I) includes, for example, a salt with an alkali metal (e.g., sodium, lithium, potassium, etc.), a salt with an alkaline earth metal (e.g., magnesium, calcium, etc.), and a salt with a metal such as aluminum. Among them, the preferable salt is a sodium salt of sulfodehydroabietic acid, especially a monosodium salt or a disodium salt thereof, and the most preferable salt is sulfodehydroabietic acid monosodium salt. Sulfodehydroabietic acid monosodium salt is more advantageous than disodium salt thereof as being less hygroscopic and being more stable (JP-A-63-165361). Besides, a pharmaceutically acceptable salt of sulfodehydroabietic acid may exist as well in the form of a hydrate thereof, and the hydrate of sulfodehydroabietic acid monosodium salt may be, for example, pentahydrate thereof, i.e., sulfodehydroabietic acid monosodium salt pentahydrate. The monosodium salt pentahydrate of sulfodehydroabietic acid of the formula (I) (chemical name: (+)-(1R,4aS,10aR)-1,2,3,4,4a,9,10,10a-octahydro-1,4a-dimethyl-7-(1-methylethyl)-6-sulfo-1-phenanthrenecarboxylic acid 6-sodium salt pentahydrate) has been known as Ecabet sodium.
According to the study of the present inventors, sulfodehydroabietic acid (I) or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof of the active ingredient is hardly absorbed at the gut, and when it is administered orally, it can efficiently reach to the inferior gut and can adhere to the mucosa of the lesion site, and exhibit the pharmacological effects thereof so that the efficacy thereof is extremely excellent. In addition, sulfodehydroabietic acid (I) or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof of the active ingredient shows few side effects, and the safety thereof is extremely high.
The agent for prophylaxis or treatment of inflammatory bowel diseases of the present invention is effective on the lesion of the intestine (including fistula) in Crohn""s disease, the lesion of the intestine in Behxc3xa7et""s diseases, ulcerative colitis, hemorrhagic rectal ulcer, ileum pouchitis, etc.
Besides, since sulfodehydroabietic acid (I) or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof of the active ingredient of the present invention can cure the lesion of the gut without causing a stenosis, it may also be useful in the prophylaxis of the stenosis of the gut, especially in the prophylaxis of the stenosis of the intestine accompanying with inflammatory bowel diseases. When surgically treating a patient of an inflammatory bowel disease, an artificial anus may be constructed, but in said patient, such an inflammation may occasionally spread to the periphery of the artificial anus. The sulfodehydroabietic acid (I) or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof of the active ingredient of the present invention is also effective in the inflammation of artificial anus periphery.
The sulfodehydroabietic acid (I) or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof of the active ingredient of the present invention may be administered either orally or rectally, and further can be administered directly into the intestine through an artificial anus in a patient having one, or can directly be applied in the inflammation of the periphery of ane artificial anus.
The present agent for prophylaxis or treatment of inflammatory bowel diseases can be used in the form of oral preparation, intra-intestinal infusion preparation, suppository preparation, or external preparation, which should be selected according to the administration routes. Oral preparation may be solid preparations such as tablets, capsules, powders, granules, or liquid preparation such as solutions, suspension, etc. A preparation being suitable for oral administration may contain a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier or excipient. A pharmaceutically acceptable carrier or excipient being suitable for a solid preparation such as tablets or capsules may be, for example, binders (e.g., acacia, gelatin, dextrin, hydroxypropylcellulose, methylcellulose, polyvinylpyrrolidone), diluents (e.g., lactose, sucrose, mannitol, corn starch, potato starch, calcium phosphate, calcium citrate, crystalline cellulose), lubricants (e.g., magnesium stearate, calcium stearate, stearic acid, talc, anhydrous silicic acid), disintegrants (e.g., corn starch, potato starch, carboxymethylcellulose, carboxymethylcellulose calcium, alginic acid), and wetting agents (e.g., sodium laurylsulfate). A pharmaceutically acceptable carrier or excipient being suitable for a liquid preparation such as solutions or suspensions may be, for example, aqueous vehicles (e.g., water), suspending agents (e.g., acacia, gelatin, methyl cellulose, carboxymethylcellulose sodium, hydroxymethylcellulose, aluminum stearate gel), surfactants (e.g., lecithin, sorbitan monooleate, glycerin monostearate), and non-aqueous vehicles (e.g., glycerin, propylene glycol, vegetable oil). Moreover, liquid preparations may contain preservatives (e.g., p-hydroxybenzoic acid methyl ester, p-hydroxybenzoic acid propyl ester), flavors, and/or coloring agents.
The intra-intestinal infusion (enema) preparation may be in the form of aqueous solution or suspension using the above-mentioned aqueous vehicles or suspending agents. If necessary, the intra-intestinal infusion preparation may be in the form of sol or gel preparation using a thickening agent such as polyacrylic acid, gelatin, etc.
The suppository may be ones which are prepared by mixing the active ingredient of the formula (I) or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof with a commercially available oily base such as Witepsole, etc., or a water-soluble base such as macrogol, glycerogelatin, etc. by a conventional method, and may be in the form of capsule-type suppository, tablet-type suppository, or ointment-type suppository.
The external preparation may include external powder preparations, ointments, creams, etc.
In the present specification, the term xe2x80x9cprophylaxis or treatmentxe2x80x9d comprises the improvement of symptoms, the prevention of exacerbation, the maintainance of remission, the prevention of recrudescence, the prevention of the stenosis of the gut, and more comprises the prevention of recrudescence after surgical operation and the prevention of the stenosis of the operated region.
The dose of the compound (I) or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof of the active ingredient of the present agent may vary according to the administration route, age, weight or conditions of a patient, or severity of the disease to be cured, but the daily dose thereof for an adult is usually in the range of about 10 mg to 300 mg/kg, preferably in the range of about 20 mg to 300 mg/kg, especially in the range of 50 mg /kg to 200 mg/kg.
In the present specification, the inflammatory bowel diseases mean not only inflammatory bowel disease in a strict sense such as Crohn""s disease, ulcerative colitis, but also inflammatory bowel disease in a broad sense including the lesion of the intenstine accompanying with Behxc3xa7et""s disease, hemorrhagic rectal ulcer, ileum pouchitis, intestinal tuberculosis, ischemic enteritis, drug-induced colitis, radiation enteritis, infective enteritis, etc.

Therapeutic agents for inflammatory diseases of intestine

Abstract: or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof; a use of said active ingredient in preparation of an agent for prophylaxis or treatment of inflammatory bowel diseases; and a method for prophylaxis or treatment of inflammatory bowel diseases.


The described embodiments of the present invention provide DRAM cells, structures and manufacturing methods. A DRAM cell with a trench capacitor having a first plate formed as a diffusion on the outside surface of a trench formed in the substrate and a second plate having a conductive region formed inside the trench is fabricated. The transfer transistor is formed using a field plate isolation structure which includes a self-aligned moat area for the transfer transistor. The moat area slightly overlaps the capacitor area and allows for increased misalignment tolerance thus foregoing the requirement for misalignment tolerances built into the layout of the DRAM cell. The field plate itself is etched so that it has sloped sidewalls to avoid the formation of conductive filaments from subsequent conductive layers formed on the integrated circuit. The use of a self-aligned bitline contact between two memory cells alows for the elimination of alignment tolerances between the bitline contact and the gates of the transfer transistor of the memory cells.

The quest to develop smaller and smaller dynamic random access memory (DRAM) cells and related structures is a well-known goal. In integrated circuit manufacturing, certain costs are relatively fixed no matter what integrated circuit is fabricated. Thus, the greater density of memory on a single integrated circuit provides greater economy on a per bit basis by spreading these fixed costs across more memory capacity. In addition, greater memory storage capacity allows greater memory capacity of the end user products, such as computers, in a smaller package. Therefore, the value to the customer is increased. Because 50% or more of the area of a DRAM is used for memory cells themselves, reduction of the memory cell size allows for far greater numbers of those memory cells to be placed on the DRAM.
Several techniques have been developed to try to reduce the size of memory cells. For example, the fundamental dynamic random access memory cell has been reduced to a minimum of components, i.e. a transistor and a capacitor connected to the source of the transistor. The transistor allows access to the charge stored on the capacitor and the stored charge represents data. The first step in reducing the size of DRAM cells was the effective integration of the transfer transistor and the capacitor. An example of this is found in Kuo, "Random Access Memory Cell with Different Capacitor and Transistor Oxide Thickness", U.S. Pat. No. 4,240,092, issued Dec. 16, 1980 and assigned to the assignee of this application. Kuo is an example of a "Hy-C" cell. As the density of DRAMs increased, limitations of the Hy-C cell became apparent. In order to provide accurate data storage and retrieval, the capacitance of the storage capacitor must be as large as possible. However, the capacitance of the storage capacitor is directly proportional to the area between the plates of the capacitor. In a planar capacitor cell, like the Hy-C cell, this creates a fundamental tradeoff between cell size and cell capacitance.
In order to minimize the surface area occupied by the memory cell while maintaining adequate storage capacitor capacitance, vertical capacitor structures were developed. An example of such a structure is found in Sunami, "Cell Structures for Featured DRAMs", International Electron Devices Meeting Technical Digest (1985), Paper 29.1, pages 694-697. In some cases, the capacitor is formed on a trench etched into the surface of the substrate. An example of this can be found in Ishiuchi, et al., "Submicron CMOS Technologies for 4 Megabit Dynamic RAM", International Electron Devices Meeting Technical Digest (1985), Paper 29.4, pages 706-709. In other cases, a stacked or multiple plate concept providing a vertically stacked capacitor was investigated. An example of this can be found in Sunami, et al., supra.
The difficulties of forming the storage capacitor in a trench have introduced a great deal of complexity into the fabrication of the DRAM cells. For example, see Baglee, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,721,987, "Trench Capacitor Process for High Density Dynamic RAM", issued Jan. 26, 1988 and assigned to the assignee of this application. Although the storage capacitor itself has been made smaller, the additional difficulties in connecting the transfer transistor to the capacitor have introduced requirements for spacing tolerances and increased complexity in leakage components. These have all necessitated complex processing steps and additional area occupied to fabricate the DRAM cells.


