A sloping fuel grate allows primary air to flow up into a thick biomass fuel bed in a gasifier producing combustible gases. Fuel feed screws keep the fuel bed at a nearly constant height in response to a level indicator. A burner above the fuel bed admits swirling secondary air and combustible gases, burning the gases to produce a flame to heat a boiler or other heat applying device. A donut shaped collar in the burner prevents gases from leaking back into the burner. A programmable logic controller maintains the system at a desired optimum level of operation based on signals from oxygen, moisture, pressure, temperature and fuel bed height sensors. The controller sends signals to controls for primary air valves and dampers, fuel feeder, and an induced draft fan and optional combined primary and secondary air fan controlling the pressure and flow of air and gases for the system.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to heating systems with fuel treatment means for liberating combustible gas from solid fuel and in particular to a controlled system and method for clean-emission variable biomass gasification and combustion using a thick fuel bed on stationary fixed grates with controlled evenly distributed primary air to produce gasification and a burner above the fuel with secondary air directed into the burner for burning gasses with high turbulence to enable the creation of a system using biomass containing either low or high moisture content and either low or high ash content for an efficient heating system with low emissions, and with system feedback controls to enable constantly managed combustion kept at an even rate and burning cleanly so that the system needs no down time for cleaning.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Biomass waste provides an abundant source of fuel from what might otherwise be considered waste. In addition, the plant matter from which the biomass waste comes is a renewable resource. As long as trees and other plants are harvested ecologically they keep replacing themselves with new growth by the natural growth cycle in many forests or by replanting. In addition, using plant growth as fuel maintains the natural carbon cycle in a 100% balanced state, because the clean gasification and combustion of biomass fuel puts back into the environment the same amount of carbon that occurs in the natural decay of plants. The carbon is then taken in by the living plants. However, burning coal, oil and natural gas creates a carbon overload in the environment from the centuries of stored carbon suddenly released into the environment.
Sources for biomass waste in the form of wood chips include whole tree chips from forestry maintenance including tree tops and waste in forests, brush and tree cuttings from parks and roadways, lumber mill waste, woodworking waste, crushed pallets, and any other sources of discarded wood or wood byproducts. Many other sources of biomass waste exist in other forms from landfill sites, municipal waste collection, waste from companies using plant matter in any form, paper waste, and many other sources. The community itself can become the source of fuel for the community""s own plants burning biomass fuel.
The major problem with biomass fuel is the substantial creosote and smoke discharge normally associated with wood burning and biomass burning stoves and furnaces which burn at relatively low temperatures and low turbulence at low thermal efficiency rates. As well as a pollution problem, this is a great waste of resources, because the xe2x80x9cpollutantsxe2x80x9d given off by such stoves and furnaces are hydrocarbon gases, tar and fuel particulates.
Most stoves, furnaces, and power plants using wood and biomass fuel are set up to burn somewhat efficiently, but only with specific qualities of fuels, typically limited in an allowable range of moisture content and other criteria such as phosphate content, which creates ash. Finding sources of biomass waste that meet specific requirements of moisture content and other criteria consistently is a major problem that further limits the efficiency of other systems, thereby wasting fuel and creating considerable pollution.
In other systems, such as large power plants, burning at relatively high temperatures in very large chambers xe2x80x9cgasificationxe2x80x9d and burning of some of the hydrocarbon gases occurs spontaneously because of the high temperatures created from a huge fire source, the blown-in fuel and the fact that gases remain in some locations within the huge chambers to eventually burn up. Because these systems are relatively static and uncontrolled they are designed for a very limited range of fuel types and qualities and therefore burn less efficiently than they were designed for much of the time because of variations in fuel quality.
Smaller scale systems such as furnaces for buildings and stoves for homes are generally less efficient than the large power plants because they don""t develop the same level of gasification spontaneously, because in smaller chambers the gases generally don""t remain in the system as long, the same high temperature conditions are usually not attained, and fuel sources are even less uniform than municipal systems with rigid fuel requirements.
Although some systems have some controls built in to vary air input through flues or with some provision for creating gasification and combustion of the combustible gases, most systems are relatively static with no feedback means to monitor the efficiency of the system; so they fail to control the gasification and gas combustion for variations in fuel quality and climatic conditions. Most biomass and wood burning systems require considerable time and labor in monitoring and manual adjustments to maintain some level of efficiency, especially systems requiring manual loading of fuel and unloading of ash.
Most prior art systems have a problem when burning wood with bark or branches with dirt on them, because of clinkering, or the build-up of ashes and dirt on the grates and other interior furnace surfaces, requiring regular shut downs and cleaning of the systems. The shut downs may cost considerable income if the heat is producing power or other income producing energy sources. It often takes a considerable amount of time to reload the systems and get them running at an efficient level of output.
Heating systems employing thin fuel beds, especially in gasification systems with high temperatures, run the risk of damaging the grates underneath the fuel creating frequent grate problems requiring maintenance or replacement.
Most prior art heating systems with feedback controls produce quite a variance in heat output from the time the sensors detect a drop in temperature and signal the controls to the time it takes to add fuel or vary the air mixture to increase heat output. This produces ups and downs in the output with fuel inefficiencies and less than optimum burning conditions, which may produce more air pollution than desired.
While prior art patents describe technologies employing gasification, none are optimized for maximum constant thermal efficiency with no shut downs. In prior art patents, burn downs or shut downs can cause damage to the system.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,823,122, issued Oct. 20, 1998 to Chronowski et al, provides horizontal blast tubes for biomass gasifiers in FIGS. 1-3 and a vertical blast tube for a biomass gasifier in FIG. 4. They introduce swirling air, which may be preheated, into the ignition point of the fuel gas produced by the gasification of the biomass.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,634,412, issued Jun. 3, 1997 to Martin et al, indicates a method for regulating a refuse incinerator furnace using an infrared pyrometer to measure temperature of the waste gases to regulate the supply of fuel and the speed of the combustion grate and a regulating quantity derived from the mass flow of steam serves to influence the supply of primary air.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,581,998, issued Dec. 10, 1996 to Craig, puts forth a gas turbine combustor in conjunction with a biomass fueled pressurized gasifier having the fuel gas and primary air injected into a primary combustion chamber at independently controlled rates for a rich burn of the fuel gas. A nozzle leads into a secondary combustion chamber having air injected into the secondary combustion chamber at an independently controlled rate to provide a lean burn.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,505,145 issued Apr. 9, 1996 to Gross et al, concerns a process and apparatus for waste incineration in an upright shaft furnace having oxygen-containing gas fed into the lower part of the furnace into a thick fuel bed.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,806,440 and 5,720,231 and 5,524,556, issued Sep. 15, 1998 and Feb. 24, 1998 and Jun. 11, 1996 to Rowlette et al, show a method for controlling a draft fan at a desired rate and a draft monitoring method and the use of a microprocessor.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,694,868, issued Dec. 9, 1997 to Mitthof, claims a biomass furnace with a sloping fuel bed having underfed air and a combustion tube above at an oblique angle with a fan feeding the combustion tube.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,666,890, issued Sep. 16, 1997 to Craig, describes a biomass gasification system for producing gaseous fuel having a high pressure feed tank and a cyclone for removing suspended ash.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,655,463, issued Aug. 12, 1997 to Good, discloses a furnace for waste materials with an air inlet control to the gasification chamber to create an oxygen-starved environment and an afterburn chamber with a vacuum drawing in the gases.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,417,170, issued May 23, 1995 to Eshleman, illustrates a sloped-bottom pyrolysis chamber and solid residue collection system for processing waste, primarily hospital waste.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,870,910, issued Oct. 3, 1989 to Wright et al, provides a waste incineration method and apparatus using a first gasification chamber and a secondary combustion chamber with air controlled to both depending on temperature regulated controls.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,241,916 issued Sep. 7, 1993 to Martin, illustrates a waste furnace which supplies primary combustion air under the fuel and secondary combustion air into the flow of exhaust gas and which taps off some of the exhaust gas adjacent to the fuel and delivers it to the combustion air.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,242,295 issued Sep. 7, 1993 to Ho, gives a combustion method for waste incineration, including hazardous waste, which has two combustion zones and injects a high velocity oxidant into the second combustion zone with the first combustion zone operated under pyrolytic conditions.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,616,573 issued Oct. 14, 1986 to Giaier et al, shows a feeder for metering, decompacting and delivering refuse fuel to a furnace which may be controlled by a remote sensor or by the combustion control system.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,178,076, issued Jan. 12, 1993 to Hand et al, is for a biomass burner construction with cored apertures in refractory block members at the entrance of a horizontal second burning chamber creating a venturi-like turbulent flow, and a moving grate having an air feed and a water feed.
A number of patents show water cooled grates. U.S. Pat. No. 5,899,150, issued May 4, 1999 to Martin et al, depicts a grate element having primary air supplied from underneath and a cooling fluid which runs through the grate transversely to the movement of fuel on the grate. U.S. Pat. No. 5,913,274 issued Jun. 22, 1999 to Kunzli et al, demonstrates an incineration grate with transverse cooling tubes cast into the grate in varying proximity to account for different heat zones on the grate. Four old water grate patents also show various ways of distributing water through a grate: U.S. Pat. No. 667,607 issued Feb. 5, 1901 to Thurell, U.S. Pat. No. 828,769 issued Aug. 14, 1906 to Parkinson, U.S. Pat. No. 879,492 issued Feb. 18, 1908 to Richardson, and U.S. Pat. No. 1,170,317 issued Feb. 1, 1916 to Nye.
