A gel tray for holding a medicament to be applied to the teeth and gums of a patient includes a handle and an opposing buckle. In one embodiment, the buckle includes a tongue portion and a retainer strip surrounding the tongue portion so as to define a narrow space between the tongue portion and the retainer strip, the narrow strip having a width less than the thickness of the handle. The handle has a tongue reception groove extending transverse to its length at a position such that the tongue reception groove is engaged by the tongue when the tray is folded. In another embodiment, slotted tabs are interfitted when the tray is folded. The tray may therefore be securely maintained in the folded state. The tray can be combined with or preloaded with a treatment agent such as a gel comprising a pharmaceutically effective amount of at least one agent for treating teeth or gums dispersed in a gel medium consisting essentially of water and an amount of a water dispersible gelling agent sufficient to form a gel. Preferably, the treatment gel comprises an agent such as from 0.05 to 5 wt. % of a soluble fluoride, either in an acidic gel or a neutral. Acidic gels can contain pharmaceutically acceptable, treatment effective amounts of phosphoric acid and hydrofluoric acid, for example. Neutral gels can have pH modifying agents such as sodium hydroxide.

It is often necessary for a fluoride containing gel or a gel containing another medicament to be applied to the teeth and gums of dental patients. For this purpose, it has been known to form a tray for the application of such a gel. An example of a conventional tray is that sold by Oral-B Laboratories consisting of a unitary tray structure having upper and lower cups. Each of the cups has a shape which roughly conforms to the upper or lower teeth, i.e., a generally C-shape, and has a concave medicament receiving surface. The cups are secured together by straps which normally maintain the cups in a planar relationship with both medicament receiving surfaces facing in the same direction. A gel is then loaded into the medicament receiving surfaces from a container such as a tube, after which the tray is folded about the straps so that the cups overlie one another with the medicament receiving surfaces facing away from one another. The tray, in this folded state, is then is inserted into the patient's mouth. The patient then bites down firmly into the concave medicament receiving surfaces and holds that position until the treatment is completed, after which the unit is removed from the patient's mouth and discarded.
It is important, in order to correctly position the tray in the patient's mouth, that it securely maintain its folded state as it is being inserted therein. For this purpose, the conventional Oral-B device provides a pair of handles which extend from opposite ends of the cup portions when the tray is in the unfolded state. Upon the folding of the tray, the handles overlap one another, and can be manually gripped. However, this solution has not been found to be fully satisfactory since it relies upon the ability of the technician applying the treatment to securely grip the ends of both handles without slippage. This is not always possible, and so at times the overlap and folded condition cannot be maintained and the medicament treatment is not properly carried out.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,173,219 discloses a disposable dental tray.
Treatment gels containing fluorides and other medicaments, formulated and packaged for filling and application to the teeth and gums of a patient in a dental treatment tray by a dentist are well known.

Dental treatment tray for holding medicament gel


Golf equipment including compositions including castable formulations that have low material hardness and increased shear resistance. The compositions may be used in any layer of a golf ball including cores, intermediate layers, and covers and result in high spin rates.

Golf balls are formed from a variety of compositions, which provides a golf ball manufacturer the ability to alter feel and aerodynamic characteristics of a particular ball. For example, golf ball covers formed from balata allow a highly skilled golfer to achieve spin rates sufficient to more precisely control ball direction and distance, particularly on shorter shots. Balata covered golf balls are easily damaged, however, which discourages the average golfer from using such balls. To remedy this durability issue, manufacturers typically use ionomer resin as a cover material. However, while ionomer resin covered golf balls possess virtually cut-proof covers, the spin and feel are inferior compared to balata covered balls.
Polyurethanes and polyureas have also been recognized as useful materials for golf ball covers since the resulting golf balls are durable like ionomer resin, but have the softer feel of a balata covered golf ball. U.S. Pat. No. 4,123,061 teaches a golf ball made from a polyurethane prepolymer formed of polyether with diisocyanate that is cured with either a polyol or an amine-type curing agent. In addition, U.S. Pat. No. 5,334,673 discloses the use of two categories of polyurethane available on the market, i.e., thermoset and thermoplastic polyurethanes, for forming golf ball covers and, in particular, thermoset polyurethane covered golf balls made from a composition of polyurethane prepolymer and a slow-reacting amine curing agent, and/or a difunctional glycol. U.S. Pat. No. 5,484,870 discloses a polyurea composition comprising the reaction product of an organic diisocyanate and an organic amine, each having at least two functional groups. Once these two ingredients are combined, the reaction rate is very fast and, thus, the ability to vary the physical properties of the composition is limited.
Despite the favorable characteristics of polyurethane and polyurea materials for use in golf balls, ball components formed of these materials do not fully match ionomer resin golf ball components with respect to resilience or the rebound (a function of the initial velocity of a golf ball after impact with a golf club). In addition, in order to achieve even adequate resilience and shear resistance, manufacturers are generally limited to material hardness ranges of 30 Shore D or greater. Moreover, manufacturing in the lower range of this hardness results in a high degree of non-concentric ball components due to viscosity issues. Furthermore, while the spin rates of polyurethane and polyurea covered golf balls are higher than ionomer covered balls, achieving an even high spin rate would provide more control.
Therefore, there remains a continuing need for golf equipment and, in particular, golf balls having components formed from materials that provide the desired soft feel and, thus, higher spin, but still have at least comparable resilience to that of ionomer resins without adversely affecting overall performance characteristics of the golf balls.

Golf equipment formed from castable formulation with unconventionally low hardness and increased shear resistance


In one form of the invention, an Electrostatic Discharge protection device containing at least one heterojunction transistor is disclosed. In another embodiment, an Electrostatic Discharge protection circuit comprises: a first terminal contact 20; an NPN heterojunction bipolar transistor Q2; a PNP bipolar transistor Q1; a base-emitter shunt resistor R2; an emitter of said PNP transistor connected to said first terminal contact; a base of said PNP transistor connected to collector of said NPN transistor; a collector of said PNP transistor connected to a base of said NPN transistor; and an emitter of said NPN transistor connected to a second terminal contact 22, with said base-emitter shunt resistor connected between said base of said NPN transistor and an emitter of said NPN transistor, whereby a low-capacitance device capable of protecting semiconductor devices from electrostatic discharges in excess of 4000 Volts results. Other devices, systems, and methods are also disclosed.

Without limiting the scope of the invention, its background is described in connection with devices for protection against Electrostatic Discharge.
Heretofore in this field semiconductor devices have been known to be susceptible to the Electrostatic Discharge (ESD) phenomenon. The best known ESD events are those generated between the human body and ground. Electrostatic potentials of 4 kV are not uncommon. Typically, the discharge occurs within a few tens of nanoseconds and generates peak currents in the tens of amperes. This surge of high-voltage, high-current electricity represents a major threat to electronic components. Past solutions to the protection of semiconductor devices from ESD have typically relied on Si clamping diodes, Zener diodes, and Silicon-controlled rectifiers, or thyristors.

Electrostatic discharge protection device


Three point hitch for Hummer truck, stake truck, pickup truck, farm tractor front mount, or trailer frame. A three point hitch mounted on the rear bumper of a Hummer or pickup, the back of the bed of a stake truck, and braced to the frame or bed determined by mounting height, also adaptable to farm tractor front mount, other vehicles and trailer frames with proper bracketing. The hitch has a pair of lower lift arms and a adjustable top link to allow the mounting of standard three point agricultural equipment. It has a frame assembly with a rock shaft containing a cylinder crank arm and outer crank lift arms, hydraulic cylinder, two drag links and two lower lift arms. It also contains a two inch square receiver for use of any standard two inch towing slider, and a power take-off shaft assembly to power accessories. All moving parts are easily removable from the basic frame allowing free turning radius when used in towing operations.

