A device for spine rehabilitation comprising a support frame, immovable crossbars, movable crossbars, and a holder and systems of actuators supporting a patient's head, shoulders, hip, knees, and feet, characterised in that it is equipped with linear actuators (8) mounted to the holder (7) supporting the patient's head and shoulders, whereby the holder (7) has a driving mechanism (9) situated horizontally and mounted to an immovable crossbar (6) of the support frame (1) and in its lower part is rotationally mounted, at the rotation point (10) of the holder, to the immovable crossbar (6). A method for spine rehabilitation using the device for lateral deviation of the patient's torso, whereby the patient's body situated horizontally, face up, is lifted on eight sling hangers taking hold of his/her head and his/her back in the points of shoulder girdle and pelvis girdle.

From the description of Polish utility model No PL 60060 there is known a derotational-corrective-redressive device for treating scoliosis, used for active exercise, which is constructed from two frames, frontal and rear, connected at their upper part by guides on which slides are put on. In the lower part of the frontal frame there is mounted a support for hands to which a head hoist is attached and, above, on the rear frame, there is a knee support mounted to which a hip hoist is attached. Two connecting members stabilize the whole device. While exercising on the device a patient, in a supported kneeling position, is stabilized by shoulder blockades and a hip blockade. The patient while performing an exercise called "cat-cow pose" has his/her rib prominence and lumbar bump blocked at their apex by projections in pads which, during the exercise, press against the spine along the curve of the circular sector causing derotation, correction and redression of twisted arches of the spine that is deformed in those places. The other solution that has been disclosed in Polish invention No PL 176238 relates to a scoliosis correcting adjuster which comprises a rectangular base with vertical protrusions on one side of the longer flanks on which a crossbar is retractably mounted whose lift is adjustable along the line perpendicular to the base and along a line running at an acute angle to the base, whereas to the other side of the base there is a blocking plate mounted slidingly and dismountably to its longer flank. To a shorter flank of the base on the opposite side of the vertical protrusions an elastic line is attached which traverses through cut-outs in the longer flanks of the base and which has handles attached to its ends. Moreover, the base is equipped with a belt placed slidingly in cut-outs made in the bottom of the longer flanks of the base.
From Polish patent PL 209439B1 description there is known a device comprising four separate supports supporting a patient—in a substantially horizontal position—his/her head, back in the points of shoulder girdle and pelvis girdle, and calves. These supports are mounted on a frame bearer by ball units which can swing in relation to the long axis of the spine and move vertically and be locked in a chosen position. Angle and level settings of each support introduces required shifts of the vertebra diagonally within anatomical range of the movement. Also, from Polish patent PL 226008B1 there is known a device for stimulation of muscles and rehabilitation of backbone, particularly for patients with painful postural asymmetry, discopathy and degenerative illnesses. The essence of the invention consists in that each sling hanger at its end is connected to linear actuators which are suspended in pairs from the horizontal support frame in the position perpendicular to the axis of the spine, and the movement of each of the linear actuators is individually controlled by the computerized medical control system software. And European application EP 2311424A1 discloses a device for physiotherapy and rehabilitation having a robust supporting structure in the form of a horizontal frame propped at its corners, having four cross elements out of which two middle are slidingly mounted on longitudinal rods of the frame and whose position can be adjusted. Suspended on internal rods there is a longitudinal member which can be pivoted horizontally. Cross-rods slidingly attached to the longitudinal member have on them mechanisms for fitting and adjusting length of slide lines on which the patient's body is suspended. Thanks to additional horizontal lines attached to the sling hanger it is possible to exert force acting along the axis of the spine.
From publication WO 2007/017282A2 there is known an exercise apparatus having, in one of the embodiments of its frame design, a rod structure. The frame is suspended on the ceiling in a way that it can be rotated horizontally and vertically thanks to the use of a ball-and-socket joint and also lifted and lowered thanks to the use of a telescopic member. The frame has a longitudinal supporting member in the form of double rods or tubes. This member also acts as a guide for linear carriages with linear bearings that can move along it. Cross-rods fitted to the carriages have on their ends elements in the form of blocks or eyelets whose position on the rods can be adjusted and locked and which are designed for placing sling hangers on which patient's body is suspended above a bed. Moving parts can be power-driven, for example by an electric motor.
Moreover, from Polish patent description No PL 217824 there is known a device for scoliosis treatment having a main frame in the shape of a cuboid with legs. Upper arms of the frame are connected with an upper beam to which an upper rod is attached by a ball-and-socket joint. Lower arms of the main frame are connected by a lower beam to which a lower rod is attached by a ball-and-socket joint. The upper rod has hand grips and the lower rod has platforms for feet of a person performing exercise. There are upper tightening members attached at the ends of the upper rod, and lower tightening members attached to the lower rod.
The object of the invention is to develop a device allowing to introduce a movement of lateral deviation of the patient's torso during his/her rehabilitation in suspension and a method for carrying out spine rehabilitation using said device.
A device for spine rehabilitation with the use of a method for lateral deviation of the patient's torso comprising a support frame, immovable crossbars, movable crossbars and a holder and actuator assemblies supporting the head, the arms, the hips, the knees and the feet of the patient characterised in that it is equipped with linear actuators mounted on the holder and to the movable crossbars that support the patient, whereby the holder has a driving mechanism, sliding horizontally, mounted on the immovable crossbar of the holder of the supporting frame and which, on its lower part, is fitted to the immovable crossbar equipped with a rotating mechanism. The holder's upper back surface moves on rolling members installed in the immovable crossbar of the holder. Sling hangers for the head and for the shoulders connected on their ends with two linear actuators are suspended on the movable holder. Moreover, the movement of each of the actuators is controlled individually from a control unit assisted by a computer with medical software. Preferably, the linear actuators for each of the sling hangers are connected with the holder by slidable assemblies in the direction longitudinal to the axis of the holder and thus allow to adjust positions of the actuators of the sling hanger for the head according to anthropometric size of a particular patient.
A method for spine rehabilitation using the device for lateral deviation of the torso of the patient suspended on the actuators takes place in the device where the patient's body is situated in substantially horizontal position, face up, and is lifted by five sling hangers that take hold of the patient's head, back in the points of shoulder girdle and pelvis girdle, calves and feet and each of the slings is connected on its ends with two linear actuators suspended on the horizontal support frame in the position perpendicular do the axis of the patient's spine, whereby the movements of each of the linear actuators is individually controlled from the control system, characterised in that the head and the shoulders of the suspended patient are supported by the actuators fitted in the holder whose transversal movement is provided by the rotating mechanism, whereas a slidable mechanism moves along an arc within a designated range in such a way that the holder's upper surface moves with a swinging motion on the rolling members fitted in the crossbar of the supporting frame, whereas movements of the actuators connected to the surface of the holder cause lateral deviation of the torso and the spine at a designated angle with the possibility of selecting proper frequency and amplitude of the deviations.
The solution presented allows to carry out spine rehabilitation therapy in suspension with a dynamic lateral deviation of the torso optimally selected to a particular affection, with discretionarily varied, medically developed kinematics. The movements of the actuators connected to the surface of the holder produces lateral deviation of the torso and of the spine up to a specified deviation angle with the possibility of selecting an adequate frequency and amplitude of the relocation, and, additionally, with various options of the longitudinal interaction of neighbouring sling hangers. For example, with the sling hanger for the pelvis girdle locked, side bending is induced by activating the shoulder girdle sling hanger. This kind of rehabilitation therapy, thanks to this solution, becomes safe and less burdensome while keeping the patient in safety and comfort. The exemplary embodiment of the invention is shown on the accompanying diagrammatic drawings.

Device for spine rehabilitation and method of spine rehabilitation using said device for spine rehabilitation

Akademia Gorniczo-Hutnicza Im. Stanislawa Staszica w Krakowie


An image forming apparatus has an image bearing member; and a charging member forming a nip with the image bearing member to charge the image bearing member. Conductive particles are provided in the nip and a time factor xcex1 represented by a following equation satisfies a condition xcex1 greater than 15:

