A modular heat exchanger includes a plurality of tubular modules formed from an aluminum extrusion. Each extruded tube has a generally rectangular cross section, a through bore extending longitudinally therethrough between parallel opposite faces, and parallel longitudinal V-grooves in the faces, all formed in the extrusion process. Each face includes a plurality of parallel fins which are cut into the grooved face in a direction transverse to the grooves. The fins have a generally saw tooth structure so as to increase the turbulence of the air flow through the heat exchanger. Unslotted end faces on the tubes include groove portions which are filled with weld material in both the tube joining process and the end tank welding process, thereby providing an all-welded aluminum heat exchanger of substantially enhanced strength. In another embodiment utilizing an all-welded construction, extended unslotted end faces are cross bored and sealed to provide fluid supply in lieu of the end tanks.

The present invention relates to a modular heat exchanger wherein each of the core modules is formed from a unitary block of extruded heat exchange material and, in particular, to a heat exchanger that provides enhanced beat dissipation and to a method of making the same using an all-welded construction.
Typically, conventional of heat exchangers for use in automobiles utilize heat exchanging core elements which include a series of generally parallel tubular conduits extending between and attached at their opposite ends to inlet and outlet headers. The tubular conduits are provided with heat conducting and dissipating fins which may be either of a flat plate or serpentine construction, and which are soldered or brazed to the tubular conduits. The conduits, in turn, are soldered or brazed to the headers or to similar fluid accumulating tanks.
The rigid soldered or brazed joints have always constituted a common source of heat exchanger failure and, when the heat exchangers are used in automotive applications, usually require removal of the entire radiator for repair, thereby resulting in down time for the automotive equipment. Thus, there has been a long need and desire for both a heat exchanger having unitary core elements and for one in which braised or soldered connections can be minimized and, preferably, eliminated completely.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,303,770 discloses a modular heat exchanger which includes unitary finned tubular core elements which can be assembled into a multi-module heat exchanger, including flow distributing headers or end tanks without brazed, soldered, or welded connections of any kind. The heat exchanger is fully disassemblable in one embodiment, however, mechanical connectors and a substantial number of o-ring seals are required for assembly. In another embodiment, welded or braised connections may be utilized to provide units which are partially disassemblable. However, these units are potentially subject to the prior art problems of inadequate joint strength and environmentally less desirable materials.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,383,517 discloses a modular heat exchanger having unitary finned tubular core elements which can be assembled without any braised, soldered or welded connections or mechanical connectors. The modules are formed from extruded aluminum blocks into which heat exchanging fins are cut or cold formed. Flow accumulating passages are bored into the ends of the modules. The modules are assembled with a high strength adhesive sealant which simultaneously secures the modules together and seals the peripheries of the bore adhesive sealant which simultaneously secures the modules together and seals the peripheries of the bore passages at the module interfaces. However, it has been found during certain applications, increased heat dissipation by the heat exchanging fins is necessary.
It is an object and feature of the present invention to provide a modular heat exchanger with increased heat dissipating ability.
It is a further object and feature of the present invention to provide a modular heat exchanger wherein the modules may be formed from extruded aluminum blocks in to which the heat exchanging fins are cut.
It is a particular object of the present invention to provide such a heat exchanger which utilizes all aluminum components and an all-welded construction.

Modular heat exchanger and method of making


A luneberg type passive reflector for circularly polarized waves consists of a woven cloth made partially of conductive wires located within the dielectric sphere the surface of which is covered with a set of parallel wires perpendicular with the conductive wires in said cloth. The conductive wires of the cloth are less than five hundredths of wavelength in diameter and their spacing is between 1/4 and 1/20 of a wavelength. The wires interwoven with said metal wires to form the cloth are preferably made of flax.

The present invention concerns passive reflectors for electromagnetic waves and more particularly passive reflectors of the Luneberg type. Such reflectors are well known to the person skilled in the art. They consist essentially of a dielectric sphere of which the index varies along a radius in accordance with a known law and which has on part of its surface a metallic coating serving to reflect the incident energy. Such a reflector has been described notably in U.S. Pat. No. 3,204,244 issued on June 25, 1963 and assigned to the same Assignor as the present application. These reflectors operate on rectilinearly polarized plane waves.
Such reflectors are often used to increase the equivalent surface of the targets employed for the purpose of monitoring the performances of radar systems, because they have a considerable equivalent surface with a small mass and an angular aperture which can be very considerable. Present-generation radar systems exit circularly polarized waves, inter alia for reducing the effects of raindrops. It is therefore necessary to provide targets which are capable of reflecting circularly polarized waves. It is known that a metallic surface reflects a circularly polarized wave in the form of a circularly polarized wave having a reverse direction of rotation. Taking into account the conventions employed to define the direction of rotation of circularly polarized waves (trirectangular trihedron of which the axis Ox is directed in the sense of the propagation), the electric fields of the transmitted and reflected waves are in phase opposition and the reflector transmits a reflected wave polarized at 90.degree. to the incident wave, which will not propagate in the transmitter-receiver waveguide. It is therefore impossible to use Luneberg reflectors designed for rectilinearly polarized waves to reflect circularly polarized waves.
It has been proposed (see French Pat. No. 1,202,058 filed Sept. 9, 1958) to produce a reflector by applying a series of wires mounted on combs to a viscous material maintained in a mould and subsequently hardened and released from the mould. Such a structure is unsuitable for the reflection of circularly polarized waves because it involves an attenuation of 6 dB, only half the energy being reflected.
There have also been proposed reflectors for circularly polarized waves, notably in French Pat. No. 1,192,598, which consists of plane conductive panels formed with parallel grooves or corugation constituting a reflecting trihedron whose aperture angle is very small.
U.K. Pat. No. 984,144 assigned to TELEFUNKEN discloses a Luneberg reflector for circularly polarized waves comprising a parallel wire grid located preferably at n.lambda./8 or n.lambda./4 in front of the reflection means wherein the gap between the grid wires is smaller than .lambda./2. This patent gives no practical way of producing said reflector and more particularly of laying the grid wires on the inner dielectric sphere.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,989,746 assigned to MARCONI WIRELESS TELEGRAPH COMPANY discloses a scanning antenna system for linearly polarized waves which uses a partially reflecting coating on a complex hollow surface of revolution made of ringlike sections. According to FIG. 3, the coating may consist in a woven cloth made of glass and metal wires at 45.degree. to the length of the step when flat.
It is an object of the invention to provide means to produce wide aperture Luneberg reflectors the aperture of which may be readily adjusted and larger than 120.degree..
It is another object of the invention to provide Luneberg reflectors for circularly polarized waves the equivalent surface of which is equal to that of a reflector of the same dimension for linearly polarized waves. It is another object of the invention to provide a reflector for circularly polarized waves the weight of which is almost equal to that of a reflector for linearly polarized waves.

Luneberg type passive reflector for circularly polarized waves

Societe Lignes Telegraphiques et Telephoniques


According to the invention disclosed herein wool sliver may be effectively shrinkproofed by immersing the sliver continuously into a bath of shrinkproofing solution to a depth of at least 1 meter if said sliver is carried down into said solution within 10.degree. of vertical. According to the invention the most useful solution is an aqueous solution into which chlorine gas has been aspirated. An apparatus according to the invention comprises a two chambered bath having a delay tank therebetween, having a depth exceeding 1 meter and equipped with means to convey wool sliver into said bath within 10.degree. of vertical.

