A system for determining proximity of a surgical device relative to an anatomical structure includes at least one surgical device having a sensor assembly operably coupled to a processing unit. The sensor assembly is configured to transmit at least one electrical signal through the target anatomical structure to elicit a measurable response from the target anatomical structure. The processing unit is configured to calculate a signature property value of the target anatomical structure based on the measurable response and to determine proximity of the at least one surgical device relative to the target anatomical structure based on a comparison between the signature property value and at least one other signature property. An indicator is operably coupled to the processing unit and is configured to alert a user of the identified target anatomical structure based on the determined proximity.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to open or endoscopic surgical instruments and methods for treating tissue. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a system and method for determining proximity of a surgical device relative to critical anatomical structures utilizing signature properties values of such structures.
2. Background of Related Art
A hemostat or forceps is a simple plier-like tool that uses mechanical action between its jaws to constrict vessels and is commonly used in open surgical procedures to grasp, dissect and/or clamp tissue. Electrosurgical forceps utilize both mechanical clamping action and electrical energy to effect hemostasis by heating the tissue and blood vessels to coagulate, cauterize and/or seal tissue.
Over the last several decades, more and more surgeons are complementing traditional open methods of gaining access to vital organs and body cavities with endoscopes and endoscopic instruments that access organs through small puncture-like incisions. Endoscopic instruments are inserted into the patient through a cannula, or port, that has been made with a trocar. Typical sizes for cannulas range from three millimeters to twelve millimeters. Smaller cannulas are usually preferred, which, as can be appreciated, ultimately presents a design challenge to instrument manufacturers who must find ways to make surgical instruments that fit through the cannulas.
As mentioned above, by utilizing an electrosurgical instrument, a surgeon can either cauterize, coagulate/desiccate and/or simply reduce or slow bleeding, by controlling the intensity, frequency and duration of the electrosurgical energy applied through the jaw members to the tissue. The electrode of each jaw member is charged to a different electric potential such that when the jaw members grasp tissue, electrical energy can be selectively transferred through the tissue.
Bipolar electrosurgical instruments are known in the art, as are other electrosurgical instruments. Commonly-owned U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2007-0062017, discloses a bipolar electrosurgical instrument. Conventional bipolar electrosurgical instruments may include a cutting blade, fluid applicator, stapling mechanism or other like feature, in various combinations.
Different types of anatomical structures, i.e. vessels, ducts, organs, may require different energy delivery configurations to effect proper treatment. While a specific energy delivery configuration may be adequate for treating an artery or vein, the same energy delivery configuration may not be suitable for treating a duct. Although in certain scenarios the identity of an anatomical structure being treated is either known or visually apparent, there may be instances where a surgeon is unable to visually determine the anatomical structure being treated. Treating non-target structures with an energy configuration configured for a target type structure may cause damage to the non-target structure and/or result in failure to effect proper treatment.
During certain procedures, surgeons must identify critical anatomical structures such as large vasculature or urinary or bile ducts. These structures typically need to be avoided or ligated during a procedure, thus requiring a high degree of confidence when identifying such structures.
One complication during laparoscopic procedures in particular, is inadvertently injuring nearby critical anatomical structures due to quick or abrupt movement of instruments within the surgical site, poor visibility, lack of tactile response, confusion of the anatomy from patient to patient, or inadequate control of the instrumentation being utilized to perform the procedure. For example, when performing a laparoscopic cholecystectomy to remove the gallbladder, a critical aspect of the procedure is the identification of the common bile duct. Injuries to the common bile duct may result in significant health risks. For example, despite the use of increased dissection and cholangiograms to identify critical structures such as the common bile duct, a common bile duct injury rate of 0.5% to 1.4% has been reported.
Traditional methods for identifying anatomical structures within the body are based on sensing physical characteristics or physiological attributes of body tissue, and then distinguishing normal from abnormal states from changes in the characteristic or attribute. For example X-ray techniques measure tissue physical density, ultrasound measures acoustic density, and thermal sensing techniques measures differences in tissue heat.
Signature properties of anatomical structures such as electrical conductivity, impedance, thermal conductivity, permittivity, and capacitance may be measured and compared to known data to distinguish anatomical structures from other anatomical structures and/or known data. If these signature properties can be properly elicited from a target anatomical structure, measureable values that correspond to these elicited properties may be calculated and compared to known values for purposes of identifying the target anatomical structure.

System and method for determining proximity relative to a critical structure


A method, apparatus and computer program product are provided herein for enabling the joint detection and decoding of uplink state flag symbols. In this regard, a method is provided that determining one or more residual error terms by jointly detecting and decoding in one or more bursts of a radio block. In some example embodiments, the one or more residual error terms are determined over a plurality of uplink state flag symbols in the one or more bursts that correspond to a plurality of available uplink state flag sequences. The method of this embodiment may also include determining a weighted error measure for each of the plurality of available uplink state flag sequences based on the one or more residual error terms. The method of this embodiment may also include determining an uplink state flag value based on the plurality of weighted error measures.

The modern computing era has brought about a tremendous expansion in computing power as well as increased affordability of computing devices. This expansion in computing power has led to a reduction in the size of computing devices and given rise to a new generation of mobile devices that are capable of performing functionality that only a few years ago required processing power provided only by the most advanced desktop computers. Consequently, mobile computing devices having a small form factor have become ubiquitous and are used by consumers of all socioeconomic backgrounds.
As a result of the expansion in computing power and reduction in size of mobile computing devices, mobile computing devices are being marketed with an ever increasing array of features. For example, communication systems, such as the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM®), are continuously evolving to include additional features and increased data rates. One such example of the ability to provide increased data rates in GSM is the Enhanced General Packet Radio Service (EGPRS) and related extension EGPRS2. In some examples, EGPRS and EGPRS2 are configured to employ Uplink State Flag (USF) symbols to specify an instance in which a communication device is permitted to transmit data. For example, at a given time, an uplink resource may be allocated to the communication device in the GSM system as signaled via the USF value.
In some examples, the communication device is configured to decode the USF symbols received in a radio block from a base station. In an instance in which the decoded USF value matches the allocated USF, the communication device is then, for example, permitted to cause the transmission of data.
In order to prevent the communication device from transmitting data in an incorrect uplink resource or at a time when the uplink resources has not been allocated, the USF value is configured to be detected reliably in instance in which it is transmitted by the base station. In some cases, the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) has established a minimum USF detection performance. The performance requirements are at least partially defined in 3GPP TS 45.003, which is incorporated by reference in its entirety herein.

Method and apparatus for signal detection and decoding


A memory system or flash card may include a dynamic system-level process for the management of blocks in the different memory pools. There may be spare blocks available to the pools that are over provisioned to the pool which increases the efficiency of data compaction and helps reduce the average hot count for that pool and compensate for the grown defects. The block wear and grown defects in each memory pool may be tracked so that remaining spare blocks can be re-allocated.

Non-volatile memory systems, such as flash memory, have been widely adopted for use in consumer products. Flash memory may be found in different forms, for example in the form of a portable memory card that can be carried between host devices or as a solid state disk (SSD) embedded in a host device.
As the non-volatile memory cell scales to smaller dimensions with higher capacity per unit area, the cell endurance due to program and erase cycling, and disturbances (e.g. due to either read or program) may become more prominent. The defect level during the silicon process may become elevated as the cell dimension shrinks and process complexity increases. Accordingly, memory meeting high endurance requirements may be more difficult, which may further increase research and development costs for the technology scaling.
Memory blocks may be allocated to memory pools during format. The pools may identify a high endurance/high usage pool as compared with a lower endurance/low usage pool. In one embodiment, multi-level cell (MLC) memory may be the lower endurance/low usage pool while single level cell (SLC) blocks may be the high endurance/high usage pool. There may be pre-allocated blocks in the pools to compensate for grown defects. If either of the pools runs out of the pre-allocated blocks, the device or card may go into read only mode and may no longer be practically useful to the user.

Smart dynamic wear balancing between memory pools


A multichannel separable fiber optic connector includes two-part splice fixtures which are retained in the center body of the connector. A keying arrangement between the splice fixture halves and the center body insure that the fixture halves are always mated together in the same angular relationship, and a common sleeve in the center body aligns the fixture halves along a common surface. The optic fibers and fiber splices are protected by removable backshells which are environmentally sealed to the center body and to the cable jacket.

