A connecting and retaining structure for a shoe covering and trouser leg combination includes a connecting portion, a retaining portion, an extension portion, a position fixing portion and a shoe covering, and is capable of covering of the leg portion of a user against rain. A periphery of the retaining portion forms a covering that enables the extension portion and the shoe covering to be retained therein. The shoe covering is joined to a lower end of the extension portion, and is provided with an opening, through which the shoe covering and the extension portion can be rolled up and then disposed within the retaining portion. The extension portion adopts a flexible soft lining having length longer than the connecting portion, and provides an allowance for displacement and extension of the legs of the user when wearing the shoe coverings, thereby enabling unhindered large extending movements of the legs.

(a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a connecting and retaining structure for a shoe covering and trouser leg combination, and more particularly to a unique connecting and retaining structural design that is able to accommodate the extension and contraction of legs, whereby shoe coverings can be removed from connected retaining portions and worn over the feet of the user, thereby achieving effectiveness of protecting the feet against rain, and providing comfort and flexibility when the legs are in an extended or contracted state.
(b) Description of the Prior Art
The inexpensive price, high mobility and convenience of bicycles and motorcycles have made them an indispensable means of transport for the general public in developing countries. However, when compared to automobiles or other general public means of transport, their main shortcoming is that although a raincoat and rain shoes can be worn to protect the rider from rain to a certain extent, they are not able to completely keep out the wind and rain. For example: when wearing a raincoat in a light rainfall that suddenly turns into a down-pour, if the rain shoes are not put on in time, not only are the shoes and socks of the person completely soaked, but also the rainwater collects in the shoes.
Referring to FIG. 1, which shows a prior art rainwear, wherein a cape raincoat 10 is directly fitted over the body of the user, and, usually, it is not necessary to wear rain pants. Referring to FIG. 2, which shows another type of prior art rainwear, wherein a two-piece rainwear 20 includes an top rain jacket 21 and rain pants 22, which are worn separately over the top half and bottom half of the user's body respectively. In addition, FIGS. 1 and 2 show rain shoe coverings 30, which can be directly fitted over the shoes or boots worn by a user for use together with the rainwear.
Neither of the aforementioned rainwear depicted in FIGS. 1 and 2 can be connected to the rain shoe coverings 30 and used in combination, mainly because if the shoe coverings 30 and rainwear are unwillingly connected or fastening devices are used to join the shoe coverings 30 to the cape raincoat 10 or the rain pants 22, then putting on and taking off of the shoe coverings-rainwear combination is extremely inconvenient, more particularly, in light rain conditions, when it is not necessary to wear the shoe coverings 30, the shoe coverings 30 connected to the cape raincoat 10 or a lower end of the rain pants 22 will cause inconvenience to the user when moving around. Moreover, such shoe coverings-rainwear combinations are unable to achieve automatic freely adjustable effectiveness when wearing. Because length of leg coverings needed when the legs of a user riding a motorcycle are bent is relatively longer than when the user is in a standing position, thus, a pulling effect naturally occurs on the leg coverings that have already been pre-adjusted to an appropriate length when the user was in a standing position, which causes the shoe coverings to assume a stretched taut state. Hence, the cape raincoat 10 or the two-piece rainwear 20 for sale in the present market are both sold separate from the shoe coverings 30, and thus must be purchased separately by the user. Moreover, even if the shoe coverings 30 are purchased at the same time as the cape raincoat 10 or the two-piece rainwear 20, the user is unable to join the shoe coverings 30 to the cape raincoat 10 or the rain pants 22 for use together.
Hence, the prior art rainwear cannot be joined to rain shoe coverings for use together, which not only results in the aforementioned inconvenience in putting on, taking off and in moving around when wearing, but also includes the following shortcomings:
1. The rainwear and shoe coverings are sold as two separate, different products, which add to the expenditure the consumer must incur.
2. Because the shoe coverings are not connected to the rainwear, thus, there is the problem of storage, and the user often cannot find one of the items, and, sometimes, cannot even find one of the rain shoe coverings.
3. Wearing the prior art rainwear is adequate when leaving to go outside and ride a bicycle or motorcycle in light rain. However, when the light rain suddenly turns into a heavy downpour, if the shoe coverings are not put on in time, the shoes and socks of the user are completely drenched. If the user wants to put on the shoe coverings, then he must stop by the roadside and then find and put on the shoe coverings. Such a procedure is slow, and temporarily parking by the roadside can cause a traffic jam and is dangerous.
4. When the motorcyclist has put on the rainwear and the shoe coverings and is traveling along the road, his two legs are bent with his feet on the stances of the motorcycle. Hence, the lower end of the rainwear covers the tops of the shoe coverings, and although providing minimum protection against the rain, however, when stopping at a red light, the two legs must be stretched for the two feet to touch the ground in order to support the weight of the motorcycle. However, because the rainwear and the shoe coverings are not connected, thus, the two stretched legs cause a gap to form between the lower end of the rainwear and the tops of the shoe coverings (see FIG. 1), which enables the rain to directly enter the shoe coverings, thereby soaking the shoes and socks within the shoe coverings.

Connecting and retaining structure for a shoe covering and trouser leg combination


A rear projection type television unit comprises a television body having an outer casing in which electric and optical parts are accommodated and a front panel detachably attached to a front portion of the television body so as to entirely cover the front portion thereof. The television of the structure described above is accommodated in a wall structure of a chamber so that the front surface of the front panel lies on the same level as that of a front surface of the wall structure when the television body is accommodated in a wall structure. The television unit is safely and stably supported in the recessed portion formed in the wall structure by support members such as angle members secured to the side portions of the television body by engaging the same with support members secured to the wall structure.

This invention relates to a rear projection type television unit particularly capable of being accommodated in a wall structure of a house and the like.
A rear projection type television unit generally includes cathode ray tubes (CRT) respectively for projecting red (R), green (G) and blue (B) colors and color light beams emitted from the respective CRT are irradiated on the rear surface of a screen attached to a cabinet of the body of the television to thereby form or realize a color image on the front surface of the screen. Such rear projection type television unit is set in a chamber of ordinary domestic houses or business building.
However, the rear projection type television unit of this kind has generally a large size cabinet, thus occupying substantial space for the setting thereof in the room of the house, thus being inconvenient. Moreover, when such a large size television unit is set in an ordinary house, it may be impossible to observe the television screen with a suitable predetermined distance being kept between a viewer and the screen of the television unit.
Furthermore, in another aspect, the cabinet or front panel of the television cannot be usually exchanged with another one even in a case where various decorations provided on the surface of the cabinet or front panel do not match with the decorations or interiors in the room, thus being also inconvenient.


The method relates to the management of roaming of mobile subscribers between a home network and foreign networks. The roaming behavior of a mobile terminal is based on roaming settings in the form of contents of different control files saved in the mobile terminal of the subscribers. A first file contains a list of networks to be used in a priority order in a roaming situation and a second file contains information about the last network the subscriber was registered in. The method starts with roaming of the subscriber from one network to another network, and checking the current roaming setting for the subscriber. If the network that the subscriber roamed into does not correspond to the highest priority network, the subscriber is moved to a preferred network corresponding to the priority order of said list.

