A well-head pipe of a leaking oil well is sealed by radial application of a high-energy magnetic pulse to the well-head pipe to thereby plastically deform the metal of the pipe casing and form the metal into a seal that caps the well-head pipe without cracking the pipe. A system for sealing an oil-well-head pipe having a metal casing includes an electromagnet dimensioned for placement around an exposed portion of the well-head pipe, with the electromagnet being disposed to radially apply a magnetic field to the pipe when the electromagnet is placed around the exposed portion of the pipe; and a capacitor bank and a transmission line for providing a high-energy current pulse to the electromagnet to cause the electromagnet to radially apply a high-energy magnetic pulse to the pipe to plastically deform the metal of the pipe casing and form the metal into a seal that caps the well-head pipe.

The present invention generally pertains to the sealing of oil-well-head pipes and is particularly directed to a method and system for sealing oil-well-head pipes that can be utilized for capping leaking oil wells.
In the prior art, one technique for capping a leaking oil well after a fire, if any, has been extinguished is to lower a weighted cap onto the well-head pipe. If this technique is not utilized, an alternative technique for capping the well is to mechanically crimp the well-head pipe. Mechanical crimping of the pipe is not widely used, however, since mechanical crimping may crack the metal casing of the pipe. Another technique for capping a leaking oil well, which is used when the well is on fire, is the use of explosives. When a leaking oil well is on fire, the fire typically is extinguished by using explosives, and the shock wave produced by the explosives sometimes crimps the pipe shut. However, the explosive shock wave sometimes also leaves cracks in the pipe.

Magnetic-pulse sealing of oil-well-head pipe


Compatible ternary polymer blends are disclosed which consist essentially of a low density ethylene polymer, an ethylene-alkyl acrylate copolymer, and an amorphous isobutylene polymer. The compositions seal well at temperatures below those required for heat sealing ethylene polymers.

Low density ethylene polymers are widely employed in the manufacture of polymer films. In preparing bags, pouches, and the like from such films, the films are heat sealed together under pressure. It would be desirable to seal such films together at lower temperatures than are presently required with low density ethylene polymers.

Ternary blends of low density ethylene polymers, ethylene-alkyl acrylate copolymers and amorphous isobutylene polymers


Bearing arrangement for an open-end spinning machine has a bearing block attached to bearing supports defined on the machine frame. A seat is defined in the bearing block for receipt of an axial bearing. An intermediate support structure member is removably attached to the bearing block and supporting ring bearings. The intermediate support structure is removable from the bearing block with the supporting ring bearings while the bearing block remains attached to the machine frame through bearing supports.

The instant application relates to a bearing arrangement for an open-end spinning rotor.
To equip the individual sections of the rotor spinning machine with a U-shaped support on the inside of which the bearing arrangement by means of supporting disks is installed is known from the rotor spinning machine RU14 of the firm Schubert & Salzer, now Rieter Ingolstadt, D-85046 Ingolstadt. The bearing block, which holds the supporting ring bearings and the axial bearing for the spinning rotor, is mounted on a supporting plate which in turn is screwed on the horizontal leg of the U-shaped support. For maintenance of the bearing, in particular for the replacement of the supporting rings, it is necessary to detach the bearing block from the supporting plate or the latter from the U-shaped support and to pull it out of the spinning machine under the tangential belt which drives the rotor. For this it is necessary to stop the tangential belt of the drive of the spinning rotor. The attachment of the supporting ring bearings on the bearing block is effected by means of a clamping device which reaches over the two supporting ring bearings and pushes them into the seat on the bearing block.
The disadvantage of such a bearing arrangement is that the maintenance and disassembly of the bearing arrangement, in particular the replacement of the supporting rings, is very expensive. After detaching the attachments of the supporting plate or those of the bearing block, the bearing must be lifted out of the U-shaped support past the tangential belt, together with the supporting rings and the axial bearing on the bearing block.
In order to replace the supporting rings however, not only the entire bearing block must be taken out of the spinning machine and replaced, but the type of attachment of the bearing block and of the supporting plate on the U-shaped support make it furthermore impossible to move the bearing block downwards, so that it cannot be guided out below the tangential belt. Due to the fact that contact with the tangential belt is unavoidable when taking out the bearing, it is indispensable to stop at least one half of the spinning machine so that the drive belt can be pushed aside. Due to the stoppage of the machine, a great production loss is incurred.
DE-A 43 25 304 discloses a bearing arrangement for an open-end spinning rotor in which the supporting ring bearings have special attachments by which they are attached to the seats on the bearing block. To replace the supporting rings, these attachments can be removed from the bearing block. In another embodiment, the bearing block supports only the supporting rings, while the axial bearing is mounted on an extra bearing support, independently of the bearing block. In the first instance the disadvantage exists that removal of the supporting rings is possible only from below the bearing arrangement. In the other case, the alignment of the axial bearing with the supporting rings requires great manufacturing precision as well as very careful assembly. Regular inspection of the alignment of the axial bearing with the supporting rings seems to be unavoidable.

Bearing arrangement for an open-end spinning rotor

Rieter Ingolstadt Spinnereimaschinenbau AG


A display panel and manufacturing method. The method includes: forming a source electrode, a drain electrode and a channel on a substrate; depositing a first insulation layer; forming multiple color photoresists on the first insulation layer, and the source electrode, the drain electrode and the channel are located between two adjacent color photoresists; forming a gate electrode and a common electrode by a same process, and the gate electrode is located on the first insulation layer, and the common electrode is located on the photoresist; forming a second insulation layer having a through hole communicated with the source electrode on the gate electrode and the common electrode; forming a pixel electrode on the second insulation layer. The pixel electrode contacts with the source electrode through the through hole, and a storage capacitor is formed. The storage capacitor can be increased and the current leakage of the pixel electrode improved.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a display technology field, and more particularly to a display panel and a manufacturing method for the same.
2. Description of Related Art
In the current display technology field, the COA (Color Filter on Array) is developed rapidly. The COA is a technology that manufactures color photoresist on a TFT substrate. Utilizing the COA technology, an alignment error between a pixel and the color photoresist will not be generated in order to decrease parasitic capacitance, and a display panel can have a better resolution and pixel aperture ratio.
With reference to FIG. 1, and FIG. 1 is a schematic structure diagram of a display panel manufactured by the current COA technology. The current technology sequentially forms a gate electrode 12, a common electrode 13, a first insulation layer 14, a channel 15, source electrode/drain electrode 16, color photoresist 17, and finally a pixel electrode 18 on a substrate 11. Wherein, the color photoresist increase a distance of electrode plates of a storage capacitor formed between the common electrode 13 and the pixel electrode 18 in order to case the storage capacitor of the display panel 100 is very small. However, the storage capacitor is used for maintaining a voltage of the pixel electrode 18 at a fixed value in a preset time. If the storage capacitor is too small, charges on the pixel electrode 18 for maintaining the voltage will leak rapidly such that the voltage on the pixel electrode 18 is decreased early so as to affect the display effect of the display panel 100.

Display panel and manufacturing method for the same

Shenzhen China Star Optoelectronics Technology Co., Ltd


A gas separator for a submersible centrifugal pump for a well separates gas from liquid components of the well fluid. The gas separator has a rotatably driven rotor. The rotor has an outer cylinder, an inner hub and a longitudinal vane that extends between the inner hub and outer cylinder. Notches are formed in the upper edge of the vanes. A discharge member, mounted above the rotor, has a depending skirt that extends into the notches. This defines a separate inner flow path for gas to flow out of the separator into the well. The unseparated portions of the well fluid flow in a clearance between the skirt and the housing into a pump intake. Supports extend out from the discharge member for securing the discharge member in the housing.

1. Field of the invention
This invention relates in general to electrically driven centrifugal submersible well pumps, and in particular to a gas separator for separating gas from the well fluid prior to reaching the pump.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Submersible well pumps of the type concerned herein are centrifugal and driven by a downhole electrical motor. A pump will have a large number of stages, each stage having an impeller rotatably driven within a diffuser. These pumps are used to pump large volumes of fluid, such as oil and water from wells.
Most oil wells typically will also produce some gas. If the gas is of sufficient volume, it can reduce the performance of the pump. In these circumstances, gas separators are mounted in the assembly below the pump and above the motor and the mechanical seal.
Prior art gas separators utilize a rotatably driven rotor within a cylindrical housing. The rotor has at least one blade or vane. The vane will impart a centrifugal force to the well fluid flowing through the housing. This centrifugal force tends to separate the liquid components from the gas components because of differance in densities, with the liquid components locating near the outer wall of the housing, and the gas remaining near the shaft.
A discharge member mounts above the rotor. The discharge member will provide a passage from the central portion of the rotor to the exterior of the gas separator to discharge gas. The discharge member also provides a liquid passageway for the remaining portion of the well fluid to flow upward toward the intake of a pump.
While workable, improvements to the rotor and discharge member are desirable, both in the efficiency and the cost of the members.


A transdermal medication system wherein said medication is selectively dispensed on-demand from multiple reservoirs within a disposable patch so as to vary the drug choice and the drug concentration, and thereby the regimen and release rate. In a preferred embodiment electric resistance heating activates multiple heat-shrink polymer reservoirs into an absorbent layer for transdermal passage. An embodiment of the invention dispenses a heated moisturizing fluid to facilitate transdermal transfer. In another embodiment, depletion indication is provided.

