A high productivity catalyst for bisphenol-A has been discovered which comprises strongly acidic cation-exchange resin spheres produced from a polystyrene/divinylbenzene (PS/DVB) copolymer sulfonated under conditions to introduce sulfone cross-linking. Surprisingly, the sulfone cross-linking improves the resistance to deformation but does not have a negative effect on the activity and selectivity of the catalyst in bisphenol-A production.

The present invention relates to a catalyst composition for significantly increasing the productivity of fixed-bed reactors in the production of bisphenol-A.
Industrial production of bisphenol-A (BPA) currently involves a process whereby a mixture of excess phenol and acetone is passed through a cylindrical fixed-bed reactor filled with divinyl benzene cross-linked sulfonated polystyrene ion exchange resin catalyst. The direction of flow of the mixture may be either downwards or upwards as required by reactor design. Each feed direction has its own advantages and disadvantages. Typically, the flow of the viscous reactant mixture is down-flow. Where the feed directions is downwards, the pressure drop through the sulfonic acid resin catalyst bed is a major problem limiting the throughput of reactants and products, which ultimately limits the production of bisphenol-A. The pressure drop is caused by a variety of factors, including the viscosity and density of both reactants and products, particle size and particle size distribution of catalyst and the compressibility of the catalyst. The compressibility of the sulfonic acid catalyst appears to be an important factor relating to the pressure drop level. The spherical catalyst particles can be compressed/deformed under pressure into a variety of non-spherical or lenticular shapes and a loss in bed void fraction, leading to an exponential reduction in throughput. Moreover, compression of the catalyst bed under pressure can promote the formation of flow channels so that flow through the reactor is not uniform. As a result, the quantity of catalyst used as a whole may not be fully utilized.
An optimized catalyst system for the synthesis of bisphenol-A has been disclosed by Berg et. al. in U.S. Pat. No. 5,395,857. Berg et. al. disclose sulfonic acid catalyst beds for increasing the volume/time yield of fixed-bed reactors in the production of bisphenol-A from phenol and acetone in cylindrical fixed-bed reactors filled with gel-form or macroporous sulfonic acid ion exchange resin catalysts, characterized in that the lower layer of the bed consists of a resin having a low degree of cross-linking (=2%) and makes up 75 to 85% by volume of the bed as a whole and the upper layer of the bed, which makes up 15 to 25% by volume, consisting either of a resin having a higher degree of cross-linking (=2% to =4%), in which 1 to 25 mole % of the sulfonic acid groups may be covered with species containing alkyl-SH units (ionic fixing) or of a resin having a low degree of cross-linking (=2%), in which 1 to 25 mole % of the sulfonic acid groups are covered with species containing alkyl-SH units (ionic fixing).
Yet another catalyst system for the synthesis of bisphenol-A has been disclosed by Kissinger et al. in the International Publication No. WO 00/50372A1. Kissinger et al. discloses an improved process for the production of bisphenol-A employing a catalytic ion exchange resin bed in which the lower portion of the bed is filled with a resin which has a higher degree of crosslinking than the upper layer and the upper portion of the bed is filled with an unmodified resin having a low degree of crosslinking or a resin having a low degree of crosslinking in which 1 to 35 mol % of the sulfonic acid groups are covered with species containing alkyl-SH groups by ionic fixing.
A reactor system for bisphenol-A is also disclosed in International Publication No. WO 97/34688 in which the reactor is operated in an upflow mode with a fixed bed catalyst and randomly distributed reactor packing, employing lightly cross-linked ion exchange resin catalysts, typically containing no greater than 2 to 4% divinylbenzene cross-linking.
It is preferred that in both reactor systems, the catalysts are sulfonated aromatic resins comprising cross-linked polymers, typically polystyrene/divinyl benzene (PS/DVB) copolymers, having a plurality of pendant sulfonic acid groups. In both types of reactor systems, when the catalyst contains 1 to 3% cross-linking, catalyst compression and the resulting pressure drop becomes more limiting than the acetone reaction rate. The compressibility of the catalyst particles can be decreased by increasing the amount of cross-linking material (divinyl benzene) used in the copolymerization. However, as taught in U.S. Pat. No. 5,395,857, increasing the amount of cross-linking material decreases the reactivity and selectivity of the bisphenol-A catalyst to produce BPA.
A process has been discovered in which the pressure drop in the industrial production of bisphenol-A from acetone and phenol in a cylindrical fixed-bed reactor filled with sulfonic acid ion exchange resin catalysts in large quantities can be significantly reduced. According to the present invention, catalyst compressibility can be substantially decreased by cross-linking the PS/DVB copolymer with sulfone bridges during the sulfonation process. Surprisingly, the sulfone cross-linking does not have a negative effect on the activity and selectivity of the catalyst in bisphenol-A production. The sulfonation process used to introduce sulfone cross-linking has also been found to introduce additional sulfonic acid groups so that the average styrene aromatic ring contains more than one sulfonic acid group. The catalysts used in the process of the present invention provide an unexpected combination of desired performance properties in the synthesis of bisphenol A: reactivity, selectivity, compressibility and hydraulic characteristics.
According to present invention, a high productivity catalyst for bisphenol-A has been discovered which comprises strongly acidic cation-exchange resin spheres produced from a polystyrene/divinylbenzene (PS/DVB) copolymer sulfonated under conditions to introduce sulfone cross-linking. Surprisingly, the sulfone cross-linking improves the resistance to deformation but does not have a negative effect on the activity and selectivity of the catalyst in bisphenol-A production. The catalysts used in the process of the present invention provide an unexpected combination of desired performance properties in the synthesis of bisphenol A: reactivity, selectivity, compressibility and hydraulic
The bisphenol-A catalyst of the present invention is characterized in that the spherical catalyst particles substantially resist deformation under pressure as compared to currently known bisphenol-A catalysts and posses higher reactivity as compared to currently known bisphenol-A catalysts.
According to present invention, a high productivity catalyst for bisphenol-A has been discovered which comprises strongly acidic cation-exchange resin spheres produced from a polystyrene/divinyl benzene (PS/DVB) copolymer sulfonated under conditions to introduce sulfone cross-linking.
The spherical bisphenol-A catalyst particles were formed by suspending a mixture of styrene and divinylbenzene monomers and initiators in an aqueous liquid, and subsequently polymerizing the mixture to produce spherical copolymer beads, that when sulfonated to introduce sulfonic acid groups and sulfone crosslinking give a catalyst of surprisingly high reaction rates and low deformation when used to catalyze the conversion of phenol with acetone to bisphenol-A.
The process by which the catalyst is made, comprises suspending a mixture of styrene and divinylbenzene monomers and a free-radical polymerization initiator into an aqueous suspending medium that is agitated to form monomer droplets, heating the droplets to a temperature above the activation temperature of the polymerization initiator until the droplets polymerize, separating the resulting polymer beads from the suspending medium, drying the beads, functionalizing the beads with strongly acidic cation-exchange groups and sulfone cross-links. The process of making such types of ion exchange resin catalysts of uniform particle size without sulfone cross-linking is disclosed by Lundquist in U.S. Pat. No. 5,233,096.
The monounsaturated vinyl aromatic monomers useful in preparing the cross-linked copolymer beads of the present invention include styrene and substituted styrenes such as xcex1-methyl styrene, vinyltoluene, ethyl vinyl benzene, vinyl naphthalene and the like. The polyvinylaromatic monomers include aromatic cross-linking monomers such as divinyl benzene, divinyl toluene, trivinyl benzene, divinyl chloro benzene, diallyl phthalate, divinyl naphthalene, divinyl xylene, divinyl ethyl benzene, trivinyl naphthalene and polyvinyl anthracenes; and aliphatic cross-linking monomers such as di- and polyacrylates and methacrylates exemplified by trimethylolpropane trimethacrylate, ethylene glycol dimethacrylate, ethylene glycol diacrylate, neopentyl glycol dimethacrylate and pentaerythritol tetra- and trimethacrylates, and trivinyl cyclohexane. The cross-linking monomer is preferably present at levels from about 0.1% to about 20 weight percent of the total monomer, and more preferably from about 1% to about 10 weight percent of the total monomer. Preferred cross-linking monomers are aromatic cross-linking monomers, and particularly preferred is divinyl benzene.
The jetting suspension-polymerization process useful for forming the uniform cross-linked copolymer beads of the present invention is exemplified by, but not limited to, the process disclosed by Koestler et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 3,922,255. In that process, a minimal solubility of the monomers in the aqueous suspending medium is important. Solubility can be decreased by adding an electrolyte to the aqueous suspending medium. The jetting process produces monomer droplets in the suspending medium whose average diameter for the droplet population is preferably varied over the range from about 20 xcexcm to about 1 mm, and the resulting copolymer beads may be produced with an average diameter for the bead population which varies over the same range. The jetting suspension-polymerization process produces a droplet size distribution that is narrow, resulting in uniformly sized droplets and uniformly sized copolymer beads. Other processes which form uniformly sized copolymer beads by jetting monomer into an aqueous suspending liquid may be used, as for example that disclosed by Timm et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 4,623,706, which uses a vibrating orifice to jet the monomer into the suspending medium. The suspending medium preferably moves with relation to the jetting orifice or orifices, and the monomer droplets may either by polymerized in the vicinity of the orifices by jetting the monomer into the suspending medium at the polymerization temperature, or they may be polymerized in a different zone of the polymerization apparatus by causing the moving suspending medium to carrying them into a heated polymerization zone. Alternatively, the uniform jetted monomer beads may be encapsulated with stable shells and polymerized as taught by Lange et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 4,427,794.
The polymerized beads may be separated from the suspension medium by gravity, by centrifugal flow, by hydraulic separation or by filtration.
