A flame-retardant polybutylene terephthalate resin composition wherein (A) 20-70% by weight of a polybutylene terephthalate resin or a mixture of a polybutylene terephthalate resin and a polyethylene terephthalate resin, (B) 1–20% by weight of a vinyl based resin, (C) 1–20% by weight of a phosphoric acid ester, (D) 1–30% by weight of a salt of a triazine based compound and cyanuric acid or isocyanuric acid, and (E) 0.1–5% by weight of an alkaline earth metal compound are compounded, and formed articles thereof have high degrees of flame retardancy and tracking resistance, and are unlikely to allow occurrence of metal pollution or deterioration in hydrolysis resistance due to a phosphoric acid ester, and therefore are suitable for machine component parts, electrical/electronic component parts, and automotive component parts.

The polybutylene terephthalate resin (PBT) is utilized in a wide variety of fields, such as machine mechanism component parts, electrical/electronic component parts, automotive component parts, etc., making most of its excellence in characteristics, such as injection moldability, mechanical properties, etc.
As PBT is essentially combustible, PBTs are required to have safety against flames, that is, flame retardancy, and in many cases need to have such high degrees of flame retardancy as to indicate V-0 in the UL 94 standard, as well as balance of general chemical and physical properties, in order to use the PBTs as industrial materials such as machine mechanism component parts, electrical/electronic component parts, automotive component parts, etc.
The method for imparting flame retardancy to the PBT is generally a method in which a halogenated organic compound as a flame retardant and an antimony compound as a flame retarding assistant are compounded into a resin. However, this method has a tendency toward large amounts of smoke produced during combustion.
Furthermore, with a rise of environment consciousness, there are movements having concerns about the influences of halogenated flame-retardant materials on the environments.
Therefore, recently, use of a flame retardant that contains none of such halogens has become desired.
As a method for flame-retarding a thermoplastic resin without using a halogenated flame retardant, addition of a hydrated metallic compound, such as aluminum hydroxide, magnesium hydroxide, etc., has been widely known. However, the aforementioned hydrated metallic compound needs to be added in a large amount in order to attain sufficient flame retardancy, and this method has a drawback of losing an essential property of resin.
As a method for flame-retarding a thermoplastic resin without using such a hydrated metallic compound, addition of red phosphorus is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. SHO 51-150553, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. SHO 58-108248, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. SHO 59-81351, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. HEI 5-78560, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. HEI 5-287119, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. HEI 5-295164, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. HEI 5-320486, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. HEI 5-339417, etc.
These are useful flame-retardant resin materials not employing a halogenated flame retardant, but have peculiar coloration so that the color tone of the products is limited, and therefore has the challenge of limited uses.
Furthermore, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. HEI 3-281652, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. HEI 5-70671, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. HEI 7-233311, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. HEI 8-73713 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. HEI 10-120881, compounding an aromatic phosphoric acid ester and melamine cyanurate is disclosed.
Theses are useful flame-retardant resin materials not employing a halogenated flame retardant, but have a problem of occurrence of a bleedout in which an aromatic phosphoric acid ester seeps out to a formed article surface or of bringing about metal pollution.
Furthermore, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. HEI 10-77396, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. HEI 10-147699, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. HEI 10-182955, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. HEI 10-182956, and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2000-26710, compounding a styrene based resin into a composition in which a resin, such as a PBT, a polyphenylene ether, etc., and a phosphoric acid ester are compounded is disclosed.
These are useful flame-retardant resin materials not employing a halogenated flame retardant, but have problems; for example, due to the compounding of such a resin as a polyphenylene ether, etc., the mechanical strength deteriorates, the fluidity at the time of injection molding deteriorates, the formed article colors yellow, and the hydrolysis resistance and the metal pollution characteristic are poor, and the uses are limited.
Furthermore, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. HEI 2000-212412, compounding a polyester, and an organic phosphorus based flame retardant including a phosphoric acid ester, as well as a glass fiber, and a vinyl based resin is disclosed.
These are useful flame-retardant resin materials not employing a halogenated flame retardant, but have the challenge of metal pollution characteristic and deterioration in hydrolysis resistance due to the organic phosphorus based flame retardant.
Furthermore, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. HEI 2001-49096, compounding a flame retardant composed of a phosphorus-containing compound including a phosphoric acid ester, and specific aromatic resin, aromatic nylon, polycarbonate resin, polyalylate resin, polyepoxy resin and polyphenylene ether resin into a resin component including a polyester based resin and a styrene based resin.
The aforementioned resin component including a polyester based resin and a styrene based resin is a resin component useful for improvement in moldability related to warpage, etc., and the aforementioned flame retardant is a useful flame retardant not employing a halogenated flame retardant, but does not have effect on the challenge of the metal pollution characteristic and deterioration in hydrolyzability due to the phosphorus-containing compound.
From what is described above, although the organic phosphorus based flame retardant, such as a phosphoric acid ester, etc., is a useful flame retardant as a method for flame-retarding the PBT by a non-halogenated flame retardant, a flame-retardant PBT resin composition that does not cause the metal pollution and the deterioration in hydrolysis resistance due to a phosphoric acid ester has been desired.
Particularly, formed articles for fusers of printers and copiers, flyback transformers, focus cases, electromagnetic switches, and breakers are often required to have excellent performance in relation to metal pollution, hydrolysis resistance and flame retardancy.
Furthermore, a phenomenon in which if voltage is applied to a formed article, etc., carbonization of the formed article progresses and results in ignition is termed tracking. Many formed articles of the PBT are used under high voltage modification. For example, as for the aforementioned formed articles for fusers of printers and copiers, electromagnetic switches, and breakers, etc., formed articles having excellent flame retardancy and a relative tracking index of 400V or higher, and preferably 600V or higher, are desired.
It would therefore be advantageous to attain highly reliable flame-retardant polybutylene terephthalate resin composition and formed article in which a non-halogenated flame retardant is compounded with a polybutylene terephthalate resin, and which have high degrees of flame retardancy and tracking resistance, and which are unlikely to allow occurrence of metal pollution or deterioration in hydrolysis due to a phosphoric acid ester.

Flame-retardant polybutylene terephthalate resin composition and formed article


A digital camera imaging lens includes first, second and third lenses arranged in sequence from an object side toward an imaging surface side. The first lens is a meniscus lens having a positive power, whose convex surface faces the object side. The second lens is a meniscus lens having a negative power, whose concave surface faces the object side. The third lens is an aspherical lens having an inflection point on its object-side surface. An aperture stop is disposed between the first and second lenses. The imaging surface is defined by an element surface of a photosensor.

It is desired that an imaging lens installed in surveillance cameras, digital cameras, and other devices that use CCD, CMOS, or other photosensors be provided with the ability to faithfully reproduce the subject. CCDs themselves or CCD cameras have also been made smaller in recent years, which has been accompanied by an inevitable increase in the demand for miniaturization and compact design of the imaging lenses incorporated therein. CCD and other photosensors have also been provided with high resolution on the order of millions of pixels in contrast with CCD miniaturization. It has inevitably become necessary for the imaging lenses used in cameras having such sensors to also be capable of demonstrating high optical performance. In the past, in order to demonstrate high optical performance, aberration had been corrected using large numbers of lens elements.
A characteristic of a CCD, CMOS, or other photosensor is that the ray angle of each pixel incorporated therein is limited. In a camera equipped with an optical system that ignores this characteristic, the peripheral light intensity is reduced, and shading occurs. In order to compensate for these effects, methods have been employed whereby an electrical correction circuit is provided, or a microlens array that forms a pair with the photosensor is mounted or the like, and the angle at which light is received on the surface of the element is enlarged or the like. Alternatively, configurations have been adopted whereby the exit pupil is positioned as far away as possible from the image surface.
On the other hand, there must be a space between the imaging lens and the CCD in which a low-pass filter, infrared-blocking filter, or the like is inserted. A limitation therefore exists in that the back focus of the imaging lens must be lengthened to a certain degree.
An imaging lens having high resolution, a small number of lens elements, and a compact structure is disclosed in JP-A 2002-228922. The imaging lens disclosed therein is composed of four elements in three groups, and the second and third lens groups therein are composed of single lenses. An aspherical surface that contains an inflection point is also employed as the lens surface.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


A simple imaging XPS (X-ray photoelectron spectrometry) system using a coaxial spherical sector electron energy analyzer. The system can obtain a two-dimensional photoelectron image of the analyzed sample surface. The energy analyzer (1) includes an input slit (11) extending in the y-direction. An image representing the distribution of the energies of photoelectrons ejected from the sample (S) is focused onto the input slit (11) by an input lens system (5). Only photoelectrons passed through the slit (11) are analyzed by the analyzer (1) and detected by a multichannel detector (12) disposed at least in the y-direction in the focal plane of the analyzer. A pair of deflection plates (10) capable of deflecting the image representing the distribution in the x-direction are mounted within the input lens system (5). Photoelectrons distributed in the y-direction are detected simultaneously by the detector (12). Photoelectrons distributed in the x-direction are successively detected by means of the deflection of the deflection plates (10). Thus, a two-dimensional photoelectron image of the sample is obtained.

