Methods and arrangements to manage transparent windows are described herein. Embodiments may comprise logic such as hardware and/or code to select one or more windows to make transparent and to switching the active window between source and target windows via the position of the mouse. Many embodiments provide a right click, pop-up menu (i.e., pressing the right mouse button generates a pop-up menu), a pull-down menu, or a button associated with windows. These features may allow a user to select individual or all windows to be transparent. A transparent window provides some view of windows or objects below the transparent window while providing some view of the contents such as graphics and/or text in the transparent window. Embodiments may also include management logic such as hardware and/or code to facilitate selection of a transparent window to make the window active.

A graphical user interface (GUI) for computer systems typically include a capability to present on a screen space a plurality of windows each of which may have a different application running under it, providing a user with the appearance of the multitasking capabilities. The last window used or opened remains the active window until the user selects another window as the active window. The active window is the window in which actions are performed and is located at the uppermost layer of the GUI. For instance, when the user presses a paste button, the paste occurs in the active window and if the user types, the resulting text appears at the last cursor location in the active window.
Open windows other than the active window are within layers below the active window. The higher the layer within which a window resides, the higher the priority for displaying the window's contents. In other words, higher layer windows block or obscure content in lower layers of the GUI and the desktop is typically at the bottom or lowest layer of the GUI.
More often than not, a user takes advantage of the multitasking capability by opening separate windows for each application. However, the display or monitor upon which the user displays the plurality of windows has a screen space limited by the physical size of a display or monitor so the task of managing the windows becomes increasingly difficult as the number of open windows increase.
The current GUI technology enables users to manually resize the active window by minimizing, maximizing, and dragging the corners of the active window to a desired size. For example, if a window size is larger than the content displayed on it, the user typically minimizes the window to a size needed to display the content, leaving the background area in the screen space for other use.
In other cases, the content of the window, such as text and graphics, may need a larger display area than the initial window size so the user can scroll through the window and/or manually resize the window by maximizing or dragging the corners of the window to a desired size that increases the viewable content contained in the window. For instance, when lines of text extend past the right edge of a window displaying the text, the user can manually scroll the active window via a scroll bar between the left and right portions to view the text.
The manual scrolling becomes a burdensome task, especially when the user needs to navigate back and forth between left and right sides of the windows in order to view the content. While the user may maximize the active window to reduce the problem associated with manual scrolling, maximization typically results in overlapping and covering up additional screen space, and thereby obscuring the view of inactive windows and other displayed items or objects in the screen space.
Inevitably, the overlapping, higher-layer windows visually obscure inactive windows. The multiple windows are presented in disarray, requiring considerable time and effort by users to search for desired windows or other objects such as icons on the desktop. Frequently, users do not even realize that they have various inactive windows open and may even open a duplicate window, compounding the problem.
Managing the multiple, overlapping and obscured windows is particularly challenging while transferring information between two or more of the windows. Transferring information from a source window to a target window requires the user to know where each window is located or find each window in the z-order or on the toolbar. For cases in which the source and target windows are fully or partially covered, this can be time consuming and otherwise detrimental to productivity. For example, when transferring information involves copying and pasting, the user has to find and activate the source window, copy the content of interest from the source window, locate and activate the target window, paste the content, and potentially find and activate the source window again to copy and paste additional content.
More specifically, to switch the active window between the source window and the target window, the user must either recognize the tabs or the window descriptions of the source and target windows or select each available tab or window until the source and target windows are found. Due to the limited space for the descriptions and the accommodation for a variable number of windows, the descriptions may be severely abbreviated. In many situations, the user finds it more convenient to reduce windows to icons or tabs until the appropriate window is located and/or open and activate the windows until the appropriate window is found. In other situations, the user may size windows to leave non-overlapping portions and click on the non-overlapping portions of the windows to activate each window in some order until the target or source window is found. Clicking on the non-overlapping portion typically raises the corresponding application window to the uppermost layer of the desktop, obscuring previously activated windows.
When there is a need for the simultaneous viewing of information contained in the two different application windows, the user may resize the corresponding application windows so they are small enough to fit next to one another on the display but still retain sufficiently large text and graphics to remain usable. While average display sizes have been steadily increasing, many users still find it difficult to have more than one window viewable at one time. Thus, after viewing or transferring content, the user typically resizes the windows back to a more useable size. When the user just wants to copy content from one window and paste the content into the other, this conventional methodology can be disruptive and time consuming, significantly impacting productivity.
Productivity is further impacted when there is more than one target and/or source window and the source window of interest is not directly beneath the target window. For instance, the user may be working with three or more windows and the target window may be on top while the source window is several layers beneath the target window. Typically, the user would have to resize, move, minimize, and/or scroll through windows on the display to make the source window active. Such procedures significantly impact the speed at which copying and pasting can occur.
Current solutions involve transparent windows. Making one or more windows transparent can allow the user to either view the content of more than one of the windows at a time even on displays that are not sufficiently large to display the windows next to one another. Furthermore, the use of transparent windows can allow the user to locate the window of interest more quickly. However, the current solutions do not offer a convenient way to switch between active windows or otherwise manage the transparent windows during the performance of a task.


Drinking troughs for in particular poultry feature drinking valves arranged at regular intervals along a water supply line, with each drinking valve being assigned a water-collecting bowl (14). The water-collecting bowls (14) are usually made of plastic. The water-collecting bowls (14) are cleaned with agents that contain aggressive substances, which are capable of damaging the plastic of the water-collecting bowls (14). The invention is a water-collecting bowls (14) with a respective insert (17) made of a resistant material, thus making the water-collecting bowl (14) resistant to aggressive liquids, in particular cleansing agents.

1. Technical Field
The invention relates to a drinking trough for animals, in particular poultry, such as chickens, turkeys, ducks, geese, chicks or the like, with at least one drinking valve and a water-collecting bowl assigned to the at least one drinking valve. Furthermore, the invention relates to a water-collecting bowl for a drinking trough for animals with a dish part composed of plastic that has at least one cup-like depression for accommodating a store of liquid.
2. Related Art
Drinking troughs are employed to provide animals, in particular poultry, such as chickens, turkeys, geese, ducks as well as their chicks with the water they require. Such drinking troughs have at least one drinking valve which is assigned a water-collecting bowl. In the case of so-called linear drinkers, a plurality of drinking valves are arranged at regular intervals along an elongate water supply line, with each drinking valve being assigned a water-collecting bowl. Water discharged by the drinking valve that is not immediately drunk by the animals accumulates in the water-collecting bowl.
The water-collecting bowls are subject to only relatively minor mechanical loads. For that reason they are composed of a simple, inexpensive thermoplastic material, such as polypropylene.
Particularly in respect of hygienic considerations, it is necessary to clean each drinking trough at certain time intervals. Above all, the drinking troughs must be cleaned whenever there is a change of housing, for example when older animals are replaced by younger animals. Cleaning is in part carried out with cleaning agents which, particularly when a residual amount of cleaning fluid containing such cleaning agents remains in the water-collecting bowl, leads to a softening of the plastic of the water-collecting bowl. When the poultry then peck at the water-collecting bowl with their beaks, this results in permanent damages to the water-collecting bowl, in particular to a dish-shaped depression of same in which the liquid accumulates. In many cases, holes are pecked in the water-collecting bowl, thus rendering it unusable.

Drinking trough for animals and water-collecting bowl for a drinking trough for animals

Lubing Maschinenfabrik Ludwig Bening GmbH & Co. KG


The present invention provides a method of producing a tetracyanoborate-containing ionic compound in a milder condition more efficiently and less expensively than conventional methods, and a tetracyanoborate-containing ionic compound having a reduced content of impure components. An ionic compound of the present invention is represented by the following general formula (I), has a content of fluorine atom-containing impurities of 3 mol % or less per 100 mol % of the ionic compound, and a method for producing an ionic compound represented by the general formula (I) of the present invention comprises a step of reacting starting materials containing a cyanide and a boron compound.

An ionic compound has been used for an ion conductor for various kinds of battery cells based on ion conduction and has been employed for electrochemical devices such as primary batteries and batteries having charge/discharge mechanism, e.g., lithium (ion) secondary batteries and fuel cells, and also electrolytic capacitors, electric double layer capacitors, lithium ion capacitors, solar cells, electrochromic display devices, etc. In general, these electrochemical devices are each composed of a pair of electrodes and an ion conductor formed between the electrodes.
Examples of the ion conductor are electrolyte solutions and solid electrolytes and those obtained by dissolving an electrolyte in an organic solvent or a polymer compound or their mixture are used as the ion conductor. In the ion conductor, the electrolyte is dissolved and dissociated into a cation and an anion to exhibit ion conductivity. A battery using such an ion conductor has been used for portable electronic appliances such as lap-top type and palmtop type computers, mobile phones, video cameras, etc., and along with wide spread of these appliances, the necessity of lightweight and powerful batteries has been increased. Further, in terms of environmental issues, the importance of development of secondary batteries with longer lives has been increased.
As an ionic compound to be used for the above-mentioned secondary batteries or the like, lithium hexafluorophosphate (LiPF6) and lithium tetrafluoroborate (LiBF4), which are electrolytic salts, and cyanoborates containing alkali metals and organic cations have been proposed. An ionic compound containing the above-mentioned cyanoborate as an anionic component has a characteristic as an ionic liquid, that is, the ionic compound is a liquid even at room temperature and shows a characteristic of being thermally, physically, and also electrochemically stable and thus has been investigated for applications to various uses.
There have been proposed various methods to synthesize a compound containing tetracyanoborate (TCB:[B(CN)4]−) among the above-mentioned cyanoborates; that is, a method of reacting a compound containing boron and an alkali metal cyanide (Z. Anorg. Allg. Chem. 2000, vol. 626, p. 560-568), a method of carrying out the above-mentioned reaction in the presence of a lithium halide such as LiCl or the like (Japanese Patent Application Publication (Translation of PCT Application) No. 2006-517546), a method of reacting a boron compound such as KBF4, LiBF4, and BF3. OEt2 with trimethylsilyl cyanide (Z. Anorg. Allg. Chem. 2003, vol. 629, p 677-685, H. Willner, et al., (two others), Z. Anorg, Allg. Chem. 2003, 629, p 1229-1234, J. Alloys Compd. 2007. 427. p 61-66, R. A. Andersen, et al. (four others), JACS. 2000. 122. p 7735-7741), etc.

