The present invention is related to prostheses, their methods of manufacture and methods for repairing vascular lesions using such prostheses. Natural polymers such as collagen are processed and fabricated to form tubular resorbable vascular wound dressings with unique physico-chemical and mechanical properties for repairing selected vascular segments, and for delivering therapeutic agents at selected sites within vessels and at the anastomoses.

Prior to 1980, the most effective means of repairing diseased blood vessels was by surgery. A comprehensive review of the prior art of vascular surgery can be found in "Vascular Surgery" edited by Wesley S. Moore, Grune & Stratton, Inc. 1983. In one of the disclosed surgical procedures, a vascular graft (either biological or synthetic) is used to bypass the lesion to allow blood flow from the proximal to the distal end. Typically, in coronary artery repair procedures, an autogenous saphenous vein graft is used as a bypass graft to restore the normal blood flow in the heart. As surgical procedures of this kind are generally traumatic, requiring weeks of hospitalization and extensive surgical costs, alternative treatment methods have been sought. Percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) has since emerged to be the most popular method as the least traumatic interventional therapeutic approach for repairing atherosclerotic coronary and peripheral artery diseases in the past decade. There were approximately 300,000 angioplasty procedures for coronary artery diseases in the U.S. alone for 1988 (BBI Newsletter vol 13, No. 5, Table 4, Page 86, 1989). Despite the growth and acceptance of angioplasty, its overall success has been limited by vessel reclosures (abrupt reclosure and restenosis). Overall, vessel reclosure occurred in one third of cases over the past ten years. With the anticipated increase in angioplasty procedures in the coming years, a correspondingly greater number of patients will be affected as a result of vessel reclosure. The impact of vessel reclosure is therefore of major importance in terms of patient morbidity, repeat procedure risk, and increased health costs. It has been estimated that a reduction in the restenosis rate or 33% to 25% could save $300 million in overall healthcare costs. As such, an effective, reliable and safe method of reducing and perhaps preventing vessel reclosure is most welcome.
Many different approaches have been taken in an attempt to prevent post-angioplasty vessel reclosure. One such approach has been the use of an intravascular stent to mechanically keep the lumen open. One such stent is disclosed in U.S. Pat No. 4,733,665, where an intravascular stent comprising of an expandable stainless steel wire mesh tube is used to prevent post angioplasty restenosis and vessel reclosure. The stent is positioned over an inflatable balloon secured to a catheter and is advanced to the stenosed region. The balloon is inflated, thereby expanding the stent into contact with the vessel wall. The elastic limit of the wire mesh is exceeded when the balloon is expanded, so that the stent retains its expanded configuration. U.S. Pat No. 4,503,569 discloses a shape memory alloy stent which is advanced to a stenosed region on a catheter. The stent has the form of a coil spring. After the stent is in place, the stent is heated with a hot fluid causing the shape memory alloy to expand into contact with the blood vessel. Stents for blood vessel repair are also disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,553,545 and 4,732,152. A plastic graft for repair of vascular system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,740,207. U.S. Pat. No. 4,577,631 discloses a Dacron graft that is coated with an adhesive which may be activated by ultraviolet or ultrasonic energy after placement in the aorta. As most of these stents and grafts have been developed based on mechanical requirements, and are fabricated from metals, alloys, or plastics and remain in the blood vessel indefinitely, they generally have many disadvantages and limitations in fulfilling the requirements of an acceptable intravascular prosthesis which is in constant contact with the blood and is subjected to continuous pulsatile pressure in the body. The disadvantages of the prior art intravascular stents and grafts are discussed below.
Firstly, the selection of a blood compatible material is most critical in applications in contact with blood. Metals have high surface energy and are not blood compatible which may therefore induce acute thrombosis when implanted as an intraluminal or intravascular stent or graft. In addition, metals are non-resorbable and are subject to corrosion. Even the best stainless steel cannot be guaranteed that they will not corrode under the long term implantation conditions.
Secondly, compliance mismatch resulting in intimal hyperplasia and graft reclosure has been documented in many vascular grafting procedures. Metals are known to be non-compliant and it is not surprising that some chronic reclosure of the metal stent may be attributed to intimal hyperplasia formation. In fact, anastomotic hyperplasia as a result of compliance mismatch is still one of the major hurdles in developing a small diameter vessel for coronary bypass surgeries.
Furthermore, complete circumferential contact with the vessel endoluminal surface is critical for stent safety and efficacy. Incomplete expansion of the metal stent may be fatal. The continuous insult to the surrounding tissue due to pulsatile actions of the vessels may induce long term untoward effects. Moreover, metal stents have a fixed range of expansion within a blood vessel. In some cases the stent may be too small in diameter, even after expansion, to be affixed to the vessel wall, and in other cases, the stent may expand to such a diameter that the vessel is damaged or raptured. In either case, improperly sized or positioned prior art stents require surgery for removal. The heat expandable metal, nitinol, has the additional disadvantage of incomplete expansion as a result of inadequate thermal exposure during deployment or from variabilities in stent material. Still further, migration of stents has been observed with prior art stents. Stent migration may be fatal. Stent migration may be due to under expansion, gradual change in metal properties, and the body's own defense to foreign material.
To circumvent some of the disadvantages of metal stents, Slepian, M. J. and Schindler, A. (Circulation, 78, Suppl IV: II-409, 1988) selected a synthetic polymeric material, linear aliphatic polyester for stent fabrication. This material is slowly degradable and has certain thermal properties that may be used to seal and pave the lumenal sites in situ. The investigators used a dual balloon deployment approach and melted the polymer in situ at 60.degree. C. followed by balloon compression directed flow of the melt polymer for vessel sealing and subsequently cooling the material to solidify the polymer seal or pave. This approach has been referred to as polymeric endoluminal paving and sealing (PEPS) in the prior art. This PEPS approach may have several potential disadvantages. The high temperature may have an unknown effect on the local tissue and cells. The melting and recrystallization within a vessel may not be a predictable event in such a life-sustaining process. Further, the long term effects of the degraded products are unknown. The adhesion of the polymer film with the tissue also increases the risk of fragmentation of the material which may cause potential embolization.
There are many advantages of using type I collagen material for intravascular stent or wound healing applications which can not be simulated by metals and synthetic polymers. Type I collagen molecule is a triple helix and has a unique protein configuration that is a coiled coil of three polypeptide chains or alpha chains. Two of the alpha chains are identical and are called alpha 1 chains and the third chain is slightly different in amino acid composition and is called alpha 2 chain. Each alpha chain twists in a left-handed helix with three residues per turn, and three chains are wound together in a right-handed superhelix to form a rod-like molecule about 1.4 nanometer in diameter and 300 nanometer long The alpha chains each contain about 1,050 amino acid residues and the molecular weight of a type I collagen molecule is about 300,000 daltons. In each alpha chain within the triple helix every third amino acid residue is a glycine. Collagen is characterized by a high content of proline and hydroxyproline residues, the absence of tryptophane, a minor amount of aromatic amino acid, and a significant amount of dicarboxylic and dibasic amino residues. At both ends of the collagen molecule three are terminal peptide sequences known as telopeptides which are globular and are not triple helical in structure and which lack glycine at every third residue. These telopeptides are the primary sites of intermolecular crosslinking in the molecule. Some of the advantages of using type I collagen for the applications of the present invention are briefly summarized below.
Firstly, type I collagen is hypo-immunogenic. Antibodies against type I collagen molecule of one species cannot be raised in the second species without the use of Freund's Complete Adjuvant. The immunogenicity is reduced when collagen is in the fiber form. Chemical crosslinking further reduces the immunogenicity to a non-detectable level. In other words, purified type I collagen fibers are highly biocompatible.
Secondly, type I collagen is biodegradable and the rate of biodegradation can be controlled by chemical means such as by crosslinking with glutaraldehyde, formaldehyde or other bifunctional crosslinking agents. There are a number of cells (macrophages, polymorphonuclear leukocytes and fibroblasts) that, during wound healing, secrete the enzyme collagenases which cleave collagen at 1/4 position from the C-terminal end of the molecule. The two short triple-helices are not stable at body temperature and are denatured to random coiled peptides which are then degraded into amino acids and small peptides by proteases in the body. The amino acids and peptides are metabolized, presumably through the normal pathways similar to the resorption of host collagen during remodeling of the wound.
Further, type I collagen molecule has about 250 amino and guandino groups (positively charged groups at pH 7.4) and about 250 carboxyl groups (negatively charged groups at pH 7.4). These side chain functional groups are reactive and can be modified by chemical means to change its physico-chemical, mechanical and biological properties. For example, native type I collagen fibers are thrombogenic. However, the thrombogenicity of the collagen can be significantly reduced when the collagen molecule is modified to a negatively charged protein.
Still further, type I collagen can be prepared either as a solution or as a highly swollen fibrillar dispersion such that medicaments in the form of small molecular drugs, peptides and macromolecules can be incorporated into the collagen fibers to form a composite material that would function as a vehicle for slow systemic release or as a local delivery system of the medicaments.
Repair of other tissues such as skin, nerve and meniscus cartilage has been attempted using type I collagen containing material. For example, Yannas et. al. fabricated an endothermal implant using collagen-glycosaminoglycan composite material (U.S. Pat No. 4,060,081). Li used a semipermeable, resorbable type I collagen conduit for peripheral nerve repair (U.S. Pat. No. 4,963,146). Stone used biocompatible, resorbable type I collagen-glycosesinoglycan matrices to regenerate meniscus cartilage (U.S. Pat No. 5,007,934).
A collagen wound healing matrix is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,024,841. This wound healing matrix is made from atelocollagen (pepsin solubilized skin collagen) and is not chemically crosslinked. As such, it does not possess the unique physico-chemical and mechanical properties that are critically required for the specific vascular applications of the present invention.
However, even with the various foregoing technologies which have been applied to repair damaged or diseased anatomical structures, a device successful as a vascular wound dressing and constructed from totally resorbable natural materials, or analogs thereof, has not been developed in the prior art.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide improved vascular wound healing devices, which provide structural support to the damaged or diseased vessel segment, allowing normal blood flow.
It is another object of the present invention to provide vascular wound dressings which are biocompatible, bioresorbable, hemocompatible, and compliant.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide vascular wound dressing devices which when released at the selective sites inside a blood vessel will self expand to adhere to the vessel wall via hydration of the material.
It is a yet another object of the present invention to provide a means to deliver medicaments to the selective sites either intravascularly or extravascularly for therapeutic applications.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a means to manufacture the vascular wound dressings.
It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide a means to repair the damaged or diseased blood vessel.