X-ray photoelectron spectrometry (XPS) which is also known as electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis (ESCA) is a useful tool for providing information about the chemical composition of the elements of solid surfaces and the states of chemical bonding. However, an ordinary XPS instrument can collect average information only from a sample surface area of about 1 cm.sup.2.
In recent years, with the development of new materials and failure analysis, it has been required to get information about local sample surface areas and two-dimensional information regarding sample surfaces. Under these circumstances, various contrivances have been made to impart local analysis function or imaging function to XPS instruments. These contrivances are next described briefly.
(a) Method using a scanning electron beam as an X-ray source (C. T. Hovland, Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 30, No. 6, pp. 274-275 (1977), and J. Cazaux, Ultramicroscopy, 12, pp. 321-332 (1984)): Al or Mg that is used as an X-ray anode is deposited on the rear side of a thin sample. An electron beam is directed to the anode from the side opposite to the sample. At this time, the electron beam is scanned to move the illuminating electron beam spot. X-rays produced at each spot propagate through the anode and impinge on the sample. As a result, photoelectrons are ejected from the sample. The photoelectrons are analyzed by a coaxial cylindrical mirror analyzer (CMA). With this method, an XPS image is obtained at a resolution of about 20 .mu.m.
(b) Method involving projection of a magnetic field (G. Beamson, H. Q. Porter and D. W. Turner, J. Phys. E: Sci. Instrum. Vol. 13, pp. 64-66 (1980), and G. Beamson, H. Q. Porter and D. W. Turner, Nature, Vol. 290, pp. 556-561 (1981)): This method was developed by Beamson and others in 1980. Photoelectrons trapped in a diverging magnetic field formed by a superconducting magnet move along the magnetic flux and follow a synchrotron orbit. The image of the photoelectrons is magnified and projected onto a screen while the information about the positions at which the photoelectrons are ejected is maintained. A spatial resolution of several microns is achieved.
(c) Method of collecting photoelectrons using a spectral crystal (Robert L. Chaney, Surface and Interface Analysis, Vol. 10, pp. 36-47 (1987)): X-rays emitted from an anode are made monochromatic by a spectral crystal and focused onto a sample surface. An illuminated area having a diameter on the order of 100 .mu.m is realized. The local area illuminated with X-rays can be subjected to spectral analysis. Then, the sample stage is scanned by driving the motor to obtain an XPS image.
(d) Method of limiting the field of view (D. J. Keast and K. S. Downing, Surface and Interface Analysis, Vol. 3, pp. 99-101 (1981), and K. Yates and R. H. West, Surface and Interface Analysis, Vol. 5. pp. 217-221 (1983)): A wide area of a sample surface is uniformly illuminated with X-rays. Photoelectrons are ejected simultaneously from the illuminated area. The input lens of the analyzer is equipped with an aperture that limits the field of view, to detect only the photoelectrons emitted from a local area. This permits spectral analysis of the local area.
(e) Method of magnifying image at plural stages and projecting it, using an intermediate energy analyzer (U.S. Pat. No. 4,758,723 and P. Coxon, J. Krizek, M. Humpherson, and I. R. M. Wardell, Journal of Electron Microscopy and related Phenomena 52, pp. 821-836 (1990)): A wide area of a sample surface is uniformly illuminated with X-rays. Photoelectrons are ejected from various locations on the sample surface. From these photoelectrons, a magnified image of the sample is created by a lens system. The magnified image is brought into the front focal point of a lens located before the entrance of a coaxial spherical sector electron energy analyzer. Thus, the electron beam impinging on the analyzer is collimated. The beam is again focused after leaving the analyzer. The resulting image is created by monoenergetic photoelectrons. The XPS image is produced at a resolution of about 10 .mu.m.
(f) Pre-lens scanning system (M. P. Seah and G. C. Smith, Surface and Interface Analysis, Vol. 11, pp. 69-79 (1988)): As schematically shown in FIG. 6, a sample surface is uniformly illuminated with X-rays emitted from an X-ray source. Photoelectrons ejected from various locations on the sample surface are analyzed by a system comprising two pairs of deflection plates, a lens, an input aperture, and a coaxial spherical sector electron energy analyzer. A scanning voltage is applied between the two pairs of deflection plates to deflect the incident photoelectrons. Only the photoelectrons ejected from a desired location on the sample surface can be detected. This method enables local analysis of an area about 100 .mu.m in diameter. Also, an XPS image with a spatial resolution of about 100 .mu.m is derived.
We now discuss the methods described above. The method (a) using a scanning electron beam as an X-ray source was attempted in the earliest years. This method was worth noticing only in that it opened up the techniques for local XPS analysis and for imaging XPS systems. However, it is necessary to deposit a sample on the X-ray target surface. Therefore, the sample cannot be analyzed unless it can be deposited. Furthermore, the spatial resolution and the intensities of photoelectrons are affected by the thickness of the deposited film. Hence, it cannot be said that this method is a generally accepted technique.
In principle, the methods (b) and (e) are the best methods of effecting XPS imaging, because photoelectrons ejected from the analyzed area are simultaneously detected, whereby an XPS image can be obtained in a short time. Nonetheless, the method (b) involving projection of a magnetic field needs strong magnetic force as produced by a superconducting magnet. Therefore, complex steps are necessary to fabricate the apparatus, thus increasing the cost. The method (e) necessitates several stages of lenses and so the apparatus is complex. Furthermore, it is difficult to operate the apparatus. Additionally, the apparatus is expensive.
The method (c) of collecting photoelectrons, using a spectral crystal provides good performance in local analysis, but it is necessary to scan the stage in two dimensions, for XPS imaging. This two-dimensional scan takes long times to create an XPS image because the amount of signal is small. The method (d) of limiting the field of view is evaluated essentially as highly as the method (c). However, the method (d) is inferior in intensity to the method (c).
The pre-lens scanning system (f) differs from the methods (c) and (d) in that XPS imaging is enabled without the need to scan the stage. That is, the method (f) is simpler than the methods (c) and (d). However, this method takes a long time to perform, because small amounts of photoelectrons are successively accepted by two-dimensional scan. Further, whenever photoelectrons of other given energy should be obtained, the voltage applied to the pairs of deflection plates must be adjusted so that photoelectrons of the energy of interest pass through the input aperture.


Disclosed is a tube made of a profile rolled metal product, in particular for use in heat exchangers, a rolled metal product and a method of producing the same. The tube includes a first wall and a second wall forming two opposing sides of the tube, and a plurality of reinforcing structures connecting the first and second walls and forming longitudinal passages between them. Each reinforcing structure is formed by a longitudinal ridge on the first wall projecting towards the second wall and a longitudinal ridge on the second wall protecting towards the first wall. The ridges are joined to each other at their sides.

Heat exchanges such as condensers, evaporators and the like for use in car coolers, air conditioning systems etc. usually comprise a number of heat exchange tubes arranged in parallel between two headers, each tube joined at either end to one of the headers. Corrugated fins are disposed in an airflow clearance between adjacent heat exchange tubes and are brazed to the respective tubes. The heat exchanger is typically made of aluminium or an aluminium alloy.
In the past, flat refrigerant tubes have been manufactured by folding a brazing sheet clad on the outside with a brazing material layer. The refrigerant tubes, the headers and the fins, were then assembled and heated to the brazing temperature at which the clad layer melts and joins together the fins, refrigerant tubes and headers into a brazed assembly.
It is envisaged gases such as carbon dioxide will be used as cooling medium in air-conditioning systems. The use of carbon dioxide will lead to an increase in operating temperature and pressure of the air-conditioning units. The above described conventional brazed tubes might not withstand under all circumstances the encountered operating pressures and temperatures. For the existing carbon dioxide based prototypes, the heat exchange tubes have therefore been made of a hollow extrusion comprising flat upper and lower walls and a number of reinforcing walls connecting the upper and lower walls. A disadvantage of the extrusion technique is that the walls cannot be made as thin as desired. Further, an extruded tube cannot be clad with brazing material, so the corrugated fins must be clad in order to allow brazing to the heat exchange tubes, which is expensive due to the large surface area of the fins. In addition, a tube made of brazed sheet or plate is stronger and more resistant against corrosion than extruded tubes.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,931,226 discloses a refrigerant tube or fluid tube for use in heat exchangers comprising a flat tube having upper and lower walls and a plurality of longitudinal reinforcing walls connected between the upper and lower walls. The reinforcing walls consist of ridges projecting inward from the upper or lower wall and are joined to the flat inner surface of the other wall. The ridges are produced by rolling an aluminium sheet clad with a brazing filler metal layer over at least one of its opposite surfaces with a roll having parallel annular grooves. Parallel refrigerant or fluid passages are defined between adjacent reinforcing walls. Further, the reinforcing walls include a plurality of communication holes for causing the parallel refrigerant passages to communicate with one another. In another embodiment, each reinforcing wall is formed by a ridge projecting from the upper wall and a ridge protecting from the lower wall, joined to each other at their respective top ends. The upper and lower walls are either produced separately or in one sheet, whereby the flat refrigerant tube is manufactured by folding the sheet longitudinally at its midpoint like a hairpin.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,947,365 describes a process for producing a similar flat heat exchange tube having a plurality of reinforcing walls formed of ridges projecting from the lower wall. The upper and lower walls are connected by brazing the tops of the ridges on the lower wall to the upper wall. In order to strengthen the brazed connection between the reinforcing walls and the lower surface of the upper wall and to prevent the creation of a clearance space therebetween, the lower surface of the upper wall is provided with smaller longitudinal ridges with which the upper surfaces of the reinforcing walls come into contact to eliminate the clearances and thereby to insure the existence of a continuous brazed connection between each reinforcing wall and lower surface of the upper wall.
A different method of producing reinforcing walls in a flat refrigerant tube for use in heat exchangers is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,186,250. The tube comprises one or more curved lugs integral with and protruding inwardly from an inner surface of each plane wall, and the curved lugs respectively have innermost tops so that the innermost tops protruding from one plane wall bear against the inner surface of the other plane wall or against the tops of the other curved lugs protruding from the opposite plane wall. The purpose of such protruding lugs is said to improve the pressure resistance of the tube while minimizing its height and thickness.
In the production of these known tubes, it is difficult to achieve a precise alignment between the ridges on the upper and lower walls, especially in those embodiments where two ridges protruding from opposing walls have to be joined head-on. Further, the brazed connection between the ridges or between the top of a ridge and the lower surface of the opposing wall is not very strong.

