In a method of forming a quantum dot having nanometeric size and a method of forming a gate electrode including the quantum dot, a first layer including a first material is deposited on the substrate. The first material has first atoms that are superbundant and bound with the weak bonding energy in the first layer. A second layer is deposited on the first layer. The second layer comprises a second material including second atoms that are capable of migrating into the first atoms. The first atoms are migrated into the second layer and the second atoms are migrated into the first layer, so that the second atoms are arranged in the first layer. Each of the second atoms in the first layer is formed into a quantum dot. An electrode layer is formed on the first layer after partially etching the second layer, and then a gate electrode is formed by patterning the electrode layer. Accordingly, The quantum dot can be formed in the semiconductor device in such a manner that a size and a distribution of the quantum dot is easily controlled.

The present application claims priority from Korean Application No. 2001-0058748, filed Sep. 21, 2001, the entirety of which is hereby incorporated by reference for all purposes as if fully set forth herein.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of forming a quantum dot and a gate electrode using the same. In particular, the present invention relates to a method of forming a quantum dot having nanometeric size and a method of forming a gate electrode comprising the quantum dot.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, information media, such as computers, are widely used, so that semiconductor technology makes great strides. In a functional aspect, a semiconductor device is required to be operated at a high speed with a large storage capacitance. Accordingly, the semiconductor technology is developed to improve the integration degree, the reliability, and the response speed of the semiconductor device.
In the semiconductor memory device, the integration level of a dynamic random access memory (DRAM) has been increased year by year. Now, a 64 gigabit DRAM cell having about a 70 nm design rule is expected to be manufactured by 2008, and a 1 terabit DRAM cell having about a 35 nm design rule is expected to be manufactured by 2014.
However, the conventional method of forming a layer, for example including an optical lithography technique and a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) technique, is not proper to manufacture the 64 gigabit DRAM cell or 1 terabit DRAM cell, so that research on an improved method of manufacturing the high density DRAM cell has been carried out intensively.
A new lithography technique using an electron beam (EB) or X-ray has been developed in substitute for the optical lithography technique, and an atomic layer deposition (ALD) technique has superseded the CVD technique. In addition, a semiconductor device is now feverishly under study, including a quantum dot of nanometric size which can be applicable to a single electron gate.
A semiconductor device including the quantum dot and a manufacturing method for the semiconductor device using the same are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,060,743 (issued to Sugiyama et al.), U.S. Pat. No. 6,090,666 (issued to Ueda et al.), and U.S. Pat. No. 6,118,686 (issued to Taira et al.).
The quantum dot has been mainly formed by the following methods.
The quantum dot can be formed using a focused ion beam (FIB), or the EB. The FIB or the EB can coercively put ions or atoms into a predetermined region of the semiconductor substrate, and advantageously, the FIB or the EB can easily control the size and the position of the quantum dot. However, the method of forming the quantum dot using the FIB or the EB has a low productivity, so that the method is not suitable for commercial applications.
The quantum dot can also be formed by forming nuclear atoms as disclosed in the U.S. Pat. No. 6,090,666. In detail, a non-crystalline layer having an amorphous substance is first formed, and then the non-crystalline layer is thermally processed to form a mono crystal. The method disclosed in the U.S. Pat. No. 6,090,666 forms the quantum dot by using the mono crystal. The method using the mono crystal has advantageously a high productivity, but the size and the distribution of the quantum dot is hard to control.
Accordingly, a new method is required to form the quantum dot in such a manner that the size and distribution of the quantum dot are easily controlled and the productivity of the quantum dot is high enough to have a good commercial use.
The present invention has been made to solve the above problems of the related art, therefore, it is a first object of the present invention to provide a method for forming a quantum dot capable of easily controlling the size and the position of the quantum dot and having a high productivity.
A second object of the present invention is to provide a method for forming a gate electrode of the semiconductor device using the above method for forming the quantum dot.
In one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of forming a quantum dot comprising: i) depositing a first layer including a first material on a substrate, the first material having first atoms which are superabundantly present and bound with a weak bonding energy in the first layer; ii) depositing a second layer including a second material on the first layer, the second material having second atoms capable of migrating into the first layer; and iii) allowing the first atoms to migrate to the second layer, and the second atoms to migrate from the second layer to the first layer to arrange the second atoms in the first layer.
In detail, a quantum dot may be formed by: i) depositing a SiON (silicon oxide nitride) layer including Si atoms on a substrate, the Si atoms being superabundantly present therein and bound with a weak bonding energy in the SiON layer; ii) depositing a conductive layer including a conductive material on the SiON layer, the conductive material having reaction atoms capable of migrating into the SiON layer; and iii) performing a heat treatment to migrate the reaction atoms from the conductive layer into the SiON layer, whereby the reaction atoms are arranged in the SiON layer.
In another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a first method of forming a gate electrode in a semiconductor device comprising: i) defining a substrate into an active area and a field area; ii) depositing a gate oxide layer on the active area of the substrate; iii) depositing a SiON layer including Si atoms on the gate oxide layer, the Si atoms being superabundantly present therein and bound with weak bonding energy in the SiON layer; iv) depositing a conductive layer including a conductive material on the SiON layer, the conductive material having reaction atoms capable of migrating into the SiON layer; v) performing a heat treatment to allow the reaction atoms to migrate from the conductive layer to the SiON layer, whereby the reaction atoms are arranged in the SiON layer to form the reaction atoms into a quantum dot; vi) removing the conductive layer to expose a surface of the SiON layer; vii) depositing an electrode layer including a gate electrode material on the SiON layer; and viii) sequentially etching the electrode layer and the SiON layer of a predetermined region to expose a surface of the gate oxide layer.
In yet another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a second method for forming a gate electrode in a semiconductor device comprising: i) defining a substrate into an active area and a field area; ii) depositing a gate oxide layer on the active area of the substrate; iii) depositing a SiON layer including Si atoms on the gate oxide layer, the Si atoms being superabundantly present therein and bound with weak bonding energy in the SiON layer; iv) etching the SiON layer of a predetermined region to form a SiON pattern layer partially exposing a surface of the gate oxide layer; v) successively depositing a conductive layer including a conductive material on the SiON pattern layer and the gate oxide layer, the conductive material having reaction atoms capable of migrating into the SiON layer; vi) performing a heat treatment to allow the reactant atoms to migrate from the conductive layer to the SiON layer, whereby the reaction atoms are arranged in the SiON layer to form the reaction atoms into a quantum dot; vii) removing the conductive layer to expose a surface of the SiON pattern layer and the gate oxide layer; and viii) depositing an electrode layer including a gate electrode material on the SiON pattern layer.
In still another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a third method for forming a gate electrode in a semiconductor device comprising: i) defining a substrate into an active area and a field area; ii) depositing a gate oxide layer on the active area of the substrate; iii) depositing a SiON layer including Si atoms on the gate oxide layer, the Si atoms being superabundantly present therein and bound with weak bonding energy in the SiON layer; iv) depositing a conductive layer including a conductive material on the SiON layer, the conductive material having reaction atoms capable of migrating into the SiON layer; v) performing a heat treatment to migrate the reaction atoms from the conductive layer to the SiON layer, whereby the reaction atoms are arranged in the SiON layer to form the reaction atoms into a quantum dot; and vi) sequentially etching the SiON layer and the conductive layer of a predetermined region to expose a surface of the gate oxide layer.
Accordingly, the quantum dot can be easily formed with a uniform distribution and size and with high productivity enough to be sufficient for commercial application. The method of forming the quantum dot can also applied for forming a gate electrode of the semiconductor device.

Method of forming a quantum dot and a gate electrode using the same


A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a program of stretching operation of an elastic membrane which can enhance elasticity of an elastic membrane in a short time without using a dummy wafer is disclosed. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a program of stretching operation of an elastic membrane in a substrate holding apparatus, the program causes a computer to perform stretching operation of supplying a pressurized fluid to a pressure chamber formed by the elastic membrane and allowing the pressure chamber to be open to the atmosphere a predetermined number of times by a pressure regulating device in a state where the substrate holding apparatus is positioned above a polishing table during standby operation of a polishing apparatus.

A polishing apparatus for performing CMP has a polishing table that supports a polishing pad thereon, and a substrate holding apparatus, which is called a top ring or a polishing head, for holding a wafer. When the wafer is polished using such polishing apparatus, the substrate holding apparatus holds the wafer and presses the wafer against a polishing surface of the polishing pad at a predetermined pressure. At this time, the polishing table and the substrate holding apparatus are moved relative to each other to bring the wafer into sliding contact with the polishing surface, thereby polishing a surface of the wafer.
During polishing of the wafer, if a relative pressing force applied between the wafer and the polishing surface of the polishing pad is not uniform over the entire surface of the wafer, insufficient polishing or excessive polishing would occur depending on a pressing force applied to each portion of the wafer. Thus, in order to make the pressing force against the wafer uniform, the substrate holding apparatus has a pressure chamber formed by a flexible elastic membrane (membrane) at a lower part thereof. This pressure chamber is supplied with a fluid such as air to press the wafer through the elastic membrane with a fluid pressure.
In the case where the elastic membrane of the substrate holding apparatus is replaced as occasion arises, such as maintenance, because a newly replaced elastic membrane does not have sufficient elasticity (flexibility), a pressurized fluid is supplied to the pressure chamber formed by the elastic membrane and the pressure chamber is open to the atmosphere (i.e., supply of the pressurized fluid to the pressure chamber and opening of the pressure chamber to the atmosphere are performed), thereby enhancing elasticity of the newly replaced elastic membrane.
In order to perform the supply of the pressurized fluid to the pressure chamber formed by the elastic membrane and the opening of the pressure chamber to the atmosphere, a program (recipe) for performing processing of the wafer is produced, and a dummy wafer (Non Product Wafer) is automatically transferred and the processing of the dummy wafer is performed according to the produced recipe. The supply of the pressurized fluid to the pressure chamber formed by the elastic membrane and the opening of the pressure chamber to the atmosphere are performed during this processing.
However, because the number of times that the dummy wafer is used is limited, in order to enhance the elasticity of the new elastic membrane by performing processing of the dummy wafer, a large number of dummy wafers are required to be consumed, thus increasing cost.
Further, in the case where the supply of the pressurized fluid to the pressure chamber and the opening of the pressure chamber to the atmosphere are performed during the processing of the dummy wafer according to the recipe, the dummy wafer is required to undergo a sequence of processes (including at least a polishing process, a cleaning process and a drying process), thus requiring a long time.