Electrical apparatuses and a method for their production, the apparatuses containing electrical insulation fluids comprising polytrimethylene homo- or copolyether glycol having a dielectric breakdown voltage greater than about 30 kV, wherein from about 50 to 100 mole percent of the repeating units of the polytrimethylene homo- or copolyether glycol are trimethylene ether units. An electrical insulation fluid comprising (a) polytrimethylene homo- or copolyether glycol having trimethylene ether units at about 50 to 100 mole percent of the repeating units and (b) a blending component selected from the group consisting of vegetable oils, mineral oil, poly alpha olefins, synthetic esters, and silicone fluids, and mixtures thereof, wherein the electrical insulation fluid has a dielectric breakdown voltage of greater than about 30 kV.

The components that are used to generate and transfer electrical energy to end users are well known in the art. Electrical power producers generally generate electrical power at very high initial voltages. Handling of such high voltages requires substantial electrical insulation. The insulation requires control of heat that is generated from the transmission of the electrical energy and maintenance of its dielectric properties.
The primary purpose of the types of fluids needed for electrical transformers and fluid-filled transmission lines, hereinafter referred to as electrical insulating fluid, is to maintain cooling properties and fluid characteristics while in use within the system so as to maintain appropriate temperature as well as dielectric strength on demand. The heat of the transformer unit, for example, can increase to high levels for extended periods of time which the fluid must be able to tolerate without losing its properties. Additionally, the operation of transformers and the process of heat dissipation at various ambient temperatures subjects the fluid to constant stresses.
It has been found that certain fluids have high electrical insulating and heat dissipation properties. These fluids are used with such electrical components as transformers and fluid filled transmission lines. One particular problem, even with such fluids, is that over time and with substantial exposure to high voltage electricity, their beneficial characteristics, such as insulating and/or heat dissipation properties, degrade.
The industry uses a variety of insulating fluids which are easily available and cost effective. Examples are mineral oil, silicone fluid and synthetic hydrocarbon oils used in transformers, power cables and capacitors. Such fluids have certain properties that allow them to function satisfactorily. They must be electrically insulating and dissipate heat, and they must resist break-down. However, currently used fluids also have several deficiencies or concerns.
Many of the current fluids pose safety or contamination concerns. That is, they can be toxic to humans and animals. Many electrical components holding such fluids are situated near water or waterways where leakage or spills can cause serious damage to water and marine life. Leaks or spills on land can threaten ground water and contaminate soil.
Most of the current fluids are petroleum based and thus are derived from non-renewable starting materials. The amount of fluid of this type in use is significant. For example, one 15 MVA transformer (serving approximately 2000 customers, both residential and commercial) requires on the order of 3,600 gallons of electrically insulating fluid. One mile of fluid filled transmission cable (6 inch diameter) requires about 7,000 gallons. There are approximately 20,000 miles of high-pressure fluid filled transmission cables in the United States, most in larger cities and therefore near water or waterways.
Significant amounts of resources, both time and money, are spent by electrical power companies, in designing and implementing plans and systems to deter leaks or spills and to monitor transformers and transmission cables of these types for leaks or spills. It is estimated such costs are in the millions of dollars in the United States alone. Additionally, substantial resources are expended in reporting leaks or spills, even minor ones, because of environmental rules and regulations, at least with regard to petroleum based fluids. And, of course, the effect of leaks or spills can be very costly, as can remediation of the same.
Therefore, there have been attempts to look to new sources for such fluids. Such attempts need to address both the environmental concerns as well as the issue of renewability of source.
There are several fundamental properties that electrical insulation fluids require. These are:
1. High oxidation stability:                a. long life and protection;        b. no oxidation products;        c. no changes in chemical properties.
2. Viscosity Characteristics:                a. low pour point for cold temperature service, particularly in cold temperature regions; and        b. high Viscosity Index for best viscosity under various operating temperatures.
3. Corrosion Inhibition Properties:                a. inhibit contaminants in the fluid;        b. inhibit water;        c. inhibit oxidation by-products.
4. Seal, Polymer, Resin Compatibility:                a. with old and new seal materials; and        b. with resin and other insulating materials.
Another demand placed upon electrical insulation fluids is the requirement that they maintain a certain degree of stability in terms of insulating properties despite some of the physical and chemical changes that take place during extended use.
Therefore, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide electrical insulation fluids which improve over and/or solve at least a portion of the problems and deficiencies in the art.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Electrical apparatuses containing polytrimethylene homo- or copolyether glycol based electrical insulation fluids


The present invention relates to an ultraviolet light curable coating composition having a shorter curing time and an excellent abrasion resistance, which comprises:. (A) an aqueous-alcoholic base resin dispersion containing, based on the weight of the total solids present in the base resin dispersion, PA1 (a) 5 to 75% by weight of a colloidal silica and PA1 (b) 25 to 95% by weight of a partial condensate of a silanol of formula: EQU R SI(OH).sub.3 PA1 (B) an ultraviolet light curable catalyst of formula EQU Ar.sub.3 S.sup.+ MX.sub.n.sup.-. wherein PA2 R is a C.sub.1-6 alkyl, C.sub.6-20 aryl or hydroxy group; and PA2 wherein PA2 Ar.sub.3 is a triphenyl, tri(4-methoxy)phenyl, tri(3,5-dimethyl-4-hydroxyphenyl), diphenyl-2,5-dimethylphenyl or tri(4-methyl) phenyl group; and PA2 MX.sub.n.sup.- is a metallic halide anion.

Recently, transparent glazing materials having a greater resistance to shattering than glass have been widely used for various purposes. For instance, transparent synthetic resin plates prepared from synthetic organic polymers are used as: wind shields for trains, automobiles and aircrafts; lenses for eye glasses and other optical devices; and window panes in public buildings, particularly because of their lighter weight than glass.
Despite the above advantages, however, synthetic resin plates also have certain defects in that their surface hardness and abrasion resistance are relatively low.
To overcome such problems, siloxane-containing coating compositions which form an abrasion resistant coating have been developed. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,986,997 discloses a heat curable coating composition, which comprises a dispersion of colloidal silica in a lower aliphatic alcohol-water solution of the partial condensate of a silanol of formula R'SI(OH).sub.3 wherein R' is a C.sub.1-3 alkyl, vinyl, 3,3,3-trifluoropropyl, .gamma.-glycidoxypropyl or .gamma.-methacryloxypropyl radical. However, this heat curable composition has a serious drawback requiring a longer curing time than, e.g., an acrylic functional ultraviolet light-curable coating composition.
Further, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,348,454 and 4,201,808 disclose light-curable acrylic functional silicone compositions. The compositions proposed in the above patents have a shorter curing time; however, they still suffer from the disadvantages that the preparation methods are very complicated and the coating formed thereof has a relatively weaker abrasion resistance when applied on a substrate.

Abrasion resistant silicone coating composition


Apparatus for the preparation of fluids intended for medical use is disclosed, including a source of pure water and at least one cartridge or other vessel containing a powder which is to be dissolved in the water for preparation of the desired fluid. The apparatus includes a container such that the water and a powder or powder concentrate can be mixed and a concentrate provided in the container, and a recirculation circuit for recirculation of the water or concentrate solution into the container for further mixing of the water and powder or powder concentrate to prepare a concentrate having a predetermined concentration.

Previous systems for the preparation of such fluids normally operate beginning with one or more liquid based concentrates. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,158,034 describes how a concentrate in liquid form is mixed with water for the preparation of a dialysis fluid. In European Patent No. EP-B1-0 22 922, and in U.S. Pat. No. 4,783,273, there is a description of how two liquid-based concentrates can be mixed with water to obtain a fluid intended for medical use, such as a a dialysis fluid. More recently, systems have been introduced which instead make use of one or more concentrates in powder form. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,784,495 describes how one or more such powder-based concentrates can be used, with or without the addition of a liquid-based concentrate.
Should one wish to utilize a powder-based concentrate which is difficult to dissolve, it can become quite difficult to achieve acceptably rapid dissolution such as by using the system disclosed in the above-mentioned U.S. Pat. No. 4,784,495. Furthermore, the system according to this patent can become relatively complicated if it is desired to add several different individual pre-packed powder-based concentrates.