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a charging system, a process cartridge and an image forming apparatus, in which charging is executed with conductive particles.
2. Description of the Related Art
In an image recording apparatus such as an electrophotographic apparatus or an electrostatic recording apparatus, a corona charger has been employed as a charging apparatus for a uniform charging process (including charge elimination) to obtain a desired polarity and potential of an image bearing member (member to be charged) such as an electrophotographic photosensitive member or an electrostatic recording dielectric member.
Recently there is also in use a charging apparatus of a contact method (contact charging apparatus) which executes charging by contacting a charging member, to which a voltage is applied, with the member to be charged. However, even in such contact charging apparatus, drawbacks resulting from by products of the discharge, such as ozone, are basically not avoidable.
In order to avoid such drawbacks, there has been proposed an injection charging method in which a charge is directly injected from a contact charging member into the member to be charged. For example, there is utilized a mechanism of direct charge injection by applying a voltage to a contact charging member such as a charging magnetic brush, and injecting a charge into a trap level originally present in a surface of the member to be charged or into a trap level arbitrarily prepared by forming a charge injection layer including a charge retaining material such as conductive particles (Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 06-003921).
In contrast to the known contact charging which is principally based on a discharge phenomenon and requires an application of a voltage equal to or higher than a discharge threshold value, the above-mentioned injection charging allows to charge the member to be charged to a potential corresponding to an applied voltage, even below the discharge threshold value.
However, in the injection charging method employing a magnetic brush or the like as employed in the aforementioned Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 06-003921, a mechanism for holding the charged magnetic particles and maintaining such charged magnetic particles in sliding contact with the member to be charged is a factor of an increase in the cost.
Therefore, for a simpler injection charging method, there is proposed, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 10-307454 etc., a configuration in which conductive fine particles (conductive particles) for improving the contact charging property are made present on a flexible roller constituting a contact member. In such configuration, the contact between the contact charging member and the member to be charged can be controlled by an amount or a size of the present conductive particles and satisfactory charging ability can be obtained.
Also the contact charging method employing conductive particles is advantageously employed in a cleanerless system, in which there is no mechanism for removing a developer remaining on the member to be charged after a transfer step, and there is proposed, as shown in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2000-081760, a configuration of mixing the conductive particles in the developer thereby maintaining the amount of the conductive particles on the contact charging member and sustaining the charging ability thereof.
In the aforementioned contact injection charging method utilizing the conductive particles, it is already known that the charging condition is determined by mutual correlation of various parameters, but the correlation of individual parameter is not clarified and it has been difficult to predict an applicable range for each individual parameter under various situations.
For this reason, the charging state shows significant fluctuation in the stability under environmental conditions or in durability, creating an obstacle in the system designing.
In particular the injection charging characteristics are influenced also by the electrical characteristics of the member to be charged, and it has been desired for example to realize an appropriate surface resisvisity on the member to be charged.
An object of the present invention is to provide a charging system, a process cartridge and an image forming apparatus capable, in a charging method utilizing conductive particles, of realizing appropriate various conditions relating to the charging.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a charging system, a process cartridge and an image forming apparatus suitable for an injection charging method.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a charging system, a process cartridge and an image forming apparatus in which electrical characteristics of a member to be charged are made appropriate.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a charging system, a process cartridge and an image forming apparatus with a high charging stability.
Still other objects of the present invention, and the features thereof, will become fully apparent from the following detailed description, which is to be taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Charging system, process cartridge and image forming apparatus

Abstract: Z=xe2x88x920.5xc2x71n(xcfx80xc2x7kxc2x7Nc)xe2x88x921n({square root over (xcex2)}xc2x7D/2)

Abstract: in which xcfx81 (xcexa9) represents a surface resistivity of said image bearing member; Cd (F/mm2) represents an electrostatic capacitance of the image bearing member; D (mm) represents a diameter of the conductive particle; Nc (particle/mm2) represents a density of the conductive particles present on the charging member; Vc (mm/sec) represents a surface moving speed of the charging member; Vd (mm/sec) represents a surface moving speed of the image bearing member; k=Vc/Vd; and W (mm) represents a width of the nip in the moving direction of the image bearing member.


An apparatus and a method for forming a leveled surface of at least one pasty mass in a mold are described. Thereby, the mold is particularly adapted to mold lipstick mines, wherein the mold was filled with the pasty mass and the pasty mass was at least partially cooled in the mold. The apparatus comprises a means for at least partially melting the surface of the at least one cooled pasty mass in the mold to level the surface by heat introduction, wherein the heat introduction takes place via focused optical photo emission.

In the production of lipstick mines, different waxes and additives are mixed. For this purpose, the waxes and additives are converted into a flowable state by heating prior to mixing. The mixed waxes and additives can also be referred to as pasty mass. The pasty mass is, after mixing, filled into a mold and cooled in this mold to solidify in the mold and to create a lipstick mine.
However, cooling of the pasty mass in the mold results in the problem that unevenness is formed on the surface, for example on a free surface. A free surface is in this case any surface of the pasty mass, which is not contacted by the mold or a wall of the mold. The unevenness can also be called a crater because these irregularities are usually more pronounced at the edge of the surface than in the center of the surface.
Processes and devices are known which attempt to melt the surface of the pasty mass in order to prevent a crater from forming by melting, while the remaining pasty mass cools and solidifies in the mold.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,172,113 describes a device in which open molds with the pasty mass contained therein are moved under air nozzles, wherein heated air streams out of the air nozzles. The nozzles are directed vertically downwards and arranged in a row so that the molds pass through a plurality of nozzles during their movement. The nozzles are dimensioned in such a way that the heated air is specifically directed onto the surface of the pasty mass in the molds, which are just below the nozzle. This is intended to ensure that the pasty mass can remain in a flowable state on its surface after casting, while the remaining pasty mass solidifies in the mold so that the formation of a crater is prevented. However, the device shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,172,113 is not very energy-efficient. On the one hand, a lot of energy is needed to heat the air, and on the other hand much energy is lost by the air stream. Furthermore, the apparatus has the disadvantage that the heated air stream blows the liquid mass out of the mold. This results in a clearly visible contamination of all machinery parts involved in the process.
It is therefore the object to provide a method and an apparatus, which do not have the above-mentioned disadvantages. In particular, with the method and the apparatus, the surface of the pasty mass is to be heated in the mold as energy-efficient as possible without any contamination of the machinery parts.

Method and apparatus for forming a leveled surface of pasty masses


A catheter for ablating body tissue of the interior regions of the heart includes a handle assembly, a shaft, and a distal tip section coupled to the distal end of the shaft. The distal tip section has a non-compliant and non-porous cap that has a tubular wall that defines a bore, and an ablation element that is housed inside the bore and spaced apart from the wall of the cap.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to systems and methods for mapping and ablating body tissue of the interior regions of the heart. More particularly, this invention relates to catheters and methods for ablating cardiac tissues using a deflectable catheter having an irrigated ablation element for the treatment of cardiac arrhythmia, for example atrial fibrillation and ventricular tachycardia.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Abnormal heart rhythms are generally referred to as cardiac arrhythmias, with an abnormally rapid rhythm being referred to as a tachycardia. The present invention is concerned with the treatment of tachycardias which are frequently caused by the presence of an "arrhythmogenic site" or "accessory atrioventricular pathway" close to the endocardial surface of the chambers of the heart. The heart includes a number of normal pathways which are responsible for the propagation of electrical signals from the upper to the lower chambers necessary for performing normal systole and diastole function. The presence of an arrhythmogenic site or an accessory pathway can bypass or short circuit the normal pathway, potentially resulting in very rapid heart contractions or tachycardias.
Treatment of tachycardias may be accomplished by a variety of approaches, including medications, implantable pacemakers/defibrillators, surgery and catheter ablation. While drugs may be the treatment of choice for many patients, they only mask the symptoms and do not cure the underlying causes. Implantable devices only correct the arrhythmia after it occurs. Surgical and catheter-based treatments, in contrast, will actually cure the problem, usually by blocking or ablating the abnormal arrhythmogenic tissue or accessory pathway responsible for the tachycardia.
Of particular interest to the present invention is radiofrequency (RF) ablation technique which has been proven to be highly effective in tachycardia treatment while exposing a patient to minimal side effects and risks. RF catheter ablation is generally performed after conducting an initial mapping study where the locations of the arrhythmogenic site and/or accessory pathway are determined by diagnostic electrophysiology catheters which are connected to commercially available EP monitoring systems. After a mapping study, an ablation catheter is usually introduced to the target region inside the heart and is manipulated so that the ablation tip electrode lies exactly at the target tissue site. RF energy or other suitable energy is then applied through the tip electrode to the cardiac tissue in order to ablate the tissue of the arrhythmogenic site or the accessory pathway. By successfully destroying that tissue, the abnormal signal patterns responsible for the tachycardia may be eliminated.
Atrial fibrillation (AF) is one type of cardiac arrhythmia believed to be the result of the simultaneous occurrence of multiple wavelets of functional re-entry of electrical impulses within the atria, resulting in a condition in which the transmission of electrical activity becomes so disorganized that the atria contracts irregularly. AF is a common arrhythmia associated with significant morbidity and mortality. A number of clinical conditions may arise from irregular cardiac functions and the resulting hemodynamic abnormalities associated with AF, including stroke, heart failure and other thromboembolic events. AF is a significant cause of cerebral stroke, wherein the fibrillating motion in the left atrium induces the formation of thrombus. A thromboembolism is subsequently dislodged into the left ventricle and enters the cerebral circulation where stroke may occur.
For many years, the only curative treatment for AF has been surgical, with extensive atrial incisions used to compartmentalize the atrial mass from the other cardiac tissue. The surgical "maze" procedure, as it is commonly known, includes, in the left atrium creating vertical incisions from the superior pulmonary veins, to the inferior pulmonary veins and ending in the mitral valve annulus, with an additional horizontal incision linking the upper ends of the vertical lines. It is believed that ectopic beats originating within or at the ostium of the pulmonary veins (PV) may be the source of paroxysmal and even persistent AF. As a result, a series of multiple point RF ablations to create linear patterns in the left atrium has been used to replicate surgical procedures in patients with paroxysmal or chronic AF. Although successful, there are instances in which this technique may leave gaps between lesions giving opportunities for reentrant circuits to reappear. Another challenge with using this approach is the high incidence of pulmonary vein (PV) stenosis.
Different energy sources have been utilized for electrically isolating the pulmonary veins from the atrium. These include RF, laser, microwave, cryoablation, light, and ultrasound energy. Each energy source has its advantages and disadvantages and PV isolation has been achieved to different degrees of success. Moreover several researchers have recently suggested that catheter ablation using ultrasound energy may reduce the incidence of PV stenosis.
Ventricular tachycardia (VT) is another abnormal heart rhythm that can be treated by catheter-based mapping and ablation systems. VT is an arrhythmia that results from electrical impulses arising from the ventricles instead of the heart's natural pacemaker known as the sinoatrial (SA) node. Due to the fact that electrical impulses are not conducting from the SA node to the ventricles, the ventricles contract abnormally very rapidly. As a result, the four chambers of the heart are less able to fill completely with blood between beats, and hence less blood is pumped to the remaining circulatory pathways in the body. Over time, VT can lead to heart failure or degenerate into ventricular fibrillation, which can result in myocardial infarction. The most common treatment for VT is antiarrhythmic medication, however if drugs are not effective, cardioversion may be recommended. Patients who still suffer from episodes of VT may require an implantable cardioverter defibrillator. Although RF catheter ablation as a treatment for VT has been performed, success has been limited particularly to those VT's due to ischemic heart disease. This may be due to the difficulty in achieving sufficient tissue penetration of RF energy to ablate arrhythmia circuit lying beneath the endocardial scar tissue. In addition, the ventricles are naturally much thicker than atrial tissues and creating transmural lesions is more challenging when utilizing conventional RF ablation techniques. Irrigated tip RF ablation catheters have recently been introduced to create deeper and larger lesions and have achieved the transmurality of the cardiac wall, however further improvements in performance is desirable. This may be due to the irregular endocardial surface of the ventricular trabeculum that may present a technical challenge for ablating electrodes of RF ablation catheters to make adequate tissue contact.
Cardiac ablation with ultrasound energy however, does not require good contact with the underlying tissue. Ultrasound energy propagates as a mechanical wave within the surrounding medium, and in the tissue the vibrating motion is converted into heat. Therefore the tissue does not need to be in intimate contact with the ultrasound transducer unlike in the case of RF ablating electrodes. At a designated zone within the tissue, the tissue at the target area can be heated to a sufficiently high temperature for ablation, while tissue surrounding the target area is subject to a lower intensity ultrasound energy and not damaged.
In order to produce thermal effect in the tissue, the ultrasound emitting member has a transducer. The piezoelectric nature of ultrasound transducers creates limitations for these materials. One major limitation is when the temperature of the transducer is elevated, the performance decreases steadily until no acoustic waves can be observed. One way to keep the operating temperature of this material cool is to irrigate the transducer. A cooling medium such as water is introduced or pumped through the catheter in order to dissipate heat in the housing and effect cooling of the transducer, including cooling of the external tissue surface to avoid unwanted tissue damage. Schaer et al in U.S. Pat. No. 6,522,930 describes a tissue ablation device in which the ablation element is covered by a tubular porous membrane that allows pressurized fluid to pass therethrough for ablatively coupling the ablation element to a tissue site. McLaughlin et al in U.S. Pat. No. 5,997,532 also describes an ablation catheter having a porous, non-conductive buffer layer over the tip electrode. In both the Schaer et al. and McLaughlin et al. catheters, the amount of irrigation fluid permeating out from the porous membrane or porous tip electrode to cool the tissue-ablation element interface may not be consistent due to its contact with the underlying tissue and therefore may produce a larger or smaller intended ablation area. This phenomenon can be more pronounced in irregular endocardial surfaces such as the ventricular trabeculae.
Thus, there still remains a need for a catheter-based system and method that provides improved ablation performance at the treatment location, especially in irregular endocardial surfaces.