A composition for binding to human papillomavirus type 16 (HPV16)-positive tumor cells, the composition including a DNA aptamer. The DNA aptamer includes one of SEQ ID NO: 1 and SEQ ID NO: 2.

Human papillomavirus (HPV) may cause almost all cervical cancers and may additionally cause some anogenital, and head and neck cancers. High-risk types of HPV may change normal cells to abnormal cells, which may lead to cancer if not treated. HPV16 is the most common high-risk type of HPV, which may cause uterine cervical changes without any noticeable symptoms. Most of the cancers may be prevented with early detection followed by treatment; thus, regular HPV tests for high-risk types are suggested for primary screening of cancers.
Despite significant improvements in the early treatment of cervical cancer such as surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy, serious complications such as resistance to chemotherapy drugs and metastasis remain critical clinical challenges. Generally, current cancer treatments face many limitations, such as inability to cross biological barriers, inappropriate drug delivery, poor drug distribution, ineffective against metastasis, presence of drug-resistant cancers, and lack of practical approaches in monitoring the treatment. Nowadays, developing targeted substances or anti-cancer drugs that have been created for molecular diagnosis or treatment of cancers have helped significantly in improving diagnosis and treatment of these cancers.
Aptamers, which are short single-stranded oligonucleotides of DNA, RNA, or specific proteins, may be suitable candidates for targeting therapeutic and diagnostic compounds due to their high specificity and affinity. Targets of aptamers may vary from a single molecule to a complex target and even a whole organism. The basis for target identification by the aptamers is their tertiary structures. Compared to other ligands, oligonucleotide aptamers have distinct advantages, such as cost-effective production, low immunogenicity, high affinity comparable to monoclonal antibodies, and an ability to penetrate solid tumors.
Hence, there is a need for targeted compositions containing specific aptamers with high affinity against HPV16-positive tumor cells for early detection of pre-cancerous and cancerous cells. Also, there is a need to target HPV16-positive tumor cells using specific aptamers for in-vivo and in-vitro diagnostic and therapeutic applications.

Aptamers for targeting HPV16-positive tumor cells


Differential expression of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) and enhancer RNAs (eRNAs) are used to monitor diseases and determine therapeutic efficacy in, for example, neurological diseases, inflammatory diseases, rheumatic diseases, and autoimmune diseases. Machine learning systems are used to identify lncRNAs or eRNAs having differential expression correlated with responsiveness to various therapies.

While the understanding of disease has expanded greatly in recent decades, there are still many serious diseases that the medical community is ill-equipped to diagnose and treat. Many of those diseases exhibit improved outcomes if detected and treated early. Due to a reliance on subjective analysis and diagnoses of exclusion (diagnosing by process of elimination) many patients receive late diagnoses of diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS) and can suffer shortened life expectancies and a lower quality of life as a result. Because diseases like MS are degenerative and loss of function is cumulative, early detection and treatment can afford significant benefits in delaying further degenerative changes and attacks while patients who begin treatment later do not reap the same benefits as those who begin treatment earlier during the disease course.
Furthermore, with diseases such as MS that are characterized by unpredictable cycles of relapse and remission, it can be difficult to monitor progression of the disease or the therapeutic efficacy of treatments, especially during periods of remission.
For MS, diagnosis currently relies on clinical symptoms and examinations as outlined in the revised McDonald criteria supported by magnetic resonance imaging analysis or other laboratory tests on cerebrospinal fluid or evoked potential testing. Tracking disease progression for MS similarly relies on expensive imaging techniques (e.g., MRI) and functional tests that rely on monitoring symptoms and effects of the disease as opposed to the progression of the underlying disease itself. The lack of accurate and objective techniques for tracking disease progression also impairs the ability to test therapeutic efficacy of new and existing treatments, especially during remission stages of diseases like MS.

Long non-coding RNA gene expression signatures in disease monitoring and treatment


A massage device comprises a body having a body-contacting head adjacent one end and a handle adjacent the other end, the body shaped to permit the user to reach the back of his/her body with the head when the handle is at the user's front or side; and having a rest pivot extending from the body and terminating at a distal end in a support-contacting face, the rest pivot being positioned so that when the device is between a support surface and the user with the head in contact with the user's body and the handle positioned for contact by the user's hand, (a) the user's bodyweight stabilizes the rest pivot against sliding movement on the support and (b) any pivoting force about the rest pivot applied by the user's hand to the handle is substantially less than the force exerted against the user's body by the head.

This massage apparatus herein is intended to aid in a self-massage of regions of the body which are nearly or completely inaccessible using hands alone by applying pressure to treat sore muscles and trigger points on hard-to-reach areas of the back, neck and shoulders without tiring upper body muscles.
Devices commonly used in self-massaging the back tend to be held in the user's hands and pulled to the place of tension. Examples of such devices are trigger point massage devices such as the "AccuMassager Trigger Point Massager" offered by Body Back Company at www.bodyback.com, the "Backnobber Massager 2" offered by The Pressure Positive at www.backnobber-store.com, the "SoloMAX self-massage tool" offered by Kelly Kinetics, the "Thera Cane" offered by Thera Cane at www.theracane.com, and the "Body Back Buddy Jr. Trigger Point Travel Massager", the "Body Back Buddy Trigger Point Massager", and the "Body Back Mini Trigger Point Travel Massager" offered by Body Back at www.bodyback.com.
The massage devices to which the present invention is directed require the user to hold the device over his/her shoulder in order to direct the body-contacting tip of the device to the point of massage, and to then moving the device by pushing, pulling and otherwise manipulating it with his/her arms and shoulders in order to apply pressure to the problem point. Devices of this type are ineffective because the muscles they are designed to help relax are actually involved in the massage process. Also, the arm strength of some users is limited, and they cannot easily and/or comfortably reach the problem spot(s) with the massage device and/or use the device effectively owing to an inability to apply an effective degree of force to the problem spot.


