A rotor of a motor includes: a stator; a rotor core of a certain shape; a winding coil wound on the rotor core; and a rotor rotated by an electromagnetic interaction with the stator, in which both sides of an end wall of each slot of the I rotor core where the winding coil is inserted are respectively provided with a corner portion to connect both lateral walls of each slot. As a result, the effective area of a flux is increased thereby to decrease flux resistance and to reduce a stacked height of the rotor, that is, the number of stacked thin plates.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a motor, and more particularly, to a rotor of a motor capable of maximizing a flow path of a flux and decreasing a size thereof.
2. Description of the Conventional Art
Generally, a motor is a device for converting electric energy into kinetic energy, and the motor is being used as a driving source of many machines.
There are many types of motors, such as a direct current motor, a brushless motor, an induction motor, a synchronous motor, a universal motor, etc., depending upon its use.
FIGS. 1 and 2 are respective frontal and lateral section views showing one embodiment of a universal motor.
As shown, the universal motor comprises: a stator 100 having a through hole 111 therein; a rotor 200 rotatably inserted into the through hole 111 of the stator; a rotational shaft 300 inserted into the center of the rotor; and a commutator 400 and a brush 500 coupled to the rotational shaft 300 and supplying a current.
The stator includes: a core 110 of a certain shape; and a winding coil 120 wound on the core 110. The core 110 is provided with a through hole 111 penetrated in a longitudinal direction therein. A plurality of slots S penetrated in a longitudinal direction are formed at fixed intervals along the edge of the through hole 111, and teeth T are formed between said slots S. The slot S is composed of s an opening portion 112 connected to the through hole 111, and an extension portion 113 extendingly formed from the opening portion 112 and in which the winding coil 120 is positioned. A width of the extension portion 113 is gradually increased towards the outside of the opening portion 112, and the end of the extension portion 113 is a curved surface of a semi-circle.
The core 110 of the stator is formed as a plurality of stacked thin plates 10 having a shape corresponding to a sectional surface of the core 110.
The rotor 200 includes: a core 210 of a certain shape; and a winding coil 220 wound on the core 210. The core 210 is provided with a plurality of slots S penetrated at fixed intervals along the edge of a cylindrical body portion 211 is having a certain length in a longitudinal direction, and teeth T are formed between the slots S. As shown in FIG. 3, the slot S is composed of an opening portion 212 formed at an outer circumferential surface of the cylindrical body portion 211, and an extension portion 213 extendingly formed towards the inside of the opening portion 112 and in which the winding coil 220 is positioned. A width of the extension portion 213 is decreased towards the center of the cylindrical body portion 211, and the end of the extension portion 213 is formed as a curved surface wall 214 of a semi-circle shape. The curved surface wall 214 is located at an opposite direction from an outer circumferential surface of the cylindrical body portion 211. A width of the extension portion 213 is gradually decreased towards the inside of the opening portion 212, so that a width of a portion of each tooth located between two adjacent extension portions 213 is constant.
An axial hole 215 into which the rotational shaft 300 is inserted, is penetratingly formed at the center of the cylindrical body portion 211.
The core 210 of the rotor is formed as a plurality of stacked thin plates 20 having a shape corresponding to a sectional surface of the cylindrical body portion 211.
The operation of the universal motor will be explained as follows.
When power is supplied to the winding coil 120, a flux is formed at the stator core 110. At the same time, when power is supplied to the winding coil 220 through the brush 500 and the commutator 400, a flux is formed at the rotor core 210. By an interaction between the flux formed at the stator core 110 and the flux formed at the rotor core 210, the rotor 200 is rotated. A rotation force of the rotor 200 is transmitted to a load through the rotational shaft 300.
The universal motor is usually used as a power source of a washing machine or a vacuum cleaner, etc. A miniaturization of the universal motor is required in order to minimize a mounting space inside the washing machine or the vacuum cleaner, and the fabrication costs of the motor has to be lowered to achieve price competitiveness.
The core is one part of the universal motor that should be minimized in size and have low fabrication cost while maintaining its function.
The stator and the core constituting the rotor of the universal motor are formed as a stacked body with a plurality of thin plates having a certain shape being stacked in order to minimize power loss due to eddy current.
A shape of the core and the number of the thin plates constituting the core are set to maintain high efficiency by minimizing the loss of a flux formed at the core by the current applied to the winding coil.
However, in the conventional core of the universal motor, the inner side portion of each slot S in which the winding coil is inserted is formed as a curved surface of a semi-circle shape in order to simplify the manufacturing process when s using a punch or press. According to this, the winding coil can not be densely inserted into the slots S, which results in a decrease in an effective area of the guaranteed flux, generation of flux loss, and requiring an increased number of thin plates constituting the core.


A fluororubber composition includes a polyol-crosslinkable fluororubber, a crosslinking accelerator, a polyol crosslinking agent and calcium hydroxide, with the crosslinking accelerator having a specific weight ratio relative to the polyol crosslinking agent, and is heat treated under specific conditions to give a low-friction fluororubber crosslinked product that is well balanced and excellent in properties such as low frictional properties, low tackiness and low resilience properties and that is favorably employed as rubber vibration insulators and impact-absorbing stoppers represented by HDD stoppers.

