Methods for producing quadrivalent meningococcal meningitis polysaccharide and conjugate vaccines for serotypes A, C, Y and W-135 disclosed. Neisseria meningitidis fastidious medium was designed to maximize the yield of capsular polysaccharides and generate minimal cellular biomass and endotoxin in a short duration of fermentation. The crude polysaccharides are isolated, purified, and mechanically depolymerized by sonication. These purified polysaccharides were found in human clinical trials to be safe and immunogenic against meningococcal disease caused by N. meningitidis A, C, Y and W-135 serogroups in sub-Saharan Africa. In the preferred embodiment, the polysaccharides are conjugated to carrier proteins of diphtheria or tetanus toxiod to an average molecular size of 5100 to 9900 Daltons and provide broad spectrum protection to humans of all ages. Accelerated polysaccharide production and the efficacy of the resulting vaccine are demonstrated.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of medical microbiology, immunology, vaccines and the prevention of infection by a bacterial pathogen by immunization.
2. Description of the Related Art
Meningococcal meningitis is an infection of the meninges, the thin lining that surrounds the brain and the spinal cord. The causative agent, Neisseria meningitidis (the meningococcus), was identified in 1887. Meningococcal disease was first reported in 1805 when an outbreak swept through Geneva, Switzerland.
Twelve subtypes or serogroups of N. meningitidis have been identified and four (N. meningitidis. A, B, C and W-135) are known to cause epidemics. The pathogenicity, immunogenicity, and epidemic capabilities differ according to the serogroup. Thus the identification of the serogroup responsible for a sporadic case is crucial for epidemic containment. The most common symptoms are stiff neck, high fever, sensitivity to light, confusion, headaches, and vomiting. Even when the disease is diagnosed early and adequate therapy instituted, 5% to 10% of patients die, typically within 24-48 hours of the onset of symptoms. Bacterial meningitis may result in brain damage, hearing loss, or learning disability in 10 to 20% of survivors. A less common but more severe (often fatal) form of meningococcal disease is meningococcal septicaemia which is characterized by a haemorrhagic rash and rapid circulatory collapse.
Major African epidemics are associated with N. meningitidis serogroups A, W-135 and C, and serogroup A is usually the cause of meningococcal disease in Asia. Outside Africa, only Mongolia reported a large epidemic in recent years (1994-95). There is increasing evidence of serogroup W-135 being associated with outbreaks of considerable size. In 2000 and 2001 several hundred pilgrims attending the Hajj in Saudi Arabia were infected with N. meningitidis W-135. Then in 2002, W-135 emerged in Burkina Faso, striking 13,000 people and killing 1,500.
The highest burden of meningococcal disease occurs in sub-Saharan Africa, which is known as the "Meningitis Belt", an area that stretches from Senegal in the west to Ethiopia in the east, with an estimated total population of 300 million people. This hyper-endemic area is characterized by particular climate and social habits. During the dry season, between December and June, because of dust winds and upper respiratory tract infections due to cold nights, the local immunity is diminished, increasing the risk of meningitis. At the same time, the transmission of N. meningitidis is favored by overcrowded housing at the family level and by large population displacements due to pilgrimages and traditional markets at the regional level. This conjunction of factors explains the large epidemics which occur during this season in the meningitis belt area. Due to herd immunity (whereby transmission is blocked when a critical percentage of the population has been vaccinated, thus extending protection to the unvaccinated), these epidemics occur in a cyclic mode. N. meningitidis A, C and W-135 are now the main serogroups involved in the meningococcal meningitis activity in Africa.
In 1996, Africa experienced the largest recorded outbreak of epidemic meningitis in history, with over 250,000 cases and 25,000 deaths registered. Between that crisis and 2002, 223,000 new cases of meningococcal meningitis were reported to the World Health Organization. The countries most affected have been Burkina Faso, Chad, Ethiopia, and Niger. In 2002, the outbreaks occurring in Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, and Niger accounted for about 65% of the total cases reported on the African continent. Furthermore, the meningitis belt appears to be extending further south. In 2002, the Great Lakes region was affected by outbreaks in villages and refugee camps which caused more than 2,200 cases, including 200 deaths.
In 2006 and 2007, outbreaks of the disease occurred in the North of Ivory Coast and the southern region of Burkina Faso, Southern Sudan and UgaNAD (Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide), killing several children and adults. Meningococcal meningitis is not only important in Africa but also throughout the world. Meningococcal meningitis is considered an important disease not only for sub-Saharan Africa but also for North America, UK, Ireland, Europe, South East Asia, the Middle East, and New Zealand.
The capsular polysaccharides of Neisseria meningitidis are attractive vaccine candidates because they constitute the most highly conserved and most exposed bacterial-surface antigens. The use of capsular polysaccharides as immunoprophylactic agents against human disease caused by encapsulated bacteria is now firmly established. The capsular polysaccharides of the meningococcus are negatively charged and are obtained in a high molecular-weight immunogenic form by precipitation. Meningococcal polysaccharide vaccines are efficacious for protection from meningitis disease in adults. The duration of protection elicited by the meningococcal polysaccharide vaccines is not long lasting, and has been estimated to be 18 months in adults and children above four years of age. For children from one to four years old the duration of protection is less than three years.
Polysaccharides themselves are poor at stimulating an effective antibody response in the highest risk age groups (infants). Coupling T-cell independent saccharides to a T-cell dependent protein allows the infant immune system to provide T-cell help to B-cells to produce a boostable IgG antibody of high affinity to the polysaccharide antigen. T-Independent antigens are immunologically important. Molecules such as polysaccharides that have numerous identical evenly spaced epitopes characterize one type of TI antigen. As clusters of B-cell receptors bind the antigen simultaneously, it causes B-cell activation without the help of T-helper cells. These antigens are particularly important in young children who respond poorly to these antigens. Children less than two years of age are more susceptible to diseases caused by microbes that have polysaccharide capsules such as Neisseria meningitidis. Discovery of low-cost manufacture of meningitis vaccine is the real objective of this invention to provide affordable vaccine to third world countries to reduce mortality of infants, children, and adults.
Existing State of the Art:
The capsular polysaccharides of Neisseria meningitidis are attractive vaccine candidates because they constitute the most highly conserved and most exposed bacterial-surface antigens (Jennings 1990. Microbial. Immunol. 150, 97-127).
The use of capsular polysaccharides as immunoprophylactic agents against human disease caused by encapsulated bacteria is now firmly established. The capsular polysaccharides of the meningococcus are negatively charged and are obtained in a high molecular weight immunogenic form by precipitation. Meningococcal polysaccharide vaccines are efficacious to protect from meningitis disease in adults (Artenstein, M. S., et al., (1970) New Engl. J. Med. 282, pp. 417-420 and Peltola, H., et al., (1997) New Engl. J. Med 297, pp. 686-691), but cannot provide full protection to infants under the age of 5 (Reingold, A. L., et al., (1985) Lancet 2, pp. 114-118).
The duration of protection elicited by the meningococcal polysaccharide vaccines is not long lasting in adults and children above four years of age (Brandt, B. L. and Artenstein, M. S. (1975) J. Infect. Diseases. 131, pp. S69-S72, Kyhty, H., et al., (1980) J. Infect. Diseases. 142, pp. 861-868, and Cessey, S. J., et al., (1993) J. Infect. Diseases. 167, pp 1212-1216).
For children from one to four years old the duration of protection is less than three years (Reingold, A. L., et al., (1985) Lancet 2, pp. 114-118).
Protective immunity to encapsulated bacterial pathogens such as N. meningitidis is principally mediated by the reaction between antibody and capsular polysaccharide epitopes. In encapsulated gram-negative bacteria, protection results primarily from a direct complement-mediated bactericidal effect (Nahm, M. H., M. A. Apicella, and D. E. Briles. 1999. Immunity to extracellular bacteria, p. 1373-1386. In W. E. Paul (ed.), FuNAD (Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide) mental immunology, 4th ed. Lippincott-Raven Publishers, Philadelphia, Pa.).
Vaccines have been prepared from the capsular polysaccharides of Neisseria meningitidis (groups A, C, W-135, and Y). These and other polysaccharides have been classified as T cell-independent type 2 (TI-2) antigens based on their inability to stimulate an immune response in animals that carry an X-linked immune B-cell defect (xid) (Mond, J. J., A. Lees, and C. M. Snapper. 1995. T cell-independent antigens type 2. Annu. Rev. Immunol. 13:655-692).
TI-2 antigens tend to be characterized by high molecular weight, multiple repeat epitopes, slow degradation in vivo, and a failure to stimulate major histocompatibility complex (MHC) type II-mediated T-cell help (Mond, J. J., A. Lees, and C. M. Snapper. 1995. T cell-independent antigens type 2. Annu. Rev. Immunol. 13:655-692 and Dick, W. E., Jr., and M. Beurret. 1989. Glycoconjugates of bacterial carbohydrate antigens. A survey and consideration of design and preparation factors. Contrib. Microbiol. Immunol. 10:48-114).
TI-2 antigens generally are incapable of stimulating an immune response in neonatal humans under 18 months of age. This has spurred attempts to modify the capsular polysaccharides such that vaccines protective for all at-risk groups will result. To date, the most successful approach has been to covalently bind carrier proteins to the polysaccharides, thus engendering a vaccine capable of invoking a T-dependent response (Robbins, J. B., R. Schneerson, P. Anderson, and D. H. Smith. 1996. The 1996 Albert Lasker Medical Research Awards. Prevention of systemic infections, especially meningitis, caused by Haemophilus influenzae type b. Impact on public health and implications for other polysaccharide-based vaccines. JAMA 276:1181-11).
Glucose uptake seems to be affected by oxygen concentration and this effect could be related to different levels of carbohydrate metabolism according to higher or lower availability of oxygen (Fu et al., 1995 Biotechnology., vol. 13, pp. 170-174)