A ferrite composed of a polycrystalline ferrite which is obtained by sintering a ferrite starting powder by a discharge plasma technique is described. The ferrite starting powder is appropriately a coprecipitated ferrite powder. Prior to the sintering, the coprecipitated powder is preferably thermally treated or calcined at temperatures of not lower than 900.degree. C. A composite ferrite is also described, which is composed of the polycrystalline ferrite and a single crystal ferrite bonded together obtained by contacting the single crystal ferrite with the coprecipitated ferrite powder or embedding the single crystal ferrite in the powder, under which the polycrystalline ferrite powder is sintered by the discharge plasma sintering thereby bonding both ferrites together.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to ferrite materials which are suitably used in electronic parts typical of which are electroceramics and which have good high frequency characteristics.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In recent years, there is a great tendency toward miniaturization and high performance of electronic appliances. Similar tendencies are shown toward various parts constituting the electronic appliances and also various materials therefor. For instance, with ferrites which are essential for switching power sources, magnetic heads and the like, there is a demand of the development of materials which have better high frequency characteristics in order to achieve miniaturization of the SW power sources and the high performance of the magnetic head.
Examples of ferrites having a small size and good high frequency characteristics include polycrystalline products which are obtained, for example, by subjecting aqueous solutions of starting materials to wet coprecipitation reaction to obtain fine particles of a coprecipitation ferrite material and then the fine particles to sintering. Since the coprecipitation ferrite material has a spinel phase, any calcination technique is not necessary, unlike known ceramic processes. The sintered product can be obtained by a simple process including drying, molding and sintering, coupled with another advantage that the a uniform composition is obtained, thus the coprecipitation ferrite material being suitable for use as a starting powder for ferrites.
However, where ferrites are prepared from the coprecipitation ferrite material, the spinel crystals are apt to be decomposition at the time of the sintering, thereby presenting the problem that the resultant final product has fine cracks involved therein, with mechanical durability and magnetic characteristics being degraded.
In order to obtain ferrites having good characteristics from the starting coprecipitation ferrite materials, it has been considered necessary to resort to a specific sintering procedure. For instance, there are known techniques which are disclosed in Japanese Laid-open Patent Application Nos. 60-141669 and 1-152707. The procedure set out in the Japanese Laid-open Patent Application No. 60-141669 includes heating in an atmosphere of a mixed gas of N.sub.2 and H.sub.2 gases at a given heating rate and then sintering. The procedure of Japanese Laid-open Patent Application No. 1-152707 includes sintering in vacuum or in an atmosphere of an inert gas such as N.sub.2 gas or H.sub.2 gas at a given heating rate. Moreover, Japanese Laid-open Patent Application No. 63-252929 sets forth a procedure wherein the content of divalent iron in starting materials is properly controlled to suppress pores from being formed at the time of the thermal treatment, ensuring forming of a high density product.
However, these procedures should require complicated steps such as of using a specific type of sintering atmosphere and severe control of the heating rate, thus being not satisfactory with respect to the productivity and mass-production.
On the other hand, with magnetic heads such as video heads, single crystal ferrite heads have now been changed to composite magnetic heads made of single crystal ferrites and polycrystalline ferrites in order to reduce sliding noises and to improve the CN ratio.
The composite magnetic head has a single crystal ferrite having a high saturation magnetization flux density at the side of a front gap and a polycrystalline ferrite having a high permeability at the side of a back gap. This type of head is advantageous in that although simple in structure, the head shows good electromagnetic conversion efficiencies and is enabled for high density recording.
The composite ferrite used as the magnetic core of the composite magnetic head is obtained, for example, by preparing both a single crystal ferrite and a polycrystalline ferrite and hot pressing both ferrites. Thus, the known process of fabricating a composite ferrite requires a number of steps, thus being very disadvantageous from the standpoint of reduction of the production costs.

Process for preparing polycrystalline ferrite materials and composites containing them


A cremation container designed to be mounted on a living tree includes an inner chamber for cremation ashes therein, a front face having a first opening on the top in communication with the inner chamber. The opening is for insertion of the cremation ashes in the inner chamber as well a memorial time capsule of remembrances of the deceased. The container further includes mounting features for mounting the container to a living tree.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to funeral products, and more particularly, to cremation containers for memorializing one whose cremated remains are contained therein.
2. Background of the Related Art
Upon the death of a loved one, it is often desired to memorialize the deceased's life in some personal manner. When making funeral arrangements, families typically have many options for services and memorials. In making such arrangements, it is generally desired to create a farewell event and memorial that is meaningful for those who will participate and to establish a permanent memorial to the deceased.
Cremation has become a growing segment of the funeral industry. Upon cremation, a deceased's remains are typically contained in some form of cremation container. Some desire to have the deceased's ashes stored in a suitable permanent container, such as an urn that may be displayed in the home or in another personal setting. Even where the deceased ashes are scattered, it is often desired to retain and display the scattering container, for example, on a fireplace mantel, coffee table, end table or the like, as a means for memorializing a loved one.
Accordingly, there is a demand for more options and higher quality styles and designs of cremation containers. One popular design theme for cremation urns is the outdoor or animal theme, considering that one of the most common places for scattering ashes is the backyard or garden. In this regard, there have been proposed various attractive means for displaying cremation containers.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 20060168786 to Staab discloses a cremation container in the form of a birdhouse. The combination container has a first use for storing the ashes of a deceased and a separate second use as a birdhouse.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,175,995 to Parker et al. and U.S. Pat. No. D444,933 to Parker show various cremation containers in the forms of lawn and garden ornaments. Specifically, these patents show decorative structures such as sun dials, planters, wind chimes and bird baths that all have an inner compartment for maintaining and securing the ashes of a deceased in a permanent manner.
However, it has been heretofore unknown to provide a cremation container in the form of a tree mounted memorial urn and, more particularly, to provide a cremation container that can be easily and permanently mounted to a living tree.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide such an alternative means of memorializing a loved one who has been cremated, as an alternative to the conventional types of cremation containers presently available.


A telephone system is provided with a receiver equipped to enable a hearing-impair person to receive a telephone call through bone-conduction and air-conduction hearing. Such a receiver comprises a frame supporting a main vibration source including a cylindrical bobbin and a voice coil wound around the bobbin to convert a voice signal into a variation of a magnetic field; a vibration generator including a yoke arranged inside a lower portion of the bobbin, an electromagnet arranged on the yoke to create a gap with the bobbin, and an upper plate arranged on the electromagnet to support the electromagnet; an auxiliary vibration source including an air-conduction vibrator arousing air-conduction hearing and a bone-conduction vibrator arousing a bone-conduction hearing; and a vibration transmitter arranged to transmit vibrations from the main vibration source and the bone-conduction vibrator of the auxiliary vibration source to a transmission portion where a bone-conduction hearing transmission is selected for bone-conduction hearing.

The present invention generally relates to a telephone with a receiver arousing bone-conduction and air-conduction hearing which converts an input electric voice signal into vibration and acoustic signals by using the receiver. More particularly, it relates to a telephone with a receiver arousing bone-conduction and air-conduction hearing which induces a person to sense a sound through bone-conduction and air-conduction hearing during a telephone call, makes a hearing-impaired person with conductive hearing loss and an old person who has difficulty in air-conduction hearing use bone-conduction hearing, and makes an ordinary person having a normal sense of hearing use either bone-conduction hearing in a noise environment or air-conduction hearing in a normal environment.
A conventional receiver consisting of a general telephone loudspeaker is an air-conduction receiver. An air vibration sound being an output signal of this loudspeaker passes through the outer ear of a pinna and an external auditory meatus by an auditory mechanism, is converted into mechanical vibrations of the tympanic membrane and three small bones of the middle ear, is then amplified, and is transmitted to an auditory nerve through a cochlea of the inner ear comprising a sensorineural system, thereby making the telephone user perceive a sound of the other person.
Accordingly, a hearing-impaired person who has a lesion in the outer or middle ear and an old person who has a lowered hearing ability can hardly use a telephone call. The ordinary people having a normal hearing ability feel inconvenience in a telephone call under a noise environment.
Since the person who has difficulty in hearing can perceive a voice signal through a bone vibration, a bone-conduction telephone using a bone-conduction vibrator as a receiver has been developed. However, in this case, this telephone includes both an air-conduction hearing hand-set employing an air-conduction receiver for the ordinary people and a bone-conduction hearing hand-set employing a bone-conduction receiver for the hearing impaired, or includes only a bone-conduction hearing hand-set. As a result, the size of the conventional telephone becomes increased, the cost of production is expensive, and an additional telephone is needed when the ordinary person and the hearing impaired person live in the same place because they feel inconvenience in using one telephone.
Accordingly, the present invention is directed to a telephone with a receiver arousing bone-conduction and air-conduction hearing that substantially obviates one or more of the problems due to limitations and disadvantages of the conventional art.
It is an objective of the present invention to provide a telephone with a receiver arousing bone-conduction and air-conduction hearing, which uses a vibrator assuring an effective transmission of the air vibration, uses a vibrator of smoothly arousing bone-conduction and air-conduction hearing as a receiver, is capable of hearing a vibration signal through bone-conduction hearing as well as an acoustic signal through air-conduction hearing, makes a hearing-impaired person with conductive hearing loss and an old person who has difficulty in air-conduction hearing use bone-conduction hearing, and makes an ordinary person having a normal sense of hearing use either bone-conduction hearing in a noise environment or air-conduction hearing in a normal environment.
To achieve the above object, a telephone with a receiver arousing bone-conduction and air-conduction hearing in accordance with the present invention includes:
an overvoltage protecting circuit for protecting a telephone""s circuit from external overvoltage via a subscriber""s line;
a ring signal controller which is connected to the overvoltage protecting circuit, controls sound volume of a ring signal informing a person of a terminating call, and outputs the ring signal to a loudspeaker;
a voice signal/subscriber""s line controller which is connected to the overvoltage protecting circuit, controls the subscriber""s line by the terminating call and an originating call, and controls a transmitting/receiving of both an electric voice signal and a DTMF dial signal;
two-wire/four-wire converter which is connected to the voice signal/subscriber""s line controller, and performs two-wire/four-wire conversion in order to separate the receiving or the transmitting of the electric voice signal;
an amplifying circuit which is connected to the two-wire/four-wire converter, and amplifies the electric voice signal from the two-wire/four-wire converter in order to be received in a receiver of a hand-set;
a hand-set which includes a receiver and a transmitter, the receiver which receives and converts the electric voice signal from the amplifying circuit into a vibration signal and an acoustic signal and enables the vibration signal and the acoustic signal to be heard by using bone-conduction and air-conduction hearing, respectively, and the transmitter which converts an input voice signal into an electric signal and transmits the electric signal to the two-wire/four-wire converter;
a dial button for receiving a telephone number of the other person as an input;
a control circuit which is connected to the dial button, detects each number of the input telephone number, and controls the voice signal/subscriber""s line controller;
a DTMF signal generator which is connected to the control circuit, and generates a DTMF signal corresponding to each number applied from the dial button in response to a control of the control circuit; and
a hook switch which is connected to the voice signal/subscriber""s line controller, and initially controls the originating call and the terminating call.
Additional advantages, objects and other features of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows and in part will become apparent to those having ordinary skill in the art upon examination of the following or may be learned from practice of the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention may be realized and attained as particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

