A molten resin is injected into a cavity together with long fibers. Opposite surfaces of the resin are solidified as a fiber-resin mixture temperature drops. These surface layers become non-foam layers. A foam layer is created between the non-foam layers. A pressure reduction process is applied to cause a spring back effect when the foam layer is created. A diaphragm having these three layers can be manufactured in an inexpensive process, but physical characteristics and appearances of the diaphragm are not sacrificed.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a diaphragm used in an electroacoustic transducer such as a speaker, and also relates to a method of fabricating such diaphragm.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, a material for a diaphragm has to have a small density, large Young's modulus (high rigidity) and appropriate internal loss. Further, the diaphragm material needs to possess a sufficient resistance to the environment.
A typical-material for a conventional diaphragm is PP (polypropylene) which has an adequate environmental resistance (particularly, water resistance) and large internal loss. Another known material for the diaphragm is a liquid crystal polymer which has high rigidity.
One type of diaphragms has a honeycomb structure to increase rigidity and reduce weight. Another type of diaphragms has a three-layer structure that includes a foam and planar skin layers, which sandwich the foam. Among the conventional diaphragms, the polypropylene diaphragm has a greater specific weight than paper and a relatively small Young's modulus. The liquid crystal polymer diaphragm has a relatively large specific weight and a smaller internal loss than polypropylene. No conventional materials meet all of the above mentioned requirements for the diaphragm.
Under these circumstances, it is ideal that the structure of the diaphragm be modified to meet the physical requirements such as density and Young's modulus, and the material of the diaphragm be selected to meet other requirements. In reality, however, if the diaphragm has to have a three-layer structure, a manufacturing process must include a step of bonding the three layers. This results in an increase of the manufacturing cost.
To deal with the above described problems, the present assignee proposed a speaker diaphragm which has a three-layer structure in Japanese Patent Kokai No. 8-340594. Surface layers of this three-layer structure are non-foamed layers, and the inside layer is the foam. This three-layer structure is fabricated by an injection molding process using resin together with a foaming agent. The present assignee also proposed another speaker diaphragm having a three-layer structure prepared by another injection molding process in Japanese Patent Kokai No. 11-275687. The injection molding process uses resin, which is compounded with a filler of inorganic matters or organic matters, together with a foaming agent. The resulting three-layer structure has an inner foam layer and outer (surface) non-foam layers. These injection molding processes can improve the physical characteristics of the diaphragm without increasing the manufacturing cost. The resulting speaker diaphragm is lightweight, and has large internal loss, high rigidity and high environmental resistance.
However, if the three-layer structure is created from the resin with the foaming agent, the resulting product (diaphragm) suffers from certain deterioration. Specifically, the rigidity of the product is lowered by a heterogeneous material (e.g., polyethylene) used to prevent the foaming agent from dispersing. Further, gases derived from the foaming agent would degrade the appearance of the product. In addition, some limitations are imposed on the resin molding process due to a decomposition (dissolution) temperature of the foaming agent.

Diaphragm for electroacoustic transducer and method of making the same


In a railway sleeper assembly, a pair of rail insulators (3) designed for use with a steel railway sleeper (1) which includes at the opposite sides of each intended rail location thereon a pair of openings (6) for receiving the respective stems (8) of a pair of shoulders (4), are each operatively disposed, when in use, between a foot of the rail (2) and the respective proximate shoulder (4). Each insulator (3) includes a member (11) which, when the insulator is in use, operatively extends below a top surface of the sleeper (1) and into the associated opening (6) so as to lie between the walls of that opening (6) and the stem (8) of the associated shoulder (4), thereby to retain the shoulder (4) in its operative position relative to the sleeper. The insulators (3), the shoulders (4) and a pair of rail clips (5) are preloaded onto, and are preassembled with, the sleeper (1) at a location remote from the track site, such that the entire assembly, with the rail clips (5) mounted in a preload position on the shoulders (4), can then be transported as a unit to the track site while the various components are retained on the sleeper (1) in their operative positions and are secure against falling off the sleeper (1) during transit of the assembly to the track site.

This invention relates to preloading rail clips and insulators into steel railway sleepers.
Steel railway sleepers have been widely used for many years and are usually either formed from strip steel or rolled at the steel mill with an appropriate cross section. The steel thickness is usually in the range of 6-12 mm. Shoulders are attached to the sleeper to provide abutments to locate the rails so that the correct rail gauge width can be maintained. Usually these shoulders also serve as mountings for fasteners which hold the rail down. The fasteners may be ordinary bolts or resilient spring clips.
Many different means have been used to fix the shoulders in place. These include bolts and nuts, welding, deforming the top of the sleeper to form a rail abutment for use with clips which fit in pierced holes in the top sleeper surface, and shoulders which hook into holes in the top sleeper surface. However, in actual track use there have been many problems such as nuts continually coming loose, sleeper cracking around the edges of shoulder welds, sleeper cracking adjacent to deformed abutments which create locally stiff regions, and sleeper cracking from the edges of holes pierced in high stress areas.
One of the most successful methods of attaching the shoulder is where the shoulder hooks into a round hole near the lateral centre of the sleeper top where the stresses are relatively low. The highest stresses are near the lateral edges of the sleeper top where the stiffness is greatest. In shoulders of this type, projecting below the shoulder top there is a generally circular stem having a hook and a spur extending from the bottom of it. In use, the hook extends towards the rail and the spur extends away from the rail.
The hook type fastening as described is prior art and generally works well. However, it has one major disadvantage in that clips cannot be preloaded in the shoulders in a parking position prior to the rail being installed.
An important issue for railways is the reduction of labour costs associated with laying new track and replacing rails in existing track.
One way of obtaining significant labour cost reductions is to preload the clips, insulators, and rail pads into the new sleepers at the sleeper manufacturing plant so that when the sleepers are placed in track it is only necessary to drop the rail in place and mechanically push the rail clips into their final position.
This feature of preloading clips is known for concrete sleepers, but it is not possible for hook-in shoulders for steel sleepers because the shoulders are not actually locked in the sleeper until the rail and insulators are in place. Consequently, there is a good chance that if it was attempted to press the clips in place without the rail in position, the shoulder would come out of the hole in the sleeper. Even if it were possible to pre-install the clips in the shoulders, the shoulders could still bounce out of the holes from the impact of shunting and other shocks received while on the rail trucks en route to the track installation site.
Pre-loading costs much less than distributing the pads, insulators and clips along the track then manually placing the components in place and introducing the clips into the shoulders by hand. Obviously, this is not an efficient process and in addition the labour costs are high because of lost time in moving workers to and from the moving work site plus the limited track access times.
At the sleeper plant it is possible to largely mechanise the preloading of the components since it is a fixed and easily controlled environment.
Accordingly, it is desirable to allow clips, insulators and shoulders to be preloaded into a steel sleeper, and to be retained there during transport to the desired site for track work.
According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a preloaded sleeper assembly including a steel railway sleeper having two shoulder mounting openings for each rail, and associated with each mounting opening, in combination, a shoulder including a hook and a spur inserted through the opening and located in an operative position, an insulator located on said shoulder on the side near the intended rail position, and a rail clip mounted on said shoulder;
characterised in that the said insulator includes a member which extends into the mounting opening so as to lie between the walls of said opening and said shoulder and thereby prevent movement of the shoulder towards the intended rail position, the rail clip being mounted on said shoulder in a parking position, so that the shoulders, insulators and clips are retained on said sleeper.
Thus, an embodiment of the present invention provides a new mounting arrangement, in which the insulator includes a projection or spigot extending into the opening in the sleeper.
This projection serves to prevent relative movement of the sleeper and shoulder, so that in transit the shoulder, insulator and clip assembly does not come loose from the sleeper. This enables a preloaded sleeper to be prepared, which can then be placed on the intended track ready for the rail to be fixed. This provides a considerable saving in labour over earlier proposals.
Preferably, the opening in the sleeper is circular or oval in shape.
Preferably, the shape of the member of the insulator is such as to substantially fill the cavity in the opening caused by the difference in size between the opening and the part of the shoulder passing through the opening.
In a preferred embodiment, the insulator is retained on the shoulder by means of a pair of recesses for receiving a corresponding pair of flanges or wings on said shoulder.
According to a further aspect of the present invention there is provided a method for preloading a steel railway sleeper with shoulders, rail clips and insulators, said sleeper including two shoulder mounting openings for each rail, said shoulder including a hook and spur, said method including the steps of:
a) inserting said shoulder into said opening and rotating it, so that the hook lies toward the intended rail position and the spur away from it;
b) locating said insulator onto the shoulder on the side near the intended rail position, said insulator including a projection which extends into the mounting opening so as to prevent movement of the shoulder towards the intended rail position;
c) driving said rail clip into a preload parking position, such that the shoulder, insulator and clip are retained on said sleeper.
Preferably, the step of locating the insulator onto the shoulder includes sliding the insulator over a pair of flanges on the shoulder, to be slidably received in corresponding recesses in the insulator.
The insulator may be retained in its located position by the preloaded and parked clip engaging the insulator in that position.


A non-hydroquinone and non-alkali metal hydroxide containing developer composition for radiographic materials and a method of use thereof are provided. The developer composition comprises a developer selected from the group consisting of ascorbic acid and sugar-type derivatives thereof, stereoisomers and diastereoisomers of ascorbic acid and its sugar-type derivatives, their salts and mixtures thereof, together with a sulfite, a 3-pyrazolidone compound, and an anti-swelling agent selected from the group consisting of sodium sulfate, glutaraldehyde or mixtures thereof, said composition having a pH of from 9.5 to 10.6, and said developer being present in an amount of at least about 15 grams, said sulfite being present in an amount of from 2 to 50 grams, said swelling control agent being present in an amount of from 35 to 90 grams, and water to 1.0 liter.