Class 4 proteins of Neisseria meningitidis are known to be anti-bactericidal. A novel methodology for the purification of polysaccharides to produce toxin-free vaccine, where class 4 were deleted from the vaccine strains, was developed (Romero, D and Outschoorn I. M. (1994) Clin. Microb. Rev. 7: 559-575).
Several synthetic media were discovered for large-scale production of meningococcal polysaccharide (Frantz, I. D. Jr. Growth Requirements of the Meningococcus. J. Bact., 43: 757-761, 1942; Catlin, B. W. Nutritional profiles of Neisseria lactamica, gonorrhoeae and meningitidis, in chemically defined media. J. Inf. Dis., 128(2): 178-194, 1973; Watson-Scherp Medium: Watson R G, et al. The specific hapten of group C (group IIa) meningococcus, II. Chemical nature. J Immunol 1958; 81:337-44; Marcelo Fossa da Paz; Júulia Baruque-Ramos; Haroldo Hiss; Márcio Alberto Vicentin; Maria Betania Batista Leal; Isaías Raw. Polysaccharide production in batch process of Neisseria meningitidis serogroup C comparing Frantz, modified Frantz and Catlin 6 cultivation media, Braz. J. Microbiol. vol. 34., no. 1. São Paulo January/April 2003).
Cox et. al., (Andrew D Cox, J Claire Wright, Jianjun Li, Derek W Hood, E Richard Moxon, James C Richards 2003. Phosphorylation of the lipid A region of meningococcal lipopolysaccharide: identification of a family of transferases that add phosphoethanolamine to lipopolysaccharide J Bacteriol. 2003 June; 185 (11):3270-7 12754224.) reported that the NMB1638 gene of Neisseria meningitidis was responsible for a lipopolysaccharide (LPS) containing lipid A that was characteristically phosphorylated with multiple phosphate and phosphoethanolamine residues.
Gotschlich E. C.; Liu, T. Y.; Artenstein, M. D. Human immunity to the meningococcal—III. preparation and immunochemical properties of the group A, group B, and group C meningococcal polysaccharides. J. Exp. Med., 129(2): 1349-1365, 1969 reported effective method for purification of meningococcal polysaccharides from liquid cultures.
Cationic reagent Cetavlon™ (hexadecyltrimethyl ammonium bromide) was used to precipitate anionic polysaccharides in this study as per Aymé, G.; Donikian, R.; Mynard, M. C.; Lagrandeur, G. Production and Controls of Serogroup A Neisseria meningitidisPolysaccharide Vaccine. In: Table Ronde Sur L'Immunoprophilaxie de la Meningite Cerebro-Spinale. Edition Fondation Mérieux, Lyon (France), 1973); Carty, C. E. et al. Cultivation studies of Neisseria meningitidis serogroups A, C, W-135 and Y. Developments in Industrial Microbiology (edited by Merck Laboratories), 25:695-700, 1984.
We have chosen ELISA bioassays for the trials because transportation problems of live bacteria from the United States to Africa for performing SBA bioassays.
Meningococcal serogroup A, C, W-135, and Y polysaccharides and DT or CRM197-based conjugates were prepared as already described (Costantino, P., F. Norelli, A. Giannozzi, S. D'Ascenzi, A. Bartoloni, S. Kaur, D. Tang, R. Seid, S. Viti, R. Paffetti, M. Bigio, C. Pennatini, G. Averani, V. Guarnieri, E. Gallo, N. Ravenscroft, C. Lazzeroni, R. Rappuoli, and C. Ceccarini. 1999. Size fractionation of bacterial capsular polysaccharides for their use in conjugate vaccines. Vaccine 17:1251-1263.; Costantino, P., S. Viti, A. Podda, M. A. Velmonte, L. Nencioni, and R. Rappuoli. 1992. Development and phase 1 clinical testing of a conjugate vaccine against meningococcus A and C. Vaccine 10:691-698.; Ravenscroft, N., G. Averani, A. Bartoloni, S. Berti, M. Bigio, V. Carinci, P. Costantino, S. D'Ascenzi, A. Giannozzi, F. Norelli, C. Pennatini, D. Proietti, C. Ceccarini, and P. Cescutti. 1999. Size determination of bacterial capsular oligosaccharides used to prepare conjugate vaccines. Vaccine 17:2802-2816.).
The same conjugation chemistry was used for the preparation of Y constructs (Jennings, H. J., and Lugowski, C. 1981. Immunochemistry of group A, B, and C meningococcal polysaccharide-tetanus toxoid conjugates. J. Immunol. 127, 1011-1018). The polysaccharide content of serogroups C, W-135, and Y conjugates was quantified by sialic acid determination (Svennerholm, L. 1957. Quantitative estimation of sialic acids. II. A colorimetric resorcinol-hydrochloric acid method. Biochim. Biophys. Acta 24:604-611.).
Serogroup A conjugate was quantified by mannosamine-1-phosphate chromatographic determination (Ricci, S., A. Bardotti, S. D'Ascenzi, and N. Ravenscroft. 2001. Development of a new method for the quantitative analysis of the extracellular polysaccharide of Neisseria meningitidis serogroup A by use of high-performance anion-exchange chromatography with pulsed-amperometric detection. Vaccine 19:1989-1997.).
The protein content was measured by a micro-bicinchoninic acid assay of Lowry et al. (1951). The polysaccharide-to-protein ratio of conjugates ranged between 0.3 and 1.5, similar to that of cross-reacting material DT and CRM-based conjugates (Giannini, G., R. Rappuoli, and G. Ratti. 1984. The amino-acid sequence of two non-toxic mutants of diphtheria toxin: CRM45 and CRM197. Nucleic Acids Res. 12:4063-4069).
A lymphocyte proliferation assay was performed according to the method described by us in our journal article (Reddy J R, Kwang J, Varthakavi V, Lechtenberg K F, Minocha H C. Semiliki forest virus vector carrying the bovine viral diarrhea virus NS3 (p80) cDNA induced immune responses in mice and expressed BVDV protein in mammalian cells. Comp. Immunol. Microbiol. Infect. Dis. 1999 October; 22(4):231-46).
In addition, antigenic variation (Antigenic Variation of the Class-1 Outer Membrane Protein in Hyperendemic Neisseria meningitidis trains in The Netherlands Aldert Bart et. al., Infection and Immunity, 1999, Vol 67 (8) p.3842-3846) and human complement sensitivity of Neisseria meningitidis is a barrier to rely on SBA bioassays.
Conjugation of bacterial polysaccharides to immunogenic carrier proteins generally results in conjugates that induce strong anti-polysaccharide T-helper-cell dependent immune responses in young infants (Granoff, D. M., and S. L. Harris. 2004. Protective activity of group C anticapsular antibodies elicited in two-year-olds by an investigational quadrivalent Neisseria meningitidis-diphtheria toxoid conjugate vaccine. Pediatr. Infect. Dis. J. 23:490-497).
The existing state of the art described in the U.S. Pat. No. 4,123,520 for precipitating polysaccharides by a phenol extraction method is found to require more steps for removing the phenol contaminants from the pure polysaccharide mixture. The problem with the invention disclosed in this patent is that the phenol contaminants may interfere with the pure polysaccharide production process.
The existing state of the art described in the U.S. Pat. No. 4,182,751 for precipitating polysaccharides by a phenol extraction for removing the lipopolysaccharide endotoxin from the pure polysaccharide mixture. The problem with the invention disclosed in this patent is that the phenol contaminants may interfere with the pure polysaccharide production process.
The existing state of art described in patent no. WO03007985 for precipitating the polysaccharide with cetalvon and depolymerized chemical hydrolysis. The problem with that invention is the chemical process for depolymerization may interfere with the purity in polysaccharide vaccines production.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,494,808 reports a large-scale, high cell density (5 g/L dry cell weight, and an optical density of between about 10-13 at 600 nm) fermentation process for the cultivation of N. meningitidis. The problem with the invention art is that large scale biomass production reduces the production of capsular polysaccharides.
Existing art reported in the U.S. patent publication No. 20060088554 about the depolymerization of polysaccharides and conjugation of polysaccharides with carrier proteins which are activated by chemical means. The problem with this invention is that the chemical residues tend to induce adverse side effects during routine immunization.
U.S. patent publication No: 20050002957 reports depolymerization of polysaccharides by chemical means, which results in producing chemical residues and conjugation of polysaccharides with carrier proteins which are activated chemically, requiring more purification steps. The average size of purified capsular polysaccharides is about 8,000 to 35,000 Daltons, which may not provide efficient immune response in humans.
The existing state of the art described in the patent No WO2005004909 reports, including adjuvant for enhancing immunogenicity against Neisseria meningitidis serogroups A, C, W-135, and Y, which may have adverse side effects during routine immunization.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,933,137 claims the development of 'animal free meningococcal polysaccharide fermentation medium', containing soy peptone as a nitrogen source. The problem with this medium is that it requires pH adjustment during the fermentation process. Glucose utilization is higher in this medium, resulting in excessive cellular biomass.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,642,017 relates to methods of modulating capsular polysaccharide production in pneumococci such as Streptococcus pneumoniae. This invention of modulating capsular polysaccharide production is not related to N. meningitidis.
Therefore there is a need for an invention to eliminate the short-comings identified in the above prior art and to invent a method of producing a meningococcal meningitis vaccine without any chemical impurities or residues to eliminate the disadvantage of the present state of the art for depolymerization and conjugation by chemical means and capsular polysaccharide size. Also, there is a need for a medium that ensures a higher yield of polysaccharides and lower yield of cellular biomass to facilitate the production and purification processes for vaccine production.
Therefore it is an object of the present invention to invent a method of producing meningococcal meningitis vaccine comprising N. meningitidis serotypes A, C, Y and W-135 that have long lasting effect and provide broad spectrum immunity to humans of all age groups.
It is yet another object of the present invention to develop a method wherein trace chemical impurities currently present in the available meningococcal meningitis vaccine are eliminated by a mechanical method, preferably sonication.
Another object of the present invention is to invent a composition of a medium that yields a higher percentage of polysaccharides in comparison to known media employed for producing meningococcal meningitis vaccine.
It is yet another object of the present invention to invent a composition of a medium that yields a lower percentage of cellular biomass in comparison with known media employed for producing meningococcal meningitis vaccine.
It is yet another object of the invention to identify an optimum molecular size of N. meningitidis polysaccharides of serogroups A, C, Y and W-135 that confers broad spectrum immunogenic protection against meningitis.

