The present invention relates to a method, apparatus and a system of fast diagnosis of stresses and diseases in higher plants. The proposed methodology is based on the hypothesis of that when a plant is in imbalance; there are changes in its metabolism that render an alteration of the chemical composition of its organs. This chemical alteration leads to a change in the physical properties, such as the fluorescence of the leaves. Due to the complexity of the material of the leaves, the present method proposes that the signal be treated with statistical methods and that the classification is made through softwares based on machine learning. As an example of the application of the invention, the results are shown for the Greening disease in citrus. Currently, Greening is the most severe citrus disease since there is no treatment available for it and due to its high dissemination rate and the fact that it affects all varieties of orange trees, being the diagnosis performed through visual inspection, which renders high subjectivity, high error percentage and the disease is only diagnosed after the expression of the symptoms (˜8 months). During the asymptomatic phase, the infected tree is a source of dissemination of the disease. The present invention can perform the asymptomatic diagnosis of Greening disease from the leaf with a percentage of correct diagnosis higher than 80%.

Brazil, since the beginning of the '90s, stays as the major world producer of orange, being responsible for 80% of the international trade of concentrated and frozen orange juice. In order to obtain this production, estimated in US$900 million, about US$410 million of input is spent, leading to approximately US$1.5 billion in transactions involving the marketing of citrus products, such as juices and fresh fruit (FNP Consultoria & Comércio, 2008. Available at <http://www.fnp.com.br/agricultura/citros/prod_area_laranja.php> Access in Sep. 23, 2008). The second major producer is the United States, followed by Mexico, China and Spain. Spain and the United States are the main exporters of fresh fruit, which corresponds, respectively, to 38 and 18% of the world exports (BOTEON, M.; VIDAL, A. J. Citricultura no Brasil e na Flórida. Citricultura Atual, n. 23, p. 3, 2001).
The state of São Paulo (Brazil) has around 34.2 million of plants under development and 163.5 million citric plants in production, reflecting more than 80% of the national production of citric fruits. Currently, it is responsible for 97% of the Brazilian exports, being the grand dynamic core of the Brazilian citrus complex. This market is responsible for approximately US$1.5 billion of currency for the country, state and cities and employs 400 thousand people. The citrus park of São Paulo together with a region in Minas Gerais known as "Triângulo Mineiro" presents 198 million trees. The harvest of oranges is performed throughout the year due to the composition of the varieties such as "Hamlin", "Lima", "Pêra", "Seleta", "Bahia", "Natal", "Valência" and "Folha Murcha". Among these, some are appropriate for the production of juice, such as "Pêra", which represents 38% of the total of the trees, followed by "Valência", "Natal" and "Hamlin", with respectively 17, 25 and 7% (BARROS, M. H. C.; BOTEON, M. O Brasil é o único país paie produz o ano inteiro. Hortifruti Brasil, v. 3, p. 21, 2002.).
With the advance of the technology in the field, the plants started to be multiplied by grafting, which rendered great advantages regarding the precocity and uniformity of the orchards. However, at the same time it reduced the variability, making the culture a constant target to several pests and diseases which, when facing favorable conditions to their development, are capable of causing irreversible damage. The phytosanitary costs, along with the fertilizers, are higher than 60% of the cost of production. The quality and the quantity of the citric fruits are frequently threatened due to the damage left in the plants, which, depending on the intensity of the attack, can make it unproductive or lead to its eradication.
In the middle of 2004 a new disease was reported in the orchards from São Paulo. A devastating disease without cure originated from Asia and Africa. Huanglongbing (HLB), also known as Greening, is currently the most feared disease among the orange producers due to the fact that it does not possess cure or treatment, since it has a high rate of dissemination and affects all the commercial varieties of oranges. The most efficient solution until this moment in order to minimize the losses is the eradication of the plants as soon as a positive diagnosis for the disease is confirmed.
The Greening disease has as causing agent a bacterium that lives in the phloem of the host plant, being known as Candidatus Liberibacter. There are three types of bacteria related to Greening, Candidatus Liberibacter africanus, Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus and Candidatus Liberibacter americanus, being the latter the main causing agent in the state of Sâo Paulo. The symptoms of Greening are visually the same, disregarding where the disease occurs. Initially, the symptoms appear in the branches, which are evident due to the yellow coloration contrasting with the green coloration of the leaves from the non affected branches. The leaves present pale yellow coloration, with green sectors, rendering irregular and asymmetric spots (mottled). The fruit becomes deformed and asymmetric. The white part of the peel, in some cases, presents thickness higher than normal. The reduction in the size of the fruit and intense fall also occur.
Due to the lack of a cure, the Greening disease is, currently, the most feared diseases in the culture of citrus. It was already responsible for the eradication of more than 2 million citrus trees and the great majority of them were in the season of higher productivity.
In particular, the culture of citrus of the state of São Paulo presents some peculiar characteristics that lead to a high vulnerability of the culture to the occurrence of epidemics of known diseases such as Decline disease, and of new diseases, such as the Citrus Sudden Death (CSD) and Greening disease, rendering important consequences to the sustainability of the agribusiness:                1) The orchards of citrus of the state of São Paulo occupy a nearly continuous area of approximately 615,300 ha (FNP. Citrus. AGRIANUAL 2003: anuário da agricultura brasileira. FNP consultoria & agroinformativos, São Paulo, p. 295-314, 2003.), without great variations of relief or physical barriers and with high traffic of people between them;        2) The citric plants are perennial and, therefore, are exposed throughout the year and for several years to the attack of pests and diseases. Besides that, the emission of new shoots can be observed during a great part of the year, which confers a continuity of susceptible tissue and of inocule between the cultivation seasons;        3) The orchards of the state of São Paulo present a very low genetic variability. Only four varieties of sweet orange (Citrus sinensis Osbeck): 'Pêra-Rio', 'Natal', 'Valencia' and 'Hamlin', propagated vegetatively through grafting, represent 92% of the Brazilian citrus culture. The rootstock used in approximately 85% of the trees is the 'Cravo' lime (C. limonia Osbeck) due to its rusticity, vigor conferred to the canopy and resistance to the hydric deficiency of the north and northwest of the state.
Currently, there are some diagnosis methods for Greening disease. The most common diagnosis is performed through the visual inspection of leaves presenting the symptoms of the disease. The control of the Greening disease in the state of São Paulo and in the "Triângulo Mineiro" has been achieved through periodic visual inspections performed by technicians of the Fundecitrus or people trained by them. This method has as its characteristics a high rate of subjectivity and a high percentage of error, besides the fact that the disease is only diagnosed after the expression of the symptoms, which is, after a long period of asymptomatic phase of the tree (approximately 8 months). During the asymptomatic phase of the disease, the infected tree is an invisible source of dissemination of the disease leading to a very large delay in the eradication of the tree. However, after the visualization of the symptoms, the uprooting is the only current matter of control of the disease.
The document JP2006267092-A described a detection kit for Greening disease in early stages, based on the recognition of the drop in the manganese and iron concentrations in the tissues of the infected tree. The detection procedure includes the obtaining of a water soluble extract of plant material containing a buffer system, followed by analysis of absorption spectrophotometry. The disease determination, however, is unspecific, since the low manganese and iron concentrations in a plant can be due to several physiological causes, including deficiency of these minerals in the plant nutrition. In an analogous manner, the document JP2004264101-A claims the detection of the Greening disease in plant extracts via the analysis of the starch concentration through the iodine reaction, thus presenting, the same disadvantage in the physiological unspecificity of the deficiency.
A method described in the document WO2007021485-A2 promises the detection of Greening causing bacteria, among the detection of several other pathogens and chemical contaminants from plants and animals, using the Raman Effect of applied polarized radiation scattering. However, the detection is conditioned to aqueous samples that are submitted to a complex treatment that includes drying over colloidal metallic surface, followed by contact with ultra filtering membrane.
The Apta Citrus, affiliated to the Instituto Agronômico de Campinas (IAC), is the only center of the state of São Paulo to provide technical reports for the diagnosis of Greening disease. This report is based in a technique called PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction), which consists in the genetic analysis of the leaves in search for the DNA of the Greening causing bacteria. However, the detection of the bacteria DNA is only possible in symptomatic leaves (mottled), and even then, it can fail in 10% of the cases. For the diagnosis in asymptomatic leaves (without visible signs of the disease), the IAC uses a more complex variation of the technique called real time PCR, which its sensitivity is at least 1000 times higher than the conventional technique. However, in function of its complexity, the real time PCR has not been used in routine exams, only for scientific work. Even though the PCR technique is highly efficient, it is costly and laborious (BOVÉ, J. M. History, etiology, field identification, transmission, and world distribution of huanglongbing: a destructive, newly-emerging, century-old disease of citrus. Huanglongbing Greening International Workshop, v. 1, p. 1, 2006) The cost of the analysis per sample, using the conventional PCR, is around US$25.00 and a report can take around 20 days. The use of PCR in large scale is economically unviable; besides the fact that it produces an infestation mapping that is very temporally delayed. On the other hand, the document CN1824802-A claims the detection of the asymptomatic trees in only 3 h after the sampling, but it is restricted to the detection caused by the bacteria Candidatus Liberobacter asiaticum Jagoueix and to the citrus of the mandarin type.
It is in this moment that the fluorescence becomes a relatively simple and efficient dispositive that can make a difference. The fluorescence is a technique that allows the detection of chemical alterations that occurs in the leaves of plant affected by Greening and by other diseases prior the perception of their visual manifestations.
In the document BR200201249-A, the auto-fluorescence of the leaves, fruits and branches allows the detection of the citric canker in asymptomatic citrus, after the exposition to light sources with short wavelength. However, the technique is limited to the detection of this disease, caused by the bacteria Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. citri.
This invention developed in the Embrapa Instrumentação Agropecuária has as its objective to protect a new diagnosis methodology and apparatus for diagnosing stresses and diseases in higher plants, such as the citrus Greening disease. A work previously performed in the Laboratório de Óptica e Lasers da Embrapa Instrumentação Agropecuária LOLEIA (document PI 05059757-7), demonstrated the possibility of distinction of healthy leaves from sick ones, and also, of distinction of diseases (CSD and Decline) through the ratio of the maximum of the fluorescence emission spectrum using commercial spectrometers. The basic idea of the proposed methodology was the following: when a plant reaches imbalance, being caused by stress or by disease, changes in its metabolism occur that lead to an alteration of the chemical composition of its organs. This chemical change leads to a change in the physical properties, such as, for example, reflectance and fluorescence of the leaves. Based in this hypothesis, it was developed a laboratory study using commercial apparatus, regarding the fluorescence emission of the leaves of healthy and sick citrus leaves. The possibility of distinction of healthy trees, tress with Decline or CSD was observed through the ratio of fluorescence emission peaks, method described in PI 05059757-7.
In the patent application PI 05059757-7, the idea of a portable module that performs spectroscopic measurements in leaves was protected for the diagnosis of citrus sudden death with excitation using bulb, led or laser in the range of 420 to 480 nm. In 2006, the LOLEIA developed a system using laser induced fluorescence spectroscopy (LIFS), similar to the one proposed in the document PI 05059757-7, with a probe constructed with optical fibers and detection system constituted of a set of calibrated photodiodes that permits the obtaining of the emission spectrum of the leaf in an extremely quick manner (˜1 s) and excitation with laser at 470 nm. With this new system, it became possible to analyze a large volume of samples in reduced time. At that time, Greening disease was already considered the most severe disease of the Brazilian citrus sector, and, therefore, the LOLEIA initiated research in order to evaluate the possibility of diagnosis of Greening using fluorescence spectroscopy. With the preliminary results, it could be observed that the best distinction for the Greening disease was observed with other laser with 561 nm wavelength excitation. With the reformulated portable module, a discerning study to evaluate the possibility of the diagnosis of Greening through the leaves was performed. From this study, a new disease diagnosis methodology different from the one of the patent application PI 05059757-7 (for CSD) was resulted. Even though the current methodology uses similar apparatus protected for the CSD, with different excitation wavelength, the system as a whole is totally different and main differences will be discussed below.
In the current system, the ratios of peaks are not used as in the document PI 05059757-7. It was developed a software to collect the fluorescence spectra and to perform an statistical treatment of them (FIGS. 1 and 2) in order to evaluate in the most discerning manner all the emission spectrum to obtain a higher number of information that enables a more precise diagnosis of the diseases.
After being treated by the Principal Component Analysis (PCA) statistical method, agglomerations in tridimensional graphics of the first main components were clearly defined as shown in FIG. 3.
As the system became very sensitive, it also distinguished the variety of the canopy and of the rootstock, reason why another patent application was elaborated with this theme, the "Método e Equipamento para Certificação de Mudas de Citros" (Method and Equipment for Certification of Citrus Seedlings). This way, for each combination of canopy and rootstock, a system calibration process was performed. For each combination of canopy and rootstock, a set of samples containing healthy and sick leaves were used in order to provide information to the system of typical spectra of each class of samples. In general, the following classes were evaluated: healthy samples, sick samples presenting Greening in the symptomatic phase, sick samples presenting Greening in the asymptomatic phase, with CSD and with Decline.
Using tools of machine learning, another software was developed in such way that the calibration database was used in a manner that the system could be capable of measuring a totally unknown leaf and classifying the tree status as healthy or sick, and, if sick, identifying the disease. In the case of Greening disease, it was possible to identify the disease in the symptomatic phase as well as in the asymptomatic phase. This result shows the great potential of the technique for enabling the performance of early diagnosis of the disease.
In the patent of CSD, the spectroscopy analysis was only performed after the obtaining of a map of the orchard through fluorescence images, which performed a distinction of healthy trees from sick ones. In the current patent, the diagnosis is performed using only the fluorescence spectroscopy.
Therefore, different from the patent PI 05059757-7, the apparatus as it was protected per se is not capable of performing an automatic diagnosis. The complete system needs the acquisition software and statistical treatment of the data, calibration database and classifying software. This way, in this patent, the protection of the complete system composed by the apparatus for performance of fluorescence spectroscopy measurements, the acquisition software and statistical treatment of the data, database and classifying software for the performance of the diagnosis of Greening through the citrus leaves is requested.