HUMMER trucks are military vehicles which are now available for commercial market and use. Pickup trucks are all-purpose motor vehicles extensively used in agricultural and construction environment for hauling feed, equipment, tools and goods. Farm tractors are slow vehicles extensively used in agriculture, which are now developing a limited need for a front mount three point hitch. Trailers are towable wheeled carrying units. Hitches connected to the rear bumper of the truck are used to couple trailers and implements and some of these hitches can also be used on the front of a farm tractor and mountable on trailer frames. A number of material handling structures and implements are adapted to be connected to three point hitches mounted on tractors and some of these can now be used on trucks and other carriers. A three point hitch includes draft arms connected to lift arms to facilitate the raising and lowering of the implements relative to the tractor. Three point hitches in use with tractors are not readily suitable for mounting on HUMMERS, or pickup trucks or the front of farm tractors. Mounting the three point hitch directly to the bumper and bracing it to the frame makes it easy to install with little stress. With pickup trucks and farm tractors front mount, and trailers some adapting is necessary. The hitch projects rearward of the bumper and features quick pin removable arms for road and trailer towing use, and a power take-off shaft to power light accessories.

Three point hitch for hummer truck and other vehicles


A mechanism disposed in a sewing machine for sequentially performing, in regard to an operation of a single manually operable member while the needle being penetrated through a work fabric, shifting of a needle to a predetermined position above the work fabric due to a temporary slight rotation of the main shaft, retracting or withdrawal of a cam follower from tracking on a pattern cam, and transferring of the cam follower from one pattern cam to another. This mechanism virtually assures that during the pattern selection the needle never jogs laterally while the needle is penetrating through the work fabric, whereby the work damage and the needle breakage can surely be prevented.

This invention relates to a safety device for pattern selection in zigzag sewing machines.
In conventional zigzag sewing machines a needle bar is likely to be oscillated or jogged in a lateral direction when a machine operator manually changes the pattern selecting operation in order to form a desired stitch pattern. The needle is, therefore, subjected to damage, when it is in a penetrated state, that is, it is passing through a needle aperture for zigzag stitching formed in the throat plate during the progress of the pattern selecting operation, because the needle is laterally jogged while it is in close abutment with the edge of the needle aperture.
One of the known devices proposed for solving the problem a cam follower, which is to move for tracking the shape of a pattern cam, is constructed such that its movement is to be transmitted to a needle bar gate by way of a link that is pivoted to the same for normally oscillating in a body with the needle bar gate under the action of a spring; and a stopper is disposed for defining the limit of the jogging of the needle bar. So the lateral shifting of the needle can be prevented, after the needle bar has been laterally shifted to abut the stopper for the pattern selecting operation, because only the link can be then rotated against the spring force. In the event of a pattern selecting operation with such a device, while the needle is in a penetrated state through a thin work fabric pressed on the throat plate by the pressure foot, the work fabric can still be subjected to a damage due to the movement of the needle before the needle bar completely contacts the stopper, because the spring force is greater than the shifting resistance acted on the needle because of existence of the work fabric.
Another further improved device is known as, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,820,485. In this device a separable clutch means is disposed between the needle bar and the needle reciprocating mechanism, and a clutch separating mechanism is attached thereto wherein the clutch means can be separated before a cam follower is thrown out of the cam tracking relation in response to the initial movement of a cam follower retracting mechanism. With this arrangement the needle is released from the endwise reciprocating movement mechanism and lifted free above the work fabric by a lifting spring prior to cam follower throw-out. An independent pattern cam selecting means separated from the cam follower retracting mechanism is operated for transferring the cam follower from one pattern cam to another after it has been released from the cam tracking relation. So it is necessary in this device to separately operate a manual handling of the needle elevation and the cam follower releasing as well as a pattern cam selecting operation. Further the device disclosed in the patent needs another special mechanism for making the clutch mechanism between the needle bar and the needle reciprocating mechanism engaged in response to the re-starting of the sewing operation thereafter.

Safety device for pattern selection in zigzag sewing machines


A process is disclosed which limits the corrosion of the materials of construction of a wet oxidation system treating wastewaters. The process is particularly useful in the wet oxidation treatment of ammonium sulfate containing wastes such as acrylonitrile wastewaters. The wastewater is mixed with an oxygen containing gas such that a substantial residual oxygen gas concentration is maintained from before the stream-gas mixture is heated for wet oxidation until after the oxidized stream-gas mixture is cooled and separated. Preferably, in the treatment of acrylonitrile waste water the shutdown procedure comprises cooling said waste stream by introducing an aqueous liquid substantially free of organic impurities and containing a basic material.

The present invention is directed to a wet oxidation procedure for treatment of waste streams to remove organic impurities and substantially limit corrosion of the materials utilized in the practice of the procedure. In particular, the present invention is directed to a wet oxidation procedure for the treatment of acrylonitrile waste streams to remove organic impurities.
Wet oxidation is a well established process for treating aqueous waste waters, sludges and slurries which contain oxidizable substances. Many patents and publications disclose wet oxidation processes using air as a source of oxygen for accomplishing the oxidation. In addition, other patents disclose the application of pure oxygen or an oxygen enriched gas in a wet oxidation procedure. See for example U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,384,959; 3,042,489; 3,097,988; 3,654,070; 3,359,200; 3,272,740; 4,395,339 and 4,744,909.
Increased reaction rates and the opportunity to operate at lower pressures and temperatures has made the use of oxygen enriched gas/pure oxygen very attractive from a theoretical standpoint. In addition, many potential users of wet oxidation processes, such as sewage treatment plants, steel mills, etc., have existing oxygen generation/storage facilities making the gas available at low cost. However, in spite of these facts wet oxidation processes using enriched/pure oxygen are difficult to operate because of safety considerations and associated corrosion problems.
Pure oxygen or oxygen enriched gas can be used to enhance the rate and completeness of oxidation. However, the presence of oxygen at higher concentrations, especially high purity oxygen is likely to raise concerns regarding spontaneous combustion when placed in contact with organic or other oxidizable substances at pressures above atmospheric, indeed, even at room temperature. Therefore, it is absolutely vital to control the wet oxidation process parameters when using oxygen enriched systems to minimize the hazardous operating conditions and corrosion problems associated therewith. The present invention is directed to a safe, economical means of oxidizing organic impurities present in waste streams in particular, waste streams generated in the production of acrylonitrile by the use of enriched oxygen which does not require sophisticated materials of construction (i.e., expensive) or elaborate equipment designs.

Wet oxidation process for ACN waste streams


A surgical instrument holder for use in surgery having a holder body (10) able to hold one of a plurality of surgical instruments used together in surgery, such as a diathermy pencil and a separate suction means or two laproscopic instruments or the like, but allow easy removal of the surgical instruments. A holder attachment means (41) supports the holder body (10) and connects adjacent elongated cylinders (11, 13) at or near respective circumferential points on the elongated cylinders (11, 13) along an intersecting line between respective axes of the adjacent elongated cylinders (11, 13). A connection part (48) associated with the holder attachment means (41) enables the surgical instrument holder (10) to be removably mounted on or near a patient so that the surgical instrument holder (10) provides simultaneous access to each of the adjacent elongated cylinders (11, 13) allowing easy removal of the surgical instruments.