Method of producing meningococcal meningitis vaccine for


A capacity control system for a variable capacity compressor includes target suction pressure setting means for setting, based on external information input from external information detection means, a target suction pressure for controlling the pressure in a suction pressure region as a control target, suction pressure estimation means for estimating, based on the external information, a pressure that is estimated to prevail in the suction pressure region if the variable capacity compressor is operated with a maximum discharge capacity, and discharge capacity determination means for determining, based on the suction pressure estimated by the suction pressure estimation means and the target suction pressure set by the target suction pressure setting means, whether the variable capacity compressor is operating with the maximum discharge capacity or with a controlled discharge capacity.

A reciprocating-type variable capacity compressor used in an automotive air conditioning system, for example, includes a housing having a discharge chamber, a suction chamber, a crank chamber and cylinder bores defined therein. A drive shaft extending through the crank chamber is coupled with a swash plate such that the swash plate is tiltable relative to the drive shaft. A conversion mechanism including the swash plate converts rotation of the drive shaft to reciprocating motion of pistons received in the respective cylinder bores. The reciprocating motion of each piston causes a series of processes to take place, the processes including a suction process in which a working fluid is sucked from the suction chamber into the corresponding cylinder bore, a compression process in which the sucked working fluid is compressed, and a discharge process in which the compressed working fluid is discharged to the discharge chamber.
The stroke length of the individual pistons, that is, the discharge capacity of the compressor, can be varied by changing the pressure (control pressure) in the crank chamber. In order to control the discharge capacity, a capacity control valve is inserted in an admission passage communicating the discharge chamber with the crank chamber, and a constriction is formed in a bleeding passage communicating the crank chamber with the suction chamber.
As methods for controlling the discharge capacity, a suction pressure control scheme has been known. In some systems configured to execute the suction pressure control, the capacity control valve has a pressure sensitive member built therein for sensing the pressure (suction pressure) in the suction chamber. In the variable capacity compressor using such a capacity control valve, mechanical feedback control (suction pressure control) is carried out by means of the pressure sensitive member such that the suction pressure approaches a set suction pressure.
More specifically, the pressure sensitive member is constituted, for example, by a bellows or a diaphragm. Where a bellows is used as the pressure sensitive member, a compression spring is disposed within the bellows whose internal pressure is kept at a vacuum or atmospheric pressure, and one end of the bellows is acted upon by the suction pressure from outside. Thus, as the suction pressure decreases, the bellows serving as the pressure sensitive member extends.
The valve element of the capacity control valve is so arranged as to be applied with an electromagnetic force exerted by a solenoid as well as with a pressing force that the bellows as the pressure sensitive member produces when extending. While the amount of current supplied to the solenoid is fixed, the opening of the capacity control valve varies such that the suction pressure is kept at a set suction pressure determined by the amount of current supplied.
Meanwhile, Document 1 (Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 10-38717) discloses a method of detecting the torque of a variable capacity compressor during the suction pressure control. In Document 1, the torque of the variable capacity compressor is calculated from the amount of current supplied to the solenoid of the capacity control valve and the outside air temperature. The calculated torque of the variable capacity compressor is used for controlling the rotational speed of the automotive engine.
In the suction pressure control, the amount of current (capacity control signal) to be supplied to the solenoid of the capacity control valve is determined on the basis of the set suction pressure. Where an actual suction pressure is higher than the set suction pressure by a certain amount, however, the discharge capacity of the variable capacity compressor can possibly rise to a maximum value if the determined amount of current is supplied to the solenoid.
The maximum value is determined by a mechanical constraint, namely, the tilt limit of the swash plate of the conversion mechanism. When the discharge capacity is at the maximum value, the discharge capacity naturally cannot be increased further even if the amount of current supplied to the solenoid is adjusted. In conventional systems, however, the solenoid is supplied with an amount of current exceeding the current supply amount (maximum-capacity current supply amount) with which the discharge capacity is maximized. This situation occurs because the amount of current supplied to the solenoid is determined taking account of the set suction pressure alone, and not the mechanical constraint on the maximum value of the discharge capacity.
While the solenoid is supplied with an amount of current exceeding the maximum-capacity current supply amount, there is no correlation between the amount of current supplied to the solenoid and the torque of the variable capacity compressor. If the correlation is lost, the torque of the variable capacity compressor cannot be accurately calculated by the torque detection method disclosed in Document 1.
As a result, instability of the engine speed control or engine stall may possibly be caused during the idling of the vehicle, for example.
In addition, if the torque of the variable capacity compressor cannot be accurately calculated, it is difficult to attain the original purpose of applying the variable capacity compressor to an air conditioning system, namely, to reduce the motive power consumed by the air conditioning system or the vehicle and thereby save energy as countermeasures against global warming.

Capacity control system for variable capacity compressor and display device for the system


A solder material includes 1.0-4.0% by weight of Ag, 4.0-6.0% by weight of In, 0.1-1.0% by weight of Bi, 1% by weight or less (excluding 0% by weight) of a sum of one or more elements selected from the group consisting of Cu, Ni, Co, Fe and Sb, and a remainder of Sn. When a copper-containing electrode part of an electronic component is connected to a copper-containing electrode land of a substrate by using this solder material, a part having an excellent stress relaxation property can be formed in the solder-connecting part and a Cu—Sn intermetallic compound can be rapidly grown from the electrode land and the electrode part to form a strong blocking structure.

I. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a lead-free solder material (or soldering material), an electronic component assembly (or electronic component-connected article) using such solder material, and a process for producing an electronic component assembly.
In the present specification, for the purpose of explaining a metal composition of a solder material, a numeral or a numeral range is shown in some cases just prior to a metal element other than Sn, which means as used in the technical field of the art that the numeral or the numeral range denotes a weight percentage (% by weight) of each metal element in the metal composition and a remainder is composed of Sn.
II. Description of Related Art
In order to mounting an electronic component on a substrate, a connection by soldering is generally used as it attains superior electric connection and contributes to high productivity and workability.
As a solder material, an Sn—Pb eutectic solder has been used conventionally. However, as alternatives to the Sn—Pb eutectic solder, various lead-free solders are considered for introduction and put into practical use.
At present, as a lead-free material, Sn-0.7Cu, Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu, Sn-3.5Ag-0.5Bi-8.0In and so on are generally used (for example, see JP 3040929 B). These lead-free materials are reported as having a connection reliability equivalent to that of the Sn—Pb eutectic solder, and even after a heat cycle test, for example, between −40° C. and 85° C. with 1,000 cycles, they are able to show a connection quality of no occurrence of connection failure which would cause a function of a product to stop.
Another lead-free solder is proposed which is made from an Sn—Ag—In—Bi based solder added with at least one selected from the group consisting of Sb, Zn, Ni, Ga, Ge and Cu (see JP 2004-188453 A). More specifically, Patent Citation 2 discloses a lead-free solder comprising 0.5-5% by weight of Ag, 0.5-20% by weight of In, 0.1-3% by weight of Bi, 3% by weight or less of at least one selected from the group consisting of Sb, Zn, Ni, Ga, Ge and Cu, and a remainder of Sn. In examples thereof, it is described that no deformation was observed for a solder alloy even after a heat cycle test between −40° C. and 125° C. with 1,000 to 2,000 cycles.
Patent Citation 1: JP 3040929 B
Patent Citation 2: JP 2004-188453 A

Soldering material and electronic component assembly


There is provided a lift coat hanger comprising an ingenious damper that can be selectively operated with a view to decelerate the rotary motion of the arm and softly stopping it as it comes to the open or closed position, while the construction of the overall lift coat hanger is made rather simple and hence can be realized at a reduced cost.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a so-called coat lift hanger for storing coats and/or other garments in a storage area located at a relatively high position of a wardrobe or wall in a room comprising a hanger pipe for removably hanging and storing coats and/or other garments, an arm capable of being pivotally tilted forward and be returned to its uprightly standing position for moving up and down said hanger pipe fitted to its upper end and a rotary lever located at a relatively low position for tilting and returning said arm.
2. Prior Art
There have been known several types of lift coat hangers comprising an arm capable of being pivotally tilted from its uprightly standing position, or closed position, for storing coats and/or other garments to a tilted forward low position, or open position, where coat hanging and removing operations are conducted, and then smoothly returned to its upright standing position by utilizing the restoring force of an expansion spring, a compression spring or a helical spring which is connected to the arm and resiliently deformed when the arm is tilted.
However, such a lift coat hanger hanger is accompanied by a serious drawback. Since the torque of the arm increases as the arm is pivoted downward to the open position, the arm can abruptly collapse to present unexpected hazards, if it is under a heavy load (or a large number of garments hanging there). On the other hand, the arm can swiftly turn upward from the open position to its upright closed position, if the load is very small since its restoring action is totally dependent on the force of the spring.
While the drawback may be removed through the provision of a one-way clutch or another sophisticated protection mechanism, it will inevitably raise the cost of the lift coat hanger system and requires a cumbersome operation for fitting it to the wardrobe or wall.