Tube having reinforcing structures made of profile rolled metal and method of producing same


A fluid atomizer that can include an orientable extension conduit between a pump bottle and an atomizing nozzle. A brace element between the bottle and the conduit limits movement of the nozzle during actuation of the pump mechanism. A resilient enlargement to engage the bottle may be included to permit suspending the bottle in commercially available storage racks.

A long and widely used atomizer is known as a "DeVilbiss atomizer". The DeVilbiss atomizer uses the Venturi principle to extract fluids from a reservoir for subsequent discharge through a nozzle as a mist. Such atomizers have support apparatus custom formed to accommodate a certain bottle shape. A concern in use of such atomizers is the possibility for unavoidable patient cross-contamination.
Positive pressure pump-bottle atomizers may prevent patient cross-contamination, but generally do not fit in the custom support apparatus ubiquitous in therapy rooms. Furthermore, operation of the pump mechanism can undesirably alter the point of impact of a discharge mist. Therefore, while attempting to treat a nostril, a therapist may accidentally squirt a patient in the eye, or cheek. In any event, when delivery of the treatment fluid is not well controlled, an over- or under-medicated state may occur in the patient.
DeVilbiss and pump-bottle atomizers require a fluid delivery line to stay below a fluid surface in a fluid reservoir. Consequently, manipulation of a direction of discharge from the nozzle may be limited. One attempt to increase control over a discharge direction is provided in a commercially available compact atomizer having a rotatable conduit section between a pump head and an atomizing nozzle. The conduit may be rotated to point the nozzle up, down, horizontally, or somewhere in-between. However, such an atomizer still lacks a desirably stable atomizer nozzle for control of the discharge impact site.
Co-pending application, Ser. No. 10/099,486, titled "MEDICAL ATOMIZER" and filed Mar. 15, 2002, discloses atomizer nozzles connectable to syringes for nasal and oral medication delivery. A deformable extension conduit between an atomizing nozzle and a syringe fluid source is disclosed in this reference.


A feeding bottle preventing a nipple from falling out and with an air return function including a nipple body and a bottle body, the feeding bottle further includes an air inlet plate, a capping and a fitting ring, and the air inlet plate is fixed between the nipple body and the bottle body by the capping. The present application can prevent the nipple from falling out, prevent leakage caused by drawing out of the nipple when baby is sucking and even falling out, and achieve the automatic air return.

The feeding bottle used for feeding a baby on the current market has following questions in general.
For the existing common feeding bottle, the nipple body is directly connected with the bottle body, and no special device is arranged between the nipple body and the bottle body. Since the nipple is made of soft material, in the process of user feeding baby or child with milk, if the baby or child is naughtier and bites the nipple without releasing it, as long as the user applies force a little harder, the nipple will be drawn out from the feeding bottle, thus causing inconvenience to user.
Furthermore, for the feeding bottle available on the current market, in the process of using it to feed baby or child with milk, there is a drawback that air return can not be achieved. Therefore, with the reduction of the milk in the feeding bottle, a negative pressure will be formed in the feeding bottle, and the feeding bottle and the nipple may be recessed or flattened, resulting in difficulty in drinking for baby, if terrible, may choke the vulnerable trachea of baby. If drawing the nipple out of the mouth of baby to return air for the feeding bottle while the baby is drinking, the baby will often cry and scream, thus affecting the health of baby.
For some feeding bottles, a ventilating hole is provided on the feeding bottle or the nipple, actually, returning air smoothly can not be achieved in this way. At present, a feeding bottle preventing a nipple from falling out and with an air return function is available, for example Chinese patent NO. ZL94202689.6 titled "AIR RETURN BY STRAIGHT SUCTION TYPE FEEDING BOTTLE", which performs air return by employing a U-shaped tube, although the air return effect can be achieved, the structure of which is too complex, the cost of manufacture of which is high, and which is difficult to clean, thus bringing hidden danger to the health of baby.
For some improved feeding bottles, to enable the nipple body being not easy to fall out from the bottle body, the connecting component for connecting the bottle body and the nipple body with each other is directly solidified on the nipple body, as will be readily seen, the disadvantage of such design is in that the nipple body is difficult to clean, the applicability of the nipple body is weak, and the cost of production is high.

Feeding bottle capable of preventing nipple from falling out and with air return function

DONGGUAN YINYAN PLASTIC CONTAINERS CO., LTD


Techniques for implementing an epilation device are described, including a body including a first half and a second half, the first half having a first arm and the second half comprises a second arm, an axle having a third arm disposed at an end of the axle and a fourth arm disposed at another end of the axle, the axle being coupled to a first set of teeth, and a trigger coupled to a spring, the trigger being substantially housed within the body and being partially exposed through an aperture in the body, the trigger further including a second set of teeth configured to engage the first set of teeth.

Human hair removal (i.e., epilation) is performed using various types of conventional devices and techniques. Unwanted hair in locations can be extracted partially or entirely (i.e., from the follicle). Using conventional devices and techniques, hair removal is often painful, time-consuming, and performed using skilled technicians, aestheticians, or other personnel. However, conventional epilation devices and techniques are also problematic.
Some conventional devices and techniques use threading as a technique for removing hair. By rolling a length of twisted thread, thin wire, or other filament, hairs may be removed and pulled from surrounding skin (i.e., removal by the follicle). This prevents hair from growing back rapidly, if at all. However, threading is time-consuming and requires highly skilled and trained technicians. By requiring highly skilled and trained technicians (e.g., aestheticians), threading is not only time-consuming, but also expensive and manually intensive.
Thus, a solution for removing hair without the limitations of conventional techniques is required.


The present invention describes methods of using Olfr90 demonstrated to bind to fungal metabolites, including a metabolite known to be detected in patients with mold (e.g. Aspergillus) infections.

Fungi are ubiquitous Eukaryotic organisms that are present in our environment. The organisms typically grow as single cell yeasts or multicellular molds, and some transition between morphologies depending on growth conditions. For the most part, these organisms were not evolved to cause severe disease in animals, but instead grow as saprophytes in the environment, well adapted in a commensal state with animals. Disease caused by molds has been increasingly recognized, especially as mammalian fitness levels and immune defenses have adapted to changing environments. Increasingly, invasive mold infections have been recognized in people who are immune compromised by genetic conditions, aging, other infections (e.g. HIV) and modern medicine (e.g. transplantation). Moreover, increasing evidence points to the role of these organisms as causes of environmental toxicities and industrial spoilage. An over-abundance of mold products—especially the organic metabolites that are secreted during the asexual reproduction phase—have been associated with food spoilage, industrial contaminations, and the medical syndrome characterized by respiratory complaints and generalized feelings of being unwell, frequently called "sick building syndrome". Over-exposure to molds has been associated with several allergic manifestations, including asthma and allergic sinusitis. For these reasons, there has been increasing need to identify the presence of molds in the environment, industrial products and animals, enabling improvements in environmental health and medicine.
Although molds are ubiquitous in the environment, they are relatively difficult to cultivate in laboratory synthetic media, limiting sensitivities of culture-based diagnostic methods for environmental monitoring and diagnosis of invasive infection. Currently, screening for mold growth using air-sampling is the gold standard for environmental screening, although these methods are laborious, insensitive, and do not specifically distinguish between innocuous molds and the ones that produce harmful products. Current efforts have turned towards identifying the actual harmful products—volatile organic compounds (VOCs)—by mass spectrometry, but these methods are also very laborious and complex. Food and product screening remains difficult, and contaminations continue to impact industry.
Diagnosing invasive mold infections in animals is also difficult, in part due to some of the same reasons. These organisms do not replicate by simple binary fission and alternative growth conditions are required in the laboratory. Also, it can be difficult to obtain adequate tissue samples from the most frequently involved site, i.e., the lungs, without inducing excessive morbidity. Adjunctive diagnostic tests have been developed and are in common use. These typically rely on identification of polysaccharides that are on the cell wall of most fungi, called galactomannan or beta D glucan, or identification of fungal nucleic acids. Detection of polysaccharides is limited by non-specificity, as many such organisms have these components. Development of diagnostic tests that detect nucleic acids, which has been more successfully employed for viral infections, has been more elusive for fungi, in part due to the complexities of harvesting nucleic acids from fungal cells, presence of multiple genomes within multicellular filamentous organisms, and unreliable 'release' of nucleic acids from local compartments (lung) into systemic circulation. While fungal metabolites (VOCs) are also present in respiratory fluids and airways of people who have a high probability of invasive mold pneumonia, methods to detect these compounds are complicated, requiring spectrophotometry.
Commercial needs exist to create fungal detection and diagnostic tests to enhance the safety of environments, industrial products such as foods, and to enhance methods to prevent and diagnose invasive fungal infections in animals.

OLFR90 specificity and methods of detection


An apparatus that includes a breast rack to accommodate a breast side of a bird and a back rack to accommodate a back side of the bird is provided. In some embodiments, the breast rack includes breast-rack handles at each end of the breast rack that extend in an upward direction from the breast rack, and each breast-rack handle can include an attaching mechanism. In some embodiments, the back rack includes back-rack handles at each end of the back rack that extend in an upward direction from the back rack. In some embodiments, each back-rack handle includes a plurality of receiving mechanisms located at a plurality of different positions for receiving the attaching mechanism of the breast-rack handles.