System for the preparation of a fluid concentrate intended for medical use


A semiconductor device includes an interlevel film constituted by a first dielectrics film containing dangling bonds and a bonded group of Si and hydrogen, and a second dielectrics film formed on the first dielectrics film.

The present invention relates to a semiconductor device and a method of fabricating the same and, more particularly, to a semiconductor device having a multilevel interconnection formed on a semiconductor device and a method of fabricating the same.
In a multilevel interconnection technology performed on a semiconductor device in order to increase the packing density of a semiconductor integrated circuit, planarization of an interlevel film is a very important factor, and a number of dielectrics film formation methods have been developed. A representative method is a sol coating method (spin on glass) by which planarization can be easily obtained. Also, ozone TEOS (tetraethoxysilane) CVD making use of a chemical reaction using TEOS and ozone as materials has been put into practical use recently.
It is, however, known that in these methods, a large amount of water is contained as a reaction product in a film.
On the other hand, as a drain electric field is increased due to miniaturization of MOSFETs, a hot-carrier tolerance has become a major problem in device reliability; carriers acquiring a high-energy state (becoming hot) in a high electric field are injected into a gate oxide film and trapped inside the oxide film or generate an interfacial level between the gate oxide film and a substrate, thereby degrading the device characteristics. It is known that if a large amount of an OH group is present in the gate oxide film, the degradation in device characteristics caused by hot-carrier injection is increased.
A dielectrics film formed by the spin on glass or the ozone TEOS (tetraethoxysilane) CVD (chemical vapor deposition) contains a large amount of water. If this water diffuses to a gate oxide film, an OH group is formed in the gate oxide film, and this may accelerate device degradation by hot carriers. Therefore, the use of a dielectrics film formed by these methods as a monolayer film is unpreferable in device reliability. Conventionally, as a method of forming these dielectrics films not directly on an interconnection, a method of forming dielectrics films by using glow discharge plasma CVD has also been developed. However, such a film is formed not for the purpose of preventing device degradation but as a protective film for preventing an interconnection degradation caused by the film formation temperature or impurities in the film. Actually, a first interlevel film was formed in this manner, and a first metal interconnection was formed on a MOS transistor device. Subsequently, a dielectrics film according to the plasma CVD as a second interlevel film, a film according to the ozone TEOS-CVD, and a dielectrics film according to the spin on glass were formed in this order to constitute a multilevel dielectrics film. After annealing was performed, film formation was again performed by the plasma CVD. In addition, holes are formed in this second interlevel dielectrics as connection holes with respect to a second metal interconnection, and the second metal interconnection and an interconnection pattern were formed. A plasma CVD film for surface protection was also formed. Lastly, annealing was performed in a hydrogen atmosphere at 400.degree. C. FIG. 1 shows the degradation characteristics of a fine MOS transistor device formed through the above process.
FIG. 1 shows the substrate current (Isub) dependency per unit channel width of the reliability life time of the device. The substrate current (Isub) is directly proportional to the number of hot carriers generated; the larger the power supply applied to a device, the larger the substrate current. As shown in FIG. 1, there is a linear relationship, on a log-log plot, between the reliability life time and the substrate current (Isub) according to hot carriers. Hence, it is common practice to use the substrate current dependency of characteristics degradation in order to predict the reliability life time. It is predicted from FIG. 1 that the life time is about two months for a power supply of 3.3 V; in practice, the life time is required to be 10 years. This demonstrates that a device having such an interlevel film configuration cannot ensure a satisfactory reliability.

Semiconductor device and method of fabricating the same

Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation


The present invention relates to methods and compositions for diagnosing prostate cancer and/or determining whether a prostate cancer patient is at increased risk of suffering a relapse, or a rapid relapse, of his cancer. It is based, at least in part, on the results of a comprehensive genome analysis on 241 prostate cancer samples (104 prostate cancer, 85 matched bloods, 49 matched benign prostate tissues adjacent to cancer, and 3 cell lines) which indicate that (i) genome copy number variation (CNV) occurred in both cancer and non-cancer tissues, and (ii) CNV predicts prostate cancer progression.

Prostate cancer is one of the most common and lethal malignancies in men: The annual mortality rate reached 32,000 in the US in 2009 (1-3). Previous cytogenetic and other genome studies suggest a clear link between genome abnormalities and the prostate cancer (4-9). Currently, several treatment options are available for prostate cancer patients including watchful waiting, radiation, hormonal/chemo-therapy and radical prostatectomy. Gleason's grading alone or in combination with other clinical indicators such as serum prostate specific antigen levels and pathological or clinical staging has been the guiding tool in selecting these treatment options. Significant numbers of prostate cancer patients, however, experienced relapse after surgical resection of the prostate gland. There is clearly a need for better prediction of the behavior of prostate cancer.

Methods for diagnosing prostate cancer and predicting prostate cancer relapse

UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH—OF THE COMMONWEALTH SYSTEM OF HIGHER EDUCATION


A seal/locking apparatus includes a tapered cover, a locking cap, and a housing. The housing has a opening configured to engage, in a first part of the opening, the tapered cover, and, in a second part of the opening, the locking cap. The tapered cover and the locking cap are configured to cooperate in preventing removal of either from the housing when both are engaged in the opening unless said locking cap is removed first. The seal/locking apparatus is particularly useful when attached to aircraft engines and can be used for replacement of an individual strut in an engine.

This invention relates generally to method and apparatus for servicing of aircraft engines and more particularly to methods and apparatus for on-line servicing of struts in aircraft engines.
At least one known aircraft engine includes struts at an edge of a fan cowling. These struts comprise a front frame, which holds the front of the engine to pylons. There is also another strut at the rear frame, also called the "diffuser wall" throughout this description. Using large lugs, an engine is typically hung by the diffuser wall and pinned to an aircraft. A ring with radial struts in it forms a weldment and holds the engine.
When a strut is worn or defective for some reason, it must be removed and replaced. In known methods for replacing aft or rear struts, the engine must be removed from the aircraft to which it is hung. The engine is then shipped to a repair facility to be rebuilt. This off-line method of servicing constitutes a major, labor-intensive and expensive engine overhaul.

