The invention concerns a multimode optical fiber, with an ct-profile graded-index core with an a-value between 1.96 and 2.05 and a N value defined as N=(R1/λ)2(n12−n02) between 7 and 52, where R1 is the multimode core radius, n1 is the maximum index of the multimode core and n0 is the minimum index at the outer edge of the graded index core. According to the invention, a depressed region directly surrounds the graded/index core and satisfies the criteria: −2.20<Dn2<0, where Dn2 is the index difference of depressed region with external cladding, and 220 Ln(N)−1100<V2<220 Ln(N)−865, where V2 is the volume of the depressed region. Such a multimode fiber shows an increased OFL-bandwidth above 10000 Hz·km at an operating wavelength between 950 nm and 1310 nm.

Multimode fibers are successfully used in high-speed data networks together with high-speed sources that are typically using transversally multimode vertical cavity surface emitting lasers, more simply called VCSELs. Multimode fibers operating at 850 nm and 1300 nm are well known.
Multimode fibers are affected by intermodal dispersion, which results from the fact that, in a multimode fiber, for a particular wavelength, several optical modes propagate simultaneously along the fiber, carrying the same information, but travelling with different propagation velocities. Modal dispersion is expressed in terms of Differential Mode Delay (DMD), which is a measure of the difference in pulse delay (ps/m) between the fastest and slowest modes traversing the fiber.
Typically, an optical fiber should have the broadest bandwidth, for it to be used in high bandwidth applications. For a given wavelength, the bandwidth may be characterized in several different ways. Typically, a distinction is made between the so-called overfilled launch condition (OFL) bandwidth and the so-called effective modal bandwidth condition (EMB). The acquisition of the OFL bandwidth attunes the use of a light source exhibiting uniform excitation over the entire radial surface of the optical fiber (using a laser diode or a Light Emitting Diode (LED)). The calculated effective modal bandwidth (EMBc) derived from the DMD measurement has been developed to estimate the minimum Effective Modal Bandwidth of the 50 μm core diameter fiber under inhomogeneous excitation over its radial surface, as it is when using a Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Laser (VCSEL) source operating at 850 nm.
Embodiments of the method measuring DMD and calculating the effective modal bandwidth can be found in the FOTP 220 standard, while bandwidth measured over overfilled launch condition is described in IEC 66793-1-41 (TIA-FOTP-204).
In order to minimize modal dispersion, the multimode optical fibers used in data communications generally comprise a core, generally doped with Germanium, and showing a refractive index that decreases progressively going from the center of the fiber to its junction with a cladding. In general, the index profile is given by a relationship known as the "a profile", as follows:
            n                    (        r        )              =                            n          1                                              1            -                          2                                                                                Δ                                                        (                                          r                      a                                        )                                                  α                                                                                for                                                  r            ≤      a        ,where:    n1 is a refractive index on an optical axis of a fiber;    r is a distance from said optical axis;    a is a radius of the core of said fiber;    Δ is a non-dimensional parameter, indicative of an index difference between the core and a cladding of the fiber; and    α is a non-dimensional parameter, indicative of a shape of the index profile.
When a light signal propagates in such a core having a graded index, the different modes experience a different propagation medium, which affects their speed of propagation differently. By adjusting the value of the parameter α, it is thus possible to theoretically obtain a group velocity, which is virtually equal for all the modes and thus a reduced intermodal dispersion for a particular wavelength.
In practice, however, multimode fibers are manufactured with a graded index central core surrounded by an outer cladding of constant refractive index. Thus, the core of the multimode fiber never corresponds to a theoretically perfect alpha profile, because the interface of the core (having an alpha profile) with the outer cladding (having a constant refractive index) interrupts the alpha profile. The outer cladding accelerates the higher order modes compared to the lower order modes and some differences of time delay appear within the highest order mode groups. This phenomenon is known as the cladding effect. In DMD measurement the responses acquired for the highest radial positions (i.e. nearest the outer cladding) exhibit multiple pulses, which results in a temporal spreading of the response signal. Therefore bandwidth is diminished by this cladding effect.
Graded-index alpha-shape profile and core-cladding interface of the multimode fibers are optimized to operate with GaAs VCSELs that can be directly current-modulated to support 10 Gbps and 25 Gbps systems at 850 nm. Backwards compatibility for use at 1300 nm with LED sources is also guaranteed for most of the 50 μm and 62.5 μm multimode fibers currently in use. The performances of such laser-optimized, high bandwidth 50 μm multimode fibers, also called OM4 fibers, have been standardized by the International Standardization Organization in document ISO/IEC 11801, as well as in TIA/EIA 492AAAD standard.
However, the explosion in demand for bandwidth in enterprise networks is driving an urgent need for higher Ethernet network speeds. To further increase the data bit rate for next generation 400 GbE systems, the use of InGaAs VCSELs operating at 40-56 Gb/s between around 1060 nm appears as a promising solution, as it will allow achieving higher speed with higher reliability, lower operating temperature and lower cost of the VCSELs. Furthermore, at this wavelength, the fiber exhibits lower attenuation, lower chromatic dispersion and higher potential modal bandwidth because of fewer modal groups if the graded-index alpha-shape profile is optimized to operate at this specific wavelength.
While such VCSELs can be proposed now for high-speed applications, fibers optimized for these VCSELs operating at wavelength greater than 950 nm are missing.
Actually, the one skilled in the art knows well that the inter-modal dispersion can be reduced by adapting the alpha-shape profile and the core-cladding interface to the operating wavelength.
The alpha value can be easily assessed by testing different alpha-shape profiles, the optimum alpha varying monotonically with wavelength for a given composition, whatever the core radius and the core index. However, defining the optimum geometry for the core-cladding interface is more delicate since there is no simple relationship between wavelength and the geometry of core-cladding interface whatever the core radius and core index.
At wavelengths longer than 850 nm, because of fewer modal groups, the proportion of modal groups directly affected by the core-cladding geometry is larger. Thus, its optimization is more delicate and its impact on the total bandwidth is increased. In the same manner, with small core radius, because of fewer modal groups, impact of core-cladding geometry on the total bandwidth is increased too.
Many studies have been carried out so far, in order to design multimode fibers, which bandwidth would be sufficiently high over a relatively large wavelength range.
Document EP 1 503 230, in the name of DRAKA Comteq BV, discloses a multimode optical fiber having a refractive index profile, comprising a light-guiding core surrounded by one or more cladding layers. According to this document, the multimode optical fibers can be obtained by using two or more dopants for building up the gradient index core, notably by using co-doping with fluorine F and germanium GeO2. By varying the concentration of dopants over the core radius, the intermodal dispersion characteristics of the multimode optical fiber can be adapted in such a manner that the bandwidth is less wavelength-dependent.
A drawback of this technique is that the bandwidths achieved with such multimode fibers and reported in this prior art document are not large enough.
Document EP 2 482 106, also in the name of DRAKA Comteq BV, discloses a multimode optical fiber, which includes a central core having a graded-index profile with a delta value of about 1.9 percent or greater. The graded-index core profile has at least two different alpha parameter values along the core radius, namely a first value in an inner zone of the central core and a second value in an outer zone of the central core. The second alpha parameter value is typically less than the first alpha parameter value. The graded-index core profile and its first derivative are typically substantially continuous over the width of the graded-index core.
Fibers disclosed in this prior art document show high numerical aperture NA with bandwidths optimized for a single wavelength at 850 nm. Moreover, the high NA value requires a graded-index core with two or more a-values.
Document U.S. Pat. No. 7,315,677 discloses multimode optical fibers comprising Germania (GeO2) and Fluorine co-doped in the core of the fiber. The dopant concentration profiles are defined by a pair of alpha parameters, α1 and α2. The operating window, or bandwidth window, is enlarged and attenuation, or loss, is low. In some embodiments, two operating windows are available for transmission.
Document U.S. Pat. No. 7,315,677 hence teaches "double alpha profiles" based on co-doping, with fluorine F and germanium GeO2; each dopant profile exhibits its own alpha. Such profiles are difficult to produce from a process point of view. Actually, the concentration shape of Ge and F are difficult to control.
Document U.S. Pat. No. 7,903,918 discloses bend resistant optical fibers, which are multi-moded at 1300 nm and include a core, an inner cladding, a low index ring and an outer cladding. The core has a graded index of refraction with a core alpha profile where 1.9≦α≦2.1, a maximum relative refractive index percent Δ1Max%, and a numerical aperture NA greater than 0.23. The inner cladding surrounds the core and has a maximum relative refractive index percent Δ2Max%, a minimum relative refractive index percent Δ2min%, and a radial thickness microns, wherein Δ1Max%>Δ2Max%. The low index ring surrounds the inner cladding and has a relative refractive index percent Δ3%, a radial thickness of at least 0.5 microns, a profile volume with an absolute magnitude of greater than 50%-μm2, wherein Δ2Min%≧Δ3%. The outer cladding surrounds the low index ring and has a relative refractive index percent Δ4%, such that Δ1Max%>Δ4%≧Δ2Max%.
Fibers disclosed in this document show high NA values, deep trenches and high trench volumes. They are optimized to operate at 1300 nm.
Document US 2010/0303428 discloses bend resistant multimode optical fibers, which comprise a core region and a cladding region surrounding and directly adjacent to the core region, the cladding region comprising a depressed-index annular region; the inner boundary of the depressed index region is an extension of the graded index core, the depressed region having a moat volume greater than 105%-μm2. Such fibers hence show deep trenches and high trench volumes.
Document US2013/0077926 discloses several embodiments of multimode fibers, in which trenches are added for bend-loss improvement. According to some embodiments, a multimode optical fiber comprises a graded-index glass core with refractive index Δ1, a maximum refractive index delta Δ1MAX, and a core radius between 10 and 40 microns; and cladding region surrounding the core comprising refractive index Δ4, wherein the fiber exhibits an overfilled bandwidth at an operating wavelength in a 900 to 1250 nm wavelength range of greater than 2.5 GHz·km. According to some embodiments, the fiber exhibits an overfilled bandwidth at a wavelength between 950 and 1100 nm, which is greater than 4 GHz·km. According to some embodiments the fiber exhibits an overfilled bandwidth at a wavelength between 950 and 1100 nm, which is greater than 10 GHz·km. The volumes of the trenches disclosed in this document are very large. Moreover, the profiles disclosed are quite complex to design.
Document US2013/0039626 also discloses multimode fibers in which a trench is added in the cladding, in order to improve the bending performances of the multimode fiber. The disclosed multimode optical fiber includes a graded index glass core having a diameter in the range of 24 microns to 40 microns, a graded index having an alpha profile less than 2.12 and a maximum relative refractive index in the range between 0.6% and 1.9%. The fiber also includes a cladding surrounding and in contact with the core. The cladding includes a depressed-index annular portion. The fiber further has an overfilled bandwidth greater than 2.0 GHz-km at 1310 nm.
The volumes of the trenches disclosed in this document are very large. Trench is added to improve the bending performances of small core diameter MMFs.
In view of the foregoing, it would be desirable to design a multimode optical fibre adapted to high-speed applications (next generation 400 GbE systems with VCSEL transmitting at 25 Gb/s or higher) and showing improvements over the prior art.
More precisely, it would be desirable to design such a multimode optical fiber, showing an OFL-bandwidth above 10000 MHz·km at an operating wavelength between 950 nm and 1310 nm.
It would also be desirable to design multimode optical fibers with optimized core-cladding geometry according to the number of mode groups supported by the MMF at the operating wavelength.

