A cable tag allows information about the identity of a communications or power cable and its route to be secured to the cable. The cable tag is secured to a cable in such a way that it can be readily removed and re-secured if necessary. For installation, a portion of a liner adhered to a face stock of the cable tag is removed to expose adhesive. Folding the tag around the cable causes the areas of exposed adhesive to come into contact with each other and with the cable. The remaining portion of the liner on the back of the face stock provides a non-adherent surface where a user's fingers can easily separate the cable tag from the cable. The cable tag includes removable sub-labels to permanently fix originating and terminating information to the cable after installation. The remaining part of the cable tag may then be removed and discarded if necessary.

In general, the present invention relates to tags and labels for conveying identifying information about an object to which the tag or label is adhered and a method for using such tags or labels. More particularly, the present invention relates to tags and labels adhered to communications and power cables used to connect various aspects of, for example, communications hardware, which tags and labels provide important information about the cables and their connectors. The present invention also relates to a method for using such tags and labels on cables.
Frame-to-frame cables are typically used to connect all aspects of large computers and telecommunications systems. Such cables may connect the backplane of one frame of a computer to the backplane of another computer to carry, for example, voice or data information. Such cables are also used to provide power to computers, as well as connect them to ground. In the typical communications site, many computer frames are interconnected. As a result, many frame-to-frame cables are required. Such cables are often routed in large numbers throughout internal and external facilities and throughout buildings. Within buildings, communications and power cables like frame-to-frame cables are often routed under floors or above ceilings in cable troughs.
Given the various applications, locations, and pathways which these cables travel, installers and maintenance workers require information about the cables. For example, installers must know the originating and terminating location for the cable and the path by which the cable should be routed to connect those two locations. Installers must also know the type of connector to be used for a particular cable. Among other information, installers need to know the purchase order associated with a cable, the job number associated with the cable, and whether the connector should be shielded against electromagnetic interference.
Because such information is usually unique to a particular cable, in conventional techniques, temporary cable tags containing such information have been placed on both ends of a cable by fabricators. Cables arrive at an installation site with tags applied to both ends containing this vital information. In some cases, however, the proper length of a particular cable cannot be accurately determined in advance of installation. For example, the fabricators may not be able to determine from the blueprints of a site the exact distance between an originating location on one floor and a terminating location on another floor. As a result, the cable for these applications cannot be precut or fitted with connectors in advance. Instead, these cables must be cut and have their connectors attached at the job site.
In these situations, spools of the correct cable type with packages of cable tags are sent to the site. The installer makes a safe estimate of the length required for the cable and then cuts the cable from the spool. The cable tags are then placed on both ends of the cut cable for identification in the cable routing process. The cable tags, however, must be repositionable. Because the installers must estimate the length of the cable, the installers will likely have to further adjust the length of the cable to better fit the project. As the cable is shortened, the installer must remove the tag and move it back along the cable. In fact, installers may have to make several adjustments to the cable length, requiring them to move the temporary tags several times.
To allow for repositioning, conventional temporary tags have used a weak adhesive, such as Technicote TR455 acrylic removable adhesive. Each end is also folded over to form a tab to allow the user to pull the two halves apart. Due to the weak adhesive, these tags, while repositionable, have been known to fall off during routing. Moreover, tags applied by fabricators use the same weak adhesive. Those tags, as a result, have also been known to fall off during shipping to the installation site or after the passage of time.
However, cable tags, regardless of where they are applied, must be resistant to removal. During the routing process the cables are often dragged through long lengths of cable troughs, under floors, and along walls between floors. Accordingly, the cable tags must resist tearing, stretching, and abrasion while remaining stationary on the cable throughout the process. If a tag falls off while the cable is being pulled between floors, the installer will not know the terminating location for that cable. He or she must then trace that cable back to its originating location to determine its terminating location. Accordingly, lost cable tags cause substantial delays in installation.
Most of the information on conventional tags for communications or power cables applied by fabricators or during installation is not necessary for maintenance. Troubleshooters do not need to know the original purchase order for a cable or the installation job number, for example. Furthermore, tags used to relay installation information are typically large, and many cables are often routed together. Large tags, accordingly, cause unsatisfactory clutter. Moreover, the collection of a large number of tags presents a fire hazard. Therefore, workers have had to remove large tags after installation. Previously, maintenance of the cables then proceeded on a trial and error basis due to the loss of identifying information previously available on the tags. Cables would then have to be checked one at a time, connection by connection, to find the problem cable. This process is time-consuming and highly inefficient.
Accordingly, customers now require that the originating and terminating information remain on the cables for the life of the cables to assist in maintenance and troubleshooting. To satisfy this customer requirement, installers have been copying by hand the originating and terminating information from the current large tag to a small "flag tag." The small flag tag with originating and terminating information is then permanently adhered to the cable both at the originating and terminating location. This process, however, is also time-consuming and subject to human error.
In light of the foregoing, there is a need for a cable tag that at least identifies the routing information for a communications or power cable, overcomes the problem of falling off after multiple repositionings, provides permanent labeling information for the cable, and does not pose a fire hazard.

Cable tag having separable sub-label and method of using same


A knock detection system for a spark-ignition engine includes a knock sensor that is responsive to vibration of the engine and that generates a knock signal. A first module calculates a knock energy based on the knock signal and a second module calculates a knock intensity based on the knock energy. A third module regulates a spark timing of the engine based on the knock intensity.

Vehicles can include an internal combustion engine that generates drive torque to drive wheels. More specifically, the engine draws in air and mixes the air with fuel to form combustion mixtures. The combustion mixtures are compressed within cylinders and are combusted to drive pistons that are slidably disposed within respective cylinders. The pistons rotatably drive a crankshaft to transfer drive torque to a driveline and ultimately to the wheels.
When the engine misfires, the combustion mixture of a particular cylinder combusts at an undesired time. More specifically, the temperature and pressure of the unburned air/fuel mixture within the cylinder exceeds a critical level and causes the gases to auto ignite. This results in engine knock and produces a shock wave that generates a rapid increase in cylinder pressure. Damage to pistons, rings and exhaust valves can occur if sustained heavy knock occurs. Additionally, engine knock causes undesired vibration and driveline oscillations.
Engine control systems may include misfire detection systems and/or knock detection systems to determine when the engine misfires. In this manner, the engine control system can regulate engine operation to inhibit engine misfire and improve engine performance and vehicle drivability.
Traditional knock detection systems include a knock sensor and a dedicated knock detection chip or application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) to process the knock sensor signal and calculate the engine knock intensity. An individual knock sensor and knock ASIC can be used to detect knock from each cylinder. The knock ASIC usually includes amplifiers, filters, rectifiers, integrators, A/D converters, sample and hold circuits and/or other analog circuits. This hardware is expensive, difficult to upgrade and calibrate and varies from manufacturer to manufacturer.