This invention relates to a surgical instrument holder able to hold a plurality of surgical instruments used together in surgery, such as a diathermy pencil and a suction instrument or laproscopic instruments or the like, and able to be removably mounted on or near a patient during surgery.
A quiver or scabbard comprising an open ended elongated container has been known to be used in surgery for a number of years to hold a plurality of surgical instruments such as a diathermy pencil and suction instrument for use in surgical procedures such as cauterising procedures or laproscopic instruments or the like. Many surgical techniques now require these types of instruments each having a specialised shape, size and length for the specialised surgical application.
Usually a plurality of instruments, including an electrically connected diathermy pencil and a metal tubular suction instrument, are included in the same quiver or scabbard. Clearly this is not a safe practice due to the risk of electrical mishap and possible resultant burns to the patient. Also the holding, insertion and reinsertion of a plurality of delicate expensive instruments together in a scabbard increase the likelihood of damage, and increases the risk of cross contamination of instruments during a surgical procedure.
Another development in the understanding of safe operating procedures is the understanding that live virus can be included in the resultant plume from the use of diathermy pencils or the like and this live virus can be inhaled by the surgeon. Of particular concern is the transfer of Hepatitis C from the patient by this method. One proposed solution to this problem is to include suction means integrally with the diathermy pencil to enable simultaneous plume evacuation during the surgical use of the diathermy pencil. Apart from the substantial increase in size of such a compound instrument, it is still often necessary to include a separate suction instrument for removal of other surgical waste or use in combination with other surgical instruments. Using a plurality of quivers or scabbards located in different positions provides difficulty in locating instruments used together and provides difficulty in removing instruments used together while ensuring correct handling.
It is an object of this invention to provide a surgical instrument holder that overcomes or at least ameliorates the problems of the prior art but allows ready access to a plurality of instruments for surgical procedures.
In accordance with the invention there is provided a surgical instrument holder for use in a surgery including a holder body having a plurality of discrete elongated chambers each having one closed end and one open end and each sized to hold one of a plurality of surgical instruments used together in surgery, such as a diathermy pencil and a separate suction means or two laproscopic instruments or the like, but allow easy removal of the surgical instruments, and a holder attachment means connected to the holder body and supporting the holder body and enabling the surgical instrument holder to be removably mounted on or near a patient to provide substantially adjacent access to each of the discrete elongated chambers simultaneously allowing easy removal of the surgical instruments.
In a particularly preferred form of the invention there is provided a surgical instrument holder for use in surgery having a holder body formed by a plurality of coextending elongated cylinders each having an open end at a common end of the holder body and each sized to be able to hold one of a plurality of surgical instruments used together in surgery, such as a diathermy pencil and a separate suction means or two laproscopic instruments or the like, but allow easy removal of the surgical instruments, a holder attachment means supporting the holder body and connected to adjacent elongated cylinders at or near respective circumferential points on the elongated cylinders along an intersecting line between respective axes of the adjacent elongated cylinders, and a connection part associated with the holder attachment means and enabling the surgical instrument holder to be removably mounted on or near a patient, wherein the surgical instrument holder provides simultaneously access to each of the adjacent elongated cylinders allowing easy removal of the surgical instruments.
The surgical instrument holder may be formed from a thermostable plastic or other dielectric and chemically resistant material able to insulate the surgical instruments when held separately in said discrete elongated chambers and to allow ready cleaning by autoclave or chemical means.
Preferably the holder attachment means and the holder body are shaped, attached and sized and without concave surfaces to eliminate substantially, blood and surgical residue collection points. Further, to assist the cleaning capabilities, the surgical instrument holder can have removable end caps that form respective closed ends of the discrete elongated chambers. The removable end caps can be connected to the discrete elongated chambers by screw means interfitting with external thread on the discrete elongated chambers.


A non-fat milk replacer for baking containing an isolated vegetable protein ingredient is disclosed. The milk replacer is produced by forming a slurry containing 94-48% by weight dairy whey, 6-52% isolated vegetable protein, said slurry having a pH of 5.8-7.5 and an added alkaline earth cation concentration of 0.1 to 2.0% by weight of the solids. The slurry is heated within a critically defined temperature range of 190.degree.-230.degree. F. for a period of time sufficient to partially insolubilize the protein, followed by cooling and drying of the slurry to form a non-fat milk replacer which has comparable baking properties to non-fat dry milk.

The present invention relates generally to a non-fat dry milk replacer suitable for baking applications containing isolated soy protein. More particularly, the present invention relates to an improved, non-fat dry milk replacer containing isolated soy protein which is suitable as a non-fat dry milk substitute in a wide variety of leavened baked products, such as bread or cakes.
Generally speaking, there are two types of baked products, either leavened or unleavened products. Insofar as leavened baked products are concerned, these are typically divided into baked products which are either yeast leavened or chemically leavened. These two types of products differ from one another by the starting materials employed as well as the leavening action. In yeast type products leavening is caused by carbon dioxide produced as a result of yeast activity. In chemically leavened products the leavening action comes from the release of carbon dioxide caused by the reaction of a material such as sodium bicarbonate with an acid or acid type salt. Leavening is also not intended to occur prior to baking, but should occur primarily upon subjecting the batter or dough to oven heat.
In either the production of yeast leavened or chemically leavened products it is important to select the proper type of ingredients for making the baked goods. In this regard, the use of non-fat dried milk solids comprising mixtures of casein and whey has been well-known and utilized by the baking industry for many years. The non-fat dry milk solids have permitted the use of desired moisture levels to strengthen the structure of the dough or batter and thereby improve its handling characteristics. Products made with non-fat milk solids result in baked goods having desirable contour or appearance in addition to a uniform cell structure in the interior of the baked goods.
A variety of non-fat dry milk substitutes have been proposed by the prior art including mixtures of whey solids together with animal or vegetable protein. Such a product is described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,555,514 wherein a whey product is obtained that has properties making it useful as a substitute for milk in the manufacture of bread or similar baked goods. The noted process provides for the concentration of whey solids having a pH of 6.0-6.6 and a calcium content between 1.5 and 3% to provide a solids content between 25 and 55%. The whey is heated to a temperature of 200.degree. to 280.degree. F. and a protein material may also be added to the whey either before or after the heat treatment.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,873,751 describes the production of a similated milk product which is highly suitable as a non-fat dry milk substitute in baking applications, wherein the milk product is prepared by forming a mixture of sweet whey and vegetable protein; controlling the pH to between 5.8 to 7.5 following by heating of the mixture to a temperature between 220.degree. to 400.degree. F. The mixture is then subjected to a vapor flash treatment to remove objectionable flavors and odors. Following heating, pH adjustment can be carried out if desired or followed by drying of the product to obtain a powder having a moisture content of about 3% or so. This product may be used as a substitute for dried skim milk in producing baked goods. The product has excellent qualities as a substitute skim milk in bakery doughs, particularly bread and that if the noted product is used in bread dough, the baked bread has an aroma and toasting quality comparable to bread made with milk solids. The product also has greater water absorption properties to result in a more tender bread with a shorter fermentation time.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,943,264 provides a whey product which may be substituted for all or part of the milk solids used in the manufacture of baked goods. The composition set forth therein includes whey solids, a proteinaceous material which can comprise a material such as a soy isolate together with an added calcium source, an added phosphate source, and a stabilizing agent. The stabilizing agent can be selected from various natural or artificial phosphorous containing materials such as lecithin or other surface active agents. The dry product is highly suitable in chemically leavened baked products as a non-fat milk solids replacer and the resulting products have desired grain and texture.
In spite of the extensive use of non-fat dry milk substitutes containing vegetable protein, a continuing need exists for a non-fat dry milk replacer employing materials such as a vegetable protein isolate which is widely suitable for baking applications particularly in the preparation of leavened baked products. It is also necessary that such a replacer not only have the same desirable baking characteristics as non-fat dry milk solids, but that no characteristic flavor of the soy protein is carried through to the baked goods. Therefore, in the present invention a non-fat dry milk replacer has been obtained which is highly suitable in the production of leavened baked goods, especially chemically leavened baked goods wherein the resultant texture of these baked goods is considered to be as acceptable as those obtained using non-fat dry milk solids. It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to produce a non-fat dry milk replacer containing isolated soy protein which produces baked goods with comparable texture to those produced with non-fat dried milk.