Multimode optical fiber with high bandwidth, and corresponding multimode optical system


A vehicle antenna device includes an antenna element, a circuit board, a coil, an amplifier circuit and a fixing portion. The antenna element functions as a capacitive antenna supporting a first frequency band. The circuit board has a power feeding portion that is connected to a power feeding line of the antenna element. The coil is electrically connected to the power feeding portion so that the antenna element has an antenna length supporting a second frequency band. The fixing portion and the antenna element are formed at an edge of the antenna element in order to fix the circuit board to the antenna element at a location close to the position of the coil and far from a position of the amplifier circuit. The fixing portion is provided with a predetermined gap from the coil that is large enough to avoid the influence of coupling with the coil.

A pillar antenna, roof-mounted antenna, and glass antenna are among the antenna devices that are mounted on a vehicle to support a plurality of frequency bands, or, for example, the antenna devices that support AM/FM bands. However, the pillar antenna, which protrudes greatly, is at high risk of being bent by contact or any other trouble. The roof-mounted antenna needs to be folded or removed in such places as a multistory car park and an automatic car-washing machine because of a higher ground clearance. The problem with the glass antenna is that the antenna involves a specific development for each vehicle model, leading to higher development and production costs and the like.
Then, in recent years, great importance has been attached to the design of vehicles, and there is growing demand for the vehicle-mounted antenna devices that do not ruin the appearance of vehicles as much as possible. Therefore, various antennas that could be built inside a spoiler have been developed so that the appearance is not ruined (e.g., Japanese Laid Open Patent Application Publication No. 2014-216661, which is referred to below as Patent Document 1, or Japanese Laid Open Patent Application Publication No. 2016-012915, which is referred to below as Patent Document 2).


Carbon black with a CTAB surface area from about 10 to 35 m2/g and a DBP absorption from about 40 to 180 ml/100 g, the xcex94D50 value being at least 340 nm. The carbon black may be produced in a furnace-black reactor from a liquid carbon-black raw material and gaseous carbon-black raw material injected into a constriction in the reactor. Compared to other forms of carbon black, the carbon blacks of the present invention have advantageous properties, such as improved dispersibility, and may be economically and conveniently used in rubber mixtures, particularly in those used to produce extrusion profiles.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a more industrially and commercially advantageous form of carbon black and to processes for its production and use. Carbon black is a generic term for a class of particulate or powdery products composed essentially of elemental carbon. Carbon black is used principally as a filler or reinforcing agent in rubber, as a pigment, or for its electrically conductive properties. Carbon blacks may be categorized by their modes of production and by their physical characteristics, such as particle shape or size and their degree of aggregation or agglomeration. The carbon blacks of the present invention have a number of advantageous properties, including superior dispersibility, compared to conventional carbon blacks.
2. Description of Related Art
The carbon-black production processes that are most important industrially are based on the oxidative pyrolysis of carbonaceous carbon-black raw materials. In these processes the carbon-black raw materials are subjected to incomplete combustion at high temperatures in the presence of oxygen. This class of processes for producing carbon black includes, for example, the furnace-black process, the gas-black process and the flame-black process. Polynuclear aromatic carbon-black oils are predominantly employed as carbonaceous raw materials for the production of carbon-black.
Oxidative pyrolysis produces a stream of products including waste gases containing hydrogen and carbon monoxide and finely divided carbon black suspended in the waste gases. The carbon black is separated from the waste gas in a filtration plant. The carbon black thus prepared may be prepared for further processing by pelletization. Pelletization is usually performed using a wet or dry granulating process and produces pelletized black. Additionally, a conclusive drying operation may be used to reduce the moisture content of the carbon black to below 1 wt. %.
Over 90% of the carbon blacks produced industrially are employed as fillers and as reinforcing agents in the production of rubber mixtures. For instance, one important application for such rubber mixtures is in the production of highly-filled profiled joints in automobile manufacture. Typical rubber mixtures of such a type contain 20 to 40 wt. % synthetic rubber, preferably EPDM, 20 to 50 wt. % carbon black, mineral oil and further auxiliary substances. Such rubber mixtures may also contain sulfur or peroxides as vulcanizing agents.
The properties of manufactured products, such as profiled joints, are influenced by the specific properties of the carbon black component. For instance, the choice of a carbon black influences the viscosity of, the injection speed, the swelling after extrusion, the filler dispersion, the hardness, the compression set and many other properties of a rubber or synthetic rubber mixture used in the manufacture a profiled joint. Economical and convenient production of such products demand a form of carbon black that provides low swelling after extrusion, a high injection speed and a good dispersibility at given hardness.
An important variable influencing the functional properties of such mixtures is the specific surface area of a carbon black, in particular, the CTAB surface area, which is a measure of the rubber-effective surface portion of the carbon black. Injection speed and dispersibility rise with diminishing CTAB surface area.
Other important carbon-black parameters are the DBP absorption as a measure index for the initial structure and the 24M4-DBP absorption as a measure of the residual structure still remaining after mechanical stressing of the carbon black. High DBP values result in good dispersibility and low swelling after extrusion. Characterization of carbon black using CTAB surface area or DBP absorption, as well as other conventional parameters or test methods, is described by The Kirk-Othmer Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology, 4th edition (1992), vol. 4, pages 1037-1074.
Carbon blacks that exhibit CTAB surface areas between 10 and 50 m2/g and DBP absorption values between 80 and 160 ml/100 g are suitable for profile mixtures.
Furnace blacks with a low iodine number and high DBP values are known from EP 0609433.
Among the disadvantages of the known carbon blacks is their poor dispersibility and poor processability during manufacturing processes. While such carbon blacks may have low specific surface areas and high structure, the increasingly critical formulations based on partially crystalline EPDM types and, conditioned by economic considerations, the increasingly shorter mixing-times, highlight the need for a more dispersible and conveniently processed form of carbon black.
Accordingly, one object of the present invention is to provide a carbon black that is more easily and economically dispersed and processed for industrial and commercial applications, especially in the production of rubber-profile mixtures. Other objects of the invention include provision of a form of carbon black that reduces swelling of a rubber mixture after extrusion, a form of carbon black that permits more rapid extrusion of a rubber mixture, and/or a form of carbon black that permits high filler loadings in a rubber mixture. Other objects of the invention include processes for making the above-mentioned forms of carbon black and products or compositions comprising such carbon blacks. Additionally, still other objects of the invention will be evident from the following description.

Carbon black, process for its production and its use


A method for producing sugar or sugar-containing products from sugar-containing vegetable raw materials involves production the sugar or sugar-containing products in the presence of added natural food-compatible resins. An extraction liquid containing the natural food-compatible resins is used in the method. As a result of the method, sugar or sugar-containing product is manufactured that also includes the natural food-compatible resins.