DSP-based engine knock detection including knock sensor and circuit diagnostics


Sanitary product disposal containers include an invertible container body having first and second ends, the container body including a first container wall having a first container wall exterior surface; a second container wall carried by the first container wall, the second container wall having a second container wall exterior surface; an end container wall extending between the first container wall and the second container wall generally at the first end of the container body; a concave sanitary product cavity formed by and between the first container wall, the second container wall and the end container wall generally at the first end of the container body; a container opening formed by and between the first container wall and the second container wall generally at the second end of the container body; and a container seal carried by the first container wall exterior surface of the first container wall and the second container wall exterior surface of the second container wall generally at the second end of the container body. Sanitary product disposal methods are also disclosed.

Sanitary product disposal devices are well known in the art. Conventional sanitary product disposal devices may, however, not be effective in blocking odors and may not prevent the leaking of fluids. Moreover, conventional products may be cumbersome, inconvenient or indiscreet to use and may require that the user touch or handle the used product prior to disposal. Additionally, conventional products may involve complicated, expensive and overly-difficult assembly and/or disassembly of parts.
Currently, there does not exist a suitable manner to dispose of used feminine sanitary products. Conventional sanitary products must be disposed in the trash as they are not suitable for being flushed down the toilet. Thus, the used products may emit a disagreeable odor and may attract children and pets.
Accordingly, sanitary product disposal containers and methods which can be used to discreetly dispose of a sanitary product while eliminating leakage of fluids and odors without a user's having to touch or handle the product are needed.

Sanitary product disposal containers and methods


Apparatus usable with a tire changing machine includes a protective arm that may be pivoted about a shaft having an axis that is generally parallel to the radial axis of the wheel and tire assembly when positioned in the tire changing machine. A first section of the arm has one end mounted to the shaft so that the first section may be pivoted substantially in a plane perpendicular to the shaft. At the second end of the first section the arm extends in a section direction generally perpendicular to the first section. Pivoting of the arm permits the second section of the arm to be adjacent, and substantially parallel, to the circumferential surface of the tire and the first section to be adjacent, and substantially parallel, to the side wall surface of the tire. The arm thereby forms a safety barrier against the release of components of the wheel and tire assembly. The arm includes an additional portion that interacts with a safety latch that may be positioned on the tire changing apparatus to lock the arm in an engaged position and to activate pressurize air flow.

The present invention relates to safety equipment for use in performing operations involving wheel and pressurized tire assemblies and, more particularly, to a safety barrier and restraint system that secures a wheel and pressurized tire assembly during service or installation operations and that forms a safety barrier and restraint mechanism.
Conventional tire changing apparatus generally comprise a flat surface for laying a wheel and tire assembly on its side so that tire removal, exchange and repair operations can be performed. In tire service or changing operations performed on conventional tire changers there exists the danger of unexpected rapid movement of the assembly or some of its components due to rapid release of tire pressure or explosion. This can be attributable to, for example, a faulty bead or rim, over-inflation or a damaged tire. Such rapid displacement of components may cause injury to an operator or damage to the surrounding environment, including the tire changing apparatus itself.
Some conventional tire changing apparatus are provided with or can be retrofitted with safety belts or brackets to restrain such movement of the wheel and tire assembly to prevent injurious contact with an operator or damage to the surrounding environment. Examples of known safety and restraint devices are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,742,859; 4,865,104; 4,811,774; and 4,765,387, which are incorporated herein by reference. The devices described in these patents include an axially-mounted plunger-type arm having a foot that engages the top center of a wheel rim, a flat bracket that translates vertically along a post and can be positioned above a wheel assembly, a tubular bracket that swivels into place above a wheel assembly, and a flexible belt having a buckle that straps a wheel assembly to the flat tire-supporting surface. These patents also include known means for prohibiting inflation operations by preventing the release of pressurized air from an air source until the safety device is properly positioned or engaged. One of the known means includes a shortened air hose operatively attached to a safety bracket such that the hose will not reach a nozzle on a tire positioned in the apparatus unless the safety device is properly positioned. These and other known devices fail to provide a desired level of safety in tests performed by the present inventor due to limitations that are addressed and overcome by the present invention. For example, the known safety devices generally do not provide restraint against lateral movement of the wheel assembly or one of its components. Others do not provide strong enough barriers. Still, others do not provide means for positively locking or securing the safety device in the safety engaged position. All of the known systems require handling of substantially cumbersome equipment, additional time to operate, or an excessive amount of work area to manipulate all of the structural components. These and other shortcomings of known systems are overcome by the present invention as will be explained below.