1. Field of Invention
This invention generally relates to a patch for dispensing parenteral fluid medication through the skin and more particularly to a patch with one or more internal reservoirs which after adhesion to the skin is inert until medication is required. In general, patches have found usage for the ambulatory patient requiring an extended regimen such as for a chronic condition or for birth control. About half of all ethical pharmaceuticals are consumed for a chronic condition.
Berner & Dinh point out that many chronic conditions such as hormone deficiency would benefit from a regimen which was moderated to daily and weekly biorhythms. Chronic attacks of pain, diabetic imbalance, or panic may require intermittent medication administered to match severity and duration. Such attacks may also require involuntary administration. Attacks such as cardiovascular may require different drugs in different sequences depending upon severity.
Non-medical situations may require multiple doses on-demand during the operational life of a transdermal patch. An example of this would be a commercial pilot who may require a stimulant at intervals during a long flight to remain alert, based on automatic physiological sensing.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Prior art of on-demand transdermal therapeutic systems includes thermo-responsive membranes, user activated, and iontophoretic systems. Nozawa et al describes a liquid-crystal transdermal membrane which automatically dispenses medication when fever temperatures are reached. User activated systems such as Helber et al in U.S. Pat. No. 4,702,732 continuously medicate after manual activation. Iontophoretic systems such as Reller et al, U.S. Pat. No. 5,053,001, are only fully active when the power is turned on, but some drug exposure begins when the patch is applied.
Prior art on multi-drug systems include systems where a multi-drug mixture is packaged within the reservoir, or where the adhesive contains a medication different in composition from that in the reservoir. Hadgraft and Guy describe the former multi-drug mixture which may include a skin penetration enhancer (SPE). Sablotsky et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,814,168, is representative of the latter where the adhesive contains a drug. This patent also represents the prior art on SPE for transdermal patches where the SPE is integral with the adhesive mastic. Such SPE adhesives are well described in Chien and Lee.
Variation in release rate has been a goal of prior art. U.S. Pat. No. 4,141,359 controls iontophoretic current and thus drug flow. Nelson et al in U.S. Pat. No. 4,917,688 varies the release rate by varying the external active exposed patch area prior to application. The difficulties of internal control of release rate prompted Helber et al in their U.S. Pat. No. 4,911,707 transdermal system patent to state in line 35 that "only a single release rate results per system." Within limits, drug concentration has an effect on skin absorption rate. None of these systems feature medication dispensing internal to the patch to allow variation in drug concentration.
Selective dispensing from multiple reservoirs has not been a goal of prior art. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,921,475 and 5,053,001 both have multiple reservoirs for a single medication. They do not teach selective multiple drug dispensing.
Prior art on the use of colored indicators in connection with a transdermal Patch is described by Sasaki et al where phenol red was used in experiments to indicate comparative skin penetration.
Bettinger in U.S. Pat. No. 5,188,260 line 45 teaches the use of shrink-polymer dispensing for "delayed ambulatory medication." Lowry shows the shrink-polymer spectrum available.


This invention is to reduce a voltage across a smoothing capacitor in a single-phase capacitorless inverter. A smoothing circuit (15) has a smoothing capacitor (C) connected between a pair of power supply lines (L1, L2). A diode (Ds) has its anode connected to one of the power supply lines (L1) and has its cathode connected to an end of a resistor (Rs), the other end of the resistor is connected to an end of a capacitor (Cs), the other end of the capacitor is connected to the other of the power supply lines (L2). In this way, the magnitude of a rectified voltage (Vdc) across the smoothing capacitor (C) can be reduced as compared with an absence of the series connection of diode (Ds), resistor (Rs) and capacitor (Cs).

FIG. 13 is a circuit diagram illustrating the configuration of a conventional polyphase current supplying circuit. A single-phase ac power supply 21 supplies an ac voltage Vin to a diode bridge 11. However, an inductance parasitic to the power supply system is shown as an inductor 22 connected in series with the ac power supply 21.
The output of the diode bridge 11 is supplied to a smoothing circuit 12. The smoothing circuit 12 is composed only of a smoothing capacitor C having a small capacitance, e.g., several tens of microfarads. The smoothing capacitor C can be reduced in size because of its small capacitance.
A rectified voltage Vdc obtained across the smoothing capacitor C is input to an inverter 13. In the inverter 13, switching of transistors serving as switching devices is carried out on the basis of a switching instruction CNT obtained from a control circuit 14. Accordingly, three-phase currents iu, iv, iw are supplied to a motor 24. The control circuit 14 obtains the switching instruction CNT on the basis of the currents iu, iv, iw, a rotation position angle θm and a rotation angle speed (mechanical angle) ωm of a rotor of the motor 24, the ac voltage Vin, and the rectified voltage Vdc input to the inverter 13. These respective quantities iu, iv, iw, θm, ωm, Vin, Vdc can be detected using a well-known technique.
FIG. 14 is a graph showing the relationship between the input voltage Vin and rectified voltage Vdc, employing a time axis common to them on the horizontal axis. A capacitance of the smoothing capacitor C was set at 20 μF. Since the smoothing capacitor C has a small capacitance in this manner, its rectified voltage Vdc in turn has a very large pulsating component which pulsates at twice the frequency of the ac voltage Vin. Herein, the case in which the rectified voltage Vdc fluctuates between a little less than 300 V and a little more than 400 V is illustrated.
However, setting the switching instruction CNT as appropriate also allows control of switching in the inverter 13 in accordance with this pulsation, reduction of harmonics of current supplied from the ac power supply 21 to the diode bridge 11 and improvement in power factor on the power supply side.
A technique of controlling an inverter with a smoothing capacitor significantly reduced in capacitance in this manner will herein be called single-phase capacitorless inverter control. The single-phase capacitorless inverter control allows size reduction of a smoothing capacitor as described above as well as eliminating the necessity for using a reactor for improving the power factor, which can achieve size reduction of a polystage current supplying circuit as a whole to achieve cost reduction.
Prior art documents disclosing such single-phase capacitorless inverter control are Patent document 1 and Non-patent document 1.
Patent document 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-354826
Non-patent document 1: Isao Takahashi "Inverter Controlling Method using PM Motor having High-Input-Power-Factor Diode Rectifier Circuit", 2002 The Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan, National Conference, 4-149 (March 2002), p. 1591

Polyphase current supplying circuit and driving apparatus


A new and distinct Angelonia cultivar named ‘DALON12’ is disclosed, characterized by large white colored flowers. The new variety is free branching and flowering with an upright plant habit and good garden performance. The new variety is a Angelonia, normally produced as an outdoor garden or container plant.

The new Angelonia cultivar is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the inventor, Gavriel Danziger, in Moshav Mishmar Hashiva, Israel. The objective of the breeding program was to produce new Angelonia varieties for ornamental commercial applications. The cross resulting in this new variety was made during April of 2009.
The seed parent is the unpatented, proprietary seedling variety referred to as Angelonia angustifolia 'AL-497'. The pollen parent is the unpatented, proprietary seedling variety referred to as Angelonia angustifolia 'AL-671'. The new variety was discovered in October of 2010 by the inventor in a group of seedlings resulting from the 2009 crossing, in a research greenhouse in Moshav Mishmar Hashiva, Israel.
Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar has been performed by vegetative cuttings. This was first performed at a research greenhouse in Moshav Mishmar Hashiva, Israel in October of 2010 and has shown that the unique features of this cultivar are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.


A substrate processing apparatus removes foreign substances from a substrate at high removal efficiency. The substrate processing apparatus includes: a scrubber to perform surface processing of the substrate by bringing a scrubbing member into sliding contact with a first surface of the substrate, a hydrostatic support mechanism for supporting a second surface of the substrate via fluid pressure without contacting the substrate, the second surface being an opposite surface of the first surface, a cleaner to clean the processed substrate, and a dryer to dry the cleaned substrate. The scrubber brings the scrubbing member into sliding contact with the first surface while rotating the scrubbing member about a central axis of the scrubber.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus and a method for processing a front-side surface and/or a backside surface of a substrate, such as a wafer, which requires high cleanliness.
Description of the Related Art
In recent years, various devices including memory circuits, logic circuits, and image sensors (e.g., complimentary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) sensors) have become more and more highly integrated. In the processes of fabricating these devices, foreign substances, such as fine particles and dusts, may be attached to the devices. The foreign substances attached to the devices could be a cause of a short circuit between interconnects and a malfunction of the circuit. Therefore, in order to increase reliability of the devices, it is necessary to clean a wafer on which the devices are fabricated so as to remove the foreign substances from the wafer.
The foreign substances, such as fine particles and dusts, may also be attached to a backside surface of the wafer, i.e., a bare silicon surface. The foreign substances on the backside surface of the wafer may cause the wafer to be separated from a stage reference surface of an exposure apparatus and/or may cause the wafer surface to tilt with respect to the stage reference surface, resulting in a patterning shift or a focal length error. In order to prevent such problems, it is necessary to remove the foreign substances from the backside surface of the wafer as well.
There has recently been developed a patterning apparatus based on nanoimprint technology, rather than the optical exposure technology. In this nanoimprint technology, a mold, which has predefined interconnect patterns, is pressed against a resin material formed on a wafer to transfer the interconnect patterns to the resin material. In such nanoimprint technology, it is required to remove the foreign substances existing on the surface of the wafer in order to avoid transfer of unwanted spots between the mold and the wafer and also between wafers.
It has been customary to scrub the wafer with a pen-shaped brush or a roll sponge while rotating the wafer. However, such a cleaning technique has a low capability of removing the foreign substances. In particular, it is difficult for the conventional cleaning technique to remove the foreign substances having a size of 100 nm or more.