Mobile terminals using The Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM) as standard for digital wireless communications are called GSM phones. GSM has many more services than just voice telephony. Additional services nowadays allow a great flexibility in where and when GSM phones are used. Today's second-generation GSM networks deliver high quality and secure mobile voice and data services (such as SMS/Text Messaging) with full roaming capabilities across the world.
The Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) inside GSM phones is a smart chip that was originally designed as a secure way to connect individual subscribers to the network. There is an on-going evolution of the SIM into a standardized and secure application platform for GSM and next generation networks.
ETSI (the European Telecommunications Standards Institute) is a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to produce the telecommunications standards for use throughout Europe and beyond. ETSI is also a member in 3GPP which drafts the standards for the third generation networks.
The ETSI standard specification TS 100 977 V8.2.0 (2000-05) describes the interface in mobile terminals between the SIM and the Mobile Equipment (ME) within the digital cellular telecommunications system. The 3GPP specification 31.111 specifies USIM Application Toolkit (USAT) which defines an interface between the Universal ICC (UICC) and the Mobile Equipment (ME), and mandatory ME procedures. USAT is a set of commands and procedures for use during the network operation phase of 3G, in addition to those defined in the 3GPP specification TS 31.101 [13]. The 3GPP specification 51.011 defines the interface between the Subscriber Identity Module SIM)—Mobile Equipment (ME). It defines usage of this interface during the network operation phase of GSM as well as those aspects of the internal organization of the SIM which are related to the network operation phase. Thus the 3GPP specification 51.011 takes in principle over after GSM 11.11,
The logical structure of files in SIM is hierarchical and there are three types of files, i.e. Elementary Files (EF), Dedicated Files (DF) and Master Files (MF), the last mentioned ones being highest in the hierarchy.
Roaming management covers the tools and processes used to control the roaming behavior for the subscribers in a mobile telecommunications network. When a subscriber leaves his home network and receives service from another network, he is said to be roaming.
A subscriber can roam to networks with which the operator of the subscriber's home network has a roaming agreement. Operators tend to have roaming agreements with as many other network operators as possible. However, the case is often that in any given roaming situation, there is one network that is preferred. This could be a network with which the operator has a better agreement and thus pays a lower price for its usage. It could also be a network that belongs to the same operator group as the home operator. The earnings for the subscribers' network usage would thus stay in the same company group if the subscriber could use the preferred networks as much as possible. If the roaming behavior could be efficiently controlled and the subscribers be made to roam into the most preferred network at any given time, large savings could be achieved for the operator. It shall, however, be noted that the opinion on which is the most preferred network may change over time.
Roaming management is thus an important area for the operators to improve the revenue stream. Roaming management gives the operator improved control of what networks its subscribers roam into when the home network can not be reached. Controlling this behavior becomes increasingly important as alliances are formed and the operator needs to manage this behavior on a continuous basis.
Roaming behavior is defined in the telecom standards and is controlled by data that is stored on the SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) card. The handset will modify its roaming behavior based on the contents of the roaming control files on the SIM card.
One such standard, in which the mechanisms that control roaming behavior in the GSM/3G network are defined is TS 23.122 in release 99 version, According to that standard, the roaming behavior is to a large extent controlled by to network selector files on the SIM card of the mobile phone. One of the files is the so-called subscriber-defined PLMN (Public Land Mobile Network) list and the other one is the operator-defined PLMN-list. Older versions of the standard define only one list list of preferred networks.
When the phone shall select a network, it first looks for networks defined in the subscriber defined list. Each network indicated by the subscriber-defined network selector file on the SIM is tried according to the priority order given in that file. If none of the networks listed in that file are possible to select, the phone tries the networks that are listed in the operator controlled network selector file. If still none of these are possible to select, the phone shall randomly choose a network whose signal strength exceeds a threshold value. In reality, this random selection often selects the strongest network. If none of the above methods have succeeded, the phone tries all other networks in order of decreasing signal strength. If the phone receives the information that a network is not allowed for roaming, the phone adds the network to the list of forbidden networks and will not access this network while the phone mains in automatic network selection mode.
However, once the phone is roamed into a network, it will stay on that network. According to the above standard, another file on the SIM shall control how often the phone searches for a higher preference network.
The phone will periodically search for the home network as well as a higher preference non-home network to roam into. Since this periodic network re-selection attempts only consider network of the same country as the network to which the phone is currently registered, the home network will only be attempted when the subscriber is nationally roamed.
The network selection functionality described above is the one defined in TS 23.122 in release 99 version. The functionality is, however, not yet fully implemented in most of the existing phones. This pertains especially to the periodic network re-selection attempts. It is anticipated that future phones will start to support these periodically performed attempts to find a higher preference network.
The fact that most phones do not yet support the periodic network re-selection means that once a phone registers to a non-preferred network, it has a tendency to remain there until something extra-ordinary, like coverage loss, takes place.
Even if the phone is turned off and on, the phone will remember the last network it was roamed onto and will try to go back to that network again by reading the information from the (Location Information) LOCI file on the SIM card. Thus the subscriber remains even longer than needed on the wrong network.
Only if coverage is lost, the phone will search for and switch to another network, which might be a preferred network if that network has coverage.
If no network has coverage, the phone will not be able to register to any network. If the coverage then returns, at the same time, for the previous network and a preferred network, the phone will still tend to register back onto the previous network.
There are a number of mechanisms that are employed today in order to control the roaming behavior as described above. Some of these are described in the following and the weaknesses or short-comings of these are touched upon. All descriptions given assume that the phone performs network selection without user interaction. When network takes places without user interaction, the phone is said to be operating in automatic network selection mode. If network selection is performed by the user, the phone is said to be operating in manual network selection mode. In manual network selection mode, it is in fact the subscriber that manually controls the roaming behavior.
The most basic form of Roaming Management is to define the contents of the roaming control files, i.e. the PLMN list or lists and the network search period, on the SIM cards at the time of issuance. This becomes a static definition of preferred roaming networks.
An improvement to the static model is defined in the GSM 03.48 standard, in which the roaming control files are made updatable over the air. This enables remote update of the roaming control files when price models, agreements and operator constellations change. It is also possible to update the whole subscriber base in this manner. If the operator so chooses, it is possible to limit the group to subscribers that are likely to be roamers.
Due to the reasons described above, the handling of roaming control files as described above is referred to as statistical roaming management since the statistical chance that a subscriber will register with a preferred network is greatly improved if the roaming control files are kept updated. The statistical roaming management thus controls roaming by updating the roaming control files on the SIM. Correctly used, the files can greatly improve the ratio of subscribers that roam into the preferred networks. However, there is never any guarantee that a subscriber will roam onto the preferred network.
The behavior of the statistical roaming management is non-intrusive for the subscriber. The effects are only that a preferred network is chosen initially at network selection or after the defined time period as described above. If no preferred network is present, the subscriber stays on the current network.
If the update of the roaming control files is made before the subscriber enters a roaming area, the phone will select the preferred network if it is present in the area. If the files are updated after the subscriber enters the roaming area, and the subscriber is in the wrong network, the subscriber is connected onto a preferred network only if a loss of coverage of the current network takes place and the preferred network is present.
Due to the above limitations, to the statistical roaming management, solutions for so-called dynamic roaming management exist. In some of these solutions, Dynamic Roaming Management uses active knowledge regarding a subscriber's roaming state and tries to achieve a change in the current roaming situation. In dynamic roaming management, the operator of a subscriber's home network knows when the subscriber roams into a new network. If that is an undesired network, a trigger is generated to a roaming server. The roaming server takes update measures towards the subscriber's SIM to make the phone select a better network. The dynamic roaming management is intrusive to the extent that it attempts to perform an active task of moving the subscriber from one network to another.
In the dynamic roaming management scenario, a special roaming management application (RMA) monitors roaming events in the network, for example by interfacing to the HLR (Home Location Register). When the subscriber roams into a foreign network, the RMA is notified. If the subscriber roamed into a non-preferred network, attempts are made to dynamically move him to a preferred network. This behavior tends to lower the perceived quality of service for the subscriber and might therefore be undesirable from that aspect. Since the operator has a possibility of making money, a dynamic roaming management solution might be employed anyway.
Finally, it shall also be noted that the size of the roaming control file is always going to be limited. That means that it will never be possible to list all the preferred networks in this file.
Operators want to have a more direct control of what network the subscribers roam into even with phones that do no support the periodic network re-selection. Therefore dynamic roaming management is applied.
In the case of dynamic roaming management, the RMA attempts to update the roaming control PLMN-list on the SIM. However, as-described above, this in itself does not make the phone switch networks. When the phone does not support the periodic network re-selection, the measure of only updating the PLMN-list is therefore insufficient. In addition to the PLMN-list update, some other conditions need to be met. As discussed above, such a sufficient condition for switching to the correct network includes losing coverage for the non-preferred network while a preferred network is present. The phone would then switch to the preferred network.
However, this behavior is too non-deterministic for operators that really want to make sure that the phone selects a preferred network.
Therefore, the operators attempt to apply more drastic measures to force the phone to a new network. Such methods include different levels of the refresh command specified in GSM 11.14 possibly in conjunction with the Remote File Management (RFM) application in GSM 03.48. For both of these standard specifications newer versions of the specification with the same basic contents exist.
Such a refresh command can be triggered either as part of the 03.48 RFM or as an instruction to a SIM-based application that in turn triggers the refresh command as specified in GSM 11.14 to the phone. The refresh command has different levels ranging from information to the phone that a specific file on the SIM has been updated to a more or less hard reset of the SIM. The intention of issuing the refresh command is to make the phone search for a preferred network as defined in the roaming control PLMN-lists. This does, however, not work as well as one would hope due to the reasons explained below.
The files on the SIM card and their usage are specified in GSM 11.11. This includes the roaming control files referred to above. In addition to the actual roaming control files, a couple of other files on the SIM affect the network selection behavior. The ones that are subject to usage for dynamic roaming solutions would typically be EFLOCI and EFFPLMN. These Elementary Files (EF) specify LOCation Information and Forbidden Public Land Mobile Networks respectively.
The EFLOCI is used by the phone to remember the Location Area it is registered to. The file contains the network identity and the location area in this network that the phone was last registered to. When the phone starts up, or re-initializes the GSM session, it uses the information in EFLOCI to see where it was last registered. The usage of EFLOCI enables the phone to speed up network selection when starting up. From the information in EFLOCI the phone knows which network it was on before it was turned off. When reestablishing network connection, the phone first attempts to register to the network whose identity is found in EFLOCI. If this fails, the phone starts the rest of the automatic network selection process. This is the fact that causes the tendency for the network selection to behave in the somewhat sticky way described above.
The area of dynamic roaming management is thus troubled by the case that even if the user turns the phone on and off again after updating the roaming control file, EFLOCI will tend to make the phone go back to the non-preferred network.
To overcome this problem, dynamic roaming solutions attempt to update EFLOCI by remote means. The contents of EFLOCI are then replaced by padding data to indicate that the file is empty or actual network data that does not identify the network the phone is registered to.
When EFLOCI has been updated in the above manner, a refresh is issued to make the phone perform a new network selection. The level of refresh can be attempted at different levels to achieve the network search.
The solution described above has shown less successful than desired. The reason is that the phone restores the correct value of the EFLOCI that indicates the current network rather than the value that was remotely written to the file. This re-write of EFLOCI may take place either as a consequence of receiving the remote command to perform the refresh or from the actual execution of the refresh command by the phone. In any case, that nullifies the attempt to clear the EFLOCI and the phone will once again go back to the non-preferred network.
The EFFPLMN specifies networks that are explicitly forbidden for the subscriber to roam into. In applying dynamic roaming management solutions, it is possible to use the EFFPLMN to improve the chances of getting the subscriber to move into the preferred network. The usage also has some severe drawbacks.
A possible usage of EFFPLMN in dynamic roaming is to take the network identity of the non-preferred network that the subscriber is currently roamed into and write that network identity into the EFFPLMN using remote update. When the roaming control PLMN-list is correct and contains the preferred network or networks, the dynamic roaming management solution can issue a refresh action of some severity that has been judged necessary, possibly a hard reset. When the phone re-initializes (i.e. selects a network again), it will find the information in EFLOCI regarding most recent network. However, since that network is also listed in the EFFPLMN, the phone is not allowed to select that network. Therefore, the phone is forced to select another network and will thus attempt the networks listed in the roaming control PLMN-list. Therefore, if a preferred network is available, the phone will select it.
When the RMA detects that the subscriber has roamed onto a preferred network, it can do another remote update and remove the non-preferred network from the EFFPLMN.
Obviously, the handling described concerning the EFFPLMN can cause severe service disruptions to the subscriber. In addition to losing network connection while forced to search for another network, there is a risk that the non-preferred network that the subscriber was roamed to was the only one with coverage in the area. This means that the subscriber will be without service until another network becomes present.
Regardless of the disadvantages of using the EFFPLMN, some operators have still chosen to mechanism since the value of correct roaming has been judged as higher than the negative effects of subjecting the subscriber to service loss. This is clearly not a generally acceptable behavior.