Method, apparatus and system for diagnosis of stress and disease in higher plants

EMPRESA BRASILEIRA DE PESQUISA AGROPECUARIA—EMBRAPA


Granulator mill granule chamber including at least one non-rotatable blade, rotatable rotor arranged inside the granule chamber, the rotor a number of blades which are arranged for cooperation with the non-rotatable blade, a infeed hopper for feeding waste into the granule chamber, a grid arranged in the granule chamber, where through granulated waste is allowed to pass to an outfeed hopper. A scraping device is provided in a space located axially in between a housing and the rotatable rotor and the scraping device is attached to the housing.

In prior art it is known granulator mills used within the plastics industry for recycling or reuse of plastic waste. During the granulation of the plastic waste, the granulator mill granulate the plastic waste into plastic chips. The smaller chips, the greater probability that the chips wedge into narrow spaces within the granulator mill.
One area, within which granulated plastic chips tend to wedge is in a space extending in an axial direction between a rotatable rotor and the static housing of the granulator mill. In the beginning of the granulator process the plastic waste is too large to get stuck in the axial space when tumbled around inside the granule chamber by means of the rotor. When the granulated waste has been granulated for a while and starts to take the size of the mesh within the grid then there is an increased risk that the chips get stuck in between the static housing and the rotatable rotor. When one or more of chips has got stuck, the harder for the rotor to rotate and the larger friction force is exerted between the rotor and the static housing and this leads to heated plastic chips which may get sticky and thus get stuck between the rotatable rotor and the static housing and deteriorate the function of the granulator mill. Thus, the wedged plastic chips may also restrain the rotary speed of the rotor. Further, the friction force may result in overheating of the granulator mill.
Another drawback when one or more plastic chips wedge between the rotatable rotor and the static housing, is that when the wedged plastic chip is heated, the solid plastic of the chip may melt and transform into disintegrated plastic threads during the rotation of the rotor. These disintegrated plastic threads are equipped with other material properties than the correct granulated chips, and are of this reason not wanted in the final plastic granulate.


An eyewear case has a case-body with an opening at one end. The case has a spring strip which slides along an inside surface of the case-body and operates as a closure to the case as well as an actuator to move a tray within the case-body. The tray supports or holds eyewear, and when the tray is moved upwardly in the case-body, the eyewear becomes accessible through the opening in the case-body. The spring strip has a push-knob fixed to the spring strip and extends through an opening in the case-body.

The present invention relates to a case for eyewear. More specifically, the present invention relates to a case with a built-in cover that opens and closes by actuation of a slide.
At present, there are a great variety of eyewear cases in the market. These cases are often intended to store and protect eyewear such as prescription and non-prescription glasses, and sunglasses. A majority of such cases are composed of a top cover and bottom cover that are held together by elastic tension of, for instance, a spring. If the force holding the two covers together is too small, the case will not close tightly. This may result in the glasses dropping out of the case which may result in damage to fragile and expensive eyewear. If the force holding the two covers together is too large, the case is not easily opened. This problem is especially acute for the presbyopia users, since the glasses could easily be suddenly dislodged and dropped at the moment the case is opened due to the force necessary overcome the elastic tension. In addition, some eyewear cases are fitted with a soft upper-cover, one end of which is fitted onto the case body, and the other end is fixed firmly onto another point of the case-body. These cases also have the shortcoming of inconvenient and/or erratic opening and have an imperfect appearance.
Briefly stated, the invention in a preferred form is an eyewear case with a built-in cover that is simple in structure and easy to open.
More specifically, the eyewear case includes a case-body having an opening at one end through which eyewear may pass. A spring strip is slide-fitted in the inner surface of case-body, and a slide channel opening is present in the wall of the case-body to allow access to the spring strip. A push-knob extends through the slide channel and is fixed onto the spring strip.
A tray is present within the case-body. The tray is configured to provide support for the eyewear, and has an opening that is orientated upward in the direction of the case-body opening. The tray is slide-fitted within the case-body. A magnet is part of and/or fixed to the tray in a position close to the inner wall of the case-body. The spring strip extends along the inner wall of case-body to the opposite inner wall. The spring strip has a magnetic piece on its extending tip. The case-body is provided with slide way in its inner wall, through which the spring strip is slide-fitted in the case body. The length of the spring strip is such that there may be a separating distance between the tray and the spring strip end that corresponds with the length of the channel opening on the case-body.
An object of the invention is to provide an eyewear case which opens in an efficient and reliable manner. Since the reading glasses inside the case will rise in synchronicity to the user""s had activation such that the user can lift up the glasses from the case when desired.