The present invention is directed to a photographic developer composition for processing radiographic silver halide emulsions in automatic film processors, which does not contain any toxic chemicals (as deemed advisable by the Occupational Safety and Health Act) and does not contain any substances deemed hazardous to the environment under Title III of the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986 (SARA), Sections 302, 304, and 313.
Photographic developer compositions for radiographic materials are well-known in the art. The processing of silver halide photographic materials is performed by a multiple step sequence consisting of developing, fixing, washing and drying steps. The development step is conventionally undertaken with an aqueous alkaline developer composition containing hydroquinone as a developing agent either singly or with one or more additional developing agents.
More specifically, the exposure of a silver halide emulsion to radiation to which the emulsion is sensitized produces a latent image in the silver halide grains of the emulsion. The latent image is developed by immersion of the exposed emulsion into an aqueous developing solution which contains a reducing (developing) agent. The hydroquinone or other suitable developing agent serves to reduce the exposed silver halide grains to yield the developed photographic image.
In radiographic applications, the materials normally have a silver halide emulsion on both sides, which presents specific problems when these materials are developed in automatic, roller-type processors. The higher heat of development (customarily 90.degree. to 95.degree. F.) softens these emulsions, making them very susceptible to being scratched during development and transport between tanks. In addition, the softened emulsions absorb additional moisture as they become swollen, making it very difficult to remove enough moisture to adequately dry the film before it exits from the processor. For this reason many hardening agents have been explored for inclusion in the developer composition to reduce swelling (softening) of the emulsion during development. In practice, an aldehyde such as formaldehyde or glutaraldehyde or a bisulfite adduct of these is commonly used. The preferred compound is glutaraldehyde which hardens better in the presence of sulfite (which is normally included in a developer composition as a preservative for developing agents) than formaldehyde (see, Photographic Processing Chemistry, L. F. A. Mason, 1966, p. 154).
While hydroquinone-based developer compositions containing a dialdehyde have been employed with success for many years, more recently the use of such compositions has met with some doubt due to the toxicity and hazardous impact on the environment of hydroquinone, caustic alkalies, and dialdehydes such as glutaraldehyde. That is, due to the toxic nature of various components employed in conventional radiographic developer compositions, it is necessary to meet various guidelines and regulations promulgated to protect either the health of those who are exposed to such compositions or to protect the environment into which such compositions are exposed. As three of the least desirable components generally present in conventional radiographic developer compositions are hydroquinone, caustic alkalies, and glutaraldehyde, it would thus be desirable to discover acceptable substitutes which are less toxic by nature.
It is also important to maintain the pH of the developer composition within strict alkaline ranges to ensure satisfactory and consistent operation of the composition. For this purpose, caustic alkalies (caustic soda or caustic potash) are normally employed in the developer composition.
Exemplary hydroquinone-based developer compositions are disclosed in, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,893,865; 3,733,199; 3,865,591; 4,046,571; 4,205,124; 4,756,990; and 4,816,384.

Non-toxic photographic developer composition for processing x-ray films in automatic film processors


An ultrasonic system useful for providing imaging, therapy and temperature monitoring generally comprises an acoustic transducer assembly configured to enable the ultrasound system to perform the imaging, therapy and temperature monitoring functions. The acoustic transducer assembly comprises a single transducer that is operatively connected to an imaging subsystem, a therapy subsystem and a temperature monitoring subsystem. The ultrasound system may also include a display for imaging and temperature monitoring functions. Additionally, the acoustic transducer assembly can be configured to provide three-dimensional imaging, temperature monitoring or therapeutic heating through the use of adaptive algorithms and/or rotational or translational movement. Moreover, a plurality of the exemplary single transducers can be provided to facilitate enhanced treatment capabilities.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to a non-invasive therapeutic ultrasonic system, and more particularly, to a system which is capable of acoustically imaging and heating a certain region to be treated ("the treatment region") in target tissue for therapeutic purposes as well as acoustically monitoring the temperature profile of the treatment region.
2. Description of the Related Art
The absorption of energy in tissue, for example, in the human body produces an increase in temperature, which can be exploited for therapeutic purposes. The irradiation of ultrasound to the target tissue such as in the human body, which has been successfully used for decades mainly in increasingly sophisticated diagnostic imaging applications, also allows the target tissue to absorb a certain amount of energy. Thus, ultrasound may be used in the therapeutic uses.
Specifically, ultrasonic energy at frequencies above 1.5 MHZ has an acoustic wavelength less than 1 mm in the human tissue. This energy is easily controlled in beamwidth and depth of penetration, and has a favorable absorption characteristic in the tissue. These aspects allow the energy to be precisely localized such that regions may be selectively heated while sparing overlying tissue structures.
Ultrasound has significant advantages for therapeutic applications as compared to micro-wave radio-frequency (RF) energy or optical energy (laser light).
In contrast with the ultrasound, the RF energy is characterized by long wavelengths in the tissue, with limited to poor control of energy deposition, and high absorption.
These aspects of the RF energy constrain its therapeutic usage to large superficial areas. On the other hand, the optical energy which is typically emitted from lasers can be precisely controlled in beamwidth, but the opacity and high absorption in the tissue also limits its use to surface treatment or invasive procedures. Furthermore, the laser and RF energy are emitted from ionizing radiation sources which are typically associated with some risk, unlike acoustic transducers which are typically used for generating ultrasound.
However, in contrast with the diagnostic uses, the therapeutic uses of ultrasound such as hyperthermia and non-invasive surgery have seen relatively little progress due to several technological barriers.
The primary impediment has been a lack of the ability to monitor temperature in the treatment region during the therapeutic treatment process.
Specifically, one of objectives of the therapeutic application is to create a very well-placed thermal gradient in the target tissue to selectively destroy certain regions thereof. For example, hyperthermia technique typically requires to maintain the tissue temperature near about 43 degrees Celsius, while the goal of non-invasive surgery is typically to elevate the tissue temperature above and beyond about 55 degrees Celsius. Moreover, during the therapeutic treatment process, the physiological response of the target tissue is directly related to the spatial extent and temporal duration of the heating pattern. Consequently, in order to appropriately perform feedback and control of the therapeutic treatment process for obtaining successful results, it is absolutely essential to monitor the temperature in the target tissue, for example, so as to know whether or not the temperature in the treatment region has been raised to a level that produces a desired therapeutic effect or destruction in the tissue. In addition, it is preferable to know the temperature distribution in the treatment region and the vicinity thereof for enhancing the therapeutic effect.
In the conventional technique, the therapeutic ultrasonic system has typically relied upon thermocouple probes for monitoring the temperature in the treatment region and the vicinity thereof. However, the thermocouple probes are highly invasive because they have to be inserted into the region-of-interest. In addition, use of the thermocouple probes has necessarily led to very poor spatial resolution since only a small number of probes could be safely embedded in the region-of-interest. Furthermore, the thus embedded thermocouple probes are likely to disturb the acoustic propagation in the tissue and typically cause excessive heating at the probe interface during the therapeutic treatment process. This results in undesirably modified temperature distribution as well as erroneous measurements.
Another factor which has curtailed progress in the therapeutic uses of ultrasound has been the design of the conventional acoustic transducers.
In general, for the therapeutic treatment process, imaging of the treatment region is necessary to determine the location of the treatment region with respect to the acoustic transducers as well as to evaluate progress of the treatment process.
Such essential functions of imaging as well as the aforementioned temperature monitoring may be implemented with the same acoustic transducer to be used for the therapeutic purposes, since the acoustic transducers can actually produce an image of the region-of-interest by employing well-established imaging technique such as B-scan imaging. However, the conventional acoustic transducers which are typically employed for the therapeutic purposes are acoustically large, often single-element devices having narrow bandwidth in the frequency domain. Although they are designed to efficiently transmit acoustic energy to the target tissue, the conventional acoustic transducers are typically unsuited for imaging of the treatment region and/or monitoring the temperature profile therein. This precludes development and implementation of these vital functions for performing a desirable precise therapeutic treatment process.
Some prior art references teach the use of ultrasound for therapeutic purposes. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,757,820 to Itoh discloses an ultrasound therapy system having functions of imaging and heating the target using ultrasound beams for the therapeutic purposes. The system disclosed therein, however, does not have the temperature monitoring function.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,370,121 to Reichenberger et al. discloses a method and an apparatus for non-invasive measurement of a temperature change in a subject, in particular a living subject, using ultrasound waveforms. The method and apparatus disclosed therein, however, relies on a differential ultrasound image between two successive ultrasound images of the target. In other words, any temperature change is detected as a temperature-induced change in brightness between the two images, which appears in the differential image. Consequently, an actual real-time monitoring of the temperature may be difficult in the disclosed method and apparatus. Moreover, although the method and apparatus can detect changes in the temperature of the target, an absolute value of the target temperature may not be obtained therefrom. In addition, any movement of the target may introduce changes in the differential image, which may cause erroneous results.
Furthermore, although it is not distinctly intended to be applied in the therapeutic treatment process for the target tissue such as in the human body, U.S. Pat. No. 5,360,268 to Hayashi et al. discloses an ultrasonic temperature measuring apparatus in which a temperature of the target, medium is calculated using a propagation time of ultrasonic waves which propagated for a predetermined distance in the target medium. The apparatus disclosed therein, however, is mainly described as employing separate ultrasonic elements which respectively function for a transmitter and a receiver of the ultrasonic waves.
While some prior art temperature monitoring techniques exist, see, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,807,633 issued to Fry on Feb. 28, 1989, such techniques are complex and have limited applicability. That is, use of such techniques essentially preclude use of the system for purposes of imaging, unless one were to use multiple transducers. In that regard, while two or more physically separated transducers can be used to accomplish imaging and therapy, typically with one configured for imaging and the other for therapy, such a system is susceptible to the generation of imprecise data and is overly complex and expensive.
Thus, it would be advantageous to provide a compact, non-invasive system capable of acoustically performing the therapeutic heating and the imaging of the treatment region in the target tissue as well as the temperature monitoring in the treatment region with a single acoustic transducer. Moreover, it would also be advantageous to provide a compact, non-invasive system capable of performing three-dimensional imaging, temperature monitoring and therapeutic heating of the treatment region to provide a more focused therapeutic treatment process.
In other applications, it would be advantageous to provide therapeutic ultrasonic systems with multiple transducers capable of facilitating the imaging, temperature monitoring, and therapeutic heating functions to obtain imaging and temperature information over a larger area of the region-of-interest and provide therapeutic heating more appropriately to the target tissue, for example, over a larger region-of-interest, with an increased intensity at the treatment region, or more readily focused towards the target tissue.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Imaging, therapy, and temperature monitoring ultrasonic method


According to a human spinal column measuring and displaying system of the invention, a probe is pinched between the second finger and the third finger of a measuring person, front ends of the fingers are moved from the first thoracic vertebra to the fifth lumbar vertebra of the spinal column of a measured subject, detaching amounts from reference positions in X, Y and Z directions are detected by three-dimensionally moving the front ends of the fingers. Based on measured data, positions of displaying the vertebrae in correspondence with positions of coordinates in X direction, Y direction and Z direction of the respective vertebrae are moved and a three-dimensional image of the spinal column of the measured subject is generated and the image of the spinal column is displayed on a display screen.

