A method is described for preparing astaxanthin esters from zeaxanthin by acylation of zeaxanthin with an acylating agent followed by contacting the esterified zeaxanthin with an oxidizing agent to produce esterified astaxanthin. The astaxanthin esters are more stable and show a better bioavailability than free astaxanthin when used in salmonid pigmentation.

1. Field of the Invention
In one embodiment, the invention relates to a process for preparing esterified astaxanthin. In a preferred embodiment, the conversion of zeaxanthin esters to esterified astaxanthin is described.
2. Description of the Related Art
Salmonids are attractive due to their characteristic pinkish color of the flesh. In the wild this color comes from the oxygenated carotenoids, mainly astaxanthin, found in organisms that make up their diets. When these fishes are cultivated astaxanthin must be included in their feed. Most of the astaxanthin used by the fish culture industry is produced synthetically by Hoffmann La Roche and BASF. This product is free astaxanthin as a racemic optically inactive mixture of the three isomers (3R, 3′R), (3R, 3′S) and (3S, 3′S).
This carotenoid is very unstable and easily degrades when exposed to air, heat or light needing special protection, handling and storage conditions to avoid oxidation.
Another source of free astaxanthin is produced by fermentation from Phaffia rhodozyma yeast. Esterified astaxanthin is obtained from algal culture of Haematococcus pluvialis. The production of astaxanthin from yeast or algae has not competed successfully with the synthetic product.
The production of free astaxanthin derived from the pigment of marigold flowers is described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,372,946 and 6,376,717 both assigned to PRODEMEX and incorporated herein by reference.
In salmonids, the oxycarotenoids are deposited in the flesh in the free form, while in skin, predominantly esters are found. In nature astaxanthin is often present as diester.
Usually the esterified carotenoids are more soluble in lipids than the free carotenoids and this represents an advantage as they can easily be incorporated in the feeds.
Previously Torres-Cardona has discussed the fact that esterified carotenoids like lutein and zeaxanthin show better stability and bioavailability than their free forms when used as pigmenters in poultry and aquaculture and also a process is mentioned for esterification in an aqueous medium. Breivik (WO 00/62625 and WO 03/003848) demonstrated that when free astaxanthin was esterified with short chain omega-3 fatty acids a more stable and efficient carotenoid was obtained for salmonid pigmentation.
Tanaka (JP11290094) reported a process for esterification of astaxanthin with linear or branched carboxylic acids of 14 to 22 carbons using one or several types of lipases for synthesis. Then Anderson describes a general procedure for esterification of astaxanthin using a dehydrating agent which later Gloor (WO 03/066583) adapts to implement a process of industrial interest using the synthetic astaxanthin produced by Hoffmann-LaRoche as a starting material.
An embodiment of the invention describes a method for the production of esterified astaxanthin using zeaxanthin esters as starting material.

Method for producing esterified astaxanthin from esterified zeaxanthin


A lanyard assembly including a strap having a first end and a second end, an attachment mechanism coupled to the first end and a quick connect attachment mechanism connected to the second end. The quick connect attachment mechanism includes a swivel member and a cinch for securing a tool coupled to the swivel member. The swivel member is configured to allow rotation between the cinch and the strap and the quick connect attachment mechanism can be quickly engaged and disengaged from the strap to allow the quick connection of various tools.

The invention relates to lanyards for use with tools, and more particularly to heavy duty lanyards including a tracking system.
Lanyards are sometimes used to assure that tools are not dropped or lost during use. However, present lanyards often break making them unreliable and unsuitable for larger or heavier tools. Carabiners are sometimes used to securely clip objects within an interior aperture defined by a frame of the carabiner. The interior aperture is alternatively accessible and inaccessible by virtue of a pivotal locking bar.


A magnetron sputtering system comprising a vacuum processing chamber having a chamber shield, a magnetron assembly, and a substrate, the magnetron assembly comprising a permanent magnetic assembly and an electromagnetic coil assembly, a first impedance circuit coupled between a power supply and the electromagnetic coil assembly, the first impedance circuit comprising a first resistor and a first capacitor, and a second impedance circuit having a second resistor and a second capacitor, and coupled between the substrate and a susceptor.

Sputtering is a well-known technique for depositing uniform thin films on a particular substrate. Sputtering is performed in an evacuated chamber using an inert gas, typically argon, with one or more substrates being transported past the target. An exemplary sputtering technique is magnetron sputtering which utilizes magnetrons. Examples of such magnetron sputtering techniques, such as planar magnetron sputtering and rotary magnetron sputtering are discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,544,884, issued on Jun. 9, 2009, and which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
Typically, evacuation of the sputtering chamber is a two-stage process in order to avoid contaminant-circulating turbulence in the chamber. First, a throttled roughing stage slowly pumps down the chamber to a first pressure, such as about 50 mtorr. Then, high vacuum pumping occurs using turbo or diffusion pumps to evacuate the chamber to the highly evacuated base pressure (about 10E-6 Torr) necessary to perform sputtering. Sputtering gas is subsequently provided in the evacuated chamber, backfilling to a pressure of about 2-10 mtorr.
The sputtering process is useful for depositing coatings from a plurality of target materials onto a various substrate materials including glass, stainless steel, plastics, and ceramic materials. However, the relatively low sputtering rate achieved by the process solely relying on electrostatic forces (diode sputtering) may be impracticable for certain commercial applications where high volume processing is desired. Consequently, various magnet arrangements have been used to enhance the sputtering rate by trapping electrons close to the target surface, ionizing more argon, increasing the probability of impacting and dislodging target atoms and therefore the sputtering rate. In particular, an increased sputtering rate is achieved by manipulation of a magnetic field geometry in the region adjacent to the target surface. Sputter deposition performed in this manner is generally referred to as magnetron sputtering.
The role of the magnetic field is to trap moving electrons near the target. The field generates a force on the electrons, inducing the electrons to take a spiral path about the magnetic field lines. Such a spiral path is longer than a path along the field lines, thereby increasing the chance of the electron ionizing a plasma gas atom, typically argon. In addition, field lines also reduce electron repulsion away from a negatively biased target. As a result, a greater ion flux is created in the plasma region adjacent to the target with a correspondingly enhanced erosion of target atoms from an area which conforms to a shape approximating the inverse shape of the field lines. Thus, if the field above the target is configured in arcuate lines, the erosion region adjacent to the field lines conforms to a shallow track, leaving much of the target unavailable for sputtering.
To overcome the low utilization of sputtering targets the application of electromagnetic coils in combination with permanent magnets has been used to sweep the magnetic field across the surface of the target using an adjustable power supply connected to the electromagnetic coils, which thereby increases the region of erosion on the target surface and the overall utilization of target material.
However, in magnetron sputtering systems that rely on power supplies with high frequency pulsed power signals the inventors have discovered an unwanted coupling between the magnetron power supplies and the electromagnetic coil power supplies, resulting in greatly reduce reliability and an increased rate of failure in the switching systems that control the polarity of current delivered to the electromagnetic coils.

Filter circuit for a magnetron deposition source


In a semiconductor laser driving device and method, a first current below an oscillation threshold current of a semiconductor laser is outputted to the laser invariably. A second current needed for light emission of the laser responsive to an input signal is outputted to the laser. A third current for controlling the laser such that a detected amount of emission light from the laser accords with a given value is outputted to the laser. A predetermined auxiliary current is outputted to the laser. An initialization operation is performed to detect luminescence characteristics of the laser, and a signal indicating a value of the second current derived from the detected luminescence characteristics is outputted. The third current is controlled so that an amount of light outputted by the laser receiving a sum of the first, second, third and auxiliary currents, accords with a predetermined amount.