The invention relates to a method for the production of sugar or sugar-containing products from sugar-containing vegetable raw materials.
Sugar (sucrose) and sugar products are primarily obtained from the vegetable raw materials, such as sugar beets and sugar cane, by mechanically disintegrating these plants and extracting, or pressing out, sugar-containing solutions from the plant parts.
All of the sugar-containing media and, in particular, those that are directly obtained from agricultural raw materials are subject to microbiological decay through bacteria, yeasts, and mold within certain temperature ranges, pH values, and concentration limits. The risk of infestation by microorganisms in food-technological processes, both during continuous operation and during the storage of raw and intermediate products, always entails considerable hazards. Microorganisms can degrade sugars contained in the raw materials to acids and gaseous, even partially explosive metabolic products, or cause extremely high germ contents in the end products. Moreover, the process for the production of sugar from beets and sugarcane risks a microbial cleavage of the disaccharide sucrose into the monosaccharides glucose and fructose, which involves further disadvantages in addition to the immediate loss of sucrose, causing, for instance, a more intense coloration of the syrup, a higher need for alkalizing agents, and an increased amount of molasses occurred.
At temperatures of less than 50xc2x0 C., which are applied during the extraction of juice by mechanical cell opening, the sugar-containing extraction solutions are subject to decay by all the microorganisms mentioned, i.e., yeasts, mold, and bacteria. However, when extracting juices by thermal cell opening at temperatures above 50xc2x0 C., only thermophilic bacteria will still be capable of reproduction. An example of such a thermal extraction method is the presently widely applied extraction of sugar beets for the purpose of sugar production.
In extraction plants, thermophilic bacteria, as a rule, are combated by the batch-wise or continuous addition of germ-inhibiting or germ-killing auxiliaries to the juice flow or perishable intermediate products. In the sugar industry, formalin, dithio-carbamates, peracetic acid, ammonium bisulfite, quaternary ammonium bases etc. are, for instance, used to this end.
Recently, some sugar factories also have used hop products as natural agents to combat microorganisms, if the addition of chemical agents is undesired or prohibited by law (EP-0 681 029 A; Pollach et al., Zuckerindustrie 124 (8) (1999), 622-637; Pollach et al., Zuckerindustrie 121 (2) (1996), 919-926; Hein et al., Zuckerindustrie 122 (12) (1997), 940-949). In doing so, it turned out that there was no real alternative to this natural agent, which is why it has not been possible so far to pass over to another natural agent when selecting hop bitter acid-resistant bacterial strains or adapting bacterial strains to hop products, in order to thereby combat such a selection or adaptation. Moreover, suitable hop products at economically reasonable prices such as xcex2-hop acids are available on the market only in limited quantities as byproducts occurring in the production of isoalpha acids. Also from this results the need for additional natural auxiliary agents to combat microorganisms.
It is accordingly an object of the invention to provide a method for the production of sugar or sugar-containing products from sugar-containing vegetable raw materials, sugar and sugar-containing products made by the method, and extraction solution for use in the method that overcome the hereinafore-mentioned disadvantages of the heretofore-known methods and products of this general type and that suppresses the growth of undesired microbes in the context of industrial sugar production processes can be suppressed.
With the foregoing and other objects in view, there is provided, in accordance with the invention, a method for producing sugar or sugar-containing products from sugar-containing plant raw materials, which is characterized in that the production is at least partially carried out in the presence of added natural food-compatible resins. The plant raw materials are generally vegetable raw materials.
Surprisingly, an efficient and cost-effective option to effectively inhibit the growth of undesired microbes could be provided by the addition of such resins in the course of industrial sugar-production processes. The addition according to the invention of food-compatible resins is particularly effective in the inactivation of thermophilic and/or osmophilic microorganisms, which constitute particularly persistent sources interfering in the sugar-production process, which are difficult to combat.
These resins are not necessarily required to be present during the whole production process. According to the invention, the use of these resins is also feasible merely in selected process steps. According to the invention, the partial or temporary presence of the added resins above all proved successful under those conditions at which thermophilic and osmophilic microorganisms would grow particularly well. Yet, the resin addition according to the invention is also suitable for low temperatures, particularly because it turned out that undesired germs could be selectively reduced or suppressed at those temperatures as well.
According to the invention, sugar beets and sugar cane are above all envisaged as vegetable raw materials. In principle, the method according to the invention is, however, applicable to alls sorts of vegetable starting materials such as, e.g., in the sugar production departing from sugar palms, dates, sugar maize, tree juices like, e.g., maple juice, etc.
It was shown that the resins added according to the invention exhibited anti-microbial activities also in the primarily aqueous surroundings of sugar production. Due to the good solubility of these products in alcoholic solutions, it has so far been anticipated that such products can be used only in alcoholic food stuffs (retsina) with alcohol levels of, for instance, 10% or more. However, according to the invention, it was found that the added food-compatible resins could be effectively used in efficient concentrations also in large-scale sugar production.
According to the invention, any food-compatible resins as described, for instance, in xe2x80x9cUllmann""s Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistryxe2x80x9d, Vol. A23 (1993), pp 73-88 can be employed, including, for instance, tree resins and, in particular, gum rosins like, e.g., benzoin, colophony, myrrh, and balsam of Tolu. According to the invention, colophony products and derivatives are above all preferred for economic reasons. Such products are, for instance, described in Ullmann""s Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry, Vol. A23 (1993), pp 79-88 (expressly incorporated by reference).
In a preferred manner, the colophony (preparations) or colophony derivatives described there are, above all, used as natural resins according to the invention. Preferably, a dissolved, emulsified or dispersed, or pasty rosin product is used, which is preferably based on rosin, colophonium, rosin acids, rosin acid salts (resin esters), undenatured pine resin derivatives (i.e., derivatives obtained without the influence of strong acids or bases). According to the invention, colophony derivates also encompass chemically synthesized colophony single components or colophony single components isolated from colophony products such as, for instance, levopimaric acid, neoabietic acid, palustric acid, abietic acid, dehydroabietic acid, tetra-hydroabietic acid, dihydroabietic acid, pimaric acid and isopimaric acid. The derivatization of colophony may also include hydration, polymerization, addition reactions, esterification, nitrilation, amination, etc.
Preferably, also molten products and/or products mixed with viscosity-reducing agents such as, e.g., alcohol or glycerol, can be used. Thus, it is, for instance, possible to dose colophony into an extraction plant from a melting vessel through heated tubes.
The pine resin products mentioned constitute physiologically safe natural products that have been consumed by man for many centuries, for instance in the form of resinated wine. Long experience has shown that colophony as a component of brewer""s pitch, which was used to seal beer barrels, is to be regarded as safe, as is its main component abietic acid. Pine resin products are also used in chewing gums: toxicological studies in men having revealed no hints of health risks even after 25 years. Pine resins and colophony as such or in the form of derivatives are admitted in numerous countries primarily for packages that get into contact with food.
Although pine resins have been added to wine as preservatives for many centuries, there is no hint as to combating microorganisms with pine resins or its components in technological and preferably food-technological processes, even in comprehensive technical encyclopedias (cf. Ullmann, 5th Ed., Vol. A23, pp 73 to 88).
Pine resins have so far been used for dyes, lacquers, coatings, inks, adhesives, gums, tires and, furthermore, in medicine for the production of ointments and in the cosmetic field. The colophony component abietic acid was also used to promote lactic acid and butyric acid fermentations. All the more surprising is the action according to the invention regarding the inhibition of germs in the context of sugar production processes.
According to the invention, the addition of an aqueous, slightly-alkaline salt solution or an alcoholic solution of tree resins, in particular colophony or colophony derivatives, proved to be advantageous. Likewise, it can be beneficial in some cases to use the agent in dry form. Solid ground products, e.g. colophony, can be introduced, for instance, by throwing same through the openings of an extraction trough.
It was shown according to the invention that the natural resins should preferably be used in amounts ranging from 0.1 to 1000 mg/l. The at least partial or at least temporary presence of natural resins in these amounts in the liquid phase during the sugar production process proved beneficial. It is, however, clear that the concentration of such resins may deviate as a function of the realization of the sugar production process (continuous/discontinuous) and, in particular, where the resins are added in batches into the production process and, for instance, into the extraction solution. Particularly preferred concentration ranges of the resins to be used according to the invention during the production process are from 5 to 40 mg/l, in particular 10 to 25 mg/l.
In a preferred manner, the natural resins are added as salt-containing solutions or suspensions. In this respect, potassium salt solutions or sodium salt solutions turned out to be beneficial, especially in salt concentration ranging from 0.5 to 35%. With sodium salt solutions, the optimum salt concentration also may reach no more than approximately 20%. The natural resins can also be added as alcoholic solutions or suspensions, preferably as 1 to 95%, particularly 10 to 80%, ethanol solution. It was shown that the use according to the invention of natural resins is particularly suitable for combinations with further antimicrobial agents in the course of the production process. Preferably, further food-compatible anti-microbial agents are used in such combinations.