Non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a program of stretching operation of elastic membrane, method of stretching operation of elastic membrane, and polishing apparatus


A water spray system particularly, but no exclusively, for mineral mining, comprising a pick (1) having an integral shank (4) by which it is releasably receivable in an aperture (17) of a block (16), a heel (7) extending rearwardly from the pick (1), a hole (9) passing through the heel (7) and a pair of spaced-apart cheeks extending beyond the hole, a spray nozzle (24) received in a bore (22) of the block (16) with a head (25) of the nozzle projection above an upper surface of the block (16) to a location between the cheeks (8), with a water discharge orifice of the head (25) so located beneath the heel (7) and with respect to the through hole (9) of the heel (7) that water discharged from the orifice into the through hole and exiting the through hole induces an air flow wholly or partially through the through hole. Other aspects of the invention are the pick (1), the block (6), a releasable latching system, and a drivable member.

Mineral cutter picks etc are used extensively not only for mineral winning, in particular coal mining, but also for the driving of underground roadways or tunnels, or for civil engineering purposes, such as road planing, as part of road re-surfacing operations, or trench cutting operations.
In practice, a series of blocks are attached e.g. by welding, around a drum, helical vane, or end face plate if a so-called shearer drum is involved, or attachment may be to an endless chain, each block having an aperture of profile matching that of a pick shank to be located in the aperture.
If coal mining is involved, the displacement of air to the area of the cut has long been recognised as advantageous in diluting methane released during mining. One proposal for achieving this development in the UK some decades ago, was to construct a shearer drum with a hollow annulus in which was located an array of water sprays to induce an air flow from the goaf or gob side to the face side of the drum.
One known water spray system is described in GB 2250455, where basically the pick is provided with a through hole in a rearwardly directed heel, and the head of a water spray nozzle, which is releasably retained within a bore of a block, projects above the block into the through hole, whereby the head of the nozzle, and its water discharge orifice are protected from damage and debris by the heel, so long as the pick remains intact and in situ.
It is not uncommon however for picks to be lost or broken for a variety of reasons. Sometimes, the retention system between pick shank and block fails. Sometimes, particularly during mineral winning operations, the picks inadvertently strike metal roof supports and are broken off. Such events lead to exposure, or potential exposure of the nozzle head, which eventually is wiped off upon continuation of mining operations.
One known staple latching system for a pick is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,268,260. The staple was insertable, and removable in a horizontal plane, and the provision of a circumferential groove in the outer periphery of the shank introduces a zone of weakness.


A dual-band antenna unit, comprising: a first radiation unit; a second radiation unit; a first signal feed-in unit electrically connected to the first radiation unit; and a second signal feed-in unit, electrically connected to the second radiation unit; wherein the first radiation unit, the second radiation unit, the first signal feed-in unit and the second signal feed-in unit are disposed in the dual-band antenna unit. Therefore, the number of antennas can be reduced to achieve lower cost while remaining the signal transmission quality.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a dual-band antenna unit and, more particularly, to a dual-band antenna unit comprising a plurality of antennas with various frequency bands with excellent signal transmission quality.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The currently available wireless products, such as wireless network base stations, have to provide 11b/g and 11a antennas with various frequency bands. Therefore, at least two antennas (each for one frequency band) are required to meet the requirement, which leads to difficulty in product design.
Therefore, there exists a need in providing a dual-band antenna unit so that the number of antennas can be reduced to achieve lower cost while remaining the signal transmission quality.


Embodiments of the invention generally provide a slit valve door seal. In one embodiment, a slit valve door seal includes a ring-shaped base having a center axis and at least one finger extending from the base. The finger is oriented substantially parallel to the center axis, wherein the base and the finger define a single, one-piece seal member. The seal is particularly suitable for using in sealing substrate access passages formed in load lock chambers.

1. Field of the Invention
The embodiments of the invention generally relate to a slit valve door for sealing substrate passages in vacuum processing systems.
2. Background of the Related Art
Thin film transistors (TFT) are commonly used for active matrix displays such as computer and television monitors, cell phone displays, personal digital assistants (PDAs), and an increasing number of other devices. Generally, flat panels comprise two glass plates having a layer of liquid crystal materials sandwiched therebetween. At least one of the glass plates includes one conductive film disposed thereon that is coupled to a power source. Power, supplied to the conductive film from the power source, changes the orientation of the crystal material, creating a pattern display.
With the marketplace's acceptance of flat panel technology, the demand for larger displays, increased production and lower manufacturing costs have driven equipment manufacturers to develop new systems that accommodate larger size glass substrates for flat panel display fabricators. Current glass processing equipment is generally configured to accommodate substrates up to about one square meter. Processing equipment configured to accommodate substrate sizes up to and exceeding 4 square meters is envisioned in the immediate future.
Glass substrate processing is typically performed in a cluster tool by subjecting a substrate to a plurality of sequential processes to create devices, conductors, and insulators on the substrate. Each of these processes is generally performed in a process chamber configured to perform a single step of the production process. In order to efficiently complete the entire sequence of processing steps, the cluster tool includes a number of process chambers coupled to a central transfer chamber. A robot is housed in the transfer chamber to facilitate transfer of the substrate between the process chambers and a load lock chamber. The load lock chamber allows substrates to be transferred between the vacuum environment of the cluster tool and an ambient environment of a factory interface. Such cluster tools for glass substrate processing are available from AKT, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Applied Materials, Inc., of Santa Clara, Calif.
As the substrate size for manufacturing flat panel display grows, the manufacturing equipment for these substrates becomes larger in size as well. Accordingly, the door or gate that isolates one vacuum chamber (or load lock) from another has became larger, or, specifically longer since the slot opening between the two chambers has to become wider to accommodate the large width of the substrate passing through the slot opening. The increasing length of the door poses a technical challenge for obtaining a good isolation seal between the two chambers, which is maintained by an elastomer seal disposed around the slot opening between the door and a chamber wall.
FIG. 1 depicts a partial sectional view of a substrate passage 108 formed through a load lock chamber body 106 and selectively sealed by a conventional slit valve door 110. A seal 116 is deposed between the door 110 and chamber body 106 to provide a vacuum seal across passage 108. The force required to load the seal 116 in order to obtain good chamber isolation is high.
When a vacuum condition is present within the chamber body 106, the pressure differentials cause the chamber body 106 to distort and move relative to the slit valve door 110. As the seal 116 is typically retained in the slit valve door 110, the movement of the chamber body 106 creates a shearing force on the seal, especially in the center of the door span. Moreover, as the seal 116 is urged in one direction by the chamber body 106, the seal 116 is force against the corners of a seal gland 114 formed in the slit valve door 110. Chafing of the seal 116 against the chamber body 106 and the corner of the seal gland 114 creates unwanted particles that may adversely effect substrate processing. Additionally, the seal 116 may become abraded or damaged by the mechanical interaction with the chamber body 106 and the corner of the seal gland 114, thereby significantly shortening the service life of the seal 116.
Therefore, there is a need for an improved slit valve door seal.


A method is provided for forming a sheet metal blank or tubular blank in a metal forming tool, such as a sheet metal press or a media forming tool. The sheet metal press has an upper die and a lower die that are moved by a press to form the metal blank. The forming tool has a plurality of electrodes that are connected in an electrical circuit to a source of direct current. The electrodes provide pulses of the electric current to at least a portion of the blank. The method comprises loading the blank into the forming tool and closing the upper die and the lower die. The electrical circuit is completed between multiple electrodes through one or more portions of the blank. Electrical current is pulsed intermittently through the blank in a plurality of pulses.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for forming a sheet metal blank a tubular blank or a partially formed blank while pulses of current are applied to the blank.
2. Background Art
The extent to which metal parts may be formed by plastically deforming sheet metal blanks or tubular blanks is limited by the strength and the inherent formability of the metal. Complex parts that have pronounced recesses or protrusions may not be formed from a single blank if the formability of the metal is exceeded by the strain required for forming the part. In some instances, parts with complex geometries may require forming multiple parts separately and joining them together by spot welding, riveting, or otherwise fastening the panels together. Forming multiple parts that must be assembled together to create a combined part of the desired shape increases the number of parts and the costs associated with manufacturing the combined part.
There is a need for a method and apparatus for forming extensively formed parts made in a single piece that are plastically deformable to the maximum extent.