When meat is cooked, it is often susceptible to becoming dry and tough. Particularly, when a large piece of meat that does not have a uniform cooking time, such as a turkey, is cooked, certain portions of the meat can become overcooked and dry. If a turkey is cooked for an extended period of time to ensure that all portions are thoroughly cooked, it is even more likely that the portions of the meat that cook more quickly will become dry and tough. Generally, with a turkey, the breast meat dries out before the dark meat is completely cooked.
Methods have been used to prevent the breast meat of a turkey from drying out during the cooking process. For example, turkeys have been soaked in a brine solution before cooking. Other methods that have been used to prevent turkeys from drying out include basting during the cooking process. Other methods of cooking a turkey with moist breast meat include using specialty equipment such as deep flying or cooking on a rotisserie.
Those of skill in the art know that to have a tender, juicy and moist breast meat, the breast needs to be cooked to an internal temperature of no greater than approximately 164° F. (73° Celsius). The legs of the turkey or other bird, however, must be cooked at a temperature of from approximately 175° F. (79° Celsius) to approximately 180° F. (82° Celsius) or else the meat in the legs will be pink and chewy. Accordingly, it is desirable to cook the legs of a turkey at a faster rate than the breast.
However, when a turkey is cooked in the traditional manner in an oven with the breast side up, the breast is cooked at a faster rate than the legs. The breast is closest to the roof of the oven, which is hotter than the rest of the oven. Additionally, when the turkey is cooked with the breast side up, gravity pulls the turkey juices away from the breast. In this manner, when the legs of the turkey are fully cooked, often the breast is overcooked and dry.
Therefore, those of skill in the art have attempted to cook a turkey with the breast side down to keep moisture in the breast during cooking. However, when this method is employed, it is often desirable to flip the turkey over during the cooking process so that the breast side is facing up in the latter part of the cooking process. Cooking a turkey with the breast side up for a portion of the cooking time (preferably the latter portion) allows the skin of the turkey to become brown and crisp.
Flipping over or inverting a turkey during the cooking process presents challenges to those of skill in the art. Specifically, turkeys are often large and slippery and, because they are cooked at such high temperatures, the turkeys and the pans in which they are cooked reach extremely high temperatures during the cooking process. Accordingly, it is often difficult and can be dangerous for one to handle a turkey in such a manner as is required to flip a turkey over.
Examples of Conventional Roasting Racks:
U.S. Pat. No. 2,102,097 titled "Cooking Apparatus" issued to Sherman Dec. 13, 1937 is particularly applicable to apparatus in which cooking is accomplished by electrically generated heat, and provides an improved cooking apparatus in which heat may be applied either to two sides of an article to be cooked or to a single side thereof.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,220,335 titled "Device for Cooking Meat and the Like" issued to Rodrigue Nov. 30, 1965 provides meat racks into which can be conveniently and easily placed the meat to be cooked and which are of such a construction that the meat can be quickly, safely and easily turned.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,359,889 titled "Turkey Turner" issued to Young et al. Dec. 26, 1967 describes a device which facilitates turning meat and helps the inexperienced cook to produce even roasts and grills with a minimum of effort.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,566,776 titled "Wire Roasting Frame" issued to Young et al. Mar. 2, 1971 wherein a pair of brackets is integrally secured about a roast to aid in handling. One of the brackets includes at least one hook integral with the bracket body for cooperating with parts on the other bracket to temporarily secure the brackets to one another about the roast, permitting the entire assembly to be handled as a unit.
U.S. Design Pat. No. D303,910 titled "Roasting basket" issued to Sjoberg Oct. 10, 1989 describes the ornamental design for a roasting basket.
Examples of Conventional Rotisseries:
U.S. Pat. No. 553,363 titled "Roasting Pan" issued to Sickles Jan. 21, 1896 will render the cooking of meats more simple and improve the action of the heat thereon by enabling the cook to bring all parts of the meat in proper relative position to the heating-surfaces without having to remove such meat from the pan and also to hold said meat in the most desirable shape.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,084,618 titled "Food Holder" issued to Dieterich Apr. 9, 1963 relates generally to rotisserie cooking, and particularly to a grip for clamp for holding food while it is being turned before the heat, as if it were on a spit.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,922,961 titled "Rotary cooking device" issued to Case Dec. 2, 1975 wherein a rotary cooking device having two separate hub elements to be mounted for rotation about a common axis and adjustably carrying two grill parts for engaging opposite sides of a roast or other piece of meat to clamp the meat between the grills.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,005,646 titled "Rotatable grill" issued to Kruper Feb. 1, 1977 wherein a rotatable grill for demountably retaining food objects consisting of a first basket half and a second basket half which is similar in size to the first basket half and a pivotable bracket means for adjustably joining the ends of the bracket halves to form a closed basket at their longitudinal sides.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,442,763 titled "Meat Roaster" issued to Beller Apr. 17, 1984 wherein a meat roaster has a horizontal spit basket comprising confronting sets of grate fingers for gripping meat items to be roasted and means for adjusting the separation between the potentially telescoping sets which allows the user to tighten the grip on the shrinking meat during roasting.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,755,153 titled "Meat roasting device" issued to Su May 26, 1998 wherein a meat roasting device having an automatically rotated barbecue grill mainly comprising: a furnace frame, a barbecue grill, and a driving device, wherein said driving device is fixed on the support plate of the furnace frame, and is engageable with a barbecue grill having an elastic clamping force by a driving bushing.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,347,577 titled "Rotisserie basket for grills" issued to Harneit Feb. 19, 2002 describes a rotisserie basket for cooking whole chickens, roasts, etc. without the need to pierce the food with a spit or rod as in other, conventional rotisserie baskets.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,367,373 titled "Rotisserie cradle" issued to Bargman Apr. 9, 2002 describes a rotisserie cradle including a trough shaped cradle constructed entirely of a rod framework to be lighter, easier to clean, and cheaper to manufacture, with food hold down grates positionable by swing arms pivoted to the inside of the cradle framework so as to allow manually settable positioning of the grates against the food to hold the same against the inside of the cradle framework.
Examples of Other Conventional Food-Holding Devices:
U.S. Pat. No. 4,848,217 titled "Multipurpose cooking rack" issued to Koziol Jul. 18, 1989 wherein a multipurpose cooking rack which can support large sizes of meat when in one position and smaller sizes of food items such as meat and vegetables when in an inverted position.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,791,235 titled "Device for roasting poultry" issued to Anselmo Aug. 11, 1998 wherein the invention is a device for roasting a poultry item having a breast portion to be faced downward, first and second leg portions, and first and second wing portions.
United States Patent Application Publication 2006/0196367 "Roasting apparatus" issued to Osterman Sep. 7, 2006 wherein a roasting apparatus for cooking meat in an oven includes a rod, a pair of hooks and a frame.
Each of the above devices has one or more shortcomings. There is thus a continuing, ongoing need for an apparatus that can be used to manually flip over a turkey (or other food item) between stages of the cooking process. Preferably, such an apparatus allows the turkey to be cooked initially with the breast side down and then with the breast side up during the latter stages of the cooking process.

Turkey flipper and method for making and using


A turbocharger is provided with an integral exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) chamber and valve contained within the turbine housing casting in conjunction with a conventional exhaust gas bypass or wastegate system. An exhaust gas back pressure control valve is also provided integral to the exhaust gas outlet for EGR flow control.

Turbochargers for gasoline and diesel internal combustion engines are known devices used in the art for pressurizing or boosting the intake air stream, routed to a combustion chamber of the engine, by using the heat and volumetric flow of exhaust gas exiting the engine. Specifically, the exhaust gas exiting the engine is routed into a turbine housing of a turbocharger in a manner that causes an exhaust gas-driven turbine to spin within the housing. The exhaust gas-driven turbine is mounted onto one end of a shaft that is common to a radial air compressor mounted onto an opposite end of the shaft. Thus, rotary action of the turbine also causes the air compressor to spin within a compressor housing of the turbocharger that is separate from the exhaust housing. The spinning action of the air compressor causes intake air to enter the compressor housing and be pressurized or boosted a desired amount before it is mixed with fuel and combusted within the engine combustion chamber.
The amount by which the intake air is boosted or pressurized is controlled by regulating the amount of exhaust gas that is passed through the turbine housing by an exhaust bypass system or wastegate. The wastegate is actuated, during turbocharger operation when the boost pressure is approaching a maximum desired pressure, to divert an amount of exhaust gas away from the turbocharger turbine housing to reduce the rotational speed of the turbine and, thereby reduce the rotational speed of the air compressor and reduce the amount by which the intake air is pressurized. EGR is a known method for reducing NOX emissions in internal combustion engines. For effective use, an EGR system must overcome the adverse pressure gradient created by a positive pressure gradient across the engine, which is typical for example of modem high-efficiency diesel engines in at least a portion of their operating range. A conventional EGR system comprises a control valve that regulates the amount of exhaust gas that is taken from an engine exhaust manifold and returned to an engine induction system for mixing with the intake air and subsequent combustion. The EGR control valve is an ancillary device that is separate from both the engine and turbocharger. The conventional EGR system also includes a pump, separate from the turbocharger and engine, that increases the pressure of the returned exhaust gas routed by the EGR control valve to the induction system, to match the intake air charge or boost pressure exiting the turbocharger, thereby overcoming the positive pressure gradient across the engine.
Modem engine compartments, especially those of turbocharged internal combustion engines, are configured having minimal space for devices ancillary to the engine itself, thereby making use of such conventional EGR systems, comprising a separate control valve, pump, and exhaust and intake manifold bypasses, and related manifolding and plumbing difficult and sometimes impossible. It is, therefore, desirable that one or more devices of an EGR system be constructed as an integral member of an existing component of a turbocharged internal combustion engine, to thereby enable use of an EGR system within the spatial confines of a modern engine compartment. It is also desirable that the component of a turbocharged internal combustion engine be adapted to incorporate at least one device of an EGR system therein both without sacrificing performance of the engine component itself, and in a manner that provides enhanced EGR system operation.