Telephone with a receiver arousing bone-conduction and air-conduction hearing

Electronics and Telecommunications Research Insitute


The present invention relates to a printed wiring board and a method of manufacturing a printed wiring board. A first printed wiring board and a second printed wiring board, each including an insulating layer and a copper foil layer, are superposed on one another with a middle insulating layer therebetween with blind holes formed in the insulating layers of the boards to oppose one another, through-holes are formed and provided with conductive plating to electrically connect the copper foil layers with each other, and reflow pads are formed by etching in the copper foil layers to seal the blind holes. The blind holes are formed through the insulating layers and reach the copper foil layers. Plated layers are plated on the surfaces of the printed wiring boards on the sides thereof where the blind holes are formed to electrically connect the blind holes and the copper foil layers, respectively.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a printed wiring board, and particularly to a printed wiring board capable of being connected by blind holes which allow for high density mounting of components, and to a method of manufacturing the printed wiring board.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A conventional printed wiring board is described below with reference to FIGS. 3(A) and 3(B).
More specifically, a printed wiring board 100 includes a dielectric resin substrate 102, copper conductor pads (inner layer pattern) 104 and 109 on opposing surfaces of the substrate 102, dielectric resin layers 101 and 103 laminated on opposing surfaces of the substrate 102, outer layer copper reflow pads 108 and 113, and outer layer copper conductor lines 105 and 110. Blind holes 106 and 111 which have copper plating layers 107 and 112 are formed in the dielectric resin layers 101 and 103. Plated through holes 114 and 115 are formed through the layers 101 and 103 and the substrate 102 and have through hole copper plating layers 116 and 117 for connecting outer layers with the inner pads 104 and 109.
The reflow pads 108 and 113 which mount electric components on the surface are connected to the copper layers 107 and 112 of the blind holes 106 and 111 by narrow conductor lines 105 and 110.
The inner layer conductor pads 104 and 109 are connected to the narrow conductor lines 105 and 110, and thus the outer layers 108 and 113, by the copper plating layers 107 and 112 of the blind holes 106 and 111.
FIG. 4(A)-FIG. 4(G) illustrate a conventional printed wiring board manufacturing process which uses a laser beam.
In the first step of the process, the inner layer conductor pads 104 and 109 are etched and formed on both surfaces of the dielectric resin substrate 102 as shown in FIG. 4(A).
In the second step of the process, the dielectric resin layers 101 and 103, and copper foil layers (outer layers) 105a and 110a are laminated and pressed onto the substrate, as etched and formed in the first step shown in FIG. 4(A), in a heated environment.
In the third step of the process, special windows 118 and 119, through which a laser beam can be radiated, are etched as shown in FIG. 4(C).
In the fourth step of the process, laser beams 120 are radiated through the windows 118 and 119 to form blind holes 106 and 111 which reach the inner layer conductor pads 104 and 109, as shown in FIG. 4(D).
In the fifth step of the process, through holes 114 and 115 are drilled as shown in FIG. 4(E).
In the sixth step of the process, blind holes 106 and 111, and through holes 114 and 115 are plated with plating layers 107, 112, 116 and 117 as shown in FIG. 4(F) for connecting the copper foil layers 105a and 110a with the inner layer pads 104 and 109.
In the last step of the process, the copper foil layers 105a and 110a are etched to form narrow outer layer conductor lines 105 and 110 and reflow pads 108 and 113, as shown in FIG. 4(G).
However, as stated above, on the conventional printed wiring board 100, the reflow pads 108 and 113 are used only for mounting surface mount components, and the narrow conductor lines 105 and 110 are used only for connecting to the blind holes 106 and 111, respectively, because the conductor pads around the blind holes 106 and 111 are higher than the outer layer copper areas and flat surfaces are necessary for mounting the surface mount components.
Accordingly, the maximum mounting density for surface mounted components is relatively low.
Furthermore, high density wiring boards with many layers printed thereon are manufactured by repeating the above process, and the conductor pads (inner layer patterns) 104 and 109 are largely shifted from their specified positions due to material thermal expansion. When, in the laser process, the blind holes are formed in positions offset from the inner layer conductor pads, the conductive areas of the hole bottoms become smaller than the specified area.


A method for adjusting a fuel control system of an engine capable of operating in both a first mode during which only a first fuel is delivered to the engine and a second mode during which both the first fuel and a second fuel are delivered to the engine includes operating the engine in the first mode during which a governor output value (X.sub.M1) is established and stored in memory. The engine is then operated in the second mode during which a governor output value (X.sub.M2) is established. The governor output value (X.sub.M2) is compared with the stored governor output value (X.sub.M1) and a stored second fuel energy content value is adjusted based upon the comparison. The actual energy content of the second fuel can also be directly calculated.

Internal combustion engines can be configured in a variety of ways to burn a mix or blend of two fuels. For example, a spark-ignited engine system can include a first valve for controllably delivering a known mass flow of a first fuel to an engine cylinder and a second valve for controllably delivering a known mass flow of a second fuel to an engine cylinder, the two fuels being simultaneously ignited by a spark plug disposed within the cylinder. An engine can also be configured as a dual fuel engine. Although the description contained herein is directed mainly to dual fuel engines it is recognized that the described methods are applicable to other types of engines which burn a blend of two fuels.
A dual fuel engine can typically operate in two modes. In a strictly liquid fuel mode a liquid fuel, such as diesel fuel, is injected directly into an engine cylinder or a precombustion chamber as the sole source of energy during combustion. In a dual fuel mode a gaseous fuel, such as natural gas, is mixed with air in an intake port of a cylinder and a small amount or pilot amount of diesel fuel is injected into the cylinder or the precombustion chamber in order to ignite the mixture of air and gaseous fuel.
A liquid fuel such as diesel fuel has a substantially constant energy content. However, the energy content of a gaseous fuel such as natural gas can vary. It is desirable that a dual fuel engine fuel control system which utilizes gaseous fuel energy content to determine the amount of gaseous fuel to deliver to the engine should be able to account for variations in the gaseous fuel energy content. Similarly, in a spark-ignited engine the energy content of a first fuel may be substantially constant, or at least always known based upon measurement by a gas chromatograph for example, and the energy content of a second fuel may be variable.
Accordingly, the present invention is directed to overcoming one or more of the problems as set forth above.

Method for determining the energy content of a fuel delivered to an engine


A decision support system and method is provided for responding to a deregulated electrical energy environment for use in making decisions related to supplying and purchasing electrical power. In a preferred embodiment, the decision support system comprises a plurality of interconnected models that produce information related to various business operations. A contract valuation model produces a value of energy contracts based upon timely data such as contract terms, real-time commodity pricing, and forecasted commodity pricing. A potential action valuation model generates value for potential, predefined operational actions at a given production facility in response to a particular opportunity. A forecasting and planning model provides forecasting services related to energy based upon historical and current real-time data for use in other models. A supply chain optimizer provides overall supply information related to supplying a plurality of electrical generating facilities to thereby indicate economies for overall system operation. A risk management model allows the entry of risk tolerance parameters. A financial position management model is utilized as a tool to support risk reduction.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to decision support systems and, more particularly, to systems and methods suitable for supporting decisions related to electricity production by power generation facilities that also sustain industrial production.
2. Description of the Background
The process of deregulation of the utility industry has already occurred in several states and there presently exists an increased trend toward deregulation throughout the United States. This change in regulatory environment creates the potential for altering the value of industrial power generation facilities which have been utilized for production support in businesses that require large amounts of electrical power such as air component separation facilities, oil field electric pump networks, refineries, iron production facilities, and the like. Such electrical generators may include cogenerators which produce electricity using waste heat (as in steam) from an industrial process or the use of steam from electric power generation as a source of heat. As well, the deregulation affects electrical generator plants that use more traditional forms of fuel or which have the capacity for using different types of fuel.
For companies which have developed their own electrical generation capacity, there may typically be several different types generating plants operating at the same general location, as well as numerous different locations with other generating plants. The generating plants may require different types of fuel and may typically have different generating capacities and outputs that may vary depending on the needs of the production facilities which such power generation plants sustain.
To improve the overall supply of electrical power available to the public as well as maintain power for sustaining industrial production introduces a need for handling the numerous factors for making the many electrical production decisions and electrical sales decisions. Such decisions may frequently need to be made within a time period of minutes to hours. For instance, decisions may be related to short term market circumstances during electricity peak loading. Despite the fluctuations in the available energy supply and costs of such electrical generation facilities due to many factors, and the fluctuating needs and prices of energy to sell, the decisions need to be made to profitably synchronize energy supplies and loads. The decisions should be made with the intent of increased likelihood of additional profits from electrical production facilities while avoiding potential financial risks and managing the supply of the various types of fuels to scattered electrical generation plants.
Consequently, there remains a need for a reliable, effective, procedural, reduced risk and decision support system and method suitable for handling the complex problems arising from changing the strategic importance of electrical generation facilities from production support to potential profit centers with additional electrical customers. Those skilled in the art have sought and will appreciate the present invention which addresses these and other problems.