The invention relates to an environmentally sealed multichannel fiber optic connector.
The use of optic fibers for signal transmission is well known in the art. Optic fibers offer the advantages of low signal attenuation, increased bandwidth, and immunity from electrical and magnetic field interference. The fibers themselves vary in size from 0.002-0.010 of an inch in diameter; and many fibers, each carrying a separate signal, are often bundled together into a single cable.
While it is often desirable to be able to break a fiber optic cable and then reconnect the individual fibers together again--for instance, when changing equipment which is attached to the cable or when ducting the cable through a bulkhead--such separable connectors for optic cables present a myriad of problems. Since the individual optic fibers in the cable are of such small diameter, it is imperative that any connector which is used rejoin the severed fiber ends in exact alignment; or substantial signal attenuation will result. A pair of cylindrical ferrules or sleeves is often used as part of a separable connector for optic fibers; but because of the small diameter of the fiber itself and of the bore in the ferrule which receives the fiber, the exact alignment of the bores in two abutting ferrules is very difficult to achieve.
One commercial approach taken by the American Telephone & Telegraph Company ("AT&T") involves the use of a two-part rotary splice which is manufactured and sold as one piece and is split into abutting halves by the customer. During the manufacturing process, the two joined parts are formed with a common bore which insures concentricity of the bore through the length of the parts. Each part is provided with a keying means, and a splice holder also sold by AT&T receives the parts in only one angular orientation due to the presence of keyways in the holder. As a result, the two splice parts may be separated from one another and thereafter rejoined; and because the same angular orientation between the parts is always used in the rejoining process, accurate alignment of the bores in the two splice halves is insured. In spite of these advantages, the AT&T unit is not a separable connector but rather a box-shaped splice fixture which does not lend itself to separation and a reconnection of optic fibers in the field by untrained personnel, nor is the fixture environmentally sealed.
There is, accordingly, a need in the art for a environmentally sealed multichannel fiber optic connector which may be easily disconnected and reconnected by unskilled personnel and which insures accurate alignment of the reconnected fiber ends.

Environmentally sealed multichannel fiber optic connector


Apparatus for continuously pasteurizing meat and food products, characterized in that said apparatus comprises: a supporting framework supporting a top basin and bottom basin, both substantially longitudinally horizontally extending, and arranged one above the other, the top basin being supplied with hot water and the bottom basin being supplied with cold water; feeding means for feeding the products through the top basin; transfer means for transferring the products from the top basin to the bottom basin; means for varying the product holding time in the top basin; further feeding means for feeding the products through the bottom basin and withdrawing means for withdrawing the products from the bottom basin; and means for changing the product holding time, in a selective manner, at least in the bottom basin.

The present invention relates to an apparatus for deeply continuously pasteurizing meat and food products, packaged with a variable holding time, which apparatus can be used, for example, for pasteurizing sausage products, such as würstels (mortadellas), cooked jam portions, "raviolis" or "tortellinis" in trays and so on.
As is known, in pasteurizing food products, in particular meat products, the holding time during which these products are held at the pasteurizing temperature, and the cooling time, after the heating of the products, are basilar parameters.
Moreover, as it is desired to carry out a depth pasteurizing, i.e. a pasteurizing also extending to the inside of the food product to be processed, it is necessary to use, at present, large size pasteurizing systems.
In the latter, product cooling basins must have a great length, as conveyor belts driven with a constant speed are used.
In the above mentioned applications, the cooling basins must have a length of two-four times the length of the provided heating basins, to provide a depth pasteurizing, also involving the inside of the middle and large size meat products.
If the above mentioned parameters are not perfectly controlled, then it is not possible to provide satisfactory results in preserving the food products processed by the above mentioned technique.


A transmitter terminal in an ultra-long haul optical transmission system receives separate channel input signals in separate ones of a plurality of return-to-zero transmitters (RZTX). Each RZTX generates a corresponding forward error correction (FEC) modulated output signal in a separate channel frequency sub-band including predetermined channel separations from adjacent channel frequency bands. A multiplexing arrangement multiplexes the plurality of channel frequency bands from the RZTXs into separate groups of frequency bands. The groups of frequency bands have predetermined band-gap separations therebetween, and each group of frequency bands has a predetermined separate pre-chirp introduced therein before being multiplexed with all other groups of frequency bands into a single multiplexed output signal. An optical transmission line (OTL) is subdivided into predetermined sections and receives the single multiplexed output signal. A separate Raman amplifier (RA) is located in each separate section of the OTL for providing backward distributed Raman amplification. A dispersion compensating line amplifier (DCLA) is located in predetermined space-apart sections of the OTL for introducing dispersion compensation for the single multiplexed output signal and each of the groups of frequency bands therein.