A method for controlling a heating procedure in an oven by using an optically readable information carrier with or on the heating object. The oven may be provided with an optical reading device for touchless reading of the information carrier before and/or during the heating. By providing the information carrier with one or more fields that exhibit color shift at temperatures at will, a feed-back control of the procedure is made possible with simple technical solutions. The special feature of the method is the use of an additional information field for control of the start of the oven.

Such vessels, and the term vessel is used here to include also packages and containers of different kinds which normally, at least partially, have walls of a material which depends on the actual kind of heating. If the heating takes place by heat radiation of the type infrared heat radiation from e.g. a cooking plate, the material may be metal, at least in the bottom. If the heating takes place by means of the nowadays very common heating type using micro-waves, then the material may be cardboard or plastics or the like. Below, to facilitate, such vessels, along with the instant content in each case, will sometimes be referred to as "object".
Common to all types of heating is the problem of accurately controlling the temperature, e.g. to prevent that the temperature is insufficient for the application in question or to prevent that the vessel as used bursts up and starts leaking due to too a high internal pressure within the vessel, which may happen if the temperature has unintentionally become too high.
To achieve such a temperature control it is known to provide the vessel with an information carrier having one or more optically readable control information fields which information carrier is adapted to be used in order to indicate the temperature of the object as the object is heated in an oven.
Here, it is conceivable, for instance, to watch visually how the information carrier shifts color as the desired temperature has been reached, so that the heating procedure may be stopped then. However, the information carrier is preferably adapted to cooperate with an optical reading device of the oven and a control device to control the heating procedure at least partially in dependence of the read temperature information. It is preferred that the information carrier is arranged directly on the heating object, e.g. as a disposable label or, alternatively, as a device for repeated use, which device is applied on the object, its vessel, package or contaner, e.g. as the heating is performed.
The information carrier may comprise a field of temperature sensitive color which exhibits a color shift at the desired end temperature of the object, preferably the ready-temperature of a food-stuff or a beverage.
It is conceivable that the information carrier has the shape of a label or a device for use in an oven having a lighting within the oven cavity, in which case the information carrier preferably is characterized in that the field with temperature sensitive color is composed of two layers, namely an uppermost layer, which shifts from transparent into non-transparent, or vice versa, at a color shift, and a lowermost layer, which exhibits fluorescense at activation by the oven cavity lighting.

Vessel for preparation or cooking of e.g. food-stuffs and beverages by heating


It is an object of the invention to provide an absorbent article that is resistant to twisting and flattening, and that is superior in terms of fluid absorption rate, fluid diffusibility, absorbed fluid retention volume and fluid retention. The absorbent article comprises a top sheet on the skin contact side, a back sheet on the non-skin contact side, and an absorbent body situated between the two sheets, wherein the absorbent body comprises a bulky absorbent sheet, and the bulky absorbent sheet comprises heat-expanding particles that are dispersed in the bulky absorbent sheet and have been expanded by heat.

Various improvements have been made in the properties of absorbent articles, such as sanitary napkins, paper diapers, incontinence pads and panty liners, including the "fluid absorption rate" relating to the speed of absorption of fluids, the "fluid diffusibility" relating to the ability of an absorbed fluid to diffuse through the entire absorbent body, the "absorbed fluid retention volume" relating to the amount of absorbed fluid that can be retained, and the "fluid retention" relating to the ability to retain absorbed fluids, for the purpose of preventing fluid leakage and reducing sticking of the absorbent article to the body, as well as the "low twisting" property.
Conventionally, absorbent sheets produced using natural pulp fiber as starting materials, and pulp fiber laminated sheets, such as fluff pulp sheets and dry pulp nonwoven fabrics, have been used as absorbent articles and especially as the materials of absorbent bodies, and it has been attempted to control the aforementioned properties by modifying the density of the absorbent body or employing super-absorbent polymer particles.
The absorbent sheet is generally prepared by wet paper forming and sheeting, and has a dense fiber layer structure. Such absorbent sheets are therefore considered to have strong capillary movement and excellent diffusibility for absorbed fluids. In actuality, however, such absorbent sheets do not exhibit satisfactory "fluid diffusibility" because they essentially lack voids between fibers, while they also lack a satisfactory "absorbed fluid retention volume" and "fluid absorption rate" because of the low degree of fluid retention.
Moreover, although the absorbent sheets have very high dry strength due to hydrogen bonding of cellulose, since the pulp fibers are densely layered, the absorbent sheets lose the hydrogen bonding between cellulose fibers when in a wet state, such that the wet strength becomes essentially zero, resulting in twisting and tearing during use. While the wet strength can be increased by using wet strengtheners, the low thicknesses tend to result in deformation, or twisting tends to occur due to the lack of repulsion elasticity.
Fluff pulp has a loose fiber layer structure with very weak bonding strength between fibers and numerous voids between fibers. Therefore, fluff pulp has a very high "fluid absorption rate" and a large "absorbed fluid retention volume", but conversely to the aforementioned absorbent sheets, its voids between fibers are too large, resulting in inferior "fluid diffusibility".
Such fluff pulp has elasticity in a dry state as well, but it also lacks any appreciable bonding strength between fibers, and therefore exhibits low strength and is prone to deformation, tearing and twisting during use.
Moreover, fluff pulp decreases in bulk when wetted by absorbed fluids, and application of body pressure tends to cause further reduction in bulk and to result in a very low absorption space. Therefore, since body fluids that have been absorbed and retained flow back to the body side and cause sticking and leaking, such pulp is inferior in terms of "fluid retention".
Dry pulp nonwoven fabrics are nonwoven fabrics produced by layering pulp fibers into a sheet in air and bonding the fibers together with a binder, and they have high wet strength, as well as a loose fiber built-up structure with a relatively large number of voids between fibers. Thus, the "absorbed fluid retention volume" is high upon wetting; however, the pulp fibers swell and soften and readily undergo deformation upon application of body pressure, and absorbed and retained body fluid returning back to the body side causes sticking and leaking, such that twisting or deformation tends to occur during use, similar to fluff pulp, and therefore the "fluid retention" is poor.
Fiber starting materials other than natural pulp fiber include bulky crosslinked cellulose fiber, comprising cellulose fiber with a fiber roughness of 0.3 mg/m or greater that has been crosslinked within and/or between molecules with a crosslinking agent, as disclosed in PTL 1. The crosslinked cellulose fiber disclosed in PTL 1 has low swelling when wet and is resistant to twisting and flattening, and is therefore useful as an absorbent body for absorbent articles.
Because the crosslinked cellulose fiber disclosed in PTL 1 is fibrous similar to natural pulp fibers, it must be worked into a form, such as an absorbent sheet, fluff pulp or dry pulp nonwoven fabric, similar to natural pulp fiber, when it is to be used as an absorbent body for an absorbent article.


A system and method for monitoring the vibrations of a machine that includes a reflective patch affixed to the machine and a vibration detection unit including an optics module. The optics module may be positioned remotely from the machine such that the optics module transmits an electromagnetic beam to the reflective patch and reflected from the reflective patch to the optics module. The optics module demodulates the electromagnetic beam to determine the vibration of the machine.