Biomass gasification systems, such as applicant Bender""s et al prior U.S. Pat. No. 5,279,234, having the blast tube at the same level as the fuel in the gasification chamber have problems with fly ash and particulate carryover into the blast tube and sometimes out the exhaust chimney.
Systems with moving grates, such as applicant Bender""s et al prior U.S. Pat. No. 5,279,234, are expensive to construct, maintain, and replace.
In co-inventor Asplund""s U.S. Pat. No. 4,621,584 issued Nov. 11, 1986, a thick fuel bed system with a moving horizontal grate and vertical overhead blast tube enables the use of solid lumps and pieces of fuel of relatively high moisture content.
In co-inventor Asplund""s U.S. Pat. No. 6,022,387 issued Feb. 8, 2000, a maximum gasification air flow for a gasification plant is determined by obtaining a maximum gasifier power according to different moisture contents of the fuel; determining a relationship between the moisture content of the fuel and at least one of a maximum gasification air flow and a maximum total air flow; recording moisture content of the fuel actually being processed and controlling the gasification air flow or the total air flow according to the moisture content of the fuel in order to have the gasifier being able to produce the maximum producible power at all time.
None of the prior art patents provides constantly managed combustion with small variations in operating efficiency and no clinkering prevention to avoid shut downs for cleaning.
An overall object of the present invention is to provide a controlled constantly managed, and over the flame cross section even temperature combustion system and method for clean-emission variable biomass gasification and combustion to eliminate periodic grate and gasifier maintenance, maintain very high gas exhaust quality during changing fuels and or loads, prevent grate and or ash auger clinkers, and prevent soot production and minimize both CO emission and NOx emission.
A further overall object of the present invention includes utilizing a combination of elements and procedures in an integrated system in order to improve the quality of combustion chemistry, improve exhaust gas quality, improve the combustion of marginal fuels, enable the building of large systems, and to reduce any fuel carry over as fly ash, as follows:
1) Utilize controllable air valves in order to maintain constant excess air through dividing the inlet air flow into a gasification air flow, (primary air flow) and a combustion air flow, (secondary air flow).
2) Raise the burner significantly above the fuel pile in order to prevent the combustible gas flow from creating fly ash and fuel particulate carryover.
3) Manage the size and shape of the burner utilizing combustion, mass balance, and other calculations to insure the flame will burn the combustible gas at low excess air and at the same time prevent soot production and keep the NOx level in the stack gas as low as possible.
Additional overall objects of the present invention are to enhance grate cooling to reduce wear and tear, the costs of materials, and clinker formation on the grate and around the ash auger, as follows:
1) Utilize the primary air feed system and pressure drop to distribute air up through the grates as a cooling influence on the grate material.
2) Utilize a very thick fuel bed to more completely and more evenly distribute primary air to the fuel gasification zone.
3) Introduce already burned and hot, (200 to 400 degrees F.) stack gas into the ash auger manifold to eliminate clinker formation.
4) Utilize a water pumping and distribution system to cool the ash auger. The water system is for enhanced protection from burn down or shut downs.
A further major object of the present invention is to enhance the monitor and feedback loop used to control the process in the gasifier according to load and fuel moisture content, as follows:
1) Establish a programmable logic controller (P.L.C. control) and feedback loop that continuously or periodically monitors various inputs to adjust and control fuel feed rates, draft fan speed rates, and air direction dampers, and that continuously and simultaneously corrects and advances the data base, thus allowing shifting to different loads and or different fuels without output interruption, and still maintaining excellent air quality and producing no soot.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a controlled constantly managed even temperature gasification system and method for clean-emission variable biomass gasification with a nearly constant height thick fuel bed by using a level indicator to monitor the fuel bed height and control the feed screws to keep the fuel bed at nearly constant height and also to use temperature, pressure, and moisture feedback sensors to control airflow throughout the system.
A contributory object of the present invention is to record the moisture content of the exhaust gas through measuring the oxygen content in both dry and wet exhaust gas to control the gasifier air flow (primary air flow) in order to always be able to produce the maximum possible power independent of the fuel moisture content in the fuel actually being processed in the gasifier.
A corollary object of the present invention is to constantly monitor the oxygen content of the exhaust gases to regulate the damper and the outside air input valve for the air feeding into the gasifier (gasification chamber) and the burner (blast tube) to assist in the constant managing of the gasification and combustion.
A related object of the present invention is to utilize a controllable secondary air damper in order to maintain constant excess air (constant oxygen content in the exhaust gas).
A further related object is to provide a programmable logic controller with a remote access modem for constant monitoring and control even from remote locations.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a thick fuel bed which rests on stationary large fixed grates that are never damaged by the heat from the fuel in the gasification process during normal operation because the gasification takes place on the top of the thick fuel bed and the heat therefore do not reach the fuel grate.
An ancillary object of the present invention is to provide a fixed grate with uniform air spaces across the entire grate formed by spaced apart C-channels filled with (for example) refractory material across the width of the grate to permit controlled evenly distributed primary air into the thick fuel bed for efficient processing of the fuel and to move ash down onto the auger to prevent ash collecting on the grate so that it does not require regular grate cleaning.
A related object of the present invention is to provide a sloping fuel bed grate allowing the ash to slip down by gravity to a water cooled ash auger at the bottom to remove ash so that the gasification chamber pressure is not affected by the ash removal and to admit recycled hot exhaust gas feeding into the gasification chamber directly onto the ash auger area to prevent clinkering when using fuel containing particularly low temperature ash melting components, thereby eliminating the need for regular cleaning, and to add to the air moving up through the fuel bed to produce gasification. The ash auger is controlled by a timer or by the rate of fuel feed in combination with an ash temperature control.
One more object of the present invention is to provide a burner (blast tube) above the fuel bed to burn the combustible gas produced in the gasifier and to minimize creating fly ash and particulate carryover.
A related object of the present invention is to provide the burner (blast tube) with an off-center secondary air inlet to admit air swirling into the burner inlet part and having a donut-shaped neck inside the burner after the air inlet forming a seal around the burner outlet part preventing exhaust from flowing into the burner outlet part then reducing the burner performance.
An additional object of the present invention is to monitor the pressure and temperature in the boiler (or other heat application device) to provide input into the controlling of the system, especially for an adjustable induced draft fan between the boiler and the exhaust stack to control the gas transport in the system.
A related object of the present invention is to monitor the pressure of the air under the fuel bed grate and above the fuel bed in the gasifier to provide further input into the controlling of the system, especially the induced draft fan, the primary air, and the recirculated exhaust stack gas entering the gasifier.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a multi-clone cyclone chamber between the boiler and the exhaust stack to remove particulates from the exhaust gas.
An added object of the present invention is to provide refractory walls around the gasifier in order to have the gasifier working under nearly adiabatic conditions (retain the heat within the gasifier) and allow more even controlled operation of the system by thermally isolating the system.
In brief, a thick fuel bed gasifier (gasification chamber) has controlled evenly distributed underfed primary air through the fuel bed supported by a sloping grate of transverse C-beams containing a refractory material (possibly sand) with evenly distributed air spaces between beams.
One ore more feed screws feeds biomass fuel, of a possible wide range of moisture contents, at a controlled rate through an air lock or other means to maintain pressure within the gasifier onto the sloping grate. A level indicator, preferably a device using gamma rays, monitors the level of the fuel through the wall of the gasifier and signals the programmable logic controller to control the fuel feed to maintain the fuel level at a nearly constant height.
A water cooled ash auger at the bottom of the sloping grate removes ash through an air lock or other means to maintain pressure within the gasifier.
The gas is drawn into an upper positioned burner (blast tube) above the fuel bed. A controlled air flow is directed at an angle (to create a swirling effect) into the burner inlet in order to provide a flow with high turbulence in the burner to create a xe2x80x9cjetxe2x80x9d of flame blasting into a boiler or other desired system requiring heat A donut-shaped neck inside the burner forms a seal around the outlet from the burner preventing exhaust gas from flowing back into the burner.
System feedback controls via the programmable logic controller enable constantly managed gasification and combustion kept at an even rate and the process being clean so that the system needs no down time for cleaning. Many elements of the system are monitored for feedback control, including: moisture content of the fuel actually being in the process, fuel bed height, pressure below the fuel bed grate and above the fuel bed in the gasifier, boiler temperature and pressure, and exhaust stack gas moisture and oxygen content.
The programmable logic controller (PLC) has a modem for remote access control of the system. The PLC controls fuel feed rate, primary air feed to the gasifier and secondary air feed to the burner through an air valve and damper, recycled combustion gases to the gasifier directed at the ash auger zone, timing of ash auger operation, and speed of the induced draft fan.
An advantage of the present invention is that it creates a constantly managed gasification with even production of combustible gas in a thick fuel bed biomass gas producing system, eliminating the inefficient up and down cycles of other systems.
Another advantage of the present invention is that the system doesn""t need to be shut down for regular cleanings, thereby producing a constant output.
An additional advantage of the present invention is that it permits the use of a wide range of types of fuels with varying moisture contents and including peat, and bark, and fuel containing dirt in a constant heat production output without shutdowns to remove clinkers.
One more advantage of the present invention is that the high power produced and the constantly monitored control system enables large biomass gasification systems.
Yet another advantage of the present invention is that the efficiency of the system and the particulate reduction components enable a biomass heating system with clean emissions.