Fluororubbers possess rubber elasticity, an inherent characteristic in common with other general-purpose rubbers, and are superior to the general-purpose rubbers in properties such as resistance to heat, oil and chemicals. Such properties provide various applications, including leakproof rubber parts represented by O-rings, packings and gaskets, rubber vibration insulators, belts and rubber-coated fabrics, as well as impact-absorbing stoppers for printer head controllers and HDD (hard disk drive) head controllers, more particularly stoppers fitted in HDD to prevent a malfunction of a reading arm.
The conventional fluororubbers have surface tackiness and high friction coefficient, and therefore the processing thereof often involves tack eliminating treatment on the crosslinked rubber surface. This increases the treatment cost.
The use of conventional fluororubbers as stoppers of storage devices in hard disk drives (HDD) causes a malfunction by the tackiness of the stopper to the arm. Furthermore, their damping properties are greatly dependent on temperature and the impact resilience is increased at high temperatures such that the stoppers do not absorb the vibration of the arm. As used herein, the stoppers are parts that define the range of movement (swing) to which an arm having a reading head at the tip can move from a standby position and that absorb the impact to prevent a malfunction of the arm after operation or standby.
Meanwhile, recent rubber stoppers that are increasingly used include magnet holder-type stoppers that incorporate a magnet in the rubber to fix the arm by magnetic attraction, and crush stop-type stoppers arranged on both sides of the arm. Performances required for such stoppers are mainly the following three:
(1) The stoppers exhibit excellent impact-absorbing properties when the arm collides therewith.
(2) The rubber stopper holds an arm end portion (metal) in close contact by the magnetic force or the like during standby but does not adhere thereto.
(3) The stoppers are clean.
The stoppers of common fluororubbers are generally satisfactory in terms of (1) the impact-absorbing properties and (3) the cleanness, but they have high tackiness and fail to satisfy the required performance (2).
To satisfy the required performance (2), JP-B-H04-37094 proposes a method in which the rubber surface is impregnated with a solution of a crosslinking agent and a crosslinking accelerator for fluororubber to perform re-crosslinking and thereby the surface tackiness is eliminated. This method, however, uses a large amount of solvent and is undesirable in view of adverse effects on the environment. Moreover, the solvent limits the impregnation, so that products, for example stoppers, have variations in performance and some cause a malfunction of HDD.
The present inventors studied diligently in order to solve the aforesaid problems, and have arrived at an uncrosslinked fluororubber composition that comprises a polyol-crosslinkable fluororubber in combination with a specific crosslinking agent, crosslinking accelerator, calcium hydroxide and optionally magnesium oxide, wherein the crosslinking accelerator has a weight ratio (R) to the crosslinking agent (crosslinking accelerator/crosslinking agent) in the range of 0.9 to 5, and that when heat treated under specific conditions (the heat treatment may be preceded by polyol crosslinking and preforming according to need), the crosslinking accelerator in the fluororubber composition (or a preform) favorably migrates to the superficial layer to increase the crosslinking density of the rubber surface such that the rubber surface displays reduced frictional properties and tackiness and the fluororubber formed product exhibits low impact resilience.
Specifically, the present inventors have found that the greater the crosslinking accelerator (such as an organic quaternary phosphonium salt)/crosslinking agent ratio is within the range of 0.9 to 5, the larger the amount of the crosslinking accelerator migrating to the rubber surface, with the result that the crosslinking density increases in the surface of rubber formed product while that of the entire rubber formed product decreases, leading to lowered impact resilience.
The present inventors have also found that the fluororubber composition in which the crosslinking accelerator (such as an organic quaternary phosphonium salt)/crosslinking agent ratio is higher than in the traditional fluororubber compositions can give a low-friction fluororubber crosslinked product that is well balanced and improved in properties such as low frictional properties, low tackiness and low resilience properties and is favorably employed for fabrication of parts including leakproof rubber parts represented by O-rings, packings and gaskets, rubber vibration insulators, belts, rubber-coated fabrics, and impact-absorbing stoppers as stoppers in HDD. The present invention has been completed based on these findings.
Known technologies related to the polyol vulcanization of fluororubbers include the following.
JP-B-H04-37094 discloses a process of surface modification of a fluorine-containing elastomer formed product wherein a surface of a vulcanized fluorine-containing elastomer formed product is impregnated with a crosslinking (vulcanizing) agent polyhydroxy compound and optionally a vulcanization accelerating promoter (crosslinking accelerator) to perform re-vulcanization. This surface modification process is described to provide non-tackiness and low frictional properties in the surface of vulcanized fluorine-containing elastomer formed product.
However, the process employs a surface treatment solution of the crosslinking agent and crosslinking accelerator in an organic solvent such as acetone for impregnating the surface with the crosslinking agent polyhydroxy compound and vulcanization accelerating promoter (crosslinking accelerator). The use of organic solvent possibly leads to environmental pollution. Moreover, the surface treatment after vulcanization adds a process to increase the cost.
JP-A-H07-3099 discloses a fluororubber composition comprising (A) 100 parts by weight of a fluororubber obtained by copolymerizing vinylidene fluoride, hexafluoropropylene and optionally tetrafluoroethylene, (B) 0.05 to 2 parts by weight of an organic quaternary phosphonium salt, (C) 0.01 to 3 parts by weight of a nitrogen-containing organic compound and/or a phosphorous-containing organic compound, (D) 0.1 to 10 parts by weight of a polyhydroxy compound, and (E) 0.5 to 30 parts by weight of a metal oxide and/or a metal hydroxide. It is described that the composition may be preformed into a desired shape, be placed in a mold, and be compression molded under heating to perform polyol vulcanization, giving a vulcanized fluororubber formed product. The thus-formed product is described to maintain mechanical characteristics and be free of forming failure during the vulcanization forming.
However, the formed products disclosed in Examples of the patent document show insufficient migration of the organic quaternary phosphonium salt to the surface of rubber formed product, and consequently have high friction coefficient and tackiness.
JP-A-H07-3100 discloses a fluororubber composition comprising (A) 100 parts by weight of a fluororubber obtained by copolymerizing vinylidene fluoride, hexafluoropropylene and optionally tetrafluoroethylene, (B) 0.05 to 2 parts by weight of an organic quaternary phosphonium salt, (C) 0.01 to 3 parts by weight of an organic quaternary ammonium hydrogen sulfate, (D) 0.1 to 10 parts by weight of a polyhydroxy compound, and (E) 0.5 to 30 parts by weight of a metal oxide and/or a metal hydroxide. It is described that the composition may be preformed into a desired shape, be placed in a mold, and be compression molded under heating to perform polyol vulcanization, giving a vulcanized fluororubber formed product. The thus-formed product is described to have good mechanical properties and be free of forming failure during the vulcanization forming.
However, as in the case of the above patent document 2, the formed products disclosed in Examples of this patent document show insufficient migration of the organic quaternary phosphonium salt to the surface of rubber formed product, and consequently have high friction coefficient and tackiness.
JP-A-H07-82449 discloses a polyol-vulcanizable fluororubber composition comprising a polyol-vulcanizable fluororubber and a compound analogous to hydrotalcite. According to the patent document, vulcanization is performed in a manner such that the fluororubber is mixed with vulcanizing ingredients and the mixture is subjected to primary vulcanization by press vulcanization at 140 to 200° C. for about 2 to 120 minutes and to secondary vulcanization by oven vulcanization at about 150 to 250° C. for about 0 to 30 hours. The vulcanizing ingredients mentioned in the patent document include the following, which are used in the amounts described per 100 parts by weight of the fluororubber: a vulcanizing agent (e.g., a polyhydroxy aromatic compound) used in an amount of 0.5 to 10 parts by weight, an acid receiver (e.g., a bivalent metal oxide or hydroxide) used in an amount of 1 to 20 parts by weight, and a vulcanization accelerator (e.g., a quaternary ammonium or phosphonium salt) used in an amount not more than 10 parts by weight. The composition is described to have good mold releasability, excellent vulcanization properties and improved engine oil resistance.
However, the formed products disclosed in Examples of this patent document show insufficient migration of the vulcanization accelerator (such as a quaternary phosphonium salt) to the surface of rubber formed product, and consequently have high friction coefficient and tackiness. Moreover, the use of the vulcanization accelerator, such as an organic quaternary phosphonium salt, in an increased amount in combination with the hydrotalcite-analogous compound as described in the patent document results in a higher crosslinking rate such that the composition is crosslinked before being poured into a mold in the press molding and cannot be formed into a desired shape.
JP-A-2000-34379 discloses a fluororubber composition comprising a raw-material fluororubber, a polyol vulcanizing agent, an organic promoter, a vulcanization supplement accelerator, an acid receiver and optionally a filler, wherein the vulcanization supplement accelerator is calcium hydroxide that is treated with a fatty acid ester or the like and has an average particle diameter of not more than 7.5 μm and a specific surface area of not less than 20 m2/g. The composition is described to give a vulcanized product excellent in resistance to permanent compression set. According to the patent document, the vulcanization is performed in a manner such that primary vulcanization is carried out at 170° C. for 10 minutes and secondary vulcanization at 200° C. for 24 hours.
However, fluororubber formed products obtained according to this patent document have increased crosslinking density and impact resilience, presumably because of the fact that the vulcanization supplement accelerator has a high specific surface area and is treated with a fatty acid ester or the like. Moreover, the formed products show insufficient migration of the organic accelerator (vulcanization accelerator) such as an organic quaternary phosphonium salt to the surface of rubber formed product. Furthermore, Examples in this patent document result in high friction coefficient and tackiness.
JP-A-2001-192482 discloses a process in which a fluororubber composition is vulcanized and formed in the presence of a polyol vulcanizing agent and is heat treated at a temperature of about 250 to 300° C. to give a vulcanized fluororubber formed product having superior properties such as resistance to permanent compression set, wherein the fluororubber composition comprises 100 parts by weight of a fluororubber, 0.5 to 3 parts by weight of calcium hydroxide, 4 to 15 parts by weight of magnesium oxide, and 10 to 50 parts by weight of thermal black and a bituminous coal filler combined. The process employs the polyol vulcanizing agent, such as a polyhydroxy aromatic compound, in an amount of about 0.5 to 10 parts by weight per 100 parts by weight of the fluorine-containing rubber, and an ammonium or phosphonium salt in an amount of about 0.1 to 30 parts by weight. According to the patent document, the fluororubber composition is vulcanized and formed using a compression press or the like at about 150 to 230° C. for about 1 to 30 minutes; the products for use as grommets and seal packings are further heat treated (secondary vulcanization) at about 250 to 300° C. for about 5 to 48 hours in an air oven or the like.
However, the formed products disclosed in this patent document have high impact resilience, and show insufficient migration of the organic quaternary phosphonium salt to the rubber surface and consequently exhibit high friction coefficient and tackiness.
The fluororubber compositions and vulcanized formed products thereof proposed so far further include the following.
Japanese Patent No. 3063172 (corresponding to JP-A-H04-236254) discloses a fluororubber composition comprising 100 parts by weight of a fluororubber and 0.5 to 10 parts by weight of a liquid hydrocarbon rubber selected from liquid polyisoprene rubbers and hydrogenated liquid polyisoprene rubbers. The composition is described to be excellent in processability such as extrusion properties and in vulcanized rubber properties.
Japanese Patent No. 3222054 (corresponding to JP-A-H09-208751) discloses a rubber composition comprising (A) a fluororubber polymer, (B) a wax containing a fluorine-containing organic group and having a melting point of 30 to 200° C., and (C) a crosslinking agent selected fromamines, polyols and peroxides. The rubber composition is described to possess excellent workability, kneading processability and mold releasability, and to give a formed product comparable in properties to the existing products.
Japanese Patent No. 2653340 (corresponding to JP-A-H06-293850) discloses a fluororubber composition comprising (A) a polyol-crosslinkable fluororubber, (B) a liquid fluororubber, and (C) a polyol in which at least one OH group in the molecule is silylated. It also describes that the composition may be crosslinked at a low temperature of 130 to 160° C. (primary crosslinking) to avoid foaming, and be subjected to secondary crosslinking at a temperature of 120 to 250° C. The composition is described to be excellent in workability and to give a formed product having low hardness and widespread uses.
JP-A-H05-239300 discloses a vulcanizable fluoroelastomer composition comprising (A) an elastomer copolymer having a vinylidene fluoride unit and at least one fluorine-containing monomer unit, (B) a tertiary phosphine vulcanization accelerator, such as triphenylphosphine, substituted with an alkoxyl or phenoxy group, (C) a polyol crosslinking agent, and (D) a bivalent metal oxide or hydroxide. The composition is subjected to primary vulcanization (press vulcanization) and secondary vulcanization (oven heating) to provide a vulcanized formed product, such as a sealing material. The primary vulcanization rate is high, and the vulcanized formed product has good rubber elasticity and tensile properties.
JP-A-H06-248145 discloses a fluororubber composition comprising a fluororubber, calcium oxide and polyethylene wax, wherein the fluororubber is obtained by copolymerizing vinylidene fluoride, tetrafluoroethylene and propylene. The patent document teaches that the composition may be vulcanized at 100 to 400° C. for several seconds to 5 hours, and be subjected to secondary vulcanization at 150 to 300° C. for about 30 minutes to 48 hours to stabilize properties of the vulcanizate. According to the disclosure of the document, the composition is free of fusion failure in the vulcanization and forming, and the formed product has high heat resistance.
JP-A-H06-306180 discloses a process for producing a vulcanized fluororubber formed product, wherein a fluororubber obtained by copolymerizing vinylidene fluoride, hexafluoropropylene and optionally tetrafluoroethylene, is formed by polyol vulcanization in a mold with use of an organic quaternary ammonium salt as vulcanization accelerator. The document describes that the vulcanization forming can be performed without forming failure.
The fluororubber composition disclosed in these patent documents include a liquid hydrocarbon rubber, a wax containing a fluorine-containing organic group and having a melting point of 30 to 200° C., a liquid fluororubber, a tertiary phosphine crosslinking accelerator, calcium oxide, a polyethylene wax, or an organic quaternary ammonium salt. Vulcanized formed products from the fluororubber compositions are unsatisfactory in low tackiness, low frictional properties and low impact resilience, and in balance of such properties.