The monomers may be jetted by themselves, or mixed with inert liquids or prepolymers which are dissolved in the monomers or formed by prepolymerization of the monomers, or by a combination of both methods. The preferred jetting rate produces a ratio of suspending medium to monomer of from about 1.5:1 to about 10:1, and more preferably from about 2:1 to about 5:1. The monomer may be jetted into the suspending medium at a temperature about the activation temperature of the free-radical polymerization initiator described below, which will cause polymerization to begin almost immediately, or the medium may be below the activation temperature, but preferably above about 15xc2x0 C., and be heated subsequently, after flowing into a heating zone; this will permit the monomer droplets to stabilize before polymerization begins.
All commonly used stabilizers, especially gelatin, starch, carboxymethylcellulose, polyacrylic acids, polyvinyl alcohol; or water-insoluble inorganic stabilizers in particulate form, such as bentonite, magnesium hydroxide and the like; or combinations of such stabilizers may be used to stabilize the monomer droplets in this or other jetting suspension-polymerization processes.
Free-radical polymerization initiators are preferred to initiate polymerization of the monomer droplets suspended in the suspending medium. Preferred free-radical polymerization initiators are oil-soluble initiators which are dissolved in the monomer, such as benzoyl peroxide, lauroyl peroxide, t-butyl peroctoate, t-butyl peroxy benzoate, t-butyl peroxy pivalate, t-butylperoxy-2-ethylhexanoate, bis(4-t-butyl cyclohexyl) peroxy dicarbonate and the like; and azo compounds such as azo bis(isobutrylonitrile), azo bis(dimethyl valeronitrile) and the like. The polymerization temperature, that is, the temperature at which the suspending medium is held during polymerization of the monomer droplets, and the polymerization initiator are interdependent in that the temperature must be high enough to break the chosen initiator down in to an adequate number of free radicals to initiate and sustain polymerization, that is, it must be above the activation temperature of the initiator. Preferred polymerization temperatures are from about 40xc2x0 C. to about 100xc2x0 C., and more preferably from about 50xc2x0 C. to about 90xc2x0 C., and the free-radical initiator is chosen so that it has an activation temperature below the polymerization temperature.
According to the present invention, spherical particles of the bisphenol-A catalyst were obtained by sulfonating a styrene/divinylbenzene copolymer under conditions to introduce sulfonic acid groups and sulfone cross-linking. Surprisingly, the sulfone cross-linking prevents bead deformation and yet does not have a negative effect on the activity and selectivity of the catalyst in bisphenol-A production. More specifically, the catalyst resins of the present invention involve strong acid, sulfone cross-linked PS/DVB ion exchange resins having a relatively low degree of divinyl benzene cross-linking, from 0.5% to 5.0%. In a preferred embodiment, the invention is directed to uniformly sized beads of a strong acid, sulfone cross-linked PS/DVB ion exchange resin catalyst produced by the cross-linking and functionalization of a spherical PS/DVB copolymer bead of uniform size.
According to the present invention, a novel class of sulfone cross-linked PS/DVB ion exchange resin catalysts having excellent physical stability and high capacity for conversion of phenol and acetone to bisphenol-A. The resins are, preferably of uniform size, avoiding the requirement for later separation of off-size particles. By the method of the invention, PS/DVB copolymers may be both sulfone cross-linked and functionalized simultaneously with the sulfonating reagent mixture to afford catalysts of the present invention. Sulfone cross-linked polystyrene materials and the process to produce such materials are disclosed by Amick in U.S. Pat. No. 4,177,331. The process described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,177,331 produced a sulfone cross-linked linear polystyrene resin that had excellent physical stability and high capacity for ion exchange. A method for producing sulfone cross-linked materials from seeded, cross-linked polystyrene copolymers is disclosed by Harris, et. al. in U.S. Pat. No. 5,616,622. The oxidative stability of seeded cation exchange resins could be increased by the introduction of secondary cross-linking such as sulfone cross-links.
Sulfonation of PS/DVB by the process of the present invention accomplishes not only sulfone cross-linking of the polymer but yields catalysts containing polysulfonation in which the aromatic ring contains more than one sulfonic acid group per ring. Sulfonated cross-linked vinyl benzene polymers containing more than one sulfonic acid group per aromatic nucleus and a process of producing such sulfonated polymers are disclosed by Corte et. al. in U.S. Pat. No. 3,158,583.
It was found that granules or beads of PS/DVB copolymer may be sulfone cross-linked and functionalized with a particular sulfonating reagent mixture in an efficient and controllable manner. The reagents useful by the process of the invention include various combinations of chlorosulfonic acid, sulfur trioxide, sulfuric acid, and boron compound such as boric acid and boron oxide. The combinations of sulfonating reagents and boron compounds most desirable for introducing sulfone cross-linking to cross-linking PS/DVB copolymers are as follows: sulfuric acid/sulfur trioxide, chlorosulfonic acid/sulfur trioxide, chlorosulfonic-sulfur trioxide/boron compound, chlorosulfonic acid/sulfuric acid/boron compound, sulfur-trioxide/sulfuric acid/boron compound.
The sulfonation of aromatic compounds, either monomeric or polymeric, taught heretofore with chlorosulfonic acid or sulfur trioxide inherently lead to the formation of some sulfone linkages It is known that sulfone bridges result from the electrophilic attack of xe2x80x9cpyrosulfonic acidxe2x80x9d intermediates upon unreacted aromatic rings; these intermediates are, in turn, formed by the reaction of a sulfonic acid with SO3 (W. H. C. Ruegeberg, T. W. Sauls, and S. L. Norwood, J. Org. Chem., 20, 455, 1955). We have found that by adjusting the concentration of the sulfuric acid/SO3 mixture, that the number of sulfone bridges can be controlled. It is preferred that sulfuric acid/SO3 mixtures, also known as oleum, having acid concentrations of between 101.0% and 104.5% (20% oleum contains 20% by weight of SO3 in 100% sulfuric acid, for a final acid concentration of 104.5%) be used as the sulfonating agents to introduce both sulfone bridging groups and at least one sulfonic acid group per aromatic nucleus.
The number of sulfone bridges contained in the catalyst of the present invention can be determined by subtracting the millimoles of sulfonic acid groups per gram of dry catalyst, determined by titration of the sulfonic acid groups, from the millimoles of total sulfur determined by elemental analysis. The difference is the millimoles of sulfone bridges per gram of dry catalyst. In theory, if each of the aromatic rings is sulfonated, the low cross-linked cation exchange resin should have a capacity of approximately 5.1 millimoles acid groups per gram of dry resin and an elemental analysis of sulfur of 16.2 weight percent. If a catalyst was found to have a capacity of 5.7 millimoles acid groups per gram of dry catalyst and a sulfur elemental analysis of 19%, then in one gram of dry catalyst 0.6 millimoles of the aromatic rings have two sulfonic acid groups and the catalyst has 0.2 millmoles of sulfone bridging groups. The catalyst contains 0.1 to 1.0 millimole sulfone groups per gram dry catalyst, and has an acid capacity of 4.0 to 6.0 millimole sulfonic acid groups per gram dry catalyst. In a preferred embodiment, the catalyst contains 1 to 6 percent of divinylbenzene crosslinking, more preferably 4.5 to 6 and most preferably 5 to 6 and the catalyst contains 0.1 to 0.8 millimoles of sulfonic acid groups per gram of dry catalyst, more preferably 0.2 to 0.5 millimole of sulfone groups per gram of dry catalyst.
The catalyst according to the present invention for the synthesis of bisphenol A represents an unexpected combination of reactivity, selectivity, compressibility and hydraulic performance for the synthesis of bisphenol-A. A preferred catalyst of the present invention comprises a copolymer of between 1.0 and 10.0% divinylbenzene cross-linking, preferably between 1 and 5% divinylbenzene crosslinking, sulfonated to a dry weight capacity of greater than 4.0 mmol/g and preferably greater than 5.0 mmol/g, possessing 0.1 to 1.0, preferably 0.1 to 0.8 and more preferably 0.2 to 0.5 mmol/g of sulfone bridging groups. In a separate embodiment, the catalyst further comprises 1 to 35 mol % of the sulfonic acid groups containing an ionically attached thiol promoter.
The reactions catalyzed by the sulfone-bridged, strongly acidic cation-exchange resin beads of the present invention are those reactions that are catalyzed by the presence of strong acids, and include, but are not limited to, condensation reactions, for example the condensation of phenols with ketones or aldehydes to produce bisphenols. A preferred reaction which is catalyzed by the strongly acidic ion-exchange resin beads of the present invention is the reaction of phenol with acetone to produce bisphenol A. More preferred is that reaction in which phenol and acetone are combined in a molar ratio of from about 20:1 to about 2:1 and the combination is contacted, at from about 40xc2x0 C. to about 100xc2x0 C., with from about 1 to about 40 weight percent (based on the weight of phenol and acetone) of the strongly acidic ion-exchange resin beads of the present invention, optionally in the presence of from about 0.1 to about 40 weight percent (based on the weight of phenol and acetone) of a mercaptan reaction promoter, preferably ethanethiol, 3-mercaptopropionic acid, aminoethane thiol or dimethyl thiazolidine. Aminothiol promoters such as aminoethane thiol and dimethyl thiazolidine can be ionically attached to the ion exchange resin of the present invention. The attachment of ionic promoters is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,394,089.
Due to the size of fixed bed BPA reactors and the viscosity of the BPA reaction stream, BPA production rates are greatly affected by pressure drop. As such, catalyst factors such as particle size, particle uniformity and compressibility need to be understood in order to produce BPA at acceptable rates and allow for instantaneous production increases to meet market demand. The particle size and uniformity of the BPA catalysts can be tightly controlled as disclosed by Lundquist in U.S. Pat. No. 5,233,096. The compression of the BPA catalyst bead is not well understood but can be tested by measuring the deformation of the catalyst bead under a gradual increase in force. The resulting measurement known as the compression modulus of the catalyst was determined in a phenol swollen state using a Chatillion instrument with the compression modulus being the slope of the line measuring the initial deformation of the bead up to a force of 200 grams/bead.
The use of the strongly acidic cation exchange resin beads containing sulfone cross-linking for the condensation of phenols with aldehydes or ketones allows for higher production rates of BPA by increasing both catalytic and hydraulic performance. The increased hydraulic performance is achieved by the introduction of sulfone cross-linking that make the bead more resistant to deformation and thus capable of withstanding higher reactor flow rates. Surprisingly, equivalent or increased catalyst activity for the production of bisphenol-A are achieved even at increased cross-linking levels. Without wishing to be bound by theory, it is believed that the resistance to deformation and higher conversion rates result from the unanticipated interaction of the phenol acetone reaction mixture with the sulfone cross-linked polysulfonated resin catalyst structure. The ability to produce more bisphenol product in a given time, which is afforded by a higher reaction rate and flow rate in such processes, is an advantage that is readily apparent to those skilled in the art.