It has conventionally been known that warping or bending of the spinal column effects various influences such as diseases of the internal organs, the stiffness in the shoulder and the head ache on the human body. Therefore, in order to confirm whether bending is present at the spinal column, there are used a manual method of confirming whether the spinal column is bent by examining the spinal column position of the human body by touching by a physician of the chiropractic, a method of using Moire topography capable of optically recognizing whether a Moire pattern symmetrical in left and right direction is described on the surface of the human body and a method of using thermography capable of detecting temperature of the surface of the human body caused by a failure in blood flow and optically recognizing warping of the body (bending of the spinal column) by a distribution of the temperature.
Further, when it is found that bending is present at the spinal column, an image of the Moire topography or the thermography is made to be seen by a patient and an explanation stating 'the spinal column is bent to the right or to the left' is given from a surface state of the human body. Further, in diagnosis by touching, an explanation is orally given to a patient of a result of the diagnosis by touching.
Further, a predetermined treatment is carried out from the surface of the human body to the bent spinal column by manual therapy by the physician to thereby correct or improve the bending of the spinal column.
However, according to the above-described background art method, in explaining a state of the spinal column given to the patient (measured subject), only the oral explanation is given to the patient and therefore, a specific bent state of the spinal column cannot be known. Further, in order to know a specific degree of the bending of the spinal column from a display content of the image of the Moire topography or the thermography, skill is required to grasp the display content and it is difficult to know the bent degree of the spinal column simply by a nonprofessional person. Further, even when the bent spinal column is diagnosed by touching and thereafter, a result of carrying out the predetermined treatment is explained, the diagnosis by touching or the treatment per se is much dependent on the technique and the experience of the physician and for the patient (measured subject), even when the degree of bending of the spinal column of one's own or the degree of correcting the spinal column is explained, it is difficult to understand the specific state of the bending such as how much which portion of the spinal column is bent in which direction, or how much the bending of the spinal column is corrected after the treatment. That is, in explaining orally of the bent state of the spinal column by the physician, a specialized expression is given such that, for example, 'number XX of the superior thoracic vertebrae becomes so and so.' and there poses a problem that it is difficult to understand how which of the thoracic vertebrae of one's own is bent.

Human spinal column measurement and display system


A system for accenting an appliqué comprising a lighting system comprising a light source configured to emit polychromatic light, and an appliqué configured to be applied to a surface, the appliqué being configured to at least one of scatter light and reflect light within an appliqué wavelength range. The light source is operable to emit alternating first and second polychromatic lights, the first polychromatic light comprising a maxima within the appliqué wavelength range and the second polychromatic light not comprising a maxima within the appliqué wavelength range.

Making a picture, character, or otherwise identifiable image appear on a surface has usually involved the projection of the image on an otherwise blank surface. Moreover, the progression of a sequence of images, such as simulating motion, has tended to include either a series of projecting devices working in sequence to project the images, or a single projecting device that moves or rotates. However, such systems typically require the environment in which the image is to be perceived to be relatively darker, or the image may be difficult to perceive. Moreover, the projection of an image onto a non-blank surface makes the image difficult to recognize.
Images have been embedded in random, pseudo-random, or otherwise non-recognizable patterns. This is useful for entertainment, where an image becomes apparent where it once was not apparent. For example, autostereograms are well known. However, prior embedded images have typically relied on biological responses, such as the decoupling of eye convergence, in order for the embedded image to become apparent, and not all observers are able to accomplish such decoupling. Other systems rely on a filter to be positioned intermediate the embedded image and the observer, usually in the form of eyewear. These systems are generally undesirable, as the eyewear is not conducive to ordinary activities. Accordingly, there is a need for a system for eliciting embedded images without impeding the activity of the observer, and that is readily observable by all observers.
This background information is provided to reveal information believed by the applicant to be of possible relevance to the present invention. No admission is necessarily intended, nor should be construed, that any of the preceding information constitutes prior art against the present invention.

Lighting system for accenting regions of a layer and associated methods


According to one embodiment, a power converter circuit includes a resonant circuit coupled to an alternating current (AC) voltage source to convert a first AC voltage to a first AC current and an AC to direct current (AC/DC) converter coupled to the resonant circuit, where the AC/DC converter is to convert the AC current to a DC current. The power converter circuit further includes an inverter coupled to the AC/DC converter to convert the DC current to a second AC current, an AC filtering circuit coupled to an output of the inverter, and a load coupled to the output of the inverter to convert the second AC current to a second AC voltage.

Power conversion, from alternating current (AC) to direct current (DC) and/or from DC to AC is achieved today predominantly by voltage source converters (inverters and rectifiers) having a switching circuit. For example, for a rectifier, either a three phase or single phase AC voltage source supply is rectified to a controlled or uncontrolled DC bus voltage. Inverters in either three phase or single phase power circuits use a fixed DC bus voltage that may be center-tapped to create a modulated stepped waveform on the AC side using a switching algorithm. The stepped waveform is filtered via an AC filter to create an AC voltage. The AC voltage is usually regulated by altering the switching pattern, or by regulating the DC bus voltage, or a combination thereof. The resulting waveform can be connected to a dead load (resistor, inductor, and capacitor) or paralleled with another voltage source, depending on the application.
Typical applications include rectifiers and high current rectifiers (for DC loads), frequency converters, UPSs, solar inverters, battery energy storage systems, etc. The power conversion described above is achieved using voltage source technology. The same power conversion objectives can be achieved using current source technology. This paper seeks to explain a method for the generation of a true current source and how it can be applied in the domain of AC/DC and DC/AC power conversion.
FIG. 1A is a schematic diagram illustrating a series connected inductor and capacitor, or an LC circuit to transform an AC voltage source to an AC current source at the load terminals, load 207. Referring to FIG. 1A, circuit 200 transforms an AC voltage source into an AC current source at load 207. AC voltage source 201, such as an AC 60 Hz 120V, power source provides a constant voltage to circuit 200. Tuning inductor 203 and capacitor 205, having a resonant frequency of 1/(2*pi*SQRT(LC)), to the voltage source frequency, e.g., 60 Hz, as the load resistance tends toward infinity the load voltage also tends toward infinity. An infinite electro motive force (EMF) or voltage and infinite resistance defines a current source. Here, L is inductance of inductor 203 and C is capacitance of capacitor 205.
FIG. 1B is a schematic diagram illustrating a series connected inductor with a parallel connected capacitor and inductor, or a resonant LCL circuit to transform an AC voltage source to an AC current source at the load terminals. Referring to FIG. 1B, circuit 250 transforms an AC voltage source into an AC current source at load 259. AC voltage source 251, such as an AC 60 Hz 120V, power source provides a constant voltage to circuit 250. Tuning inductor 253 and capacitor 255, having a resonant frequency of inverse of a multiplied by the square root of (LC), to the voltage source frequency, e.g., 60 Hz, drives the circuit to behave with a constant current characteristic. Here, L is inductance of inductor 253 and C is capacitance of capacitor 255. Inductor 257, also tuned to the supply frequency, connected in series with load 259 ensures no current is drawn from the supply at no load due to parallel resonance. Parallel resonance occurs when a circuit current is in phase with the applied voltage of an AC circuit containing an inductor and a capacitor connected in parallel. The circuit creates a true AC current source at load 259, e.g., a current in resistance 259 that is independent of the magnitude of the resistance of load 259.
Appendix A shows calculations for a general case of a 1200 W AC current source of FIG. 1B. The equations prove that if the reactors and capacitors are designed for equal power and tuned to the supply resonant frequency the output current does not vary with a change of load, from zero to nominal ohms for component 259.


A structure comprises an elongate, resiliently deformable cable, a body section comprising a cable-receiving aperture, said aperture being dimensioned so as to retain a length of said cable within it in use while permitting relative movement of said cable relative to the aperture in a direction along the length of the cable upon application of a set manipulating force, and retaining means for retaining the cable at a set position relative to the body section absent application of said force, wherein the cable at least partially defines the shape of the structure, and said shape may be changed by application of said manipulating force thus causing relative movement between the cable and the body section in a direction along the length of the cable.

This invention relates to a structure of changeable shape. Such structures may be of application in many different fields, for example, but not limited to, toys, puppets, sculptures, prosthetic equipment, animatronics, robots or dolls.
In a particular embodiment, such a structure may find application in the field of stop motion animation, and for the sake of example only, it is this application which will be described in more detail herein.
Stop motion animation is a well-known form of animation in which in order to create the illusion of movement of a figure, the figure is photographed in a time sequence, where the figure is incrementally moved between each photograph. It is therefore necessary to use a figure which is capable both of small, incremental movements, and which can remain in a set position once so moved.
Conventionally, such a figure comprises a number of elements. For a human body figure for example, the body may include an articulated skeleton, which defines and limits the major body movements possible, e.g. raising an arm, bending a knee, while preventing impossible or unlikely movements, e.g. flexing the middle of a thighbone. Set around the skeleton will be a body form which defines the volumetric shape of the figure. This will typically comprise a bulky yet flexible material, such as sponge, foam rubber, Plasticine®, clay or the like. This can be carved or set to form the required body shape. Sometimes, around the body form is a body covering (i.e. "skin"), which is flexible to allow movement of the figure. Typically, silicone or rubber may be used for this purpose. In addition, the covering layer may be provided with relief features, so that features of the figure may be accentuated.
There are various problems associated with such known figures. For example, a large volume of material (foam, plasticine etc) is required for the body form. In addition, when the figure is manipulated, the foam material is prone to loss of volume, creasing or rippling, which detracts from the realism of the figure. Furthermore, such figures typically suffer from a relatively poor range of movement of certain body features, for example a figure's neck, limbs, mouth and eyebrows.