This invention relates to the shrinkproofing of wool sliver. Disclosed herein is a novel process and an apparatus particularly suitable for carrying out the novel process. Also disclosed herein is a particular solution which is advantageous in the shrinkproofing of wool, not only with the novel apparatus and process disclosed herein but generally in the field of shrinkproofing of wool.
Wool sliver is a commercial product which is produced in a variety of relatively uniform sizes. Sliver is normally described in terms of its quality and in terms of the weight of a 5 yard length of material. Thus, a 21/2 ounce sliver indicates that this particular sliver would weigh 21/2 ounces for a 5 yard length. This sliver would be approximately 1 inch in diameter.
In the normal processing of wool, wool fibers are obtained by clipping from an animal. The clipped fibers are then baled. After collection in bales the raw wool may be scoured and carded. In this state the wool is referred to as card sliver. Card sliver upon combing to remove adventitious materials receives a slight twist and is referred to as top sliver. Top sliver may be drawn such that its diameter is reduced at which time it is then referred to as roving. Roving may be twisted into yarn. Several plies of yarn may be then twisted to form a thread. Generally speaking, wool will be treated while in either the card sliver or top sliver state. However, the invention disclosed hereinafter is useful in any of the stages from card sliver through to thread. Accordingly, the word "sliver" as used hereinafter is intended to be broad enough to encompass card sliver, top sliver, roving, yarn and thread.
It is well known in the prior art that wool sliver may be shrinkproofed by immersing it in an aqueous hypochlorite solution. There has been much technical study and many patents in this field.
It is generally acknowledged that the major reactant involved is hypochlorous acid which is one of the entities in wet chlorine systems, and that the reaction should, as far as possible, be confined only to the surface of the fibers. The reaction between wool and hypochlorous acid tends to be exceedingly rapid and difficult to control so that the major difficulty is one of obtaining "even treatment" of the fibers.
Since the chemical equilibrium involved in HOCl solutions is very pH dependent and since the by-product of the HOCl/wool reaction is the completely dissociated HCl, a self accelerating action is set up at the original reaction site.
Since the rate of the wool/hypochlorous reaction is so fast, it is possible for some of the fibers to be "wetted" by reactant solution which has lost its HOCl content in a first reaction. It is obvious, then, that if the reactant solution is to maintain homogeneity, the rate of its dispersion through the fibers must be faster than the wool/hypochlorous reaction rate if the desired end of even treatment is to be met. To achieve this, several methods have been used to reduce the reaction rate including temperature control; pH modification and addition of sacrificial amino compounds. Any or all of these methods have been coupled with agitation, vibration or wetting agent additions to speed the rate of liquid dispersion. Despite all of this work, the attainment of even treatment is still a major difficulty.
It is in the nature of this invention, that even and homogenous treatment of combed wool sliver can be obtained by use of a mechanical procedure designed to take specific advantage of the geometry of combed wool sliver.
The invention is based in the discovery that the rate of air displacement by the solution for sliver continuously immersed within 10.degree. of the vertical is smooth and even, whereas for sliver immersed horizontally the rate is slow and discontinuous. Because the sliver consists of combed wool fibers, air trapped in the capillaries will be smoothly and uniformly displaced only if the sliver is introduced in the bath in a substantially vertical direction. Immersion of the sliver in the bath in a horizontal direction or nearly horizontal direction will result in entrapment of the air in the capillaries of the sliver and thereby resulting in uneven shrinkproofing of the wool.
Heretofore, wool sliver has been immersed in an appropriate bath at any convenient angle which normally will approach the horizontal. The sliver then travels in a more or less horizontal plane through the bath for an appropriate amount of time to permit treatment by the solution. In order to assist in the treating of the sliver with this type of bath and immersion arrangement the bath is often agitated.
According to this invention the wool sliver is introduced into the bath in a substantially vertical direction and travels downward through the solution in a substantially vertical direction to an appropriate depth. By a suitable choice of the depth to which the sliver is immersed and the rate at which it is carried into the bath, it is possible to obtain even and homogenous filling of the capillary spaces between the combed fibers with reactant liquid in a time less than that required for the wool/hypochlorite reaction. The combed wool sliver (whose capillaries are filled with air) is conveyed substantially vertically into the reactive chlorine solution to a depth of not less than 1 meter at a rate of about 7 centimeters to about 25 centimeters per second. The sliver must be submerged substantially vertically to a depth of at least 1 meter in order that all air may be removed from the capillaries in order that even treatment of the sliver will be achieved. Because the sliver is a relatively delicate product which cannot be subjected to tensile stresses of any significance the sliver may most advantageously be carried into the bath between or on endless screens.
While the sliver is being submerged the air is smoothly displaced from the capillaries by the chlorine liquor. The screens carry the combined wool sliver and capillary liquor around a roll or guide at the bottom of the tank and up through the solution and out of the bath exit.
The sliver now evenly wetted with reactant liquor, is allowed to complete its reaction and is then squeezed, rinsed free from spent liquor and dried.
Sliver so treated is very evenly shrinkproofed and the secondary procedures of attempting to control the rate of reaction by adjustment of pH, of temperature or by adding amino compounds; or of improving the wetting rate by the use of surfactants or agitators or vibrators seem to be unnecessary. The degree of shrinkproofing is easily controlled by adjusting the concentration of hypochlorous acid in the solution.
In essence, an apparatus designed according to this invention consists of a bath of sufficient depth to permit immersion of sliver to a depth of at least 1 meter of fluid. The apparatus will consist of a pulley or guide at the top over which the sliver and its conveying means may be made to pass. A similar pulley or guide will be located at the bottom of the tank. And thirdly, a similar pulley or guide will be located at the exit to withdraw the sliver and conveying means from the tank.
Normally, the final guiding member will be located atop the bath in such a way as to withdraw the wool sliver from the bath as quickly as possible. As the feed rate of sliver is governed by the immersion rate into the bath, obviously withdrawal from the bath in minimum time may only be achieved by removing the sliver according to the shortest path, i.e. vertical. This is desirable although not necessary in order to prevent secondary oxidation by diffusion of more hypochlorous acid. If the sliver is overtreated wool of an unsatisfactory quality and color will result. However, if suitable sealing means could be provided it would be permissible within the terms of this invention to remove the wool sliver from the solution in any particular direction.
Over-treatment of the wool may be easily prevented by use of a U-shaped bath. If a suitable hypochlorous solution is introduced into such a bath at a point relatively near to the point where the wool sliver is introduced, the liquor is fresh. By ensuring a flow of liquor along the U-shaped bath in the same direction of flow as followed by the wool the liquor relatively near the point where the wool is withdrawn from the bath will be weak or spent. Thus, the liquor is caused to flow down one side of the U-shaped bath in which the sliver is traveling downwardly and up in the other leg of the bath. Supply means are incorporated in upper portions of the first mentioned leg of the bath and drain means are provided at the upper end of the second mentioned leg. As the wool sliver is removed from the bath it will of course remove with it some entrapped liquid.
The solution to be used in such a bath is a hypochlorite solution. The best solution known to the inventor is made by passing chlorine gas into water. Such a solution contains less chloride ion than solutions commercially used today, and accordingly has a higher concentration of hypochlorous acid per unit of available chlorine.
Aqueous solutions of hypochlorite are characterized by the uneasy equilibrium between the components. The equilibrium is very pH dependent and can be characterized thus: EQU OCl+H.sup.+ .revreaction.HOCl+H.sup.+ +Cl.sup.- .revreaction.H.sub.2 O+Cl.sub.2 14.THETA.pH.fwdarw.1
Consequently, the effective concentration of the HOCl entity is dependent on both the total available chlorine of the solution and its pH value.
Shrinkproofing procedures usually operate with solution of about 0.05% hypochlorous acid obtained by different combination of pH and total chlorine (Harris, U.S. Pat. No. 2,466,695; Edwards, British Pat. No. 537,671; Kroy, U.S. Pat. No. 2,671,006). In summary, the overall reaction could be designated as: EQU Wool+HOCl.fwdarw.oxidized wool+H.sup.+ +Cl.sup.-
The by-product of this reaction (the hydrogen and chloride ions) when released have a very important effect upon the hypochlorite/hypochlorous equilibrium.
In the upper pH conditions (pH 5 to pH 14) the released hydrogen ion converts the unreacted hypochlorite ion to the relatively undissociated hypochlorous acid: EQU OCl+H.sup.+ .fwdarw.HOCl
This secondary hypochlorous acid can produce localized secondary oxidation which may continue so long as hypochlorite ion is available.
Consequently, alkaline hypochlorination (so-called) tends to produce more secondary oxidation (damage) per degree of primary oxidation (shrinkproofing) and this shows as increased damage to the wool fibers.
To offset this, according to prior art procedures, recourse is had to a very rapid treatment with the hypochlorite solution followed by immersion in a stop bath to destroy the residual hypochlorite. The relatively slow rates of liquid diffusion through wool fibers and the exceedingly fast rate of the wool hypochlorite reactions and hypochlorite/hypochlorous equilibria make the procedure exceedingly difficult.
In acid conditions (pH 5 or less) the release of by-product HCl decreases the HOCl concentration: EQU HOCl+H.sup.+ +Cl.sup.- .revreaction.H.sub.2 O+Cl.sub.2
and it is interesting to note that since the by-product releases of H.sup.+ and Cl.sup.- are stoichimetric the rate of the reaction is proportional to the square of the hydrogen ion release concentration. ##EQU1##
Hence release of by-product H.sup.+ and Cl.sup.- from the initial shrinkproofing reaction produces a very dramatic fall in pH equilibrium HOCl content of the shrinkproofing solution.
Consequently, in acid solutions the oxidation by hypochlorous acid is self-limiting at the primary stage and the result is shown in the much lesser degree of damage per effective degree of shrinkproofing.
Commercial hypochlorite solutions have available chlorine values of 1% to 16%. They are invariable alkaline (generally pH 12). They are formed by passing gaseous or liquid chlorine into cooled alkaline solutions. The reaction can be represented thus: EQU Cl.sub.2 +2NaOH.fwdarw.NaCl=NaOCl+H.sub.2 O+heat
The reaction is generally stopped a little short of the stoichimetric point so as to keep the solution at pH 12.
To make hypochlorous acid solution such commercial hypochlorite solutions are progressively diluted and neutralized with mineral acid, generally muriatic acid.
There are several objections to this procedure:
1. Alkaline hypochlorite solutions undergo steady degradation with time and with temperature thus: EQU NaClO.fwdarw.Na.sup.+ +Cl.sup.- +(O).uparw. PA1 Consequently as they age the concentration of chloride ion as a function of available chlorine steadily increases. PA1 2. Acidification means not only the conversion of NaClO to HClO but also the neutralization of the excess alkali in the solution. Consequently this, too, produces an increased concentration of chloride ion as a function of the total available chlorine. PA1 3. The heat of neutralization effectively increases the temperature of the hypochlorous acid solutions and since hypochlorous acid is quite volatile, cooling is required to produce satisfactory shrinkproofing solutions. In such acidified solutions the equilibrium is expressed as: ##EQU2##
It is obvious that increases in the chloride ion concentration of the solution produce a corresponding reduction in the true [HOCl] per unit of total available chlorine.
Contrary to commercial practice today, the pH and available chlorine values are not sufficient to determine the true concentration of HOCl. To determine true [HOCl] consideration must be given to the chloride ion concentration.
Consequently, acidified solutions of commercial alkaline hypochlorite solutions are lower than expected in true concentration of hypochlorous acid.
However, fresh hypochlorous acid solution can be readily obtained by passing chlorine gas into water: EQU Cl.sub.2 +H.sub.2 O.fwdarw.H.sup.+ +Cl.sup.- +HClO
Such a solution proves to be more advantageous for shrinkproofing because it contains less chloride ion (than the previously described acidified commercial product) and therefore has a higher concentration of hypochlorous acid per unit of available chlorine.
It will be appreciated from the previous description that a solution prepared according to the foregoing method will be essentially self limiting in the wool shrinkproofing reaction. Accordingly, it may be used in any form of bath wherein the solution is evenly distributed throughout the wool sliver. Since the reaction is self limiting, it is not necessary to subject the wool sliver to after bath treatment to stop the chemical reaction in order to obtain acceptable quality shrinkproof wool.
In accordance with this invention, effective shrinkproofing solutions may be obtained by aspirating chlorine into the feed water system of the shrinkproofing process. Solutions of available chlorine (0.05 to 0.25) at pH values at 2.0 to 2.6 and temperatures of 6.degree. C. to 20.degree. C. are easily obtained. As a consequence, neither artificial cooling nor cumbersome neutralization procedures are required according to the invention disclosed herein. It will be particularly obvious that the solution disclosed herein may be used advantageously in conjunction with the method and apparatus disclosed herein to provide a single bath treatment of wool wherein the wool is uniformly treated with little or no danger of secondary treatment and damage to the wool.