Ionic compound, method for producing the same, and ion-conductive material comprising the same

Abstract: (In the formula, Ktm+ denotes an organic cation [Ktb]m+ or an inorganic cation [Ke]m+; and m denotes an integer of 1 to 3.)


A process is described for the delivery of a therapeutic polynucleotide to limb muscle tissue suffering from or potentially suffering from ischemia. The polynucleotide is inserted into a mammalian limb vessel such as an artery. Delivery efficiency and distribution is enhanced by combining injection of a solution containing the polynucleotide with the use of an externally applied cuff.

Biotechnology includes the delivery of a genetic information to a cell to express an exogenous nucleotide sequence, to inhibit, eliminate, augment, or alter expression of an endogenous nucleotide sequence, or to express a specific physiological characteristic not naturally associated with the cell. Polynucleotides may be coded to express a whole or partial protein, or may be anti-sense, or non-viral DNA, or recombine with chromosomal DNA.
A basic challenge for biotechnology and thus its subpart, gene therapy, is to develop approaches for delivering genetic information to cells of a patient in a way that is efficient and safe. This problem of "drug delivery," where the genetic material is a drug, is particularly challenging. If genetic material are appropriately delivered they can potentially enhance a patient's health and, in some instances, lead to a cure. Therefore, a primary focus of gene therapy is based on strategies for delivering genetic material in the form of nucleic acids. After delivery strategies are developed they may be sold commercially since they are then useful for developing drugs.
Delivery of a nucleic acid means to transfer a nucleic acid from a container outside a mammal to near or within the outer cell membrane of a cell in the mammal. The term transfection is used herein, in general, as a substitute for the term delivery, or, more specifically, the transfer of a nucleic acid from directly outside a cell membrane to within the cell membrane. The transferred (or transfected) nucleic acid may contain an expression cassette. If the nucleic acid is a primary RNA transcript that is processed into messenger RNA, a ribosome translates the messenger RNA to produce a protein within the cytoplasm. If the nucleic acid is a DNA, it enters the nucleus where it is transcribed into a messenger RNA that is transported into the cytoplasm where it is translated into a protein. Therefore if a nucleic acid expresses its cognate protein, then it must have entered a cell. A protein may subsequently be degraded into peptides, which may be presented to the immune system.
It was first observed that the in vivo injection of plasmid DNA into muscle enabled the expression of foreign genes in the muscle (Wolff, J. A., Malone, R. W., Williams, P, et al. Direct gene transfer into mouse muscle in vivo. Science 1990;247:1465–1468.). Since that report, several other studies have reported the ability for foreign gene expression following the direct injection of DNA into the parenchyma of other tissues. Naked DNA was expressed following its injection into cardiac muscle (Acsadi, G., Jiao, S., Jani, A., Duke, D., Williams, P., Chong, W., Wolff, J. A. Direct gene transfer and expression into rat heart in vivo. The New Biologist 3(1), 71–81, 1991.).

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Devices and processes for distribution of genetic material to mammalian limb


A modular shelving system may include a plurality of configurable components and methods of forming configuration assemblies from such components. The configuration assemblies of the modular shelving system may be paired with and coupled to other shelving units and/or furniture.

With the rapid evolution of media and technology in recent years, there has been a growing trend toward integrating media and technology into all aspects of educational study and work. Conventional shelving systems are generally not designed to accommodate and support media and technology, such as televisions, computers, laptops, terminals, flat panel monitors, or other electronic media. Moreover, conventional shelving systems typically have a fixed construction that inhibits adaptability to various uses, and such systems are generally standalone units that cannot readily pair with or couple to other shelving units or furniture.


The invention relates to a method for obtaining cryoprecipitatable proteins, comprising a viral inactivation step by thermally treating a lyophilisate of these proteins, comprising, before rendering the proteins in the form of a lyophilisate, an initial addition step, to these proteins, of a stabilizing and solubilizing formulation containing a mixture consisting of arginine, at least one hydrophobic amino acid and of tribasic sodium citrate. The invention also relates to a concentrate consisting of at least one cryoprecipitable protein containing the stabilizing and solubilizing formulation introduced according to the method and being suited for therapeutic use.

The use of therapeutic products obtained from human plasma, such as clotting factors, with the purpose of use in therapy, especially in the case of hereditary bleeding troubles, such as haemophilia, can be greatly jeopardized due the presence of viruses in blood products, which are a high risk to the haemophiliac patient. In spite of the rigorous selection of individual donors, there is a continuous risk of transmission of various viruses, especially of hepatitis and AIDS, and of yet unknown viruses, which may reveal themselves to be transmissible by blood products.
Therefore, the virus transmission should be avoided by means of suitable treatments of the different purified fractions obtained from donor plasma and intended to therapeutic use. On this account, various virus inactivation and elimination methods applied to various protein fractions obtained from blood plasma, are well known. For instance, solvent-detergent treatments, ultrafiltration and nanofiltration, pasteurisation or extended heating, can be mentioned. In the case of extended heat treatment, this can usually be applied only to plasma protein fractions subjected to a preliminary freeze-drying, while requiring heating temperatures of at least 70° C. in a laps of time between 50 and 100 hours, in order to obtain an optimal virus inactivation. However, under such severe heat treatment conditions, the sensitive and heat-instable plasma proteins undergo degradations, which yield important decrease of their biological functions.
In order to find a solution to this drawback, protecting excipients and stabilizers for plasma proteins are beforehand added to liquid compositions of proteins prior to freeze-drying, in order to fulfill a joint double aim. The first aim meets the need to stabilize, on one hand, the considered proteins during the freeze-drying and, on the other hand, the freeze-dried proteins during the storage, and the second aim corresponds to the need to protect the freeze-dried proteins during the heat treatment of virus inactivation.
A method of heating of protein fractions from freeze-dried plasma, Factor VIII or fibrinogen, disclosed in the patent EP 0 094 611, consists of heating the dry product at a temperature of 60° C. for from 72 to 96 hours. No specific composition of stabilizing excipients during the heat treatment is mentioned in this patent.
The canadian patent 1 260 389 mentions the incorporation of excipients, such as non-polar anions with molecular weights higher than 80, especially sugars, reducing sugars and amino acids, into liquid compositions of plasma proteins prior to freeze-drying, in order to stabilize these proteins against the dry heating for of about 72 hours at 68° C. However, the association of reducing sugars with amino acids leads to Maillard compounds, the properties of which do not account for the safety of the treated proteins (activity, immunogenicity, allergies, etc.). This treatment has to be carried out in vacuum or in an inert atmosphere.
Most of the stabilizing excipients may prove to be protective of plasma proteins fractions during the dry heat treatment thereof, at temperatures ranging from of 60° C. to 68° C. for of 30 to 96 hours (P. Thomas, British Journal of Haematology, 70, 1998, 393-395 and J. A. Levy et al., The Lancet, Jun. 22, 1985, 1456-1457). It was shown, however, that, in spite of a diminution of the viral titer after such a treatment under these conditions, infections, such as HIV, HBV, HBC and parvovirus B19 could, nevertheless, been transmitted (P. Thomas, supra). In view of their effective elimination, it was suggested to heat the freeze-dried plasma proteins fractions to higher temperatures. So S. J. Skidmore et al. (Journal of Medical Virology, 30, 1990, 50-52) have shown that a heat treatment of freeze-dried Factor VIII concentrates at a temperature of 80° C. for 72 hours avoids the transmission of HCV non-A and non-B virus. So the U.S. Pat. No. 5,831,027 discloses a process of heat treatment of a freeze-dried protein obtained from the cryoprecipitate of blood plasma, the fibrinogen, at a temperature of 80° C. for 72 hours, which allows to obtain a fibrinogen free of possible viruses, such as HBV, HBC or parvovirus B19. The stabilizing excipients, added to protect the fibrinogen composition during both the freeze-drying and the heat treatment of virus inactivation, include sucrose and/or an amino acid (arginine), Tris buffer and sodium citrate. L. Wilkelman et al. (Virus Inactivation in Plasma Products, Curr. Stud Hematol Blood Transfus., Basel, Karger, 1989, no 56, 55-69) also show the need of addition of excipients to Factor VIII prior to freeze-drying and to heat treatment of virus inactivation at 80° C. for 72 hours. The described excipients are: NaCl, sodium citrate, Tris, CaCl2 and sucrose.
Besides, as the different proteins obtained by plasma fractionation, having been subjected to freeze-drying and to heat treatment of virus inactivation, require a reconstitution in a suitable medium prior to their clinical use, this should be easy to carry out in a relatively short laps of time according to the requirements recommended by the European Pharmacopoeia. In this respect, studies of the heat stability of Factor VIII in a freeze-dried cryoprecipitate (J. Margolis et al., The Lancet, Dec. 8, 1984, 1345) containing, prior to freeze-drying, Synthamin 17% (Travenol Laboratories Ltd.), a mixture of natural amino acids suited to intravenous administration, have shown that a heat treatment at 80° C. for 16 hours leads not only to such an extent of degradation of Factor VIII that its activity equals to zero, but also to an impossibility of a redissolution of the cryoprecipitate after the mentioned steps. The U.S. Pat. No. 5,399,670 discloses a process facilitating the solubilization or the reconstitution of compositions of freeze-dried Factor VIII complex in purified water for injections, including a step of addition of arginine to a Factor VIII solution prior to freeze-drying thereof. This patent does not mention a heat treatment of virus inactivation. An addition of histidine and albumin can also be provided. The stabilizing excipients, mentioned in the previously cited U.S. Pat. No. 5,831,027, are also aimed to favour the dissolution of freeze-dried fibrinogen in pure water, prior to therapeutic use.
Nevertheless, the choice of a stabilizing formulation is governed by the specificity of the plasma proteins. Thus, in reference to a paper by N. Heimburger et al. (Virus Inactivation in Plasma Products., Curr Stud Hematol Blood Transfus., Basel, Karger, 1989, No. 56, 23-33), it is usually considered that a specific stabilizing formulation can be suited to only one protein fraction containing the given active proteins of interest. A further difficulty appears in the case where more complex protein fractions are considered, especially those, where all coagulation and haemostasis proteins obtained from plasma fractionation are taken into account. Moreover, carbohydrates, especially sucrose, may effectively be used as excipients for the stabilization and the redissolution of plasma proteins fractions, when the considered fractions are intended to be freeze-dried, then subjected to dry heat treatment, although their effect slows down the virus inactivation (N. Heimburger et al., supra). Therefore, the protein fractions treated in that way may not be completely virus-free and their use in clinics is thus restricted. Furthermore, some carbohydrates, such as maltose or sucrose, cannot be safely used with subjects suffering from kidney deficiency and/or diabetes.