The conventional semiconductor laser drive circuits may be classified roughly into the non-bias type and the bias type.
The non-bias type uses a laser driving method which sets the bias current of a semiconductor laser to 0, and drives the semiconductor laser by the pulsed current corresponding to the input signal.
On the other hand, the bias type uses a laser driving method which sets the bias current of the semiconductor laser to an oscillation threshold current of the semiconductor laser, adds the pulsed current corresponding to the input signal, to the bias current, and drives the semiconductor laser by a sum of the pulsed current and the bias current, while outputting the bias current to the semiconductor laser invariably.
When driving a semiconductor laser having a large oscillation threshold current by the above-mentioned non-bias method, even if the drive current corresponding to the input signal is supplied to the semiconductor laser, it will require a certain amount of time until the time the carrier signal having the concentration that enables the laser oscillation is created. The semiconductor laser in this case will emit light with a delay time.
There is no problem when the input signal is sufficiently large when compared with the light emission delay time, so that the amount of light emission delay can be negligible. However, when it is desired to drive the semiconductor laser at high speed in connection with the laser printer, the optical disk drive, the digital copier, etc., there is the problem that only the light emission time of the semiconductor laser that is shorter than the desired light emission time can be obtained.
For this reason, in order to make the light emission delay time of the semiconductor laser small, the bias type laser drive method in which the oscillation threshold current is variably supplied to the semiconductor laser as the bias current has been proposed.
In the bias type, the oscillation threshold current is supplied to the semiconductor laser, in advance, and it is possible to eliminate the light emission delay time as in the non-bias type.
However, even when the semiconductor laser is turned off, the semiconductor laser always emits light in a very small amount near at the oscillation threshold level (usually, 200 μW to 300 μW). In the case of optical communication, the extinction ratio becomes small due to the bias current, and in the case of the laser printer and the digital copier, etc., background stain occurs in the image formation due to the bias current.
For this reason, in the field of optical communication, it is proposed that the non-bias type is used fundamentally and the conventional semiconductor laser driving device is configured such that the oscillation threshold current is supplied to the semiconductor laser just before causing the semiconductor laser to emit light.
For example, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 4-283978 discloses a non-bias type semiconductor laser driving method for use in the field of optical communication. Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 9-83050 discloses a non-bias type semiconductor laser driving method for use in the field of optical communication.
However, in the case of the laser printer, the digital copier, etc., in order to attain high resolution image forming, the system using a 650 nm (red) semiconductor laser, a 400 nm (ultraviolet) semiconductor laser, etc. is now under development.
These semiconductor lasers have such characteristics that it takes much time to create the carrier signal having the concentration that enables the laser oscillation when compared with the semiconductor lasers of the conventional type with the wavelengths of 1.3 μm, 1.5 μm and 780 nm. Even if the above improved method is used, there is the problem that only the light emission time of the semiconductor laser that is shorter than the desired light emission time can be obtained.
To solve the problem, an improved laser driving method has been proposed. FIG. 13 shows a conventional semiconductor laser driving device using such improved method.
As shown in FIG. 13, the semiconductor laser driving device includes a voltage-current (V-I) conversion circuit 104, an initialization circuit 108, a control circuit 109, an emission current generating unit 110, and a bias current generating unit 111. A laser diode (LD) (called the laser) which emits light by the drive current Iop at the output of the emission current generating unit 110 is provided. The bias current generating unit 111 outputs the bias current Ibi to the laser invariably. The voltage-current conversion circuit 104 outputs the sample hold current Ish to the laser via the switching circuit 105 in order to obtain the desired amount of emission light of the laser. The emission current generating unit 111 includes a current-output type DAC (digital-to-analog converter) which outputs to the laser the emission current Idac needed for light emission of the laser responsive to the input signal (which is the digital data outputted from the initialization circuit 108).
In the semiconductor laser driving device of FIG. 13, a sum of the bias current Ibi, the sample hold current Ish, and the emission current Idac is supplied to the laser diode LD in order to obtain the desired amount of emission light of the laser diode LD.
The bias current Ibi is a small current in the amount of about 1 mA. The emission current Idac is generated by detecting luminescence characteristics of the laser diode LD through an initialization operation performed by the initialization circuit 108. The sample hold current Ish is generated through an APC (automatic power control) process such that the voltage Vpd, which is transformed by the conversion of the monitored current of a photodiode PD in response to the emission light of the laser diode (LD) using a variable resistance 112, accords with a predetermined reference voltage Vr.
FIG. 14 is a timing chart for explaining operation of the semiconductor laser driving device of FIG. 13.
As shown in FIG. 14, the emission input signal Si is externally supplied to the semiconductor laser driving device in order to perform the emission light control of the laser diode LD. The input signal Si is delayed by the control circuit 109 so that the emission ON signal Sa is obtained, and the emission ON signal Sa is outputted to the emission current generating unit 110.
The SW control signal Sb is outputted by the control circuit 109, and it is asserted at the same time the input signal Si is asserted, so that the SW control signal Sb is maintained in the asserted state until the emission ON signal Sa is negated.
The LD drive current Iop is the current which drives the laser diode LD, and it is composed of the sum of the emission current Idac, the sample hold current Ish, and the bias current Ibi. Only the bias current Ibi is supplied to the laser diode LD until the emission input signal Si is raised to the high level.
Immediately after the emission input signal Si is raised to the high level (it is asserted), the sample hold current Ish is added to the bias current Ibi, so that the sum of the sample hold current Ish and the bias current Ibi is supplied to the laser diode LD. The sample hold current Ish at this instant is equal to the current value indicating a difference between the oscillation threshold current Ith of the laser diode LD and the bias current Ibi.
When a predetermined period of time progresses after the emission input signal Si is raised to the high level, the asserted ON signal Sa causes the emission current generating unit 110 to add to the LD drive current Iop the emission current Idac indicating the current value In according to the digital data signal SD received from the initialization circuit 108. It is possible to obtain the desired amount of emission light from the laser diode LD by the supplied drive current Iop. Thus, the laser diode LD is activated by the bias current Ibi and the impedance is made small, and the response characteristic to the oscillation threshold current Ith is improved. The semiconductor laser driving device can provide the emission pulse having the desired pulse width for the laser diode LD.
FIG. 15 is a diagram for explaining the luminescence characteristics of laser diode LD in the semiconductor laser driving device of FIG. 13.
When the ambient temperature rises to a high temperature as shown in FIG. 15, the luminescence characteristics of laser diode LD will change and the oscillation threshold current Ith of the laser diode LD will increase greatly.
Furthermore, the differentiation efficiency becomes small, the current value In of the emission current Idac before the desired emission power output is obtained from the oscillation threshold current Ith increases because of the decrease of the differentiation efficiency.
It is necessary to increase the current value In of the emission current Idac at the time of high temperature.
In FIG. 15, (a) indicates respective current values when the initialization operation is performed at normal temperature, (b) indicates respective current values when the ambient temperature rises to the high temperature, and (c) indicates respective current values when the initialization operation is performed at the high temperature.
The initialization circuit 108 detects the luminescence characteristics of laser diode LD by performing the initialization operation at normal temperature, and outputs the emission current Idac, indicating the current value In according to the detected characteristics, to the emission current generating unit 110.
Suppose that the current value of the oscillation threshold current Ith of the laser diode LD at normal temperature is set to IthA, the current value of the emission current Idac obtained through the initialization operation at normal temperature is set to InA, and the current value of the sample hold current Ish at normal temperature is set to IshA. In this case, the condition IthA=IshA+Ibi is met.
When the ambient temperature rises to the high temperature after the initialization operation at normal temperature is performed, in order to obtain the desired amount of emission light from the laser diode LD, it is necessary to increase the sample hold current Ish to supplement an increase of the current value In of the emission current Idac caused by the decrease of the differentiation efficiency in accordance with the rise of the ambient temperature.
As indicated by (b) in FIG. 15, the sample hold current Ish is increased from IshA to IshAa. This is because the current value InA of the setup emission current Idac remains unchanged unless the initialization operation is again performed by the initialization circuit 108.
In this case, the APC process is performed by using the sample hold current Ish, and the sum (IshAa+Ibi) of the sample hold current Ish and the bias current Ibi exceeds the oscillation threshold current value IthB of the laser diode LD at the time of the high temperature.
As shown in FIG. 14, even if the emission current Idac is not supplied to the laser diode LD, the laser diode LD will emit light because of the excessively large drive current.
When such phenomenon of the laser diode LD takes place even for a short time, it becomes the cause of background stain in the image formation by the laser printer or the digital copier. Such undesired problem is continued until the initialization circuit 108 performs the initialization operation again at the high temperature as indicated by (c) in FIG. 15. In addition, due to the system restrictions, it is difficult that the initialization circuit 108 frequently performs the initialization operation according to temperature changes.

Semiconductor laser driving device, semiconductor laser driving method, and image forming apparatus using semiconductor laser driving device


A graphene switching device includes a first electrode and an insulating layer in first and second regions of the semiconductor substrate, respectively, a plurality of metal particles on a surface of the semiconductor substrate between the first and second regions, a graphene layer on the plurality of metal particles and extending on the insulating layer, a second electrode on the graphene layer in the second region and configured to face the insulating layer, a gate insulating layer configured to cover the graphene layer, and a gate electrode on the gate insulating layer. The semiconductor substrate forms an energy barrier between the graphene layer and the first electrode.

1. Field
Example embodiments relate to graphene switching devices including a tunable semiconductor barrier, and more particularly, to graphene switching devices that include an element that changes the height of a tunable semiconductor barrier.
2. Description of the Related Art
Graphene, which has a 2-dimensional hexagonal carbon structure, is a new material that may replace semiconductors, and thus, recently worldwide studies about graphene have been actively conducted. Graphene is a zero gap semiconductor. When a graphene nano-ribbon (GNR) having a graphene channel width of 10 nm or less is formed, a band gap is formed by a size effect. Accordingly, a field effect transistor that may operate at room temperature may be manufactured by using the GNR.
When a graphene transistor is manufactured using a GNR, an on/off ratio of the graphene transistor is increased. However, the mobility of GNR is reduced and the on-current is relatively small due to disordered edges of the GNR. As a method of relieving the drawback of the GNR, recently, a band gap may be formed by applying an electric field in a perpendicular direction to a bi-layered graphene. However, it is not easy to realize this method because it is not easy to grow graphene having a uniform bi-layered graphene structure by using a large-area chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method, and also, there is a random domain in the bi-layered graphene.