Mining apparatus is disclosed in which a cutting wheel supporting a plurality of roller-cutters rotates about a horizontal axis and is supported on a slewing boom for cutting a tunnel with a flat floor and roof and elliptical walls as it slews across a mining face. The slewing boom is supported on a main beam assembly, the front end of which rests on powered crawler tracks and the rear end of which passes through a gripper assembly which may be clamped between the floor and roof of the tunnel, and against which the main beam assembly may be urged forward for engaging the roller-cutters with the mining face. A preload crawler is urged against the roof of the tunnel above the powered crawler tracks to locate the main beam assembly rigidly relative to the tunnel such that the roller-cutters may cut the rock in the mining face with minimal loss of cutting force due to vibration.

This invention relates to transport apparatus.
This invention has particular but not exclusive application to excavating apparatus, and for illustrative purposes reference will be made to such application. However, it is to be understood that the transport apparatus of this invention could be used in other applications, such as cross-country transport.
A continuous mining machine typically comprises a mining head supported by a head transport apparatus which guides the mining head in a desired direction of excavation and provides the stabilizing forces necessary to resist the cutting forces applied at the mining head, as the latter must of necessity overhang the front of the transport apparatus.
Where the cutting forces are relatively light, such as in the mining of soft materials like coal, the transport apparatus may include a pair of crawler tracks, and the dead weight of the transport may be sufficient to prevent it from overbalancing. Where the cutting forces are relatively high, such as in the mining of hard rock, it becomes necessary to provide further stabilization for the transport apparatus, such as may be obtained by clamping it against the walls of the tunnel being cut.

Cutter wheel assembly for mining machine


The invention relates to a metal carrier (leadframe) for receiving and contact-connecting electrical and/or optoelectronic components. According to the invention, the metal carrier has at least two regions of different thickness. This opens up the possibility of fitting even relatively thick electrical or optoelectronic components on a leadframe with a predetermined overall structural height.

Metal carriers are known which serve for contact-connecting an electrical or optoelectronic component and, for this purpose, generally provide a multiplicity of small contact legs via which the component can be electrically contact-connected. In this case, bonding wires are respectively placed between the small contact legs of the metal carrier and contact pads of the component. Such metal carriers are also referred to as leadframes.
The finished arrangement of leadframe, component and bonding wires is usually potted with a potting material. By way of example DE 199 09 242 A1 discloses an arrangement in which a leadframe with an optoelectronic transducer is positioned in a module housing open at one side and is potted with a light-transmissive, moldable material. Light is coupled in or out via an optical fiber coupled to a connector of the module housing. The driver module or reception module for the optoelectronic transducer is also situated on the leadframe.
In other configurations, leadframes with optical and optoelectronic components are incorporated in standard plastic housings. There is a need to accommodate the thickest possible chip modules in such standard housings and at the same time to have a certain freedom of configuration in the arrangement of the components, for instance for setting-the optical length of an optical system used.

Metal carrier (leadframe) for receiving and contact-connecting electrical and/or optoelectronic components


A wheel bearing having fixed part accommodating the brake caliper. The fixed part of the wheel bearing is connected to the wheel carrier by connecting elements. At least one projection is integrated with the fixed part, the wheel carrier or the connecting element. The projection transmits to the wheel carrier at least the torque acting in the fixed part during braking.

Engineers have long been working on electronic vehicle control systems in order to improve the ride comfort and safety of motor vehicles. One link in these systems is the wheel bearing, at which the wheel speed is measured and the vertical wheel forces between the tire and the road are continuously determined. To enable the forces between the tire and the road to be determined more effectively, it has been found that the brake caliper must be fastened directly to the fixed part of the wheel bearing. EP 1176409 A1 discloses a wheel bearing with fastening openings to receive the brake caliper. The problem with this arrangement is that the entire braking torque has to be transmitted to the wheel bearing by tightly screwed bolts. For this purpose, the connecting elements, e.g. bolts, must be very strongly dimensioned to enable the unit to be preloaded in a suitably secure manner so as to prevent slippage between the wheel carrier and the wheel bearing, even under extreme loads.

Connection between a wheel bearing and a wheel carrier


A light-emitting diode (LED) chip is disclosed. The LED chip includes a substrate and a LED stack on the substrate. The LED stack includes a first-type semiconductor layer, an active layer covering a portion and exposing another portion of the first-type semiconductor layer, and a second-type semiconductor layer on the active layer. A current spreading layer is formed on the second-type semiconductor layer. A first electrode is formed on the exposed portion of the first-type semiconductor layer, and a second electrode is formed on the current spreading layer. The current spreading layer includes a first portion having a first thickness and a second portion having a second thickness. A vertical projection of the second portion onto the first-type semiconductor layer surrounds a vertical projection of a portion of the first electrode onto the first-type semiconductor layer. The first thickness is greater than the second thickness.

1. Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates to semiconductor technology, and in particular relates to a light-emitting diode (LED) chip that can effectively improve the brightness.
2. Description of the Related Art
Due to advantages such as small size, fast switching speed, low power consumption and good durability, light-emitting diodes (LED) have been involved in various applications, such as lighting, car indicators and traffic signals. A light-emitting diode usually includes a p-n junction constituted of, for example, a p-type semiconductor layer and an n-type semiconductor layer. By an appropriate bias applied to the p-n junction through the electrodes respectively connected to the p-type semiconductor layer and the n-type semiconductor layer, the electrons combine with the holes at the p-n junction. As a result, energy is released and therefore a luminescence phenomenon happens.
In a conventional light-emitting diode manufacturing process, a current-spreading layer is formed on the p-type semiconductor layer such that the current can be uniformly transferred to the p-type semiconductor layer and the p-n junction (i.e., the active layer) connected thereto. In order to further improve the light extraction efficiency (LEE) of the light-emitting diode, it is known that an opening pattern that penetrates through the current-spreading layer may be formed to increase the light emission angle of the light generated by the active layer.
However, since the opening pattern may also result in an obstruction to the current-spreading in the current-spreading layer, the brightness uniformity and the electrical properties (for example, the driving voltage) of such a light-emitting diode needs to be improved. Accordingly, a light-emitting diode chip that can improve the luminous efficiency of light-emitting diodes while maintaining the driving voltage of the light-emitting diodes within a suitable range is still under requirement.


A method of accessing a communication medium allows for isochronous and asynchronous communication traffic to share the same medium and the same transceivers of a plurality of communication stations that communicate by way of a base station. The base station controls the communication between communication stations and generates regular timing periods in which isochronous traffic is sent to the stations with a higher priority than any asynchronous traffic pending at the beginning of each timing period. Once the initial isochronous traffic has accessed the medium, any further isochronous traffic retains access to the medium so that the asynchronous traffic can only occur in that part of the frame period remaining after the isochronous traffic has accessed the medium.

The present invention relates to a method of accessing a communication medium.
Communication traffic between communication apparatus, such as a base station and a plurality of communication stations forming a Local Area Network (LAN), can comprise asynchronous traffic or isochronous traffic.
Asynchronous traffic exhibits unpredictable traffic timing, at which a fast burst of packets is generated, and while such traffic requires fast response times in the stations, a wide range of instantaneous packet delays can be tolerated provided the average delay in the stations is within acceptable limits. An example of asynchronous traffic communication is the communication that occurs between computer systems when a file has to be transferred relatively infrequently but at a high speed once the communication commences. A large LAN bandwidth must be available to the asynchronous traffic to allow for the fast transfer of the file.
Communication-medium access protocols that are established having regard to the above mentioned characteristics of asynchronous stations are based on a so-called Distributed Access Protocol in which the medium access procedure is shared by all the stations connected to the medium. An example of a Distributed Access Protocol is the Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Detection (CSMA/CD) protocol used as part of the Ethernet and IEEE 802.3 communication protocols.
Isochronous traffic requires a predictable channel bandwidth and can tolerate a long average packet-delay in the stations provided the variations in the delays of different packets are within narrow limits. Also, isochronous packets that are not delivered within a specified delay are generally discarded. The quality of the isochronous communication depends upon the application requirements, but generally a pre-defined bandwidth is required along with a bit-error-rate limit or packet-error-rate limit. An example of isochronous traffic is so-called packetized-voice traffic. This traffic comprises voice data in the form of a steady stream of packets that needs a limited bandwidth and also a regular delay characteristic to achieve a steady packet stream for the relatively long call duration. Other examples are industrial processes that need to react to known situations or events at an accurately determinable time. Networks that can handle isochronous traffic employ so-called Connection Oriented access protocols in which a connection between the stations is established and the stations are assigned a channel with a well defined bandwidth and delay characteristic. An example of such a network is the Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) which employs a Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) protocol to service multiple stations in the network.
From the above it can be seen that asynchronous and isochronous communication each have very different requirements and characteristics. Thus, when asynchronous and isochronous communication is required in the same LAN, the asynchronous packets are transferred via a different medium (i.e. cable) from the isochronous packets and different access protocols are employed on the different media. This disadvantageously increases the cost and complexity of the LAN and is particularly disadvantageously restrictive in that isochronous and asynchronous traffic cannot be readily provided in a wireless LAN where the stations have to share the same wireless medium. Such wireless LANs are being increasingly provided for devices such as notebook P.C.s or Personal Digital Assistance (PDA) devices. It would be advantageous if such devices could provide for the communication of real-time mobile packets along with data packets, and so a method of accessing a communication medium is required that provides for the sharing of the same medium by asynchronous and isochronous traffic.