Variable moisture biomass gasification heating system and method


An apparatus for loading, handling and transporting waste containers includes a vehicle having a main frame and a load container handler, the load container handler including a main frame assembly having a rear and mounted to and atop the vehicle main frame; a pivot assembly pivotally connected to the main frame assembly to rotate about a first axis; a main jib assembly connected with the pivot assembly to reciprocate along a first line between jib extended and retracted positions; a carriage assembly connected with the main jib assembly to reciprocate along a second line between carriage extended and retracted positions and including container connection elements operable to rotate about a second axis and for engaging with and holding a container; and, motive elements for moving the pivot assembly, main jib assembly and carriage assembly.

Front load and rear load waste containers are large receptacles designed to be transported to a site and receive solid waste materials for processing and disposal, including the diversion of wastes for recycling. When full or at designated times, a vehicle is dispatched to the site where, depending on the container and vehicle type, it either picks up and dumps the contents into its own, larger transport cavity, or it picks up the container and transports it to a remote dumping location. Improvements in the latter vehicle and means for loading, handling and transporting such containers are continually being sought.

Apparatus and method for loading, handling and transporting waste containers


Inter-cell handover (or cell reselection) in order to provide load balancing in wireless networks, in particular in hierarchical (overlay) networks, wherein the mobile stations in the cells are associated to different multicast groups. A technique for assigning one or more members of a multicast group to cells of radio network is described. This technique includes determining among multicast group members in a first cell one or more first group members having the highest resource demand in this cell. Next, for each cell of a cell cluster and in relation to a second group member having the highest resource demand in the considered cell, the relative resource consumption increase if the one or more first group members were assigned to said considered cell is determined. This determination is also carried out for the first cell but disregarding the one or more first group members having the highest resource demand. These one or more first members are then assigned to the cell that is associated with a minimum compensated relative resource consumption increase or a minimum compensated relative resource increase. In one embodiment, the cells are hierarchically structured and the assignment of member of the multicast group cells is allowed to be carried out on different hierarchy layers.

Multicast is the simultaneous delivery of information to a set of network destinations that form a multicast group. By comparison with multicast, conventional point-to-single-point delivery is called unicast, whereas delivery to every node of the network is broadcast.
Modern cellular networks provide the capability to support multicast services such as voice conferences and video conferences. In general, a particular multicast service may very efficiently serve the members of a multicast group over a single channel if the members are all located in a single cell. However, In many cases it is not possible or not feasible to locate all members in a single cell. Moreover, in cellular networks (and in particular in networks having a hierarchical cell structure, also called multitier cellular networks) a member of a multicast group may often belong to one of several spatially overlapping and/or hierarchically related cells. In such situations, techniques are useful for assigning the multicast group members such that the network capacity is increased (e.g., in terms of the number of multicast groups that can be served by the network).
Assignment techniques for spatially overlapping or spatially adjacent cells are often defined in so called hand-over schemes. Such hand-over schemes are specifically tailored for unicast services and are therefore not (or not readily) applicable to multicast services.
One exemplary assignment technique for networks having a hierarchical cell structure is described in Il Han et al. "An Efficient Channel Allocation Scheme for Multicast Traffic in Multitier Cellular Systems", IEICE Transactions on Communications, April 2001, E84-B(4), 1087-93. The technique proposed by Il Han et al. relates to a two layer hierarchy with microcells and macrocells, each macrocell including a plurality of microcells. A term "microcell group size" is introduced that specifies the number of microcells in which members belonging to a particular multicast group exist. Assuming that the members of the multicast group that are located in a single microcell are served via a single channel, the number of channels needed for serving the multicast group equals the microcell group size. If all members of the multicast group were located in a macrocell, only a single channel would be needed. However, if only macrocells provide the multicast service, significant capacity decreases may occur.
According to the technique proposed by Il Han et al., all members of a multicast group are assigned to either a macrocell or a microcell depending on the microcell group size. The group members are all assigned to a macrocell if the microcell group size would exceed a predefined threshold parameter. Otherwise, microcell channels are allocated to all group members. Although this decision mechanism can be implemented quite easily, setting of the threshold parameter is a difficult task in scenarios with varying network traffic.
It will be appreciated that there remains a need for flexibly assigning multicast group members to radio network cells such that network capacity is increased.

Technique for assigning multicast group members to radio network calls


A method and system for redisplaying or re-presenting an instant message. An instant message is received at a client and stored in a repository. The instant message is displayed in a first window which is provided by the client, and which is viewable by a user of the client. Alternatively, the message is converted to another format (e.g., speech) capable of being comprehended by the user via a non-visual sense, and presented to the user. The message is identified as being unread (or not comprehended) by the user based on pre-defined criteria. Detection of a pre-defined action prompts a search of the repository for any message identified as unread (or not comprehended). The message is located in the repository based on the search. Automatically, the message is redisplayed in a second window viewable by the user, or the message is re-presented to the user.

Under certain conditions, a user who is the intended recipient of an instant message does not read an instant message even though the message is received by the user's instant message client. For example, a window for displaying the instant message may not be displayed long enough to allow adequate time for reading the message if there is an untimely (1) closing of the window, (2) exiting or crashing of the instant message client, (2) crashing of the operating system of the user's computing device, or (3) powering down of the user's computing device. Conventionally, the user receives no assistance from the instant message client in identifying the instant message as being unread under the aforementioned conditions. Further, known techniques for recovering such an unread message include a time-consuming and predominantly manual search of log files based on timestamps. Thus, there exists a need to overcome at least one of the preceding deficiencies and limitations of the related art.

Method and system for identifying and automatically redisplaying unread instant messages

International Business Machines Corporation


The invention is a lockable burial casket. The lockable burial casket contains a lockable obstruction device for blocking the movement of the bar. The bar is supported by a bracket mounted on the casket. This bracket may contain a groove along the path of movement of the bar. When the catches on the bar engage connectors on the lid, the lockable obstruction device can be placed into a locking position which prevents the catches from unengaging the connectors on the lid. This may be done by inserting the lockable obstruction device within the groove.

The present invention relates generally to a mechanism for locking the lid of a burial casket.
At a person's funeral, family members often commemorate a person's life by placing items and other memorabilia within the deceased's burial casket. This memorabilia is valuable and often requires protection from thieves. Furthermore, family members also desire a sense of security that the remains of the deceased and the memorabilia inside the casket will not be tampered with after and throughout the burial process.
Burial caskets often come with a slidable bar having a catch which engages a connector on the lid of the burial casket. In this manner, the lid of the burial casket is latched and secured shut. However, anybody having access to the device which moves the bar may slide the bar out of the latched position. What is required is a device which prevents the bar from moving out of the latched position even if a thief has access to the device for moving the slidable bar.


An electronic card that includes an integrated circuit which is coupled to a substrate. The substrate is located between two thermally conductive covers. The assembly may further include a fastener that attaches the covers. Alternatively, the covers may be crimped or welded together. As another alternative embodiment the covers may be bonded to integrated circuit located on opposite sides of the substrate.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electronic card.
2. Background Information
Integrated circuits are typically assembled into packages that are mounted to a printed circuit board. By way of example memory devices are commonly assembled into packages that are soldered to a single printed circuit board. One edge of the printed circuit board may have a plurality of contact pads that can be plugged into a connector that is mounted to a motherboard of a computer. The packages and circuit board provide a memory card that can be easily installed and detached from the computer.
The integrated circuits generate heat which must be removed from the packages to insure that the junction temperatures of the circuits do not exceed specified values. Memory cards are typically plugged into computer system which contain a fan that generates a flow of air. The air flows across the memory cards and removes heat from the packages by forced convection.
Inducing a flow of air across the packages may be insufficient to remove heat from integrated circuits that generate a relatively large amount of power. Heat slugs, heat spreaders, heat sinks and heat pipes have all been incorporated into various electronic assemblies to increase the heat transfer rate from the package to the air. These thermal components add cost to the overall assembly. It is desirable to minimize the cost of mass producing a memory card. It would therefore be desirable to provide a thermal element(s) that can be assembled into an electronic card in a cost effective manner.
One embodiment of the present invention is an electronic card that includes an integrated circuit which is coupled to a substrate. The substrate is located between two thermally conductive covers. The assembly may further include a fastener that attaches the covers.

Apparatus and methods for attaching thermal spreader plate to an electronic card


A conduit adapter assembly for a surface mounted duct system. The conduit adapter assembly includes a base adapted to be attached to a surface of a wall, and a cover which snap fits onto the base. The base has punch-outs to provide access to the interior of the conduit adapter assembly for feeding a conduit therein. Twist-out portions are provided in the cover to receive surface-mounted ducts or raceways which are mounted on the ceiling. An end wall of the cover is provided with an opening to receive a run of duct or raceway of a particular size which is mounted on the wall. The end wall is detachable from the rest of the cover to form a larger opening for receiving a larger size duct or raceway.