Turbocharger with integral turbine exhaust gas recirculation control valve and exhaust gas bypass valve


A ring cover for accessorizing and/or protecting a ring worn on an individual's finger includes a protective band configured to encircle a ring. The protective band may have an aperture. The aperture may be configured to allow a user to display and/or pass a protruding center stone or other ornamentation of a ring therethrough.

An individual's most valuable or sentimental piece of jewelry is often a ring, such as a wedding band, engagement ring, athletic achievement ring, college ring, or a fashion ring. Such engagement or fashion rings typically include a center stone or other ornamentation, which protrudes away from the finger. In most rings, the center stone makes up a valuable and aesthetic portion of the ring.
However, engaging in activity, such as exercising, lifting weights, playing sports, swimming, household chores, or industrial occupations, may result in the ring becoming scratched or damaged. That is, the circular band portion of the ring facing the inside of the wearer's hand can become dented, leading to deterioration over time. Further, if the ring is poorly fitted to the wearer's finger, for example, due to swelling or shrinking of fingers with varying temperature conditions, activity may cause the ring to rotate or move around on the wearer's finger, potentially risking damage to the center stone or injury to the wearer. Jewelers often advise new ring owners to remove the ring prior to participating in certain activities, especially exercise or lifting weights. However, removing valuable rings prior to such activities increases the risk of loss or theft, and leaves the owner unable to display his or her ring during such activities.


A method for determining an amount of regenerative braking includes: determining a possible amount of regenerative braking at a time of braking a vehicle; distributing a first amount of regenerative braking up to the possible amount of regenerative braking as the amount of regenerative braking; distributing a second amount of regenerative braking remaining from the possible amount of regenerative braking as an amount of hydraulic braking; and performing, first, regenerative braking by issuing a motor torque instruction according to the possible amount of regenerative braking and, second, friction braking using the amount of hydraulic braking.

(a) Technical Field
The present disclosure relates generally to a method for determining an amount of regenerative braking. More particularly, it relates to a method for determining an amount of regenerative braking to maximize the amount of regenerative braking by making an early stage control of the regenerative braking be performed at an early stage of braking.
(b) Background Art
The travelling modes of hybrid vehicles include an Electric Vehicle (EV) mode which is a pure electric vehicle mode using only a motor power, a Hybrid Electric Vehicle (HEV) mode which utilizes an engine as the primary power source and a motor as auxiliary power, and a Regenerative Braking (RB) mode which charges a battery by recovering brake and inertial energy of the vehicle while travelling due to braking or inertia of the vehicle.
With respect to the latter, regenerative braking is a technology which generates electric energy using a motor, stores generated electric energy using a high voltage battery, and reuses the electric energy at the time of driving the vehicle by applying an inverse torque to the electric motor using energy generated during braking in order to maximize the vehicle's fuel ratio. Regenerative braking technology has been applied to most environment friendly vehicles, such as hybrid cars, electric cars, fuel cell cars, and the like. In the case of hybrid cars, regenerative braking plays a large role in fuel ratio improvement to such an extent that the regenerative braking is the primary driver for fuel ratio improvement in comparison to a general vehicle.
Regenerative braking is typically performed through a coordinated control of an electric brake device (i.e., EBS: Electric Brake System) which takes charge of a hydraulic brake and a hybrid controller (i.e., HCU: Hybrid Control Unit) which is an upper level controller of the hybrid vehicle. In this regard, FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate a conventional regenerative braking procedure performed through a coordinated control between the EBS and the HCU. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the procedure of the coordinated control between the EBS and the HCU consists of steps of inputting a required amount of braking into the EBS as a driver presses a brake pedal, determining a permissible amount of regenerative braking by the EBS, determining an amount of execution of regenerative braking according to the permissible amount of regenerative braking by the HCU, determining an amount of friction braking by the EBS according to the amount of execution of regenerative braking determined by the HCU and performing a friction braking control, and performing a regenerative braking control by a motor controller (i.e., MCU: Motor Control Unit) according to the amount of execution of regenerative braking determined by the HCU.
However, since vehicle braking is in close relation to safety, the hydraulic braking (i.e., friction braking device) is deemed to have a priority over the regenerative braking in the above mentioned coordinated control. Furthermore a case may occur where the regenerative braking is limited due to reasons of motor temperature, a battery charge condition, a speed change procedure of a transmission, and the like.
Meanwhile, at the time of braking, in case of performing the hydraulic braking after first checking whether the regenerative braking is actuated without performing the hydraulic braking, since a brake delay time of at least 20 ms can be generated, there may be a risk of accidents. Therefore, since at the early stage of braking, the hydraulic braking of at least 1 bar is first performed, and thereafter the hydraulic control is performed by judging the necessity of the regenerative braking, there is a loss of the amount of regenerative braking as much as an amount of oil pressure. That is, a problem as follows may occur:
First, there is a problem of fuel ratio aggravation. The regenerative braking is a technology of converting energy into electric energy at the time of braking and is directly related to the fuel ratio, so that an increase in the amount of regenerative braking at once equates to fuel ratio improvement. However, since the hydraulic braking is first performed to secure the braking safety, i.e., since the hydraulic pressure is unconditionally first used at the time of early stage braking, fuel ratio aggravation due to the loss of the amount of regenerative braking is caused.
Second, there is a problem of aggravation of drive. At the early stage of braking, a control is performed in such a way that an oil pressure of at least 1 bar is applied. Thereafter, a total amount of braking of the regenerative braking and the hydraulic braking is made according to the amount of braking that a driver requires by reducing the oil pressure at the time of performing the regenerative braking. However, since the response of the regenerative braking is slow, there may occur a feeling of suddenness and discomfort at the initial stage of braking, and in the case of downward adjusting the increase gradient of the amount of regenerative braking to minimize the discomfort, eventually, a vicious circle of reducing the amount of regenerative braking and aggravating the fuel ratio is repeated.
The above information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the disclosure and therefore it may contain information that does not form the related art that is already known in this country to a person of ordinary skill in the art.

Method for determining amount of regenerative braking


Pacemaker designed for support of both orthotopic and heterotopic transplants has three lead bore connector block assembly and dedicated or dedictable amplifiers for pacing and sensing configurations unique to transplant situations. The provision of definable amplifier assignments allows for enhanced sensing, capture detection and therapy.