The invention relates to complexes of germanium with amino acids and carboxylic acids of the general formula Ge[OH]a[AA]b[CA]c (I),    where AA is an amino acid, CA is a carboxylic acid,    a=0÷3, b=1÷3, c=0÷3, and 1≦b+c≦4, wherein AA and AC in the complex can be identical or different, and to a method for preparing same. The method consists in preparing an aqueous suspension of germanium dioxide, adding an amino acid and a carboxylic acid to the aqueous suspension of germanium oxide produced, heating the mixture produced with agitation at a temperature of 40-100° C. for 2-14 hours with subsequent filtering, removal of the water and production of a complex in solid form. The method makes it possible to prepare stable complexes with a controllable composition and a controllable ratio of germanium to amino acid and carboxylic acid which are stable in solid form and can be used in medicine.

Germanium-containing compounds are widely used in diverse fields of science and engineering, for example as semiconductors and catalysts for the production of polyesters and polyolefins, in manufacturing optical fibers for telecommunication facilities and lenses and glasses for IR spectroscopy.
Recently germanium compounds have also come into use in medicine due to their pharmacological activities. The biological properties of germanium compounds include the ability to ensure oxygen transport in tissues of the body and to enhance the immune status of the body, and anti-tumor activities.
Germanium compounds are used in two main forms, namely in an organic form (containing Ge—C bonds) or in an inorganic form (as salts, germanium oxides, and complex compounds thereof). For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,271,084 (1981, IPC: C 07F 7/30) protects germanium-containing organic polymers, namely carboxyethyl germanium sesquioxides, which are produced by the polymerization of 3-trichlorogermylpropionic acid. The feedstock is germanium dioxide, which is reduced with hypophosphorous acid (H3PO2) in the presence of hydrochloric acid, whereby producing a germanium chloride-phosphoric acid complex. The thus-produced complex compound is converted to 3-trichlorogermylpropionic acid by reaction with acrylic acid (CH2═CHCOOH). The U.S. Pat. No. 5,386,046 (1995, IPC: C07F 7/30) discloses carboxyethyl germanium sesquioxides, which are produced using germanium tetrachloride, tetramethyldisiloxane, and acrylic acid. The prior-art germanium-containing organic polymers are efficient in the treatment of neuropsychiatric disorders (see U.S. Pat. No. 4,281,015, 1981, IPC: A61K 31/28), ophthalmic disorders (see U.S. Pat. No. 4,296,123, 1981, IPC: A61K 31/28), disorders of the liver (see U.S. Pat. No. 4,309,412, 1982, IPC: A61K 31/74), lung fibrosis (see U.S. Pat. No. 4,321,273, 1982, IPC: A61K 31/28), allergic diseases (see U.S. Pat. No. 4,322,402, 1982, IPC: A61K 31/74), and hepatitis (see U.S. Pat. No. 5,340,806, 1994, IPC: A61K 31/79). They also promote the production of interferon in the human body (see U.S. Pat. No. 4,473,581, 1984, IPC: A61K 31/28) and protect it from the cold (see U.S. Pat. No. 4,898,882, 1990, IPC: A61K 31/28).
The U.S. Pat. No. 3,825,546 (1974, IPC: C07D 29/28) describes the preparation of germanium-containing azaspirans (nitrogen-containing heterocyclic compounds), referred to as spirogermaniums. The process of producing spirogermanium is a multi-step synthesis, wherein the initial compound is dialkylgermanium, namely dimethyl- or diethylgermanium (R2GeH2). Dialkylgermanium is transformed into 4,4-dialkyl-4-germa-cyclohexanone in two steps using methyl acrylate, potassium tert-butoxide, and 20% sulfuric acid solution. Following this, spirogermanium is obtained from 4,4-dialkyl-4-germa-cyclohexanone in several steps.
The U.S. Pat. No. 4,468,393 (1984, IPC: A61K 31/555) shows that spirogermanium compounds, especially diethylspirogermanium and salts thereof, are useful for the treatment of arthritis by means of injections or oral administration. Intravenous injection doses of spirogermanium are between 50 and 80 mg/m2 body surface. The therapeutic dose of spirogermanium recommended for treating arthritis with severe rheumatoid symptoms is 1.5 mL aqueous solution (30 mg/mL) intramuscularly. This therapy is to be carried out twice a week during the first six weeks and once a week after remission is achieved. This usually takes a period of three to six months. Oral treatment can be efficient when capsules containing 200 mg spirogermanium are administered twice daily for two weeks and then once daily for six weeks.
The above-described methods for the preparation of germanium-containing organic compounds are multistep and intricate processes. They require that organic solvents be used to isolate and purify target compounds. For example, hydrolysis and condensation of 3-trichlorogermylpropionic acid depend on the process duration and other factors, and this affect the qualities of the final product. The synthesis of spirogermanium comprises five steps, as a result of which the final product yield based on the initial compounds is very low.
Processes are also known for preparing germanium-containing organic compounds that are the products of reacting germanic acid or an alkali-metal salt of metagermanic acid with some amino acids or organic acids. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,674,823 (1972, IPC: C07F 7/00) proposes an invention which relates exclusively to a compound of germanic acid and cysteine in the molar ratio 1:1. This compound is active in the treatment of hepatitis, rheumatism, and hydro eczema. The compound is prepared by dissolving a water-soluble form of germanium dioxide in hot water thereby forming germanic acid, then filtering the solution, adjusting pH to 4, and adding cysteine to the aqueous solution of germanic acid. Following this, the solution is heated for 2 hours, then filtered and concentrated by distillation. The product is isolated from the concentrated solution upon cooling. The product can also been isolated by adding ethanol or acetone to the solution. U.S. Pat. No. 3,674,823 does not disclose the feasibility to obtain germanium compounds with other amino acids.
The process for the preparation of germanium compounds that are the product of reacting a potassium or sodium salt of metagermanic acid with some carboxylic acids or amino acids, as disclosed in the patent DE 3212817, 1983, IPC: C07F 7/30, constitutes the most pertinent piece of prior art for our claimed method, and we take it as such. The method for the preparation of germanium compounds as disclosed in the patent DE 3212817 consists in heating germanium oxide with a concentrated aqueous solution of potassium or sodium hydroxide so as to convert the germanium dioxide into a soluble potassium or sodium salt of metagermanic acid; concentrating, cooling, and then suspending the mixture in water under heating with a carboxylic acid, a mixture of carboxylic acids, or an amino acid. The product is obtained in the form of a ready-for-use solution, or is precipitated from the solution by adding an alcohol. Useful amino acids are such as aspartic acid and glutamic acid; useful carboxylic acids include citric acid, isocitric acid, succinic acid, ketoglutaric acid, and fumaric acid; hydroxycarboxylic acids (lactic acid or ascorbic acid) can also be used. The resulting compounds, which are the product of reaction between an alkali-metal salt of metagermanic acid and the aforementioned acids and amino acids, are well soluble in water and have biological and pharmacological properties.
In the patent DE 3212817, the toxicity of germanium compounds with succinic acid and citric acid was studied in mice by the Litchfield and Wilcockson method. For intraperitoneal administration, LD50 was 275 mg/kg and >2 500 mg/kg, respectively. The above-described compounds were subjected to the Allium test. Seeds of onion (Allium cepa) were incubated on Petri dishes. When the roots of germinating onion reached 1 cm length, they were transferred to Petri dishes containing aqueous solutions of the test compounds wherein germanium concentrations were 0.0625%, 0.125%, 0.25%, and 0.5%. The results clearly demonstrated that the germanium compounds have a cytostatic effect, which is associated with a decrease in the mitotic cycle. The germanium compound with aspartic acid was tested in six in-hospital patients who were diagnosed as having oval cancer and malignant tumors of the uterus. The patients received orally 100 mg of the substance in the form of a 10% solution twice daily. The tumors were removed surgically. All patients showed a noticeable improvement in health. In addition, five patients did not show exudate either in the abdominal cavity, or in the internal pelvic cavity. Small exudate was found only in one patient. There were no toxic side effects. None patients showed infiltration in post-operational examination carried out one month later.
The method disclosed in the patent DE 3212817 has the following drawbacks:                Not only does the use of potassium and sodium hydroxides for transferring germanium dioxide into a soluble form through the formation of potassium or sodium salts of metagermanic acid complicate the process, but this is also responsible for the occurrence of alkali-metal cations in the final products, and this can be undesired in the pharmacological use of the resulting compounds;        Germanium complex compounds with acids are frequently stable only in aqueous solution and are destroyed in an attempt at being isolated from water; in the patent DE 3212817, a germanium compound with succinic acid is isolated only in Example 1; the other examples produce solutions of germanium with aspartic and carboxylic acids, and this may serve as evidence of their instability in a solid form and the impossibility of being isolated from aqueous solution;        In view of the fact that the final products obtained in Examples 2 to 4 are solutions, the resulting aqueous solutions containing organogermanium compounds are mixtures comprising potassium or sodium salts of metagermanic acid, carboxylic acids, and germanium compounds with carboxylic acids; medical uses of such an aqueous solution that contains the target product is difficult because of the occurrence therein of the aforementioned contaminants;        The preparation of organogermanium compounds with amino acids is exhausted by the use of aspartic acid (see Example 3)

Complexes of germanium with amino acids and carboxylic acids and method for preparing same

OBSCHESNO S OGRANICHENNOI OTVETSTVENNOSTYU “WDS FARMA”


A method for producing a bevel gear shaft, adaptable to produce a shaft having a desired recess shape, such as an involute spline, in the longitudinal direction. A blank, having a bevel gear portion complementary to an upper die and a shaft portion small enough to fit into a lower die, is utilized in the process. The product is formed to the shape of upper and lower dies held together in a press. An upper punch passes downward through the upper die and a lower punch passes upward through the lower die. The punches displace some of the raw material of the blank forcing it to bulge and take on the shape of the upper and lower dies. The bevel gear portion may be coined by the upper die simultaneously with the forging of the bevel gear shaft. The invention shortens production time, increases product strength, and improves product yield per unit weight of raw material.