Method for stabilizing a cryoprecipitate of plasmatic proteins for being subjected to a viral inactivation thermal treatment

Laboratoire Francais du Fractionnement et des Biotechnologies


A substrate processing system is provided with a processing chamber, an alternating voltage supply, and an impedance matching network. The processing chamber holds a substrate during processing and the alternating voltage supply is connected with the processing chamber to capacitively couple energy to a plasma formed within the processing chamber. The impedance matching network is coupled with the alternating voltage supply and has a variable resistive element and a variable reactive element, whose states respectively define distinct real and imaginary parts of an impedance.

Among the wide variation in techniques available to process semiconductor substrates are plasma deposition processes. These processes are similar to conventional chemical-vapor-deposition ("CVD") techniques in which reactive gases are supplied to the substrate surface where heat-induced chemical reactions take place to process the substrate, either by depositing a desired film or by etching the film depending on the chemistry. Plasma CVD techniques such as plasma-enhanced CVD ("PECVD") increase the reactivity near the substrate by promoting excitation and/or dissociation of reactant gases through the application of radio-frequency ("RF") energy to a reaction zone near the substrate surface. Because o the increase in reactivity, the energy needed for a chemical reaction to take place is reduced, allowing the temperature for such processes to be lower than for thermal CVD processes.
There are different known methods of coupling the energy from an RF source to the plasma. In one class of methods, the coupling is "capacitive." Electrodes are provided within a process chamber, with the RF source applying a voltage between the electrodes. The plasma is formed between the electrodes and forms sheaths of relatively low electron density near solid surfaces. The RF voltage appears primarily across these sheaths as if they were the dielectric region of a capacitor.
One consequence of such capacitive coupling is the generation of an impedance R−j/ωC for resistance R and capacitance at frequency ω, where j denotes √{square root over (−1)}. Some compensation for this impedance may be provided with a fixed matching network, but the fixed nature of the matching network provides only a uniform compensation. The actual impedance associated with the capacitive coupling may be highly variable, depending on the specific processing characteristics that are used. There is accordingly a need in the art for a matching network capable of accommodating a variety of different processing characteristics for capacitively coupled plasmas.

Universal mid-frequency matching network


An improved method of producing 3-amino-1,2,4-benzotriazines using nitrobenzene or a derivative thereof, a guanidine salt and a base as reactants is provided. The method is carried out at a moderate reaction temperature without producing halide wastes derived from nucleophilic substitution and acid byproducts.

3-Amino-1,2,4-benzotriazines are heterocyclic compounds that have diverse applications in the both the agrochemical and pharmaceutical industries. These compounds were originally found to have antimicrobial activity (DE 2204574; DE 2740887; and U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,980,779; 3,868,371; 3,991,189; 3,957,799 and 4,001,410) and have since been shown to have herbicidal (DD 272591; Henrie, et al. (1993) Quant. Struct. Act. Relat. 12:27–37), antimalarial (Horner and Henry (1968) J. Med. Chem. 11:946–949), human blood reology regulant (Boehme (1988) Med. Reihe 37:123–124), antifungal (Reich, et al. (1989) J. Med. Chem. 32:2474–2485), and antiinflammatory and analgesic (Regan, et al. (1980) J. Pharm. Sci. 69:798–793) activities. Of particular interest are the 3-amino-1,2,4-benzotriazine oxide derivatives that are used as radiosensitizers and selective cytotoxic agents for the treatment of tumors (U.S. Pat. No. 6,362,184; WO 01/46162; WO 89/08647; WO 91/04028; Dorie and Brown (1993) Cancer Res. 53:4633–4636; Kelson, et al. (1998) Anti-Cancer Design 13:575–592; Brown (2000) Molecular Medicine Today 6:157–162; Denny and Wilson (2000) Expert Opinion on Invest. Drugs 9:2889–2901).
Common methods for the synthesis of 3-amino-1,2,4-benzotriazines include the thermal reaction of 2-nitroaniline with cyanamide (Mason and Tennant (1970) J. Chem. Soc. 911), the base-induced cyclization of 2-nitrophenylurea followed by treatment with phosphoryl chloride and gaseous ammonia (Arndt (1913) Chem. Ber. 46:3522), and the addition of disodiocyanamide to benzofuroxan followed by acidic workup (U.S. Pat. No. 3,980,779; Seng and Ley (1972) Angew. Chem., Int. Ed. Engl. 11:1009). Alternative steps may include, for example, peracid oxidation of the parent monoxide of 1,2,4-benzotriazine to produce the dioxide (Robbins, et al, (1957) J. Chem. Soc. 3186; Mason, et al, (1970) J. Chem. Soc. B 911) and monoxide preparation by controlled reduction of the corresponding dioxide (Mason, et al, (1970) J. Chem. Soc. B 911; Wolf, et al. (1954) J. Am. Chem. Soc. 76:355). 3-Amino-1,2,4-benzotriazines may also be prepared by cyclization of formazan precursors using BF3/AcOH (Atallah and Nazer (1982) Tetrahedron 38:1793). Furthermore, o-fluoronitrobenzenes may be reacted for 4–6 hours with free guanidine base at 60° C. in t-BuOK/THF (Suzuki and Kawakami (1997) Synthesis 855) to produce these compounds.
The disadvantage of many of these methods is the production of halide wastes, acid byproducts, and the use of highly toxic corrosive substances at high temperatures. Given the commercial potential of 3-amino-1,2,4-benzotriazines, a need exists for a practical, safe, high yielding, and direct synthetic process for the manufacture of such compounds.

Methods of synthesizing 3-amino-1,2,4-benzotriazines


A mechanism for crushing cans includes a base, a housing disposed on the front portion of the base and having a panel, a slide slidably engaged in the housing and moveable toward the panel. The cans to be crushed are disposed in the housing and disposed in a position located between the slide and the panel. A pair of levers are pivotally coupled to the base and coupled to the slide, the can is crushed when the slide moves toward the panel.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a mechanism, and more particularly to a mechanism for crushing cans and for acting as an exercise mechanism.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Various kinds of mechanisms for crushing cans have been developed, however, most of them are suitable for crushing cans only and can not be used as an exercise mechanism; on the contrary, various kinds of exercise mechanisms have been developed, however, most of them are suitable for practicing exercises only and can not be used as a mechanism for crushing cans.
The present invention has arisen to mitigate and/or obviate the afore-described disadvantages of the conventional exercise mechanisms and mechanisms for crushing cans.