Heart transplantation is a therapeutic option in the management of end stage heart failure. Two methods of surgical transplantation are typically done; orthotopic or heterotopic. In the orthotopic technique, the donor heart is attached to a partial remnant of the recipient's native right and left atria, essentially replacing the recipient heart chambers. In the heterotopic technique, the donor heart is implanted along side and is attached to the recipient heart such that it augments the recipient's cardiac output. FIG. 1a shows what the completed surgical heterotopic transplant looks like, and FIG. 1b illustrates the orthotopic surgery.
Known problems with heterotopic transplant include the progressive deterioration observed in the recipient left ventricular function and reduced exercise capacity due to the competitive contraction of the two hearts; with the donor left ventricle generating a much higher afterload for the failing recipient left ventricle.
Additionally (in both described transplant techniques), the donor heart is denervated, therefore its resting rate (typically near 90 bpm) exceeds that of the recipient sinus rate. Further, the donor heart rate response to exercise is attenuated, if present at all. Finally, the recipient atrium often develops arrhythmias.
Similar problems may develop with xenotransplants, such as with the use of baboon hearts or genetically altered porcine hearts transplanted into humans.
Because of these and other potential problems, an implantable electrical stimulus generator could be useful if designed to meet the needs of this situation.
A modified pacemaker that can pace at multiple sites and preferably also sense at multiple sites can be used to alleviate the problems described in transplantation described above.
Cardiac electrical stimulation has a long history with implantable cardiac stimulators going back perhaps 40 years. Only recently however have the implanted devices found use for multiple lead configurations. Examples include patents assigned to ELA Medical (Limousin et al.) U.S. Pat. No. 5,514,161 and 5,584,867, for example, and there are also patents directed to defibrillators, see for example U.S. Pat. No. 5,282,837 issued to Adams et al. which show leads in the coronary sinus that may be useful in left atrial or left ventricular stimulation.
A typical pacemaker system which could form the basis for most of the requirements for multisite pacing is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,549,654 issued to Powell, although many other suitable pacing or pacing and/defibrillation implantable device pulse generator (IPG) platforms may be used. A number of designs for Cardiac Assistance devices may also be used. Such devices are described in, for example U.S. Pat. No. 4,411,268 to Cox, and are used in stimulating muscle tissue which has been (or will be) surgically wrapped around the heart while also providing the possibility of direct cardiac pacing. It is also known for example, that optimizing the timing of ventricular pulses, in relation to paced or serial atrial events can assist in Hypertropic Obstructive Cardiomyopathy (HOCM) Therapy. This is demonstrated in the pending PCT patent publication No. WO96/25977, published in August 1996, for example. Also, as described in the Limousin and Limousin et al. patents cited above, bi-atrial pacing can be advantageous.
It is currently recognized in theory that differing pathways for depolarization waves can greatly affect cardiac performance (see Fritz Prinzen, Ph.D. et al. American Heart Journal, 1995:130:1045-1053, for example). Accordingly, there is a need to develop a multisite capable fully configurable pacemaker and/or pacemaker/defibrillator. Of course, there have been numerous devices which have been taught or developed in response to this need, including those described in patents on devices to control ventricular activation sequence (Cohen, U.S. Pat. No. 5,267,289 and 5,174,536 and Goldreyer U.S. Pat. No. 4,365,639), devices for dealing with fibrillation and other arrhythmias (Combs U.S. Pat. No. 5,562,708; Hill U.S. Pat. No. 5,507,784 and 5,403,356; Zipes U.S. Pat. No. 5,366,486; Duffin U.S. Pat. No. 5,243,978; 5,209,229; Adams U.S. Pat. No. 5,158,079; Ideker U.S. Pat. No. 5,107,834; Tacker Jr U.S. Pat. No. 4,708,145 and 4,548,203; and Prystowsky U.S. Pat. No. 4,554,922), devices capable of sensing through multiple, sometimes switchable electrodes (King U.S. Pat. No. 4,630,611 and 4,754,753; Funke U.S. Pat. No. 3,937,226; and Rockland U.S. Pat. No. 4,088,140; Kahn U.S. Pat. No. 4,354,497;; Mower(in which multiple sense electrode sites assist in treating hemodynamic dysfunction) U.S. Pat. No. 4,928,688), devices for switching between stimulation electrodes generally, (for example, in upper airway muscle stimulation Kallok U.S. Pat. No. 5,281,219), in devices for switching between different out of the device sensors or electrodes (Schaldach U.S. Pat. No. 4,412,541); King U.S. Pat. No. 4,750,494; Peterson U.S. Pat. No. 5,447,519; and Yang U.S. Pat. No. 5,476,503), in a device for applying differing parts of a pulse segment to different parts of a defibrillation electrode (in Dahl U.S. Pat. No. 4,969,463), and in devices which use the same electrodes for demand pacing and antitachy breakup pulses (Kolenik U.S. Pat. No. 4,181,133). However none of the aforementioned devices can perform the function herein described and in various aspects they are lacking in the flexibility and ease of configuration or simplicity of circuitry as the device described herein.
Several doctors have attempted to solve these problems with conventional pacemakers. In AN EXAMPLE OF HOW TO PACE A PATIENT WITH A HEART TRANSPLANTATION, by Osterholzer et al., Journal of Heart Transplant 1988;7:23-5, the authors describe the use of a Pacesetter AFP/283, Pacesetter Systems Inc., pacemaker with a two lead system configured with a lead in the recipient atrium (orthotopic transplant) used to sense the native sinus rate and after the shortest programmable delay, pace the donor atrium, which was counted on to pace the donor ventricle. (An additional lead was implanted into a donor ventricle so that if "atrial fibrillation with slow ventricular response in the donor heart requires ventricular stimulation, a simple pulse generator exchange will solve the problem.")
Another study published by McClurken, et al., RECIPIENT-DONOR ATRIAL SYNCHRONIZATION BENEFITS ACUTE HEMODYNAMICS AFTER ORTHOTOPIC HEART TRANSPLANTATION in the Journal of Heart Lung Transplant, 1996; 15:368-70 also described the benefits of timing the donor atrium to follow the recipient sinus rate. The McCracken article limits it study to acute pacing benefits with temporary heart wires.
Kacet, et al., in their article BIPOLAR ATRIAL TRIGGERED PACING TO RESTORE NORMAL CHRONOTROPIC RESPONSIVE IN AN ORTHOTOPIC CARDIAC TRANSPLANT PATIENT, describe native sinus rhythm following set up for orthotopic transplants wherein a bipolar lead splitter is used to provide a way to bring one unipolar lead each to the native and donor atria, one to sense in the native atria and the other to pace in the donor heart. It cannot, of course sense in the donor atrium at all nor can it sense in the native atrium while the donor atrium is being paced. Kacet use this fact to enforce the employ of a long refractory period, which happens to miss some native atrial arrhythmia.
All the foregoing suggests the need for an advanced pacemaker designed to assist in maintaining hemodynamic and natural sinus rate pacing for transplant patients. It would be most beneficial if the pacemaker could be used in both ortho- and heterotopic transplants.
Further, since the advent of transplant monitoring by implantable devices as described for example in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,402,794 issued to Wahlstrand, et al.,5,197,480(Gepphardt), 5,139,028(Steinhaus et al.),5,330,513(Nichols et al), 5,331,966(Bennett et al.), and 4,905,707(Davies and Lekholm), an additional benefit can be had from specifically designing a pacemaker for transplants. That is, by sending indications of the state of the transplanted heart, the usual monthly biopsies to determine the state of the transplant tissue can be avoided or ameileorated.
All of the references cited above are incorporated herein in their entireties by this reference so as to provide both background and disclosure for the invention described herein, said invention being described below with reference to the following Figures.

Apparatus for cardiac pacing in transplant


A first embodiment of a support system for a surgical retractor device includes a pair of vertically extending support members, releasably attachable to a patient support platform, at least one horizontally extending cross bar attached to and supported by the pair of vertically extending support members, and at least one lifting device disposed on the at least one cross bar and attached for retraction to a retractor assembly. The first embodiment may further include a horizontal extension, upon which may be mounted a lifting device. The first embodiment may further include a second cross bar, upon which a second lifting device may be mounted. A second embodiment of the surgical support system provides an extension for a surgical retractor support device, including an extender bar, a clamp, a first receptacle and a second receptacle for receiving a horizontal support bar from the surgical retractor support device, wherein the first receptacle may be disposed at approximately right angles to the horizontal support bar and the clamp is positioned to retain the horizontal bar in the receptacle. A third embodiment of a support system for a surgical retractor device provides a generally vertically extending support member for a surgical retraction apparatus, and includes a lower portion of the support member having a rectilinear portion for insertion into an anchoring receptacle, an upper portion of the support member having a horizontally extending portion, and a splined coupling adaptor for connecting together the lower and upper portions, wherein the adaptor comprises a splined segment having a key-like splined portion and a lock-like splined portion.