Clusters of pixels are defined for use in image compression and decompression. The image information used to define the clusters may include pixel values at predetermined positions relative to a pixel or related motion vectors, gradients, texture etc. During compression of images the image information relative to pixels is examined to determine the cluster to which it belongs. Thus pixels can be classified according to the cluster for their image information. In an embodiment the definitions of the clusters are selected dynamically, dependent on image content. For each cluster a control parameter set is computed for a post-processing operation, such as filter coefficients for filtering or statistical data for locally generating texture. The control parameter set is selected dependent on the image content so that, when the post-processing operation is applied to the image after decompression it will improve image quality for the pixels that are classified as belonging to the cluster. The compressed image and the control parameter sets are transmitted to a decompression apparatus. Upon decompression, the image information that represents the decompressed image is examined to classify pixels according to the clusters and the different control parameter sets for the selected clusters are used to control post-processing at the locations of the pixels.

Methods of lossy image compression are known, both in the context of video compression and for individual images. The dominant examples are the methods defined in the various MPEG and JPEG compression/decompression standards, which include coarse quantization of image data. These lossy compression methods introduce artefacts, i.e. differences between original images and reconstructed images that are obtained after compression and decompression.
A method of reducing these differences has been described in a publication titled "Post filter SEI message for 4:4:4 coding" by S. Wittmann and T. Wedi, at the 18th meeting of the Joint Video Team (JVT) of ISP/IEC MPEG & ITU-T VCEG (document number JVT S030).
In this publication it is proposed to add messages to an MPEG video stream that define the filter coefficients for a FIR (Finite Impulse Response) post-filter that is to be applied to decoded images on the decoder side in order to reduce compression artefacts. Wiener filtering is used, that is, a statistical measure for the difference between the original image and the post-filtered, decompressed image is defined and the filter coefficients selected so that they minimize the value of this measure. As may be noted, this means that the value of the filter coefficients depends on the content of the image. The filter coefficients are computed in the encoder and included in the video stream. The decoder extracts the coefficients from the stream and applies post-filtering using the extracted coefficients.
Unfortunately, this type of post-filtering only provides a limited reduction of compression artefacts.


Apparatus and method for controlling the discharge of packages from a conveyor utilizing a rotary stop having a generally planar first surface selectively positionable to blocking and discharge positions; in one embodiment, the rotary stop further having a generally volute-shaped second surface connecting edges of the first surface such that the first surface blocks package discharge when the stop is in the blocking position and the second surface permits discharge when the stop is in the discharge position, and in another embodiment the rotary stop having a generally finger-shaped projection, one side of which forms the first surface. A separate ejector is provided to complete discharge of partially discharged packages by pushing such packages off the conveyor.

This invention relates to apparatus which controls or meters the delivery of packages from a conveyor to subsequent equipment for, e.g., cartoning of such packages. In connection with such processing, it has been found preferable to control the release of packages from a feed conveyor, allowing retiming of package delivery to subsequent equipment. This may be accomplished by retaining packages on the conveyor in a controlled fashion, and Periodically releasing one or more packages from the conveyor as needed for subsequent processing. In that connection, it has been found desirable to positively retain the packages when discharge is to be blocked, and to permit discharge when packages are to be delivered from the conveyor. Furthermore, it has been found preferable to have a smooth transition between these two states, and further, it has also been found preferable to provide an ejector or pusher apparatus separate from the conveyor to complete or assist a discharge which may be only partially accomplished by the conveyor itself.


A transmitting mechanism for indicating the deposit of mail into mailboxes having doors that pivot about a horizontal hinge. Such mailboxes normally identified as curb side, wall mounted, and slot type. The transmitting mechanism is comprised of an adjustable knob capable of positioning an adjoining tilt switch, such that the mechanism can be set to send a signal at any preferred mailbox opening. As the mailbox door is opened past a predetermined angle, the tilt switch completes a circuit which emits a signal to a remote receiver which activates a sound and visual alarm indicating that mail has been deposited in the mailbox.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to devices which indicate when mail has been deposited in a mailbox.
2. Related Art
Many efforts have been made in the past to devise a mechanism that signals when mail has been deposited in a mailbox. These signaling devices are designed to eliminate any special trips to mailboxes that are located somewhat remote from a residence or business. And in addition, also for the need to observe if mail has been deposited in mailboxes which are mounted to the structure of a residence or business.
A first type of prior art which signals the arrival of mail is the mechanical triggering type device. These devices typically senses the opening and closing of the mailbox door by the mailman. A typical mechanical trigger device is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,520,350, which has a button which is depressed in abutment with the closed mailbox door As the door opens away from the button, a spring presses the button outwardly. The button triggers an electrical signaling system when the button springs outwardly in response to the open door. Existing mailboxes are built in a wide variety of different structural designs and dimensions, and therefore conventional mechanical triggering mechanisms which are mounted to an interior wall portion of the mailbox, such as the device of U.S. Pat. No. 4,520,350, cannot be easily installed in a wide variety of differently designed mailboxes. For example, typical mechanical triggering mechanisms are not adapted for use with mailboxes having pivotal axis at the top of mailboxes such as slot-type mailboxes and wall mounted mailboxes.
A second type of device for signaling the arrival of mail is a tilt switch mounted in a bracket which mounts to the inside surface on the door of a curb side mailbox as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,023,595. The tilt switch within the bracket is set at a fixed angle. The bracket is not meant for use on other types of mailboxes, or if so, would require modification. As the mailbox door pivots from its closed position, the tilt switch senses the opening of the door at a fixed degree from the closed position.
Another type of device for signaling the arrival of mail is a tilt switch mounted within a triangular designed bracket which mounts to the surface of a mailbox door as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,046,675. As the mailbox door pivots from its closed position, the tilt switch senses the opening of the door at a fixed degree from the closed position. The tilt switch is held at a fixed angle in relation to the three triangular mounting surfaces of the bracket and does not provide any mechanism for changing the angle of the tilt switch within the bracket
The tilt switch mechanism is adapted for use with various types of mailboxes employing doors with a pivotal movement from a horizontal level. In order for the device to adapt for mailboxes such as curb side, wall mounted, and slot type mailboxes with doors that pivot in a horizontal plane, it is necessary for the tilt switch to be positioned at a compromised fixed position to the three triangular mounting surfaces of the mounting enclosure. For a curb side and slot type mailbox, the mailbox door must open outwardly near 30-35 degrees before the tilt switch is engaged to close the circuitry to transmit a signal to a receiver. The near 30 to 35 degree angle opening allows mail to be deposited into the mailbox without the mechanism sending a signal to a remote receiver. The device is not suited to work on wall mounted mailboxes having door positions in a near horizontal to a minus near 30 degrees from the horizontal hinges.
Therefore it is desirable to provide a device that has an adjustable tilt switch mechanism such that the tilt switch can be positioned so the device works effectively on mailboxes with doors that open about a horizontal hinge. A door opening angle setting of near 15 degrees is preferred for each door to avoid mail deposits without the tilt switch becoming engaged, however the invention provides the user the option to select any preferred angle for the door opening of the user's choice. The adjustable tilt switch mechanism for the tilt switch angle must be adjustable enough to suit each type of mailbox that has a door with hinges that pivot upward and downward in a horizontal plane, typically, mailboxes referred to as curb side, wall mounted, and slot type. In particular, the mechanism must be adjustable to suit any of the included door angles of wall mounted mailboxes which vary from a flat horizontal of zero to near a minus near 65 degrees.


An adjustable trailer hitch for hitching a trailer to a vehicle. The trailer hitch includes a first plate attached to the trailer and a second plate attached to a ball coupler. The first plate includes a slot, and the second plate includes two holes through which bolts may be inserted whereby unlimited adjustment between the plates can be achieved within a predefined range. The trailer hitch also includes a tongue having a coupler plate attached to one side. A pivot plate is pinned to the coupler plate and a latch pin is inserted through the tongue, coupler plate and pivot plate for latching the pivot plate. The latch pin and pivot plate are free to move when the trailer is being hitched to the vehicle.