Substrate processing apparatus and substrate processing method


A filter module for reducing a DC offset voltage in a radio frequency communication channel is described. A first capacitor is coupled between a first differential input node and a first differential output node. A second capacitor is coupled between a second differential input node and a second differential output node. An active variable resistor is coupled between the first differential output node and the second differential output node. The active variable resistor receives a control signal. The control signal adjusts the value of the active variable resistor, which adjusts the frequency response of the filter module. The rate at which the filter module reduces DC offset voltages is thereby adjusted. The filter module is also adaptable to single-ended applications.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to frequency conversion of electromagnetic (EM) signals. More particularly, the present invention relates to reducing or eliminating DC offset voltages when down-converting a signal in a communication system.
2. Background Art
Electromagnetic (EM) information signals (baseband signals) include, but are not limited to, video baseband signals, voice baseband signals, computer baseband signals, etc. Baseband signals include analog baseband signals and digital baseband signals.
It is often beneficial to propagate EM information signals at higher frequencies. This is generally true regardless of whether the propagation medium is wire, optic fiber, space, air, liquid, etc. To enhance efficiency and practicality, such as improved ability to radiate and added ability for multiple channels of baseband signals, up-conversion to a higher frequency is utilized. Conventional up-conversion processes modulate higher frequency carrier signals with baseband signals. Modulation refers to a variety of techniques for impressing information from the baseband signals onto the higher frequency carrier signals. The resultant signals are referred to herein as modulated carrier signals. For example, the amplitude of an AM carrier signal varies in relation to changes in the baseband signal, the frequency of an FM carrier signal varies in relation to changes in the baseband signal, and the phase of a PM carrier signal varies in relation to changes in the baseband signal.
In order to process the information that was in the baseband signal, the information must be extracted, or demodulated, from the modulated carrier signal. However, because conventional signal processing technology is limited in operational speed, conventional signal processing technology cannot easily demodulate a baseband signal from higher frequency modulated carrier signal directly. Instead, higher frequency modulated carrier signals must be down-converted to an intermediate frequency (IF), from where a conventional demodulator can demodulate the baseband signal.
Conventional down-converters include electrical components whose properties are frequency dependent. As a result, conventional down-converters are designed around specific frequencies or frequency ranges and do not work well outside their designed frequency range.
Typically, down-converters are included in receiver channels that include amplifiers and/or filters. When a received modulated carrier signal is relatively weak, as in, for example, a radio receiver, conventional down-converters will include additional amplifiers in the receive signal path. These amplifiers, down-converters, and other components in a receiver channel create unwanted DC offset voltages. Any DC offset in the receiver channel has the effect of competing with the signal of interest, producing a statistical bias much like an interference. Furthermore, the DC offset may cause the receiver channel to become saturated, such that a voltage rail is reached or exceeded. For example, DC offset may saturate a receiver channel when it is amplified by DC coupled gain amplifiers in the receiver channel at baseband. In such situations, the information signal may not be recoverable at all. Hence, it is desirable to reduce or entirely eliminate unwanted DC offset voltages from receiver channels. Furthermore, the DC offset voltages must be removed without distorting the signal of interest.

Method and apparatus for DC offset removal in a radio frequency communication channel


This patent pertains to a work piece clamping system with manual or powered clamping. Work piece locations of all three axis can be determined from the device. Various clamping devices can be included in the system. Single or multiple work pieces of various sizes and shapes can be clamped.

1. Field of the Invention
This patent relates to work piece holding devices used to hold work pieces for machining or other purposes. Work pieces that are machined must be held or clamped to prevent their movement caused by forces acting against them.
It is generally desirable to have a high degree of rigidity and accurate work piece location so that the surfaces which are treated (usually by cutting) on the work piece is well within acceptable tolerance.
2. Description of Prior Art
Existing work piece holding devices range from a simple vice designed to hold one work piece, wedge lock side clamping of single or multiple work pieces located on a single base and dedicated fixtures constructed for a specific work piece.
Vertical hold down clamps (called swing down clamps) are available for clamping work pieces against their top surface. They swing out of the way when unclamped to permit removal of the work piece.
Exiting wedge clamps are generally fixed to a base with serrations or keys that are difficult to clean and difficult to determine the exact work piece location.
They generally require manual clamping.
Swing down clamps are generally located on dedicated fixtures. They are usually powered by hydraulic systems. Their hydraulic lines tend to collect chips and are difficult to clean.
Power clamping is usually accomplished using hydraulic systems. This complicates the systems need for decoupling the hydraulic lines when the clamping system is removed from a machine tool for off machine work piece handling.


In a video tape recorder and/or reproducer, the power of a capstan motor for driving a magnetic tape is utilized as the power for driving reels in a cassette. In order to facilitate controlling the tension of the magnetic tape at the time of a change in the travelling direction of the tape in an intermittent tape travel mode, it is possible to drive a feed-side reel without turning OFF a back tension servo mechanism which applies back tension to the feed-side reel. In this state, the change in the travelling direction of the magnetic tape is performed by only controlling the direction of rotation of the capstan motor.

The present invention relates to changing forward and reverse tape travelling directions in a video tape recorder (VTR) for domestic use.
According to a conventional construction of a VTR, as described in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 60-17073, a back tension servo mechanism is turned OFF when a magnetic tape is to travel in a direction opposite to a normal or forward travelling direction of the tape. Such conventional VTR for domestic use merely intended to reproduce a recorded picture at the same magnetic tape travelling speed as that used in the recording of the picture.
However, according to the recent technical trend on VTR's for domestic use, it is required to project a special recorded picture on a television set in a noiseless state, and it is also required to perform a highly accurate retrieval of a recorded picture position as quickly as possible at the time of copying recorded contents of a magnetic tape after recording onto another magnetic tape, namely, at the time of performing a so-called dubbing.
It is becoming difficult for the prior art to satisfy such requirements. More particularly, the separating of a tension pole of the back tension servo mechanism from a magnetic tape at the time of reverse travel of the tape, gives rise to the necessity of again operating the back tension servo mechanism at the next time of reverse travel. Therefore, it is difficult to appropriately control the tension of the magnetic tape in forward tape travel and in reverse travel.
In a special reproduction, for example in a generally called slow-motion reproduction, by allowing a magnetic tape to travel intermittently, it is made possible to trace a predetermined recording track using a magnetic head, to obtain a clear picture. However, at the time of change between the forward and reverse travel of the tape in such intermittent tape travelling, it is difficult to control the tension of the magnetic tape.
In the prior art described above, no consideration is given to an appropriate control for the tension of a magnetic tape at the time of change between the forward and reverse tape travel directions. Particularly, when there is a change from one to the other tape travelling direction in the intermittent tape travelling, the magnetic tape is instantaneously loosened, thus causing a poor contact between the magnetic head and the magnetic tape, that is, creating a space loss, with the result that the reproduced picture contains noise and is unsightly.
Moreover, the time period required for the direction change is long and a considerable time period is required for dubbing and editing the magnetic tape.
According to a method proposed for remedying such drawbacks of the prior art, a motor only for driving a reel is used to enhance the control of the tape travel. However, the product obtained is fairly expensive so is not applicable to a domestic VTR.


A method of transarterial embolization agent delivery at a low pressure is provided. The method comprises advancing a delivery device with an occlusion structure in a retracted non-occlusive configuration through a supply artery to a vascular position in the supply artery that is in the vicinity of a target anatomical structure, the target structure having terminal capillary beds, expanding the occlusion structure from the retracted non-occlusive configuration to an expanded occlusive configuration, lowering a mean arterial pressure in a vascular space distal to the expanded occlusion structure, redirecting fluid flow from the collateral vessels toward the lowered pressure vascular space and into the target anatomical structure, injecting an embolization agent through the delivery device and into the lowered pressure vascular space, and delivering the embolization agent from the lowered pressure vascular space into the target anatomical structure. Other catheter assemblies and methods of use are also disclosed.