The present invention relates to method and apparatus for transmitting optical signals in high-capacity, long distance, lightwave communication systems which use Return-To-Zero (RZ) modulation format and dispersion management.
Optical nonlinearities of optical transmission fibers have become limiting factors for long distance, high capacity lightwave transmission systems. In an optically amplified transmission system transmission system, the amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) noise degrades the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), and a higher signal power is then required to maintain a minimum SNR. However, optical nonlinearities distort the transmission signal and thus limits the maximum optical power that can be launched over the optical transmission line.
It is possible to balance the self-phase-modulation (SPM) with chromatic dispersion by a proper design of the transmission pulse waveform as well as the pulse energy. Such nonlinear pulses are known as xe2x80x9coptical solitonsxe2x80x9d. Since the chromatic dispersion is compensated for by optical nonlinearity, there is no need to perform dispersion compensation in soliton systems. In this regard see, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,558,921 (A. Hasegawa), issued on Dec. 17, 1985, U.S. Pat. No. 4,700,339 (J. P. Gordon), issued on Oct. 13, 1987, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,035,481 (L. F. Mollenauer) issued on Jul. 30, 1991.
Although transoceanic soliton transmission is known, conventional soliton transmission technology has not been commercialized. One of the major problems with conventional soliton transmission is timing jitter. A soliton pulse width is typically approximately 10% of a bit period and there is no fundamental mechanism that can fix such short pulses in time. Perturbations such as solitonxe2x80x94soliton interaction, frequency shift due to the ASE noise, and an acoustic wave generated by a previous pulse tend to move the pulses out of their original position as is indicated in U.S. Pat. No. 5,710,649 (L. F. Mollenauer), issued on Jan. 20, 1998. Still further, many techniques have been used to reduce or eliminate timing jitter as is described in the book entitled xe2x80x9cOptical Fiber Telecommunications IIIAxe2x80x9d by I. P. Kaminow et al., at pages 373-461 (Academic Press, 1997). All the above techniques, also known as xe2x80x9csoliton control technologiesxe2x80x9d are typically not cost effective in many practical applications, and also complicate system designs.
Recently, a new class of solitons (dispersion managed solitons) were described in the article entitled xe2x80x9cReduction of Gordon-Haus timing jitter by periodic dispersion compensation in Soliton transmissionxe2x80x9d by M. Suzuki et al., Electronic Letters, Vol. 31, No. 23, pages 2027-2029, 1995. An article entitled xe2x80x9cSoliton Transmission Using Periodic Dispersion Compensationxe2x80x9d, by N. J. Smith et al. in Journal of Lightwave Technology, Vol. 15, No. 10, pages 1808-1822, 1997, discusses a dispersion managed soliton (DMS) which has been shown to have a much better performance than a conventional soliton, while at the same time having inherent desired properties of conventional solitons in dealing with optical nonlinearities. There are five major improvements in DMS transmission systems compared to conventional soliton systems. These five improvements are (a) energy enhancement wherein it is possible to launch much higher signal power for a DMS signal than conventional soliton signals, which improves the system SNR; (b) reduced timing jitter; (c) no additional soliton control technologies are required; (d) it is compatible to existing non-return-to-zero (NRZ); and (e) it has high power and dispersion tolerance.
In an article entitled xe2x80x9c1 Tbit/s (100xc3x9710.7 Gbits) Transoceanic Transmission Using 30 nm-Wide Broadband Optical Repeaters with Aeff-Enlarged Positive Dispersion Slope Fiber and Slope-Compensating DCFxe2x80x9d by T. Tsuritani et al., at pages 38-39 of Post-Deadline Papers, 25th European Conference on Optical Communications, 1999, discloses that significant system performance has been achieved using DMS technology in many laboratory experiments in terms of both distance and total capacity. Similar performance has also been demonstrated by many other such as, for example, the articles entitled xe2x80x9c1 Terabit/s WDM Transmission over 10,000 kmxe2x80x9d by T. Naito et al., PD2-1, pages 24-25, 25th European Conference on Optical Communication, 1999, and xe2x80x9c1.1-Tb/s (55xc3x9720-GB/s) DENSE WDM SOLITON TRANSMISSION OVER 3,020-km WIDELY-DISPERSON-MANAGED TRANSMISSION LINE EMPLOYING 1.55/1.58 um HYBRID REPEATERSxe2x80x9d, by K. Fukuchi et al., PD2-10, pages 42-43, 25th European Conference on Optical Communication, 1999.
Although previous laboratory experiments have proven the feasibility of DMS systems for long distance and high capacity applications, there are many challenges to achieve both reliability and flexibility such that such DMS system can be used in a realistic environment. For example, in terrestrial optical fiber networks, the distance between repeaters or optical amplifiers can be as long as 130 km. Such distances are significantly longer than those of the previous experiments. The impacts of the longer repeater spacing are two-fold. First, the required signal power is typically much higher to overcome the SNR degradation caused by a required larger amplifier gain. Second, as a result of the required higher signal power, optical nonlinearities become more important for long distance transmission. Another challenge is that there are a variety of different optical fiber types in existing optical fiber networks. Optical nonlinearities become even more detrimental for a transmission line comprising different types of optical fibers. As for DMS systems, the total capacity is limited not only by the optical amplifier bandwidth, but also the higher order chromatic dispersion of the transmission fiber. The situation is even more difficult when there are several different types of optical fibers involved. A reliable and cost-effective solution to higher order chromatic dispersion is one of the major challenges for high capacity long haul DMS systems. Finally, distance and capacity are not the only requirements for next generation optical networks. For example, it is highly desirable to have the flexibility to place optical add/drop nodes anywhere along an optical transmission line.
In a dispersion managed soliton (DMS) system, DMS predicts significant power enhancement which is valid for single channel propagation. The power enhancement cannot be fully utilized for multi-channel system since the cross-phase modulation (XPM) dominates the overall system performance. DMS systems further require an accurate balance between the self-phase modulation (SPM) in the transmission fiber and the SPM a dispersion-compensating fiber which often results in a much smaller system margin.
It is desirable to provide a high capacity ultra-long haul dispersion and nonlinearity managed lightwave communication system which overcomes the problems described hereinabove.
The present invention is directed to method and apparatus for transmitting optical signals in high-capacity, long distance, lightwave communication systems which use Return-To-Zero (RZ) modulation format and dispersion management.
Viewed from an apparatus aspect, the present invention is directed to an optical transmission system. The optical transmission system comprises a transmitter terminal and an optical transmission line. The transmitter terminal comprises a plurality of return-to-zero (RZ) transmitters and a multiplexing arrangement. Each of the plurality of return-to-zero (RZ) transmitters is adapted to receive a separate channel input signal and to generate therefrom a corresponding forward error correction (FEC) modulated output signal in a separate predetermined channel frequency sub-band of an overall frequency band which includes a predetermined channel separation from an adjacent channel frequency band generated by another RZ transmitter. The multiplexing arrangement multiplexes the plurality of the predetermined channel frequency sub-bands from the plurality of RZ transmitters into separate groups of frequency bands where the groups of frequency bands have a predetermined band-gap separation therebetween wherein each group of frequency bands has a predetermined separate pre-chirp introduced before being multiplexed with all other groups of frequency bands into a single multiplexed output signal. The optical transmission line has an input coupled to an output of the multiplexing arrangement and is subdivided into a plurality of optical transmission line sections. The optical transmission line comprises a plurality of Raman amplifiers and at least one dispersion compensating line amplifier (DCLA). One of the plurality of Raman amplifiers is located at the end of each optical transmission line section and is adapted to receive at an input thereof the single multiplexed output signal propagating in an associated transmission line section and to combine a predetermined Raman pump power signal into the optical transmission line section in an opposite direction to the received single multiplexed output signal to generate at an output thereof an output signal which is Raman amplified for increasing a path averaged optical power without increasing nonlinear degradation. The at least one DCLA is coupled to an output of a Raman amplifier at the end of a predetermined group of optical transmission line sections. The DCLA is adapted to introduce dispersion compensation for the single multiplexed output signal, and to introduce separate high-order dispersion compensation for each of the groups of frequency bands therein.
Viewed from a method aspect, the present invention is directed to a method of transmitting signals in an optical transmission system. The method comprises the steps of: (a) receiving each channel input signal of a plurality of channel input signals in a separate one of a plurality of return-to-zero (RZ) transmitters, and generating therefrom a corresponding forward error correction (FEC) modulated output signal in a separate predetermined channel frequency sub-band of an overall frequency band which includes a predetermined channel separation from an adjacent channel frequency band generated by another RZ transmitter; (b) multiplexing the plurality of the predetermined channel frequency bands from the plurality of RZ transmitters into separate groups of frequency bands where the groups of frequency bands have a predetermined band-gap separation therebetween, wherein each group of frequency bands has a predetermined separate pre-chirp introduced before being multiplexed with all other groups of frequency bands into a single multiplexed output signal; (c) receiving the single multiplexed output signal in an optical transmission line which is subdivided into predetermined optical transmission line sections; (d) receiving the single multiplexed output signal propagating in each optical transmission line section by a separate Raman amplifier which combines a predetermined Raman pump power signal into the optical transmission line section in an opposite direction to the received single multiplexed output signal to generate an output signal which is Raman amplified for increasing a path averaged optical power without increasing nonlinear degradation; and (e) introducing dispersion compensation from a dispersion compensating line amplifier (DCLA) into the single multiplexed output signal from an output of a Raman amplifier at the end of a predetermined group of optical transmission line sections for providing separate high-order dispersion compensation for each of the groups of frequency bands in said single multiplexed output signal.

High capacity ultra-long haul dispersion and nonlinearity managed lightwave communication systems


Embodiments are directed to an apparatus and fabrication method to form pad arrays on the edge of a substrate wafer substrate. Embodiments of the invention make it possible for surface mount devices to be bonded vertically (i.e. on their side) using standard semiconductor assembly processes.

Embodiments of the invention relate generally to surface mounting technology utilized to electrically and physically interconnect electronic components. In surface mount technology (SMT), two surfaces may be electrically interconnected using solder bumps or balls that are deposited upon one of the surfaces and then reflowed or heated to solder the two surfaces together. SMT may be an advantageous process because it may not be necessary to work in the region between the two surfaces to be joined and because a large number of components may be connected in the same reflow step.
Sometimes, for example in the case of electro-optical components, it may be desirable to vertically bond (i.e. mount on its side) a component to a substrate. FIG. 1 is an example of vertical bonding a component 100 to a substrate 102. The component 100 may be a laser, a photodiode, or any component to be vertically mounted. In this case, the component is an opto-electrical component which may typically comprise a metal layer 104, a dielectric layer 106, and a transparent glass or plastic portion 108.
During fabrication of the component 100, the metal layer 104 may be the bottom of the component 100 and the glass/plastic layer 108 may be the top. The bottom metal layer 104 may comprise a corner bonding pad 110 projecting upward from the metal layer 102 near the top edge of the component 100. The pad 110 may be for making electrical connections as well as mechanical attachment via a solder bump 112 to the substrate 102 when the component 100 is flipped on its side, as shown.
While one pad 110 is shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of such pads may be present to provide corner solder joint arrays used as a means to electrically interface with I/O, power and bias bumps, for example on a microprocessor package. Potential problematic issues of this type of solder joint and contact pad may be manufacturability compatibility with the standard flip chip process. For example, it may be difficult for a pick and place tool to automate the placement of the component on the substrate. Other issues may include proper solder reflow and self alignment difficulties. Mechanical robustness of the finished product and potential reliability issues may arise because the joint may be sheared off at elevated temperatures.