In this respect, the combination according to the invention with hops or hop derivatives is particularly preferred. Sugar production processes in which such hops or hop derivatives are used are, for instance, described in Europen Patent No. EP 0 681 029 B1. According to the invention, the combination of further anti-microbial agents with the natural resins can be realized both in parallel and in series. Thus, it is, for instance, possible to run the sugar production process temporarily in the presence of added resins and temporarily in the presence of hop products, for instance xcex2-hop acids, both successively and concomitantly.
The addition according to the invention of food-compatible resins, in particular colophony or colophony derivatives, is feasible at any point of time during sugar production: it is, for instance, feasible to spray resinous solutions onto vegetable materials (e.g., sugar beets or sugar cane) already during the storage of the same. Preferably, the natural resins are present at least during the thermal extraction of sugar-containing plant parts, particularly sugar beets or sugar cane. It is, for instance, feasible to add tree resins to the plant parts to be extracted after the mechanical disintegration of the sugar-containing vegetable raw materials.
A conventional sugar production process is, for instance, represented in Ullmann""s Encyklopxc3xa4die der Technischen Chemie, 4th Ed., Vol. 24, pp 703 to 748, wherein the addition according to the invention of natural resins can be realized at any of the (partial) steps described there.
According to the invention, the natural resins are preferably added to the extraction solution by which the sugar is extracted from the sugar-containing plants in raw materials.
According to a preferred embodiment of the method according to the invention, the natural resins are used in the purification of the raw juice, preferably in stages at low pH values.
According to a particularly preferred embodiment in which the resins according to the invention proved especially successful, membrane treatment procedures or ion exchange procedures are carried out in the course of the sugar production process in the presence of said natural resins.
Preferably, the natural resins are used at sugar concentrations of from 0.1 to 80% and, in particular, at elevated temperatures such as temperatures ranging from 50 to 80xc2x0 C. The addition according to the invention of resins during the production and storage of the thick juice turned out to be particularly beneficial such that the natural resins are used, in particular, at sugar concentrations of from 60 to 70% and, in particular, at temperatures of from 10 to 30xc2x0 C.
Finally, the presence of resins during the recovery of sugar from thick juice proved to be particularly suitable.
The risk of bitter flavors being introduced into the sugar products, which actually happened with hop products, is to be excluded in the event of tree resins like pine resin products, because pine resins have no bitter taste. Thus, colophony, for instance, is neutral in taste.
In a particularly advantageous manner, the treatment with an agent based on pine resin is effected alternatingly with a treatment with a microorganism-inhibiting agent based on hop in order to combat the adaptation of microorganisms to the hop preparation and a selection of hop-resistant microorganisms.
If no selection or adaptation whatsoever is observed in a process, a combined agent made, e.g., from pine resins and hop products can be applied in order to obtain a particularly high activity of a single combined agent.
If a sugar-containing substrate such as, e.g., a sugar-containing liquid culture medium as commonly used in microbiology is incubated either unsterilized or upon inoculation of a bacterial strain, this will result in acid formation, which will best be recognized by a drop of the pH value. The same phenomenon occurs upon the inoculation of normal sugar-containing plant juices such as, e.g., beet juices. A pH drop by sugar degradation in an industrial process like, for instance, that of obtaining sugar juice from sugar beets, implies a loss of sugar and the need for alkalizing agents. Moreover, a pH drop goes hand in hand with an increase in the germ content of the substrate and frequently also an unpleasant gas and nitrite formation.
If, for instance, a solution of rosin acids is added during the acid formation caused by thermophilic microorganisms at elevated temperatures, the acid formation, and hence the entrained pH drop, will be stopped from a concentration of about 10-30 mg/liter. The disadvantages involved in acid formation can, thus, be avoided by the addition of, e.g., pine resins or colophony to a sugar-containing substrate. It is, therefore, preferably operated at elevated temperatures, because the main components of the pine resins, i.e. rosin acids, are less readily soluble in cold aqueous systems than in warm systems. They can, therefore, be used particularly well against thermophilic microorganisms at elevated temperatures, if only because of this better solubility. Besides, the flora of microorganisms is limited to few bacterial species at high temperatures. At low temperatures, the amount of added resin can be accordingly increased in order to achieve comparable effects.
In slightly alkaline sugar juices, the increased dissociation of colophonic acids provides an enhanced solubility, and it is, therefore, not necessary to increase the solubility by raising the temperature, if slightly alkaline ranges are applied. If slightly alkaline conditions prevail, it is, therefore, possible to combat osmotolerant microorganisms even at normal temperatures by the aid of colophonic resins, which are difficult to dissolve in aqueous systems, although in this case higher concentrations of active substances will be required than when using the same against thermophilic microorganisms.
Surprisingly, natural resins, e.g. rosin acids, exhibit a markedly lower activity against yeasts than against thermophilic bacteria. Moreover, they are poorly soluble under the pH and temperature conditions of yeast cultures such that the properties known from hop products, which above all have bacteria-inhibiting effects, occur also with pine resins. Residual quantities of rosin acids in molasses, which are destined to be exploited by yeasts, can therefore be regarded as safe, compared to some chemical agents like quaternary ammonium bases.
With the objects of the invention in view, there is also provided an extraction liquid for the extraction of sugar-containing vegetable raw materials, which, in addition to the usual components of such an extraction liquid, includes natural resins, in particular colophony or colophony derivatives. Such extraction liquids, in addition to the extracted sugar (sucrose), contain traces of glucose and fructose as well as components that are characteristic of the respective vegetable raw material, such as, for instance, betaine (in the case of sugar beets) or aconitic acid (in the case of sugar cane). Further ingredients include amino acids like alanine, aspartamic and glutamic acid, isoleucine, leucine, threonine or valine (ranging from 10-200 mg/l crude juice), oxalate, citrate, lactate or maleate (10-5000 mg/l crude juice) and/or shikimic acid or flavonoids or phenolic components like coffeinic acid, 3,4-dihydroxy benzoic acid, chlorogenic acid, apigenine, swertisine, luteoline or tricine. (Schneider, xe2x80x9cTechnologie des Zuckersxe2x80x9d. Verlag Schaper, Hannover (1968), 247-253; van der Poel et al., xe2x80x9cSugar Technologyxe2x80x9d, Verlag Dr. Bartens, Berlin (1998), 152-157; van der Poel et al., xe2x80x9cZuckertechnologiexe2x80x9d, Verlag Dr. Bartens, Berlin (2000), 163-168).
According to a preferred embodiment, the extraction liquid according to the invention additionally contains hop or hop derivatives.
According to a further aspect, the present invention also relates to sugars or sugar-containing products from vegetable raw materials, that are obtainable by the method according to the invention and accordingly have a (residual) content of added natural food-compatible resins, in particular colophony or colophony derivatives. This content can be readily detected by analytical methods known per se, such as gas chromatography, HPLC, etc. Sugars or sugar-containing products preferred according to the invention have resin contents starting at the detection limit up to concentrations of 1 by weight orxe2x80x94if the resin taste is to be particularly emphasizedxe2x80x94more (i.e., also in the one- to even two-digit percentage ranges). Yet, according to the invention, preferred products also encompass all sugars and sugar by-products occurring in industrial sugar production such as, for instance, beet-chip fodder, carbolime, thick juice and molasses. Beet-chip fodder, which is offered, for instance, in the form of pressed products, constitutes a particularly beneficial growth medium for undesired microorganisms. It goes without saying that such an infestation can decisively affect the quality of such products as fodders. The presence of added natural resins reduces not only such product impairments by faulty fermentations, but also the formation of undesired malodors. For instance, the calcium precipitated in a sugar process (xe2x80x9ccarbolimexe2x80x9d), which is used as a fertilizer, is often infested with clostridia. Their growth frequently entails undesired malodors so that the transportation of this fertilizer is usually feasible only in closed containers. In addition, the addition of natural resins according to the invention might be beneficial to enhancing the stability and transportability of carbolime by decisively reducing, or preventing, odor formation. Molasses, too constitute important starting products for fodders, fermentation raw materials, chromatographic separation (recovery of sucrose and betaine) and as briquetting aids, andxe2x80x94like thick juicexe2x80x94is consequently a transportable product which can or must also be stored. The addition according to the invention of food-compatible resins to such products, in particular in the course of industrial sugar production processes, will result in a decisively prolonged stability as well as an enhanced storing capacity of such products and will prevent product changes due to the activity of undesired microorganisms.
Usual (residual) concentrations of added resins in selected end products preferably range from 1 ng to 10 mg, particularly 100 ng to 500 xcexcg in the case of sugar, and from 10 xcexcg to 1 g, particularly 1 to 100 mg in the case of molasses.
According to a further aspect, the present invention also relates to the use of natural resins, in particular colophony or colophony derivatives, in sugar production. In this context, their use to inhibit thermophilic and osmotolerant microorganisms and, in particular, bacillus, thermos, and clostridia is particularly preferred.
Other features that are considered as characteristic for the invention are set forth in the appended claims.
Although the invention is illustrated and described herein as embodied in a method for the production of sugar or sugar-containing products from sugar-containing vegetable raw materials, sugar and sugar-containing products made by the method, and an extraction solution for use in the method, it is nevertheless not intended to be limited to the details shown, since various modifications and structural changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention and within the scope and range of equivalents of the claims.
The construction and method of operation of the invention, however, together with additional objects and advantages thereof will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying examples.