Method for producing low friction fluorine rubber crosslinked body


The instant invention is an improvement on a method of making wire coils comprising the steps of rolling a length of wire having a leading end and a trailing end and displacing the wire in a longitudinal travel direction and coiling the wire into succeeding overlapping loops and depositing same onto an upstream conveyor. The loops are transferred from the upstream conveyor to a downstream conveyor and are deposited from the downstream conveyor onto a centering device to form a coil thereon. The downstream conveyor is driven to move the loops at a generally constant slow transport speed but the upstream conveyor is driven to move the loops at a substantially faster transport speed when loops of a portion of the wire having one of the ends are being deposited on the upstream conveyor. Otherwise the upstream conveyor is driven at the same slow speed as the downstream conveyor so that the loops of the end portion will be spaced more in the travel direction than the other loops of the wire. The wire is cut through at the end portion on the downstream conveyor and end-portion loops including the one end of the wire are removed from the downstream conveyor.

Wire is typically produced in a rolling mill where, after leaving the furthest downstream roll stand, the wire is coiled into loops that are laid one behind the other on a conveyor. As they move downstream on the conveyor the wire is typically air-cooled (see U.S. Pat. No. 3,231,432) and at the end of this conveyor the loops are dropped onto a centering pin that forms a coil that can be bundled up and taken off for distribution.
More particularly the wire exits from the rolling line and passes first through a water-spray unit that effects an initial tempering/cooling operation. Then the wire is fed to a coiler which forms it into loops which it deposits on a short 1m to 2m long roller-type conveyor that in turn passes the succeeding overlapping loops to a much longer chain-type downstream conveyor. Blowers adjacent the downstream conveyor finish off the cooling. The roller-type upstream conveyor has very closely spaced rollers so that as the wire loops are dropped they cannot get caught; instead they will lie flat. The downstream conveyor is of the open chain type so that air can blow through it onto the loops, but since the loops are already recumbent when delivered by the roller conveyor to it there is no possibility of them catching on it.
Invariably the leading end and trailing end of a piece of wire produced in this manner are not up to tolerance. This is in part due to the fact that the length of wire cannot be fed properly at these leading and trailing ends, that the normally provided water cooling is not effective in the desired manner for the leading end piece, and due to other causes. In any case it is necessary that these off-tolerance pieces be cut off and disposed of; they cannot be left on the finished coil.
The simplest way of doing this is simply to station a worker with a bolt cutter who snips off the first 20m to 30m of wire of each run, and another such piece at the end. Clearly this procedure is inexact and costly. Furthermore the wire is typically advancing at such a rate that this type of manual procedure is fairly difficult.
In another known system such as described in Japanese patent documents 58-195202 and 60-87923 an automatic cutting device is provided at the downstream conveyor for snipping one of the loops somewhat downstream of the leading end of the run and somewhat upstream from the trailing end of the run. Then it picks off a group of the loops upstream or downstream, depending on where the cut is made.
Such a system does not work well in a high-speed rolling operation because the individual turns or loops of wire frequently shift somewhat forward or backward. Thus a loop may shift upstream so that it actually lies upstream of a loop formed of wire that is upstream of it, and similarly a loop can shift downstream so that it is slightly downstream of wire that actually is from a further downstream portion. In this case the cutting/removing machine will snag the entire run and frequently pull a whole portion of the coil being made off the conveyor, making a serious mess and forcing the entire machine to be shut down.

System for trimming leading and trailing ends from a wire coil

Schwerdtfeger & Kubicek Systemtechnik GmbH & Co. KG


An improved technique for calibrating the location of an individualized marking includes marking both a grid and an image on a calibration object. The technique uses the marked grid to measure the distance in two orthogonal directions from the current image location to the desired image location by counting the number of grids between the current image location to the desired image location.

Some objects have individualized markings that distinguish them from other similar objects. For example, a secure token that generates one-time passwords (OTPs) has a serial number etched into its surface by which it may be uniquely identified.
One approach to providing an individualized marking to an object involves laser etching the marking in the object. In such an approach, a laser such as a carbon dioxide laser with sufficient power to burn a hole in the object's surface irradiates a template of the marking on a portion of the object. An operator may control the direction of the laser radiation so that the laser burns the marking in an expected place on the object. For example, when the laser is etching a serial number on a token, the operator may aim the laser so that the number is etched below a display of the OTP.
When many similar objects each require individual markings via laser etching, the orientation of the laser involved may require calibration. Conventional approaches to calibrating the orientation and position of an etching laser involve manual measurement of a deviation from the desired location of a test mark on a calibration object. For example, the laser etches the marking on the calibration object at a current position. An operator then observes the difference in position between the current position and the intended position. The operator then uses the difference to adjust the orientation of the laser. The difference may be determined by an estimation of the misalignment distance.


A cancellation circuit is provided for canceling undesirable intermodulation (IM) products in electrical circuitry. The IM cancellation circuit includes a stepping spectrum analyzer which recognizes and measures the frequencies and amplitudes of different signal components of an RF signal across a desired frequency band. This information is forwarded to a processor which contains look-up tables or the like which provides information relating to the frequencies and/or amplitudes of signal components which are intended to reside in the RF signal. By comparison of the look-up tables to the frequencies and amplitudes measured and recognized by the sweeping spectrum analyzer, the processor of the cancellation circuit is able to determine whether the signal components in the RF signal are intended "information" carrying signals or unintended IM products. Where the processor has determined that a signal component is an unintended IM product, the processor controls a variable voltage controlled oscillator and variable amplifier to create a cancellation signal having an identical frequency and amplitude as the frequency and amplitude of the IM product. A phase shifter is provided to shift the phase of the cancellation signal 180.degree. with respect to the IM product and the cancellation signal is combined with the RF signal to produce an output signal having the IM product canceled.

The present invention relates to the reduction of distortion in electrical circuitry. More particularly, the present invention relates to distortion reduction circuitry particularly suitable for amplifiers.
Radio frequency (RF) systems, such as cellular and microwave communication systems, typically require input signals to be fed into an RF power amplifier. Unfortunately, all amplifiers tend to distort the input signal at some power level and to generally cause the amplifier output to contain undesirable distortion products, spurious products, noise perturbations and intermodulation (IM) products. For purposes of simplicity, these will collectively be referred to as IM products. These IM products can cause undesirable interference over the amplifier frequency range. It is for these reasons that most amplifiers must incorporate some form of correction mechanism into the signal flow path through the amplifier.
One conventional method for reducing IM products uses a spectral analysis approach. This approach involves scanning the output of the amplifier using a receiver tuned to the frequency of candidate IM products. The IM level is measured and a linearizer is manually adjusted to minimize the IM product. This procedure is repeated until each of the IM products have a magnitude below a predetermined acceptable level. In a similar approach, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,580,105 issued to Myer, a portion of the output signal is taken and combined with an input signal which has been adjusted in phase and amplitude. The signal combination isolates the distortion component which is then adjusted in phase and gain. This isolation distortion component is then added back to the output signal by means of a coupler to eliminate the distortion component. Unfortunately, the amount of distortion reduction available using this feed forward technique is limited by the accuracy of the gain and phase adjustments.
In addition, there appears to be a problem in the number of samples realized in several basic feed forward techniques. Samples in these systems are available only at the time that the phase detector circuit detects a correlated signal. This leads to poor error signal resolution and it is this error signal that is used to cancel corresponding spurs.
Moreover, it is believed that many cellular communication base stations do not function at full capacity because of serious linearity problems in the base station's components. In addition, the need for increased capacity accompanying the expansion of cellular communications is forcing requirements for transmission standards of RF equipment to become too stringent to be met by construction of most present day amplifier circuits. Moreover, both time division multiple access (TDMA) and code division multiple access (CDMA) modulation require greater linearity and an absence of IM products that can not be routinely obtained by presently available high efficiency RF power amplifiers. Accordingly, it is clear that present correction techniques for eliminating IM products are not acceptable for evolving communications systems.
Thus, there is a need for a cancellation circuit which reduces IM products in electronic circuitry such as power amplifiers.
It would also be highly advantageous if the IM cancellation circuit were inexpensive to manufacture and highly reliable.
Moreover, it would be highly advantageous if the IM cancellation could be provided in a compact and lightweight constriction.

Intermodulation product cancellation circuit


A system and method for generating and deploying a machine learning model for a real-time environment. User selected coefficients and training data are received via a graphical user interface. A first machine learning algorithm is invoked for generating a first machine learning model based on the received data. Accuracy of predictions by the first model are tested, and a determination is made that the accuracy of predictions of the first model is below a threshold value. In response to such a determination, a particular criterion is evaluated. In response to determining that the criterion is satisfied, a second machine learning algorithm is invoked for generating a second machine learning model based on the received data. The model is deployed instead of the first model for making real-time predictions based on incoming data.