Factories, warehouses, and other facilities typically employ various types of machines for the manufacture or distribution of products. Because such machinery generally includes parts in motion, vibrations are generated from an individual machine and transmitted to the machine housing. Excessive vibration or vibrational modes of a particular character may indicate an unhealthy machine that may be in need of repair. Thus, it is common to monitor the vibration of a machine to prevent possible damage.
In order to determine the magnitude and nature of the vibration, transducers may be attached to, or placed in contact with, the machine housing so as to monitor the vibration. Subsequent analysis of the vibrational information determined by the transducers may provide valuable diagnostic data relating to the health of the monitored machinery. However, to monitor all machines, a transducer must be attached at every location in which monitoring of the vibration is desired. The health of the individual transducer also must be further monitored to ensure that the transducer is properly operating. In a facility employing thousands of machines, the purchase, installation, maintenance, and repair of thousands of transducers can become excessively expensive.
Alternatively, portable data collectors (PDC's) may be used to monitor the health of the monitored machinery. The PDC's are mobile devices that include a transducer and recording means to monitor the health of the machines. The PDC is transported to a machine and the transducer is placed in contact with the housing of the machine. The PDC can then record the vibrations of the housing. These recordings are subsequently analyzed in an attempt to assess the health of the machine. Operators must personally visit each machine and operate the PDC to record the vibrational information. The PDC operator may, therefore, spend an exorbitant amount of time monitoring the machines.
These current methods of monitoring the health of machines generally are expensive and time consuming. Often, a machine is in good health and does not require an extensive diagnostic check up. On the contrary, a failing machine may require more frequent data analyses. Thus, significant resources may be wasted. Therefore, there is a need in the art for a system and method for efficient remote monitoring of the vibrational health of a machine.

Systems and methods for remote monitoring of vibrations in machines


In a method for measuring the flatness of a floor with an inclinometer, the relative elevation of the floor is determined at the beginning and end of a survey line, and then a plurality of inclinometer measurements in one direction along the survey line are performed. The difference in relative elevation at the beginning of the survey line and the end of the survey line is then used so as to correct for accumulated offset errors in the inclinometer measurements. The use of such elevation differences to correct the accumulated offset errors in the inclinometer measurements eliminates the need to perform inclinometer measurements in a reverse direction, and thereby reduces time required for the performance of such measurements. The accuracy of the device is improved by reducing the distance between measurements and by averaging a plurality of consecutive measurements.

In recent years, the concrete floor industry has experienced an increasing demand for extremely flat floors (generically known as superflat floors) which are suitable for automated high level warehousing applications. Floor surface height deviations often cause vibrational damage to automated fork and turret trucks traveling upon the floor and also reduce the productivity of stacking cranes installed within the warehouse. Variations in floor height may also adversely affect the ability of automated equipment to locate and retrieve items from their respective storage places within a warehouse. The industry is currently attempting to adopt standards and specifications for floor flatness and is also trying to establish apparatus and methods suitable for measuring floor flatness to ensure compliance with such existing and future standards.
Heretofore, three basic categories of prior art apparatus and methods for measuring floor flatness have been utilized in the art, i.e., manual systems, semi-automatic systems and fully automatic systems.
The manual systems have typically comprised either an engineer's level and rod apparatus or a level straight edge with a sliding dial gauge mounted at right angles to the straight edge. Floor measurements indicated on the rod or from the dial gauge are obtained and then manually plotted.
The more recent semi-automatic systems have generally comprised apparatus having a pair of spaced apart wheels adapted to travel along a selected path upon a concrete floor surface. These systems include a sensor adapted to measure the height differential between the two wheels along the concrete floor. Examples of such prior art semi-automatic systems are the Analog Profileograph apparatus manufactured by Edward W. Face Company and an analog measuring apparatus manufactured by Mr. Ralph McLean of Fullerton, Calif.
Although such prior art manual and semi-automatic measuring systems have proven generally effective in the past, they possess inherent deficiencies which detract from their overall effectiveness and widespread use in the industry. The foremost deficiency of the manual prior art systems has been the extreme labor intensiveness of conducting measurements, often requiring a pair of skilled surveyors to be maintained upon the job site for prolonged durations. Further, such manual systems, although providing a true height reading along the floor surface, have necessitated the accumulation of height readings at only selected locations on the floor surface, with later interpolation of the measurement data to derive a height profile for the entire surface area of the floor. As will be recognized, such interpolation inherently introduces inaccuracies into the measurement results, which in superflat floor applications is oftentimes unacceptable.
The prior art semi-automatic systems, although typically not requiring significant interpolation of data results, have proven to be extremely expensive, and further require skilled operating technicians to be utilized upon the job site. Further, such semi-automatic systems have heretofore failed to provide a true height profile of the floor surface, but rather have only yielded a relative height differential throughout the surface area of the floor. In addition, current semi-automatic devices pose many anomalies associated with the data representation of absolute surface heights and many such systems have failed to provide the slope or level measurements of the floor.
A recent semi-automatic sensor beam device comprises a rigid beam supported upon the measurement surface at opposite ends thereof, and includes means to permit the rapid leveling of the beam into a level horizontal plane or axis. A height sensor is carried for transport along the beam and is adapted to contact the measurement surface. The sensor and transport mechanism generate height and position signals which may be processed by a microprocessor and printed or plotted to yield a true height profile of the measurement surface throughout the length of the beam.
A recent automatic single axis transport trolley device comprises the use of a trolley having a pair of wheels adapted to contact and travel upon the surface to be measured. A pair of optical sensors are mounted upon servo units attached adjacent each of the contact wheels and are adapted to track an optical beam utilized to generate a reference plane, axis or datum. During travel of the trolley along the surface, variations in the surface height from the optical reference plane are detected by the optical sensors which output signals that may be similarly processed to print and plot the true height profile of the measured surface.
A recent automatic dual axis transport trolley apparatus comprises a trolley which may be transported along the length of the surface to be measured and basically combines the structure of the semi-automatic beam sensor and fully automatic single axis embodiments to permit, in a step and repeat fashion, simultaneous sensing, printing, and plotting of the true surface height profile along both a transverse and longitudinal coordinate axis.
It is known to utilize an inclinometer so as to obtain such floor height measurements. The inclinometer provides measurements of the slope of the floor at selected points along a survey line. Measurements from a plurality of generally parallel survey lines are used to construct a profile of relative floor height measurements, so as to define the flatness of the floor.
One such prior art device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,748,748 issued on Jun. 7, 1988 to Kirven and entitled, METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MEASURING HEIGHT VARIATIONS ON A FLOOR SURFACE, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
However, although such contemporary devices are generally suitable for the intended purpose, they suffer from inherent deficiencies which detract from their overall usefulness and desirability. More particularly, the accuracy of contemporary devices has not heretofore attained a desired level. Further, various procedures have been developed in an attempt to improve the accuracy of such contemporary devices. The practice of these procedures adds to the complexity of the measurement process. Thus, the practice of such procedures substantially increases the time required to complete the measurement process, and is therefore costly and undesirable.
For example, inaccuracies in measurements when using an inclinometer to measure floor flatness occur when the measurement device is first started in motion, or when it is stopped and then restarted during the measurement process. When the measurement device is initially started, or is restarted, the inclinometer experiences acceleration which results in inaccurate measurements provided thereby, i.e., false slope readings due to the inertia of the sensor mass thereof. Similarly, when the measurement device is stopped, i.e., its forward motion is halted, the inclinometer experiences a deceleration which also inherently causes it to provide inaccurate readings. In an attempt to overcome the problem of inaccurate inclinometer readings due to accelerations and decelerations experienced thereby, contemporary practice dictates that the device be brought up to a constant velocity before such measurements are commenced and that any measurements taken when the device is not moving at the desired constant velocity are considered invalid.
Of course, this necessitates that the device be given a head start prior to the survey line defining the region upon which measurements are to be made, and that in the event of stoppage during the measurement process, the device be restarted a sufficient distance behind the stopping point so as to allow it to resume the desired constant velocity prior to continuing the measurement process.
Additionally, offset errors are introduced into the measurement process due to various mechanical inaccuracies inherent in the use of inclinometers and also due to various floor anomalities. Contemporary practice dictates that two runs or sets of measurements be taken, in opposite directions with respect to one another, so as to substantially cancel the effect of such offset errors. As such, a first set of floor height measurements are taken in a first direction along a survey line, and then the measurements are repeated in the opposite direction. Thus, the effects of mechanical deficiencies within the inclinometer, as well as floor anomalities, tend to be of opposite signs and thus cancel each other among the two runs, when the results of each set of measurements are combined.
Further, making two such runs facilitates tying the beginning of the runs to the end thereof so as to further improve measurement accuracy. Tying the beginning of the runs to the end thereof reduces cumulative errors by making the elevation at the beginning of the runs equal to the elevation at the end thereof, since the beginning and end of the runs is at the same location. For example, if we assume that the relative elevation at the beginning of the two runs is zero and that the measured elevation at the end of the two runs, as provided by the inclinometer, is one inch, then one inch of elevation error has clearly accumulated within the device since the beginning and end of the two runs are at the same location. All of the measurements along both the forward and return runs are then altered or normalized proportionally, according to the length of the distance traveled, so as to cause the ending elevation to assume its true value of zero inches of elevation relative to the starting point. Thus, the elevation one quarter of the total distance traveled would be reduced by one quarter of the total accumulated error, which is one quarter of an inch in this example. The elevation measurements taken at all other locations along the two runs are similarly modified, so as to completely eliminate accumulated error. In this manner, accumulated errors tend to be effectively canceled out and more accurate floor height measurements are thus provided.
However, as those skilled in the art will appreciate, the need to make two measurement runs, as opposed to a single run, is inefficient and costly.
As will be appreciated, such contemporary methodology essentially doubles the effort required to obtain an acceptably accurate set of floor height measurements. Thus, it would be beneficial to provide a means for attaining desired measurement accuracy while eliminating the need for making such redundant or double measurements.
Further the accuracy of contemporary devices is limited since such devices generally perform a single measurement approximately every twelve inches. While such a measurement interval has been found to be generally suitable, it does inherently permit the introduction of various inaccuracies. First, the interval of twelve inches is of sufficient length to allow undesirable deviations in floor level to exist between successive measurements.
For example, a dip might exist between two measurement points. The dip may be of sufficient depth so as to be undesirable in a superflat floor. Yet, the dip would go unmeasured since it occurs between measurement points. Such undesirable deviations are undetected according to contemporary methodology, since they occur within the twelve inch measurement interval, i.e., between the points where measurements are actually taken, and are thus not measured. It has been found that unmeasured floor height deviations which occur within the twelve inch interval can be of a sufficient degree so as to have undesirable effects upon equipment utilized in automatic warehouse applications. As such, it is believed that the measurement interval of twelve inches is too long.
Further it has been found that the taking of a single measurement for each measurement interval may provide a misleading indication of the true inclination at or near that point. Such an inaccurate reading may, for example, result when the precise point at which the measurement is made deviates substantially from the average slope in the immediate surrounding area. For example, a bump or dip occurring at the precise location of a measurement would result in a measurement which is not representative of the slope of the floor on either side of the dump or dip. Indeed, the measured slope may differ substantially from the average slope around the point of measurement. It is the average slope which is more representative of the slope of the floor within a particular area. Thus, minor irregularities in the floor surface may result in misleading or inaccurate slope readings when only a single measurement is performed for each measurement interval.
Further, such inaccuracies may result from the presence of dirt or other debris which affects the inclinometer measurement only at that particular measurement point. Such inaccurate measurements may also result from floor vibrations.
As such, it would be desirable to eliminate misleading or inaccurate inclinometer readings caused by such deviations from the average slope, dirt or debris, and/or floor vibration. It would further be desirable to provide a means for enhancing the accuracy of floor height measurements such that deviations intermediate the contemporary twelve inch measurement intervals are accurately and reliably indicated.
In view of the foregoing, it will be appreciated that although contemporary floor flatness measurement apparatus and methodologies have proven generally suitable for their intended purposes, they possess several inherent deficiencies which detract from their overall effectiveness and desirability.