A system and method for improved software servicing by installation of an updated version is provided. Using branch versioning techniques that support multi-branch development and release versioning techniques that support multi-version development, an update package may include updated files for each branch or release version. The least possible version from the update package may be installed to minimize the risk for potential software bugs introduced by the high frequency of changes made to a higher version. Additionally, any fix installed on a target machine running a particular version may be migrated when updating the target machine to a new version without losing the fix and regressing the change. Such an update may be uninstalled by reverse migration of any fixes before uninstalling files from the version update.

Once software has been released for general availability, software bugs are often discovered which were not detected during prior testing. New or updated files that contain fixes to the software bugs, also known as hotfixes, may later be made available to replace some existing files containing the software bugs. Additionally, an existing software feature may be modified subsequent to release, or a new feature may be made available for release. Again, new or updated files that contain the modifications or the new feature may be made available to replace some existing files. These updates to software have traditionally been made by packaging a single copy of each file that needs to be updated on a system. This approach to updating software assumes customary linear file versioning for a single source code base into which file changes are made incrementally.
However, updating software using the approach for customary linear file versioning may fail for a software code base that is subsequently developed in parallel on two or more source code branches. A problem may arise whenever a file that needs to be updated has changed in a way that is incompatible with prior versions due to an intermediate change of that file taken from another source branch. For example, a file named foo.dll may be changed in a service pack that adds a new feature to the software. A new file named bar.dll that is dependent on foo.dll may also be included in the service pack for providing the new feature. This service pack may be applied to update the software on a target machine by replacing foo.dll and adding bar.dll on the target machine with the respective files provided from the source code branch for the service pack. The file foo.dll may also be changed in another source code branch for a hotfix package that corrects a software bug. The hotfix package may then be subsequently applied to update the software on the target machine by replacing foo.dll on the target machine with the file provided from the other source code branch. This may render foo.dll, upon which bar.dll depends, incompatible with the service pack software version. Updating such a file requires a change that is compatible with the prior service pack version and the newer hotfix package version of the file.
Another problem may arise whenever all the files on the system are updated at the same time such as during the intermediate change discussed above. In this case, any previously applied update may be lost. Returning to the example above, the file foo.dll that is replaced by the service pack update may have contained an earlier hotfix for a software bug that was made on yet another source code branch and loaded on the same target machine prior to loading the service pack. The changes that are compatible with the earlier version of the file need to be reapplied to the target machine.
A third problem may arise if the intermediate change is to be completely removed from the target machine. Typically, an uninstall program is used to remove any service pack or hotfix package. In the case of the example discussed above, the intermediate change may not be removed completely if the changes compatible with the earlier version of the file are reapplied to the target machine because the uninstall program will usually remove a file only if it is the version of the file that it installed. The changes compatible with the earlier version of the file, if reapplied, will therefore not be removed, and the file will be incompatible with files on the system after un-installation.
What is needed is a way for updating either selected files or all files of a target machine for updates made in a software code base developed in parallel on one or more branches. Additionally, such a system should allow previously loaded changes to be reapplied to the target machine and subsequent changes to be uninstalled so that the files are compatible after un-installation.

Method and system for servicing software


The invention is a compact drive for a counterweight-assisted winch which can be retrofitted into existing manually operated systems that use counterbalancing weights. The counterbalancing weight will be fixed at a first predetermined percentage of the maximum capacity of the set, preferably about 50%. The winch is rated at a second predetermined percentage of the maximum capacity of the set, preferably about 50%. Together the first and second predetermined percentages sum to at least 100% of the maximum capacity of the set. By using the winch in a closed loop configuration, it will operate the set at any load from 0 to 100% of the set's rated capacity, without the need to adjust the counterbalancing weights. The compact drive system employs two motorized winches positioned along the long axis of two adjacent counterweight rigging systems, each winch engaging a respective chain used to move a counterbalancing weight.

The present invention relates generally to theatrical rigging systems, and more particularly to rigging systems that utilize counterweights to raise and lower the load.
Most existing rigging systems use manually operated rigging sets (or "sets"), which are counterbalanced with weights for ease of operation. When loads (scenery, curtains, lighting equipment, etc.) are changed, the counterbalancing weights must be adjusted to properly balance the load. This normally happens when the load is at floor level and counterbalancing weights are substantially above the floor, making access difficult.
In their most basic form, conventional rigging sets, such as the one illustrated in FIG. 1 and designated generally by reference numeral 10, comprise a locking rail 12 fixed to the floor, a tensioning floor block 14 around which a control line 16 passes, a counterweight arbor 18 the opposing sides to which opposite ends of the control line 16 attach, a head block 20 around which control line 16 passes and which gather lift lines 22 that otherwise extend between arbor 18 and a batten 26 to which the load is attached. To raise and lower batten 26, counterweights must be removed from or added to arbor 18. This requires the rigging operator to manually remove or place weights onto arbor 18 generally at a relatively significant height.
In addition, it is necessary to ensure that a rope lock 28 is engaged to prevent sudden movement of the control line and counterweights when the operator balances the load with the counterweights. If the rope lock 28 fails or is not engaged in the first place, the arbor will rise or fall at significant speed, very likely causing serious injury and perhaps killing the operator. In addition, the amount of weight to balance the load must be carefully selected to ensure that the load is within the strength capability of the operator. Failure to do so can cause injury or death to the operator and the people on the stage below the load.
Many of these rigging systems are used in middle school and high school theatres. There are concerns about the ability of the operators (frequently students) to properly balance the loads, and the requirement for the balancing work to be done at substantial heights.
Because of the compact nature of typical counterweight rigging installations, a counterweight rigging system using a motorized winch requires a motorized winch sized to fit in a space approximately equal to the center-center spacing between adjacent rigging systems. Motorized winches of that size and also having sufficient power to operate a counterweight-assisted rigging system are expensive or have other characteristics that make them unsuitable for theatrical installations. Economical motorized winches having sufficient power to operate a typical counterweight-assisted system generally are larger than the spacing between adjacent counterweight rigging system.

Compact drive for a counterweight assisted winch


A metallizing device for vacuum metallizing arrangements is disclosed having a vaporizer (3) heated by an electrical heating rod (8). This vaporizer (3) is connected to a nozzle element (1) in the form of a hollow body. For the purpose of vaporizing a substrate, vapor flows out of the vaporizer (3) into the nozzle element (1) and from there out of a nozzle gap (2) toward the substrate.

The present invention relates to a metallizing device for vacuum metallizing arrangements having a vaporizer heated by an electrical heater and a pot for vaporizing added metal and a nozzle element with a nozzle gap allowing the produced metal vapor to exit.
For the metallizing of foils with, for example, aluminum, copper or other metals with a high melting point, usually so-called evaporation boats are arranged in a vacuum chamber which consists of electrically conductive ceramics and through which, for the purpose of vaporizing added metals, an electrical current flows. These evaporation boats, at times, form a pot for the metal to be vaporized through a hollowed out area. For this purpose, the space above the evaporation boats is completely open so that the metal vaporized in them can directly reach a foil guided above the evaporation boats and can be precipitated through condensation. Such open metallizing devices can be used only for metals with a low vapor pressure because only then the vapor rises to the substrate in a manner extensively directed upwardly. Nonetheless, relatively large areas of the coating arrangement can be reached by the vapor and may be contaminated by it. This leads to the point that the arrangement must be shut down and cleaned relatively frequently so that no long, uninterrupted processing times are possible.
There are known metallizing devices for zinc in which a pot with the metal to be vaporized is arranged in a large-volume vaporizer housing. The heating of this pot takes place indirectly by means of heating coils in ceramic elements. The vaporizer housing is covered towards the top by means of a nozzle element in the form of a plate or a strip, wherein the nozzle element has a nozzle gap through which the vapor reaches the foil to be coated. The nozzle gap must be as long as the foil to be coated is wide because the foil is guided across this nozzle gap for the purpose of coating. For this reason, the vaporizer housing must be correspondingly wide and thus of a large volume.
Such large-volume metallizing devices result in a situation where their heating requires more time than the time needed for producing the necessary vacuum in the coating arrangement. Therefore, the metallizing device must at first be locked by a shutter and then heated before the metallizing of the foil can begin. In the case of high rates of evaporation, so much metal is precipitated on the shutter that it can fall off it and close the nozzle gap either entirely or partially. An additional disadvantage of large-volume metallizing arrangements lies in that the adjustment of the rate of evaporation is very slow which is due to the large bulk of such metallizing arrangements and the large mass of metal inside it which is to be vaporized and due to the fact that the temperature in the metallizing device can be measured only indirectly at the outside wall of the heating pipe. With such metallizing arrangements it is also problematic that, due to wear and tear, short maintenance cycles result and insulation errors or plasma ignition occur. Furthermore, the melting of new zinc with the necessary removal of the oxide skin and the handling of liquid zinc is dangerous and time-consuming.
An object of the invention therefore is to construct a metallizing device of the initially mentioned type in such a way that the rate of evaporation can be changed as rapidly as possible and the possibly minimal contaminations are directed through the vaporized metal so that processing times, which are as long as possible, can be realized with the arrangement without resulting in a standstill.

