A magnetically-attached exhaust nozzle assembly for use as part of an exhaust extraction system for a fire truck includes an annular nozzle locator ring which is designed to slide over and secure to the exhaust pipe of the fire truck. The nozzle locator ring includes an inner sleeve which fits closely against the outside diameter of the exhaust pipe and an outer sleeve which receives a flexible exhaust nozzle. The exhaust nozzle is integrally connected with a flexible hose of the extraction system and establishes sealing engagement at two locations on the nozzle locator ring. There is axial sealing by abutment up against a flange of the nozzle locator ring and circumferential or radial sealing due to the fit of the nozzle on the outside surface of the outer sleeve. The flexible exhaust nozzle includes a guide rail which helps with the initial alignment and a magnet housing which ultimately attaches by magnetic attraction to the surface of the exhaust pipe for securely holding the nozzle in position. A spring-biased locator pin helps to keep the magnets of the magnet housing spaced from the exhaust pipe during initial assembly.

The present invention relates in general to exhaust extraction systems for emergency vehicles, such as a fire truck or ambulance. More particularly, the present invention relates to the design of a magnetically-attached nozzle which is designed to fit over the exhaust system tail pipe of an emergency vehicle.
Emergency vehicles, such as a fire truck, create an interesting exhaust-removal challenge due to the nature and manner of use of the vehicle in preparation for an emergency run. A fire truck is usually backed into the fire house garage bay and readied for its next run in this manner. When an alarm call comes in, the engine of the fire truck is started by the driver while he waits for everyone to prepare the equipment and get on board. During this brief time interval before the truck leaves the station, exhaust gases are generated and need to be vented to the outside atmosphere.
The exhaust system of a fire truck is typically arranged so that the "tail" pipe exits from the right side of the truck in front of the rear axle. While this location places the exiting exhaust gases near the center of the fire house, it is an advantageous location for present day exhaust extraction systems. For the most part these present day exhaust extraction systems use a flexible exhaust hose which is connected at one end to the fire truck exhaust pipe and at the opposite end to an overhead duct which leads out of the fire house. A high pressure blower is used to forcibly remove the exhaust gases from the fire house. A hose adapter or nozzle assembly of some type is typically used to connect the flexible hose to the exhaust pipe. With secure and sealed connections and so long as there are no perforations or open seams in the exhaust extraction system, all of the vehicle exhaust gases will be safely vented out of the fire house and into the atmosphere.
The use of a flexible hose to remove exhaust gas from a running engine is not new. Automobile mechanics have used such hoses for years. However, there is one important difference between use by a mechanic and use as part of an exhaust extraction system which is attached to an exhaust pipe of a fire truck. Once everyone is onboard the fire truck, it is ready to leave the fire house and there is usually no one left to disconnect the exhaust hose from the exhaust pipe. Even if personnel were left behind, safe handling of the vehicle exhaust would dictate that the vehicle be pulled out of the fire house and then have the hose removed. This would involve a start up and stop procedure at the very time the fire truck is trying to leave quickly on the emergency run. Even if someone was left behind and could disconnect the exhaust hose prior to the fire truck departing, this would allow exhaust gas to be dispersed into the fire house, the very event which exhaust extraction systems are designed to prevent.
In order to address this disconnect concern, present day exhaust extraction systems try to provide an automatic disconnect feature such that the adapter or nozzle connecting the flexible hose to the exhaust pipe comes off automatically after the fire truck has actually left the fire house. While present exhaust extraction systems which are offered commercially have approached this design challenge in slightly different ways, most systems provide an extra length of flexible hose which is suspended from an overhead track. A spring-biased balancer supports the hose and causes the release as the fire truck leaves the station. As the fire truck leaves, the distance between the exhaust pipe and the hose connection to the overhead duct increases. This pulls on the flexible exhaust hose which uncoils and the "surplus" length of hose is used. As the hose uncoils in order to stretch, the balancer uncoils which increases the resisting spring force. At some point, before the hose is completely extended, the resisting spring force of the balancer becomes greater than the force needed to separate the adapter from the exhaust pipe. Continued travel of the fire truck does not pull any more of the hose and the induced force on the adapter causes the hose adapter/nozzle to separate from the exhaust pipe. This occurs before the hose is fully extended which could place tension on the connection between the hose and the overhead duct.
The following companies have offered exhaust extraction systems which for the most part can be said to function in the manner which has been described: Harvey Industries, Inc., 1340 Home Avenue, Buildings F an G, Akron, Ohio 44310-2580; Nederman, Inc., P. O. Box 278, McBee S.C. 29101, Westland, Mich.; Tykron, 241 South Service Road, Grimsby, Ontario L3M1Y7, Canada; Plymovent, 375 Raritan Center Parkway, Edison, N.J. 08837; and Exhaustomatic, Inc., P. O. Box 503444, Indianapolis, Ind. 46250.
While the exhaust extraction systems offered by these listed companies are directed to solving the same problem, and while they can be said to generally perform in the same way, there are various design differences and different features which are offered. The overhead track and duct components, the balancer and the flexible hose are fairly well developed and would be considered as fairly mature technology. The "tail" pipe adapter though is an area of greater design attention. The desire is to provide a design which can be easily and securely attached to the exhaust pipe in order to connect the extraction system and yet release in a predictable and reliable manner without damage to the nozzle adapter, flexible hose or the exhaust pipe or for that matter any other portion of the vehicle or fire house.
The exhaust extraction system of Harvey Industries, Inc., connects the flexible hose to the exhaust pipe by a spring loaded clamp which is mounted on and extends through the nozzle. The nozzle is removed from the exhaust pipe when the balancer resisting spring force overcomes the clamp spring. The nozzle does not provide a seal around the exhaust pipe, but it does permit for ambient air to enter the nozzle.
The exhaust extraction system of Nederman, Inc., provides an electromagnetic attachment where a magnet attaches to the side of the fire truck and holds the nozzle opening at the exhaust pipe height. The nozzle does not provide a seal around the exhaust pipe but it does allow ambient air to enter the nozzle. In those fire station arrangements which use front and rear doors for a pass through bay, this system will not be suitable for that design.
The exhaust extraction system of Tykron uses a nozzle with a tension spring which rests in a groove inside the nozzle and surrounds the exhaust pipe. The nozzle spring does not provide a seal around the exhaust pipe, nor does it allow the maximum amount of air to enter in relation to its inside diameter size.
The exhaust extraction system of Plymovent uses a pneumatic bladder nozzle attachment concept. The bladder has three compartments and provides three points of pressure contact but does not form a complete seal around the exhaust pipe. The pneumatic bladder nozzle allows a very small volume of air to enter, but does not permit the maximum amount of air to enter. Consequently, with respect to the nozzle inside diameter size, this does not allow the complete system to operate at the lowest possible temperature. The described pneumatic system requires an air compressor, air filter and lubricator, air lines, controls, and the pneumatic bladder which adds to the overall cost and complexity of the system. It is believed that air leaks are a problem with this system and further, if the fire truck leaves the station at too fast a speed and the air has not been bled out of the nozzle bladder, the flexible hose can be damaged. Since there is a partial seal on the exhaust pipe, this can cause a two cycle turbocharger on a diesel engine to rotate without lubrication when the exhaust blower operates and all engines connected to the system are not running.
The exhaust extraction system of Exhaustomatic, Inc., actually has four variations as far as securing the nozzle to the exhaust pipe. Their product literature indicates that the four nozzle designs include a clamp design, permanent magnet design, electromagnetic design, and a pneumatic design. It is believed though that in these designs the nozzle does not provide a complete seal on the exhaust pipe. However, these designs do allow ambient air to enter and provide some system cooling, except when the pneumatic nozzle is used.
The present invention differs from these earlier designs in a number of novel and unobvious ways. The focus of the present invention is on two cooperating parts, the hose nozzle and a nozzle locator ring which connects to the exhaust pipe of the fire truck. While some preliminary work may need to be done to the exhaust pipe for connection to the nozzle locator ring, the invention novelty resides in the nozzle and the locator ring, not in any minor exhaust pipe modifications. What is desired is a nozzle design which readily and easily attaches to the vehicle exhaust pipe in a properly aligned fashion. This is where the nozzle locator ring becomes important. Once the nozzle is attached to the locator ring, it is preferred for ambient air to be drawn into the flexible hose of the extraction system when the extraction system exhaust blower is energized. Finally, a quick disconnect between the nozzle and the nozzle locator ring is desired without undue load or stress on any portion of the vehicle or on any portion of the exhaust extraction system. The present invention provides a hose adapter in the style of a flow nozzle which connects to a unique locator ring which is secured to the exhaust pipe. This combination is configured so as to address each of the desired performance criteria in a novel an unobvious way.