Surface mounted duct systems for enclosing conduit, electrical wiring and the like are known. A typical duct system includes a plurality of raceway runs, some of which are joined at various locations by junction enclosures. The precise configuration of each duct system, including the raceway sizes, lengths and locations, and the number and type of junction enclosures, is determined by site-specific wiring layout. Sometimes, one or more junction enclosures are used to introduce the conduit into one of the raceway runs of the duct system.
Enclosures serving as junctions and/or conduit adapters must cooperate with their corresponding raceways to completely conceal and protect the conduit running therethrough. At the same time, the enclosures and raceways must present an aesthetically pleasing appearance since the entire duct system is typically mounted on an exposed surface. To maintain an aesthetically pleasing appearance, duct systems have employed tight-fitting connections between raceways and junction enclosures. Moreover, junction enclosures of the prior art have a single, specific configuration, such as a left elbow, right elbow or T-joint.
Since the prior art enclosures are limited to a specific configuration, and for use with a raceway of a particular size, an installer is usually required to carry several different types of conduit adapters and/or junctions when installing the duct system. This complicates the installation procedure for the duct system.
Another drawback associated with prior art raceway junctions is that they are not capable of joining two runs of raceways mounted on different planes, such as where one is mounted on a ceiling while the other run is mounted on a wall.
Examples of prior art raceways and junctions include U.S. Pat. No. 917,328 to Lutz; U.S. Pat. No. 1,986,965 to Frank; U.S. Pat. No. 4,602,124 to Santucci; U.S. Pat. No. 4,649,230 to Nielsen; U.S. Pat. No. 4,942,271 to Corsi et al; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,907,769 to Corsi et al.
Thus, there exists a need to provide an improved conduit adapter assembly which can be used for a various type of connections, and has an aesthetically pleasing appearance. This invention addresses these needs in the art, along with other needs which will become apparent to those skilled in the art once given this disclosure.


A plurality of first light reflection parts 20a in the form of a first V-shaped groove, for reflecting light entering from a first light source 12a and a plurality of light reflection parts 20b in the form of a second V-shaped groove, for reflecting light entering from a second light source 12b are formed, an intersection angle θP of the planes of the first V-shaped groove and an intersection angle θP of the planes of the second V-shaped grooves are substantially equal to each other, the planes of said plurality of first light reflection parts and the planes of said plurality of second light reflection parts are tilted at respective angles at which the light exits in the direction substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the linear light conductor 14, said plurality of first light reflection parts are formed in at least a region near the end of the linear light conductor, opposite to the end thereof near which the first light source is disposed, and said plurality of second reflection parts are formed in at least a region near the end of the linear light conductor opposite to the end thereof near which the second light source is disposed.

Liquid crystal panels, which are thin and light, are widely used as the display screens of portable information terminals.
The liquid crystal panels include transmission type liquid crystal panels and reflection type liquid crystal panels.
FIG. 15A is a sectional view of the transmission type liquid crystal panel. As illustrated in FIG. 15A, a polarizer 214 is sandwiched between a glass substrate 210 and a glass substrate 212. On the glass substrate 212, bus lines 216, etc. are formed. A liquid crystal 220 is sealed between the glass substrate 212 and a glass substrate 218. Color filters 224a, 224b, 224c are sandwiched between the glass substrate 218 and the glass substrate 222. A polarizer 228 is sandwiched between the glass substrate 222 and the glass substrate 226.
FIG. 15B is a sectional view of the reflection type liquid crystal panel. As illustrated in FIG. 15B, in the reflection type liquid crystal panel, a mirror 230 is sandwiched between the glass substrate 210 and the glass substrate 212. The mirror 230 is for reflecting light entering at the upper surface of the reflection type liquid crystal panel.
The Liquid crystal itself is not luminous, and illumination is necessary to see the information displayed on the liquid crystal panels.
In the transmission type liquid crystal panel, a lighting apparatus is disposed on the side of the lower side of the liquid crystal panel.
In the reflection type liquid crystal panel, no lighting apparatus is essentially required when the display screen is watched in environments with sun light or room lights. However, a lighting apparatus is required so that the display screen can be watched in environments without illumination. The lighting apparatus is disposed on the side of the upper side of the liquid crystal panel.
FIG. 16 is a perspective view of the proposed lighting apparatus. As illustrated in FIG. 16, the proposed lighting apparatus 110 includes LEDs 112a, 112b which emit light, a linear light conductor 114 which converts the light from the LEDs 112a, 112b to linear light to emit the linear light, and a plane light conductor 116 which converts the liner light emitted by the liner light conductor 114 to plane light to emit the plane light. On the rear side of the linear light conductor 114, i.e., the reflection side, a plurality of light reflecting parts 120 are formed in stripes. A reflection coat film 118 is formed on the reflection side of the linear light conductor 114.
FIGS. 17A and 17B are a perspective view and a plan view of the linear light conductor of the proposed lighting apparatus. As illustrated in FIGS. 17A and 17B, the light emitted by the LEDs 112a, 112b is reflected on the rear side of the linear light conductor 114, i.e., the plane of the light reflection parts 120 formed on the reflection side to be emitted at the front side of the linear light conductor 114, e.g., the exit side. The linear light emitted at the exit side of the linear light conductor 114 is converted to plane light by the plane light conductor 116 to be emitted at the plane of the plane light conductor 116.
In this proposed lighting apparatus, the liquid crystal panel can be illuminated in plane. Such lighting apparatus is described in, e.g., the specification of Japanese Patent Application Unexamined Publication No. Hei 10-260405.
However, the proposed lighting apparatus described above cannot illuminate the liquid crystal panel with a uniform light intensity distribution, as will be described below.
FIG. 18 is a graph of an intensity distribution of light emitted by the linear light conductor of the proposed lighting apparatus. Positions from the center of the linear light conductor 114 are taken on the horizontal axis, and on the vertical axis, light intensities are taken.
As indicated in FIG. 18, in the proposed lighting apparatus, the intensity distribution of the light exiting from the linear light conductor 114 is not uniform and has parts of high intensities and parts of low intensities. An intensity distribution of the light emitted by the linear light conductor 114 is reflected in an intensity distribution of the light emitted by the planar light conductor 116. Accordingly, the intensity distribution of the light emitted by the planar light conductor 116 is not uniform and has parts of high light intensities and parts of low light intensities. Accordingly, the liquid crystal display using the proposed lighting apparatus cannot have good display characteristics.
An object of the present invention is to provide a lighting apparatus which can illuminate with a uniform light intensity, and a liquid crystal display using the lighting apparatus, which has good display characteristics.

Lighting apparatus and liquid crystal display


Disclosed are pressurized antiperspirant compositions comprising (a) a polyol solvent having at least 4 carbon atoms and a hydroxyl group on each of the xcex1 and xcex2 carbon atoms of the polyol solvent; (b) solubilized antiperspirant active; (c) dimethylether; (d) a low polarity liquid having a solubility parameter of less than about 8.0, wherein the weight ratio of the dimethylether to low polarity solvent is from about 0.1 to about 2.8. It has been found that these compositions are especially useful in formulating clear or single-phase pressurized antiperspirant compositions that remain stable over prolonged periods and that can be formulated without ethanol or aqueous solvents.

