A system and method for trimming an unadjusted forward delay of a delay-locked loop (DLL) and trimming a duty cycle of first and second output clock signals provided by a DLL. For trimming an unadjusted forward delay, delay is added to one of a feedback clock signal path and an input clock signal path and a feedback clock signal is provided from the feedback clock signal path and an input clock signal is provided from the input clock signal path for phase comparison. For trimming a duty cycle of first and second output clock signals, one of a first delayed input clock signal and a second delayed input clock signal is delayed. The first and second delayed input clock signals are complementary. The delayed clock signal and the other clock signal are provided as the first and second output clock signals.

In synchronous integrated circuits, the integrated circuit is clocked by an external clock signal and performs operations at predetermined times relative to the rising and falling edges of the applied clock signal. Examples of synchronous integrated circuits include synchronous memory devices such as synchronous dynamic random access memories ("SDRAMs"), synchronous static random access memories ("SSRAMs"), and packetized memories like SLDRAMs and RDRAMs, and include other types of integrated circuits as well, such as microprocessors. The timing of signals external to a synchronous memory device is determined by the external clock signal, and operations within the memory device are typically synchronized to external operations. For example, data is read from the memory device in synchronism with the external clock signal. To provide the data at the proper times, an internal clock signal is developed in response to the external clock signal, and is typically applied to latches contained in the memory device to clock the data into the latches. The internal clock signal and external clock must be synchronized to ensure the internal clock signal clocks the latches at the proper times to successfully provide the data. In the present description, "external" refers to signals and operations outside of the memory device, and "internal" refers to signals and operations within the memory device. Moreover, although the present description is directed to synchronous memory devices, the principles described herein are equally applicable to other types of synchronous integrated circuits.
Internal circuitry in the memory device that generates the internal clock signal necessarily introduces some time delay, causing the internal clock signal to be phase shifted relative to the external clock signal. As long as the phase-shift is minimal, timing within the memory device can be easily synchronized to the external timing. As used herein, the term synchronized includes signals that are coincident and signals that have a desired delay relative to one another. However, with higher frequency clock signals, the time delay introduced by the internal circuitry becomes more significant. This is true because as the frequency of the external clock signal increases, the period of the signal decreases and thus even small delays introduced by the internal circuitry correspond to significant phase shifts between the internal and external clock signals. As a result of intrinsic delays, the data provided by the memory device may not be valid at the time the internal clock signal clocks the latches.
Additionally, as the frequency of the external clock increases, variations in the duty cycle of the clock signal introduce a greater duty cycle error. An ideal duty cycle for a clock signal is typically 50 percent. That is, over the period of a clock cycle, the clock signal is HIGH for 50 percent of the period. As the period of the clock signals become shorter due to the increased clock frequency, a clock variation that results in a subtle shift in duty cycle, and which can be ignored at a lower clock frequency, may result in a much more significant shift in the duty cycle of the higher frequency clock signal. In such instances, if the duty cycle of the clock signal is left uncorrected, timing errors may cause the memory device to fail.
To synchronize external and internal clock signals in modern synchronous memory devices, a number of different approaches have been considered and utilized, including delay-locked loops ("DLLs") with duty cycle correction ("DCC") circuits. Clock synchronizing circuits, such as DLLs, generate output clock signals that are in phase, or synchronized, with input clock signals. A DCC circuit can correct a distorted duty cycle of clock signals. One DCC technique takes a first clock signal and a second clock signal that is 180 degrees out of phase from the first clock signal and shifts the phase of one of the two clock signals so that rising edges of the first and second clock signals correspond to rising edges of two clock signals having ideal 50 percent duty cycles. Although the clock signals still appear distorted, circuitry operating in response to rising edges of the first and second clock signals will function as if provided with clock signals having 50 percent duty cycles.
FIG. 1 illustrates a DLL 100. The DLL 100 operates in a conventional manner, with it providing delayed output clock signals DCLK0 and DCLK180 that are in phase with input clock signals CLK0 and CLK180, respectively. The CLK0 and CLK180 signals are 180 degrees out-of-phase, as are the DCLK0 and DCLK180 signals. Operation of the DLL 100 will be described ignoring operation of the tAC trim and tOH trim circuits 140, 150, the operation of which will be described in detail below. The CLK0 and CLK180 signals are buffered by input buffer circuits 102, 104 and provided to a variable delay line 106. The variable delay line 106 delays the CLK0 and CLK180 signals by a delay controlled by a phase detector 110. The delayed CLK0 and CLK180 signals are buffered by output clock buffer circuit 112, 114. The delayed CLK0 signal output by the variable delay line 106 is further delayed by a model delay 108 having a delay equal to the total intrinsic delay of the input and output buffer circuits 102, 104 and 112, 114. The phase detector 110 receives and compares the phase of the buffered CLK0 signal and a CLKFB signal output by the model delay 108. Based on the phase of the two signals, the variable delay line 106 is adjusted until the buffered CLK0 signal and the CLKFB signal are in phase. Under this condition, the DLL is described as being "locked" and the resulting DCLK0 and DCLK180 signals will be in phase (i.e., "synchronized") with the CLK0 and CLK180 signals.
The variable delay line 106 has a range of adjustable delay between a minimum delay and a maximum adjustable delay. In order to accommodate a wide range of input clock frequencies and variations in circuit performance that can result from manufacturing variations, it is desirable for the variable delay line 106 to have a wide range of adjustable delay. Providing such an adjustable delay circuit, however, requires a considerable number of delay stages. This results in a relatively "large" circuit that consumes significant power. Additionally, typical delay stages include delay circuits having respective delays that are affected by electrical noise, such as power noise. As a result, an input clock signal that propagates through a long chain of delay stages is more susceptible to "clock jitter" since the delay of each stage is affected by electrical noise and the total noise-induced shift in delay is additive over the entire length of delay stages. Thus, the range of adjustable delay that an adjustable delay is designed to provide is a compromise between providing sufficient delay to accommodate an acceptable range of clock and account for variations in circuit performance, and the desire to reduce circuit size, power consumption and susceptibility to noise-induced clock jitter.
With the range of adjustable delay of the variable delay line 106 tailored to balance competing considerations, it may be necessary to trim a static or non-adjusted delay of the DLL 100 due to a mismatch between the model delay 108 and the actual delay of the input buffer circuits 102, 104 and the output clock buffer circuits 112, 114. The static delay of the DLL 100 for tAC is generally represented by the variable delay line 106, but set to a default delay, and the model delay 108. The static delay of the DLL 100 for tOH is generally represented by the default delay of the variable delay line. The tAC and tOH trim circuits 140, 150 provide examples of this trimming functionality. The tAC trim circuit 140 is used to trim static clock synchronization accuracy and the tOH trim circuit 150 is used to trim static duty cycle. The tAC trim circuit 140 includes a static delay circuit 120 that provides a fixed delay and further includes an adjustable delay 122 having a delay that is adjusted by a trim decoder circuit 124. The trim decoder circuit 124 receives a tAC trim signal that is used to set the amount of delay trim for the tAC trim circuit 140. The tOH trim circuit 150 similarly includes a static delay circuit 130 and an adjustable delay circuit 132 that has a delay that can be adjusted by a tOH trim decoder 134. A tOH trim signal is used to set the desired delay trim of the tOH trim circuit 150. The tAC and tOH trim signals are typically determined during testing of the memory device where its performance is measured and compared to performance specifications. Where the memory device is not performing to tAC and tOH specifications, trim signals suitable to correct the deviations are generated and applied accordingly.
FIG. 2 illustrates the static delay 120, 130 and the adjustable delay 122, 132 of the tAC and tOH trim circuits 140, 150. In the case of the tAC trim circuit, the CLK0 and CLKFB signals are provided to the static delay 120 and the adjustable delay 122 to produce the delayed output signals CLK0_trim and CLKFB_trim signals, all respectively. As for the tOH trim circuit, CLK0VD and CLK180VD output by the variable delay 106 are further delayed by the static delay 130 and the adjustable delay 132 to provide CLK0VD_trim and CLK180VD_trim signals, all respectively. The adjustable delay 122, 132 provides a range of adjustable delay between a minimum delay, typically an intrinsic delay 204 and a maximum delay. The tAC/tOH trim decoder 124, 134 adjusts the delay of the adjustable delay 122, 132 according to a respective trim signal. The default delay of the adjustable delay 122, 132 is typically one-half of the maximum delay. The static delay circuit 120, 130 has an intrinsic delay 202 and also provides a fixed delay that is approximately one-half of the maximum delay of the adjustable delay 122, 132.
By providing a static delay circuit 120, 130 of one-half of the maximum delay and an adjustable delay 122, 132, the phase of a first clock signal can be shifted in time in either the positive or negative direction relative to the phase of a second clock signal. That is, the first clock signal and be shifted earlier or later in time relative to the second clock signal. For example, with particular reference to the CLK0 and CLKFB signals, assume that in an initial condition the CLK0 and CLKFB signals are in phase and the adjustable delay 122 is set to provide the same delay as the static delay circuit 120 (i.e., one-half the maximum adjustable delay). The CLKFB_trim signal can be shifted earlier in time relative to the CLK0_trim signal by adjusting the adjustable delay 122 to provide less delay than the static delay circuit 120 (i.e., less than one-half the maximum adjustable delay). Conversely, the CLKFB_trim signal can be shifted later in time relative to the CLK0_trim signal by adjusting the adjustable delay 122 to provide more delay than the static delay circuit 120 (i.e., more than one-half the maximum adjustable delay). Shifting the CLKFB_trim signal relative to the CLK0_trim signal can be used to trim tAC since the phase detector 110 (FIG. 1) will adjust the variable delay line 106 according to the phase relationship of the CLK0_trim and CLKFB_trim signals. Where the tAC specifications are not met, the CLKFB_trim signal can be shifted either earlier or later in time relative to the CLK0_trim signal so that the synchronization of the CLK0_trim and CLKFB_trim signals by the variable delay line 106 is possible. As previously discussed, such a situation can occur due to variations in the fabrication process of the memory device or due to timing differences between the real clock path and that of the clock path including the model delay 108.
The tOH trim circuit 150 operates in a manner similar to the tAC trim circuit. A DCC circuit (not shown) can precisely adjust the phases of the DCLK0 and DCLK180 signals to provide rising clock edges corresponding to an ideal 50% duty cycle. However, the DCLK0 and DCLK180 signals should be in a correctible range of the DCC circuit. The tOH trim circuit 150 can be used to adjust the phases of the DCLK0 and DCLK180 signals so that a distorted duty cycle outside of the correctible range can be corrected by the DCC. The tOH trim circuit can shift the phase of the CLK180VD_trim signal to an earlier or later time relative to the CLKVD0_trim signal. For a duty cycle that is too low for correction by the DCC circuit, the adjustable delay 132 can be set to provide more delay than the static delay circuit 130 in order to "increase" the duty cycle so that it can be corrected. For a duty cycle that is too high for correction by the DCC circuit, the adjustable delay 132 can be set to provide less delay than the static delay circuit 130 in order to "decrease" the duty cycle so that it can be corrected.
Although the tAC and tOH trim circuits 140, 150 can provide adjustability for trimming tAC and tOH, the static delay circuit 120, 130 necessarily adds a delay of one-half the maximum adjustable delay of the adjustable delay 122 to the CLK0 and CLK0VD signals, even if tAC and tOH trimming is unnecessary. In the cases where tAC and tOH trimming are required, the delay of the adjustable delay 122, 132 will typically be centered around the default setting of one-half of its maximum adjustable delay. Thus, in either case, both the CLK0, CLKFB and CLK0VD, CLK180VD signals will necessarily be delayed. As previously discussed, adding delay increases susceptibility to noise-induced jitter and also presents the possibility of increased power consumption. In applications where having precision clock signals and relatively low power consumption are both desirable, the costs associated with conventional delay trimming circuits may be unacceptable.
Therefore, there is a need for a delay trimming circuit that can trim delays using less forward delay, and as a result, is less susceptible to noise-induced clock jitter and has lower power consumption.