A new and distinct variety of Hybrid Tea rose plant is provided having double flowers of original currant Red color, very even, without the white veins. The seed parent of the new variety resulted from the pollination of the variety MISTER LINCOLN by the variety Meiluminac. The male parent of the new variety was the variety Karl Herbst. The new variety is particularly suited for use in the beautification of parks and gardens.

The object of the present invention is a variety of rose-plant of the Hybrid Tea Class which is distinguished from already known varieties in this class and in this color range by the following features:
very nice erect habit, well organized and balanced plants
double flower of original Currant Red color that doesn't fade
plant that tolerates heat conditions very well
very even color of the petals; without the white veins commonly found in most other red varieties
Because of the above-mentioned characteristics, the present invention responds to the needs of the horticultural industry for all uses and, most particularly for park and garden decoration.
The variety, object of the present invention owes its origin to an artificial pollination made between two parents whose genetic background indicated that offspring of the union would exhibit the desired characteristics.
The rose-plant chosen as female parent (seed-parent) was the product of the pollination of the variety Mister Lincoln by The variety: Meiluminac.
The one chosen as a male parent (pollen) was the variety: Karl Herbst
The operation of artificial pollination thus made is expressed by the following: EQU (Mister Lincoln.times.Meiluminac).times.Karl Herbst
The seeds resulting from the above pollination were sown and small plants were obtained, physically and biologically distinct one from the other.
After eliminating all the deficient or abnormal subjects or those whose characteristics deviated from those which were the object of the research, propagation of the remaining plants was undertaken.
From that point the selective study of the remaining varieties was undertaken. In the course of this study all the varieties were systematically eliminated, except one, the one closest to the desired goal.
This rose-plant produced double flowers of original Currant Red color which did not fade. The plant was also tolerant to heat. The flowers showed a very nice shape, perfect for exhibition, and the petals showed a very even color.
Technical tests (propagation by budding, grafting and cuttage) were then undertaken with the aim of verifying the behavior and the productiveness of the created variety. The results were conclusive and stressed the importance of this variety with a view to its industrial exploitation for all uses and most particularly for park and garden decoration.
The characteristics and properties of the new variety obtained as shown above, are stable and are transmissible by all forms of asexual propagation. The new variety is called:
The Meirypoux variety.


The present invention discloses compositions and a method of improving the pharmacokinetics of pharmaceutical agents (or pharmaceutically acceptable salts, esters, and prodrugs thereof) which are metabolized by cytochrome P450 monoxygenase comprising coadministering ritonavir or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt, ester, and prodrug thereof.

Hepatitis C is a blood-borne disease that infects approximately 150-200 million individuals worldwide. Hepatitis C is a viral disease that is caused by a hepatropic virus, HCV (Hepatitis C Virus). Infection with HCV results in liver inflammation which can ultimately result in cirrhosis and liver cancer. Although many individuals do not exhibit symptoms related to hepatitis C infection, it is the leading cause of liver transplants in the United States.
Although science was aware of the hepatitis A and B viruses for decades, it was not until the late 1980s that discovery of hepatitis C virus was published for the medical and scientific communities. The discovery confirmed that most post-transfusion hepatitis cases were not due to hepatitis A and B viruses, but instead were due to the newly discovered hepatitis C virus. With the discovery of the hepatitis C virus, the need arose for methods to treat the virus and to understand the urstructural and replication process performed by the virus.
HCV is a small, enveloped, single stranded, positive sense RNA virus in the family Flaviviridae. HCV mainly replicates within hepatocytes. HCV particles bind to receptors on the surfaces of hepatocytes and subsequently enter the cells. The RNA genome encodes a single stranded polypeptide comprising of approximately 3000 amino acids.
Therapies for Hepatitis C Virus (HCV)
Several different types of HCV therapies exist. One of the most common therapies involves using the combination of alpha-interferon and ribavirin. Even with this type of therapy many patients do not exhibit a reduction in viral activity. Accordingly, there is a clear long-felt and unresolved need to develop new effective therapeutics in the treatment of HCV infection.
The inventors have herein developed compositions and methods of improving the pharmacokinetics of HCV pharmaceutical agents (or pharmaceutically acceptable salts, esters, and prodrugs thereof) which are metabolized by cytochrome P450 monoxygenase comprising coadministering ritonavir or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt, ester, and prodrug thereof with such HCV compounds.

Compositions and methods of use of ritonavir for treating HCV


A collapsible chair with a table is disclosed. In the collapsible chair, two collapsible chair units are arranged abreast on the chair with a gap being defined between them. A rear vertical guide column extends in parallel to the inside back support column of each collapsible chair unit. The two collapsible chair units are coupled to each other into the collapsible single body by two auxiliary connectors, which are individually mounted to the top portion of both the inside back support column and an associated vertical guide column of each collapsible chair unit. A movable guide member is received in each guide column in a way such that the guide member is movable in a vertical direction under the guide of the guide column. The table is movably coupled to the outside end of the guide members of the two collapsible chair units, thus being rotatable around the two guide members forwardly or backwardly. Two front vertical columns are individually provided at the inside corner of the front portion of each collapsible chair unit, thus supporting the front portion of the table in a horizontal position. An extension is provided at each auxiliary connector so as to allow the two auxiliary connectors to have the same height as that of the two front vertical columns. The two extensions thus support the rear portion of the table in the horizontal position.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, in general, to a collapsible chair with a table and, more particularly, to a collapsible chair having a table and designed to be selectively used as a chair, a leisure table with chairs, or an indoor simple table with chairs, thereby being conveniently used for a variety of purposes, the collapsible chair, with the table, also being designed to be convenient to users while carrying or storing it, and requiring only a small area while being used or stored.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A collapsible chair, comprising a plurality of legs, or front, rear, left and right legs, has been proposed and used. In the conventional collapsible chair, the front, rear, left, or right legs cross each other into a front, rear, left or right X-shaped collapsible leg frame. The above leg frames are also coupled to each other at their upper and lower ends using a plurality of front and rear supports and a plurality of front and rear connectors, thus forming a collapsible chair framework. Two back support columns are mounted to the two rear support and the two rear connectors provided at the rear leg frame and supports a back support member. In addition, a seat member is supported by the four connectors of the collapsible framework.
While designing such conventional collapsible chairs, the most important objective is to allow a chair to be easily foldable, thereby being easily and conveniently carried by users and being effectively stored within a limited area. Several types of collapsible chairs, individually having a structure capable of accomplishing the above-mentioned objective, have been proposed and used.
However, such conventional collapsible chairs are problematic in that they are designed to be only used as collapsible and portable chairs, thus being limited in their use.
When it is necessary to use such a collapsible chair with a table, a user has to purchase and carry a separate table in addition to the collapsible chair. This is inconvenient to the user while carrying or storing the table along with the collapsible chair.
In an effort to overcome such a problem experienced in the conventional collapsible chairs, a collapsible leisure table, made of a plastic material and integrated with a plurality of collapsible plastic chairs, has been proposed and somewhat widely used. However, such a collapsible leisure table is problematic in that it is very difficult to carry the table because the table is very heavy and has a large size and volume even when the table is fully collapsed. Due to the large size and volume of the fully collapsed table, it is also difficult to store the table within a limited area. Another problem, experienced in the above collapsible leisure table, resides in that the table is somewhat expensive, thus failing to be generally used.


An example apparatus is provided and may comprise a housing, an electronic blade system, and a plurality of airflow management components. The housing may have an upper chamber and a lower chamber. The electronic blade system may be located between the upper chamber and the lower chamber. The plurality of airflow management components may be configured to be removable and to manage airflow in the housing.

A blade server is a stripped-down server computer with a modular design optimized to minimize the use of physical space and energy. Blade servers have many components removed to save space, minimize power consumption, and account for other considerations. A blade enclosure, which can hold multiple blade servers, provides services such as power, cooling, networking, various interconnects and management. Together, blades and the blade enclosure form a blade system.
In some situations, these blade systems could be installed in both the front end and rear end of an equipment rack. In these situations, cooling air typically enters the front of the rack, possibly from a cold aisle, and exits through the rear of the rack, possibly into a hot aisle. The blade system may manage the various airflow paths through the rack to insure the cooling air is drawn from (and exhausted to) the appropriate volumes. One example of a blade system is the Advanced Telecommunications Computing Architecture (AdvancedTCA or ATCA) standard for modular electronic packaging from the PCI Industrial Computer Manufacturer's Group (PCIMG).