Methods and apparatus useful for servicing engines


A camera equipped with an accommodating chamber which constitutes a periphery including a film spool spindle and which accommodates a film cartridge having a recess at one longitudinal end thereof, includes: a protruding surface portion which is provided in the accommodating chamber, which enters the recess, and which has on the outer surface thereof on the side opposite to the film cartridge a step formed by a recessed portion recessed toward the film cartridge; and a gear member arranged in the recessed portion and adapted to be engaged with the spool spindle to rotate the spool spindle, whereby the dimension in the camera height direction (i.e., the dimension in the longitudinal direction of the film cartridge) is reduced.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a camera in which it is possible to achieve a reduction in size in the height direction of the portion of the camera main body where there is arranged an accommodating chamber accommodating a film cartridge for taking up camera film.
2. Related Background Art
There is a demand for a reduction in camera size as a way of spreading the use of cameras, and various small-size cameras have been developed and put into practical use. In this regard, the camera using a film cartridge accommodating a roll of film is also required to be as small as possible.
On the other hand, a compact camera today is equipped with a film feeding mechanism for automatically performing the operation of taking up the film on the spool from the cartridge and the operation of rewinding the film taken up on the spool back into the cartridge, using a film feeding motor as the drive source.
Further, there is a camera in which the film feeding motor is arranged inside the spool and in which a rewinding spindle engaged with the winding shaft of the cartridge is arranged in the cartridge chamber; the rewinding spindle is connected to the film feeding motor through a gear row; and there is provided a power transmission mechanism which transmits the power of the film feeding motor selectively to the spool or the rewinding spindle through a speed reduction mechanism.
As a mounting structure for the feeding gears in the gear row for transmitting the power of the film feeding motor to the rewinding spindle, a structure is known in which a support wall is formed so as to be parallel to the upper or lower surface of the camera main body forming the cartridge chamber and the spool chamber, with the feeding gear being fitted onto a boss portion formed on this support wall.
FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a cartridge chamber and its periphery. Reference numeral 10 indicates a casing member forming the outer casing of the camera, reference numeral 11 indicates a camera body, and reference numeral 19 indicates a cartridge chamber accommodating a cartridge 13 described below. Reference numeral 12 indicates a film, and reference numeral 13 indicates the cartridge for taking up and accommodating the film 12. When it is inserted into the cartridge chamber 19, the cartridge 13 is urged downwards as seen in the drawing under the urging force of a spring (not shown) provided in the cartridge chamber 19. As a result, the cartridge 13 abuts an abutment surface 11b forming the lower surface of the cartridge chamber 19.
Reference numeral 14 indicates an idler gear which transmits power from a motor (not shown) provided in the camera main body, that is, the power for rewinding the film 12, to a fork gear 15 described below. The idler gear 14 is rotatable around a rotation shaft 14a, which is arranged radially outside with respect to the cartridge chamber 19.
Reference numeral 15 indicates the fork gear in mesh with the idler gear 14 and adapted to be rotated by the torque of the idler gear 14. Reference numeral 16 indicates a fork which rotates integrally with the fork gear 15. Reference numeral 17 indicates a fork spring, which is arranged radially inside with respect to the fork gear 15 and the fork 16 and which pushes the fork 16 upwardly as seen in the drawing.
When the cartridge 13 is inserted into the cartridge chamber 19, the fork 16 is engaged with a spool portion 12a of the cartridge 13, and is pushed downwardly as seen in the drawing by this spool portion 12a against the urging force of the fork spring 17.
The fork gear 15 is rotatably fitted into a hole 11c formed in the wall portion 11b constituting the lower surface of the cartridge chamber 19. Reference numeral 18 indicates a gear pressing member, which rotatably supports the idler gear 14 and the fork gear 15.
In the structure in the prior art described above, the dimension of the camera main body as measured in the height direction cannot be made smaller than a predetermined length due to the restriction by the arrangement space for the drive portion (the feeding gear, etc.) for driving the film. In this regard, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-136989 discloses a camera in which a gear is arranged above the cartridge chamber, with the gear being rotatably mounted to a retaining plate.
In such a construction, the height of the camera main body is determined by the length of the cartridge, the thickness of the retaining plate, and the thickness of the gear, and even if the components are arranged close to each other, there is a limitation to the reduction in the dimension of the camera main body as measured in the height direction (i.e., reduction in camera size).
It is a first object of the present invention to provide a camera with a reduced height.
According to one aspect of the invention, a camera equipped with an accommodating chamber which accommodates a film cartridge having a recess at one longitudinal end, and film spool spindle thereof, includes:
a protruding surface portion which is provided in the accommodating chamber, which enters the recess, and which has on the outer surface thereof on the side opposite to the film cartridge a step formed by a recessed portion recessed toward the film cartridge; and
a gear member arranged in the recessed portion and adapted to be engaged with the spool spindle to rotate the spool spindle.
In further another aspect of the invention, the camera further includes a support plate which rotatably supports the gear member.
In further another aspect of the invention, the camera further includes an idler gear engaged with the gear member and adapted to transmit torque to the gear member.
That is, by bringing the gear member nearer to the film cartridge by utilizing the space of the recess formed in one longitudinal end surface of the film cartridge, it is possible to make the longitudinal dimension of the cartridge accommodating portion so much the smaller. And, when the casing member forming the outer casing of the camera main body is arranged close to the support member, it is possible to reduce the height of the camera main body as compared with that in the prior art. (i.e., to achieve a reduction in camera size)
Further according to another aspect of the invention, a camera equipped with an accommodating chamber which accommodates a film cartridge having a recess at one longitudinal end, and film spool spindle thereof, includes:
a gear member engaged with the film spool spindle to rotate the film spool spindle;
a retaining member rotatably retaining the gear member; and
an opening formed in a portion of the accommodating chamber corresponding to the recess of the film cartridge, the gear member entering the opening.
That is, by bringing the gear member nearer to the film cartridge by utilizing the space generated by forming a hole in the cartridge accommodating portion, it is possible, as in the first aspect of the invention, to make the longitudinal dimension of the cartridge accommodating portion, that is, the height of the camera main body so much the smaller as compared with that in the prior art (i.e., to achieve a reduction in camera size).
When the gear member is rotatably retained by the support member, it is possible to prevent the gear member from wobbling in the longitudinal direction of the cartridge accommodating portion (film cartridge).


The jet engine comprising a ramjet air path extending from an intake, into a combustion chamber, and out an exhaust nozzle, a fuel inlet leading into the combustion chamber, an oxidizer inlet leading into the combustion chamber and a partition being operable to selectively close the ramjet air path upstream of the combustion chamber to allow operation of the jet engine in rocket mode and open the ramjet air path to allow operation of the jet engine in ramjet mode.

Ramjets and rocket engines are two types of engines which have been known for decades. The ramjet engine is an air breathing engine which relies on the atmosphere for a supply of oxidizer (air) used in combustion. By contrast, the rocket engine is not an air-breathing engine as it does not have an intake, and rather has a supply of both fuel and oxidizer. In some rocket engines, the fuel and the oxidizer are provided in the form of a solid composition whereas in other rocket engines, liquid and/or gaseous fuel and oxidizer are used.
A ramjet engine can be considered advantageous over a rocket engine as since it uses the atmosphere, it can require less supplies or travel a greater distance using a same initial supply. Rocket engines can be considered advantageous over ramjet engines in applications for use outside atmosphere or where the air is so thin that it is not sufficient to allow ramjet mode.
Various former designs, typically referred to as integral rocket/ramjet engines, provide a combination of rocket and ramjet engine modes. Although satisfactory to a certain degree, there remained room for improvement. In particular, there remained a need to be able to switch freely from one mode of operation to the other, and back to the initial mode if required.

Selectable mode ramjet/rocket jet engine


A robotic finger is provided that includes a base joint connected to a base member. By way of the base joint, a main finger member is connected to the base member for pivoting movements of the main finger member in two planes. The base joint has two driven main bevel gears opposite one another, and two likewise opposing intermediate bevel gears disposed between the main bevel gears. The main bevel gears are mounted rotatably at the base member and can be driven independently of one another through electric motors and an intermediate toothed belt. The two intermediate bevel gears are each rotatably mounted at support members connected to the main finger member. To protect the base joint, a curved cover bracket is provided.

1. Field of the Disclosure
The disclosure relates to a robot finger and a robot hand.
2. Discussion of the Background Art
Robot hands are modeled after the human hand and comprise a hand base substantially corresponding to the palm of the human hand. To said hand base, at least one and, normally, a plurality of robot fingers are fastened. The robot fingers comprise a plurality of finger limbs which are likewise modeled after the human fingers. By way of a base joint, a main finger member is fastened directly to the hand base or to a base member of the robot finger. In this configuration, said base joint is the finger joint arranged closest to the hand base. The base joint is designed to allow movement of said main finger member in two planes. Further, in a manner corresponding to the closing or opening of the hand, the main finger member can also be turned or pivoted about a main pivot axis. Vertically thereto, the main finger member can normally be moved laterally by about 10° to 20° in both directions. Thus, the robot finger can be moved within spatial limits corresponding to those of the moving range of a human finger. It is known to provide the base joint as a joint comprising two pairs of bevel gears. The two main bevel gears of the base joint are arranged opposite to each other and can be driven independently of each other. Rotation of the main bevel gears about the main rotational axis will cause a turning or pivoting of the fingers corresponding to the opening or closing of the hand. Between the two main bevel gears and vertically to them, two intermediate bevel gears are arranged. By rotating the main bevel gears with different rotational speeds and/or in opposite directions, there is effected a lateral pivoting movement of the robot finger and the main finger joint of the robot finger. The two main bevel gears are driven by a respective electric motor via a transmission such as e.g. a toothed belt. Said electric motors are preferably arranged on the base member of the robot finger or integrated therein.
When a gripping action is performed by a robot hand, counterforces opposed to the holding forces will occur particularly at the fingertips. These counterforces have to be transmitted via the base joint to the base member of the robot finger and/or to the hand base of the robot hand. Due to the provision of bevel gears, the influence of such forces onto the intermediate bevel gears has the consequence that the base joint will be pressed apart. As a result, the abutment faces between the teeth of the bevel gears that are effective for force transmission will become smaller, which in turn may entail damage to the bevel gears. In this regard, it may even happen that a tooth will be skipped or the base joint will become jammed. Further, irrespective of the force transmission problem, there is a danger of foreign bodies intruding into the bevel gear, thus causing the bevel gears to jam or to become damaged.
It is an object of the disclosure to provide a robot finger wherein the danger of damage to the base joint due to the occurring forces and/or due to contamination is avoided.

Deutsches Zentrum fur Luft-und Raumfahrt E.V.


A slew-rate-control (SLC) circuit is coupled to an input for a driver circuit to provide a first binary value when the circuit is powered on and to control a slew rate when a pass element controlled by the driver circuit is enabled. The SLC circuit includes a capacitor node for coupling to a first terminal of an external capacitor, the capacitor node being coupled to the input. The SLC circuit also includes a SLC element coupled between the input and a first source of voltage to define the slew rate and a reset FET coupled between the input and a second source of voltage. The reset FET's gate is controlled by an over-current-protection signal that changes binary value when a short is detected. The reset FET is coupled to return the input to the first binary value responsive to detection of a short

Load switches and low dropout (LDO) regulators for power management systems require fixed or adjustable soft start upon enable and also upon recovery from various faults. Soft starts avoid large in-rush currents into the load, which could potentially pull down the input power supply below recommended operating conditions. Although these devices generally provide soft start on enable and in response to some faults, not all load switches or LDOs demonstrate soft start during recovery from short circuit conditions.

Driver and slew-rate-control circuit providing soft start after recovery from short


A musical effects pedal retaining unit comprising a retaining body, a retaining means affixed to said retaining body by retaining means connectors and an attachment surface fixed to said retaining body. This pedal retaining unit is preferably used with a pedal board system to secure at least one musical effect pedal while simultaneously preserving the effects pedal.