Safety restraint and barrier for use with tire servicing equipment


A novel end cap assembly for attachment to a commercially available paint roller assembly allows the application of a coating material, such as paint, uniformly to two intersecting surfaces such as in a corner. The inventive end cap comprises a unitary disc like base having a prong projecting laterally therefrom, the base and prong being formed unitarily from a suitable polymer. A textured material such as fabric, open celled foam, or sheepskin bearing natural wool is adhered to the base. A single prong engages a space existing between the inner surface of the roller cover and the outer surface of the roller frame barrel so that the possibility of damage to the possibly damp paper tube of the roller cover is avoided when the end cap is installed. The prong is straight where joined to the cap at its proximal end, and is curved at its distal or free end. The prong is formed from a material imparting spring qualities.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to apparatus for uniformly spreading a coating on a surface, and more specifically to a paint roller adapted to apply paint simultaneously to two perpendicular, intersecting environmental surfaces being painted. It is contemplated that manual painting in commercial, residential, institutional, and industrial facilities will provide the most widespread application of the invention. However, any task requiring that a viscous fluid be applied as a coating to an environmental surface having intersecting, non-parallel surfaces will benefit from the invention.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Paint rollers have gained wide acceptance as the implement of choice for spreading a coating on many flat surfaces. Coatings such as paint, stain, varnish, sealer, waterproofing and the like may be readily applied with a roller to horizontal and vertical surfaces by essentially untrained operators with generally acceptable results. A wide variety of paint rollers assemblies are currently available, the xe2x80x9cstandardxe2x80x9d roller including a replaceable roller cover, a barrel or cage portion for supporting the roller cover, and a frame with a handle. Roller covers are available in a wide variety of naps designed for painting a variety of surface textures ranging from smooth (such as finished plaster) to extremely rough surfaces, such as stucco. When a conventional paint roller is used in a corner (i.e., where two perpendicular surfaces meet), one of two outcomes is desired. Sometimes, it is desirable to prevent the coating being applied to one of the surfaces from contacting the adjoining, intersecting surface. More often however, the coating being applied will be continued from the first surface onto the second surface. Traditional paint rollers exhibit notoriously poor performance in corners, often necessitating the painter xe2x80x9ccutting inxe2x80x9d the corners with a conventional paint brush or similar tool. xe2x80x9cCutting inxe2x80x9d is an informal term for correcting unsatisfactory results by an alternative manual painting method.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,402,102, for CORNER PAINT ROLLER; issued Sep. 6, 1983, to Ziad A. Al-samman, teaches a corner-painting assembly attachable to the end of a conventional paint roller. The end surface of the Al-samman apparatus may be either bristle-like to simulate a paint brush, or may be of the same material and textures as the outer surface of the roller cover. The end cap apparatus is fastened to the roller core by prongs specifically adapted to interact with wire members forming the core of the paint roller frame. The junction between the edge of the roller cover and the insertable end cap is uncontrolled and in use, a nonuniform deposition of coating on at least one the two perpendicular surfaces often results. In contradistinction, the inventive paint roller end cap apparatus is designed for retention in the end of a conventional paint roller cover by at least one prong adapted to fit between the inner diameter of the roller cover and the outer diameter of the barrel or cage. This means that the inventive end cap may be applied universally to any paint roller, not just to one specific brand or design as is the case with the Al-samman apparatus. The prong occupies only a limited portion of the circular cap, whereas Al-sammam has corresponding structure having a plurality of prongs located periodically along a entire circular path on the base. It should be noted that installing the cap of Al-sammam may not be readily accomplished since it is difficult to assure that each prong is appropriately aligned for insertion. By contrast, the prong in the present invention does not engage any specific element of the roller, which makes it easy to align for insertion. The prong in the present invention has configuration different from any of those of Al-sammam. In addition, texture of the coating applicator surface of the inventive end cap is carefully formed to abut the edge of the roller cover so that in use, a smooth, continuous coating can be applied to both intersecting surfaces.
Another U.S. Pat. No. 5,584,092 for ROLLER HAVING SLIP-ON CAGE FOR PAINT ROLLER COVER; issued Dec. 17, 1996, to Bruce C. Polzin, et al., describes a one-piece roller assembly which is closed at one end, and terminates in a rounded tip portion at the opposite end. The Polzin, et al. system necessitates the use of two different roller assemblies for coating jobs where both a xe2x80x9ccontinue around a cornerxe2x80x9d and also a xe2x80x9cstop at the cornerxe2x80x9d mode of operation are required. Either two roller covers must be cleaned and the paint remaining in the covers at the end of the job wasted, or both roller covers must be discarded. The inventive end cap system, on the other hand, requires the cleaning or discarding of only a single roller cover. The inventive end cap may be installed or removed as required throughout the coating job. The minuscule amount of paint remaining in the paint holding medium of the inventive end cap presents a trivial clean up job and only a small amount of the coating material remains in the paint holding medium of the end piece. The inventive system also produces a uniform deposition of coating material on both surface proximate the corner while the Polzin, et al. cover may not deposit coating material uniformly near the corner because of its nonconforming, conical contour. Polzin et al. lacks the end cap bearing bristles on the end of the cylinder, wherein the end cap has a single attaching prong. The present invention has these features.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,613,264 for PAINT ROLLER CORNER COVER; issued Mar. 25, 1997, to Curtis N. Knowles, teaches another insertable end cap for corner painting. The Knowles apparatus lacks the controlled edge contour of the inventive end cap, resulting in coating non-uniformity when used in a corner. The Knowles design uses an annular flange for insertion into the open end of a paint roller with a series of integrally molded, circumferentially spaced lugs protruding from the flange for engagement with the inside of the roller cover. A significant difference between Knowles and the present invention is that whereas the annular flange forms a full circle, the present invention utilizes a corresponding member which extends along only a limited portion of a circle. Also, thickness of the Knowles apparatus may preclude its use with some paint roller barrels. Also, the protruding lugs may tear the inner surface of the paint roller cover, particularly if the Knowles end cap is inserted after moisture has accumulated inside the roller cover either from the coating being applied or from a previous cleaning of the roller cover. The inventive end cap overcomes these disadvantages by presenting a thin apparatus able to adapt to a wide variety of paint roller barrel lengths or differences in lengths of paint roller covers. The prong of the inventive end cap slide easily into the end of a paint roller without any damage to a damp roller cover, and is configured differently from any structure of Knowles.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.
The present invention features a universal end cap attachment for a paint roller. The inventive end cap is designed so that textured, paint retaining material on the outer surface of the end cap abuts and conforms to the textured, paint retaining material of the paint roller cover, thereby forming a corner arrangement that will uniformly spread coating material on two intersecting surfaces such as in corners. The end cap is designed for frictional engagement between the inner surface of the paint roller cover and the outer surface for the barrel or cage of the paint roller frame by means of at least one prong situated within not more than a continuous 180xc2x0 of the perimeter of the end cap. The design of the prong is such that damage to the cardboard core of the paint roller cover is minimized, even if the paint roller cover is wet from being cleaned or from absorption of the coating material being applied. The end cap may be readily inserted and removed during the coating job as required and, in addition, is easily cleanable.
Provision of at least one prong situated within not more than a continuous 180xc2x0 of the perimeter of the end cap eliminates the problem of alignment of prongs confronting designs having many prongs. At least one prong situated within a not more than a continuous 180xc2x0 of the perimeter of the end cap is readily inserted between the roller cover and the cage regardless of minor variations in clearances which occur due to manufacturing tolerances. This arrangement accounts for only a limited portion of the circumference of the circular portion of the roller into which it is inserted. The prong is curved at its distal end wherein it engages the roller cover, and is straight at its proximal end wherein it is anchored to the base of the novel end cap. This configuration assists in retaining the prong in engagement with its associated roller assembly.
It is therefor an object of the invention to provide an end cap attachment for a standard paint roller to facilitate the application of coatings to intersecting surfaces and corners.
Another object of the invention is to require only one prong for engaging the a roller frame and roller cover, although more than one prong can be utilized.
A further object of the invention is to compensate for variations in clearance between a roller cover and cage of the roller when inserting a prong of a cap there between.
An additional object of the invention is to configure the prong to be maximally effective in engaging the roller frame and roller cover.
It is a further object of the invention to provide an easily installable and removable attachment which may be used with any commercially available roller frame and roller cover combination.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide an attachment which, in use, spreads a coating uniformly on both intersecting surfaces leaving no visible lines or other defects in the coating on either surface.
It is yet a further object of the invention to provide an attachment for a paint roller which is inexpensive to manufacture.
It is a still further object of the invention to also provide an end cap attachment for a paint roller which is easy to clean.
It is an object of the invention to provide improved elements and arrangements thereof in an apparatus for the purposes described which is inexpensive, dependable and fully effective in accomplishing its intended purposes.
These and other objects of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings.