Milk replacer for baking containing isolated vegetable protein


A tethered ball apparatus includes an attachment assembly for attachment to a rigid support. A swivel assembly is connected to the attachment assembly, and an elastic cord is connected to the swivel assembly. A cord receiver includes an externally threaded screw portion, and the elastic cord is connected to the cord receiver. A ball assembly includes an internally threaded anchor embedded in a portion of the ball assembly, and the externally threaded screw portion of the cord receiver is screwed into the internally threaded anchor. In one embodiment, the attachment assembly includes a support-attaching screw eye. In another embodiment, the attachment assembly includes a strap assembly which contains a quantity of a hook-containing fabric and a quantity of a complementary loop-containing fabric. The swivel assembly includes a swiveling strap eye bolt snap. The elastic cord is comprised of bungee cord material. The cord receiver includes a ball-attaching screw eye. The internally threaded anchor in the ball assembly is comprised of an internally threaded hollow cylindrical anchor which further includes external threads. The ball assembly may be a football which has two pointed ends, and the internally threaded anchor is located in the football at one of the pointed ends. With a football, the ball assembly includes an exterior jacket portion, and an inflated internal tube portion. The internally threaded anchor is secured into a pointed end of the exterior jacket portion of the ball assembly.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to devices for practicing sporting skills and, more particularly, to devices employing tethered balls.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In many sports, in order to gain proficiency in the sport, practicing skills associated with the sport is often desirable. In sports where two or more players are involved, it is often difficult to gather two or more players for a practice session. In sports which include balls, one solution to this problem is the development of the tethered ball. When a person uses a tethered ball, the person can practice a sports skill in a solitary manner. In this respect, throughout the years, a number of innovations have been developed relating to tethered balls, and the following U.S. Pat. Nos. are representative of some of those innovations: 4,324,220, 4,350,338, 5,108,107, 5,209,489, and Des. 340,267. More specifically, U.S. Pat. No. 4,324,220 discloses a tethered slingshot-like toy in which an elastic cord passes through the interior of a tethered ball along a diameter from one end of the ball to the other in order to attach the elastic cord to the ball. The ball used with this toy is not inflatable. The means used for attaching the tether to the ball in this device could not be used with an inflatable ball. In this respect, it would be desirable if a ball were attached to a tether in such a way that an inflatable ball can be used with the tether.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,350,338 discloses a football practice aid which employs a football on a non-elastic tether which is attached to an elastic support. The football is connected to the tether by using a harness that has threads that fit into the recesses of the football. The harness can easily slip out of the recesses in the football during vigorous use. Although the elasticity in the elastic support is better than no elastic members at all, it would be desirable, for more elasticity, if the tether itself were elastic. In this respect, it would be desirable if a tethered ball employed an elastic tether. Furthermore, it would be desirable if a tethered ball had a means for attaching a ball to a tether without using a harness that has portions that fit into recesses of the ball.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,108,107 discloses a golf ball on a tether. The golf ball has a protuberance that projects outward from the spherical surface of the ball. The tether is attached to the protuberance. Therefore, because of the presence of the protuberance, when the tether is detached from the golf ball, the exterior surface of the golf ball will not permit the untethered ball to be used in a conventional manner. In contrast, however, it would be desirable if a tethered ball did not have a protuberance protruding from its surface when a tether is detached from the ball. This would permit the untethered ball to be used in a conventional manner.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,209,489 discloses a tethered ball which has the tether permanently connected to the ball. Clearly, this arrangement prevents the ball from being used in an untethered manner if desired. In this respect, it would be desirable if a tethered ball were not permanently connected to its tether. In addition, U.S. Pat. No. Des. 340,267 appears to disclose another tethered ball that is permanently connected to its tether. U.S. Pat. No. 4,311,312 may be of interest for its disclosure of retractable golf practice pad.
Still other features would be desirable in a tethered ball device. For example, it would be desirable if a tethered ball device included a swivel located between an elastic tether and a rigid support so that the tether will not become twisted during use of the ball. Moreover, it would be desirable if a tether were provided with an attachment means that is readily connected to and readily disconnected from a rigid support. This would permit the tethered ball device to be readily portable and carried to a variety of locations to which the tether could be attached.
Thus, while the foregoing body of prior art indicates it to be well known to use tethered ball devices, the prior art described above does not teach or suggest a tethered ball apparatus which has the following combination of desirable features: (1) provides a ball attached to a tether in such a way that an inflatable ball can be used with the tether; (2) employs an elastic tether; (3) has a means for attaching a ball to a tether without using a ball harness that has portions that fit into recesses of the ball; (4) does not have a protuberance protruding from the surface of a ball when a tether is detached from the ball; (5) provides a tethered ball that is not permanently connected to its tether; (6) includes a swivel located between an elastic tether and a rigid support; (7) provides an attachment means that is readily connected to and readily disconnected from a rigid support; and (8) is readily portable and is readily carried to a variety of locations to which the tether can be attached. The foregoing desired characteristics are provided by the unique tethered ball apparatus of the present invention as will be made apparent from the following description thereof. Other advantages of the present invention over the prior art also will be rendered evident.


The laminate device of the present invention comprises magnetic layers and coil patterns alternately laminated, the coil patterns being connected in a lamination direction to form a coil, and pluralities of magnetic gap layers being disposed in regions in contact with the coil patterns.

Various portable electronic equipments (cell phones, portable information terminals PDA, note-type personal computers, portable audio/video players, digital cameras, digital video cameras, etc.) usually use batteries as power supplies, comprising DC-DC converters for converting power supply voltage to operation voltage. The DC-DC converter is generally constituted by integrated semiconductor circuits (active parts) including switching devices and control circuits, inductors (passive parts), etc. disposed as discrete parts on a printed circuit board.
For the miniaturization of electronic equipments, the DC-DC converter has an increasingly higher switching frequency, using more than 1 MHz at present. Because semiconductor devices such as CPU are getting higher in speed, function and current and lower in operating voltage, low-voltage, high-current DC-DC converters are needed.
Passive parts used in power supply circuits for DC-DC converters, etc. are required to be smaller in size and height, and integrated with active parts. The inductor, one of passive parts, has conventionally been composed of a wire wound around a magnetic core, and its miniaturization is limited. Because lower inductance is needed in order that laminate devices are operable at higher frequencies, monolithic laminate devices having a closed magnetic path structure have become used.
The laminated inductor, an example of laminate devices, is produced by integrally laminating magnetic material (ferrite) sheets printed with coil patterns, and sintering them. The laminated inductor has excellent reliability with little magnetic flux leakage. However, because it has an integral structure, magnetic saturation partially occurs in a magnetic material in the laminated inductor by a DC magnetic field generated when a magnetization current is applied to the coil pattern, resulting in drastic decrease in inductance. Such laminated inductors have poor DC-superimposed characteristics.
To solve this problem, JP 56-155516 A and JP 2004-311944 A disclose a laminated inductor 50 having an open magnetic path structure comprising a magnetic gap layer between magnetic layers, as shown in FIG. 47. This laminated inductor 50 is formed by laminating pluralities of magnetic (ferrite) layers 41 with coil pattern layers 43, the magnetic gap layer 44 made of a non-magnetic material being inserted into a magnetic path. In the figure, a magnetic flux is schematically shown by arrows. At small magnetization current, a magnetic flux φa flowing around each coil pattern 43, and a magnetic flux φb flowing around pluralities of coils patterns 43 are formed in each of regions separated by the magnetic gap layer 44. Most magnetic fluxes do not pass through the magnetic gap layer 44, but a magnetic flux path is formed in each region separated by the magnetic gap layer 44, as if two inductors were series-connected in one device. At large magnetization current, on the other hand, material portions between the coil patterns 43 are magnetically saturated, so that most magnetic fluxes pass through the magnetic gap layer 44 like the magnetic flux φc, and flow around pluralities of coils patterns, resulting in a demagnetizing field that lowers inductance than in the case of small magnetization current. However, the laminated inductor becomes resistant to magnetic saturation. Thus, the conventional laminated inductor has DC-superimposed characteristics improved by the magnetic gap layer, but its inductance largely varies by slight increase in magnetization current. Although the DC-superimposed characteristics are improved as compared with when the magnetic gap layer 44 is not formed, further improvement is needed so that the laminated inductor is operable at large magnetization current.
JP 2004-311944 A discloses a laminated inductor 50 comprising a magnetic gap layer 44 embedded at center between coil patterns, and a non-magnetic body 47 embedded around the coil patterns, as shown in FIG. 48. Because most magnetic fluxes pass through the magnetic gap layer 44, this laminated inductor 50 has stable inductance in a range from small magnetization current to large magnetization current, but exhibits insufficient performance at large magnetization current. In addition, it is difficult to produce because of a complicated structure.