Apparatus, system, and method for configuring a system of electronic chassis


The invention relates to a moisture indicator which includes iodide, copper, and starch.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to humidity indicators used for indicating the relative humidity in an environment, and more particularly, to copper humidity indicators which change color at different relative humidities in an environment.
2. Description of Related Art
A variety of humidity indicators exist today. One type of humidity indicator is a humidity indicating card, which is used for many purposes including, determining the relative humidity in shipping containers and packages, such as packaged electronics and telecommunication products. The humidity indicator cards are typically impregnated with a humidity sensitive composition and dried. Most humidity indicating cards made today use cobalt chloride as the indicator, which changes color based on the level of hydration of the cobalt chloride. Cobalt chloride can change from a blue color, when it has one water of hydration, to a pink color when it has six waters of hydration. That is, the blue color becomes increasingly red with each additional water of hydration. Therefore, one can determine the approximate humidity based on the color present on the card. An array of humidity indication areas can be included on the card, wherein increasing humidity levels are required to change different areas of indication on the card from blue to pink.
A problem with humidity indicators using cobalt chloride is that the cobalt chloride is a known irritant and a toxin. Further, the use of cobalt chloride is subject to regulation when used with food and pharmaceutical products. Thus, cobalt chloride humidity indicators have limited applications and are not useful in the food and pharmaceutical industries.
Some types of humidity indicator cards have impregnated halides or other salts capable of releasing Cu2+ ions. International Publication No. WO 02/44712 discloses a humidity indicator paper impregnated with copper salts, a synergistic salt, and a dye.
Other types of humidity indicators include the use of humidity indicating gels. In US Patent Application Publication No. 2004/0051081 Moreton discloses a silica gel material impregnated with copper and bromide to provide a relative humidity indicator. U.S. Pat. No. 6,655,315 Gattiglia discloses a silica gel impregnated with copper chloride and hygroscopic salts, wherein the silica gel changes color to indicate the presence of moisture.
There remains a need for an improved humidity indicator that provides easily detectible color changes and that is non-toxic.

Copper, starch and iodide moisture indicator


A manufacturing method of laser processed parts in which at least a pressure-sensitive adhesive layer is provided on a base material as a pressure-sensitive adhesive sheet for laser processing, using a material having specified physical properties. This method comprises adhering the pressure-sensitive adhesive sheet for laser processing to the laser beam exit side of the work by way of the pressure-sensitive adhesive layer, processing the work by irradiating the work with a laser beam of within 2 times of the irradiation intensity for forming a through-hole in the work, at higher than the irradiation intensity of threshold for inducing ablation of the work, and peeling the pressure-sensitive adhesive sheet for laser processing from the work after the machining. Therefore, contamination of the work surface by decomposition products can be effectively suppressed, and laser processed parts can be manufactured easily and at high production efficiency.

As the electronic and electric appliances are reduced in size recently, component parts are also reduced in size and advanced in definition, and high definition and high precision are demanded in machining of parts at machining precision of +/−50 μm or less. In the conventional press processing or blanking process, the precision is about +/−100 μm at most, and such demand cannot be satisfied. Drilling of materials is also demanded to conform to high definition and high precision, and drilling by using conventional drill or die cannot meet the needs.
To solve the problems, lately, machining of materials by using laser beam is attracting wide attention. In particular, the machining method by ultraviolet absorption ablation of laser beam of small heat damage and high definition is noticed as precise outline processing method or fine drilling method.
By using laser beam, however, carbon deposits and other decomposition matter generated from the work, pressure-sensitive adhesive tape or absorption plate during laser processing may stick to the surface of the work. It hence requires an aftertreatment called desmearing to remove the decomposition products. For example, in the case of wet desmearing by using aqueous solution of potassium permanganate, the environmental pollution is increased due to treatment of the waste liquid.
Sticking strength of decomposition products increases in proportion to the laser beam power. Accordingly, in the case of laser processing at high laser power, it is hard to remove decomposition products in aftertreatment.
On the other hand, if a specified region of the work is cut off at once, the work (cut piece) drops off immediately after processing, and handling is difficult. To avoid this, part of the specified region is left over without being processed.
As a specific example of laser processing, a dicing method of semiconductor wafer is disclosed, for example, Japanese Laid-open Patent No. 2002-343747. In this method, the work is supported and fixed on a dicing sheet, and the work is diced by laser beam. As described in this patent reference 1, the dicing sheet comprises a base material including a support sheet, and a pressure-sensitive adhesive layer disposed on one side of the base material. Further, the pressure-sensitive adhesive layer can be cut off by laser beam, while the support sheet cannot be cut off by laser beam.
When using the dicing sheet disclosed in this publication, the pressure-sensitive adhesive layer is thermally cut off by fundamental wave (wavelength 1064 nm) of YAG laser being used, or laser beam of ruby laser (wavelength 694 nm). Accordingly, a decomposition product of the pressure-sensitive adhesive layer may invade into the interface of the dicing sheet and the work, and may stick firmly to the interface area. As a result, it becomes difficult to peel off the dicing sheet from the work after application of laser processing. It is hence hard to remove the deposit completely by aftertreatment. Further, since the process includes a thermal process, edge portions are exposed to thermal damages. As a result, the processing precision is lowered and the reliability also declines.
A laser processing method combining fundamental wave of YAG laser and water microjet has been also proposed (Japanese Laid-open Patent No. 2003-34780). As disclosed in this publication, the pressure-sensitive adhesive tape for laser dicing has a non-radiation curing type pressure-sensitive adhesive layer and a radiation curing type pressure-sensitive adhesive formed on one side of the base material, and the base material can pass jet water stream of water jet, and the non-radiation curing type pressure-sensitive adhesive layer is provided between the base material and the radiation curing type pressure-sensitive adhesive layer.
When this pressure-sensitive adhesive tape is combined with the water microjet and laser, and used in a dicing method of semiconductor wafer, thermal damage of pressure-sensitive adhesive tape is lessened by the cooling effect of the water jet. Accordingly, it is expected to suppress melting or decomposition of pressure-sensitive adhesive layer or base material by heat of laser irradiation. However, when the pressure-sensitive adhesive tape is used in the dicing method of semiconductor by using only the laser, the pressure-sensitive adhesive layer or base material may be melted by the heat of laser irradiation, and the decomposition products of pressure-sensitive adhesive layer or base material may invade into the interface of the pressure-sensitive adhesive sheet and semiconductor wafer, and may stick firmly to the interface area, and similar problems as mentioned above may occur. When using water microjet, there is a limit in reducing the cutting width in dicing. This is because the cutting width is limited by the diameter of the water jet. Hence, the manufacturing efficiency of semiconductor chips is lowered.

Manufacturing method of laser processed parts, and pressure-sensitive adhesive sheet for laser processing used for the same


A multi-pulse speech coding method and apparatus capable of encoding speech at a bit rate of 16 kbps or less. The method determines the location and amplitude of a pulse by searching through all of the samples of a criterion function, modifying all of the samples of the criterion function, and them repeating the pulse search. After the predetermined number of pulses have been determined, the method modifies the amplitude of the determined pulse, modifies the criterion function at the location where the pulses are set, and repeats such pulse amplitude modification. The method is, therefore, capable of modifying a pulse amplitude by using only a minimum amount of computation. As compared to the amount of computerization required by a method of the kind which modifies pulse amplitude in a pulse search loop.