Method and apparatus for measuring flatness of a floor


A drill pipe string conveyed retrievable plug system has a central through bore. The plug system includes a drill pipe string; a control section; a running tool with a connector at a lower end of a drill pipe string with the control section, and a top connector on a mechanical plug section with a bridge plug. The mechanical plug section includes a mandrel with the through bore, a ball valve arranged for closing the through bore, and a packer sleeve on the mandrel with slips and a packer element. The control section includes an electric supply, an electric control unit, and sensors connected to the electric control unit. The mechanical plug section includes a motor controlled by the electrical control unit. The motor is arranged to turn a selector ring to a selected first rotational position so as for allowing a piston sleeve to slide to an axial first stop position in order for opening to fluid channels through the mandrel from the through bore to the packer sleeve. The pressure in the through bore can be set to the pressure of the packer sleeve in a surrounding casing.

Bridge plugs are commonly used in wellbores to isolate a part of the wellbore. Often a plug is set in a casing to act as a barrier against formation pressure. Plugs are often set on a drillpipe string by applying weight, torque or pressure or a combinations of said forces. By rotating the drillstring, torque can be transferred to the setting mechanism in the plug which is usually provided with drag blocks arranged for creating a counter-torque to allow unscrewing and releasing temporary ratchet locks, and by setting down weight on the drillpipe string, the weight of the drillpipe string can set slips which further allows to set the packer. By landing a ball or some sort of obturator in a landing seat and thereafter applying pressure to the inside of the drillpipe string to activate the setting mechanism.
When a background art plug is to be set at great depths in a well it may be difficult to transfer torque and weight via the drill pipe string down to the plug in a controlled manner. The drill pipe string is subject to friction and one may not expect that a given number of rotations topsides will result in the same number of turns at the downhole tool. The drill pipe string also has hysteresis. High deviation in the wellbore also makes it harder to transfer weight to the tool in a controlled manner. Further, an increasing deviation from the vertical may eventually make it difficult and to land a ball in a ball seat. Setting plugs where setting down weight on top of the plug is part of the setting sequence can also be a problem when the plug is to be set at shallow depths, because there might not be enough weight in the drill string to set slips and packer elements.
Thus there is a need for solutions that reduce the complexity of the setting sequence and that reduce the problems related to using mechanical force from the drill string in the setting sequence. Dropping balls to set plugs can also be time consuming as the ball might have to travel for a long distance to reach a ball seat in a plug i.e. increase the use of rig time and thus increasing the cost of the operation.

Drill pipe string conveyed retrievable plug system


The present invention provides a shipping method for guaranteeing that an article for shipping has remained sealed with a seal and has remained unopened. Specifically, first, the sender is asked to enter a signature on a seal. Because of the pressure from a writing implement at time of entering, the signature is copied to a sheet for verification. An article for shipping is sealed with a seal and transported to a recipient. The signature on the seal is verified against the signature on the sheet for verification. By confirming that the two match, it is confirmed that the seal has not been replaced. Thus it is guaranteed that the article for shipping has remained sealed with the seal and has remained unopened.

The present invention relates to a shipping method and shipping slip for delivering to a recipient an article for shipping accepted from a sender and guaranteeing that the article for shipping has remained unopened from time of acceptance from sender until delivery to recipient.
Generally, when a package is to be sent to another party, a shipping service such as parcel post or parcel delivery is most often used. However, with the use of a shipping service to send confidential documents and valuable goods in particular there is a demand for a guarantee that an article for shipping has remained unopened during delivery from sender to recipient. In this regard, sealing an article for shipping with a seal enables confirmation that the article for shipping has remained unopened (for example, patent document 1).    Patent document 1: Laid-open Japanese Utility Model Registration No. 3107438.


A self-contained air unit for installation on a roof top of a building has a pressure relief opening that is independent of the air circulation system of the unit. The air circulation system has a first blower and the pressure relief opening has a damper system that connects the pressure relief opening to ambient air through two passages. One of the passages contains a second blower to exhaust air from the air circulation system and from the independent pressure relief opening simultaneously. A two-stage pressure relief hood is provided for use with a self-contained air unit.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a self-contained air unit for installation on a roof top of a building, the unit having a pressure relief opening that is independent of the air circulation system of the unit, the air circulation system having a first blower, the pressure relief opening having a damper system that connects the pressure relief opening to ambient air through two passages, a first passage being through a fourth damper to ambient air and a second passage being through a third damper to a passage containing a second blower to exhaust air from the air circulation system and from the Independent pressure relief opening simultaneously.
This invention further relates to a two-stage pressure relief hood for use with a self-contained air unit for installation on a roof top of a building for circulating air through the building, the unit having an air circulation system with a first blower connected to circulate air into and out of the building with a pressure relief opening that is independent of the air circulation system. The pressure relief opening has two stages, the first stage being a first passage that connects the pressure relief opening to ambient air through a fourth damper, and a second stage, being a second passage that connects the independent relief opening through a third damper to a second blower that is connected to exhaust air from the building through the air circulation system and simultaneously to exhaust air from the building through the independent relief opening.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Self-contained air units for installation on a roof top of a building for circulating air through the building are known and prior units have a first blower that is connected to a circulation system in order to circulate air into and out of the building and to introduce fresh air and exhaust stale air from the building. It is also known to have an air unit with an independent relief opening as described in US Application Publication No. US2007-0190925.
Self-contained air units are manufactured with a particular size and a cross-sectional area of the independent pressure relief opening is limited in size and is sometimes too small compared to the size of the independent relief opening required for a particular building in order to ensure that there will be no build-up of pressure in the building beyond the pressure of ambient air.

Self contained heating/cooling roof top unit with two stage relief hood


A method for controlling and regulating an electrical heating of a probe situated in the exhaust system of an internal combustion engine, a total heating power of the probe being set, and an actual temperature value of the probe being determined by measuring a characteristic parameter, e.g., a resistance. To prevent overheating of the probe ceramics, and therefore over-compensation of aging effects when using such a method, a rated heating power is determined by way of a program map as a function of operating points of the internal combustion engine; a control heating power is determined from the actual temperature value and a new setpoint value in a controller; and the total heating power is formed as the sum of the rated heating power and the control heating power. Moreover, due to this procedure, the regulating reserve of the controller is retained in wide ranges of the operating points. A cost advantage is yielded, because a measuring resistor and an analog-to-digital converter can be omitted. Also, a device for controlling and regulating an electrical heating of a probe situated in the exhaust system of an internal combustion engine, for implementing the method. Because a program map and a controller are connected via a summing stage, a particularly simply constructed device is provided which prevents overheating of the exhaust gas analyzer probe.