Laminate device and module comprising same


A social graph is divided into a series of partial graphs having limited hops and reference counts. For each of a plurality of nodes in the social graph, a partial graph for the node is created having a first degree list of nodes reachable in one hop and a second degree list of nodes reachable in two hops. Reference counts of how many paths exist between the node and each node reachable in two hops are also added to the second degree list. A global inverted index is maintained containing a list of all nodes in the social graph and for each node in the social graph a list of nodes that directly connect to the node. The partial graphs created for each of the plurality of nodes are distributed across a plurality of data servers. An index of which partial graphs are stored on which data servers is maintained.

Online social network services provide members with a mechanism for defining, and memorializing in a digital format, representations of themselves (e.g., member profiles) and their relationships with other people. This digital representation of relationships between members is frequently referred to as a social graph. Many social graphs store important entities such as member identification, school, company, location, and so forth in the form of social graph data structure comprising vertices and edges. Many such implementations adopt key-value stores in which a vertex is a key and its adjacency list of edges is a value. For example, the member identification may be the key and its first degree connections may be corresponding values.
Popular social graph services, such as finding paths, computing network distance, and counting network size, utilize breadth-first traversal through the social graph data structure. For example, in order to compute network distance between two vertices, the system may traverse the first-degree connections and check whether the first-degree connections contain the other vertex. If so, then the network distance is determined to be first degree. If not, then the second-degree connections are traversed to see if the second-degree connections contain the other vertex. This process may continue until it is determined which degree connections contain the other vertex.
Typically under breadth-first traversal when computing network distance, the key-value store containing the vertex and its adjacency list needs to be looked up over and over until the distance is determined. The number of look-ups in this key-value store can grow rapidly as higher and higher degrees of separation are searched due to the exponential growth in number of vertices. The result is that popular graph services, having lots of members, require significantly high numbers of key-value store look-ups.
For scalability, social network services typically adopt distributed data stores, which distribute the entire social graph over multiple servers. This can cause high latency during breath-first traversal, however, since it requires multiple remote calls to other machines to fetch connections of vertices. For example, if the system needs to fetch second-degree connections of a vertex, it may need to make remote calls to most of the data stores to fetch the connections of the first-degree connections of the vertex, because it is unclear which server hosts the data related to the vertex in question. This means that one single request for a network distance, for example, can cause multiple steps of remote calls to various distributed data stores, which causes slower response time and utilizes network bandwidth.

Partial graph incremental update in a social network


Disclosed is a new Streptomyces candidus strain, and relevant uses thereof.

Fungal phytopathogen is one of the causes leading to severe economic losses in the agricultural and horticultural industries. Infected plants show inhibited germination and growth, and soft rot, or die. In addition, soils infested with phytopathogenic fungi may be unsuitable for growing certain crops.
Phytophihora spp. is an important soil-borne fungal phytopathogen, which causes diseases to a broad host range, e.g. stalk and leaf lesions of melons and fruits. The infected parts of plants exhibit water-infiltrated lesions at the initial stage. The lesions will rapidly turn brown, and rotten. If the moisture remains high, a large amount of white fungal mass will grow and result in rotten, hollow fruits with brown spots. The seedlings of plants will die immediately after being infected with Phytophthora spp. Once infected, the stems and leaves of plants above the ground will turn yellow and harden, or wilt.
Pythium spp. is another important soil-borne fungal phytopathogen, which causes diseases to the seedlings of Cruciferae spp. and melons. Seeds at the emerging stage infected with the pathogen will not emerge or become rotten. Infected seedlings will exhibit water-infiltrated lesions at the infected parts, wilt and die. For the damping-off seedlings, the infected tissues are brown, dried, thinned, and stunted.
Currently, fungicides widely used for treating Phytophthora and Pythium infections are chemical agents, including Etridiazole (also known as Terrazole), Previcur N (also known as Propamocarb hydrochloride), Metiram (also known as Rinclozolin), Ridomil (also known as Metalzaxyl), Mertect (also known as Thiabendazole), Oxine-Copper (also known as Quinolate), Dithane M-45 (also known as Mancozeb) and Dithane Z-78 (also known as Zineb).
Due to the intensive use, the strains resistant to some of the above chemical fungicides have been reported, e.g. Phytophthora megaspermaf sp. medicaginis tolerant to Ridomil (see R. M. Hunger et al., Plant Dis. 66:645-649 (1982)).
Moreover, the environmental protection has drawn the international attentions. In viewing that the abuse of chemical fungicides is ecologically detrimental, there is a need to develop environmentally acceptable biological agrochemicals.
Borrelidin is a macrolide antibiotic, which was first isolated by Berger et al. in 1949 from the culture medium of Streptomyces rochi and reported to be active against borrelia, the relapsing fever spirochete, and capable of enhancing the activity of penicillin G against syphilis spirochete. See J. Berger et al., Arch. Biochem. Biophys. 22:476-478 (1949).
Borrelidin-producing strains and new uses of the antibiotic have been subsequently identified in the art. For instance, M. Lumb et al., Nature 206:263-265 (1965) describes borrelidin produced by S. griseus C2989 strain as an antiviral agent which is inactive against bacteria; V. Prikrylova et al., Physiological Aspects 34:422-423 (1989) reports a new strain of S. rochi which produces borrelidin as a substance inhibiting germination of plant seeds; and DE 36 07 287 Al discloses borrelidin produced by a new S. griseus strain as a pesticide and herbicide.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,759,928 discloses an antibacterial material produced by S. albovinaceits which is active against Treponema hyodysenteriae. The antibacterial material is latter identified as borrelidin. See H. Maehr et al., The Journal of Antibiotics, Vol. XL No. 10, pp. 1455-1456 (1987).
Borrelidin has been chemically characterized and identified as 2-[7-cyano-8,16-dihydro-9,11,13,15-tetramethyl-18-oxooxacyclooctadeca-4,6( E,Z)-diene-2-yl]cyclopentacarboxylic acid with the following structure: ##STR1##
See M. Kuo et al., The Journal of Antibiotics, Vol XLII NO. 6, pp. 1066-1077 (1989).
The above references and patents, however, do not disclose the antifungal activity of borrelidin, and are herewith incorporated as the references of the application.