The processing of data traffic, such as, for example, business leads, often entails identifying consumers that might be interested in certain products or services, and providing information about such consumers, to potential suppliers of the products or services (hereinafter "service providers" or "suppliers"). Information about consumers that have expressed interest in particular products or services may be referred to as a "lead."
A standard way to collect online leads is by having the consumers fill out forms on a website. The forms are used by the consumers to provide information about the customer and/or information about the product or service that the consumer desires. A lead distribution system may analyze the information provided by the consumers, and select one or more service providers to post the lead. For example, a consumer who is looking for a loan may fill out a loan-request form from a loan application website. The information provided in the loan-request form may then be sent to one or more banks or other financial institutions, as leads to those institutions.
Thus, what is desired is system and method for computing a likelihood of success for leads in a real-time environment where, based on such computing, lead traffic is directed to service providers that are predicted to produce optimal results.
The above information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the invention, and therefore it may contain information that does not form the prior art that is already known to a person of ordinary skill in the art.

Predictive modeling and analytics for processing and distributing data traffic


Single-core and multi-core microcapsules are provided, having multiple shells, at least one of which is formed of a complex coacervate of two components of shell materials. The complex coacervate may be the same or different for each shell. Also provided are methods for making the microcapsules.

Microcapsules are small particles of solids, or droplets of liquids, inside a thin coating of a shell material such as starch, gelatine, lipids, polysaccharides, wax or polyacrylic acids. They are used, for example, to prepare liquids as free-flowing powders or compressed solids, to separate reactive materials, to reduce toxicity, to protect against oxidation and/or to control the rate of release of a substance such as an enzyme, flavour, a nutrient, a drug, etc.
Ideally, a microcapsule would have good mechanical strength (e.g. resistance to rupture) and the microcapsule shell would provide a good barrier to oxidation, etc.
A typical approach to meeting these requirements is to increase the thickness of the microcapsule wall. But this results in an undesirable reduction in the loading capacity of the microcapsule. That is, the "payload" of the microcapsule, being the mass of the loading substance encapsulated in the microcapsule divided by the total mass of the microcapsule, is low. The typical payload of such "single-core" microcapsules made by spray drying an emulsion is in the range of about 25-50%.
Another approach to the problem has been to create what are known as "multi-core" microcapsules. These microcapsules are usually formed by spray drying an emulsion of core material such that the shell material coats individual particles of core material, which then aggregate and form a cluster. A typical multi-core microcapsule is depicted in prior art FIG. 1. Multi-core microcapsule 10 contains a plurality of cores 12. The cores 12 take the form of entrapped particles of solids or of liquid droplets dispersed throughout a relatively continuous matrix of shell material 14. As a result, there is a high ratio of shell material to loading material and the payload of the multi-core microcapsule is therefore low. Moreover, despite the high ratio of shell material to loading substance in such microcapsules, the shell material is poorly distributed. As shown in prior art FIG. 1, many of the cores 12 are very close to the surface 16 of the microcapsule. The cores at the surface are therefore not well protected against rupture or from oxidation.
Known microcapsules therefore either have a poor payload, or fail to adequately contain and protect the loading substance deposited therein. Moreover, because these microcapsules are generally prepared in a single step, it is difficult to incorporate multiple functionalities, such as oxidation resistance, moisture resistance and taste masking into a single microcapsule.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Microcapsules having multiple shells and method for the preparation thereof


An electrical adapter with dual, user-operable locking mechanisms for attachment to a standard electrical plug and outlet, one for securing the prongs of the adapter into a socket or wall-mounted outlet or receptacle and the other for securing a standard electrical plug thereto. The two mechanisms work independently of each other to secure the male and female sides of a conventional plug-and-socket combination together. The adapter can be used with existing appliances, hand tools, extension cords, and electrical outlets without the need for rewiring. The male and female ends of the adapter may be connected by an electrical cord to replace a conventional extension cord; alternatively, the locking mechanism can be built into replacement electrical plugs or a wall outlet having approximately the same dimensions as conventional outlets. Use of the invention eliminates the annoying problem of power interruptions to appliances, hand tools, and the like that occur when a plug is accidentally pulled loose from its socket. The invention also provides extra safety from electrocution and reduces spark hazards by locking the plug and socket together to help prevent accidental dislodging.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a locking connector and adapter for interfacing a standard electrical plug to a receptacle. In particular, the present invention relates to an adapter having two independent, releasable locking mechanisms, the first mechanism for securing the prongs of an electrical plug therein and the second mechanism for securing the adapter to a standard receptacle.
2. Discussion of Background
Inadvertent removal of an electrical plug from a socket, outlet strip, or wall-mounted receptacle has been a matter of concern since electrical appliances became common. Almost everyone who has ever used a hand mixer, vacuum cleaner, power tool, or other hand-manipulated electrical appliance has accidentally pulled the plug out of a wall outlet. At best, such interruptions are annoying and inconvenient for the user, who has to stop work to re-insert the plug into the outlet before he can continue. In some situations, replacing the plug significantly disrupts work in progress, as when a construction worker has to climb down a ladder to replace the plug, then climb back up to resume work. Over time, repeated stress on the plug may damage the conductors to the point that the power cord must be replaced. In some situations, damaged plugs and loose connections can lead to potentially dangerous sparking and electrical shorts.
A wide variety of locking electrical adapters and connectors, for wall outlets, plugs, sockets, extension cords and the like, have been developed in response to these concerns. Many of these devices have slidable actuators and/or locking blocks for securing the prongs of an electrical plug into a wall outlet. Burkhart, Sr. provides such a device, which has a lockable, spring-loaded socket with a pair of hinged jaws for retaining an electrical plug in place (U.S. Pat. No. 5,551,884). The plug can be released from the socket by simply pushing it inwards, then allowing it to be thrust out under spring pressure.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,108,301, Torok discloses a locking cord connector that includes a non-conductive housing, a pair of conductors each having a male and a female electrical contact (each with leaf-type springs), two spring-loaded locking mechanisms with slide blocks, and a slidable actuator. The first locking mechanism locks the male electrical contacts to a receptacle; the second locks the female contacts to another plug (such as a conventional plug of an electrical appliance). Long shows a socket with a releasable locking mechanism (U.S. Pat. No. 4,909,749). His device includes a housing that contains transversely spaced contact bars and a cam-operated clamp that locks the contact bars and the prongs of a plug together to deter removal.
Borges discloses a self-locking electrical connector consisting of a male plug and a female receptacle (U.S. Pat. No. 4,867,697). The receptacle includes a selflocking mechanism with a spring-loaded locking block which automatically locks the two parts together after insertion of the prongs of the male plug.
Strand's connector, described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,700,997, is designed for attaching a flat electrode (such as an EEG electrode) to a cable. The connector includes resilient upper and lower jaws that are joined at their respective rear ends by a flexible, resilient spring, and a slidable actuator that compresses the jaws together to hold a flat electrode in place.
Hong's device (U.S. Pat. No. 4,627,681) includes a movable wedge for pressing the male and female contacts together, whereas Imhoffs plug (U.S. Pat. No. 4,544,216) has a locking ground prong with a longitudinal "V"-shaped or "U"-shaped recess that holds a slidable, spring-loaded locking member. Warner, et al. provide a locking electric receptacle that includes a push-button rod and toggle mechanism for frictionally engaging the prongs of a male plug (U.S. Pat. No. 3,710,304).
Mangold (U.S. Pat. No. 2,436,586) and Cornwell (U.S. Pat. No. 2,261,615) provide plugs that can be laterally expanded upon insertion into a socket in order to maintain good electrical contact. Both devices include slide actuators for moving the elements that expand the prongs. Osborn's connector has a coupler with two notched tongues, teeth shaped to engage the tongues, and a transverse slidable actuator for locking it into position (U.S. Pat. No. 1,536,688).
Rotatable actuators for electrical devices are also known in the art. Torok discloses such an actuator in U.S. Pat. No. 5,197,897. His device has a non-conductive housing, a pair of conductors, two spring-loaded locking mechanisms with slide blocks, and a slidable actuator. One of the locking mechanisms locks the male electrical contacts to a receptacle; the other locks the female contacts to another plug.
Other designs include Garrison's three-prong plug with a hollow, locking ground prong (U.S. Pat. No. 5,480,318). A spring-loaded catch that engages the front wall of a socket or wall outlet is attached to the prong. The catch can be released by pushing the spring in with a nonconducting rod. Dynia's locking connector (U.S. Pat. No. 5,427,543) includes two "U"-shaped connectors for receiving the prongs of an electrical plug. A sliding cam assembly activates a spring-loaded pin to compress the sides of the connectors and retain the prongs in place. Ursich provides a self-locking female electrical socket with an automatic release mechanism and two balls that engage the holes in the prongs to secure them in place (U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,393,239 and 5,129,836). The actuator consists of a shaft with a cut-out area that permits the user to engage/disengage the balls mounted in the body of the device.
Benjamin (U.S. Pat. No. 1,660,290) shows an electrical plug and outlet combination wherein the plug is fitted with hooks and latching fingers that mechanically connect it to corresponding openings in the outlet plate. The fingers can be disengaged by a thumb screw to permit removal of the plug from the socket. Frank's self-latching electric plug has a movable arm with a lug at one end and a hook at the other end (U.S. Pat. No. 2,408,551). When the arm is in a neutral position, the plug can be inserted into (or removed from) a matching socket; after insertion, the arm is moved into a locking position where the hook latches onto a shoulder to secure the plug in place.
Dennis provides a swivel coupling lock with spring hooks that engage corresponding grooves in the prongs of an electrical plug (U.S. Pat. No. 1,404,098). Two buttons can be pushed inwards to disengage the hooks and permit removal of the plug. Chiarolanzio's snap lock extension cord and power tool connector (U.S. Pat. No. 5,069,634) positively engages a plug to an extension cord or wall outlet having two outwardly-projecting flexible fingers with locking tabs. The matching appliance plug has corresponding openings on its face and sides. As the plug is pushed into the outlet, the flexible fingers enter the openings; the locking tabs are biased into the side openings to positively engage the plug and receptacle together.
Notwithstanding the wide variety of designs encompassed by the prior art, many presently-available locking connectors and adapters are relatively complex, correspondingly difficult and expensive to manufacture, and too delicate and breakage-prone for long-term household or industrial use. Some locking connectors require special tools to disengage and remove a locked plug. Others can be used only with specially-designed sockets or wall outlets; these cannot be used with standard, general service outlets of the types prescribed by the National Electrical Code (NEC) or the American National Standards Institute (ANSI).
There is a continuing need for locking electrical adapters and connectors which can be used to releasably secure a plug to a conventional extension cord socket, wall receptacle, or the like, including receptacles that meet NEC and ANSI standards. Such devices should be simple and easy to manufacture, aesthetically pleasing to consumers, easy to use, and further the safe and uninterrupted use of electrical appliances and tools that frequently require the dragging or hanging portions of the power cord (or extension cord) during use.