Tongue or bumper-pull type trailer hitches allowing for adjustment to compensate for height of the towing vehicle have been in use for several years. All employ the use of a series of holes in two hitch parts, using pins or bolts and nuts inserted through both hitch parts to secure the hitch in its adjusted height position. These hitches allow for adjustment in finite, bounded or limited increments varying from 2 to 41/2 inches. Bounded incremental adjustments are not adequate for proper leveling of trailers using multiple axles with rubber torsion suspensions as will be discussed in greater detail below.
Rubber torsion suspensions have greatly increased in popularity and have replaced the standard spring and hanger suspensions in many trailer axle applications. With multiple axle configurations when rubber torsion suspensions are used in combination, it becomes even more important to tow the trailer under level conditions (i.e. parallel to the ground). One major manufacturer proclaims that when towing a trailer with three (3) rubber torsion suspension type axles a level towing condition is critical to prevent the development of resonant vibration caused by unequal loading on the axles. Resonant vibration leads to suspension damage or may cause suspensions to break away from the trailer mountings.
As mentioned above, finite incremental adjustments allowed on previously available adjustable tongue hitches are inadequate for proper leveling of trailers equipped with rubber torsion suspensions. On shorter trailers, such as those designed to carry one or two horses or smaller utility and cargo trailers, a 2 inch difference in the height of the trailer hitch can cause several hundred pounds difference in the load carried by each of two or more axles. This difference in axle loading may be sufficient to cause the development of resonant vibration sufficient to damage or destroy the axle mountings. Trailers towed in other than a level condition (i.e. parallel to the ground) are unsafe for other reasons. For instance, unlevel trailers have an increased tendency to sway and a driver will have less control of the towing vehicle during a stopping or turning maneuver.
None of the prior adjustable hitches allow for infinite unbounded, or unlimited height adjustment within a specified range of adjustment. A need therefore exists for a hitch having this functional capability.
There are several couplers in common use for securely coupling a trailer to a towing vehicle. These couplers are difficult to close and latch. Most require additional and cumbersome means such as the insertion of a pin or keeper, or the twisting of a hand-wheel screw to be used to retain the coupler in the locked position, even after it has been closed. Failure to use such additional and cumbersome means can result in coupler unlatching and/or uncoupling of the trailer from the towing vehicle during transport. Applicant has personal knowledge (of several occasions) and first hand experience with trailers uncoupling from the towing vehicle and leaving the road. Applicant has second-hand knowledge of these run-away trailers striking oncoming vehicles and causing serious injury to its occupants.
Many of the couplers in common use are very difficult to latch and unlatch, even when new. After exposure to the elements, most corrode and are impossible to latch without using a hammer or other striking tool to move them into the closed position and a prying tool to move them into the unlatched position when uncoupling from the trailer.
A major difficulty in closing and aligning other couplers, even when new, is caused by their allowing the possibility of misalignment due to movement of the trailer ball within the coupler of the towing vehicle when the coupler is in the unlatched position. This is because the coupler itself when unlatched "opens-up" or is disconnected creating an opening in the socket which accepts the trailer ball. In this situation a sufficient force is required to move the latching mechanism of the coupling device into its locked position since the mechanism may be bearing some weight of the towing vehicle and a force is required to simultaneously move the trailer sideways or forward so that the trailer ball is centered or aligned in the ball receiver or socket when the coupler is closed.
Although couplers having a stationary plate, a pivot plate, a pivot pin and a latch pin have been in use for 20 years or more in a gooseneck type ball coupler, applicant does not believe the same has been used with a tongue or bumper-pull trailer hitch nor in a combination similar to applicant's. The pivoting plate coupler in use in the gooseneck type ball coupler does not lend itself to use with a tongue or bumper-pull trailer coupler. The present invention includes a pivoting plate coupler in a new combination so as to facilitate several advantages including use with a tongue or bumper-pull hitch.


A foreign-matter removal capacity is improved in a cleaning process. When a wafer is cleaned while a brush is moved from the center of the wafer toward the outer circumference thereof, a discharge flow rate of cleaning liquid flowing into the brush is regulated so that the interval between the brush and the wafer is kept constant.

The present invention relates to an manufacturing technique of a semiconductor integrated circuit device, and particularly to a technique effectively applied to a wafer cleaning technique.
For example, a scrubbing equipment provided with a brush-pressing control mechanism is a single-wafer-cleaning equipment that has a brush for scrubbing a wafer and a mechanism for pressing the above-mentioned brush against a rotating wafer at a constant pressure. There are some brush-pressing control mechanisms each of which controls a load to be applied to a brush by, for example, controlling the air pressure in an air cylinder connected with a brush holding section.
Moreover, a scrubbing equipment provided with a mechanism for discharging demineralized water from a brush is a single-wafer-cleaning equipment for cleaning a wafer by setting a demineralized-water nozzle to the inside and outside of a brush for scrubbing the wafer while discharging a constant quantity of demineralized water from the demineralized-water nozzle. To discharge the constant quantity of demineralized water, a mechanism is used which controls a demineralized-water flow rate by a flow meter connected to a pipe of the demineralized water flowing into the brush.
Moreover, there is a system for brush-cleaning the surface of a wafer while discharging chemical liquid on a wafer. This system uses a mechanism for removing foreign matters from a wafer by discharging the chemical liquid and thereby lowering the zeta potential of the foreign matters adhering onto the wafer.
Furthermore, there is a system for performing cleaning while supplying hydrogen peroxide or the like in order to remove particles transferred to a brush made of PVA.
A cleaning technique is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-223596 which discloses a substrate-cleaning equipment having a height-position control means for lowering a cleaning tool at the time of detecting that a height position of the cleaning tool from a cleaning face is higher than a reference height in order to prevent a cleaning trouble or rebound phenomenon due to the surface-height fluctuation or the like of a wafer substrate.
Moreover, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-223597 discloses that there is a problem that fluctuation occurs in cleaning because the rotational speed of a wafer differs in the central portion and circumferential portion of the wafer, and that a means for solving such the problem is a method for cleaning a substrate by monitoring the position of a cleaning face of a cleaning tool and changing pressures or rotational speeds of the cleaning tool correspondingly to the position.
Furthermore, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-57632 discloses a substrate-cleaning equipment for making cleaning constant by detecting a rotary-arm position and changing rotational speeds of the rotating arm, those of a cleaning brush, or those of a spin chuck in accordance with the rotary-arm position because cleaning fluctuation occurs nearby the center and circumferential edge of a wafer.
Furthermore, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-321082 discloses a brush cleaning technique having a step of simultaneously blowing cleaning liquid and gas on a rotating substrate.
Furthermore, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-207271 discloses a technique for performing cleaning while hydrogen peroxide is supplied in order to remove particles transferred to a cleaning brush made of PVA.
Furthermore, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-208462 discloses a brush-conditioning technique for cleaning a cylindrical cleaning brush made of PVA, by chemicals superior to water in solubility, in order to remove dirt of the brush.
Furthermore, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-294302 discloses a technique for removing floated foreign matters by rotating a cleaning brush while chemical liquid is discharged from a nozzle provided at the brush in order to effectively perform scrub.
Furthermore, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-263417 discloses a polishing technique designed so that a brush set to a dresser for removing polishing wastes passes through a position separate from the surface of a polishing surface plate and the brush is cleaned in a brush cleaning bath located on the separate position.
Furthermore, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-335281 discloses a cleaning art for cleaning a brush made of PVA, by separating a wafer from the brush while cleaning liquid flows and the wafer and the brush is rotated under wafer cleaning, and thereby removing foreign matters adhering to the wafer and the brush by a centrifugal force, and temporarily cleaning the wafer and the brush, and then bringing the brush into contact with the wafer and cleaning the brush again.
Furthermore, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-74134 discloses a technique for cleaning a substrate by raising a cleaning brush in a direction separate from the substrate, moving the brush to the center of the substrate, and lowering the brush while the cleaning brush is rotated without taking, in the center of the substrate, the particles having been once removed from the substrate.
The present inventors, however, have found that the above cleaning techniques have the following problems.
The first is the problem that a difference in cleaning capacity (foreign-matter removal rate) is present between the center and the circumference of a wafer. Brush cleaning is a method of forming a wafer film on a wafer while rotating the wafer, cleaning the wafer while floating the brush, the method in which the distance between the wafer and the brush greatly depends on the foreign-matter removal capacity. When the interval between the wafer and the brush is large, the foreign-matter removal capacity is deteriorated when the wafer contacts with the brush, the wafer is damaged due to transfer or the like of foreign matters from the brush. Therefore, it is necessary to keep the interval between the wafer and the brush uniform in a wafer face and keep an optimum value. However, in the case of keeping a brush pressure constant, buoyancy of the brush becomes small nearby the center of the wafer whose the peripheral velocity is small, and the brush contacts the wafer, and the wafer is damaged. To the contrary, because the buoyancy of the brush becomes large nearby the outer circumference of the wafer, the interval between the wafer and the brush increases and the foreign-matter removal capacity is deteriorated.
Moreover, in the case of keeping constant the demineralized-water flow rate from the brush, if dropping onto the wafer, the brush contacts with the wafer due to an impact of the drop and the wafer is damaged due to transfer or the like of foreign matters from the brush. To the contrary, when the demineralized-water flow rate is controlled so that the wafer is not damaged, the interval between the wafer and the brush becomes large because the water film becomes thick at the central portion of the wafer, and thereby the foreign-matter removal capacity is deteriorated.
The second is a problem due to foreign matters adhering to a brush. Because foreign matters adhere to a brush itself or the brush itself is filled with the foreign matters as brush cleaning is repeated, the foreign matters adhere onto the brush may transfer to a wafer during a cleaning process. However, when, in such a state as adhesion of the foreign matters to the wafer, the brush is brought into contact with the wafer to clean the wafer, the wafer is damaged.
An object of the present invention is to provide a technique capable of improving the foreign-matter removal capacity of a cleaning process.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a technique capable of reducing or preventing damage to a substrate during cleaning of a substrate such as a wafer or the like.
The above and other objects and novel features of the present invention will become more apparent from the description of the specification and the accompanying drawings.
The outline of a typical invention among the inventions disclosed in this application will be briefly described below.
That is, the present invention makes it possible to keep the interval between a substrate such as a wafer or the like and a brush at a constant value by regulating a cleaning condition in accordance with a cleaning state when the substrate is cleaned by a cleaning process using the brush.