Method and apparatus for forming a blank as a portion of the blank receives pulses of direct current


A solid component of catalyst for the (co)polymerization of ethylene and xcex1-olefins contains magnesium-carboxylate bonds and transition metal-carboxylate and can be represented by the formula:

The present invention relates to a solid component of catalyst, the procedure for its preparation and its use in procedures for the (co)polymerization of ethylene and xcex1-olefins.
It is well-known that ethylene, or xcex1-olefins in general, can be polymerized by means of a procedure at low pressure on Ziegler-Natta catalysts. These catalysts are generally composed of a compound of elements from sub-group IV to VI of the periodic table (compounds of transition metals), mixed with an organometallic compound, or hydride, of the elements belonging to group I to III of the periodic table.
Solid components of Ziegler-Natta catalysts are also known, containing a transition metal (generally titanium), a bivalent metal (generally magnesium), a halogen (generally chlorine) and also possibly an electron donor. These solid components, used in combination with an organometallic compound of aluminium, form active catalysts for the (co)polymerization of ethylene in procedures carried out at low temperature and pressure. U.S. Pat. No. 3,642,746, for example, describes a solid component of catalyst obtained by the contact of a compound of a transition metal with a halide of a bivalent metal treated with an electron donor. According to U.S. Pat. No. 4,421,674 a solid component of catalyst is obtained by the contact of a compound of a transition metal with the product of a solution of magnesium chloride in ethanol which has been spray-dried.
According to U.K. Patent 1.401.708 a solid component of catalyst is obtained by the interaction of a magnesium halide, a non-halogenated compound of a transition metal and an aluminium halide. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,901,863 and 4,292,200 describe solid components of catalyst obtained by putting a non-halogenated compound of magnesium in contact with a non-halogenated compound of a transition metal and an aluminium halide.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,843,049 and European Patent Application publication 243.327 describe solid components of catalyst which contain titanium, magnesium, aluminium, chlorine and alkoxy groups, highly active in procedures for the (co)polymerization of ethylene carried out at low pressure and temperature, using the technique of suspension, and at high pressure and temperature respectively, in vessels or tubular reactors. These solid components are generally obtained by spray-drying an ethanol solution of magnesium chloride to obtain an active support, which is subsequently reacted with a titanium tetraalkoxide or with titanium tetrachloride and an alkyl aluminium chloride respectively.
It has now been found, according to the present invention, that by introducing magnesium-carboxylate bonds and a transition metal-carboxylate, generally improved solid components of catalyst are obtained, compared to those of the known art, with respect to their highly developed activity in procedures for the (co)polymerization of ethylene and xcex1-olefins carried out at low pressure and temperature, at high pressure and temperature and in solution and also to the nature of the polymers thus obtained.
In accordance with this, the first aspect of the present invention relates to a solid component of catalyst for the (co)polymerization of ethylene and xcex1-olefins which contains magnesium-carboxylate bonds and a transition metal-carboxylate and which can be represented by the formula:
M1Mg(0.3-20)X(2-60)Al(0-6)(Rxe2x80x94COO)(0.1-3)xe2x80x83xe2x80x83(I)
wherein:
M is at least one metal selected from titanium, vanadium, zirconium and hafnium,
X is a halogen excluding iodine, and
R is an aliphatic, cycloaliphatic or aromatic hydrocarbon radical, containing at least 4 carbon atoms.
According to one embodiment, the metal M in formula (I), represents titanium, or titanium and another metal selected from zirconium and hafnium in an atomic ratio between titanium and the other metal of 0.25:1 to 2.0:1 and preferably 0.33:1 to 1:1.
In another preferred embodiment, the halogen X, in formula (I), represents chlorine or bromine and in the more preferred form chlorine.
The maximum number of carbon atoms of the radical R, in formula (I) is not particularly critical, however it is generally not advisable to exceed a value of 25.
Another aspect of the present invention relates to a procedure for the preparation of the solid component of catalyst (I) which includes:
(i) the formation of a solution, in an inert organic solvent, of a magnesium carboxylate or halide of magnesium carboxylate:
MgXn(Rxe2x80x94COO)(2xe2x88x92n)xe2x80x83xe2x80x83(II)
xe2x80x83and at least one transition metal carboxylate or halide of at least one transition metal carboxylate:
MXm(Rxe2x80x94COO)(4xe2x88x92m)xe2x80x83xe2x80x83(III)
xe2x80x83wherein:
M is at least a metal selected from titanium, vanadium, zirconium and hafnium,
X is a halogen excluding iodine,
R is an aliphatic, cycloaliphatic or aromatic hydrocarbon radical, containing at least 4 carbon atoms, up to about 25 carbon atoms,
n varies from 0 to 1, and
m varies from 0 to 2, and wherein the atomic ratio between the magnesium in (II) and the transition metal (M) in (III) is within the range of 0.3:1 to 20:1;
(ii) the addition to the solution of step (i) of an alkyl aluminium halide having the formula:
AlRxe2x80x2pX(3xe2x88x92p)xe2x80x83xe2x80x83(IV)
xe2x80x83wherein:
Rxe2x80x2 is a linear or branched alkyl radical, containing from 1 to 20 carbon atoms, and
X is a halogen atom excluding iodine, and wherein the ratio between the halogen atoms in (IV) and the total carboxy groups in (II) and (III) varies from 0.3:1 to 10:1, to precipitate the solid component of catalyst (I) into a solid granular form, and
(iii) the recovery of the solid component of catalyst from the reaction products of step (ii).
The solvent used to prepare the solution in step (i) of the procedure, may be any inert (not reactive) organic solvent towards the other constituents. Preferred solvents for the purpose are aliphatic, cycloaliphatic or aromatic hydrocarbon solvents, liquid in the operating conditions, such as hexane, heptane, octane, nonane, decane, undecane, dodecane, cyclopentane, cyclohexane, benzene, toluene, xylenes and mesithylenes.
Examples of Rxe2x80x94COO carboxylic groups, in formulae (II) and (III), are those wherein:
the radical R is a linear alkyl containing at least 9 carbon atoms; for example n-decanoate, n-undecanoate and n-dodecanoate groups;
the radical R is a branched alkyl product having a branching on the secondary carbon atom in xcex1 with respect to the carboxyl carbon:
wherein the sum of carbon atoms in R1 and R2 is equal to at least 2; for example isobutyrate groups, 2-methylbutyrate groups and 2-ethylhexanoate groups;
the radical R is a branched alkyl having two branchings on the tertiary carbon atom in xcex1 with respect to the carboxyl carbon
wherein the sum of the carbon atoms in R3, R4 and R5 is equal to at least 3; for example 2,2-dimethyl propanoate and versatate groups;
the radical R is an alkyl having a branching on the secondary carbon atom in xcex2 position with respect to the carboxyl carbon atom:
wherein the sum of the carbon atoms in R6 and R7 is equal to at least 4; for example 3-ethyl pentanoate and citronellate groups;
the radical R is a cycloalkyl, cycloaryl, alkylene cycloalkyl or alkylene cycloaryl:
Raxe2x80x94(CH2)axe2x80x94COO
wherein R8 represents the cycloalkyl or cycloaryl portion, either monocyclic or with several condensed or uncondensed cycles, and s varies from 0 to 10; for example the naphthenate group;
the radical R is an alkyl substituted with aryl in position xcex1 with respect to the carboxyl carbon atom:
wherein R9 is an aryl, for example a phenyl and R10 is an alkyl containing at least 1 carbon atom; for example the 2-phenylbutyrate group.
In accordance with one embodiment, the metal M, in formula (III), represents titanium, or titanium and another metal selected from zirconium and hafnium, with an atomic ratio between the titanium and the other metal of 0.25:1 to 2.0:1 and preferably 0.33:1 to 1:1.
In another preferred embodiment, X, in formulae (II) and (III), represents chlorine or bromine and in the preferred form chlorine.
In accordance with a further embodiment, n in formula (II) has a value of at least 0.1 and preferably at least 0.5 to 1, and m in the formula (III) has a value of at least 0.1 and preferably at least 0.2 to 2.
It is convenient in step (i) to mix a solution of compound (II) in the selected solvent, with a solution of compound (III) in the same solvent, or in a different solvent, operating at room temperature (20-25xc2x0 C.) or at temperatures close thereto. The solutions of compounds (II) and (III) in the relative solvents can be obtained with a simple and practical procedure, which will be described hereinbelow and illustrated in the examples.
In step (ii) of the procedure, an aluminium halide (IV) is added to and reacted with the solution prepared in step (i). Preferred aluminium halides are alkyl aluminium chlorides and bromides, wherein the alkyl contains from 1 to 6 carbon atoms. Aluminium halides which are even more preferred are ethyl aluminium dichloride, diethyl aluminium chloride, ethyl aluminium sesquichloride, isobutyl aluminium dichloride, diethyl aluminium bromide and ethyl aluminium dibromide. The aluminium halide may be added as such, or in the form of a solution in an inert organic solvent selected from those used for the preparation of the solution of step (i).
In step (ii) it is convenient to operate at a temperature ranging from 20 to 120xc2x0 C. for a period which, depending on the temperature selected, may vary from 0.5 to 8 hours. In the preferred method, the aluminium halide is added to the solution of compounds (II) and (III), at room temperature (20-25xc2x0 C.), or at a temperature close thereto and the mixture obtained is heated to a temperature ranging from 50 to 100xc2x0 C., for a period of 45 to 180 minutes.
Operating under these conditions, the solid component of catalyst (I) is obtained in the form of a powder precipitate, with a particle size of 10 xcexcm to 40 xcexcm. When M represents titanium, catalysts (I) are obtained wherein the ratio between titanium in its trivalent state and the sum of titanium in its trivalent and tetravalent state generally varies from 0.9:1 to 1:1.
The solid component of catalyst thus obtained is separated from the suspension in step (iii) using normal methods such as decantation, filtration or centrifugation, washed with a hydrocarbon solvent and possibly dried.
As specified before, compounds (II) and (III) can be prepared directly in solution using a simple and practical method. More specifically, compounds (II) can be obtained by the reaction of a Rxe2x80x94COOH carboxylic acid (wherein R corresponds to the above definition) with a magnesium halide MgX2 (wherein X has the above definition), in accordance with the following reaction:
MgX2+(2xe2x88x92n)Rxe2x80x94COOHxe2x86x92MgXn(Rxe2x80x94COO)(2xe2x88x92n)+(2xe2x88x92n)HCl
Similarly compounds (III) can be obtained by the reaction of a Rxe2x80x94COOH carboxylic acid (wherein R has the above definition) with a halide of a metal M (MX4, wherein X has the above definition), in accordance with the reaction:
MX4+(4xe2x88x92m)Rxe2x80x94COOHxe2x86x92MXm(Rxe2x80x94COO)(4xe2x88x92m)+(4xe2x88x92m)HCl
Examples of suitable Rxe2x80x94COOH acids are n-decanoic, n-undecanoic, n-dodecanoic, 2-ethylhexanoic, versatic, citronellic, naphthenic and 2-phenyl-butyric acids.
The magnesium halide used for the purpose may be:
a highly crystalline magnesium halide, with a particle size preferably not higher than 100 xcexcm and with a water content preferably lower than 0.2% by weight; or
a partially or completely amorphous magnesium halide, such as that which can be obtained by the prolonged grinding of a crystalline magnesium halide or by the spray-drying of aqueous solutions or solutions in an organic solvent of a magnesium halide.
Among all magnesium halides, it is preferable to use amorphous magnesium chloride obtained by the spray-drying of ethanol solutions of the chloride, as described for example in U.S. Pat. No. 4,843,049.
The reaction between magnesium halide or the halide of metal M and Rxe2x80x94COOH acid is conveniently carried out in an inert organic solvent and preferably an aliphatic, cycloaliphatic or aromatic solvent, by eliminating the hydrologenic acid which develops as a reaction by-product, for example by bubbling a flow of an inert gas such as nitrogen. At the end of the reaction, a solution of magnesium halide carboxylate or metal M halide carboxylate is obtained in a dissolved form in the solvent used as reaction medium. The solvent will obviously be selected so as to have the maximum solubility of the reagents and reaction products. Paraffinic solvents will therefore be preferred when aliphatic Rxe2x80x94COOH acids are used and aromatic, solvents when aromatic or substantially aromatic Rxe2x80x94COOH acids are used. The use of mixed solvents is obviously not excluded. Whatever the case, any possible undissolved material may be separated by filtration or decanting. In the preparation of compound (II) it is convenient to operate with concentrations of MgX2 of 0.1 to 0.7M, in that with higher concentration values a decrease is observed in the yield of the desired compound (II). On the other hand, the concentration of compounds MX4 in the preparation of compound (III) is not particularly critical. If there is an excess of Rxe2x80x94COOH acid in the mixture at the end of the reaction, it is not necessary to separate this, provided that the free carboxylic groups do not exceed 100% of the solified total carboxylic groups. If this is the case in step (ii) of the procedure for the preparation of the solid component of catalyst, the total carboxylic groups will be those deriving from (II) and (III) and those deriving from free Rxe2x80x94COOH acid.
When a magnesium chloride spray-dried from an alcohol solution, particularly an ethanol solution, is used in step (i), the solid component of catalyst (I) will additionally contain alkoxy groups, and in particular ethoxy groups, in quantities, however, not higher than 25% with respect to the total carboxy groups.
In a preferred embodiment, the solution used in step (i) of the procedure for the preparation of the solid component of catalyst is obtained by the reaction of a solution containing both MgX2 and MX4, with the required quantity of Rxe2x80x94COOH acid. However, a separate reaction, as described above, is generally preferred, in that it is a more versatile method of obtaining components of catalyst with different formulations.
A further aspect of the present invention relates to catalysts for the (co)polymerization of ethylene and xcex1-olefins, formed from the solid component of catalyst described above, combined with an organo-metallic compound of aluminium (co-catalyst) which can be selected from aluminium trialkyls and the halides (such as chlorides) of aluminium alkyl, containing 1 to 6 carbon atoms in the alkyl portion. Among these, aluminium trialkyls are preferred, such as aluminium triethyl, aluminium tri-n-butyl, aluminium triisobutyl and aluminium trihexyl. In the catalysts of the present invention the atomic ratio between the aluminium (in the co-catalyst) and the titanium (in the solid component of catalyst) generally varies from 3:1 to 1,500:1 and preferably from 5:1 to 200:1, in relation to the particular polymerization system used and its purity.
The present invention also relates to procedures for the polymerization and copolymerization of ethylene and xcex1-olefins which use the above catalyst. The xcex1-olefins are generally those containing from 3 to 15 carbon atoms, such as propylene, butene-1, 4-methylpentene-1, hexene-1 and octene-1.
In particular, the catalyst of the present invention may be used in the preparation of polyethylenes with a narrow molecular weight distribution, which have the desired combination of characteristics as regards Melt-Index, Shear Sensitivity and ratio between weight average molecular weight (Mw) and number average molecular weight (Mn). In this case, it is convenient to operate using the technique of a suspension in an inert diluent under the following general conditions: temperature 60 to 95xc2x0 C., pressure 6 to 20 kg/cm2 and ratio between the partial pressures of hydrogen and ethylene of 0 to 5. In the homopolymerization of ethylene and copolymerization of ethylene with propylene, butene-1 or hexene-1, to obtain polyethylenes with a narrow molecular weight distribution (Mw/Mn from 3 to 6), it is preferably to use solid components of catalyst with a lower content of magnesium and halogen, wherein M is titanium (IA):
M1Mg(0.3-2.0)X(2.0-6.0)Al(0.1-0.5)(Rxe2x80x94COO)(1.53-3)
These solid components of catalyst may be obtained by operating under the general conditions of the above procedure and using in step (i) an atomic ratio between magnesium and transition metal tending towards the lower limits, such as for example 0.3:1 to 2.0:1 and a ratio between the halogen atoms and carboxy groups in step (ii) towards low limits such as 0.3:1 to 1.5:1.
The solid component (IA) is also suitable for the copolymerization of ethylene with xcex1-olefins, especially propylene, giving copolymers with elastomeric characteristics. In this case, it is convenient to use the method in suspension or solution, at a temperature of 20 to 60xc2x0 C. and a pressure of 4 to 25 kg/cm2.
When it is necessary to produce a (co)polymer of ethylene with a wide distribution of molecular weight in a two-step procedure in suspension, it is advantageous to use solid components of catalyst with an average content of magnesium and halogen, wherein M is preferably titanium (IB):
M1Mg(1.0-3.0)X(4.5-12)Al(0.5-1.5)(Rxe2x80x94COO)(0.5-1.0)
These solid components of catalyst may be obtained by operating under the general conditions of the above procedure and using in step (i) an atomic ratio between magnesium and transition metal of 1.0:1 to 3.0:1 and a ratio between the halogen atoms and carboxy groups in step (ii) towards the lower limits such as 1.2:1 to 4.0:1. In this case, it is convenient to operate at temperatures of 70 to 90xc2x0 C. for the first step, with total pressures of 8 to 12 kg/cm2 and at temperatures of 70 to 90xc2x0 C. for the second step, with total pressures of 4 to 8 kg/cm2 and with a ratio between the partial pressures of hydrogen and ethylene of 0.15 to 4.5.
For the production of an ethylene polymer with a wide distribution of molecular weights in a one step procedure in suspension, it is advantageous to use a solid component of catalyst wherein M represents two transition metals and preferably titanium and zirconium or hafnium with an atomic ratio Ti:Zr or Ti:Hf of 0.33:1 to 1:1 (IC):
M1Mg(0.5-2.5)X(5-10)Al(0-1)(Rxe2x80x94COO)(0.1-0.4)
This bimetallic catalyst can be easily obtained by using, in step (i) of the procedure a solution of titanium chloride carboxylate and a solution of zirconium or hafnium chloride carboxylate. The polymerization is conveniently carried out in one step, using the suspension method, at a temperature of 70 to 95xc2x0 C., at a pressure of 6 to 15 kg/cm2 and with a ratio between the partial pressures of hydrogen and ethylene of 0 to 5. The molecular weight distribution of the polyethylenes obtained with the one step procedure can be controlled by varying the composition of the bimetallic component of catalyst, within the above limits, and/or by introducing a Lewis base, as described in Italian Patent Application 22.115 A/88, of Sep. 29th 1988 in the name of the Applicant.
The solid component of catalyst of the present invention is also highly active in procedures for the copolymerization of ethylene with xcex1-olefins, carried out at a high temperature and pressure, in vessel or tubular reactors, to obtain LLDPE (density from 0.935 to 0.915 g/ml), and VLLDPE (density from 0.915 to 0.900 g/ml) and ULDPE (density from 0.900 to 0.87). In these procedures it is customary to operate at temperatures of 90xc2x0 C. to 280xc2x0 C., at pressures of 800 to 2,000 kg/cm2 and for 15 to 90 seconds in the case of tubular reactors and at temperatures of 140 to 280xc2x0 C., with times of 45 to 180 seconds and at pressures similar to those specified above, in the case of vessel reactors. In these polymerizations, it is preferable to use solid components of catalyst with a higher content of magnesium and halogen, wherein M is preferably titanium or titanium and hafnium. When M is titanium the solid component of catalyst can be defined with the formula (ID):
M1Mg(7-20)X(15-60)Al(0-6)(Rxe2x80x94COO)(0.4-3)
When M is titanium and hafnium, in an atomic ratio of 0.33:1 to 1:1, the formula for the preferred catalyst is (IE):
M1Mg(2-3.5)X(8-12)Al(0-2)(Rxe2x80x94COO)(0.1-0.4)
It has been found that the solid components of catalyst (ID) and (IE) are active in catalysts wherein the atomic ratio between the aluminium (in the co-catalyst) and the titanium (in the solid component of catalyst) is unusually low and in particular within the range of 3 to 10 and are capable of producing copolymers of ethylene with butene-1 and with propylene having a high molecular weight (not sticky) and density values as low as 0.870 g/ml.
Finally, the solid component of catalyst of the present invention is highly active in procedures for the homopolymerization of xcex1-olefins such as propylene, butene-1, 4-methyl-1-pentene, hexene-1 and octene-1, to obtain poly(xcex1-olefins) with a high productivity and high molecular weight, in relation to the composition of the component itself. In particular, in order to produce poly(xcex1-olefins) with a high productivity, it is advantageous to use solid components of catalyst with a high content of magnesium wherein M is titanium (IF):
M1Mg(7-20)X(15-60)Al(0-4)(Rxe2x80x94COO)(0.4-3.0)
To produce poly(xcex1-olefins) with a high molecular weight (ultra high molecular weight) in the above formula (IF) M will represent hafnium or zirconium. In both cases the polymerization will be carried out in suspension, at temperatures ranging from 20 to 90xc2x0 C.
The following reference examples and examples for the preparation of catalyst and for polymerization provide a better illustration of the present invention. In reference examples 1 to 19, a magnesium chloride is used, which is obtained by spray-drying an ethanol solution of magnesium chloride, in the form of spherical particles, of which about 90% have a size of 0.5 to 10 xcexcm, with an apparent density of 0.4 g/ml, surface area of 3 m2/g, porosity of 0.7 ml/g and content of hydroxy groups from alcohols of 10% by weight (expressed as weight of ethanol). This magnesium chloride was obtained in accordance with Example 1 of U.S. Pat. No. 4,843,049.