Graphene switching device including tunable barrier


A device and a method for connecting lamination parts to form a lamination stack, in which lamination parts are punched out from an electrical strip that is coated on at least one of its flat sides with a hot-melt adhesive varnish layer, the lamination parts that have been punched out are stacked, and then connected in an integrally joined manner through thermal activation of the hot-melt adhesive varnish layer to form a plurality of lamination stacks. Before the lamination parts are punched out, the electrical strip is prepared in a subregion of the hot-melt adhesive varnish layer in such a way that after the lamination part is punched out, this lamination part facilitates separation of the stacked lamination parts into lamination stacks. In the preparation of the electrical strip, the layer thickness of the hot-melt adhesive varnish layer on the electrical strip is at least reduced through removal by laser light in order to produce the subregion.

In order to be able to disconnect the lamination parts, which have been pre-glued or even subsequently glued, into lamination stacks in a punching and stacking process, it is known from the prior art (WO2014/089593A1), in order to facilitate the separation of the stacked lamination parts into lamination stacks, to laminate a release film onto some regions of the electrical strip before the gang punching tool. Thus before the lamination parts are punched out, the electrical strip is prepared in a subregion of the hot-melt adhesive varnish layer in such a way that after the lamination part, which comprises this prepared subregion, is punched out, an integral connection with an adjacent lamination part cannot form.
The application of the release film requires a very exact positioning in relation to the lamination part that is to be detached, which, as the end or beginning of a lamination stack, marks the division of the lamination stacks in the stack brake. In order to obtain geometrically accurate lamination stacks, such a device is relatively complex—or else a high level of reproducibility cannot be achieved.

Device and method for connecting lamination parts to form a lamination stack

voestalpine Automotive Components Dettingen GmbH & Co. KG


An easy-on-and-off adjustable protective covering provides maximum protection from liquid and solid spills at the lowest possible cost. The maximum protection comes from: (1) the use of a liquid absorbent surface on the front side (2) the use of a liquid repellent surface on the back side (3) the ability to provide a custom fit for different neck sizes (4) the ability to adjust the tightness of fit around the neck to prevent liquid spills from running down the neck (5) an easy-on-easy-off attachment means that is convenient to use and eliminates the choking hazard of tied straps and (6) a protruding pocket at the bottom to catch and retain spills and runoff. The lowest possible cost comes from: (1) the ability to use readily available materials including recycled materials (2) the ability to use inexpensive disposable materials without sacrificing performance (3) the ability to use the manufacturing and distribution infrastructure already in place for other products (4) a rectangular design that minimizes production scrap (5) a one-size-fits-all design that minimizes inventory, stocking and ordering costs and (6) an attachment means that permits repeated use, even with disposable materials, thus reducing the cost per use.

That application disclosed an inexpensive-to-make covering with high performance features including the ability to custom fit a covering to different neck sizes and tightness around the neck. The custom fitting was accomplished by selectively -folding a top of a covering over a transverse axis onto itself. This application discloses an invention that has the same low cost and high performance features but uses a different fitting method. The fitting is accomplished by selectively folding a top of a covering around a central vertical axis onto itself An underlying feature of both applications is that a very effective protective covering can be made from paper toweling even though that material has only an 11-inch width.
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to garment protectors, specifically coverings that protect a wearer's skin and clothing from liquid and solid spills.
2. Prior Art
There are ongoing needs to protect skin and clothing in dental, industrial, medical and personal service situations. The needs are ongoing because some needs are not being met with the most cost-effective protective covering products. Some protective coverings are made from materials that are unnecessarily heavy or expensive. Coverings made from heavy materials are hot and uncomfortable to wear. Furthermore, some products have ineffective ways of adjusting the fit of the covering on the wearer.
A situation where the needs are not being met at all is the protection of skin and clothing from spills while eating and drinking. Those with the greatest needs in this area are infants, young children, people wearing clothes that cannot be spotted, people eating in vehicles and airplanes, seniors and the bedridden. With the exception of plastic coverings used in some seafood restaurants, there are no successful coverings on the market for protection against food and drink spills. The reasons for this are clear. An eating covering must be practical, effective and very inexpensive. Inventions to date have not met these requirements.
A review of prior art revealed why such desirable coverings are not on the market. Some covering designs required expensive materials. Some designs did not have the preferred characteristics of an absorbent top surface and a moisture barrier next to the wearer. Some had odd shapes that would generate scrap and thus increase production costs. Many had add-on pieces like snaps, attachment pads, adhesive strips and stitching that increase production costs. Some neglected to incorporate an effective pocket to catch and retain spills. Some disposable designs could not be reused which greatly increases the cost-per-use of such a covering.
There was a notable lack of a low cost design that included: (1) an easy means of attaching the covering (2) the ability to easily fit the covering to various neck sizes (3) the ability to easily adjust the tightness of fit around the neck (4) an easy means of releasing the attachment and (5) the ability to reattach the covering for repeated use. While attempts to meet these criteria looked good on paper, testing by the applicant proved that many were impractical. Mechanical attachments like buttons and snaps are too costly. Neck straps are hard to tie behind one's neck, are difficult to untie and pose a choking hazard while attached. Adhesives and other attachments applied to both the front and rear surfaces of a covering increase the production cost and can cause one covering to stick to another when packaged. Some designs showed exposed adhesive depositions on just one of two connecting surfaces. To adhere, that adhesive must be very tacky. This too can cause that problem of one covering sticking to another in a package. Furthermore, the required tackiness can make it difficult to release the connection. Other attachment designs did not seem suitable for repeated reuse.
A capability to adjust the fit is probably the most important feature if an inexpensive protective covering is to be successful. Most prior art designs seemed to provide an adequate means of connecting a covering to a wearer (although a significant number disclosed impractical or questionable connections). Without a custom-fitting means however, the neck opening in the covering is going to be too large or too small for many users. Thus, the coverings will not provide complete protection or they will be uncomfortably tight. With no fit adjustments, the only solution is to provide coverings with different neck hole sizes but this adds unnecessary inventory, stocking and ordering costs. Of the coverings that did disclose an adjustment feature, many just included a few words in the specification to the effect that "additional attachment points could be used to adjust the fit." The fit adjustments were not part of the basic design in those cases and that capability was not disclosed in the drawings or claims.
How the fit is accomplished is important too. If the fitting process is awkward or time-consuming, consumers will not be interested. The fitting mechanism must provide for easy attachment, easy fit adjustment, easy detachment and easy reuse. No prior art covering designs were as effective in these areas as what is disclosed in this application.

Easy-on-and-off adjustable protective covering


An improved paper tube is described. The paper tube has a core with an adhesive on the core. A pierced protrusion layer comprising pierced protrusions is wound on the core and adhered to the core by the adhesive wherein the adhesive at least partially fills the pierced protrusions. A surface adhesive is on the pierced protrusion layer.

The present invention is related to an improved paper tube as typically used for transport, storage and feeding of wound sheet stock such as, without limit thereto, fabrics. More specifically, the present invention is related to an improved paper tube which has pierced protrusions and surface adhesive wherein the paper tube can be stored in a stacked parallel arrangement without the necessity of protective winding.
Paper tubes, or mandrels, have been used for some time in the material handling industry, particularly, as a base for elongated sheets, fibers and the like. Though not limited thereto, as sheets or fibers are made they are typically wound onto a paper tube for subsequent transport and for loading into a subsequent process wherein the sheets or fibers are unwound and incorporated into a product of some type. The paper tube is therefore not necessarily incorporated into a product but is a tool used in the storage and transport of goods which are converted to product. The paper tube may be re-used, however, it is far more common to use the paper tubes once and then discard them. Therefore, it is highly desirable that the cost of the paper tube be maintained at as low a level as possible.
Starting the process of wrapping goods on the paper tube is a matter of some concern. The wrapped goods must be sufficiently secure to allow the tube to turn, thereby wrapping more layers, without the leading edge of the goods sliding on the tube. One way this is done is to apply a surface adhesive, preferably a contact or pressure sensitive adhesive, on the surface of the paper tube. While this is sufficient for securing the leading edge it causes significant handling problems with the tubes prior to loading and use. The tubes must be isolated from each other to avoid adjacent tubes from becoming adhered to each other. Typically, adhesive coated paper tubes have a release paper applied thereto which provides a barrier between adjacent tubes for shipping and storage purposes. Unfortunately, the release paper must be removed and discarded which adds to the manufacturing complexity and cost of the paper tubes neither of which is desirable.
Provided herein is an improved paper tube which allows for the use of a pressure sensitive adhesive yet does not require a release paper.


The balance and distribution of epithelial cell types is required to maintain tissue homeostasis. In the lung, perturbations of this balance are hallmarks of human respiratory diseases, including goblet cell metaplasia and enhanced mucus secretion in asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. We found that inflammatory cytokine treatment resulted in a skewing of basal cell differentiation towards a goblet cell fate, culminating in enhanced mucus production. We identified Notch2 as a key node required for cytokine-induced goblet cell metaplasia in vitro and in vivo Inhibition of Notch2 prevents goblet cell metaplasia induced by a broad range of stimuli, which is a hallmark of many respiratory diseases.