Method to form lateral pad on edge of wafer


A support member 10 having a tubular portion 11 is joined at an end portion of a muffler pipe 1. The support member 10 forms a flange 12 as a valve seat and a support bracket 14. The support bracket 14 has a valve disk 20 supported rotatably via a hinge axis 15. The valve disk 20 has an outer peripheral portion 12 as a contact surface with the valve seat, and a weight 30 is welded to a bead portion 23 with an inner portion thereof projecting to the back face. A spring is wound around the hinge axis, with one end 18 engaging a back face of the valve wall 21 for the valve disk, the other end engaging a support bracket. The resonance frequency is decreased by the weight, thereby preventing the beat sound from arising in a normal range of the engine speed. The weight is welded to the bead portion, thereby not causing the outer peripheral portion 23 as the contact surface to be distorted.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a valve structure installed in an engine exhaust system.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, as a valve of this kind, a structure is known in which a valve is installed in a pipe passage within a muffler of the vehicle.
This structure improves the silencer effect by opening or closing an exhaust passage corresponding to a variation in pressure of an exhaust gas flowing in from the engine side, and prevents a decrease in the engine output. In such an exhaust pressure sensitive valve, a spring is annexed for biasing a valve disk in a closing direction, and the valve is opened when an exhaust pressure enough to overcome a biasing force of the spring is exerted.
By the way, in an environment where high pressure exhaust gases flow, a hinge portion for carrying the valve disk can not be fitted minutely in view of an expansion or shrinkage due to thermal expansion, the precision of the rotation axis being relatively rough. Hence, if a contact surface between the valve disk and a valve seat is inclined conically, for example, the center between them is dislocated even in a state where the valve is closed, developing a gap in practice.
Accordingly, the contact surface between the valve disk and the valve seat is made planar, as shown in FIG. 10.
In the valve structure as shown in the figure, a support member 10 extending from a muffler pipe 1 has a flange 12 and forms the valve seat. The valve disk 40 carried around a hinge axis 15 by a support bracket 14 of the support member 10 has an entire smooth face that is opposed to the flange 12 of the support member, with a flange 41 around its peripheral edge. A spring 16 is wound around the hinge axis 15, and biases the valve disk 40 toward the flange 12 that is the valve seat.
The valve disk 40 is opened when the exhaust pressure is increased, or closed when the exhaust pressure is decreased. In the case where the valve disk is made from a thin sheet by press molding, the resonance frequency is higher due to a combined effect between the valve disk and the spring 16 annexed, so that the valve disk 40 is caused to vibrate at an engine speed of 2000 to 3000 rpm in a normal range of the engine, leading to a problem that beats are produced and the quality sense of the vehicle is deteriorated.
To suppress the vibration of the valve disk, it is conceived to increase a biasing force of the spring 16 for biasing the valve disk 40 in the closing direction. However, if the spring force is increased, the valve may not be opened till the exhaust pressure becomes a considerably high value, so that the proper object can not be attained.
On the other hand, if the spring force is reduced to make the resonance frequency lower, the opening valve pressure for opening the valve is decreased, so that the valve is frequently opened or closed due to slight variations in exhaust pressure because the valve disk 40 itself is light in weight.
Accordingly, the invention has been achieved in the light of the above-mentioned problems associated with the conventional art, and it is an object of the invention to provide a valve structure for an engine exhaust system in which vibration of a valve disk due to resonance is suppressed in the case where the valve disk is made from a thin sheet and light in weight.
According to the invention, there is provided a valve structure for an engine exhaust system in which a valve installed in an exhaust passage is opened or closed in accordance with an exhaust pressure, with a valve disk biased in a closing direction by a spring being supported around a rotation axis, wherein the valve disk is formed with a bead portion in a region excluding a contact surface of a valve wall with a valve seat, and a weight is fixed to the bead portion.
Since the weight is fixed to the valve wall, the resonance frequency of the valve disk can be changed while the predetermined characteristics of the spring are retained.
The valve wall of the valve disk has an outer peripheral portion shaped like a ring as the contact surface, the bead portion has an inner diameter portion projecting out to the back side from the outer peripheral portion, and the weight is fixed to the bead portion on a back face of the valve wall. Since the weight is fixed to the back face of the valve wall, there is no risk of interference with the valve seat.
The spring is wound around the rotation axis, with one end engaging the back face of the valve wall, and the weight is fixed except for an engagement point at one end of the spring. Since the engagement point of the spring is avoided, there is no risk that one end of the spring is engaged on the weight accidentally.
According to the invention, there is provided a valve structure for an engine exhaust system in which a valve installed in an exhaust passage is opened or closed in accordance with an exhaust pressure, a valve disk biased in a closing direction by a spring is supported around a rotation axis, wherein the valve disk has a weight of circular arc fixed on a back face along an outer peripheral edge including an arcuate portion most left away from the rotation axis of a valve wall.
Since the weight is fixed to the valve wall, the resonance frequency of the valve disk can be changed while the spring is kept at the predetermined characteristics. Particularly, since the weight is fixed along the arcuate portion around the outer periphery edge of the valve disk, the maximum moment can be obtained for the rotation axis.
A flange is formed around the outer periphery of the valve wall, and the weight is disposed along the inside of the flange, and welded to the flange. Thereby, the weight can be positioned by abutting it against the flange.
The flange is further provided with a projection piece, and the weight is welded at the tip of the projection piece. Since the welded part is separated away from the contact surface of the valve wall, the welding heat is not passed to the contact surface.
A flange with a holding piece is formed around the outer periphery of the valve wall, and a convex portion projecting to the back side is formed inside a contact surface of the valve wall with a valve seat, whereby the weight is disposed between the flange and the convex portion along the inside of the flange, and pressed and fixed to the valve wall by caulking of the holding piece. Since the weight is fixed by caulking of the holding piece, the effect of welding heat does not arise at all.
The weight is formed by cutting a strip steel plate. The weight can be produced with excellent yield by cutting the strip steep plate along the arcuate portion around the outer peripheral edge of the valve disk.
The weight is formed by bending a steel material of a predetermined cross section. The weight can be produced with excellent yield only by cutting and bending the steel material.

Valve structure for engine exhaust system


An actively heated mug or travel mug is provided. The mug or travel mug can include a body that receives a liquid therein and a heating system at least partially disposed in the body. The heating system can include one or more heating elements that heat a surface of the receiving portion of the body and one or more energy storage devices. The mug or travel mug can include a wireless power receiver that wirelessly receives power from a power source and control circuitry configured to charge one or more power storage elements and to control the delivery of electricity from the one or more power storage elements to the one or more heating elements. The mug or travel mug also can have one or more sensors that sense a parameter of the liquid or sense a parameter of the heating system and communicates the sensed information to the control circuitry. The control circuitry can turn on, turn off, and/or operate the heating element to actively heat at least a portion of the body to maintain the liquid in a heated state generally at a user selected temperature setting based at least in part on the sensed parameter information. The mug or travel mug can also be paired with a remote device or mobile electronic device to send or receive communications or commands.

1. Field
The invention is directed to dishware and drinkware, such as plates and mugs, and more particularly to actively heated or cooled dishware and drinkware.
2. Description of the Related Art
Dishware (e.g., plates, bowls), serverware (e.g., platters, serving dishes, hot plates) and drinkware (e.g., cups, mugs, travel mugs, liquid containers, baby bottles, drinking bottles) are sometimes made of ceramic materials. Plates are sometimes heated by placing into an oven, so that the food on the plate can be maintained warm for a longer time than if the plate was not heated. For example, in some restaurants, plates will be heated prior to food being placed thereon, or simultaneously with the food (e.g., a steak) thereon. For example, a plate holding a steak can be placed into an oven to cook the steak, and once removed the plate maintains the food warm for a while. In some instances, a plate or bowl might also be chilled to maintain food thereon cold for a longer period of time (e.g., salad, gazpacho) than if the plate was not chilled. However, such heating and cooling mechanisms are passive mechanisms that rely on the release of heat, in the case of a heated plate, or the absorption of heat, in the case of a chilled plate, by the plate based on the heat transfer properties of the ceramic material.
However, technology for actively heating, or cooling, dishwasher safe dishware or drinkware is not readily available. Accordingly, there is a need for dishwasher safe dishware (e.g., plates, bowls), serverware (e.g., platters, serving dishes, hot plates) and drinkware (e.g., cups, mugs, travel mugs, liquid containers, baby bottles, drinking bottles) that can be actively heated or cooled during use.