Non-contact tissue ablation device and methods thereof


A power system has a power converter adapted for converting a first input voltage at an input thereof to a first output voltage at an output thereof, and a hold-up time extension circuit comprising a step-up stage and a step-down stage coupled to each other via a first energy-storage capacitor, where an input of the step-up stage is coupled to the input of the power converter, an output of the step-up stage is coupled to an input of the step-down stage, and an output of the step-down stage is coupled to the input of the power converter. The step-up stage is adapted for converting the first input voltage of the power converter to a second output voltage, and the step-down stage is adapted for converting the second output voltage of the step-up stage to the input voltage of the power converter.

Most computers and portable electronic devices require power supplies that are capable of maintaining an output voltage within a specified range for a certain amount of time, typically 15 to 25 milliseconds, after an input voltage drops out. This time, referred to as the hold-up time, is used to orderly terminate the operation of a data processing equipment or to switch over to UPS operation after a line failure. The required energy to maintain the output voltage during the hold-up time is delivered from a properly sized energy-storage capacitor coupled to the input of the power supply.
In order to maximize the power density of the power supply, the size of the energy-storage capacitor needs to be minimized. U.S. Pat. No. 6,504,497, the content of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety, discloses an approach to maximize the utilization of the stored energy by using a hold-up time extension circuit. However, further improvement in the hold-up time extension circuit is needed.
Therefore, a heretofore unaddressed need exists in the art to address the aforementioned deficiencies and inadequacies.

Hold-up time extension circuit for a power converter


A method of supplying a thread to a sewing machine from a reel wherein the thread is supplied by carrying on a hanger a loop produced between the reel and the sewing machine by twisting the thread two to three times. The hanger used in supplying the thread comprises a case body, a cylindrical dial partly exposed on the surface of the case body, and a hook projecting from the case body to catch the thread. The hook is coupled through gearing to the dial and is rotatable in response to rotation of the dial.

This invention relates to a method for supplying a thread to a sewing machine and a hanger used therein.
Usually, in a sewing machine for industrial use, the thread is drawn out axially from a reel placed on a thread stand and fed to the sewing machine. If the thread is drawn out upwards, the reel need not be rotated. In industrial use, since the reel itself is large, in order to take out the thread by rotating the reel, a substantial force is required and it is almost impossible to accomplish this in the conventional sewing machine.
In order to draw out the thread upwardly, the direction from the reel to the sewing machine is changed by hooking the thread to a hanger such as a hook provided right above the installed reel.
For example, as shown in FIG. 7, the reel 10 is set on the thread stand 13 placed on a table 12 onto which the sewing machine 11 is installed. On a bottom plate 14 of the thread stand 13, a supporting rod 15 is erected to support the reel 10 by inserting the rod therethrough. Above the bottom plate 14, a horizontal arm 17, supported by an elongated rod 16, is provided and formed with hooks 18 on opposite ends thereof. A thread 19 from the reel 10, set on the supporting rod 15, is drawn out upwards from the reel 10 and supplied to the sewing machine 11 through the hook 18 of the horizontal arm 17.
However, a serious problem was encountered in the method of drawing out the thread axially from the reel to supply to the sewing machine. That is, when supplying the thread 19 from the reel 10 to the sewing machine 11, a twist loop 20 is not produced since a tension force is exerted on the thread during the operation of the sewing machine. However, if the sewing machine 11 is stopped when, for example, replacing the material being sewn, the thread 19 is loosened (indicated by the one-dot chain line in FIG. 7) and tends to produce the twist loop 20.
To "twist", as stated herein, is to fix one end of the thread and rotate the other end about the longitudinal thread axis, or to rotate both ends in opposite directions (refer to FIG. 8a). This twist happens in the same way when the thread is drawn out axially from the reel (refer to FIG. 8b). "Twist" also represents a twisted state of the thread.
To "loop-twist" is to produce a loop on the thread while twisting (refer to FIG. 8c). The loop produced by loop-twisting is called a twist-loop.
To "vertical-twist" is to rotate the thread at right angles to the lengthwise thread direction. Therefore, it is entirely different from the twisting of FIGS. 8a, b. The loop produced by the vertical-twist is called a vertical twist-loop (refer to FIG. 8d).
When a twist loop 20 is produced, it is sent to the sewing machine 11 through the prior art hook 18, so that there is a problem in that the hook is not caught by the adjuster of a thread tension adjusting device (not shown) of the sewing machine 11, or the loop causes a large resistance (refer to one-dot chain line in FIG. 7), consequently causing the sewing operation to stagnate seriously by breaking the thread, or causing an uneven seam due to unbalanced tension between the upper and lower thread; or breaking of needles, and so on.
Therefore, in the industry, there is a need for a method in which the twist 20 is not produced or, if produced, it is not brought to the sewing machine.

Method of supplying thread from a reel to sewing machine and hanger used therein


An optical imaging lens system includes, in order from an object side to an image side, a first lens element, a second lens element, a third lens element, a fourth lens element, a fifth lens element, and a sixth lens element. The first lens element has refractive power. The second lens element has positive refractive power. The third lens element has positive refractive power. The fourth lens element has refractive power. The fifth lens element with positive refractive power has a convex object-side surface and a convex image-side surface, wherein both of the surfaces thereof are aspheric. The sixth lens element with refractive power has a concave image-side surface, wherein both of the surfaces thereof are aspheric, and at least one of the surfaces thereof has at least one inflection point. The optical imaging lens system has a total of six lens elements with refractive power.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to an optical imaging lens system. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a compact optical imaging lens system applicable to a mobile terminal.
2. Description of Related Art
In recent years, with the popularity of mobile terminals having camera functionalities, the demand of miniaturized optical systems has been increasing. The sensor of a conventional optical system is typically a CCD (Charge-Coupled Device) or a CMOS (Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor) sensor. As the advanced semiconductor manufacturing technologies have allowed the pixel size of sensors to be reduced and compact optical systems have gradually evolved toward the field of higher megapixels, there is an increasing demand for compact optical systems featuring better image quality.
A conventional optical system employed in a portable electronic product mainly adopts a four-element lens structure or a five-element lens structure. Due to the popularity of mobile terminals with high-end specifications, such as smart phones, tablet personal computers and wearable apparatus, the requirements for high resolution and image quality of present compact optical systems increase significantly. However, the conventional optical systems cannot satisfy these requirements of the compact optical systems.
Other conventional compact optical systems with six-element lens structure enhance image quality and resolution. However, the surface shape and refractive power of the fifth lens element is not favorable for enlarging the field of view. Moreover, the refractive power of the second lens element and the third lens element cannot avoid the astigmatism and distortion from being excessively increased in a peripheral region of an image. Accordingly, it is not applicable to the mobile terminals with high image quality.