METHOD FOR THE PRODUCTION OF SUGAR OR SUGAR-CONTAINING PRODUCTS FROM SUGAR-CONTAINING VEGETABLE RAW MATERIALS, SUGAR AND SUGAR-CONTAINING PRODUCTS MADE BY THE METHOD, AND EXTRACTION SOLUTION FOR USE IN THE METHOD

Zuckerforschung Tulln Gesellschaft m.b.H.


The present disclosure relates to a multi-ring bonding pad, a semiconductor structure having the multi-ring bonding pad, and a method of manufacturing the semiconductor structure. The bonding pad includes an inner ring member, an outer ring member, and multiple bridge members. The inner ring member has a pair of first inner edges opposite to each other, a pair of second inner edges opposite to each other, and multiple third inner edges for connecting the first inner edges to the second inner edges. The outer ring member surrounds the inner ring member and has a pair of first outer edges opposite to each other, a pair of second outer edges opposite to each other, and multiple third outer edges for connecting the first outer edges to the second outer edges. The bridge members are disposed between the inner ring member and the outer ring member for connecting the inner ring member to the outer ring member.

The process flow for fabrication of integrated semiconductor circuits may include front-end-of-line (FEOL), middle-end-of-line (MEOL), and back-end-of-line (BEOL) processes. The FEOL process may include wafer preparation, isolation, well formation, gate patterning, spacer, extension and source/drain implantation, silicide formation, and dual stress liner formation. The MEOL process may include gate contact formation. The BEOL processes may include a series of wafer processing steps for interconnecting the semiconductor devices created during the FEOL and MEOL processes. Successful fabrication and qualification of modern semiconductor chip products requires consideration of interplay between the materials and the processes employed.
This Discussion of the Background section is provided for background information only. The statements in this Discussion of the Background are not an admission that the subject matter disclosed in this Discussion of the Background section constitute prior art to the present disclosure, and no part of this Discussion of the Background section may be used as an admission that any part of this application, including this Discussion of the Background section, constitutes prior art to the present disclosure.

Bonding pad, semiconductor structure, and method of manufacturing semiconductor structure


Method of reducing the wrinkles formed in heating zones, by radiant tubes, of continuous heat treatment lines for metal strip, such as annealing or galvanizing lines, the said strip passing over transporting and/or return rollers in the said furnaces, the said method, which consists in modifying the thermal state of the rollers, being characterized in that the said modification is made directly by varying the heating by the said radiant tubes located near the rollers, thereby directly controlling the heat flux emitted by the radiant tubes towards the rollers.

The subject of the present invention is improvements made to methods of heating steel strip in vertical furnaces and it relates more particularly to continuous vertical heat treatment lines for steel strip, such as annealing or galvanizing lines.
The technical problem that the present invention aims to solve is that of limiting the formation of steel strip wrinkles in the heating sections of these vertical treatment lines using radiant tubes.
In order to make, on the one hand, the field of application of the invention, and on the other hand, the technical problem that it intends to solve more clearly understood, the current prior art in the field of vertical furnaces will be recalled with reference to FIG. 1, which is a schematic representation of such a strip treatment furnace.
In this figure, the reference 1 denotes the furnace according to the prior art, through which the metal strip 3 to be treated runs continuously, this strip passing over successive transporting rollers or return rollers denoted by the reference 2. The strip is heated by radiation using radiant tubes, such as 4, which are supplied with combustion air and with fuel (in general gas) via zones 5, which are generally vertical.
Each zone, such as 5, corresponds to a thermal sectioning of the furnace, which generally does not correspond physically to a specific chamber of the furnace. Each zone forms an inseparable group of radiant tubes 4 which are equipped with burners having a common fuel supply and a common combustion air supply. The heat demand of the furnace is therefore reflected in one fuel/combustion-air flow rate setting per zone, each zone having its own regulating system. In this method of operation, all the burners of the same zone operate in an identical manner, given that they are all supplied with the same fuel/combustion-air flow rate.
As the strip 3 passes through the furnace, it is heated on both its sides by the radiant tubes lying on each side of the pass line, and it changes line when it goes over each of the return or transporting rollers such as 2. The heating curve for the strip in the furnace is therefore controlled by the indexation of the various zones, for example six indexations when the furnace has six zones such as 5.
Within the chamber of the furnace 1, there is a temperature difference between the strip 3, which is cold, and the rollers 2, which are hot. When the strip 3 passes over the rollers 2, it cools them by contact over a region which corresponds to its width. This effect is, of course, more pronounced in the case of the first rollers. The temperature distribution along the longitudinal axis of the roller then follows a curve in the shape of a cup, as illustrated in FIG. 2 of the appended drawings. As a result of this temperature distribution, the roller table follows a curve of identical shape, due to the effect of thermal contraction. FIG. 3 shows the variation in diameter of the roller due to this thermal contraction along the longitudinal axis of the roller. The latter tries to adopt the shape of a xe2x80x9cdiaboloxe2x80x9d, something which must at all costs be avoided as the strip is then no longer guided at the centre of the roller and is then in an unstable position; it will therefore be difficult subsequently to re-centre it in the treatment line, even using guide rollers. To avoid this phenomenon, the rollers are given an initial crown which is sufficient to maintain a very slight crown after the thermal contraction of the roller due to contact with the strip.
When a change of strip format is made, for example when going from a narrow strip to a wide strip, the latter will follow the cup shape of the roller instead of remaining plane. As a result, there is a risk of wrinkle formation, commonly called xe2x80x9cheat bucklexe2x80x9d.
Moreover, the profile of the roller is optimized for a given strip width, particularly the flat length of the table. A strip greater in width will see a large crown, this being favourable to guiding but unfavourable in terms of the risk of wrinkle formation.
Although these wrinkling problems are not new, they are at the present time becoming more and more critical and frequent, especially for the following reasons:
the formats of strip to be treated are moving towards greater widths. Sheet 2 m in width is commonplace, whereas it rarely exceeded 1.3 to 1.5 m a few years ago. Moreover, the improvement in the final mechanical properties of steel has allowed its thickness to be decreased, resulting in a reduction in weight. Overall, the width/thickness ratio has therefore increased considerably, hence a greater sensitivity to wrinkle formation;
likewise, the appearance of modern grades of low-carbon steel, in particular the widespread use of interstitial-free steel, requires, in order for such steel to be drawable, annealing at higher temperature, at which the yield strength of the strip is lower. This reduction in mechanical strength further accentuates the risk of wrinkle formations;
the increase in line speeds makes it more difficult to control the behaviour of the strip in the furnace; and
the requirements on the running of production lines and the broadening of the xe2x80x9cbookxe2x80x9d increases transients both in terms of thickness and width.
Controlling the flatness of the steel strip in the furnace therefore requires the transporting or return rollers to have good longitudinal temperature homogeneity, in the steady state and, above all, during strip format changes. At the present time there are solutions for solving this problem, among which the following may be mentioned:
in-furnace wrinkling detection, associated with reduction in the line speed. This technique has the drawback of incurring a loss of production;
increasing the strip tension: this method merely results in flatness defects being accentuated, since there is a risk of the strip deforming plastically;
modification of the rollers themselves (for example, JP-A-04-06733), but this technique is very expensive and difficult to implement at high speed; and
fitting of heat shields, whether fixed or moving, interposed between the edges of each roller and the radiant tubes of the furnace (see, for example, JP-A-06-228659), with the optional use of a curtain of atmosphere gas (JP-A-02-282431) or of heating elements (JP-A-63-038532). Admittedly this technique makes it possible to vary the thermal aspect of the roller, but it does require the use of equipment which is complex and relatively expensive both in terms of investment and maintenance. This is because the shields alone are not sufficient and they remain passive actuators.
The objective of the present invention was to avoid the drawbacks of the methods according to the prior art by providing an economic and effective solution to this problem of wrinkle formation in vertical treatment furnaces for steel strip. Taking the opposite view for the solutions according to the prior art, the invention aims not to correct the thermal effects of the furnace on the transporting or return rollers by superposing additional actuators, but to act on the source by directly controlling the heat flux emitted by the heating system, while keeping the initial method.
Consequently, the invention relates to a method of reducing the steel strip wrinkles formed in heating zones, by radiant tubes, of continuous heat treatment lines for metal strip, such as annealing or galvanizing lines, the said strip passing over transporting and/or return rollers in the said furnaces, the said method, which consists in modifying the thermal state of the rollers, being characterized in that the said modification is made directly by varying the heating by the said radiant tubes located near the rollers, thereby directly controlling the heat flux emitted by the radiant tubes towards the rollers.
According to one way of implementing this method, each radiant tube is supplied separately and independently with combustion air and with fuel and the flow rate of fuel for each radiant tube is continuously adjusted.
According to another way of implementing the method forming the subject-matter of the invention, the heating by the radiant tubes is varied so as to reduce, or even eliminate, the thermal gradient in the furnace between the bottom rollers and the top rollers of the latter.
The invention may furthermore provide programmed management of the strip-heating curves, tailored to the strip formats and to the steady-state heat cycles during the transient phases.