Exhaust nozzle assembly for an exhaust extraction system


There is provided a method for producing an optically active 1-(fluoro-, trifluoromethyl- or trifluoromethoxy-substituted phenyl)alkylamine N-monoalkyl derivative, which includes the steps of conducting reductive alkylation of an optically active secondary amine and a formaldehyde (including an equivalent thereof) or lower aldehyde in the presence of a transition metal catalyst under a hydrogen gas atmosphere, thereby converting the secondary amine to an optically active tertiary amine of the formula, and subjecting the tertiary amine to hydrogenolysis. The target optically active compound can be produced efficiently by this production method.

Optically active 1-(fluoro-, trifluoromethyl- or trifluoromethoxy-substituted phenyl)alkylamine N-monoalkyl derivatives are useful as important intermediates for medicines and agricultural chemicals. Patent Publication 1 and Patent Publication 2 discloses optically active 1-(3,5-bis-trifluoromethyl phenyl)ethylamine N-monoalkyl derivatives and production methods thereof.
Further, the present applicant discloses an optically active 1-(fluoro-, trifluoromethyl- or trifluoromethoxy-substituted phenyl)alkylamine N-monoalkyl derivative and a production method thereof (Patent Document 3) prior to the present application.    Patent Publication 1: International Publication WO 2001/025219    Patent Publication 2: International Publication WO 2002/032867    Patent Publication 3: International Publication WO 2004/022521

Method for producing optically active 1-(fluoro-, trifluoromethyl- or trifluoromethoxy-substituted phenyl) alkylamine N-monoalkyl derivative


Embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to integrated circuit (IC) package assemblies with three-dimensional (3D) integration of multiple dies, as well as corresponding fabrication methods and systems incorporating such 3D IC package assemblies. A bumpless build-up layer (BBUL) package substrate may be formed on a first die, such as a microprocessor die. Laser radiation may be used to form an opening in a die backside film to expose TSV pads on the back side of the first die. A second die, such as a memory die stack, may be coupled to the first die by die interconnects formed between corresponding TSVs of the first and second dies. Underfill material may be applied to fill some or all of any remaining gap between the first and second dies, and/or an encapsulant may be applied over the second die and/or package substrate. Other embodiments may be described and/or claimed.

While form factors continue to shrink in size, consumer demand for faster processing speeds and increased memory capacity in mobile devices continues to rise. Recently, the IC industry has begun to practice three-dimensional (3D) integration of flip chip packages and peripheral devices using package-on-package (PoP) or direct die-to-die interconnection with through silicon vias (TSVs). However, currently available technologies do not provide for the use of thinner package substrates such as bumpless build-up layers in 3D integration schemes.

Multichip integration with through silicon via (TSV) die embedded in package


A hoisting sling for handling a missile by its mounting lugs wherein the aft lugs include a matched pair of inwardly facing spaced apart angled members fixedly attached to the body of the missile and the forward lug includes an upwardly extending headed pin element. The sling consists of a heavy flat textile tape with a forward slotted grip on one end for engaging the forward headed lug and an angled grip on the other end for sliding engagement with the rearward spaced lugs on the missile so that the missile can be lifted and transported by engagement with a standard fork lift truck.

This invention relates to a sling for handling missiles and, more particularly, the invention is concerned with providing a missile hoisting sling which engages the mounting lugs on the missile body to allow the missile to be lifted and transported with greater ease and safety.
Heretofore, it has been common practice to lift and transport missiles by wrapping a sling around the missile at or near the center of gravity and attaching the ends to a lifting means such as a fork lift truck. This procedure requires that the missile be spaced from a flat surface so that the sling can be positioned under and around the missile. Certain difficulties are obvious in order to raise the missile off the flat surface and attach the sling for the lifting operation.
Another problem which arises with the presently used wrap around slings is the location of the center of gravity. If not correctly placed, that is, at some point other than the center of gravity, the missile could slide out of the sling causing possible damage to the missile and injury to personnel and equipment. Also, when it is necessary to keep the missile in a certain position so that the bottom is at the lowermost point, the presently available slings require that the missile be turned and adjusted to come into alignment during placement in the container.
Thus, it can be seen that it would be most desirable if the missile could be lifted easily and safely off a flat surface without the necessity of locating the exact center of gravity each time. The hereinafter described invention does provide a sling which is safer because it lifts the missile from its exact center of gravity every time and automatically holds the missile in the correct position so the bottom of the missile is down. The handling time required to lift and transport the missiles is greatly reduced.

The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Air Force


A swinging ram type cutoff press for severing lengths of elongated stock such as tubing is provided of the type in which a ram is supported for swinging movement to operate a cutoff die set. The cutoff press includes a power cylinder combined with a toggle link arrangement to produce the swinging movement of the ram. The relative geometry of the ram link support and the toggle mechanism coupled with the arrangement of the cylinder is such that a complete ram motion cycle is carried out during a single forward or return stroke of the cylinder. The force exerted by the cylinder and toggle mechanism is not resisted either by return springs or the weight of the ram, thereby further maximizing the usable power of the power cylinder. Accordingly, one may reduce the cylinder size requirements for a given application. In addition, the mechanical advantage afforded by the toggle mechanism provides for a maximum force at the ram full down position to maximize the force available for the blade stroke. Cylinder size requirements are further reduced by an alternate form of toggle mechanism which compensates for the fact that the cylinder delivers less force on retraction than on extension of its output shaft.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention concerns presses and more particularly presses having a ram which is mounted for swinging movement, such as is used in cutoff apparatus for severing lengths of elongated stock emanating from a tubing mill or other such source.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the past, presses have incorporated rams operated by power cylinders, such as large diameter air cylinders. In these arrangements typically the ram would be mounted to the output member of the power cylinder, and the air cylinder would be stroked against the bias of return springs. The application of such cylinder-operated presses to tubing or other elongated stock cutoff apparatus has been limited for several reasons to relatively light duty situations. Firstly, the ram mechanism, if mounted directly to the output piston of the power cylinder has been limited in size by the size of the power cylinders, since the ram was typically guided in its stroke by the cylinder structure, or else additional ways or slides were by necessity required. Since the cost of power cylinders increases disproportionately with increasing cylinder bore size, it has been found to be economically unfeasible to operate rams over a certain size by means of air cylinders. In addition, the typical arrangement of stroking the press against the bias of return springs has the disadvantage that the available force of which the ram would be capable of exerting would be proportionately reduced as the return springs were compressed. This disadvantage is aggravated in the usual situation in which maximum force is required at the extreme position of the ram, and necessitates substantially increased cylinder size and/or operating pressure requirements to obtain force levels adequate to operate the cutoff die set.
In other contexts, power cylinders have been coupled with force-multiplying mechanisms, such as toggle link mechanism and the ram stroked vertically upward to obviate the need for return springs or double acting cylinders. However the weight of the ram in this design would also act to reduce the available force exerted by the ram as the ram was stroked by the power cylinder. In addition, the cylinder controls tended to be rather complex and subject to the burdensome maintenance requirements, since the cylinder would be depressurized and the return springs or ram weight utilized to return the ram to its initial position.
Still another problem associated with the use of so-called double action power cylinders of the type mentioned above relates to the fact that these cylinders normally deliver less force on the return or retraction stroke thereof than on their drive or extension stroke. This difference in stroke force is a consequence of the output shaft being directly secured to one face of the cylinder's piston. Since the output shaft must be of substantial cross sectional area in order to withstand the relatively heavy loading thereof, the amount of surface area upon which fluid may exert pressure is substantially less on the piston face to which the output shaft is connected compared to the opposite face. Thus, in the past, it was necessary to select a larger power cylinder whose return stroke force satisfied a particular application.
In some applications, the timing of the press operation is critical, as in those cutoff press apparatuses involving cutting on the fly or cutting of the stock as it rapidly emanates from a stock production mill, such as a tubing or extrusion mill, in which the entire cycle must of necessity be carried out with relatively precise timing. These design problems have limited the application of such cylinder-operated presses to the aforementioned stock cutoff applications.
In such apparatus, it has been the practice to provide a swinging ram type press in which a ram member has been supported on a pair of pivotal links which constrain the ram movement to that of a swinging motion about the pivotal support of the links, its pivotal movement producing both translation in the direction of the movement of the stock, as well as a reciprocation thereof of the ram transverse to the direction of movement of the stock. A typical example of such a press is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,288,011. In this design, the ram is driven so as to be swung or oscillated about these pivotally supported links by means of a crank mechanism driven by an electric motor and clutch, the crank mechanism being connected to the connecting rod to the ram to induce the swinging movement. The weight of the ram acts in concurrence with the downward and forward movement of the ram induced during the ram stroking in a forward direction, with the geometry of the links, etc. producing the full stroking of the ram without the need for reversal of the electric motor or precise control over the crank mechanism or electric motor and clutch.
The swinging movement of the ram in turn produces operation of the cutoff die set which is adapted to be reciprocated by the ram as it travels with the stock on an upper rail set carried by the ram and a lower rail set fixed to the machine base. The cutoff die set, as described in the aforementioned U.S. patent, includes means for initially clamping the die set to the stock to be severed, causing the die set to traverse the rail set together with the stock. Subsequently, downward movement of a cutoff blade, included in the die set is induced by the downward movement of the ram moving through its arcuate path as it swings about the pivotal supports provided by the pivotal links. Continued rotation of the eccentric crank drives the ram to its full down position with further rotation producing a reversal of movement of the swinging ram, to first withdraw the cutoff blade, then releasing the stock from the die set to allow it to be returned to its initial position by means of a return cylinder or other mechanism prior to initiation of a new cycle. A variation of that basic mechanism is disclosed in co-pending patent application, Ser. No. 715,559, filed Aug. 18, 1976, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,228,706. In that application an adjustable length connecting rod is provided which serves to provide a capability for shifting the segment of the arcuate path through which the ram is constrained to move by virtue of its support on the pivotally supported links, which shifting provides for adjusting the shut height or the position of the ram in its full down position, as well as the length of its stroke in such a way as to adapt the cutoff apparatus to die sets of varying configurations, to accommodate its application to varying tube size etc. in a manner described in that application.
While these machines have performed very satisfactorily and are adapted to reliably stroke the ram through its required swinging movement, the electric motor, clutch, and eccentric crank components comprise a considerable element of manufacturing cost in the apparatus.
On the other hand, while the aforementioned cylinder-operated presses suffer from the disadvantages described, they do exhibit the inherent advantage of a generally lower manufacturing costs, due to the use of simple power cylinders as a source of operating means for the ram where cylinders of a reasonable size are able to be utilized.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to adapt a power cylinder to a swinging ram cutoff press of the sort described.
It is a further object of the present invention to adapt such power cylinder to the cutoff mechanism described in such a way as to not necessitate the use of complex controls or adversely affecting the reliability of the machine.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide such an adaptation which does not involve the use of return springs tending to reduce the available force generated by the cylinder during stroking of the ram.
It is a further object of the present invention to incorporate a power cylinder operating device into a swinging ram type cutoff apparatus in such a way as to enhance the available force at that portion of the ram's stroke requiring maximum force to be exerted by the ram.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide such an adaptation without entailing the incorporation of expensive and precision structural control components.
A still further object of the present invention is to provide a swinging ram apparatus driven by a power cylinder of the type delivering less force on its return stroke than on its extension stroke, in which means are provided for increasing the force transmitted to the ram on the cylinder's return stroke in order that a cylinder of minimal size may be effectively employed in each particular application.