A packer assembly with an enhanced sealing layer is provided. The packer assembly may have an outer bladder with drains. The packer assembly may further have an inflatable inner packer disposed inside the outer bladder such that inflation of the inner packer causes the outer bladder to expand. End pieces may be coupled to the inner bladder and the outer bladder, and flowlines may be in fluid communication with the drains and the end pieces. A piston ring may reinforce the packer assembly. The piston ring may have three or more passive pistons which expand with the packer assembly during testing.

For successful oil and gas exploration, information about the subsurface formations that are penetrated by a wellbore is necessary. Measurements are essential to predicting the production capacity and production lifetime of a subsurface formation. Collection and sampling of underground fluids contained in subterranean formations is well known. In the petroleum exploration and recovery industries, for example, samples of formation fluids are collected and analyzed for various purposes, such as to determine the existence, composition and producibility of subterranean hydrocarbon fluid reservoirs. This aspect of the exploration and recovery process is crucial to develop exploitation strategies and impacts significant financial expenditures and savings.
Samples of formation fluid, also known as reservoir fluid, are typically collected as early as possible in the life of a reservoir for analysis at the surface and more particularly, in specialized laboratories. The information that such analysis provides is vital in the planning and development of hydrocarbon reservoirs, as well as in the assessment of the capacity and performance of a reservoir.
One technique for sampling formation fluid from subterranean formations and conducting formation tests often includes one or more inflatable packer assemblies or packers (e.g., straddle packers) to hydraulically isolate or seal a section of a wellbore or borehole that penetrates a formation to be tested or sampled. Such inflatable packer assemblies typically include a flexible packer element made from an elastomeric material that is reinforced with metal slats or cables. However, due to the harsh conditions (e.g., high temperatures) within many boreholes, the elasticity and mechanical strength of the elastomeric material of the packer element may become significantly compromised. Thus, a packer may be inflated to seal against a portion of the borehole and may retain a relatively large outside diameter after the inflation pressure has been released. In some cases, the outside diameter of the previously inflated packer may be large enough to prevent the downhole tool to which it is attached from being removed from the borehole, thereby resulting in a costly well repair and/or tool recovery operation.
Additionally, in applications where an inflatable packer is used with a downhole tool deployed via a drill string, a packer element may inadvertently expand as a result of the rotation and become wedged in the borehole. This may cause the packer to become damaged or may even result in the tool becoming stuck in the borehole.

Packer assembly with enhanced sealing layer shape


A deck is formed integrally on a front side of a drive chassis. As the drive chassis is moved upward, a disk is mounted on a turntable. The disk is rotated at high speed by a spindle motor, and an optical pick up is reciprocatingly moved along a guide rail and a guide shaft, and a lens holder is moved in focusing directions and tracking directions. Laser light is projected onto the disk through an objective lens so as to read information recorded on the disk. Vibration damping holes are respectively provided penetratingly in the deck substantially between a spindle motor fixing recessed groove of the deck and the guide rail and between the recessed groove and the guide shaft.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a disk player for effecting the reproduction, recording, or deleting of an optical disk or a magnetic disk (hereafter referred to as the disk) such as a DVD.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, as a technique concerning a disk player, one such as shown in a JP-A-9-293369 is known. A description will be given of one such example with reference to FIGS. 5 to 9. In this disk player, a synthetic resin-made drive chassis 2 is disposed in a housing 1 in such a manner as to be movable in upward and downward directions a and b by means of a pair of pivot shafts 2a respectively provided projectingly on rear portions of both side surfaces thereof. A camshaft 2b provided projectingly on a front surface of the drive chassis 2 is fitted in a cam hole 3a of a cam plate 3 which is movable in leftward and rightward directions c and d. A deck 2A is integrally formed on a front side of the drive chassis 2, while an accommodating recess 2B is formed on a side located rearwardly of the deck 2A of the drive chassis 2. One side edge of the accommodating recess 2B is formed as a guide rail 4 extending in backward and forward directions e and f from a rear end portion of the drive chassis 2 to the deck 2A. As a front end 5a of a guide shaft 5 is fitted in a fixing hole 6 of the deck 2A, and a rear end 5b of the guide shaft 5 is fixed to the rear end portion of the drive chassis 2 by means of a screw 7, the guide shaft 5 is disposed on the other side edge side of the accommodating recess 2B in parallel with the guide rail 4. It should be noted that although a multiplicity of holes are formed in the deck 2A, as required, the illustration of the holes is omitted to facilitate the explanation.
As shown in FIGS. 5 to 7, an optical pick up 9 made up of a synthetic resin-made base 9A and a pickup body 9B disposed on the base 9A is disposed in the accommodating recess 2B. The pickup body 9B includes an actuator base 10 screwed down onto the base 9A; a lens holder 12 having an objective lens OL and fitted in a supporting shaft 11 provided uprightly on a bottom plate of the actuator base 10; a focusing coil 13 and a tracking coil 14 installed on the lens holder 12; and a pair of permanent magnets 15 opposing each other with the lens holder 12 interposed therebetween. As the lens holder 12 is moved in focusing directions g and h by exciting the focusing coil 13 at a predetermined input frequency, and the tracking coil 14 is exited at a predetermined input frequency, the lens holder 12 is moved in tracking directions i and j.
As shown in FIGS. 5 to 8, a pair of outwardly expanding and inclined inner side surfaces 18a of an annular guide groove 18, which is formed in an outer peripheral surface of a guide roller 17 pivotally secured to one end portion of the base 9A, are engaged with the guide rail 4. At the same time, the guide shaft 5 is fitted in a bearing hole 19a of each of a front and rear pair of bearing portions integrally provided projectingly on the other end portion of the base 9A. A pinion 21 is threadedly engaged with a rack 20 connected to the other end portion of the base 9A. As the pinion 21 is rotated forwardly or reversely through a gear mechanism 23 by a feed motor 22, the optical pick up 9 is reciprocatingly moved in the backward and forward directions e and f along the guide rail 4 and the guide shaft 5 by means of the rack 20.
As shown in FIGS. 5 and 9, a recessed groove 25 communicating with the accommodating recess 2B is formed in the center of a rear portion of the deck 2A. A spindle motor 26 is fixed in the recessed groove 25, and a turntable 27 for mounting a disk D is secured on a rotating shaft 26a of the spindle motor 26.
To describe the operating procedure, as the cam plate 3 is slid in the rightward direction d (or the leftward direction c), the drive chassis 2 is moved in the upward directions a about the pivot shaft 2a by means of the cam hole 3a and the cam shaft 2b so as to be set in a horizontal state, the disk D is thereby mounted on the turntable 27 (FIG. 7). The disk D is rotated at high speed by the spindle motor 26, and the optical pick up 9 is reciprocatingly moved in the backward and forward directions e and f along the guide rail 4 and the guide shaft 5. The lens holder 12 is moved in the focusing directions g and h and the tracking directions i and j by exciting the focusing coil 13 and the tracking coil 14 at the predetermined input frequencies. Further, as laser light is projected onto the disk D through the objective lens OL, information recorded on the disk D is read.
With the above-described conventional construction, the one side edge of the accommodating recess 2B formed in the drive chassis 2 is used jointly as the guide rail 4 to attain a cost reduction, and there is an advantage in that as compared with a case where two guide shafts 5 are used, the number of parts is small, so that this arrangement is economical. However, a slight gap is likely to occur between the guide rail 4 and the annular guide groove 18 of the guide roller 17 engaging therewith. As a result of the occurrence of the gap, when the lens holder 12 is moved in the focusing directions g and h by exciting the focusing coil 13, the optical pick up 9 is vibrated in upward and downward directions k and m (see FIG. 6) about the guide shaft 5 owing to that movement. This vibration is transmitted from the guide rail 4 (and the guide shaft 5) to the turntable 27 through the deck 2A and the spindle motor 26, causing the disk D on the turntable 27 to vibrate infinitesimally.
As shown in FIG. 7, when the present inventor examined the infinitesimal vibration (vibration acceleration) of a central portion of the disk D by an acceleration pickup 29, the infinitesimal vibration was as shown at a phantom line G in FIG. 10. It was found that the disturbance of the focus servo characteristic was large particularly in a normal working range α (1,300 to 2,100 Hz) of the focusing coil 13.
In the above-described construction, since the disturbance of the focus servo characteristic is large, the focusing of the objective lens OL with respect to the disk D takes time, and the reading speed is therefore delayed.