Strain of streptomyces, and relevant uses thereof


A digital copying machine is provided with a scanner system, a data processing and transferring system, a plotter system, and a control system for controlling these system. The data processing and transferring system comprises means for converting the output of a density correcting control means provided on the control panel into digital data, and a ROM for employing as address data a value obtained by combining the digital data and a digitalized density value from the scanner system. Density values corrected in correspondence to the address data are stored in the ROM in advance to apply a density signal added by a degree of correction to the plotter system.

This invention relates to digital copying machines in which picture cell data are processed after being digitalized, and more particularly to a density correcting system in the digital copying machine.
In a conventional copying machine according to an electrostatic process, the copy density is corrected by changing the exposure slit width according to indication specified by a density correcting knob on the operating panel.
In a conventional copying machine according to a diazo process, the copy density is corrected by changing the time required for applying light to a photo-sensitive material, i.e., by changing the rate of feeding a copying sheet.
In some of the copying machines according to a development process, the density is increased by adding a developer when lowered.
In these conventional density correcting methods, the copy density is, in its entirety, changed. Therefore, when the density is increased, the background becomes stained.
In the method of changing the rate of feeding a copying sheet, the copying speed is not constant. Therefore, this method is disadvantageous in that the copying speed is liable to be low.
In the method of changing the density by supplementing the developer, the rate of changing the density is low.


The latch device for the trunk lid of the vehicle includes an electric open lever that causes a ratchet to withdraw from a latch when the electric open lever rotates, and a release actuator that rotates the electric open lever. An output gear that rotates by driving force of the release actuator is provided near the electric open lever, a pair of a first cam projection and a second cam projection with phases shifted from each other by 180 degrees is provided at the output gear, and the output gear is configured such that when the output gear rotates by 180 degrees, the first cam projection abuts against and rotates the electric open lever, and rotation of the output gear is blocked by the second cam projection abutting against the rotated electric open lever.

1. Field of the Invention
The disclosure relates to a latch device for a trunk lid (back door) of a vehicle.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, a latch device for a door of a vehicle includes a latch device provided with a power release mechanism that releases a ratchet from a latch by motive power of an actuator, such as a motor, to enable the door of the vehicle to be opened (for example, see Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 07-166750 or Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2001-182400). A power release mechanism is often used in a latch device for a sliding door of a vehicle or a door that opens and closes a trunk room of a vehicle (a trunk lid or a back door, hereinafter, "trunk lid").
In contrast to a power release mechanism used for a sliding door, a power release mechanism used for a trunk lid often does not need to be combined with another mechanism, for example, a value adding mechanism, such as a lock mechanism, a child proof mechanism, an anti-theft mechanism, or a one-motion mechanism. Thus, simplification, weight reduction, and cost reduction have been the main challenges for development of the power release mechanism used for the trunk lid.
Therefore, the present invention simplifies coupling relations among a power release mechanism and levers of respective parts even more and improves the power release mechanism itself.


A substrate made from silicon has a first region and a second region. Through pores are formed in the first region. Pores that do not traverse the substrate are provided in the second region. The production of the work piece is performed with the aid of electrochemical etching of the pores. The entire surface of the substrate is covered with a mask layer that is structured photolithographically on the rear of the substrate. The bottoms of the pores in the second region are etched clear, preferably using KOH.

Perforated work pieces are required for various technical applications, in particular as cost-effective optical or mechanical filters with pore diameters in the micrometer or submicrometer range. Such applications are, inter alia, isoporous membranes, reversibly washable filters, laminators, catalyst supports, reagent supports, electrodes for batteries and fuel cells, nozzle plates, tube grids or filters for electromagnetic waves such as, for example, light or microwaves.
German Patent DE 42 02 454 C1 discloses a method for producing a perforated work piece which can be used to produce pore diameters in this region. In this method, electrochemical etching is used to form holes in and perpendicular to a first surface of a substrate wafer, made from n-doped monocrystalline silicon, so as to produce a structured layer. The electrochemical etching is performed in a fluoride-containing electrolyte in which the substrate is connected as an anode. When the holes reach a depth which corresponds essentially to the thickness of the finished work piece, the process parameters are changed such that the cross section of the holes increases, and the structured layer is detached as a platelet from which the work piece is formed.
Since the production requires that adjacent holes grow together, the shape of the perforated work piece produced corresponds to the shape of the substrate wafer. The perforated work piece is penetrated in this case continuously with pores as far as the edge. This limits the mechanical strength of the perforated work piece.
It is accordingly an object of the invention to provide a perforated work piece, and a method for producing it, which overcome the above-mentioned disadvantages of the prior art devices and methods of this general type, and has an increased mechanical strength.
With the foregoing and other objects in view there is provided, in accordance with the invention, a perforated work piece containing a substrate made from silicon and having a first region, a second region, a first main surface and a second main surface. The first region has pores formed therein that traverse the substrate from the first main surface to the second main surface. The second region has further pores formed therein which, starting from the first main surface, extend into the substrate but do not traverse the substrate.
The work piece has a substrate made from silicon in which the first region and the second region are provided. In the first region, the pores traverse the substrate from the first main surface to the second main surface. The work piece is perforated in the first region. In the second region, the pores are provided which, starting from the first main surface, extend into the substrate but do not traverse the substrate. As a result, a solid substrate material that increases the stability of the perforated work piece is present below the pores in the second region. The perforated work piece can therefore be mounted with a low risk of damage.
The thickness of the substrate in the direction of the depth of the pores is preferably greater in the second region than in the first region.
By providing a plurality of first regions, it is possible to define different filter regions, in particular for the application as a catalytic converter or a reagent support.
It is advantageous for the purpose of mounting the perforated work piece to provide the second region in an annular fashion, and to dispose the first region inside the second region. In this case, the solid edge acts in the second region as a frame for the perforated work piece.
In accordance with an added feature of the invention, in a region of the second main surface, the second region has an edge region having a surface with  less than 111 greater than  orientation.
In accordance with another feature of the invention, the pores have a first depth and the further pores have a second depth substantially equal to the first depth of the pores, and the substrate is thicker in the second region in a direction of a pore depth than in the first region.
The perforated work piece is preferably produced with the use of electrochemical etching. For this purpose, the pores whose depth is less than the thickness of the substrate are produced in the first main surface of the substrate made from silicon by electrochemical etching. The first main surface and the surface of the pores, and the second main surface, which is opposite the first main surface, are provided with a mask layer. The mask layer is structured in the region of the second main surface such that the second main surface is exposed in the first region. Using a structured mask layer as an etching mask, the substrate is subsequently etched at least as far as the bottom of the pores in the region of the exposed second main surface. The mask layer is subsequently removed, so that the pores disposed in the first region traverse the substrate from the first main surface to the second main surface.
The mask layer is preferably formed from Si3N4 or SiO2.
Etching of the substrate to form the penetrating pores in the first region is preferably performed with KOH. In the region of the second main surface, the result of this for the second region is an edge region having a surface with a  less than 111 greater than -orientation.
The electrochemical etching is preferably performed in a fluoride-containing acid electrolyte, the substrate being connected as an anode of an electrolytic cell. Since the substrate is connected as the anode, minority charge carriers move in the silicon to the first main surface, which is in contact with the electrolyte. A space charge zone is formed there. Since the field strength in the region of depressions in a surface is always greater than outside thereof, the minority charge carriers move preferentially to such depressions, which are present with a statistic distribution in every surface. This results in a structuring of the first main surface. The deeper an initially small irregularity becomes through etching, the more minority charge carriers move there because of the enlarged field strength, and the stronger the etching attack becomes at this point. The holes grow in the substrate in the crystallographic  less than 100 greater than -direction.
It is preferable to use an electrolyte with a concentration of between 2 percent by weight of HF and 10 percent by weight of HF. A voltage of between 1.5 volts and 3 volts is then applied during the electrochemical etching. This results in pores of 20 xcexcm. The diameter of the holes is preferably 2 xcexcm given a substrate doping of 5 xcexa9cm.
It is advantageous for setting the current density in the substrate to illuminate the second main surface of the substrate during the electrochemical etching.
Other features which are considered as characteristic for the invention are set forth in the appended claims.
Although the invention is illustrated and described herein as embodied in a perforated work piece, and a method for producing it, it is nevertheless not intended to be limited to the details shown, since various modifications and structural changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention and within the scope and range of equivalents of the claims.
The construction and method of operation of the invention, however, together with additional objects and advantages thereof will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings.