Apparatus and method for trimming static delay of a synchronizing circuit


A radiowave absorber of the present invention includes: an upper plate that includes a dielectric material containing conductive particles; a lower plate that is arranged parallel to the upper plate, and includes a dielectric material that contains conductive particles; and a plate-shaped support portion that is arranged between the upper plate and the lower plate, and supports the upper plate and the lower plate.

A radiowave absorber may be used as a means for avoiding radiowave interference. Generally, a radiowave absorber is sponge made of resin such as polyurethane including carbon particles, such as carbon, and has conductivity. An installation example of a radiowave absorber includes a parabolic antenna that is used for point-to-point communication. In order not to radiate radiowaves as much as possible in the direction outside the opposing counter station, it is necessary to keep the sides lobes of the antenna low. As a measure, a constitution is often used that provides a shroud around the parabolic reflector, and affixes a radiowave absorber on the inner side of this shroud.
FIG. 13 shows the constitution of a conventional parabolic antenna 900. This parabolic antenna 900 is constituted from a reflector (parabolic reflector) 910, a shroud 920, a primary radiator 930, and a radiowave absorber 800. As a radiowave absorber, Patent Document 1 discloses a radiowave absorber constituted from a radiowave reflecting film, a resistance film, and a spacer.

Radiowave absorber and parabolic antenna


A proton conductor, a method for manufacturing the same, and an electrochemical device using the proton conductor are provided. The proton conductor includes a carbon derivative which has a carbon material selected from the group consisting of a fullerene molecule, a cluster consisting essentially of carbon, a fiber-shaped carbon and a tube-shaped carbon, and mixtures thereof; and at least a proton dissociative group, the proton dissociative group being bonded to the carbon material via a cyclic structure of tricyclic or more. The method includes the steps of obtaining the carbon derivative, hydrolyzing the derivative with alkali hydroxide, subjecting the hydrolyzed product to ion exchange, and forming a group with proton-dissociating properties.

The present invention relates to a proton conductor and a method for manufacturing the proton conductor, and also relates to an electrochemical device.
On-going efforts continue in an attempt to develop the fuel cell because attention is focused on the fuel cell as an environment-oriented electric energy generating system for the next generation from the reasons such as its high efficiency and cleanliness with respect to power generation.
Fuel cell can be roughly divided according to the types of proton conductor used in it because the operating temperature and the condition in use exert strong influence on the property of the proton conductor. Because the property of the proton conductor in use gives strong influence on performance characteristics of the fuel cell, it is essential to improve performance of the proton conductor in order to have the fuel cell with better performance characteristics.
In general, in the temperature range from normal temperature to lower than 100° C., proton-conductive macromolecular film is used, which has solid macromolecular film. Typical examples include NAFION (trade name; DU PONT De NEMOURS & CO.) or GORE FILM (GORE & ASSOCIATES). These are perfluorosulfonic acid resins, and efforts continue in an attempt to make modifications and improvements of these types of products. In addition to these perfluoro type resins, hydrocarbon type macromolecular film have been known in recent years.
Also, as relatively new types of inorganic metal oxide type proton conductor, polymolybdic acids or oxides having a large amount of conductor, polymolybdic acids or oxides having a large amount of water of hydration such as H3M12PO40.29H2O (M=Mo,W) or Sb2O5.nH2O are known.
When these macromolecular materials or hydrated compounds are placed under humid conditions, they exhibit high proton conductive property near normal temperature. Specifically, if an example is taken on perfluoro-sulfonic acid resin, protons electrolytically dissociated from sulfonic group are bonded with moisture which is extensively contained in macromolecular matrix (hydrogen bonding), and protonized water, i.e. oxonium ions (H3O+) are generated. Because protons in form of oxonium ions can smoothly migrate in macromolecular matrix, matrix material of this type can provide considerably high proton conductive effect even at normal temperature.
On the other hand, a proton conductor with conductive mechanism entirely different from these has been recently developed. Specifically, it has been found that complex metal oxides with perovskite structure such as SrCeO3 doped with Yb have proton conductivity even when moisture is not used as migration medium. It appears that, in the complex metal oxides, protons are conducted through channel between oxygen ions, which form skeletons of the perovskite structure.
In this case, it is not that conductive protons are present in the complex metal oxides from the beginning. It is believed that, when the perovskite structure is brought into contact with vapor contained in atmospheric gas in the surroundings, water molecules at high temperature react with oxygen-lacking portion in the perovskite structure by doping, and protons are generated only when this reaction takes place.
However, in the proton conductor as described above, there are a number of problems.
For example, the matrix material such as perfluorosulfonic acid resin must be continuously maintained under sufficiently humid condition during use in order to keep proton conductive property at high level. Also, for the purpose of preventing freezing or boiling of water contained in the matrix, the range of the operating temperature should not be wide.
In case of inorganic metal oxide proton conductor such as H3M12PO40.29H2O (M=Mo,W) or Sb2O5.nH2O, temperature must be maintained high in order to keep structural water contained therein so that significant proton conduction is carried out. Also, in a certain type of perovskite oxide such as SrCeO3, operating temperature must be kept at high level, i.e. 500° C. or higher. When humidity is low, proton conductivity rapidly decreases.
As described above, the conventional type proton conductor depends much on the atmospheric conditions, e.g. moisture must be supplied or vapor is needed. Moreover, there are problems that operating temperature is too high or temperature range is too narrow.
Therefore, humidifier or other types of accessory equipment or device are needed for a system such as fuel cell. This unavoidably requires the designing of the system in larger size or higher cost for system construction. A need, therefore, exists to provide an improved proton conductor and methods of making and using same.

Proton conductor and method for manufacturing the same, and electrochemical device


Hardenable and hardened dental compositions, and articles including such hardenable and hardened compositions, are provided. The hardenable dental compositions include a thermally labile component including one or more thermally labile groups. Upon heating, the hardened compositions are useful, for example, for reducing the bond strength of orthodontic appliances adhered to tooth structures with the hardened compositions.

Orthodontic treatment involves movement of malpositioned teeth to orthodontically correct positions. Tiny orthodontic appliances known as brackets are connected to exterior surfaces of the patient's teeth, and an archwire is placed in a slot of each bracket. The archwire forms a track to guide movement of the teeth to desired positions for correct occlusion. End sections of the archwire are often received in appliances known as buccal tubes that are fixed to the patient's molar teeth. In recent years it has become common practice to use adhesives to bond orthodontic appliances to the surface of the tooth, using either direct or indirect methods. A variety of adhesives are available to the practitioner for bonding brackets to tooth surfaces, and many offer excellent bond strengths. High bond strengths are desirable for maintaining adhesion of the bracket to the tooth surface over the duration of the treatment process, which can typically be two years or more.
However, orthodontic adhesives with high bond strengths can lead to other difficulties. For example, one of the most difficult aspects of the orthodontic treatment process can be the removal of the bracket after completion of treatment. It is well known in the industry that certain adhesives, used in combination with certain rigid brackets, are capable of causing enamel fracture under some debonding conditions. As a result, many commercially available ceramic brackets have been designed for the bond to fail at the interface between the bracket and the adhesive to prevent damage to the tooth surface during the debonding process. However, this approach results in most of the cured adhesive pad being left behind on the tooth surface after the bracket has been removed. Removal of the adhesive pad, which is typically hard and heavily crosslinked, can be time consuming for the clinician and uncomfortable for the patient.
New adhesives and methods are needed that offer satisfactory adhesion of the bracket to the tooth surface throughout the treatment process, and also allow for more convenient removal upon completion of the treatment.