Metallizing device for vacuum metallizing


A silver alloy reflective film is used in an optical information recording medium and contains silver as a main component, a total of 0.01 to 3 atomic percent of at least one of Bi and Sb, and a total of 3 to 42 atomic percent of at least one of Cu, Ge, Mg, and Zn. The silver alloy reflective film preferably further contains 0.1 to 3 atomic percent of yttrium. An optical information recording medium includes the silver alloy reflective film. A sputtering target for depositing the silver alloy reflective film contains silver as a main component, 0.01 to 3 atomic percent of Sb (or 0.03 to 10 atomic percent of Bi), and a total of 3 to 42 atomic percent of at least one of Cu, Ge, Mg, and Zn.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to silver (Ag) alloy reflective films for optical information recording media, Ag alloy sputtering targets for the deposition thereof, and optical information recording media. More specifically, it relates to reflective films which have low thermal conductivities, low melting temperatures, high reflectivities, and high corrosion resistance and therefore enable marking of optical information recording media such as CDs, DVDs, Blu-ray Discs, and HD-DVDs typically using laser after the preparation of the media. The present invention-also relates to sputtering targets for the deposition of the reflective films, and optical information recording media having the reflective films.
2. Description of the Related Art
Optical information recording media (optical discs) include various types, and the three main types categorized by the writing/reading system are read-only, write-once, and rewritable optical discs.
Of these optical discs, read-only discs have recorded data formed by concave and convex pits on a transparent plastic substrate upon the manufacture of the discs, and a reflective film layer mainly containing, for example, Al, Ag, or Au is arranged on the recorded data. The data are read out (reproduced) by detecting phase difference or reflection difference of laser beam applied to the discs. Certain optical discs include a substrate containing recording pits and a reflective film layer arranged on the recording pits, and another substrate bearing recording pits and a semi-reflective layer arranged on the recording pits. The two substrates are laminated, and the data recorded on the two layers are read out. Data recorded on one side according to this recording/reproducing system are read-only data that cannot be additionally wrote and altered, and optical discs using this system include CD-ROMs and DVD-ROMs. FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a sectional structure of a read-only optical disc. The optical disc in FIG. 1 includes a polycarbonate substrate 1, a semi-reflective layer (Au, Ag alloy, and Si) 2, an adhesive layer 3, a total-reflective film layer (Ag alloy) 4, and an ultraviolet-curable resin protective layer 5.
These read-only optical discs are produced in quantities, and information is recorded upon production of the discs by pressing with stampers having patterns of the information. Thus, IDs cannot be significantly given to individual discs. However, read-only optical discs individually having IDs formed using a dedicated system such as a label gate system or a burst cutting area (BCA) system after the preparation of the discs are being standardized typically for preventing unauthorized copying, improving traceability in distribution of products, and increasing added values of products. The ID marking (recording) is mainly carried out by a method of applying laser beam to discs after production to melt an Al alloy in the reflective film and to form holes therein.
Aluminum alloys, such as Al—Mg alloys according to Japanese Industrial Standards (JIS) 6061, are distributed in quantities as general construction materials, are inexpensive and are thereby widely used as reflective films of read-only optical discs.
The JIS 6061 Al alloys, however, are not intended to undergo laser marking and thereby have following problems.
Specifically, the Al alloys have high thermal conductivities and require high laser power for marking, which results in damages on base materials including polycarbonate substrates and adhesive layers. Additionally, voids formed as a result of laser marking invite corrosion of the reflective film in constant temperature and constant humidity tests conducted after laser marking, because the Al alloys have low corrosion resistance.
Recordable optical discs often use Ag alloys having higher reflectivities as reflective films. The resulting reflective films containing Ag alloys, however, show decreased reflectivities at high temperatures due to cohesion of Ag reflective films caused by the low thermostability of Ag. Various proposals have been made to solve this problem and to improve the durability. For example, Japanese Laid-open (Unexamined) Patent Application Publication (JP-A) No. 2002-15464 discloses a technique of inhibiting the grain growth (cohesion) of Ag by incorporating 0.1 to 3 atomic percent of a rare-earth element into Ag. JP-A No. 2004-139712 discloses a technique of further improving reflectivity and durability while ensuring high thermal conductivity by incorporating Bi or Sb into Ag.
JP-A No. 04-252440 discloses a method for reducing the thermal conductivity of an Ag alloy by incorporating Ge, Si, Sn, Pb, Ga, In, Tl, Sb, or Bi into Ag. JP-A No. 04-28032 discloses a method for reducing the thermal conductivity of an Ag alloy by incorporating Cr, Ti, Si, Ta, Nb, Pt, Ir, Fe, Re, Sb, Zr, Sn, or Ni into Ag. The resulting reflective films obtained according to these techniques, however, are not intended to be melted and removed by laser irradiation, and some of them show increasing melting temperatures with decreasing thermal conductivities thereof. Silver alloys (Ag alloys) satisfying requirements as Ag alloys for laser marking have not yet been provided.
As is described above, Ag alloys provided for laser marking must have low thermal conductivities, low melting temperatures, high corrosion resistance, and high thermostability.
Current reflective films for read-only optical discs use JIS 6061 series Ag alloys, but these Ag alloys do not satisfy the requirements for laser marking in thermal conductivity and corrosion resistance.

Silver alloy reflective films for optical information recording media, silver alloy sputtering targets therefor, and optical information recording media


Improved radionuclide generators include a substantially insoluble salt of a parent radionuclide precursor which may be directly irradiated and then packed in a column for subsequent elution of the daughter radionuclide without the production of counter ion isotopic contaminants. The parent radionuclide precursor is provided in the form of an insoluble salt of the parent element whose counter ion, preferably aluminum, forms a relatively soluble salt with the desired daughter radionuclide. The improved generators may be prepared by reacting a parent radionuclide precursor with aluminum to obtain an aluminum salt of the precursor having low solubility in water, irradiating the aluminum salt to obtain an irradiated aluminum salt of the parent radionuclide, and then disposing the irradiated parent radionuclide in an elutable container. Useful parent radionuclide precursors include molybdenum-98 in the form of molybdate for the production of daughter .sup.99m Tc, as soluble pertechnetate, and tungsten-186 in the form of tungstate for the production of daughter .sup.188 Re as soluble perrhenate. The daughter .sup.99m Tc or .sup.188 Re may be eluting the generator matrix, e.g., with a saline solution.