Disk player for reducing focus servo characteristic


Crystalline (3R)-4-{[(1S)-2-methyl-1-(2-methylpropanoyloxyl)propoxy]carbonylamino}-3-(4-chlorophenyl)butanoic acid anhydrate and crystalline (3R)-4-{[(1S)-2-methyl-1-(2-methylpropanoyloxyl)propoxy]carbonylamino}-3-(4-chlorophenyl)butanoic acid hemihydrate, pharmaceutical compositions comprising such compounds, methods of making and methods of using the same are disclosed.

In general, crystalline forms of drugs are utilized in dosage forms rather than amorphous forms of drugs, in part, because of their superior stability. For example, in many situations, an amorphous drug converts to a crystalline drug form upon storage. Because amorphous and crystalline forms of a drug typically have different physical/chemical properties, potencies and/or bioavailabilities, such interconversion is undesirable for safety reasons in pharmaceutical administration.
Polymorphs are crystals of the same molecule which have different physical properties because the crystal lattice contains a different arrangement of molecules. For example, certain polymorphs can include different hydration states that incorporate water into the crystalline structure without chemical alteration of the molecule itself. In that regard, certain compounds can exist in anhydrous and hydrated forms, where the hydrated forms can include, for example, hydrates, dihydrates, trihydrates, and the like, or partial hydrates such as hemihydrates. The different physical properties exhibited by polymorphs can affect important pharmaceutical parameters such as storage, stability, compressibility, density (important in formulation and product manufacturing) and dissolution rates (important in determining bioavailability). Stability differences may result from changes in chemical reactivity (e.g., differential hydrolysis or oxidation, such that a dosage form discolors more rapidly when the dosage form contains one polymorph rather than another polymorph), mechanical changes (e.g., tablets crumble on storage as a kinetically favored crystalline form converts to a thermodynamically more stable crystalline form) or both (e.g., tablets of one polymorph are more susceptible to breakdown at high humidity). Solubility differences between polymorphs may, in extreme situations, result in transitions to crystalline forms that lack potency and/or are toxic. In addition, the physical properties of a particular crystalline form may be important in pharmaceutical processing. For example, one particular crystalline form may form solvates more readily or may be more difficult to filter and wash free of impurities than other forms (e.g., particle shape and size distribution might be different between one crystalline form relative to other forms).
Regulatory agencies such as the United States Food and Drug Administration closely regulate the polymorphic content of the active component of a drug in solid dosage forms. In general, regulatory agencies require batch-by-batch monitoring for polymorphic drugs if anything other than the pure, thermodynamically preferred polymorph is marketed. Accordingly, medical and commercial reasons favor synthesizing and marketing the most thermodynamically stable polymorph of a crystalline drug substance in solid drugs, which is substantially free of other, less favored polymorphs.
(3R)-4-{[(1S)-2-methyl-1-(2-methylpropanoyloxyl)propoxy]carbonylamino}-3-(4-chlorophenyl)butanoic acid, (1),
is a prodrug of the GABAB agonist, (R)-baclofen. (3R)-4-{[(1S)-2-methyl-1-(2-methylpropanoyloxyl)propoxy]carbonylamino}-3-(4-chlorophenyl)butanoic acid, (1) exhibits high bioavailability as R-baclofen when dosed either orally or directly into the colon of a mammal (see, for example, Gallop et al., U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,109,239 and 7,227,028).

Anhydrous and hemihydrate crystalline forms of an (


In general, techniques for implementing a flow distribution service using a plurality of traffic nodes that may operate as processing nodes of a distributed computing system are described. In some examples, the traffic nodes in the aggregate form a virtual appliance configured to apply a network service to packet flows.

Distributed computing systems are made up of multiple interconnected processing nodes that cooperate to apply a common service to tasks. For distributed computing systems configured to implement a network service such as firewall or other virtual security service, load balancing, wide area network (WAN) optimization, Quality of Service (QoS), and network analysis and monitoring, for instance, each of the processing nodes may apply the network service to one or more packet flows that are associated in some manner to the processing node so that the processing node can consistently service the packet flow(s). Because a packet flow consists of multiple packets transmitted over time, the processing node that applies a network service to the packet flow should be associated to the packet flow for its duration, and each access node in the distributed computing system should consistently route the packets for the packet flow to the associated processing node.