The present invention relates to pressurized antiperspirant compositions comprising solubilized antiperspirant active, a dimethylether propellant, and a low polarity solvent. The compositions can be formulated as stable single phase or clear pressurized liquids without reliance upon ethanol, propylene glycol, or aqueous solvents.
There are many different pressurized antiperspirant formulations known for use in controlling or inhibiting underarm perspiration and odor. Most of these formulations comprise an antiperspirant powder such as an aluminum salt, which is suspended in an anhydrous carrier and combined with a liquefied volatile propellant in a pressurized container. The formulation is then applied to the underarm as a pressurized spray which is, generated by the rapid boiling of the propellant upon dispensing from an atomizing valve in association with the pressurized container.
Although many consumers enjoy the convenience of an aerosol antiperspirant, many of these aerosols have highly undesirable application cosmetics. Activation of these aerosols often results in a dusty or powdery application, which then results in a heavy white residue on the applied areas of the skin. Moreover, the powdery residue on the skin tends to flake away or otherwise fall off relatively easily after application, especially when the applied surface comes in contact with clothing, thus resulting in an undesirable residue on the clothing itself and a loss or reduction of antiperspirant coverage on those areas of the skin from which the product has flaked away or otherwise fallen off.
To improve application cosmetics, some aerosol antiperspirants have been formulated with antiperspirant active dissolved or solubilized in a suitable aqueous or anhydrous carrier. Many of these formulations are also single phase systems without any dispersed or suspended solids, thus resulting in little or no visible residue on the applied areas that is attributable to the deposition of such dispersed or suspended solids on the skin. These single phase formulations often have a clear or translucent appearance, and apply neatly from an aerosolized spray without a dusty or powdery application. Many of these single phase aerosols, however, contain ethanol, or water to help solubilize the antiperspirant active to allow for the formulation of a stable, single-phase system. The aqueous formulations tend to feel wet during application and the ethanol formulations tend to irritate or sting the sensitive underarm area of the skin during and after application.
Single phase antiperspirant aerosols have also been described in the antiperspirant art in which single phase aerosols are formulated with dimethylether, solubilized antiperspirant active, and polyol solvents such as propylene glycol. These compositions contain dimethylether which allows for the formulation of a stable single-phase system, provided that the system also contains water, ethanol or relatively high propylene glycol concentrations to maintain the stability of the single phase system. Such compositions, however, tend to be unstable when formulated with substantive low polarity solvents, thus resulting in precipitation of antiperspirant active from solution or phase separation shortly after formulation, unless the compositions are modified to contain relatively high ethanol, water or propylene glycol concentrations. As noted throughout the antiperspirant art, high ethanol or propylene glycol concentrations can irritate or sting the sensitive underarm area of the skin and high water concentrations can result in an undesirably wet skin feel during and after application.
It has now been found that pressurized antiperspirant products can be formulated as single phase or clear products, without reliance upon high ethanol, propylene glycol, or water concentrations to solubilize and couple antiperspirant active with the various other ingredients to form a single phase or clear system. It has been found that single-phase, pressurized antiperspirants can be prepared without reliance upon such materials provided that it comprises an antiperspirant active solubilized in a polyol solvent having at least 4 carbon atoms and a hydroxyl group on each of the xcex1 and xcex2 carbon atoms of the polyol solvent, wherein the solubilized active and selected polyol solvent are combined with a dimethylether propellant in combination with a low polarity solvent having a solubility parameter of less than about 8.0, wherein the weight ratio of the dimethylether to the low polarity solvent is from about 0.1 to about 3.0.
It has been found that the pressurized single-phase antiperspirant product will remain stable over prolonged periods, provided that the defined polyol solvent and dimethylether propellant are coupled with the low polarity solvent, and provided that the weight ratio of the dimethylether propellant to low polarity solvent is maintained within the range as defined here.
It has also been found that the above-described pressurized antiperspirant products remain stable over prolonged periods of time, and can be formulated as clear or single phase systems with low polarity solvents or materials. These low polarity solvents or materials can include materials such as volatile or non-volatile silicone fluids that provide additional benefits such as active substantivity, emolliency, improved skin feel during or after application, formulation flexibility, and similar other benefits. These low polarity solvents also include liquefied hydrocarbon propellants to provide a low cost option to more expensive propellant materials.
The present invention is directed to pressurized anhydrous antiperspirant compositions comprising: (a) a polyol solvent having at least 4 carbon atoms and a hydroxyl group on each of the xcex1 and xcex2 carbon atoms of the polyol solvent; (b) solubilized antiperspirant active; (c) dimethylether; (d) a low polarity liquid having a solubility parameter of less than about 8.0, wherein the weight ratio of the dimethylether to low polarity solvent is from about 0.1 to about 3.0.
It has been found that these compositions are especially useful in formulating clear or single-phase pressurized antiperspirant compositions that remain stable over prolonged periods and that can be formulated without high concentrations of ethanol, propylene glycol or aqueous solvents. It has also been found that these compositions can be maintained as single phase or clear formulations, even when formulated with low polarity solvents such as silicone oils, liquefied hydrocarbon propellants, and other similar materials.
The pressurized antiperspirant compositions of the present invention comprise a selected polyol solvent, a solubilized antiperspirant active, a dimethylether propellant, and a low polarity solvent in a defined weight ratio relative to the dimethylether propellant. These and other essential elements or limitations of the pressurized antiperspirant compositions of the present invention are described in detail hereinafter.
The term xe2x80x9canhydrousxe2x80x9d as used herein, unless otherwise specified, refers to those compositions or materials containing less than about 5%, more preferably less than about 3%, even more preferably less than about 1%, even more preferably zero percent, by weight of free or added water.
The term xe2x80x9cambient conditionsxe2x80x9d as used herein refers to surrounding conditions at about one atmosphere of pressure, at about 50% relative humidity, and at about 25xc2x0 C.
The term xe2x80x9cpressurized antiperspirantxe2x80x9d as used herein means any packaged antiperspirant composition that is pressurized from a gas or liquefied gas propellant to thus provide a means for pushing or moving the antiperspirant composition through an application device.
All percentages, parts and ratios as used herein are by weight of the total composition, unless otherwise specified. All such weights as they pertain to listed ingredients are based on the active level and, therefore, do not include solvents or by-products that may be included in commercially available materials, unless otherwise specified.
The pressurized antiperspirant compositions of the present invention can comprise, consist of, or consist essentially of the essential elements and limitations of the invention described herein, as well as any additional or optional ingredients, components, or limitations described herein or otherwise useful in pressurized antiperspirant applications.
The pressurized antiperspirant compositions of the present invention comprise selected liquid polyols for solubilizing or helping to solubilize the antiperspirant active material in the composition. The antiperspirant composition preferably comprises from about 1% to about 80%, more preferably from about 2% to about 60%, even more preferably from about 3% to about 20%, by weight of the selected liquid polyols.
The liquid polyols for use in the pressurized antiperspirant composition of the present invention are selected to have at least 4 carbon atoms and adjacent hydroxy-substituted carbon atoms at the xcex1 and xcex2 positions of the liquid polyol. Preferred liquid polyols for use in the compositions are those that conform to the formula:
wherein R is an amide, ester, alkyl, ether or silicone-containing moiety, each moiety containing at least 2 carbon atoms. The R group is preferably an alkyl or ether group, more preferably an alkyl group having from about 2 to about 10 carbon atoms, more preferably from about 4 to about 6 carbon atoms. The liquid polyols preferably have either 2 or 3 hydroxyl groups in total.
The R group on the liquid polyol can therefore be substituted or unsubstituted, branched or straight or cyclic, saturated or unsaturated. Non limiting examples of suitable substituents include hydroxyl groups, amines, amides, esters, ethers, alkoxylate groups (e.g., ethoxylates, propoxylates, etc.) and so forth.
Non limiting examples of suitable liquid polyols for use in the pressurized compositions of the present invention include 1,2-butanediol; 1,2-pentanediol; 4-methyl-1,2-pentanediol; 2-methyl-1,2-pentanediol; 3,3-methyl-1,2-butanediol; 4-methyl-1,2-hexanediol; 1,2-heptanediol; 3-phenyl-1,2-propanediol; 1,2,6-hexanetriol; 1,2-hexandiol; 1,2,4-butanetriol; and combinations thereof. Other suitable liquid polyols include glycerol ethers such as glycerol isopropyl ether; glycerol propyl ether; glycerol ethyl ether; glycerol methyl ether; glycerol butyl ether; glycerol isopentyl ether; diglycerol isopropyl ether; diglycerol isobutyl ether; diglycerol; triglycerol; triglycerol isopropyl ether; and combinations thereof. Still other suitable liquid polyols include acetic acid glycerol ester; propanoic acid glycerol ester; butanoic acid glycerol ester; 3-methyl butanoic acid glycerol ester; and 3-trimethylsily-1,2-propane diol; silicone-containing 1,2-diols such as those described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,969,172 (Nye); and, combinations thereof.
These selected polyols are formulated into the antiperspirant composition alone or preferably in combination with one or more other anhydrous liquid carriers, examples of such other anhydrous liquid carriers include any known or otherwise effective carrier liquids suitable for topical application to the skin which are also compatible with the solubilized antiperspirant active and propellant components of the composition.
The pressurized antiperspirant compositions of the present invention are preferably anhydrous, but will typically contain at least small amounts of water associated with the antiperspirant active during formulation. In this context, the term anhydrous means the antiperspirant compositions of the present invention preferably contain less than 10%, more preferably less than 5%, even more preferably less than 3%, most preferably less than 1%, of water by weight of the composition.
The pressurized antiperspirant compositions of the present invention comprise a solubilized antiperspirant active suitable for application to human skin. The concentration of antiperspirant active in the composition should be sufficient to provide the finished antiperspirant product with the desired perspiration wetness and odor control. The antiperspirant active is preferably solubilized by the liquid polyol component described hereinbefore.
Solubilized antiperspirant active concentrations in the pressurized antiperspirant compositions preferably range from about 0.1% to about 26%, more preferably from about 1% to about 20%, even more preferably from about 2% to about 10%, by weight of the composition. All such weight percentages are calculated on an anhydrous metal salt basis exclusive of water and any complexing or buffering agent such as glycine, glycine salts, or other complexing or buffering agent.
The solubilized antiperspirant active for use in the antiperspirant compositions of the present invention include any compound, composition or other material having antiperspirant activity. Preferred antiperspirant actives include astringent metallic salts, especially the inorganic and organic salts of aluminum, zirconium and zinc, as well as mixtures thereof. Particularly preferred are salts such as aluminum halides, aluminum chlorohydrate, aluminum hydroxyhalides, zirconyl oxyhalides, zirconyl hydroxyhalides, and mixtures thereof. Aluminum salts are most preferred for non-contact pressurized compositions.
Preferred aluminum salts for use in the antiperspirant compositions include those that conform to the formula:
Al2(OH)aClbxc2x7x H2O
wherein a is from about 2 to about 5; the sum of a and b is about 6; x is from about 1 to about 6; and wherein a, b, and x may have non-integer values. Particularly preferred are the aluminum chlorhydroxides referred to as xe2x80x9c⅚ basic chlorhydroxidexe2x80x9d, wherein a=5, and xe2x80x9c⅔ basic chlorhydroxidexe2x80x9d wherein a =4. Processes for preparing aluminum salts are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,887,692, Gilman, issued Jun. 3, 1975; U.S. Pat. No. 3,904,741, Jones et al., issued Sep. 9, 1975; U.S. Pat. No. 4,359,456, and Gosling et al., issued Nov. 16, 1982, all of which are incorporated herein by reference. Mixtures of aluminum salts are described in British Patent Specification 1,347,950, Shin et al., published Feb. 27, 1974.
Zirconium salts for use in the antiperspirant compositions, especially in pressurized contact forms, include those which conform to the formula:
ZrO(OH)2xe2x88x92aClaxc2x7x H2O
wherein a is any number having a value of from 0 to about 2; x is from about 1 to about 7; and wherein a and x may both have non-integer values. Preferred zirconium salts are those complexes which additionally contain aluminum and glycine, commonly known as ZAG complexes. These ZAG complexes contain aluminum chlorhydroxide and zirconyl hydroxy chloride conforming to the above described formulas. Such ZAG complexes are described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,679,068, Luedders et al., issued Feb. 12, 1974; Great Britain Patent Application 2,144,992, Callaghan et al., published Mar. 20, 1985; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,120,948, Shelton, issued Oct. 17, 1978.