There is disclosed herein computer implemented methods of cache key generation including receiving from a user a request for content; wherein the request comprises one or more of opening a browser software tab or window, launching a software application, activating a hyperlink; wherein the request causes an electronic communications network connection to be established and/or an HTTP request made; and wherein, the surrogate passes the request to an origin.

It is known to employ HTTP caches and Content Delivery Networks (CDN) aimed at increasing quality and duration of user experience for content and access thereto on the internet. Aspects of quality include presentation of content on the particular device of a particular user, such as display of images and video content, as well as speed of delivery thereof and adaptation of delivery in an optimized manner in a given scenario. It is understood in the field that higher quality and speed of content delivery and presentation encourages prolonged use of a given source of content. Prolonged use increases user uptake of a given content source (which may include sources through which products are made available for use, lease and/or purchase).
Known methods and systems of optimization include creating a cache-key for each user request for content and then re-using the response for requests that are similar in terms of related HTTP. Typically, these types of approaches use the URL related to the user, but can be augmented with other attributes including, for example and without limitation, user and/or request source data such as the kind of browser, kind of device, data stored or acquired as "cookies," request location, network timing, bot and CDN identification, geography (user, server and other pertinent locations), low-power mode preferences and performance, and save-date opt-in notifications.
Responsive Web Design (RWD) and Adaptive Web Design (AWD) are techniques that may be used to improve user experience as relates to receipt of content on electronic devices (e.g., desktops, laptops, tablets, wearables, phones of other handheld devices), to provide and/or modify the content to a specific user or situation. User attributes such as, for example and without limitation, browser kind, screen size and other attributes such as device pixel ratio (DPR), device rotation/orientation, low-power or other function attenuation settings, and pre-existing cache existence/properties, are used to optimize the response.
In effect, a single response becomes fragmented into 100s of 'similar' but tuned responses for different classes/types of users. As an example, in the context of images and video this means an image with different pixel dimensions (e.g, 100×200 and 50×100), different crops (crop to a shown person's face on a small display, zoom out a bit if on a big display), and different quality settings, or other user-specific traits may be provided based on user data (to speed and otherwise improve user experience).
This fragmentation of 1 source piece of content to 100s of derivatives creates cache fragmentation. There is generally optimal performance on a cache or CDN for popular combinations (for example and without limitation, each cdn may have a different algorithm, balancing of disk space, index size, and computation cost as relates to travel dense indexes, and more combinations may cause a longer tail of popularity) whereas less popular combinations drop from the least recently used (LRU) cache.
A negative result of employing such systems and methods is increased incidence of cache-misses and/or possible re-generation of these derivatives. That is, responses tailored for a popular communications device (e.g., iPhone X™, iPhone XS and related devices in 2018) is always cached and fast, whereas responses for less commonly used devices (e.g., BlackBerry Bold™ in 2018) may more often be cache-misses. Cache misses delay and diminish quality of user experience, which is highly correlated with abandonment rates (i.e., users not using the given service, not recommending it to others either directly or via social media; users instead in some cases creating negative reviews in online forums and environments). In sales environments, cache misses effectively increase costs of goods sold (cogs) via at least internet exchange (IX), transit and cpu usages costs for re-generation (in addition to any loss of or failure to generate additional sales).
It is also generally known in the field to create layers of caches to offset re-generation, with known methods including steps such as but not limited to: (i) a database call to collect current prices is cached at the db, (ii) the search results will cache the search term to db call collection, (iii) the html markup being cached with dependencies for each module, and (iv) the output html markup is finally cached by load balancers and cdns; but, such approaches are fundamentally LRU-based and popularity (of a given trait or traits) or "noisy neighbors" phenomena (i.e., disproportionate users of bandwidth and other resources whose results will effectively be overrepresented in terms of being indicative of general marketplace trends) will push this content out, diminishing effectiveness and user experience in respect of less-popular cache criteria. While such criteria are less popular, volumes of users displaying such criteria are nonetheless significant based on overall market size. For example, device fragmentation is increasing, and popularity various with geography, such that if sharing parent caches, the popularity on one continent will have an inverse impact on the popularity on another continent.
It is also known to use pre-generation to pre-populate caches—either inbound (first person through the door causes 100s of permutations to be simultaneously generated) or out of band (queue is created). All variations must have a pre-defined 'contract' to which combination attributes can be used, in that one needs to know in advance how many permutations are needed or what the permutation terms are. Iphone and android (e.g., landscape vs. portrait orientation, etc.). This issue may manifest in delays for users exhibiting less popular trait variations, with such delays meaning either slow and/or otherwise ineffective delivery of content.
Due to reliance on pre-defined rules, the assumed set will always be 'n' variations which can cause further cache pollution if there are combinations that share the same result (e.g., different communications devices could actually have the same response and share the same cache key for a specific image; but, the pre-defined rule yields a different result based on an assumption that such disparate devices would provide different responses).
As such, there is a need for improved systems and methods of cache-key generation.

Systems and method for cache key composition creation and distribution


A method of manufacturing a plurality of housings. The method may include maintaining an inventory of initial products. Each of the initial products may include a central hollow body extending along a longitudinal axis and monolithically formed with at least one of a suction passage and a discharge passage. Each of the products may have a same initial length. The method may further include receiving a first order for a first housing having a first length and machining a first product to the first length to form the first housing. Also, the method may include receiving a second order for a second housing having a second length and machining a second product to the second length to form the second housing. The first length and the second length may be different.

Large products, often those associated with heavy machinery and the like, are often cast from steel. Such products are often produced by suppliers required to meet the demands of numerous clients having varying product needs. For example, a product may include a compressor housing. A supplier may be required to produce a number of different compressor housings having varying dimensions and attributes. Such a demand may require expensive tooling and machining devices equipped for such variances. Indeed, in order to provide various different compressor housings, a supplier may be required to purchase, make, or otherwise maintain a number of different tooling patterns thereby increasing costs.
Additionally, a supplier may be provided with a very short turn-around time for completion of the product. Increasingly narrow lead times often require larger amounts of inventory available for supplier use. Suppliers may incur significant costs to ensure sufficient inventory of varying products are available.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,551,065 to Becker (the '065 patent) discloses a standard casing formed by a vertically split casing 60. The casing 60 includes an inlet stub end and an outlet stub end for attachment to an inlet passage and an outlet passage, respectively. Upon selection of a desired shell thickness, the stub ends may be trimmed back to match the thickness of the shell section and its inner diameter may be enlarged to match an inner diameter of the passage to be attached. However, the method of manufacture of the '065 patent may still suffer from manufacturing inefficiencies.