Method of accessing a communication medium


Means, methods and compositions for simulating natural desert varnish. A solution containing soluble metallic acetate salts selected from the group consisting of iron (II), manganese(II) and mixtures thereof and indigenous clay when appropriate is sprayed on distressed or abused natural or artificial rock to produce a preselected patina which is compatible to the indigenous area.

Much of the desert areas, both valleys and mountains, found in arid and semi-arid regions of the United States and other parts of the world are covered by a thin coating of generally dark coloration commonly called "desert varnish". For example, in the Southern California and Arizona deserts, this varnish covers the majority of the coherent-stable rock surface including mountain ranges. In some areas of Southern California desert varnish has been reported to be formed in as little as twenty-five years after exposure of fresh rock. However, in other areas, such as Arizona, petroglyphs documented to have been formed four hundred to a thousand years ago by scraping away desert varnish coatings have not been covered by the re-establishment of the desert varnish. In Egypt desert varnish is barely perceptible on pyramids that have existed for more than 5,000 years.
In desert areas, man's activities, such as in the construction of dams, roads, preparation of sites for construction and other activities of a like nature have exposed large, unsightly areas of lightly colored glaring scarps of freshly exposed rock which are visible from great distances as unsightly anomalies on the desert landscape. The removal of the natural desert varnish in this fashion occurs in both urban and rural areas and is particularly objectionable in the highly visible mountain areas; for example, where large cuts and fills are made to accommodate building sites and major roadways.
Nature's timetable in restoring the desert varnish to the freshly exposed rock is much too long and in some cases extends over centuries. Therefore, a real and urgent need exists for means methods and products which can be used to restore the natural desert varnish or to cover the exposed areas with a suitable substance of manufacture which will at least engender or simulate desert varnish coated natural rock.
One prior art effort to realize a solution to this problem included shocking exposed rock with caustic solutions and thereafter painting the pre-treated rock with one or more metallic salts, preferably those of manganese and/or iron in the form of chlorides, sulfates and nitrates. While obtaining amelioration of the eyesores to a modest degree, this procedure was environmentally unfriendly, labor intensive and prone to washing if subjected to inclement weather during the cycle prescribed. Thus, the procedure was sometimes ineffectual in unequivocally obtaining the substantially permanent uniform visual repair desired.
Accordingly, a need still exists for providing means and methods to restore disturbed rock beds and mountainsides to a natural look in an environmentally friendly, economically viable manner. It is toward the satisfaction of these needs that the present invention is directed.

Method of simulating natural desert varnish


A lamination includes a substrate formed of a metal or alloy, an intermediate layer formed on a surface of the substrate and is formed of a metal or alloy that is softer than the substrate, and a metal film deposited by accelerating a powder material of a metal or alloy together with a gas heated to a temperature lower than the melting point of the powder material and spraying it onto the intermediate layer while keeping it in a solid phase.

In recent years, as one of the thermal spray methods, the cold spray method has received attention that sprays material powder at high temperature and high velocity onto a substrate, thereby depositing the material powder to coat the substrate. In the cold spray method, the material to be a film is sprayed together with an inert gas heated to a temperature of not more than the melting point or softening point of the material powder through a convergent-divergent (Laval) nozzle to impinge on the substrate while remaining in a solid phase, thereby forming the film on a surface of the substrate. This produces a metal film free of phase transformation and with reduced oxidization.
Conventionally, as the cold spray method, a technique is disclosed in which a substrate is temperature-controlled to a predetermined temperature to be sprayed with material powder (for example, see Patent Literature 1), and another technique is disclosed in which a substrate and/or an inert gas is temperature-controlled to form a metal film (for example, Patent Literature 2).

Lamination and method for manufacturing lamination


A minimum value/maximum value extractor and method including: a multiplexer for outputting data and inverted data receiving from data lines depending on a maximum/minimum value selecting signal; a plurality of maximum value extracting parts for receiving the output of the multiplexer, a clock signal and a reset signal, the extracting parts outputting a first output which becomes the same signal state as that of the initially input data bits and maintains "0" regardless of subsequent data bits value once the input data bit becomes "0" until the reset signal is applied, and a second output which follows the first output value by delayed by two clock cycles; a maximum value/minimum value signal generator for outputting a value which is a NORed value of all inputs from the extracting parts as a minimum value or a value which is an inverted value of the NORed value of all inputs from the extracting parts as a maximum value; and a plurality of reset signal generators for generating the reset signal for resetting the first output of the extracting parts as an initial value if the two input signals are at the same state,. wherein a data string in which the second output of each maximum value extracting part is "1" is the data string having the maximum/minimum values among a plurality of data bit strings and a value output through the maximum/minimum value signal generator becomes the maximum/minimum value.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a maximum value/minimum value extractor and method and, more particularly, to a circuit which receives a large amount of data serially, extracts a maximum value and/or minimum value from the large amount of data, and additionally identifies the address of the maximum value and/or minimum value.
2. Discussion of Related Art
A conventional maximum or minimum value extractor operates to obtain a maximum and/or minimum value by, first, comparing two data inputs using a comparator, and then extracting the larger (or smaller) value of the two data inputs. However, too many compare operations are needed for this conventional extractor. An example of the maximum/minimum value extracting operation among four data inputs A, B, C, D is illustrated in FIG. 1. First and second comparators are employed to compare two data inputs. A third comparator is employed to compare the outputs of the first and second comparators. These comparators obtain a maximum value by operating as follows. The larger of data inputs A and B compared by the first comparator is labelled MAX(A, B). The larger of data inputs C and D compared by the second comparator is labelled MAX(C, D). The larger of MAX(A, B) and MAX(C, D) compared by the third comparator is labelled MAX(A, B, C, D). The comparators also obtain the minimum value in a similar manner. The smaller of the two data inputs A and B, compared by the first comparator is named MIN(A, B). The smaller of the two data inputs C and D, compared by the second comparator is labelled MIN(C, D). The smaller of MIN(A, B) and MIN(C, D), compared by the third comparator, is labelled MIN(A, B, C, D).
FIG. 2 illustrates a conventional comparator structure, by Kai Hwang, "Computer Arithmetic: Principle, Architecture & Design".
In this circuit, two 4-bit data inputs A=A0A1A2A3 and B=B0B1B2B3 are compared to determine which is larger using the results of A>B, B>A, or A=B. That is, if A>B is, the value of the A>B output is "0" and another bit value becomes "0". If A<B, the value of the A<B output is "1", and another bit values are "0". In addition, if A=B, the output of the A=B is "1" and other bit value is "0".
In case of obtaining the maximum value using this conventional comparator, after the data is input, a considerably long time is required to compute the result. Moreover, because many comparators are employed to obtain the maximum and/or minimum values, the size of the chip is increased, and much time is needed to perform the many comparison operations.

Maximum value/minimum value extractor and method


The present invention provides an infant seat which includes a shell for receiving an infant and an arcuate handle attached to opposing sides of the shell. The handle is movable to three operative positions including a rest position wherein the handle is positioned below the shell and above a plane defined by a lower surface of the shell, a rocking position wherein the handle is positioned below the lower surface of the shell to form an arcuate rocking support surface, and a carry position wherein the handle is positioned above the shell to be used as a carry handle.

The present invention relates to an infant seat and, more particularly, to a multi-function infant seat which may be used as a car seat, rocker, grocery cart seat, or infant carrier.
Various types of infant seats are known which include pivotal handle members which may be used to support the carrier in one position and to carry the infant seat in a different position. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,371,106 to Johnson, Jr. discloses an infant seat in which a handle may be located in a plurality of positions in order to accommodate different functions of the infant seat. The handle mechanism incorporates a gear mechanism in order to define the different handle positions.
Another example of a prior art infant seat is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,688,850 to Brownlee et al which discloses an infant seat having a carry handle and a separate rocker mechanism such that the infant seat may be carried as an infant carrier or the rocker mechanism may be positioned for either rocking or providing a stable support for the seat.
Prior art baby carriers generally have either required a rounded back side in order to provide a rocking function or have required the provision of an additional mechanism to provide a rocking surface for the carrier. In addition, prior art baby carriers which are intended for use as car seats in addition to being used as rockers have typically required the provision of a separate support member located along the back of the carrier and which is moved into position to prevent rocking during the car seat mode of operation. Thus, prior art infant seats are commonly found to have complex adjustment mechanisms for the handles or multiple mechanisms for providing the various modes of operation which are desired such resulting in a higher cost and complexity for the infant seats have been increased.