There are over one million cases of cancer diagnosed each year in the United States and numerous approaches of therapy including systemic chemotherapy, radiation and surgical resection. Given that systemic chemotherapy and radiation interact with healthy tissue, complications and toxicity often result. Targeted drugs are now being used and produce a lower rate of complications. Ablative approaches, including microwave, radiofrequency and cryogenic therapies have been used; however, these methods are often not selective and tissues and organs surrounding or below the tumor can be affected.
According to the National Institute of Health, 30,640 people were diagnosed with primary liver cancer (hepatocellular carcinoma, HCC) and 142,820 people were diagnosed with colorectal cancer in the U.S. in 2013. Seventy-five percent of these will metastasize to the liver. Liver resection and transplant are the only curative means; however, only small numbers of patients are eligible. Systemic chemotherapy for primary and metastatic tumors in the liver is ineffective, having a response rate of about 20% and a survival benefit of 10.7 months vs. 7.9 months over symptomatic care.
Catheters are commonly used in medicine for delivery of fluids, therapeutics, and implants, and in sampling tissues and bodily fluids. Catheters can be constructed with balloons or other tools to dilate tissue, block fluid flow or isolate segments of the anatomy, such as in treatment of the cancers described above.
Transvascular fluid delivery via arteries or veins is typically used to distribute materials throughout the body and without consideration of a specific target tissue or organ. One notable exception to this is the use of compounds, such as anti-cancer agents that are conjugated to antibodies that target a specific binding site. Anti-tumor agents can also be fashioned to bind to specific cell receptors and block cellular functions of cancer cells. In this way, cytotoxic therapies seek out cancer cells and avoid healthy tissues, reducing systemic toxicity.
However, most drugs are not conjugated or otherwise contrived to seek out a target and drugs that are injected are distributed throughout the body, even though the beneficial effect is limited to one or several target sites. Delivery of drug to non-target sites can cause complications and result in considerable morbidity.
Trans-Arterial Embolization therapy is the transvascular injection of drug and/or embolic agents directly into the tumor vasculature using a microcatheter. Embolization therapy causes a shutdown of blood flow and, when drug or radioactivity is present, simultaneous release of high concentrations of drug or radioactivity. The technique is also noted for its very low level of toxicity.
In the early 1980's, transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) began to be used as a selective cancer therapy. In this method, chemotherapeutic and embolic agents are injected directly into the vasculature of the tumor, a technique that is most common for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma. More recently, transarterial radioembolization (TARE) has been used clinically. In this method, radioactive embolic particles, typically yttrium-90 (y90), are injected rather than chemotherapeutic agents. Although the liver is a common target for TACE and TARE, other organs, including, but not limited to, the pancreas, lung, kidney, prostate, stomach, colon and head and neck have been treated using these methods. Chemoembolization was established as a standard of care for intermediate stage hepatocellular carcinoma in 2006.
Numerous studies have demonstrated transarterial embolization to be effective on a number of primary cancers and to have better performance than chemotherapy for both HCC and metastatic colorectal cancers in the liver; however, studies show inconsistent outcomes with reported tumor responses from 15% to 85%. Although anatomical and individual differences are clearly of significance in between-patient variation, clinical studies, each of which include numerous patients, show very different outcomes, indicating that the procedure is not reproducible and that there is little procedural optimization or standardization.
The above procedures are accomplished by inserting a small catheter into the femoral artery at the groin or radial artery of the forearm and navigating it into the liver vasculature, typically the hepatic artery, then into the right or left lobe of the liver or more selectively into particular segments of the liver or super-selectively directly into or adjacent to the tumor. Typically, the tip of the microcatheter is positioned in a supply artery that is proximal to the tumor feeder artery and collateral arteries that branch from the supply artery and flow toward healthy tissues. In this instance, blood flows over the catheter tip and into the tumor and collateral arteries that feed healthy tissues. Injection of embolic agents will follow blood flow and deposit into both the tumor and healthy tissues (non-target embolization). Presently, standard microcatheters, typically at or about 3 Fr, are used to inject antitumor agents into the target vasculature. These standard microcatheters rely on normal blood flow as the means by which the embolic agent moves into the tumor and systolic and/or mean arterial pressure as the packing force. However, as the tumor begins to become embolized, it cannot accept the normal rate of blood flow and intra-tumor pressure rises to a point where the tumor can no longer accept the blood flow and the blood begins to reflux into the tumor feeder and supply artery. At this point tumor embolization can no longer proceed since embolization agents are refluxing out of the tumor along with the blood, even though the tumor is only partially filled with embolic agents. Under these conditions, further injection of embolic agents results in high pressures in the supply artery and a concomitant increase in non-target flow of embolic agents to healthy tissues and reflux backwards over the catheter. This situation also results in loss of an unknown amount of drug which, at least in part, explains the irreproducibility of the technique.
The endpoint of the above procedures is determined by physicians' visual observation of contrast flow and therefore the amount of dose delivered is highly variable. Reflux, non-target embolization in antegrade and retrograde directions, distribution of embolic agents, packing and quantity of dose delivered are variables that can be highly dependent on the rate and pressure of injection, the selection of the type of endpoint, the patient's systolic and/or mean arterial pressure, anatomy and the operator. As such, clinical trials using TACE to treat hepatocellular carcinoma have demonstrated wide variations in tumor response. The most significant clinical problems that occur with the current means of delivery and methods of embolization therapy include inconsistent efficacy and complications from non-target embolization.
Using standard straight-tip catheters, non-target embolization in the retrograde and antegrade directions can be caused when the pressure of injection exceeds the mean arterial blood pressure whereby embolic agents flow into healthy tissues causing complications.
Antegrade
When therapeutic agents are delivered into the vasculature of a target structure using the normal antegrade blood flow to carry the therapy to the target, antegrade non-target flow is unavoidable and injection rate of therapeutic agents must be carefully controlled in relation to the then present flow volume and pressure of blood to avoid an increased amount of antegrade non-target flow and reflux of drug backward over the catheter and into healthy tissues. In particular, when injecting embolic agents into the vasculature of a tumor, pressure distal to the catheter tip continues to increase as embolization progresses, causing a resistance that prevents embolic agents from filling the target vasculature and the possibility of reflux and non-target flow and embolization. It would be desirable to eliminate this antegrade non-target flow and reflux, and the inconsistent dosages that are delivered to targets with current state of the art procedures. It would be further desirable to eliminate the low levels of particle distribution and density throughout the target vasculature. It would be still further desirable to replace current delivery devices that are not always capable of fully isolating the target vasculature and often do not allow the operator to control pressure, flow rate and other parameters associated with therapeutic delivery.
The present state-of-the-art embolization therapy using standard straight-tip microcathetes for tumors in the liver relies on high volume forward flow from the hepatic artery (supply artery) to deliver embolization agents into the tumor. However; as tumor embolization proceeds, larger arterioles and capillaries are filled first, this substantially stopping flow in these vessels which causes: (1) high intra-tumor vascular pressure, (2) high pressure in arteries feeding the tumor, (3) high pressure in the supply artery, (4) reflux over the delivery catheter, (4) increased antegrade non-target flow into hepatoenteric arteries and (5) poor filling and distribution of embolic agents in the tumor. This situation results in an uncontrollable and irreproducible number of particles entering the tumor and high procedural variability.
Problems with the current method of embolization therapy that cause inconsistent outcomes include: high flow rates into the tumor, variable procedural endpoints, unknown quantity of dose delivered, reflux of embolization agents, antegrade non-target flow of embolization particles into branch arteries, rising intra-tumor arterial pressures during the initial stages of embolization, catheter movement during injection, catheter tip position and the catheter not being centered in the blood vessel. The current delivery catheters are unable to control many of the above mentioned variables, producing inconsistent outcomes and making any standardization of the current procedures difficult or impossible to achieve.
The following patents and published patent applications provide some examples of the current state of this art. U.S. Pat. No. 5,647,198 describes a catheter with a pair of spaced apart balloons that define an intra-balloon space. A lumen passes through the catheter and exits within the intra-balloon space allowing injection of drugs, emulsions, fluids and fluid/solid mixtures. A perfusion lumen or bypass extends from a location proximal to the proximal balloon and to the distal tip to allow shunting of blood past the inflated balloons. U.S. Pat. No. 5,674,198 describes a two balloon catheter that is designed for treating a solid tumor. The balloons are positioned to isolate the blood flow into the tumor and allow injection of a vaso-occlusive collagen material to block the tumor blood supply. Clifton et al. (1963) Cancer 16:444-452 describes a two balloon catheter for the treatment of lung carcinoma. The four lumen catheter includes a lumen for independent injection in the space between the balloons. Rousselot et al. (1965) JAMA 191:707-710 describes a balloon catheter device for delivering anticancer drugs into the Liver. See also U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,780,181; 6,835,189; 7,144,407; 7,412,285; 7,481,800; 7,645,259; 7,742,811; U.S. App. No. 2001/008451; U.S. App. No. 2001/0041862; U.S. App. No. 2003/008726; U.S. App. No. 2003/0114878; U.S. App. No. 2005/0267407; U.S. App. No. 2007/0137651; U.S. App. No. 2008/0208118; U.S. App. No. 2009/0182227 and U.S. App. No. 2010/0114021.
What is needed, and not provided by the prior art, are delivery devices and methods that enable exclusive delivery of drug to a target area of the anatomy and elimination or reduction of the flow of drug outside of the target area.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Devices and methods for low pressure tumor embolization


Polycrystalline diamond cutting elements having enhanced thermal stability, drill bits incorporating the same, and methods of making the same are disclosed herein. In one embodiment, a cutting element includes a substrate having a metal carbide and a polycrystalline diamond body bonded to the substrate. The polycrystalline diamond body includes a plurality of diamond grains bonded to adjacent diamond grains by diamond-to-diamond bonds and a plurality of interstitial regions positioned between adjacent diamond grains. At least a portion of the plurality of interstitial regions comprise lead or lead alloy, a catalyst material, metal carbide, or combinations thereof. At least a portion of the plurality of interstitial regions comprise lead or lead alloy that coat portions of the adjacent diamond grains such that the lead or lead alloy reduces contact between the diamond and the catalyst.

Polycrystalline diamond ("PCD") compacts are used in a variety of mechanical applications, for example in material removal operations, as bearing surfaces, and in wire-drawing operations. PCD compacts are often used in the petroleum industry in the removal of material in downhole drilling. The PCD compacts are formed as cutting elements, a number of which are attached to drill bits, for example, roller-cone drill bits and fixed-cutting element drill bits.
PCD cutting elements typically include a superabrasive diamond layer, referred to as a polycrystalline diamond body, which is attached to a substrate. The polycrystalline diamond body may be formed in a high pressure high temperature (HPHT) process, in which diamond grains are held at pressures and temperatures to cause the diamond particles bond to one another.
As is conventionally known, the diamond particles are introduced to the HPHT process in the presence of a catalyst material that, when subjected to the conditions of the HPHT process, promotes formation of interparticle diamond bonds. The catalyst material may be embedded in a substrate, for example, a cemented tungsten carbide substrate having cobalt. The catalyst material may infiltrate the diamond particles from the substrate. Following the HPHT process, the diamond particles are sintered to one another and may be attached to the substrate.
While the catalyst material promotes formation of the inter-diamond bonds during the HPHT process, the presence of the catalyst material in the sintered diamond body after the completion of the HPHT process may also reduce the stability of the polycrystalline diamond body at elevated temperatures. Some of the diamond grains may undergo a back-conversion to a softer non-diamond form of carbon (for example, graphite or amorphous carbon) at elevated temperatures. Further, mismatch of the thermal expansion of the materials may induce stress into the diamond lattice causing microcracks in the diamond body. Back-conversion of diamond and stress induced by the mismatch of thermal expansion of the materials may contribute to a decrease in the toughness, abrasion resistance, and/or thermal stability of the PCD cutting elements during operation.
Accordingly, polycrystalline diamond cutting elements that have improved thermal stability may be desired.