Dental compositions including a thermally labile component, and the use thereof


A fire-control system for anti-aircraft defense systems, particularly mobile ones, having at least one launch apparatus for guided missiles that is pivotable in elevation and disposed on a platform that is pivotable in azimuth, has an optical target-tracking sensor that is rigidly coupled with the launch apparatus, a follow-up computer for panning the target-tracking sensor after targets, a directional angle computer for calculating lead and elevation of the guided missile during launch, and a control unit that has adjustment drives for the platform and launch apparatus, which unit pivots the platform in azimuth and the launch apparatus in elevation, and, prior to launch, locks the lead on the platform and the elevation on the launch apparatus. For the purpose of a very rapid second attack, the line of sight of the target-tracking sensor rigidly coupled with the launch apparatus is guided via a vertically and horizontally pivotable pivoting mirror that is positioned during lock-on of lead and elevation by azimuth and elevation angles that correspond to those for the platform and launch apparatus, but in a direction counter to the direction of displacement of the platform and launch apparatus.

The invention relates to a fire-control apparatus for anti-aircraft defense systems, particularly mobile ones, of the generic type including: a platform that rotates around a vertical axis; at least one launch apparatus for guided missiles provided with homing heads, which apparatus is pivotable around a horizontal axis and is disposed on the platform; at least one optical target-tracking sensor, which continuously determines target data, such as position, velocity and range, rigidly coupled with the launch apparatuses; a directional angle computer that is connected to the target-tracking sensor and, from the target data, calculates the estimated point of impact of a guided missile and an airborne target and the directional angles "lead" and "elevation" necessary for the launch of the guided missile; a follow-up computer that is connected to the target-tracking sensor and generates follow-up signals in azimuth and elevation from the deviations of the target position from the line of sight of the target-tracking sensor; and a control unit, which is connected to the follow-up directional angle computers and has adjustment drives for the platform and the launch apparatus, which pivots the platform in azimuth and the launch apparatuses in elevation as a function of the follow-up signals and, prior to launch, locks the lead on the platform and the elevation on the launch apparatus.
In a known fire-control apparatus for an anti-aircraft tank with cannon (CH 665,493.A5), the target-tracking sensor includes a tracking radar, which automatically tracks the target, and supplies continuously measured data, such as target position, velocity and acceleration, as well as a laser range finder, which supplies a redundant, interference-immune measurement of target distance. The target data of the tracking radar and of the laser range finder are transmitted to the directional angle computer, which utilizes them to determine the directional angles for lead and elevation for the turret and weapon, taking into consideration everyday conditions such as initial projectile velocity, air pressure, temperature, wind intensity and wind direction.
The tracking radar, the laser range finder and the weapon are autonomous systems connected with one another by means of follow-up computers.
In a known fire-control apparatus of the above-mentioned type for anti-aircraft systems equipped with guided missiles, such as Stingers, Mistrals or the like, optical sensors such as a TV camera and/or an infrared camera connected to a laser range finder are used as target-tracking sensors. Because guided missiles have their own homing head, which typically operates on an infrared basis, for structural simplification the target-tracking sensor is rigidly coupled with the launch apparatus for the guided missiles, which is pivotable in elevation, and the two are disposed together on a platform that is rotatable in azimuth. In this way, the line of sight of the target-tracking sensor and the longitudinal axis of the launch apparatus for the guided missiles are always oriented nearly parallel to one another, so that the control unit need only adjust the platform in azimuth and the launch apparatus in elevation corresponding to the follow-up signals generated by the follow-up computer in order to pan the target-tracking sensor. During tracking the line of sight of the homing head of the guided missile is aligned with the axis of the launch apparatus and thus, like the line of sight of the target-tracking sensor, oriented toward the target. Before the missile is launched, target lock-on is effected by the stabilized homing head of the guided missile, following which the platform is pivoted by the lead in azimuth, and the launch apparatus is pivoted in elevation by the tangential sight. The consequence of this is that the homing head of the guided missile tracks the target, but the lines of sight of the target-tracking sensor and the guided missile themselves are pivoted by the directional angles and are oriented toward the calculated point of impact, the so-called "kill point," and therefore no longer toward the target. The resulting loss of target by the target-tracking sensor has the drawback that, to execute a second launch toward the same target with a second launch apparatus that is rigidly coupled with the first launch apparatus and always takes part in its adjustment motion, the target must be reacquired, then transmitted to the target-tracking sensor. In many cases, the required, not insignificant, time span until the second launch occurs reduces the fighting power of the anti-aircraft defense system. The same problem occurs when, after the first projectile has been launched, a second target is to be attacked that is flying close to the tracked target and is therefore in the visual field of the target-tracking sensor. The consequence of the loss of the target by the target-tracking sensor during launch of the guided missile is that the second target is also lost, and must be subsequently reacquired.
It is an object of the invention to improve a fire-control apparatus of the type described at the outset such that, during target lock-on prior to launch, and the associated adjustment of the launch apparatus by the required directional angle in azimuth and elevation, the target-tracking sensor remains in contact with the target.

Fire control device for, in particular, transportable air defense systems


A controller for a brushless direct current (BLDC) motor includes a pulse width modulator and a control circuit. The pulse width modulator provides a plurality of phase control signals to control corresponding ones of a plurality of phases of the BLDC motor. The control circuit controls the pulse width modulator to provide pulses to the plurality of phases to control a speed of the BLDC motor by causing the pulse width modulator to adjust widths of the pulses when a measured current in an active one of a corresponding phase exceeds a threshold in a startup mode. In one form, the controller is part of a BLDC motor system which also includes a plurality of phase drivers each having inputs for receiving respective ones of said plurality of phase control signals, and outputs adapted to couple to corresponding phases of the BLDC motor.

A brushless direct current (BLDC) motor typically includes a rotor containing one or more permanent magnets and a stator with electromagnets that are dynamically switched. A controller controls the motor speed and commutation by modulating the width of pulses applied to switches in each motor phase driver. In a typical BLDC motor startup sequence, the controller drives the motor like a stepper motor because there is no significant back EMF at zero or low speed to use in making zero-crossing commutation decisions. Thus the motor is initially commutated very slowly, and then its velocity is increased by reducing the commutation time while the PWM duty cycle is increased over time to boost the applied motor voltage and to keep the current constant. This startup sequence is typically implemented using a table of duty cycles and another table timing delays for each commutation for a typical configuration and load.
The use of the same reference symbols in different drawings indicates similar or identical items. Unless otherwise noted, the word "coupled" and its associated verb forms include both direct connection and indirect electrical connection by means known in the art, and unless otherwise noted any description of direct connection implies alternate embodiments using suitable forms of indirect electrical connection as well.

Controller for brushless DC motor with flexible startup and method therefor


A light source for use in exposing photographic material through a negative. The source includes a plurality of lamps, one appropriate to each emulsion layer of the material to be exposed. Each lamp has a reflector projecting a light stream through a dichroic filter which limits the energy of the stream so that it acts on a single layer. The separate streams are then combined into a single stream which is further treated to eliminate rays exceeding a predetermined angle. Cut off blades may be used to terminate the projection of any one or more of the individual streams for certain definite times depending on the desired exposure of each separate emulsion layer.

While it is possible to make passable color prints using the full visible spectrum for printing illumination, higher color saturation and contrast is secured if the printing light is limited to certain narrow bands of red, green and blue regions of the spectrum corresponding to the three regions where the sensitized material has its peak sensitivity and the dyes forming the negative image have their maximum density.
Eastman Kodak, in their manual "Kodak Filters for Scientific and Technical Uses" (First Edition, page 35) designate filters suitable for printing color negatives. They name their Wratten filters numbered 70, 99, and 98 to isolate narrow bands within the red, green and blue light components respectively. These are absorption type filters which perform the same in any of light stream, convergent, divergent, collimated, or any combination of these.
The red filter, number 70, is quite satisfactory, cutting off the unwanted energy sharply, while offering little obstruction to the desired energy band. This is not true for the other two filters. They also remove the unwanted wavelengths, but at the expense of absorbing a major share of the useful light. The blue filter, number 98, passes only 40% of the incident energy at its highest transmission point of 430 nanometers wavelength. The green filter, number 99, passes only 19.9% of the incident green light at 550 nanometers wavelength, its highest transmission point. Such losses cannot be tolerated in competitive commercial photo printing. Instead, the industry turned to dichroic filters and "white light subtractive printing".
A dichroic filter operates by transmitting light of one portion of the spectrum, while reflecting the rest of the spectrum. Employed as a filter the reflected portion is discarded. The fact that such filters divide the spectrum into two complimentary parts makes them extremely useful as beam splitters or as synthesizers for combining different colored light streams.
These filters are highly effective if their unique limitation can be accommodated. The spectral content of the transmitted and reflected components will vary from its designed value if the light stream is not collimated and incident to the filter at its designed angle (usually normal).
When precise control of transmission is needed a collimator has been required, but these cannot provide nearly enough illumination to compete with light sources in present use.
Consequently, the industry has almost universally adopted the full spectrum as emitted by high wattage incandescent lamps for a printing illumination.
It is the major object of this invention to provide a source of narrow band printing illumination, free of filter crossover, which combined with the optical system of my earlier patent can serve in high production printers.
To describe the term "narrow band" as used herein refer to FIG. 11, a graph of sensitivity vb wavelength. It will be seen that each emulsion has much higher sensitivity to a specific band of wavelength, but no emulsion is insensitive to other colors. There is a region of overlap. Narrow band printing uses illumination which is devoid of the wavelengths which would produce exposure in the overlap sections. To accomplish this, filters must be designed to transmit wavelengths narrower than the usual stock red, green, and blue dichroic filters, moreover the light used with these filters must be collimated within a certain tolerance.
Obviously exposure by white light exposes these overlap regions along with all the rest of the spectrum. Nor do commercial additive lamphouses do better by merging red, green and blue light beams. Not only are the individual dichroic filters designed to pass the full spectral band of these colors, these filters are used without collimated light.
This invention removes the wavelengths corresponding to regions of overlap. So exposures are absolutely confined to the proper emulsion.