Solid component of catalyst for the (co) polymerization of ethylene and xcex1-olefins

Abstract: wherein:

Abstract: X is a halogen excluding iodine, and

Abstract: A description follows of the preparation of a solid component of catalyst (I) and its use in procedures for the (co)polymerization of ethylene and xcex1-olefins.


The invention is directed to a cutting arrangement for a motor-driven chain saw and is configured as a preassembled component which includes a guide bar having a saw chain and sprocket drive wheel. A tensioning device is integrated into the guide bar for holding the parts of the component together. The tensioning device holds the sprocket drive wheel at a spacing from the end face of the guide bar. The tensioning device is adjustable when placing the component on the housing of the chain saw in such a manner that the sprocket drive wheel is released while the saw chain remains under tension. The component can be disassembled into its individual parts by adjusting the tensioning device.

The cutting arrangement for a motor-driven chain saw usually comprises a saw chain, a guide bar for the saw chair and a sprocket drive wheel which is driven by the motor shaft of the chain saw. The guide bar has one or more elongated slots for receiving attachment bolts with which the guide bar is attached to the housing of the chain saw. These parts are often individually present whereby the assembly of the cutting arrangement on the housing of the chain saw is complex. First the sprocket drive wheel is pushed onto the motor shaft or a collar of a coupling and the guide bar is pushed onto attachment bolts of the chain saw housing. Thereafter, the chain is mounted and a cover covering the sprocket drive wheel is fixed to the chain saw housing with nuts which threadably engage the attachment bolts. Thereafter, the saw chain is tensioned and then the nuts are tightened on the attachment bolts in order to securely clamp the guide bar to the housing.
It is also known to preassemble parts of the cutting arrangement as a component during manufacture in order to facilitate this assembly work. The component can then be mounted on the housing of a chain saw configured in a suitable manner.
One such cutting arrangement is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,992,660. This cutting arrangement includes two mounting plates in addition to the guide bar, sprocket drive wheel and the mounted saw chain. The two assembly plates are mounted on both sides of the guide bar and, together with the guide bar, are mounted on the attachment bolts of the chain saw housing. In the preassembled component, the sprocket drive wheel is disposed either between two side plates of the three-part guide bar or between two cover washers having contours to which the guide bar is adapted. The chain can be tensioned by means of a saw chain tensioning device after mounting the component. The saw chain tensioning device comprises an adjusting screw seated in the saw chain housing with the head of this screw extending into a cutout of the inner mounting plate. In this way, the guide bar can be displaced relative to the sprocket drive wheel mounted on the motor shaft. The preassembled component is held together only by the saw chain which is not yet tensioned to its operational length but must nonetheless be so short that the parts of the component do not fall apart. Therefore, the saw chain can not simply be removed and exchanged on the component itself nor even after the component is mounted on the chain saw. This capability of removing and exchanging the saw chain is desirable because of wear and is also possible on conventional cutting arrangements which are not preassembled.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,316,327 discloses a similar cutting arrangement configured as a preassembled component. Here, the sprocket drive wheel is disposed in a chamber which is defined by bent-over sections of the two side plates of the three-part guide bar. An adjusting screw is mounted on the end of the guide bar for tensioning the saw chain. The adjusting screw engages in a bushing of the chain saw which is fixed on the housing. With this configuration too, the continuous saw chain cannot be removed from the guide bar and the sprocket drive wheel. The removal and also the threading of the saw chain is only possible when the saw chain is open and, for this purpose, one of the chain links must be removed and then later connected to another chain link.

Cutting arrangement for a motor-driven chain saw


The present invention provides bacterial immunogenic agents for administration to humans and non-human animals to stimulate an immune response. Also provided are methods for vaccination of mammalian species, especially human patients, with variants of the E. coli FimH protein, said variants being derived from different strains of E. coli, and to production of antibodies that protect the vaccine recipient against infection by pathogenic bacterial species. In another aspect the invention provides antibodies against such proteins and protein complexes that may be used as diagnostics and/or as protective/treatment agents for pathogenic bacterial species. A plasmid-based method of producing polypeptides, especially fused polypeptides, such as the complex of a bacterial chaperone and a bacterial adhesin, is also disclosed.

This invention relates to bacterial adhesin proteins and active fragments thereof for use in vaccine compositions for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of bacterial induced diseases such as those of the urinary tract, especially to the use of such adhesins as immunogenic agents in humans and animals to stimulate an immune response.
Urinary tract infections (herein, xe2x80x9cUTIxe2x80x9d) present a disease process that is mediated by the attachment of bacteria to cells. Escherichia coli is the most common pathogen of the urinary tract, accounting for more than 85% of cases of asymptomatic bacteriuria, acute cystitis and acute pyelonephritis, as well as greater than 60% of recurrent cystitis, and at least 35% of recurrent pyelonephritis infections. Furthermore, approximately 25%-30% of women experience a recurrent E. coli urinary tract infection within the first 12 months following an initial infection but after a second or third infection the rate of recurrence increases to 60%-75%. Given the high incidence, continued persistence, and significant expense associated with E. coli urinary tract infections, there is a need for a prophylactic vaccine to reduce susceptibility to this disease.
While many factors contribute to the acquisition and progression of E. coli urinary tract infections, it is generally accepted that colonization of the urinary epithelium is a required step in the infection process. In a typical course of E. coli urinary tract infection, bacteria originate from the bowel, ascend into the bladder, and adhere to the bladder mucosa where they multiply and establish an infection (cystitis) before ascending into the ureters and kidneys. Disruption or prevention of pilus-mediated attachment of E. coli to urinary epithelia may prevent or retard the development of urinary tract infections. In this regard, a number of studies have pointed to a role for pili in mediating attachment to host uroepithelial cells.
To initiate infection bacterial pathogens must first be able to colonize an appropriate target tissue of the host. For many pathogens this tissue is located at a mucosal surface. Colonization begins with the attachment of the bacterium to receptors expressed by cells forming the lining of the mucosa. Attachment is mediated via proteins on the bacterium that bind specifically to cellular receptors. These proteins, or adhesins, are expressed either directly on the surface of the bacterium, or more typically, as components of elongated rod-like protein structures called pili, fimbriae or fibrillae.
Type 1 pili are thought to be important in initiating colonization of the bladder and inducing cystitis, whereas P pili are thought to play a role in ascending infections and the ensuing pyelonephritis.
Such pili are heteropolymeric structures that are composed of several different structural proteins required for pilus assembly. Two types of pili are of particular interest: P pili and type 1 pili. P pili-carrying bacteria recognize and bind to the gal-(xcex11-4)gal moiety present in the globoseries of glycolipids on kidney cells in mammals. Type 1 pili-carrying bacteria recognize and bind to D-mannose in glycolipids and glycoproteins of bladder epithelial cells.
FimH is the D-mannose-binding adhesin that promotes attachment of type 1 piliated bacteria to host cells via mannose-containing glycoproteins on eukaryotic cell surfaces. FimC is its periplasmic chaperone protein.
In this specification, the terms xe2x80x9cpilixe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9cfimbriae,xe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9cfibrillaexe2x80x9d are used to refer to heteropolymeric protein structures located on the extracellular surface of bacteria, most commonly gram-negative bacteria. Typically these structures are anchored in the outer membrane. Throughout this specification the terms pilus, pili, fimbriae, and fibrilla will be used interchangeably.
As used herein, the term xe2x80x9cperiplasmic chaperonexe2x80x9d is defined as a protein localized in the periplasm of bacteria that is capable of forming complexes with a variety of chaperone-binding proteins via recognition of a common binding epitope (or epitopes). Chaperones serve as templates upon which proteins exported from the bacterial cell into the periplasm fold into their native conformations. Association of the chaperone-binding protein with the chaperone also serves to protect the binding proteins from degradation by proteases localized within the periplasm, increases their solubility in aqueous solution, and leads to their sequentially correct incorporation into an assembling pilus.
Chaperone proteins are a class of proteins in gram-negative bacteria that are involved in the assembly of pili by mediating such assembly, but are not incorporated into the structure. FimC is the periplasmic chaperone protein that mediates assembly of type 1 pili in bacteria.
It has recently been reported that such chaperones can direct formation of the appropriate native structure of the corresponding adhesin or pilin by inserting a specific fold of the chaperone protein in place of a missing domain or helical strand of the chaperone or pilin. Thus, FimH proteins tend to have their native structure in the presence of such a chaperone but not in its absence. [see: Choudhury et al, X-ray Structure of the FimC-FimH Chaperone-Adhesin Complex from Uropathogenic E. coli, Science 285, 1061 (1999); Sauer et al, Structural Basis of Chaperone Function and Pilus Biogenesis, Science 285, 1058 (1999)] In addition, recent publications have indicated that the required chaperone strand can be inserted into the adhesin or pilin protein, such as FimH, to provide the missing structure and produce the correct native structure; Barnhart, M. M. et al., PapD-like Chaperones Provide the Missing Information for Folding of Pilin Proteins, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. (USA), 10.1073/pnas.130183897 (published online Jun. 20, 2000).
Antibodies directed against purified whole type 1 or P pili protect against cystitis and pyelonephritis, respectively, in both murine and primate models for these diseases. See: Abraham et al., Infect Immun. 48:625 (1985), Roberts et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. (USA) 91:11889 (1994), O""Hantey et al., J. Clin. Invest. 75: 347 (1985). However, such protection is limited to either homologous E. coli strains from which the pili used as immunogens were derived, or to a small subset of serologically cross-reactive heterologous strains. Therefore, vaccines composed predominantly of the major structural proteins of pili (i.e., PapA or FimA) appear to be of limited value because antibodies developed against these highly variable proteins are specific for the strains used for immunization.
Furthermore, antibodies to FimH have been found to be protective. Barnhart, M. M. et al., PapD-like Chaperones Provide the Missing Information for Folding of Pilin Proteins, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. (USA), 10.1073/pnas.130183897 (published online Jun. 20, 2000).
Recently, Sokurenko et al [see: J. Bacteriol. 177, 3680-86 (1995)] have found that quantitative variations in mannose-sensitive adhesion of E. coli are due primarily to structural differences in the FimH adhesin. Further research has shown that the ability of the FimH lectins to interact with monomannosyl residues strongly correlates with their ability to mediate E. coli adhesion to uroepithelial cells so that certain phenotypic variants of type 1 fimbriae may contribute more than others to the virulence of E. coli in the urinary tract. [Sokurenko et al, J. Biol. Chem. 272, 17880-17886 (1997)]. Heretofore, random point mutations in FimH genes that increase binding of the adhesin to mono-mannose residues (structures abundant in the oligosaccharide moieties of urothelial glycoproteins) have been found to confer increased virulence in the mouse urinary tract. [See: Sokurenko et al, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 95, 8922-8926 (1998)]
In one aspect, the present invention relates to immunogenic polypeptides derived from different strains of the bacterium Escherichia coli (E. coli) which differ from each other in one or more amino acid residues and that induce immunological responses that lead to protection of an animal, especially a human patient, following vaccination with said polypeptides.
It is an object of the present invention to provide immunogenic FimH polypeptides useful as components of vaccines for the prevention and treatment of infections caused by E. coli, in particular, urinary tract infections. In specific embodiments, the polypeptides of the present invention have the amino acid sequences shown in FIG. 2. Such vaccine compositions comprising the novel polypeptides disclosed herein are useful in vaccination and treatment of urinary tract infections, especially those caused by E. coli. In one embodiment, vaccine compositions according to the invention comprise the polypeptides of FIG. 2 (or truncated segments of the sequences of FIG. 2 which truncates have mannose-binding ability and can serve as vaccines), as stabilized structures in the form of complexes with a chaperone, such as FimC, or with a portion of the sequence of FimC which portion serves to stabilize the structure of the FimH adhesin. A particular embodiment employs the consensus sequence of FIG. 2 (SEQ ID NO: 55).
It is another object of the present invention to provide antibodies, including both polyclonal and monoclonal antibodies, with specificity for the novel polypeptides disclosed herein and whose amino acid sequences are shown in FIG. 2.
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide methods of prophylaxis for the prevention of urinary tract infections using the vaccine compositions disclosed herein.
It is a yet still further object of the present invention to provide methods of treatment of diseases of the urinary tract comprising the use of vaccine compositions as disclosed herein and the use of antibodies generated against such vaccine compositions, and the polypeptides contained therein.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a novel method of preparing polypeptides from recombinant cells using a vector comprising the plasmid of FIGS. 3 through 6. In specific embodiments, the polypeptides comprise the amino acid sequences of FIG. 2. In one embodiment, this process and plasmid can be used to prepare polypeptides that comprise a bacterial chaperone, such as FimC, fused to a bacterial adhesin, such as FimH or any of the polypeptides presented in FIG. 2, including any consensus sequence derived therefrom.