A screw feeding device in a continuous screw driving tool includes a casing mounted on a tool body of the continuous screw driving tool. A feeder box is reciprocally movable within the casing, so that a screw carrying belt is fed by a distance corresponding to one pitch of screws carried thereon as the feeder box is reciprocally moved by one stroke. A stopper base is mounted on the feeder box, and a mounting mechanism is provided for mounting the stopper base on the feeder box, so that the stopper base can be changed in its position relative to the feeder box. The mounting mechanism includes a plurality of lock holes and a lock member. The lock holes are formed on one of the stopper base and the feeder box and spaced from each other by a predetermined distance in a driving direction of a screw. The lock member has a lock protrusion engageable with any of the lock holes and is held in position in the screw driving direction relative to the other of the stopper base and the feeder box.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a screw feeding device in a 8 continuous screw driving tool and particularly to a screw feeding device having a stopper base which is adapted to be mounted on a feeder box for abutment on a work into which a screw is to be driven.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The conventional continuous screw driving tool has a screw feeding device for feeding a screw carrying belt by a distance corresponding to one pitch of screws carried thereon. The screw feeding device includes a feeder box and a stopper base which is mounted on the feeder box to cope with various types of screws having different lengths.
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 6-114751 discloses a plurality of stopper bases having different lengths with respect to a driving direction of a screw. The stopper bases can be selectively mounted on a feeder box of a screw feeding device without using any tool, so that the stopper bases are exchangeable to each other to cope with various types of screws having different lengths.
However, with the conventional exchangeable stopper bases, the stopper bases other than that used for driving the screw are liable to be lost. To this end, this publication has proposed another embodiment in which a stopper base is mounted on the lower end of the feeder box such that the mounting position of the stopper base is adjustable. With this construction, one stopper base can be used for driving various types of screws having different lengths by adjusting the position of the stopper base. However, this construction still involves the problem that a tool is required for tightening and loosening a fixing screw which is used for fixing the stopper base in position relative to the feeder box.
Thus, the conventional stopper base is improved to some extent but still involves the problem in its handling

Screw feeding device in continuous screw driving tool


Method, apparatus, and system to control ammonia slip in a selective catalytic reduction (SCR) system. The method includes detecting an engine operation transition event, increasing NOx to the SCR catalyst, and decreasing a reductant dose. The system includes a controller to receive an engine transition signal, anticipate a temperature transition at the SCR catalyst in response to the engine transition signal, and cause a NOx increase in the exhaust gas stream to the SCR catalyst and a decrease of reductant to the SCR catalyst coinciding with the temperature transition at the SCR catalyst. The apparatus includes a NOx increase module to cause the NOx increase in the exhaust gas stream to the SCR catalyst in response to the engine transition signal. The apparatus also includes a reductant shut-off module configured to cause the reductant addition to the exhaust gas stream to turn off in response to the engine transition signal.

1. Field
Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure relate to methods, systems, and apparatus to control ammonia slip in a selective catalytic reduction (SCR) system.
2. Discussion of the Background
Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) technology is one of the most common NOx reduction technologies in use today for internal combustion engines such as on-road heavy-duty as well as light-duty diesel engine applications around the world, for example, in the U.S. and Europe. A primary reagent used in SCR systems is urea. One form of urea used in SCR systems is referred to as Diesel Exhaust Fluid (DEF) in the U.S. and AU32 or ADBLUE™ in Europe, both of which are a 32.5% aqueous solution of urea in water. The injected urea decomposes in the presence of heat and moisture to form ammonia and carbon dioxide. The ammonia then reacts with NOx in the presence of the SCR catalyst to reduce NOx to nitrogen and water. The optimal operation of the SCR system may depend on an efficient control strategy which helps to minimize the overall NOx emissions with minimal ammonia slip Ammonia slip refers to the passage of unreacted ammonia emissions out of the SCR system. An ammonia oxidation (AMOX) catalyst downstream of the SCR catalyst may be needed to convert most of the ammonia slipping past the SCR catalyst to N2 and other less harmful compounds to avoid ammonia emissions from the tailpipe.
Ammonia slip is an unwanted by-product of the SCR catalytic reaction and is desired to be kept at a minimum Ammonia is a regulated emission in Europe; the average ammonia slip over the certification cycle is required to be less than 10 ppm for on-road and less than 25 ppm for non-road, and it is expected to be regulated in the US as well in the near future. Most SCR catalysts adsorb ammonia at low temperature conditions (less than about 300° C.) which may then be used for NOx reduction in the presence of the SCR catalyst. Ammonia can be desorbed when the SCR catalyst substrate is exposed to high temperature (greater than about 350 to about 400° C.) and this may result in momentary ammonia spikes. The momentary ammonia spikes not only result in increased ammonia slip but also result in unused (wasted) ammonia. It is therefore desired to have methods to avoid such ammonia slip both from a regulatory perspective and also from an SCR system operation efficiency standpoint.
The above information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the invention and therefore it may contain information that does not form any part of the prior art nor what the prior art may suggest to a person of ordinary skill in the art.

Method, apparatus, and system to control selective catalytic reduction (SCR) catalyst ammonia slip during high temperature transitions


It is intended to provide a tap change operation monitoring apparatus for an on-load tap changer which can employ relatively simple and low-cost torque sensing means by mitigating an accuracy requirement with regard to detecting a starting time of tap change operation, acquire torque waveform data concerning tap change operation of a diverter switch in an accurate and reliable fashion, and discriminate an abnormal state of the tap change operation with high accuracy. There is provided waveform processing means 47 including a third low-pass filter 70 for generating processed torque waveform data by removing noise components from torque waveform data, first and second low-pass filters 71, 72 having cutoff frequencies lower than a cutoff frequency of the third low-pass filter 70 for generating shaped torque waveform data, and first and second differentiators 73, 74, a multiplier 75 and a maximal value extractor circuit 76 for together extracting time of occurrence of an extremum of a waveform obtained by differentiating the shaped torque waveform data in the time domain within a specific time period as reference operating time.

An on-load tap changer system used with a transformer includes an on-load tap changer having a diverter switch, a tap selector and a changeover selector, and an operating mechanism for operating the on-load tap changer. A tap change operation monitoring apparatus for monitoring tap change operation of this kind of on-load tap changer system is disclosed in Patent Document 1 or Patent Document 2, for example.
A tap change operation monitoring apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1 includes a torque sensor unit for detecting torque exerted on a drive shaft of an operating mechanism by using a pattern of a sequence of tap change operations, a switching pattern discrimination unit for discriminating switching pattern of tap change operations of a diverter switch, a tap selector and a changeover selector, a normal torque pattern memory unit for storing torque patterns under normal operating conditions for individual switching patterns, an abnormal point discrimination unit for discriminating an abnormal operation point by selecting a normal torque pattern for a specified switching pattern based on an output from the switching pattern discrimination unit and then comparing the selected normal torque pattern with an output from the torque sensor unit, and a normal torque pattern correction unit for correcting memory content of the normal torque pattern memory unit based on a varying tendency of the output of the torque sensor unit representing a torque pattern under normal operating conditions where no operational anomaly is detected.
This apparatus discriminates an abnormal operation point by comparing a tap changing torque pattern at switching action detected by the torque sensor unit during the tap change operation with a tap changing torque pattern under normal operating conditions, detects a tendency for tap changing torque to reduce over time, and corrects the normal torque pattern.
Also, this apparatus determines whether any anomaly exists or not by selecting a normal torque pattern corresponding to each switching pattern and then comparing the normal torque pattern with the output from the torque sensor unit, and specifies an abnormal point from time of occurrence of an anomaly.
A tap change operation monitoring apparatus shown in Patent Document 2 includes current sensing means for detecting motor current in an operating mechanism, torque sensing means for detecting drive shaft torque produced by an on-load tap changer, operating mode discrimination means for discriminating operating mode in which the on-load tap changer performs tap change operation, tap changing data recording means for discriminating and recording motor current waveform data detected by the current sensing means during the tap change operation as well as torque waveform data detected by the torque sensing means for each operating mode, reference data setup means for setting monitoring target specification data for each discriminated operating mode and then presetting and storing reference values of the monitoring target specification data and permissible variable ranges thereof for each operating mode, specification data extraction means for extracting specification data corresponding to the preset monitoring target specification data from the recorded motor current waveform data and torque waveform data, and anomaly judgment means for judging that operating state is abnormal if the permissible variable ranges are exceeded as a result of a comparison between the extracted specification data and the reference values thereof corresponding to the operating mode.
This apparatus assumes operating times of a diverter switch, a tap selector and a changeover selector and presets a specific time period with respect to the torque waveform data detected by the torque sensing means. The apparatus recognizes a point of a maximum value of the waveform within this time period as a specified point and extracts a torque value at this point and time of occurrence thereof. Then, the apparatus compares the extracted values with the reference values stored in the reference data setup means and, if the permissible variable ranges are exceeded, the apparatus judges that the operating state is abnormal. It is therefore possible to make a judgment with simple processing and high accuracy.
Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 1992-137511
Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent No. 3189542

Tap change operation monitoring apparatus for on-load tap charger


A method is provided for making an electrical connection with a microelectronic component arranged on or embedded within a surface of a circuit board layer or a substrate. The microelectronic component has an electrical contact face that is accessible on a surface of the microelectronic component. An electrically conducting bump is applied to the electrical contact face of the microelectronic component. A metal foil or metal coat is applied via a coating of an insulating binder to the surface of the circuit board under an action of pressure and/or heat so that the electrically conducting bump penetrates the coating of the insulating binder to make the electrical connection between the metal foil or metal coat and the electrical contact face.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates generally semiconductor circuits, and more particularly to making an electrical connection to a contact of a microelectronic component on substrate or a circuit board.
2. Description of the Related Art
The integration of semiconductor components in circuit boards is assuming ever-increasing importance in the further development of circuit board production techniques.
For the production of highly integrated circuit boards, microelectronic components, such as semiconductor chips, SMD resistors, or SMD capacitors, are integrated in individual layers of circuit boards to increase the functionality of the circuit board. When integrating a semiconductor chip on a circuit board, the semiconductor chip is glued on a layer of the circuit board via, for example, a printed-on adhesive or an adhesive tape. The chip is then buried with an Resin Coated Copper (RCC) laminate, a layer of epoxy that is not fully cross-linked, and a copper foil. After lamination, the chip is covered by the epoxy of the RCC laminate. A space, which is also filled by the epoxy of the RCC laminate, separates the chip contacts and the copper foil. The copper foil and the epoxy over the chip contacts are then removed using a laser drilling machine and the micro holes thereby produced are filled using a current-less and/or galvanic metallization technique. After the electrical connection is made between the electric contacts of the chip and the copper foil, the copper foil is structured for producing printed board circuit tracks.
The depth of the micro holes produced with the laser drilling machine depends on the laminating parameters, the thickness of the semiconductor chip, and the thickness of the epoxy coat. This dependence means that the diameters of the micro holes do not drop below 50 μm at a depth of 25 to 50 μm. If the aspect ratio (ratio of diameter to depth) of the holes is undesirable, in particular less than 1:2, the metallization baths used may no longer adequately flow in and out of the holes and the metallization may be defective.
The copper foil is generally also strengthened during metallization. During the subsequent structuring of the copper foil into circuit tracks, this strengthening process has a negative influence on the width of the circuit tracks structure. the sub-surface etching, which affects the structure width, increases with the coat thickness. Hence, the thicker the copper coat, the larger the structures to be produced.
With the ever-increasing reduction in contact center-to-center distances (pitch) of the semiconductor chips, the limitations of the conventional micro-hole technology become more and more apparent. If the distance between two contacts on the chip becomes too small, the micro holes can no longer be produced while keeping adequate insulating distance between the contacts. This results in short-circuits between the contacts, rendering the product unusable. Problems using the conventional micro hole diameters, problems have already been arising at a pitch of less than 120 μm.
What is needed is a method for the electrical contacting of one or a plurality of microelectronic components on a substrate or a circuit board that avoids the disadvantages associated with the micro holes and can be implemented at low cost.