Heated or cooled dishwasher safe dishware and drinkware


A method of making di-TMP includes reacting TMP and a dialkyl carbonate in the presence of a base catalyst in a reaction medium to form an oxetane of TMP in the reaction medium; providing additional TMP and an acid catalyst to the reaction mixture and reacting the oxetane in situ with the additional TMP to produce di-TMP; and recovering di-TMP. The process may be carried out in sequential reaction zones by feeding the reaction medium forward or carried out sequentially in a single reactor. Preferably, one or all of the following conditions are met: (i) said acid catalyst is a strong acid catalyst or (ii) said base catalyst is a strong base catalyst; or (iii) the molar ratio of TMP/dialkyl carbonate employed in the method is greater than 2.5.

di-TMP of the formula [C2H5C(CH2OH)2—CH2—]2-0, having the structure:
may also be referred to as 2-[2,2-bis(hydroxymethyl)butoxymethyl]-2-ethylpropane-1,3-diol. This material is of industrial significance as a valuable starting material for the production of alkyd resins, plasticizers and lubricants. di-TMP is found in high-boiling fractions and residues of the distillative work-up of the trimethylolpropane preparation. The prior art discloses processes for obtaining di-TMP from these residues.
According to DE 2058518 A1 (counterpart to U.S. Pat. No. 3,740,322 to Wada et al.), the di-TMP containing distillation residue is subjected to a steam distillation with superheated steam under reduced pressure. After removal of water, di-TMP is obtained from the resulting aqueous distillate, and can be recrystallized if required from an organic solvent, for example acetone.
DE 2358297 A1 (counterpart to U.S. Pat. No. 3,962,347 to Herz), discloses the simple crystallization of an aqueous solution of the distillation residue, wherein the salt concentration in the aqueous solution is adjusted to a particular ratio in order to enable the precipitation of di-TMP in sufficient purity.
US 2004/0254405 A1 discloses a process for recrystallization the distillation residue using organic solvents, for example acetone or methyl ethyl ketone, which requires a particular degree of observance for the crystallization temperature, the amount of solvent and the di-TMP content in the distillation residue. The use of a mixture of a suitable solvent and water for the isolation of di-TMP from the distillation residues of the trimethylolpropane preparation is described in DE 10 2008 038 021 A1 (counterpart to Publication 2012/0010435 of Rauchschwalbe et al.) An organic solvent phase and a viscous residue are initially obtained, the phases are separated and the organic solvent phase is extracted with water. The water phase is isolated and solvent residues present are removed. di-TMP is crystallized from the remaining water phase.
Various art relates to processes for obtaining di-TMP from secondary streams of the trimethylolpropane preparation. According to US 2013/0131391 A1 of Kreickmann et al., the high-boiling fractions and residues are dissolved in water and hydrogenated in the presence of an acidic compound to split formaldehyde-containing acetals. After removal of the solids, the hydrogenated material is then contacted both with basic and acidic ion exchangers. A trimethylolpropane-enriched product stream is distilled out of the aqueous eluate, and di-TMP remains as the distillation residue in sufficient quality.
Likewise WO2013/072008 A1 and WO2013/072006 A1 refer to the hydrogenation of the aqueous solution of the high-boiling fractions and residues in the presence of an acidic compound. After removal of the solid, low boilers are removed in a first distillation step. A trimethylolpropane-enriched product stream is obtained as a head fraction in a second distillation step and the bottom fraction is distilled in a third distillation step, in which di-TMP is obtained as the tops fraction and high boilers are removed as bottom fractions. According to WO 2013/072006 A1, a solid nickel catalyst is used in the hydrogenation step. Likewise, WO 2013/072007 A1 refers to a distillative process for obtaining di-TMP using a three- stage distillation process. In the first stage low boiling compounds and in the second stage intermediate boiling compounds are removed as tops fractions and the bottom fraction of the second distillation column is sent to a third distillation column in which di-TMP is obtained as a third distillation tops fraction and high boilers are removed as a bottom fraction.
Input stream for the distillation process according to WO 2013/072007 A1 is obtained, for e.g., in the preparation of trimethylolpropane as high-boiling fractions and residues with a certain content of di-TMP.
The art further refers to the deliberate or "on purpose" synthesis of di-trimethylolpropane from raw materials. According to EP 0 799 815 A1 (counterpart to U.S. Pat. No. 5,840,994 to Ninomiya et al.), trimethylolpropane is reacted directly with 2-ethylacrolein and formaldehyde in the presence of basic catalysts. After removing volatile components, purified ditrimethylopropane is obtained by recrystallization from water. According to WO92/05134 A1, already isolated trimethylolpropane is heated in the presence of an acidic compound, resulting in etherification to form di-trimethylolpropane.
JP2003335717 discloses the reaction of trimethylolpropane with the oxetane of trimethylolpropane (3-ethyl-3-hydroxymethyl-oxetane) in the presence of an acidic catalyst. So also, WO 01/14300 A1 discloses the ring opening reaction of trimethylolpropane oxetane with trimethylolpropane at elevated temperature in the presence of an acidic catalyst to provide ditrimethylolpropane. Neither reference provides guidance on an effective method to produce the oxetane of trimethylolpropane.
The oxetane of trimethylolpropane may be prepared by the reaction of trimethylol-propane with a carbamide, such as urea, in the presence of a catalyst such as zinc(II)acetate and potassium hydroxide according to U.S. Pat. No. 6,515,152 B1. See also GB 787,406 (Bayer). Other processes for preparing oxetanes per se using dialkyl carbonates or alkylene carbonates are discussed in Kokai Patent Application No. 10[1986]-7669 as well as Pattison, D. B., Cyclic Ethers Made by Pyrolysis of Carbonate Esters, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 1957, 79, vol 13, 3455-3456, Tan, Qiaohna et al. "Electrochemical Behaviors and Anion Recognition of Ferrocene Modified Hyperbranched Polyether." Macromolecules. (Washington, D.C., USA), 42(13), 4500-4510; 2009.
WIPO Publication No WO 2014/024717 (PCT/JP2013/070485) discloses a process for making polyhydric alcohol ethers in which the alcohol is dehydrated and condensed.


This invention discloses a laminated film comprising two thermoplastic polyester outer layers of identical polytrimethylene terephthalates, different polytrimethylene terephthalates, identical blends of polytrimethylene terephthalate or different blends of polytrimethylene terephthalate and a middle layer selected from a metal foil, polyethylene-vinyl acetate, and a thermoplastic polymer comprising thermoplastic polyester different from the thermoplastic polyester of the two outer layers, wherein the middle layer is laminated between the two outer layers. This invention also discloses a solar panel comprising a back sheet made of the laminated film.

With global warming, governments around the world are becoming increasingly demanding on energy conservation and emission reduction. Therefore, finding new energy sources to replace fossil fuels has become an urgent need.
Solar energy is a clean, pollution-free and inexhaustible source of energy. At present, solar energy is utilized primarily via its conversion into electricity by solar panels. The electricity is then used to power electric water heaters, electric vehicles and satellite components.
A solar panel is a photovoltaic device generating electricity directly from light, particularly from sunlight. A solar panel of the prior art mainly comprises a back sheet, a photovoltaic circuit, an encapsulation material and a front sheet.
The encapsulation materials, such as polyethylene-vinyl acetate films, are used in solar panels to bond the front and back sheets together. In a lamination operation carried out at about 150° C., molten polyethylene-vinyl acetate flows into voids in a solar panel to encapsulate the solar cells. A conductive adhesive may also be used to connect solar cells to each other.
The primary role of a front sheet in a solar panel is to protect solar cells against mechanical impact and weathering. In order to make full use of the light, the front sheet must have a high light transmittance in a certain range of the spectrum (for example, for polycrystalline silicon solar cells, the range is 400-1,100 nm). The front sheet of a prior art solar panel is typically made of glass (usually low-iron tempered flint glass with a thickness of 3-4 mm) or polymeric materials.
The primary role of the back sheet in a solar panel is to protect solar cells and encapsulation materials and/or conductive adhesives against moisture and oxidation. During assembly of a solar panel, the back sheet is also used as a mechanical shield to prevent scratches and as an insulator. Therefore, excellent moisture barrier property and flexibility are required for the back sheet.
A back sheet commonly used in solar panels is a multi-layer adhesively laminated film, mainly including the following three types:
1) Laminated TPE film: fluoropolymers (e.g., polyfluoroethylene)/polyethylene terephthalate/ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer containing 1%-70% vinyl acetate;
2) Laminated TPT film: fluoropolymer (e.g., polyfluoroethylene)/polyethylene terephthalate/fluoropolymer (e.g., polyfluoroethylene);
3) Laminated PET film: polyethylene terephthalate/polyethylene terephthalate/polyethylene terephthalate.
For instance, in order to form a low cost thermoplastic resin film that has excellent hydrolysis resistance and delamination resistance, and improves photoelectric conversion efficiency of solar cells by enhancing shielding capability, JP 2006-270025A disclosed a thermoplastic resin sheet for making back sheets of solar cells. The thermoplastic resin is a polycondensate of dicarboxylic acid derivatives and diol derivatives. The thermoplastic resin sheet provided by JP 2006-270025A includes, for example, polyethylene terephthalate, polytrimethylene terephthalate, polybutylene terephthalate, polyethylene 2,6-naphthalate, poly(1,4-cyclohexylene-dimethylene terephthalate), and polyethylene glycol-co-cyclohexane 1,4-dimethanol terephthalate. In particular, polyethylene terephthalate is widely used due to its low price. With environmental protection awareness becoming deeply rooted in the public mind and environmental regulations becoming more and more stringent, solar panels are being more and more commonly used to replace common coal- or gas-burning devices. Therefore, solar panels are also being more and more commonly used under a variety of harsh environmental conditions. This has resulted in new and higher requirements for solar panel performance, such as moisture resistance. Although conventional solar panel back sheets can provide good moisture barrier properties, there is still room for improvement.
In addition, during assembly of solar cells, component manufacturers often find that the flexibility and degree of warpage of the back sheets have a large impact on production. A back sheet that is too soft is not easily flattened. Wrinkles may occur during lamination. A back sheet that is too hard would warp to a large degree when bent under stress. Additional laminating machines are often required to flatten deformed back sheets in the production of solar cell components. This is quite time-consuming and adds to the cost. A back sheet made of laminated multi-layer PET film has insufficient flexibility and a higher degree of warpage. There is much room for improvement.
Of the above three types of back sheet structure, laminated TPE film and laminated TPT film have better mechanical strength and aging resistance, but have higher cost and higher degree of warpage, while laminated multi-layer PET film has lower cost, but lower flexibility and higher degree of warpage. The moisture barrier properties are yet to be improved for these three types of back sheets.
One objective of the present invention is to provide a laminated film that not only has excellent moisture barrier property and flexibility, but also has a lower degree of warpage in addition to a moderate price.
Another objective of the present invention is to provide a solar panel that utilizes the above-described laminated film.