Cylinder operated swinging ram cutoff press


A flashlight assembly for use in a vehicle to replace an ashtray. The flashlight includes a front handle portion conformable to the opening of an ashtray and when inserted into the ashtray opening, in place of the ashtray, blends in with the vehicle console or dashboard. The flashlight is slidably or pivotably mounted in the ashtray opening, and is easily removable from the ashtray opening, for use by an operator or others, as needed. A charging contact may be added to the ashtray opening for recharging a rechargeable flashlight, or batteries held within the flashlight, when the flashlight is inserted fully into the ashtray opening contacting the charging contact.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to flashlights, and more particularly to an improved flashlight assembly for easy insertion, storage and removable from an ashtray opening in a vehicle.
2. Description of Related Art
As is well known, the need for a flashlight frequently arises when one is traveling in a vehicle. Therefore, many vehicle operators carry a flashlight someplace in the vehicle, such as in a glove compartment, or in a trunk. Such flashlights take up space and are often hard to reach or forgotten and, in many instances when attempted to be used, it is found that the batteries are dead.
One attempt to overcome this problem of having a flashlight readily available is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,077,643 to Leach, which discloses combination courtesy lights and flashlights which are slidably mounted in receptacles having there own power supplies added to the door or roof of the vehicle. This patent, however, requires the owner or user of the vehicle to go to the trouble and expense of adding the receptacle and power supply to the vehicle in a convenient location, that might interfere with other items in the doors or roof of the vehicle.
However, with present day interest in health and the fear of tobacco smoke in enclosed places, the acceptance of smoking in vehicles has been declining sharply. Therefore, the use of ashtrays mounted in vehicles has shown a sharp drop off in usage. Increasingly vehicle owners are gluing ashtrays in the closed position, removing the ashtrays from the vehicle, or using the ashtrays to hold other items, such as, for example, change. Vehicle manufacturers continue to market vehicles with ashtrays therein, and these ashtrays and/or openings for holding such ashtrays as well as the ashtrays in existing vehicles end up merely taking up space that could be used for other purposes, or are used as set forth above. Therefore, in addition to the above set forth actions, many vehicle owners have added additional items to the ashtrays or replaced the ashtray, in an effort to utilize the ashtray and or its holding space.
A known device for use in a vehicle ashtray is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,953,772 to Phifer, which discloses drink holders which may be pivotably or slidably mounted in an ashtray or in an ashtray holding socket of vehicle. The ashtray of the vehicle may be removed from the vehicle and one of the drink holders of the Phifer patent mechanically inserted therein for movement into and out of the ashtray socket, or the ashtray of the vehicle may be modified to hold one or more drink holding rings, which mechanically pivot away from the ashtray. In one of the embodiments disclosed in this patent, the ashtray may still function as a conventional ashtray.
Various other U.S. patents such as U.S. Pat. No. 5,144,963 to Dabringhaus et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,847,738 to Nehl, U.S. Pat. No. 4,713,735 to Hiltman, U.S. Pat. No. 4,286,742 to Pellegrino, U.S. Pat. No. 3,967,274 to Howell, and Des Pat. 295,450 to Iscovelli disclose ashtrays with flashlights, means for replacing or modifying vehicle ashtrays, or the mechanical mounting of lights in openings, to solve known problems, or to modify existing structures, as specifically indicated therein. However, none of these patents, disclose a removable flashlight which is formed in substantially the same shape as an ashtray, so as to cooperate with and be easily inserted into and removed from the existing ashtray opening, or socket of a vehicle. There, therefore, exists a need for a simple, low-cost and easy to manufacture, install and use flashlight means or system, useful in many situations, but which is particularly useful for installation in an ashtray opening of a vehicle, and which has the shape of the ashtray which is removed from the opening, so as to blend into or be integrated with a vehicle dashboard. Such a flashlight provides the illusion that the ashtray is still in position, when inserted in the ashtray socket, but is readily accessible and easily removed and used when needed.

Flashlight replacement for vehicle ashtray


An expandable container, formed of a unitary blank of paperboard, including a planar base panel and a plurality of planar fins foldable over the panel to enclose a conical volume. The fins serially overlap and are self-locking in the closed position, and are expandable into the open position by a force exerted from the inside thereof. Such a force can be provided by the popping of corn kernels located therein when the container is heated in a microwave oven. The fins each are trapezoidal in shape, have an interior fold line separating each into a triangular area and a parallelogram shaped area, and are hingedly coupled to the next two adjacent fins.

Before the widespread use of microwave ovens, a typical container for popcorn making comprised a metal pan with a handle for supporting the corn kernels and suitable oils therein with an expandable thin metal sheet covering the pan. This pan was placed over a burner, thereby heating the corn kernels and oil, popping the kernels and forming the expanded popcorn. The expanded popcorn also expanded the thin metal sheet.
With the widespread use of microwave ovens, this type of packaging is inadequate since the metal pan and sheet insulate microwave energy and cannot thereby be used inside a microwave oven. In order to provide a package for use in a microwave oven, there has been proposed a paperboard expandable package as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,036,423, issued to R. L. Gordon. However, the package of the Gordon patent requires the application of adhesive to form the container for the kernels, which is time consuming and expensive to manufacture. In addition, it requires adhesive to lock the package in the closed position, which is also time consuming and expensive to manufacture. Moreover, this prior art package involves the folding of a plurality of flaps, on top of one another, which are then difficult to open during expansion of the popcorn therein.