The present invention relates to methods for forming bevel gear shafts. In particular, the present invention relates to a method for forming a bevel gear shaft having a desired recess shape, such as an involute spline, in its longitudinal direction.
Known methods for producing bevel gear shafts are useful for a variety of applications. The methods can be applied to the production of drive pinions on limited slip differential gears. For example, referring to FIG. 7 of the present invention, a bevel gear I having an involute spline 2 is utilized as a driving pinion on a limited slip differential gear.
Conventionally, when manufacturing bevel gear shafts, involute spline 2 is produced by a material removal process such as machining. The main disadvantages of material removal processes are low productivity and decreased mechanical strength. Forming involute spline 2 by machining requires 1-5 minutes and the resulting structure has only 75-80% of the mechanical strength of the same structure formed by forging. This lower mechanical strength of machined -vs- forged structures is known to be due to the interruption of the stabilized grain structure by the shearing action of the machining process.
Referring now to FIG. 8, when the involute spline is produced on a bevel gear shaft by conventional forging techniques, a shoulder 4 and an approach angle 5 are required for guiding the blank into the die, for stabilizing it during the punching process, and for drawing the shaft in the bevel gear. Therefore, forging an involute spline on the entire length of the shaft with no shoulder 4 and no approach angle 5, as in FIG. 7., cannot be accomplished with a conventional die forging process.
Referring now to FIG. 9, involute splines 2 can be formed before producing bevel gear portion 3. However, in order to make the involute spline fit smoothly in a gear die, the involute spline is required to be of smaller dimension than gear die. Moreover, in the next step the involute spline is required to be uniformly enlarged. It is impossible to accurately enlarge the spline uniformly. Furthermore, with this process a protruding portion 6 is produced in forming the bevel gear portion, thereby reducing the yield rate.


A slide bearing has a layered structure which is substantially uniform over the circumference thereof and comprises a base (10), a lead-free slide layer (12) having a thickness which is reduced in edge zones (16) as compared to a central zone between the edge zones (16), and a polymer coating (14) which is thicker in the edge zones (16) as compared to the central zone, so that the surface level of the coating (14) is substantially flat as seen in axial cross-section.

1. Technical Field
The invention relates to a slide bearing.
2. Related Art
Slide bearings are used in many technical fields and are frequently subject to heavy loads. This, for example, applies to bearings supporting the crankshaft of an engine which can be loaded to an extent which causes deformation of the crankshaft. This can lead to a breakage in the oil film between the bearing and the shaft, particularly towards the (axial) edges of the bearing. This can lead to excessive wear and seizure. Further consequences are fatigue damages.
WO 2009/059344 A2 is related to a bearing having various running layers along the circumference thereof.
DE 37 19 789 A1 describes a slide bearing having a carrier layer, an intermediate layer containing lead and a slide layer also containing lead. A hard support layer can be present below the slide layer.


An identity management system is described. The identity management system includes a data store to store a generic template for a user interface (UI) of the identity management system and a dynamic UI toolkit installed at a computing system, the dynamic UI toolkit to create a dynamic identity program template (IPT) from the generic template and customization input. In one example, the identity management system receives a first identifier indicating a first type of identity program; determines a first security level in view of the first identifier, determines a first set of identification elements from a plurality of identification elements in view of the first security level and in view of the first identifier, and generates a first template in view of the first set of identification elements.

An identity management system refers to an information system, or to a set of technologies that can be used for enterprise or cross-network identity management. Identity management describes the management of individual identities, their authentication, authorization, roles and privileges within or across system and enterprise boundaries.
Since the attacks on 9/11 and numerous high-profile identity thefts and breaches, federal, state and local governments, as well as private corporations and organizations, have significantly increased spending on identity-related programs worldwide. These programs and initiatives make up a larger marketplace increasingly referred to as "Identity Management and Credentialing" (IdMC).
The IdMC market has now matured to the point where large reference implementations are becoming more commonplace, industry standards are well developed and are being implemented, mandates from government and corporate policy/law makers are stipulating specific process and technical requirements, and convergence models are emerging across the enterprise that includes multi-application and multi-role support.
With these advancements, would-be customers are seeking a reduction in the cost, time and complexity (risk) of implementing IdMC solutions. These IdMC customers are now demanding end-to-end identity solutions that are pre-built and pre-integrated that can be quickly and easily customized to meet their particular needs.


A stage light with a lens buffering feature includes a light source emitting light along an optical path and a dimming lens provided on the optical path. The dimming lens is mounted on a mounting plate and moves freely along the optical path under the driving of a drive mechanism. A limit plate is provided on at least one side of the dimming lens along the direction of the optical path, and the limit plate is provided with a first buffering magnet thereon. The mounting plate is provided with a second buffering magnet corresponding to the first buffering magnet, and the polarities of the sides of the first buffering magnet and the second buffering magnet close to each other are the same. When the stage light is suddenly powered off or during transportation, the dimming lens or the mounting plate can avoid collision with other components.

In order to adjust the size and definition of the projected light spot of the stage light, it is necessary to set a magnifying lens or focusing lens in the stage light. However, the adjustment ranges of size and definition of the light spot of stage lights are generally wide, long moving distance of the magnifying lens or focusing lens is thus required to achieve adjustment of size and definition of the light spot. Accordingly, when the stage light is suddenly powered off or in transportation, the magnifying lens or focusing lens is prone to violent collision with other components under the action of gravity, causing abnormal noise or damage.


Disclosed is a solid or semi-solid gelatin nanoparticulate active agent dosage form comprising at least one nanoparticulate active agent and at least one gel forming substance which exhibits gelation sufficient to retain excess water in the solid or semi-solid gelatin form. The active agent particles have an effective average diameter prior to inclusion in the dosage form of less than about 2000 nm. The dosage form of the invention has the advantages of easy administration combined with rapid dissolution of the active agent following administration.