Preferred antiperspirant actives for use in the compositions include aluminum chlorohydrate, aluminum dichlorohydrate, aluminum sesquichlorohydrate, aluminum chlorohydrex propylene glycol complex, aluminum dichlorohydrex propylene glycol complex, aluminum sesquichlorohydrex propylene glycol complex, aluminum chlorohydrex polyethylene glycol complex, aluminum dichlorohydrex polyethylene glycol complex, aluminum sesquichlorohydrex polyethylene glycol complex, aluminum sulfate buffered, and combinations thereof.
Non limiting examples of solubilized antiperspirant active for use in the pressurized antiperspirant compositions of the present invention, and methods of making the solubilized active, are described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,149,897 (Swaile); U.S. Pat. No. 6,126,928 (Swaile); and U.S. Pat. No. 5,968,489 (Swaile et al.), which descriptions are incorporated herein by reference. Other non limiting examples of solubilized antiperspirant active and methods of making it are described in EP 0 404 533 (Smith et al.).
The pressurized antiperspirant compositions of; the present invention comprise a dimethylether propellant in combination with a low polarity solvent as defined hereinafter, wherein the weight ratio of the dimethylether to the low polarity solvent ranges from about 0. 1 to 2.8, preferably from about 0.2 to about 1.0, more preferably from about 0.2 to about 0.5.
The propellant component of the pressurized antiperspirant compositions of the present invention may contain only dimethylether or a combination of dimethylether and any other known or otherwise suitable propellant for application to the skin, preferably a combination of dimethylether and a hydrocarbon propellant. The dimethylether or total propellant concentration in the pressurized antiperspirant compositions of the present invention ranges from about 5% to about 99%, more typically from about 15% to about 90%, even more preferably from about 30% to about 70%, by weight of the composition. The combination of dimethylether and hydrocarbon propellant preferably represents from about 50% to 100%, more preferably 100%, by weight of the total propellant concentration. Although less preferred, the compositions may comprise minor amounts of other propellants such as nitrous oxide, carbon dioxide, and halogenated hydrocarbons such as triclorofluoromethane, diclorodifluoromethane, diclorotetrafluoroethane trichlorotrifluoroethane, trichlorotetrafluoroethane, and monochlorodifluoromethane, and combinations thereof.
The hydrocarbon propellants suitable for use in the pressurized antiperspirant compositions include any hydrocarbon propellant known for or otherwise suitable for application to human skin, non limiting examples of which include propane, butane, pentane, isobutane, and combinations thereof. These hydrocarbon propellants are generally in the form of liquefied gases when formulated into the antiperspirant compositions, and are characterized for purposes of defining the compositions of the present invention as a low polarity solvent having a solubility parameter less than about 8.0, which low polarity solvents are described in greater detail hereinafter.
The pressurized antiperspirant compositions of the present invention comprise a low polarity solvent in combination with the above-described dimethylether propellant, wherein the weight ratio of the dimethylether and low polarity solvent is selected within the defined range as described hereinbefore. The low polarity solvent can be any material that is liquid under ambient conditions or which is otherwise in liquid form within the pressurized composition described herein, and which has a solubility parameter of less than about 8.0, preferably from about 1 to about 6, more preferably from about 1 to about 4.
The low polarity solvent for use in the composition of the present invention is preferably a liquefied hydrocarbon propellant, non limiting examples of which include propane, butane, isopentane, pentane, isobutane, and combinations thereof. In this context, the liquefied hydrocarbon propellant acts as both a low polarity solvent and an additional propellant within the pressurized compositions. The hydrocarbon propellant as a low polarity solvent is preferably formulated in combination with the dimethylether propellant, wherein the weight ratio of dimethylether to hydrocarbon propellant in this preferred embodiment ranges from about 0.1 to 2.0, more preferably from about 0.1 to 1.0, even more preferably from about 0.2 to about 0.8.
Other low polarity solvents suitable for use in the pressurized antiperspirant compositions of the present invention include any silicone or silicone-containing material that is known or otherwise suitable for topical application to the skin, provided that the silicone or silicone-containing material is a liquid under ambient conditions or is otherwise in liquid form within the pressurized antiperspirant compositions of the present invention, and provided that the silicone or silicone-containing material has the requisite solubility parameter as defined herein. The silicone or silicone-containing material as a low polarity solvent for use in the pressurized antiperspirant compositions of the present invention can be a volatile or non volatile, cyclic or linear or branched chain, substituted or unsubstituted.
The concentration of the silicone liquid as a low polarity solvent in the composition preferably ranges from about 0.1% to about 50%, more preferably from about 1% to about 25%, more preferably from about 2% to about 15%, by weight of the pressurized antiperspirant composition.
Non limiting examples of suitable volatile silicones are described in Todd et al., xe2x80x9cVolatile Silicone Fluids for Cosmeticsxe2x80x9d, Cosmetics and Toiletries, 91:27-32 (1976), which descriptions are incorporated herein by reference. Preferred among these volatile silicones are the cyclic silicones having from about 3 to about 7, more preferably from about 4 to about 5, silicon atoms. Most preferably are those that conform to the formula:
wherein n is from about 3 to about 7, preferably from about 4 to about 5, most preferably 5. These volatile cyclic silicones generally have a viscosity value of less than about 10 centistokes as measured at 25xc2x0 C. Suitable volatile silicones for use herein include, but are not limited to, Cyclomethicone D-5 (commercially available from G. E. Silicones); DC 1184, Dow Corning 344, and Dow Corning 345 (commercially available from Dow Corning Corp.); GE 7207, GE 7158 and Silicone Fluids SF-1202 and SF-1173 (available from General Electric Co.); SWS-03314, SWS-03400, F-222, F-223, F-250, F-251 (available from SWS Silicones Corp.); Volatile Silicones 7158, 7207, 7349 (available from Union Carbide); Masil SF-V (available from Mazer) and combinations thereof. Cyclopentasiloxane is most preferred among the volatile silicone liquids.
Non limiting examples of non volatile silicone liquids for use in the pressurized antiperspirant compositions of the present invention include those which conform to either of the formulas:
wherein n is greater than or equal to 1. These linear silicone materials will generally have viscosity values of from about 10 centistoke to about 100,000 centistoke, preferably less than about 500 centistoke, more preferably from about 20 centistoke to about 200 centistoke, even more preferably from about 20 centistoke to about 50 centistoke, as measured under ambient conditions. Non limiting examples of non-volatile, linear silicones suitable for use in the antiperspirant compositions include but are not limited to, Dow Corning 200, hexamethyldisiloxane, Rhodorsil Oils 70047 available from Rhone-Poulenc, Masil SF Fluid available from Mazer, Dow Corning 225, Dow Corning 1732, Dow Corning 5732, Dow Corning 5750 (available from Dow Corning Corp.); SF-96, SF-1066 and SF18(350) Silicone Fluids (available from G.E. Silicones); Velvasil and Viscasil (available from General Electric Co.); and Silicone L45, Silicone L530, Silicone L-531 (available from Union Carbide), and Siloxane F-221 and Silicone Fluid SWS-101 (available from SWS Silicones).
Other silicone liquids as low polarity solvents for use in the pressurized antiperspirant compositions of the present invention include modified or organofunctional silicone carriers such as polyalkylsiloxanes, polyalkyarylsiloxanes, cross-linked silicone elastomers, polyestersiloxanes, polyethersiloxane copolymers, polyfluorosiloxanes, polyaminosiloxanes, and combinations thereof. These modified silicone carriers are typically liquid under ambient conditions, and have a preferred viscosity of less than about 100,000 centistokes, more preferably less than about 500 centistokes, even more preferably from about 1 centistoke to about 50 centistokes, and most more preferably from about 1 centistoke to about 20 centistokes. These modified silicone carriers are generally known in the chemical arts, some examples of which are described in 1 Cosmetics, Science and Technology 27-104 (M. Balsam and E. Sagarin ed. 1972); U.S. Pat. No. 4,202,879, issued to Shelton on May 13, 1980; U.S. Pat. No. 5,069,897, issued to Orr on Dec. 3, 1991; which descriptions are incorporated herein by reference.
The pressurized antiperspirant compositions of the present invention may further comprise many other materials for use as the low polarity solvent, provided that such other materials have the defined solubility parameter and are formulated into the composition such that the weight ratio of the dimethylether to low polarity solvent remains within the ranges described herein. Such other materials include volatile and non volatile hydrocarbons in addition to or other than the hydrocarbon propellants described hereinbefore.
The pressurized antiperspirant compositions of the present invention may further comprise other optional components which may modify the physical, chemical, cosmetic or aesthetic characteristics of the compositions or serve as additional xe2x80x9cactivexe2x80x9d components when deposited on the skin. The compositions may also further comprise optional inert ingredients. Many such optional ingredients are known for use in deodorants, antiperspirants or other personal care compositions, and may also be used in the antiperspirant compositions herein, provided that such optional materials are compatible with the essential materials described herein, or do not otherwise unduly impair product performance.
Non limiting examples of optional ingredients include preservatives, deodorant antimicrobials, fragrances, deodorant perfumes, coloring agents or dyes, thickeners, pH modifiers, surfactants and other wash-off aids, co-solvents, emollients or residue masking liquids other than the silicone liquids described herein, pharmaceutical actives, vitamins, and combinations thereof. Preferred optional ingredients include dimethicone copolyols.
Although the pressurized antiperspirant compositions may further comprise any organic or silicone-containing liquid carrier other than the selected polyols and silicone liquids described herein, the compositions are preferably substantially free of ethanol, and also preferably substantially free of propylene glycol or dipropylene glycol. In this context, the term xe2x80x9csubstantially freexe2x80x9d means that the pressurized antiperspirant compositions preferably contain less than 5%, more preferably less than 3%, even more preferably less than 1%, most preferably zero percent, by weight of any of these materials individually.
The pressurized antiperspirant compositions of the present invention are preferably anhydrous formulations, and are also preferably clear or single-single phase liquids, although the present invention is not limited to clear or single-phase systems. These pressurized antiperspirant compositions are packaged in any known or otherwise suitable pressurized container for use in delivering the combination of materials described herein for any selected pressurized formulation. The pressurized antiperspirant compositions are also preferably free of any suspended or dispersed solids, e.g., insufficient solid concentrations to visibly reduce the clarity of the composition.
The pressurized antiperspirant composition may be packaged in conventional pressurized containers for use in contact or non-contact product forms. Non-contact products from pressurized containers are well known in the antiperspirant and personal care arts, non limiting examples of which are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,082,917; 3,083,918; and 3,544,258, which descriptions are incorporated herein by reference. Pressurized contact antiperspirants are likewise known in the antiperspirant art, non limiting examples of which are described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,567,073 (de Laforcade et al.), which description is incorporated herein by reference.
The term xe2x80x9ccontactxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9ccontact product formxe2x80x9d refers to any known or otherwise suitable pressurized package that comprises an applicator surface to which the antiperspirant composition is delivered under pressure from within the pressurized package, and from which the antiperspirant composition is then applied directly to the underarm area of the skin. In this context, the applicator surface directly contacts the underarm during application, thus delivering or depositing the antiperspirant composition to the underarm area of the skin.
The term xe2x80x9cnon-contactxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9cnon-contact product formxe2x80x9d as used herein refers to pressurized packages from which the antiperspirant composition is delivered to the underarm through a product stream delivered under pressure from within the package to the skin. In this context, there is no direct contact between any surface of the pressurized package and the underarm.
The pressurized antiperspirant compositions of the present invention may be prepared by any known or otherwise effective technique, suitable for making and formulating a clear or single phase pressurized antiperspirant formulation. These pressurized compositions are generally prepared by adding, individually or as a premix, all ingredients other than the dimethylether and any other selected propellant to a suitable container. The container is then sealed and residual air within the container is evacuated. The propellant is then added as a liquefied gas under appropriate pressures to the sealed container. Preferred compositions and methods of manufacture are described hereinafter in the following exemplified embodiments of the pressurized antiperspirant compositions of the present invention.
It has been found that the dimethylether propellant, when used in combination with a hydrocarbon or other similar propellant, is preferably added to the composition after the hydrocarbon or other similar propellant has been added. It has been found that this particular manufacturing sequence helps stabilize the composition during formulation, and thus minimize or eliminate any active precipitation during the manufacturing process. This particular manufacturing process is preferably applied to the pressurized antiperspirant compositions of the present invention, but can also be applied to any pressurized antiperspirant composition known or otherwise disclosed in the antiperspirant art that contains a solubilized antiperspirant active and a combination of dimethylether and other propellants such as liquefied hydrocarbon gases.