Optical imaging lens system, image capturing device and mobile terminal


Systems and methods for converting organic material into commercially viable products, such as burnable low sulfur engine fuels. The system of the present invention includes an anaerobic stripping reactor for processing organic materials into a bio-softened slurry, a thermobaric cracking chamber and expansion/separation tank for converting the bio-softened slurry into products, and a hydrocarbon separation system for separating the various products. An interfusion system can be provided that selectively combines various of the products to create fuels, such as diesel or gasoline. In one embodiment, the thermobaric cracking chamber operates approximately in the ranges of 350 to 600° F. and 400 to 1,200 psig. In a specific embodiment, the anaerobic stripping reactor is segregated into three areas to create buffer zones both into and out of the anaerobic stripping reactor, thus isolating a main portion of the organic material from reactive shocks. Varying the organic material input into the system, and/or the temperature and/or pressure of the thermobaric cracking chamber and/or the dwell time of the organic material in the thermobaric cracking chamber allows the end product of the system to be manipulated and controlled.

Bio-feedstock and similar waste are often disposed of by incineration or dumping in a landfill. These and other disposal systems involve costs and dispose of the waste without providing any further product. A movement has been made towards converting the bio-feedstock and similar waste to a useful product.
Fossil fuels have been thought of as non-renewable resources insofar as they are produced through the decomposition of plant and animal matter and subsequent compression and geo-thermal heating of the decomposed plant and animal matter over time. The point at which large pockets of decomposed organic matter are subjected to the heat and pressure necessary to achieve molecular breakdown to form crude oil is arbitrary and takes thousands or millions of years.
Thermobaric molecular fractionation is a super accelerated process for producing crude oils, which are similar in composition to the fossil crude oils created in nature. Bio-feedstock cracking units are currently available for breaking down biomass into crude oil. While current bio-feedstock cracking units have some success in converting biomass into crude oil, it is not possible to control the process of the bio-feedstock cracking units in order to dictate specific end products. Further, the bio-feedstock cracking units currently available do not typically yield a commercially viable fuel. Consequently, these units frequently represent a significant financial investment with marginal or risky returns on the investment.
Therefore, there remains a need for a bio-feedstock cracking system that is capable of converting organic materials into commercially viable products and manipulating the products produced.


A high mast light pole inspection system includes a command center and a transport vehicle. The transport vehicle has a frame configured to be secured around a high mast light pole, and a plurality of sets of wheels. Each set of wheels has a spring mechanism that biases a respective set of wheels inward towards a center of the frame. The plurality of sets of wheels are wirelessly controlled from the command center. In addition, the transport vehicle includes a plurality of cameras mounted to the frame, a power supply coupled to each set of wheels and camera, and a RF digital video transmitter coupled to the plurality of cameras. The transmitter is configured to transmit a wireless multiplexed output of the cameras to the command center.

High mast light poles are typically several hundred feet tall, which makes it difficult to perform reliable inspections of the upper portions of a pole. Existing methods of inspecting the structural condition of high mast light poles is visually using binoculars from a ground location. These methods do not allow a significantly close inspection of the poles for flaws.
Alternatively, the inspector can use a combination of binoculars and a bucket truck to get to a higher level on the pole. However, the bucket truck is expensive and may require partial lane closures and impact traffic flow. In addition, being high up in a bucket truck is also dangerous to the inspector. Even if the inspector uses a bucket truck, most bucket trucks do not have the reach to raise to the top portion of the poles. Accordingly, what is needed is an inspection system that can perform inspections of the high mast light poles safely and with increased coverage from the bottom to the top.

Robotic inspection system for high mast light poles


An electronic device includes a support substrate to which a first electronic chip and a second electronic chip are mounted in a position situated on top of one another. First electrical connection elements are interposed between the first electronic chip and the support substrate. Second electrical connection elements are interposed between the second electronic chip and the support substrate and are situated at a distance from a periphery of the first electronic chip. Third electrical connection elements are interposed between the first electronic chip and the second electronic chip.

Known electronic devices comprise electronic chips that are adhesively bonded on top of one another and further bonded on top of a support substrate. The chips are offset from one another and are electrically connected to the support substrate by electrical connection wires. Such layouts exhibit difficulties when the wires are installed and drawbacks due in particular to the length of the wires, in which electrical losses occur and which are sensitive to mutual and surrounding electromagnetic effects.

Electronic device comprising a support substrate and stacked electronic chips


A vehicle mounted patching system for patching potholes and the like and incorporating method and apparatus for removing and flushing asphalt emulsion from the feed lines of the patcher which completely recycles the cleaning agent used to flush the feed lines, as well as eliminating any external discharge of potentially toxic materials. A cleaning agent is used to flush the feed lines. The emulsion is collected in a recovery tank and combined with fresh emulsion delivered from a storage tank when the collected emulsion reaches a given concentration. Electrical controls for operating both motors from a single power source employ arrays of cam-operated switches and a diode array polarized to prevent feedback of power from the power source to assure precision positioning of the multi-position valves to perform a given operation.

Asphalt patching systems are well known in the art. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,263,790 issued Nov. 23, 1993 and 5,419,654 issued May 30, 1995, teach a patcher comprising a motor driven, wheeled vehicle having a gravel hopper and a storage tank for liquid emulsion, such as asphalt, as well as pressurized conduits for respectively advancing gravel and asphalt to a mixing head. The asphalt emulsion is delivered from the storage tank to the mixing head by feed lines. The mixing head is arranged to extend from a free end of a swingably mounted, telescoping boom, which is moveable in both horizontal and vertical planes as well as being selectively extendable and retractable to expedite desired positioning of the mixing head above a roadway surface to be patched. The pressurized conduits may also be initially employed to blow debris from the pothole or crevice being patched whereupon an emulsion such as asphalt, with or without aggregate, is delivered to the mixing head. The need for rolling or tamping is eliminated by the use of high-pressure air.
The feed lines carrying the asphalt emulsion must be cleaned on a regular basis, typically at least once per day.
Present day techniques for repairing a pothole after it is cleared of debris, includes:
a) clearing debris from the pothole;
b) coating the pothole surface with an emulsion;
c) filling pothole with admixed emulsion and a suitable aggregate; and
d) coating top surface of the filled pothole with pulverized stone.
Due to the need to return roadways to use as quickly as possible after a repair operation, it is nevertheless disadvantageous to use a top coat of pulverized stone since tires of passing vehicles often kick up the pulverized stones into other vehicles causing damage to front, rear or side windows doors, fenders and the like. Also the top layer of crushed stone contrasts with the darker, surrounding road surface.
It is therefore desirable to provide method and apparatus for repairing a pothole which enables immediate use of the repaired surface while preventing damage to vehicles passing along the repaired surface. In addition, the apparatus described herein is capable of performing the novel method requiring a minimal amount of operator intervention.
In addition, it is also highly desirable to reclaim the emulsion from the conduits for reuse.

Method and apparatus for repairing potholes and the like


In one embodiment a method includes selectively controlling a virtual network switch to control a quality of service (QoS) for a flow associated with a virtual machine (VM). Controlling the QoS may include controlling the virtual switch to provide classification, congestion management, congestion avoidance, bandwidth limiting, traffic shaping, and/or priority manipulation. The method may also include migrating a policy associated with a virtual interface between the VM and the virtual switch from a first server to a second server when the VM is to be migrated from the first server to the second server. The migration may also include moving statistics associated with the policy. The method may include selectively adapting the policy or an existing policy on the receiving server when a discrepancy is detected between the policies. The method may include reserving resources to provide guaranteed minimum bandwidth, even without control of an ingress and egress queue.