In modern motor vehicles, as a rule, at least one sensor is situated in the exhaust system of the combustion engine, the sensor first being operational after a specific temperature is exceeded. For example, the sensor may be a lambda probe. The sensor is heated by the hot exhaust gases blowing past. In operation, it should have a nominal temperature of typically 750° C. In order to reach the minimum temperature of the sensor as quickly as possibly after the start, and also to ensure the minimum temperature in operating ranges in which the heating power of the exhaust gases alone is not sufficient for that purpose, it is customary to provide the sensor with an electrical heating device. In the event of a defect in the heating device, the operativeness of the sensor may be sharply restricted.
German Patent Application No. DE 39 28 709 describes a method and a device for checking the operativeness of a heating device for the exhaust gas analyzer probe and its leads. In that case, after the heating device is switched on, the readiness of the exhaust gas analyzer probe for operation is determined at two successive times. If it is not ready for operation after the first time has elapsed and is operationally ready after the second time has elapsed, a malfunction of the heating device is inferred. This function diagnosis is based on the assumption that the exhaust gas analyzer probe reaches its minimum operating temperature more quickly when the heating device is switched on and operating correctly, than when heated up solely by the exhaust gases. Thus, this method is suitable for checking the readiness of the exhaust gas analyzer probe for operation. Requirements of the California Air Resources Board CARB, which require that the malfunction of parts relevant to the exhaust gas (among which is also the probe heating) be detected and indicated, are thereby satisfied. Meanwhile, in the European market, it is also mandatory to monitor the heating current or an alternative variable.
An object of the present invention is to provide a method which determines the rated heating power and control heating power of an electrical heating of a probe situated in the exhaust system of an internal combustion engine, and monitors the total heating power as the sum of both, such that overheating of the probe is prevented.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a device for implementing the method.

Method and device for control and diagnosis for the heating of a lambda probe


Disclosed is an electromagnetic clutch comprising a field member with an exciting coil member disposed therein; a shaft extending through the field member and the exciting coil member; a rotor member fixedly disposed on the shaft at a position opposing to the filed member; a drive mechanism rotatably provided on the shaft; a contact member provided on the drive mechanism on the side facing the rotor member; an elastic member disposed on the drive mechanism for biasing the contact member to the drive mechanism. The contact member is positioned to form a clearance of a first dimension G1 along the shaft between the surfaces of the contact member and the rotor member and the first dimension G1 is set to be smaller than a limit dimension G3. A deformation of the elastic member by the limit dimension along the axial direction results in the elastic limit. The electromagnetic clutch has a restricting member provided on the drive mechanism for restricting a displacement of the contact member along the axial direction of the shaft to be less than a second dimension G2. The dimension G2 is set within a range between the first dimension G1 and the limit dimension G3.

This invention relates to an electromagnetic clutch and more particularly to an electromagnetic clutch having an excellent impact strength.
An arrangement of a conventional electromagnetic clutch is shown in FIG. 3. The electromagnetic clutch shown in this figure is employed in a sheet feed mechanism of a copying machine and the like. The electromagnetic clutch comprises a field member 32 in the form of a double-layered cylinder with a bottom surface. The field member 32 has a hollow cylindrical casing 31 extending in an axial direction thereof inside. Inside the field member 32, there is mounted an annular exciting coil 33 (energizing member) on an outer circumference of the casing 31. A first shaft 34 having a through hole 34a extending in an axial direction of the field member 32 is rotatably inserted in the hollow portion of the casing 31.
The first shaft 34 is fixedly mounted with a rotor 36 at one axial end thereof. The rotor 36 is formed with through holes 35 in the form of slot and opposes to the exciting coil 33. A second shaft 37 whose axial length is larger than the first shaft 34 is inserted in the through hole 34a and is fixedly mounted to the first shaft 34 by fastening means, thereby rendering the second shaft 37 rotatable together with the first shaft 34.
A drive force transmitter 38 formed with a gear wheel around an outer periphery thereof is fixedly mounted to the second shaft 37 to be rotatable about the rotary axis of the second shaft 37. The drive force transmitter 38 is concentrically mounted with a contact member 39 with a plate spring (as an elastic member) 40 in the form of a ring interposed therebetween. The contact member 39 is biased to the drive force transmitter 38 by a biasing force of the spring 40, and is disposed opposing to the rotor 36 by a certain distance (clearance).
The thus constructed electromagnetic clutch is operated as follows. Upon being supplied with a power from a drive power source (not shown), the drive force transmitter 38 is rotated together with the contact member 39 around the rotary axis of the second shaft 37. At this time, when a power is supplied to the exciting coil 33 to energize (excite) the same, a flux of magnetic induction is generated around the energized coil 33 and along a magnetic passage defined by the field member 32, first shaft 34 and rotor 36. The rotor 36 attracts the contact member 39 against the biasing force of the spring 40 by leakage magnetic flux passed through the holes 35 of the rotor 36. As a result, the rotor 36 is rotated together with the rotating drive force transmitter 38, thereby rotating the second shaft 37 and the first shaft 34 to which the rotor 36 is fixedly attached.
On the other hand, when the power supply to the exciting coil 33 is suspended, i.e., the exciting coil 33 is deenergized, the magnetic flux disappears, and the magnetic attraction force of the rotor 36 to attract the contact member 39 thereto also disappears. As a result, the contact member 39 is returned to the drive force transmitter 38 by the biasing force of the spring 40, i.e., away from the rotor 36 by the certain clearance. Consequently, even though the drive force transmitter 38 keeps rotating, the rotating force of the transmitter 38 is not transmitted to the first shaft 34 and the second shaft 37, i.e., the rotation of these shafts 34 and 37 is suspended.
The above constructed electromagnetic clutch has the following drawback. There may be the possibility that the drive force transmitter 38 mounted with the contact member 39 is inadvertently dropped on a floor during assembly of the electromagnetic clutch. Also, there may be the possibility that an assembled electromagnetic clutch is inadvertently dropped on a floor during a step of assembling a copying machine (i.e., mounting the electromagnetic clutch to the copying machine).
In such case, it is highly likely that the spring 40 is deformed or bent beyond an elastic limit of the spring 40 owing to a physical impact (stress) applied to the drive force transmitter 38 of the half-way assembled electromagnetic clutch or to the completed assembled electromagnetic clutch when the clutch hits the floor and the like, with the result that part or entire part of the contact member 39, which is mounted to the drive force transmitter 38 with the spring 40 interposed therebetween, is protruded toward the rotor 36. The protrusion (displacement) of the spring toward the rotor side is enhanced by the mass of the contact member. In other words, the greater the mass of the contact member, the larger the displacement of the spring towards rotor side becomes when the impact force is applied to the drive force transmitter. If such an incident occurs, the contact member 39 constantly comes into contact with the rotor 36, thus losing the function as the electromagnetic clutch.


The preferred embodiment of the present invention overcomes the disadvantages of the prior art by using hybrid resist to define a sidewall spacer region and form a new type of sidewall spacer. The preferred method allows for more controlled doping at the gate-source and gate-drain junctions by defining sidewall spacer troughs using hybrid resist. Implants can then be made through the troughs to precisely control the doping at the gate junctions. Additionally, sidewall spacers can then be formed in the sidewall spacer troughs. The dimensions of the sidewall spacers is determined by the hybrid resist and can thus be made smaller than traditional resist processes. Additionally, forming the sidewall spacers using hybrid resist allows for their width to be determined independent of the depth of the gate material.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to the field of semi-conductor manufacturing and, more specifically, to a method for forming sidewall spacers in field effect transistors.
2. Background Art
The need to remain cost and performance competitive in the production of semiconductor devices has caused continually increasing device density in integrated circuits. To facilitate the increase in device density, new technologies are constantly needed to allow the feature size of these semiconductor devices to be reduced.
The push for ever increasing device densities is particularly strong in CMOS technologies, such as the in the design and fabrication of field effect transistors (FETs). FETs are used in almost all types of integrated circuit design (i.e., microprocessors, memory, etc.) One of the bedrock technologies that has allowed FETs to be widely used is the use of gate sidewall spacers. Typical sidewall spacers are formed using a conformal deposition of a spacer material over the gate structure, followed by a directional etch, as disclosed in Pogge, U.S. Pat. No. 4,256,514, "Method for Forming a Narrow Dimensioned Region on a Body," assigned to International Business Machines, Inc. The directional etch removes all the spacer material from the horizontal surfaces, but leaves "spacers" at the sidewalls of the gates. Turning to FIGS. 38 and 39, a prior art sidewall spacer is illustrated. As illustrated in FIG. 38, sidewall spacer material 3804 is conformally deposited over a gate 3802 on a wafer 3800. By directionally etching the sidewall spacer material, sidewall spacers 3902 remain adjacent the gate 3802. These spacers are inherently self-aligned with the gate. By implanting, forming the sidewall spacers, and then implanting again, the areas of the wafer closest to the gate edge can be doped less than the other active regions. Thus, sidewall spacers allow for a lighter doped region to be formed at the gate edge with the width of that region defined by the width of the spacer.
Unfortunately, the sidewall spacers has several limitations. First, sidewall spacer technology has a limited ability to be scaled to smaller dimensions. In particular, the maximum width of a spacer created by this process is the height of the vertical structure it adjoins. Thus, in polysilicon gate applications the thickness of the gate polysilicon cannot scale downwards without also making the sidewall spacers smaller. If the sidewall spacers are made too small, silicide may bridge across the spacer is subsequent processing steps, and thus form unwanted shorts.
Second, the prior art sidewall spacers provide limited ability to selectively dope the gate-source and gate-drain transitions. In particular, the prior art only had the ability to implant across the entire active area (except where blocked by the gate), then form the sidewall spacer, and implant again across the entire active area (except where blocked by the gate and sidewall spacers). Thus, any dopant added to the gate edge also had to be added across the entire active area. This severely limited the type of implants that could be made.
For example, forming an implant across the entire active region to increase the background doping can help prevent punchthru at the device channel, but by implanting across the entire active region it will also undesirably affect the parasitic capacitances of the source and drain regions.
Third, traditional methods of creating a sidewall spacer can create pattern density effects at the gate polysilicon etch which can cause increased across chip linewidth variation. In particular, because the etch methods used today use a low pressure, the etch rate is determined in part by the amount of available reactant species. If there is a region where most everything is being etched, the reactants will be consumed quickly relative to the regions where most of the material is protected by photoresist. This causes across the across chip linewidth variation.
Thus, there was a need for improved method of fabricating field effect transistors and resulting improved FET structures.