The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for low bit rate speech signal coding.
Searching an excitation sequence of a speech signal at short time intervals is a method known in the art which is capable of coding a speech signal at a transmission rate of 10 kilobits per second (kbps) or less, provided that an error in the signal reproduced by using the sequence relative to an input signal is minimal. For example, an A-b-S (Analysis-by-Synthesis) method (prior art 1) proposed by B. S. Atal at Bell Telephone Laboratories of the United States is worth notice in that the excitation sequence is represented by a plurality of pulses so as to provide the amplitudes and the phases on the coder side at short time intervals. For details of such a method, a reference may be made to "A NEW MODEL OF LPC EXCITATION FOR PRODUCING NATURAL-SOUNDING SPEECH AT LOW BIT RATES," ICASSP, pp. 614-617, 1982 (reference 1). However, a problem with the prior art 1 is that the A-b-S method used to determine the pulse sequence needs a prohibitive amount of calculation. Another prior art approach (prior art 2) for determining a pulse sequence and which is elaborated to decrease the calculation amount is described by T. Araseki, K. Osawa, S. Ono and K. Ochiai in "MULTI-PULSE EXCITED SPEECH CODER BASED ON MAXIMUM CROSSCORRELATION SPEECH ALGORITHM," IEEE Global Telecommunications Conference, 23.3, Dec. 1987 (reference 2). Various pulse search algorithms (prior art 3) of the type using correlation functions have been proposed by K. Ozawa, S. Ono and T. Araseki in "A Study on Pulse Search Algorithms for Multipulse Excited Speech Coder Realization," IEEE Journal on Selected Areas in Communications, Vol. SAC-4, No. 1, Jan. 1986 (Reference 3). In accordance with the prior art 3, sound is reproducible with high quality for transmission rates of 8 to 16 kbps.
The prior art method which uses correlation functions may be outlined as follows. The excitation sequence comprising K pieces of pulse sequence within a frame is expressed as: ##EQU1## where .delta. (.multidot.) is .delta. of Kronecker, N is the frame length, and g.sub.k is the pulse amplitude at a location m.sub.k.
LPC (Linear Predictive Coding) parameters for a synthesis filter are determined from the covariance of speech signal X (n) constructed into a frame. The synthesis filter characteristic H (z) is given, in the Z-transform notation, by: ##EQU2## where a.sub.i are filter coefficients for the LPC synthesis filter, and P is the filter order.
Let h (n) be the impulse response of the synthesis filter. Then, the reproduced signal Y (n) obtained by inputting V (n) to the synthesis filter can be written as: ##EQU3## where * is representative of convolutional integration.
The weighted mean squared error between the input speech signal X (n) and the reproduced signal Y (n) within one frame is given by: ##EQU4## where W (n) is the weighting function. The weighting function W (n) is introduced to reduce perceptual distortion in the reproduced speech. According to the audio masking effect, noise tends to be suppressed in a zone where the speech energy is greater. The weighting function is determined based on the audio characteristics. As regards the weighting function, there has been proposed a Z-transform function W (z) which uses a real constant .gamma. and a predictive parameter a.sub.i of the synthesis filter under the condition of 0.ltoreq..gamma..ltoreq.1 (see the reference 1), i.e., ##EQU5## The Eq. (4) may be rewritten as: ##EQU6## where X.sub.w (n) and h.sub.w (n) stand for weighted signals of X (n) and h (n), respectively.
Assuming that k-1 pulses were determined, k-th pulse location m.sub.k is given by setting derivative of the error power E with respect to the k-th amplitude g.sub.k to zero for 1.ltoreq.m.sub.k .ltoreq.N. Hence, there holds an equation: ##EQU7##
From the above Eqs. (6) and (7), it will be seen that the optimum pulse location is given at the point m.sub.k where the absolute value of g.sub.k is maximum. By properly processing the frame edge, the above equations can be further reduced to: ##EQU8## Rhx (m.sub.k) is the crosscorrelation function between the weighted speech X.sub.w (n) and the weighted impulse response h.sub.w (n). Rhh (.vertline.m.sub.k -m.sub.i .vertline.) is the autocorrelation function of the weighted impulse response h.sub.w (n).
Actual pulse search is performed by using error criterion function R (n). In the first stage (k=1), R (n) is the same as the crosscorrelation Rhx (n). The absolute maximum of R (n) is searched for, and the optimum pulse location is determined. The amplitude is determined from the Eq. (8) by using the obtained location m.sub.1. R (m) is modified by subtracting the produced g.sub.k Rhh (n) from R (n). Then, after increasing k, the next pulse search is executed based on maximum crosscorrelation search, until the actual number of pulses exceeds a predetermined one. R (n) in the k-th stage R (n).sup.(k) is represented by: ##EQU9##
As regards the pulse search, there have been proposed four different methods (prior art 3), i.e., a method 2 which, when the k-th pulse has been determined, adjusts its amplitude and the amplitudes of k-1 pulses determined before, a method 2--2 which adjusts the amplitude of the k-th pulse and those of two pulses nearest thereto, a method 2-1 which adjusts the amplitude of the k-th pulse and that of one pulse nearest thereto, and a method 1 which does not perform any amplitude adjustment. The quality of sound reproduction sequentially becomes high in the order of the methods 1, 2--2, 2--2 and 2. However, as regards the calculation amount necessary for pulse search, the methods 2-1, 2--2 and 2 are, respectively, substantially twice, three times and K/2 times greater than the method 1 and, therefore, impractical.


To enable detection of an overlying object distinctively even if a stationary object is overlaid with another stationary object or a moving object. A data processing device includes a first unit which detects an object area in a plurality of time-series continuous input images, a second unit which detects a stationary area in the object area from the plurality of continuous input images, a third unit which stores information of the stationary area as time-series background information, and a fourth unit which compares the time-series background information with the object area to thereby detect each object included in the object area.

This kind of object area detection device and the like are used for distinctively detecting an object overlying a stationary object. Related art thereof will be described below.
A first example of the related art is disclosed in Patent Document 1. A mobile object recognition method disclosed in Patent Document 1 uses a template image of a preregistered target object or a template image of a target object acquired based on an aspect that an appearing position or an appearing time of the object is noted by a method, to thereby follow the object by means of pattern matching. Thereby, even if the object overlies, the overlying object is distinguished by detecting the position of the object.
A second example of the related art is disclosed in Patent Document 2. A road object monitoring device disclosed in Patent Document 2 uses a reference image not including an object as a background image, and generates a background differential image from a difference between the background image and an input image (time t) (background difference method). The device also generates continuous differential images from a difference between an input image at time t and an input image at time (t−1). The device binarizes both differential images, detects a mobile object from their logical AND, and detects a stationary object from exclusive OR, to thereby distinguish an overlying object.    Patent Document 1: Japan Unexamined Patent Publication 6-030417 (FIG. 20, etc)    Patent Document 2: Japan Unexamined Patent Publication 6-180749 (FIG. 1, etc)

Object area detection system, device, method, and program for detecting an object