Flow distribution table for packet flow load balancing


The present invention relates to a synthetic, branched chain, oil soluble, fatty acid esters which, when preferably partially neutralized in situ, is revealed as a new water-in-oil emulsifier. Formulations are presented which demonstrate a method for using the disclosed emulsifier to prepare stable water-in-oil emulsions of varying polarity and viscosity for use in a variety of dermatological applications, and/or wherever emulsions according to the present invention may be used.

Since 1957 for the inventor, and much earlier for the art, the use of a beeswax-borax system to prepare a water-in-oil emulsion has been available in the art. This is a classical method for preparing water-in-oil emulsions, i.e, which generally comprise at least about 2/3 by weight of an oil phase and no more than about 1/3 by weight of a water phase. Typically, prior art emulsions of this type comprise about 9-10% by weight of beeswax in the oil phase and about 1% Borax NF in the water phase. The oils used to produce the oil phase include mineral oil and petrolatum and viscosity was built with paraffin and other waxes such ozokerite in minor amounts.
According to the Merck index, beeswax is comprised of approximately 22-25% by weight of a 36 carbon acid. In addition, beeswax generally comprises approximately 25% by weight C.sub.35 -C.sub.36 alkanes and approximately 50% by weight of C.sub.35 -C.sub.36 esters. Using beeswax, in the traditional water-in-oil emulsion, the acid and borax together form a "soap" emulsifier in situ which facilitates formation of the water-in-oil emulsion. Although the system functions reasonably well, problems emerge as beeswax may vary in componentry from batch to batch and produce quality control problems. In addition, compositions which utilize beeswax often require strenuous mixing or homogenization to facilitate the production of a stable final formulation.
Since 1982, the present inventor worked with 12-hydroxystearic acid to prepare solid di-fatty esters such as 12-stearoyl, stearyl and stearate. One of the first products synthesized in this series was a "tri fatty" solid emollient which is still sold under the tradename Hetester SSS.
After almost 40 years of research, the present inventor tried to make a C.sub.36 then a C.sub.40 acid to mimic beeswax in the latter's ability to form water-in-oil emulsion compositions, but without the other "solids" present in beeswax, which he identified as possibly being responsible for certain non-optimal characteristics of these compositions. In addition, it was surmised that the synthesis of a synthetic beeswax fatty acid would be more controllable and therefore would result in more accurate quality control ("QC") during processing.

12-hydroxy stearic acid esters, compositions based upon same and methods of using and making such compositions


A method of preparing a modified granulocyte colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) protein having reduced immunogenicity relative to human G-CSF comprises the steps of (i) identifying one or more potential T-cell epitopes within the amino acid sequence of human G-CSF (SEQ ID NO: 1); (ii) designing at least one sequence variant of at least one potential T-cell epitope identified in step (i), wherein the sequence variant eliminates or substantially reduces the MHC class II binding activity of the potential T-cell epitope; (iii) preparing, by recombinant DNA techniques, at least one modified G-CSF protein including a sequence variant designed in step (ii); (iv) evaluating at least one modified G-CSF protein prepared in step (iii) for G-CSF activity and immunogenicity; and (v) selecting a modified G-CSF protein evaluated in step (iv) that has substantially the same therapeutic G-CSF biological activity as, but substantially less immunogenicity than, human G-CSF.