Light source for photographic color printers


A roof vehicle has a chassis, a plurality of motor-driven wheels coupled to the chassis, a man-basket coupled to the chassis, wherein the man-basket is moveable on a y-axis and is configured to lower to an elevation beneath that of the plurality of motor-driven wheels, a deck for transporting equipment, and a power supply. A method for assembling and installing a roof involves moving the roof vehicle to the desired location on the roof of a structure, lowering the man-basket at least partially beneath the surface roof, and performing work (e.g., welding) to secure the roof to the structure of the building.

Building construction is an inherently dangerous activity. Heavy materials, large equipment, and heights all create added risk. This is particularly true for the roofing industry. When installing roofing, it is not uncommon to have many workers on the roof level, usually at dangerous heights, interacting with dangerous tools, machinery, and other components. The more workers on the roof, the higher the odds of an accident. In an effort to reduce these risks, safety measures have been implemented for those workers on the roof. Such measures include safety harnesses, but while the risk is lowered, accidents still occur. Further, such safety measures slow the process of roof installation, as each construction worker on the roof must ensure that the appropriate safety measures are completed.
When finishing a roof, the roof panels and portions must be secured to the building structure, which often occurs through welding. However, when a roof is almost completed, it becomes more difficult for workers to access locations where the roof will be joined to the building structure, usually at joints of building joists. This process leads to more risk for workers and generally takes longer because of the limited space available to the workers. Further, it is difficult for workers to move all of the equipment safely along the roof as they proceed from joint to joint, and are at risk as they must descend under the roof to weld-stitch the joints of the joists. In the alternative, if the worker is not lowered to perform the weld, the worker may be hoisted to perform the welding. However, this necessarily puts the worker at great heights, where there is significant risk of accident.
Therefore, there remains a need for a system that allows construction workers to move from joint to joint in a fast, efficient, and safe manner, and that further allows a worker to safely descend and perform welding tasks. The present invention seeks to solve these and other problems.

Vehicle apparatus for use on a roof and method of assembling and installing commercial roofing


Database techniques are provided that use state machines to manage polyglot subroutine bindings for database commands. In an embodiment, a computer receives a database command that contains call sites (CSs). Each CS is associated with a user defined logic (UDL). The computer associates an initial operational state with each of the CSs. During a first invocation of a particular CS, the CS becomes initialized and transitions to an optimized state that is configured for streamlined invocation of the UDL. The UDL is invoked to contribute data to a partial result for the database command. Eventually, command execution stalls and causes the CS to transition to an unready state, which entails releasing shared resources. Later execution resumes and during another invocation of the CS, resources are reacquired, the CS is made ready and transitioned back to the optimized state. The CS may again be repeatedly invoked while revisiting the optimized state.

A database application may define complex logic that is inefficient or impossible to express in a declarative query language, such as standard query language (SQL). Such complex logic may need the flexibility of a programming language that is procedural and/or functional, such as a general purpose programming language or a domain specific language (DSL). Execution of complex logic that more or less directly interacts with a database is most efficiently executed at the database by a database management system (DBMS) to avoid expensive interactions (e.g. network round trips) between a database server and a client. Thus, a DBMS may be equipped with programming language(s) that allow an application developer to store a program (e.g. one or more scripts) in the database for execution by the DBMS. Oracle PL/SQL is an example of a database server-side programming language, but increasingly, more programming languages are being supported by DBMSs, such as Java, but also more recent programming languages, such as JavaScript or Python.
Database server-side programs fall typically in two categories: stored procedures, which define entry points for a client and coordinate the execution of query(s); and user-defined extensions (UDEs), which express user-defined logic that can be used (e.g. invoked) directly in queries. Examples of the latter include user-defined functions (UDFs), which can be used in SQL expressions (e.g. for selection or projection), user-defined aggregation (UDAs) that summarize multiple rows, or a table function that generates rows.
Both stored procedures and UDEs are stored in the database and can be concurrently (i.e. asynchronously) modified at any time, although in practice, this is expected to be a rare event for programs deployed in a production database. A database system must nevertheless provide synchronization mechanisms for preserving the consistency of program definitions stored in the database, such as in a data dictionary. Unfortunately, UDEs and their synchronization mechanisms may be executed very frequently (e.g. one or more times for each of thousands or millions of rows) per executing query.
Workload concurrency may arise from multiple more or less simultaneous database commands or activities. Stored procedures and UDFs can be used and cached for multiple client sessions and executed in parallel. Such subroutines may also be concurrently modified, which causes two problems: how to efficiently invoke a UDF for a query, and how to guarantee consistent evaluation of the query. There is a design tension inherent to those two problems, such that alleviating one concern may aggravate the other. Furthermore, these concerns have scalability implications that may penalize overhead imposed by a solution.

Method for fast and consistent invocation of concurrently modifiable user-defined functions


A fluid management system for the treatment of ascites, pleural effusion or pericardial effusion is provided including an implantable device including a pump, control circuitry, battery and transceiver; a charging and communication system configured to periodically charge the battery and communicate with the implantable device to retrieve performance data; and monitoring and control software, suitable for use with conventional personal computers, for configuring and controlling operation of the implantable device and charging and communication system. The implantable device includes a number of features that provide automated movement of fluid to the bladder with reduced risk of clogging, with no patient involvement other than occasional recharging of the battery of the implantable device. The monitoring and control software is available only to the treating physician, such that the physician interacts with the implantable device via the charging and communication system.