A. Background Related to Nanoparticulate Compositions
Nanoparticulate active agent compositions, first described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,145,684 ("the '684 patent"), are particles consisting of a poorly soluble active agent having adsorbed onto or associated with the surface thereof a non-crosslinked surface stabilizer. The '684 patent also describes methods of making such nanoparticulate active agent compositions. Nanoparticulate compositions are desirable because with a decrease in particle size, and a consequent increase in surface area, a composition is rapidly dissolved and absorbed following administration.
Methods of making nanoparticulate active agent compositions are described, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,518,187 and 5,862,999, both for "Method of Grinding Pharmaceutical Substances;" U.S. Pat. No. 5,718,388, for "Continuous Method of Grinding Pharmaceutical Substances;" and U.S. Pat. No. 5,510,118 for "Process of Preparing Therapeutic Compositions Containing Nanoparticles."
Nanoparticulate active agent compositions are also described, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,298,262 for "Use of Ionic Cloud Point Modifiers to Prevent Particle Aggregation During Sterilization;" U.S. Pat. No. 5,302,401 for "Method to Reduce Particle Size Growth During Lyophilization;" U.S. Pat. No. 5,318,767 for "X-Ray Contrast Compositions Useful in Medical Imaging;" U.S. Pat. No. 5,326,552 for "Novel Formulation For Nanoparticulate X-Ray Blood Pool Contrast Agents Using High Molecular Weight Non-ionic Surfactants;" U.S. Pat. No. 5,328,404 for "Method of X-Ray Imaging Using Iodinated Aromatic Propanedioates;" U.S. Pat. No. 5,336,507 for "Use of Charged Phospholipids to Reduce Nanoparticle Aggregation;" U.S. Pat. No. 5,340,564 for "Formulations Comprising Olin 10-G to Prevent Particle Aggregation and Increase Stability;" U.S. Pat. No. 5,346,702 for "Use of Non-Ionic Cloud Point Modifiers to Minimize Nanoparticulate Aggregation During Sterilization;" U.S. Pat. No. 5,349,957 for "Preparation and Magnetic Properties of Very Small Magnetic-Dextran Particles;" U.S. Pat. No. 5,352,459 for "Use of Purified Surface Modifiers to Prevent Particle Aggregation During Sterilization;" U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,399,363 and 5,494,683, both for "Surface Modified Anticancer Nanoparticles;" U.S. Pat. No. 5,401,492 for "Water Insoluble Non-Magnetic Manganese Particles as Magnetic Resonance Enhancement Agents;" U.S. Pat. No. 5,429,824 for "Use of Tyloxapol as a Nanoparticulate Stabilizer;" U.S. Pat. No. 5,447,710 for "Method for Making Nanoparticulate X-Ray Blood Pool Contrast Agents Using High Molecular Weight Non-ionic Surfactants;" U.S. Pat. No. 5,451,393 for "X-Ray Contrast Compositions Useful in Medical Imaging;" U.S. Pat. No. 5,466,440 for "Formulations of Oral Gastrointestinal Diagnostic X-Ray Contrast Agents in Combination with Pharmaceutically Acceptable Clays;" U.S. Pat. No. 5,470,583 for "Method of Preparing Nanoparticle Compositions Containing Charged Phospholipids to Reduce Aggregation;" U.S. Pat. No. 5,472,683 for "Nanoparticulate Diagnostic Mixed Carbamic Anhydrides as X-Ray Contrast Agents for Blood Pool and Lymphatic System Imaging;" U.S. Pat. No. 5,500,204 for "Nanoparticulate Diagnostic Dimers as X-Ray Contrast Agents for Blood Pool and Lymphatic System Imaging;" U.S. Pat. No. 5,518,738 for "Nanoparticulate NSAID Formulations;" U.S. Pat. No. 5,521,218 for "Nanoparticulate lododipamide Derivatives for Use as X-Ray Contrast Agents;" U.S. Pat. No. 5,525,328 for "Nanoparticulate Diagnostic Diatrizoxy Ester X-Ray Contrast Agents for Blood Pool and Lymphatic System Imaging;" U.S. Pat. No. 5,543,133 for "Process of Preparing X-Ray Contrast Compositions Containing Nanoparticles;" U.S. Pat. No. 5,552,160 for "Surface Modified NSAID Nanoparticles;" U.S. Pat. No. 5,560,931 for "Formulations of Compounds as Nanoparticulate Dispersions in Digestible Oils or Fatty Acids;" U.S. Pat. No. 5,565,188 for "Polyalkylene Block Copolymers as Surface Modifiers for Nanoparticles;" U.S. Pat. No. 5,569,448 for "Sulfated Non-ionic Block Copolymer Surfactant as Stabilizer Coatings for Nanoparticle Compositions;" U.S. Pat. No. 5,571,536 for "Formulations of Compounds as Nanoparticulate Dispersions in Digestible Oils or Fatty Acids;" U.S. Pat. No. 5,573,749 for "Nanoparticulate Diagnostic Mixed Carboxylic Anhydrides as X-Ray Contrast Agents for Blood Pool and Lymphatic System Imaging;" U.S. Pat. No. 5,573,750 for "Diagnostic Imaging X-Ray Contrast Agents;" U.S. Pat. No. 5,573,783 for "Redispersible Nanoparticulate Film Matrices With Protective Overcoats;" U.S. Pat. No. 5,580,579 for "Site-specific Adhesion Within the GI Tract Using Nanoparticles Stabilized by High Molecular Weight, Linear Poly(ethylene Oxide) Polymers;" U.S. Pat. No. 5,585,108 for "Formulations of Oral Gastrointestinal Therapeutic Agents in Combination with Pharmaceutically Acceptable Clays;" U.S. Pat. No. 5,587,143 for "Butylene Oxide-Ethylene Oxide Block Copolymers Surfactants as Stabilizer Coatings for Nanoparticulate Compositions;" U.S. Pat. No. 5,591,456 for "Milled Naproxen with Hydroxypropyl Cellulose as Dispersion Stabilizer;" U.S. Pat. No. 5,593,657 for "Novel Barium Salt Formulations Stabilized by Non-ionic and Anionic Stabilizers;" U.S. Pat. No. 5,622,938 for "Sugar Based Surfactant for Nanocrystals;" U.S. Pat. No. 5,628,981 for "Improved Formulations of Oral Gastrointestinal Diagnostic X-Ray Contrast Agents and Oral Gastrointestinal Therapeutic Agents;" U.S. Pat. No. 5,643,552 for "Nanoparticulate Diagnostic Mixed Carbonic Anhydrides as X-Ray Contrast Agents for Blood Pool and Lymphatic System Imaging;" U.S. Pat. No. 5,718,388 for "Continuous Method of Grinding Pharmaceutical Substances;" U.S. Pat. No. 5,718,919 for "Nanoparticles Containing the R(−)Enantiomer of Ibuprofen;" U.S. Pat. No. 5,747,001 for "Aerosols Containing Beclomethasone Nanoparticle Dispersions;" U.S. Pat. No. 5,834,025 for "Reduction of Intravenously Administered Nanoparticulate Formulation Induced Adverse Physiological Reactions;" U.S. Pat. No. 6,045,829 "Nanocrystalline Formulations of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) Protease Inhibitors Using Cellulosic Surface Stabilizers;" U.S. Pat. No. 6,068,858 for "Methods of Making Nanocrystalline Formulations of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) Protease Inhibitors Using Cellulosic Surface Stabilizers;" U.S. Pat. No. 6,153,225 for "Injectable Formulations of Nanoparticulate Naproxen;" U.S. Pat. No. 6,165,506 for "New Solid Dose Form of Nanoparticulate Naproxen;" U.S. Pat. No. 6,221,400 for "Methods of Treating Mammals Using Nanocrystalline Formulations of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) Protease Inhibitors;" U.S. Pat. No. 6,264,922 for "Nebulized Aerosols Containing Nanoparticle Dispersions;" U.S. Pat. No. 6,267,989 for "Methods for Preventing Crystal Growth and Particle Aggregation in Nanoparticle Compositions;" U.S. Pat. No. 6,270,806 for "Use of PEG-Derivatized Lipids as Surface Stabilizers for Nanoparticulate Compositions;" U.S. Pat. No. 6,316,029 for "Rapidly Disintegrating Solid Oral Dosage Form," U.S. Pat. No. 6,375,986 for "Solid Dose Nanoparticulate Compositions Comprising a Synergistic Combination of a Polymeric Surface Stabilizer and Dioctyl Sodium Sulfosuccinate;" U.S. Pat. No. 6,428,814 for "Bioadhesive Nanoparticulate Compositions Having Cationic Surface Stabilizers;" U.S. Pat. No. 6,431,478 for "Small Scale Mill;" U.S. Pat. No. 6,432,381 for "Methods for Targeting Drug Delivery to the Upper and/or Lower Gastrointestinal Tract;" U.S. Pat. No. 6,582,285 for "Apparatus for Sanitary Wet Milling;" and U.S. Pat. No. 6,592,903 for "Nanoparticulate Dispersions Comprising a Synergistic Combination of a Polymeric Surface Stabilizer and Dioctyl Sodium Sulfosuccinate;" all of which are specifically incorporated by reference. In addition, U.S. Patent Application No. 20020012675 A1, published on Jan. 31, 2002, for "Controlled Release Nanoparticulate Compositions," and International Application No. WO 02/098565, published on Dec. 12, 2002, describe nanoparticulate active agent compositions, and are specifically incorporated by reference.
Amorphous small particle compositions are described, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,783,484 for "Particulate Composition and Use Thereof as Antimicrobial Agent;" U.S. Pat. No. 4,826,689 for "Method for Making Uniformly Sized Particles from Water-Insoluble Organic Compounds;" U.S. Pat. No. 4,997,454 for "Method for Making Uniformly-Sized Particles From Insoluble Compounds;" U.S. Pat. No. 5,741,522 for "Ultrasmall, Non-aggregated Porous Particles of Uniform Size for Entrapping Gas Bubbles Within and Methods;" and U.S. Pat. No. 5,776,496, for "Ultrasmall Porous Particles for Enhancing Ultrasound Back Scatter." None of these references, or any other reference that describes nanoparticulate compositions, relates to a rapidly dissolving solid or semi-solid gelatin dosage form comprising a nanoparticulate active agent.
B. Background Related to Dosage Formulations
Drug products are currently designed for three groups of individuals: infants, pediatrics, and adults. The needs of infants are different from those of children 2 to 12 years of age, and the needs of children are different from those of adults. Moreover, the needs of the elderly population are different than those of other adults. Another category of individuals needing an alternative drug delivery form are patients with chronic dosage regimens. Repeated dosing of tablets or pills may become problematic for patients having a need for daily dosage regimens. Thus, an alternative dosage form is needed for a variety of patient populations.
Pediatric patients have difficulty swallowing until they reach the age of about 10-16 years old. Younger pediatric patients generally take either chewable tablets, crush and mix regular tablets with food/juice, or take a liquid dosage form. Chewable tablets, generally a good dosage form, do not always sufficiently mask the taste of the active agent. Crushing and mixing regular tablets with food or juice is time-consuming, messy, and not always practical. The difficulty of liquid dosage forms, e.g., syrups, is that they are bulky, do not always taste good, and can be unstable as compared to a solid dosage form, such as a tablet. A practical and new dosage form would be of value for these patients.
With advancements in medical science and the focus on healthy lifestyles, there is projected growth of the elderly population in the U.S. and abroad. Currently, the U.S. population of persons 65 years of age or older receives nearly 30% of the medications prescribed. Moreover, it is anticipated that there may be a rise in the demand for drugs by the elderly. In spite of the disproportionately large demand for prescription pharmaceuticals among the elderly, relatively little attention has been directed to meeting the unique pharmacotherapeutic needs of this age group.
Many older patients experience difficulty in swallowing tablets or capsules and yet the vast majority of dosage forms administered to the elderly are tablets or capsules. Uncoated tablets are convenient and economical to manufacture but are often difficult to swallow and frequently cause discomfort by "hanging" in the throat. Coated tablets and capsules are somewhat easier to swallow but with increasing age and the large number of drug products that are administered to a single individual, this is a source of apprehension. Liquid dosage forms are relatively easy to administer but are more costly, easily spilled, often do not taste good, occupy large volumes of space per dosage unit, and possess stability problems.
As is evident, the needs of the elderly differ from those of other populations and deserve special attention in new drug development, product formulation, product packaging, product labeling, patient information, and product marketing and sales. A practical and new dosage form would be of value for these patients as well as others.
C. Background Related to Gelatin Dosage Forms
A gelatin drug delivery system would be beneficial in achieving ease of administration in both young, older, and chronic dosage patients. However, such a dosage system must exhibit sufficient stability and bioavailability. Without sufficient bioavailability and active agent stability, ease of administration is just a single step in the process of pharmaceutical therapy. Prior art gelatin dosage forms have been unable to solve this dual necessity of bioavailability in combination with active agent stability.
The most typical gelatin drug delivery formulations comprise gelatin coated tablet formulations and gelatin encapsulated solid cores or liquid cores of pharmaceutical agents. One such example is found in U.S. Pat. No. 6,197,787 to Franson et al., which discloses a concentrated drug solution for a soft gelatin capsule filling consisting essentially of: (a) a poorly soluble organic acid drug, such an analgesic, anti-inflammatory agent, anthelmintic, etc.; (b) propylene glycol; (c) sodium hydroxide; and (d) water. However, this dosage formulation is a gelatin capsule and not a solid or semi-solid gelatin formulation.
Another example of a soft gelatin capsule is found in U.S. Pat. No. 6,217,902 to Tanner et al. Tanner et al. disclose a soft gelatin capsule comprising a suspension of a solid phase in a liquid phase, with the solid phase consisting of encapsulated beads having a mean diameter of from about 149 μm to 2500 μm. The beads comprise a coating effective to prevent interaction of the active agent with the liquid phase or the soft gelatin capsule. Tanner et al. fail to disclose a solid or semi-solid gelatin formulation.
An example of a gelatin dosage form has been disclosed by Wunderlich in U.S. Pat. No. 5,932,245 ("the '245 patent"). This patent is directed to a dosage formulation that provides: (a) an inner phase comprising at least one nanoparticle compound having an average size ranging from 10 to 800 nanometers; and (b) an outer phase comprising gelatin, collagen hydrolyzates, or mixtures thereof. The inner phase of this composition is negatively charged and the outer phase is positively charged when the dosage formulation is dissolved in an aqueous solution having a pH of less than 9.5, or the inner phase is positively charged and the outer phase is negatively charged when the dosage formulation is dissolved in an aqueous solution having a pH of higher than 3.5.
This reference differs from the present invention in several aspects. First, the '245 patent requires solubilization of the active agent as part of the process of making the described nanosol compositions. The solubilization is achieved either through the use of a solvent (col. 17, lines 30-34), followed by evaporation of the solvent, or through modification of the pH of the gelatin. For example, an active agent is dissolved in ethanol, isopropanol, methanol, or acetone (col. 18, lines 32-36; col. 20, lines 18-20 and 44-48; col. 22, lines 4-5 and 29; col. 23, lines 30-32) or the active agent is dissolved in the gelatin via modifying the pH of the gelatin (col. 18, lines 52-55; col. 21, lines 23-28 and 43-50; col. 22, lines 61-67). Such solubilization of an active agent is undesirable, as solubilization affects the various properties of the active agent, such as the solidification state of the active agent (i.e., whether the active agent is in an amorphous or crystalline form), stability of the active agent in the aqueous state, how much of the active agent has returned to the solid state, etc. Such solubilization is required because in the compositions of the '245 patent, the gelatin functions to stabilize the nanoparticles of the active agent, as pictured in FIG. 5.
The only way to have the gelatin composition "surround and stabilize" the active agent in the composition of the '245 patent is to first solubilize the active agent in the gelatin, or in a solvent followed by mixing the solvent/active agent solution with the gelatin solution and subsequent evaporation of the solvent.
This is in contrast to traditional nanoparticulate drugs, which do not require solubilization of the active agent. Rather, such compositions utilize a surface stabilizer, such as a surfactant, to stabilize the nanoparticulate size of the active agent following particle size reduction via, for example, milling or homogenization. See e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 5,145,684 for "Surface Modified Nanoparticulate Drugs." However, the '245 patent teaches that the use of surfactants is undesirable in the disclosed compositions because such surfactants can have side effects and possible toxicity. See col. 4, lines 12-14.
Finally, another drawback to the formulation of the '245 patent is that it does not retain excess water, which is essential for effective redispersability, and hence this dosage form may exhibit poor pharmaceutical bioavailability. This is likely because the gelatin formulation of the '245 patent is not a hydrated gelatin.
Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 6,066,332 ("the '332 patent") to Wunderlich et al. describes a gelatin dosage form containing ibuprofen, having a particle size of from 10 to 800 nanometers, in the form of a nanosol. As with the compositions of the '245 patent, the '332 patent requires solubilization of ibuprofen to make the described gelatin formulations. See e.g., col. 8, line 60, through col. 9, line 5; col. 9, lines 15-16 and 31-34. The ibuprofen is dissolved in a solvent such as ethanol, isopropanol, methanol, or acetone (col. 8, lines 60-62; col. 9, lines 31-34; col. 16, lines 13-15), or the ibuprofen is dissolved in the gelatin via modifying the pH of the gelatin (col. 9, lines 10-16; col. 15, lines 28-35). Such solubilization of an active agent such as ibuprofen is undesirable, as described above.
Moreover, as with the '245 patent, another drawback to the formulation of the '332 patent is that it does not retain excess water, which is essential for effective redispersability, and hence this dosage form may exhibit poor pharmaceutical bioavailability.
Another example of a gelatin dosage form is disclosed by Allen et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 6,066,337. This patent is directed to a rapidly dissolving pharmaceutical dosage form produced by combining a particulate support matrix with a pharmaceutical ingredient to form a dosage mixture, followed by forming the dosage mixture into a dosage form. When introduced into an aqueous environment, the dosage form is substantially completely disintegrable within less than about 20 seconds. The particulate support matrix is formed by providing an aqueous composition comprising: (a) an aqueous medium, (b) a support agent comprising a non-hydrolyzed gelatin component having a predetermined net charge, (c) a hydrolyzed gelatin component having a predetermined net charge of the same sign as the non-hydrolyzed gelatin component, (d) a bulking agent, and (e) a volatilizing agent. The hydrolyzed gelatin component has a solubility in aqueous solution greater than that of the non-hydrolyzed component. The aqueous composition is introduced as droplets into a drying chamber heated to a temperature sufficient to cause evaporation of substantially all of the aqueous medium and volatilizing agent from the droplets leaving the support agent in a dried particulate form comprising the particulate support matrix. This formulation fails to retain excess water, which is essential for effective redispersability, and hence the Allen et al. formulation exhibits poor pharmaceutical bioavailability.
None of the described prior art teaches a rapidly disintegrating gelatin-based solid or semi-solid dosage form in which an active and stable ingredient is in a nanoparticulate form, which does not require solubilization of the active agent as part of the process of making the dosage form, and wherein the gel-forming substance retains excess water, thereby providing sufficient pharmaceutical bioavailability. This is significant because the prior art gelatin drug delivery systems fail to retain water in the gel matrix, which therefore inhibits or prevents redispersability, and hence the prior art gelatin formulations exhibit poor pharmaceutical bioavailability. Moreover, prior art gelatin dosage forms required solubilization of component active agents, which is undesirable as solubilization of an active agent can change the active agent's pharmacological and pharmacokinetic characteristics.
There is a need in the art for drug dosage forms having ease of administration, active agent stability, and increased pharmaceutical bioavailability for active agents. The present invention satisfies these needs.