Laminated polyester film and solar panel made thereof


A sintered electrode having a large cathode capacity is obtained. A method for producing a sintered electrode which uses a lithium containing composite oxide as a cathode active material, and lithium lanthanum zirconate as an oxide solid electrolyte comprises: mixing at least the lithium containing composite oxide and a hydroxide, to obtain a cathode mixture; mixing at least the lithium lanthanum zirconate and a lithium salt that has a melting point lower than the lithium lanthanum zirconate, to obtain a solid electrolyte mixture; laminating the cathode mixture and the solid electrolyte mixture, to obtain a laminate; and heating the laminate, to sinter at least the solid electrolyte mixture.

It is believed that in an oxide solid-state battery, which uses a solid oxide as an electrolyte, joining the cathode, oxide solid electrolyte layer, and anode by sintering makes it possible to reduce the interface resistance between a cathode and an oxide solid electrolyte layer, the interface resistance between the oxide solid electrolyte layer and an anode, and so on. On the other hand, the interface resistance in a solid-state battery whose layers cannot be joined by sintering such as a sulfide solid-state battery using a sulfide solid electrolyte that is easy to suffer heat deterioration is reduced by pressurizing the battery using a restraining member to increase contact interfaces of battery material in the present circumstances. That is, an advantage of an oxide solid-state battery is that any member for restraining a cathode, oxide solid electrolyte layer, and anode is not necessary, and energy density of a battery as a whole can be easily increased, compared with other types of solid-state batteries.
It is important for producing an oxide solid-state battery to sinter layers. For example, a cathode of an oxide solid-state battery can be composed by sintering a lithium containing composite oxide as a cathode active material. In this point, Patent Literature 1 discloses a method of filling a powder of LiCoO2 which is one of lithium containing composite oxides into a mold, reducing a pressure inside the mold, and applying pressure sintering to the LiCoO2 powder at a temperature from 800° C. to 880° C.


An asynchronous time division communication system having at least one station including a buffer and an associated processor for writing data packets into said buffer at a sending clock frequency, and for reading data packets from said buffer at a receiving clock frequency. The processor is further capable of assessing the real packet filling level of the buffer and adjusting the receiving clock frequency in corresponding relationship to the assessed real packet filling level. The processor calculates a mean packet filling level after a measured time has elapsed by using the mean of m successively assessed real packet filling levels of said buffer and using the calculated mean packet filling level for adjusting the receiving clock frequency.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an asynchronous time division communication system with at least one station including a buffer circuit and associated processing means to write data packets in said buffer circuit at a send clock frequency and to read data packets from said buffer circuit at a receive clock frequency, said processing means being further able to assess the real packet filling level of said buffer circuit and to adjust said receive clock frequency in function of the thus assessed real filling level.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Such a communication system is known in the art, e.g. from the published French patent application No. 2579047. Therein the receive or read clock frequency is directly regulated by means of the assessed real filling level of the buffer circuit, so that the number of regulations performed may be excessively high, especially when in the system the data packets are subjected to stochastic delays as these give rise to frequent changes of the real filling level of the buffer. Such stochastic delays are not taken into account in the known system.

Asynchronous time division communication system


A remanufacturing method is disclosed for a process cartridge detachably mountable to a main assembly of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, wherein the process cartridge includes first and second frames rotatably coupled relative to each other. The remanufacturing method includes (a) a separating step of separating the first and second frames; (b) a step of dismounting a developing roller mounted in the second frame; (c) a step of peeling off an elastic sealing member for providing a seal between the second frame and the developing roller; (d) a step of sticking a double coated tape on a seat on which the elastic sealing member has been stuck; (e) a step of filling developer into a developer accommodating portion of the second frame; (f) a step of mounting a developing roller to the second frame; and (g) a step of coupling the separated first and second frames.

The present invention relates to a process cartridge and a remanufacturing method for the process cartridge. The process cartridge is a cartridge or unit which contains as a unit at least an electrophotographic photosensitive drum and developing means (developing member) and which is detachably mountable to a main assembly of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus.
The electrophotographic image forming apparatus may be an electrophotographic copying machine, an electrophotographic printer (a LED printer, a laser beam printer or the like), an electrophotographic printer type facsimile machine, an electrophotographic printer type word processor or the like.
In an image forming apparatus using an electrophotographic image forming process, a process cartridge type in which an electrophotographic photosensitive member and process means actable on the electrophotographic photosensitive member are contained as a unit in a process cartridge which is detachably mountable to the main assembly of the image forming apparatus, has been used. The process cartridge type is advantageous in that maintenance operations can be performed not by a service person but by the user in effect, and therefore, the operation property has been significantly improved. Therefore, the process cartridge type is widely used in electrophotographic image forming apparatus.
The process cartridge forms an image on a recording material using a developer. Therefore, the developer is consumed with the image forming operation. When the developer is consumed up to such an extent that a user is not satisfied with the image quality, the commercial value of the process cartridge is lost.
It is desired that such a used process cartridge is given a commercial value, again by remanufacturing the process cartridge through an easy method.
Accordingly, it is a principal object of the present invention to provide a simple remanufacturing method for a process cartridge.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a remanufacturing method of a process cartridge wherein the process cartridge with which the developer is consumed to such an extent that a user is not satisfied with the image quality is recycled to be given a commercial value.
According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a remanufacturing method for a process cartridge detachably mountable to a main assembly of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, wherein the process cartridge comprises a first frame supporting an electrophotographic photosensitive drum and a second frame which supports a developing roller for developing an electrostatic latent image formed on the electrophotographic photosensitive drum and which includes a developer accommodating portion accommodating a developer to be used for development of the electrostatic latent image by the developing roller, wherein the first frame and the second frame are rotatably coupled, the remanufacturing method comprising (a) a separating step of separating the first frame and the second frame from each other; (b) a developing roller dismounting step of dismounting the developing roller mounted in the second frame; (c) an elastic sealing member peeling step of peeling off an elastic sealing member for providing a seal between the second frame and the developing roller, wherein the elastic sealing member has been stuck in a longitudinal direction of the second frame; (d) an elastic sealing member sticking step of sticking a double coated tape on a seat on which the elastic sealing member has been stuck in a widthwise direction of the seat such that it protrudes toward the developing roller and resticking an elastic sealing member using the double coated tape; (e) a developer filling step of filling the developer into the developer accommodating portion; (f) a developing roller mounting step of mounting a developing roller to a second frame; and (g) a frame coupling step of coupling separated first and second frames with each other.