Stable pressurized antiperspirant compositions containing dimethylether propellant and a low polarity solvent


To solve problems of complication and malfunction of the device's structure, an increase in the process time, and malfunction caused by catching of a front end portion of a bead apex rubber.

In the following patent document 1, there is proposed a method of forming a bead apex rubber comprising a forming step of forming a bead apex rubber integrally on an outer circumferential surface of a bead core. In this forming step, unvulcanized rubber is injected into a shaping chamber. The shaping chamber is formed by the outer circumferential surface of the rotatably supported bead core and inner wall surfaces of a shaping head enclosing both axial sides of the outer circumferential surface. Further, the forming step includes a front end portion forming step, an intermediate portion forming step, and a connecting step.
In the front end portion forming step, a shaping space whose front and rear sides are respectively closed by shutters, is formed in the shaping chamber. unvulcanized rubber is filled in the shaping space in a state in which a rotation of the bead core is stopped. As a result, a front end portion of the bead apex rubber is formed between the front and rear shutters.
In the intermediate portion forming step, the front shutter is removed, and the unvulcanized rubber is injected while rotating the bead core. Thereby, the intermediate portion of the bead apex rubber is formed continuously from the front end portion.
In the connecting step, when the bead core makes substantially one revolution and the front end portion returns to a rear space of the shaping chamber, the bead core is stopped. The rear space is provided in a rear side of the shaping space by being separated by the rear shutter. By removing the rear shutter, a connecting space is formed between the front end portion and a rear end portion of the bead apex rubber.
In the above forming step, however, the front and rear shutters exist, and it is necessary to operate the respective shutters independently. This leads the device to a complicated structure. Further, malfunctions are liable to be caused.
Further, in the front end portion forming step, it is necessary to fill the entire shaping space with the unvulcanized rubber in the state where the rotation of the bead core is stopped. This leads to an increase in the process time. Further, degradation of the shape of the front end portion is liable to occur due to overflow of the excessively filled rubber.
Further, in the connecting step, when the front end portion returns to the inside of the rear space, the front end portion is easily caught by a cover plate which forms one of the inner wall surfaces of the shaping chamber. In that case, it becomes impossible to return, which causes malfunction.

Method of forming bead apex rubber and forming device

Abstract: A bead apex rubber forming method comprises a forming step P1, a connecting space opening step P2, a connecting space closing step P3, and a connecting step P4. In a rear closed state R of a molding chamber 11, the forming step P1 injects unvulcanized rubber G while a bead core A is being rotated, and forms a bead apex rubber B having a front end portion Bf. when the front end portion Bf approaches a rear shutter part 9, the connecting space opening step P2 removes a second lateral surface S2 together with the rear shutter part 9, and forms, between the front end portion Bf and a rear end portion Br, a connecting space J whose second side surface S2 side is opened. The connecting space closing step P3 closes the connecting space 3 by disposing a third lateral surface S3 extending between the rear end portion Br and the front end portion Bf. The connecting step P4 injects the unvulcanized rubber into the connecting space J closed, and connects between the rear end portion Br and the front end portion Bf integrally.


A memristor including a dopant source is disclosed. The structure includes an electrode, a conductive alloy including a conducting material, a dopant source material, and a dopant, and a switching layer positioned between the electrode and the conductive alloy, wherein the switching layer includes an electronically semiconducting or nominally insulating and weak ionic switching material. A method for fabricating the memristor including a dopant source is also disclosed.