A gear ratio control device includes a controller configured to control gear ratio in a vehicle. The controller is configured to adjust an eccentricity of first supporting points of the eccentric discs so that, in the event of starting a power source in a state in which the power source is stopped and the vehicle is traveling, the gear ratio at a continuously variable transmission is at a target value, in parallel with performing start control of the power source.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a gear ratio control device, a method for controlling gear ratio, and a vehicle.
2. Discussion of the Background
As described in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication (Translation of PCT Application) No. 2005-502543, there is known, as a conventional automobile drive system, a hybrid type drive system configured such that an engine and transmission and motor generator are combined, with a drive shaft of the transmission and a driven shaft are connected by an eccentric member driving device provided to the drive shaft and a one-way clutch provided to the driven shaft, so that output of the engine is supplied to the drive shaft of the transmission. Also, the motor generator is selectively connectable to the input side of the transmission or the output side of the one-way clutch via a clutch, or simultaneously connectable to the input side of the transmission and the output side of the one-way clutch.
With this drive system, engine driving using just the driving force of the engine, EV (electric vehicle) driving using just the driving force of the motor generator, and parallel driving using both the driving force of the engine and the driving force of the motor generator, can be performed. Note that the engine can be started with the motor generator.
The transmission used with this drive system is a continuously variable transmission called IVT (Infinity Variable Transmission) of a type which converts rotational motion of a drive shaft into oscillating motion, and further converts the oscillating motion into rotational motion which is output from a driven shaft. With transmissions of this type, the gear ratio can be changed nonstop without using a clutch, and the maximum value of the gear ratio can be set to infinity. Note that with this transmission, the number of output revolutions when the gear ratio is set to infinity is zero.
FIG. 6 is a side cross-sectional view of the configuration of a portion of a continuously variable transmission called an IVT, viewed from the axial direction. The continuously variable transmission in FIG. 6 includes an input shaft 101, which rotates on an input center axial line O1 under rotational force from a power source such as an internal combustion engine or the like, an eccentric disc 104 integrally rotating with the input shaft 101, a linking member 130 to connect the input side and output side, and a one-way clutch 120 provided on the output side.
The eccentric disc 104 is formed circularly with a first support point O3 as the center. The first support points O3 are provided at equal intervals in the circumferential direction of the input shaft 101, the eccentricity r1 of each as to the input center axial line O1 being changeable, so as to rotate around the input center axial line O1 along with the input shaft 101 while maintaining the eccentricity r1. Accordingly, the eccentric disc 104 is provided so as to eccentrically rotate around the input center axial line O1 in accordance with the rotation of the input shaft 101, while each maintaining the eccentricity r1.
As shown in FIG. 6, the eccentric disc 104 is configured of an outer circumference side disc 105, and an inner circumference side disc 108 which is integrally formed with the input shaft 101. The inner circumference side disc 108 is formed as a thick disc, with the center thereof displaced by a certain eccentric distance as to the input center axial line O1 which is the center axial line of the input shaft 101. The outer circumference side disc 105 is formed as a thick disc centered on the first support point O3, and has a first circular hole 106 of which the center is away from the center of the outer circumference side disc 105, i.e., away from the first support point O3. The outer circumference of the inner circumference side disc 108 rotatably fits with the inner circumference of the first circular hole 106.
Also, a second circular hole 109 is formed to the inner circumference side disc 108, being centered on the input center axial line O1 and having a portion in the circumferential direction thereof opened to the outer circumference of the inner circumference side disc 108. A pinion 110 is rotatably contained within the second circular hole 109. The teeth of the pinion 110 mesh with an annular gear 107 formed on the inner circumference of the first circular hole 106 of the outer circumference side disc 105, through the opening on the outer circumference of the second circular hole 109.
This pinion 110 is provided so as to rotate coaxially with the input center axial line O1 which is the center axial line of the input shaft 101. That is to say, the center of rotation of the pinion 110 and the input center axial line O1 which is the center axial line of the input shaft 101 match. The pinion 110 is rotated within the second circular hole 109 by an unshown actuator configured of a DC motor and a reducer. Normally, the pinion 110 is rotated synchronously with the rotation of the input shaft 101, and with the synchronized revolutions as a reference, the pinion 110 is caused to rotate relative to the input shaft 101 by providing the pinion 110 with revolutions greater than or less than the revolutions of the input shaft 101. For example, this is realized by the pinion 110 and output shaft of the actuator being situated so as to be mutually linked, and in the event that there is rotational difference between the rotations of the actuator as to the rotations of the input shaft 101, a reducer (e.g., a planetary gear) is used whereby the relative angle between the input shaft 101 and the pinion 110 changes by an amount equivalent to the rotational difference multiplied by the ratio of reduction. At this time, in the event that the actuator and the input shaft 101 are synchronized with no rotational difference, the eccentricity r1 does not change.
Accordingly, by turning the pinion 110, the annular gear 107 with which the teeth of the pinion 110 mesh, i.e., the outer circumference side disc 105, rotates relative to the inner circumference side disc 108, whereby the distance between the center of the pinion 110 (input center axial line O1) and the center of the outer circumference side disc 105 (first support point O3), i.e., the eccentricity of the eccentric disc 104 changes.
Settings have been made such that, in this case, the center of the outer circumference side disc 105 (first support point O3) can be made to match with the center of the pinion 110 (input center axial line O1) by rotating the pinion 110, and by matching these centers, the eccentricity r1 of the eccentric disc 104 can be set to zero.
Also, the one-way clutch 120 includes an output member (clutch inner) 121 which rotates around an output center axial line O2 which is away from the input center axial line O1, a ring-shaped input member (clutch outer) 122 which oscillates around the output center axial line O2 upon external force in the rotational direction be applied thereupon, multiple rollers (engaging units) 123 inserted between the input member 122 and output member 121 to place the input member 122 and the output member 121 in a mutually locked state or unlocked state. Note that rollers 123 of a number equal as the number of cross-sectional sides of the output member 121 are provided to the one-way clutch.
Transmission of power (torque) from the input member 122 of the one-way clutch 120 to the output member 121 thereof is performed only under the condition that the rotational speed of the of the input member 122 in the positive direction (e.g., the direction indicated by arrow RD1 in FIG. 6) exceeds the rotational speed of the output member 121 in the positive direction. That is to say, only in the event that the rotational speed of the input member 122 exceeds the rotational speed of the output member 121, does meshing (locking) occur via the rollers 123, and the oscillating motion of the input member 122 is converted into rotational motion of the output member 121.
One protruding portion 124 is provided in the circumferential direction on the ring-shaped input member 122, with a second supporting point O4 distanced from the output center axial line O2 being provided to the protruding portion 124. A pin 125 is situated on the second supporting point O4 of each input member 122, and a tip (other end portion) 132 of the linking member 130 is rotatably linked to the input member 122 by the pin 125.
The linking member 130 has a ring portion 131 at one end side, with the inner circumference of a circular opening 133 of the ring portion 131 rotatably fitting the outer circumference of the eccentric disc 104 via a bearing 140.
Accordingly, one end of the linking member 130 is rotatably linked to the outer circumference of the eccentric disc 104, and the other end of the linking member 130 is rotatably linked to the second supporting point O4 provided on the input member 122 of the one-say clutch 120, whereby a four-bar linkage mechanism, with the four joints of input center axial line O1, first support point O3, output center axial line O2, and second supporting point O4 serving as turning points being, is configured as shown in FIG. 7.
FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of the driving force transmission principle of the continuously variable transmission configured as a four-bar linkage mechanism. With this four-bar linkage mechanism, rotational motion provided form the input shaft 101 to the eccentric disc 104 is transmitted to the input member 122 of the one-way clutch 120 as oscillating motion of this input member 122, and the oscillating motion of the input member 122 is converted into rotational motion of the output member 121. When the input shaft 101 rotating the eccentric disc 104 makes one rotation, the input member 122 of the one-way clutch 120 makes one reciprocal oscillation. The oscillation cycle of the input member 122 of the one-way clutch 120 is constant, regardless of the value of the eccentricity r1 of the eccentric disc 104, as shown in FIG. 7. The angular speed ω2 of the input member 122 is determined by the rotational angular speed ω1 of the eccentric disc 104 (input shaft 101) and eccentricity r1.
At this time, the eccentricity r1 of the eccentric disc 104 can be changed by moving, with the actuator, the pinion 110 of a variable gear ratio mechanism 112, configured of the pinion 110, the inner circumference side disc 108 having the second circular hole 109 containing the pinion 110, the outer circumference side disc 105 having the first circular hole 106 for rotatably containing the inner circumference side disc 108 and the actuator, and so forth. By changing the eccentricity r1, the oscillation angle θ2 of the input member 122 of the one-way clutch 120 can be changed, and accordingly, the ratio of revolutions (gear ratio, also written as "ratio i") of the output member 121 as to the rotations of the input shaft 101 can be changed. That is to say, by adjusting the eccentricity r1 of the first support point O3 as to the input center axial line O1, the oscillation angle θ2 of the oscillation motion transmitted from the eccentric disc 104 to the input member 122 of the one-way clutch 120 is changed, whereby the gear ratio at the time of the rotational force input to the input shaft 101 being transmitted to the output member 121 of the one-way clutch 120 as rotational force via the eccentric disc 104 and linking members 130 can be changed.
FIGS. 8A through 9C are explanatory diagrams of a transmission principle with the variable gear ratio mechanism 112 at the continuously variable transmission shown in FIG. 6. As shown in FIGS. 8A through 9C, the eccentricity r1 of the eccentric disc 104 as to the input center axial line O1 (center of rotation of the pinion 110) can be adjusted by rotating the pinion 110 of the variable gear ratio mechanism 112 to rotate the outer circumference side disc 105 as to the inner circumference side disc 108.
For example, as shown in FIGS. 8A and 9A, in the event that the eccentricity r1 of the eccentric disc 104 is set to "great", the oscillation angle θ2 of the input member 122 of the one-way clutch 120 can be made greater, so a small gear ratio i can be realized. Also, as shown in FIGS. 8B and 9B, in the event that the eccentricity r1 of the eccentric disc 104 is set to "medium", the oscillation angle θ2 of the input member 122 of the one-way clutch 120 can be set to "medium", so a medium level gear ratio i can be realized. Further, as shown in FIGS. 8C and 9C, in the event that the eccentricity r1 of the eccentric disc 104 is set to "small", the oscillation angle θ2 of the input member 122 of the one-way clutch 120 can be made smaller, so a great gear ratio i can be realized. Moreover, as shown in FIG. 8D, in the event that the eccentricity r1 of the eccentric disc 104 is set to "zero", the oscillation angle θ2 of the input member 122 of the one-way clutch 120 can be set to "zero", so a gear ratio i of infinity (∞) can be realized.
The oscillation cycle of the input member 122 of the one-way clutch 120 is constant, regardless of the value of the eccentricity r1 of the eccentric disc 104, as shown in FIG. 10. FIG. 6 is a side cross-sectional view and accordingly only illustrates one set of the eccentric disc 104, linking member 130, and one-way clutch 120, but multiple sets of these are arrayed along the input center axial line O1 with an IVT. Note however, that each eccentric disc 104 in each set is formed with a circular form centered on a first support point O3, and the first support points O3 are arrayed at equal intervals in the circumferential direction around the input center axial line O1. Accordingly, the eccentric discs 104 perform eccentric rotation around the input center axial line O1 while maintaining the eccentricity r1, so oscillating motion brought about at the input member 122 of the one-way clutch 120 by the rotational motion of the eccentric discs 104 occurs in order with a certain phase, as shown in FIG. 11.
After driving by one linking member 130 has ended, the rotational speed of the input member 122 drops below the rotational speed of the output member 121, and also the locking by the rollers 123 is disengaged by the driving force of another linking member 130, thus returning to a free state (spinning state). By this being performed by all of the linking members 130 in order, the oscillating motion is converted into one-directional rotational motion. Accordingly, only the force of the input member 122 at a timing at which the rotational speed of the output member 121 is exceeded is transmitted to the output member 121 in order, and rotational force smoothed to being nearly flat is provided to the output member 121.

Gear ratio control device, method for controlling gear ratio, and vehicle


The use of spatial light modulators to steer light beams and/or vary a field of view is disclosed. A dual frequency liquid crystal spatial light modulator can be controlled so as to form a blazed phase grating thereon that effects desire deflection of incident light. A dual frequency liquid crystal spatial light modulator can also be controlled so as to communicate light from a desired field of view to an imaging device or the like.

Light beams are used in a wide variety of different applications, such as communications, imagery, and weaponry. In such applications it is frequently necessary to steer a beam of light and/or adjust a field of view. In some such applications, beam steering and/or field of view adjustment must be performed rapidly.
Beam steering is useful in optical communications, where a modulated light beam originating at a transmitter must be aimed toward a remote receiver. Beam steering is also useful in directed energy weaponry, where a light beam must be aimed toward a distant target. In such instances, it can be desirable to rapidly steer the beam from one receiver or target to another.
Field of view adjustment is useful in photography and telescopy, were a desired field of view is imaged and/or viewed. For example, satellite systems for terrestrial monitoring often have simultaneous demands from a plurality of different users. Thus, it is frequently necessary to view several scenes in rapid succession and/or to alternate rapidly between such scenes.
Mechanical systems for accomplishing beam steering and/or field of view adjustment are well known. Such mechanical systems include those that utilize movable optical components. For example, a mirror may be aimed so as to effect desired beam steering and/or field of view adjustment.
However, as those skilled in the art will appreciate, such mechanical components are subject to wear. Not only can wear contribute to premature failure, but it can also adversely affect the accuracy of a mechanical beam steering/field of view adjustment system prior to failure.
Further, such mechanical systems have strict speed limitations. These speed limitations are due, in part, to the inertia of the moving components. Drive motor capacities, current limitations, and structural constraints also contribute to such speed limitations.
Further, the mechanical components (mirrors, drive motors, gimbals, and linkages) of such systems have substantial weight and volume. The weight and volume of such mechanical systems makes them unsuitable for some applications. For example, launch vehicle payload weight and volume restrictions may limit the use of mechanical systems in space-based applications.
Non-mechanical beam steering/field of view adjustment systems are also known. However, contemporary non-mechanical systems require high voltages and/or expensive technology, thus making them unsuitable for many applications.
In view of the shortcomings of such contemporary systems, there is a need for lightweight, small, non-mechanical beam steering and field of view adjustment systems that respond rapidly and do not require high voltages for operation.