The two row electrical connector comprises an insulating housing having a mating face, a wire-receiving face and oppositely directed endwalls and sidewalls extending between the faces. Two parallel rows of contact-receiving cavities extend from the wire-receiving face to the mating face, each cavity having a contact terminal therein. The housing comprises two parts, a housing body, and a separate housing cover. The cavities are provided on the housing body and the terminals have wire-receiving portions which are oriented such that they receive wires upon movement of the wires laterally towards the housing sidewalls and into the cavities. The housing cover is assembled to the housing by moving the cover over the mating face of the connector and towards the wire-receiving face. The terminals are assembled to the housing body by moving them laterally towards the housing body and the cavities have supporting means for supporting the wire-receiving portions of the terminals during movement of the wires into the wire-receiving portions.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,159,158 discloses and claims an improved electrical connector of the type having solderless terminals therein of the wire-in-slot type. Wires are connected to terminals of this type by simply aligning the wires with wire-receiving slots in the terminals and moving the wires laterally of their axes and into the slots. The width of the slots in the terminals is such that the opposed edges of the slots penetrate the insulation of the wires and establish electrical contact therewith.
Connectors having wire-in-slot type terminals therein offer particular advantages in that it is possible simultaneously to connect a plurality of wires to a like number of terminals by moving all of the wires simultaneously into the wire-receiving portions of the terminals, operations which can be carried out by any one of several types of insertion tools and machines which are presently available.
When a wire is moved into a wire-receiving slot of a terminal, substantial stresses are imposed on the wire-receiving portion of the terminal and since the terminals are frequently of relatively thin metal stock, the stresses imposed during this process can cause damage to the terminals. The above identified U.S. Pat. No. 4,159,158 discloses a means in the connector housing for supporting the wire-receiving portion of each terminal in a connector during the wire-inserting operation and isolating the stresses which are imposed on the terminal so that they are not transmitted to the contact portions of the terminal to which they might cause damage. The features described in this prior U.S. Patent permit the use of wire-in-slot terminals with wires of a coarser gage than would otherwise be possible and thereby greatly increase the circumstances under which such connectors can be used.
As mentioned above, the connector shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,159,158 is a single row connector, that is, it has only one row of terminals in the housing. While single row connectors are very widely used, there is also a demand for connectors having two rows of terminals therein and the present invention is directed to the achievement of a two row electrical connector having all of the advantageous features of a connector constructed in accordance with the above identified U.S. patent.
A connector in accordance with the invention has a housing composed of two housing parts, a housing body and a separate housing cover. The housing body has one surface which forms the wire-receiving face of the assembled connector and a central rib extends normally from this section. Spaced-apart barriers are provided on the oppositely directed surfaces of this rib and these barriers have opposed walls which define the opposed walls of the terminal-receiving cavities of the connector. The opposed walls of the barriers also have supporting shoulders thereon in accordance with the principles of U.S. Pat. No. 4,159,158 which support the wire-receiving portions of the terminals particularly during insertion of wires into these wire-receiving portions. The terminals are assembled to the housing body by positioning a terminal in alignment with each cavity and moving the terminal laterally of its axis until it is located in its cavity with the supporting shoulder means in supporting relationship to the wire-receiving portions of the terminals. The housing cover is partially assembled to the housing body after the terminals have been assembled to the housing body in a manner such that the cover becomes part of the body but the wire-receiving portions of the terminals are exposed to permit movement of wires laterally of the sidewalls of the housing and into the wire-receiving portions. After such movement of the wires into the terminals, the wires will extend axially from the rearward or wire-receiving face of the housing. The cover can then be moved to a fully assembled position in which the cover extends over the wire-receiving portions of the terminals and the terminals are therefore fully enclosed in the housing.


A method for forming an electrode in a plasma display panel, which simplify fabrication steps of a metal electrode and a transparent electrode and prevent bubbles from being generated due to reaction between the metal electrode and a dielectric layer, includes the steps of forming a metal oxide layer on a transparent substrate in a predetermined pattern, etching a surface of the metal oxide layer to form an uneven portion, and chemical plating a surface of the uneven portion to form a metal electrode.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a plasma display panel, and more particularly, to a method for forming an electrode in a plasma display panel and a structure thereof.
2. Background of the Related Art
Generally, a plasma display panel of three-electrode area discharge type is formed in such a manner that an upper substrate 10 and a lower substrate are opposite to each other so as to be adhered to each other, as shown in FIG. 1a. FIG. 1b shows a sectional structure of the plasma display panel of FIG. 1a, in which the lower substrate 20 is rotated by 90xc2x0.
The upper substrate 10 includes a sustain electrode, a dielectric layer 11 deposited on the sustain electrode, and a passivation layer 12 deposited on the dielectric layer 11. The lower substrate 20 includes an address electrode 22, an isolation wall 23 formed between the respective address electrodes 22, a lower dielectric layer 21 deposited on the address electrode 22, and a phosphor 24 formed on the lower dielectric layer 21. An inert gas is introduced into a space between the upper substrate 10 and the lower substrate 20, and such a space serves as a discharge area.
In order to increase light transmittivity of a discharge cell, as shown in FIGS. 2a and 2b, the sustain electrode includes a transparent electrode 16 and a metal electrode 17. FIG. 2a is a plane view of the sustain electrode, and FIG. 2b is a sectional view of the sustain electrode. A discharge voltage from a driving integrated circuit (IC) which is mounted outside is applied to the metal electrode 17. The discharge voltage applied to the metal electrode 17 is transmitted to the transparent electrode 16. Thus, discharge occurs between adjacent transparent electrodes 16.
The sustain electrode has a width of about 300 xcexcm. The transparent electrode 16 is made of indium oxide or tin oxide, and the metal electrode 17 is made of a three-layered thin film of Crxe2x80x94Cuxe2x80x94Cr. The metal electrode has a line width in the range of one third of the transparent electrode. The transparent electrode 16 has high resistance and is opaque, so that high transmittivity and low resistance can be maintained at a certain level.
The sustain electrode consisting of the transparent electrode 16 and the metal electrode 17 has a sectional structure that the metal electrode 17 is formed on the transparent electrode 16 as shown in FIG. 3.
A method for forming the sustain electrode shown in FIG. 3 will be described with reference to FIGS. 4a and 4b.
As shown in FIG. 4a, the transparent electrode 16 is formed on the transparent substrate 10. The transparent electrode 16 has excellent adhesive property to glass while the metal electrode 17 has poor adhesive property to glass. Therefore, in a related art method for fabricating a plasma display panel, the transparent electrode 16 is deposited on glass.
Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 4b, Cr, Cu and Cr are deposited on the transparent electrode 16 and then patterned to form the metal electrode 17. The three-layered metal electrode 17 is formed by sputtering process under the vacuum. Cu has low resistance but is not likely to be deposited on the transparent electrode. On the other hand, Cr is likely to be deposited on the transparent electrode. In this respect, Cr is deposited on the transparent electrode and then Cu is deposited on Cr. Also, since Cu is easily oxidized if it is exposed outside, a separate passivation layer is required. For passivation of Cu, Cr is again deposited on Cu.
If the dielectric layer 11 and the passivation layer 12 are deposited on the transparent electrode 16 and the three-layered metal electrode, the sustain electrode is completed on the upper substrate 10 of the plasma display panel as shown in FIG. 3.
The related art sustain electrode has several problems.
Since the related art sustain electrode is formed by vacuum process such as sputtering, fabrication cost is high and the process steps become complicated. Also, bubbles occur in the dielectric layer 11 by reaction with the metal electrode 17 (particularly, Cu), thereby destroying insulating state and causing unstable operation of the plasma display panel. Moreover, in view of the fact that the three-layered metal electrode 17 of Crxe2x80x94Cuxe2x80x94Cr is formed on the transparent electrode 16, if Cu is thickly formed to lower resistance, step coverage is deteriorated.
Accordingly, the present invention is directed to a method for forming an electrode in a plasma display panel and a structure thereof that substantially obviate one or more of the problems due to limitations and disadvantages of the related art.
An object of the present invention is to provide a method for forming an electrode in a plasma display panel and a structure thereof, which improve adhesive property of a metal electrode by forming a metal oxide layer on a glass substrate and chemical plating the metal electrode on the metal oxide layer, and reduce the fabrication cost.
Other object of the present invention is to provide a method for forming an electrode in a plasma display panel and a structure thereof, which simplify fabrication steps of a metal electrode and a transparent electrode and prevent bubbles from being generated due to reaction between the metal electrode and a dielectric layer, so as to form a plasma display panel of which operation is stable.
Additional features and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be apparent from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objectives and other advantages of the invention will be realized and attained by the structure particularly pointed out in the written description and claims hereof as well as the appended drawings.
To achieve these and other advantages and in accordance with the purpose of the present invention, as embodied and broadly described, a method for a sustain electrode of a plasma display panel according to the present invention includes the steps of forming a metal oxide layer on a transparent substrate in a predetermined pattern, etching a surface of the metal oxide layer to form an uneven portion, and chemical plating a surface of the uneven portion to form a metal electrode.
In another aspect, a sustain electrode of a plasma display panel according to the present invention includes a metal oxide layer formed on a transparent substrate, a metal electrode formed on the metal oxide layer in the same pattern, and a transparent electrode formed on the transparent substrate to be deposited on the metal electrode.
It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory and are intended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed.

Method for forming electrode in plasma display panel and structure thereof


A coated cutting tool comprising a substrate and a coating layer formed on a surface of the substrate, the coated cutting tool having a rake surface and a flank, in which the coating layer includes an α-type aluminum oxide layer, wherein: the α-type aluminum oxide layer has, on an opposite side to the substrate, a first interface, being the rake surface or a surface substantially parallel to the rake surface, a second interface, being the flank or a surface substantially parallel to the flank, and an intersecting edge between the first interface and the second interface; and a residual stress value (unit: GPa) measured near each of the first and second interfaces increases continuously or stepwise as a measurement position for the residual stress value becomes distant from the intersecting edge with distances of 10 μm, 50 μm, 100 μm, 150 μm and 200 μm.