A network switch is a computer networking device that connects network segments. A network switch may operate at one or more layers including, for example, the physical layer, the data link layer, the network layer, and/or the transport layer. While four layers are described, it is to be appreciated that in different examples a switch may operate at all seven layers of the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) stack. A network switch may inspect data packets as they are received. Therefore, a network switch may determine the source and destination of a packet and may forward it accordingly. A network switch may contain some intelligence beyond examine and forward logic. This intelligence facilitates having a network switch perform some management functions. For example, a switch may selectively turn some port range on or off, may selectively establish and/or maintain priority settings for ports, may perform media access control (MAC) filtering to prevent MAC flooding, may use a spanning tree protocol, may perform link aggregation, and so on. Typically, if these management functions have been performed, they have been performed in actual (e.g., physical) network switches.
Virtualization concerns separating a resource from underlying physical resources. Virtualization techniques can be applied to various devices and programs (e.g., computers, operating systems) including network switches. A virtual machine (VM) is a representation of a real machine using software that provides an operating environment that can run a host and its applications. A VM may be used to run applications and/or may be used as an appliance for a designated purpose and/or function. Even though a network switch may be virtualized, ultimately a virtual switch may be connected in some manner to an actual switch. One skilled in the art will appreciate that in one example a virtual switch could connect virtual machines on a single physical server and thus may not be connected to an actual switch.
Virtualization allows one device (e.g., computer, switch) do the job of multiple devices by sharing the resources of the single device across multiple environments. A VM may have a number of virtual ports, which may also be referred to as virtual interfaces, that connect to a virtual switch. The virtual switch provides connectivity to the physical ports. Conventional virtual switches, to the extent they provided any QoS at all, typically only provided a single service that was limited to controlling the ingress interface to a VM using, for example, bandwidth limiting of traffic. A VM is a tightly isolated software container that can run its own operating system and applications as if it was a physical machine. A VM behaves like a physical machine and has its own virtual (e.g., software based) processor, memory, network interface card(s), and so on. If a VM or other virtual device could think, it would think that it was a real (e.g., physical) device. However, a virtual device may be pure software and thus may be completely independent from an underlying physical hardware. Therefore, a virtual device may be migrated between different underlying physical hardwares.

Virtual switch quality of service for virtual machines


A device for sanding, buffing or grinding elongate objects includes a housing having a collar at one end and a rotatable sanding/buffing head rotatably mounted in the collar. The collar defines a cavity. A driveshaft is mounted to a motor in the housing for rotation of the driveshaft about an axis of rotation of the head upon actuation of the motor. A distal end of the driveshaft extends into the cavity in the collar. The sanding/buffing head may be cup-shaped and removably mounted or mountable into the collar on to the distal end of the driveshaft. The driveshaft rotates the cup within, and relative to, the collar upon the actuation of the motor. An abrasive is mounted to the annular inner surface of the cavity in the collar. The second end of the housing, opposite the first end, provides a handle for manual grasping and lifting by a user.

Buffing, sanding and grinding devices are well known in the prior art. For example, it is known in the prior art to provide table-mounted grinding, sanding and buffing equipment wherein an abrasive mounted on a surface, such as on sandpaper, is rotationally translated on a disk or endless belt so as to abrade the surface of an object held against the abrasive.
In the particular instance of sanding and buffing fingernails, applicant is aware of the following patents: U.S. Pat. No. 2,424,509 which issued to Singer on Jul. 22, 1947 for a Rotary Finger Scrubbing Machine, U.S. Pat. No. 2,713,693 which issued to Johnson on Jul. 26, 1955 for a Finger-nail Polish Remover, U.S. Pat. No. 4,255,826 which issued to Boyd on Mar. 17, 1981 for a Nail Polish Remover, U.S. Pat. No. 4,478,232 which issued to Yasuda on Oct. 23, 1984 for a Nail Polisher, U.S. Pat. No. 4,800,606 which issued to Kolesky on Jan. 31, 1989 for a Digit Nail Cleaning Device, U.S. Pat. No. 5,007,441 which issued to Goldstein on Apr. 16, 1991 for an Electric Nail Polish Remover, U.S. Pat. No. 5,185,900 which issued to Warner et al. on Feb. 16, 1993 for an Apparatus for Removing Coatings from Fingernails, U.S. Pat. No. 5,339,477 which issued to Warner et al. on Aug. 23, 1994 for an Apparatus for Removing Coatings from Fingernails.
As may be seen, it is known in the prior art to provide table mounted devices similar to conventional grinding and sanding machines wherein an abrasive on a surface such as on sandpaper is rotated such that, when a fingernail is held against the rotating sandpaper, the surface of the fingernail is either abraded or polished depending on the coarseness, the so-called "grit", of the abrasive surface.
What is neither taught nor suggested, and which it is an object of the present invention to provide, is a portable, hand held sanding, buffing or grinding motorized apparatus which, when a user holds the apparatus in the user's hand, may be held sufficiently steadily so that a digit of the other hand or an object held in the other hand of the user may be inserted into a concavity or opening in a sanding, buffing or grinding cup mounted in cooperation with a selectively operable motor mounted in the apparatus housing. In applicant's opinion, the apparatus not only may be used for sanding, buffing or grinding, but may also provide for hardening of finger or toe nails and for the removal of ridges from same and the attendant advantages flowing therefrom.

Device for sanding buffing or grinding elongate objects


The present disclosure relates to a new duplex stainless steel. Furthermore, the present disclosure relates to a product comprising the duplex stainless steel, which method comprises the step of performing a heat treatment on an object comprising the duplex stainless steel at a predetermined temperature and during a predetermined time.

Duplex stainless steels are a group of stainless steels which has a two-phase structure, namely austenitic and ferritic phase. These steels usually have a combination of good mechanical properties (such as strength and toughness) and good corrosion resistance. However, in certain applications, there is a need for a duplex stainless steel having even higher strength and which also can be manufactured for a reasonable price, i.e. containing lower amount of expensive alloying elements.
The aim of the present disclosure is to provide a duplex stainless steel which has a combination of high strength and high ductility and good corrosion resistance and which may be manufactured for a reasonable price.


The invention includes a method of forming a capacitor electrode. A sacrificial material sidewall is provided to extend at least partially around an opening. A first silicon-containing material is formed within the opening to partially fill the opening, and is doped with conductivity-enhancing dopant. A second silicon-containing material is formed within the partially filled opening, and is provided to be less heavily doped with conductivity-enhancing dopant than is the first silicon-containing material. At least some of the second silicon-containing material is converted into hemispherical grain silicon, and at least some of the sacrificial material sidewall is removed. The invention also encompasses methods of forming capacitors and capacitor assemblies incorporating the above-described capacitor electrode. Further, the invention encompasses capacitor assemblies and capacitor structures.

The invention pertains to methods of forming semiconductor structures, and in particular embodiments pertains to methods of forming capacitor electrodes and capacitor assemblies. The invention also encompasses capacitor structures, and capacitor-containing assemblies.
Capacitors are utilized in numerous semiconductor structures. For instance, capacitors can be coupled with transistors to form dynamic random access memory (DRAM) cells. A continuing goal in semiconductor device fabrication is to shrink the spacing between adjacent devices, and therefore enable an increasing number of devices to be formed within the same amount of semiconductor wafer real estate. A problem that can occur when spacing between adjacent capacitor structures is reduced is that various conductive components of the adjacent structures can extend across a gap between the structures, and ultimately cause an electrical short from one structure to an adjacent structure. Such electrical short can alter electrical characteristics associated with the capacitor structures, and even render the structures inoperable.
It would be desirable to develop new capacitor structures designed for relatively tight packing between adjacent structures; and it would be further desirable to develop methodologies for forming such structures.
In one aspect, the invention encompasses a method of forming a capacitor electrode. A sacrificial material sidewall is provided to extend at least partially around an opening. A first silicon-containing material is formed within the opening to partially fill the opening, and is doped with conductivity-enhancing dopant. A second silicon-containing material is formed within the partially filled opening, and is provided to be less heavily doped with conductivity-enhancing dopant than is the first silicon-containing material. At least some of the second silicon-containing material is converted into hemispherical grain silicon, and at least some of the sacrificial material sidewall is removed. The invention also encompasses methods of forming capacitors and capacitor assemblies incorporating the above-described capacitor electrode. Further, the invention encompasses capacitor assemblies and capacitor structures.
An exemplary capacitor structure encompassed by the invention comprises a container construction which includes a first silicon-containing layer around a second silicon-containing layer. The second silicon-containing layer defines an inner periphery of the container and the first silicon-containing defines an outer periphery of the container. At least some of the second silicon-containing layer is in the form of hemispherical grain silicon. A dielectric material is along the inner and outer peripheries of the container construction, and a conductive material is over the dielectric material. The container construction, dielectric material and conductive material together define at least part of the capacitor structure.

Methods of forming a capacitor structure


A docking station for a portable electronic device is provided. The docking station comprises (a) an engagement element, wherein the engagement element is capable of engaging the said portable electronic device; and (b) a rotation mechanism, wherein the rotation mechanism is capable of rotating said portable electronic device relative to a support base of said docking station.

Portable electronic devices such as DVD players, radios, cassette recorders, CD players, personal media players such as Coby Electronics' PMP 4320 portable media player, and digital music replay (MP3) devices such as Apple's iPod MP3 player enable users to receive transmissions or to play content essentially wherever and whenever they want. Accordingly, users may enjoy these devices at home, when they travel and either hold them, clip them to their clothing, or associate them with a docking station.
When a portable electronic device is associated with a docking station a user may enjoy the output of his or her device while having free hands and obtain a higher quality sound by connecting the portable electronic device to a set of speakers that is housed within the docking station. Unfortunately, to date the primary focus of improving docking stations has been on the sound quality, and there have been few other efforts to optimize other features of docking stations to improve the user's experience. As portable electronic devices acquire increased functionalities, e.g. higher quality video features, consumers will continue to demand more enjoyable ways in which to use their devices. The present invention is directed to this need.