The lung epithelium has evolved to serve a number of functions ranging from gas exchange in the alveolus to the regulation of mucus clearance in the larger conducting airways. The heterogeneous mix of epithelial cell types enables these functions at the different levels of the airway. Airway epithelial cells include mucin producing and secreting goblet cells, which provide a mucus gel for the multi-ciliated cells to propel out of the airways, surfactant producing type 2 pneumocytes, which maintain alveolar patency with type 1 pneumocytes enabling gas exchange, and basal cells, the progenitor of the overlying epithelium (Rackley, C. R. & Stripp, B. R., The Journal of Clinical Investigation 122, 2724-2730 (2012)).
The protective role of the airway epithelium depends on a highly effective defence provided by airway mucus. Excessive mucus or impaired mucus clearance contributes to the pathogenesis of many common and less common airways diseases. The accumulation of mucus results from some combination of overproduction and decreased clearance and persistent accumulation can lead to infection, inflammation and suitable conditions for microbial growth (Fahy J. V. & Dickey B. F., The New England Journal of Medicine, 363, 2233-2247 (2010)).
Mucus hyper-secretion has been suggested to be an important pathological feature of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) (Prescott, E. I. et al., 158, 6456 (1996)), asthma (Aikawa, T. et al., T. Chest, 101, 916 (1992)) and cystic fibrosis (Boucher, R. C. Adv. Drug Deliv. Rev., 54, 1359 (2002)). Substantial epidemiological studies have demonstrated an association between mucus hyper-secretion and increased frequency and duration of respiratory infection, hospitalization, increased levels of morbidity and mortality. It is presently clearly recognised that a hallmark of many airways diseases is an overabundance of goblet cells, referred to as mucus hypersecretory phenotype.
Mucus and the cells that produce it form an integral part of the mucociliary clearance apparatus whose co-ordinated function is considered essential to the protection of the airways from irritant/infectious insult. In healthy airways, secreted mucin is cleared by mucociliary clearance, infrequently assisted by conscious coughing, and does not therefore accumulate. In contrast, plugging of the small airways with mucus together with chronic cough and phlegm production are common manifestations in respiratory diseases.
Small airway plugging with mucus is a major contributing factor to fatal asthma, especially in younger patients (Kuyper, L. M. et al.; Am. J. Med., 115, (2003)), and is associated with goblet cell hyperplasia (Aikawa, T. et al., T. Chest, 101, 916 (1992)). In addition, 20% of asthmatics report chronic cough and phlegm production (Cerveri, S. et al.; Eur Respir J 22: 413-417 (2003)) and highlights the poorly controlled population (de Marco R. et al.; Am J Respir Crit Care Med 175, 32-39 (2007)). These patients are also those with significantly more upper and lower respiratory symptoms (Timonen K. L. et al.; Eur Respir J. March 19, 479-86 (2002)). Importantly, chronic mucus hypersecretion has also been identified as a significant marker of an enhanced decline in lung function in asthmatics (Lange P. et al.; N Engl J Med. 339, 1194-2000 (1998); Ulrik C. S. & Lange P. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 150, 629-34 (1994)).
Goblet cells, which in healthy subjects are restricted to large airways, have been shown to be increased in numbers in small airways of patients affected by COPD and other respiratory diseases (Hogg J. C. Novartis Foundation Symposium, 234, 4 (2001). Whether goblet cell numbers increase as a consequence of progenitor cell proliferation (hyperplasia), non-mitotic differentiation (metaplasia) or inhibition of necrotic/apoptotic processes or whether one process predominates over the other is still poorly understood.
In the past decades, scientists have been elucidating molecules and pathways that regulate cell fate decisions. Most of these molecules operate in multiple tissues, at different stages of development or disease stage. Notch signaling is an evolutionarily conserved pathway that regulates many cell-fate decisions during development (Fortini, M. E., Dev Cell 16, 633-647 (2009)). Notch signaling in regulating cell fate decisions during development has been studied in many contexts, including in mucociliary tissues. There are 4 Notch receptors in mammalian cells (Notch1-4), which are activated by membrane-bound ligands, members of the Delta and Jagged family, on neighbouring cells. Notch activation leads to a series of cleavage events, culminating in the generation of the Notch intra-cellular domain (NICD), which translocates to the nucleus where it interacts with a transcription factor complex to regulate gene expression. In the epidermis of the Xenopus embryo, activation of Notch suppresses the ciliated cell fate, while inhibition of Notch signaling results in an overproduction of ciliated cells (Deblandre, G. A., et al., Development 126, 4715-4728 (1999)). In the developing mouse airway, expression of the NICD results in an overproduction of secretory cells at the expense of ciliated cells (Guseh, J. S., et al. Development 136, 1751-1759 (2009)), while deletion of Pofut1, an O-fucosyltransferase required for Notch-ligand interactions (Stahl, M., et al., The Journal of biological chemistry 283, 13638-13651 (2008)), or Rbpjk, a core nuclear effector of Notch signalling (Fortini, M. E., Dev Cell 16, 633-647 (2009)), results in an increase in the number of ciliated cells and a near absence of secretory cells (Tsao, P. N., et al., Development 136, 2297-2307 (2009)). A recent study using Notch receptor-specific knockouts suggested that Notch2 is the critical Notch receptor regulating secretory versus ciliated cell fate in the mouse developing airway (Morimoto, M. et al., Development 139, 4365-4373 (2012)). Albeit these recent investigations in the mouse developmental field, the role of Notch2 in the adult lung is not yet understood.
Hence, there is still the need for a greater understanding of the pathways that regulate the function of the human airway epithelium as well as those which define repair and remodelling in both health and disease. Identifying therapeutic targets in these pathways can lead to therapeutics for treating unmet medical needs such as moderate and severe asthma, cystic fibrosis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Notch2 binding molecules for treating respiratory diseases


A phosphor having longer lifespan which includes sulfur and has a perovskite structure. The phosphor further satisfies the following formula:

This application claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 01-3887, filed Jan. 27, 2001, in the Korean Patent Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to phosphors for use in display devices such as vacuum fluorescent displays (VFDs) or field emission displays (FEDs).
2. Description of the Related Art
Like cathode ray tubes (CRTs), VFDs are self-radiating displays using phosphors, and are widely used in applications such as digital displays of household electric appliances and gauge panels of automobiles. While VFDs have mainly been used for low-capacity, small-sized products that simply display numbers, characters, and signs, they are currently in use for high-density graphic image displays. In the near future, a full color VFD having a large display capacity will be commercially viable.
FEDs have received considerable attention as a next generation display device having advantages of flat panel displays, such as liquid crystal displays (LCDs) and CRTs. Thus, research on FEDs continues to be actively conducted. FEDs, which operate on the principle of field emission of electrons from microscopic tips, are known to be capable of overcoming the drawbacks of CRTs, such as excessive bulk and weight, and the drawbacks of LCDs, such as high manufacturing cost and limited size and viewing angle.
Furthermore, since FEDs have various advantages, such as a thin film form, low power consumption, low manufacturing cost, excellent temperature characteristics, and high-speed operation, they can be used in a wide variety of applications ranging from home televisions to industrial equipment and computers. In particular, FEDs are likely to be widely used in commercial applications such as notebook PCs, monitors, and televisions, like thin film transistor (TFT) LCDs.
A phosphor able to be excited by a low-velocity electron beam is required for use in VFDs or FEDs in order to emit light at an anode voltage of no greater than 1 kV. Conventional phosphors able to be excited by low-velocity electron beams are divided into two types. The first type is a phosphor based on a low-resistance host matrix, and the second type is a phosphor based on a high-resistance host matrix and having a phosphor layer formed by adding a conductive material to reduce the resistance of the host matrix.
Japanese Patent Publication Gazette No. Heisei 8-85788 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,619,098 disclose an SrTiO2 based phosphor prepared by adding a rare earth element and a Group 13 element to a host matrix composed of alkaline earth metal oxide and titanium oxide, the disclosures of which are incorporated by reference. The disclosed phosphor does not contain cadmium (Cd), which is known to be environmentally toxic and can be excited by low-velocity electron beams to emit light. However, this phosphor has not yet been put into practice due to its short lifespan.
To solve the above and other problems, it is an object of the present invention to provide a phosphor having a host matrix that does not contain cadmium (Cd) which is harmful to the environment, and which has good luminance and lifespan characteristics as compared to a conventional SrTiO3 based phosphor.
Additional objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows and, in part, will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention.
Accordingly, to achieve the above and other objects of the present invention, there is provided a phosphor according to an embodiment of the invention comprising a perovskite structure which includes sulfur (S) and satisfies the following formula:
MTiO3:A
where M is an alkaline earth metal and A is a rare earth element.
According to an aspect of the invention, the alkaline earth metal is Mg, Sr, Ca, or Ba, and the rare earth element is Ce, Pr, Eu, Tb, or Tm.
According to another aspect of the invention, an amount of the rare earth element added is in the range of 0.05-5 mol % based on 1 mol of Ti.
According to a further aspect of the invention, the phosphor having the formula MTiO3:A further comprises a Group 13 element of the periodic table.
According to a still further aspect of the invention, the Group 13 element is Al, Ga, In, or Tl.
According to yet another aspect of the invention, an amount of the group 13 element added is in the range of 0.05-80 mol % based on 1 mol of Ti.
According to an additional aspect of the invention, the sulfur contained in the phosphor is added in a form of a sulfur element or an alkaline metal sulfur-containing compound, and the alkaline metal sulfur-containing compound is one of Na2S2O3xc2x75H2O and Na2SO4.
According to a yet additional aspect of the invention, the phosphor having the formula MTiO3:A above contains 0.1-10 wt % sulfur based on a total weight of the phosphor.
According to a still additional aspect of the invention, the phosphor having the formula MTiO3:A above further comprising the Group 13 element of the periodic table is SrTiO3:Pr,Al which includes S or SrTiO3:Pr,Ga which includes S.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a fluorescent display device such as one of a field emission display and a vacuum fluorescent display comprising a phosphor of the present invention.