A method for treating neurodegenerative diseases including the step of administering an isothiocyanate functional surfactant to an area affected by a neurodegenerative disease, wherein the isothiocyanate functional surfactant comprises at least one isothiocyanate functional group associated with an aliphatic and/or aromatic carbon atom of the isothiocyanate functional surfactant.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to compositions and methods for treating neurodegenerative diseases in humans and other mammalian vertebrates, and, more particularly, to compositions and methods for treating, for example, amyloid-related diseases, dementia, Alzheimer's disease, etcetera.
2. Background Art
By way of background, amyloidosis is a general term that describes a number of diseases characterized by extracellular deposition of protein fibrils, which form numerous "amyloid deposits," which may occur in localized sites or systemically. The fibrillar composition of these deposits is an identifying characteristic for the various forms of amyloid disease. For example, intracerebral and cerebrovascular deposits composed primarily of fibrils of beta amyloid peptide (β-AP) are characteristic of Alzheimer's disease (both familial and sporadic forms), islet amyloid protein peptide (IAPP; amylin) is characteristic of the fibrils in pancreatic islet cell amyloid deposits associated with type II diabetes, and β2-microglobulin is a major component of amyloid deposits which form as a consequence of long term hemodialysis treatment. More recently, prion-associated diseases, such as Creutzfeld-Jacob disease, have also been recognized as amyloid diseases.
The various forms of disease have been divided into classes, mostly on the basis of whether or not the amyloidosis is associated with an underlying systemic illness. Thus, certain disorders are considered to be primary amyloidoses, in which there is no evidence for preexisting or coexisting disease. In general, primary amyloidoses of the disease are characterized by the presence of "amyloid light chain-type" (AL-type) protein fibrils, so named for the homology of the N-terminal region of the AL fibrils to the variable fragment of immunoglobulin light chain (kappa or lambda).
Secondary or "reactive" amyloidosis is characterized by deposition of AA type fibrils derived from serum amyloid A protein (ApoSSA). These forms of amyloidosis are typically characterized by an underlying chronic inflammatory or infectious disease state (e.g., rheumatoid arthritis, osteomyelitis, tuberculosis, leprosy, etcetera).
Heredofamilial amyloidoses may have associated neuropathic, renal, or cardiovascular deposits of the ATTR transthyretin type. Other heredofamilial amyloidoses include other syndromes and may have different amyloid components (e.g., familial Mediterranean fever which is characterized by AA fibrils). Other forms of amyloidosis include local forms, characterized by focal, often tumor-like deposits that occur in isolated organs. Other amyloidoses are associated with aging, and are commonly characterized by plaque formation in the heart or brain. Also common are amyloid deposits associated with long term hemodialysis. These and other forms of amyloid disease are summarized in Histopathology 25:403-414, Tan, S. Y. and Pepys, 1994, and Harrison's Handbook of Internal Medicine, 13th Ed., Isselbacher, K. J., et al, eds, McGraw-Hill, San Francisco, 1995.
Often, fibrils forming the bulk of an amyloid deposit are derived from one or more primary precursor proteins or peptides, and are usually associated with sulfated glycosaminoglycans. In addition, amyloid deposits may include minor proteins and peptides of various types, along with 30 other components, such as proteoglycans, gangliosides and other sugars.
Currently, there are no specific, commercially available treatments for the above-identified neurodegenerative diseases. However, the open literature is replete with patents and publications on this topic, including: U.S. Pat. No. 6,905,686 entitled "Active Immunization for Treatment of Alzheimer's Disease," U.S. Pat. No. 6,875,434 entitled "Method of Treatment of Alzheimer's Disease," U.S. Pat. No. 6,812,248 entitled "Prevention and Treatment of Degenerative Diseases by Glutathione and Phase II Detoxification Enzymes," U.S. Pat. No. 6,242,421 entitled "Methods for Preventing and Treating Alzheimer's Disease," U.S. Pat. No. 6,008,221 entitled "Method for Treating Alzheimer's Disease with Folic Acid," U.S. Pat. No. 5,846,220 entitled "Therapeutic Method for Treatment of Alzheimer's Disease," U.S. Pat. No. 5,731,284 entitled "Method for Treating Alzheimer's Disease Using Glial Line-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (GDNF) Protein Product," U.S. Pat. No. 5,434,170 entitled "Method for Treating Neurocognitive Disorders," U.S. Pat. No. 4,666,829 entitled "Polypeptide Marker for Alzheimer's Disease and Its Use for Diagnosis," U.S. Pat. No. 4,663,318 entitled "Method of Treating Alzheimer's Disease," U.S. Pat. No. 4,419,365 entitled "Method of Treating Alzheimer's Disease," and United States Patent Publication Number 2006/0116423 A1 entitled "Methods and Compositions for Treatment of Central Nervous System Injury with Isothiocyanates,"—all of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entirety including the references cited therein.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,905,686 appears to disclose agents and methods for treatment of diseases associated with amyloid deposits of Aβ in the brain of a patient. Such methods entail administering agents that induce a beneficial immunogenic response against the amyloid deposit. The methods are disclosed as useful for prophylactic and therapeutic treatment of Alzheimer's disease. Preferred agents including N-terminal fragments of Aβ and antibodies binding to the same.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,875,434 appears to disclose pharmaceutical compositions and methods for preventing or treating a number of amyloid diseases, including Alzheimer's disease, prion diseases, familial amyloid neuropathies and the like. The pharmaceutical compositions include immunologically reactive amounts of amyloid fibril components, particularly fibril-forming peptides or proteins. Also disclosed are therapeutic compositions and methods which use immune reagents that react with such fibril components.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,812,248 appears to disclose treating degenerative disease by administering a pharmaceutically effective amount of a compound that elevates glutathione or at least one Phase II detoxification enzyme in diseased tissue. The chemical structure of which is provided below:

U.S. Pat. No. 6,242,421 appears to disclose a method for treating Alzheimer's disease or preventing or delaying its onset in individuals deemed by competent observation and testing to be susceptible thereto. A non-estrogenic, non-androgenic, non-anabolic agent is administered to reduce or eliminate blood serum levels of one or both of FSH and LH.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,008,221 appears to disclose a method for treating occlusive vascular disease or Alzheimer's disease, wherein the patient has at least moderately elevated blood levels of homocysteine and at least moderately reduced blood levels of folate and vitamin B12. The patient is treated with folic acid, the chemical structure of which is provided below:
a folate or a derivative thereof, and optionally vitamin B12, and optionally an organic nitrate such as isosorbide mononitrate or dinitrate, or an ACE inhibitor or an angiotensin II antagonist, or a NEP/ACE inhibitor or a combination of two or more of the above.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,846,220 appears to disclose a method and apparatus for treating Alzheimer's disease. The method comprises delivering indomethacin, the chemical structure of which is provided below:
or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agents having cyclooxygenase inhibitor action directly to the hippocampus or the lateral ventricle through an implanted catheter. The catheter has a flexible distal end that is implanted directly in the hippocampus or lateral ventricle as the preferred embodiment. The distal end has either a porous tip or a closed end. Where the distal end is closed, or a plurality of elution holes are present indomethacin is delivered to the hippocampus or lateral ventricle through either the porous tip or the elution holes. The catheter is part of a system for delivering indomethacin or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agents having cyclooxygenase inhibitor action to the hippocampus or lateral ventricle that includes a pump coupled to the catheter for delivering the indomethacin or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agents having cyclooxygenase inhibitor action through the catheter to the hippocampus or lateral ventricle.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,731,284 appears to disclose methods for treating injury or degeneration of basal forebrain cholinergic neurons by administering glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF). The invention relates specifically to methods for treating Alzheimer's disease.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,434,170 appears to disclose a method for treating a central nervous system or peripheral nervous system cholinergic deficit state in a mammalian organism in need of such treatment. The method includes the step of administering to the mammal an amount of thalidomide effective in the treatment of a cholinergic deficit state and for a time sufficient to achieve a suitable blood level to treat said cholinergic deficit state.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,666,829 appears to disclose Alzheimer's Amyloid Polypeptide (AAP) in substantially purified form which is isolated from amyloid deposits in patients with Alzheimer's Disease. The polypeptide has the following amino acid sequence: H2N-ASP-ALA-GLU-PHE-ARG-HIS-ASP-SER-GLY-TYR-GLN-VAL-HIS-HIS-GLN-LYS-LEU-VAL-PHE-PHE-ALA-GLU-ASP-VAL-GLY-SER-ASN-LYS-COOH. The polypeptide, or fragments thereof, may be used to produce antibodies useful in a diagnostic test for Alzheimer's Disease. Nucleotide probes corresponding to portions of the polypeptide are also useful for diagnostic purposes.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,663,318 appears to disclose that Alzheimer's disease may be treated with galanthamine, the chemical structure of which is provided below:

U.S. Pat. No. 4,419,365 appears to disclose a method of treating Alzheimer's disease that comprises administering to a person requiring such treatment, a pharmaceutically acceptable acid addition salt of deferoxamine USAN, the chemical structure of which is provided below.
Such salts are preferably administered parenterally in the form of aqueous solutions. The dosage of suitable acid addition salts of deferoxamine, (e.g., of the mesylate) is conveniently from about 0.2 to 5 g daily, preferably from about 0.2 to 1.5 g and in particular about 0.5 to about 1.0 g daily, especially twice daily 0.5 g, depending on the individual condition of the patient and the stage of the disease.
United States Patent Publication Number 2006/0116423A1 appears to disclose methods and compositions comprising isothiocyanates or derivatives or metabolites thereof, for attenuating or preventing central nervous system tissue damage, and/or improving cognitive function. Treatment of head trauma, spinal cord injury, stroke, aging, neurological diseases, and other insults to the central nervous system that compromise the blood-brain barrier, cause brain swelling, central nervous system cell death, or cognitive or motor dysfunction, by administering an isothiocyanate such as sulforaphane, allyl isothiocyanate, phenylethyl isothiocyanate, or a related compound, is also disclosed.
While the above-identified references, as disclosed hereinabove, appear to provide at least some treatment to those with a neurodegenerative disease, such treatment remains non-desirous and/or problematic inasmuch as, among other things, none of the above-identified treatments provide sufficient results from the debilitating effects of neurodegenerative disease. As such, there remains a genuine demand for non-invasive, substantially non-invasive and/or invasive medical treatments that are effective and that remedy the detriments and/or complications associated with the above-identified remedies.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a new, useful, and nonobvious method for treating neurodegenerative diseases, such as amyloid-related diseases, dementia, Alzheimer's disease, etcetera.
These and other objects of the present invention will become apparent in light of the present specification, claims, and drawings.

Method for treating neurodegenerative diseases


An electrocoagulation (EC) unit that performs an electrocoagulation process on wastewater or the like. In one embodiment, the EC unit includes a reaction tank formed from a non-conductive material, charge plates within the reaction tank that are spaced at a distance, intermediate plates disposed within the reaction tank between the charge plates, and plate conductors configured to electrically couple the charge plates to a power source. The bottom of the reaction tank tapers toward one or more ports which act as an ingress and egress point for the EC unit.