Method for forming sidewall spacers using frequency doubling hybrid resist and device formed thereby

International Business Machines Corporation


A crushing machine having enhanced crushing efficiency. The crushing machine includes an outer casing having a fixed jaw and a movable jaw each having a crushing blade for crushing reinforced concrete. The movable jaw includes a crushing blade having a rear-side edge formed in a substantially right-angled shape with a small arcuate edge portion located at an angled edge portion thereof, and a front-side edge generally formed by a large arcuate edge portion. The rear-side edge of the movable jaw crushing blade is oriented to face in a longitudinally inward direction away from a distal end of the movable jaw. The inward orientation of the rear-side edge along with its substantially right-angled shape allow the movable jaw crushing blade to concentrate the load of the crushing machine to the small point of contact between the movable jaw crushing blade and the reinforced concrete, thereby maximizing the crushing efficiency of the crushing machine. The shape and orientation of the movable jaw crushing blade of the present invention also allows the blade to bite into the concrete, thereby preventing slippage between the blade and the concrete.

1. Field of the Invention:
The present invention relates to a crushing machine which is used as a principal section of an apparatus for demolishing structures (buildings and the like) made as reinforced concrete, and which is capable of efficiently crushing concrete structural members such as reinforced concrete walls, floors, ceilings, and pillars.
2. Description of the Related Art:
In recent years, there are various types of crushing machines for crushing concrete structural members such as walls and pillars of structures (buildings and the like) made of such as reinforced concrete. Many of these crushing machines are arranged such that a fixed jaw and a movable jaw are provided in such a manner as to be freely opened or closed by a hydraulic cylinder mechanism or the like, and the concrete structural members are crushed by crushing blades which are respectively provided on the fixed jaw and the movable jaw.
Crushing blades formed substantially in the shape of a half-split bead of a soroban, or an abacus, i.e., crushing blade having a semicircular profile, are used widely, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 43513/1985. The mechanism of this a semicircular crushing blade operates such that, during the crushing of a concrete structural member, the crushing blade first bites into the concrete structural member, which is clamped by the fixed jaw and the movable jaw, in the manner of a wedge, the concrete structural member then becomes cracked as the depth of the bite becomes deeper, and the concrete structural member is crushed as the cracks become wider.
In particular, among semicircular crushing blades formed substantially in the shape of a half-split bead of a soroban, there is a type in which the side elevational shape is not completely semicircular but trapezoidal, and the front edge side is substantially right-angled, while the rear edge side is formed in the shape of a circular arc. This type of movable-side crushing blade is provided such that an arcuate blade portion on the rear edge side thereof opposes the fixed jaw located therebelow.
With such a movable-side crushing blade, the movable-side crushing blade formed bites into and cracks the concrete structural member as described above, thereby making it possible to crush the concrete structural member such as a wall, a pillar, and the like. In particular, as shown in FIG. 17, where the side elevational shape of the crushing blade is trapezoidal with its front edge side formed in a substantially right-angled shape and with its overall rear edge side formed substantially in the shape of a circular arc, when the movable jaw is closed to clamp the concrete structural member in cooperation with the fixed jaw, the rear edge side of the crushing blade is first brought into contact with the concrete structural member to crush the concrete structural member.
Then, the arcuate blade portion pierces the surface of the concrete structural member over a relatively large range, and makes it possible to crush the concrete structural member while cracking that portion of the concrete structural member almost instantly. The crushing blade of this type is very effective in a case where the internal structure of the concrete structural member itself has become relatively fragile.
However, among the concrete structural members, particularly in the case of a concrete structural member in which the density of a concrete component is high, the concrete structural member is very hard, and resistance during crushing may be very large. When such a particularly hard concrete structural member is crushed, in the case of the crushing blade with its overall rear edge side formed in the shape of a circular arc, a portion of contact of the movable-side crushing blade with respect to the concrete structural member during an initial period of crushing extends over a long range, and assumes a state of line contact.
Hence, the force for crushing is dispersed at the contact surface which is in the state of line contact, and the crushing force becomes relatively small per unit area, thereby making it very difficult to effect crushing. Further, with the conventional types of crushing machines, slippage can occur between the crushing blades and the concrete structural member when the concrete structural member is crushed, so that the concrete structural member is frequently dislocated from the fixed jaw and the movable jaw, resulting in a decline in the efficiency of the crushing operation.
Particularly in the case of a large pillar-shaped member whose cross section is substantially square or rectangular, the pillar-shaped member must be crushed at its right-angled corner portions, which means that portions of two wall surfaces which join at right angles are crushed by the two crushing blades. In this case, the two wall surfaces which join at right angles constitute relatively sharply inclined surfaces with respect to the two crushing blades that are provided on the fixed jaw and the movable jaw. Accordingly, when an attempt is made to effect a crushing operation at the two wall surfaces which join at right angles by means of the two crushing blades, the crushing blades tend to slip on the wall surfaces before they bite into the wall surfaces.
Thus, the crushing operation at a right-angled corner portion of such a rectangular pillar-shaped member has been very difficult.


The invention relates to an arrangement in a mobile machine for screeding floor surfaces. This comprises a housing with a planet disk (3), which is rotatably supported in the bottom of the said housing and driven by a drive motor (1). The planet disk carries a number of rotatably supported screeding disks, distributed over the planet disk (3) and operatively connected to the drive motor (1). According to the invention the number of screeding disks is an even number up to a maximum of six. Viewed in the direction of rotation of the planet disk (3), half the number of screeding disks have a direction of rotation coinciding with the planet disk (3) and the remaining screeding disks an opposing direction of rotation.

Reference is made to U.S. Pat. No. 5,637,032 A, U.S. Pat. No. 1,069,803 A, U.S. Pat. No. 4,097,950 A, FR 2073627 A5, FR 1108781 A as examples of the prior art.
Screeding machines of the aforementioned type function inherently well, but as the material in the screeding disks used to machine the floor surfaces is progressively developed, thereby enabling it to remove more floor material per unit time than before, there is a desire for more available power for machining of the floor material.

Arrangement in a mobile machine for screeding floor surfaces


A method of manufacturing a design-imprinted molded article comprises providing a glass mold of a desired shape, that further comprises a desired shaped concave and a desired shaped rim, providing a plurality of sheets of polyacrylonitrile fibers, providing at least one design cutout of polyacrylonitrile fibers, overlaying the plurality of sheets on the surface of the desired shaped concave and desired shaped rim, overlaying the design cutout on the plurality of sheets, and applying high heat to the glass mold.

Luggage is commonly soft-sided or hard-sided. The majority of luggage is soft-sided. Canvas, nylon and other similar fabric materials are used to manufacture soft-sided luggage. To construct soft-sided luggage, non-shape retaining sheets of fabric material can be assembled together, for example, by sewing. Alternatively, shape-retaining sheets of fabric material can also be used to provide some structure to the component parts. However, soft-sided luggage has the disadvantage of high material cost, high assembly cost and increased overall weight of required construction materials. The increased weight becomes a major drawback to such methods of luggage construction and in addition there are also drawbacks and limitations on style designs.
With regard to soft-sided luggage, a design element may be affixed as through sewing or adhesive as well as imbedded into the material as through embroidering. Further, where soft-sided materials such as fabric are used for construction, the outward design and appearance of the luggage may be agreeable esthetically and to the touch, but when external forces are applied, the force is directly transferred to the contents of the luggage. In order to overcome this disadvantage of soft-sided luggage, it has been suggested that a structure with a square frame be inserted into the body of the luggage to maintain a shape of the luggage. However, this structure is incapable of maintaining the contents in the luggage in their original form and adds additional cost in materials and increases the overall weight of the luggage further adding drawbacks to this current iteration. Additionally, less security is afforded by soft-sided luggage as thieves are able to cut through fabric to break into the luggage. Further, soft-sided luggage commonly comprises external pockets which can be susceptible to receiving unwanted items that are put in without an owner's knowledge further compromising the safety of the soft-sided luggage. Finally, the fabric material used for soft-sided luggage is prone to wear and tear by, for example, fraying, pulling or ripping. This also leads to decreased security as contents may fall out of holes. This increased proclivity to wear and tear further reduces the already limited ability of soft-sided luggage to provide protection for the items inside the luggage. As such, soft-sided luggage is less likely to have the ability to absorb the impact from bumps and knocks leaving the contents vulnerable to damage or destruction.
On the other hand, benefits of hard-sided luggage include its improved strength as well as reduced weight. Additionally, security is improved by hard-sided luggage because the hard shell reduces theft through case slitting or tampering with the external pockets. Further, maximum packing space is achieved by hard-sided luggage due to the thin shell construction as the packing space inside is not given over to folds of fabric and lining. Protection of a user's belongings is also improved with hard-sided luggage as the hard shells are very durable and resilient. If luggage is dropped, hard-sided luggage offers better impact resistance and therefore better protects fragile items inside. However, hard-sided luggage is commonly constructed by repeated overlaying of material in the same direction therefore leaving the surface to bear a homogenous pattern throughout the entire finished product. Further, the resulting finished luggage is devoid of markings or logos which will leave the luggage unbranded and free of differentiation or source origin through a marking or logo. In order to allow for customization or for purposes of displaying brand for example, a method of incorporating a design to the finished surface of the luggage is required.