Method for electrically connecting to a contact of a microelectronic component on a circuit board or substrate

Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Foerderung der angewandten Forschung e.V.


An apparatus comprising a flag generation circuit configured to generate a full flag signal in response to (i) a read clock signal, (ii) a write clock signal and (iii) a look ahead bitwise comparison configured to detect when a read count signal and a write count signal are equal.

First-in first-out (FIFO) memories provide a temporary buffer (or storage area) between communication systems. A programmable full flag of a FIFO can be used as an interrupt to warn the system when the FIFO buffer becomes almost full, which then blocks further write operations. Almost full flags are generated in real-time to prevent overflow of the buffer. Traditionally, read counters, write counters and an offset register are used to track the status of the FIFO.
Referring to FIG. 1, an almost full flag generation circuit 10 implementing a 3-input adder is shown. The circuit 10 includes a write counter 12, a read counter 14, a program value (i.e., an offset register) 16, a 3-input carry look ahead adder/comparator 18, an adder glitch filter 20 and a programmable almost full flag register 22. The circuit 10 receives a FIFO write clock WRCLK and a FIFO read clock RDCLK. The write counter 12 presents a value to the adder/comprator circuit 18 in response to the FIFO write clock WRCLK. The write counter 12 tracks the number of writes. The read counter 14 presents a value to the adder/comparator circuit 18 in response to the FIFO read clock RDCLK. The read counter 14 tracks the number of reads. The offset register 16 stores a user programmed offset value. The adder/comparator circuit 18 also receives the offset value from the register 16. The adder/comparator 18 presents an output to the programmable almost full register 22 via the adder glitch filter 20. The glitch filter 20 degrades performance of the circuit 10 (i.e., the glitch filter 20 is slow). The programmable almost full register 22 then presents the full status flag FULL. The almost full status flag FULL is obtained by the 3-input adder 18 which is in the critical path. The 3-input adder is slow and restricts the operational speed of the circuit 10.
Conventional almost-full flags that use a 3-input adder define the almost full flag as FULL=(WR−RD>(depth−offset)). Such an approach may have one or more of the following disadvantages of (i) being slow, (ii) consuming large area, and/or (iii) having wide glitches generated by the adder which need filtering, thereby degrading overall performance.

High speed FIFO synchronous programmable full and empty flag generation


The improved photodiode array has a structure that has pn-junctions arranged in a row on a semiconductor substrate 1 having an oxide film 2. The photodiode array has such a surface pattern that n-type impurity diffused layers 3 and p-type impurity diffused layers 4 are arranged in a generally concentric manner or with layers of one diffusion type alternating with layers of the other diffusion type. The improved process of fabrication comprises joining the oxide film 2 on the semiconductor substrate 1 to an n-type semiconductor layer 3 and then diffusing a p-type impurity within the n-type semiconductor layer 3 to form pn-junctions, thereby yielding a photodiode array. Thereby, it is provided a photodiode array that has such a simple structure that not only is he yield of device fabrication improved but also the cost of the final product is reduced.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a photodiode array and a process for producing thereof. More particularly, the present invention relates to a photodiode array having a novel structure and a process for producing such a photodiode array.
2. Description of Conventional Art
A conventional photodiode array is depicted in FIG. 13. Part of an n-type polysilicon substrate 101 is isolated into a plurality of regions by silicon oxide films 102 and a p-type impurity diffused layer 103 is formed in each of the isolated regions and high density n-type impurity diffused layers 104 are provided in the surface layer portion of the p-type impurity diffused layers 103 to produce a multiple of pn-junctions, which are connected in series by a conductive film 106 as they are insulated appropriately with silicon oxide films 105.
However, as is also apparent from FIG. 13, the photodiode array thus fabricated has the isolating oxide films formed within the semiconductor substrate 101, with pn-junctions being formed in the isolated regions, and this contributes to the complexity of the device structure. As a result, not only is the yield of device fabrication low but the cost of the final product also increases.

Photodiode array device and method for producing same


The absence of a memory matrix in full frame CCD imagers renders it difficult to convert an image with a sufficiently high frame rate for displaying it again in a satisfactory manner on, for example, an LCD screen. To eliminate this disadvantage, an image is projected on a segment of the imaging matrix in an embodiment of the invention and, after the integration period, is stored in an adjoining, separately controllable segment which is used as a memory during the read-out while in the first segment a fresh image is received and converted into electric charge. During the transfer of the information from the first to the second segment, empty lines are formed between the lines containing information, in which empty lines compensation charge is formed during the charge storage which can be subtracted from the signals so as to compensate for the smear added to the signals during storage in the--exposed--second segment. The total number of lines can be limited in that signal lines are joined together or signal lines are drained off through the substrate. In a second embodiment, the charge pattern of the second segment may be transported back to the first segment again, which is used as a memory, while an image is received by the second segment. It is possible in this manner to convert and display a full frame with a comparatively high frequency.

The invention relates to a method of operating a CCD imager with a semiconductor body comprising a matrix of photosensitive elements arranged in rows and columns, and a system of CCD channels which extend in the matrix in the column direction and at at least one of the ends merge into a read-out register which extends adjacent the matrix parallel to the rows of the matrix, the matrix being divided at least in the column direction into two at least substantially equal segments which are each provided with a separately controllable system of electrodes for storing and transporting charge packets in said CCD channels.
The invention also relates to a CCD imager with a semiconductor body comprising a matrix of photosensitive elements arranged in rows and columns, and a system of CCD channels which extend in the matrix in the column direction and at at least one of the ends merge into a read-out register which extends adjacent the matrix parallel to the rows of the matrix, the matrix being divided at least in the column direction into two at least substantially equal segments which are each provided with a separately controllable system of electrodes for storing and transporting charge packets in said CCD channels.
Such a CCD imager and a method of operating said imager are known, for example, from the article "Tektronics Four Quadrant Readout 1024.times.1024 CCD Imager: First Test Results" by Delamere et al., published in SPIE Vol. 1071, Optical Sensors and Electronic Photography (1989) pp. 197-202. A "Full Frame" imager is described therein where the number of image elements or pixels corresponds to the number of image elements of a complete image. The matrix is provided with a horizontal read-out register on either side of the CCD channels so as to be able to read out such a large imager sufficiently quickly. The matrix is subdivided into two halves which each belong to one of the read-out registers, while each matrix half can be read out through the associated horizontal register. Each horizontal register in its turn may again comprise two parts with mutually opposed charge transport directions, each corresponding again to an adjoining quadrant of the matrix. Such constructions have the advantage that two halves or four quadrants of the matrix can be read out simultaneously instead of consecutively. As a result, the read-out time can be limited, also in the case of a very large imager with a very large number of pixels, as is often the case in a "Full Frame" imager. Although the matrix is subdivided into four quadrants, each having a separate read-out register, in most versions of a "Full Frame" imager, the present invention is not limited thereto, but it may also be applied to "Full Frame" imagers having a read-out register at one side of the matrix only, as will become apparent below.
Imagers of the kind described above differ from better known CCD imagers, known inter alia as imagers of the FT-type (Frame Transfer) or of the interline type, which are designed for recording or displaying moving images, through the absence of a memory section. For such applications, the imager is provided with a recording section and a memory section. In these known types, an image is recorded in the recording section and converted into a pattern of charge packets during a certain integration period. This pattern of charge packets is quickly moved into the memory section after the integration period and read out therein packet by packet. Since the memory section is screened from radiation, the change of the charge packets owing to absorption of radiation during read-out, often referred to as "smear", is very small. During read-out, an image can be taken up in the recording section again and converted into electric charges. The presence of the memory section renders it possible inter alia to record such a high number of images per unit time and convert them into electric charges that the video signals of moving images can be displayed on a TV screen or LCD screen, for example, as real-time pictures.