Polycrystalline diamond cutting elements having lead or lead alloy additions


A carrier for a plurality of objects arranged in at least two rows includes substantially parallel first and second side walls, substantially parallel first and second end walls interconnecting the side walls, a medial panel extending between and connected to the first and second end walls, the medial panel being disposed between and substantially parallel to the first and second side walls, a primary bottom wall connected and extending between lower portions of said first and second side walls, and a lock for maintaining the carrier in an erect condition, the lock including a lock body connected to a lower edge of the medial panel and depending downwardly therefrom, a first retention tab disposed along a first side edge of the lock body spaced from the medial panel, and a second retention tab disposed along a second side edge of the lock body spaced from the medial panel, whereby the first and second retention tabs define a retention width for the lock extending between the outermost portions of the first and second retention tabs, and a throat for the lock body having a throat width extending between the first and second edges between the retention tabs and the medial panel, and wherein the primary bottom wall defines a locking aperture therein for cooperative engagement with the locking tab when the carrier is in an erected condition, the aperture having a length less than the retention width and greater than the throat width.

The present invention relates generally to paperboard carriers for articles such as beverage bottles. More particularly, it relates to a basket-style carrier in which a lock is provided to maintain the carrier in an erected condition for loading.
One traditional paperboard carrier for articles such as beverage bottles is the basket-style carrier. An example of such a carrier is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,927,009. The carrier includes side, end and bottom walls, and is typically used with articles grouped in two rows. Located between the two rows is a medial panel which connects the end walls and includes an opening to provide a handle by which the basket may be carried. In its usual form, this carrier also includes partition panels extending between the medial panel and the side walls, to define individual cells into which the articles may be placed.
Basket-style carriers are normally manufactured and shipped in a glued but collapsed condition. The end walls are folded at the medial panel, so that they are collapsed onto themselves to bring the side walls together. The medial panel is thus displaced longitudinally with respect to the side walls. For use, such as at a beverage bottling facility, the basket is erected by moving the medial panel back into alignment with the side walls. The end walls are brought into an unfolded position, and the set-up basket is available to be loaded with the articles to be carried.
There is a tendency for such carriers to collapse back to their original condition. Once the bottles have been loaded, it is not possible for the carton to collapse, but in the period between erecting the carton and loading the bottles, it is necessary to this occurrence. It is known therefore to provide various lock arrangements to hold the carrier in erected condition. For example, a hook-like lock may be provided on the lower edge of the central medial panel to engage a notch formed in the bottom wall, as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,187,944. Two such locks may also be provided, one lock engaging each side edge of the bottom wall, as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,336,878. As an alternate approach, it is known to provide a hook-like lock which engages an aperture in the bottom panel at a location intermediate the side edges. This type of lock may require additional provisions to keep the lock in engagement, such as the flap provided adjacent the aperture as shown in European Published Application No. 0 481 599 A1. This requires additional manipulation of the carrier during erecting to close the flap, and the flap manipulation weakens the folded connection for the flap, increasing the possibility of inadvertent disengagement of the lock during use.
Accordingly, a need still exists for a lock for a basket-style carrier which can be easily engaged as the carrier is erected, and that reliably and securely maintains its engagement during carrier loading and subsequent use.


An indexible insert is mounted on a shank. The insert includes angled centering surfaces which engage angled localizing surfaces on the shank. The insert includes abutment surfaces which engage support surfaces on the shank. The point of contact between the abutment and support surfaces is located farther from the working cutting edge than is the point of contact between the centering and localizing surfaces. Thus, when the working cutting edge is acted upon by a lateral force, the abutment and support surfaces bear against each other with a greater force than do the centering and localizing surfaces. Accordingly, less wear occurs at the centering surfaces.

The invention relates to a cutting tool and a cutting insert, preferably for turning.
A cutting tool for turning is previously known having a rhombical cutting insert, wherein the cutting insert is positioned in a cutting insert site so that two cutting edges are exposed outside the cutting insert holder in order to make right-hand and left-hand turning possible. This means that the distance between the tip of the cutting insert and the support points of the cutting insert against the cutting insert site corresponds approximately to an edge length of the cutting insert. An edge length of the cutting insert is thus the moment arm by which the cutting forces influence the cutting insert site. The support points in the cutting insert site are deformed and displaced with known cutting inserts so that the positioning of a new cutting insert gets less accurate. As the tip of the cutting insert in certain cases describes an arch of a circle-movement an incorrect depth is caused in the work piece.
Accordingly, it is a principal object of the present invention to provide a cutting tool suitable for use with an indexable cutting insert and which minimizes the unwanted movements of the cutting insert in the cutting insert site.
A further object of the present invention is to provide such a cutting tool that minimizes the cutting forces indirectly acting upon the cutting insert site.
Another object of the present invention is to provide such a cutting tool being simple to manufacture.
A still further object of the present invention is to provide such a cutting tool that carries cutting inserts having different cutting edge geometry.
A still further object of the present invention is to provide an indexable cutting insert having a shape being less hard material consuming than heretofore known cutting inserts for turning.


A toner filling apparatus includes a filling tank, a toner filling path forming member, a toner fluidizing unit, a filling path opening/closing unit and a container room sucking unit. The toner filling path forming member is in communication with the filling tank and forms a toner filling path connected to the toner container. The container room sucking unit sucks air from the toner container through a filter member which is impermeable to the toner but permeable to air. When the toner fluidizing unit fluidizes the toner in the filling tank and the filling path opening/closing unit opens the toner filling path so as to load the toner to the toner container, the container room sucking unit reduces a pressure in the toner container to a negative pressure so as to draw in the toner into the toner container.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a toner filling apparatus that fills a container with toner.
2. Description of Related Art
Screw (auger) filling apparatuses have been proposed in order to rapidly fill a container with toner. However, when a screw is rotated at a high speed, toner is subjected to a large stress, which may cause a change in the properties such as occurrence of thermal aggregates. Therefore, such mechanical filling is not favorable.
JP 3547730B proposes a filling method that involves mixing toner with air to fluidize it.
In the invention described in JP 3547730B, after the air content of toner is stabilized in a measuring tank, an eject opening is opened by releasing an eject control member from an elastic ring that forms the eject opening in a sleeve located at the lower end of the measuring tank, so as to let the toner fall down to a small toner container through the eject opening. The aperture of the eject opening is regulated stepwise, and when the loaded toner reaches a specified amount, the eject opening is closed by fitting the eject control member in the elastic ring so as to stop the flow of the toner.
With the invention described in JP 3547730B, since no conveying member or stirring such as a screw is used, toner is subjected to less stress.
Further, in the invention described in JP 3547730B, air in the small toner container is sucked so that toner cloud of suspended toner is removed. For this purpose, a suction pipe is inserted in the small toner container, and only the air is sucked while the loaded toner particles are prevented from passing through the pipe. It is also described that an alternative sucking means may be disposed in the measuring tank (sleeve) instead of the suction pipe.
However, in the invention described in JP 3547730B, since the toner is loaded only by its free fall, the maximum filling speed is limited to a certain level. Furthermore, it takes considerable time to clear away toner cloud of suspended toner by sucking air in the small toner container by using the suction pipe inserted in the small toner container or a sucking means in the measuring tank, which results in the long cycle time of the filling process.


A method of producing a cross-linked polyvinyl alcohol structure, such as a battery separator membrane or electrode envelope. An aqueous solution of a film-forming polyvinyl alcohol is admixed with an aldehyde cross-linking agent at basic pH to inhibit cross-linking. The cross-linking agent, preferably a dialdehyde such as glutaraldehyde, is used in an amount of from about 1/2 to about 20% of the theoretical amount required to cross-link all of the hydroxyl groups of the polymer. The aqueous admixture is formed into a desired physical shape, such as by casting a sheet of the solution. The sheet is then dried to form a self-supporting film. Cross-linking is then effected by immersing the film in aqueous acid solution. The resultant product has excellent properties for use as a battery separator, including a low electrical resistivity, the value of which is principally determined by the amount of cross-linking which is easily and closely controlled by the amount of cross-linking agent added to the polymer.