A conventional coated cutting tool used for the cutting of steel, cast iron, etc., is a coated cutting tool which is obtained by depositing, via chemical vapor deposition, a coating layer with a total thickness of from 3 μm or more to 20 μm or less on a surface of a substrate consisting of a cemented carbide. A known example of the above coating layer is a coating layer consisting of a single layer of one kind selected from the group consisting of a Ti carbide, a Ti nitride, a Ti carbonitride, a Ti carboxide, a Ti carboxynitride, and aluminum oxide, or consisting of multiple layers of two or more kinds selected therefrom.
JP4739235 B discloses a coated cutting tool comprising a substrate and a coating formed on the substrate, wherein: the coating includes a first coating comprised of TiCN and a second coating comprised of α-type Al2O3; the first coating has tensile stress S1 and the second coating has compressive stress S2; and the tensile stress S1 and the compressive stress S2 satisfy the relationship of 400 MPa≤|S2−S1|≤3,500 MPa.
JP4739236 B discloses a coated cutting tool comprising a substrate and a coating formed on the substrate, wherein: the coating includes a first coating comprised of TiCN and a second coating comprised of α-type Al2O3; the first coating has tensile stress or is released from tensile stress to substantially have no stress; the second coating has compressive stress S1 on a rake surface and tensile stress S2 on a flank; and the compressive stress S1 and the tensile stress S2 satisfy the relationship of 441 MPa≤|S1−S2|≤3,500 MPa.

Abstract: (In the above formulae, σ11 denotes a residual stress value (MPa) in a direction parallel to the intersecting edge, σ22 denotes a residual stress value (MPa) in a direction orthogonal to the intersecting edge, and each of the residual stress values is a value measured by a 2D method.)


Apparatus for electronically dividing the primary step of a stepping motor to provide an increased number of steps per revolution of the motor. Integrated circuit counters operate in an incremental or decremental mode to sequentially access data words in a sine memory and a cosine memory. Digital-to-analog converters apply the digital data words of the sine and cosine memories to operate phase power transitors and to thereby generate corresponding amplitude changes in the controlled driving current of two associated active phase windings of the stepping motor. An incrementally increasing controlled current signal is applied to one activated phase winding and a corresponding incrementally decreasing controlled current signal is applied to the other of the activated phase windings to smoothly step the motor in angular increments corresponding to the increasing or decreasing amplitudes of current, as defined by the data words of the sine and cosine memories. A voltage boost circuit is employed to apply increased voltage to an active phase winding if increasing current is being applied to the winding.

The invention relates to electrical means for dividing the primary step of a stepping motor to increase the number of motor steps per revolution of the rotor of the motor. More particularly, the invention relates to such a motor step divider including means for operating class A transistor phase drivers at a reduced voltage and momentarily boosting the operational voltage for a motor phase winding when increasing driving current is applied by a driver to the winding.
In the U.S. Pat. No. 3,444,447, entitled "Multi-Phase Step Motor Control Circuits Including Means for Supplementing the Normal Energization of the Windings", there is disclosed a multi-phase driver circuit for energizing the phase windings of a stepping motor according to a switching logic program so that each phase winding is energized for a certain period and is thereafter de-energized for a certain period.
However, in such a prior art control circuit, the phases of the motor are operated either fully on or fully off, thus providing a fixed prime step for the motor. If a greater resolution for a particular stepping motor is required, it has not heretofore been possible to easily modify or otherwise control the motor to increase the number of motor steps per revolution.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a step divider means for adjustably dividing the prime step of a stepping motor into smaller steps to achieve a greater stepping resolution.
A further object of this invention is to provide such a step divider means that will operate to apply incrementally increasing and decreasing driving current to adjacent motor phase windings to servo the rotor smoothly between adjacent motor phase positions.
Another object of the invention is to provide an apparatus for dividing the prime step of a stepping motor by a factor that may be altered by changing a wired counter preset plug and associated sine and cosine programmable read-only memories.
In the U.S. Pat. No. 3,662,245 entitled, "Controlled Circuit for Energizing the Windings of Multi-Phase Step Motors Including a Two-Level Supply Voltage", there is disclosed a control circuit for reducing the power dissipation of the phase drivers of a step motor by operating the drivers at a reduced voltage and applying a voltage boost signal to a phase winding of the motor when driving current is applied to the winding. However, such a prior art voltage boost circuit has been employed to provide a voltage boost over the entire period of energization of a phase winding and, therefore, is not appropriate for efficient operation when an incrementally increasing or decreasing phase current is employed to energize the phase windings of a motor.
Accordingly, it is a further object of the invention to provide a voltage boost means for applying an increased voltage signal to a phase winding of a stepping motor when incrementally increasing driving current is applied to the winding.
These and other objects of this invention will become apparent from a review of the detailed specification which follows and a consideration of the accompanying drawings.

Apparatus for dividing the step angle of a stepping motor


A valve-gate mechanism for use with gas-assisted plastic injection molding systems. A moveable pin mechanism is positioned in a bushing or machine nozzle to regulate the injection of plastic material into a mold cavity. The pin mechanism has an outer pin member and an inner pin member. Movement of the inner pin member relative to the outer pin member allows gas to be injected into the plastic in the mold cavity. A spring member, such as a Belleville washer, biases the inner pin member to a closed position relative to the outer pin member. Gas pressure from the gas source overcomes the force of the spring member allowing gas to enter into the mold cavity.

The present invention relates to pin-type valve-gate bushings and nozzles for use with gas-assisted injection molding systems.
There are many processes and techniques today for a gas-assisted injection molding. Gas-assisted injection molding processes have added flexibility to the design and manufacture of plastic parts with their ability to produce partially hollow, lightweight, rigid parts with minimal sink marks and less tendency to warp. These processes can reduce material requirements, as well as equipment costs and cycle time, and thus have advantages over conventional injection molding processes and techniques for many applications.
In general, gas-assisted injection molding systems utilize gas, under pressure, to expand the plastic material in the mold and conform it to the mold cavity details. The gaseous fluid can be introduced into the mold in several ways, such as through a bushing, or machine nozzle in one or more cavities, or in more than one location. In conventional plastic injection molding processes, the molten plastic material is injected through sprue bushings, heated or unheated, into the cavities of hollow molds. Often, two or more sprue bushings attached to a common manifold are used. In this instance, the plastic melt coming from the injection molding machine through runners is distributed by a heated distributor block (or manifold) to the individual sprue bushings. One conventional method used to control the melt flow utilizes one or more pins or needle valves, also known as valve-gate bushings.
With these systems, a needle valve is inserted through the manifold into the sprue bushing and controlled for axial movement by a hydraulic, electric or pneumatic control device or mechanism. The needle valve has an elongated pin member which is moved axially by the control mechanism and is adapted to fit within an orifice in the end of the sprue bushing in order to open and close the passageway of plastic melt from the sprue bushing into the mold cavity. A second moveable pin member can be positioned inside the elongated pin member and, via a valve mechanism at the end of the two pin members, allow gas to enter the plastic in the mold cavity.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved valve-gate bushing or machine nozzle for use with a gas-assisted injection molding process. It is also an object of the present invention to provide an improved valve-gate bushing or nozzle with a moveable gate pin which is biased to its closed position and utilizes gas pressure to open the gas orifice and allow gas to flow into the plastic in the mold cavity.
The present invention provides an improved valve-gate type bushing or nozzle for use with gas-assisted systems, and fulfills the object and purposes noted above. The present invention provides a pin-type valve-gate device which easily and effectively opens and closes the flow of plastic material into the mold as desired, and also easily and effectively opens and closes the gas passageway into the mold cavity.
In particular, a moveable inner pin member is provided which cooperates with an outer pin member to open and close a gas passageway for passage of gas into the plastic material in the mold cavity. The inner pin member is biased by a spring washer or the like to its valve-close position. Upon entry of gas into the annular channel between the inner and outer pin members, the gas acts on a large surface of the inner pin member which overcomes the biasing force of the spring washer and opens the gas passageway to allow gas to enter into the mold cavity and plastic material. The ends of the outer and inner pin members mate with each other creating a valve or xe2x80x9cgatexe2x80x9d for entry of gas material into the mold cavity.
These and other objects, features, and benefits of the invention will become apparent from the following description of the invention, when taken together in view of the accompanying drawings and appended claims.


Compositions, methods and diagnostic devices for monitoring graft integrity in xenotransplantation and for detecting infectious agents transmitted by the xenograft are described. In particular, the compositions, methods and devices are useful for determining porcine xenograft integrity and persistence and can detect the presence of PERV (porcine endogenous retrovirus) in a biological sample. The compositions, methods and devices are useful for determining or monitoring graft survival and rejection in recipients of xenografts and are useful for detecting the presence of pig cell and PERV infection in a xenotransplant recipient or donor. In addition, the compositions, methods and devices are useful for screening therapeutic products to be administered to humans to ensure that the products are free of pig cells, and thus free of PERV contamination, prior to administration.