There are a variety of conditions which result in pathologic chronic collection of bodily fluids within the peritoneum, pleura or pericardial sac. Chronic ascites, pleural effusion and pericardial effusion are conditions in which chronic fluid collections persist and result in increased morbidity and mortality.
These foregoing conditions currently are treated typically by one of three methods: 1) external drainage, which poses a risk of infection and long-term requirement for multiple punctures, 2) drainage to another body cavity, or 3) treatment with drugs. In pleural effusion, excess fluid arising from an underlying pathology, such as lung cancer, breast cancer or lymphoma, accumulates in the pleural cavity. If left untreated, the fluid accumulation may interfere with proper lung function, significantly increasing morbidity and mortality. Depending upon the underlying cause of the pleural effusion, treatment may consist of drug therapy, thoracentesis, in which a needle is periodically inserted through the chest and into the pleural cavity to drain the fluid accumulations, or installation of an intercostal drain, in which one end of a pigtail catheter is inserted into the pleural cavity and the fluid is drained to an external canister. Although a relatively simple procedure, placement of an intercostal drain is associated with a relatively high rate of major complications, including hemorrhage and infection. Repeated effusions also may be treated by pleurodesis, in which two pleural surfaces are attached to one another so that no fluid can accumulate between them. However, this procedure requires a lengthy hospital stay and is reported to be associated with the onset of adult respiratory distress syndrome, a potentially life-threatening complication.
In pericardial effusion, fluid accumulates in the pericardial sac and may lead to increased intrapercardial pressure and reduced cardiac output. Where the fluid accumulation interferes with proper heart function, pericardiocentesis may be performed, in which the fluid is drained to an external site through a needle or catheter inserted through the chest wall and into the pericardial sac. For chronic cases, the treatment of choice is formation of a pericardial window. In this highly invasive procedure, a section of the pericardial sac is removed to create a fistula that permits fluid to drain to the abdomen. Although this procedure is usually well tolerated by patients, the pericardial window may close, requiring re-operation.
Ascites is a highly debilitating complication associated with many medical conditions including liver failure, congestive heart failure and certain cancers. Untreated ascites can result in respiratory compromise, compression of the inferior vena cava (a vital blood vessel) and spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (a life-threatening condition). Conventional treatment for ascites includes a regime of drugs and dietary restriction, and for chronic cases, repeated surgical interventions.
The drugs often employed to treat ascites are usually long-term and often result in complications. The most common pharmaceutical treatment of ascites involves the use of diuretics to remove fluid from the patient's body through their urine. The difficulty with this treatment, however, is that fluid is removed from the entire body, including the circulating volume of blood. This in turn may result in excessive loss of fluid required to perfuse the vital organs of the human body. Thus, even with frequent application, the medicines frequently provide unsatisfactory results. In such cases, surgical, or invasive, procedures are indicated.
For chronic ascites refractory to drugs, a patient typically is required to undergo paracentesis on a regular basis, e.g., every 2-4 weeks, to drain accumulated fluid. In this procedure, peritoneal fluid is drained through the abdominal wall via the insertion of a needle through the abdominal wall into the peritoneal cavity. The regular accumulation and drainage by paracentesis of large quantities of fluid in the peritoneal cavity adversely impacts patient quality of life and often can interfere with the patient's ability to combat the underlying disease, such as cirrhosis. Moreover, repeated paracenteses place the patient at increased risk for a life-threatening infection of the peritoneal cavity. Other surgical/invasive procedures typically involve treatment of the cause of the ascites (for example, the Transjugular Intrahepatic Portosystemic Shunt) but these measures also frequently result in serious and life-threatening complications or become ineffective over time. Consequently, such procedures are performed infrequently.
Paracentesis often provides only a temporary solution in chronic cases, as the ascites quickly refills the peritoneal cavity. In particular, the presence of large quantities of fluid within the peritoneal cavity frequently disturbs the patient's fluid equilibrium, such that the patient's body attempts to compensate for fluid loss due to paracentesis by increasing ascites production. To combat this phenomenon, it is standard practice for clinicians to infuse a plasma expander, usually human albumin, into patients undergoing paracentesis. The cost of human albumin used for a typical 5-7 liter extraction can cost upwards of $500 per procedure. Consequently, regularly scheduled paracenteses followed by infusion of human albumin impose significant economic burdens on the patient and the health care system.
Previously known attempts to treat ascites have included indwelling catheters including external ports, and squeeze-bulb and magnetically-driven reciprocating pumps to transfer ascites from the peritoneal cavity into the venous vasculature, through an external port, or into the bladder. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,240,434 to Newkirk and U.S. Pat. No. 4,657,530 to Buchwald each describes a squeezable tube-type ascites shunt having an inlet end configured to the placed in the peritoneal cavity and an outlet end configured to be placed in a vein. Rosenblit et al., in an article entitled "Peritoneal-Urinary Drainage for Treatment of Refractory Ascites: A Pilot Study," J. Vascular & Interv. Radiology, 9(6):998-1005 (November/December 1998) describe a similar squeeze-bulb system having an outlet disposed in the bladder. U.S. Pat. No. 4,610,658 to Buchwald et al. describes an implantable pump for treating ascites that includes a magnetically-driven pump to transfer fluid from the peritoneal cavity to the vasculature system. Such previously known devices suffer from a variety of drawbacks, including fibrous encapsulation, frequent clogging and infection. Such devices provided little improvement over periodic paracenteses, and resulted in increased rates of infection, re-operation or other complications if left in place for any length of time. Moreover, a key drawback of such previously-known systems is the requirement that the patient must repeatedly locate and manually actuate the pumping mechanism on a daily basis. Such activity may be difficult for patients, especially the elderly and obese, and further complicated by an ascites-distended abdomen. Consequently, the difficulty of manipulating such previously-known systems promotes patient non-compliance, in turn leading to clogging and infection.
In view of the above-noted drawbacks of previously-known systems, it would be desirable to provide methods and apparatus for treating ascites that remove small quantities of fluid multiple times per day, and thereby avoid fluid disequilibrium caused by periodic removal of large volumes of fluid using paracentesis and concomitant use of costly plasma expanders.
It further would be particularly desirable to provide methods and apparatus for treating ascites and other intracorporeal fluid accumulations using implantable devices that are resistant to clogging, reduce risk of infection, and do not interfere with normal working of a patient's vascular system.
It also would be particularly desirable to provide methods and apparatus for treating ascites and other intracorporeal fluid accumulations using implantable devices that are configured to pump at high flow during multiple intervals daily, thereby reducing the risk of pump or catheter blockage.
It still further would be desirable to provide methods and apparatus for treating ascites and other intracorporeal fluid accumulations using implantable devices that are capable of sensing environmental conditions and that move fluid only when doing so is consistent with a patient's activity level.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Apparatus and methods for treating intracorporeal fluid accumulation


An information processing apparatus allows a user to easily find information about search targets which the user is likely to desire. Pieces of information about a plurality of searched search targets displayed as a search result include attribute values of search targets. The information processing apparatus specifies information selected by the user from displayed information, and compares an attribute value of a selected search target, with attribute values of search targets associated with display rankings which are higher than a display ranking of the selected search target associated with the specified information. When the attribute value of the selected search target is more advantageous for the user, the information processing apparatus performs control such that information about search targets whose attribute values are more advantageous for the user than that of the selected search target changes to a display mode which is more easily visually checked than the information about search targets whose attribute values are more disadvantageous for the user than that of the selected search target.

Conventionally, a search system is known which conducts a search based on search conditions specified by a user. Search targets in the search system include, for example, products, services, webpages and other pieces of information. The search system searches for search targets which satisfy search conditions, and displays information about the searched search targets as a search result. When a plurality of search targets is searched for, a list of searched search targets is displayed. The user selects information about a search target which the user desires, from the displayed information about the search targets to, for example, display information about details of the search target which the user desires or register as a favorite or in a bookmark the search target which the user desires.
The search system sorts a plurality of searched search targets according to given conditions to determine a ranking of each search target. Further, the search system displays a list of information about each search target according to an arrangement order matching the determined ranking. For example, Patent Literature 1 discloses a technique of sorting a presentation order of searched content in order of popularity, in order of price or in order of dictionary, and correcting the presentation order such that content which is not presented to the user is arranged at a higher ranking in a list.

Apparatus and method for controlling display of a search result and recording medium therefor


A supported catalyst includes: a) 0.5-15 wt. % of one or more Cu-II compounds, the quantitative amounts referring to copper metal; b) 0.1-8 wt. % of one or more alkali metal compounds, the quantitative amounts referring to alkali metal; c) 0.1-10 wt. % of an oxide mixture including; c1) 80-95 mole % of oxides of cerite rare earths with atomic Nos. 57 to 62, except promethium, and c2) 5-20 mole % of zirconium dioxide, where c1) and c2) must together total 100 mole % and the quantitative amount of c) refers to the oxides of the mixture, and d) the remainder up to 100 wt. % being .gamma. and/or .alpha.-aluminum oxide as support material, wherein e) the support material d) has a total pore volume in the range from 0.65 to 1.2 cm.sup.3 /g, and wherein f) the supported catalyst is present in the form of cylindrical hollow bodies having at least one passage channel, the ratio of height h to external diameter d.sup.e being less than 1.5 for diameters d.sub.e of up to 6 mm, and the ratio h/d.sub.e being less than 0.6 for diameter d.sub.e greater than 6 mm. A process for producing the supported catalyst is also described.