Abstract: where M is an alkaline earth metal and A is a rare earth element. The sulfur-containing phosphor shows good luminance and lifespan characteristics compared to existing SrTiO3 based phosphors, without containing cadmium that is harmful to the environment. Therefore, the phosphor is advantageously utilized for various display applications including vacuum fluorescent displays (VFDs) and field emission displays (FEDs).


In a data creating method for creating image data corresponding to each of a plurality of color inks applied to a black image area formed on the basis of image data on a black ink, with the plurality of color inks being a cyan ink, a magenta ink, and a yellow ink, an image data creating step creates image data corresponding to each of the plurality of color inks on the basis of the image data on the black ink. The image data creating step creates the image data on each of the plurality of color inks so that the rate of areas in which all the plurality of color inks are applied, in the black image area, is higher than that of areas to which only some of the plurality of color inks are applied. At least one of the cyan ink, the magenta ink, and the yellow ink contains a component that coagulates a color material of the black ink.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a data creating method and an ink jet printing apparatus, and more specifically, to the formation of an image which is carried out by ejecting a combination of inks such as a black ink and color inks which exhibit different levels of permeability for print media and similarly to the formation of an image which is carried out by allowing color inks to react with a black ink to coagulate the black ink.
2. Description of the Related Art
An ink jet printing method and apparatus for printing various print media have prevailed as output means for various apparatuses such as personal computers because the method and apparatus enables dense and fast printing operations.
The ink jet printing apparatus generally comprises a carriage on which a print head and ink tanks are mounted, conveying means for conveying a print medium such as a print paper and a printable disk, and control means for controlling the carriage and the conveying means. Serial scan is carried out by moving the print head that ejects ink droplets, in a direction (main scanning direction) orthogonal to one (sub-scanning direction) in which the print medium is conveyed, while ejecting ink from a plurality of ejection openings in the print head. On the other hand, during non-printing, the print medium is intermittently conveyed by an amount equal to a print width.
The ink jet printing apparatus carries out printing by ejecting ink to a print medium in accordance with a print signal. Further, the apparatus need not be complicated and thus requires only a low running cost. The ink jet printing apparatus is also known to operate quietly.
In recent years, many products have been put to practical use which can deal with color printing by using a plurality of color inks.
With such a color ink jet printing apparatus that can deal with color printing, for black ink often used to print characters and the like, it is necessary to provide sharp and clear printing and a high print density. As means for achieving this, a technique is known which lowers the permeability of the black ink for print media to suppress the permeation, through print media, of a color material contained in the black ink. On the other hand, concerning color inks, when two different color inks are applied to print media so as to lie adjacent to each other on the media, the inks may be mixed together at their boundary to degrade color images (bleeding). A technique is thus known which lowers the permeability of the color inks for the print media to prevent the inks from being mixed together on the surfaces of the print media, thus preventing the bleeding (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-047762).
However, if an ink jet is used which includes such a low-permeability black ink and high-permeability color inks, the color inks permeate well and require a relatively short time for fixation. In contrast, the black ink does not permeate well and thus requires a relatively long time for drying and fixation.
Accordingly, when two print media are consecutively printed and discharged, the second print medium may be discharged before the black ink on the first print medium discharged is completely dried. In this case, a print surface of the first print medium or a back surface of the second print medium may be stained (the phenomenon in which the print surface or the back surface are stained is called "smear").
This problem may become more serious as print speed increases. That is, a new printing operation cannot be performed before the black ink in an image formed on a discharged print medium is completely dried. To avoid the smear, measures described below have hitherto been taken.
One of the measures is a method of providing a fixer to fix inks to the print surfaces of print media (see Paragraph [0048] in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-047762).
The fixer may be, for example, of a heating type. The heating fixer can substantially perfectly remove the moisture from inks provided. Consequently, the inks can be favorably fixed. However, this requires an increase in the size and cost of the printing apparatus. In other words, it is disadvantageously impossible to achieve a reduction in the size and cost the apparatus, which is a unique advantage of the ink jet printing apparatus. Further, with a serial printer, although print media are intermittently conveyed, the use of the fixer may make the conveyance nonuniform.
A second measure is a method called sheet discharging wait control in which the discharging of print media is temporarily stopped.
According to this method, before a printed first print medium is fully dried, the printing of a second print medium is not started. Alternatively, after the second print medium has been printed, the start of a sheet discharging operation is delayed a certain time.
With this control, the second print medium is discharged after the image formed on the first medium has been fully dried. This makes it possible to restrain the occurrence of smear. However, if such control is performed, a sufficient print speed cannot be ensured.
In particular, recently developed ink jet printing apparatuses can carry out high-speed printing at the rate of 15 to 20 sheets per minute. Accordingly, the print speed is an important factor that characterizes the apparatus. However, the above control may reduce the print speed. This means that the performance of the apparatus may be degraded.
A third measure is a printing method in which high-permeability color inks overlap print areas of a black ink.
As such a method, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-159827 discloses an ink jet printing method of determining whether or not to apply high-permeability color inks to a predetermined area of a print medium as well as the amount of color inks applied, depending on whether a low-permeability black ink is applied to the predetermined area with a high duty or a low duty. According to this method, the black ink and the color inks may be applied to the print medium in an arbitrary order, but in view of a reduction in the time required to fix the black ink, it is preferable to eject the color inks before the black ink.
In this case, the black ink is printed on a sheet surface wetted with the color inks. Consequently, the black ink is more readily fixed to the sheet surface. It is thus possible to suppress the occurrence of smear.
A fourth measure is a method of using a reactive ink system in which color inks contain a substance that, when mixed with a black ink, reacts with and instantaneously coagulates the black ink.
As such a method, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-281930 discloses an ink jet printing method of using color inks one of which contains a component for coagulating a black ink to improve its rigidity and ejecting the black ink to a part of a print medium to which the color inks have already been ejected. With this method, if the color ink containing the coagulating component is combined with the black ink, the resulting color is black with the tint of the color ink combined with the black ink. Consequently, toning occurs to make the image more blackish. Thus, it is possible to form pixels composed of a combination of another color ink and the black ink.
In this case, the color material of the black ink is coagulated and thus does not permeate through the print medium. Consequently, much of the color material remains on the surface of the print medium. This makes it possible to increase the density of black images. Further, the black ink is more readily fixed to the print medium. This suppresses the occurrence of bleeding and smear.
Not only Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-281930 but also Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-159827, described above, disclose the system in which the color ink reacts with the black ink.
With the conventional ink jet printing method of applying the color inks to print areas of the black ink, the occurrence of smear can be sufficiently suppressed. The method also achieves a sufficiently high image grade for that day and age. However, in recent years, with the further advancement of the ink jet printing method, a further improvement in image grade has been desired.
With reference to FIG. 4, description will be given of problems that may occur with the conventional printing method in which the color inks overlap the black ink.
In FIG. 4, reference numeral 41 denotes a mask pattern for a cyan (C) ink. Reference numeral 42 denotes a mask pattern for a magenta (M) ink. Reference numeral 43 denotes a mask pattern for a yellow (Y) ink. Each of these mask patterns are composed of 6 (pixels)×16 (pixels). An AND process is executed on black data and each of these color mask patterns to determine the arrangement of color dots (dot arrangement 44) overlapping a black image area. In the figure, white parts of the mask patterns 41, 42, and 43 correspond to masked portions (non-printed pixels) and contain pixels that do not permit ejection of the inks. On the other hand, parts with slanted and horizontal lines correspond to pixels that permit ejection of the inks (printed pixels). In other words, in the mask patterns 41, 42, and 43, the areas with slanted and horizontal lines which are shown at 411, 422, and 433 correspond to the printed pixels.
When the color inks are ejected by overlapping manner to a black image area, the mask patterns 41, 42, and 43 are arranged repeatedly in the vertical and horizontal directions of the black data to print.
When the mask patterns 41, 42, and 43 are used to apply the color inks, the inks C, M, and Y are applied so as to form a dot arrangement shown in the dot arrangement 44. Specifically, the color inks are ejected by overlapping manner to form C, M, Y, red (R), green (G) blue (B), and process black.
For the areas in the dot arrangement 44 which contain slanted, horizontal lines and their combination, C is formed in the area with left slanted lines (for example, the area 441). M is formed in the area with right slanted lines (for example, the area 442). Y is formed in the area with horizontal lines (for example, the area 443). B is formed in the area with a combination of left and right slanted lines (for example, the area 444). G is formed in the area with a combination of left slanted lines and horizontal lines (for example, the area 445). R is formed in the area with a combination of right slanted lines and horizontal lines (for example, the area 446). K is formed in the area with a combination of left and right slanted lines and horizontal lines (for example, the area 447).
When the dot arrangement 44 is used to elect the color inks by overlapping manner to print areas of the black ink in a solid black image, the color inks may bleed from the periphery of black dots. The bleeding may make the tints C, M, Y, R, G, and B of the color inks outstanding to impair the uniformity of the black color. This may degrade the black image. In particular, with a conventional technique such as the one shown in FIG. 4, the number of areas 447 for process black is relatively smaller than that of other areas (for example, areas 441, 442, 443, or the like). Accordingly, the area 447 for process black is not predominant. Thus, the color ink overlapping area (for example, the area 441, 442, 443, or the like) spreading out from the black image area is easily perceived. This may degrade the black image.
Further, when for example, the area 441 for C and the area 442 for M are adjacent to each other as in the dot arrangement 44, the inks C and M are merged together. The merged inks are likely to shift from an impacting position. As a result, the color inks are likely to spread out from the black area as described above.