The present invention relates generally to surgical instruments for holding and elevating body parts and/or for maintaining a clear opening to a body area during surgery, particularly thoracic surgery. More specifically, the present invention relates to support apparatus upon which surgical devices, such as retractors and the like, may be operably mounted.
In the performance of surgery in the chest cavity, generally referred to as thoracic surgery, it is desirable to hold open the surgical cavity to provide access to the organ or body part upon which the surgery is being performed. This is especially important in the case of cardiac surgeries. An early example of a surgical retractor for use in coronary bypass surgical procedures which include dissection of the internal mammary artery is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,622,955, which is incorporated by reference.
In the device of U.S. Pat. No. 4,622,955 plural rakes which engage the body and retract the surgical cavity formed by a midsternotomy are relatively fixedly positioned with respect to each other from a rod. The rod may be elevated or lowered, as desired. However, there is no adjustment for the rakes relative to the rod, to each other or to the surgical cavity. Furthermore, the rakes are generally small, having sharply pointed tips and are generally designed to be employed in pairs for the purpose of retracting one side of a sternum which has been split by a midsternotomy. The device of U.S. Pat. No. 4,622,955 cannot provide the support required for other procedures which have been recently developed as alternatives to the midsternotomy approach to the coronary bypass, and it is not adapted for use in reoperative midsternotomy procedures.
It is well known and appreciated that in surgical procedures, time is of the essence, and delays associated with adjustments of support equipment are unwanted. Additionally, during certain procedures, it may be desirable to impose or to change a biasing force on a body portion which is undergoing a surgical procedure or treatment. Further, it is desirable to minimize the number of personnel required to assist in performance of a surgical procedure, to minimize the number of personnel who must enter the sterile field, and to minimize the tasks, such as holding a retractor, of personnel during surgical procedures. Further, it is desirable to have available to the surgeon instruments appropriately adapted to each type of procedure.
Coronary Bypass Surgery: The Midsternotomy
Coronary bypass surgery, in which the internal mammary artery is harvested from the chest wall and used for anastomosis of a vessel to bypass poorly functioning coronary arteries, has been performed thousands of times and has become an almost routine procedure for cardiac surgeons. Since the inception and throughout the development of the procedure, coronary bypass surgery has required a midsternotomy to provide access to the heart and coronary arteries. In the midsternotomy, an initial incision is made from the manubrium of the sternum to a point toward the xiphoid. Next, the sternum is split down the middle by means of a reciprocating sternal saw in order to provide access to the coronary arteries and the internal mammary artery. It has been estimated that in 1988, some 350,000 midsternotomy procedures were performed for coronary bypass surgery.
In performing the coronary bypass procedure, following the midsternotomy, it is necessary to retract one side of the split sternum in order to gain access to the thoracic cavity, and particularly to the internal mammary artery. Either the left or right internal mammary artery may be harvested for the bypass, so either side of the chest may need to be retracted. Retractors have been developed in order to provide the requisite retraction of the split sternum. An early example is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,622,955. The RULTRACT(copyright) internal mammary artery retractor is a more advanced retractor which has been developed to provide left or right internal mammary artery exposure in the undersurface of the chest wall. The RULTRACT(copyright) internal mammary retractor has been extensively used in coronary bypass surgery. The RULTRACT(copyright) retractor is not limited to coronary bypass surgery, having been used in various other thoracic surgical procedures, such as lung reduction and pericardial drainage.
The RULTRACT(copyright) internal mammary retractors include a rake plate and two or possibly three rakes. Most frequently, in use the two rakes are applied to one side of the opening formed by a midsternotomy and the rake plate is attached to a lifting device. The lifting device lifts the rake plate and the rakes, applying an upward and outward retraction to the sternum by which the surgical cavity is opened. The sternum is securely held in the open position when the lifting device is locked in position. This exposes the entire course of the mammary artery from its origin to its bifurcation, allowing its dissection. The rakes in the conventional retractor have a relatively small radius of curvature and have quite sharp tips to provide a secure attachment to the sternum. With the sternum securely held in the open position, the coronary artery dissection may then be carried out by the surgeon. In the standard midsternotomy, the retractor provides good exposure and allows the surgeon sufficient access for the dissection of the mammary artery.
After the coronary artery has been harvested, the RULTRACT(copyright) retractor is removed and a sternal retractor is placed in the chest and the grafting and anastomoses is performed. Closure is normally accomplished in this procedure by applying wires or staples to the sternum to hold it together in the properly aligned position for healing.
The midsternotomy is a highly invasive procedure, and much of the difficulty in recovering from a coronary surgical procedure involving a midsternotomy is due to the trauma resulting from the midsternotomy rather than to any trauma inflicted upon the coronary arteries or other thoracic organs and structures. As a result, a need has been identified for a less invasive procedure which will provide the surgeon with access to the coronary and internal mammary arteries with a minimum of trauma to the thoracic region.
The Mid-Cab, a Less Invasive Procedure
A less invasive procedure which has been developed to provide access to the mammary artery and the coronary arteries for coronary bypass surgery is known as the mid-cab or minimally invasive technique. In the mid-cab, an incision is made between the third and fourth rib, in the third intercostal space. The fourth rib is released from the sternum, and the incision is retracted downward by attaching a retractor rake to the fourth rib. A second retractor rake is next attached to the third rib, which is retracted upward and in the cranial direction. With access thus provided to the third rib and in the direction of the upper chest, the surgeon is able to create an opening from the third rib to the first rib or subclavian region. Via this opening, the surgeon is provided with access to the mammary artery, which is progressively dissected from the chest wall as the opening is progressively advanced toward the first rib. With the development of this procedure, a need has been identified for more advanced retractors specially adapted to the mid-cab procedure, and particularly for a retractor which can simultaneously retract the third and fourth ribs in different directions.
It is well known among cardiac surgeons that the position of the internal mammary artery in the chest is variable from patient to patient. For this reason, during the mid-cab procedure, it is sometimes necessary for the surgeon to manipulate the chest wall to provide adequate access to the mammary artery. The surgeon may have to either elevate or depress the chest wall in the region of the first rib in order to gain access to the mammary artery so that it can be dissected in this procedure. Thus, a need has been identified for devices which can assist the surgeon in the less invasive mid-cab procedure, particularly including a retractor capable of two-direction retraction at the site of the intercostal incision and devices for providing elevation and/or depression of the clavicle and first rib region of the chest wall.
Reoperative Coronary Bypass Surgery
As coronary surgery has become increasingly prevalent and postoperative coronary rehabilitation more successful, a larger number of patients are surviving longer than the expected patency of their graft conduits. This has resulted in an increasing number of patients having to undergo a second coronary bypass procedure. The second, or reoperative, procedure has sometimes been referred to as a xe2x80x9cre-doxe2x80x9d procedure. Unfortunately, the re-do midsternotomy is neither as simple nor as safe as the initial procedure. This is primarily due to the scarring and resultant adhesions which develop between the internal side of the sternum and the underlying organs and tissues of the thoracic cavity following the initial midsternotomy. When the re-do midsternotomy is performed by essentially repeating the steps of the initial procedure, an increase in morbidity and mortality has been observed. Thus, a need has arisen for an alternative procedure.
An alternative procedure which has been adapted to coronary surgery in order to avoid the dangers of the re-do midsternotomy is known as a xiphoid entry. In the xiphoid entry, an initial incision is made along the scar from the previous midsternotomy to a point midway between the xiphoid and the umbilicus. The old sternal wires are removed. The xiphoid process is excised. A single retractor rake is applied to the caudal end of the sternum and the sternum is firmly retracted in an anterior and cranial direction. This allows the surgeon to directly visualize the anterior retrosternal space, so that the retrosternal adhesions can be taken down. The surgeon progressively takes down the adhesions toward the subclavian, until the sternum is freed from the underlying organs. Once this is done, the retractor may be removed and the sternum divided with a reciprocating sternal saw as in the original procedure.
During the retraction particular care must be exercised since, first, the quite sharp rake tips of the standard retractor are applied directly to the lower end of the sternum from which the xiphoid process was excised, and second, a very strong lifting force is required to elevate the entire sternum. The possibility of unintended trauma to the sternum exists. A second problem which has been experienced with the procedure described above is that the entire retractor plate and the extra, non-used rake must be suspended in a central location in the operating field, further obstructing the work area with its already limited space available. A third problem is that due to the rake plate and various parts attaching it to the lifting apparatus, the retraction force applied to the sternum is not transmitted in a simple straight line from the lifting apparatus to the sternum. Thus, a need has been identified for a rake which is more appropriately adapted to the xiphoid entry in a re-do coronary bypass procedure.
In the procedures described in the foregoing and in additional thoracic surgical procedures, the surgeon may be required to adapt the support apparatus for retraction of the patient""s body in several directions at once. In such an instance, a single retractor held by a single support device may not be sufficient to provide the retraction required by the surgeon. Furthermore, it may be helpful to the surgeon to combine various embodiments of retraction devices in order to adequately obtain the retraction required.
Accordingly, there is a strong need in the art to provide for surgical retractor apparatus with which to facilitate the development and implementation of new surgical procedures, particularly less invasive procedures such as the mid-cab coronary artery bypass procedure, and for more radical thoracic procedures, such as a lung reduction or other procedure.
The present invention, in one embodiment, provides a cross bar support assembly, which extends across the operating table on which the patient lies during the surgical procedure, and upon which a plurality of lifting and retracting devices may be mounted. In one embodiment of the cross bar assembly, the cross bar is a unitary bar attached to a pair of novel support members and suspended across the operating table. In a second embodiment of the cross bar assembly, the cross bar comprises two conventional retractor support arms which are connected to each other across the operating table by a novel arrangement of couplings and extension bars attached to the horizontal portion of the retractor supports.
In an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a support system for a surgical retractor device which includes a pair of vertically extending support members, releasably attachable to a patient support platform, such as an operating table, a horizontally extending cross bar, attached to and supported by the pair of vertically extending support members. The cross bar preferably extends across the operating table. The support system further includes at least one ratcheting lifting device, which is disposed on the cross bar, and is attached to a retractor assembly for retraction. In one embodiment of the cross bar system, each of the vertically extending support members is a conventional retractor support apparatus, and the cross bar includes an extension attached thereto. Preferably, the extension includes coupling devices for attaching to the horizontal portions of the conventional support apparatus. In a second embodiment of the support system, each of the vertically extending support members is a slotted member not having a horizontally extending support portion, and the cross bar is a member supported by the pair of vertically extending support members. In both embodiments, at least one ratcheting lifting device is disposed upon the cross bar.
The embodiment mentioned in the preceding paragraph may further include a second horizontally extending cross bar, attached to and supported by the pair of vertically extending support members. The second cross bar may have mounted thereon one or more ratcheting lifting devices. The second cross bar, as well as the first cross bar, may include a horizontally extending extension, disposed at an angle to the cross bar, upon which a ratcheting lifting device may be disposed. The extension mounted on the second cross bar preferably includes an extender bar portion, a clamp portion, and a first receptacle for receiving the horizontal support bar from the surgical retractor support device, wherein the receptacle is disposed at approximately right angles to the horizontal support bar and the clamp is positioned to retain the horizontal bar in the receptacle. Preferably, the extension extends at a right angle to the cross bar, but other angles are possible within the scope of the present invention. The second cross bar, like the first, may include a plurality of further ratcheting lifting devices, mounted on the cross bar or upon one or more extension bars.
In another embodiment of the present invention, a support pole for a retractor support system is provided with a splined coupling, by which the exact angle at which the retraction device is suspended with respect to the xe2x80x9chead-to-toexe2x80x9d direction of the patient""s body may be selected and reliably retained without the possibility of slippage. The splined coupling provides for adjustment of the angle during the course of a surgical procedure, thereby allowing the surgeon to better adapt to the changing conditions and needs of the patient.
More particularly, in the embodiment of the present invention mentioned in the previous paragraph, there is provided a generally vertically extending support member for a surgical retraction apparatus which includes a lower portion of the support member having a rectilinear portion for insertion into an anchoring receptacle, an upper portion of the support member having a horizontally extending portion, and a splined coupling adaptor for connecting together the lower and upper portions, in which the adaptor comprises a splined segment having lock- and key-like splined portions. The splines may be involute. Preferably the key-like splined segment is disposed on the lower portion of the support member. Alternatively, the key-like splined segment may be disposed on the upper portion of the support member. Preferably, each splined segment comprises at least 12 teeth, but more preferably each splined segment comprises at least 19 teeth.
In still another embodiment of the present invention, a right-angled extension bar for a retractor support system is provided, providing a novel and much improved adaptability to the configuration of the retractor support system, thereby allowing the surgeon to better adapt to the changing conditions and needs of the patient during surgery.
More particularly, in the embodiment of the present invention mentioned in the preceding paragraph, there is provided an extension for a surgical retractor support device, which includes an extender bar portion, a clamp portion, and a first receptacle for receiving a horizontal support bar from the surgical retractor support device, in which the receptacle is disposed at approximately right angles to the horizontal support bar and the clamp is positioned to retain the horizontal bar in the receptacle. Preferably, the extension includes the extender bar being horizontally disposed when the horizontal bar is in the receptacle. Preferably, the first receptacle is disposed in the clamp portion. Preferably, the receptacle is disposed in the clamp portion and the clamp portion comprises a second receptacle for receiving the horizontal support bar, and wherein the second receptacle is disposed collinearly with the horizontal support bar. Preferably, a cross section of the extender bar is rectilinear, and more preferably it is square.
The present invention provides devices which may be selected and quickly implemented as required in an individual surgical procedure depending on the particular patient""s needs. The system allows the surgeon to perform a less-invasive procedure while maintaining the option to easily switch to the more radical surgical procedures, such as the midsternotomy, in the event of unforeseen difficulties. When the RULTRACT(copyright) retractor system and the device of the present invention are employed, the surgeon is provided with a greatly improved degree of adaptability in the procedures chosen during a particular surgical procedure, with a minimum change of retraction apparatus.
To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, the invention then comprises the features hereinafter fully described and particularly pointed out in the claims. The following description and the annexed drawings set forth in detail certain illustrative embodiments of the invention. These embodiments are indicative, however, of but a few of the various ways in which the principles of the invention may be employed. Other objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the drawings.