The oxychlorination of ethylene is a well-known, industrially employed process that is carried out in fluidized-bed and fixed-bed reactors. Despite the more uniform temperature distribution in the reaction zone the disadvantages of the fluidized-bed process must not be overlooked, such as back-mixing and abrasion problems as well as certain difficulties in the flow behavior of the catalyst, which can lead to an agglomeration of the catalyst particles, whereby in particular the reaction selectivity is adversely affected. For example, the technological advantage of an oxygen cycled gas procedure with up to 80 vol. % of ethylene in the cycled gas, in which the released enthalpy of reaction is optimally dissipated corresponding to the present state of the best available technology, cannot be employed in a fluidized-bed oxychlorination.
On the other hand in the fixed-bed process, in which moreover the reactants can also be more accurately controlled, the oxygen cycled gas procedure can be carried out satisfactorily with a high ethylene content in the cycled gas. The suppression of the disadvantages of the fixed-bed process, such as in particular the occurrence of local temperature peaks (so-called hot spots), increased pressure drop over the reactors as well as a gradual decomposition of the shaped supported catalyst due to coke inclusions and thermally conditioned long-term effects that adversely affect the activity and selectivity as well as the catalyst life, has been the subject of numerous investigations and proposed improvements that have been disclosed in the literature, such as the addition of activity-enhancing and selectivity-enhancing promoters, the addition of thermal stabilizers to the support material, the selection of flow-promoting and/or thermodynamically and reaction kinetically advantageous catalyst geometries and porosities and technical improvements by adopting the so-called multireactor technology by splitting up the hydrogen chloride and/or air and/or oxygen into the individual reactors connected in series, with and without cycling of the gas.
The following printed specifications have been named as part of the particular prior art:
Allen, J. A., Clark, A. J., Rev. Pure and Appl. Chem. 21, 148 (1971)=D1 PA1 DE-A-17 68 453=D2; PA1 Allen, J. A., Clark A. J., J. Appl. Chem., 26, 327 (1966)=D3; PA1 DE-A-20 50 061=D4; PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,446,249=D5; PA1 FR-2021986=D6; PA1 Dotson, R. L., J. Catalysis 33, 210 (1974)=D7; PA1 Villadsen, J., Livbjerg, H., Catal. Rev. Sci. Eng. 17 (2), 203 (1978)=D8; PA1 Shatchortswa, G. A. et al., Kinet, i Katal. 11, 1224 (1970)=D9; PA1 Ruthren, D. M., Kennedy, C. N., J. Inorg. Nucl. Chem 30, 931 (1965)=D10; PA1 Dirksen, F., Chemie-Technik 12 (1983) No. 6, 36-43=D11; PA1 EP-A-0 582 165=D12; PA1 EP-A-0 775 522=D13; and PA1 WO 96/40431=D14. PA1 a) 0.5-15 wt. % of one or more Cu-II compounds, the quantitative amounts referring to copper metal, PA1 b) 0.1-8 wt. % of one or more alkali metal compounds, the quantitative amounts referring to alkali metal, PA1 c) 0.1-10 wt. % of an oxide mixture comprising PA1 d) the remainder up to 100 wt. % being .gamma.- and/or .alpha.-aluminum oxide as support material, wherein PA1 e) the support material d) has a total pore volume in the range from 0.65 to 1.2 cm.sup.3 /g, and wherein PA1 f) the supported catalyst is present in the form of cylindrical hollow bodies having at least one passage channel, the ratio of height h to external diameter d.sub.e being less than 1.5 for diameters d.sub.e of up to 6 mm, and the ratio h/d.sub.e being less than 0.6 for diameter d.sub.e greater than 6 mm. PA1 low pressure losses; PA1 low bulk densities; PA1 relatively large external surfaces per unit volume of a reactor vessel; PA1 uniform flow through the passage channel or channels; PA1 generation of high reaction gas turbulences in the interior of the catalyst moldings; PA1 generation of high reaction gas turbulences around the shaped catalyst bodies; PA1 increase in the axial and radial mixing, in other words mass transport against the flow direction under the influence of a concentration gradient; PA1 enhancement and facilitation of the diffusion capacity of the gaseous reactants in the channels; PA1 enhancement and facilitation of the gaseous reactants in the catalyst pores as a result of mesopore dominance; PA1 high turbulences of the reaction gases at the catalyst moldings and in the reaction space ameliorate the disadvantageous heat dissipation problems that occur on account of reduced heat exchange coefficients between the catalyst moldings and reaction gases; PA1 achievement of higher space-time yields; PA1 increase in conversion; PA1 increase in selectivity; PA1 increase in catalyst service life. PA1 i) support materials d) having the geometry f) are charged with soluble precursors of the components c1) and c2); PA1 ii) the precursor compounds are converted into the oxide form, and PA1 iii) the oxidically charged support materials are loaded with the components a) and b). PA1 iv) shape a mixture of the components c) and d) into the geometry f), and PA1 v) load the shaped support materials with the components a) and b).
D1 discloses a large number of promoters and activators, such as the oxides and/or chlorides of lanthanum, platinum, zirconium, uranium, cerium, thorium, titanium, tantalum, rhodium, molybdenum, ruthenium, tungsten, europium as well as didymium mixtures of rare earth metals, which in some cases are said to favorably influence the pure Deacon reaction as well as the oxychlorination reaction.
D2 describes a fluidized-bed oxychlorination catalyst based on silica as support, which in addition to copper chloride and alkali metal chloride contains, besides chlorides of the rare earths or chlorides of scandium, zirconium, thorium and uranium, also yttrium chloride. Although yttrium-III chloride reacts with oxygen with the release of chlorine and formation of Y.sub.2 O.sub.3, a gas-impermeable oxide film is formed however (D3). The system YCl.sub.3 /Y.sub.2 O.sub.3 is thus not very suitable for the fixed-bed catalyst since on account of the film-like oxide coating the catalyst surface agglomerates and the rate of reaction between YCl.sub.3 and oxygen very rapidly decreases. In the fluidized-bed process on the other hand there is a mechanical destruction of the film-like oxide coating due to the constant mutual friction of the catalyst particles.
D4 claims a supported catalyst for the fluidized-bed or fixed-bed oxychlorination, which in addition to copper chloride also contains compounds of the rare earth metals with atomic No. 62 and above and/or compounds of yttrium on active aluminum oxide as support material. In contradiction to D2, the presence of alkali metals is deleterious since they reduce the activity of the catalysts.
According to D5 and D6 additives of compounds of the rare earth metals, in particular compounds of lanthanum, are used in the fluidized-bed process in order to prevent an agglomeration of the fluidized-bed catalyst particles.
The same effect of the lanthanide metal compounds is described by R. L. Dotson in D7.
According to D8 however lanthanum-III chloride increases the sublimation rate of copper chloride/potassium chloride systems, as a result of which such catalysts lose their activity over time.
In D9 it is assumed that lanthanum, on account of its strong complex-forming tendency, removes chloride ions from the copper chloride/potassium chloride system, whereupon the potassium/copper chlorocomplex becomes depleted in chloride and thus the copper chloride volatility is increased.
According to D10 the activating effect of lanthanum-III chloride is based only on an increase in the pre-exponential frequency factor in the Arrhenius equation, without reducing the activation energy, since it accelerates the velocity-determining re-oxidation of the copper-I species that is formed as intermediate. Since this frequency factor is however considerably less dependent on temperature than the reaction velocity constant k, the catalytic effect of lanthanum-III chloride is overall weaker.
In order to improve the temperature stability and thermal resistance of an oxychlorination catalyst based on gamma-aluminum oxide as support, i.e. in order to increase its resistance to elevated temperatures during its useful life without altering the physical structure of the transitional alumina matrix, there are used inter alia additives of lanthanum oxide or thorium oxide (D11) and other oxides of the rare earth metals (D4), though of course it is the hydrated aluminum oxide, which is used to obtain the activated aluminum oxide, that is of decisive importance for the temperature stability of the resultant porous solid. The gamma-aluminum oxide obtained by boehmite dehydration is most stable as regards heat treatment, in which connection during the action of elevated temperatures under hydrothermal conditions of an oxychlorination reaction there is a gradual conversion during the use of the gamma-aluminum oxide to the catalytically inactive but thermodynamically stable alpha-aluminum oxide, presumably after partial rehydration to boehmite and diaspore (equilibrium) which already at 420.degree. C. transforms into alpha-aluminum oxide, whereas by thermal decomposition of gamma-aluminum oxide alpha-aluminum oxide is formed only at 1000.degree. C. The gamma-aluminum oxide that crystallizes in the tetragonal spinel form is converted into hexagonal rhombohedral alpha-aluminum oxide. This change in the physical structure and morphology leads to a gradual disintegration of the shaped catalyst particles, whereby the pressure drop can increase over the reactor packing right up to the bed compaction, and on account of the different disintegration rates the gas distribution over the reactor cross-section becomes increasingly less uniform. Both these effects result in the catalyst having to be replaced prematurely.
In addition it is known that the mechanical strength of supported catalysts depends on their geometry and porosity, in which connection it is fairly generally accepted that thick-wall support geometries with large diameters and supports with a relatively small pore volume are mechanically most stable.
D12 discloses a catalyst and a process for the oxychlorination of ethylene to dichloroethane; the catalyst comprises a support that has an active metal composition comprising 2 to 8 wt. % of copper as chloride, or in the form of other copper salts, 0.2 to 2 wt. % of an alkali metal (alkali metals), 0.1 to 9 wt. % of a rare earth metal (rare earth metals) and 0.05 to 4 wt. % of a metal (metals) of Group IIA of the Periodic System of the Elements (IUPAC 1970), all percentages by weight being referred to the total weight of the catalyst composition, wherein all metals are deposited on the support and the catalyst composition has a specific surface in the range from 20 to 220 m.sup.2 /g. The support is aluminum oxide with a bulk density in the range from 0.8 to 1.1 g/cm.sup.3 and a pore volume of between 0.2 and 0.5 ml/g.
D13 discloses catalysts for the oxychlorination of ethylene in the form of hollow cylindrical granules having at least three passage channels. A production process is disclosed in which catalysts are formed having a fairly large porosity and a fairly narrow pore radius distribution. The porosity is in the range from 0.2 to 0.5 cm.sup.3 /g, while the BET surface is in the range from 80 to 380 m.sup.2 /g. D14 is similar, and discloses car wheel-shaped catalysts for the oxychlorination.
It has however been shown that the previously specified instructions and assumptions, which to some extent are contradictory, are overall incapable of achieving fully all the demands placed on supported catalysts.

Supported catalyst, process for its production as well as its use in the oxychlorination of ethylene


According to one aspect of the present invention, a sensor for diagnosing a physiological or physical state includes a measurement system configured to determine clinical data for one or more parameters related to the physiological or physical state, a first memory configured to store the clinical data, a transmitter configured to transmit the clinical data according to a first communications protocol, a receiver configured to receive enhanced data according to a second communications protocol, and a second memory configured to store the enhanced data. The enhanced data is based on the clinical data.

Medical devices are increasingly incorporating wireless communication functionalities for a variety of reasons. In some instances, a first medical device is utilized for measuring clinical data, which is communicated to a second medical device for advanced analysis of the clinical data and/or archiving of the clinical data. For example, some blood glucose meters communicate test results to a personal computer for such purposes. As a result, the design of the blood glucose meter can be simplified to reduce the size or weight, to increase portability of the meter, to reduce the cost of manufacture, minimize computational resources, etc.