Distributing content to multiple electronic documents or sections thereof, with various controlling users, documents states, and host devices quickly and accurately is provided herein. Content from a sender document is identified, reduced to its necessary parts, fixed in position, and validated so that it may be pushed to identified sections within the sender document or to sections in receiver documents on other host devices. Content is pushed from the sender document to sections identified as available, and each receiver section or document may have different sections and subsections available. The systems and methods provided herein operate without requiring the content to be encapsulated in new documents, and thus reduces the memory and bandwidth needed to share content remotely, and improves the user experience for sharing content.

Sharing content among electronic documents controlled by multiple users or among multiple locations in a single document is a challenge for both users and software systems to perform efficiently. Some previous workarounds required each controlling user to find and insert specific content, pulling it into their personal electronic document, or for each user to manually enter the data—introducing the possibility of transcription errors or omissions. For example, a presenter at a conference might tell audience members of an important finding, which audience members incorporate into their notes via individual screen shots, photographs of the content, text entry, or the like, which requires the presence and participation of the audience members. Other previous workarounds required multiple documents to be used; pushing new documents out to selected users for use or incorporation at the user's discretion. For example, a coworker sharing a new letterhead template may place it on a document management server, allowing others to pull the new document, email the new document to others, or access the others' file systems and replace an old document with the new. These workarounds are time consuming, error prone, and often rely on the recipients taking action, and leave senders desirous of systems and methods that can reliably and quickly push content from senders without relying on interaction with the recipient.

Specific content distribution across documents


The optical element provides for the displacement of two end sections having slanted end faces. The slanted end faces have such an angle to the optical axis of the fiber, that the limit angle for total reflection is exceeded. The displacement remains substantially below the diameter of the fiber.

This invention concerns an optical element for affecting the transmission characteristics through an optical system having at least two optical fiber end sections one of which is displaceable. The end sections can be optically coupled.
Such an element is for instance known from German Offenlegungsschrift 36 44 802. With such an element a switching function is realized by displacing optical fiber ends radially relative to one another so that light can travel from one fiber end section to the other fiber end section, while the light passage is blocked when the end sections are decoupled.
However, during switching, the known device needs to travel a considerable shifting distance, which practically corresponds to the thickness of the core of the optical fiber. This shifting distance already causes high switching times. In order to reduce the switching times, fast acting elements could be used. However, such elements require relatively high operating currents, are rather big and expensive. Such switches are therefore unsuited for constructing an optical fiber network.
An optical element for switching of optical power in optical fibers, which operates based on a different principle, has been known, for instance, from the book "Optische Telekommunikationssysteme, Band I; Physik und Technik", Publisher: W. Haist, Damm-Verlag KG, Gelsenkirchen-Buer. On pages 105 and 106 switchable light beam couplers are described, which operate with an integrated optical construction. With these couplers very short switching times are achievable. However, a coupling of optical fibers to the in- and output of planar structures is required, which causes, because of the different field distribution, high losses at the coupling regions.
Another disadvantage is that at the connection mechanical tolerances below 1 .mu.m have to be maintained. This Generates high manufacturing costs.
In addition, the planar wave guides themselves have comparatively high transition losses, so that transition losses of an optical switch lower than 3 dB would hardly be realizable.
Furthermore, with switching elements in integrated optical construction, the dependence on wavelength and polarization as well as the insufficient cross-talk attenuation, especially in local networks, is a disadvantage.
The present invention has therefore the object to create an optical element which can be affected in its transition function by an optical system of the aforementioned kind, which in respect to transition loss, non-pass attenuation, return loss, cross talk, switching time, manufacturing cost and/or size is an improvement over the existing optical elements and which is suited to be used in optical networks and therefore comes close to the requirement for an ideal switch.


The present invention relates to a device which is to be combined with a bar with disks, that include a plurality of cutting elements with each one turning about its respective axis. The axes of the cutting elements are directed upward during work and are arranged alongside each other along a transversal line with respect to a forward direction of the device during work. Each cutting element is made of a cutting disk including cutting blades connected to the cutting disks and a support which is also provided with blades. Each support is connected to the corresponding cutting disks. The cutting bard and disk of the present invention permit the cutting and chopping and/or crushing of plants or vegetables.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains to a device which is to be combined with a bar with disks, which includes a large number of cutting elements with each one turning about its respective bars, directed upward during the working process (preferably approximately vertical) and arranged each one beside the other along a transversal line with respect to the forward direction during the working process, each cutting dement being made of a cutting disk and cutting blades connected to the cutting disk.
The combination of a cutting bar with disks and the device in question allows one to accomplish cutting and chopping and/or crushing of vegetables.
2. Discussion of the Background
A conventional device includes a rotor which is provided with blades extending above the cutting elements of the bar with disks, and the stationary counter-blades installed to the rear of the disk bar and used to work together with the blades of the rotor to chop and/or crush the vegetables which are cut by the cutting elements of the bar with disks.
The rotor turns at high speed around a shaft extending parallel to the transversal line along which are arranged the cutting elements of the bar with disks. It includes rows of attached blades arranged parallel to its axis of rotation and turns in a direction so that in front the blades are displaced toward the cutting elements of the bar with disks.
The stationary blades extend behind the cutting elements along a row which is parallel to the line along which the cutting elements extend.
The plants which are cut by the cutting elements of the bar with disks are picked up again by the attached blades of the rotor. The latter carry the plants toward the bar and toward the rear, and make them pass over the counter blades. It is at this level that the plants must be chopped and/or crushed especially because of the high rotational speed of the rotor. The chopped and/or crushed plants are then spread over a large area.
This machine is particularly intended for use on unplowed and fallow fields.
By using the bar with disks one can make a very clean cut, which cannot be attained with the choppers and grinders.
The conventional device can, however, present certain disadvantages. A first disadvantage lies in the fact that the rotor leaves the cut plants on the cutting disks of the disk bar. From this action there should be a not-negligible absorption of power. In other respects it is possible that under certain conditions obstructions could appear. Another disadvantage lies in the introduction of stationary counter blades. Because of their position near the ground the fear exists that they can be easily damaged. It is not out of the question that they might be damaged when stones, for example, pass through the machine.

Device for cutting and chopping and/or crushing cut plants


A pseudo-noise generator (516) generates an on-time component, an early component and a late component of a pseudo-noise code signal in response to an error signal. The on-time component is routed to a deinterleave and demodulate device (210) which demodulates and decodes baseband signals from received spread spectrum signals. An adder (518) subtracts the early component from the late component to form a summation signal. A multiplier (520) multiplies the summation with the received signal to form a product signal. An integrator (522) integrates the product signal to form the error signal. The error signal is fed back into the pseudo-noise generator (516) to fine tune the on-time component, the early component and the late component of the pseudo-noise code signal. As a result, a spread spectrum signal is demodulated and decoded using only one correlator (504) instead of two.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to apparatus and methods for communicating using spread spectrum techniques, and more particularly for communicating using spread spectrum techniques that conform to IS-95 standards.
2. Discussion of Background Art
Spread-spectrum communication systems currently find widespread use in modern cellular communications devices. Spread spectrum systems allow more users to transmit and receive communications in an ever tighter bandwidth environment.
One technique for spreading a baseband signal so as to fill an entire channel bandwidth is to mix the baseband signal with a Walsh code and a complex pseudo-noise (PN) spreading signal. The Walsh code and PN spreading signal effectively encode the baseband signal by modulating (i.e. chopping) each data symbol within the baseband signal into a number of chips having a chip period (i.e. chip interval) T.sub.c, as is discussed further by Charles E. Cook and Howard S. Marsh, "An introduction to Spread Spectrum," IEEE Communications Magazine, March 1983, and by David P. Whipple, "The CDMA Standard", Applied Microwave & Wireless, Winter 1994, pp. 24-39 (originally published as, "North American Cellular CDMA", Hewlett-Packard Journal, December 1993, pp. 90-97). The complex PN code is given by the following equation: PN(t)=PN.sub.I (t-.delta.)+jPN.sub.J (t-.delta.), where .delta. is a phase offset. Each transmitter within a CDMA network broadcasting over the same frequency spectrum and within a range of a particular receiver is distinguishable by its unique phase offset, .delta.. Each of the transmitters include a number of channels which are encoded and distinguished by different Walsh codes.
Current spread spectrum receivers acquire many different transmitted signals, which, while appearing to be superimposed on one another, are demodulated by correlators that are tuned to accept only transmitted channels corresponding to a particular PN code phase offset and a particular Walsh code. The receiver accomplishes this by stripping away the carrier signal and demodulating the spread spectrum signals with correlators having a matching PN code phase offset and Walsh code.
In order for demodulation to occur successfully, the transmitter's and receiver's PN spreading phase offsets must be synchronized. Delay-locked Loops (DLLs) containing correlators are commonly used to synchronize the receiver's PN code phase offset to the transmitter's PN code phase offset. However, current DLLs contain multiple correlators which add to the expense and complexity of the DLL.
What is needed is an apparatus and method for simplifying the circuitry within delay-locked loops while supporting spread spectrum communications systems conforming to the IS-95 standard.