A surgical instrument includes a movable member having a proximal portion, the movable member defining an opening at the proximal portion. The instrument includes a stationary member defining an aperture. The stationary member is arranged relative to the movable member with a close fit between the stationary member and the movable member such that aspiration occurs through the movable member substantially only during a portion of a repetitive motion of the movable member. The instrument includes a surgical handpiece coupled to the movable member and the stationary member to provide suction and motion to the movable member.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a prior art surgical instrument is shown that is used to resect tissue using a tube-in-tube construction that shears tissue disposed between cutting edges of an outer non-rotating tube 370 and an inner rotating shaft 374 of a rotary cutter 300, as more fully explained in U.S. Pat. No. 5,871,493, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Outer tube 370 is connected to a hub 320 at a proximal region 371 of outer tube 370, and inner shaft 374 is rotatably received in hub 320 and outer tube 370. Inner shaft 374 includes a tube 376 located within outer tube 370. Tube 376 defines an aspiration lumen 378 and connects to a motor coupling 350 located in a proximal region of shaft 374 and partially received within hub 320. Motor coupling 350 includes an extension 355 coupled to a drive mechanism 115 that rotates shaft 374 relative to hub 320 and outer tube 370. Hub 320 includes a coupling in the form of a resilient latching mechanism 310 for connecting rotary cutter 300 to a handpiece 100, as discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,871,493. In particular, mechanism 310 includes a cantilevered resilient arm 315 with ramped latches 330 that engage an annular flange 610 in handpiece 100 to axially secure rotary cutter 300 to handpiece 100 as shown in FIG. 7B of U.S. Pat. No. 5,871,493. Other embodiments of the latching mechanism are also described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,871,493.
Handpiece 100 (FIG. 2) includes an aspiration channel 630 terminating at an aspiration opening 633 for applying suction to aspiration lumen 378 to remove fluid and cut tissue from a surgical site. Aspiration lumen 378 in tube 376 of shaft 374 has a proximal opening 375 that communicates with a through hole 380 in motor coupling 350. Suction is applied through aspiration channel 630 to draw material through a side-facing window 305 in outer tube 370 and a side-facing window 307 in inner tube 376, into lumen 378, and through lumen opening 375 and both ends of hole 380 to aspiration channel 630.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


The invention relates to an improved multiwell cluster plate. The wells of the plate each have an upper chamber and a lower chamber separated by a microporous membrane. Adjacent to each well is a corresponding access port. The access port is a separate opening in the tip surface of the plate which provides direct access to the lower chamber of the corresponding well, without disturbing the upper chamber or the membrane

This invent ion relates to a multi-well cluster plate for growing cells or tissue cultures in vitro and more particularly comprises a new and improved cell culture plate and well structure that combines a device for supporting tissue cultures in a fluid medium with a structure that allows unfettered access to the portion of the well below the tissue culture.
Advantages of growing tissue in vitro by supporting a microporous membrane as a cell growth substrate in a culture medium have been known. By supporting a microporous membrane in a nutrient rich medium, a cell layer can be attached and grown on the membrane. This cell layer is able to receive nutrients through the microporous membrane from the medium below. The cell layer is separated from the medium by the membrane. A concentration gradient of nutrients develops and feeds the cells through this permeable membrane. This basolateral method of feeding more closely resembles in vivo conditions in which polarized structures such as epithelial cells functionally behave. Creating more natural cellular conditions is an advantage to scientists studying cell transport and other biological activities.
Cell culture inserts have been used to take advantage of the basolateral feeding technique. Cell culture inserts are comprised of a plastic material with a membrane on the bottom surface. The inserts fit into wells of a culture plate, such that the membrane is suspended within a corresponding well. The well itself contains culture medium into which the metr.-rane is immersed. Conventional cell culture inserts and devices are described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,871,674, U.S. Pat. No. 5,026,649, U.S. Pat. No. 5,215,920, U.S. Pat. No. 5,466,602, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,468,638. Many inserts also include an opening in the hanging support structure which enables access to the culture medium below the membrane. This access is crucial for maintaining appropriate levels of nutrients and waste products in the culture medium. Through these openings, culture medium can be removed and replaced without disturbing the membrane substrate.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,141,718 discloses an apparatus that combines a strip of insert wells with a plate containing tear shaped reservoirs. Each reservoir is comprised of a circular portion and a triangular portion. The strips are comprised of a plurality of tubular members attached to membranes. These strips are inserted into the plate such that each tubular member is immersed in a reservoir. The tubular member occupies substantially all of the circular portion of the reservoir. Access to the reservoir is accomplished through the triangular portion, without disturbing the membrane substrate. The problem with this insert strip plate apparatus is twofold. birst, the wells do not conform to the standard 96-well industry standard and thereby are not adaptable to much of the auxiliary equipment designed specifically for such plates. Second, the insert strips are comparatively unstable when measured against a plate that has its entire well structure permanently integrated into the plate itself.
The drug industry has for several years used inserts, such as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,026,649, for use in drug transport studies. Cells are grown to a confluent monolayer on a microporous membrane. Electrodes can be placed on either side of the membrane in order to test the confluency of the monolayer. Thereafter, a compound to be screened is added to the lower portion of the well, below the membrane. After a suitable incubation time, an assay of the solution on the other side, above the membrane, is performed. The presence and concentration of the compound on the other side of the membrane indicate- the compound's ability to transport through the particular cells comprising the monolayer. A need exists for a culture plate capable of performing these types of cell transport studies on an industrial scale for the screening of large numbers of drugs.
Industry standard microtest cluster plates are laid out with 96 wells, each having an approximate cross sectional area of 0.053 squre inches, in an 8.times.12 matrix (mutually perpendicular 8 and 12 well rows) with a spacing of 0.355 inches between the center lines of rows, both in the x and y directions. In addition, the height, length and width of the microtest 96-well plates are standardized. This standardization has resulted in the development of a large array of auxiliary equipment specifically developed for 96-well formats. The equipment includes devices that load and unload precise volumes of liquid in multiples of 8, 12, or 96 wells at a time. In addition, equipment is available to transmit light through individual wells and to read calorimetric changes or chemiluminescence in individual wells. Some of this equipment is automated and instrumented to record, analyze and manipulate the data recorded.
A problem associated with insert devices is that their size does not allow them to easily conform to the standard 96-well culture plate format. Insert devices suspend a membrane within a well. In order to suspend the membrane without it touching the walls of the well, the membrane itself must be substantially smaller in diameter than the diameter of the inside of the well. Further, access to the lower part of the well is accomplished by inserting a pipette or syringe to the side of the suspended membrane. Therefore, the suspended membrane must be not only small enough to prevent contact with the wall of the well, but also small enough to allow a pipette or syringe to fit between it and the well wall. In a 96 well plate, the diameter of the wells is relatively small (approximately 0.325 inches). Inserts that fit into these small wells have membranes that are considerably smaller in diameter than the wells. These small membranes are difficult to handle and perform studies upon.
The insert strips of U.S. Pat. No. 5,141,718 use more of the well space for the membrane because of an alternate access path to the lower part of the well. However, the membrane cannot occupy the entire cross sectional area of the well because the tubular inserts have walls which themselves occupy well space.
Another problem with inserts involves the means for accessing the lower chambers of wells. Inserts allow access to the lower portion of a well through openings in downwardly extending walls of the insert. While accessing the lower chamber, an unsteady hand may cause a pipette or syringe needle to hit the side of the opening and thus jar the entire insert, which may disturb the membrane substrate and cause damage to the cell later itself. Insert strips allow access to the lower chamber through an extension of a reservoir into which the strips are inserted. However, as with the well inserts, a pipette or syringe may disturb the membrane attached to the insert strip because access to the reservoir is immediately adjacent the insert.
The present invention solves both of these problems by supplying a plate with a membrane that covers the entire cross sectional area of a well of a standard 96-well format, while allowing access to the lower part of the well through distinctly separate access ports. The invention combines the industrial assay advantages of the standardized 96-well cluster plate with the functional advantages of cell culture inserts and insert strips.