Oil production industries are consistently forced to deal with water challenges that result from drilling processes. During a drilling process, an oil/water mixture is pumped from the ground, which is referred to as production water or wastewater. The wastewater coming from the ground could be 95% water and 5% oil by volume. The wastewater may also include traces of heavy metals and other contaminants. Before the wastewater can be safely disposed of or reused, the contaminants need to be removed. Thus, oil companies have the challenge of removing contaminants and safely disposing of the wastewater. Other companies in other industries face similar problems of having to safely dispose of wastewater.
One common way of treating wastewater is through a reverse osmosis filtering process. Unfortunately, the reverse osmosis filtering process is expensive and can be relatively slow especially when the oil content in the wastewater is high. Another common way of treating the wastewater is through a distillation process, which again is expensive and time consuming. Yet another way of treating the wastewater is through chemical processes, which are expensive and further processes are needed to return the wastewater to a safe level.
Thus, there is a need in the art for improved filtering systems so that wastewater can be safely and reliably processed.


A light distribution device has a first light-guide cable for transmitting light rays, a number of second light-guide cables having light-receiving ends arranged together to form a light-receiving ring plane, a driving means for rotating the light-emitting end of the first light-guiding cable around the light-receiving ring-plane, a light coupler secured at the light-emitting end of the first light-guide cable. The light coupler has a surface similar to that of a part composing the light-receiving ring-plane of the second light-guide cables and makes a circular motion along the light-receiving ring-plane at a constant relation thereto. The light-receiving ring facing to the light coupler is divided into a plurality of blocks, each of which consists of a given number of secondary light-guide cables.

The present invention relates to a light distribution device and more particularly to a device which is able to receive the light transmitted through a single light-guide cable and able to time-sharingly distribute the same to a large number of light-guide cables each in turn. More concretely, the present invention relates to a device which is capable of effectively supplying light necessary for the photosynthesis of objects such as algae (as for example, chlorella, spirulina etc.), photosynthetic bacteria and other artificially photosynthesized substances (as for instance, callus and the like) or plants, mushrooms etc.
A chlorella culturing device, as an example of a photosynthetic reactor, has been proposed, in which chlorella is cultured by using light and carbon dioxide to effect photosynthesis. However, as a result of detailed research into the photosynthetic process it has been found that one cycle of photosynthetic reaction in chlorella requires only brief light radiation (of about 10 micro-seconds) and in the remaining time (of about 200 micro-seconds) the photosynthetic reaction can be conducted without light radiation, more explicitly, the cycle of reaction can be more effectively performed with no light radiation for the remaining duration of the cycle. On the other hand, in case of chlorella culturing it is usual to use such a photosynthetic reactor (for instance, a chlorella culturing bath) wherein a large number of fluorescent lamps are arranged so as to allow the photosynthetic substances to pass through the gaps between the lamps. Said conventional bath, due to the use of a large number of fluorescent lamps, is large in size and consumes a large amount of electric energy. Furthermore it necessitates hard treatment of heat generated by the lamps. To solve these problems, the present applicant has previously proposed that solar rays or artificial rays be focused and introduced into a fiber optic cable and then transmitted therethrough to a light radiator which is used as a light source for a photosynthetic reactor. However, it is also evident that when a large scale photosynthetic reactor is constructed with the use of the above-mentioned light-radiating means, a large number of light radiators must be used or a large-sized device for focusing the sun's rays and/or artificial light rays is necessary.
To solve the above-mentioned problems, the present applicant has also proposed a light distribution device which is able to intermittently supply light energy to photosynthetic substances in order to more effectively promote the process of photosynthesis and therefore is sufficient to cover the need for light energy for any large-scale photosynthetic reactor at the fixed capacity of a solar ray and/or artificial light ray focusing device.
The present applicant has previously proposed a photosynthetic reactor's light source having a light-guiding rod or a light-guide cable for transmitting solar rays or artificial light rays focused by lenses and a transparent rotary rod. The light-emitting end of the light guide is disposed opposite to the rotating axis of the revolving rod, and a reflecting mirror is provided at the rotating axis of the revolving rod against the light-emitting end of the light guide. The light transmitted through the light guide and introduced into the revolving rod is reflected by said mirror and propagates toward the tip portion of the revolving rod, where the light is reflected again by a mirror provided thereat and then radiated out from the light-emitting surface of the revolving rod. A large number of light-guide cables are arranged to form a ring in opposition to the light-emitting surface of the revolving rod. Consequently, when the revolving rod is driven by a motor, the light-receiving faces of the light-guide cables, to be covered with the light-emitting surface of the revolving rod, are changed in turn and each light-guide cables receives instant light radiation for one cycle of rotation of the rotary rode. The end portion of each light-guide cables serves as a light radiator. The light radiators may be provided at a certain distance from each other in a photosynthetic reactor or widely spread apart in a plant cultivating room, a mushroom cultivating place etc.
As described above, in the case of the above-mentioned light distribution device, the light delivered thereto through the light guide can be supplied momentarily into the light guide cables each in turn through the revolving rod and, accordingly, the distributed light can be discharged momentarily from the output end of each light-guide cable at every rotation of the rotary rod into a photosynthetic reactor wherein a photosynthetic substance is radiated with light rays for a very short period, for instance, about 10 micro-seconds that initiates a cycle of photosynthetic reaction and completes the cycle without any additional light radiation and at the next time of light radiation after one rotation of the revolving rod, it initiates a new cycle of photosynthetic reaction. A series of photosynthetic reactions in the reactor is thus continued with the periodical light radiation of the photosynthetic substances. For initiating the process of photosynthesis in the object it is necessary to supply no less than a specified amount of light energy. In the above-mentioned light distribution device a necessary amount of light energy may be easily obtained by increasing the density of the light by a very small amount corresponding to the light-emitting surface of the revolving rod. Thanks to this construction feature, the device can work with a compact solar ray or artificial light ray collecting device for introducing light rays into the light guide. Furthermore, since the light discharged from the light-emitting surface of the revolving rod is time-sharingly distributed to many light-guide cables, the device can supply enough light energy into a photosynthetic reactor of a large capacity.
However, the above-mentioned light distribution device has such drawbacks that the revolving rod is difficult to make and is expensive. In view of these drawbacks, the present applicant has proposed a further improved device capable of distributing light rays transmitted through a single light-guide cable among a large number of light-guiding cables by applying simpler and less expensive means.
The improved light distribution device previously proposed by the present applicant includes a primary single light-guide cable for transmitting solar rays or artificial light rays introduced into its light-receiving end and a large number of secondary light-guide cables, the light-receiving ends of which are arranged together to form a ring of a light-receiving plane. An arm to be rotated by a motor has at its front end a light coupler integrally secured thereto and also an auxiliary arm integrally secured thereto for holding the light-emitting end of the primary light-guide cable by loosely fitting said cable's end in a bearing provided at said auxiliary arm. An arm supports the end portion of the light-guide cable by loosely inserting said cable's end through a spherical bearing provided in its front end, preferably being aligned with the axis of the driving motor. Accordingly, when the motor rotates, the arm is rotated to move the light coupler with the light-emitting end of the light-guide cable along the ring-plane formed by the light-emitting ends of a large number of light-guide cables and, thereby, to realize the sequential distribution of the light to the light-guide cables in the same way as the aforesaid device. In this improved device, the light-guide cable can be rotated as being supported in the spherical bearing that eliminates the possibility of damaging said cable due to excessive friction. While in this case the spherical bearing supports the rotating axis of the guide cable, it is also possible to support the cable only in a loose hole of the arm without using a spherical bearing. However, in such a case there may be fear of damaging the outer surface of the cable due to the possible rubbing of said surface against the inner surface of the through-hole. In the same manner, the light-emitting end of the light-guide cable can be loosely fitted into the through-hole of the auxiliary arm without using a supporting bearing. In both cases the light-emitting end of the light-guide cable can be rotated without being twisted along the ring-plane formed by the light-emitting faces of a large number of light-guide cables.
However, in the above-mentioned light distribution device no limitation is placed on the use of the light-guide cables and nothing is proposed concerning their effective use that may fail in the effective utilization of the device. In particular, since each of the secondary light-guide cables receives only momentary light radiation for one revolution of the light-emitting end of the primary light-guide cable around the light-receiving ring, it must wait for the next light supply for a long time. Effective use of the light energy may not be assured due to the extended period of darkness as opposed to the light radiation period. It was also impractical to shorten the dark reaction period by increasing the revolution speed of the device because of the difficulty in maintaining the mechanical durability of the device against the increased centrifugal force.


A plug removal tool for removing a plug from a receptacle includes an elongate body with an upper end and an opposed lower end. The upper end defines a handle and extends along a first axis. The lower end defines a pivot area and extends along a second axis transverse to the first axis. A slot is formed in the lower end to receive a prong of the plug.