Apparatus and method for code tracking in an IS-95 spread spectrum communications system

Philips Electronics North America Corporation


Systems and methods for locating a cash provider using location-based technologies and transfer funds include receiving a request for cash that includes location data obtained from a location-based technology from a withdrawing party device, searching a network of active providing parties for an available providing party based on withdrawing party preferences and the location data, transmitting an alert to an available providing party device, transmitting available providing party data to withdrawing party if the providing party has confirmed availability, receiving a request to transfer a withdrawal amount from an account associated with the withdrawing party device to an account associated with a selected providing party device, receiving confirmation from the withdrawing party device that the withdrawing party has received cash, transferring the withdrawal amount from the withdrawing party to the selected providing party, and transmitting an alert to the selected providing party device that the withdrawal amount has been transferred.

With the rise of mobile transactions and transaction card usage, customers often carry little to no currency, or cash. In order to obtain cash, a customer must withdraw cash from one of the several options, including, a bank ATM where the customer has an account, a bank where the customer has an account, an ATM that is not associated with a bank where the customer has an account. However, banks are often only open during regular business hours, banks and bank ATMs may not be located near a customer, lines to use an ATM or transact with a teller may be long, ATMs may charge fees for using them, ATMs may be out-of-order, or a number of factors may make visiting a bank and/or using an ATM inconvenient and undesirable.
These and other drawbacks exist.

System and method of social cash withdrawal


A specially designed turnbuckle is serially connected to a tension coil spring located in the recessed portion of a windshield wiper arm. Rotation of the turnbuckle allows to adjust the tension of the coil spring and therefore the force with which the wiper blade is pressed against the windshield surface.

It is known to provide a system to adjust the tensional force of the spring of a wiper assembly in order to adjustably vary the pressure exerted by the wiper blade on the window pane.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,366,989 to A. L. LUDWIG entitled WINDSHIELD WIPER ARMS and dated Feb. 6, 1968 describes such a system wherein the tension spring 25 is adjustably extended by a screw threaded tensioning rod 28 carrying an adjusting nut 29 which partially protrudes from a filler 18. Obviously, in this patent a specially designed filler 18 is required which is retained within the channel shaped portion 17 of the wiper arm by forming inturned flanges 21 along the inner edge of portion 17. It follows that the system in accordance with this patent cannot be used as a conversion kit for wiper assemblies already on the market and already in the hands of the automobile owners. Therefore, the latter would have to buy an entire new wiper assembly to obtain a wiper blade with an adjustable pressure capability.

Windshield wiper arm with adjustable pressure


An improved shuttle with variable internal volume is provided by the present invention. Space shuttle orbiter 10 includes a telescoping main propulsion unit 20. This main propulsion unit 20 contains the main rocket engines 22 and fuel tanks 21 and telescopes into the shuttle. A variable cavity 30 is located between this unit 20 and the crew compartment 25. Accordingly, the positioning of the telescoping main propulsion unit 20 determines the volume of the variable cavity 30. Thus, the volume of the variable length of the entire shuttle 10 may be increased or decreased to achieve desired configurations for optimal storage. In one embodiment of the present invention, paylod 35 also telescopes within variable cavity 30.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to earth to orbit transportation and more specifically to a telescoping shuttle orbiter.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The space shuttle is currently the primary mode of reusable earth to orbit transportation. The current embodiment consists of an internal cargo bay of fixed volume and an external fuel tank. It is unlikely that payload for a particular mission will correspond to the available fixed volume or to the available lift capability for the selected destination. Thus, the shuttle has either unused volume or does not use its full lift capability. Further, undesirable misalignment of engine thrust and propellant mass exists.
Still another disadvantage of the current art is the inherent lack of system flexibility for developing alternate launch vehicle configurations such as expendable heavy lift versions. In these versions the payload must be moved from side mounted to in-line necessitating alteration of all the basic load paths and therefore alteration of the structure.
A proposed embodiment consists of an internal cargo bay and internal propellant tanks. This embodiment also has the disadvantage of a fixed amount of cargo space. Also, the load paths from the engine through the propellant tanks is complicated, leading to increased structural weights.
A third embodiment is a proposal for an externally mounted cargo bay which appeared in the January 1984 issue of Astronautics and Aeronautics in an article entitled "Booster and Orbiter Configurations" by Wilhite et al. One disadvantage of this "piggy-back" arrangement is the misalignment of the payload mass with the thrust axes of the main engines. Also, this arrangement results in undesirably high acoustic levels from air flow and the main rocket engines. Further, this proposal is only useful if the intended payload exceeds the fixed volume of the internal cargo bay.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to efficiently alter the cargo volume of a space shuttle.
It is a further object of this invention to achieve the above object with no undesirable misalignment of engine thrust and propellant mass.
It is a further, object of this invention to provide a system that is easily altered for use as an expendable launch system by elimination of the orbiter shell and substitution of payloads and upper series mounted or strap-on stages.
Other objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent in the specification and drawing which follow.

Shuttle orbiter with telescoping main propulsion unit and payload

The United States of America as represented by the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration


A front end module including a plastic component connected to a metallic substrate. The metallic substrate can be formed by hydroforming and shaped into a substantially unitary member. The plastic component is then molded about the metallic substrate and simultaneously forms connections thereto at discrete locations along the length of the metallic substrate.

Currently, structural components for vehicles, such as vehicle front end modules and door supports are made of metal and/or plastic. Front end modules provide structure to the vehicle as well as providing attachment structure for various vehicle components, such as the headlamps, radiator, fan, horn, and the like. Preferably, the front end modules can be provided in a single unit assembly, which is ready to be mounted to the vehicle by the manufacturer.
Commonly, such structural components are made from several stampings that are welded together. Alternatively, such components have been made from closed section metal, such as by extrusion or hydroforming. The use of closed section metal provides a relatively stronger component. Typically, however, additional metal material must be welded to the closed section metal components to provide for attachment surfaces.
These structural components are not currently made entirely from plastic material for larger vehicles because of the inability to meet vehicle performance requirements. However, use of plastic components in conjunction with metal to provide attachment points for the vehicle components is known in the art. In some instances, the metal structural component is attached to the plastic component with mechanical fasteners, such as screws or rivets. But, the use of this method is relatively cost and labor intensive.
Another method of securing the plastic to the metal structure is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,273,496 to Guyomard et al. and assigned to Valeo Thermique Moteur. This reference appears to disclose a front panel that includes metal structural components, including a closed section metal component. A plastic material is overmolded over the metal structure.
Another method of securing plastic to metal is shown in U.S. Application Publication No. 2001/0053431 to Goldbach et al. in the name of Bayer Corporation. Another such plastic and metal part is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,190,803 to Goldbach and assigned to Bayer Akhengesellsschaft.
Accordingly, there exists a desire for front end modules that include a plastic component attached to a metallic substrate, especially wherein the plastic component can be connected to the metal substrate during fabrication without the use of mechanical fasteners while also using a relatively small amount of plastic material to achieve the connection.


A scroll expander includes a driving scroll body having a first axis line a driven scroll body having a second axis line shifted with respect to the first axis line, a bearing plate including two plates coupled to the driven scroll body and having the second axis line a cylindrical driving pin attached to the driving scroll body, and a cylindrical guide ring attached to the bearing plate and having an inner diameter larger than an outer diameter of the driving pin. The driving pin includes an outer circumferential surface in contact with an inner circumferential surface of the guide ring. A hard film including diamond-like carbon is formed on the outer circumferential surface of the driving pin. The inner circumferential surface of the guide ring includes a polymer resin material with self-lubricity.

Scroll fluid machine compresses or expands a working medium by relative movement between scroll bodies including helical wraps. A scroll expander is a type of the scroll fluid machine. The scroll expander includes an expansion chamber formed of a pair of scroll bodies. The scroll expander converts energy upon expansion of a high-pressure working medium in the expansion chamber into rotational energy. As technology in such a field, a scroll expander described in JP 2011-252434 A has been known.
The scroll expander described in JP 2011-252434 A includes a fixed scroll and an orbiting scroll. Since rotation movement of this orbiting scroll is regulated by a rotation regulating mechanism, only revolution movement can be performed.