There are many instances whereby the efficacy of a therapeutic protein is limited by an unwanted immune reaction to the therapeutic protein. Several mouse monoclonal antibodies have shown promise as therapies in a number of human disease settings but in certain cases have failed due to the induction of significant degrees of a human anti-murine antibody (HAMA) response [Schroff, R. W. et al (1985) Cancer Res. 45: 879-885; Shawler, D. L. et al (1985) J. Immunol. 135: 1530-1535]. For monoclonal antibodies, a number of techniques have been developed in attempt to reduce the HAMA response [WO 89/09622; EP 0239400; EP 0438310; WO 91/06667]. These recombinant DNA approaches have generally reduced the mouse genetic information in the final antibody construct whilst increasing the human genetic information in the final construct. Notwithstanding, the resultant "humanized" antibodies have, in several cases, still elicited an immune response in patients [Issacs J. D. (1990) Sem. Immunol. 2: 449, 456; Rebello, P. R. et al (1999) Transplantation 68: 1417-1420].
Antibodies are not the only class of polypeptide molecule administered as a therapeutic agent against which an immune response may be mounted. Even proteins of human origin and with the same amino acid sequences as occur within humans can still induce an immune response in humans. Notable examples include the therapeutic use of granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor [Wadhwa, M. et al (1999) Clin. Cancer Res. 5: 1353-1361] and interferon alpha 2 [Russo, D. et al (1996) Bri. J. Haem. 94: 300-305; Stein, R. et al (1988) New Engl. J. Med. 318: 1409-1413] amongst others.
A principal factor in the induction of an immune response is the presence within the protein of peptides that can stimulate the activity of T-cell via presentation on MHC class II molecules, so-called "T-cell epitopes. Such potential T-cell epitopes are commonly defined as any amino acid residue sequence with the ability to bind to MHC Class II molecules. Such T-cell epitopes can be measured to establish MHC binding. Implicitly, a "T-cell epitope" means an epitope which when bound to MHC molecules can be recognized by a T-cell receptor (TCR), and which can, at least in principle, cause the activation of these T-cells by engaging a TCR to promote a T-cell response. It is, however, usually understood that certain peptides which are found to bind to MHC Class II molecules may be retained in a protein sequence because such peptides are recognized as "self" within the organism into which the final protein is administered.
It is known, that certain of these T-cell epitope peptides can be released during the degradation of peptides, polypeptides or proteins within cells and subsequently be presented by molecules of the major histocompatability complex (MHC) in order to trigger the activation of T-cells. For peptides presented by MHC Class II, such activation of T-cells can then give rise, for example, to an antibody response by direct stimulation of B-cells to produce such antibodies.
MHC Class II molecules are a group of highly polymorphic proteins which play a central role in helper T-cell selection and activation. The human leukocyte antigen group DR (HLA-DR) are the predominant isotype of this group of proteins and are the major focus of the present invention. However, isotypes HLA-DQ and HLA-DP perform similar functions, hence the resent invention is equally applicable to these. The MHC class II DR molecule is made of an alpha and a beta chain which insert at their C-termini through the cell membrane. Each hetero-dimer possesses a ligand binding domain which binds to peptides varying between 9 and 20 amino acids in length, although the binding groove can accommodate a maximum of 11 amino acids. The ligand binding domain is comprised of amino acids 1 to 85 of the alpha chain, and amino acids 1 to 94 of the beta chain. DQ molecules have recently been shown to have an homologous structure and the DP family proteins are also expected to be very similar. In humans approximately 70 different allotypes of the DR isotype are known, for DQ there are 30 different allotypes and for DP 47 different allotypes are known. Each individual bears two to four DR alleles, two DQ and two DP alleles. The structure of a number of DR molecules has been solved and such structures point to an open-ended peptide binding groove with a number of hydrophobic pockets which engage hydrophobic residues (pocket residues) of the peptide [Brown et al Nature (1993) 364: 33; Stern et al (1994) Nature 368: 215]. Polymorphism identifying the different allotypes of class II molecule contributes to a wide diversity of different binding surfaces for peptides within the peptide binding grove and at the population level ensures maximal flexibility with regard to the ability to recognize foreign proteins and mount an immune response to pathogenic organisms. There is a considerable amount of polymorphism within the ligand binding domain with distinct "families" within different geographical populations and ethnic groups. This polymorphism affects the binding characteristics of the peptide binding domain, thus different "families" of DR molecules will have specificities for peptides with different sequence properties, although there may be some overlap. This specificity determines recognition of Th-cell epitopes (Class II T-cell response) which are ultimately responsible for driving the antibody response to β-cell epitopes present on the same protein from which the Th-cell epitope is derived. Thus, the immune response to a protein in an individual is heavily influenced by T-cell epitope recognition which is a function of the peptide binding specificity of that individual's HLA-DR allotype. Therefore, in order to identify T-cell epitopes within a protein or peptide in the context of a global population, it is desirable to consider the binding properties of as diverse a set of HLA-DR allotypes as possible, thus covering as high a percentage of the world population as possible.
An immune response to a therapeutic protein such as the protein which is object of this invention, proceeds via the MHC class II peptide presentation pathway. Here exogenous proteins are engulfed and processed for presentation in association with MHC class II molecules of the DR, DQ or DP type. MHC Class II molecules are expressed by professional antigen presenting cells (APCs), such as macrophages and dendritic cells amongst others. Engagement of a MHC class II peptide complex by a cognate T-cell receptor on the surface of the T-cell, together with the cross-binding of certain other co-receptor receptors such as the CD4 molecule, can induce an activated state within the T-cell. Activation leads to the release of cytokines further activating other lymphocytes such as B cells to produce antibodies or activating T killer cells as a full cellular immune response.
The ability of a peptide to bind a given MHC class II molecule for presentation on the surface of an APC is dependent on a number of factors most notably its primary sequence. This will influence both its propensity for proteolytic cleavage and also its affinity for binding within the peptide binding cleft of the MHC class II molecule. The MHC class II/peptide complex on the APC surface presents a binding face to a particular T-cell receptor (TCR) able to recognize determinants provided both by exposed residues of the peptide and the MHC class II molecule.
In the art there are procedures for identifying synthetic peptides able to bind MHC class II molecules (e.g. WO98/52976 and WO00/34317). Such peptides may not function as T-cell epitopes in all situations, particularly, in vivo due to the processing pathways or other phenomena. T-cell epitope identification is the first step to epitope elimination. The identification and removal of potential T-cell epitopes from proteins has been previously disclosed. In the art methods have been provided to enable the detection of T-cell epitopes usually by computational means scanning for recognized sequence motifs in experimentally determined T-cell epitopes or alternatively using computational techniques to predict MHC class II-binding peptides and in particular DR-binding peptides.
WO98/52976 and WO00/34317 teach computational threading approaches to identifying polypeptide sequences with the potential to bind a sub-set of human MHC class II DR allotypes. In these teachings, predicted T-cell epitopes are removed by the use of judicious amino acid substitution within the primary sequence of the therapeutic antibody or non-antibody protein of both non-human and human derivation.
Other techniques exploiting soluble complexes of recombinant MHC molecules in combination with synthetic peptides and able to bind to T-cell clones from peripheral blood samples from human or experimental animal subjects have been used in the art [Kern, F. et al (1998) Nature Medicine 4:975-978; Kwok, W. W. et al (2001) TRENDS in Immunology 22: 583-588] and may also be exploited in an epitope identification strategy.
As depicted above and as consequence thereof, it would be desirable to identify and to remove or at least to reduce T-cell epitopes from a given in principal therapeutically valuable but originally immunogenic peptide, polypeptide or protein.
G-CSF is an important haemopoietic cytokine currently used in treatment of indications where an increase in blood neutrophils will provide benefits. These include cancer therapy, various infectious diseases and related conditions such as sepsis. G-CSF is also used alone, or in combination with other compounds and cytokines in the ex vivo expansion of haemopoeitic cells for bone marrow transplantation.
Two forms of human G-CSF are commonly recognized for this cytokine. One is a protein of 177 amino acids, the other a protein of 174 amino acids [Nagata et al. (1986), EMBO J. 5: 575-581], the 174 amino acid form has been found to have the greatest specific in vivo biological activity. Recombinant DNA techniques have enabled the production of commercial scale quantities of G-CSF exploiting both eukaryotic and prokaryotic host cell expression systems.
The amino acid sequence of human granulocyte colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) (depicted as one-letter code) is as follows:
(SEQ ID NO:1)TPLGPASSLPQSFLLKCLEQVRKIQGDGAALQEKLCATYKLCHPEELVLL GHSLGIPWAPLSSCPSQALQLAGCLSQLHSGLFLYQGLLQALEGISPELG PTLDTLQLDVADFATTIWQQMEELGMAPALQPTQGAMPAFASAFQRRAGG VLVASHLQSFLEVSYRVLRHLAQP.
Other polypeptide analogues and peptide fragments of G-CSF have been previously disclosed, including forms modified by site-specific amino acid substitutions and or by modification by chemical adducts. Thus U.S. Pat. No. 4,810,643 discloses analogues with the particular Cys residues replaced with another amino acid, and G-CSF with an Ala residue in the first (N-terminal) position. EP 0 335 423 discloses the modification of at least one amino group in a polypeptide having G-CSF activity. EP 0 272 703 discloses G-CSF derivatives having amino acid substituted or deleted near the N terminus. EP 0 459 630 discloses G-CSF derivatives in which Cys 17 and Asp 27 are replaced by Ser residues. EP 0 243 153 discloses G-CSF modified by inactivating at least one yeast KEX2 protease processing site for increased yield in recombinant production and U.S. Pat. No. 4,904,584 discloses lysine altered proteins. WO 90/12874 discloses further Cys altered variants and Australian patent document AU-A-10948/92 discloses the addition of amino acids to either terminus of a G-CSF molecule for the purpose of aiding in the folding of the molecule after prokaryotic expression. AU-76380/91, discloses G-CSF variants at positions 50-56 of the G-CSF 174 amino acid form, and positions 53-59 of the 177 amino acid form. Additional changes at particular His residues were also disclosed.
It is understood that many of the above approaches have been directed towards improvements in the commercial production of G-CSF, for example improved in vitro stability. None of these teachings recognize the importance of T-cell epitopes to the immunogenic properties of the protein nor have been conceived to directly influence said properties in a specific and controlled way according to the scheme of the present invention.
However, there is a continued need for granulocyte colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) analogues with enhanced properties. Desired enhancements include alternative schemes and modalities for the expression and purification of the said therapeutic, but also and especially, improvements in the biological properties of the protein. There is a particular need for enhancement of the in vivo characteristics when administered to the human subject. In this regard, it is highly desired to provide granulocyte colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) with reduced or absent potential to induce an immune response in the human subject.