High speed beam steering/field of view adjustment


A lens-fitted photo film unit is pre-loaded with photo film. A photometric circuit measures object brightness of a photographic object, and determines which of high brightness or low brightness the object brightness is according to comparison with a predetermined reference brightness level. A mode selector in a button shape sets a selected one of an AE mode and a night scene mode. A combination of stationary and movable aperture stop plates changes over a photographic light path in a selected one of small, middle and large aperture stop states. The movable aperture stop plates set the light path in the small aperture stop state when the AE mode is determined and also upon detection of the high brightness. The light path is set in the middle aperture stop state when the AE mode is determined and also upon detection of the low brightness. The light path is set in the large aperture stop state when the night scene mode is determined.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a lens-fitted photo film unit having an aperture stop device. More particularly, the present invention relates to a lens-fitted photo film unit having an aperture stop device, in which an aperture stop can be changed over easily and exactly, and which has a simplified structure.
2. Description Related to the Prior Art
There is a lens-fitted photo film unit pre-loaded with unexposed photo film as a single-use camera. A type of the lens-fitted photo film unit accommodates a flash device, which enables an exposure even in a room or a place with weak ambient light, for example at night. The lens-fitted photo film unit has a simple shutter mechanism, simple photo film winding mechanism and the like which can remarkably lower the cost of the lens-fitted photo film unit. The lens-fitted photo film unit is widely used because of easy handling and availability.
The widely used type of the lens-fitted photo film unit has a fixed aperture stop and a fixed shutter speed. There is no control of an exposure in consideration of object brightness. However, the accommodated negative photo film has sufficient latitude, which can result in producing photographic prints with acceptably high image quality in view of ordinarily photographed scene without extreme patterns of object light.
Furthermore, there is a known type of the lens-fitted photo film unit with a mechanism for changing over the aperture stop stepwise according to turning on and off of emission of flash light. Specifically, the aperture stop is changed over to a larger aperture stop state if the flash emission is turned on. Note that an f-number of the optical system is smaller when the larger aperture stop is set. So a background object behind a principal object is photographed at an adequate exposure amount in spite of lack of reach of the flash light to the background object. The principal object is reliably illuminated by the flash light, and as a result, can be reproduced at a suitable density together with the background object.
However, there are numerous conditions in scenes and objects that users wish to photograph. The two-step changeable type of the aperture stop and the sufficient latitude of the photo film cannot be utilized for agreeably taking a photographic object under a certain condition. For example, an underexposure may occur in photographing a scene, which cannot be recorded by any means acceptably in known types of the lens-fitted photo film unit. It may be conceivable to raise the number of the steps at which the aperture stop is changeable. However, there occurs a problem of higher difficulty in the manual operation of a user, because he or she is obliged to determine a suitable one of the plural steps of the aperture stop. Also, it may be conceivable to automate the changes of the aperture stop according to changes in object brightness. However, a selector mechanism for this purpose must be incorporated, and raise the manufacturing cost of the product. This is inconsistent to the easy availability of the lens-fitted photo film unit.
In view of the foregoing problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a lens-fitted photo film unit having an aperture stop device, in which an aperture stop can be changed over easily and exactly, and which has a simplified structure.
In order to achieve the above and other objects and advantages of this invention, a lens-fitted photo film unit pre-loaded with photo film is provided, in which a photometric circuit measures object brightness of a photographic object, and determines which of high brightness and low brightness the object brightness is according to comparison with a predetermined reference brightness level. A mode selector determines a selected one of an AE mode and a night scene mode. An aperture stop device changes over a photographic light path in a selected one of a small aperture stop state, a middle aperture stop state, and a large aperture stop state, the middle aperture stop state having a greater aperture diameter than the small aperture stop state, the large aperture stop state having a greater aperture diameter than the middle aperture stop state, wherein the aperture stop device sets the light path in the small aperture stop state when the AE mode is determined and also when the object brightness is the high brightness, sets the light path in the middle aperture stop state when the AE mode is determined and also when the object brightness is the low brightness, and sets the light path in the large aperture stop state when the night scene mode is determined.
Furthermore, a flash device is driven when the night mode is determined, for applying flash light to the object.
Furthermore, a shutter mechanism is settable at a selected one of high and low shutter speeds, for providing the photo film with an exposure by opening and shutting the light path. A shutter speed changer sets the shutter mechanism at the high shutter speed when the AE mode is determined, and sets the shutter mechanism at the low shutter speed when the night scene mode is determined.
The aperture stop device includes a stationary aperture stop plate, disposed in a stationary manner, having a large aperture stop opening in the light path, for defining the large aperture stop state. At least one movable aperture stop plate has a middle aperture stop opening and a small aperture stop opening, the middle aperture stop opening being smaller than the large aperture stop opening, the small aperture stop opening being smaller than the middle aperture stop opening, wherein the movable aperture stop plate defines the large aperture stop state when set away from the light path, and the middle and small aperture stop openings define respectively the middle and small aperture stop states when set in the light path.
The aperture stop device sets the light path in the small aperture stop state when the night scene mode is determined and also when the object brightness is the high brightness, and sets the light path in the large aperture stop state when the night scene mode is determined and also when the object brightness is the low brightness.
Furthermore, a flash switch is externally operable, for turning on the flash device when rendered conductive, and for turning off the flash device when rendered non-conductive. A lock mechanism is actuated when the night scene mode is determined, for keeping the flash switch conductive by locking, so as to inhibit the flash switch from being non-conductive.
Furthermore, a flash adjusting unit changes over flash light of the flash device at a selected one of at least a high light amount and a low light amount, the high light amount being obtained by full flash emission of the flash device, the low light amount being obtained by restricting flash emission of the flash device according to reflected flash light from the object.
In a preferred embodiment, the aperture stop device includes a stationary aperture stop plate, disposed in a stationary manner, having a large aperture stop opening in the light path, for defining the large aperture stop state. A middle aperture stop plate has a middle aperture stop opening with a smaller aperture diameter than the large aperture stop opening, movable between first and second positions, wherein the middle aperture stop plate, when in the first position, sets the middle aperture stop opening in the light path to define the middle aperture stop state, and when in the second position, is away from the light path. A small aperture stop plate has a small aperture stop opening with a smaller aperture diameter than the middle aperture stop opening, movable between third and fourth positions, wherein the small aperture stop plate, when in the third position, sets the small aperture stop opening in the light path to define the small aperture stop state, and when in the fourth position, is away from the light Path.
The AE mode and the night scene mode are determined by shifting the mode selector in respectively the AE position and the night scene position. The aperture stop device further includes a middle aperture stop transmission mechanism for shifting the middle aperture stop plate to the first position when the mode selector is in the AE position, and for shifting the middle aperture stop plate to the second position when the mode selector is in the night scene position. A small aperture stop setting mechanism shifts the small aperture stop plate to the third position when the object brightness is the high brightness, and shifts the small aperture stop plate to the fourth position when the object brightness is the low brightness.
The small aperture stop setting mechanism includes an actuator.
Furthermore, a flash button portion is movable between on and off positions, for rendering the flash switch conductive when in the on position, and for rendering the flash switch non-conductive when in the off position. The mode selector includes a mode button portion movable on an orbit extending along a moving orbit of the flash button portion, and movable between an AE position representing the AE mode and a night scene position representing the night scene mode. The lock mechanism is a lock projection, disposed to project from the mode button portion, for retaining an end part of the flash button portion near to the off position when the mode button portion is set in the night scene position, to set the flash button portion forcibly in the on position, the flash button portion being inhibited from coming back to the off position.
The flash adjusting unit determines the high light amount when the small aperture stop state is set, determines a middle light amount when the middle aperture stop state is set, and determines the low light amount when the large aperture stop state is set, so as to prevent overexposure in the middle and large aperture stop states.
The flash adjusting unit includes a flash adjustment photo sensor for detecting the reflected flash light from the object. A light amount integration circuit obtains an integrated light amount by integration of a signal of the reflected flash light. A quench circuit is enabled in response to a signal of the low brightness from the photometric circuit, for quenching the flash emission of the flash device when the integrated light amount comes up to a reference value of the middle or low light amount, the quench circuit being disabled in response to a signal of the high brightness from the photometric circuit, to determine the high light amount.
The flash adjusting unit further includes a light amount selector, shifted by changing over of the mode selector, for selecting the low light amount when the night scene mode is determined, and for selecting the middle light amount when the AE mode is determined.
The light amount selector includes a light reducing filter, offset from the light adjustment photo sensor when the night scene-mode is determined, and set in front of the light adjustment photo sensor when the AE mode is determined, for weakening the reflected flash light being detected, to slow a rise in the integrated light amount, the flash emission of the flash device being continued until the flash light increases up to the middle light amount higher than the low light amount.
The mode selector has a movable plate, and the light reducing filter is secured fixedly on the movable plate.
The shutter mechanism includes a shutter opening for defining the light path. A shutter blade is movable pivotally in a shut position and first and second open positions, for shutting the shutter opening when in the shut position, and for opening the shutter opening when in the first and second open positions, the second open position being disposed between the shut position and the first open position. A shutter blade driving unit moves the shutter blade pivotally from the shut position toward the first open position, and then back to the shut position. The shutter speed changer includes a movable stopper, movable between an offset position and a blocking position, set away from the moving path of the shutter blade when in the offset position, for enabling the shutter blade to reach the first open position, to determine the low shutter sped, the movable stopper extending into the moving path of the shutter blade when in the blocking position, for disabling the shutter blade from moving beyond the second open position toward the first open position, to determine the high shutter speed by shortening time for backward movement. A transmission mechanism sets the movable stopper in the offset position when the night scene mode is determined in the mode selector, and sets the movable stopper in the blocking position when the AE mode is determined.

Lens-fitted photo film unit having aperture stop device


A method for reducing the height of a defect associated with an air bearing surface of a hard disk drive slider is disclosed. The technology initially ion mills for a first period of time at a first angle relative to an air bearing surface of a disk drive slider to remove a first portion of the air bearing surface. Then the technology ion mills for a second period of time at a second angle relative to an air bearing surface of the disk drive slider to remove a second portion of the air bearing surface. The second portion of the air bearing surface comprises a defect wherein the ion milling at the second angle reduces the height of the defect with respect to the air bearing surface.