Gel stabilized nanoparticulate active agent compositions


According to one aspect of the present invention, a semiconductor device, comprising a wiring board provided with wires and electrodes; a semiconductor element which is mounted on the wiring board and has plural connection electrodes formed on its surface; and a metal layer of fine metal particles aggregated and bonded which is interposed between the electrodes on the wiring board and the connection electrodes of the semiconductor element to connect between the electrodes and the connection electrodes, is provided.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor device and a method of connecting the semiconductor device, and more particularly to a connecting method for mounting a semiconductor device on a wiring board which configures a system, a connecting method for mounting semiconductor elements (hereinafter referred to as the semiconductor chips), which also configure the semiconductor device, on the wiring board configuring the semiconductor device, and a connecting method for semiconductor chips which configure the semiconductor device.
2. Description of the Related Art
A semiconductor device is configured by mounting one or plural semiconductor elements on a mounting substrate such as a wiring board. In recent years, flip-chip mounting is employed to bond connection electrodes such as projecting electrodes (also called as bumps) formed on the surface of a semiconductor chip, to wires or electrodes formed on a wiring board, thereby mounting the semiconductor elements on the mounting substrate. It is a general method that the solder bumps of the semiconductor chip are aligned with the electrodes of the wiring board and heated to melt so as to bond and fix the solder bumps with the electrodes. The bumps on the semiconductor chip are configured by forming openings in an insulating film which is coated to protect the electrode pads of Al or Cu of the semiconductor chip, forming a barrier metal such as Ti/Ni, Ti/Ni/Pd, Cr/Cu or the like thereon, and further forming bumps of Sn/Pb solder or the like thereon. The semiconductor device having such a flip-chip mounting structure may protect a gap between the semiconductor chip and the wiring board by an underfill resin or protect the wiring board and the semiconductor chip as a whole by coating a mold resin or the like.
FIG. 11A and FIG. 11B show examples of a prior art method of connecting a semiconductor chip to a wiring board. FIG. 11A shows a conventional semiconductor device which has the semiconductor chip flip-chip mounted on the wiring board. A protective insulating film 108 such as a silicon oxide film is applied onto the main surface of a semiconductor substrate 101. On the main surface on which the protective insulating film 108 is formed, electrode pads 104 of Al or the like which are electrically connected to an inside integrated circuit, barrier metal layers 105 which are on the electrode pads 104 and extend to reach the protective insulating film 108 over the electrode pads 104, and bumps 103 formed of solder mainly consisting of Pb, Sn and the like and formed on the barrier metal layers 105 are formed (FIG. 11A). Meanwhile, a wiring board 102 on which the semiconductor substrate 101 is mounted has wiring patterns of Cu or the like and electrode pads 106 partly forming the wiring patterns on its main surface. Barrier metal layers 107 of Ni/Au, Pb—Sn or the like are formed on the electrode pads 106. The plural bumps 103 on the semiconductor substrate 101 are electrically connected to the electrode pads 106 which are formed on the surface of the wiring board 102, and the semiconductor substrate 101 is mounted on the wiring board 102. For the bumps 103, gold may be used other than the solder. As the solder material, Pb—Sn, Sn—Ag, Sn—Ag—Cu or the like is generally used. For the mounting substrate 102, a glass epoxy substrate, a ceramic substrate, a flexible substrate or the like is used.
A conventional method of producing a semiconductor device using conductive particles for the connection structure is described in, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Application No. HEI 7-211721. The formation of bumps by blowing fine metal particles is described in, for example, Japanese Patent No. 3283977. A method of blowing fine metal particles onto connections is described in, for example, Japanese Patent Publication No. HEI 7-114218.
A production of a semiconductor device which has semiconductor chips mounted on a wiring board has a problem of thermal stress at the connecting time. For example, when a glass epoxy substrate is used for the wiring board, Si as a material for the semiconductor chip and the glass epoxy substrate as the wiring board have a large difference in a thermal expansion coefficient, so that solder bumps interposed between them are exposed to stresses from both of them when they are cooled from the temperature at the connecting time to room temperature, and the bumps and an insulating film below them have a possibility of breakage (see FIG. 11C). This problem becomes obvious when the bumps themselves become to be hardened by omitting Pb from Pb—Sn solder for the protection of environment, when a pitch of the bumps becomes microscopic, or when a fragile material such as a low dielectric constant film is used for the insulating layer of the semiconductor element. Therefore, the temperature at the time of connection is desired to be 100° C. or below at which a stress is small.
As a connection method at a low temperature, the prior art methods proposed and developed include a method using a low-melting metal, a method using an anisotropic conductive film (ACF), a method connecting in a high vacuum and the like. But, where a material for the low-melting metal is selected to lower the melting point to 100° C. or below, the cost of the metal itself increases, and oxidation causes degradation in reliability of connection, difficulty in processing and the like, so that the application of such a metal to general parts is hard to realize. The connection method using the ACF holds a resin film containing conductive particles between the electrode surface of the semiconductor chip and the wiring pattern surface of the wiring board, heats and pressurizes them to effect the electrical connection. This method has problems that the device, chips, bumps and the like are highly required to be even, bringing about a cost rise and a mechanical damage to the semiconductor element when pressurized. The connection in a high vacuum causes technical and cost problems such as surface cleanliness, necessity of high-vacuum equipment and the like in addition to the problem of the evenness.
Regardless of which method is used, if a semiconductor chip once connected to the wiring board by the burn-in or the test thereafter is defective, it is hard to remove the defective semiconductor chip and to mount another semiconductor chip in the same position. Therefore, burn-in or test thereafter is generally performed after mounting all the semiconductor chips, in the case of the semiconductor device on which plural semiconductor chips are mounted. If it is found that the semiconductor device has a defective semiconductor chip, it is necessary to change the defective part to another semiconductor chip. But, the prior art connection method is hard to exchange the semiconductor chips after connecting, so that the occurrence of a defective product results in disposal of the wiring board and the semiconductor chips together. Therefore, where plural semiconductor chips are mounted on the wiring board, the mounted other semiconductor chips which are good-quality products and the wiring board must be abandoned as a whole if there is a single defective part, and there was a considerable economic influence.