1. Field of Invention
The present application relates to the field of musical instrument effects pedals and pedal boards.
2. Background of the Invention
A musical instrument effects pedal is a small device inserted into the signal path, between the instrument and the amplification unit, of electrical musical instruments in order to alter the sound quality of the signal. The musician switches between the "clean" or unaltered sound, and the "affected" sound by activating a switch with his or her foot—thus the "pedal" nomenclature. Effects pedals have been widely used since the 1960's, and a lucrative niche market has arisen for the resale of highly sought-after vintage pedals. A problem arises however, in that musicians seek to preserve the condition, and thus the value, of their pedals while at the same time utilizing them musically. A prominent type of damage to valuable pedals occurs when musicians attempt to stabilize them to their "pedal boards," a device by which pedals are grouped together to allow for easier access when playing (See FIG. 7). The commonplace means for attaching a pedal to a pedal board is the ubiquitous fabric hook and loop fastener system, as has been marketed under Velcro® tradeamarks. However, in order to adhere one side of such a fabric hook and loop fastener system to the pedal, a person must subject his or her valuable pedal to the sticky, corrosive substance present on the adhesive side of the system. This adhesive substance is extremely difficult to remove and greatly depreciates the value of the pedal upon resale.
Therefore, what is needed is an effects pedal retaining unit to effectively stabilize a musical effects pedal in proper relation to a pedal board, without the use of damaging adhesive.
There are a variety of pedal boards on the market and disclosed in the prior art, however, none accomplish the benefits of the various embodiments disclosed herein by Applicant. For example, among the various pedal boards on the market are the Boss BCB-60 (http://www.bosscorp.co.jp/products/en/BCB-60), the Core Equipment Pedal Board Cases (http://www.coreoneproduct.com/pages/productindex.php3?itemref=pc-55), the Furman SP-8 Pedal Board (http://www.furmansound.com/products/pro/pdlbrd/index.php), the Ergonomic Pedal Board described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/459,223, and the Foot Pedal Board for Musical Instruments described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,215,055. All of these pedal boards are designed to accommodate multiple pedals and all use fabric hook-and-loop fasteners to stabilize the pedal with reference to the pedal board, however, none of these references adequately protect or preserve the pedals being used to a degree desired by typical collectors.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,866,829, to Pecororao (1999) and U.S. Pat. No. 6,538,185 to Stratton (2003) both disclose pedal rack systems, but neither of the technologies appear to solve the problems addressed by the present application. Thus, the primary shortcoming of these devices, and a primary problem that that Applicant seeks to remedy, is the necessity of applying damaging adhesive to the surface of valuable effects pedals. Additionally Applicant's device provides for greater pedal stability during musical performance, thereby assisting the musician to perform without focusing on the location or condition of his or her effects pedals.

Effects pedal retaining unit and pedal board system


Various embodiments are described to address the need for channel maintenance/channel quality signaling that can better utilize reverse link capacity and conserve battery life. Generally expressed, a remote unit (101) enters (403) a high-rate-channel-maintenance mode in which it transmits channel maintenance signaling. When a low-rate condition is met (405), the remote unit enters (407) a low-rate-channel-maintenance mode in which it transmits channel maintenance signaling at either a lower rate or a lower transmit power than when in the high-rate-channel-maintenance mode. Then when a high-rate condition is met (409), the remote unit reenters the high-rate-channel-maintenance mode.

In existing wireless access technologies such as IEEE 802.16, High Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA), and High Rate Packet Data (HRPD), also known as 1xEV-DO or IS-856, the reverse link transmission of channel quality indications, for example, consume a substantial amount of the available reverse link capacity. In addition, the transmission of CQI (Channel Quality Indicator), DRC (Data Rate Control), and an HS-DPCCH (High Speed Downlink Packet Control Channel), in respective 802.16, HRPD, and HSDPA systems reduces remote unit battery life.
Existing technology addresses these issues by using explicit access network (AN) signaling to toggle remote unit CQI/DRC transmissions. Thus, the AN can thereby enable the remote units to stop transmitting channel quality information when the AN does not need the information. For example, a remote unit may be in a CQI/DRC gating mode in which channel quality information is transmitted on the reverse link in periodic bursts. The AN may signal the remote unit to transition to a CQI/DRC DTX (discontinuous transmission) mode in which the transmission of channel quality information is suspended. Then, when the channel quality information is needed again, the AN signals the remote unit to return to CQI/DRC gating mode. However, such AN signaling to control the remote unit transmit mode also creates additional overhead signaling that itself can become burdensome. This signaling can also create delays by requiring the AN to first signal the remote unit to resume CQI/DRC transmission before the AN proceeds to transmit data to the remote unit.
Therefore, a need exists for an improved apparatus and method for channel maintenance/quality signaling that can better utilize reverse link capacity and conserve battery life.
Specific embodiments of the present invention are disclosed below with reference to FIGS. 1-5. Both the description and the illustrations have been drafted with the intent to enhance understanding. For example, the dimensions of some of the figure elements may be exaggerated relative to other elements, and well-known elements that are beneficial or even necessary to a commercially successful implementation may not be depicted so that a less obstructed and a more clear presentation of embodiments may be achieved. Simplicity and clarity in both illustration and description are sought to effectively enable a person of skill in the art to make, use, and best practice the present invention in view of what is already known in the art. One of skill in the art will appreciate that various modifications and changes may be made to the specific embodiments described below without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Thus, the specification and drawings are to be regarded as illustrative and exemplary rather than restrictive or all-encompassing, and all such modifications to the specific embodiments described below are intended to be included within the scope of the present invention.

Method and apparatus for improved channel maintenance signaling


A wireless connecting method includes a connection monitoring step, a connection parameter retaining step, and a connection restoring step. The connection monitoring step monitors the wireless connection between the communication terminal device and the base station. The connection parameter retaining step sets a communication session retention time period that is longer than a connection parameter retention time period, and retains a connection parameter. A connection parameter when the wireless connection is disconnected is retained in at least one of the communication terminal device and the base station for the communication session retention time period exceeding the connection parameter retention time period. The connection restoring step executes, after the connection parameter retention time period has elapsed, when the communication session retention time period has not elapsed, an initial connecting process and restores the connection using the connection parameter stored when the wireless connection is disconnected.

As to wireless communication between a base station and a communication terminal device, at a time immediately after the start of the service, etc., in a wireless access network whose base stations are not yet sufficiently installed or in a service area having a low coverage on the population therein, the communication states of the communication terminal device in and out of a service area repeatedly alternate. As a result, a connection state and a disconnection state of a link layer often repeatedly alternate.
In an operation system (OS) operating on a personal computer (PC), etc., that includes a communicating function, an up and a down states of a logical interface (IF) alternate depending on a connection or a disconnection of the link layer. When the state of the logical IF transitions to the down state, all sockets opened toward the logical IF are closed and this closure seems to be a communication error of an application. Thereafter, even when the link layer is again connected and the state of the logical IF has transitioned to the up state, a procedure for a reconnection may be complicated.
As to such a wireless connection, it is known that: it is checked whether any service is being received when a time period set in an idle timer driven in an active mode has expired; and the active mode transitions to a virtual idol mode when a service is being received (Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2008-182697).

Method, apparatus, and system for wireless connection


A medical imaging system (10) which is readily adaptable to suit specific imaging conditions is disclosed. The system comprises an imaging signal source (12) for transmitting a first imaging signal (13) through a patient's body, a signal detector unit (26) for receiving the first signal (13) and transmitting a second signal (22), and a digital camera for processing the second signal (22) so as to-produce an image of an area of interest within the patient's body. The signal detector unit (36) includes a number of signal detector elements (30) each having different performance characteristics. The system (10) further includes a controller (32) for selecting a signal detector element (30) relative to particular imaging conditions.

X-ray imaging is used for a variety of purposes such as medical imaging and non-destructive testing of industrial components. With respect to medical imaging, many digital imaging devices, i.e., non-film based imaging devices, are known. One such lens-based device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,216,250 which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
The '250 device, which is particularly intended for imaging a patient's breast, includes an x-ray source, a compression plate for compressing the patient's breast, a light-tight housing containing a mounted phosphor screen, a lens for focussing light emitted by the phosphor screen and related digital processing equipment. In operation of the '250 device, x-ray radiation is transmitted through the patient's compressed breast and impinges upon the mounted phosphor screen. The mounted phosphor screen, in turn, emits light which is focused by the lens on a charge coupled device (CCD) array of a digital camera so as to produce an image of an area of interest within the patient's breast.
Although lens-based digital imaging devices such as the '250 device are currently being utilized for certain medical imaging applications, some difficulty has been experienced due to the variables encountered in practice. In particular, such lens-based digital imaging systems have sometimes provided less than optimal image contrast and/or resolution for particular medical imaging applications.


A system for allowing a user to input text related data using a mobile device having an input and presentation unit. The system includes a virtual symbols keyboard, which includes virtual keys, each indicative of a graphical symbol, each graphically represents at least a part of a character, where the virtual symbols keyboard is configured to allow a user to input each character by touching a designated intermediate area between adjacent keys or by directly touching a virtual key using a single touch for inputting each character; and a processing module, which enables identifying a touch event over the virtual symbols keyboard, occurring over each virtual key and/or over each intermediate area and associating each touch event with a respective associated character according to the identified touch area. The processing module further allows presenting each identified associated character over the input and presentation unit.