Manufacturing method of semiconductor integrated circuit device


An apparatus for sealing and illuminating a balloon includes a housing for sealing insertion into a neck of a balloon. A flow path within the housing conducts an inflation gas from an inlet to an outlet of the housing, and a flow control system disposed in the flow path allows the inflation gas to flow from the inlet to the outlet. The apparatus includes a light source mounted in conjunction with the housing and a power source disposed within the housing providing power for the light source. A switch mounted in conjunction with the housing is operable to selectively connect the power source to the light source by completing a circuit between the power source and the light source. The apparatus also includes a switch activating member annularly disposable around the housing to operate the switch.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of accessory lights for illuminating balloons.
2. Description of the Background Art
It has been proposed to use a light to illuminate balloons from the inside. Internally illuminated balloons are attractive and therefore desired by adults and children. Illuminated balloons have been used as novelty items at fairs and circuses to arrangements placed outside during evening events.

Device and method for sealing and lighting a balloon


During the bending of sheet metal sections (1, 2) in particular for forming can edges using a bending machine, the sheet metal is pre-treated at a flexing station (50) before reaching the bending station. The contact position (x, y, y′) of a sheet on a measuring plate (38) is measured and the signal representing the contact position is reproduced on a display (25), enabling the operator to adjust at least one element (7, 8, 9, 20) of the flexing station in accordance with the deviation of the actual contact position from the target contact position, either manually or by means of a drive. The signal can also be used to automatically adjust at least one element of the flexing station.

The invention is related to a method for adjusting a flexer station for the pre-treatment of metal sheets before their rounding, wherein inside of the flexer station a target impact position of the metal sheet on a measurement plate serves as a reference for the adjustment of at least an adjustable element of the flexer station. Furthermore, the invention is related to a use of the method for welding can bodies. Furthermore, the invention is related to a flexer station with at least an adjustable flexer element. Furthermore, the invention is related to a rounding apparatus with such a flexer station and a welding device for manufacturing can bodies with such a rounding apparatus.

Method and device for adjusting a flexer station during the rounding of metal sheets


The subject of the present invention is a process for preparing acrolein by dehydration of glycerol in the presence of a catalyst system comprising oxygen, phosphorus and at least one metal chosen from vanadium, boron or aluminium. The process is preferably carried out in the gas phase in the presence of oxygen starting from aqueous solutions of glycerol.

Fossil resources, such as oil cuts, for the chemical industry will be exhausted in a few decades. Resources of natural and renewable origin such as alternative raw materials are consequently being studied more and more.
Acrolein is a key intermediate for the synthesis of methionine, a synthetic protein used as an animal feed supplement, which has emerged as a substitute for fishmeal. Acrolein is also a non-isolated synthetic intermediate of acrylic acid, for which the importance of its applications and its derivatives is known. Acrolein also leads, via reaction with methyl vinyl ether then hydrolysis, to glutaraldehyde, which has many uses in leather tanning, as a biocide in oil well drilling and during the treatment of cutting oils, and as a chemical sterilising agent and disinfectant for hospital equipment.
Acrolein is produced industrially by oxidation, in the gas phase, of propylene via the oxygen in the air in the presence of catalyst systems based on mixed oxides. Glycerol, derived from plant oils in the production of biodiesel fuels is one of the routes envisaged as a substitute for propylene, glycerol being able to be subjected to a catalytic dehydration reaction in order to produce acrolein. Such a process makes it possible to thus respond to the concept of green chemistry within a more general context of protecting the environment.
Numerous catalyst systems have already been the subject of studies for the dehydration reaction of glycerol to acrolein.
A process is known from Patent FR 695 931 for preparing acrolein from glycerol according to which acid salts having at least three acid functional groups or mixtures of these salts are used as catalysts. The preparation of these catalysts consists in impregnating, for example with iron phosphate, pumice that has been reduced to pea-sized fragments. According to the teaching of the patent, the yield obtained with this type of catalyst is greater than 80%.
In U.S. Pat. No. 2,558,520, the dehydration reaction is carried out in gas/liquid phase in the presence of diatomaceous earths impregnated with phosphoric acid salts, in suspension in an aromatic solvent. A degree of conversion of glycerol to acrolein of 72.3% is obtained under these conditions.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,387,720 describes a process for producing acrolein by dehydration of glycerol, in liquid phase or in gas phase, at a temperature ranging up to 340° C., over solid acid catalysts that are defined by their Hammett acidity. The catalysts must have a Hammett acidity below +2 and preferably below −3. These catalysts correspond, for example, to natural or synthetic siliceous materials such as mordenite, montmorillonite or acidic zeolites; supports, such as oxides or siliceous materials, for example alumina (Al2O3) or titanium oxide (TiO2) covered by monobasic, dibasic or tribasic inorganic acids; oxides or mixed oxides such as gamma-alumina, ZnO/Al2O3 mixed oxide, or else heteropolyacids. The use of these catalysts will make it possible to solve the problem of formation of secondary products generated with the iron phosphate type catalysts described in the aforementioned document FR 695 931.
According to Application WO 2006/087084, the strongly acidic solid catalysts for which the Hammett acidity H0 is between −9 and −18, have a strong catalytic activity for the dehydration reaction of glycerol to acrolein and are deactivated less quickly.
EP 2 006 273 discloses a process for production of acrolein from glycerol using aluminium phosphates with different aluminium to phosphorous ratios; the presence of an supplemental element in the structure of these catalysts is not contemplated.
Alumina impregnated by phosphoric acid are already known by FR 2 882 052 for the reaction of dehydration of glycerol, but rapid deactivation is observed for these catalysts.
However, the catalysts recommended in the prior art for producing acrolein from glycerol generally lead to formation of by-products such as hydroxypropanone, propanaldehyde, acetaldehyde, acetone, addition products of acrolein to glycerol, polycondensation products of glycerol, cyclic glycerol ethers, but also phenol and polyaromatic compounds that originate from the formation of coke on the catalyst and therefore from its deactivation. The presence of by-products in acrolein, especially propanaldehyde or propionic acid, poses numerous problems for the separation of acrolein and requires separation and purification steps that result in high costs for the recovery of purified acrolein. Furthermore, when acrolein is used for producing acrylic acid, the propanaldehyde present may be oxidized to propionic acid which is difficult to separate from acrylic acid, especially by distillation. These impurities that are present greatly reduce the field of application of the acrolein produced by dehydration of glycerol.
The Applicant Company has therefore sought to improve the production of acrolein from glycerol using more selective catalysts that make it possible to obtain high yields of acrolein and that have an activity over long periods.
In the field of catalysts, the use of catalyst systems based on iron phosphate has been widely described, these catalysts being particularly suitable for the oxydehydrogenation of saturated carboxylic acids to unsaturated carboxylic acids, in particular the conversion of isobutyric acid to methacrylic acid (FR 2,514,756; FR 2,497,795; FR 245,604; U.S. Pat. No. 4,364,856; FR 2,657,792; FR 2,498,475), or for the oxydehydrogenation of saturated aldehydes to unsaturated aldehydes and more specifically for the production of methacrolein from isobutaraldehyde (U.S. Pat. No. 4,381,411).
Mixed vanadium-phosphorus oxides are well known as catalysts for the selective oxidation of butane to maleic anhydride. The P/V atomic ratio of the active structure of these catalysts is generally between 1.2 and 2.0. Catalysts based on phosphorus and on vanadium with a P/V ratio between 1.0 and 1.2 have been found to be very effective, moreover, for the selective oxidation of butane to maleic anhydride (Bull. Chem. Soc. Jpn, 58, 2163-2171 (1985)).
The structure and the role of phosphorus in mixed V/P catalysts and also the reaction mechanisms used have been the subject of numerous studies. Among the active phases, mention may be made of VOHPO4.0.5H2O; VOPO4; VOPO4.2H2O; (VO)2P2O7; VO(H2PO4)2; VO(PO3)2. Various modes for preparing these catalysts may be used, among which mention may be made of:                a first mode consists in preparing a precursor, generally from vanadium oxide V2O5 and an acid solution such as, for example, oxalic acid, ammonium hydrogen phosphate or phosphoric acid. A precipitate is formed, which is then filtered, washed and dried. These precursors are then calcined under oxygen, nitrogen or air at a temperature generally between 450° C. and 600° C. (Okuhara et al., Bull. Chem. Soc. Jpn, 58, 2163-2171 (1985));        a second preparation mode is based on the preparation of the precursor VOHPO4.0.5H2O, then its thermal conversion to a vanadium pyrophosphate (VO)2P2O7 active phase (E. Bordes et al., Journal of Solid State Chemistry 55, 270-279 (1984); J. Johnson et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc. (1984), 106, 8123-8128); Busca et al., Journal of Catalysis, 99, 400-414 (1986));        a third preparation mode, which has been widely studied, is based on the preparation of the precursor VOPO4.2H2O, then its reduction with a primary or secondary alcohol such as, for example, 1-butanol, 2-butanol, isobutanol, pentanol, 2-pentanol, 1-, 2- or 3-hexanol, 1-, 2- or 3-heptanol, 1-, 2- or 3-octanol, nonanol, decanol, etc. (Hutchings et al., Catalysis Today, 33, (1997), 161-171); J. Chem. Soc. Chem. Commun. 1994, 1093-1094; J. Chem. Soc. Faraday Trans. 1996, 92(1), 137-142; Chemistry letters 2001, 184-485; Chem. Mater 2002, 14, 3882-3888).
The catalytic activity of these various phases has been studied in the oxidation reactions of butane, of butene or of butadiene to maleic anhydride (G. Centi New developments in Selective Oxidation, 1990, Elsevier Science Publishers, B.V. Amsterdam, 605-615).
Other applications have also been found for mixed vanadium/phosphate oxides such as the ammoxidation of propane (G. Centi et al., J. Catal; 142 (1993), 70), the oxidation of pentane to phthalic anhydride (G. Centi et al., Sci. Technol. 1 (1995) 225). But these catalysts, just like other mixed oxides such as boron/phosphate or aluminium/phosphate, have never been the subject of studies for the dehydration reaction of glycerol to acrolein.
The Applicant Company has now found that systems based on a mixed oxide of phosphorus and on at least one metal chosen from vanadium, boron or aluminium have a high-performance catalytic activity for the dehydration of glycerol to acrolein while overcoming the drawbacks of the existing catalysts for this reaction.