The continuous trend in the development of electronic devices has been to minimize the sizes of the devices and to improve functionalities of the devices. While the current generation of commercial microelectronics are based on sub-micron design rules, significant research and development efforts are directed towards exploring devices on the nano-scale, with the dimensions of the devices often measured in nanometers or tens of nanometers. In addition to the significant reduction of individual device size and much higher packing density as compared to microscale devices, nanoscale devices may also provide new functionalities due to physical phenomena on the nanoscale that are not observed on the micron scale.
For instance, electronic switching in nanoscale devices using titanium oxide as the switching material has recently been reported. The resistive switching behavior of such a device has been linked to the memristor circuit element theory originally predicted in 1971 by L. O. Chua. The discovery of the memristive behavior in the nanoscale switch has generated significant interest, and there are substantial on-going research efforts to further develop such nanoscale switches and to implement them in various applications. One of the many important potential applications is to use such a switching device as a memory unit to store digital data.
Memristor switch devices, which are often formed of nanoscale metal/metal oxide/metal layers, employ an "electroforming" process to enable resistive switching. The electroforming process involves a one-time application of a relatively high voltage or current that produces a significant change of electronic conductivity through the metal oxide layer. The electrical switching arises from the coupled motion of electrons and ions within the oxide material. For example, during the electroforming process, oxygen vacancies may be created and drift towards the cathode, forming localized conducting channels in the oxide. Simultaneously, O2− ions drift towards the anode where they evolve O2 gas and cause physical deformation of the junction. The gas eruption often results in physical deformation of the oxide (e.g. bubbles) near the locations where the conducting channels form and delamination between the oxide and the electrode. The conducting channels formed through the electroforming process often have a wide variance of properties depending on how the electroforming process occurred. This variance of properties has relatively limited the adoption of metal oxide switches in computing devices.
In addition, in order to be competitive with CMOS FLASH memories, the emerging resistive switches need to have a switching endurance that exceeds at least millions of switching cycles. Reliable switching channels inside the device may significantly improve the endurance of these switches.

Memristor structure with a dopant source

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


A collapsible dispensing tube providing a flexible walled envelope portion having a dispensing nozzle selectively sealed with a threaded cap and a sealed base. Interlocking fasteners are formed on the inner surface of the flexible wall in opposed registry with each other at regular spaced intervals from the sealed base of the flexible wall to the dispensing nozzle. The interlocking fasteners attach the opposed inner surfaces of the flexible wall when they squeezed together from the base toward the dispensing nozzle to sequentially form transverse closure bands across the envelope portion of the tube. This limits the rearward displacement of the material in the tube that occur when the tube is squeezed in its middle and therefore eliminates the need to roll up the envelope portion of the tube to dispense the material therein. A deformable collar joins the flexible wall of the tube and the dispensing nozzle so that the opposed inner surfaces of the flexible wall adjacent the dispensing nozzle may be squeezed together to allow the last portion of material contained in the tube to be dispensed.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a container for fluid materials. More specifically the present invention is a generally tubular container with flexible walls which may be collapsed sequentially utilizing improved interlocking internal members to dispense the material held therein.
2. Description of Related Art
Dispensing tubes for fluid or semi-solid materials such as toothpaste are well known. The majority of these tubes provide a flexible housing or envelope defining an internal cavity to be filled with the material to be dispensed. These tubes generally have a single open end which is selectively sealable with a cap or other structure. The material in these tubes is dispensed by removing the cab and pressing or squeezing the tube.
While this is generally effective, inefficiencies arise whesn a tube of this type is squeezed at any point other than the base of the tube causing some portion of the material to be displaced rearward toward the base of the tube as well as forward toward the open end of the tube. This becomes a significant problem as the tube becomes less full.
One way of dealing with this problem is to roll the tube up from its base to form a transverse closure band across the breadth of the tube. The transverse closure band limits the rearward displacement of the material held in the tube thereby allowing a portion of the remaining contents to be dispensed effectively. This can be an awkward and inefficient procedure as the tube often becomes unrolled either due to the resilience of the tube wall or due to improperly squeezing the tube an some point other than the base of the tube.
Many dispensing tubes attempting to make it easier to dispense the material contained therein have been disclosed in the relevant art. These have included dispensing tubes adapted to partially prevent rearward displacement of the material contained therein during dispensing, dispensing tubes with flexible walls which collapse in different configurations to force the material held therein out of an opening in the tube, and dispensing tubes which rely on an attachable device to aide in dispensing of the material held therein.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,169,030, issued Dec. 8, 1992 to Jack R. Lewin, discloses a flexible walled dispensing tube which partially prevents the rearward displacement of the material contained therein during dispensing through the use of flexible diaphragm members which divide the tube into several chambers. Each diaphragm member has a one way valve therein which allows the material in the tube to pass through each diaphragm toward the tube opening while preventing the material in one chamber from passing into a rearward chamber.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,891,700, issued Jun. 23, 1959 to Michael Maynard, discloses a dispensing tube having, in one embodiment, projections formed on the inner surface of the flexible walls of the tube. The projections prevent a transverse closure band from being formed inside the tube to avoid trapping a portion of the material contained in the tube rearward of the transverse closure band so that the contents of the tube may be completely dispensed.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,235,653, issued Nov. 25, 1980 to Steben Ausnit, discloses a container formed of a flexible web folded into an open mouth bag. The flexible walls of the bag have releasable interlocking fasteners formed on their inner surfaces which act to hermetically seal the bag.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,946,903, issued Mar. 30, 1976 to Carol Parker, discloses a dispensing tube having flexible walls that are spirally fluted. The walls of the dispensing tube of Parker are adapted to collapse in accordion fashion as the bottom of the tube is twisted to force the material out of the opening in the top of the tube.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,268,993, issued Jan. 6, 1939 to Rudolph M. Sanders, 2,250,022, issued Jul. 22, 1941 to Malcom E. Hofman, and 2,649,995, issued Aug. 25, 1953 to Nathan Muskin, disclose dispensing tubes having flexible walls which collapse in accordion fashion when the rearward end of the tube is urged toward the opening in the tube to dispense the material contained therein.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,361,939, issued Nov. 8, 1994 to James A. Robertson, Jr., discloses a dispensing tube which utilizes an attachable retaining device that holds the tube in a rolled position as it is being collapsed. The retaining device must be detached in order to continue to roll the tube and then reattached after each use to hold the tube in the rolled position.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,286,875, issued Dec. 3, 1918 to William E. Emmerson and 3,155,281, issued Nov. 3, 1964 to John Stracey, disclose dispensing tubes having flexible walls that are collapsed in accordion fashion as the material held therein is being displaced. The dispensing tubes of Emmerson and Stracey utilize threaded base members which act to collapse the dispensing tubes when the base members are twisted.
However, none of the related art discloses a flexible walled dispensing tube having interlocking fasteners formed on the inner surface of the flexible walls which form transverse closure bands in the tube to help prevent the rearward displacement of the material held therein as the material is being dispensed.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singularly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed. Thus a collapsible dispensing tube solving the aforementioned problems is desired.

Collapsible dispensing tube with interlocking internal members


A photocurable composition comprising cationically curable compound, an acrylate-containing compound; a hydroxyl-containing compound; a cationic photoinitiator; and a free radical photoinitiator; wherein said composition has less than 0.54 equivalents of cationically curable groups, less than 0.10 equivalents of acrylate groups and less than 0.10 equivalents of hydroxyl 0groups per 100 grams of said composition.

Three-dimensional articles produced by rapid prototyping techniques (e.g. stereolithography) tend to increase in brittleness over time. The problem is particularly acute for articles made from resin systems that cure (at least in part) by a cationic mechanism. In general, the cationic reaction initiated by actinic radiation (e.g. a UV laser) continues indefinitely after the radiation ceases. This is known as the "dark reaction" of cationically curable systems. Paul F. Jacobs, Stereolithography and Other RP&M Technologies 33-35 (ASME Press 1996); Christian Decker & Khalil Moussa, Kinetic study of the cationic photopolymerisation of epoxy monomers, 28 J. Polym. Sci, Polym. Chem. 3429-43 (1990). The cationic reactions continue at an ever slower rate as the amount of unreacted material decreases. As the reaction continues over time, the article becomes more and more brittle, elongation at break decreases, and frequently, tensile strength and tensile modulus increase.
Today, there is a growing need for rapid prototyping materials and processes that produce three-dimensional articles with stable tensile properties. In the past, articles produced by rapid prototyping were initially so brittle that increasing brittleness associated with aging went unnoticed. Also, the issue of brittleness was never confronted because articles were used only in short-term applications.
Once the problem was realized, persons of skill in the art tried to solve it by formulating cationically curable resin systems so as to produce articles with very high initial values for elongation at break and impact strength, in the hopes that useful tensile properties would persist over time. However, this approach brought about compromises in other performance metrics, with the result that overall resin performance was often sacrificed. Other prior attempts to solve the problem were based on the ability of epoxy resins to pick up ambient moisture. Water contained in the polymer matrix acts as a plasticizer and tends to mask brittleness. However, this approach is hard to control because it depends on ambient humidity and dimensional accuracy suffers.
There is, therefore, a need in the art of rapid prototyping for a photocurable composition that produces three-dimensional articles with stable tensile properties. There is a need in the art to get an article possessing combined properties of improved flexibility, tensile strength, thermal resistance and toughness and that the article keeps up these properties a long time in functional use (stability). Today's need, if fulfilled, would result in the cost-effective use of rapid prototyping techniques to produce three-dimensional articles suitable for multiple applications over time. The present invention relates to photocurable compositions comprising high molecular weight, low functionality components that can be used to produce three-dimensional articles with stable tensile properties and thus improved end uses.

Photocurable compositions for articles having stable tensile properties

Huntsman Advanced Materials Americas Inc.