The present invention relates to compositions, methods and devices for the detection of infections resulting from xenogeneic transplants, particularly those caused by endogenous retroviruses. In particular, the present invention comprises compositions, devices and methods for the detection of porcine transplant materials, detection of which is necessary following xenotransplantation of porcine cellular products.
Currently, there are shortages of human organs, tissues and cells for transplantation into humans. Many patients awaiting a transplant die due to the lack of donor material. These shortages of human donor material suitable for allotransplantation, coupled with recent advances in transplantation immunology, have provided impetus for attempts to develop xenotransplantationxe2x80x94the therapeutic use of living animal tissues and organs in humans.
Although xenotransplants from animals such as pigs, baboons, and cows offer an unlimited source of organs and tissues, the therapeutic promise of xenotransplantation has not yet become widely accepted. The transplantation of simian organs and porcine cells and organs into humans has been reported, and progress has been encouraging enough to merit the beginning of limited clinical trials in the United States.
Pigs are among the primary animal species proposed as sources of xenografts. Xenotransplantation clinical trials involving porcine tissue being considered or underway include the perfusion through or implantation of whole liver preparations as a treatment for hepatic failure, the implantation of fetal neuronal tissue as a therapy for Parkinson""s disease, and the infusion or implantation of pancreatic islet cells as a treatment for diabetes mellitus. However, after xenotransplantation, detection and determination of persistence of the graft often involves expensive tests, such as CT scans, or invasive procedures such as a biopsy of the graft. When the graft is a diffuse transplantation of cells, sometimes none of these techniques are effective. What is needed are simple, non-invasive techniques for monitoring the presence and condition of the xenotransplantation materials.
In addition, concerns have been raised that the implantation of porcine tissue and/or cells into immune compromised humans may facilitate the transmission of new infectious agents to humans. The Public Health Service has therefore stressed the importance of proceeding with xenotransplantation clinical trials only after appropriate monitoring tests are available. What is especially needed are diagnostic tools that can determine the difference between transplanted xenograft materials and infectious agents that may originate from and may be present in the same xenotransplanted materials. Surveillance programs for new xenograft recipients need to be developed, and persons exposed to xenografts can be tested for evidence of graft persistence and possible xenogeneic infection.
Porcine tissues and cells are known to be infected with endogenous retroviruses. The genomes of all domesticated swine species tested thus far contain multiple integrated copies of an endogenous C-type retrovirus termed porcine endogenous retrovirus (PERV). The risks of transmission of known infectious agents may be reduced, or eliminated by procuring source animals from specific pathogen-free colonies. Therefore, one method for stopping the transmission of porcine endogenous viruses from xenotransplantation would be to harvest the transplantation materials from virus-free animals. However, this pre-transplant screening method cannot eliminate the porcine endogenous retrovirus (PERV), because the genome of these viruses is carried in the germ line of every pig. Pig PERV particles of type C morphology are released spontaneously by cell lines originating from a variety of pig tissues including kidneys, lymph nodes, testes and fallopian tubes. All known PERVs originate from healthy porcine tissues except for two known types, PERV-Shimozuma-1 and 38A-1 which are derived from porcine lymphomas.
The knowledge that PERV originating from both porcine cell lines and primary porcine lymphocytes can infect human cells in vitro has heightened safety concerns related to pig xenografts. Transmission of xenogeneic retroviral infections to xenograft recipients is of particular concern because retroviruses are known to result in life long persistent infections. Risks for xenogeneic infections may be significantly increased by the immunosuppressive therapies required to maintain graft function in human xenotransplant recipients. Currently, there are no rapid, inexpensive, and relatively noninvasive tests that can determine the presence of a xenotransplant and that may also determine that the patient is also free of a potential virus transmitted by the transplant. The current absence of the ability to detect the presence of PERV, which hampers the determination of whether PERV will infect humans exposed to porcine xenografts, and whether PERV will be transmitted secondarily among their contacts, has raised questions on the safety of pig-to-human transplantation, and threatens to delay progress in this therapeutic technology.
Accordingly, there is a need for rapid, sensitive, and specific compositions, methods and devices for detecting the presence and persistence of a xenotransplant in a xenotransplantation recipient and the status of xenograft survival. Further, there is a need to be able to determine the presence of any viruses or other infectious agents that might be present in the xenotransplant material, or transplant donor or the xenotransplant recipient. Additionally, there is a need to be able to determine graft status using noninvasive techniques, such as using body fluids from the transplant recipient. Such compositions, methods and devices would be particularly important for providing diagnostic and physiologic information for patients receiving porcine xenotransplants.
The present invention provides compositions, methods and devices for determining and monitoring xenograft integrity. The compositions, methods and devices are useful for determining or monitoring graft survival and rejection in recipients of xenografts. In addition the compositions, methods and devices are useful for differentiating between the presence of xenotransplant donor cells and the presence of xenogeneic endogenous retrovirus infections in a xenograft recipient. In particular, the compositions, methods and devices are useful for the differentiation between porcine cell microchimerism and true xenogeneic infection. Furthermore, the compositions, methods and devices are highly sensitive and can detect very low copy numbers of porcine or endogenous porcine viral sequences in the presence of 1 xcexcg of human DNA. The compositions, methods and devices are useful in defining the risks associated with the use of xenotransplantation, and in particular, porcine xenotransplantation. A particular advantage of the present invention is that body fluids of the transplant recipient can be used with the compositions, methods and devices of the present invention in determining the presence and persistence of the xenotransplant.
The compositions described herein comprise nucleic acid probes and primers useful for the amplification and detection of donor cells, such as probes for porcine mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and RNA, and for the presence of endogenous retroviruses. The methods described herein utilize the probes and primers with known amplification and detection techniques. The devices described herein employ the compositions and various components of the methods to facilitate the detection of the transplant and any endogenous virus. For example, the devices can be used to detect porcine cells, particularly porcine mtDNA and RNA, and PERV sequences.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide methods and compositions for the rapid, sensitive, and specific detection of xenogeneic nucleic acids in body fluids and tissues of xenograft recipients.
Another object of the present invention is to provide compositions, methods and devices for monitoring xenograft survival and rejection.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide compositions, methods and devices for differentiating between the presence of animal donor cells and infections such as those with endogenous retroviruses.
Another object of the present invention is to provide compositions, methods and devices that employ biological fluids such as serum or plasma for use in biological assays.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide compositions, methods and devices for screening for infectious agents inherently present in pig xenografts, by detecting pig cell-specific markers in biological products such as pig factor VIII, porcine insulin and porcine heparin.
It is another object of the present invention to provide compositions, methods and devices for detecting the presence of endogenous retroviruses in transplant material, including tissues, organs and cells.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide compositions, methods and devices for determining the zoonotic potential and tissue tropism of endogenous retroviruses.
These and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent after a review of the following detailed description of the disclosed embodiments and the appended claims.

Methods and devices for detection of xenogeneic graft persistence and infectious agents

The United States of America as represented by the Department of Health and Human Services


NMR methods for extracting information about a fluid in rock and logging apparatuses for implementing such methods in a borehole environment are provided. The methods involve generating at least two different magnetic field pulse sequences. The magnetic field pulse sequences include a first portion and a second portion. A magnetic field pulse sequence is generated, and magnetic resonance signals are detected using the second portion of the sequence. The first portion of the sequence is modified, and again the sequence generated and magnetic resonance signals detected using the second portion. The magnetic resonance signals are analyzed, and information about, for example, diffusion coefficient, viscosity, composition, saturation in a rock, pore size, pore geometry and the like, extracted from the analyzed signals.