The use of polyvinyl alcohol as a separator material in alkaline batteries is well known. A standard electrolyte for alkaline batteries is concentrated aqueous potassium hydroxide. Although polyvinyl alcohol is soluble in water, it is not readily dissolved in such a concentrated potassium hydroxide solution, and thus, films of this material can be used in such electrolytes. In general, polyvinyl alcohol films have been utilized as battery separators because of their high conductivity in alkaline electrolytes and their ease of fabrication from aqueous solution.
Efforts have been made to improve the mechanical properties and chemical stability of polyvinyl alcohol by synthesizing numerous derivatives of the polymer. However, the number of processes for the in-situ reaction of prefabricated polyvinyl alcohol structures, such as battery separators, is limited. The in-situ acetalization of polyvinyl alcohol separators has been achieved through treatment of the separators with acid solutions of aldehydes, such as an aqueous formaldehyde solution containing a small amount of sulfuric acid. The aldehyde acetalates the 1,3-diol units present in the polymer thereby creating tough, water insoluble derivatives. In many of the aldehyde treatments, the extent of acetalization is difficult to control. Extensive acetalization of polyvinyl alcohol leads to poor conductivity in alkaline electrolyte, which is probably due to the decreased number of hydrophilic alcohol groups resulting from the using up of such groups by the acetalization reaction.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a method of making cross-linked polyvinyl alcohol structures in which the extent of cross-linking is easily controlled. It is a further object to provide cross-linked polyvinyl alcohol structures having low electrical resistivity suitable for use as a separator or electrode envelope in an alkaline battery.

In-situ cross linking of polyvinyl alcohol

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


A panel switch for use in electronic apparatus and a method for making same, the panel switch employing a diaphragm whereby the operator turns on the switch with a feeling of security. To locate a diaphragm, a sheet having an adhesive layer on one side is used instead of a conventional spacer, and the diaphragm is secured to an insulated substrate with the sheet. The non-use of the spacer saves cost and labor, thereby producing panel switches more economically.

FIGS. 7 and 8 are a cross-sectional view and an exploded view showing a conventional panel switch. The switch has an insulated substrate 2 on which a first contact point 1a and a second contact point 1b are formed. The reference numeral 3 denotes a spacer having a through hole 3a. The spacer 3 has adhesive layers on opposite sides, and accommodates a spherical or cylindrical resilient metal diaphragm 4. The diaphragm 4 is covered with an elastic sheet 5. The reference numeral 7 denotes a casing which holds a press button 6. The diaphragm 4 keeps contact with the second contact point 1b.
For operation, an operator pushes the press button 6 so that the diaphragm 4 is pressed and comes into contact with the contact point 1a through the sheet 5, thereby effecting electrical connection between the contact points 1a and 1b by way of the diaphragm 4.
This type of panel switch has the following disadvantages:
One is that the spacer 3 is indispensable for maintaining the diaphragm 4 and cannot be omitted. The cost of the spacer is reflected in the production cost. Another disadvantage is that the diaphragm 4 must be individually inserted into the apertures of the spacers 3, thereby consuming time and labor. In addition, the boring of the apertures produces chips, dirt and adhesive remains, which are likely to cause poor contact between the diaphragm 4 and the contact points 1a, 1b.

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


A protective garment comprises a porous, breathable body portion and sleeves made of a nonwoven synthetic fabric. The sleeves and a front part of the body portion are covered at their outer surfaces by outer layers of plastic film. In one embodiment, a protective skirt of plastic film extends down below a lower edge of the body portion for covering parts of the wearer that extend below the body portion. The protective skirt can include perforations facilitating adjustment of a vertical extent of the skirt.

The invention relates to a protective garment providing a barrier between a wearer and materials with which the wearer may come in contact.
Conventionally, workers in the meat-packing industry have worn a reusable cotton smock over their regular clothes, and then have donned a separate plastic apron to cover the front of the smock, and separate plastic sleeve covers slipped over the sleeves of the cotton smock to cover their arms. These items are worn to create a barrier between the worker and the meat with which the worker comes into contact. The cotton smock is laundered and sanitized and then packaged for reuse. To comply with applicable regulations, a given worker may require three or even more of such smocks in a single work shift because the regulations mandate donning a freshly sanitized smock after certain activities such as taking a coffee or lunch break. Thus, the laundering and sanitizing of the smocks entail a significant effort and expense.
Furthermore, there are increasingly stringent requirements for sanitation imposed by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and it has become increasingly difficult to meet those requirements with the cotton smocks, because of the difficulty of completely sanitizing the garments. Another disadvantage of the cotton smock is that it readily absorbs liquids. The combination of the cotton smock with plastic apron and sleeve covers also is relatively heavy and uncomfortable particularly in hot weather.
The present invention addresses the above needs by providing a protective garment that, in a preferred embodiment of the invention, can be made so inexpensively that it can be discarded after use, thereby obviating the problem associated with adequately sanitizing a reusable cotton smock. The garment provides essentially the same level of protection that the conventional cotton smock with plastic apron and sleeve covers provide, but is significantly lighter in weight.
The garment comprises a smock having a body portion and a pair of sleeves attached to the body portion. The body portion preferably wraps at least partially about the body and preferably is slit up the back and is fastened in back to secure it. The garment preferably also includes a fastening arrangement such as a neck loop that slips over the head to assist in holding the garment in place. The body portion and sleeves are made of a material that is porous so that it is breathable, and is preferably very light in weight. Synthetic non-woven fabrics are preferred as the porous material. Preferably the porous material does not absorb liquids to a substantial degree.
A portion of the outer side of the body portion of the garment is covered by a body outer layer for enhancing the liquid-imperviousness of the body portion and for preventing direct contact between the porous material of the body portion and objects that the wearer may rub up against during use. Thus, for instance, in a food-processing application and when the porous material of the body portion is a non-woven fibrous material, the body outer layer prevents fibers from the non-woven material from being abraded and shed onto the food with which the wearer is working. The body outer layer in preferred embodiments comprises a polymer film such as polyethylene or the like.
The body outer layer preferably does not cover the entire outer surface of the body portion, but preferably only the front part that overlies the front of the worker""s body. The body outer layer preferably is sized and positioned so that it covers the front of the body from about the shoulders down to just above the knees.
The sleeves of the garment are also covered by an outer layer for enhancing the liquid-imperviousness of the sleeves and for preventing direct contact between the porous material of the sleeves and objects that the wearer may rub up against during use. The sleeve outer layers may cover all or less than all of the surfaces of the sleeves. The sleeve outer layers preferably comprise a polymer film, such as polyethylene or the like.
The body and sleeve outer layers can be secured to the porous material of the garment in various ways. It is possible to adhere or otherwise affix the entire surface area of the outer layers to the underlying porous layer, such as by laminating the outer layers to the porous material. However, in preferred embodiments of the invention, the outer layers are attached to the porous material over less than the entire surface area therebetween. More particularly, the body outer layer covering the front of the body portion preferably is attached to the porous material only at edges of the body outer layer. The body outer layer can be attached at less than all of its edges (e.g., only along top and opposite side edges but not along the bottom edge), and can be attached along less than the full length of one or more of the edges (e.g., at spaced locations along the top and/or side and/or bottom edges). It is also possible to attach the body outer layer to the porous layer at discrete spots spaced over the surface of the body outer layer. Similarly, the outer layers covering the sleeves preferably are attached to the porous material over less than the entire surfaces of the outer layers, such as for example along the edges of the sleeve outer layers, along less than the full length of one or more edges, or even at discrete spots spaced over the surface of the sleeve outer layer. The attachment of the layers can be made in various ways, such as by stitching, gluing, thermal welding, ultrasonic welding, etc.
In another embodiment in accordance with the invention, the garment includes a protective skirt of polymer film extending down from the lower edge of the body portion to cover lower parts of the wearer""s body. The skirt preferably includes one or more lines of weakness extending horizontally across it to enable a lower portion of the skirt to be torn off for adjusting the vertical extent of the skirt.
The garment thus provides a barrier tending to prevent contact between a worker and items with which he or she may come in contact, such as food in the case of a worker in a food-processing plant. The outer layers perform two functions. First, they provide additional protection against liquids penetrating through the garment to the worker""s clothes or skin, beyond the protection that the inner porous layer provides. Second, the outer layers help prevent fibers, that are shed from the inner porous layer from being deposited on food or other items with which the worker comes in contact. Without the outer layer, the porous layer would tend to abrade when rubbed against objects, and fibers from the layer could contaminate the food or other items to which the worker is exposed.


A magneto-optical isolator (20) for an optical circuit. The isolator includes a substrate, and an optical channel (350) disposed next to the substrate. The optical channel and substrate are configured to transmit optical radiation within the optical channel. The isolator further includes a photonic-crystal rotator (24) formed with the substrate and the optical channel. The rotator has at least one defect (52) and magnetic (M) and non-magnetic (N) materials.

The present invention relates to photonic band-gap materials.
In many applications of lasers or other radiation sources, it is important to prevent reflected radiation from interacting with the source. Reflected radiation generates undesirable noise and unwanted feedback. Photonic or optical circuits is just one example of an application where there exists a need to isolate a source from reflected radiation.
As is known in the art, the Faraday effect in magneto-optical materials rotates the polarization of an incident beam as it passes through the material. Because of their Faraday effect, magneto-optical materials are used in non-reciprocal devices to serve as an isolator, i.e., a device that permits the transmission of light in only one direction. By placing an isolator near the radiation source in the path of propagating light, the isolator allows the emitted light to pass through. Any reflected light from the optical circuit is not permitted to pass through the isolator. Instead, the isolator blocks-out the reflected light, preventing the light from interacting with the source. However, traditional isolators are large, prohibiting them to be fabricated on an optical chip. A smaller isolator capable of being formed on an optical chip and produce a large Faraday rotation is thus desirable.