Method of operating a CCD imager suitable for the implementation of such a method


A controlled-release composition for a biologically active material, characterized in that it comprises a mixture of: a) monocaproin, optionally in admixture with moncaprylin and/or monocaprin, and b) a polar liquid selected from the group consisting of such polar liquids which are capable of forming an L2 phase with a), and c) a biologically active material dissolved or dispersed in said mixture of a) and b), a) being present in the composition, based on the total weight of a)+b), in an amount of from the lower limit where the mixture of a) and b) forms a reversed micellar (L2) structure and up to 100% by weight of a), with the further proviso that said mixture of a) and b) is essentially within that specific domain of the L2 structure, in a phase diagram, where said L2 structure will change to a normal micellar (L1) structure if contacted with an external polar liquid. Said composition is preferably used as a medial composition.

About thirty years ago one of the inventors, K. Larsson, in Z. phys. Chem. 56 (1967), 173, reported that the aqueous system of monocaproin, which is a lipid the complete name of which is glycerolmonohexanoate or glycerolmonocapronate, forms one single liquid phase at all compositions. At that time this was a unique and remarkable behaviour of a single amphiphilic (surfactant) molecule; only mixtures of surfactants and cosurfactants were known to exceptionally show such lack of a phase transition when the composition was changed from anhydrous towards pure water.
Recent work within the field of drug delivery, with special regard to molecules that need to be protected against enzymatic degradation (like peptides), has shown that so called microemulsions or L2-phases provide a useful carrier system. An example of such an L2-system is disclosed in European patent specification No. 314 689, which discloses the utilization of C.sub.16-22 -monoglycerides interacting with C.sub.16-22 -triglycerides and a polar liquid.
although the phase properties of monocaproin have been known for a very long time, however, it has not been realized earlier that this unusual micellar phase can provide a highly efficient carrier in connection with for instance drug delivery, as far as is known to applicant. The main reason probably is that a molecule with such a short hydrocarbon chain is regarded more as an organic solvent than as a lipid and has, therefore, not been expected to provide efficient solubilization power of drugs into an association-colloid type of structure.
When amphiphilic systems forming ordinary micellar solutions (L1-solution) have been used in drug delivery, relatively long hydrocarbon chains have also been involved; cf. K. A. Johnson, G. B. Westermann-Clark, and D. Shaf, Pharmaceut. Res. 6 (1989), 239.
Furthermore, it can be added that Ericsson and Hegg in Progr. Colloid & Polymer Sci. 70 (1985), 92, have reported a study of the surfactant behaviour of 1-monocaproin and its interaction with ovalbumin in a diluted water solution. The critical micellar concentration (cmc) of monocaproin was found to be 160 mM. Their result demonstrated that there is no molecular interaction between this specific protein and monocaproin. We have now unexpectedly found that the micellar system according to the present invention exhibits full compatibility with any protein also at high concentrations, i.e. even up to and including the region where the L1-type of structure changes to the L2-type of structure.

Controlled release composition forming a reversed micellar (L2) structure or a normal micellar (L1) structure


A spark plug, comprised of: an insulator having an axial bore extending in the direction of an axis, a first inner circumferential surface extending at a forward side of the axial bore, a second inner circumferential surface extending at a rear side of the axial bore and having a diameter greater than that of the first inner circumferential surface, and a ledge connecting the first inner circumferential surface and the second inner circumferential surface; a center electrode having a head supported by the ledge and extending in a space surrounded by the second inner circumferential surface, and a circular columnar leg extending continuously from the forward end of the head in a space surrounded by the first inner circumferential surface; and a seal material for holding the center electrode in the axial bore.

A spark plug for providing ignition in an internal combustion engine, such as an automobile engine, generally includes a tubular metallic shell and a tubular insulator disposed in a bore of the metallic shell. A center electrode is disposed at the forward side of an axial bore of the insulator, and a metal terminal is disposed at the rear side of the axial bore. A ground electrode has one end that is joined to the forward end of the metallic shell and another end facing the center electrode and forms a spark discharge gap in cooperation with the center electrode.
In recent years, there has been developed a technique for increasing driving distance with less fuel through improvement of output by use of a supercharger. In such an internal combustion engine, temperature within a combustion chamber tends to increase. As a result, the working environment of a spark plug is becoming more and more severe. When the spark plug is subjected to repeated temperature rise and drop (hereinafter, may be referred to as heating and cooling cycles) within the combustion chamber, the center electrode may become loose and have play in the axial bore of the insulator. Although the center electrode is fixed within the axial bore of the insulator by means of a seal material, as a result of subjection to repeated heating and cooling cycles, fixing strength between the center electrode and the seal material is apt to deteriorate.
Regarding such a problem, in order to enhance the strength of fixing the center electrode in the insulator, for example, claim 1 in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (kokai) No. 2010-267425 provides "a spark plug . . . characterized in that the head of the center electrode has grooves formed along its outer circumference."
Also, in order to ensure sufficient strength and impact resistance by means of a glass seal material, claim 1 in Japanese Patent No. 3497009 provides "a spark plug . . . characterized in that the diameter d0 of the large-diameter portion of the axial bore, the diameter d1 of the flange portion, and the diameter d2 of the head portion satisfy a relational expression 0≦d1−d2≦1 mm and that the flange-head length h from the forward end of the flange portion to the rear end of the head portion falls in a range of 2.0≦h≦3.0 mm and in a range of ±25% of (d0−d1)×5."
An object of the present invention is to provide a spark plug having good adhesion between a center electrode and a seal material.


A manhole lifting apparatus comprising a base support assembly and a lifting mechanism. There is a beam structure which extends over the manhole, with a pivot support at one end of the beam structure, and a mobile support at the opposite end of the beam structure. The lifting mechanism is at the central part of the beam structure. The lifting mechanism lifts the manhole cover, and the support assembly is rotated about the pivot support to remove the manhole cover from the manhole.

a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for lifting and removing larger and heavier objects which are at least moderately awkward to handle, and more particularly to such an apparatus and method for lifting and removing manhole covers from a manhole frame, and accomplishing this in a manner to facilitate the process to avoid injury to workers.
b) Background Art
Manholes are commonly located at streets and other surface locations to provide access to some underground location, and these are commonly used in connection with utilities (power or communication lines, sewers, etc.). When a workman travels to a site where some operation has to be for the utility, sewer, or other need, there is generally the preliminary task of removing the manhole cover, from the surface opening, and then replacing it.
There are various ways of accomplishing this, sometimes a crowbar-like tool is used to lift one edge of the manhole cover, after which a lever-like tool is used to lift it first vertically so that it is clear of the surrounding frame and then laterally.
The task of replacing the manhole cover is accomplished in somewhat the same manner.
Statistically, the task of removing and replacing manhole covers has been found to be a high risk operation in terms of promoting and or causing back and other muscular-skeletal injuries. In spite of this, to the best knowledge of the applicant herein, there has not as yet been devised a method and/or apparatus for removing manhole covers which has gained wide commercial acceptance, where the apparatus and/or method is effective and convenient, while providing little or substantially no risk of injury to the workers.
A search of the patent literature has disclosed a number of U.S. patents that deal with the problem of lifting manhole covers and the like, these are the following:
U.S. Pat. No. 4,181,290 (Affolter) shows a device for lifting a manhole cover or other vault cover. There is a base comprising three legs extending outwardly from a center location. There is an upright post, and a lifting arm is connected to the center base portion of the three legs and also is connected to the post. This arm is raised to lift the cover.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,488,706 (Kono) shows a manhole cover lifting device where there is a lever bar having a hook on the lifting end, and a rearwardly positioned handle. The bar is supported by a pair of wheels at the lifting location. The hook end of the bar is secured to the cover, and the opposite end of the bar is pushed downwardly to lift the manhole cover, as the bar pivots on the wheels which serve as a faucrum.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,365,925 (Gritz) shows a manhole cover lifter which is similar to the above mentioned Kona patent. There is a bar 11 that is supported by a set of wheels. One end of the bar is secured to the cover, and the other has a handle which is pressed downwardly to lift the manhole cover as the bar pivots on the wheels which serve as a faucrum.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,321,003 (Cassel) shows what is called a "lifting tool" and shows an arrangement in which a pair of anti-friction bearings, as shown in sheet 4 of the drawings of the patent, are secured to a elongate lift rod that clamps at each end to the vault cover. A handle is lifted to rotate the rod which is connected to the inner races of the bearings. These are rotated 180° so that the cover is raised high enough to be rolled on the outer races of the bearings.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,746,098 (Abarotin) shows a manhole cover lifting device in which there is a bar that extends from a ground supported pivot 17 to a handle at the other end. There is a means to attach the cover to the bar aligned on the center of the bar. In use the bar is secured to the cover and the handle end is lifted. The parts are pivoted on the member 17 so that the cover is swung out of the way.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,653,728 (Mochizuki) shows a manhole cover lifter where there is a pair of wheels, each of which is fastened adjacent to a grasping means. There are series of lever associated with the wheel mounts that enable the lifting and maneuvering of the lid.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,662,607 (Mochizuki et al) shows a lifting device where there is an elongate bar mounted to ground wheels at a location near the manhole the bar is used as a lever, with the wheels acting as a fulcrum to lift the manhole cover by the front portion of the bar.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,890,765 (Zent) shows an amusement park ride which in FIG. 17 is shown as a car with wheels mounted at angles to each other.