Semiconductor device and manufacturing method thereof


A rectifier circuit without using a clock signal is provided. In this circuit, a polarity judgment circuit receives an AC signal and judges the positive/negative polarity of voltage of the AC signal and output the polarity specification signal. A gain control circuit receives the polarity specification signal and outputs a first and a second gain control signals having different DC voltage differences between the times when the result of "Positive polarity" is shown and when the result of "Negative polarity" is shown. A first amplifier circuit amplifies the AC signal differentially, and a second amplifier circuit amplifies the AC signal thus amplified differentially again while gain controlled according to the first and second gain control signals. A rectified signal is outputted from differential output terminals of the second amplifier circuit.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a rectifier circuit for rectifying an alternating current signal on a full-wave or half-wave basis and more particularly, to a rectifier circuit which is adapted to be made of metal-oxide semiconductor (MOS) integrated circuits and does not use a clock signal.
2. Description of the Related Art
As a rectifier circuit realized on MOS integrated circuits, such as shown in FIG. 1 is known previously. The rectifier circuit shown in FIG. 1 utilizes a switched capacitor (SC) multiplication circuit (see "Design and Application of SC Circuit", Section 3.1, by Kenji Nakayama published by Tokai University Publication Division).
The circuit shown in FIG. 1 comprises an input terminal 1, an output terminal 2, an SC circuit 3, a comparator 4, a D-type flip-flop block 5, a capacitor C1, switches S1, S2, S3 and S4 and selective switches S5 and S6. The SC circuit 3 comprises an operation amplifier A31, capacitors C31 and C32 and switches S31, S32, S34 and S35. Then, .phi.1 and .phi.2 indicate clock signals.
The switches S1, S2, S3, S4, S31, S32, S33, S34 and S35 are controllably switched by the clock signal .phi.1 or .phi.2 respectively inputted, and when the clock signal .phi.1 or .phi.2 is of a high logic level (logic level "1"), they are closed and when it is of a low logic level (logic level "0"), they are opened.
The clock signals .phi.1 and .phi.2 each is a clock signal having a frequency as high as several ten times that of an alternating current signal applied to the input terminal 1 and when the clock signal .phi.1 is "1", the clock signal .phi.2 is "0" and when the clock signal .phi.2 is "1", the clock signal .phi.1 is "0", having a clock phase at which the clock signals .phi.1 and .phi.2 simultaneously become the logic level "0".
An alternating current signal applied to the input terminal 1 is sent through the switch S1 and the capacitor C1 to the negative side-input terminal of the comparator 4. The positive side-input terminal of the comparator 4 is connected to the ground. When the clock signal .phi.1 is "1", the switch S1 is closed thereby charging the capacitor C1 by the alternating current signal. At that time, the clock signal .phi.2 becomes "0" to make switch S4 open and as a result, the output signal of the comparator 4 is not applied to the input terminal D of the flip-flop block 5.
When the clock signal .phi.2 is "1", the switches S2 and S4 are closed and as a result, the electric charge stored in the capacitor C1 is discharged and the output signal of the comparator 4 at that time is applied to the input terminal D of the flip-flop block 5.
When the clock signal .phi.2 is "1", if the alternating current signal is of the "positive polarity", the output signal of the comparator 4 becomes "1", and if is of the "negative polarity", the output of the comparator becomes "0". Besides, the switch S4 and the flip-flop block 5 make a sample-hold circuit and as a result, the output signal of the flip-flop block 5 becomes "1" while the alternating current signal has the positive polarity and becomes "0" while it has the negative polarity, and the output signal Q (inverted signal of an output signal Q outputted from an output terminal Q) becomes the logic level opposite thereto.
The selective switch 5 is controlled by the output signal Q outputted from the output terminal Q and the switch S6 is controlled by the inverted output signal Q of the flip-flop block 5, thereby selectively outputting the clock signal .phi.1 or .phi.2 from the output terminals Q and Q. Namely, the selective switch S5 outputs the clock signal .phi.1 while the alternating current signal is being the positive polarity and outputs the clock signal .phi.2 while it has the negative polarity. Inversely, the selective switch S6 outputs the clock signal .phi.1 while the alternating current signal has the positive polarity and outputs the clock signal .phi.1 while it has the negative polarity.
The clock signal .phi.1 or .phi.2 outputted from the selective switch S5 controls the switch 31 of the SC multiplication circuit 3 and on the other hand, the clock signal .phi.2 or .phi.1 outputted from the selective switch S6 controls the switch S32 of the SC multiplication circuit 3. When the switch S31 is controllably switched by the clock signal .phi.1 and the switch S32 is controllably switched by the clock signal .phi.2, the SC multiplication circuit 3 executes the "positive-phase multiplying operation". Namely, when the input voltage from the input terminal 1 is expressed as VIN, the output signal from the output terminal 2 is expressed as VOUT and the capacity of the capacitor C32 is supposed to be set as high as K' times that of the capacitor C31, the output voltage VOUT may be expressed as follows: EQU VOUT=K'.multidot.VIN
On the other hand, when the switch S31 is controllably switched by the clock signal .phi.2 and the switch S32 is controllably switched by the clock signal .phi.1, the SC multiplication circuit 3 executes the "negative-phase multiplying operation" and the output signal VOUT may be expressed as follows; EQU VOUT=-K'.multidot.VIN
As a result, when an alternating current signal applied to the input terminal 1 is of the positive polarity, the output terminal 2 outputs a positive-phase signal having an amplitude K' times that of the alternating current signal and, on the other hand, when the alternating current signal is of the negative polarity, the output terminal 2 outputs an opposite-phase signal having an amplitude K' times that of the alternating current signal. Thus, such a signal that the inputted alternating current signal is full-wave rectified can be obtained.
In the circuit shown in FIG. 1, a switch is disposed between the input terminal 1 and the SC multiplication circuit 3, and when the alternating current signal is being the positive polarity, the switch thus disposed is closed to send the alternating current signal to the SC multiplication circuit 3 and on the other hand, when it is being the negative polarity, the switch thus disposed is made open not to send the alternating current signal to the SC multiplication circuit 3, thus such a signal may be obtained that the inputted alternating current signal is half-wave rectified.
With the conventional rectifier circuit shown above, however, as the clock signal is used, there arises such a problem that a rectified signal having a good signal-to-noise (S/N) ratio cannot be obtained influenced by the generation of clock noise. In addition, the circuit itself is complex in structure and large in scale and unavoidably large in chip-size and power consumption when to make it of MOS integrated circuits.
Thus, an object of this invention is to provide a rectifier circuit without using a clock signal.
Another object of this invention is to provide a rectifier circuit realizable with MOS integrated circuits which are small in circuit-scale.

Rectifier circuit not using clock signal


A magnetic end hook for a tape measure has a hook member having a mounting section extending in a first direction and a hooking section extending away from the mounting section in a second direction generally transverse to the first direction. A distinct bezel affixes to the hooking section so as to capture a magnet between the bezel and the hooking section. A magnet is disposed at least partially in a hole in the hooking section and a hole in the bezel so as to be visible from both front and rear views of the end hook. The magnet may include flanges and a fastener, such as a rivet, may secure the bezel in place. There may be a second magnet similarly situated. A tape measure and methods of assembly are also described.

The present invention is directed generally to tape measures of the type commonly used to measure linear distances.
Modern tape measures (or "tape rules") typically include an L-shaped metallic end hook for hooking onto measurement surfaces. Such end hooks, while being available in a wide variety of shapes and sizes, all basically operate by being either pressed against a surface for an abutting-type measurement, or hooked over a suitable edge for a hooking-type measurement. However, it is sometimes difficult to keep the end hook in the desired location. As such, various approaches have been proposed to provide alternative means for helping keep the end hook in the desired location. One area receiving attention is the addition of magnets to the end hook so that the end hook may be at least partially magnetically coupled to metallic measurement surfaces (e.g., metal wall studs). While a number of magnetic end hook configurations have been proposed, none have proven entirely satisfactory. As such, there remains a need for alternative magnetic end hook designs.