Board of Control of Michigan Technological University


A printed document includes a print quality indicator on the print surface of the document in the primary printing area. The image of the print quality indicator has a plurality of printed targets, each of the targets defining an unprinted area. The dimensions of the unprinted areas of the targets varying among the targets. The print quality of the printed document is determined by noting which of the unprinted areas in the print quality indicator printed on the document are not clearly free of ink upon close visual inspection of the document. Each target is made up of a printed circle, having a specified outer diameter, a specified line weight, and a specified inner diameter, and a printed circular dot, having a specified diameter, positioned centrally within the printed circle. The specified diameter of the printed circular dot is less than the specified inner diameter of the printed circle such that the printed circular dot and the printed circle define an annular unprinted area there between.

The present invention is directed to a printed document including a print quality indicator and a method of determining the print quality of the printed document.
It is well known that images which are to be printed typically undergo distortion and degradation to a greater or lesser degree during the various steps of the printing process. For example, as an image goes from a photographic negative, where it may be very clear, to a plate, from the plate to a printing blanket, and finally from the blanket onto the document substrate in an offsetlithography printing operation, the quality of the image will necessarily decline to some degree at each stage of the process.
It is common in the printing industry to measure and control the quality of images printed on documents. It is also common to measure and control the quality of the images at each successive stage in the printing process. For example, if the quality of the image on the photographic negative or on the plate is too low, printed documents of less than acceptable quality will necessarily result and there is no need to go to the expense of printing documents using such a negative or plate in order to measure quality. In commercial printing operations, print quality targets of various graphical configurations, sometimes referred to as "control bars," are printed in trim areas of a sheet or web. One difficulty with such control bars is that they are not within the primary printing area of the sheet or web, so that the observed or measured quality of the printing of the control bars on the printed sheet or web may not accurately reflect the quality of the print image within the primary printing area. Another difficulty with such control bars is that since they are printed within trim areas, they are removed with the trim areas during finishing operations and therefore do not permit a quality assessment of the documents to be subsequent to finishing. Another difficulty with such control bars is that there use is limited to documents that include trims areas, and numerous business forms do not include trim areas. Another drawback of prior art printed quality targets of this type is that they are designed to measure primarily mechanical dot gain, i.e. the gain experienced in halftone dot size, of mid-size halftone dots. They do not provide an indication of the sharpness or print quality of the halftone dots.
Other types of self-contained quality control targets have been printed in the primary printing areas of documents--solid density boxes, built into borders of various designs, dot area targets, included within the pantograph screened area of documents, and extremely small alpha-numeric characters, termed microprint characters, also included within the pantograph screened area of documents. None of these arrangements, however, has provided a quantitative means for evaluating dot structure. Characteristics of dot structure include shape, size, and edge definition. Previously, the dots and microprint characters were magnified and visually inspected, and a subjective assessment was then made as to the quality of the printing. Because of the subjective nature of this process, it has not been possible to articulate an objective quality standard for such products.
It is seen therefore that there is a need for a printed document including a print quality indicator and for a method of determining the print quality of the printed document in which the print quality indicator may be printed within the primary printing area of the document and in which an objective, repeatable measure of print quality can be obtained.

Printed document and method of determining the print quality of a printed document


Solid electrolytic capacitors comprise a valve metal member having a dielectric film, with or without a conductive underlying layer, formed on the member, and a conductive polymer film formed on the layer. The conductive polymer film is formed by electrolytic polymerization of a polymerizable monomer contained in a system which comprises the monomer, a support electrolyte, and at least one member selected from silicic acids and silicates with or without phenol compounds. By this, the life of the capacitor even under high temperature and high humidity conditions is significantly improved. Methods for fabricating such capacitors are also described.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to solid electrolytic capacitors of the type which make use of a conductive polymer film as a solid electrolyte. The solid electrolytic capacitors have significantly improved life characteristics when used under high temperature anti high humidity conditions. The invention also relates to a method for manufacturing the capacitors of the type mentioned above.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Recent trends toward digitalizatlon and miniaturization of circuits used in the electric and electronic fields have demanded capacitors which are small in size and large in capacitance with a low impedance in a high frequency range.
Known capacitors which have been used in high frequency ranges include, for example, plastic film capacitors, mica capacitors, layer-built ceramic capacitors and the like. These capacitors are disadvantageously so large in size that a large capacitance is difficult to obtain.
On the other hand, a certain type of electrolytic capacitor is known as having a large capacitance. This type of capacitor includes, for example, an aluminum dry electrolytic capacitor and an aluminum or tantalum solid electrolytic capacitor., With the aluminum dry electrolytic capacitor, anodic and cathodic aluminum foils which have been preliminarily etched are convolutely wound through a paper separator. A liquid electrolyte is impregnated in the separator. With aluminum or tantalum solid electrolytic capacitors, solid electrolytes are used in order to improve the characteristics of the electrolytic capacitors. For the formation of the solid electrolyte, an anode foil is immersed in a manganese dioxide solution, which is thermally decomposed in a high temperature furnace at approximately 350.degree. C. to form a manganese dioxide layer on the foil. Since the solid electrolyte is used, there are produced no disadvantages of liquid electrolytic capacitors such as of volatility of liquid electrolytes and the lowering of performance of the capacitor as will be caused by coagulation of liquid electrolytes at low temperatures. Accordingly, such solid electrolytic capacitors are better in frequency and temperature characteristics than liquid electrolytic capacitors. Like tantalum electrolytic capacitors, the aluminum electrolytic capacitor is advantageous in that since an anodized film serving as a dielectric layer can be formed very thinly, a large capacitance can be realized.
Recently, solid electrolytic capacitors have been developed using organic semiconductors such as 7,7,8,8-tetracyanoquinodimethane (TCNQ) salts as the solid electrolyte (Japanese Laid-open Patent Application No. 58-17609). Moreover, another type of solid electrolytic capacitor has also been proposed. In the capacitor, at least one of electrodes of the capacitor is made of a conductive polymer which is formed by electrolytic polymerization of polymerizable monomers such as pyrrole, thiophene, furan and the like. More particularly, a solid electrolytic capacitor has been reported in which a polyimide thin film serving as a dielectric film is electrodeposited on the surface of an electrode. A chemically polymerized conductive polymer film is built up on the polyimide thin film, on which an electrolytically polymerized conductive polymer film is further built up, thereby obtaining the capacitor (Electrochemical Society 58th Meeting Technical Digest of Papers, 1991 (Spring), pp. 251 and 252).
A diversity of capacitors have been thus employed in the electric and electronic fields. These capacitors are not necessarily satisfactory with respect to characteristic properties. For instance, film and mica capacitors are so large in size that a large capacitance is difficult to attain. The builtup ceramic capacitors have been developed to satisfy the requirements for the small size and the large capacitance but are disadvantageous in their high production costs and poor temperature characteristics.
With the aluminum electrolytic capacitors, the oxide film is liable to undergo damages. This makes it necessary to provide an electrolyte between the oxide film and a cathode in order to repair the damages. Where the electrolyte used is liquid, the resultant capacitor suffers leakage of the electrolyte. In addition, the liquid electrolyte is ion conductive. For these reasons, the capacitor brings about a decrease of electrostatic capacitance and an increase of loss, with poor high frequency characteristics and a great loss in low temperature ranges.
With solid electrolytic capacitors using manganese dioxide, the thermal decomposition at high temperatures has to be repeated several times, resulting in the damage of the oxide film. Additionally, manganese dioxide has a high specific resistance. For these reasons, the loss of the resulting capacitor is not sufficiently small in a high frequency range.
On the other hand, solid electrolytic capacitors using organic semiconductors such as TCNQ salts have better high frequency characteristics than those using manganese dioxide. However, on application of an organic semiconductor, the specific resistance is undesirably increased and the organic semiconductor is relatively poor in adhesion to the anode foil. Thus, such capacitors do not necessarily exhibit ideal characteristics.
Moreover, when a conductive polymer thin film is used as an electrode of capacitors, the capacitor exhibits good frequency and temperature characteristics along with good life characteristics under high temperature conditions. However, the dielectric film is liable to be attacked with moisture, so that the capacitor has not good life characteristics under high temperature and high humidity conditions.

Solid electrolytic capacitors and method for manufacturing the same


An oligonucleotide is synthesized by adding a 3'-phosphate blocked nucleotide to a primer, removing the blocking group from the primer-blocked nucleotide product using a thermostable 3'-phosphatase enzyme, and repeating these steps until the desired nucleotides have been added to the primer. A suitable phosphatase enzyme for use in this method is a thermostable phosphatase derived from the hyperthermophilic archaebacterium Pyrococcus furiosus.

Synthetic oligonucleotides play a pivotal role in molecular biology research, useful especially for DNA sequencing, DNA amplification, and hybridization. Novel methods for the synthesis of oligonucleotides have been described previously by the inventor in International Application PCT/US93/12456 and in U.S. patent applications 08/161,224, 08/100,671, and 07/995,791 to replace both the obsolete enzymatic methods and the current chemical methods. These methods, referred to herein collectively as the "One Pot" method basically involve repeated cycles of extending an oligonucleotide primer using a nucleotide substrate having a 3'-blocking group, thus forming an extended primer with a blocking group at its 3'-end; and removal of the 3'-blocking group from the extended primer to prepare the extended primer for the addition of the next nucleotide. When the defined sequence calls for the same nucleotide to be incorporated more than once in succession, unreacted blocked nucleotide may be reused in the subsequent cycle(s). In this case, the blocking group is selectively removed from the primer-blocked nucleotide product substantially without deblocking of the unreacted blocked nucleotide. Otherwise, the method includes the further step of converting any unreacted blocked nucleotide to an unreactive form which is substantially less active as a substrate for the chain extending enzyme than the blocked nucleotide. The ease with which this method can be automated will foster a new generation of oligonucleotide synthesizers with enormous throughput, increased reliability, lower cost per synthesis, and with environmentally friendly reagents.
One of the major costs associated with the enzymatic synthesis involving repetitive cycles is the cost of replenishing the enzymes for each cycle. To reduce this cost, the inventor has previously proposed that the use of a thermostable enzymes would obviate the need for replenishment after each cycle of the method.
All of the five major enzymes of the One Pot method--RNA Ligase, AMP Degrading Enzyme, Exonuclease (e.g. Phosphodiesterase I), Alkaline Phosphatase, and 3'-Phosphatase--may be used in the One Pot method as thermostable versions, provided that "significant" co-incubation of enzyme activities which could be deleterious to the synthesis is avoided. Significant co-incubation is defined by the user in terms of the desire for a certain level of product purity or product yield.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an improvement of the One Pot method in which a thermostable 3'-Phosphatase is employed.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an improved method for synthesizing an oligonucleotide by employing a thermostable 3'-Phosphatase isolated from the hyperthermophilic archaebacterium Pyrococcus furiosus.