Some radionuclides, atomic species that may exhibit radioactivity, are useful for diagnostic and therapeutic techniques such as tumor imaging and radiotherapy of tumors. The adoption and expanded use of these techniques has increased the demand for available supplies of carrier-free radionuclides having useful half-lives and suitable gamma and/or beta emission properties. Two radionuclides which have received particular attention for these purposes are technetium-99m (.sup.99m Tc, half-life 6.02 hours) used for diagnostic purposes and rhenium-188 (.sup.188 Re, half-life 16.98 hours) used for therapeutic and diagnostic purposes.
Technetium-99m (.sup.99m Tc) has been widely studied and used in diagnostic nuclear medicine since the later 1950s. .sup.99m Tc produces a readily imageable gamma emission (140 kev, 90%) which facilitates monitoring of its biodistribution when injected in vivo after conjugation or complex formation with other compounds, such as target-specific antibodies. The chemistry of technetium has been well developed, primarily through study of the relatively stable isotope technetium-99 (.sup.99 Tc, half-life 210,000 years).
Although the chemical properties of rhenium are not as well known as those of technetium, certain isotopes of rhenium exhibit properties that indicate it is suited for both radiodiagnostic and radiotherapeutic applications, for example, as a label for conjugation to monoclonal antibodies for targeting to tumors. .sup.188 Re (half-life 16.98 hours) has a longer half-life than .sup.99m Tc (6.02 hours), possesses a strong particulate emission (beta energy of 2.12 MeV, as compared with .sup.99m Tc which has no particulate emission), and has an imageable gamma emission (15%, 155 kev) suitable for gamma camera imaging of tumors. .sup.188 Re is derived from either natural rhenium-187 (.sup.187 Re) by neutron bombardment in a nuclear reactor or, preferably, from a .sup.188 W/.sup.188 Re generator made of a target tungsten material, enriched in W-186, by double neutron capture using a high-flux reactor. The nuclear properties of this isotopic system are as follows: ##STR1##
One method of producing .sup.99m Tc and .sup.188 Re involves extraction of a relatively short-lived "daughter" radionuclide as a decay product of a longer lived ("parent") radionuclide. For example, .sup.99m Tc is the daughter radionuclide of molybdenum-99 (.sup.99 Mo, half-life 66.02 hrs) and .sup.188 Re is the daughter of tungsten-188 (.sup.188 W, half-life 69.4 days). Devices known as generators have been commercially available to provide the parent radionuclide in convenient, ready-to-use form and to provide for separation of the daughter radionuclide from its parent radionuclide to obtain a supply of the relatively short-lived daughter isotope. The parent and daughter radionuclides may be separated using chromatographic, solvent extraction, or sublimation generators. Chromatographic generators, due to their simplicity and compact nature, are more convenient to use in hospitals and other institutions where radionuclides are used for diagnosis and therapy. For use in such generators, the parent radionuclide must have a sufficiently long half-life to provide for transit and storage prior to commencing the extraction procedure.
In one form of chromatographic generator, such as those used to produce .sup.99m Tc from .sup.99 Mo, insolubilized parent radionuclide is adsorbed onto a bed or column of material such as aluminum oxide ("alumina") for which the daughter radionuclide has relatively little affinity. The daughter radionuclide, which results from decay of the parent, is then periodically eluted from the column, for example, using physiological saline. Typically, the daughter radionuclide product will be of high specific activity and is referred to as "carrier free" since it is produced by beta decay of a parent radionuclide, and the product is relatively free of stable isotopes of the daughter radionuclide.
Although adsorption column chromatographic generators are capable of producing daughter radionuclides, chromatographic generators of this type are only able to provide high specific activity daughter radionuclides at relatively low concentrations from low specific activity (n,.gamma.) parent radionuclides, such as .sup.99 Mo and .sup.188 W, due to the necessity of using large quantities of alumina or other adsorption bed material and eluting solution to obtain the daughter radionuclide. As a result, fission- or high flux neutron capture-produced parent radionuclides were formely preferred for producing radionuclides such as .sup.99m Tc and .sup.188 Re. Unfortunately, fission-produced radionuclides require complex facilities and safety precautions that entail high costs relative to the amount of daughter radionuclide produced. In addition, the relatively short half-lives of the desired radionuclides, .sup.99m Tc and .sup.188 Re, preclude convenient production of fission- or neutron capture-produced radionuclides at an established nuclear reactor and subsequent shipment to a hospital or clinic for further preparation and use.
Recently, an alternative chromatographic .sup.99 Mo/.sup.99m Tc generator was developed, as described in Evans et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,280,053, in which the parent isotope, .sup.99 Mo, is formulated directly into the solid phase of the generator column in the form of insoluble zirconium molybdate. In order to produce the Evans et al. .sup.99 Mo/.sup.99m Tc generator, molybdenum trioxide (enriched in .sup.98 Mo to produce .sup.99 Mo) is irradiated and then dissolved in a basic ammonia or sodium hydroxide solution. The resulting solution is acidified and added to an aqueous zirconium nitrate or zirconium chloride solution to obtain a zirconium molybdate precipitate in the form of a gel-like matrix. The matrix is then separated from the solution by filtration or evaporation, air dried and sized for use in the generator. The zirconium molybdate matrix is said to be non-elutable while allowing the daughter .sup.99m Tc in the form of pertechnetate ion, .sup.99m TcO.sub.4.sup.-,to freely diffuse from the matrix during elution. Since the parent .sup.99 Mo is incorporated directly into the gel, and is not retained by adsorption, the Evans et al. zirconium molybdate generator provides a significantly more dense .sup.99 Mo medium than prior alumina adsorption column generators.
More recently, U.S. Pat. No. 4,859,931, of Ehrhardt discloses an improved .sup.188 Re generator in which an insoluble zirconyl tungstate matrix containing .sup.188 W decays over time producing .sup.188 Re in the form of perrhenate (.sup.188 ReO.sub.4.sup.-), which is readily elutable from the matrix. The zirconyl tungstate matrix as disclosed in the Ehrhardt patent is produced by dissolving irradiated tungsten trioxide in a heated basic solution, adding the basic tungsten trioxide solution to an acidic zirconium-containing solution to obtain an acidic zirconyl tungstate slurry containing .sup.188 W, drying the slurry to form a permeable matrix, and then packing the matrix in an elutable column. The Ehrhardt generator has been found to be a highly effective generator of .sup.188 Re.
Although both the zirconyl molybdate generator system of Evans et al. and the zirconyl tungstate generator system of Enrhardt have proven to be effective for the production of .sup.99m Tc and .sup.188 Re, respectively, these systems have inherent drawbacks which limit their large-scale use and acceptability. Both systems require significant handling and processing of irradiated materials, including dissolution, precipitation, filtration, drying, gel fragmentation and column packing steps, all occurring after irradiation of the molybdenum trioxide or tungsten trioxide starting materials. These processing steps with irradiated materials necessitate the use of cumbersome shielded processing equipment, result in relatively high manufacturing costs and pose significant potential safety risks.
In order to overcome some of the foregoing problems in connection with the production of .sup.99m Tc, Narasimhan et al., "A New Method for .sup.99m Tc Generator Preparation," J. Radioanal. Nucl. Chem., Letters, Vol. 85, No. 6, pp. 345-356 discloses an improved method of preparing a zirconium molybdate .sup.99m Tc generator in which the precipitation, filtration, drying and fragmentation of radioactive materials required in the preparation of zirconium molybdate .sup.99m Tc generator are avoided by directly irradiating zirconium molybdate instead of molybdenum trioxide as disclosed by Evans. However, the direct irradiation of zirconium molybdate as reported by Narasimhan resulted in the production of radioactive contaminants unacceptable for clinical therapeutic or diagnostic applications, including .sup.97 Zr, .sup.95 Zr, .sup.175 Hf, .sup.181 Hf, and .sup.24 Na.

Radionuclide generator system and method for its preparation and use


A method for rendering a gallbladder dysfunctional without surgical removal comprises the steps of infusing the gallbladder with methyl-tert-butyl ether (MTBE), then, while the gallbladder is so infused, irradiating the gallbladder with an ultrasound beam in such an ultrasound delivery format as not to elevate the average temperature of the gallbladder more than five degrees Centigrade over the period of treatment, and then removing the MTBE from the gallbladder.

Conventional surgery relies on opening the overlying skin and other tissues to expose the diseased organ or tissue which is then excised or repaired. The body regions and overlying tissues are subsequently closed. One typical conventional surgery procedure, cholecystectomy, generally includes removal of the gallbladder with contained gallstones. Cholecystectomies also are performed on diseased gallbladders when gallstones are not present. Another conventional surgical procedure is the appendectomy, which may be performed once acute inflammation of the appendix is checked. This, of course, prevents future inflammation, since the appendix is physically removed.
It is known to impair organ function to mimic a disease's effect on organ function using ultrasound. See U.S. Pat. No. 4,216,766. Combined ultrasound/chemotherapy treatment of cancerous tumors is also known. See U.S. Pat. No. 4,556,070.

System and method using chemicals and ultrasound or ultrasound alone to replace more conventional surgery


The present invention relates to an animal safety collar and methods of operation. One embodiment of the present invention relates to an animal safety collar including a strip of flexible material, an extendable material, a first coupling device, and a second coupling device. The extendable material is coupled to either end of the strip of flexible material so as to form a loop. The loop's circumference may be temporarily increased by expanding the extendable material, causing the ends of the flexible material to move away from one another. This capability allows the collar to expand so the animal can slide out of the collar when it is inadvertently coupled to a fixed object in an unsupervised scenario. The first and second coupling devices are fixably coupled to the ends of the strip of flexible material, respectively. Therefore, when the extendable material is expanded, the first and second coupling device move away from one another. The expanding capability may be disabled by rigidly coupling a device simultaneously to the first and second couplers, thereby preventing them from moving away from one another. Therefore, the expandable safety feature may be disabled when an animal is in a supervised scenario such as a walk.

Animal collars are used to restrain and identify domesticated animals. For example, dog collars generally include a tag with identification and vaccination information as well as a loop for attaching a leash. A leash is commonly attached to a collar when an animal is removed from a confined area. For example, when an owner takes their domesticated dog for a walk they generally attach a collar to prevent the dog from exhibiting bad behavior and/or escaping. Collars are positioned around an animals' neck between their shoulders and their head. The neck is utilized for collar placement because of its relatively narrow diameter with respect to the shoulders and head. Various attachment systems are used to secure the collar around an animal's neck such as clasps, buckles, etc. Likewise, collars are made of various materials including leather, nylon, plastic, metal, etc.
Conventional collars are composed of one or more static materials that are configured for one or more static diameters to accommodate the particular neck diameter of an animal. The static or fixed diameter property of a collar is necessary to prevent an animal from sliding out of the collar when it is attached to a leash or when it is restrained. For example, if a dog commonly pulls away from the owner during a walk, it is necessary for the collar to be rigid to prevent the dog from slipping out of the collar. A collar may also be used to constrain an animal to a particular fixed location via a long leash, cord, or rope. In this scenario, it is also necessary to prevent the animal from sliding out of the collar when it pulls against the leash, cord, or rope.
However, the fixed or static collar property also poses significant safety risks for an animal when it is not coupled to a leash or other containment system. It is possible for the collar to become hooked or entangled in an object. Since the collar is positioned around an animals' neck, the entanglement or hooking of the collar may compress the larynx of the animal, causing asphyxiation. Alternatively, the entanglement may cause extreme discomfort to the animal for an extended period of time. In addition, the static diameter properties of a collar may injure or hurt a second animal that inadvertently becomes entangled in the first animal's collar. For example, dogs often physically play or fight with one another by biting at neck region of one another. If during this activity, one of the dogs becomes entangled in the others collar, they are likely to pull away from one another possibly causing damage or discomfort.
Therefore, there is a need in the industry for an animal collar that overcomes the problems above while maintaining the features of conventional collars.