Process cartridge and remanufacturing method therefor


A woodstove emission controller for conveniently drawing emissions from the wood-stove so that the emissions do not enter the room where the wood-stove is located. The woodstove emission controller includes a tubular member having an inlet end, an outlet end and a bore extending therethrough; and also includes a closure member securely disposed in the bore near the outlet end for preventing a back-draft of emissions; and further includes a fan member securely and rotatably disposed in the bore for drawing emissions in through the inlet end and out through the outlet end of the tubular member; and also includes a motor mounted to the exterior of the tubular member, a belt member carried by the motor and the fan member, and a switch for energizing the motor.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a wood-stove smoke controller and more particularly pertains to a new woodstove emission controller for conveniently drawing emissions from the wood-stove so that the emissions do not enter the room where the wood-stove is located.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of wood-stove smoke controller is known in the prior art. More specifically, wood-stove smoke controller heretofore devised and utilized are known to consist basically of familiar, expected and obvious structural configurations, notwithstanding the myriad of designs encompassed by the crowded prior art which have been developed for the fulfillment of countless objectives and requirements.
Known prior art includes U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,280,476; 4,510,854; 4,424,799; 4,708,123; U.S. Pat. No. Des. 266,867; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,469,284.
While these devices fulfill their respective, particular objectives and requirements, the aforementioned patents do not disclose a new woodstove emission controller. The inventive device includes a tubular member having an inlet end, an outlet end and a bore extending therethrough; and also includes a closure member securely disposed in the bore near the outlet end for preventing a back-draft of emissions; and further includes a fan member securely and rotatably disposed in the bore for drawing emissions in through the inlet end and out through the outlet end of the tubular member; and also includes a motor mounted to the exterior of the tubular member, a belt member carried by the motor and the fan member, and a switch for energizing the motor.
In these respects, the woodstove emission controller according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in so doing provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of conveniently drawing emissions from the wood-stove so that the emissions do not enter the room where the wood-stove is located.


The specification discloses a power supply circuit which reduces oscillations generated upon ignition of a plasma within a processing chamber. A secondary power supply pre-ignites the plasma by driving the cathode to a process initiation voltage. Thereafter, a primary power supply electrically drives the cathode to generate plasma current and deposition on a wafer.

This invention relates to reduction of device damage in plasma processes, including DC (magnetron or non-magnetron) sputtering, and RF sputtering.
A typical plasma processing apparatus is shown in FIG. 1. The apparatus includes a plasma power supply 10, which drives a cathode or target 12 to a large DC voltage (e.g., -400 Volts) relative to the walls of vacuum chamber 14. The semiconductor substrate 16 (also known as the wafer) rests on a back plane 18 inside the chamber. The back plane may be driven by radio frequency (RF) AC voltage signals, produced by an RF power supply 20, which drives the back plane through a compensating network 22.
The AC and/or DC power supplies generate a plasma in the area above the wafer and between the wafer and the target, and cause material from the target to deposit on the wafer surface.
A typical DC power supply 10 includes a relatively sophisticated control system, designed to permit operation in constant power, constant voltage, or constant current modes. This control circuitry includes a damped control loop which, when the supply is engaged, produces a controlled ramping toward the desired output level. For example, as shown in FIG. 2, upon engagement of a typical DC power supply in an apparatus as shown in FIG. 1, the supply current (which represents the density of ionic transfer from the target due to sputter deposition on the wafer) ramps up to a constant value in a controlled manner with a small overshoot 24.
Despite the otherwise carefully regulated output produced by typical power supplies, it is normal to observe a spike in the target voltage during process initiation. As shown in FIG. 3, the magnitude of the spike 26 at process initiation may exceed the normal DC voltage level by a factor of 2 or more (e.g., those shown in FIG. 3 reach -1100 Volts). This phenomenon, known as the "break down" spike, is typically viewed as a necessary, isolated event associated with the creation of a plasma in the chamber 14 (otherwise known as "plasma ignition"). Furthermore, a large magnitude break down spike has been seen as necessary to improve process quality.

Soft plasma ignition in plasma processing chambers


A nestable crate includes a base, a pair of opposed side walls extending upward from the base, and a pair of opposed end walls extending upward from the base. The side walls and end walls include an upper band portion and a lower portion connecting the base to the upper band portion. A center structure extends from one of the end walls to the other of the end walls. The center structure includes a plurality of center column portions extending down to the base. The center structure further includes an upper handle portion partially defining a handle opening therebelow. The upper handle portion includes spaced-apart handle side walls defining openings upward of the crate.

Nestable beverage crates typically have side walls and end walls extending upward from a base. Handle openings are formed in the opposed end walls. Depending on the size of the bottles intended to be stored in the crate, the crate may hold a number of bottles. For single-serving size bottles, the crate typically stores 20-24 bottles.
Sometimes, a delivery person or stock person must remove the bottles from the crate and place them on a shelf for individual sale, such as in a refrigerator in the store.


A bracket comprises: a bracket body, at least one PCB mounting mechanism and at least one isolation needle mounting mechanism. The PCB mounting mechanism is disposed on the bracket body, for mounting a PCB parasitic unit, and the isolation needle mounting mechanism is disposed on the bracket body, for mounting the isolation needle parasitic unit. The bracket is capable of mounting different types of parasitic units.

Many known antenna systems include dipole radiators that are used to transmit radio frequency ("RF") signals. The dipole radiators are typically mounted as linear arrays or planar arrays of dipole radiators that are operated in a coordinated fashion to transmit and receive RF signals. The dipole radiators may, for example, be mounted to extend forwardly from a reflector. The reflector may comprise, for example, a metal sheet and may be used to reflect and send forwardly RF energy that is emitted by the dipole radiators in the rearward direction. In many applications, it may be desired that the radiation pattern or "antenna beam" that is formed by the dipole radiators have a certain shape and/or meet certain characteristics. For example, the half power (3 dB) beamwidth, the 10 dB beamwidth, and/or the magnitude of certain side lobes or back lobes may need to meet certain criteria. In many cases, these characteristics may not be met by a linear array (or planar array) of dipole radiators as initially designed. In order to adjust the radiation pattern, i.e. to adjust the relative magnitude of a transmitted RF signal in different directions, so-called parasitic units may be positioned around the dipole radiators. The size, shape, and distance of the dipole radiators from the parasitic units directly affect the radiation pattern. These parasitic units may be implemented in a variety of different ways. Two common types of parasitic units are printed circuit board ("PCB") based parasitic units in which metal patterns are formed on one or more layers of a PCB (herein referred to as a "PCB parasitic unit") and elongated metal parasitic units (also referred to as "isolation needles"). These parasitic units can be used to fine tune the radiation pattern generated by, for example, a linear array of dipole radiators to have a desired shape.
The typical PCB parasitic unit includes one or more dielectric substrates and a metal pattern that is formed on at least one of the substrates. Each PCB parasitic unit may be designed to modify a radiation pattern in a different way, and hence a large number of different PCB parasitic units may be required. The various PCB parasitic units may be mounted at different distances in front of the reflector in order to obtain the desired effect on the radiation pattern. The isolation needle parasitic units are also designed and manufactured in different shapes, and are disposed at different distances from the reflector for interference with or adjustment of the radiation pattern at different positions.
Since the above-described parasitic units often have different, complicated shapes and are disposed at different distances in front of the reflector, a wide variety of different brackets may be required to mount the different parasitic units in place in the desired locations. Most of the known brackets can only be used for mounting a single type of parasitic unit. In other words, existing brackets for parasitic units are mono-functional. For example, FIGS. 1A-1D show four different conventional parasitic unit brackets, each of which is configured to mount a single isolation needle parasitic unit at a particular distance in front of a reflector. As is well known, multiple different types of PCB parasitic units and isolation needle parasitic units may be used in an antenna system. As a result, an entire "family" of parasitic unit brackets may be required for each different antenna system, and hence designing and manufacturing the necessary different brackets may require an excessive number of parts and increase both manufacturing and installation costs.


For safely opening drums that may contain hazardous materials, a remotely controllable drum opener attachment is provided, which is powered by air or electricity from a distance by means of a long power cord. The attachment is clamped in position on the drum by an appropriate frame.

In the field of Hazardous Materials Response it is common to be called to respond to abandoned or discarded drum sites to identify and dispose of their contents. Some of these drums become very dangerous to handle manually due to exposure to the elements, decomposition, age, pressure build-up inside the drum, or from possible contact with the contents of the drum.
Current technologies in the field offer few solutions to this problem. The most commonly used method of handling drums of this nature is to simply open them manually, either by use of a bung wrench to remove the bung from the drum, or by puncturing the drum with some type of hand held apparatus such as an axe or pick. Workers using these methods may expose themselves to released chemicals upon opening of the drums, or may be injured, dismembered, or killed due to an explosion of unstable chemicals inside the drum.
Another commonly practiced method is to attach a spike to the bucket of a back-hoe (a tractor with a bucket attached to the end of a mechanical arm, used for digging) and have the back-hoe operator puncture the drum with the spike. Back-hoes are very expensive and not designed to be used in this manner. The use of a Back-hoe for puncturing drums of this nature will almost certainly cause injury to the operator and damage to the back-hoe in the case of an eruption or explosion of the contents of the drum.
It is felt by many in the field of Hazardous Materials Response that a new method of operation is needed to handle the problem of not being able to remotely open drums which may contain hazardous materials.
Accordingly I claim the object of this invention: to provide a portable remotely operational drum opening device and method of operation that will provide a safe, simple, and inexpensive alternative to manually opening drums that may contain hazardous materials or by virtue of their physical condition may cause damage to person(s) or property upon opening.