An isolation interface circuit is disclosed. The isolation interface circuit comprising a transmitting circuit and a receiving circuit. The transmitting circuit configured to receive a first serial interface signal and a second serial interface signal for generating a differential polarity pulse signal. The receiving circuit configured to receive the differential polarity pulse signal for generating the first serial interface signal and the second serial interface signal. The differential polarity pulse signal are generated in response to the first serial interface signal and the second serial interface signal. The first serial interface signal and the second serial interface signal are generated in accordance with the differential polarity pulse signal. In a period, only one of the transmitting circuit and the receiving circuit can be enabled.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to devices for power management, and particularly relates to an isolation circuit for a power converter.
2. Background of the Invention
A smart bus is a popular interface circuit used in a power management device, similar with I2C interface, has been developed as a standard for the micro-controller's interface providing a simple and flexible serial interface circuit for the power management and control. However, a smart bus cannot be applied to a system having different ground levels. Therefore, how to provide an isolation interface circuit for power management, particularly for the system with different voltages and the ground levels is required.

Isolation interface circuit for power management


The invention relates to a circuit assembly comprising a block-shaped mount adapted to be equipped with aligned rows of electromagnetically operated fluid power valve-like components, said assembly having internal connection ducts, which on the one hand communicate with the components and the on the other with ducts of a manifold mounted on one of the two end faces of the mount. The block-shaped mount is adapted to be fitted with components on two opposite side faces and there is an electronic circuit board running generally parallel to the direction of the rows of components at a right angle to the side faces of the mount fitted with the components. For making a direct electrical connection between the electronic circuit board and the components gripping terminals are placed on the surface of the electronic circuit board facing towards the block-shaped mount for cooperation with the contact plugs on the components.

The invention relates to a circuit assembly comprising a block-shaped component mount adapted to be equipped with aligned rows of electromagnetically operated fluid power valve-like components, said assembly having internal connection ducts, which on the one hand communicate with the components and on the other with ducts of an elongated manifold mounted on one of the two ends of the block-shaped component mount, said manifold comprising at least one feed duct for the supply of a fluid under pressure to the components and at least two load ducts for the supply of loads, and an electronic circuit board for electrically driving the components.
Such circuit assemblies are employed in electrical-pneumatic controllers, the block-shaped component mount being equipped with components as for example electromagnetically driven valves, on one of its sides. The components are placed in two rows and receive electrical signals from a common edge connector, which runs parallel the components on the component mount. On the side opposite to the side with the components of the block-shaped component mount there is an electronic circuit board, which is fed with the control signals for the separate components and transmits the control or driving pulses via a harness of wires to the edge connector. Such an arrangement suffers from the disadvantage that it takes up a large amount of space, since because of the edge connector mounted on the block-shaped component mount it necessarily has a certain overall size. Furthermore manufacture is quite a complex process, since the edge connector has an elaborate structure and the internal wiring involves elaborate and high-cost operations for its production. A further drawback is caused by the wire harness as a connection between the electronic circuit board and the edge connector, since extensive soldering operations are necessary and it is quite possible for the connections to be confused. Furthermore a wire harness is cumbersome and is likely to be the cause of some of the wires being torn off their terminals. In the event of a defect occurring in the electronic circuit board it will will have to be replaced and it is then necessary for the entire wire harness to be unsoldered in order to make it possible for the electronic circuit board to be removed. There is then the disadvantage of a considerable loss of time and heavy costs.


A process for the production of olefins from at least one of an alcohol and ether, the process including: contacting at least one alcohol or ether with a hydrofluoric acid-treated amorphous synthetic alumina-silica catalyst under decomposition conditions to produce an olefin. Also disclosed is a process for the production of isobutylene from methyl tertiary butyl ether, the process including: feeding methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) to a reactor having at least one reaction zone containing a hydrofluoric acid-treated amorphous synthetic alumina-silica catalyst; contacting the MTBE with the hydrofluoric acid-treated amorphous synthetic alumina-silica catalyst under decomposition conditions to produce a reactor effluent comprising isobutylene, unreacted MTBE, heavies, and methanol; feeding the reactor effluent to a first distillation column; separating the isobutylene from the unreacted MTBE, heavies, and the methanol in the first distillation column to recover a first bottoms fraction comprising heavies, unreacted MTBE, and methanol and an isobutylene-rich overheads fraction.

1. Field of the Disclosure
Embodiments disclosed herein relate generally to catalysts and processes for the decomposition of ethers and alcohols to form olefins. More specifically, embodiments disclosed herein relate to hydrofluoric acid treated amorphous synthetic alumina-silica catalysts useful for the decomposition of ethers, such as alkyl tertiary-alkyl ethers, to form olefins, such as tertiary olefins.
2. Background
Ethers may be decomposed to corresponding olefins and alcohols in the presence of an acid catalyst. For example, alkyl tertiary-alkyl ethers, such as methyl tertiary-butyl ether (MTBE) or tertiary-amyl methyl ether (TAME) may be cracked to tertiary olefins and corresponding alcohols over an acidic solid catalyst. The resulting olefin products, isobutylene and isoamylenes, are important raw materials for various applications. Isobutylene, for example, is a raw material for production of synthetic rubber. Isoamylene is a raw material for various specialized applications, such as herbicides, flavors, fragrances, and a copolymerization agent, among others.
One major difficulty encountered in the catalytic cracking of alkyl tertiary-alkyl ethers is a relatively short catalyst cycle length, generally caused by polymer deposition on the catalyst due to the highly reactive nature of the tertiary olefins. Additionally, a very small amount of dienes or diene-precursors may be detrimental to catalyst longevity. Thus, dienes and diene-precursors in feed streams are typically removed by hydrogenation, distillation, or both.
Various natural clays are acidic materials that can serve as catalysts for acid catalyzed chemical reactions, such as the cracking of alkyl tertiary-alkyl ethers. Clays are naturally occurring crystalline phyllosilicate minerals (mostly aluminosilicates) with various impurities. Aluminum, magnesium, calcium, sodium, and the like, are important cationic components of layered silicate minerals. When these cationic species, especially mono and divalent cations, are removed by proper chemical means, Brönstead acidic sites are introduced to the clay materials, and they can serve as acidic catalysts for various chemical reactions.
Many clays have layered or ordered structures. For example, kaolin, montmorillonite, attapulgite, bentonite, beidellites, and other clays have layered structures. When such clays are properly treated, they become quite acidic. As a means to increase catalytic active sites, pillars may be introduced between the clay layers in addition to creating acidic sites. This pillaring technique multiplies the number of catalytic acidic sites.
Both acidic clays and synthetic aluminosilicates have been used as a matrix for producing fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) catalysts. Calcined kaolin has been utilized as a raw material in the synthesis of Y-zeolite in microsphere form. Additionally, dehydration of ethanol to ethylene over mixed oxides of alumina-silica and alumina catalysts was studied by J. Koubek et al., Proceedings of the 7th International Congress on Catalysis, Part B, 853, 1980.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,398,051 discloses obtaining high purity tertiary olefins, such as isobutylene, by decomposition of alkyl-tertiary-alkyl ethers over acidic catalysts. The catalyst used was an alumina compound supported on a carrier containing silicon dioxides. The alumina compound on a support is decomposed by calcining at high temperatures (750-1000° C.). The carriers included silica, montmorillonite, kaolinite, attapulgite, silica-zirconia, and others. However, no data regarding catalyst stability or catalyst deactivation is presented.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,043,518 and 4,691,073 disclose a process using clay catalysts for producing isoamylenes by cracking TAME over various natural clay catalysts, such as attapulgite clay, treated with an aqueous hydrofluoric acid (HF) solution. Benefits disclosed by treating the natural clays with HF include a higher activity and increased catalyst stability, which are measured in terms of cracking temperature required to maintain 95% conversion of TAME. This type of clay is also an effective catalyst for the production of isobutylene from MTBE. These patents also mention use of synthetic clays in passing, and do not present any data directed toward synthetic clays.
Commercially, attapulgite clay catalysts are sold as granules. Unfortunately, attapulgite clay catalysts do not have good physical integrity. Additionally, HF treatment further weakens the physical integrity, which is measured by attrition rate or crushing strength. As a result, the HF treated attapulgite clays must be handled with care, and the catalyst life is typically no more than 6 months.
Other downfalls of HF treated attapulgite clays include disposal costs. Such catalysts must be treated or otherwise rendered inert prior to disposal, adding to the cost of producing tertiary olefins. Additional costs are encountered by the large amount of HF required for the clay treating process, increasing raw material costs and creating a large amount of fluorinated waste solution. Although the HF treated attapulgite generates a lot of waste materials, the service time and deactivation are a significant improvement over untreated clay catalysts.
Another downside to use of HF treated clays includes increased production of byproducts, such as dimethyl ether (DME). Because of the higher catalytic activity of HF treated clays, they produce, in general, more DME than untreated clay catalysts. Catalyst deactivation typically results in a lower conversion of alkyl tertiary-alkyl ethers, such that the cracking temperature is raised to maintain a steady conversion as the catalyst deactivates. As treated attapulgite clay catalysts deactivate at a slower rate than untreated catalyst, the slower temperature ramping does not affect DME production as much as for untreated clay catalysts. Decreased DME production is a desired benefit not generally obtained with HF treated attapulgite clays.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,043,519 ('519) discloses a process for the production of tertiary olefins by decomposing alkyl tertiary-alkyl ethers in the presence of a catalyst containing 0.1 to 1.5 weight percent alumina on silica. As disclosed, at least 0.5 weight percent alumina is required for slower catalyst deactivation, and addition of small quantities of water into the feed stream may suppress DME formation. Nevertheless, the experimental results presented in Table 2 of the '519 patent shows more than about 1800 ppm DME by weight in the product stream at about 75% MTBE conversion, and more than 4500 ppm DME at a slightly higher conversion of 76.8%.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,880,787, 4,871,446, 4,888,103, and 4,324,698 each mention that amorphous silica-alumina catalysts are useful as cracking catalysts. However, as noted in U.S. Pat. No. 4,880,787, the major conventional cracking catalysts in use at that time (late 1980's, early 1990's), the same time period as the aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 4,691,073, generally incorporated a large pore crystalline aluminosilicate. To the present inventor's knowledge, commercial synthetic silica-alumina catalysts for cracking remain to this day to be of a crystalline nature.
Accordingly, there exists a need for improved catalysts for the production of tertiary olefins. Such improved catalysts are desired to have one or more of an increased cycle length, good physical integrity, a low attrition rate, a high crushing strength, decreased production costs, and decreased disposal costs.