Process for manufacturing acrolein from glycerol


A telescoping cylinder has a cylindrical housing (A) carrying a first stage including a central piston (B) opening into a hollow piston rod (C) and at least one succeeding stage including a concentric piston (E) and piston rod (F) having a hollow interior containing the central piston and piston rod with an air opening (H) in the concentric piston rod opening into an air outlet (G) at an exit end of the cylindrical wall. By applying compressed air to the central piston, the first stage is extended initiating movement of the concentric piston and piston rod with extension of the concentric piston and piston rod thereafter followed by extension of any succeeding stage. By applying compressed air to the outlet (G) the concentric piston (E) and piston rod (F) is retracted initiating movement of the central piston and piston rod when the air opening (H) in concentric piston rod (F) is aligned with port (G).

This invention relates to pneumatic telescoping cylinders and method and more particularly to a compact apparatus which is of simple construction and inexpensive and easy to manufacture and use in a variety of ways.
Prior art pneumatic actuators include the disclosure of U.S. Pat. No. 4,525,999 wherein an internal gas generator is contained in an innermost tube of the telescoping cylinder. The tubes are automatically locked in position when fully extended. Other patents illustrating the state of the art include U.S. Pat. Nos. 501,426; 2,933,070; 3,128,674; 3,136,221; 3,259,027; 3,279,755; 3,934,423; 3,973,468; 4,516,468; 4,541,325; 4,567,811; and 4,726,281.
It will be observed from the above patents that telescoping cylinders have generally been hydraulically operated because of the complexity and cost involved in the production of air operated telescoping cylinders. Prior pneumatic and hydraulic telescoping cylinders have required enclosure of the exit ports when extended, and this limits the capacity to miniaturize or minimize the length of the telescoping cylinders when in retracted position, as well as limiting the number of stages and a stroke of each stage.

Pneumatic telescoping cylinder and method


A hinge, in particular for furniture doors, of the type in which a wing is designed to be fitted to a base secured to the piece of furniture, comprises an intermediate element for connecting the wing to the base having a substantially U-shaped transverse configuration to determine two rigid sides which laterally embrace the base.. The intermediate element is provided with fastening means for securing it to the wing, and unfastenable means connecting it to the base comprising members yieldingly fitted onto the intermediate element in two portions spaced apart from each other in the longitudinal direction of the wing. The yielding members are elastically biased to move into a position in which they engage with complementary housings in the base in order to couple the intermediate element to the latter, the movement of approach between the base and the wing for the coupling being amply indeterminate.

This invention relates to improved furniture hinges of the type composed of two individually securable portions; the first on the door carrying the articulated joint of the hinge, ending in a free wing; the second, composed of a base secured to the piece of furniture. The two portions being connectable to each other, once secured in place, by means of suitable coupling means.
In the known technique these coupling means are made in the form of screw couplings, which consequently require tools for securing them, or are made with snap-on couplings to achieve a more rapid connection.
Even though the snap-on coupling is a solution to the problem of achieving rapid coupling and uncoupling of the parts, in the embodiments of known technique applying such solutions in order to achieve the coupling it is necessary to follow well-defined procedures to fit the parts together, and the fitter is consequently obliged to acquire a certain amount of manual dexterity in order to carry out the fitting rapidly. Moreover, the fact of having to carry out very precise combined rotational and translational movements with the door makes it necessary, in the event of more that one hinge on the same door, to simultaneously couple all the parts of them, because if one or two hinges were to be secured in place it would obviously then be impossible to carry out the movements necessary for coupling the remaining hinges.
This makes it very difficult to fit doors of very large dimensions and/or with a large number of hinges.
The scope of this invention is to obviate the aforementioned problems by providing a hinge of the type composed of two separate parts, to be secured to a door and to the corresponding rabbet of the piece of furniture, which can be quickly coupled without the need for tools and with which it is possible to couple one hinge at a time even in the event of a plurality of hinges on the door using completely indeterminate fitting movements.
A further object of this invention is also to offer the possibility of crosswise adjustment of the position of the installed hinge.


A variable-impedance electro acoustic transducer having multiple voice coils is disclosed. In one implementation, the loudspeaker includes a coil former around which three coils are wound, and a switch in communication with two of the coils such that when the switch is in a first position the loudspeaker has a first net impedance value, and when the switch is in a second position the loudspeaker has a second net impedance value. The impedance can be optimized to provide a driver with unique characteristics in each mode, including, but not limited to ideal amplifier drive impedances, similar or differing driver efficiencies, and varying bass performance in each mode.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to the field of loudspeakers. In particular, the invention relates to a variable impedance multiple voice-coil electromagnetic loudspeaker.
2. Related Art
A loudspeaker typically includes a frame, a motor system that provides a magnetic field across an air gap, a voice-coil, a former for supporting the voice-coil in the air gap, a diaphragm having an outer perimeter and an apex, and a surround coupled to the outer perimeter and the frame to support the outer perimeter from the frame. The voice-coil, supported by the former, is coupled to the apex of the diaphragm so that the current that flows through the voice-coil and causes the voice-coil to move in the air gap also causes the diaphragm to move.
The motor system functions as an electro acoustic transducer (also referred to as simply a transducer or loudspeaker). The motor system typically includes a magnet (typically a permanent magnet) and associated ferromagnetic components—such as pole pieces, plates, rings, and the like—arranged with cylindrical or annular symmetry about a central axis. However, any device that creates a static magnetic field may be used, including field coil motors with no permanent magnets. Moreover, other arrangements may be used, such as square, race track or other asymmetric configurations.
Taking the annular configuration as a typical example, the motor system establishes a magnetic circuit in which most of the magnetic flux is directed into an annular (circular or ring-shaped) air gap ("magnetic gap" or "magnetic field"), with the lines of magnetic flux having a significant radial component relative to the axis of symmetry. The voice coil typically is formed by an electrically conductive wire cylindrically wound for a number of turns around a coil former. The coil former and the attached voice coil are inserted into the magnetic gap of the motor system such that the voice coil is exposed to the static (fixed-polarity) magnetic field established by the motor system. The voice coil may be connected to an audio amplifier or other source of electrical signals that are to be converted into sound waves. A rigid loudspeaker diaphragm (often called a cone due to the typical shape) is suspended by one or more supporting but compliant elements of the loudspeaker, e.g., a surround, spider, or the like, such that the flexible portion permits the rigid diaphragm to move. The diaphragm is mechanically referenced to the voice coil, typically by being connected directly to the coil former on which the voice coil is supported.
In operation, electrical signals are transmitted as an alternating current (AC) through the voice coil in a direction substantially perpendicular to the direction of the lines of magnetic flux produced by the magnet. The alternating current produces a dynamic magnetic field, the polarity of which flips in accordance with the alternating waveform of the signals fed through the voice coil. Due to the Lorenz force acting on the coil material positioned in the permanent magnetic field, the alternating current corresponding to electrical signals conveying audio signals actuates the voice coil to reciprocate back and forth in the air gap and, correspondingly, move the diaphragm to which the coil (or coil former) is attached. Accordingly, the reciprocating voice coil actuates the diaphragm to likewise reciprocate and, consequently, produce acoustic signals that propagate as sound waves through a suitable fluid medium such as air. Pressure differences in the fluid medium associated with these waves are interpreted by a listener as sound. The sound waves may be characterized by their instantaneous spectrum and level, and are a function of the characteristics of the electrical signals supplied to the voice coil.
A loudspeaker transducer is associated with a nominal impedance. The electro-acoustic characteristics of the transducer depend on its net or nominal impedance. In some settings, it may be desirable to vary the nominal impedance of the loudspeaker. Currently commercially available dual voice coil ("DVC") loudspeakers may be configured to allow a user to switch between one of two different loads: (1) between a 2-ohm and 8-ohm load or (2) between a 1-ohm and 4-ohm load. However, with these currently available switchable dual voice coil loudspeakers, it is generally only practical to use one of the two available impedance values. With a switchable 2-ohm/8-ohmloudspeaker, 8 ohms is rarely used due to its low output sensitivity. With a switchable 1-ohm/4-ohmloudspeaker, the 1-ohm load is also rarely used because it creates current delivery problems for many amplifiers. Moreover, the respective loudspeaker configurations will not have the same electrical parameters, such as electromotive force (BL2/Rc).
Alternatively, a loudspeaker system may be installed such that the loudspeakers themselves are configured either in parallel or in series, depending on the desired load. However, installation of such a system according to the required specifications for a particular setup is generally complex and can result in mistakes or complications. Thus, it is desirable to provide a simplified loudspeaker installation procedure that will allow for flexibility in impedances, will result in fewer mistakes and miscalculations in installation, and will operate under the same electrical parameters regardless of the impedance value of the load.