Manhole cover lifting apparatus and method


A multi-color electrophotographic image formation method of a digital type for forming multi-color images is disclosed, in which latent electrostatic images corresponding to yellow, magenta, cyan and black images separated from an original image are developed with a yellow developer, a magenta developer, a cyan developer and a black developer, respectively to form visible yellow, magenta, cyan and black images, and the visible yellow, magenta, cyan and black images are fixed to an image receiving member, with the reflection image density (ID.sub.ref) and the transmission image density (ID.sub.tr) of the fixed black images formed by the black developer being in the relationship of ID.sub.ref .gtoreq.1.8.times.ID.sub.tr when the deposition of the black developer is in the range of 1.0 mg/cm.sup.2 or less.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an electrophotographic image formation method for use in the fields of electrophotography, electrostatic recording and electrostatic printing, and more particularly, to a multi-color electrophotographic image formation method of a digital type, capable of producing high quality multi-color or full-color images.
2. Discussion of Background
Although various electrophotographic image formation methods are disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 2,227,691, and Japanese Patent Publications 42-23910 and 43-24748, the most common method is such that a latent electrostatic image is first formed on the surface of a photoconductive member and then developed with a developer (toner) to obtain a visible toner image, or when necessary, the thus obtained toner image is transferred to a sheet of paper or the like and then fixed thereon by application of heat or pressure, or both, or by the use of a vaporized solvent to obtain visible images.
A multi-color electrophotographic image formation method of an analogue type is disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 2,962,374. In this method, the colors of an original image are separated and converted into electric signals corresponding to at least three colors of yellow, magenta and cyan, and the surface of a photoconductor is electrically charged in accordance with each of the color signals to form a latent electrostatic image corresponding to each of the separated colors, and each of the latent images is then successively developed with a corresponding color developer of yellow, magenta or cyan to obtain multi-color images.
In addition, various proposals are now being made on a multi-color electrophotographic image formation method of a digital type. In this method, an original image is subjected to color separation to obtain color signals, which are then subjected to an A/D conversion to obtain digital color signals. By conducting a predetermined computation, recording signals are obtained from the digital color signals, and latent electrostatic images are formed on the surface of a photoconductor in accordance with the digital signals. The latent electrostatic images are then developed with color developers to obtain visible multi-color images.
As described above, in the digital multi-color electrophotographic image formation method, the optical information is subjected to computation processing, so that a masking treatment and an undercolor removal (UCR) treatment can be carried out, which cannot be successfully carried out in the conventional multi-color electrophotographic image formation method of an analogue type.
In the case where the UCR treatment is conducted, a latent image corresponding to black color can be developed with a black developer to obtain a black image, instead of successively overlapping yellow, magenta and cyan toner images. The gray balance of the obtained images can thus be improved; in other words, excellent half-tone images are obtainable. In addition, the thickness of the toner layer of the black area obtained by using a black developer is thinner than that of the black area obtained by superimposing yellow, magenta and cyan images. The digital method is therefore economically advantageous, and can provide images without the problem of the curling of a transfer sheet.
A black developer for use in the multi-color electrophotographic image formation method, which is hereinafter referred to as a black developer for process color, is required to assume a black color just like the conventional black developer, which is widely used for a copying apparatus for producing black and white images, as a matter of course. In addition, the spectral reflectance characteristics of the black developer for process color is required to show the panchromatic absorption in the visible light range. According to the multi-color electrophotographic image formation method of a digital type, a black developer for process color is used to form a pictorial images as well as a character image by the UCR treatment. Therefore, the optical properties of the black developer for process color have significant effects on the image quality of the obtained images.
With the above-mentioned importance of the black developer for process color in the electrophotographic image formation method of a digital type taken into consideration, it is essential for the black developer to be provided with excellent color mixing properties, high transparency, adequate coloring power with sufficient gradation, and good image fixing properties.
The conventional black developers used in the copying apparatus for producing black and white images are designed for the purpose of reproducing mainly character images. Therefore, the above black developers are desired to produce images on a transfer sheet with a sufficient density only by a single layer of toner particles. Thus, the optical properties of such black developers, for example, the transparency, capabilities of exhibiting bright mixed-color and a controllability of a coloring power are almost ignored.
When the conventional black developers are used as black developers for a process color, not only the gradation of images becomes poor, but also color reproduction is adversely affected because the optical properties of the conventional black developers do not meet the requirements for the multi-color electrophotographic image formation.
Furthermore, the surface roughness of the obtained images, characteristic of the multi-color electrophotographic image formation method of a digital type, is unfavorably emphasized when used in the digital-type multi-color electrophotography. The reason for this is that the optical properties of the conventional black developers, such as transparency and the coloring power thereof are not considered. The conventional black developers are designed only in due consideration of the reflection density.

Multi-color electrophotographic image formation method


Disclosed are an organic light emitting diode and a method of manufacturing the same, the organic light emitting diode including: a light-transmitting substrate including a first region and a second region separated from the first region; a first lower electrode formed on the first region of the light-transmitting substrate and a second lower electrode formed on the second region thereof; a first organic thin film layer including a first emission material layer, formed on the first lower electrode of the first region, and a second organic thin film layer including a second emission material layer, formed on the second lower electrode of the second region; and a light-transmitting upper electrode formed on the first organic thin film layer and the second organic thin film layer and configured such that portions corresponding to the first region and the second region are connected to each other.

Organic light emitting diodes, which are a self-luminous device, are advantageous because of a wide viewing angle, high contrast, fast response time, high luminance, superior driving voltage, excellent response rate, and polychromatic properties.
Typical organic light emitting diodes are configured to include an organic emission material layer for emitting light, and a first electrode and a second electrode disposed on both sides of the organic emission material layer so as to face each other.
Such organic light emitting diodes are classified into a bottom emission type and a top emission type depending on the direction of light emitted from the organic emission material layer. A bottom emission type organic light emitting diode for emitting light to the substrate is configured such that a reflective electrode is formed on an organic emission material layer, and a transparent electrode is formed under the organic emission material layer. As such, when the organic light emitting diode operates in an active matrix mode, light does not pass through the portion thereof on which a thin film transistor is formed, thus reducing the area where light is transmitted. On the other hand, a top emission type organic light emitting diode is configured such that a transparent electrode is formed on an organic emission material layer and a reflective electrode is formed under the organic emission material layer, thus emitting light to a direction opposite the substrate, and thereby the area where light is transmitted is enlarged, resulting in high luminance.
The bottom emission type organic light emitting diode is configured such that an anode is formed on a substrate, and a hole transport layer, an emission material layer, an electron transport layer, and a cathode are sequentially formed on the anode. As such, the hole transport layer, the emission material layer, and the electron transport layer are organic thin films made of an organic compound.
The cathode comprises a metal layer having properties of a reflective layer, so that light generated from the emission material layer is reflected to the anode layer, thereby increasing luminous efficiency.
The driving principle of the organic light emitting diode thus configured is as follows. When voltage is applied between the anode and the cathode, holes injected from the anode are moved to the emission material layer via the hole transport layer, and electrons injected from the cathode are moved to the emission material layer via the electron transport layer. The carriers such as holes and electrons are re-combined in the emission material layer to form excitons. While these excitons return to a ground state from an excited state, light is produced.
As such, the generated light travels linearly to an anode direction, a cathode direction, and the other directions. The light traveling linearly to the anode is escaped to the air layer through glass, and the light traveling linearly to the cathode is reflected from the metal layer that is the cathode, and then goes again to the anode.
In this regard, Korean Patent Application Publication No. 10-2006-0095489 discloses an organic light emitting diode, which is configured such that an emission material layer is interposed between a first electrode and a second electrode, and a reflective layer for reflecting light emitted from the emission material layer to travel toward the second electrode is formed on the first electrode. Also, Korean Patent Application Publication No. 2001/0101640 discloses a technique for increasing luminous efficiency by determining the film thickness between a light-transmitting electrode and a reflective electrode so as to resonate the desired wavelength using interference caused by multiply reflecting light between the light-transmitting electrode and the reflective electrode.
FIG. 1 illustrates an organic light emitting diode manufactured by a conventional technique. Such a conventional technique is specified below. In order to manufacture an organic light emitting diode, a soda-lime or alkali-free glass substrate 10 is coated with a transparent conductive film 20 (ITO), after which a photoresist (PR) is applied thereon using a spin coater, followed by UV exposure, thereby forming a desired pattern. Thereafter, the device is loaded on a vacuum deposition machine, and a hole injection layer (HIL) 30, a hole transport layer (HTL) 40, an emission material layer (EML) 50, an electron transport layer (ETL) 60 and a cathode (a metal electrode) 70 are deposited.
Then when direct-current power or voltage ranging from ones to tens of V is applied to the transparent electrode and the metal electrode to allow current to flow, the organic light emitting diode emits light, and light irradiated toward the cathode is reflected through a reflective plate, and is then irradiated toward the glass substrate.
As such, the reflected light may exhibit an interference effect with light that travels toward the anode from the emission material layer, but conventional organic EL (electroluminescent) devices have low constructive interference effects due to structural limitation thereof, making it impossible to obtain high color coordinates. To obtain color coordinates corresponding to high color quality of the organic light emitting diode, proper color coordinates may be ensured by using a material having low color coordinates or by adjusting the device thickness, but driving voltage, efficiency and lifetime may deteriorate undesirably.
With the goal of solving the above problems, Korean Patent Application Publication No. 10-2014-0055911 (May 9, 2014), filed by the present inventors, discloses an organic light emitting diode configured such that a functional layer that enables mutual reinforcement and interference of transmitted light is formed on a light-transmitting electrode serving as the cathode, and a reflective layer is formed on the functional layer, thus realizing improved color coordinates and luminous effects using mutual reinforcement and interference of reflected light.
The above disclosure may be specified referring to FIG. 2. As illustrated in FIG. 2, the organic light-emitting display device using mutual reinforcement and interference of reflected light due to the presence of the functional layer comprises: a lower electrode 20 formed on a light-transmitting substrate 10; an organic thin film layer 30˜60 formed on the lower electrode 20 and including an emission material layer; a light-transmitting upper electrode 71 formed on the organic thin film layer; a functional layer 80 formed on the upper electrode 71 and enabling mutual reinforcement and interference of transmitted light; and a reflective layer 90 formed on the functional layer.
The operation of the organic light-emitting display device including the functional layer, as shown in FIG. 2, is described below in detail.
Specifically, when voltage is applied between the lower electrode 20, formed on the light-transmitting substrate 10, and the light-transmitting upper electrode 71, formed on the organic thin film layer, holes injected from an anode, i.e. the lower electrode, are transferred to the emission material layer via the hole transport layer, and electrons injected from a cathode, i.e. the upper electrode, are transferred to the emission material layer via the electron transport layer. The carriers, that is, holes and electrons, are recombined in the emission material layer to form excitons. When these excitons return to a ground state from an excited state, light is produced.
As such, the generated light travels linearly in the direction of an anode, the direction of a cathode, and other directions. The light traveling linearly to the anode escapes to the air layer through glass, and the light traveling linearly to the cathode passes through the light-transmitting upper electrode 71 and then through the functional layer 80, which is formed on the upper electrode and enables mutual reinforcement and interference of transmitted light, after which the light is reflected by the reflective layer 90 formed on the functional layer, and goes again toward the substrate via the functional layer and then via the upper electrode, and is thus emitted a predetermined period of time after the light traveling linearly to the anode.
As such, the light reflected by the reflective layer 90 causes constructive or destructive interference with the light that travels linearly to the anode by means of the functional layer and the organic thin film layer, the thickness of which is already adjusted, thereby controlling the spectrum characteristics. By virtue of the interference effect of light, the organic light emitting diode allows the optical spectrum of emitted light to have a sharp peak at a specific wavelength, thereby realizing an organic light emitting diode having high color quality and high efficiency.
However, in the case where the functional layer is formed on the upper electrode, the upper electrode must be formed thin to ensure high light transmittance. Accordingly, such an organic light emitting diode may be problematic in that the resistance of the upper electrode is high when manufactured to have a large area. As the upper electrode becomes distant from the electrode contact in the fabrication of a large-area organic light emitting diode, a large voltage drop may occur. Hence, solutions therefor are required.