A probe having a contact force sensor is inserted into a cardiac chamber and an image of the blood pool is generated. A portion of the blood pool is removed from the image to retain a remaining portion of the blood pool. A determination is made that the distal segment of the probe is within the remaining portion of the blood pool, and responsively to the determination the contact force sensor is manually zeroed.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to cardiac catheterization. More particularly, this invention relates to determination of contact of a catheter with cardiac tissue.
2. Description of the Related Art
Cardiac arrhythmias, such as atrial fibrillation, occur when regions of cardiac tissue abnormally conduct electric signals to adjacent tissue, thereby disrupting the normal cardiac cycle and causing asynchronous rhythm.
Procedures for treating arrhythmia include surgically disrupting the origin of the signals causing the arrhythmia, as well as disrupting the conducting pathway for such signals. By selectively ablating cardiac tissue by application of energy via a catheter, it is sometimes possible to cease or modify the propagation of unwanted electrical signals from one portion of the heart to another. The ablation process destroys the unwanted electrical pathways by formation of non-conducting lesions.
Verification of physical electrode contact with the target tissue is important for controlling the delivery of ablation energy. Attempts in the art to verify electrode contact with the tissue have been extensive, and various techniques have been suggested. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,695,808 describes apparatus for treating a selected patient tissue or organ region. A probe has a contact surface that may be urged against the region, thereby creating contact pressure. A pressure transducer measures the contact pressure. This arrangement is said to meet the needs of procedures in which a medical instrument must be placed in firm but not excessive contact with an anatomical surface, by providing information to the user of the instrument that is indicative of the existence and magnitude of the contact force.
As another example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,241,724 describes methods for creating lesions in body tissue using segmented electrode assemblies. In one embodiment, an electrode assembly on a catheter carries pressure transducers, which sense contact with tissue and convey signals to a pressure contact module. The module identifies the electrode elements that are associated with the pressure transducer signals and directs an energy generator to convey radiofrequency energy to these elements, and not to other elements that are in contact only with blood.
A further example is presented in U.S. Pat. No. 6,915,149. This patent describes a method for mapping a heart using a catheter having a tip electrode for measuring local electrical activity. In order to avoid artifacts that may arise from poor tip contact with the tissue, the contact pressure between the tip and the tissue is measured using a pressure sensor to ensure stable contact.
U.S. Patent Application Publication 2007/0100332 describes systems and methods for assessing electrode-tissue contact for tissue ablation. An electromechanical sensor within the catheter shaft generates electrical signals corresponding to the amount of movement of the electrode within a distal portion of the catheter shaft. An output device receives the electrical signals for assessing a level of contact between the electrode and a tissue.
Impedance-based methods for assessing catheter-tissue contact that are known in the art typically rely on measurement of the magnitude of the impedance between an electrode on the catheter and a body-surface electrode. When the magnitude is below some threshold, the electrode is considered to be in contact with the tissue. This sort of binary contact indication may be unreliable, however, and is sensitive to changes in the impedance between the body-surface electrode and the skin.
U.S. Patent Application Publication Nos. 2008/0288038 and 2008/0275465, both by Sauarav et al., which are herein incorporated by reference, describe an electrode catheter system, which may comprise an electrode adapted to apply electric energy. A measurement circuit adapted to measure impedance may be implemented between the electrode and ground as the electrode approaches a target tissue. A processor or processing units may be implemented to determine a contact condition for the target tissue based at least in part on reactance of the impedance measured by the measurement circuit. In another embodiment, the contact condition may be based on the phase angle of the impedance.
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2013/0172875 to Govari et al., entitled "Contact Assessment Based on Phase Measurement", which is herein incorporated by reference, describes displaying intra-operative phase determinations of an electrical current passing between the ablation electrode and another electrode as an indicator of contact force between an ablation electrode and target tissue.
Today contact force catheters are commercially available, for example the THERMOCOOL® SMARTTOUCH™ Catheter, produced by Biosense Webster, Inc., 3333 Diamond Canyon Road, Diamond Bar, Calif. 91765.


A method for assessing a neuropsychiatric condition (such as, but not limited to, a risk that a subject may attempt to commit suicide or repeat an attempt to commit suicide, a risk that terminally ill patient is not being care-for or treated according to the patient's true wishes, a risk that a subject may perform or repeat a criminal act and/or a harmful act, a risk of the subject having a psychiatric illness, and/or a risk of a subject feigning a psychiatric illness) may include a plurality of steps. A step may include receiving biomarker data associated from an analysis of the subject's biological sample and a step of receiving thought-marker data obtained pertaining to one or more of the subject's recorded thoughts, spoken words, transcribed speech, and writings. A step may include generating a biomarker score associated with the neuropsychiatric condition from the biomarker data. A step may include generating a thought-marker score associated with the neuropsychiatric condition from the thought-marker data. And a step may involve calculating a neuropsychiatric condition score based, at least in part, upon the biomarker score and the thought-marker score. Such method may be operating from one or more memory devices including computer-readable instructions configured to instruct a computerized system to perform the method, and the method may be operating on a computerized system including one or more computer servers (or other available devices) accessible over a computer network such as the Internet or over some other data network.

There is a need for more accurate assessment of human subject's neuropsychiatric conditions so that the human subject may be better treated for such conditions by their caregivers. For example, there are needs for better assessment of a suicide risk in an individual, there are needs for better assessment of end-of-life treatment care for terminally ill patients, there are needs for better assessment and treatment of schizophrenic patients, there are needs for better assessment and handling of a criminal act (or repeat criminal act) attempt risk for an individual, there are needs for better assessment and treatment of other neuropsychiatric conditions, and there are needs for better assessment and handling of those feigning neuropsychiatric conditions.
With respect to suicide risk, it is estimated that each year 800,000 people die by suicide worldwide. In the United States alone, eighty people kill themselves each day, twelve under the age 25. Experts estimate the total life time costs of suicide to be $33 billion. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, however, notes that approximately 15% of all high-school students have developed a serious plan to attempt suicide, 9% have attempted suicide, and nearly 3% have required medical attention due to a suicide attempt. In an average year, a typical pediatric emergency department evaluates at least 2,000 patients exhibiting suicidal behavior. A challenge for those who care for suicide attempters may be assessing the likelihood of another serious suicide attempt, which may be lethal.
With respect to end-of-life treatment and care of terminally ill subjects, One option is to support a clinical atmosphere that understands when death is certain, and knows when to shift from life saving medical care to preparing for the inevitable, death. In the later case, establishing expectations and providing specialized end-of-life care becomes the norm. With children, especially, understanding the dying child's concerns can be difficult. These children may be anxious about pain and discomfort, they may struggle with what will happen to them when they die, or they may worry about making family members sad, they may feel alone, stupid, or angry. As care providers understand the dying child's concerns they can better provide personalized care to the child and family.

Computer implemented system and method for assessing a neuropsychiatric condition of a human subject