FimH adhesin proteins and methods of use


In a method of forming semiconductor device, a semiconductor fin is formed on a semiconductor-on-insulator substrate. A gate dielectric is formed over at least a portion of the semiconductor fin. A first gate electrode material is formed over the gate dielectric and a second gate electrode material is formed over the first gate electrode material. The second gate electrode material is planarized and then etched selectively with respect to first gate electrode material. The first gate electrode material can then be etched.

The dominant semiconductor technology used for the manufacture of ultra-large scale integrated (ULSI) circuits is the metal-oxide-semiconductor field effect transistor (MOSFET) technology. Reduction in the size of MOSFETs has provided continued improvement in speed performance, circuit density, and cost per unit function over the past few decades. As the gate length of the conventional bulk MOSFET is reduced, the source and drain increasing interact with the channel and gain influence on the channel potential. Consequently, a transistor with a short gate length suffers from problems related to the inability of the gate to substantially control the on and off states of the channel.
Phenomena such as reduced gate control associated with transistors with short channel lengths are termed short-channel effects. Increased body doping concentration, reduced gate oxide thickness, and ultra-shallow source/drain junctions are ways to suppress short-channel effects. However, for device scaling well into the sub-50 nm regime, the requirements for body-doping concentration, gate oxide thickness, and source/drain (S/D) doping profiles become increasingly difficult to meet when conventional device structures based on bulk silicon (Si) substrates are employed. Innovations in front-end process technologies or the introduction of alternative device structures will sustain the historical pace of device scaling.
For device scaling well into the sub-30-nm regime, a promising approach to controlling short-channel effects is to use an alternative transistor structure with more than one gate, i.e. multiple-gates. An example of the alternative transistor structure is the multiple-gate transistor. A multiple-gate transistor 100 has a plan view as shown in FIG. 1.
Referring to FIG. 1, the transistor 100 includes a silicon fin 102 overlying an insulator layer 104 over a silicon substrate 114 (see FIGS. 2a, 2b or 2c). A gate dielectric (not explicitly shown) covers a portion of the silicon fin 102. A gate electrode 106 straddles across the silicon fin 102. The gate dielectric isolates the gate electrode 106 from the silicon fin 102.
Examples of the multiple-gate transistor include the double-gate transistor (as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,391,695, and X. Huang et al., "Sub-50 nm p-channel finFET," IEEE Trans. Electron Devices, vol. 48, no. 5, pp. 880-886, May 2001), triple-gate transistor (as shown in R. Chau et al., "Advanced depleted-substrate transistors: single-gate, double-gate, and tri-gate", 2002 International Conference on Solid State Devices and Materials, Nagoya, Japan, pp. 68-69, September 2002), omega field-effect transistor (FET) (as shown in F.-L. Yang et al., "25 nm CMOS Omega-FETs," International Electron Device Meeting, Dig. Technical Papers, December 2002), and the surround-gate or wrap-around gate transistor (as shown in J. P. Colinge et al., "Silicon-on-insulator gate-all-around device," International Electron Device Meeting, Dig. Technical Papers, pp. 595-598, December 1990 and E. Leobandung et al., "Wire-channel and wrap-around-gate metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors with a significant reduction of short channel effects," J. Vacuum Science and Technology B, vol. 15, no. 6, pp. 2791-2794, 1997). Each of these references is incorporated herein by reference.
A multiple-gate transistor structure is expected to extend the scalability of CMOS technology beyond the limitations of the conventional bulk MOSFET and realize the ultimate limit of silicon MOSFETs. The introduction of additional gates improves the capacitance coupling between the gates and the channel, increases the control of the channel potential by the gate, helps suppress short channel effects, and prolongs the scalability of the MOS transistor.
The simplest example of a multiple-gate transistor is the double-gate transistor, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,413,802 issued to Hu, et al. U.S. Pat. No. 6,413,802 is incorporated herein by reference. As illustrated in a cross-sectional view in FIG. 2a, the double-gate transistor 100 has a gate electrode 106 that straddles across the channel within the fin-like silicon body 102, thus forming a double-gate structure. There are two gates, one on each sidewall 108 of the silicon fin 102, and separated from the fin 102 by gate dielectric 110. An etchant mask 112 overlies a top surface of fin 102. The plan view of the double-gate structure is shown in FIG. 1.
In U.S. Pat. No. 6,413,802, the transistor channel comprises a thin silicon fin defined using an etchant mask and formed on an insulator layer, e.g. silicon oxide. Gate oxidation is performed, followed by gate deposition and gate patterning to form a double-gate structure overlying the sides of the fin. Both the source-to-drain direction and the gate-to-gate direction are in the plane of the substrate surface.
Another example of the multiple-gate transistor is the triple-gate transistor. A cross-section of the triple-gate transistor 100′ is illustrated in FIG. 2b and thus the plan view of the triple-gate structure is the same as the double gate structure shown in FIG. 1. The triple-gate transistor structure 100′ has a gate electrode 106 that forms three gates: one gate on the top surface 116 of the silicon body/fin 102, and two gates on the sidewalls 108 of the silicon body/fin 102. The triple-gate transistor achieves better gate control than the double-gate transistor because of it has one more gate on the top of the silicon fin.
The triple-gate transistor structure may be modified for improved gate control, as illustrated in FIG. 2c. Such a structure 100″ is also known as the Omega (Ω) field-effect transistor (FET), or simply omega-FET, since the gate electrode 106 has an omega-shape in its cross-sectional view. The encroachment of the gate electrode 106 under the semiconductor fin or body 102 forms an omega-shaped gate structure. This encroachment results in notch or undercut region 132 as shown in FIG. 2c. It closely resembles the Gate-All-Around (GAA) transistor for excellent scalability, and uses a very manufacturable process similar to that of the double-gate or triple-gate transistor.
The omega-FET has a top gate, adjacent surface 110, two sidewall gates, adjacent sidewalls 108, and special gate extensions or encroachments 118 under the fin-like semiconductor body 102. The omega-FET is therefore a field effect transistor with a gate electrode 106 that almost wraps around the body. In fact, the longer the gate extension, i.e., the greater the extent of the encroachment E, the more the structure approaches or resembles the gate-all-around structure. The encroachment of the gate electrode 106 under the silicon body 102 helps to shield the channel from electric field lines from the drain and improves gate-to-channel controllability, thus alleviating the drain-induced barrier lowering effect and improving short-channel performance.
The multiple-gate transistor structures described, e.g., the double-gate transistor, the triple-gate transistor, and the omega-FET, have a common feature: a gate electrode 106 that straddles across the fin-like semiconductor active region 102. The formation of the gate electrode 106 involves a definition step using techniques such as photolithography, and an etching step. The formation of the gate electrode 106 over a large step height introduced by the semiconductor fin 102 presents a very challenging problem. For example, if the top surface of the gate electrode 106 is not substantially flat, the patterning of the gate electrode using lithographic methods can be difficult due to focusing problems.
FIG. 3 shows a prior art process for forming a gate electrode 106 in a multiple-gate transistor. In FIG. 3a, a gate electrode material 120 is deposited over a semiconductor fin 102 and covered with a gate dielectric 110. As shown, the top surface of the gate electrode material 120 is non-planar due to the fin 102.
A mask material 122 such as a photoresist is then deposited on the gate electrode material 120, as shown in FIG. 3b. The top surface of the mask material is usually a planar surface. As a result, the thickness of the mask material varies from t1 in one region to t2 in another region.
A lithographic mask 124 that includes an opaque region 126 and a transparent region 128 will be used to pattern the mask material 122. The pattern on the lithographic mask 124, however, may not be accurately transferred to the mask material 122 due to the varying thickness of the mask material 122. As a result, the patterned mask material 130 may be formed with different widths, as shown in FIG. 3c. When the gate electrode material 120 is subsequently etched, as shown in FIGS. 3d and 3e, the gate electrode 106 may be formed with a non-uniform gate length. The uniformity of the critical gate length dimension is therefore adversely affected.
The present invention provides simple and improved methods for the formation of the gate electrode in a multiple-gate transistor.