Clinical data obfuscation and enhancement systems and methods for wireless medical devices


A tracheostoma valve adapted to control the flow of air through a tracheostoma comprising a tubular housing having an open first end to be connected to the tracheostoma, and forming at least one side opening in the wall thereof, a shut-off valve member, and a normally closed cough valve member is disclosed. The shut-off valve member comprises a flexible diaphragm mounted in the housing and shaped to normally assume a curled position spaced from the inside surface of the housing wall to allow air flow through the housing and the side opening from trachea to the ambient atmosphere, and to engage said the surface, closing the side opening, at a predetermined air flow rate. The cough valve member controls an open second of the housing to open in response to a particular pressure achieved in the housing and to close automatically at reduction of the air pressure.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a tracheostoma valve adapted to control the flow of air through a tracheostoma comprising a tubular housing having a first end and a second end, said first end being open to be connected to the tracheostoma, a shut-off valve member normally open to allow air flow through the housing from said first end to the ambient atmosphere and closing at a predetermined air flow rate, and a normally closed cough valve member controlling an opening at said second end to open in response to a particular pressure achieved in said housing and to close automatically at reduction of the air pressure.
Due to deceases of different kinds it is sometimes necessary to remove the larynx by surgery and to open a tracheostoma in order that the individual exposed to the surgery can breath. By the removal of the larynx the ability to speak will be lost but can be restored to some extent by means of another surgery wherein a fistula is opened up between trachea and esophagus to pass air to the oral cavity via the fistula. A one-way valve is mounted in the fistula. This valve referred to as a voice prosthesis, allows air to pass from trachea to esophagus but blocks completely flow in the opposite direction. For speech to be generated the tracheostoma must be closed so that air can be pressed from trachea via the voice prosthesis into esophagus the mucous membranes of which are made to vibrate so that speech is produced. The tracheostoma can be closed by covering the tracheostoma with a finger but it is more convenient to use for this purpose a tracheostoma valve of the kind referred to above, which is attached to the neck of the person that has been exposed to tracheostoma surgery, in order to control the connection between trachea and the ambient atmosphere via the tracheostoma. The tracheostoma valve provides a handsfree control of said connection and the following further advantages:
the tracheostoma will not be obstructed by clothing and, therefore, the tracheostoma valve can be carried more discreetly under a shirt or the like;
the body will promote warming and moistening of the inhalation air;
clothes located in front of the tracheostoma valve will not be soaked by humidity and phlegm.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A tracheostoma valve of the kind referred to above is disclosed in EP-B1-0 617 630. In this prior art embodiment the shut-off valve member and the cough valve member are both constructed as pivoted flaps. The flap forming the cough valve member keeps the opening at said second end of the housing normally closed and forms an opening which is normally open but will be closed by the flap forming the shut-off valve member at said predetermined air flow. The flaps are held in the closed and open position, respectively, by permanent magnets. The shut-off valve flap suffers from the drawback that it will not close until the magnet force is lower than the force produced by the air flow at powerful expiration causing big noise when the flap closes against an associated seat. A further disadvantage of this prior art tracheostoma valve is that the proper function thereof is dependent of the position of the person using the valve; the valve functions in a proper way only when the person holds the head in a substantially vertical position because the function of the valve is based partially on gravity.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,582,058 describes a tracheostoma valve wherein the function of the shut-off valve member is controlled by spring bias. According to U.S. Pat. No. 5,059,208 the shut-off valve member comprises a flexible curled membrane of rubber. These prior art tracheostoma valves require a relatively high pressure in the housing for keeping the shut-off valve in the closed position during speech, which means that it may be difficult to terminate a sentence when the expiration air from the lungs is ebbing due to the fact that the shut-off valve is unintentionally opening to early.


Source wires having a semiconductor film thereunder are formed wide within a range that does not overlap pixel electrodes formed later. Thereafter, a resist pattern for use in patterning the pixel electrodes is formed so as to overlap edge portions of the source wires, and etching using the resist pattern as a mask is performed, whereby the pixel electrodes are formed, and in addition, the edge portions of the source wires are removed, whereby a structure in which the semiconductor film has a portion projecting beyond the source wires on both sides is formed.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a thin film transistor array substrate, for example, for use in a liquid crystal display device, and particularly, to a thin film transistor array substrate for use in a liquid crystal display device in a fringe field switching mode, and to a manufacturing method of the thin film transistor array substrate.
2. Description of the Background Art
A liquid crystal display device in a fringe field switching (FFS) mode is a display device that performs display by applying a fringe field to a liquid crystal sandwiched between two substrates opposite to each other. A pixel electrode and a counter electrode (common electrode) are formed of transparent conductive films, and accordingly, an aperture ratio and a transmittance in the liquid crystal display device in the FFS mode can be increased more than those of a liquid crystal display device in an in-plane switching (IPS) mode.
In such a conventional liquid crystal display device in the FFS mode, in order to manufacture a thin film transistor (TFT) array substrate, there are required at least six photolithography steps of transferring respective patterns of: (1) a counter electrode; (2) a gate electrode; (3) a semiconductor film; (4) a source/drain electrode; (5) a contact hole; and (6) a pixel electrode, and there is a problem that manufacturing cost is increased in comparison with a liquid crystal display device in a TN (Twisted Nematic) mode capable of manufacturing the TFT array substrate by five photolithography steps. Meanwhile, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2010-191410 proposes a technology for forming the liquid crystal display device in the FFS mode by five photolithography steps.
In a manufacturing method of the liquid crystal display device in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2010-191410, in order to set the number of photolithography steps for the TFT array substrate in the FFS mode at the same number (five) as the number of photolithography steps for the TFT array substrate in the general TN mode, a configuration is adopted, in which the transparent conductive film is arranged on a metal film pattern, which becomes a source wire, without an insulating film being interposed therebetween.
The TFT array substrate formed by the manufacturing method in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2010-191410 forms a structure in which the transparent conductive film, which becomes a pixel electrode, remains not only on a forming region of the pixel electrode but also on a source wire adjacent to the forming region. Therefore, there is a problem that a cross talk point defect, which is caused by the fact that the pixel electrode and the source wire connect to each other by a pattern defect of the transparent conductive film, is prone to occur.
Repair of the cross talk point defect is performed by cutting or removing (laser repair cut) the pattern defect of the transparent conductive film, which remains so as to connect the source wire and the pixel electrode to each other, by using a laser repair device after patterning of the pixel electrode. Alternatively, in some case, the repair is performed by cutting or removing the pattern defect of the resist pattern, which is formed so as to lie astride the source wire and the forming region of the pixel electrode, by using the laser repair device after formation of a resist pattern that becomes a mask for patterning the pixel electrode. The pattern defect of the resist pattern is cut or removed, whereby an occurrence of the pattern defect of the transparent conductive film can be avoided. Note that, in some case, the pattern defect of the resist pattern is formed of a foreign object other than such a resist material.
By the laser repair device, a position of the cross talk point defect (that is, a position of the pattern defect of the transparent electrode or the resist pattern) cannot be specified. Therefore, it is necessary to specify the position of the cross talk point defect by an inspection (pattern defect inspection) performed by using a pattern defect inspection device or an optical inspection device. As a method of the pattern defect inspection, such a method is general, in which light is applied onto pixel patterns arranged periodically, pieces of reflected light thereof are compared with one another at the same spot of three or more pixel patterns, and a spot different in brightness from those of other pixel patterns is detected as the position of the pattern defect.
In the above-described pattern defect inspection, it is easier to detect the pattern defect as a brightness difference of the reflected light appears to a larger extent between a spot of a normal pattern and the spot of the pattern defect. However, in the TFT array substrate in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2010-191410, the spot of the normal pattern between the source wire and the pixel electrode forms a structure in which only an insulating film is formed on the substrate, and the spot where the cross talk point defect occurs forms a structure in which the insulating film and the transparent conductive film are formed on the substrate. Therefore, such a large brightness difference is not generated in the reflected light between the spot of the normal pattern and the spot of the cross talk point defect, and it is difficult to detect the pattern defect. If the pattern defect remains without being detected, then the cross talk point defect occurs as a result.

Thin film transistor array substrate and manufacturing method thereof, and liquid crystal display device and manufacturing method thereof


An assistance device for entering and leaving a vehicle includes a handle member for supporting at least part of the weight of the user grasping a handle of the handle member, a striker pin insertion post for extending into the opening of a striker pin in the door frame, for supporting at least part of the weight of a user grasping the handle, and a pair of outrigger side portions extending transversely outwardly of the insertion post, on respective opposite sides of the handle member and insertion post, each having a transverse width greater than a transverse width of the insertion post for impeding entry of the insertion post into the opening of the striker pin when the handle member is outside the plane of the door frame.

The present invention relates generally to the field of aides for helping the elderly, disabled or infirmed and, in particular, to a new and useful assistance device for aiding a user to enter and leave a vehicle which has a door latch striker or striker pin with an opening, the latch striker or striker pin extending from a side of the door frame and within the plane of the door frame.
Devices for helping persons, in particular elderly, disabled or infirmed persons, such as those suffering from back, knee or hip pain or those recovering from surgery or an injury, to get into and out of a vehicle, in particular an automobile, are known.
British Patent Application GB 2 347 457 A to Davis for Aids for Use in Motor Vehicles, discloses an aid for use in facilitating exit from a motor vehicle that includes a first part which is shaped so that it can be fitted in a U-shaped door latch striker of a vehicle when the door is open, and a second part in the form of a handle which engages into the first part to project outwardly of the vehicle and be grasped manually to support a person getting out of the vehicle.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,340,189 to Pordy for a Universal Device for Facilitating Movement Into and Out of a Seat, discloses a device that facilitates egress and/or ingress of a passenger from a vehicle having a door opening with a post or pillar to one side of an individual's seat in the vehicle. This patent teaches extending an elongate handle of the device outwardly of the door opening so that it can be gripped by the passenger. A disadvantage of this arrangement is that the person, especially an elderly or infirmed person, must hold the outwardly extending handle in an awkward position as he or she turns to either sit in the seat when entering the vehicle, or when turning and rising to leave the vehicle.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,799,353 to Stewart teaches the same outward placement for a support handle for assisting individuals in exiting and entering motor vehicles.
A need remains for an improved device for aiding a user to enter and leave a vehicle in an ergonomic manner, especially since such devices are meant to be used by the elderly and/or the disabled and/or persons with joint pain or these recovering from surgery or an injury.