Virtual keyboards are increasingly used all over the world in various devices such as tablet computers and/or smart-phones (e.g. iPhones™, iPads™) typically including a touch screen enabling to use standard virtual alphanumeric keyboards. These alphanumeric keyboards typically include letter keys, punctuation mark keys, number keys and optionally function keys. These various keys and especially the letter keys add up to quite a large number of keys and when used in reduced compact devices such as mobile phones designed to be held by a single hand and placed in a person's pocket, can become extremely uncomfortable to use. For example, in the English language there are twenty-six letters requiring twenty-six different letter keys each representing a different letter. In this case, even when only using letter keys in a virtual keyboard, if the touch screen is too small, which is usually the case in reduced input devices such as smart-phones, in which touch screen is typically smaller than that of a tablet computer, it can be quite cumbersome and uncomfortable to press each letter key since the screen size reduction results in key size limitations. Therefore, reducing the number of keys required for inputting letter characters through the virtual keyboard can dramatically improve utilization of reduced or any other type of touch screens.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,307,267 by Yang Gong M. teaches a keyboard input device that includes symbol keys where a combination of symbol keys can be interpreted as a character if all respective symbol keys are simultaneously pressed by a user
A patent application No. WO2007039746 by Maber Jonathan discloses a keyboard for entry of text characters that comprises: a plurality of keys and a processing means for detecting when at least one of the plurality of keys is pressed. Each of the plurality of keys has an indicia marked on its surface. When the processor detects that two or more of the plurality of keys have been pressed within a predetermined time period of each other, data corresponding to a text character visually resembling the combination of the indicia marked on the two or more of the plurality of keys is output. A corresponding method of text entry is also described. The output from the keyboard visually resembles the combination of the indicia on the keys.
U.S. patent application No. 2005104750 by Tuason Christopher discloses a compact keypad enabling direct single-press-per-character data entry, which is made possible by the use of adjacent combination key-press entries. The keys are sufficiently sized and spaced to enable the direct activation of any of a set of characters comprised of numbers, letters and symbols with a single finger stroke of either one individual key, or an adjacent combination of keys. According to Tuason the keys of the keypad, regardless of their individual shape or layout as a group, are placed in close enough proximity to allow two adjacent keys to be depressed either one-at-a-time, or both simultaneously by a single, one finger key stroke to code for a desired alphanumeric character, symbol, or arithmetic function.
Although these methods allow reducing the number of letter keys required, depending on symbols selection, when using a small compacted input device such as a mobile phone, making it possible to slightly enlarge the size of each key, it may be complicated and cumbersome for a user to remember the symbols combination that are required to build each character and to press them simultaneously. Moreover, simultaneously pressing of keys may often require using more than one hand and/or more than one finger to carry out this task, which may be a difficult or annoying for users who wish to use one hand/finger for pressing keys (e.g. for writing text message using their smart-phone) or even impossible for people having handicaps that only allow them to use a single finger, hand and the like.


A system for eliminating redundant notifications to SIP/SIMPLE subscribers, the system including a notification fingerprinter configured to generate a fingerprint from the contents of a SIP/SIMPLE subscriber notification using a predefined fingerprinting method, a fingerprint comparator configured to compare a fingerprint of a previously-sent notification with a fingerprint of a waiting-to-be-sent notification, and a server configured to send the waiting-to-be-sent notification to the subscriber only if the fingerprints do not match.

The Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) is a protocol for creating, modifying, and terminating computer network-based communication sessions, such as for an Internet-based telephone call between two or more participants. Since its introduction various enhancements to SIP have been proposed, including the SIP Instant Messaging and Presence Leveraging Extensions (SIMPLE) framework in which one or more network entities, such as computer users, create subscriptions on a server, known as a "presence" server, to receive presence information regarding another network entity, referred to as a "presentity." When a change in the presentity's presence information is detected, such as when the presentity "publishes" such a change to the presence server, SIP is used to send a notification to the subscribers including the presentity's current presence information.
Further enhancements to SIP/SIMPLE include enabling presentities to limit what presence information subscribers may receive in a notification, as well as enabling subscribers to limit what available presence information they wish to receive in a notification. For example, presentity Joe's presence information includes elements ABCDE, while Joe limits subscriber Bob to receive only elements BCDE. If a change occurs to any of elements ABCDE, the presence server managing Bob's subscription will send Joe a notification including elements BCDE. However, if the change is to element A, and Bob previously received a notification including elements BCDE, Bob will receive no new information in the notification, as Bob previously received elements BCDE and does not in any case receive element A. Similarly, if Bob is only interested in elements DE, and sets a notification filter accordingly, if the change is to any of elements ABC, and Bob previously received a notification including elements DE, Bob will receive no new information in the notification, as Bob only ever receives elements DE. In both these examples, the changes to Joe's presence information caused redundant notifications to be sent to Bob, needlessly consuming processing and bandwidth resources.
Systems and/or methods for eliminating redundant notifications to SIP/SIMPLE subscribers would therefore be advantageous.

Eliminating redundant notifications to SIP/SIMPLE subscribers

International Business Machines Corporation


An apparatus for determining the amount of particle suspension in a fluid by measuring radiation reflection on the particles, comprises a beam of radiation directed into the fluid; first and second photovoltaic detectors for picking up at least a portion of the beam of radiation reflected from the particle suspension in the fluid; and a circuit for comparing the output of the first detector relative to the output of the second detector to obtain the amount of particle suspension in the fluid. The detectors are positioned such that the output of the first detector increases relative to the output of the second detector as the amount of particle suspension in the fluid increases.

Paper making process requires the rapid and accurate measurement and control of consistency of the stock slurry during several stages in the process to ensure a uniform high-quality final product. Consistency, usually expressed in percentage, is defined as the weight in grams of oven-dry material in 100 grams of a pulp-water mixture. Prior art measurement devices have suffered from the problems of stock species and stock flow velocity, since different stock species and flow velocity produce errors in measuring stock consistency.
Different species of trees or other fiber sources exhibit fibers of differing lengths and diameters which are characteristic of their particular origin. The handling of the fiber during the paper making process further dimensionally alters the fiber from the degree of refining, type of process being used, mechanical, chemical, etc.
Variations in fiber length and cross-section invariably cause an error in measurement--the direction and magnitude of the error being dependent on the measurement principle being used.
Instruments of a mechanical design utilizing shear as their principle of measurement typically exhibit a decrease in reading due to the apparent reduction in friction when measuring stock with short fiber length and small diameter, as would be found in the hardwood species. Conversely, softwood varieties with longer, larger fibers increase the apparent friction, thus increasing the reading for any given consistency.
Optical instruments employing backscatter as their principle of measurement generally exhibit an error in the reading in the opposite direction to that of the mechanical devices. Hardwood fiber, having a larger surface area for a given consistency than softwood fiber, causes the optical instrument's output to read higher due to the backscatter characteristics generally associated with an increase in consistency.
Velocity of the stock slurry also causes measurement error when one is attempting to gauge consistency. Usually, the measurement device cannot detect a difference between a changing flow rate or consistency, requiring that some compensation be made for the effects of flow velocity.
Therefore, there is a need for a consistency measurement device of the backscatter principle having the ability to compensate for variations in fiber size and stock flow velocity.


Configurable absorbent articles with improved bodily exudate separation and sampling are provided.

Absorbent articles are used to contain bodily exudates (e.g., urine, and bowel movements) in infants, children, and adults. Absorbent articles may be used in hospitals for diapering infants, premature babies, and/or Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome ("NAS") babies. Premature babies, NAS babies, or other small infants may require special care by health care providers. These babies are oftentimes on ventilators, feeding tubes, or other life support or monitoring systems. In some instances, the babies may be positioned within incubators, also known as isolets.
Current absorbent articles for babies, such as premature or NAS babies, do not provide adequate methods for collecting urine and/or BM for sampling. Sampling of urine and/or BM may be used for testing various diseases and/or conditions in a hospital setting or other setting. In view of the foregoing, absorbent articles for premature babies, NAS babies, other babies, and other wearers need to be improved.

Configurable absorbent articles having improved bodily exudate separation and sampling


Disclosed is an ECA probes assembly capable of providing reliable and durable ECA inspections of dovetail slots without the use of an external guiding mechanism. The design combines a novel universal probe manipulator with a probe support suited for a wide range of probe supports which fit a rage of turbine disks. The probe support embodies a rigid yet expandable core, exerting a force pushing the array probe against the inner cavity of the dovetails. The pushing force is strategically located in critical areas of the dovetail leading to array probe to be self-guiding into the dovetail, and to provide optimum performance with consistent and stable lift-off.