Structure and method for forming the gate electrode in a multiple-gate transistor

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.


A side milling cutter for slot cutting is provided whose vibration can be damped even in cases where a vibration mode of the cutter generates plural nodes in a cutting part. A side milling cutter for slot cutting of the present invention includes a disc-shaped cutter and a plurality of cartridges as cutting edges provided at a predefined interval in a circumferential direction along an outer circumference of the disc-shaped cutter. The disc-shaped cutter cuts a predefined slot on a workpiece using the cartridges by circumferentially rotating. The disc-shaped cutter internally includes a plurality of vibration damping structures in the circumferential direction on a disk surface of the disc-shaped cutter.

Disc-shaped tools called disc milling cutters are generally used for slot cutting.
FIG. 1 shows an example of the disc milling cutters. The disc milling cutter 1 with a diameter D includes cartridges 2 used as cutting edges along the outer circumference of the disc milling cutter 1. The disc milling cutter 1 cuts a desired slot 4 on a workpiece 3 by circumferentially rotating. If the diameter D of the disc milling cutter 1 is larger, the vibration of the disc milling cutter 1 during slot cutting is larger. This possibly leads to a breakage of the cutting parts and a deterioration of accuracy of slot cutting.
FIGS. 2 and 3 show examples of one of the vibration modes of the disc milling cutter 1 during slot cutting. FIGS. 2 and 3 show results of mode analysis on a disc milling cutter 1 with a diameter D of 1200 mm by the finite element method. In the analysis, the disc milling cutter 1 was fixed to a shaft 5. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the vibration modes of the disc milling cutter 1 cause an outer peripheral portion of the disc milling cutter 1 to undulate in the z-axis direction (along the shaft 5). For example, in a vibration mode at a frequency of 267 Hz (FIG. 2) where the vibration amplitude in the z-axis direction is maximized, four nodes are generated along the outer circumference of the disc milling cutter 1. In a vibration mode at a frequency of 374 Hz (FIG. 3), six nodes are generated along the outer circumference of the disc milling cutter 1.
Thus, it is known that the dominant vibration of the disc milling cutter 1 is in a mode in which an outer circumference of the disc milling cutter 1 undulates in the z-axis direction.
Examples of existing techniques for cutting workpiece using disc-shaped tools are disclosed in JP 2011-194564 and JP 2012-196729.
JP 2011-194564 discloses a face milling cutter for rotary cutting which includes a rotation axis and a cutter body. The cutter body includes, in an end portion thereof, plural insert seats on which rotary cutting inserts are placed. The face milling cutter is positioned on the inside of the cutter body and includes plural damping elements for damping vibration of the face milling cutter. The damping elements extend in parallel with the rotation axis to be adjacent to one end of the cutter body while radially shifted away from the rotation axis.
JP 2012-196729 discloses a rotary cutting tool which has cutting edges attached to a disc-like cutter body. An annular groove is formed on a surface of the cutter body. A ring-shaped weight is placed in the groove via viscoelastic bodies such that the weight can move relative to the cutter body in the axial direction of the cutter body.
In the face milling cutter disclosed in JP 2011-194564, the vibration of the face milling cutter is damped by the plural damping elements included in the cutter body. However, JP 2011-194564 fails to disclose details of the structure of the damping elements. If a vibration mode to be damped differs from the vibration mode of the face milling cutter in JP 2011-194564, the face milling cutter may vibrate in a direction in which the damping elements are not effective, that is, the vibration of the face milling cutter cannot be damped. Therefore, the technique disclosed in JP 2011-194564 cannot be used as it is.
In JP 2012-196729, a vibration damping structure and a rotary cutting tool are disclosed. The vibration damping structure is intended for a vibration mode occurring when cutting force is generated in diametrical and rotation-axis directions of the tool. However, the vibration damping structure disclosed in JP 2012-196729 is effective only for vibration modes in which the tool displacement by vibration occurs only in one cutting part and in which the tool vibrates in a direction of deflection with respect to she rotation axis of the tool. Therefore, the technique disclosed in JP 2012-196729 cannot be applied to vibration modes of disc-shaped tools in which plural nodes are generated in cutting parts.
The present invention has been made in view of the above problems. An object of the present invention is to provide a side milling cutter for slot cutting whose vibration can be damped even in cases where a vibration mode of the cutter generates plural nodes in a cutting part.


An object is to provide a technology capable of decreasing the possibility that bubbles may reach a first member. A method of manufacturing a liquid container includes (a) a process of preparing a liquid container, (b) a process of storing liquid in a first storage chamber by injecting the liquid from the downstream side of the first storage chamber based on a flow direction of a fluid from an atmosphere opening port to a supply port.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a technology of a liquid container.
2. Related Art
In the related art, as a technology which supplies ink to a printer which is an example of a liquid ejecting apparatus, a technology which uses an ink cartridge (simply referred to as a "cartridge") is known. The cartridge is manufactured by injecting ink to the inner portion. The cartridge which is mounted on the printer circulates the ink in the inner portion to the printer through a supply port. In the related art, if the ink is consumed and a residual quantity of the inner portion is zero or a small amount, the cartridge is changed to a new product. Moreover, the cartridge may be remanufactured by injecting ink to the used cartridge again. As the cartridge, the type of cartridge, which includes a buffer chamber having a predetermined volume so as to accumulate ink at the downstream side of a liquid storage chamber in addition to the liquid storage chamber in which the injected ink is stored, is known (for example, Patent Document 1).    [Patent Document 1] JP-A-2010-5958
Here, the cartridge may include a detection member (for example, a piezoelectric element or a prism, and also referred to a first member) which can be used for detecting an ink residual quantity state (presence or absence of the ink residual quantity or the ink residual quantity). Here, in the cartridge, bubbles may occur in the inner portion at the time of the ink injection or after the ink injection. Here, in the cartridge which includes the first member, if the bubbles which occur in the inner portion reach the first member, there is a concern that accuracy of the detection of the ink residual quantity state which uses the first member may be decreased.
Here, as a method which injects ink to the cartridge, a method which injects the ink into the cartridge from the buffer chamber is considered. However, if bubbles occur when the ink is injected from the buffer chamber, the bubbles may penetrate a region (first storage chamber) on which the first member is disposed. Various ribs may be provided in the first storage chamber in which the first member is disposed and which stores ink. Accordingly, if bubbles reach the first storage chamber, the flow of bubbles is impeded due to various ribs, the bubbles stay around the first member, and thus, the detection accuracy in the ink residual quantity detection using the first member may be decreased.
The above-described problems are not limited to the cartridge for storing ink in the inner portion, and are common to liquid containers for storing other kinds of liquid other than the ink.
The present invention is made in order to solve at least a portion of the above-described problems, and an object thereof is to provide a technology capable of decreasing the possibility that bubbles may reach a first member.

Method of manufacturing a liquid container


A locking device is provided for a removable tailgate on a conventional pickup truck. The tailgate assembly is supported by a pair of hinges located at the bottom of the tailgate for opening movement about a horizontal axis, one of the hinges comprising an elongated pin member and receiver cup, the pin member extending from the truck body into the receiver cup located in the tailgate. An opening is provided in the side wall of the receiver cup to allow the pin member and consequently the tailgate to be removed when the opening is aligned with the narrow axis of the pin member. A cylinder lock and lock bolt is attached to the tailgate, the lock bolt extending through the end wall of the receiver cup. Upon engaging the lock, the lock bolt projects through the end wall of the receiver cup into an opening provided in the axis of the pin member, thereby allowing the tailgate to be locked to the pickup truck body while concurrently allowing the tailgate to be freely opened and closed along the horizontal axis of the hinges.

This invention pertains generally to locking devices and in particular to a locking device for a conventional removable pickup truck tailgate.
Conventional pickup truck tailgates are attached to the body of the pickup truck by hinges located at the bottom of the tailgate, allowing the tailgate to be latched in a vertical position and to be opened to a full horizontal position about the axis of the hinges. Conventional pickup trucks provide for relative convenience of removal of the tailgate to allow flexibility of use of the pickup truck.
A disadvantage of the relatively simple removal of tailgates is that they are frequently stolen. Although tailgates may be provided with standard locking devices, conventional locks are typically provided at the upper end of the tailgate, requiring the tailgate to be unlocked each time it is desired to open the tailgate.
The locking device of the present invention provides a substantial improvement over existing locking systems for pickup truck tailgates in that it allows the tailgate to be locked to the body of the pickup truck while permitting the tailgate to be used freely. The tailgate may be opened and closed without the necessity of unlocking the locking device. In the event that it is desired to remove the tailgate from the pickup truck body, the locking device may be unlocked and the tailgate disengaged.
Various U.S. Patents reflect locking devices and/or hinge assemblies, including Gergoe U.S. Pat. No. 4,076,301, Cain U.S. Pat. No. 3,924,293, McHeffey U.S. Pat. No. 3,911,621, Nagy, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,733,649, Foltz U.S. Pat. No. 3,475,684, Lauer, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 2,640,723, Haught U.S. Pat. No. 2,183,291, and Jett, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 2,022,886. The foregoing patents and current commercial practice do not teach the use of a locking device providing a lock bolt located in the axis of the hinge pin member and receiver cup of a pickup truck and tailgate as disclosed in the present invention.
It is therefore a purpose of the present invention to provide a locking device for a conventional removable tailgate and pickup truck.
It is a further purpose of the present invention to provide a locking device which may be installed on existing conventional removable tailgates for pickup trucks which device allows the tailgate to be rotated relative to the body of the pickup truck while the lock is engaged.
It is a further purpose of the present invention to provide a locking device for a conventional removable pickup truck tailgate which device allows the tailgate to be rotated relative to the body of the pickup truck while the lock is engaged.
It is a further purpose of the present invention to provide a locking device which may be installed on existing conventional removable tailgates for pickup trucks.