A socket housing and method of making the socket housing. A plurality of dielectric layers are printed with a plurality of recesses on a substrate. The dielectric layers include at least two different dielectric materials. A sacrificial material is printed in the recesses. The assembly is removed from the substrate and the sacrificial material is removed from the recesses. At least one contact member is located in a plurality of the recesses. Distal ends of the contact members are adapted to electrically couple with circuit members.

Connectors and socket housings are typically manufactured by injection molding precision grade polymers, such as ABS, LCP. For smaller volume applications the connectors and socket housings are often precision machined from a dielectric material. Metallic contacts are inserted into the socket housing and retained by some sort of mechanical interference or captured such that they do not fall out during use. In some cases, the contacts are inserted into the mold prior to injection such that the polymer material flows around portions of the contacts.
In both cases, the base material is typically loaded with glass fibers or particles to provide strength and mechanical or dimensional stability. In situations where thermal cycling is present during use or solder reflow attachment, the internal stress within the plastic/glass matrix can cause significant changes in dimension or flatness.
As interconnect products become more sophisticated, with higher pin counts, higher contact density, and higher signal and power integrity requirements, traditional methods of molding and machining are proving inadequate. High density connectors and sockets with fine pitches are very difficult to mold due to thin wall sections and fine features with large aspect ratios. It is also somewhat difficult to change from one configuration to another without producing a new mold. Machined housings are processed from raw stock, and are relatively expensive with long run times and limited capacity.


A set of language tags in a backend application can be passed to a frontend application in the form of a language selection tool. The disclosure creates a mapping between the frontend and backend application of at least one non-default language descriptor string onto a language tag of the backend application. The frontend language selection tool then displays to the user the non-default language descriptor string. The use of non-default language descriptor strings clarifies to the user otherwise ambiguous language identifiers.

A data structure to represent a language usually contains a plurality of language identifiers or language tags. Language tags have a language code and may also include a region code, script information, or both a region code and script information. The language code indicates a language, such as English. A region code indicates the dialect or locale of the language, such as Great Britain. "Latin" is an example of script information; script information indicates the written form of the identified language. A user interface may provide to a user a list of supported languages for an application with a language picker that allows the user to specify which supported language is preferred by the user. The language picker typically presents the available languages without regard to whether the region code is required or present. For example, the English language contains several dialects, perhaps the best known being British and American, which differ in speech, orthography, and grammar. For example, if the language tags include "en-US" and "en-GB", a language picker typically will present these as "English (US)" and "English (GB)" respectively, based exclusively on the language identifier, without considering other information about languages being provided in a language selection tool. In another example, if the language tags include "en" and "en-GB", a language picker will display "English" and "English (GB)" respectively. Thus, a conventional language picker typically only displays a description of the language tags that it receives, and does not supplement information to clarify what language choice is available to a user.
Language tags are abbreviated language codes and, typically, the Internet Engineering Task Force ("IETF") language tags are employed in applications. For example, "en" is an IETF language tag that refers to the English language. BCP-47 is the IETF's current standard for language tags and the current specification for BCP-47 is RFC-5646, which describes the language tag syntax. Language tags are used in a variety of internet protocols, such as HTTP, and programming languages such as HTML. In practice, programmers generally avoid adding region codes or scripts to language tags where they do not add distinguishing information. Thus, the IETF language tags are a de facto language standard for many programs.


Provided are surface modified contact lenses formed from one or more fumaric- or itaconic-containing prepolymers having reactive functionality that is complimentary to reactive hydrophilic polymers.

Medical devices such as ophthalmic lenses made from silicone-containing materials have been investigated for a number of years. Such materials can generally be sub-divided into two major classes, namely hydrogels and non-hydrogels. Non-hydrogels do not absorb appreciable amounts of water, whereas hydrogels can absorb and retain water in an equilibrium state. Hydrogels generally have water content between about 15 to about 80 weight percent. Regardless of their water content, both non-hydrogel and hydrogel silicone medical devices tend to have relatively hydrophobic, non-wettable surfaces that have a high affinity for lipids. This problem is of particular concern with contact lenses.
Fumarate- and fumaramide-containing monomers and compositions comprising the monomers have been developed to make highly oxygen permeable hydrogels which may be used to make biomedical devices including contact lenses. Examples of these fumarate- and fumaramide-containing monomers and compositions can be found in U.S. Pat. No.'s 5,374,662, 5,420,324, and 5,496,871, the contents of each being incorporated by reference herein. Because of the polar character of amide functionality, this class of monomer shows good compatibility with both hydrophobic monomers such as tris(trimethylsiloxy)silane (TRIS) and hydrophilic monomers such as N,N-dimethylacrylamide (DMA). These prior art prepolymers give silicone hydrogels with excellent oxygen permeability and mechanical properties. However, like other silicone hydrogels, they are not wettable enough to be useful as continuous wear lenses unless the surface is treated.
Surface structure and composition determine many of the physical properties and ultimate uses of solid materials. Characteristics such as wetting, friction, and adhesion or lubricity are largely influenced by surface characteristics. The alteration of surface characteristics is of special significance in biotechnical applications where biocompatibility is of particular concern. Therefore, those skilled in the art have long recognized the need for rendering the surface of contact lenses and other medical devices hydrophilic or more hydrophilic. Increasing the hydrophilicity of the contact-lens surface improves the wettability of the contact lenses with tear fluid in the eye. This in turn improves the wear comfort of the contact lenses. In the case of continuous-wear lenses, the surface is especially important. The surface of a continuous-wear lens must be designed not only for comfort, but to avoid adverse reactions such as corneal edema, inflammation, or lymphocyte infiltration. Improved methods have accordingly been sought for modifying the surfaces of contact lenses, particularly high-Dk (highly oxygen permeable) lenses designed for continuous (overnight) wear.
Various patents disclose the attachment of hydrophilic or otherwise biocompatible polymeric chains to the surface of a contact lens in order to render the lens more biocompatible. For example, U.S. Pat. Pub. No. U.S. 2002/0102415 A1 teaches plasma treatment of a fumarate- or fumaramide-containing substrate followed by reaction with other polymers, such as DMA/VDMO copolymer.
Although manufacturing steps such as plasma treatment provide lenses having suitable coatings, it would be desirable to produce a surface treated lens without the need for plasma treatment or corona discharge treatment.
It would be further desirable to provide an improved silicone hydrogel contact lens with an optically clear, hydrophilic surface film that will not only exhibit improved wettability, but which will generally allow the use of a silicone hydrogel contact lens in the human eye for an extended period of time. In the case of a silicone hydrogel lens for extended wear, it would be desirable to provide a contact lens with a surface that is also highly permeable to oxygen and water. Such a surface treated lens would be comfortable to wear in actual use and would allow for the extended wear of the lens without irritation or other adverse effects to the cornea.


Methods of oxidizing multiwalled carbon nanotubes are provided. The multiwalled carbon nanotubes are oxidized by contacting the carbon nanotubes with gas-phase oxidizing agents such as CO2, O2, steam, N2O, NO, NO2, O3, and ClO2. Near critical and supercritical water can also be used as oxidizing agents. The multiwalled carbon nanotubes oxidized according to methods of the invention can be used to prepare rigid porous structures which can be utilized to form electrodes for fabrication of improved electrochemical capacitors.

1. Field of Invention
The invention relates broadly to methods of oxidizing the surface of multiwalled carbon nanotubes. The invention also encompasses methods of making aggregates of surface-oxidized nanotubes, and using the same. The invention also relates to complex structures comprised of such surface-oxidized carbon nanotubes linked to one another.
2. Description of the Related Art


A high-pressure sensor comprises an inner part, a housing and a sealing system located between the inner part and the housing for sealing the high-pressure sensor. The inner part has a shaft having an end face resting, by means of a clamping force, at least along a sealing line on a support surface at a projection on the housing. Each of the projection and the shaft has an inner surface and an outer surface. The support surface is arranged in an acute angle with respect to the inner surface of the projection. The shaft by means of the clamping force is supported on the housing along a support line whereby the sealing effect can be increased with increasing pressure.

High-pressure sensors require a reliable sealing system to avoid leakage of liquid or gases which are subject to the high pressures to be measured.
Known systems form for example a conical sealing between a housing and a shaft of an inner part by means of a clamping force provided between these parts. FIG. 1 shows a schematic perspective view of a conical sealing according to the prior art. The arrow P denotes the respective pressure arising during a measurement. Within a housing 2 there is shown an inner part 3 engaging therewith and braced therewith by means of a thread which has an outwardly facing cone. This cone relies on a corresponding opposite cone at the housing 2 thereby forming a sealing portion 8. The high plastic deformation at this sealing portion, however, has been found to be disadvantageous. Furthermore, high wear at the sealing portion has been detected due to a displacement of these components relative to each other which arises because the cone of the inner part is markedly softer than the housing. Since the cone at the inner part 3 is clearly more elastic than the housing 2 a relative movement between the components mentioned may occur resulting in wear and eventually in leakiness of the sealing portion 8.
Another solution provides an intermediate part which is clamped between the housing and the inner part. FIG. 2 shows another sealing system according to the prior art. This system has an intermediate part 18 between an inner part 3 and a housing 2. This assembly, however, is not feasible for large diameters. Moreover, it lacks a self-amplifying effect.
O-Rings have the disadvantage of being not medium-compatible in the case of pressure media such as hydraulic oils or kerosene, corrosive gases or other pressurized materials.

High-pressure sensor with sealing system