Disclosed are a method f manufacturing a silicon device and a method of manufacturing a liquid jet head, which are capable of surely preventing damage of a piezoelectric element in manufacturing. In forming a thin-film pattern on one surface of a silicon wafer 100, a first moisture permeation preventive layer 96, which is so as to surround the entire thin-film pattern of the silicon wafer 100, is formed in the same layer as a first conductive layer 96 on the silicon wafer 100, a second moisture permeation preventive layer 114 having a narrower width than the first moisture permeation preventive layer 96 is formed in the same layer as an insulation layer 100 on the first moisture permeation preventive layer 96, and a third moisture permeation preventive layer 121 is formed in the same layer as a second conductive layer 120 on the second moisture permeation preventive layer 114 so as to cover the second moisture permeation preventive layer 114. Thus, a moisture permeation preventive pattern 130 is formed. Thereafter, a sealing plate is joined to the silicon wafer 100 through the moisture permeation preventive pattern 130 interposed therebetween, and a concave portion is formed by etching from the other surface of the silicon wafer 100. Thus, a silicon device is manufactured.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a silicon device having a thin-film pattern on a silicon substrate. Particularly, the present invention is preferably applied to a liquid jet head and a manufacturing method thereof. Specifically, in the liquid jet head, a part of a pressure-generating chamber which communicates with a nozzle orifice ejecting an ink droplet is formed of a vibration plate, a piezoelectric element is formed on a surface of this vibration plate and the ink droplet is ejected by displacement of a piezoelectric layer.
2. Description of the Related Art
As a liquid jet apparatus, there is, for example, an ink-jet recording apparatus including an ink-jet recording head having: a plurality of pressure-generating chambers which generate pressures for ejecting ink droplets by use of a piezoelectric element or a heater element; a common reservoir which supplies ink to each of the pressure-generating chambers; and nozzle orifices which communicate with the respective pressure-generating chambers. In this ink-jet recording apparatus, an ejecting energy is applied to the ink in the pressure-generating chambers communicating with nozzles corresponding to a print signal, and thereby ink droplets are ejected from the nozzle orifices.
In the ink-jet recording head, a part of each pressure-generating chamber communicating with the nozzle orifice ejecting an ink droplet is formed by a vibration plate, and this vibration plate is deformed by the piezoelectric element. Thereafter, ink within the pressure-generating chambers is pressurized and thus the ink droplets are ejected from the nozzle orifices. There are two types of ink-jet recording heads which have been put to practical use, which include: one using a piezoelectric actuator of a longitudinal vibration mode, which extends and contracts in an axial direction of a piezoelectric element; and one using a piezoelectric actuator of a flexure vibration mode.
The former can change a volume of the pressure-generating chamber by allowing an end face of the piezoelectric element to abut on the vibration plate and can be manufactured as a bead suitable for high-density printing. On the other hand, a difficult process of cutting the piezoelectric element into a comb-teeth shape by allowing the piezoelectric element to coincide with an array pitch of the nozzle orifices, and work of aligning the cut piezoelectric elements with the pressure-generating chambers and fixing the piezoelectric elements thereto are required. Thus, there arises a problem that a manufacturing process thereof is complicated.
On the contrary, in the latter, the piezoelectric elements can be fabricated in the vibration plate by a relatively simple process of attaching a green sheet, a piezoelectric material, to the vibration plate in accordance with a shape of the pressure-generating chamber and performing baking thereof. Nevertheless, because of the use of flexure vibration, a certain area is required. Thus, there arises a problem that high-density arrangement is difficult.
Meanwhile, in order to resolve the inconvenience of the latter recording head, there is proposed one in which a uniform piezoelectric material layer is formed across the entire surface of the vibration plate by use of a deposition technology, and this piezoelectric material layer is cut into a shape corresponding to pressure-generating chambers by use of a lithography method. Piezoelectric elements are thus formed so as to be independent for each of the pressure-generating chambers [for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. Heisei 5 (1993)-286131 (FIG. 8, Paragraph 0013)].
According to the above-described proposal, work of attaching the piezoelectric elements to the vibration plate is no longer required and the piezoelectric elements can be fabricated with high density by use of an accurate and simple method such as the lithography method, In addition, there is an advantage that a thickness of the piezoelectric element can be reduced and thus high-speed drive becomes possible.
As a method of manufacturing an ink-jet recording head of this kind, a vibration plate and piezoelectric elements are first formed on one side of a silicon wafer that is to be a passage-forming substrate and, thereafter; a sealing plate is joined with the silicon wafer. The sealing plate includes a piezoelectric element holding portion having an area which does not interfere with movement of the piezoelectric elements at the side of the piezoelectric elements on the silicon wafer. Subsequently, after forming pressure-generating chambers by etching the silicon wafer from the other side thereof, the head is formed by dividing the silicon wafer into a plurality of pieces [for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-036547 (FIGS. 3 and 4, pp. 6 and 7)].
However, in joining the sealing plate with the silicon wafer, the height at which the silicon wafer abuts on the sealing plate becomes uneven depending on the lamination state of the thin-film pattern formed on the silicon wafer. Thus, there occurs a region where an adhesive agent is formed thick in joining them.
Accordingly, there arises a problem that an etching solution such as an alkaline solution used in etching the silicon wafer intrudes into the piezoelectric element holding portion via the adhesive agent, and thus the piezoelectric elements are damaged.
Moreover, there is another proposal of an ink-jet recording head having a structure in which an insulation layer and a wiring connection layer are sequentially laminated on electrodes of piezoelectric elements or on extraction electrodes together with the piezoelectric elements on a silicon wafer, thus preventing a voltage drop of a common electrode of the respective piezoelectric elements. However, with such a structure, there is a problem that the thickness of an adhesive agent in a region where the silicon wafer and a sealing plate are joined becomes thick and, particularly, an etching solution intrudes into a piezoelectric element holding portion via the adhesive agent.
Furthermore, needless to say, such problems as described above similarly exist not only in the method of manufacturing the ink-jet recording head ejecting ink but also in a method of manufacturing a silicon device such as another liquid jet head ejecting a liquid other than ink.

Method of manufacturing silicon device, method of manufacturing liquid jet head and liquid jet head


Examples are disclosed for switching frequency control of an on-chip or integrated voltage regulator. In some examples, a switch frequency of an integrated voltage regulator may be monitored. A determination of whether the monitored switch frequency causes radio signal interference may cause the switch frequency to be adjusted to eliminate or reduce the radio signal interference. Other examples are described and claimed.

System or input/output (TO) clock harmonics may be sources of interference with wireless components such as radio frequency receivers that may reside within a same computing platform or proximate to one or more components residing on the computing platform. These potential sources of interference may often be predictable and consistent. As a result of being predictable and consistent, system operating parameters may be set to reduce or eliminate potential interference.
Switching voltage regulators that traditionally regulate power to one or more components on a computing platform may have low switching frequencies (e.g., less than one megahertz (MHz)). These low switching frequencies typically cause little to no interference for radio frequency receivers. Also, these types of traditional switching voltage regulators are typically stand-alone or separate from such components as a microprocessor or systems-on-a-chip having several components including a microprocessor. That separation may have further reduced possible interference to radio frequency receivers.

Dynamic switching frequency control of an on-chip or integrated voltage regulator


A monolithic integrated power transistor chip includes a plurality of transistor cells arranged in two opposite and mutually spaced rows. Each cell has emitter- and collector connection spots arranged side-by-side and connected to corresponding branch conductors directed by rows of connection points extending along opposite edges on the upper surface of the chip.

The present invention relates to a power transistor monolithic integrated chip structure of a rectangular configuration assembled of a plurality of parallel connected transistor cells.
Power transistor monolithic integrated chip structures of this kind are known wherein the transistor cells of which the power transistor is assembled have the same or at least a similar design whereby the cells, particularly their emitters, are substantially larger in length than in width. However, due to voltage drops on emitter- and collector conductors the maximum length of each cell is limited. In order to compensate approximation these voltage drops approximately to zero, it has been also known to arrange the connection for the emitter at one end and the connection for the collector at the opposite end of the cell.

Power transistor monolithic integrated structure


Anionic sulfonated poly-ethoxy/propoxy, especially modified isethionate, end-capped esters useful as soil release agents in detergent compositions are presented. The terephthalate esters are homogeneously integrated with one or more crystallization-reducing stabilizers.

A wide variety of soil release agents (s.r.a.'s) for use in in-home fabric treatment processes such as laundering, fabric drying in hot air clothes dryers, and the like are known in the art. Various s.r.a.'s have been commercialized and are currently used in detergent compositions and fabric softener/antistatic articles and compositions. Such s.r.a.'s typically comprise an oligomeric ester "backbone" and one or more "end-capping" units.
While nonionic s.r.a.'s are known in the literature, many of the commercially important s.r.a.'s are anionic. Such anionic s.r.a.'s typically comprise an oligoester backbone which may itself optionally contain various anionic substituents and will usually terminate with one or more end-capping units which are also anionic. For example, various oxy-alkylene/terephthalate/sulfoisophthaloyl oligomers end-capped with sulfoaroyl substituents comprise a known and important class of s.r.a.'s for use in laundry detergents.
Unfortunately, the manufacture of s.r.a.'s having sulfoaroyl end-caps is expensive due to the expense of the sulfoaroyl raw materials. Accordingly, it is of substantial interest to the manufacturers of anionic ester-type s.r.a.'s to find a less expensive type of anionic end-capping unit. It would have appeared that isethionate-derived substituents of the type --OCH.sub.2 CH.sub.2 SO.sub.3 --or poly-ethoxy or propoxy derivatives might be ideal, and less expensive, substitutes for the sulfoaroyl end-capping units. This is particularly true since the terminal hydroxyl groups of this family of hydroxysulfonates can undergo an esterification reaction with the oligomeric ester backbone of the s.r.a. However, it transpires that, during synthesis of s.r.a.'s with isethionate (2-hydroxyethanesulfonate) units or modified poly-ethoxy/propoxy sulfonated end-caps, substantial difficulties can occur due to undesirable crystallization of the s.r.a.'s and/or the end-cap units.
It has now been discovered that the mixtures of sulfonate-type hydrotropes, alkylbenzenesulfonates, or paraffin sulfonates with the soil release oligomer reduces the crystallization problems encountered in certain preferred di-capped s.r.a.'s during manufacture and storage as well as when the s.r.a.'s are introduced to the wash liquor.
It is an object of the present invention to provide novel, less expensive di-capped s.r.a compositions which can be used as inexpensive, effective and product-compatible soil release agents in consumer products having widely varying formulas, such as granular detergent compositions and laundry detergent bars.
These and other objects are secured herein as will be seen from the following disclosure.

Sulfonated poly-ethoxy/propoxy end-capped ester oligomers suitable as soil release agents in detergent compositions


Control systems and methods are disclosed for automatically identifying mobile communication devices located within a vicinity of a gunshot. The control system may discriminates gunshots from other environmental noise and determine the location of the gunshot from information provided by a set of acoustic sensors. Once the gunshot location is determined, the control system may automatically trigger activation of one or more cell site simulators located near the location of the gunshot to identify mobile communication devices within the vicinity. Further precision in identifying the locations of the mobile communication devices may be obtained by using information from radio frequency (RF) sensors that intercept wireless RF transmissions from the mobile communication devices communicating with the activated cell site simulator. The control system may be used as a tool identifying and tracking perpetrators of gun crime and may also be used to located witnesses who may otherwise not have come forward.