Hard disk drives are used in many electronic devices such as desktop computers, laptop computers, MP3 players, Global Positioning Systems, Personal Digital Assistant devices and other devices for data storage. As a key component of hard disk drive, a magnetic head reads and writes the data from and onto a magnetic disk while the magnetic head flies above the disk at a well defined distance. This distance is also called the fly height in the data storage industry. The fly height is a function many factors, including the patterned shape of the air bearing surface, various levels of cavities on the air bearing surface, the depth of the cavities, and the rail width. The ion milling process is one of the processes in conjunction with the photo lithography process used to create a cavity with a designed depth and shape on an air bearing surface.
Ion milling is a process applied to an object under vacuum whereby a selected area of the object's surface can be bombarded by an energetic beam of ions. This bombardment removes material from the object's surface. Through the process of ion milling, a slider's air bearing surface will be etched into a pre-determined contoured shape.
However, there exist many limitations to the current state of technology with respect to ion milling. For example, these different processing steps of different design considerations create functionality complications in regards to the hard disk drive.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Reducing the height of a defect associated with an air bearing surface


A biosensor for monitoring pressure or other physical parameters at an aneurysm site is mountable to a tubular prosthesis that is expandable between contracted and enlarged conditions. A loop, having the biosensor attached thereto, is securable around the prosthesis. An apparatus is used to deliver the loop to an aneurysm site that includes a catheter having a connector on its distal end for detachably securing the loop thereto. The prosthesis is advanced in a contracted state to the aneurysm, and the apparatus, with the loop connected thereto, is advanced to the aneurysm site. The loop and the prosthesis are positioned coaxially with respect to one another, and the prosthesis is expanded towards its enlarged condition, thereby engaging the loop around the prosthesis and engaging the prosthesis with a wall of the blood vessel at the treatment site.

The present invention relates generally to implantable medical devices for monitoring internal physiological conditions of a patient, and, more particularly, to a biosensor that is attachable to a prosthesis for remotely monitoring physiological conditions of a patient, such as pressure within an aneurysm cavity across which a prosthesis is implanted.
An aneurysm is a weakening of a wall of a blood vessel that generally results in a ballooning of the wall, and, if left untreated, may result in a rupture that may seriously threaten the life of a patient. The weakening of the wall may be due to injury, infection, or other conditions, such as a congenital defect in the arterial connective tissue. Common forms of such an aneurysm include an abdominal aortic aneurysm (xe2x80x9cAAAxe2x80x9d), an iliac aneurysm, a bifurcated aneurysm of the abdominal aorta and one or both of the iliac arteries, and a thoracic aortic aneurysm.
To treat a patient suffering from an aneurysm, a tubular prosthetic graft may be implanted across the aneurysm using an open surgical technique to substantially isolate the weakened region of the vessel from adjacent healthy regions. For example, the vessel wall may be cut longitudinally along the vessel wall, the graft inserted and anastomosed coaxially within the vessel as an internal replacement for the diseased segment, and then the longitudinal cut may be sutured closed. Alternatively, opposite ends of a prosthetic graft may be sutured to a vessel on either side of the weakened region to form a bypass conduit around the diseased segment. Such surgical approaches, however, may involve extensive recovery times, may be complicated because of the difficulties in suturing the graft to the vessel, and/or may be unsuitable for many at-risk patients because of the high mortality and morbidity rates associated with a surgical intervention of this magnitude.
As an alternative to open surgery, endolumenal stent graft implantation has been suggested. An endolumenal stent graft generally includes a vascular graft and a support structure, such as a self-expanding or balloon-expandable stent, that may engage each end of the graft or may extend along all or a portion of a length of the graft. The stent graft may be introduced percutaneously into the patient""s vasculature in a reduced profile, for example, on or in a delivery catheter. The stent graft may be advanced to a treatment site, such as a damaged segment of the abdominal aorta, and placed across the treatment site. The support structure may then be radially expanded, anchoring the graft to the healthy regions of the vessel adjacent the damaged segment, and substantially sealing the aneurysm from the rest of the circulatory system. As a result, pressure within the isolated aneurysmal sac may be reduced, thereby reducing stress or xe2x80x9cendotensionxe2x80x9d on the weakened wall of the vessel. Endotension is a physical parameter that may indicate the likelihood of an aneurysm rupturing, and is generally defined in terms of the internal pressure within the aneurysm, the aneurysm diameter and vessel wall thickness.
One potential complication that may occur after a stent graft is implanted is the formation of an endoleak. Endoleaks may be divided into four categories: leakage due to improper sealing of the graft against the vessel wall (Type I), blood flow into the aneurysmal sac through bypass arteries (Type II), leakage due to mechanical failure of the graft system (Type III), and leakage through the graft due to the porosity of the graft material (Type IV).
If fluid leaks into the aneurysmal sac, it may increase the pressure or endotension within the aneurysm, possibly resulting in an aneurysmal rupture. To substantially reduce the risk of this occurring, early detection of endoleaks or endotension may be important. With early detection, the pressure within the aneurysmal sac may be reduced by subsequent endovascular treatment (for example, further expansion of the stent graft support structure, or additional stent graft implantation to improve sealing), or, if necessary, surgical intervention.
Currently, contrast-enhanced computerized tomography (CT) is often used to detect endoleaks, which relies on x-ray imaging of an abdominal region after injection of a contrast media. If an endoleak is present, the aneurysmal sac may fill with contrast media and the endoleak may then be identified by the CT scan. Although CT scans are considered a reliable method for detecting endoleaks, they require an experienced operator and an expensive apparatus, placing significant financial constraints on its frequency of use. In addition, a CT scan procedure exposes the patient to x-ray radiation, and thus may only be recommended every 3 to 6 months following stent graft implantation. Finally, because CT scans only detect actual leakage and not pressure within the aneurysm, they may not detect small leaks that may cause slow, but potentially dangerous, pressurization within the aneurysm.
As an alternative to CT scans, ultrasound imaging may be used to detect endoleaks. Ultrasound imaging uses a simpler apparatus, resulting in a potential cost savings over CT scanning, and does not involve the use of ionizing radiation and its associated risks. The quality of ultrasound imaging, however, may be more operator dependent, and therefore may be less reliable than CT scans.
Accordingly, it is believed that a system and method for monitoring internal pressure within an aneurysmal sac may be considered useful.
The present invention is directed to apparatus and methods for implanting a biosensor, preferably in conjunction with an endoprosthesis, within an abdominal aortic aneurysm or other enlarged or weakened treatment site within a body lumen of a patient.
In accordance with a first aspect of the invention, an apparatus for monitoring a physical parameter at a treatment site within a body lumen is provided. The apparatus includes a tubular prosthesis expandable between a contracted condition for facilitating introduction into the body lumen, and an enlarged condition for contacting a wall of the body lumen at the treatment site. A substantially enclosed loop having a size for substantially securing the loop around the prosthesis in its enlarged condition is provided with a biosensor attached to the loop.
In one preferred embodiment, the loop may be a ring or sleeve formed from a substantially elastic material, the ring or sleeve having a relaxed state having a cross-section smaller than the prosthesis in its enlarged condition. In an alternate preferred embodiment, the loop may be a substantially inelastic, flexible thread having a cross-section similar to the prosthesis in its enlarged condition.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, an apparatus is provided for delivering the biosensor device to a treatment site within a body lumen. The apparatus includes an elongate member having a proximal end and a distal end adapted for introduction into the body lumen, and a connector located on the distal end of the elongate member for detachably securing the loop to the distal end of the elongate member. Preferably, an actuator is provided on a proximal end of the elongate member for detaching the loop from the connector. In preferred embodiments, the apparatus may also include a sheath slidable over the elongate member or other constraint for constraining the loop to facilitate its introduction into the body lumen.
By way of example, in one preferred embodiment, the connector is a wire having a first end extending from the proximal end of the elongate member, and a second end extending to the distal end of the elongate member. The wire may be intertwined with the loop to thereby substantially secure the loop to the distal end of the elongate member. The actuator preferably is a handle on the first end of the wire for pulling the second end of the wire from the distal end towards the proximal end, thereby releasing the loop therefrom. The loop may include a ring for receiving the wire therethrough.
In accordance with still another aspect of the invention, a delivery device is provided for directing the prosthesis to the treatment site in its contracted condition. The delivery device preferably has a cross-section substantially smaller than a cross-section of the loop, thereby facilitating positioning the loop coaxially with respect to the prosthesis before the prosthesis is deployed from the delivery device.
In accordance with yet another aspect of the invention, a method is provided for implanting a biosensor at a treatment site within a body lumen. In a preferred implementation, a tubular prosthesis is advanced in a contracted state within the body lumen to the treatment site, for example, mounted to a delivery device. A loop is also advanced to the treatment site, the loop including a biosensor attached thereto. Preferably, the loop is detachably connected to a delivery apparatus that is used to advance the loop to the treatment site. The loop may be deployed from a compressed state on the delivery apparatus once advanced to the treatment site, and manipulated to assume an open configuration across the treatment site.
In one preferred embodiment, the loop may be expanded across the treatment site before the prosthesis is advanced to the treatment site, and the prosthesis may be advanced through the loop upon advancement of the prosthesis to the treatment site. Alternatively, the loop may be advanced coaxially over the delivery device to the treatment site.
Preferably, the loop and the prosthesis may be positioned coaxially with respect to one another at the treatment site. The prosthesis may then be expanded towards an enlarged condition, thereby substantially engaging the loop around the prosthesis and substantially engaging the prosthesis to a wall of the blood vessel at the treatment site. Once the prosthesis is expanded, the loop may be released from the delivery apparatus, and the apparatus withdrawn from the patient. As a result, the biosensor is disposed within an aneurysmal sac at least partially defined by the aneurysm. The biosensor may then be used to remotely monitor the aneurysmal sac to detect pressure, leaks or other desired physical conditions therein.
Other objects and features of the present invention will become apparent from consideration of the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Systems and methods for deploying a biosensor in conjunction with a prosthesis