Solder flux compositions and pastes made therefrom, consisting essentially of solder metal powder, an amount of non-corrosive water soluble flux, said water soluble flux comprising a mixture of 2 non-corrosive water-soluble components, one of which is a non-halogenated amine, preferably triethanolamine and the other of which is an organic moiety with a polar group, preferably GAFAC RE-610.

The production of circuit boards for certain types of data processing equipment in the computer industry requires the use of a combination of wave solder and solder paste, known as surface mount technology (SMT), to place components on the circuit boards.
As in any production technique, any cost savings are continuously being sought. To this end, any reduction in the number of chemicals and chemical steps will result in an improvement in manufacturing process and a subsequent savings of cost. One of the major cost elements in the production of certain circuit boards is the surface mount process itself, and a key component to the process is solder paste, which paste plays multiple roles in the process of surface mount technology.
The first step in surface mount technology is registration of the circuit board possessing the appropriate circuitry connection lines and copper pads for the attachment of the electrical components (such as capacitors and resistors, small outline integrated circuits and transistors, flat packs, and plastic leaded chip carriers). Solder paste is screened onto the circuit board using an appropriately patterned stencil, in all of the locations where connection of the components to the copper pads is required. After screening the solder paste onto the circuit board, the board is moved to a pick and place machine that places all the components on the prepared sites. The solder paste must be tacky enough to hold the components in their required location until the board is subject to reflow, at which time the solder paste flows to become the soldered connection for the components. Tack life is the term used for the length of time that a solder paste is sticky enough to hold components when they are placed in the screened sites. For a solvent-based solder paste the tack life can be a critical factor as the solvent begins to evaporate and dry the paste out.
Reflow is the term used to describe heating the solder above its melting temperature to give a soldered joint; for 63/37 tin/lead solder, the usual reflow temperature used is 185.degree.-230.degree. C. The process is repeated for the back side of the board as needed. Using rosin based commercial solder pastes, the board must be cleaned using a chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) solvent since the rosin flux used in commercial pastes is soluble in organic solvents only.
Thereafter, other components that require wave solder mounting are placed on the circuit boards. Wave solder consists of using an adhesive to hold components on the board and cleaning the copper areas on the circuit board with a liquid flux before passage over a "wave" of liquid solder. The final cleanings use water washes with and without added surfactants. Any necessary repairs are performed manually by operators after visual inspection of the completed circuit board, and is termed "rework."
The process of surface mount technology creates stringent material demands on the solder paste, which as noted above serves a variety of functions. Not only will the paste be making the inter-connections, it must be tacky and capable of holding the components in place before the reflow process. The solder paste is a materials system comprised of a suspension of solder powder in a flux. The flux component of the solder paste is the material that controls many of the requirements of the solder paste. The flux first must remove metal oxides from the solder powder to allow reflow of all the solder properly. It must contribute the right rheology for the screening process, and the paste must act as an adhesive to hold the components in place until reflow. Further, any residues left must be easily removed preferably by use of non-toxic materials, such as water, and any minor amount of residues must be non-conducting and non-corrosive.
Current solder pastes in use have a flux system composed of a complex mixture derived from a natural product based pine-tar distillate fraction (called rosin). This flux system leads to irreproducibility in results and is characterized by lot-to-lot and vendor-to-vendor variations. A variety of thickeners, activators and vehicles are added to the rosin to create the correct qualities of reflow and rheology. The rosin-based system contains volatile solvents that lead the solder paste to exhibit a short tack life (a few hours) as well as some screening problems if the material is left on the stencil too long, such as clogging the stencil by drying in the apertures. Additionally, a drying step is required before reflow to remove the solvents; otherwise problems (such as sputtering) during the reflow may be encountered due to the solvent volatilization. Also, many current solder pastes and fluxes have objectionable odors.
The rosin-based flux system requires an organic solvent to clean the flux residue after reflow. The best solvent for cleaning is a halogenated hydrocarbon. With the current restrictions on the use of halogenated hydrocarbons, this is a major problem with the commercial rosin based solder pastes.
The ideal solvent for flux clean-up is water due to its ready availability, low environmental impact, and low cost.
The use of Gafac RE-610, a trademark of GAF Corporation for a nonylphenyl polyoxyethylene ether phosphate, (whose chemical formula is shown in Table I), was reported in Anon, "Fluorocarbon Soluble Strong Acid Soldering Fluxes," Research Disclosure, Vol. 200, pg. 523-4, December 1980, as a flux component in wave soldering, as a wetting agent, but not in a solder paste formulation. Becker, G., Biverstedt, A. Tolvgard, A. "The Surfactant Flux--A New Flux for the Ozone Age," Hybrid Circuit, No. 16, pp. 66-68, May 1988, suggests the use of RE-610 in combination with amine or ammonium salts in an organic solvent to produce a liquid flux for wave solder that is fluorocarbon soluble. However, there is no suggestion of using a wave flux formulation as a solder paste flux since wave fluxes are more aggressive in general than solder paste fluxes. In addition, this was a solvent-based system and one of the objectives of this invention is to develop a solvent-free solder paste, and this reference does not suggest water as a solvent for cleaning; it emphasizes fluorocarbon solubility. Very significantly, this prior art does not discuss the critical aspects of solder paste, the good tack and tack-life, nor the needed screening properties.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,865,641 discloses a soldering composition to be mixed with an inorganic soldering flux such as phosphoric acid for use in soldering stainless steels. GAFAC RE-410 is suggested as a wetting agent. Amines are used as an inhibiting agent to inhibit the action of the acid flux. This is a solder paste formulation using a flux system of orthophosphoric acid, a small quantity of copper powder or copper salt, an amine as an inhibitor, and a wetting agent. Gafac wetting agents are specifically mentioned--but solely as materials for promoting uniform distribution of the inhibiting agent--not as a flux itself. Both the wetting agent and inhibitor are present in very small quantities (less than 4 percent each). The majority of the material is orthophosphoric acid (a very strong fluxing agent) and water. The amines used as inhibitors are amines possessing bulky substituents.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,151,015 discloses a water-soluble flux for plumbing soldering, which contains a water-soluble anionic or non-ionic surfactant and a corrosive water-soluble amine hydrohalide. This patent does not cover solder paste formulations.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,153,482 discloses a process for joining two metal surfaces together in which the surfaces are treated with a liquid flux. The liquid flux consists of an organic acid. The flux does not include any amine fluxing agents.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,168,996 discloses a non-water-soluble soldering flux combining rosins and many other components. A flux component is designed to release strong mineral acids or oxidizing agents at the use temperature and thus presents a corrosion hazard in electronics applications.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,298,407 discloses a solder powder coated with an organic flux rather than a solder paste. The residues are not water soluble.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,541,876 discloses a non-aqueous multi-component vehicle for metal paste therefore residues are not water-soluble.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,577,767 discloses a solder paste and vehicle. The paste is not water-soluble and requires an organic solvent wash.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,619,715 discloses a solder metal paste and vehicle, which contains a non-aqueous rosin binder. It is not water-soluble.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,728,023 discloses a process for vapor phase soldering utilizing a solder cream comprising solder metal and fluorinated tertiary alkylamines. The system is not water-soluble.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,180,419 reveals a solder flux formulation that is water-soluble using a polyhydric alcohol ester of phosphoric acid. This material is used as an application flux prior to hand-soldering or wave soldering, or as a solder wire core flux. No amine is disclosed. Though they claim use would be possible as solder paste, this has not been reduced to practice.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,196,024 discloses a soldering flux consisting of essentially mono- and/or di-alkyl phosphates or alkyl amine salts of these phosphates for use in a wave soldering system. The patent requires a foaming agent and organic carrier for the flux. There is no reference to a paste formulation and the flux is organic solvent soluble, not water-soluble.

International Business Machines Corporation