Heating process of steel strips in vertical furnaces


A semiconductor device includes: a semiconductor element; a circuit substrate having a cavity at a center thereof; a heat radiating member having the semiconductor element bonded at a central portion thereof; and a sealing resin configured to seal the semiconductor element in the cavity. A configuration is provided such that a bonding resin may be disposed in a gap portion which communicates with the cavity between the circuit substrate and the heat radiating member, and by means of a bonding force of the bonding resin, the heat radiating member is permanently fixed to the circuit substrate.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor device and a manufacturing method therefor, and, in particular, to a semiconductor device in which a heat radiating member is provided for a substrate having a semiconductor element mounted thereon, and a manufacturing method therefor.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, along with an increase of an integration density of a semiconductor element, a heat amount generated from the semiconductor element increases. On the other hand, along with the increase of the integration density of the semiconductor element, an improvement of electrical characteristics of a circuit subsurface on which the semiconductor element is mounted is demanded. In order to satisfy these requirements, a semiconductor device is provided having a configuration in which, a heat radiating plate is disposed on a multilayer substrate, called EBGA (enhanced ball grid array), is provided (for example, see Japanese Laid-open Patent Applications Nos. 08-250529 and 2000-058702).
FIG. 1 shows an EBGA-type semiconductor device 1 as one example of the related art. This semiconductor device 1 generally includes a semiconductor element 2, a circuit substrate 3, a heat radiating plate 4, a sealing resin 5 and solder balls 6.
The circuit substrate 3 is a multilayer interconnection substrate, and includes a plurality of layers of interlayer interconnections 9. This circuit substrate 3 has a stair-step-shaped cavity provided at a center thereof. The heat radiating plate 4 is made of a metal material having good thermal conductivity. This heat radiating plate 4 is fixed to the circuit substrate 3 with the use of an adhesive sheet 8.
In the semiconductor device 1 shown in FIG. 1, the heat radiating plate 4 is mounted on the semiconductor element 2. Thereby, a heat generated from the semiconductor element 2 is radiated externally directly through the heat radiating plate 4. Thus, it is possible to increase the heat radiation efficiency. Further, wires 7 are applied to electrically connect between the semiconductor element 2 and the circuit substrate 3.
The sealing resin 5 is applied to fill the cavity in which the semiconductor element 2 is disposed. Thereby, the semiconductor element 2 and the wires 7 are sealed by the sealing resin 5. As a result, the semiconductor element 2 and the wires are protected. The solder balls 6 are disposed on a side of the circuit substrate 3 opposite to a side on which the heat radiating plate 4 is disposed.
In the semiconductor device in the related art described above with reference to FIG. 1, the adhesive sheet 8 made of a heat curing resin or a thermoplastic resin is applied to fix the heat radiating plate 4 to the circuit substrate 3. Specifically, the adhesive sheet 8 is placed on the circuit substrate 3, and also, on the adhesive sheet 8, the heat radiating plate 4 is disposed, first. Then, a thus-obtained intermediate product is heated during seconds at 200° C. Thereby, the heat radiating plate 4 is temporarily fixed to the circuit substrate 3. In this state, the adhesive sheet 8 is not yet hardened completely, and thus, the heat radiating plate 4 is merely temporarily fixed to the circuit substrate 3.
After the completion of the temporary fixing, permanent fixing processing is carried out in which the circuit substrate on which the heat radiating plate 4 is temporarily fixed is heated at a temperature on the order of 150° C. during hours, for example. A reason why such a long duration is required for the permanent fixing processing is that generation of voids in the adhesive sheet 8 otherwise occurring when rapid heating processing is carried out should be avoided. Also, an unnecessary stress should be prevented from being generated in the adhesive sheet 8. In order to positively avoid the generation of voids, the above-mentioned permanent fixing processing may be carried out in vacuo.
Thus, in the semiconductor device 1 according to the related art, the adhesive sheet 8 is required to fix the heat radiating plate 4 and the sealing resin 5, and also, the two times of heating processing should be carried out for fixing the heat radiating plate 4 and the sealing resin 5 with the use of the adhesive sheet 8. Further, in this permanent fixing processing, it is necessary to keep the heating condition on the order of 150° C. for hours. Thus, the efficiency of the fixing process for fixing the radiating plate 4 to the circuit substrate 3 is degraded. Thus, the semiconductor device 1 in the related art requires the many components/parts, and also, the manufacturing efficiency thereof is not high. As a result, the semiconductor device 1 becomes expensive.

Semiconductor device and manufacturing method therefor


A drainage bag is provided for a thermal control unit adapted to deliver temperature-controlled liquid to a patient in order to control the patient's temperature. The drainage bag is used to hold and transport the liquid when the liquid inside the thermal control unit is changed. The drainage bag includes a bottom layer, a top layer sealed thereto, and a float secured to the top layer that is positioned adjacent an opening in the top layer. As the liquid from the thermal control unit drains into the opening in the top layer, the liquid lifts the float and the float lifts the top layer of the bag. The bag thereby expands its volume to accommodate the liquid from the thermal control unit. The bag may further be designed to be carried without sealing the opening and without spilling the liquid. A method for using the bag is also disclosed.

The present disclosure relates to a thermal control system for controlling the temperature of circulating fluid that is delivered to one or more thermal pads positioned in contact with a patient, and more particularly to a drainage bag for draining the liquid from the thermal control system.
Thermal control systems are known in the art for controlling the temperature of a patient by providing a thermal control unit that supplies temperature-controlled fluid to one or more thermal pads positioned in contact with a patient and/or to one or more catheters positioned inside the patient. The thermal control unit includes one or more heat exchangers for controlling the temperature of the fluid and a pump that pumps the temperature-controlled fluid to the pad(s) and/or catheter(s). After passing through the pad(s) or catheter(s), the fluid is returned to the thermal control unit where any necessary adjustments to the temperature of the returning fluid are made before being pumped back to the pad(s) and/or catheter(s).
Periodically, it is often desirable to change the liquid inside the thermal control unit, which is typically water, or a water-based mixture (although other liquids may be used). In order to drain the liquid from the thermal control unit, a valve on the thermal control unit is typically opened to allow the liquid to drain out of the thermal control unit due to gravity. After the liquid is drained, the valve is closed and a disinfected and/or fresh supply of liquid is added back to the thermal control unit. In some instances, draining the thermal control unit without spilling the liquid onto the floor and/or other surfaces is difficult.


A curtain airbag device placement structure has an airbag module that is structured to include a curtain airbag folded-up in an elongated shape and an inflator supplying gas to the curtain airbag at a time of a side collision or the like, and that is assembled in advance to a top surface of a side terminal portion of a roof head lining. The inflator is disposed directly above a center pillar, and a pair of front and rear mounting leg portions of an inflator mounting bracket for fixing the inflator to a vehicle body are extended further toward a vehicle lower side than the side terminal portion of the roof head lining, and further, the inflator mounting bracket is fixed to the center pillar at the mounting leg portions.

Conventionally, a curtain airbag device is installed as a device for protecting the head portion of a vehicle occupant at the time of a side collision. The curtain airbag device is structured to include a curtain airbag that is folded-up in an elongated shape, and an inflator that supplies gas to the curtain airbag at the time of a side collision.
In a case in which a curtain airbag device of the above-described structure is assembled in a vehicle, the inflator is fixed to a position along the roof side rail (e.g., at the rear side of the center pillar), and the curtain airbag is fixed to the roof side rail at predetermined intervals.
However, in a case in accordance with the above-described conventional method, the inflator that is a comparatively heavy object must be fixed to the body by ceiling work (work that the worker carries out while raising his/her hands toward the ceiling side). Therefore, there are the problems that the work posture of the worker is poor, and the work efficiency of the worker also deteriorates. Further, the curtain airbag is an elongated object, and the fact that there are many points at which it is fastened to the body also is a factor causing the above-described problems.    Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-359044    Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-139238

Curtain airbag device placement structure


A faulty weft yarn removing apparatus for a loom, having weft yarn extracting devices disposed on the picking side and receiving side of a fabric, respectively, capable of removing the faulty weft yarns (Y1, Y2) smoothly even when the phenomena of long pick and broken pick both occur. A control circuit determines the long pick or the broken pick when the yarn signals (S1, S2) transmitted from the weft yarn feelers are present, first actuates a weft yarn extracting device disposed on the picking side and if there is a yarn signal (S2) after a specified time passes, actuates the weft yarn extracting device on the receiving side. The weft yarn extracting device is capable of removing the faulty weft yarn (Y1) to the picking side of the fabric and the weft yarn extracting device is capable of removing the faulty weft yarn (Y2) to the receiving side of the fabric.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a faulty weft yarn removing apparatus capable of removing a faulty weft yarn smoothly when a picked weft yarn is broken in the fabric so that a so-called broken pick occurs.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a shuttleless loom such as an air jet loom and a water jet loom, a faulty weft yarn removing device is often used to extract the faulty weft yarn from the fabric and perform automatic restart of the loom when a mispick (which refers to a weft yarn which causes a faulty picking phenomenon such as short pick, long pick, bent pick, broken pick by the jet of picking fluid or some other causes, etc.) occurs.
The faulty weft yarn removing apparatus may remove the faulty weft yarn from the receiving side as well as the picking side of the fabric by disposing weft yarn extracting devices on the picking side and the receiving side of the fabric, respectively, so that the apparatus may cope with the mispick even when a picked weft yarn is cut off and broken pick occurs in the fabric (for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,730,643).
The faulty weft yarn removing apparatus as described above is provided with a first weft yarn feeler which detects a correctly picked weft yarn and a second weft yarn feeler disposed downstream in the picking direction, on the receiving side of the fabric. When the second weft yarn feeler detects the weft yarn, the apparatus determines whether the mispick is long pick or broken pick by simultaneously referring to a measuring signal transmitted from an unwinding detector. Namely, when the measuring signal indicates an error, the faulty weft yarn removing apparatus determines that the mispick is long pick and actuates only the weft yarn extracting device on the picking side in order to remove the faulty weft yarn from the picking side in the direction opposite to the picking direction. When the measuring signal is normal, the faulty weft yarn removing apparatus determines that the mispick is a broken pick and actuates both of the weft yarn extracting devices In order to remove the faulty weft yarn in both directions.
According to the prior art, when long pick and broken pick concur, the weft yarn extracting device disposed on the receiving side is not actuated and the broken end of the faulty weft yarn is not removed. The reason is that because the measuring signal indicates an error, only the weft yarn extracting device on the picking side is actuated to cope with long pick. If the weft yarn extracting device disposed on the receiving side is arranged to be also actuated unconditionally at the same time as the weft yarn extracting device on the picking side, both of the weft yarn extracting devices extract the faulty weft yarn from both sides upon the occurrence of simple long pick without broken pick so that the faulty weft yarn is cut off, and the cut end is sprung back and twisted around wrap yarns. Thus it is extremely difficult to remove the faulty weft yarn. On the other hand, if the apparatus is arranged so as to be able to detect the occurrence of a broken pick in order to avoid such a problem, it is necessary to arrange another special detector in the loom. However, such an arrangement is difficult to realize.