The present invention provides compositions and methods for the transdermal administration of a therapeutically effective amount of a synthetic 19-nor-progesterone (ST-1435) together with, optionally, a suitable permeation enhancer.

The transdermal route of parenteral delivery of drugs provides many advantages, and transdermal systems for delivering a wide variety of drugs or other beneficial agents are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,598,122, 3,598,123, 4,379,454, 4,286,592, 4,314,557 and 4,568,343, for example, all of which are incorporated herein by reference.
ST-1435 is a known synthetic 19-nor-progesterone (16-methylene-17-.alpha.-acetoxy-19-nor-4-pregnene-3,20-dione). Both in animals and in humans, ST-1435 is very potent when given parenterally, whereas it is practically inactive when given orally in contrast to other known gestogens. Because of this, ST-1435 has been used as a subcutaneous implant only.
Oral combination pills, implants and intrauterine devices for purposes of contraception have been well documented for their problems such as inconvenience and side effects. Transdermal delivery of contraceptives as disclosed herein is an attempt to eliminate or reduce those problems.
However, there are many factors which affect the suitability of an active agent for transdermal administration. These are discussed at length in Knepp et al., "Transdermal Drug Delivery: Problems and Possibilities," CRC Critical Reviews in Therapeutic Drug Carrier Systems, Vol. 4, Issue 1 (1987).
Conventional dosage forms such as tablets or injections can administer an active agent, at its appropriate dose, merely by appropriate selection of the amount of the agent included in the dosage form. In transdermal delivery devices, however, the total dosage of the agent is not established by the amount of agent that is in the device. Instead, the total dosage of each agent is the product of its average transdermal administration rate (.mu.g/hr) and the time over which the device is applied, and the average administration rate of an agent from a transdermal delivery device is determined primarily by a combination of factors other than the amount of the agent present in the device.
If the problems associated with obtaining the desired relative administration rates of the individual agents to the skin can be solved, other factors remain to be dealt with. The agents individually, in combination with each other, or in combination with a permeation enhancer must not cause undue irritation or sensitization when applied topically under occlusion. Materials which individually are not irritating or sensitizing may become so when presented to the skin in combination with each other.
Further, the skin has been recognized as the largest metabolizing organ of the body, larger even than the liver. See, A. Parmatier, et al, "The Skin as a Drug Metabolizing Organ," Drug Metabolism Reviews, Vol. 8, No. 2, pp 319-343 (1978). Skin can metabolize agents administered transdermally into inactive or potentially harmful metabolites. Thus, it is necessary that the rate at which an agent is metabolized by the skin and the metabolites produced do not prevent the safe and therapeutically effective transdermal administration of the agent into the bloodstream at the desired administration rate.
Assuming these obstacles can be overcome, it is also important that the agent binding capacity of the skin for the agent has the proper relationship. Before transdermal administration of an agent into the bloodstream can commence at a steady state rate, the capacity of the skin below the device to bind the agent must be saturated. The time required to achieve this steady state rate is known as the "lag time" and is a function of the rate at which the agent permeates into the skin and the binding capacity of the skin for that agent. There must be an inverse relationship between the agent's administration rate and the binding capacity of the skin for the agent.
Thus, while there are numerous beneficial agents which have been found useful for administration orally or by injection, for example, it is by no means obvious that a particular agent could also be safely and effectively administered transdermally.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,816,258 discloses a transdermal delivery system for administering ethinyl estradiol and levonorgestrel, together with a permeation enhancer, as a contraceptive. Levonorgestrel is known to be readily active when taken orally.
However, it has now been found by the present inventors that levonorgestrel, even in the presence of a permeation enhancer such as glycerol monooleate, does not transport across human epidermis in vivo sufficiently to achieve contraceptively effective levels of the drug in the blood from transdermal systems of reasonable or acceptable size, even though the in vitro flux rate of the gestogen would seem to indicate otherwise.
It has now been seen that ST-1435 acts very differently from levonorgestrel when applied transdermally. ST-1435, which is inactive orally, in contrast to levonorgestrel, unpredictably has a greatly increased flux across epidermis in comparison to levonorgestrel, which flux is sufficient when applied transdermally to provide blood drug levels from reasonably sized systems in amounts that produce effective contraception, in marked contrast to levonorgestrel.
Australian patent AU-A-15323/88 and its United States counterpart, U.S. Pat. No. 4,913,905, discloses a transdermal delivery system for the delivery of estrogens and synthetic gestogens for the treatment of climacteric syndrome (the withdrawal symptoms associated with menopause and caused by estrogen deficiency). The patent makes a general statement that natural gestogens, such as progesterone, do not pass through the skin in amounts sufficient to achieve adequate therapeutic effect using transdermal systems of conventional size, but that synthetic gestogens do have sufficient flux. Levonorgestrel (or d-norgestrel) is named in the patent as a synthetic gestogen which can be used in the transdermal system, and norgestrel and norethisterone-17-acetate are named as preferred synthetic gestogens for use in the system. ST-1435 is not mentioned as a candidate gestogen. It is to be noted here that a markedly greater amount of a gestogen and, consequently, a greater transdermal flux of the drug, is required for effective contraception than is required for treatment of climacteric syndrome. As discussed previously herein, it has been shown that levonorgestrel, the active enantiomer of the preferred gestogen norgestrel, does not, in fact, have a sufficient flux to provide a contraceptively effective plasma level of drug when applied transdermally from a reasonably sized system. Additionally, norethisterone-17-acetate (also known as norethindrone-17-acetate and the only drug for which actual data is presented in the Australian patent) has also been found to have an insufficient transdermal flux from a reasonably sized system to provide effective contraception. These facts show that the broad statement in the Australian patent is not in fact generally true and that sufficient flux of synthetic gestogens, particularly with respect to providing a contraceptive effect, is a continuing problem and cannot be predicted.
Thus, it is by no means obvious that a particular synthetic gestogen could be effectively administered transdermally, with or without a permeation enhancer, and especially in an amount sufficient to provide a contraceptive effect. That the gestogen could be delivered in a contraceptively effective amount from a reasonably sized system is especially desired and even less predictable or obvious.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,863,738 discloses glycerol monooleate as a suitable skin permeation enhancer for steroids.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,746,515 discloses glycerol monolaurate as a suitable skin permeation enhancer for steroids.

Transdermal delivery of the gestogen ST-1435 and devices therefor


A concrete reinforcing bar support has a base, a support structure extending upwardly from the base and having a channel formed in an upper surface thereof, a first clamping structure affixed to the support structure on one side of the channel and a second clamping structure affixed to the support structure on an opposite side of the channel. The base is a generally planar surface. The channel has a length dimension that is less than a length dimension of the base. The support structure has first and second side panels extending vertically upwardly from the base to a bottom of the first and second clamping structures.