Organic light emitting diode and manufacturing method therefor


Foldable/collapsible cookware is shown having a flexible cooking layer, attached in face-to-face orientation with a heat-heat receiving layer having at least two parts. The first and second parts of the heat-receiving surface are movable between a first cooking position in which the flexible cooking layer is substantially unbent, and a second storage position in which the flexible cooking layer is substantially bent upon itself.

Cookware, of course, is used to hold and apply heat to food during preparation of the food. Exemplary pieces of cookware include stock pots, woks, frying pans and the like. As used herein, the word "cookware" refers generically to any of these and similar types of cookware. Although cookware comes in many different shapes and sizes, all cookware includes two basic elements: a first surface for receiving thermal energy from a heat source, i.e., the "heat-receiving surface," and a second surface for applying the heat to raw food to be cooked, i.e., the "cooking surface." In the case of conventional cookware, the heat-receiving surface and the cooking surface are the two opposing faces of a monolithic or laminar sheet of heat-transfer material—typically steel, copper, copper-coated steel, aluminum, these materials with the cooking surface further coated with an non-stick material, and the like.
Cooking itself is a straightforward process and well known. In a typical process for cooking food, a piece of cookware holding the raw food to be cooked (or the raw food plus a liquid medium, such as water or cooking oil) is placed on a gas range having a burner. When ignited, the burner produces a flame that rises up in response to the pressure of the gas in the range's supply piping. The buoyancy of the hot air causes the flame to touch the heat-receiving surface of the cookware—i.e., the bottom of the pan. Thermal energy is transferred from the flame to the heat-receiving surface of the cookware via convection as well as thermal radiation. Thus, the heat-receiving surface absorbs the thermal energy from the burning gas from the range. Thermal conduction then transfers the thermal energy from the heat-receiving surface to the cooking surface of the cookware. The rate and efficiency of the heat transfer is a function of the material from which the cookware is made (for example, steel vs. copper vs. aluminum). The cooking surface of the cookware then transfers thermal energy to the food to be cooked via conduction and convection.
The efficiency and rate at which the heat is transferred from the heat-receiving surface to the cooking surface for any given piece of cookware is dictated in major part by the heat capacity and the specific heat of the material from which the cookware is made. These two measures are sometimes confused: Heat capacity is the ratio of the amount of energy absorbed by the material to the associated temperature rise of the material (that is, energy input/temperature rise, for example Joules/Kelvin). Thus, materials having a low heat capacity are desired for cookware because a small amount of input energy yields a larger associated temperature rise. Specific heat is the heat capacity of a material per unit of mass (energy input/(temperature)(mass), for example, Joules/(gram)(Kelvin)). Again, materials having relatively low specific heats are desirable for cookware because they transfer heat efficiently. Because metals have very low heat capacity and specific heat, they are conventionally used for cookware. For example, iron has a specific heat of 0.444 J/g° C. The specific heat of aluminum is 0.900 J/g° C.; the specific heat of copper is 0.385 J/g° C. The low specific heat of copper thus makes it desirable as a cookware material.
A drawback, of course, is that metals are heavy. Thus, while cast iron skillets and Dutch ovens are well known for their desirable cooking characteristics, cast iron cookware is very, very heavy. Aluminum gives the benefit of lighter weight, but lower thermal efficiency. Whatever metal is chosen, cookware tends to be bulky and difficult to store. Thus, there remains a long-felt and unmet need for cookware that is both thermally efficient and easy to store.
Throughout all of the figures, the same reference numerals are used to identify the same structures.


Roll on floor (ROF) circuit breakers include a plurality of support wheels configured to contact a support surface as the ROF circuit breaker is moved between locations. The support wheels have a rocker configuration whereby weight of the ROF circuit breaker is transferred between different sets of the wheels during movement to thereby facilitate ease of movement.

Roll on the Floor (ROF) breakers which are associated with so-called "draw out breakers" are known. An example of a prior art ROF breaker is shown in FIG. 1. The ROF breakers can be configured to roll into a cell for engaging with components into an operative position. ROF breakers are available in various sizes typically as small and large units with vacuum breakers, e.g., medium voltage circuit breakers, and components ranging in weight from about 250 pounds to about 1200 pounds. The ROF breakers can be used in a number of utility, commercial, industrial and residential environments including distribution stations, main stations, power plants, shops and offices, commercial buildings, industrial production facilities and the like, as is well known to those of skill in the art.
As shown in FIG. 1, the prior art ROF breaker 10 includes four, one on each corner, small diameter metal wheels 10w which can provide sufficient support for the unit but can make the ROF breaker 10 difficult to push forward on a support surface as well as making it difficult to spin, turn or rotate. These types of products are typically lifted onto elevated rails, then racked into the switchgear. Other known prior designs for ROF breakers include units with four swivel wheels such as wheels that can roll directly into the cell from the floor.
Despite the above, there remains a need for alternate ROF breaker designs that are easier to maneuver and that can withstand the unit weight loads.

Roll on the floor circuit breakers and related kits and methods


In a radio communication system that simultaneously uses plural radio channels, a radio communication apparatus can quickly secure plural radio channels simultaneously used for radio communication while preventing collision with a radio signal transmitted by another radio communication apparatus so away from the radio communication apparatus that the radio communication apparatus cannot detect radio waves.

In recent years, there is a stronger demand for an increase in communication speed of radio communication. As one of methods responding to such a request, there is a method of increasing a frequency bandwidth of a radio channel used for radio communication. On the other hand, a radio frequency band is a precious resource used for various applications and is required to be effectively utilized.
In view of such a situation, it is desirable to further allocate a frequency band, which is already used as another application, as a radio channel, realize coexistence with an existing radio technique, and improve efficiency of use of a frequency band as a precious resource. As a method of increasing a frequency bandwidth of a radio channel while improving efficiency of use of a frequency band in this way, a technique for performing radio communication regarding plural radio channels as a radio channel in a wide bandwidth by simultaneously using the plural radio channels is effective.
For example, in the communication standard IEEE802.11n of the next-generation radio LAN, there is proposed a technique for realizing high-speed radio communication regarding two radio channels in 20 MHz width as a radio channel in 40 MHz width by simultaneously using the radio channels.
However, there is a harmful effect in proceeding with such measures to aim at realization of higher-speed radio communication as a radio channel in a wide bandwidth simultaneously using plural radio channels.
For example, JP-A 2005-301591 (Kokai) discloses a technique with which, in a radio communication channel that performs radio communication using plural radio channels, each of radio communication apparatuses performs carrier sense for the plural radio channels and performs radio communication simultaneously using plural radio channels judged as not being used.
In the technique disclosed in JP-A 2005-301591 (Kokai), each of the radio communication apparatuses secures the radio channels, which are judged as not being used as a result of the carrier sense, one by one and, at a stage when the number of radio channels used for radio communication is secured, performs radio communication simultaneously using the plural radio channels.

Radio communication apparatus, computer readable storage medium, and radio communication system

Abstract: A radio communication apparatus STA1 according to the present invention includes a receiving unit 10 which receives, when a first signal is transmitted via each of the plural radio channels, the first signal though at least one or more radio channels among the plural radio channels, and performs carrier sense for each of the plural radio channels used for the transmission of the first signal, a selecting unit 40 which selects a radio channel used for radio communication out of radio channels set in a standby state, and a transmitting unit 20 which transmits a response signal for the first signal via the selected radio channel.