Multiple weft removing devices for a loom


The invention relates to a device and a method for separating and/or recovering silicate particles from plant material. This device and the method are characterized by an air classifier (3, 14), which has at least one material inlet (4), an air inlet (6), arranged under the material inlet (4), an air outlet (7) and at least one particle receptacle (8), arranged under the air outlet, wherein the plant particles recovered from plant material by crushing can be subjected to an air stream in the air classifier (3, 14) in such a way that silicate particles contained in the plant material are removed by the air stream via the air outlet (7) and, as a result of gravitational force, the plant particles are received by the particle receptacle (8) arranged under the air outlet (7) and taken away.

The plant material or starting material here is a lignocellulosic starting material such as wood, especially preferably so-called annual plants. Annual plants are plants that require only one growing season from germination of the seed to the development of the entire plant, flowering, fertilization, and maturation of the new seed. Examples of such fast-growing plants are cereals (or the straw produced by them) such as rice or rice straw, but also bamboo, as well as bagasse, reed, or giant reed.
In agricultural cultivation, for example cereal or rice cultivation, straw usually arises as a leftover that is either left in the fields or burned. In addition, it has been proposed to use straw, such as rice straw, for example, for the manufacturing of fiberboard (see DE 10 2009 057 916 [US 2012/0123022] and DE 10 2015 120 653). When annual plants are used for board manufacturing in this manner, suitable scatterable particles (chips or fibers) are first produced using comminutors and glued. These glued particles are then scattered by one or more spreaders onto a scattering belt conveyor, for example, to form a strewed-material mat and fed to a press, the strewed-material mat being pressed in the press under application of pressure and heat to form a board. In principle, the use of annual plants, for example straw left over therefrom, represents a promising alternative to the use of wood for making fiberboard or chipboard. One problem in connection with the processing of particles from annual plants, for example rice straw, is the fact that annual plants store high amounts of silicate during their growth that is introduced into the production process and can be disruptive, since such mineral silicates can result in high wear in a variety of system components due to their properties. For this reason, it has already been proposed, in DE 10 2009 057 916, for example, that the components of a mixer for the gluing of fibers are wear resistant, since the silicates stress the surfaces of the components intensively.
Apart from that, there are numerous (industrial) uses for silicates, for example as additives in the manufacture of insulation panels, fire panels, or also as abrasives. This is where the invention comes in.
In addition, classifiers for separating material are inherently known from the prior art. For example, US 2010/0163463 describes an apparatus and a method for separating foreign bodies from wood and/or plant particles.

Separating and recovering silicate particles from plant material

SIEMPELKAMP MASCHINEN-UND ANLAGENBAU GMBH


In a CDMA communication system where each radio slot has a plurality of short slots, a radio control apparatus allows a plurality of mobile stations using a single channelization code for communication with a radio base station apparatus to share the same radio slot by allocating different short slots to the plurality of mobile stations in its cell. The radio control apparatus includes a short slot storage unit for storing the usage status of a short slot which has been allocated already; a short slot selection unit for selecting a single unoccupied short slot for a new radio link between a new mobile station and the radio base station apparatus, in accordance with the usage status; and a transmission timing determination unit for randomly determining the radio transmission timing of a radio frame used for communication in the new radio link, in accordance with the selected short slot, such that the timing does not overlap with the radio transmission timing used by an existing link.

Known multiple access schemes, which allow a plurality of users to perform communication simultaneously by sharing a single radio transmission path, include code division multiple access (CDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), and frequency division multiple access (FDMA). An example of the TDMA technology is disclosed in patent document 1. Wideband CDMA (W-CDMA) is one known multiple access scheme for third-generation mobile phones.
In CDMA communication systems in which a plurality of channels share the same frequency band, such as the W-CDMA cellular system, individual channels used in the cell formed by a radio base station apparatus are identified by channelization codes, which are code sequences with good code-to-code identification characteristics, that is, with good orthogonality.
Although the channelization codes have good identification characteristics, the number of the codes is limited. To increase the radio communication rate, the length of the code sequence should be shortened. A shortened channelization code sequence, however, means that the code space reserved for each single code would be significantly wasted. Accordingly, the number of channelization codes to be actually used has been a subject to be reduced.
To solve the problem, the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) added a fractional dedicated physical channel (F-DPCH) to the W-CDMA cellular system (non-patent document 1). In F-DPCH, each single radio slot is time-divided into ten short slots. Each single short slot is assigned to one of multiple users assigned a single channelization code, so that up to ten users can share the single code. Unlike the conventional systems, F-DPCH prevents one code from being occupied by a single user. Consequently, the channelization codes can be used efficiently.    Patent document 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2-260929    Non-patent document 1: "3GPP TS 25.211 V 6.9.0", [online] November 2007, 3rd Generation Partnership Project, [retrieved on Jan. 23, 2008].

Radio control apparatus and radio transmission timing determination method


A method to reduce and thereby improve the initial program load time of a computing apparatus operating system and thus provides for near instantaneous user interaction. When practicing the instant invention, a computing apparatus operating system or application processing component is loaded neither sequentially nor completely, but rather on an as required basis. The invention's “required only” loading of processing components persist through subsequent operation and shut down of the computing apparatus with each loaded task creating a checkpoint record of processing modifications to non-volatile memory. Such checkpointing allows shut down processing of the apparatus to consist of merely flushing memory buffers in the apparatus checkpointed non-volatile memory of the apparatus to permanent storage and powering off of the apparatus, with subsequent initial program load (IPL) sequencing referencing the checkpointed records to minimize future system initialization elapsed time.