Locking device for removable tailgate assembly


The present invention provides a metallocene complex capable of producing a homopolypropylene having a high melting point in the homopolymerization of propylene, and a production method of an olefin polymer using the same. The metallocene complex of the present invention is represented by formula [I].

Crystalline polypropylene is excellent in mechanical property, chemical resistance, etc. and therefore, is widely used in various molding fields. However, a homopolymer of propylene or a random copolymer with a small amount of α-olefin sometimes lacks impact resistance, though its rigidity is high.
To cope with this problem, attempts have been made to improve the impact resistance by a method of adding a rubber component such as ethylene-propylene copolymer (EPR) to a propylene homopolymer or by the production of a so-called impact copolymer where a rubber component is incorporated by copolymerizing propylene and ethylene or α-olefin continuously after the homopolymerization of propylene. Furthermore, flexibility and impact resistance can be enhanced by increasing the amount of a rubber component in the impact copolymer.
As another problem, in an impact copolymer obtained by the polymerization in the presence of a conventional Ziegler-Natta catalyst, a low-molecular-weight component (an oligomer component, etc.) is present by the nature of the catalyst. Particularly, in recent years, there is a tendency to more improve the moldability of the obtained impact copolymer by increasing the flowability.
However, when the flowability of the rubber moiety is raised too much, this is accompanied also by an increase in the production rate of a low-molecular-weight component, and the low-molecular-weight component is known not only to give rise to generation of fume, bad smell, etc. during processing but also to, even after processing, adversely affect the odor or taste and cause various problems such as change for the worse in the blocking property due to sticking. Deterioration of powder properties of the polymerized polymer disadvantageously makes stable production impossible. On the other hand, when the difference in the average molecular weight between crystalline polypropylene and rubber moiety becomes large, a problem such as increased incidence of gels in a molded article or high coefficient of linear expansion of a molded article is caused.
Meanwhile, it is known that isotactic polypropylene is obtained by polymerizing propylene with use of a metallocene-based catalyst different from the conventional Ziegler-Natta catalyst. It is also known that an impact copolymer is produced by copolymerizing ethylene and propylene with use of a similar catalyst continuously after the homopolymerization of propylene (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2). An impact copolymer having good rigidity and good impact resistance is also disclosed (see, for example, Patent Document 3).
Among others, the impact copolymer needs to exhibit, for example, a lower glass transition temperature so as to develop high impact resistance and for satisfying this requirement, it is supposed that copolymerization of propylene and ethylene or α-olefin is preferably performed to let each content satisfy a certain range (see, for example, Non-Patent Document 1).
As for the transition metal compound constituting the above-described metallocene-base catalyst, many examples have been already known. Above all, in order to improve the rigidity of an impact copolymer, a transition metal compound capable of providing a homopolypropylene having a high melting point has also been already known (see, for example, Patent Document 4).
However, the production of such a propylene-based impact copolymer by the use of a metallocene-based catalyst involves the following technical problems due to difference in the reactivity of propylene with other comonomers.
When copolymerization of propylene and ethylene or α-olefin is performed after the homopolymerization of propylene according to the conventional production method by using a metallocene-based catalyst, the gas composition ratio of propylene/(ethylene or α-olefin) in the polymerization atmosphere greatly differs from the polymerization amount ratio of propylene amount/(ethylene or α-olefin amount) polymerized in this atmosphere, and the polymerization amount of (ethylene or α-olefin) in the polymer sometimes decreases. That is, in order to obtain a copolymer having a desired ethylene or α-olefin content, polymerization must be performed by feeding a gas having a monomer ratio greatly different from the contents in a copolymer, which involves a production problem. In an extreme case, a copolymer having desired contents cannot be produced due to restriction of the polymerization apparatus.
In this way, a catalyst using a metallocene complex produces a large difference in the ethylene content between an ethylene/propylene mixed gas and a polymer, and it is demanded to develop a production method where the difference is eliminated and the uptake efficiency of ethylene and α-olefin is high.
In addition, in the case of using a so-far known metallocene catalyst, there is a problem that when copolymerization of propylene and ethylene or α-olefin is performed in gas phase, the molecular weight of the obtained copolymer is low. In a propylene-base impact copolymer, the molecular weight of the copolymer must have a value not less than a certain level so as to develop high impact resistance, and a production method capable of producing a copolymer having a high molecular weight is demanded as well. Furthermore, development of a catalyst with high rubber activity is also demanded for the purpose of reducing the catalyst cost per unit polymer or increasing the content of rubber moiety.
As described above, in order to enhance the rigidity of an impact copolymer, a homopolypropylene having a high melting point is required. However, as far as a catalyst using a metallocene complex is concerned, in the above-described catalyst capable of enhancing the uptake efficiency of ethylene and α-olefin and producing a copolymer having a high molecular weight, a catalyst exerting a sufficient performance as a catalyst capable of producing a homopolypropylene having a high melting point is not yet known.
Patent Document 5 discloses a metallocene complex having a substituent on the 5-position of an indenyl ring and having, on the 2-position of an indenyl ring, a furyl or thienyl group that may have a substituent, and a metallocene complex with which a relatively high ethylene uptake efficiency and a copolymer having a high molecular weight can be provided, is disclosed.
Patent Document 6 discloses a metallocene complex having a cyclic-structure substituent between the 5-position and the 6-position of an indenyl ring and having, on the 2-position of an indenyl group, a furyl or thienyl group that may have a substituent, and a metallocene complex with which a relatively high ethylene uptake efficiency and a copolymer having a high molecular weight can be provided, is disclosed.
However, the metallocene complexes disclosed in Patent Documents 5 and 6 do not have a sufficiently high performance in terms of activity, and creation of a higher-performance metallocene complex is demanded. The melting point is also preferably higher, because the rigidity can be enhanced.

Metallocene complex and method for producing olefin polymer


A garlic cutter having a housing and a beaker shaped structure adapted to receive garlic rotatably disposed in the housing. The beaker shaped structure has a cutting grid for cutting garlic or other vegetables. An upper part, bearing a punch, threadingly engages the housing such that when rotated the punch is urged towards the cutting grid pushing the garlic through the cutting grid. Preferably, the punch and cutting grid are rotated in unison upon rotation of the upper part to allow a plurality of pegs of the punch to align with and enter corresponding apertures in the cutting grid. A cutting blade is non-rotatably disposed beneath the beaker shaped structure to cut garlic emerging from the cutting grid.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention concerns a garlic cutter which may also be used for other vegetables, for instance onions.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Known implements for mincing garlic are designed as a sort of press, the garlic being forced by a punch through a grid. Essentially the vegetable is being squeezed, namely being processed by the apertures, into small strands or streamers. The garlic is less cut than pressed in this procedure. Moreover, comparatively large parts remain caught in the implement and do not pass through the apertures.
The German Offenlegungsschrift 21 19 992 describes an onion cutter wherein an axially adjustable punch forces the onion through star-arrayed cutting blades, so that the onion is cut into a plurality of sectors of a circle. These sectors are cut into individual pieces by a knife inserted transversely.
A similar onion cutter designed with cutting wires rotating relative to the onion is disclosed in the German Gebrauchsmuster 1,750,135.
The German patent 832,051 discloses an implement for mincing onions, fruit or other goods and comprises a housing bearing a cutting blade at its lower side and an upper part fitted with a punch affixed thereto. The punch, during operation and rotation relative to the housing, carries out an axial motion toward the co-rotating cutting grid. By means of this axially displaceable punch, the fruit is moved or pressed through a co-rotating cutting grid at the output side of which are formed corresponding streamers or strands of square cross-section. These segments then are longitudinally minced by the blade mounted behind the cutting grid and consequently onion cubes are made. The fruit is neither pressed nor rubbed Rather, the onion on one hand is cut by the grid and on the other hand is cut transversely by the blade. This results in finely cut onion cubes as end products. The cutting grid cuts the fruit in two dimensions, and therefore pins or bars are generated which subsequently are minced by the blade into cubes. The punch is designed in such manner that its front side shape matches the shape of the two-dimensional cutting grid, that is the front-side shape consists of a number of pegs pushing the onion segments through the cutting grid. The blade is mounted in stationary manner on the housing, whereas the punch and the cutting grid is mounted rotatably and preferably so that one actuating element can set both in rotation and that, by means of the spindle, they generate an axial punch motion relative to the co-rotating cutting grid.
Such design of the state of the art incurs the drawback that the punch containing a plurality of pegs can be cleaned only laboriously. Many guide means and components of complex shape are present that make thorough cleaning cumbersome and time-consuming because the garlic makes contact with many components of different configurations.
The objective of the invention is to create a garlic cutter or cutters for vegetables that can easily be dismantled into components of simple shapes allowing rapid cleaning.
The present invention alleviates the drawbacks associated with the prior art.


A new and distinct cultivar of Scaevola plant named ‘Wesscaetopi’, characterized by its compact and mounded plant habit; freely branching habit; freely flowering habit; and pink-colored flowers.

The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Scaevola, botanically known as Scaevola aemula, and hereinafter referred to by the name 'Wesscaetopi'.
The new Scaevola is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventor in Südlohn, Germany. The objective of the breeding program is to create new compact and freely-flowering Scaevola cultivars with attractive flower coloration.
The new Scaevola originated from a cross-pollination made by the Inventor in Südlohn, Germany in 2005 of a proprietary selection of Scaevola aemula identified as code number 05P11, not patented, as the female, or seed, parent with a proprietary selection of Scaevola aemula identified as code number 05P61, not patented, as the male, or pollen, parent. The cultivar Wesscaetopi was discovered and selected by the Inventor as a flowering plant within the progeny of the stated cross-pollination in a controlled environment in Südlohn, Germany in 2006.
Asexual reproduction of the new Scaevola by vegetative cuttings in a controlled environment in Südlohn, Germany since 2006, has shown that the unique features of this new Scaevola are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.

Gartenbau und Spezialkulturen Westhoff GbR