Variable impedance voice coil loudspeaker

Harman International Industries, Incorporated


An image processing apparatus includes the following elements. An image storing section stores a plurality of images related to time information. A feature extracting section extracts feature amounts of each image stored in the image storing section. An image selecting section that selects at least one of images included in each overlap portion set of several or all of the images, stored in the image storing section, on the basis of the feature amounts associated with the respective images included in the overlap portion set, the overlap portion set including overlap portions of several or all of the images overlapping with respect to shooting time. A digest-image generating section generates a digest image of the images stored in the image storing section on the basis of the selected images.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to image processing apparatuses and, in particular, to an image processing apparatus capable of editing image content, a method for image processing for the image processing apparatus, and a program that allows a computer to execute the method.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, digital video cameras have spread. Accordingly, shooting an event, such as a wedding ceremony or reception, with a digital video camera by a guest invited to participate in the wedding reception have been popular. In an event, such as a wedding reception, where a lot of guests gather, many guests often shoot the same scene (e.g., a wedding-cake cutting scene). Accordingly, the same scene in one event may be captured as a plurality of moving images. Those captured moving images can be played on a display of a personal computer in, for example, a home.
For example, it is assumed that a moving image obtained with relatively long shooting time is played. When the whole of the moving image is played from the beginning, playback time lengthens. Unfortunately, viewer's interest in the moving image which is being played may diminish with the passage of the playback time. According to an approach to preventing the diminishment of the interest, the viewer may retrieve desired portions from the obtained moving image and the desired portions may be played sequentially. In this case, however, playback needs retrieval time. Furthermore, retrieval operation may often be complicated. Disadvantageously, the viewer's interest in the obtained moving image may diminish.
According to a proposed technique, before playback of a moving image, thumbnail images corresponding to respective portions of the moving image are generated and the moving image is played from a desired recording position using the generated thumbnail images. For example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 11-289517 discloses a reproducing apparatus for generating a plurality of thumbnail images indicating respective scenes of a moving image recorded on a recording medium, displaying those thumbnail images so that a desired thumbnail image is selected from the displayed thumbnail images, and starting playback of the moving image from the beginning of the scene corresponding to the selected thumbnail image.

Image processing apparatus and method and program


A photographic printing machine for copying originals on sheet-like copy material having a storage reservoir for the copy material, and a feed mechanism which transports the copy material from the storage reservoir to an imaging unit in which the originals are copied onto the sheet-like copy material. The storage reservoir has numerous cassettes, the cassette openings of which are positioned side by side along a direction perpendicular to the transport direction of the copy material. The feed mechanism has a carriage that can move along the direction perpendicular to the transport direction of the copy material, for transporting the copy material from the respective cassette opening to the imaging unit.

The present invention relates to a photographic printing machine for imaging originals, such as photographic positives or negatives, onto copy material such as photographic paper, the photographic printing machine having a copy material storage reservoir and a feed mechanism for transporting the copy material from the storage reservoir to an imaging unit in which the originals are imaged on sheet-like copy material.
Today, photographic printing machines of various designs for copying originals are used especially in photography laboratories where the originals are usually either positive or negative films and the copy material is photographic paper. In typical photographic printing machines, long rolls of paper are used. However, it is desirable to be able to make copies on individual sheets of photographic paper. In particular, one could mention in this regard the enlargement of individual negatives or positives, which customers increasingly request.
Presently, in order to make such copies, a single cassette stores the photographic paper and a feed mechanism transports the photographic paper to the imaging unit where the copying of the original (e.g., a negative) onto the paper take place. As a result, all units (storage reservoir, feed mechanism, imaging unit) can be stationarily located in a fixed position of the photographic printing machine. But with this approach it is only possible to make copies on paper with a single width and on a single kind of paper. Should a wider or narrower piece of paper or even a different kind of paper (e.g., a kind of paper that is coated with a different emulsion) be used, the machine operations have to be interrupted and the cassette located in the machine has to be replaced with a cassette containing the desired paper. Alternately, numerous customer orders requiring the same kind of paper have to be batched and the copying on different paper widths has to be performed in a number of subsequent steps. But this can often result in incorrect processing of customer orders (e.g., some pictures are forgotten, etc.). Given the wide variety of customer requests just with respect to the different dimensions of the desired copies, photographic printing machine operations have to be interrupted quite often, and a cassette with the desired paper width has to be inserted into the machine in order to be able to produce the correct copies with the desired dimensions. This significantly detracts from the efficiency of such a machine.
Another machine is known from DE-A-39 43 160. In the machine described therein, paper having different formats is available, but in the form of stacks of individual sheets. With the aid of adjustable carriages alongside the paper stack, one sheet of the desired paper size is removed from the appropriate stack and fed for further processing. Once a sheet is removed from the stack, the stack is thinner than before so that the relative position of the top-most sheet has to be re-scanned so that the carriage will stop at the fight position. As a result, the machine re, quires constant detection of the position of the top-most sheet of each paper stack--and, at a minimum, new scanning must occur whenever a sheet is removed from a respective stack. But such detection of the position of the top-most sheet of each stack is associated with comparatively complicated technical requirements (scanners, control electronics and so forth).

Photographic printing machine for copying originals on sheet-like copy material


An electronic postal scale displays operator prompt messages and generates reports in more than one language. The language to be used in selectable by the operator of the scale. In a preferred embodiment there are two languages, English and French.

Electronic postal/shipping scales (hereinafter "postal scales") are known. Prior art postal scales are described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,718,506 to Hills and copending patent application Ser. No. 139,881, both of which are assigned to the assignee of this application and the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.
Many postal scales have an alphanumeric display for presenting weight and postal rate information and operator prompt messages. One such display is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,135,662 to Dlugos, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. The prompt messages serve to alert the user that input is required or that an error has occurred.
It is also common for such scales to include a microprocessor and an interface for driving a report printer. Reports generated by the scale usually are in the form of a report heading followed by columns of information, each column beginning with a column heading. A typical report might list all shipping transactions processed by the scale during a period of time. The scale and printer may also be used as a manifest system, like that described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,763,271, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. A manifest is a list of parcels consigned to a carrier for delivery, and includes for each parcel an identification number and the shipping charge. The total charge for the entire group of parcels is also stated.
Prior art postal scales display operator prompt messages and print reports in one language only. In the United States, of course, that language is English. However, in some parts of this country a large part of the population is more versed in another language, e.g. Spanish. Further, in some foreign countries there is more than one official language. In Canada, for example, both French and English are official languages, and use of either or both languages is frequently encouraged or required. Thus, some parcel carriers may require that manifests be printed in English while others require French language manifests. It is also to be noted that a single postal scale often is used by several different people, not all of whom may wish to receive prompt messages or to print reports in the same language.
It is accordingly an object of this invention to provide a postal scale which is suitable for use by poly-lingual groups of users.

Electronic postal scale with multilingual operator prompts and report headings


A reverse data transmission apparatus and method in a mobile communication system. A mobile station receives information about an MADR (Maximum Allowable Data Rate) from a base station in a first predetermined frame period, determines a data rate equal to or lower than the MADR, and requests the determined data rate to the base station. If an MADR received from the base station in a second frame period following the first frame period is higher than the requested data rate, the mobile station starts data transmission. Then, the mobile station measures a traffic to pilot ratio (T/P) from the base station and controls the data rate according to the T/P during data transmission.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to data transmission in a mobile communication system, and in particular, to an apparatus and method for transmitting reverse data from an MS (Mobile Station) to a BS (Base Station).
2. Description of the Related Art
A typical mobile communication system such as CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) supports only voice service. Due to the rapid development of mobile communication technology and the growing user demands, the traditional mobile communication system has been evolved to additionally provide data service. The major examples are 1xEV-DO (1st generation Evolution-Data Only) and 1xEV-DV (1st generation Evolution-Data and Voice) developed from CDMA 2000 1x systems. Those systems aim at efficient packet data transmission using the CDMA technology of high rate data transmission. Thus appropriate scheduling is very significant in the systems.
On the forward link, a BS transmits data to only an MS at the best channel condition, taking into account the air status and other environmental conditions, thereby maximizing the data transmission throughput of the MS in the mobile communication systems. On the reverse link, a plurality of mobile stations access the BS simultaneously to transmit packet data. Therefore the BS must appropriately control the reverse data flow and congestion, thus controlling overload within the capacities of the MSs.
The 1x EV-DO system, however, has limitations in effective control of the reverse link because it controls the reverse link via a common channel. Moreover, 1x EV-DV systems under discussion are yet to be defined specifically, not to speak of their reverse link operation. While 1x EV-DV has been discussed in relation to data rate control, the data rate control simply addresses a control of bandwidth and overload without considering the statuses of mobile stations. Consequently, such a uniform control across the MSs results in serious reverse bandwidth consumption and a decrease of reverse data transmission throughput.

Reverse data transmission apparatus and method in a mobile communication system


A system for simply and effectively introducing transponders into human or animal recipients is disclosed. A transponder, such as a microchip, is coated with a degradable coating and shaped so that is may be pushed through the recipient's skin. An insertion tool is used as indicated by the type of recipient. The tool receives the transponder, protects the transponder while it is pushed into the skin, and releases the transponder when rotated.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to human and animal location, identification, and retrieval systems, and particularly to systems of transponder insertion.
2. Background
Transponders implanted within a human or animal recipient have many uses. For instance, transponders are useful for tracking and monitoring animals and for managing recipient information. For instance, the position and identity of animals may be tracked with an implanted transponder. Convenient, inexpensive, sterile, and efficient implantation techniques, however, are needed. Such techniques, for instance, can include surgical procedures or syringe-based injection.
The present invention sets forth a system for simple and effective introduction of a transponder into a recipient. In some embodiments the system requires use of an insertion tool. The tool has a recessed opening with a shape configured for use with the transponder unit described herein, and is used in combination with a rotational step.