Method for the enzymatic synthesis of oligonucleotides using thermostable 3'-phosphatase


A magneto-resistance device comprising two layers of ferromagnetic material mutually separated by at least one interposed layer of non-ferromagnetic material, in which at least one of the layers of ferromagnetic material comprises half-metallic material, and preferably both ferromagnetic layers are principally comprised of half-metallic material.

The invention relates to a magneto-resistance device comprising two layers of ferromagnetic material mutually separated by at least one interposed layer of non-ferromagnetic material.
The invention also relates to a magnetic head employing such a device.
Magneto-resistance is that phenomenon whereby the electrical resistance measured along a given path within a suitable material is found to be influenced by the presence of a magnetic field intersecting that material. The phenomenon can thus be exploited to transcribe probed magnetic field variations into corresponding resistance variations within the material, thereby lending itself to application in magnetic field sensors and magnetic heads. Such magnetic heads are employed to transfer data to and from a magnetic recording medium, such as a magnetic tape or disc.
The magnitude of the magneto-resistance effect along a given path in a particular material is rendered by the formula: ##EQU1##
in which R.sub.L and R.sub.S are, respectively, the largest and smallest electrical resistances measurable along the said path in a variable magnetic field, at a given temperature. The value of MR is usually expressed as a percentage, and is preferably as large as possible so as to yield maximum attainable sensitivity in sensor applications such as those mentioned above.
The magneto-resistance effect in a layered structure can be investigated using at least two measuring geometries. The first such geometry is the so-called Current In Plane (CIP) geometry, whereby the electrical resistance of the device is measured using a method in which an electrical voltage gradient is applied in a direction substantially parallel to the plane of the device's constituent layers. The second such geometry is the so-called Current Perpendicular to Plane (CPP) geometry, whereby the electrical resistance of the device is measured using a method in which an electrical voltage gradient is applied in a direction substantially perpendicular to the device's constituent layers. For a given device, the magneto-resistance effect measured using the CPP geometry is generally larger than that measured using the CIP geometry, by as much as a factor of three. See, for example, the article by Gijs et al. in Phys. Rev. Lett. 70 (1993), pages 3343-3346.
A trilayer structure of the kind described in the opening paragraph is suitable for exploiting the so-called spin-valve magneto-resistance effect, whereby the resistivity of the structure is found to be influenced by the mutual orientation of the (net) magnetisations of the two layers of ferromagnetic material. The structure is then preferably embodied in such a way that an external magnetic field can be used to easily alter this mutual orientation. Such an embodiment can be achieved in at least three different ways, as follows:
(a) The two ferromagnetic layers can be antiferromagnetically coupled across the interposed non-ferromagnetic layer, so that their (net) magnetisations are mutually anti-parallel in the absence of an external magnetic field. A magnetic field applied parallel to the magnetisation of one of the ferromagnetic layers can then be used to reverse the magnetisation in the other ferromagnetic layer, thereby forcing both magnetisations into mutually parallel configuration; PA1 (b) One of the ferromagnetic layers can be exchange-biased to an additionally present anti-ferromagnetic biasing layer in such a manner that the magnetisation of the other ferromagnetic layer can be independently oriented by an external magnetic field, into either anti-parallel or parallel configuration with the magnetisation of the exchange biased layer; PA1 (c) The two ferromagnetic layers can be embodied to have considerably different magnetic coercivities. This can be achieved, for example, by the addition of differing concentrations of suitable foreign substances to the material of each ferromagnetic layer. A magnetic field of suitably chosen strength can then be used to separately orient the magnetisation of the ferromagnetic layer of lower magnetic coercivity, without changing the magnetisation-direction in the ferromagnetic layer of higher magnetic coercivity. PA1 (1) If the magnetisation vectors of the ferromagnetic layers are mutually parallel, then both these layers will behave as metals for electrons of a certain spin state (in the case of Fe.sub.3 O.sub.4, for example, this will be the spin-down state). Electrons of this particular spin state will thus be able to traverse the entire trilayer in a substantially perpendicular direction, whereas electrons of the opposite spin state will not. The electrical resistance in the former case will be essentially determined by the thickness and material of the non-ferromagnetic interposed layer; PA1 (2) If the magnetisation vectors of the ferromagnetic layers are mutually anti-parallel, then, for electrons of each spin state, one of these layers will behave as a metal, whereas the other will behave as an insulator. As a result, electrons of neither spin state will in this case be able to traverse the entire trilayer in a substantially perpendicular direction. The measured electrical resistance will thus be essentially infinite; PA1 (3) Statistically, a small current of electrons will always be able to tunnel through the entire trilayer structure, regardless of its magnetisation configuration. In addition, spin-flip scattering events can also occur in the interposed non-ferromagnetic layer, thereby causing the spin state of a small fraction of scattered electrons to undergo a reversal. In the case of an anti-parallel magnetisation configuration in the trilayer (point PA1 (2) above), an electron which has already traversed one of the ferromagnetic layers will, if it undergoes a spin-flip, also be able to traverse the second ferromagnetic layer, whereby a small leakage current arises. However, by ensuring that the interposed nonferromagnetic layer is relatively thin, such spin-flip occurrences are kept to a minimum. In addition, by making the ferromagnetic layers relatively thick, tunnelling events through the entire trilayer are limited. The magneto-resistance effect of the trilayer is then essentially 100%.
A magneto-resistance device of the type indicated in the opening paragraph is elucidated in an article by Nakatani and Kitada in J. Mat. Sci. Lett. 10 (1991), pages 827-828. In this known device, an electrically insulating Al.sub.2 O.sub.3 layer is interposed between two ferromagnetic Fe layers with in-plane magnetisation, and the magneto-resistance effect of the combination is measured using the CPP geometry. One of the Fe layers is doped with 1.7 at. % Ru in order to increase its magnetic coercivity, whereas the magnetic coercivity of the other Fe layer is reduced by doping its Fe with 2.0 at. % C. The resulting trilayer structure is therefore of the type i(c) elucidated above. The doped Fe layers are each 100 nm thick, whereas the interposed Al.sub.2 O.sub.3 layer is only 10 nm thick. Such a thin insulating layer acts as a tunnelling barrier between the conducting Fe layers which border it. In other words, even though the bulk material of the layer is an insulator, the thickness of the layer itself is small enough to allow a statistically significant number of electrons to tunnel across it.
The CPP electrical resistivity of this known trilayer device attains a minimum value when the net magnetisations of the two doped Fe layers are mutually parallel, and a maximum value when these two magnetisations are anti-parallel. Such spin-dependent tunnelling behaviour is rigorously discussed by Slonczewski in Phys. Rev. B 39 (1989), pages 6995-7002, where it is concluded (equation (6.1), page 7000) that the CPP conductance (G) of the trilayer satisfies the approximate relationship: EQU G=G.sub.0 (1+.epsilon. cos .theta.)
Here, G.sub.0 and .epsilon. are constants (.epsilon.<1), and .theta. is the in-plane angle between the (net) magnetisation vectors of the two ferromagnetic layers. The fractional difference between the conductances of the trilayer for mutually parallel and mutually anti-parallel magnetisation configurations is therefore 2.epsilon..
A disadvantage of the spin-dependent tunnelling effect on which the known device is based is that the value of .epsilon. is generally very small. As a result, the room-temperature CPP magneto-resistance effect in that device is only about 1.0%. Such a low value greatly limits the sensitivity of potential magnetic field sensors employing the known device.
Another known spin-valve magneto-resistance device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,134,533, in which layers of in-plane ferromagnetic material such as Fe, Co or Ni are antiferromagnetically coupled across interposed layers of electrically conductive non-ferromagnetic material such as Cr, V or Ti, thereby forming an alternating multilayer arrangement containing a plurality of the basic trilayer structures of the type (a) elucidated above. In this case, the electrical resistivity once again attains a minimum value when the net magnetisations of the two ferromagnetic layers are mutually parallel, and a maximum value when these two magnetisations are anti-parallel.
The magneto-resistance effect in this second known device is caused by spin-dependent scattering phenomena, whereby the extent to which conduction electrons are resistively scattered in the device is determined by the direction of their intrinsic spin in relation to the magnetisation-direction of the ferromagnetic layers. The effect is explained in more detail by Baibich et al. in Phys. Rev. Lett. 61 (1988), pages 2472-2475, in particular page 2474. Once again, the magnitude of the effect is quite small, so that the room-temperature CIP magneto-resistance of this second known device is only about 10%.

Magnetic-resistance device, and magnetic head employing such a device