Process and catalyst for cracking of ethers and alcohols


An universal device (GPUI) for coupling a computer bus (PSB) to a controller (DEA) of a group of peripherals connected to one another by a specific link (FDDI) to which the controller is physically connected, includes a microprocessor (CPU) associated with a set of memories and an interface (IHAC, IHAD) for linkage with the controller (DEA) assuring the transfer of the data of the frames and of control blocks. The universal coupling device comprises a double-port random-access buffer memory (VRAM) connected by way of a first bus (B.sub.1) to the interface (IHAD) and by way of a second bus (B.sub.2) to the computer bus via a specific interface of the computer (MPC). Transfer of the data between the linking interface (IHAC, IHAD) and the double-port memory, on the one hand, and between the latter (VRAM) and the computer bus (PSB) on the other, is organized by a microprocessor (CPU), as is the conversion of control blocks used on the computer bus into those used in the link.

The present invention relates to a universal device for coupling a computer bus to a controller of a group of peripherals, which are connected to one another by a specific link to which the controller is physically connected. More particularly, it is applicable to a group of peripherals or terminals that are connected to one another via an FDDI-type of ring network for data transmission, whose transmission carrier is constituted by optical fibers. It is also applicable to a group of peripherals connected to one another by a link characteristic to them, such as an SCSI-type link that connects magnetic disk memories.
Data transmission networks that use fiber optics as transmission carriers are used increasingly often and are defined in their broad outlines in the publications developed in such international standardization committees as the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), under reference number X3T9-5. These standards defined by ANSI have also been adopted by ISO, the International Standards Organization. This standard defines a set of physical and electrical characteristics of the network, such as the maximum total length of the fiber, the maximum distance between stations of a network, and the code in which the information is written and transmitted from one station to another. One of the numerous advantages of using fiber optics in the networks is the increased transmission rate obtained, which in on the order of 100 megabits per second.
SCSI-type links have also been defined by standards, both by ANSI and by ISO.
It is known that in a network, the information messages sent by the various stations are constituted by a plurality of frames. Hence the frame is the individual message and is structured; it includes messages marking the start and end, respectively; synchronization signals, from which the clock can be deduced; the address of the station to which a message is addressed; the address of the sending station; the length of the data; the useful data; and so forth. More simply, a frame can be said to be made up of useful data, are framed in time by signals placed at the head and foot of the frame. The signals at the head and foot of the frame that frame the useful data are called "command characters".
It is also known that the set of constituent functional elements of a computer, whether they are processors constituting it (central processing unity or input/output processors), random access and read only memories, input/output controllers or peripheral controllers, are disposed on a set of boards of standardized dimensions. These boards are generally connected to the same parallel-type bus, assuring communication among the various processors, data transport between the boards, and the electrical supply to the boards.
The bus commonly known as the Multibus II (trademark filed by the Intel Corporation) is one of the most often used buses. Its architecture is structured around a main bus of the parallel type, which is standardized to the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers) Standard 1296, and is commonly known as PSB (for parallel system bus).
One such computer bus is connected to this specific link (FDDI network or SCSI link) by way of a gateway connection device, whose function is to adapt the information transmission conditions on the Multibus II to the transmission conditions on the network or in the characteristic link connecting the peripherals. In fact, the data transmission modes on the PSB bus on the one hand and on the network (such as FDDI) on the other are completely different, both as to the information transmission rate and as to the transmission particles used, the writing codes, the information, the format, the control characters, the information transmission (parallel on the Multibus II, serial on the FDDI network), and so forth.
FIGS. 1A and 1B, respectively, show the general structure of such a gateway device, when the transmission network is the FDDI type, and when the characteristic link is the SCSI type.
Turning to FIG. 1A:
This shows a computer ORD, whose various constituent elements are disposed on a plurality of boards C communicating with one another by way of a bus PSB. Each board C is connected to PSB by way of an MPC coprocessor, for example an Intel VL 82c389, and communicates by message mode with the other constituent functional elements of the computer. This mode of communications between the various boards of ORD is defined precisely in aforementioned IEEE Standard 1296.
The computer ORD is connected to a network RN, in the form of a ring, of the FDDI type, by way of the gateway connection device DPC. The network RN is made up of a main ring AP and a secondary ring AS.
The device DPC is composed on the one hand of a universal coupling device GPU (for general purpose unit), an adaptor device DEA, and an interface IHA assuring the transfer of information between the universal coupling device GPU and the adaptor device DEA.
The universal coupling device GPU is connected to PSB via a coprocessor MPC, of the same type as the coprocessors of the boards C of the computer ORD.
The device DPC is physically connected to the network RN by way of a physical network access device, DAP, which belongs to the adaptor device DEA.
In FIG. 1B, the gateway connection device DPC has the same structure as in FIG. 1A; the difference is that the adaptor device DEA is connected by way of a physical adaptation device DAP to a link of the SCSI type, to which the respective disk memories D.sub.1, . . . , D.sub.i, . . . , D.sub.j, . . . , D.sub.n are connected.
Both in FIG. 1A and in FIG. 1B, the device DPC may be embodied by either one and the same board or by two separate boards, depending on the importance of the elements making up each of the constituents of this device, that is, GPU and DEA.
The general structure of the device DPC shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, and embodiments and the function of the two elements constituting it, that is, GPU and DEA, are described in French Patent Application 89 10 156 filed on Jul. 27, 1989 by the present Applicant, entitled "Dispositif passerelle de connexion d'un bus d'ordinateur a un reseau fibre optique en forme d'anneau" corresponding to U.S. application Ser. No. 07/557,519, filed Jul. 4, 1990, entitled "Gateway Device for Connecting a Computer Bus to a Fiber-optic Token-ring Network". The subject matter of said U.S. application is hereby incorporated by reference.
The invention essentially relates to the universal coupling device GPU; the essential constituent elements of the universal coupling device GPUA that are used in the device DPC described in the aforementioned patent application will be recalled by reference to FIG. 2; this device accordingly constitutes a prior art way of embodying such a universal coupling device.
As can be seen from this same FIG. 2, the device GPUA is constructed around a microprocessor CPU and a bus BH associated with the microprocessor. It also includes a programmable read-only memory MM and a random access memory MV, and a direct memory access controller of the DMA type, represented by the symbol DMAC, for the random access memory MV.
In addition, the transfer interface IHA connected to the universal device GPUA by way of the bus BH includes an interface IHAD enabling the transfer of the useful data from or to GPUA and a transfer interface for the control blocks, including the command characters of the frames received or sent, that is, IHAC enabling the transfer of the control blocks from or to GPUA.
If one seeks to send information from the computer ORD to the network RN via PSB, then one proceeds as follows:
This information is transmitted via the coprocessor MPC and then memorized in the memory MV, and then analyzed by the microprocessor CPU, which processes a control block SCB containing parameters relating to the constitution of the FDDI-type frames, on the one hand, which are intended to be sent over the network RN (command characters), and on the other, relating to the nature of the operations to be performed by DEA. For example, these parameters are the address of the addressee of the information, the address of the sender, the length of the messages that are sent, and so forth.
As soon as CPU has constituted SCB, the latter is then sent, as are the data corresponding to it, over the bus BH to the interface IHA; SCB is routed to IHAC, while the data are routed to IHAD. The control block SCB is for example routed over 16 bits, that is, HC.sub.0 through HC.sub.15, accompanied by two parity bits HCP.sub.0 and HCP.sub.1. As for the data, they are routed over 32 bits, that is, HD.sub.0 through HD.sub.31, accompanied by four parity bits HDP.sub.0 through HDP.sub.3.
Both the data and the command block SCB are temporarily stored in their respective interfaces IHAC and IHAD before being transferred over the bus BC and BDF, respectively, which belong to the adaptor device DEA.
It is suitable to note that the transfer of the control blocks and data over the two separate buses BC and BDF is done independently for one and the other. The way in which the information is transferred and stored, before being sent over the network RN, via the adaptor device DEA is described in detail in the aforementioned French patent application.
The disadvantage of the universal coupling device GPUA is that the microprocessor has only one and the same bus at its disposal to perform the transfer of the useful data, the transfer of the data necessary for the running of its own code, and finally the data necessary for management of the protocols used on the bus PSB and in the network FDDI, respectively. It is not possible to make the best use of the microprocessor performance, because it is limited by the existence of only one bus.
The present invention makes it possible to overcome these disadvantages, by providing a double-port video RAM memory between the interface IHAD and the coprocessor MPC, in which memory the useful data of the FDDI (or SCSI) frames are temporarily stored before being transferred to the coprocessor MPC under the control of a controller of the DMA type. In addition, the microprocessor can use its internal bus specifically for running its own code, that is, for the data necessary for its operating system, and finally for managing protocols. The data can accordingly be transferred while at the same time work is done on the adaptation of the protocols, or while the operating system operations are being performed.
According to the invention, the universal device for coupling a computer bus to a controller of a group of peripherals connected to one another by a specific link to which the controller is physically connected, including:
a microprocessor associated with at least one memory containing its own operating system, PA1 an interface for linkage with the controller assuring the transfer of the useful data of the frames and control blocks containing the command characters relating to the constitution of frames transmitted either to the link or to the bus, PA1 is characterized in that it includes a double-port random-access buffer memory connected by way of a first bus to said interface and by way of a second bus to the computer bus via a specific interface of the computer, the transfer of the data between the linking interface and the double-port memory, on the one hand, between the latter and the computer bus on the other, being organized by the microprocessor, the latter transfer being effected under the control of a direct memory access circuit, and the conversion of the specific command characters of the protocols used on the computer bus into those used on the link and vice versa being performed by the microprocessor, which assures their transfer over its internal bus to or from the linking interface.