The present invention is directed to a method for preparing a low fat or substantially fat-free food product such as pourable dressings and viscous dressings. The method includes the steps of heating and repeatedly shearing at least two times an aqueous dispersion consisting of from about 3 to about 10 weight percent of microcrystalline cellulose and from about 90 to about 97 weight percent water. The shearing occurs in a high shear zone having a pressure drop of at least 12,000 psi and the shearing is sufficient to fragment the microcrystalline cellulose to submicron sized microcrystalline cellulose fragments. The microcrystalline cellulose fragments are reagglomerated under high shear conditions to produce an aqueous dispersion of porous microreticulated microcrystalline particles having a void volume of at least about 25 volume percent, a mean particle size in the range of from about 5 to about 20 microns, and a particle size distribution such that at least about 75 weight percent of the particles have a maximum dimension of less than about 25 microns. The microreticulated microcrystalline cellulose dispersion is combined with from about 2 to about 33 weight percent of xanthan gum, based on the dry weight of the microreticulated microcrystalline cellulose dispersion. The xanthan stabilized microreticulated microcrystalline cellulose dispersion is then blended with additional food components to provide a low fat or fat-free food product. The food product has from about 0.25 to about 4 weight percent of dispersed microeticulated microcrystalline cellulose, from about 50 to about 99 weight percent of water, from about 1 to about 35 weight percent of carbohydrates, from about 0 to about 10 weight percent protein, and less than about 7 weight percent triglycerides.

The present invention is directed to low calorie, substantially fat-free food products having exceptional organoleptic mouthfeel characteristics simulating fat containing food products, such as substantially fat-free, fat-mimetic frozen desserts, viscous dressings, and pourable dressings.
Very significant technical effort has been directed over many years to the development of reduced fat or substantially fat-free food products which possess a smooth and creamy mouthfeel, texture and lubricity accurately simulating the texture and mouthfeel of edible fat containing food products.
Such efforts include the use of various types of undigestible fat-like materials such as sucrose polyesters and polyglycerol polyesters which pass through the digestive system without absorption. Substantial work has also been carried out over an extended period of time with bulking agents such as powdered and microcrystalline cellulose in fat-containing and reduced fat food products. In this regard, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,067,037, 3,141,875, 3,157,518, 3,251,824, 3,388,119, 3,539,365, 3,573,058, 3,684,523, 3,947,604, 4,199,368 and 4,231,802, 4,346,120, 4,400,406, 4,427,701 and 4,421,778 relate to the preparation, or use of various types of cellulose in various food products. Such cellulose materials have been used or proposed for reduced fat or substantially fat-free food products. However, as the fat content is reduced in food products containing substantial levels of cellulose products such as microcrystalline cellulose, adverse organoleptic effects such as a mouth-coating or astringency sensations, and a lack of a well-rounded organoleptic sensation corresponding to that provided by conventional fat-containing food products such as ice cream, and viscous and pourable dressings, tend to become more pronounced.
High pressure treatment and attrition of microcrystalline cellulose, and the use of gums to prevent reagglomeration of crystalline cellulose particles has been used to prepare "colloidal" grades of microcrystalline cellulose having a high proportion of the cellulose in particles of submicron-size. High pressure homogenization of fibrous cellulose pulp, as opposed to microcrystalline cellulose, has also been used to produce a "microfibrillated" fibrous product for food product utilization [e.g., see U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,089,981, 4,143,163, 4,341,807, 4,374,702, 4,481,076, 4,481,077 and 4,659,388].
Microcrystalline cellulose has been used in low and reduced calorie food formulations as both a carbohydrate thickening agent and as a fat replacer, with powdered products of relatively large particle size (e.g., 15-90 micrometer length) utilized for carbohydrate reduction and colloidal grades of submicron size being used to reduce fat. However, as the fat content is reduced in food products containing substantial levels of microcrystalline cellulose, adverse organoleptic effects such as a mouth-coating or astringency sensations, and a lack of a well-rounded organoleptic sensation corresponding to that provided by conventional fat-containing food products, tend to become more pronounced, and accordingly, fully acceptable fat-free food products have not generally been provided. In addition, microcrystalline cellulose may produce an astringent or drying mouthfeel when used as a substantially full-fat replacement, which is deleterious to the acceptability of the product.
It is an object of the present invention to provide methods for the manufacture of novel, nutritious, low calorie, substantially fat-free food compositions such as frozen desserts and food dressings which have exceptional, smooth, creamy oil-like textures and well rounded fat mimetic mouthfeel characteristics, as well as desirable stability and functionality characteristics. It is a further object to provide novel, substantially fat-free food compositions such as frozen desserts, viscous food dressings and pourable dressings which have such characteristics. These and other objects of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings.

Low calorie food products having smooth, creamy, organoleptic characteristics


Embodiments of the present invention provide an IGBT, which relates to the field of integrated circuit manufacturing, and may improve a problem of tail current when the IGBT is turned off. The IGBT includes a cell region on a front surface, a terminal region surrounding the cell region, an IGBT drift region of a first conductivity type, and an IGBT collector region on a back surface. The IGBT collector region is connected to the IGBT drift region and under the IGBT drift region. The IGBT drift region includes a first drift region under the cell region and a second drift region under the terminal region. The IGBT collector region includes a cell collector region of a heavily doped second conductivity type under the first drift region and a non-conductive isolation region adjacent to the cell collector region.

An insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) is a composite full-controlled voltage-driven power semiconductor component composed of a bipolar junction transistor (full name: Bipolar Junction Transistor, briefed as BJT) and a metal-oxide-semiconductor-field effect transistor (Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor Field-Effect Transistor, MOSFET).
In a conventional IGBT structure, there are two opposite primary surfaces, namely, a first primary surface and a second primary surface. The first primary surface is a front surface of a chip, and includes a cell region and a terminal region; and the second primary surface is a back surface of the chip, includes an IGBT collector region, and in addition, also includes an IGBT drift region.
FIG. 1 is a top view of a conventional IGBT structure, that is, a schematic diagram of a front surface of a chip, including a cell region 100 and a terminal region 200, where the terminal region 200 completely surrounds the cell region 100, implementing a function of electric field voltage division of a chip plane. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional diagram of FIG. 1 along an A-A line. As shown in FIG. 2, the cell region 100 includes a gate 101, an emitter 102, a p well region 103, an n+ emitter region 104 and a p+ emitter region 105 which are contained in the p well region 103 and contact the emitter, a gate region 107, a gate oxidation region 106, and an oxide isolation layer region 206. Multiple gate regions 107 are connected together by using metal to form the gate 101 of the IGBT. The p well region 103, and the n+ emitter region 104 and the p+ emitter region 105 which are contained in the p well region 103, are connected together by using metal to form the emitter 102 of the IGBT. The terminal region 200 includes a first field ring p region 201, several field ring p regions 202, a p+ region 204 connected to the emitter 102, a field plate region 205, an equipotential ring n region 203 at an edge of the chip, and an oxide isolation layer region 206.
As shown in FIG. 2, the back surface of the chip includes an IGBT collector region 301 and a collector metalization region 300, where the IGBT collector region 301 is p+. The collector metalization region 300, the gate 101, and the emitter 102 form three electrode ports of the IGBT.
In addition, as shown in FIG. 2, a first drift region 108 is under the cell region 100, and a second drift region 207 is under the terminal region 200. The first drift region 108 and the second drift region 207 are jointly called an IGBT drift region, where the IGBT drift region is n−.
The IGBT is a large power switching component, with key features of switching feature parameters and high reliability. Generally, when the IGBT is forward conductive, a positive gate voltage makes a channel formed, and electrons of the emitter flows to the drift region via the channel. Due to requirements of forward bias and electric neutrality of the collector, a large number of holes are injected from the collector to the drift region, and form conductivity modulation with electrons in the drift region. Because of the conductivity modulation effect when the IGBT is forward conductive, the IGBT has advantages of a low forward conduction voltage drop, a large on-state current, and low loss.
However, when the IGBT is turned off, and after the gate voltage is reduced to be smaller than a threshold voltage, the channel is cut off, and an electron current of the emitter turns to zero. In circumstances of widely applied inductive loads, because an inductive current cannot be suddenly changed, which means that a current flowing through the IGBT cannot be changed suddenly, all currents flowing through the IGBT must be provided by a hole current formed by the holes injected from the collector to the drift region. In this case, for the terminal region of the IGBT component, a large number of holes are injected from the collector of the component to the drift region. However, the injected holes cannot be directly pumped out from a floating field ring structure of the terminal, but gather at the equipotential ring of the terminal, resulting in a longer hole recombination time, a lower turn-off speed, and greater turn-off loss. In addition, a local gathering effect of the hole current is formed at the equipotential ring of the terminal, which causes a high voltage and a strong current and makes a component temperature rise rapidly, resulting in dynamic avalanche breakdown and thermal breakdown of the component and burning of the component.


Aspects of the present invention are directed toward a knitted band that may be incorporated into a garment that encircles or partially encircles one or more body regions of a wearer in an as-worn position. The knitted band has a plurality of functional zones that integrally knit together. One of the functional zones facilitates ventilation that helps cool the wearer.

Sweat evaporation from a person's skin is an important cooling mechanism during exertion. Typically, in a given set of environmental conditions, a person will perspire at an increased rate with increasing exertion. Perspiration rate may be exacerbated by the fact that skin temperatures can become progressively warmer with tighter-fitting garments. Sweat-saturated garments are not only uncomfortable to the wearer but can adversely affect thermal regulation. Moisture management is the ability of a fabric to transport sweat away from the body in order to keep the wearer dry and comfortable. Elastic textiles are well-suited for incorporation into many active-wear garments because such textiles easily stretch to accommodate the movement of the wearer. Despite its benefits, some elastic textiles may have poor moisture management.