Perforated work piece, and method for producing it


Corrugated cardboard plates are made by laminating and bonding corrugated cardboards 1, each including a corrugated sheet 1a and at least one liner sheet 1b bonded to the corrugated sheet 1a, to provide a corrugated cardboard laminate 5, which is in turn cut along a plurality of cutting lines b lying perpendicular to a direction parallel to ridge lines a of the corrugated sheet 1a to provide a plurality of corrugated blocks 7. The corrugated blocks 7 are then arrayed in a line to provide an elongated flat corrugated plank 9 in which the top face of one of the corrugated blocks 7 is bonded to the bottom face of the next adjoining corrugated block 7. At least one backing sheet 11a or 11b, made of paper, to one of opposite surfaces of the elongated flat corrugated plank 9 and is subsequently cut into a plurality of corrugated cardboard plates 14 of a predetermined size. In this way, the corrugated cardboard plates 14 or 90 can be obtained at a reduced cost, each of the plates 14 or 90 having an excellent heat insulation, a sound insulation and being lightweight and robust.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to corrugated cardboard plates, a method of and an apparatus for making the corrugated cardboard plates from corrugated cardboards that are excellent in heat insulation and sound insulation, and have a lightweight feature and a strength. The present invention also relates to the corrugated cardboard plates and architectural elements utilizing the corrugated cardboard plates.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The assignee of the present invention has applied for patent on an apparatus for and a method of continuously manufacturing a honeycomb structure that can be used as a material for furniture and architectures (the Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 11-235773). This honeycomb structure is lightweight and has cells exhibiting an extremely high compressive strength and is excellent in heat insulation and sound insulation. However, the apparatus for making the honeycomb structure tends to become somewhat complicated.
More specifically, the honeycomb structure is prepared by laminating a plurality of paper materials for forming honeycomb cells to provide a honeycomb core material, then forming honeycomb units by cutting the laminate of the paper materials in a direction perpendicular to the honeycomb cells while the latter are closed, successively connecting the honeycomb units, with upper and lower faces bonded together, to provide an elongated honeycomb core, and bonding a sheet to a cut face (front and rear sides) of the elongated honeycomb core to provide the honeycomb structure. However, at the time the honeycomb units are formed by cutting the honeycomb core material, a relatively large cutting force is required since the cutting is performed while the honeycomb cells are closed. For this reason, a guillotine cutter comprising a single knife blade and capable of exerting a higher cutting force than a saw tooth is employed for cutting the honeycomb core material. However, the use of the guillotine cutter results in a smooth cut face (a face where an adhesive is to be applied) and, therefore, the adhesive applied will not be satisfactorily retained on the cut faces of the honeycomb units, with the consequence that the sheet will not be firmly bonded to the elongated honeycomb core. In view of this, while the cells of the honeycomb units are expanded by the use of an expander, the front and rear faces of each honeycomb units where the adhesive is to be subsequently applied is roughened by the use of a surface roughening device. As such, the manufacture of the honeycomb structure requires the use of the surface roughening device and the expander.
The present invention is intended to provide corrugated cardboard plates at a reduced cost, wherein corrugated cardboards are employed in place of the above discussed honeycomb core materials, wherein the sheet can be assuredly and firmly bonded with no surface roughening being required, and which has a performance comparable or higher than that exhibited when the honeycomb core materials are used.
Another important object of the present invention is to provide an architectural material wherein the corrugated cardboard plates are used so that it can be suitably and optimally used as a floor panel, a partition wall for use in restaurants and offices or an external wall for a temporary dwelling, all of which have an excellent lightweight feature and an excellent thermal insulation.
In order to accomplish these objects of the present invention, a method of making corrugated cardboard plates according to the present invention includes a step of laminating and bonding a plurality of corrugated cardboards to provide a corrugated cardboard laminate, each of the corrugated cardboards including a corrugated sheet and at least one liner sheet bonded to the corrugated sheet, the corrugated sheet having a plurality of cells and a corresponding number of ridges; a step of cutting the corrugated cardboard laminate along a plurality of cutting lines lying perpendicular to a direction in which the ridges of the corrugated sheet extend, to provide a plurality of corrugated blocks, each of the corrugated blocks having upper and lower faces opposite to each other; a step of arraying the corrugated blocks in a line to provide an elongated flat corrugated plank in which the top face of one of the corrugated blocks is bonded to the bottom face of the next adjoining corrugated block; a step of bonding at least one backing sheet, made of paper, to one of opposite surfaces of the elongated flat corrugated plank; and a step of cutting the elongated flat corrugated plank into a plurality of corrugated cardboard plates of a predetermined size. The corrugated sheet referred to above is a sheet corrugated at regular intervals so that cells can be formed in the corrugated cardboard, which cells may have a generally U-shaped (or sinusoidal) section, a generally V-shaped section or a trapezoidal section.
With the above described corrugated cardboard plate making method, when the corrugated cardboard laminate is to be cut along cutting lines lying perpendicular to ridge lines of the corrugated sheet into a plurality of corrugated blocks, not a guillotine cutter including a single knife blade, but a circular saw or a band saw including a body having its tip formed with rows of equally spaced saw teeth or a so-called raking saw having a plurality of equally spaced saw teeth that are alternately offset laterally relative to each other to provide two rows of alternating saw teeth, can advantageously be employed. In other words, since the corrugated cardboard laminate is of a design wherein corrugated cardboards are laminated together with the cells left open and does not require a relatively large force during the cutting thereof, the use of the circular saw, the band saw or the ranking saw is possible. For this reason, cut faces of each of the corrugated cardboard blocks resulting from cutting of the corrugated cardboard laminate can be suitably roughened and, therefore, by applying an adhesive to the cut faces of each of the corrugated cardboard blocks optimally, the sheet can be assuredly and firmly bonded. Accordingly, no surface roughening need not be performed with the use of the surface roughening device and the expander such as required in the previously suggested apparatus. Accordingly, it is possible to continuously manufacture at a reduced cost the corrugated cardboard plates having excellent heat and sound insulations and being lightweight and robust and, yet, capable of exhibiting a performance comparable to or higher than that exhibited by the use of the honeycomb core material.
An apparatus for making corrugated cardboard plates according to the present invention includes a laminating machine for making a corrugated cardboard laminate by laminating and bonding a plurality of corrugated cardboards, each of the corrugated cardboards including a corrugated sheet and at least one liner sheet bonded to the corrugated sheet, the corrugated sheet having a plurality of cells and a corresponding number of ridges; a corrugated block former for making a plurality of corrugated blocks by cutting the corrugated cardboard laminate along a plurality of cutting lines lying perpendicular to a direction in which the ridges of the corrugated sheet extend, each of the corrugated blocks having upper and lower faces opposite to each other; a corrugated plank preformer for making an elongated flat corrugated plank by arraying the corrugated blocks in a line, in which the top face of one of the corrugated blocks is bonded to the bottom face of the next adjoining corrugated block; a corrugated plank former for making a continuous strip of corrugated plank by bonding at least one backing sheet, made of paper, to one of opposite surfaces of the elongated flat corrugated plank; and a corrugated plate former for cutting the elongated flat corrugated plank into a plurality of corrugated cardboard plates of a predetermined size.
The corrugated cardboard plate making method of the present invention can easily be practiced by the use of the corrugated cardboard plate making apparatus of the structure described above.
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, during the formation of the corrugated blocks or in the corrugated block former performing the formation of the corrugated blocks, bent portions are formed at opposite ends of the corrugated sheet, that are positioned on front and rear sides thereof, so as to extend in a direction parallel to the front and rear sides by means of cutting performed by a cutter. The presence of these bent portions is effective to increase the physical strength of the corrugated sheet. Moreover, when the sheet is bonded to one or both of front and rear sides, the bonding surface area can increase because of the presence of the bent portions and, therefore, the bonding strength of the sheet can be increased.
A corrugated cardboard plate according to the present invention is the one manufactured by the method or the apparatus of the present invention. This corrugated cardboard plate is of a structure wherein a plurality of corrugated cardboards each including a corrugated sheet and at least one liner sheet bonded to the corrugated sheet are laminated and bonded together, said corrugated cardboard plate comprising the corrugated cardboards having front and rear sides thereof lying in a direction perpendicular to a direction conforming to ridges of the corrugated sheet.
The corrugated cardboard plate of the present invention is excellent in heat insulation and sound insulation and, also, lightweight and has a strength and, therefore, can be used as a floor panel, a partition wall, an external wall, a load bearing pallet, a core material for a table, a counter or a shelf, a core material for audio appliances or office automation appliances, a cushioning material for packages, a corner member for packaging, or a filter when filled with a mass of titanium oxide or activated carbon particles, or an element for a heat exchanger. Thus, the corrugated cardboard plate of the present invention can find a variety of applications.
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the corrugated sheet forming the corrugated cardboard plate has end portions positioned on the front and rear sides, respectively, and bent in a direction conforming to the front and rear sides thereof.
In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, each of the bent portions has a length within the range of 1.0 to 5.0 times the thickness of the corrugated sheet. By so doing, the physical strength of the corrugated cardboard plate can be increased and bonding of the sheet to the bent portions can be assuredly achieved. At this time, if the length of each of the bent portions is chosen to be of a value smaller than 1.0 times the thickness of the corrugated sheet, no sufficient physical strength can be obtained and no sufficient bonding of the sheet can also be obtained. On the other hand, if the length of each bent portion is chosen to be of a value greater than 5.0 times the thickness of the corrugated sheet, no simplified and efficient formation of the bent portions is possible. In other words, the corrugated cardboard plate is prepared by cutting corrugated cardboard laminates into a plurality of corrugated cardboard blocks by the use of a saw, which blocks are in turn connected together with upper and lower faces thereof bonded with each other. Therefore, if the bent portions are formed by the utilization of margins left at the cut ends of each of the corrugated cardboard block at the time of cutting by means of the saw, no separate manufacturing step is required and the bent portions can advantageously be formed simultaneously with the cutting. However, if the length of each of the bent portions exceeds a value greater than 5.0 times the thickness of the corrugated sheet, simultaneous formation of the bent portions with the cutting saw will become difficult. Accordingly, in order for the bent portions to be formed efficiently by the utilization of the manufacturing step of the corrugated cardboard plates, the length of each of the bent portion should be within the specific range as described above. Also, since the corrugated cardboard plate of the structure described above is excellent particularly in physical strength, it can be optimally utilized when used as material for the load bearing pallet, the furniture or the core material for the rack.
In a further preferred embodiment of the present invention, the corrugated sheet has cells of a height within the range of 5 to 15 mm. If the cells in the corrugated sheet has a height within this range, a relatively small number of the corrugated cardboard is sufficient to provide the corrugated cardboard plate of a predetermined size. In other words, since the height of the cells in the standard corrugated cardboard is generally within the range of 1.1 to 4.8 mm, a relatively large number of the standard corrugated cardboards is required to produce the corrugated cardboard plate of a predetermined size and results in increase of the weight of the resultant corrugated cardboard plate. Also, from the standpoint of saving of the limited resources, it is problematic. However, if the corrugated cardboards having a relatively large cell height as discussed above, which is generally referred to as xe2x80x9cOni Danxe2x80x9d or Big Cell Corrugate, is used, a relatively small number of the corrugated cardboards is sufficient to produce the corrugated cardboard plate of a predetermined size. The corrugated cardboard plate so manufactured is lightweight and resource-saving and, yet, brings about a favorable workability at the time of manufacture thereof. If the height of the cells in the corrugated sheet is smaller than 5 mm, a relatively large number of the corrugated cardboards would be required to produce the corrugated cardboard plate of a predetermined size as is the case with the standard corrugated cardboards. On the other hand, if the height of the cells in the corrugated cardboard is greater than 15 mm, it may result in reduction of the weight, but the strength will be insufficient. Accordingly, the height of the cells in the corrugated cardboard should be within the range specified above.