Universal device for coupling a computer bus to a controller of a group of peripherals


A shopping cart attachment is mounted to the handlebar of a shopping cart to facilitate fast and easy installation and removal of a multi-page booklet, such as may be used to provide advertisements and/or informational material to a customer. In addition, the attachment may include a raised ledge that may be used to retain a customer's mobile phone, tablet, shopping list, coupons and/or writing utensil while shopping.

Shopping carts are routinely used by customers of a retail establishment to store items prior to purchase as the customers shop and/or to transport purchased items to customers' vehicles. Various types of devices have been developed over the years for attaching to the handlebars of shopping carts. For example, devices have been developed to provide customers with various shopping tools such as writing surfaces, calculators, notepads, and writing utensils. In addition, some devices have been developed that include clips for holding notes, coupons or shopping lists.
Such devices are also often used for marketing and/or informational purposes, and may include store logos, store directories, advertisements and/or coupons. One particular design, for example, includes a backplate that is surrounded and partially overlapped on all four sides by a lip, with a laminated sheet adhered to the backplate to provide a store directory and/or advertisements for display to a customer. In addition, the design may utilize a removable multi-page booklet that includes multiple laminated pages bound together along a binding that may be inserted under the lip around and over the top of the backplate. The booklet is typically adhered to the laminated sheet mounted to the backplate using an adhesive strip disposed on a back page of the booklet, and the back page is typically clear to enable the laminated sheet mounted to the backplate to remain visible.
It has been found, however, that limitations exist in conventional designs. For example, the use of adhesives to secure booklets to such designs can lead to adhesive build-up over time, or to delamination of the underlying laminated sheet, particularly when booklets are replaced on a regular basis to update the advertisements presented to customers. In addition, removing and replacing booklets can be a time-consuming operation considering that a typical retail establishment such as a grocery store may have hundreds of shopping carts in use at any given time. Installation may also be complicated by weather concerns when using adhesives, as shopping carts may need to be wiped off or allowed to dry prior to replacing booklets.


An electrical connector comprises a housing having a retention structure, and a plurality of contacts extending through said housing. Each contact has a medial section, a mounting portion extending from one end of the medial section, and a compressive mating portion extending from another end of the medial section and having a distal end. The retention structure of the housing engages the distal ends of the compressive mating portions of the contacts to preload the contacts. The contacts extend through the housing and exhibit a preload. A fusible element is secured to each respective one of the contacts.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to electrical connectors. More specifically, the present invention relates to mezzanine-style electrical connectors using compression contacts to interconnect a first electrical component to a second electrical component.
2. Brief Description of Earlier Developments
U.S. Pat. No. 5,484,295 describes a typical compression connector. Typical compression connectors have contacts with medial sections retained within a housing. Depending upon the application, the contact has at least one arm extending from the medial section in cantilevered fashion to engage an electrical component. Such connectors may not provide suitable wiping action or contact normal force.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an electrical connector with suitable wiping action.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an electrical connector with suitable contact normal force.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a surface mounted compression connector.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a compression connector with preloaded contacts.
These and other objects of the present invention are achieved in one aspect of the present invention by an electrical connector, comprising: a housing having a retention structure; and a plurality of contacts extending through the housing. Each contact has: a medial section; a mounting portion extending from one end of the medial section; and a compressive mating portion extending from another end of the medial section and having a distal end. The retention structure of the housing engages the distal ends of the compressive mating portions of the contacts to preload the contacts.
These and other objects of the present invention are achieved in another aspect of the present invention by an electrical connector, comprising: a housing; a plurality of contacts extending through the housing and exhibiting a preload; and a plurality of fusible elements, each secured to a respective one of the contacts.
These and other objects of the present invention are achieved in another aspect of the present invention by a method of making an electrical connector, comprising the steps of: providing a housing; inserting a plurality of contacts into the housing; securing a fusible element to each contact; and preloading the contacts.

Electrical connector with compression contacts


Methods of liquid-phase synthesis of polymers using polymer substrates and systems for facilitating such methods allow gating of a synthetic reaction into a binary (reacted or unreacted) readout. Polymer substrates are used as carriers for molecular reagents and act as separation tags that allow them to be purified using nanoscale deterministic lateral displacement. Two polymer substrates are linked together by a bond-forming reaction to form a longer polymer that includes a synthetic product. The synthetic product can be purified away from unreacted polymers/reagents using strand-length dependent lateral displacement.

The present application relates generally to the synthesis of small molecules and macromolecules and more particularly to liquid phase synthesis using nanoscale deterministic lateral displacement.
Chemical synthesis depends heavily on the capability to purify the molecular products created. An extensive arsenal of purification methods have been deployed for the synthesis of increasingly complex targets. These methods generally rely on asymmetric chemical potentials to drive separation. Size exclusion methods differentiate molecules by their average size and, thus their path tortuosity, in a porous media. Affinity chromatography uses differences in a physiochemical property such as hydrophobicity, charge state, or specific supramolecular recognition and binding to an immobilized moiety. Gel electrophoresis uses differences both in ion mobility and particle size. Distillation and sublimation uses differences in vapor pressure or sublimation point, respectively, between molecules. Ultracentrifugation uses differences in density.
Solid phase synthesis facilitates complex synthesis and purification by immobilizing species on a macroscopic/microscopic solid such as bead resin or porous media, which cannot pass through a filtering medium. Chemical species are reacted to the solid phase at the liquid/solid interface, and excess reagents are washed away and flow through a filtering medium away from the solid phase. The immobilized solid phase can then be reused for the next reaction step. Repeated application of liquid reagent and filtering of the solid phase allow the building up of larger molecules, which remain tethered to the solid's surface. The method allows an error limiting capability in synthesis: tethered constructs that fail to react can be "sealed" using a capping reagent which prevents further synthesis (generally by removing or altering the reactive moiety on the molecule). This allows failed targets to be removed from the synthetic pathway, but constitutes a yield loss and contamination which must be removed at the end stage when the molecular product is released from the solid phase.
Silicon based, on-chip nanofluidic devices represent a class of lab-on-chip devices with applications in biology, medicine, pharmaceuticals and agriculture. Silicon nanofluidic devices have advantages over their plastic-based counterparts, including scalability, ability to fabricate small feature sizes, and integration with on-chip electronics. Nanoscale deterministic lateral displacement ("nanoDLD") chips are a type of silicon nanofluidic device. NanoDLD includes asymmetric pillar arrays, with features sizes from 10 to 1,000 nanometers (nm), etched into fluidic channels in a silicon/silica substrate. NanoDLD technology allows size-based fractionation of colloids and sub-cellular components, ranging from 20 to 1,000 nm in diameter. The key design feature of nanoDLD is the gap size, ranging from 50 to 1,000 nm, which controls the size selectivity of the device. Nano deterministic lateral displacement (nanoDLD) can operate on the nano-mesoscale in the size range of most polymer colloids, can operate continuously, has good size selectivity for colloids in the >20 nm range and can be scaled for different sizes of reaction and throughput. Control of the flow velocity can be used to tune the separation resolution of polymer substrates in the nanoDLD array. An external pump or pneumatic source may be connected to a flow cell enclosing the nanofluidic chip to drive the fluid flow through the nanofluidic chip. A quantity of sample fluid is pressurized through the chip, and the output stream of different particle size fractions are collected in chambers within the flow cell. Parallel integration of nanoDLD devices for high density chips allows processing rates of about 1 milliliter per hour (mL/hr). Hydrodynamic focused arrays (HFA) and condenser focused arrays (CFA) are two types of nanoDLD arrays that can be employed for particle separation.

Controlled chemical synthesis using polymer substrates and nanofluidic separation systems

International Business Machines Corporation