In reinforced concrete construction applications, such as highways, floors, or walls of buildings, spacer devices, commonly referred to as chairs, are required for supporting and maintaining reinforcing rods or bars which are positioned in the area where concrete is to be poured. These reinforcing rods are sometimes referred to as "rebars". Depending on parameters, such as the total surface area and the thickness of the end product of concrete, reinforcement is mandated in varying degrees by building codes. One such method of reinforcement involves a steel mesh, while in major concrete construction, such as highways and high-rise buildings, reinforcing rods of various diameters, typically one-half inch or more, are required. In addition, on such jobs, the reinforcing bars may be positioned in spaced layers due to the thickness of the floor. In some installations, a first layer of rebar is provided, with the reinforcing rods or rebars in spaced parallel relationship, and generally parallel to the surface on which the concrete is to be poured. A second layer of rebar is then added, with the orientation of the second layer perpendicular to the first layer, thus forming a grid or lattice work. After the reinforcing bars or lattice work is prepared, the concrete is then poured over this grid or framework, which is ultimately embedded within the highway floor or wall.
For a concrete floor on a prepared surface, spacers or chairs are utilized for providing the vertical separation of the rebar grid from the surface on which the concrete is to be poured. The prepared surface may be a wood, plywood, or foam structure or a compacted surface, the latter of which my be provided with a layer of compacted sand, with a plastic sheet covering thereon providing a moisture barrier. Spacers or chairs are then positioned on the prepared surface for supporting the rebars in a plane generally parallel to the prepared surface. Typically, with modern building codes, a spacer is needed for every linear foot of the rebar.
With rebar spacers or chairs, one common problem is occasioned by the number of different sizes required to be maintained by a supplier to accommodate different thicknesses of poured concrete, such as two-inch, three-inch, four-inch, etc. and many intermediate fractional sizes. Another common problem with rebar spacers has been encountered in the method of securing the rebar to the chair or spacer, with twisted wire being the most common method. This particular problem is more acute when mutually perpendicular layers of rebar are coupled to the same chairs or spacers. With wire connections, a first strip of wire secures the first layer and a second strip of wire secures the perpendicular layer of rebar. With any metal or wire within the reinforcing bar grid work, there is a problem with rusting or decomposing of the wire or metal components.
Since the intersectional bar supports are used to support a large number of rebars in a desired spaced relationship above an underlying surface, industry standards have required that such intersectional reinforcing bar supports pass a "dragging" test. The purpose of the "dragging" test is to avoid any collapse of the mesh of rebars in the event that a dragging or displacement force is applied to the rebars. Since the mesh of rebars can have a very considerable weight, potential injury can occur if a pulling force is applied to the mesh of rebars and the mesh collapses onto the underlying surface. As such, the "dragging" test is applied by attaching a line to the mesh of rebars and pulling on the line to see if the reinforcing bar supports can withstand a fixed level of pulling force. As such, it is very important in the construction of such reinforcing bar supports to have a structure which strongly resists the dragging forces and avoids any potential collapse of the mesh rebar configuration.
When reinforcing bar supports are used to support a mesh of rebars above an underlying surface, it is very important to facilitate the flow of concrete in and around the mesh of rebars and in and around the reinforcing bar supports. If the reinforcing bar supports present too many obstacles to the flow of concrete, then voids in the concrete are possible. As such, it is very desirable to create such reinforcing bar supports which completely facilitate the flow of concrete while, at the same time, maintain the structural integrity of the bar support.
Since such reinforcing bar supports are relatively inexpensive items, it is important to be able to minimize the cost associated with the production of such reinforcing bar supports. Although the polymeric material used for the creation of such bar supports is relatively inexpensive, it is important to avoid unnecessary waste of the polymeric material. The cost of such polymers can add to the ultimate cost of the reinforcing bar support. It is important to be able to minimize the amount of polymer that is used for the creation of such bar supports while, at the same time, maintaining the strong structural integrity of such bar supports. Additionally, the minimization of the use of polymer in the formation of reinforcing bar supports will further minimize the costs associated with the transportation, delivery and storage of such reinforcing bar supports. By minimizing the weight associated with each of the bar supports, a larger number of bar supports can be transported to the construction site. Additionally, by minimizing the weight of the bar supports, the worker can more easily transport a relatively large number of bar supports to the desired location at the construction site. This further enhances the ability of the bar supports to minimize potential back injuries to the construction worker.
In the past, various patents have issued relating to these chair supports for reinforcing rods. In particular, the present inventor is the owner of U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,555,693 and 5,791,095 for such chairs. Each of these chairs has a receiving area with a horizontal section and a generally parabolic section extending transverse to the horizontal section. A plurality of separate legs extends downwardly from the receiving area. Each of the legs has a foot extending horizontally outwardly therefrom. The receiving area and the plurality of legs are integrally formed together of a polymeric material.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,788,025, issued on Jan. 29, 1974, to S. D. Holmes, describes a chair for supporting in right angular relation two reinforcing rods used in construction. The chair has a lower arched base part and an upper rod supporting part integral with the base. The base is an arched support with means for providing lateral, longitudinal, vertical support and strength. The rod supporting part comprises two spaced apart arms, the lower parts of which form a saddle for receiving one reinforcing rod and the upper part for each of which is formed by two separate spaced upstanding inwardly concave arms, the upper ends of which are spaced to provide an opening through which a second reinforcing rod, arranged at a right angle to the first rod, may be introduced.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,673,753, issued on Jul. 4, 1972, to G. C. Anderson, teaches a concrete reinforcing bar support in which a base supports an upright pedestal. A lower clamping portion is supported by the pedestal which has a first rod-receiving open passageway therethrough. Resilient detents extend from the lower clamping portion to retain a reinforcing rod disposed through the first passageway. An upper clamping portion is provided which includes a pair of hook members extending from the lower clamping portion. Each of the hook members has a mouth opening in the same direction to define a second rod-receiving passageway which is normally disposed to the first passageway.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,835,933, issued on Jun. 6, 1989, to F. P Yung, describes a spacer assembly which includes a spacer with a body having a base portion with a generally centrally disposed support post portion. One end of the support post portion is formed as a planar surface with a centrally located generally concave saddle portion configured for receiving a reinforcing bar. The planar surface is provided with apertures therethrough on both sides of the saddle. A clamp member is provided for simultaneously securing mutually perpendicular rebars to the chair. The clamp member is a generally U-shaped lower portion, with the depending arms thereof in spaced generally parallel relationship for engaging a first bar within the saddle. A generally identical pair of hook arms extends upwardly from the bight portion. The hook arms are oriented for engaging a second rebar in an orientation perpendicular to the first rebar engaged within the saddle portion.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,893,892, issued on Apr. 13, 1999, to Hardy, Jr. et al, teaches an apparatus for fixating and elevating an interconnected rebar lattice having individual longitudinal and transverse rebar intersections. The apparatus includes a holding portion having an open-ended recess with two opposing walls being generally U-shaped. The recess has longitudinal access and is sized and shaped to receive a longitudinal rod. An arc-shaped portion extends laterally outwardly from each opposing wall and perpendicular to the longitudinal access of the recess. The arc-shaped portion includes a recess and an opposing wall with each wall including a snap-type lock. A locking member has a generally arc-type portion and includes a snap-type lock for attaching to the arc-type portion and engaging with the snap-type lock of the arc-type portion. A leg portion extends downwardly from the holding portion and is integrally attached to a base.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,112,494, issued on Sep. 5, 2004, to Hardy, Jr. et al., teaches a system for affixing rebar lattice. The apparatus includes a holding portion having an open ended recess with two opposing walls being generally U-shaped. The recess has a longitudinal axis and is sized and shaped to receive a longitudinal rod. An arc-shaped portion extends lateral outwardly from each opposing wall and perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the recess. The arc-shaped portion includes a recess and opposing walls including a snap-type lock. A locking member having a generally arc-shaped portion and includes a snap-type lock for attaching to the arc-shaped portions and engaging with the snap-type lock of the arc-shaped portions. A holding member is adapted to secure the individual longitudinal and transverse rebar intersections of the rebar lattice in a locking relationship while the leg portion holds the interconnected rebar lattice in a preselected elevated position.
The present inventor is the owner of several U.S. patents relating to such intersectional rebar chairs. For example U.S. Pat. No. 6,684,594, issued on Feb. 3, 2004, to the present inventor, describes a concrete reinforcing bar support having a base, a support structure extending upwardly from the base and a having a channel formed in an upper surface thereof, a first clamping structure affixed to the support structure on a side of the channel, and a second clamping structure affixed to the support structure on an opposite side of the channel. A first rebar extends through the channel. A second rebar is retained by the first and second clamping structures in a direction transverse to the first rebar. The retaining elements are provided on the clamping structures so as to engage the rebar when it is received within the second clamping structure. Lever elements extend outwardly from the clamping structure so as to provide a funneling type of structure so as to facilitate the introduction of the rebar into the second clamping structure.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,684,595, issued on Feb. 3, 2004, to the present inventor, teaches another type of intersectional reinforcing bar support. This bar support also includes a base, a support structure extending upwardly from the base and having a channel formed at an upper surface thereof, a first clamping structure affixed to the support structure on a side of the channel, and a second clamping structure affixed to the support structure on an opposite side of the channel. Each of the clamping structures has a curved element extending inwardly therefrom. A first rebar extends through the channel. A second rebar is retained by the first and second clamping structures in a direction transverse to the first rebar. A self adjusting retention mechanism is provided on a side of the second clamping structure opposite the curved surface so as to retain the rebar in a proper position therein.
U.S. Design Pat. No. D500,665, issued on Jan. 11, 2005, to the present inventor, teaches a unique design for such an intersectional rebar chair. A channel is formed at the top of the support structure. A pair of C-shaped clamping structures are located on opposite sides of the channel. The lipped element extends across the open face of the C-shaped members so as to facilitate the introduction of rebar into the interior of such C-shaped members.
U.S. application Ser. No. 11/234,756, from which the present application claims priority, describes an intersectional reinforcing bar support having a securing cap. In this reinforcing bar support, several holes are formed on the support structure. Although these holes facilitate the flow of concrete, it was found to be desirable to maximize through spaces formed in the support structure beyond those evidenced by the holes in the prior application. Additionally, in order to enhance the ability to pass a "dragging" test, it was felt desirable to expand the length dimension of the base such that the base extends for a greater distance than that of the channel which supports the transverse rebar. It was found that, under certain circumstances, it was not necessary to include the cap which extends over the clamping structures.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a bar support which is corrosion-proof.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a bar support adapted for use at intersections of rebars.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a bar support that can be placed on various flat surfaces.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a bar support that can be easily snap-fitted onto and locked around a reinforcing bar.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a bar support which allows a free flow of concrete therethrough.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a bar support with a load-resistant stable support structure.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a reinforcing bar support which is easy to use, easy to manufacture and relatively inexpensive.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a channel for such an intersectional chair which is suitably reinforcing so as to enhance the ability to retain the rebar within the channel.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide an intersectional chair which maximizes the ability to resist dragging forces applied to the mesh that is supported by the intersectional chair.
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide an intersectional chair which maximizes the structural integrity of the chair while minimizing the amount of polymer that is used in the formation of the chair.
These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the reading of the attached specification and appended claims.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.