Eddy current array (ECA) inspection is commonly used to detect flaws in surfaces of manufactured metal components such as turbine engine components. During this type of inspection, electro-magnetic induction is used to induce eddy currents in the component being inspected. A plurality of sensors inside an ECA probe separately generates alternating magnetic fields, which induces the eddy currents in the component while the probe is moved near the component. When flaws are present in the component, the flow of eddy currents is altered. The altered eddy currents produces changes in a secondary magnetic field which are detected by the array of sensors inside the ECA probe. An ECA acquisition unit monitors variations of secondary magnetic fields to produce readings for each of the ECA probe sensors which are typically representative of the flaw size. A complete scan of the dovetail is typically achieved by moving the probe along the entire dovetail length while acquiring ECA readings and position information in order to construct a cscan image representative of the actual condition of whole inspected surface of the dovetail.
The reliability and accuracy of the measurement depend on the ECA probe being properly positioned in the dovetail in order to maintain, for all inspections, a relatively constant sensor to part distance (Lift-off). Another important aspect is the ability to track the position of the probe in the dovetail slot in order to accurately reconstruct the cscan image.
Past solutions to produce a reliable cscan image from an ECA scan of a dovetail slot were not adapted for the deployment of a versatile, portable and reliable product. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,800,364 describes a solution where the probe manipulator itself provides a precise position reference to the probe using the adjacent dovetail slots as reference. Such a solution requires an important redesign for every dovetail design and in thus not adapted for a product with large deployment.
Other solutions provided patents such as U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,315,234, 5,442,286, 6,339,326, 6,545,467, 6,563,307 and 6,812,697 use conformable probe supports and some actuation mechanism to expand the probes and force the sensors onto the dovetail inner surfaces. In this case, one drawback is the frequent probe damage that occurs when the ECA probe moves near part edges which causes excessive strain on the probe. Another drawback is the need for automation in order to expand the probes in the dovetail slot, which typically requires the use of a robot to conduct the inspection.
Therefore there is an unmet need for a solution to provide a portable and reliable ECA probe and manipulator system easily adaptable to multiple turbine disk designs.

Assembly with a universal manipulator for inspecting dovetail of different sizes


An optical device includes a substrate having a through hole formed therein, and an optical element mounted on the substrate with its optical section being placed to face the through hole, and a light transmissive member disposed at the through hole. Light transmissive under-fill material is provided between the substrate and the optical element and between the light transmissive member and the optical element.

1. Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to optical devices and methods for manufacturing the same, and electronic apparatuses using the same.
2. Prior Art
An optical device in which an optical element such as a solid imaging element is sealed therein is known. The optical element is mounted on a circuit substrate, and a light receiving section or a light emitting section of the optical element is disposed to face a through hole that is formed in the circuit substrate. Also, a cover glass is adhered to the circuit substrate in a manner to cover the through hole. In accordance with the conventional optical device, since a cover glass is adhered to the circuit substrate as described above, this causes a problem in which its thickness becomes large. Furthermore, when a lens is mounted in addition to the cover glass, the thickness of the optical device becomes much greater.
It is an object of the present invention to solve the problems described above, and to provide a thinner optical device and a method for manufacturing the same, and an electronic apparatus including the same.

Optical device and method for manufacturing the same, and electronic apparatus


An image processing apparatus in which an image signal is divided into blocks each comprising a plurality of pixels and a quantization and a variable length encoding are executed so that a code amount of a plurality of blocks lies within a certain range. As a plurality of blocks, the position of the block which is selected at the nth order approaches the periphery of a picture screen with an increase in value of (n).

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus and, more particularly, to an image processing apparatus in which an analog-digital converted image signal is compressed and transmitted through a transmission medium or recording medium and, after that, the data is expanded and is digital-analog converted, and the image signal is generated.
2. Related Background Art
There is considered an image processing apparatus in which an image signal is divided into blocks each comprising a plurality of blocks and the data is orthogonal converted and the orthogonal converted data is quantized and variable length encoded so as to obtain a code amount in a certain range in said plurality of blocks.
As a method of selecting the plurality of blocks in such an image processing apparatus, a method as shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B is considered. FIG. 1A shows a whole image which is divided into (i=1 to n) blocks in the lateral direction and (j=1 to m) blocks in the vertical direction. Further, FIG. 1B shows one of the blocks divided in FIG. 1A and each block is further divided into (k=1 to l) blocks.
In the conventional image processing apparatus, the image signal is divided into blocks which is subjected to the orthogonal conversion as mentioned above. FIG. 2 shows a method of selecting (x) blocks in the case where the number of blocks is equal to x (x is an integer times as large as n) and they are x-block fixed length encoded.
In this instance, the value of (i) in FIG. 1A is sequentially increased from 1 to (n) and the value of (j) is properly changed within an x-block fixed length encoding. The value of (k) can be set to either the same value or different value.
For example, FIG. 3A shows a method of selecting every block when x=2n. FIG. 3B shows a method when x=4n. In FIGS. 3A and 3B, (t) indicates a time and the next block when t=1 is selected assumes t=2.
The image processing apparatus is constructed so as to select the block of the x-block fixed length encoding as mentioned above.
In the above conventional image processing apparatus, however, the Xth block in the x blocks which is subjected to the x-block fixed length encoding has a correlation for the horizontal direction of the image.
In the case where an error occurs in the Xth block in the x blocks, the blocks after the Xth block cannot be decoded and there are characteristics such that an error amount increases as the block approaches the end of the x-block fixed length encoding.
From the above description, there is a drawback such that the number of errors which occur gradually increases for the horizontal direction of the image and it becomes visually unsightly.
It is an object of the present invention to make it inconspicuous on a decoded image on a screen even if an error occurs during the image process in consideration of the above problems.
According to an embodiment of the invention, there is provided an image processing apparatus in which an image signal is divided into blocks each comprising a plurality of pixels and a quantization and a variable length encoding are executed so that a code amount of the plurality of blocks lies within a certain range, wherein the position of the block which is selected at the nth order among the plurality of blocks approaches to the periphery of the screen as the value of (n) increases.
Since the image processing apparatus of the embodiment is constructed by the above technical means, when the x-block fixed length encoding is performed, the block near the periphery of the screen is selected as an Xth block with an increase in value of (X). Therefore, even when an error occurs during the image process, the location of the error upon decoding relatively approaches the periphery of the image, so that the error is visually inconspicuous.
According to another embodiment of the invention, there is provided an image processing apparatus in which an image signal is divided into blocks each comprising a plurality of pixels and data of the plurality of divided blocks is orthogonal converted and the orthogonal converted data is quantized and variable length encoded so as to obtain a code amount in a certain range by a plurality of blocks, wherein those plurality of blocks don""t have any correlation in the vertical and horizontal directions of the image.
According to still another embodiment of the invention, when the above blocks are selected, by rotating the position to start the selection, the position of the block which is selected at the nth order in each of the plurality of blocks doesn""t have any correlation in the vertical and horizontal directions of the image.
Since the image processing apparatus of the embodiment is constructed by the above technical means, when the x-block fixed length encoding is performed, by selecting the Xth block so as not to have any correlation for the horizontal direction of the image, even if an error occurs during the image process, the location of the error is not concentrated to a predetermined portion for the horizontal direction of the image upon decoding.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the appended claims and the accompanying drawings.


A sensor system as presented here includes a plurality of digital sensor devices, a random access memory (RAM) architecture coupled to the digital sensor devices, and a controller operatively coupled to the RAM architecture. Each digital sensor device is configured to generate digital sensor output data. The controller controls the reading and writing operations of the RAM architecture. During a data recording operation of the sensor system, each of the digital sensor devices is directly connected, electrically and physically, to the RAM architecture to facilitate synchronous writing of the digital sensor output data.

The prior art is replete with various electronic systems that generate, collect, and process sensor data. In this context, a specific class of sensor devices may provide digital output information that represents a measurable quantity, element, or phenomena. For example, such a sensor may output data which is inherently digital—such as an event counting sensor—or may have analogue-to-digital electronics integrated into the sensor package—such as a modern MEMS microphone. A digital sensor device may be configured to measure any of the following, without limitation: electromagnetic energy; fluid flow rate; sound; radio frequency interference; air pressure; temperature; airspeed; and the like. The small dimensions of modern digital sensors has also enabled for the first time, high spatial resolution measurements using an array of many closely-spaced sensors to generate a spatio-temporal image or mapping of the measured quantity, rather than just sample point measurements.
Applications with a large number of individual sensors will require many wiring connections, and sensor arrays operating at high sample rates will produce a large amount of sensor data. Conventional approaches related to sensor data processing perform signal processing, signal conditioning, and/or data processing on the raw sensor data before the sensor data is stored in memory. Although this approach may be suitable for low speed applications or systems that only have a low number of sensor devices, it may not be viable for other applications. For high channel count array measurements, it is preferred to avoid any signal conditioning or pre-processing which may degrade the inherent dynamic range, inherent signal-to-noise and inherent phase matching of the array sensors, when recording the data. It is also preferred to avoid a large number of wiring connections to external signal processing or signal recording devices, that would make the array non-compact and restrict its use.
Accordingly, it is desirable to have an improved system that can handle large amounts of sensor data in a compact and efficient manner. Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristics will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and the foregoing technical field and background.

Direct data to memory system and related operating methods


There are provided systems and methods for text processing of message data for item query submission. A computing device may receive message data from a messaging application, such as a text message or email. A user may utilize an input device to select or highlight a portion of the message data as text input, and utilize an application plug-in and menu from a service provider to communicate the text input to the service provider. A service provider may determine a query on a preferred merchant platform using the input. An item may be determined using the query and a platform. The service provider may then generate user interface data for the messaging application that causes the text input to output item data for the item within the application. The computing device may navigate to the merchant platform through the item data.