When a computing apparatus is power on, numerous and varied software components are loaded into its RAM (Random Access Memory). As used herein, the term computing apparatus is used synonymously with the terms personal computers, portable personal electronic devices, personal digital assistants (PDA's), and other similarly intended apparatus. As more and more auxiliary devices and functions are integrated into computing apparatuses additional RAM is required to accommodate operating and application system functionality requirements. Further, users continue to demand enhanced functionality of hardware devices, additional software must also be loaded into RAM during device initialization to drive such functionality. As RAM must be validity checked during and after every power on sequence to verify its continuing integrity and associative increase in the time required for RAM validation is often perceived by the user of the apparatus.
It would seem as processors increase in speed, computing apparatuses operating under control of their respective control programs should be able to boot (a.k.a. "load") faster. However, given the requirements for additional functionality associated with these computing apparatuses and the necessity of ensuring the integrity of RAM processing, such devices require more time than ever to boot (as used herein the term "boot" is used synonymously with the initial program (IPL) of one or more operating system or application program sequence necessary to execute a desired function).
In an associative manner shut down processing or termination processing, given the advances of the art, should require the simple act of minimal cleanup by the operating system resulting in almost immediate shut down of the computing apparatus. However, the status of the present art requires the operating system, or more precisely an operating system or application program processing component associated therewith to attempt to shut down each and every task, and each and every device attached to the computing apparatus to cease operation (even if that task/device is not responding or otherwise presently active in the terminating computer device).
In a number of prior art references, improvements in initial program load time(s) have been asserted. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,968,173 entitled "Method and System for Maximizing the Apparent Initial Processing Capability of a Computer" purports to disclose and claim a method and system reduce the apparent time between turning on a computer and making available the computer processing capability. The method and system of the '173 patent includes and states in part " . . . displaying within a shortened predetermined time period an interface screen that includes a plurality of interface checkpoints and address data relating to application programs associated with the user interface checkpoints. The shortened predetermined time period has a duration substantially shorter than the period associated with booting the associated application programs. In turning off computer, the method and system include generating a shut down command to computer and storing interface screen and any data files that are open at the time of turning off the computer. The interface screen and data files are stored so that upon subsequently turning off the computer, computer displays interface screen in the shortened predetermined time."
Another example of a prior art reference purporting to accelerate processes associated with initial program load and/or termination processing are disclosed in association with U.S. Pat. No. 6,073,232, entitled "Method for Minimizing a Computer's Initial Program Load Time after a System Reset or a Power-on Using Non-volatile Storage" discloses in part a method for increasing boot speed of a host computer with associated hard disk drive generates a preftech table that contains pointers to disk locations and lengths of the records of an application program requested by the host computer during an initial power-on/reset. During the next power on/reset, before the host computer is ready for data but after the disk drive has completed its reset routine, using the preftech table the disk drive accesses the previously requested data and copies it onto the cache of the disk drive, from where it is transferred to the host computer when the host computer requests it. The preftech table is updated to reflect disk location changes for the various records, or to reflect new records that were requested by the host computer but not found in cache during the previous power-on/reset).
Yet another reference allegedly shortening the time required to "boot" a computer system is found in U.S. Pat. No. 6,098,158, entitled "Software-enabled to Fast Boot" wherein the abstract of said reference discloses a method of generating a boot image and using the boot image to restore a computer system having a processor, an operating system, physical memory, virtual memory and disk storage. The method may be initiated from any particular software application, or at multiple execution points within a particular application. By providing full virtual memory support in the boot image, the computer system may be restored to any predetermined operating state.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,122,677, entitled "Method of Shortening Boot Uptime In a Computer System" purports to disclose a method of configuring peer devices without the unnecessary delay in boot up time using a compatibility bridge and discloses in part, "Upon initiating a configuration cycle, a BIOS initialization scans all peer devices located on the host bus. A watchdog timer times out after a predetermined duration when the intended apparatus fails to respond to the configuration cycle. A bit corresponding to the particular apparatus is set in a scorecard register. The compatibility bridge responds to the configuration cycle after the watchdog time-out period)"
U.S. Pat. No. 5,269,022, entitled "Method and Apparatus for Booting a Computer System by Restoring the Main Memory from a Backup Memory" purports to disclose a method of generating a boot image and using the boot image to restore a computer system having a processor, an operating system, physical memory, virtual memory and disk storage.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,269,022, according to the Abstract stated therein, purportedly discloses, "In a computer system, when the system is first booted in a normal mode, main memory data stored in a main memory immediately after the system is booted, is stored as backup data in a backup memory or the like. A backup flag representing whether or not the backup data can be restored is set and the system is rebooted. When the system is next booted in the normal mode, the backup data stored in the backup memory or the like is restored as the main memory data in the main memory. The backup flag is automatically reset in a maintenance mode.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,710,930, entitled "Apparatus and a Method for Allowing an Operating System of a Computer to Persist Across a Power Off and On Cycle", wherein said patent's abstract purports to disclose, "A method of allowing an operating system of a computer system to persist across a power off and on cycle is described. The method includes the step of detecting if the computer system is to be powered off. If the computer system is detected to be powered off, the state of the computer system is then preserved by storing data representing the state of the computer system in a designated area of nonvolatile memory of the computer system. A system initialization code of the operating system is then replaced with new system initialization code that branches to restart code that accesses to the designated area of the nonvolatile memory such that when the computer system is again powered on, the restart code accesses the designated area of the nonvolatile memory for the data to restore the computer system to the state before the computer system was powered off.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,797,003, entitled "Quick Access to Computer Applications" wherein the abstract purports to disclose, "In general, in one aspect, the invention features a method for enabling a user of a computer to rapidly begin using an application which had been previously placed in a non-running state. Prior to the time when the application was placed in the non-running state, information defining an image of an interactive screen associated with the application is stored in the memory of the computer and locked to prevent corruption by other running applications. Then, in response to a request from the user to begin using the application, and before the application has been fully loaded into memory and is again running, the image defined by the stored information is displayed to the user. In this way the user is given the impression that the application has become immediately available.
As distinguished from the disclosure and claims of the instant invention, the common deficiency in all of the above-noted prior art references is that each reference expressly or implicitly attempts to restore the computing apparatus to a state reflecting its most recent status prior to shut down or termination processing. Consequently, the common deficiency in all of these references each is that each attempts to restore the computing apparatus to reflect its most recent fully loaded and executing status prior to termination.
Again using the "standard" approach for a boot all memory must first be verified error free and the state of the machine must be loaded from non-volatile random access memory NVRAM (hard drive, flash, etc.). While this approach does reduce time in loading each component from the NVRAM apparatus and integrating it into the operating system, it fails to address or remedy errors in the previously saved image. Had saved information been save incorrectly, if there were errors in software executing at the time it was saved as an image, such errors are routinely loaded back into memory when the apparatus is again activated. Consequently, this flawed methodology requires the computer to be shut down and rebooted yet again after loading the flawed image.
Another flawed approach to enhance boot improvement and termination processing found in the contemporary art is the loading of a memory image to disk once the apparatus has been booted (attempting to minimize the above errors). However, if new software has been loaded, subsequent to this image copy, the computer then must be completely rebooted to recreate a current accurate image of the operating system (as used herein, the term operating system is used synonymously with the term "control program" and relates both to processes associated with initial program load and termination processing as well as dispatching control exercised over application end user oriented programs.

Method and apparatus to minimize computer apparatus initial program load and exit/shut down processing


A field emission backlight unit for a liquid crystal display (LCD) includes: a lower substrate; first electrodes and second electrodes alternately formed in parallel lines on the lower substrate; emitters disposed on at least the first electrodes; an upper substrate spaced apart from the lower substrate by a predetermined distance such that the upper and lower substrates face each other; a third electrode formed on a bottom surface of the upper substrate; and a fluorescent layer formed on the third electrode. Since the backlight unit has a triode-type field emission structure, field emission is very stable. Since the first electrodes and the second electrodes are formed in the same plane, brightness uniformity is improved and manufacturing processes are simplified. If the emitters are disposed on both the first electrodes and the second electrodes, and a cathode voltage and a gate voltage are alternately applied to the first electrodes and second electrodes, the lifespan and brightness of the emitters can be improved. The above advantages are also achieved as a result of the method of driving the backlight unit and the method of manufacturing the lower panel thereof.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a backlight unit for a liquid crystal display and, more particularly, to a field emission backlight unit.
2. Related Art
In general, flat panel displays are largely classified into light emitting displays and light receiving displays. Light emitting flat panel displays include cathode ray tubes (CRTs), plasma display panels (PDPs), and field emission displays (FEDs), and light receiving flat panel displays include liquid crystal displays (LCDs). Among these flat panel displays, LCDs have the advantages of light weight and low power consumption, but have a disadvantage in that, since they form an image not by emitting light by itself but by receiving light from an outside source, the image cannot be viewed in a dark place. To solve this problem, a backlight unit for emitting light is installed at a rear surface of the LCD so that the LCD can form an image in a dark place.
A conventional backlight unit uses a linear or a point light source. Typically, a cold cathode fluorescent lamp (CCFL) is used as the linear light source, and a light emitting diode (LED) is used as the point light source. However, the conventional backlight unit is disadvantageous in that, since its structure is complex, manufacturing costs are high, and since the light source is disposed at the side of the backlight unit, power consumption is high when light is reflected and transmitted. In particular, as the LCD becomes larger, it becomes more difficult to achieve uniform brightness with the conventional backlight unit.
Accordingly, in recent years, a field emission backlight unit having a planar light emitting structure has been suggested. The field emission backlight unit has lower power consumption and more uniform brightness over a larger area than the backlight unit using the typical CCFL.
Korean Patent Publication No. 2002-33948 discloses a conventional field emission backlight unit. An indium tin oxide (ITO) electrode layer and a fluorescent layer are sequentially stacked on a bottom surface of an upper substrate. A thin metal layer and a carbon nanotube layer are sequentially stacked on a lower substrate. The upper substrate and the lower substrate are bonded to each other with a spacer therebetween. A glass tube for vacuum ventilation is installed in the lower substrate.
In the backlight unit constructed as above, if a voltage is applied between the ITO electrode layer and the thin metal layer, electrons are emitted from the carbon nanotube layer and collide against the fluorescent layer. As a result, fluorescent materials in the fluorescent layer become excited and emit visible light.
However, the conventional field emission backlight unit has a diode-type field emission structure in which the ITO electrode layer disposed on the upper substrate is used as an anode and the thin metal layer disposed on the lower substrate is used as a cathode. Since a high voltage used for emitting electrons is directly applied between the anode and the cathode, this diode-type structure is vulnerable to local arcing. If such local arcing occurs, brightness cannot be kept uniform over the entire surface of the backlight unit, and the ITO electrode layer, the fluorescent layer, and the carbon nanotube layer gradually become damaged, thereby reducing the lifespan of the backlight unit.

Field emission backlight unit having emitters disposed on edges of electrodes


Numeric values “a” representing a respective order of transmission by a plurality of transmitting units, and a numeric value N representing the total number of transmitting units, are set for each of the transmitting units. At startup, a transmitting unit for which the value “a” representing the order of transmission of the unit has been set to 1 sets a trigger value to N and transmits information about the value “a” of the unit and detection information from a sensor, and, when the value N is detected from a received signal, transmits the value “a” of the unit and detection information. When a value of a−1 is detected from a received signal, the transmitting unit for which the value “a” representing the order of transmission of the unit has been set to other than 1 transmits the information of the value “a” of the unit and detection information.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a transmission device constituted by a plurality of transmitting units, such that transmitting of information can take place at shorter time intervals than the transmission pause time.
2. Background Information
Conventionally, there are known transmission devices that employ transmitting units equipped with sensors and are adapted to transmit detected values for physical states that have been detected by the sensors, such as temperature, humidity, pressure, or the like, to a remote location by radio waves.
For example, in pneumatic fenders of the sort employed when bringing a boat alongside a pier or alongside another boat, it is known to detect the internal air pressure by the sensor of a transmitting unit, and to employ the transmitting unit to transmit detected values to a remote location by radio waves, where the values are received so that the internal air pressure can be monitored without contacting the pneumatic fender.
As an example thereof, a plurality of transmission devices are provided in the device disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 2010-175298 in order for information to be transmitted at shorter time intervals than a regulated transmission pause time. By using an external wireless starting device and setting the timing at which each of the transmission devices transmits so that the timing will be sequentially staggered over predetermined intervals, it is possible for transmissions to be made by the plurality of transmission devices at shorter time intervals than the transmission pause time.