Gun violence is a systemic threat to society. Detecting gun shots may enable rapid response and provide greater situational awareness to law enforcement, intelligence, and military agencies. Although existing sensor systems may detect gunshots and providing a bearing or range to the source, such systems generally lack the capability to identify or track the individual perpetrator. Military, intelligence, and law enforcement agencies have access to cellular telephone surveillance devices, such as cell site simulators, that enable identification and tracking of cellular telephones. However, such devices generally require a mobile station and a human operator with advance knowledge of a location of interest or a targeted individual's cell phone number. While existing cell site simulators may be useful in identifying insurgent networks or tracking known fugitives, slow response times of a human operator limits their effectiveness against an unexpected event, such as gun crimes that occur at unpredictable times.

System and method of automatically identifying mobile communication devices within the vicinity of a gunshot


The present invention provides a process for producing a novel compound, i.e., α-chloromethoxycarboxylic acid ester represented by General Formula (1): (CF3)2C(OCH2Cl)COOR, wherein R is a hydrocarbon group which may be substituted with at least one atom selected from the group consisting of halogen, oxygen, nitrogen, and sulfur atoms, comprising reacting an α-methoxycarboxylic acid ester represented by General Formula (2): (CF3)2C(OCH3)COOR, wherein R is as defined above, with molecular chlorine; and a process for producing 1,1,1,3,3,3-hexafluoroisopropyl fluoromethyl ether represented by a chemical formula (CF3)2CH(OCH2F), comprising fluorinating and decarboxylating the α-chloromethoxycarboxylic acid ester.

1,1,1,3,3,3-hexafluoro-2-methoxypropane, represented by the chemical formula: (CF3)2CH(OCH3), is a material that is useful as a starting material for anesthetic sevoflurane (see Patent Documents 1, 2, etc., listed below). The production of sevoflurane at a low cost is an important issue, and various methods have been contemplated hitherto.
For example, Patent Document 1 listed below discloses a method wherein 1,1,1,3,3,3-hexafluoro-2-propyl methyl ether, which is obtained by methylation of hexafluoroisopropanol (HFIP), is reacted with chlorine gas to produce 1,1,1,3,3,3-hexafluoro-2-propyl chloromethyl ether, and this resulting compound is then reacted with KF in an organic solvent to produce sevoflurane; a method wherein 1,1,1,3,3,3-hexafluoro-2-propyl methyl ether is reacted with BrF3; and a method wherein HFIP is reacted with hydrogen fluoride and formaldehyde.
However, the above-described reaction in which the chloromethyl ether is fluorinated with KF has the drawback of requiring a high temperature and prolonged reaction, and thus poses problems for implementation on an industrial scale. The method wherein the methyl ether is reacted with BrF3 requires handling BrF3, which is dangerous, and is therefore not suitable for mass production. The method wherein HFIP is reacted with hydrogen fluoride and formaldehyde suffers from a low yield that is due to the formation of a polyether as a by-product.
To overcome these problems, Patent Document 3 listed below, for example, discloses a method wherein hydrogen fluoride and paraformaldehyde are reacted with HFIP in the presence of sulfuric acid. Moreover, Patent Document 2 listed below discloses a method wherein the methyl ether of HFIP is reacted with chlorine gas to produce 1,1,1,3,3,3-hexafluoro-2-propyl chloromethyl ether, which is then reacted with hydrogen fluoride and amine.
With respect to the method wherein hydrogen fluoride and paraformaldehyde are reacted with HFIP in the presence of sulfuric acid, the following inventions have been made as methods for further improving the yield.
For example, Patent Document 4 listed below discloses a process wherein a polyether compound formed as a by-product during the reaction is reacted with hydrogen fluoride and a reaction accelerator such as sulfuric acid or the like to produce sevoflurane. Patent Document 5 listed below discloses a process wherein hydrogen fluoride and paraformaldehyde are reacted with HFIP in the presence of sulfuric acid, and the formed sevoflurane is separated from the mixture at equilibrium by distillation or extraction, thereby increasing the yield.
Moreover, Patent Document 6 discloses a process wherein HFIP is reacted with bis(fluoromethyl)ether in the presence of an acid.
In addition to the above-described processes, a number of processes for producing sevoflurane are known, and most of these processes use HFIP as a starting material. As a process for producing HFIP, a process wherein hexafluoroacetone or its hydrate is reduced by hydrogen in the presence of a catalyst (see Patent Documents 7, 8, etc., listed below) is known. As processes for producing hexafluoroacetone, a process wherein hexafluoropropylene oxide is rearranged in the presence of a catalyst (Patent Document 9), and a process wherein hexachloroacetone is fluorinated with hydrogen fluoride (Patent Document 10) are known. The former process, however, has a problem in that the starting material, i.e., hexafluoropropylene oxide, is expensive. The latter process also has problems in that the purification methods for separating the resulting hexafluoroacetone from hydrochloric acid, for separating the byproduct chlorofluoroacetone, and the like are complicated, making the process costly.
In view of these circumstances, attempts have been made to produce hexafluoroacetone at a low cost. Processes that are attracting attention, in particular, are those using, as starting materials, (CF3)2CHCF2OCH3 (2H-octafluoroisobutyl methyl ether; hereinafter abbreviated to "OIME") obtained by reacting methanol with octafluoroisobutene, i.e., a by-product of hexafluoropropene that is mass-produced as a monomer for fluororesins; (CF3)2C═CFOCH3 (heptafluoroisobutenyl methyl ether; hereinafter abbreviated to "HIME") obtained by removing HF from OIME; and the like.
Patent Document 11, for example, discloses a process for producing hexafluoroacetone hydrate, wherein HIME is reacted with oxygen under photoradiation.
Patent Document 12 discloses a process for producing hexafluoroacetone or its hydrate, wherein OIME or HIME is reacted with oxygen in the presence of an activated carbon catalyst.
Patent Document 13 discloses a process for producing hexafluoroacetone, wherein OIME is reacted with triethylamine to produce hexafluoroacetone oxime, which is then hydrolyzed with acid.
Patent Document 14 discloses a process for producing hexafluoroacetone hydrate, wherein (CF3)2C(OH)CO2CH3 (methyl 3,3,3-trifluoro-2-trifluoromethyl-2-hydroxypropionate; hereinafter abbreviated to "MTTHP") is hydrolyzed and then decarboxylated by reacting the hydrolyzed product with a halogenating agent.
The process utilizing photo-oxidation of HIME, however, has problems in that it is difficult to industrially perform photoradiation, and that the yield is low. The oxidation process that uses an activated carbon catalyst has problems, such as the inability to perform a long-term operation due to the significant degradation of the catalyst, low selectivity of hexafluoroacetone, and the like. In addition, the process wherein OIME is reacted with triethylamine to produce an oxime has a problem in that triethylamine, which is an auxiliary starting material, is expensive. The process wherein MTTHP is hydrolyzed and then decarboxylated by halogenation uses an inexpensive auxiliary starting material and has a high yield, but it has the drawback of requiring a large number of steps.
Processes for producing HFIP at a low cost without using hexafluoroacetone as an intermediate have been examined as follows.
For example, Patent Document 15 discloses a process for producing HFIP, comprising synthesizing MTTHP by oxidation of HIME, hydrolyzing the resulting MTTHP, and decarboxylating the hydrolyzed product in the presence of a protic solvent. However, after the present inventors recreated the experiment, this process was found to result in a low yield because of the formation of CF3(HCF2)C═O (pentafluoroacetone) as a by-product during decarboxylation.
As described above, although the low-cost production of hexafluoroacetone or HFIP is an important issue, satisfactory results have yet to be obtained.
Accordingly, in order to produce sevoflurane at a low cost, there is a strong desire for the development of a process for producing hexafluoroacetone or HFIP at a low cost, or the development of a process for producing sevoflurane without using these intermediates.    Patent Document 1: U.S. Pat. No. 3,683,092    Patent Document 2: Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. H11-116521    Patent Document 3: U.S. Pat. No. 4,250,334    Patent Document 4: WO 97/30961    Patent Document 5: U.S. Pat. No. 6,469,21    Patent Document 6: U.S. Pat. No. 5,990,359    Patent Document 7: Japanese Examined Patent Publication No. S61-25694    Patent Document 8: Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. H6-184025    Patent Document 9: U.S. Pat. No. 3,321,515    Patent Document 10: U.S. Pat. No. 3,544,633    Patent Document 11: Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. S61-277645    Patent Document 12: Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. H1-203339    Patent Document 13: U.S. Pat. No. 5,466,879    Patent Document 14: Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2005-306747    Patent Document 15: Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication 2002-234860

Carboxylic acid ester, use of the same, and method for producing the same

Abstract: According to the present invention, 1,1,1,3,3,3-hexafluoroisopropyl fluoromethyl ether (sevoflurane), which is known as a compound having an anesthetic property, can be produced efficiently and at a low cost.


A connector for use in assembling railings. The connector includes a cylindrical shank for slip fit receipt inside a hollow section of a railing component. The shank has at least one groove having an abutment portion, a seating area, and a tapered portion. An O-ring with an outside diameter larger than the shank and larger than the inside diameter of the railing is set into the seating area of each tapered groove. Proximal movement of the railing component onto the shank of the connector during initial mounting presses the O-rings against the abutment portions and compresses them into the grooves. Subsequent distal movement of the railing component causes the O-rings to ride up the tapered portions of the grooves due to the friction with the inner surface of the railing component being mounted on the shank. The O-rings subsequently wedge between the outside surface of the shank and the inside surface of the railing component locking together the railing component and the connector.