Data creating method and ink jet printing apparatus


A method and system for fault management in a distributed network management station is disclosed. In one method embodiment, the present invention initiates a first device coupled to a network. Next, the present invention broadcasts an information packet to a plurality of devices coupled to the network. The first device then resolves the status of the plurality of devices coupled to the network. In so doing, the resolved network results in a distributed network management station having a defined master device.

A network is a system that transmits any combination of voice, video, and data between users. A network includes the operating system (OS), the cables coupling them, and all supporting hardware such as bridges, routers, and switches. In today's market, there are many types of networks. For example, there are communications networks and there are telephone switching system networks. In general, a network is made up of at least one server, a workstation, a network operating system, and a communications link.
Communications networks are normally broken down into categories based on their geographical coverage. For example, there is a local area network (LAN) which is normally contained within a building or complex, a metropolitan area network (MAN) which normally covers a city, and a wide area network (WAN) which may cover an entire country. The controlling software on a communications network is normally a network operating system (such as NetWare, UNIX, Windows NT, etc.) which resides on the server. Further, a piece of the controlling software resides on each local workstation and allows the workstation to read and write data from the server.
A block diagram of an exemplary network computing system is illustrated in FIG. 1. Generally speaking, the exemplary network includes personal computing system (PC) 104, and switch 102. Although a specific number of PC 104s are shown, the exemplary network may maintain any number of PC 104s. Moreover, PC 104 may be a desktop computing system, or a blade type of computing system designed to comply specifically with a compact PCI chassis. In addition, switch 102 may be a LAN, WAN, or PBX switch 102. Switch 102 is a mechanical or electronic device which directs the flow of electrical or optical signals from one side to the other.
A second block diagram of an exemplary networked computing system with the addition of router 210 and ethernet 220 is illustrated in FIG. 2. In FIG. 2, router 210 is utilized as a forwarding device. For example, router 210 is used to move data packets from one LAN, WAN or PBX to another. As a result, router 210 can segment LANs, WANs or PBXs in order to balance traffic within workgroups and to filter traffic overall. In the exemplary network illustrated in FIG. 2, switch 102 is connected to an ethernet connection 220. Ethernet 220 is the most widely used LAN access method, defined by the IEEE as the 802.3 standard.
On such an exemplary network as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, message transfer is managed by a transport protocol such as transmission control protocol/internet protocol (TCP/IP). The physical transmission of data is performed by the access method (ethernet, token ring, etc.) which is implemented in the network adapters, while the actual communication takes place over the interconnecting network cable.
Presently, networks such as these can be found in almost all aspects of modern life. They are used both at home, and in the workplace. Networks are responsible for great expansions in the area of technological access. For example, a company may use a network to link many cheaper, less powerful computers to a few expensive, very powerful computers. In so doing, the less powerful computers are able to do a greater variety of work. Additionally, the less powerful computers are able to utilize many different programs which would not fit on their own hard drives. Neither of these advantages would be possible without the network. Therefore, this ability to utilize a network type system, maintaining many cheap computers that have access to the few expensive ones, saves a company large amounts of money.
Due to the many benefits of a network environment, many companies rely heavily on them. With such a reliance upon networks and networking capabilities, a need to maintain a quality network with high reliability factors is paramount in any workplace or industry. In fact, most companies are dependent on a solidly structured network system. Due to this requirement, a network management station is important to ensure the proper upkeep of the network.
A network management station is used to monitor an active communications network in order to diagnose problems and gather statistics for administration and fine-tuning. Because of the importance of a solid network management station, there are many types of network management station possibilities in the computer networking industry. Each station maintains aspects of diagnosis, statistical data, or fine tuning capabilities which appeal to a specific industry network. In some instances, the appeal of the network management station is simply due to the type of operating system run by the network.
One disadvantage of a network in general and a network management station in particular, is the possible inability to resolve internal network issues resulting from conflicting devices. Specifically, as a particular device is added to or removed from a network, the rest of the network may experience difficulties arising from the change. For example, if another main (NM) device is removed from the network either accidentally or on purpose, the entire network may become sluggish and possibly inoperative due to the loss of the provisioning and monitoring functionality provided by the NM device. Further, if a new device is added to the network and it is a master device, a conflict between the two master devices may result in network confusion and a possible network crash. Similar conflicts may result from the addition of one network to another. Specifically, another network may be combined with the original network in order to keep up with the demands of a growing or expanding company. Upon combination of the two networks, a second master device may accidentally be introduced. The introduction of a second master will result in the same problems as described above.
Another problem arises with the resolution techniques based on the previously mentioned problems. Specifically, if a network crashes due to either the loss of a master device or the addition of a second master device, the network management station must then apply time and personnel on the resolution of the problem. For example, a situation resulting in two competing master devices may take a network technician quite a while to troubleshoot. In order to resolve the issue, the technician must debug the network and demote one of the master devices to a secondary device. The other problem, e.g. no master device, would require a technician to again debug the network and promote one of the secondary devices to a master device. This type of network debugging takes time to resolve, thus costing the network users and owners a large amount of money in lost productivity alone.
Thus, a need exists for a method and system for fault management in distributed network management stations. A further need exists for a method and system for fault management in a distributed network management station which is scalable. Another need exists for a method and system for fault management in a distributed network management station which automatically learns about the presence of other participating devices. Yet another need exists for a method and system for fault management in a distributed network management station which is self-healing.

Method and system for fault management in a distributed network management station


An aqueous autocatalytic electroless gold plating composition having improved stability, a high plating rate, and excellent throwing power is provided which comprises about 0.002 to about 0.05 moles per liter (M) of a water-soluble alkali metal monovalent gold cyanide complex, about 0.01 to about 0.1M of a water-soluble cyanide compound, about 0.1 to about 1.0M of a carbonate compound, about 0.1 to about 0.45M of an aliphatic amine, and about 0.01 to about 0.1M of a reducing agent selected from the group consisting of water soluble alkali metal borohydrides and water soluble amine boranes, the plating composition to having a pH in the range of about 10-14.