Corrugated cardboard plates, method of and apparatus for making the same


A package with high heat dissipation, comprising a carrier and a chip located thereon, with electric connection between the chip to the carrier. A molding compound is used to encapsulate the chip, part of the carrier, and the connection between the chip and the carrier. A heat pipe is provided such that one end thereof is embedded in the molding compound, is close to the active surface of the chip and is substantially normal to the chip, and the other end thereof is extended outside of the molding compound.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor package. More specifically, the present invention relates to a package with high heat dissipation.
2. Description of the Related Art
As semiconductor technology progresses, electronic devices tend to have various functions, smaller dimensions, and greater memory capacity, etc. Semiconductor package technology becomes important along with the developments of electronic devices.
In packaging, an IC, a transistor, a capacitor, a resistor etc. are packed into a small body. High-density packages that meet commercial demands, such as ball grid array (BGA), CSP (chip scale package) and MCM (multi-chip module), have been developed and put into practice. However, as the operational speed for the chip increases and the package size is reduced, heat is increasingly generated and accumulated. Therefore, heat dissipation is very important for a high-density package.
FIG. 1 is a schematic view of one conventional package. As shown in FIG. 1, a chip 109 is attached to a die pad 100 using epoxy 104, and the chip 109 is connected to inner leads 103 by gold wires 106. After encapsulation, outer leads are exposed from the package. A heat sink 100 is additionally provided for the package, and the heat sink contacts the surface of the package for heat dissipation.
In such a package, the molding compound exists between the heat sink and the chip, thereby decreasing the performance for heat dissipation. Since the heat sink is located on the package, thermal impedance can occur and is caused by the air, thereby greatly influencing the heat dissipation performance. Moreover, the heat sink is provided after encapsulation, so an additional step is required to obtain the whole package.
FIG. 2 is a schematic view of another conventional package. The chip 109 is attached to a die pad 100 and connected to inner leads 103 by gold wires 106. A molding compound is used to encapsulate the connection between the chip and the carrier, such that contact with the atmosphere can be avoided. A heat slug 112 is provided in the package before encapsulation.
In this case, heat is difficult to be dissipated effectively through the heat slug, because the heat slug is provided only inside the package without any extension.
Therefore, it is one object of the present invention to provide a package with high heat dissipation, comprising a carrier and a chip located thereon, with electric connection between the chip and the carrier. A molding compound is used to encapsulate the chip, part of the carrier, and the connection between the chip and the carrier. A heat pipe is provided such that one end thereof is embedded in the molding compound, is close to the active surface of the chip and is substantially normal to the chip. The other end of the heat pipe is extended outside of the molding compound.