Knitted band with integrated ventilation


A three dimensional true color holographic imaging system using three primary color Fresnel-Zone-Pattern laser generators combined as a single beam that scans the target and the reflections of which are sensed simultaneously by a single electronic detector. The detector signals corresponding to each generator are then separated electronically and independently recorded.

1. Field of the Invention
Three-dimensional (3D) imaging, 3D-image projection, holography, color holography, electronic holography, digital holography, optical scanning holography, multicolor electronic holography, true-color 3D imaging and spatial light modulators.
2. Description of Prior Art
For many years holography has been investigated as a way to project three-dimensional (3D) information. Realistic 3D image projection has many applications both in the commercial and military sectors, such as entertainment, advertising, computer gaming for commercial markets, simulation, immersive training and 3D displays for military applications. For instance, army researcher have recently been investigating the use of photo-refractive crystals for holographic 3D displays. For example see xe2x80x9cThree-dimensional image reconstruction using strontium-barium-niobatexe2x80x9d by Brian P. Ketchel, Gary L. Wood, Richard J. Anderson and Gregory J. Salamo published in Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 71, p. 7-9, (1997) or xe2x80x9cThree-dimensional holographic display using a photo-refractive crystalxe2x80x9d by Christy A. Heid, Brian P. Ketchel, Gary L. Wood, Richard J. Anderson and Gregory J. Salamo, published in SPIE Vol. 3358, Proceedings of the Sixth International Symposium on Display Holography, p. 357-366, (1997). To date, there has been only limited success in applying holography techniques to the projection of realistic images, due largely to the single color nature of most hologram-reconstructed images. True-color holography (recording and reconstruction) has been investigated in detail and demonstrated using traditional photographic techniques, see for example, Practical Holography by Graham Saxby, published by Prentice Hall, New York, (1994) or xe2x80x9cColor-reflection holography: theory and experiment,xe2x80x9d by Paul M. Hubel and Laszlo Solymar published in Applied Optics, Vol. 30, No. 29, p. 4190-4203. (1991). In recent years, researchers have proposed electronic (or digital) holography techniques, by which the time consuming chemical processing involved in traditional holography is eliminated, see for example xe2x80x9cOptical Scanning Holography,xe2x80x9d by T. C. Poon, M. Wu, K. Shinoda, and Y. Suzuki, published in Proceedings of the IEEE, Vol. 84, p. 753-764 (1996). In electronic holography, holograms are recorded directly by photosensitive devices such as photodiodes or a CCD camera and usually stored as digital images, for example see xe2x80x9cDigital Recording and numerical reconstruction of holograms: reduction of the spatial frequency spectrum,xe2x80x9d by Ulf Schnars, Thomas M. Kreis, and Werner P. O. Juptner published in Optical Engineering, Vol. 35 No.4, p. 977-982, (1996) or xe2x80x9cThree-dimensional microscopy with phase-shifting digital holography,xe2x80x9d by Tong Zhang and lchirou Yamaguchi published in Optics Letters, Vol. 23, p. 1221-1223, (1998). These techniques have opened the way for such things as 3D holographic imaging in real-time, as indicated in xe2x80x9cReal-time Optical Holography Using a Spatial Light Modulatorxe2x80x9d by T. C. Poon, B. D. Duncan, M. H. Wu, K. Shinoda and Y. Suzuki published in the Japanese Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 29, pp. Ll840-Ll842, (1990) and also in xe2x80x9cReal-Time Two-Dimensional Holographic Imaging Using an Electron-Beam-Addressed Spatial Light Modulator,xe2x80x9d by T. C. Poon, B. W. Schilling, M. H. Wu, K. Shinoda and Y. Suzuki published in Optics Letters, Vol. 18, pp. 63-65, (1993).
They have also opened the way to numerical image reconstruction as discussed in xe2x80x9cReal-time preprocessing of holographic information,xe2x80x9d by B. W. Schilling and T. C. Poon published in Optical Engineering, Vol. 34, No. 11, pp. 3174-3180. Nov. (1995). Just as digital cameras will supplant photographic cameras in many situations. Advances in electro-optic devices such as CCD cameras and spatial light modulators (SLMs) are making electronic holography not only a reality, but also the preferred method for 3D holographic imaging for many applications. It is notable that electronic 3D color display of computer generated holograms (CGH) has also been investigated and demonstrated as indicated in xe2x80x9cColor Images with the MIT Holographic Video Display,xe2x80x9d by Pierre St-Hilaire, Stephen A. Benton, Mark Lucente, and Paul M. Hubel published in SPIE Proc, Vol. 1667 Practical Holography Vl, p. 73-84, (1992) as well as in xe2x80x9cApproach to the Multicolor Imaging From Computer Generated Hologram,xe2x80x9d by Tadashi Nakamura, Hideya Takahashi, and Eiji Shimizu published in SPIE Proc, Vol. 2176 Practical Holography VIII, p. 102-107, (1994). However, these techniques offer no means to record a hologram of a real object, as holograms are generated via computer.
It is easy to see the many advantages digital holography has over traditional, photographic holography, and there are even more such advantages when applied to the true-color holography problem. In the past, true color holography has meant the recording of three separate monochromatic holograms, each at a different laser wavelength, superimposed on the same photographic plate as can be seen in the article xe2x80x9cColor-reflection holography: theory and experiment, mentioned above. Although the three separate holograms can be recorded simultaneously, often they are recorded in succession, sometimes using different emulsions and different exposure times. Saxby, above, cites a number of problematic practical considerations faced by true-color holographers, for instance the availability of truly panchromatic holographic emulsions, loss of fringe contrast, and cross talk. The lack of appropriate holographic emulsions forces the use of separate emulsions and therefore successive hologram recording for each color. For single emulsion holograms, fringe contrast can suffer due to very similar fringe patterns (from each color) occupying the same space in the photographic emulsion. Also, cross talk is a factor upon image reconstruction since the red laser will not only reconstruct the geometrically correct image from the xe2x80x9credxe2x80x9d fringes, but also two smaller, displaced images from the fringes created by the green and blue lasers.
FIG. 1 shows a system used for Optical Scanning Holography (OSH). Holographic recording by OSH is a technique, described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,064,257 for an xe2x80x9cOptical Heterodyne Scanning Type Holographic Devicexe2x80x9d which is based on scanning the object with a Fresnel Zone Pattern (FZP). The standard setup for mono-color holographic recording by OSH requires a two-beam laser light generator, which is a part of the system shown in FIG. 1. The two beams originate from the same laser 1 operating at frequency xcfx891. The original laser beam is separated into first and second beams using a beam-splitter (BSI) 2, that reflects nominally 50% of the original beam along an axis normal to the axis of the original laser beam. The first beam is passed through an Acousto-Optical Modulator 3 (AOM1) operating in the Bragg regime. Like other modulators this one produces sidebands of different orders of frequency, however, they are emitted at different angles. Here it is modulated with an electrically induced acoustic signal from an electrical signal generator 4 operating at cos (xcexa91t), e.g. xcexa91=40 MHz and the output angle is chosen to emit only the first order frequency (xcfx89+xcexa91)t. The second beam is further redirected by a mirror 7 as a third beam parallel to the first direct beam. This third beam passes through a beam expander 8 (BE2) to collimate the beam and increase its diameter to a predetermined size. The third beam also passes through a correction lens 9 to form a spherical wave. The modulated first beam (xcfx891+xcexa91)t is also passed through a beam expander 5 (BE1), similar to BE2 that collimates this first beam to have a plane wave-front and increases its diameter to match that of the third beam. The third and first beams define a co-dependent pair of output beams for one mono-color two-beam laser generator.
To create an FZP beam, the output beams of a co-dependent pair are redirected into a fourth or FZP beam, e.g. having an axis normally intersecting the axes of the pair, by reflectors 6 and 10, respectively. Reflector 6 may be a simple flat folding mirror that redirects the first beam so that its axis normally intersects the axis of the third beam. Reflector 10, however, must be a combining reflector, such as a second beam splitter or a narrow band filter mirror tuned to the frequency of the third beam. The latter passes at least about half of the redirected first beam and normally redirects an equal portion of the third beam onto the axis of the fourth beam. This combining reflector is centered on the axial intersection of the first and third generator beams. When the combining reflector is a beam-splitter each of the first and third beams emerge as first and second combined output beams, on the extended axes of the first and third beams, respectively. The splitter is designed to emit only the first combined beam. The axis of this beam thus becomes a shared main axis The unwanted second combined beam can be suppressed by placing a light absorbing layer 10a on the extended axis of the third beam to dissipate the unwanted second combined beam. The first combined output beam is next directed through a third beam-splitter 11 (BS3), to be described later, suppressing any reflected portion of this beam. The unreflected portion of this beam is next further redirected by an electric x-y scanning mirror 12 operating at standard horizontal and vertical frequencies; and finally arrives at a target 13. The target is thus immersed in a Fresnel Zone Pattern (FZP), which it reflects back to the scanning mirror producing a detection beam directed along the main shared axis and into the third beam-splitter, The normally reflected portion of the detection beam passes through lens 14 to be focused onto a detector axis. The unreflected portion of the return or detection beam is too weak and scattered to interact with the oppositely directed beams from the two-beam generator. The 3D location of each target scatterer is encoded in the position and size of the FZP, see for example xe2x80x9cFresnel Transformations of Images,xe2x80x9d by L. Mertz and N. O. Young published in the Proceedings of the conference on Optical Instruments and Techniques, K. J. Habell, ed. Chapman and Hall, London, pp. 305-312, (1962).
The intensity of the Fresnel Zone Pattem I (x, y, z, t), used for heterodyne detection, is mathematically represented by the following equation:                               I                                xe2x80x83                                          (                          x              ,              y              ,                              z                ;                t                                      )                          =                              A            2                    +                      B            2                    +                      2                        AB                                      xe2x80x83                                    sin                                      xe2x80x83                                                                  (                                                                                k                        1                                                                    2                                                z                                                                                [                                                                        x                          2                                                +                                                  y                          2                                                                    ]                                                        +                                                            Ω                      1                                                                                xe2x80x83                                                            t                                                  )                            .                                                          (        1        )
See, xe2x80x9cThree-dimensional microscopy by optical scanning holography,xe2x80x9d by T. C. Poon, K. B. Doh, B. W. Schilling, M. H. Wu, K. Shinoda, and Y. Suzuki published in Optical Engineering, Vol.34, No.5, pp. 1338-1344, (1995). In equation (1), A and B are the initial intensities of the light beams, k1=xcfx891/c is the wave-number of the laser light, c is the speed of light, and z is the axial distance measured from the focus of the spherical wave to the target. This interference pattern is raster-scanned over the object, which has an intensity reflectance given by |xcex93(x,y,z)|2. The target reflects the scanning light, which is collected by lens 14 (L4) and focused onto a photo detector 15, or for increased sensitivity, a photo-multiplier tube (PMT). The scanning action results in the spatial convolution of the scanning field intensity and the object, thus encoding each object scatterer by an FZP. Some insight into the OSH process may be gained by taking a simple example. Let the object transmittance be a single scatterer, |xcex93(x, y, z)|2=xcex4(x-x0, y-y0; z-z0). The resulting heterodyned output current from a band-pass filter 16. tuned to .xcexa91, (BPF1) is proportional to                                           i            Ω                                          xe2x80x83                                          (                          x              ,                              y                ;                z                            ,              t                        )                          ∝                  cos                                xe2x80x83                                                        (                                                                                k                      1                                                              2                                                                    z                        0                                                                              [                                      xe2x80x83                                                                                (                                                  x                          -                                                      x                            0                                                                          )                                            2                                        +                                                                  (                                                  y                          -                                                      y                            0                                                                          )                                            2                                                        ]                                +                                                      Ω                    1                                                                          xe2x80x83                                                      t                                            )                        .                                              (        2        )
This current contains the holographic information pertaining to the off-axis point object. In order to extract this information, the signal is electronically multiplied by cos (xcexa91t), produced by generator 18, in a conventional mixing circuit 17 commonly found in most audio and video receivers. This is fed to a low-pass filter 19. The resulting demodulated signal current id, which is represented by the following formula;                                           i            d                                          xe2x80x83                                          (                          x              ,                              y                ;                z                                      )                          ∝                  cos                                xe2x80x83                                                        (                                                                    k                    1                                                        2                                                              z                      0                                                                                [                                                                                (                                                  x                          -                                                      x                            0                                                                          )                                            2                                        +                                                                  (                                                  y                          -                                                      y                            0                                                                          )                                            2                                                        ]                                            )                        .                                              (        3        )
contains the location (x0, y0) as well as the depth (z0) information of the point object. In other words, the current id contains all the holographic information of the off-axis point source object. The intensity information obtained by demodulating current id may then be used to create a true hologram by synchronizing it with the x-y scanning signals and displaying the 2D image on a television type monitor, not shown. This electronic hologram can conveniently be sent to a video digitizer and converted to a digital image for storage and/or processing. The 3D object can then be reconstructed from the hologram either optically or digitally, as will be shown.
FIG. 2 shows the prior art method to achieve real image projection using either a photographic emulsion or other type of spatial light modulator (SLM). The three-dimensional image is reconstructed by illuminating the emulsion or SLM, containing the stored hologram, with the original reference beam used for recording. For photographic holography, this typically involves passing collimated laser light through the hologram. The collimated light is modulated by the interference pattern recorded in the hologram, and the real image is reconstructed. For digital or electronic holography, image reconstruction is often achieved numerically. However, for applications in which it is desired to project a real time image using a digital hologram, a high-resolution SLM can be used in a similar manner. Electronic SLMs have been investigated extensively for the purposes of hologram reconstruction, usually in conjunction with computer-generated holograms. Such reconstruction is shown in xe2x80x9cReal-time computer-generated hologram by means of liquid-crystal television spatial light modulatorxe2x80x9d by Fai Mok, Joseph Diep, Hua-Kuang Liu and Demetri Psaltis published in Optics Letters, Vol. 11, No. 11, p. 748-750 (1986) or xe2x80x9cComputer-generated holograms by means of a magneto optic spatial light modulatorxe2x80x9d by Joseph N. Mait and Glenn S. Himes published in Applied Optics, Vol. 28, No. 22, p. 4879-4887 (1989). Real-time hologram construction and reconstruction has been reported, however, using a high-resolution liquid-crystal SLM. For example an SLM with up to 175 line pairs/mm appears in xe2x80x9cReal-time Optical Holography Using a Spatial Light Modulatorxe2x80x9d cited above. Also as reported in the same article, applicants have experimented with an electron-beam-addressed spatial light modulator (EBSLM) and reconstructed real images recorded by the OSH technique in real-time. Suffice it to say that there are several types of commercially available SLMs, which may be used for coherent image reconstruction of this type. The details of real-image reconstruction using SLMs are case dependant and need not be addressed here. The situations are fundamentally the same, and the basic architecture is that shown in FIG. 2. The hologram is written to the SLM electronically, which in turn acts identically in the same way as the photographic hologram. The SLM (and hologram) is illuminated with the coherent light beam. The SLM then modulates the coherent light in accordance with the hologram pattern. The modulated light diffracts and, at some distance from the SLM, forms the real image stored in the hologram. It is fair to say that the use of an SLM to form a real-image reconstruction is well understood. Although not revolutionary, this technique of real-image projection is an integral part of the proposed true-color electronic holographic recording and 3D image projection system, according to the present invention.
A true-color three dimensional laser real-time image recording and projection system using active recording components such as, electronic heterodyne mixers, coherent primary color lasers, electro-optical detectors, electro-acousto-optic modulators; electro-optical spatial light modulators, combined with passive components including electronic band-pass filters; optical beam splitters, optical beam expanders, lenses and mirrors. Image projection preferably uses lasers, beam combiners and SLM""s.