The present invention is generally directed to tubular handrail structures and, more particularly, to a quick-connect connector for the interconnection of tubular handrail members.
Tubular handrails are commonly used in shopping malls, office buildings, factories, parking lots, stadiums, balconies, and in many other places where it is desirable to offer a supporting structure for pedestrians in case it should it be needed or to protect people from potentially hazardous conditions. Tubular handrail structures typically comprise prefabricated rail members horizontally disposed, or at least located parallel to the path of travel of the user, and corner, support post, and other members designed to interconnect with and support the rail members. The rail members are typically hollow tubes of a corrosion resistant material and must be supported at each end. The hollow feature results in reduced weight and the length of the rails is limited to avoid bowing. At each of their ends, the rail members are connected to a vertical post typically anchored to a solid base, such as the ground.
These prefabricated members are typically joined together to form the handrail at an installation site through the use of welding, adhesive bonding, or mechanical fasteners, such as threaded parts. While welding, adhesive bonding, and mechanical fasteners generally provide strong and reliable connections, each method has certain drawbacks. Welding, for example, is time consuming and expensive and requires skilled workmen and special equipment. Further, a weld is a permanent connection and a weld-connected structure is generally a permanent structure and is confined to use where it was constructed, unless it is small enough to be portable.
The traditional threaded technique used in the past for many handrails also has disadvantages. For example, in one such threaded approach the rails comprise pipe that is threaded at each end and the vertical posts include female threaded connectors. The rails are screwed into the female connectors during assembly and then the vertical posts are securely mounted to the ground surface. Threaded pipe is expensive and time consuming from both the standpoint of the expense needed to provide the threads on the pipe, as well as the time needed to thread the pipe into the fitting to establish a connection. Such construction requires the use of wrenches for turning the rails into the threads of the post, and the rail must be screwed into posts at both ends at the same time, making the process somewhat difficult.
A wide variety of mechanical fastening devices have been developed to interconnect handrail members in addition to the typical threaded approaches. Although many of these mechanical devices are quite effective in that they firmly clamp or otherwise connect the various parts together and are durable, they are also cumbersome. Some involve the transport of many additional parts to the installation site. Others involve bolt heads and/or clamp plates that protrude from the handrails creating a possible safety concern and an unsightly visual appearance. Protruding bolt or screw heads can cause injury if not rounded or made blunt. Rounded or blunt heads can make it difficult to obtain enough torque for assembly. Even the traditional pipe thread approach does not result in a smooth appearance although it does result in a robust railing structure.
One such device is shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,615,968 entitled xe2x80x9cHand Rail Coupler System,xe2x80x9d issued to Verenski et al., Apr. 1, 1997. Verenski describes joining a pair of handrail sections by fitting a center member inside the two sections to be joined and fitting a pair of clamp-plates about the exterior of the sections. A through-bolt is used to generate compressive force between the clamp-plates and the sections to be connected, with the center member providing internal reinforcement. However, the cap end of the bolt remains outside the tubes and is exposed to the user, creating a possible hazard and lacking a streamlined appearance.
Wedge blocks with draw-bolts are also commonly used to interconnect corner or branch handrail members with straight handrail members. An example of this approach is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,556,218, entitled xe2x80x9cTubing Connector,xe2x80x9d issued to Horner, Sep. 17, 1996. In Horner, a corner member is formed with a wedge end-fitting and a separate wedge block. The wedge block is threaded to accept a draw-bolt while the wedge includes a clearance hole for the draw-bolt. The draw-bolt is inserted from the corner member through the wedge and is threaded into the wedge block. The wedge and wedge block assembly are then slid into a straight member. As the draw-bolt is tightened, the wedge forces the wedge block to expand against the walls of the straight member creating a tight friction fit which holds the wedge block within the straight member, thereby forming a joint between the corner member and the straight member. While it would appear that this mechanism is capable of firmly clamping the parts together, it is relatively complex and requires a relatively large number of parts. Bolt ends must be accessible for controlling the clamping action.
In many cases, it is desirable to have a decorative railing with smooth, continuous joints where the exterior surfaces of the pipe and fitting meet. Inexpensive, reliable, and aesthetically pleasing fittings of a slip-on type for connecting lengths of structural pipe to each other and to structural members are desirable. However, many prior art devices use expansion fittings such as internal expanding parts, or other complicated mechanisms. Such approaches degrade the reliability of the structure due to the relatively large number of parts, each of which may fail or be improperly installed. Smooth, aesthetically pleasing handrails have the added advantage of not having protrusions that can cause cuts or bruises to hands that may be slid along the rails. Previously, handrails with a seamless or near-seamless appearance have only been obtainable through the use of welded or bonded connections, that require skilled assembly, as discussed above, or with relatively complex mechanical devices requiring an undesirable large number of parts and assembly labor.
It would be desirable to maintain the rail members as structurally simple as possible and provide a fitting at the vertical posts that provide a configuration for allowing a quick connection of the rails to the posts.
Hence, those skilled in the art have recognized the need for an improved means of interconnecting handrail components while keeping the handrail or railing design simple and with as few parts as possible. Preferably such a design would comprise a connector that could interconnect handrail components without requiring welding, bonding, or the use of threaded mechanical fasteners. Further, such a device should be reliable, allow easy and rapid installation, and should be relatively inexpensive to manufacture. A need has also been recognized for connectors and railing components that present a smooth outer surface when assembled that is both aesthetically pleasing and is decorative. The present invention fulfills these and other needs.
The present invention is directed to a connector for connecting to another component having a hollow section for receiving the connector. The connector in accordance with aspects of the invention includes a shank having at least one groove and an O-ring positioned in that groove.
In more detailed aspects, the railing connector in accordance with the invention comprises a shank, the shank having an outer diameter that is less than the inner diameter of the railing component to be mounted on the shank, a proximal end and a distal end for receiving the railing component over the shank, the shank having an annular groove, wherein the annular groove includes a bulkhead and a tapered portion with the bulkhead located closer to the proximal end and the tapered portion tapering outward toward the distal end, and an O-ring having an outer diameter that is larger than the outer diameter of the shank and being disposed in the annular groove, wherein when the railing component is received over the shank, the O-ring is moved against the bulkhead of the groove permitting the railing component to be moved proximally over the shank into a selected mounting position and when the railing component is moved in the distal direction, the O-ring moves up the taper of the groove and is wedged against the inner surface of the railing component thereby opposing further distal movement of the railing component.
In yet more detailed aspects, the annular groove has a seating area with the bulkhead being located proximal to the seating area and the taper of the groove being located distal to the seating area, the seating area having a size selected to receive the O-ring. In another aspect the seating area has a width approximately equal to the width of the O-ring and the seating area has a depth approximately equal to the inner diameter of the O-ring. Further, the annular groove has a seating area within which the O-ring rests, the seating area being located at a portion of maximum depth of the groove.
In yet other aspects, the seating area of the annular groove has a width within the range of about one half to about the full thickness of the O-ring. In more detailed aspects, the groove has a size selected to accommodate O-rings of different sizes so that railings of different inner diameters can be received by the shank and the O-ring of an appropriate size selected to wedge against the railing component. And further, the seating area of the groove is wide enough to accommodate different O-rings that have different outer diameters.
In other aspects of the invention, the outer diameter of the shank is small enough to accommodate railing components of different inner diameters and the seating area of the groove is wide enough to accommodate O-rings of different outer diameters so that the O-ring can be selected depending on the difference between the outer diameter of the shank and the inner diameter of the railing component. Also, the outer diameter of the shank is slightly smaller than the inner diameter of the railing component thus providing a small interference fit.
In another aspect in accordance with the invention, the connector further comprises a fitting to which the proximal end of the shank is disposed, the fitting comprises an abutment portion located at the proximal end of the shank, the abutment portion having an outer diameter approximately equal to the outer diameter of the railing component whereby when the railing is mounted to the connector, the abutment portion provides a smooth appearance between the railing component and the connector. Also, the abutment portion limits mounting movement of the railing component in the proximal direction. Yet further, the distal end of the shank includes a chamfer thereby making it easier to receive the railing component over the shank.
Another more detailed aspect of the invention includes a railing connector comprising a shank having a plurality of annular grooves wherein each annular groove includes a bulkhead and a tapered portion with the bulkhead located closer to the proximal end and the tapered portion tapering outward toward the distal end, further comprising a plurality of O-rings, each of which has an outer diameter that is larger than the outer diameter of the shank and each of which is disposed in a respective annular groove, wherein each annular groove has a seating area with the bulkhead being located proximal to the seating area and the taper of the groove being located distal to the seating area, the seating area having a size wide enough to accommodate different O-rings that have different outer diameters.
A further aspect includes locating the abutment portion of the fitting at the proximal end of the shank to limit mounting movement of the railing component in the proximal direction, the abutment portion having an outer diameter approximately equal to the outer diameter of the railing component whereby when the railing component is mounted to the connector, the abutment portion provides a smooth appearance between the railing component and the connector, wherein when the railing component is received over the shank, each O-ring is moved against the bulkhead of the respective groove permitting the railing component to be moved proximally over the shank into contact with the abutment portion, and when the railing component is moved in the distal direction, the O-rings move up the taper of the grooves and wedge themselves against the inner surface of the railing component thereby opposing further distal movement of the railing component.
Other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which illustrate, by way of example, the features of the invention.