Surgical support apparatus with splined coupling, cross bar support and head-to-toe extension for surgical retractor apparatus


In an autonomous vehicle, position of a planar obstacle such as a wall or a fence having apertures is determined. A horizontal plane is scanned with a laser range tinder so as to acquire positional coordinates of a plurality of scanning points. An element vector is formed with each two scanning points so that one acquired former is used as a start point and the other acquired later as an end point of the vector. A plurality of continuous element vectors which satisfy predetermined conditions is selected among the element vectors, and a scanning segment vector is formed by composition of the selected element vectors. When a length of the scanning segment vector is equal to or longer than a predetermined length, it is possible to recognize that a planar obstacle exists along the scanning segment vector.

Conventionally, a method for recognizing positions on a surface of a wall (planar obstacle) is known from the document (Li Zhang & Bijoy K. Ghosh, "Line Segment Based Map Building and Localization Using 2D Laser Range finder", IEEE Int. Conf. On Robotics & Automation, pp. 2538-2543, 2000). In the conventional method, a horizontal plane is scanned at an every constant angle or a constant distance with using a laser radar so that a group of scanning points each distributed in two-dimensional surface is acquired by receiving reflected waves from an object. A plurality scanning points are selected with specific assumptions from the group of the scanning points, and an aggregation of segments is formed by coupling the selected scanning points. The wall distributed in the horizontal plane can be recognized by the aggregation of segments.
In the above mentioned conventional method for recognizing the planar obstacle, it, however, includes a step repeating a calculation for acquiring a distance from a specific point to a specific segment in a plurality of times when specific scanning points are selected among a lot of the scanning points and the aggregation of segments is formed. Thus, the calculation process becomes complex and requires a long time. If the method is installed in the autonomous vehicle for recognizing the planar obstacle, the moving speed of the autonomous vehicle may be slowed so as to autonomously move the autonomous vehicle safely and surely. Therefore, it is necessary to simplify the planar obstacle recognition method so as to be installed in the autonomous vehicle. In addition, according to the conventional planar obstacle recognition method, when the planar obstacle has apertures like a meshed or grated fence, reflected waves from an object disposed behind the planar obstacle are received, so that it is difficult to recognize the planar obstacle having apertures, accurately. Therefore, no method which can recognize the planar obstacle having apertures is put into practical use as the planar obstacle recognition method which is suitable for autonomous vehicle.

Autonomous vehicle and planar obstacle recognition method


This invention provides compounds of Formula I which are inhibitors of Chk2 and are useful as a radiation protection agents in anticancer radiotherapy. A method of modulating Chk2 in vitro includes treating a substrate with Chk2 in the presence of compounds of formula I. A method of making a compound of formula I includes: a) forming a biaryl amine having an amino (NH2) group; b) converting the amino group to an isothiocyanate group; c) adding a cyanoacetamide to the isothiocyanate group to form a thioamide adduct; d) cyclizing the thioamide adduct to form an isothiazole having a cyano group; and e) adding an amine to the cyano group to form a carboxamidine group.

This invention concerns novel compounds that act as selective inhibitors for Chk2. The compounds possess the cellular activity to regulate the Chk2-mediated cell cycle arrest and apoptosis. They are potentially useful as radiation protection agents in anticancer radiotherapy.
The maintenance of an intact genome is of crucial importance to every organism. Each individual cell in a multicellular eukaryotic organism possesses sophisticated and intricate mechanisms to properly respond to DNA damage. Such mechanisms repair damaged DNA or trigger programmed cell death (apoptosis). Checkpoint kinases are thought to be intimately involved in these processes.
Checkpoint Kinase 2 ("Chk2") is one of the major effectors of the replication checkpoint. The crucial roles played by Chk2 in mediating cellular responses to DNA damage implicate its potential value in cancer therapies. The inhibition of Chk2 could protect normal cells from the effects of ionizing radiation or DNA-damaging chemotherapeutics while increasing the cancer cells' susceptibility to such treatments, thus enhancing both the efficacy and the safety of such therapies.

3-hydroxyisothiazole-4-carboxamidine derivatives as CHK2 inhibitors


An adjustable steering column unit includes a steering shaft having one end carrying a steering wheel and the opposite end connected to the rest of the steering mechanism, the shaft being movable in rotation in a column body (4), the body and/or the shaft being angularly and/or axially movable between two flanges of a fixing structure (5) for fixing the body to the remainder of the automobile vehicle, and the fixing structure comprising, at one end, locking means for locking the body in position and movable between locking and unlocking positions to permit the adjustment of the position of the steering wheel and, in proximity to the other end of the fixing structure, a guide bearing (7) for the body. The bearing (7) has a yoke portion, having a U-shaped section, of the fixing structure (5), in which is disposed a bushing (8) for mounting the body (4) without play. Opposed lateral walls of the bushing are connected to the flanges (7a,7b) of the yoke portion. The bushing includes an opening (8a) for receiving the body.

The present invention relates to a steering column unit which is adjustable in position for an automobile vehicle.
Some automobile vehicles have been provided for already several years with devices for adjusting the position of the steering wheel for the purpose of adapting the position of the latter to the morphology of the driver of the vehicle.
Thus the position of the steering wheel may be adjusted axially and/or angularly by the user.
Steering column units known in the art comprise a steering shaft one end of which carries a steering wheel while the other end is connected to the rest of the steering mechanism of the vehicle.
This steering shaft is mounted to be movable in rotation in a column body, for example by means of rotational guide means, and the body and/or the shaft are mounted to be angularly and/or axially movable between flanges of a structure for fixing the body to the rest of the automobile vehicle.
This fixing structure comprises at one of its ends means for locking in position the body and the shaft and therefore the steering wheel, the locking means being movable between a locking position and an unlocking position enabling the user to adjust the position of the steering wheel.
In the vicinity of the other end of the fixing structure, the latter includes a bearing for guiding the column body.
Different embodiments of these locking means have been proposed.
Thus, for example, the locking means may comprise a rod extending between the two flanges of the fixing structure, a first end of which rod bears against one of the flanges of the fixing structure while the second end is connected to locking elements whereby it is possible to move the flanges toward each other for locking the body, the shaft and the steering wheel in position.
Different embodiments of these locking elements have also been proposed.
Thus for example, these locking elements may be constituted by a screw and nut system, a toggle system, or a system employing an eccentric, connected to a shifting lever actuatable by the user.
Another embodiment of these locking elements is described in the document GB-A-2 113 164 in the name of the FORD MOTOR COMPANY LIMITED.
This document describes a column unit whose general arrangement is in the previously-described form and in which the locking elements comprise a stop member at the corresponding end of the rod, an intermediate bearing member in contact with the corresponding flange of a support structure and axially movable on the rod, and a shifting member disposed between the stop member and the intermediate bearing member, connected to a shifting lever and movable in rotation in a plane perpendicular to the rod between an active column-locking position and a withdrawn position for unlocking the column.
The confronting surfaces of the shifting member and the intermediate bearing member or the stop member, comprise, in respect of one, at least one projecting portion adapted to cooperate with a ramp of the other surface for the purpose of moving said two surfaces away from each other, and therefore the corresponding locking elements, so as to shift the flanges toward each other and lock the column in position upon the shifting of the actuating lever.
Various embodiments of the guide bearing for the column body in the fixing structure have also been developed.
However, these bearings generally comprise a bent portion of the structure extending in a plane roughly perpendicular to the flanges of the latter. This bent portion defines an opening in which the column body is engaged, a ring of an elastically yieldable material being interposed between the walls of said bent portion defining said opening and the column body, to enable the latter to move angularly and/or axially relative to the bent portion and therefore relative to the fixing structure.
It will be understood that this type of bearing has a number of drawbacks, in particular as to the maintenance of the column body in position without play in the fixing structure.

Adjustable steering column unit for an automobile vehicle

Ecia-Equipements et Composants pour l'Industrie Automobile