Multicolor electronic holography and 3D image projection system

The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Army


Rigid non-conducting safety covers for the conductive components on an electrical utility pole are disclosed. The safety covers prevent arcing or current flowing to a user working on a utility pole. The safety covers extend over portions of the utility pole, cross arm and bracket mounting the cross arm to the utility pole.

The use of steel utility poles has been drastically increased due to the threat of fire in rural areas of various states and counties as well the desire to generally reduce the use of wooden poles. With steel poles comes a safety issue for electrical workers due to the ground path created by the metal pole in close proximity to the conductors.
In an attempt to isolate the workers when working on steel poles, rubber blankets have been used to cover and insulate the working area that electrical workers might contact. However, rubber blankets are cumbersome to handle, difficult to install, and can easily damage by the cross arm hardware. Damaged blankets are both expensive and create a false sense of security for the electrical workers while engaged in the steel-pole-related activities.

Cross arm covers for utility poles and related methods


An electric power steering system comprising a power unit consisting essentially of drive circuits for an electric motor and the like, and a control unit separate from the power unit and consisting essentially of a control circuit for controlling the drive circuits. The control unit is connected to each of the drive circuits of the power unit by a transmission line for the control unit to transmit therethrough "ON" or "OFF" representing logical control signals to the drive circuit to thereby control the drive circuit. The power steering system has first signal conversion means provided in the control unit for converting an "ON" representing logical control signal to a pulse signal, and second signal conversion means provided in the power unit and connected to the first signal conversion means by a transmission line for producing an "ON" logical control signal when the input signal given is the pulse signal or for producing an "OFF" logical control signal when the input signal is not the pulse signal.

The present invention relates to electric power steering systems.
Electric power steering systems heretofore known include the one shown in FIG. 8 (see, for example, Unexamined Japanese Utility Model Publications SHO 6369671 and SHO 63-69672). In view of the space available for installation, the illustrated electric power steering system is divided into a power unit 10 comprising a drive circuit 11 for an electric motor 1 (motor drive circuit), a drive circuit 12 for an electric clutch 2 (clutch drive circuit), a fail safe relay 13, etc., and a control unit 20 comprising a control circuit 21 including a CPU (central processing unit) for receiving detection signals from a torque sensor 3, speed sensor 4, etc.
With such electric power steering system, the control unit 20 is connected to each drive circuit of the power unit 10 by a transmission line L, through which two kinds of logical control signals, i.e. on and off signals, are sent from the control unit 20 to the power unit 10, whereby the drive circuit of the power unit 10 is driven.
However, the power steering system has the problem that when a break, grounding, faulty contact or the like occurs in one of the transmission lines L, the corresponding drive circuit in the power unit 10 malfunctions, possibly entailing a hazardous situation. For example, if the transmission line L for the drive circuit 11 of the motor 1 breaks and delivers a logical control signal which is fixed always to "ON" state, an unexpected auxiliary steering force is added to the steering force of the driver to give rise to a hazard.