The present invention relates to electroless gold plating compositions. More particularly, the present invention is directed to autocatalytic gold plating compositions used for plating gold onto gold.
Electroless plating is useful in applications requiring coatings for complex shapes. This capacity makes electroless plating techniques particularly useful in the electronics industry, for example, in the metallization of conductors and insulators in printed circuit boards. Base metals such as nickel and copper are often used in electroless plating processes to metallize conductors and insulators. However, because of its low contact resistance and beneficial effects on bonding leads, electroless gold plating is continually desired for coating complex shapes and electrically isolated tracks and bonding pads in printed circuit boards. It has been found, however, that electroless gold plating baths are not as easy to operate as the electroless base metal plating baths, for example, with respect to bath stability and plating rate.
The term "autocatalytic" is used herein to describe a plating system which is capable of depositing gold on a gold substrate. Autocatalytic gold plating is advantageous, for example, for increasing the thickness of existing gold surfaces which are too thin for some uses. Autocatalytic electroless gold plating compositions are known in the art. Reference may be made, for example, to U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,700,469; 3,917,885; and 4,337,091.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,700,469 to Okinaka discloses an autocatalytic electroless gold plating bath containing a soluble gold cyanide complex ion, excess free cyanide to stabilize the gold cyanide complex ion, an alkaline agent as a pH adjustor, and an alkali metal borohydride or dimethylamine borane as a reducing agent. Although a truly autocatalytic plating bath, the Okinaka bath has several limitations including instability, low plating rate (about 1 micron per hour), difficulty of bath replenishment, and sensitivity to nickel ions in solution.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,917,885 to Baker discloses an autocatalytic electroless plating bath purportedly having improved stability by adding an alkali metal imide complex of the metal to be plated, e.g., gold. However, the Baker bath has been found to have the same problems as the Okinaka bath, especially sensitivity to nickel contamination and deteriorating plating rate.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,337,091 to El-Shazly et al. discloses the use of trivalent gold metal complexes as the source of gold in an electroless gold plating bath, the reducing agent being any of the borohydrides, cyanoborohydrides or amine boranes that are soluble and stable in aqueous solution. A later version of the El-Shazly bath, disclosed in U.K. Patent Application G.B. 2121444A uses a mixture of trivalent and monovalent water-soluble gold cyanide complexes. The El-Shazly baths suffer from the same limitations as the prior art baths described above.
In autocatalytic plating, oxidation/reduction reactions begin simultaneously when the substrate is immersed in the plating bath. These reactions occur at the surface of the metal or metallized substrate. At the substrate, the gold ions accept electrons from the reducing agent and deposit a gold film on the substrate. Initially, the reducing agent reacts on the substrate, giving electrons to the metal ions and being converted to its oxidized form. The gold film then catalyzes the reaction and causes it to continue autocatalytically.
In an electroless bath containing an alkali metal gold cyanide complex, an alkali metal cyanide as a complexing agent, an alkali metal hydroxide, and dimethylamine borane as a reducing agent, cyanide is a strong poison for the oxidation of the reducing agent. However, cyanide is necessary to prevent the spontaneous decomposition of the bath by reaction [1] below: EQU (CH.sub.3).sub.2 NHBH.sub.3 +4OH.sup.- +3Au(CN).sub.2 .sup.- =(CH.sub.3).sub.2 NH+BO.sub.2 -+1.5 H.sub.2 +2H.sub.2 O+3Au+6CN.sup.-
The oxidation kinetics and plating rate of the bath may be increased by decreasing cyanide or increasing the reducing agent and the alkali metal hydroxide. In doing so, however, the bath becomes more prone to spontaneous decomposition by reaction [1]. Another way in which the oxidation kinetics and plating rate may be increased is by adding a substance to the bath which would promote oxidation of the reducing agent without entering into reaction [1]. The present invention is based on the discovery that a combination of carbonate and an aliphatic amine acts as such a promoter.
In an electroless bath containing an alkali metal hydroxide, alkali metal carbonate will be continuously formed in the bath due to reaction of the hydroxide with carbon dioxide in the air. It has been found, however, that the addition of carbonate initially to a plating bath also comprising a water soluble alkali metal monovalent gold cyanide complex, a water-soluble alkali metal cyanide compound as complexing agent and an alkaline agent results in an autocatalytic electroless plating bath having improved stability and a higher plating rate as compared to a bath to which carbonate was not initially added.
The use of carbonate as an activator for an alkali metal borohydride is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,092,154 to Dietz, Jr. et al. The Dietz patent discloses a precipitating agent for recovering precious metals such as gold from aqueous cyanide solutions, wherein the precipitating agent contains aluminum powder and a reducing agent which can be an alkali metal borohydride. The precipitating agent can also contain an alkali metal carbonate as an activator for the reducing agent. According to column 3, lines 59 et seq, of the patent, the addition of the alkali metal carbonate to the precipitating agent increased the speed and completeness of the precipitation reaction.
Unlike the situation in Dietz, Jr. et al., the precipitation of gold from the plating solution in the present invention is undesirable and is avoided despite the action of the carbonate as an activator for the reducing agent. Instead, in the present invention, carbonate in combination with the other components of the bath provide a plating bath having excellent stability against precipitation of the gold from solution and improved rate in plating the gold onto a gold substrate immersed in the solution.
The use of carbonate in electroless plating baths is known in the art. Reference may be made, for example, to U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,515,571 and 4,091,128, to Levy and Franz, respectively. These references describe non-autocatalytic electroless gold plating baths containing gold salt, a complexing agent for the gold salt, and hydrazine as the reducing agent. In both references, carbonate is used as the complexing agent for gold. Neither reference discloses the presence of cyanide in the baths. In the plating bath of the present invention, cyanide is present as the complexing agent for gold, thereby allowing the carbonate to be free to accelerate the oxidation of the reducing agent. Carbonate will not function as an activator in the present invention if it is complexed with the gold.
The use of carbonate as an activator for oxidation of a reducing agent in an autocatalytic electroless plating bath is disclosed in application Ser. No. 07/431,360, filed on Nov. 3, 1989 C.D. Iacovangelo, assigned to the assignee of the present invention. Although the use of carbonate alone as the promoter in such a bath provides excellent plating rates, there is room for improvement in the uniformity of the initial deposition.
The use of an aliphatic amine in an autocatalytic electroless plating bath is disclosed in European Patent Application No. 25041 to Saito et al, which describes an akaline electroless gold plating solution containing a gold salt, a boron-based reducing, agent, and an amine compound. The amine is used in the Saito bath to achieve a high plating rate and good "throwing power", which denotes therein that all the surface of the substrate to be plated is uniformly covered with a gold plated film. It is stated in Saito et al the plating rates as high as 3 micrometers per hour were achieved as a result of the presence of the aliphatic amine.
The present invention is based on the discovery hat the presence of carbonate and an aliphatic amine in an autocatalytic electroless gold plating bath containing a boron-based reducing agent provides plating rates up to 10 micrometers per hour as well as uniform gold coverage on the substrate. Thus, much better throwing power is achieved with the use of carbonate and amine than with carbonate alone, and substantially higher plating rates are obtained using amine and carbonate than with amine alone.


A protective device is disclosed for use with a scaffolding platform of the type which is suspended from an upright structure by means of and movable along at least one cable. The protective device protects an exposed zone of the cable adjacent to the platform against damage. The device comprises a weighted sleeve and means for selectively opening and re-closing the weighted sleeve so that it may be placed around the cable at the exposed zone and thereby protect the same. The weighted sleeve follows said platform under the influence of gravity as the platform is moved along the cable.

To clean, repair or otherwise maintain the exterior of a building (or other structure), one of two methods is commonly employed. If the building is low, a standard ground-supported scaffolding may be constructed along its face. After the tedious and time-consuming task of constructing the scaffolding is complete, work on the exterior of the building may begin. Once the work is complete, the entire scaffolding must be dissembled. The other method involves the use of a suspension-type scaffolding and is easier and quicker. This type of scaffolding includes a work platform that is typically hung from two cables suspended from a pair of support booms that are mounted on the roof of the building. (The term "cable" as used hereinafter, is intended to include any supporting cord, cable, rope or chain).
Each type of scaffolding has its advantages and drawbacks. The particular type used in any situation is usually determined by the type and shape of the structure, and more importantly, by the amount ant type of work intended to be performed. For example, static scaffolding is typically used for heavy facade replacement or repair to the building's exterior, whereas the less expensive (and more mobile) suspension type scaffolding is more commonly used for simple routine building maintenance such as window cleaning. However, in many instances, usually in urban areas, the static scaffolding is either prohibitively costly or impractical, owing to time constraints, the shape of the building structure or the type of work to be performed. In such instances, suspended scaffolding may also by used to perform heavier construction tasks.
Unfortunately, while operating heavy stone-cutting equipment, for example, on the work platform of a suspension-type scaffolding, the nearby exposed supporting cables can be severed accidently by only momentary contact with tool. This type of accident is usually fatal to the workmen on the platform and creates a potential hazard to those working or passing below.
It is an object of the invention to protect the supporting cables of a suspension-type scaffolding in the immediate area of the work platform accessible to the workman using the platform.
It is another object of the invention to provide a protective device for the supporting cables of suspension-type scaffolding which is reliable, and easy to install and use, yet relatively inexpensive.
In accordance with the present invention, a protective device is provided for use with a scaffolding platform of the type which is suspended from an upright structure by means of and movable along at least one cable. The protective device is made of a material which protects an exposed zone of the cable adjacent to the platform against damage. The device comprises a weighted sleeve and means for selectively opening and re-closing the weighted sleeve so that it may be placed around the cable at the exposed zone to thereby protect the same. The weighted sleeve is heavy enough to follow the platform under the influence of gravity as the platform is moved along the cable.