A plug and socket are complemental engagement elements for connecting an electrical device to a source of electricity. The plug is a male element with projecting prongs, and the socket, or receptacle, is a complemental female element with recessed slots to receive the prongs. Safety and consistency of the electrical engagement are of significant concern in the plug-receptacle connection. The majority of plugs and receptacles in the United States and around the world conform to the standards set by the National Electrical Manufacturers Association "NEMA"). The most common types of connectors have two prongs (known as NEMA 1 connectors) or three prongs (known as NEMA 5 connectors). The description contained herein will refer to NEMA connectors for illustrative purposes, and NEMA 5 connectors especially because of the prolific standardization of the NEMA 5 connector, but it should be understood that the present invention is not limited to NEMA connectors.
Two-prong connectors constructed according to NEMA standards are two-wire non-grounding devices and have two spaced apart, parallel blades. One of the blades is a live terminal, and the other of the blades is a neutral terminal. Three-prong connectors constructed according to NEMA standards are three-wire grounding devices and have two spaced-apart, parallel blades and a grounding pin. One of the blades is a live terminal, the other of the blades is a neutral terminal, and the grounding pin establishes a grounding connection with the earth for safety. The grounding pin is longer than the blades so that the electrical device is grounded before the electrical connection is made between the plug and the receptacle.
Generally, to remove a plug from a receptacle, a user grabs the plug or cord extending from the plug and pulls, while simultaneously bracing or pressing against the receptacle. Six to eight pounds of force are required to remove a plug from a socket because the tips of the prongs, when installed into the slots in the receptacle, are press fit into the slots. Applying sufficient force generally requires placing one hand near the receptacle. This can be dangerous and difficult for a variety of reasons. For instance, if the receptacle is one of several receptacles along a power strip or surge protector, and the power strip or surge protector is not fixed in place, the user must grasp the power strip to prevent the power strip from moving when the plug is pulled. Moreover, a power strip may have little available room for grasping, especially if all of the receptacles are occupied with plugs. Grasping near the switch of the power strip may turn off power to all of the receptacles on the power strip, thereby inadvertently shutting off all electrical devices when the user only intended to decouple a single device. In other instances, the receptacle may be in a recessed location, such as under a desk, behind a bed, or otherwise difficult to reach. It can be very cumbersome to reach with two hands into small, recessed locations to pull a plug. Often times, using two hands prevents the user from being able to position his head into the space to see where his hands are moving. In such situations, the user may pull the wrong plug, may grab a partially-installed plug and electrocute himself, or may not be able to pull with the requisite six to eight pounds of force needed to remove the plug from the receptacle. In yet other instances, individuals with only a single hand or single arm have great difficulty removing plugs from receptacles. Such users may not be able to remove plugs in recessed locations at all, and may have to use their feet to brace a receptacle when pulling a socket that is not recessed and hidden away. An improved method and device for removing a plug from a receptacle is needed.


A color combining apparatus has first, second, and third color channels, each color channel having a light source that is energizable to direct light of a corresponding first, second, or third wavelength band, respectively, toward a color combining element. The color combining element is a single piece of a solid, transparent material having at least first and second flat coated surfaces that are noncontiguous. The first coated surface is treated to reflect incident light of the first wavelength band onto an optical axis and to transmit incident light of the second and third wavelength bands. The second coated surface is treated to reflect incident light of the second wavelength band and to transmit incident light of the third wavelength band.

In an electronic imaging apparatus, such as a portable projector, light from each of a number of different spectral bands, conventionally Red, Green, and Blue (RGB), is combined in order to provide a color image. For large-scale devices, separate modulation and projection optics may be used for each spectral band, converging the component color images to form a composite, multicolor image onto a display screen or other display surface. For more portable projection apparatus, however, a coaxial mixing that combines the colored light from each channel onto a common optical axis is often more desirable. The coaxial mixing arrangement uses the same projection optics for each color channel and allows optical component functions and light modulation to be shared for each color channel where possible, to conserve space and cost.
Earlier electronic imaging apparatus employed lamps and other polychromatic light sources to provide the colored light in each color channel. A number of different types of light-mixing systems were developed to support the light combining function for these earlier systems, including complex prism arrangements adapted from color television camera optics, for example. With the advent of solid-state light sources, such as Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) and lasers, it became possible to reduce some of the size and cost of color mixing components, as well as improving color gamut, optical efficiency, and overall performance of the imaging device. For color combination, various arrangements of composite prisms and dichroic coatings were developed for use in projectors and similar imaging apparatus. Among the more familiar solutions used with earlier electronic imaging systems are X-cubes or X-prisms, as shown in FIG. 1, and related dichroic optical elements, and Philips prisms. Non-prism solutions include sets of angled dichroic plates, such as those as proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,676,260 (Cobb et al.) entitled "Projection Apparatus Using Spatial Light Modulator with Relay Lens and Dichroic Combiner."
Referring to FIG. 1A, an X-cube 10 is a composite prism, formed from four separate prism elements 10a, 10b, 10c, and 10d, as shown in inset E1, that are coated and then glued together to form a single color combiner component. The X-cube combines light from three solid-state light sources 14r, 14g, and 14b, such as laser diodes, emitting red, green, and blue light respectively. As assembled, X-cube 10 has two inner crossed dichroic interfaces 12a and 12b that are treated to selectively reflect and transmit different wavelengths. Dichroic interface 12a reflects blue wavelengths and transmits green and red wavelengths. Dichroic interface 12b, contiguous to dichroic interface 12a so that the two interfaces intersect along a line through the center of the X-cube, reflects red wavelengths and transmits green and blue wavelengths. The line of intersection of the dichroic surfaces is orthogonal to the plane of the drawing as X-cube 10 is represented in FIG. 1A. The colors are combined onto an optical axis OA, shown with separate color paths for clarity in FIG. 1, but coaxial in practice.
The Philips prism 70, shown in FIG. 1B, is a more complex composite prism that is used for combining colors. Philips prism 70 is formed from three separate prisms, prism elements 70a, 70b, and 70c, and includes an air gap 72. An arrangement of dichroic surfaces at oblique angles directs light from solid-state light sources 14r, 14g, and 14b onto optical axis OA.
Dichroic surfaces are formed from stacked layers of ultra-thin coatings of various dielectric materials and can be formulated to provide selective reflection and transmission for light of various wavelengths. In the X-cube and Philips prism devices, and other related spectral combiners or separators, various types of dichroic coatings provide the color-selective mechanism that allows light to be spectrally re-combined or separated in a highly controlled manner.
Small, hand-held projectors and various types of embedded or accessory projectors typically use an arrangement of dichroic surfaces for mixing red, green, and blue laser light onto a single optical axis. These devices then rapidly scan the resulting light onto a display surface. To minimize battery usage and heat generation, these devices form each pixel by directly modulating each of the lasers, thereby producing only the light that is used to form the image itself. These projectors form an image by generating successive scanned lines of pixels that are then directed to the display surface.
While hand-held projection devices achieve good results using conventional color combination techniques, however, a number of problems remain. One problem with conventional color combination using dichroic surfaces relates to incident angles. Dichroic coatings reflect and transmit light as a function of incident angle and wavelength. As the incident angle varies, the wavelength of light that is transmitted or reflected also changes. For light that is incident at low angles, that is, at angles close to normal, this variation in response over a small range of angles, relative to wavelength, can be very low or negligible. For light incident at larger angles, however, variation in response over a range of angles can be pronounced, compromising dichroic coating performance. These coatings work best at small incident angles, relative to a normal, and it can be expensive and difficult to design and fabricate a dichroic coating that gives uniform results with incident light at larger angles or over a wide range of angles. Where a dichroic coating must accept light over a large range of angles, perceptible color non-uniformities can easily result.
Other drawbacks of existing color combiners relate to the number of surfaces upon which the light is incident, whether it reflects from or transmits through the surface. Each additional surface represents some efficiency loss and reduced brightness. In addition, each interaction of the light reflecting from or transmitting through a dichroic surface causes some loss, due to imperfect dichroic performance. Due to some amount of light leakage, contrast is also compromised each time the light is incident on a surface, whether or not the surface is coated. With the arrangement of X-cube 10 in FIG. 1A, for example, none of the light beams is incident on fewer than three surfaces. With the arrangement of Philips prism 70 in FIG. 1B, none of the light beams is incident on fewer than four surfaces.
Another consideration relates to reflection and transmission of polarized light. As incident angles for light on the dichroic surface become larger, differences in polarization handling for reflected light become increasingly more pronounced. Moreover, with incident polarized light from multiple laser sources, unique polarization characteristics of the laser diodes themselves must be taken into account. One or more phase retarders can be added in various color channels, but add cost and complexity. The task of designing and fabricating dichroic coatings that allow combination of laser light of different wavelengths but the same polarization presents a considerable and costly challenge.
A further problem relates to dimensional characteristics of the laser beams themselves. The solid state laser beam, considered in cross-section, is typically anamorphic in shape, more elliptical rather than circular, with distortion relative to its orthogonal axes. As a further complication, the amount of anamorphic distortion of the beam varies from one color to the next, making it difficult to form a uniformly sized pixel from three component colors and degrading color quality.
Cost is another concern. As FIGS. 1A and 1B show, conventional solutions for color mixing are characterized by complex arrangements of dichroic surfaces and associated prism elements. A number of fabrication and precision assembly operations are required for their implementation. In conventional manufacture, two or more separate prism elements are formed, then dichroic coatings are applied to one or more outer surfaces. Once coatings are formed, the two or more prisms are then glued together, or are otherwise mounted together in a precise geometric arrangement. As a result of this assembly, one or more dichroic coatings are typically inside the color combiner, surrounded by glass or other transparent material that forms the separate prism elements. Because of coatings tolerances, slight misalignment or angular inaccuracy in prism positioning, unwanted air gaps or imperfections, and other factors, color mixing performance can be compromised.
There is, then, a need for a color mixing solution for solid-state light sources that reduces cost over conventional approaches and offers a reduced number of incident surfaces, reduced incident angles, improved polarization response, and improved beam-shaping.

Illumination system for laser projection