This invention relates to investigations of rock samples, and more particularly relates to nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) methods for determining characteristics of subsurface rock, including fluid composition.
NMR has been a common laboratory technique for over forty years and has become an important tool in formation evaluation. General background of NMR well logging can be found, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,023,551 to Kleinberg et al., which is assigned to the same assignee as the present invention and herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.
NMR relies upon the fact that the nuclei of many chemical elements have angular momentum (xe2x80x9cspinxe2x80x9d) and a magnetic moment. In an externally applied static magnetic field, the spins of nuclei align themselves along the direction of the static field. This equilibrium situation can be disturbed by a pulse of an oscillating magnetic field (e.g., an RF pulse) that tips the spins away from the static field direction. The angle through which the spins are tipped is given by xcex8=xcex3B1tp/2, where xcex3 is the gyromagnetic ratio, B1 is the linearly polarized oscillating field strength, and tp is the duration of the pulse. Tipping pulses of ninety and one hundred eighty degrees are most common.
After tipping, two things occur simultaneously. First, the spins precess around the direction of the static field at the Larmor frequency, given by xcfx890=xcex3B0, where B0 is the strength of the static field and xcex3 is the gyromagnetic ratio. For hydrogen nuclei, xcex3/2xcfx80=4258 Hz/Gauss, so, for example, in a static field of 235 Gauss, the hydrogen spins would precess at a frequency of 1 MHz. Second, the spins return to the equilibrium direction according to a decay time, T1, which is known as the spin-lattice relaxation time.
Also associated with the spin of molecular nuclei is a second relaxation time, T2, called the spinxe2x80x94spin relaxation time. At the end of a ninety-degree tipping pulse, all the spins are pointed in a common direction perpendicular, or transverse, to the static field, and they all precess at the Larmor frequency. However, because of small fluctuations in the static field induced by other spins or paramagnetic impurities, the spins precess at slightly different frequencies, and the transverse magnetization dephases with a time constant T2.
A standard technique for measuring T2, both in the laboratory and in well logging, uses an RF pulse sequence known as the CPMG (Carr-Purcell-Meiboom-Gill) sequence. As is well known, after a wait time that precedes each pulse sequence, a ninety degree pulse causes the spins to start precessing. Then, a one hundred eighty degree pulse is applied that keeps the spins in the measurement plane, but causes the spins, which are dephasing in the transverse plane, to reverse direction and to refocus. By repeatedly reversing the spins using a series of one hundred eighty degree pulses, a series of xe2x80x9cspin echoesxe2x80x9d appear. The train of echoes is measured and processed to determine the irreversible dephasing, T2.
In rock formations, such as in a borehole environment, T2 for hydrogen-containing fluids (e.g., water, oil, gas) can have significant contributions due to surface relaxation, bulk relaxation, and diffusion effects, i.e.,                               1                      T            2                          =                              1                          T                              2                ,                surface                                              +                      1                          T                              2                ,                bulk                                              +                                    1                              T                                  2                  ,                  diffusion                                                      .                                              (        1        )
Each of these contributions provides some information about the rock formation and/or about the fluid in the rock formation. For example, in a wetting phase, the surface relaxation contribution, T2,surface, dominates the distribution of observed distribution of decay times, ƒ(T2). Spins relax predominantly due to collisions with the grain surface, with the collision rate being inversely proportional to the pore size. This means that the observed relaxation time is roughly proportional to the pore size, i.e., 1/T2,suface=xcfx81sS/Vp, where S is the surface area of the pore, Vp is the pore volume, and xcfx812 is the surface relaxivity of the rock, a phenomenological parameter that indicates how relaxing the surface is. Thus, for a wetting phase, the observed ƒ(T2) provides information about pore size distribution. In a nonwetting phase, surface relaxation becomes negligible and bulk relaxation, which is related to viscosity, dominates the observed ƒ(T2). Thus, for a nonwetting phase, the observed ƒ(T2) provides information about viscosity.
In a uniform static magnetic field, each spin will experience the same magnetic field strength regardless of its position within the static field, and diffusion will not contribute to the observed ƒ(T2). In a magnetic field gradient, however, each spin will experience different magnetic field strengths as it diffuses through the static field. The Larmor frequencies of the diffusing spins become time dependent, and the series of one hundred eighty degree pulses cannot refocus the spins completely, leading to an additional decay signal. This additional decay signal is proportional to the diffusion coefficient, D, of the fluid and to the square of the gradient strength, g, and the square of the echo spacing, tE, i.e.,                               1                      T                          2              ,              diffusion                                      =                              1            12                                          γ            2                                          g            2                                                        Dt              E              2                        .                                              (        2        )
As the diffusion coefficient provides an indication of fluid type, measurement of the diffusion effects on ƒ(T2) can be used as the basis for determining the types of fluids in a rock formation.
Certain NMR measurements of diffusion involve changing the echo spacing, tE, in a standard CPMG sequence, and thus the amount of diffusion the spins undergo between echoes, and then comparing the measured relaxations. FIGS. 1A and 1B generally illustrate this approach. FIG. 1A shows two CPMG sequences with different echo spacings, t1 and t2, where t2 is longer than t1. As the echo spacing increases, the spins diffuse further between echoes, and the measured relaxation times will decrease depending on the diffusion coefficient of the fluid, as given in Equation 2 above. FIG. 1B shows the relaxation distributions, ƒ(T2), for an oil and water determined from the two sets of echoes acquired from the two CPMG sequences illustrated in FIG. 1A. As seen in FIG. 1B, the relaxation distribution with the longer echo spacing, t2, is shifted to lower relaxation times, T2, relative to the relaxation distribution with the shorter echo spacing, t1. The size of the shift is proportional to the size of the diffusion coefficient, as indicated by arrows 1 and 2. The shift of ƒ(T2) for a fluid with a small diffusion coefficient 1, such as heavy oil, is smaller than the shift for a fluid with a larger diffusion coefficient 2, such as water or natural gas.
While such NMR diffusion measurements can be useful, they suffer from a number of drawbacks. For example, for a given acquisition time, the two CPMG sequences will not have the same number of echoes. The CPMG sequence with longer echo spacing will have a fewer number of echoes available, so will suffer from lower signal to noise and lower data quality in general. In addition, relaxation distributions for different fluids often overlap, at least partially, making it difficult to identify shifts of individual relaxation times. In cases where the diffusion coefficients for different fluids are small, the shifts may be difficult to distinguish. Finally, these methods cannot separate out the contributions due to diffusion effects from the surface and bulk relaxation contributions in the observed relaxation distributions. Surface relaxation and diffusion have similar effects on the observed relaxation distributions, so these methods may provide inaccurate information about the fluid and about the rock or earth formation under investigation.
The invention provides in one aspect a method for extracting information about a fluid that may be contained in rock or within a portion of earth formation surrounding a borehole (as used hereinafter, the term xe2x80x9crockxe2x80x9d includes earth, earth formation, and a portion of earth formation). For example, certain embodiments of the invention involve generating a sequence of magnetic field pulses in the fluid. The magnetic field pulse sequence includes an initial magnetic field pulse, a first portion that follows the initial magnetic field pulse, and a second portion that follows the first portion. Magnetic resonance signals are detected using the second portion. The first portion of the sequence is then modified, and the magnetic field pulse sequence generated and magnetic resonance signals detected using the second portion again. The magnetic resonance signals are analyzed from a time relative to the initial magnetic field pulse, and information about the fluid extracted.
A second aspect of the invention provides a logging apparatus for implementing embodiments of the inventive measurements in a borehole environment. One embodiment of such a logging apparatus includes a logging tool that is moveable through a borehole and a processor coupled with the logging tool. The processor is programmed with instructions which, when executed by the processor, cause the logging tool to generate a sequence of magnetic field pulses in a region of investigation of earth formation surrounding the borehole. The magnetic field pulse sequence includes an initial magnetic field pulse, a first portion, and a second portion. The processor causes the logging tool to detect magnetic resonance signals produced from the region of investigation using the second portion of the sequence, and then modify the first portion of the sequence and repeat generating the sequence and detecting magnetic resonance signals. The programmed instructions also cause the processor to analyze magnetic resonance signals from a time relative to the initial magnetic field pulse and extract information about the region of investigation.
Further details, features and embodiments of the invention will become more readily apparent from the detailed description that follows.

Nuclear magnetic resonance method and logging apparatus


An adjustable friction hinge assembly for use on the lid or cover of a record player is made of plastic material. The hinge has anti-squeak properties to prevent squeaking when the lid or cover is raised. The hinge also has the capability of holding the lid, when raised, in the raised position without falling down. The knuckles of the hinge and the adjustment pin are made of a first plastic material having elastic properties, preferably acetal, while a washer of a different plastic material, preferably nylon, is placed between the facing end surfaces of the movable knuckles. The two different plastics are so selected that, when the two materials are in frictional engagement with each other, the coefficients of static and dynamic friction are similar. This avoids squeaking. The plastic adjustment pin passes through one end knuckle having an internal shoulder and screws into the other end knuckle. The head of the pivot pin abuts against the internal shoulder. When the screw is tightened to draw the facing knuckles toward each other and against each of the nylon washers, the plastic screw elongates slightly and sufficient reaction force is applied by the threads of the screw on the threads of the threaded knuckle to maintain the lid in the raised or other position in which it is placed.

This invention relates to a relatively small hinge assembly for a lid or cover or the like, and in particular to a hinge assembly for a lid or cover which, when opened, is intended to remain in an open position and not swing shut.
The invention relates particularly to a hinge assembly for a lid or cover which, when raised, is intended to remain in the raised position and not fall down.
In a co-pending patent application, Ser. No. 509,361, filed June 30, 1983 by James H. Vickers, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,490,884, issued Jan. 1, 1985, assigned to Southco, Inc., the assignee of the present application, an adjustable friction hinge assembly is described and claimed in which the friction between the hinge pin and the middle knuckle of a two-leaf three-knuckle assembly is controllable. In the Vickers construction, the hinge pin in the two spaced-apart knuckles is fixed against rotation, and the frictional resistance to movement of the two leaves relative to each other is controlled solely by adjustment of the middle or clamping knuckle. This control is achieved by adjusting an adjustment screw to tighten or to loosen the embracement of the cylindrical central portion of the hinge pin by the middle knuckle.
The adjustable friction hinge which is the subject of the present application is entirely different in design from that used by Vickers.