Users may receive electronic messages from other users utilizing a communication device, which may include text and media (e.g., images and videos). Often users share interests in topics in the text, which the receiving user may wish to look up on an online platform. Merchants may provide sales to users through online marketplaces including specific merchant websites, multiple merchant sales platforms, and other types of online resources that may be accessed through a web browser or mobile application. Users may view items available for sale on this platform. However, in order to locate an item for purchase, a user may be required to enter a search query or browse for the item, and locate the specific item. Both processes are time consuming and may deter users from making purchases.
Embodiments of the present disclosure and their advantages are best understood by referring to the detailed description that follows. It should be appreciated that like reference numerals are used to identify like elements illustrated in one or more of the figures, wherein showings therein are for purposes of illustrating embodiments of the present disclosure and not for purposes of limiting the same.

Text processing of message data for item query submission


This invention concerns 2-acyl-4,5,8,8a-tetrahydro-4-oxycyclopropan[c]pyrrol(3,2-e) indole derivatives of Formula I': ##STR1## the compounds of Formula I' are useful as uv light absorber substances, as chemical intermediates and as prodrugs of known spirocyclopropylpyrroloindole CC-1065 analogs. Representative Formula I' compounds have been shown to possess useful ranges of antitumor activity in standard laboratory animal tests.

Antibiotic CC-1065, (7bR,8aS)-7-[[1,6-dihydro 4-hydroxy-5-methoxy-7-[(4,5,8,8a-tetrahydro-7-methyl-4-oxocyclopropa[c ]pyrrolo[3,2-e]indol-2(1H)-yl)carbonyl]benzo[1,2-b:4,3-b']dipyrrol-3(2H)-y l]carbonyl]1,6-dihydro-4-hydroxy-5-methoxy-benzo[1,2-b:4,3-b']dipyrrole-3(2 H)-carboxamide, is disclosed and claimed in L. J. Hanka et al U.S. Pat. No. 4,169,888 together with a process for preparing antibiotic CC-1065 by aerobic fermentation procedures, and recovering antibiotic CO-1065 therefrom.
In The Journal of Antibiotics, 1985, 38, 746, D. G. Martin et al reported that acetic acid adds across the spirocyclopropylcyclohexadienyl (SCPCH) system of CC-1065 to produce the phenolic, acetic acid product (AAP), 7-[[7-[[1-[(acetyloxy)methyl]-l,6-dihydro-5-hydroxy-8-methylbenzo[1,2-b:4, 3-b']dipyrrol-3(2H)-yl]carbonyl]-l,6-dihydro-4-hydroxy-5-methoxybenzo[1,2-b :4,3-b']-dipyrrol-3(2H)-yl]carbonyl]-1,6-dihydro-4-hydroxy-5-methoxy-benzo[ 1,2-b:4,3-b']dipyrrole-3(2H)-carboxamide. AAP was tested in vitro and in vivo and found to be less potent than CC-1065 by a factor of 10.sup.3 to 10.sup.4 depending upon the particular test system and therefore tended to divert attention from adducts of the SCPCH system as useful antitumor agents or as prodrugs to CC-1065 analogs.
In J. Am. Chem. Soc., 103, No. 18, 1981, W. Wierenga published a "Synthesis of the Left-Hand Segment of the Antitumor Agent CC-1065".
EP Application 0 154 445 (published 11.09.85) discloses various analogs of antibiotic CC-1065, including compounds of formula EP-I and EP-II (see General Formula chart of EP 0154 445), wherein R.sub.1 in formula EP-II is CH.sub.3 --, --CH.sub.2 Ph, CH.dbd.CHCH.sub.2 --, --CH.sub.2 SCH.sub.3, --CH.sub.2 OCH.sub.3, --CH.sub.2 OCH.sub.2 CH.sub.2 OCH.sub.3, --CH.sub.2 CCl.sub.3, --CH.sub.2 CH.sub.2 Si(R.sub.2).sub.3, or H, where Ph is phenyl; R is alkyl(C.sub.1 -C.sub.5), phenyl, or H; R.sub.2 ' is C.sub.1 to C.sub.5 -alkyl, phenyl or hydrogen, and is not necessarily the same as R in one compound; R.sub.3 is alkyl(C.sub.1 -C.sub.5), phenyl, or H; and X is C1, Br, or I-, or OSO.sub.2 R.sub.4 O, where R.sub.40 is C.sub.1 to C.sub.5 -alkyl, phenyl, tolyl, bromophenyl, nitrophenyl, or trifluromethyl. The O-protected compounds of formula EP-II are chemically stable and only removable under specific chemical conditions. However, when the compounds of formula EP-II are O-deprotected, they can be cyclized to yield the compounds of EP-I.


An apparatus for providing a uniform application of a functional coating to one or both sides of a moving metal strip includes an enclosed cabinet in which a corona discharge field is established between high voltage electrodes and the strip. The coating liquid and air are separately supplied under pressure to atomizing nozzles within the enclosure. The nozzles create a dense flat spray that is directed into the discharge field at an acute angle relative to the strip. The particles in the spray become charged and are attracted to the grounded strip, while those that are not charged are directed onto the strip by the force of the discharge field. The rate at which the coating liquid is supplied to the nozzles is varied in accordance with the speed of the strip to thereby obtain a uniform coating regardless of variations in strip speed or width.

The present invention relates to the application of liquid coatings to continuously moving objects, and more particularly to the non-contact deposition of functional coatings to a metal strip moving along a horizontal process line.
One type of device for automatically coating a moving metal strip with a fluid such as oil is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,994,618 issued to G. F. Landgraf. The device disclosed in this patent is primarily designed to apply micro-thin films of oil to light gauge container materials. For example, it can be used to apply lubricants on electrolytic tinning lines, chrome lines and recoil lines. The lubricant is applied to the metal strip as it is moving in a vertical direction, which may require a change in direction of the metal but is easily provided for in a line of light gauge material. Typically, in depositing operations in which the Landgraf device is used, the metal strip moves at a speed in the range of 400-2000 feet per minute, and the coating weight of the lubricant is in the range of 0.2-1.2 mg/ft.sup.2 per side.
The Landgraf device has met with considerable success in the field of depositing oil coatings to light gauge metals, and it is desirable to provide an apparatus that is capable of achieving similar results in process lines for heavier and thicker materials, such as in various steel strip treatment and forming applications.
There are a variety of reasons for applying functional types of coatings to steel strips. One of the most significant of these reasons is for corrosion protection. Surface oxidation or corrosion that occurs prior to the time the strip product reaches its final destination, or while it is in storage for fabrication, can result in substantial losses, and it is therefore necessary to protect against such diminishing of the product quality.
Furthermore, during high production metal forming and fabrication operations, such as cold rolling, surface lubrication of the metal is critical. The preciseness of the operations requires close control of the amount and type of lubricant that is applied. For example, too small an amount of lubricant can result in excessive friction wear on tools and production equipment. Conversely, too much lubricant has an adverse effect on the metal forming equipment, such as clogging dies and tools. It also inhibits subsequent chemical cleaning of the metal strip, and makes handling of the product difficult.
In addition, it is desirable to apply functional coatings to steel strips for surface pretreatment and cosmetic reasons.
In the past, coatings have been typically applied to steel strips by means of a distribution pipe disposed over the moving strip. The pipe has holes in it which allow the coating material to drip onto the strip, and cloth wiper rolls are used to meter the amount of oil that remains on the strip. Mechanical spray nozzles have also been used to apply coatings. Disadvantages associated with these techniques include the waste of coating material that results, the environmental and safety problems that are generated when excess coating material is released into the working environment, and the unpredictability and nonuniformity of the coating that is applied. In addition, they may be limited to applying the coating to one side of the strip, and they may not be adjustable for varying strip widths.
An alternative to the use of spray or drip type coating has been to apply the liquid by an electrostatic process in which the material to be applied is electrically charged. However, most electrostatic coaters that are used in continuous process lines are adapted to apply only non-conductive types of coatings, such as petroleum based oils and organic lubricants. Recently, a number of conductive materials having preferred functional characteristics have been developed. For example, aqueous based vapor phase rust inhibitors have become popular, and it is desirable to apply these through an electrostatic process.
The previously described Landgraf device, while well suited to the non-contact coating of light metals, is not readily applicable to the steel strip process. For example, it is most desirable to provide a strip coating device in a horizontal section of the steel process line, whereas the Landgraf device is designed for operation in a vertical pass section. It is not generally desirable to change the direction of heavy gauge steel strip, as opposed to light gauge metals. Furthermore, and perhaps more significantly, the typical coat weights that are required in steel processing lines (e.g. 50-400 mg/ft.sup.2 per side) are substantially greater than those encountered in light gauge metal processing. The uniform application of such coat weights at line speeds that can vary between 50-5000 ft/min pose a requirement for a different type of fluid application system than that used in light gauge systems. In other words, it is not simply a matter of increasing the operating parameters of the system to obtain the desired coat weights and still achieve the desired objects.

Apparatus for providing a uniform coating on a continuous horizontally moving metal strip