A paint stripping composition comprising a mixture of the monobutyl ether of ethylene glycol and isopropanol and a method of using the same is disclosed. This combination of components allows for the removal of paint from various substrates and is particularly effective in removing paint from a plastic surface, such as those that make up scale models, without degrading or weakening the plastic.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to paint removers and strippers. More specifically, it relates to a composition and method for removing paint from a substrate. Even more specifically, it relates to a method and composition for removing paint or the like from various substrates, wherein the composition consists of a mixture of isopropyl alcohol and ethylene glycol monobutyl ether.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Miniature models of various real world articles are popular pastimes both for the satisfaction that comes from assembling them and from the display and, in some cases, the motorized animation of the finished products. Hobbyists can become very detail oriented in the decoration of the objects, poring through old publications to deduce, for instance, the exact paint scheme of various historical vehicles. One of the most popular versions of this pastime with people of all ages is the assembly and display of model railroads. There are various standard scales used by the industry but in recent times the most common material used in the manufacture of railroad models and other types of such objects is a synthetic plastic material. This material produces durable plastic articles which are inexpensive to manufacture and shape. One of the most challenging aspects of the assembly process is the painting of the object. Because of the small size of the pieces involved and the fineness of the brushes used, mistakes can be made which, if not immediately caught, can be difficult to correct. Paint removers that are commonly available on the open market are not suitable in this usage because they would mar or fatally weaken the plastic while removing the decorative paint or enamel. Paint removers have been the subject of various patents.
In U.S. Pat. No. 1,499,101 issued on Jun. 24, 1924 to Carleton Ellis there is disclosed a paint and varnish remover having a high flashpoint and low degree of inflammability. The remover is basically made up of a mixture of trichlorethylene, ethyl acetate, monochlorbenzol, and hard paraffin wax.
Another patent of interest is U.S. Pat. No. 2,705,207 issued on Mar. 29, 1955 to Ralph E. Stevens. In this patent, a two stage method for removing paint and varnish is disclosed. In the first stage, a coating that includes a halogen containing alkane is applied. After this has dried, a second coating is applied that contains a normally liquid hydrocarbon, an alcohol, an ester of an aliphatic carboxylic acid, and an alcohol whose ester contains 3 to 5 carbon atoms, and then stripping the resulting film from the substrate.
Next is U.S. Pat. No. 3,410,805 issued on Nov. 12, 1968 to Henry A. Goldsmith et al. This patent described a paint stripping composition wherein an N-substituted sulfonamide and a glycol additive are used to improve the paint removing efficiency of an alkali metal hydroxide solution.
The U.K. Patent specification published on Mar. 3, 1976 for Robert H. Shoemaker et al. relates to an alkali metal hydroxide paint stripping compositions and method.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,973,420 issued on Nov. 27, 1990 to Micheal R. Van De Mark there is disclosed a stripper composition for the removal of protective coatings. The composition includes trioxane and an aromatic hydrocarbon and an aliphatic alcohol can be added to improve the solubility parameters.
Lastly, U.S. Pat. No. 5,049,314 issued on Sept. 17, 1991 to Sidney M. Short discloses a paint stripping composition that consists of a five membered ring lactone and an oxygenated aliphatic solvent.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.


A method for conducting seismic operations includes the steps of deploying a seismic streamer carrying an electrically powered device from a vessel into water having waves, providing an in-sea generator in electrical connection with the device, producing electricity from the in-sea generator by harvesting mechanical energy from the waves, and providing the produced electricity to the device.

In the field of marine seismic exploration, it is important to determine the configuration of the rock strata underlying the subsea earth's surface to locate subsurface structures favorable to the accumulation of oil and gas. In marine seismic surveying, this is accomplished by generating acoustic pulses or shock waves with sound sources, such as air guns, and by monitoring the resultant acoustic waves which reflect off the subsea interfaces with acoustic sensors. In a typical marine surveying operation, the seismic sound sources and the acoustic sensors are towed in designated patterns behind a seismic vessel. The basic principles of these surveying operations are well known to those skilled in the art.
Commonly, an array of seismic acoustic sensors, such as hydrophones, are configured in a seismic cable where the hydrophones are spaced along the length of the seismic cable. This seismic cable typically is called a streamer or streamer cable. The streamers are connected to apparatus on the vessel which includes the power source and the data control system.
To optimally develop 3-D marine surveys, to reduce the number of passes required of the seismic vessel in surveying a specific area and to improve the quality of the resulting geophysical information, multiple streamer cables typically are deployed in a pattern parallel to the centerline of the vessel. The streamer cables are separated from each other by calculated offset distances to provide the desired, spaced parallel pathways which minimize duplicate coverage but are adequate to cover the area to be surveyed. To obtain and maintain the desired lateral distances between adjacent streamer cables throughout the time period during which the seismic vessel is traversing the survey area, the streamer cables are attached at predetermined tow points on the cable to devices referred in the art of seismic exploration as pullavanes or para-vanes. The para-vanes are towed to the side of the vessel and provide the means to tow the streamer cables along pathways parallel to but laterally spaced from the pathway of the towing vessel.
The streamer cable typically is filled with a fluid which acts as a buoyancy material to keep the streamer cable at the desired depth beneath the surface of the water during the surveying operation. Because of the length of the streamers (sometimes several miles/kms in length), the streamers are in danger of colliding with other vessels. Therefore, a floatation device, such as a tail buoy, is attached to the submerged, tail end of the streamer to provide means to visibly approximate the location of the end of the streamer cable. The tail buoy is also quite useful for retrieval operations. If the vessel-end of the marine cable becomes detached from the vessel, the marine cable can be retrieved from the tail buoy end of the cable by using the tow line attached to the tail buoy and the streamer.
Additionally, the tail buoy commonly contains equipment for receiving data from a positioning system, such as the satellite navigation system known as the Global Positioning System (GPS), processing the data and transmitting the tail buoy's position information to a tracking system on the vessel. The tail buoy's positioning data not only provides a means to physically locate the tail buoy but can also be used to assist in determining the actual position of the end of the streamer cable. Increased accuracy in the calculated position of end of the streamer cable, and thereby increased accuracy for the positions of the acoustic sensors in the streamer cable, provides for increased precision in correlating the seismic signals received by the acoustic sensors to actual earth formations.
Various devices through the streamer require electricity to operate. This electricity is primarily provided from the vessel through the streamer and/or through batteries. Typically the equipment utilized for positioning the streamers and other spread elements such as the seismic source and tail buoys equipped with GPS has been batteries.
It is therefore a desire to provide an in-sea power generator for providing a source of electricity to the in-sea equipment. It is a still further desire to provide an in-sea power generation that is not propeller driven or provided by solar energy.

In-sea power generation for marine seismic operations


A method for the production of a product mass, in particular a chocolate mass, as a basic mass for foodstuffs, with a plurality of ingredients and a recipe total fat content, using a conching device with a conching container, which can be opened and closed hermetically sealed. The method includes filling of the conching container with a low-fat partial mass, which includes at least a part of the plurality of ingredients and has a fat content which is smaller than the recipe total fat content. Furthermore, the method includes a first conching of the low-fat partial mass with a closed conching container and second conching of the low-fat partial mass with an opened conching container with simultaneous active drying of the low-fat partial mass. Before the second conching, the method includes an addition of a further part of the plurality of ingredients to the low-fat partial mass until a fat content is reached in the range from approximately 11% to approximately 17%. The method also includes liquefaction of the partial mass while adding the rest of the plurality of ingredients and mixing the latter with the low-fat partial mass to form a total mass representing the product mass, which at least essentially includes the recipe total fat content.

Such product masses, in particular chocolate masses, are often conched in a conching device (also referred to as a conche) during their production. Such conching is a central process step, which can decisively determine the quality and the taste of the end product. Ingredients of the product mass are mixed during conching in a manner known to the person skilled in the art and processed under the effect of compression and/or shearing forces. In the case of chocolate production for example, conching allows moisture and the other undesired substances such as for example acetic acid or aldehydes to be extracted from a basic mass, which contains for example cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa butter, milk powder.
Even when use is made of modern conching devices, the conching represents a time-intensive process step which, not least on account of the marked application of force on the mass to be conched, is accompanied by a high energy demand. If the conching is not carried out carefully and the moisture in the basic mass is not reduced sufficiently, sugar crystals may remain in the basic mass, which adversely affect its taste and rheological properties. The same applies to acids and other undesired substances, which remain in the basic mass due to inadequate conching. However, the conching cannot be carried out for an arbitrary length of time, because the temperature increase accompanying the conching otherwise leads to the development of caramel-like flavors, which are undesirable especially in the area of milk chocolates and are perceived by the consumer typically as a sign of low quality.
It has been shown that the moisture of the basic mass can be extracted much more quickly if so-called dry conching is employed, wherein a partial mass is first conched, which has a lower fat content than the final product mass. Following the dry conching, however, the properties of the partial mass are unsatisfactory both with regard to its taste and also with regard to its viscosity. Consequently, so-called liquefaction is carried out following the dry conching, whereby fat-containing ingredients such as for example cocoa butter or other fats are mixed with the partial mass. On cost grounds, and not least with regard to as low a fat content of the product mass as possible and therefore of the ultimately produced foodstuff, it is desirable to save fat-containing ingredients. In order to be able to achieve satisfactory rheological properties with regard to taste and mouth-feel, such as in particular a low viscosity, limits are however imposed on such savings.

Method for the production of a product mass


The present invention relates to a liquid dispensing device which is placed inside a distillation column and can precisely control the supply ratio of a liquid to continuously supply the liquid. The liquid dispensing device is placed inside a distillation column, thereby reducing the total installation space.

A liquid dispensing device is generally installed at a washing tower, a absorption tower, etc. in the fields of oil refining, petro-chemistry and fine chemistry, which operates based on distillation, absorption and cooling principle so as to eliminate noxious gas or organic matter.
As a device used for distillation, absorption and cooling in industry fields, there is a column designed to separate a predetermined substance through air-liquid contacts. In order to save energy and investment cost, a divide wall column is generally used in recent years, which is configured to a structure constituted by combining two columns into one column. In this case, it needs to dispense, by using a pair of lower separation walls, the liquid present in the upper side into a predetermined ratio. At this moment, the liquid dispensing device adjusts a supply ratio of liquid.
At this moment, in order to adjust the above-mentioned supply ratio of liquid, there is provided a technology for arranging a liquid dispensing device outside of a distillation column.
When the liquid dispensing device is installed outside of the distillation device, a predetermined component interconnecting the distillation column and the liquid dispensing device is necessary. Also, a sizable space is necessary so as to install the liquid dispensing device.