Adjustable friction plastic hinge having non-squeak properties


An active probe adapter adapts an active probe to a PXI instrumentation module. The active probe adapter includes a first module interface (MI) connector on a first side of the active probe adapter. The first MI connector is configured to connect to a corresponding interface connector of the PXI instrumentation module. The active probe adapter further includes a plurality of probe pads on a second side of the active probe adapter opposite to the first side. The plurality of probe pads is configured to interface with an active probe employed with the PXI instrumentation module. The active probe adapter may include a second MI connector on the active probe first side configured to connect to a PXI power module and provide power to the active probe.

Test and measurement systems or more generally instrumentation platforms have traditionally been realized as stand-alone units that included instrumentation circuitry, a display and a user interface (i.e., buttons, knobs, etc.) in fixed configuration. For example, an oscilloscope may be available with a fixed number of test inputs (e.g., two input, four inputs, etc.) having a manufacturer determined set of defined capabilities (e.g., bandwidth and sensitivity). When a particular measurement task required a new mix of inputs or capabilities, it was often necessary to obtain a new instrumentation platform that was suited to the new input or capability mix. An alternative to the traditional instrumentation platform is the modular instrumentation platform that allows a test and measurement system to be customized in the field to meet requirements of a particular measurement task or set of tasks.
A popular modular instrumentation platform approach for realizing automation systems, electronic test and measurement systems, and related modular laboratory instruments is based on the so-called peripheral component interconnect (PCI) eXtensions for instrumentation (PXI) modular instrumentation architecture. The PXI modular instrumentation architecture offers an attractive, rugged, PC-based platform for providing instrumentation in a wide variety of test and measurement applications. For example, PXI instrumentation modules configured to accomplish a wide variety of test and measurement functions include, but are not limited to, one or more of oscilloscope functions and digitizer functions. Moreover, a single PXI chassis can be configured with a set of PXI instrumentation modules and then quickly and economically reconfigured with different PXI instrumentation modules when the measurement tasks change.
Unfortunately, while providing a high degree of modularity and reconfigurability, the PXI instrumentation module-based platforms may present some practical limitations in terms of applicability. For example, many active probes that may be used require more power than is typically available from a PXI instrumentation module. Further, many probes, especially existing active probes, often have an interface or form factor that is not compatible with certain PXI instrumentation module size constraints, for example.


This application discloses an information sharing method performed at a first terminal communicatively coupled to a second terminal, the method comprising: launching a live video chat window including a first display region and a second display region; receiving a user request for information sharing between the first terminal and the second terminal; in response, launching an information sharing window within a predefined region that at least partially covers at least a portion of one of the first display region and the second display region; receiving a user instruction for rendering one or more objects in the information sharing window; and in response, rendering the one or more objects in the information sharing window in a manner such that the live video stream in the covered portion of the one of the first display region and the second display region is visible to the user through the information sharing window.

Currently, for a social application tool such as WeChat or QQ on a terminal device such as a smart phone or a tablet computer widely used, when a video call function mode is enabled for the social application, if structured multimedia information such as a photograph, news, or a micro blog needs to be shared, the video call function mode needs to be exited, and the multimedia information is shared by sending the multimedia information to the other party by using an opened all-in-one window, and two parties of a video call cannot perform interactive control operations on the multimedia information that has been shared.

Information sharing method, terminal, and storage medium

TENCENT TECHNOLOGY (SHENZHEN) COMPANY LIMITED


Disclosed are shipping and/or storage units for containers of liquid compositions, such as solutions of biologically active proteins, which are susceptible to physicochemical change upon freezing. Preferred container holders have double sidewalls and a freeze indicator adjacent a container-accommodating cavity. A phase change material such as a carboxymethylcellulose gel is disposed in the enclosed space between sidewalls and freezes at a temperature higher than the nucleation temperature of the composition. A freeze indicator provides an irreversible visual signal upon reaching a temperature intermediate the nucleation temperature of the liquid composition and the freezing temperature of the phase change material.

The present invention relates generally to shipping and/or storage of thermally sensitive materials and more particularly to freeze protective units suitable for use in the transport and storage of products such as those biologically active proteins which may be susceptible to irreversible physicochemical alteration upon freezing.
The art is rich in proposal for the development of insulated storage and transport containers adapted to protect various thermosensitive products such as foodstuffs, medicaments, acrylic paints and the like from damage. While a major focus of such developments has been the protection of thermosensitive products from the adverse effects of elevated temperatures (see, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 4,903,493), devices have also been developed which function to inhibit product freezing and still other shipping and storage units have been devised for the purpose of insulating products from exposure to both high and low temperature extremes. U.S. Pat. No. 4,738,364, for example, proposes to address the problems associated with safeguarding medicines from reaching either high or low temperature thresholds. Despite the continuous development of increasingly efficient insulating containers for shipment of thermosensitive products, the costs of highly efficient thermal protection are most often balanced against the statistical likelihood of exposure to temperature extremes. The result is that such products are transported and stored in a manner providing protection for most, but certainly not all product shipments. Where the adverse effects of product exposure to temperature extremes are manifest, this presents little risk to the ultimate consumer. Where such effects cannot be readily ascertained, as is frequently the case with medicaments, the risks associated with consumer use of thermally damaged products are significantly increased.
With the recent development of recombinant DNA technologies, increasing numbers of biologically active materials such as peptides, proteins and glycoproteins have become available for research and therapeutic use. Because these products have a significant potency even when administered in minute quantities, they are frequently supplied as dilute aqueous solutions of the active ingredient combined with small quantities of pharmaceutically acceptable adjuvant and carrier substances such as serum albumin. Studies of the effects of temperature extremes on these compositions have surprisingly revealed that freezing can generate physicochemical alterations which are not spontaneously reversible upon thawing. More specifically, the freezing of dilute solutions of biologically active human proteins has been seen to give rise to the formation of both lower and higher molecular weight species of the proteins. These observations have expectedly prompted concern regarding the maintenance of biological potency of the products which have been subjected to freezing. They have also generated significant concerns in an immunological context. To the extent that the observed formation of higher molecular weight species of proteins is reflective of the formation of aggregates of either the projected therapeutic protein with other protein molecules or with non-protein components of the formulation, there is a potential risk that the recipient may develop adverse immunological responses. Such potential risks are, of course, exacerbated by the fact that visual inspection of, e.g., a unit dosage vial containing a solution of a therapeutic protein is insufficient to reveal that the product has undergone freezing at some time during its transport or storage and may therefore contain undesired protein fragments or aggregates.
Consistent with the above, there can be seen to exist a need in the art for new freeze protective packaging units useful in the transport and storage of biologically active products such as those protein solutions which can be susceptible to visually occult physicochemical alteration upon freezing. Ideally, such packaging would allow for the protected transport of therapeutic proteins in the unit dosage glass vials ordinarily employed as containers for therapeutic agents. Desirably, such packaging would facilitate transport in a refrigerated, but not frozen, state and would insulate the contents of the vials against freezing when exposed to extreme cold temperatures such as might occasionally be encountered in the projected distribution environment. The packaging should be cost effective to the extent that it would allow freeze protection in most ordinary transport and storage circumstances. When extraordinarily cold temperatures are nonetheless encountered, the freeze protective packaging would ideally provide means for an after-the-fact determination that the containers have been exposed to the extreme conditions which might cause irreversible physicochemical alteration.


An optical sensor assembly is disclosed. The optical sensor assembly includes a folded optical system that utilizes one or more non-planar reflective surfaces that enable the manipulation or conditioning of the overall thickness of the sensor assembly, the field of view of the sensor assembly, and the image size, either independently or in combination.

Some electronic devices, such as cellular phones and smart phones, have menus or graphical user interfaces that are rather complex. In order to navigate through these menus, a user may move his finger over a navigator, which causes an icon associated with the menus to move. As electronic devices get smaller, the navigators must also get smaller so as not to limit the size of the electronic devices.
A key parameter in accomplishing a low profile Optical Finger Navigation (OFN) system is controlling the total vertical distance from the object to the image. One of the approaches used in prior solutions, is to fold the optical system with the use of two prisms.
In this approach, the field of view and/or the size of the image formed is limited by the vertical space (or thickness) of the prism. From another perspective, the lowest OFN system height achievable with such an approach is limited by the required field of view and/or image size requirements. Thus, prior solutions are self-constrained in their minimum allowable vertical height.