Method of preparing a modified granulocyte colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) with reduced immunogenicity


Controlled-impedance out-of-substrate package structures employing electrical devices and related assemblies, components, and methods are disclosed. An out-of-substrate package structure may be used to electrically couple an electrical device to an electrical substrate, for example a printed circuit board. The out-of-substrate package structure may be electrically coupled to the electrical substrate. Ground paths of the out-of-substrate package structure may be arranged proximate to the electrical device and arranged symmetric with respect to at least one geometric plane intersecting the electrical device. In this regard, electric field lines generated by current flowing into the electrical device tend to terminate at the return or ground paths allowing for impedance to be more easily controlled. Accordingly, the out-of-substrate package structure may be impedance matched in a better way with respect to power provided from the electrical substrate enabling faster electrical device speeds.

1. Field of the Disclosure
The technology of the disclosure relates to out-of-substrate package structures having electrical devices along with assemblies, wherein the out-of-substrate package structures may be mounted on electrical substrates and are advantageous for high-speed applications.
2. Technical Background
Benefits of communications networks having optical fibers supported by electrical components include extremely wide bandwidth and low noise operation for the optical signals transmitted on the optical fibers. However, these hybrid applications typically require converting the optical signal to an electrical signal and vice-versa. The electrical assemblies and devices used for converting signals between the optical and electrical domains and may be mounted upon an electrical substrate such as a printed circuit board or the like. The ability to convert data faster from optical signals to electrical signals and back again is needed as the demand increases for network speed, but as conversion speed increases obtaining a suitable signal becomes challenging. Consequently, current electrical devices electrically coupled on conventional out-of-substrate package structures mounted on electrical substrates are limited as to the speeds by which they can operate and still meet the desired specifications. As many of the applications of those conventional out-of-substrate package structures require large quantities of the out-of-substrate packages, improvements in the speed of transforming optical signals to electrical signals need to be cost effective while still meeting the desired performance. An example of one of the electrical devices may be, for example, an electro-optic device such as VCSELs or photodiodes on the out-of-substrate package that communicate with an optical fiber or the like.
FIG. 1 depicts a conventional technique to connect an electrical device 16 to a printed circuit board (PCB) 10 and into a position that is L1 above the PCB 10. In this technique, a conventional lead frame comprising the ground lead 12 and the signal lead 14 may be created. The ground lead 12 and the signal lead 14 may be bent, then directly soldered to the PCB 10. The ground lead 12 may be connected to ground connection 18 of the PCB 10 and the signal lead 14 may be connected to a signal connection 20 of the PCB 10.
As depicted in FIG. 1, electric lines e1 extending from the signal lead 14 terminate predictably on the ground lead 12 as shown by relatively linear electric line trajectories. In contrast, electric lines e2 created on the signal lead 14 tend not to terminate on the ground lead 12, resulting in large deviations in impedance away from standard impedances, for example fifty (50) ohms. The termination of the e2 lines is more difficult to control as electrical frequencies increase. In other words, a low-frequency electrical device is not as sensitive as a device operating at a frequency of five gigahertz (5 GHz) or more. When the impedance of the lead frame, including the electrical device 16, is not matched to the energy source then there is inefficient energy transfer between the electrical substrate, and the inefficiency of energy transfer is commensurate on the mismatch amount. The inefficient energy transfer manifests itself in signal reflections which may compromise signal integrity. Impedance matching between the PCB 10 and the electrical substrate becomes more important at higher signal speeds when impedance mismatches result in higher rates of signal reflections which degrades signal integrity below specifications.
In this regard, there is an unresolved need for improved approaches for assemblies and methods to electrically couple a high-speed electrical device to an electrical substrate, such as the PCB, in a cost effective manner.

Controlled-impedance out-of-substrate package structures employing electrical devices, and related assemblies, components, and methods


A multi-port valve has a housing, a flow plug and a stop. The housing defines a valve cavity and has at least three ports. The flow plug is positionable within the valve cavity between a first position, wherein the flow plug is adapted to prevent flow through a selected first port and a second position wherein the flow plug is adapted to prevent flow through a selected second port. The stop is attachable to the housing so that the stop extends into the cavity and is adapted to engage the flow plug to prevent the flow plug from blocking flow through a selected third port.

The present invention relates to a multi-port valve, and in particular, to a multi-port valve that prevents the blockage of flow through a pre-selected port.
In a fluid or solids pumping system, it is potentially damaging to the system if a pumping source is dead-headed, that is, if the pumping source pumps into a blind conduit or if the inlet port to the pump is closed. This situation can arise, for example, if a valve within the system is adjusted incorrectly so that the fluid flow passage into or out of the pump is blocked.
Some valves have been developed to prevent a passage from being blocked, in an effort to prevent subsequent damage to the pump or other system components caused by a blocked passage. An example of such a valve is disclosed by Johnson in U.S. Pat. No. 4,470,429. Johnson discloses a three-way valve, having an inlet port and two exit ports. A fluid flowing into the valve can be directed to exit the valve through a selected one of the exit ports by blocking off the other exit port. This is achieved by rotating a flow plug inside the valve to block the other non-selected port. The flow plug is mounted on a shaft and an engageable stop is mounted on the closure lid of the valve. As the shaft is rotated, the stop on the closure lid engages a stop member on the shaft, preventing the flow plug from being rotated into a position wherein the inlet port is blocked.
A disadvantage with Johnson is that when the valve is disassembled for maintenance, a maintenance person can inadvertently reattach the lid in the wrong orientation so that the stop member on the lid is not positioned to prevent the flow plug from blocking the inlet port.
In accordance with a first preferred embodiment, the present invention is directed to a multi-port valve, comprising a housing, a flow plug and a stop. The housing defines a valve cavity and has at least three ports. The flow plug is moveably mounted within the valve cavity between a first position wherein the flow plug prevents flow through at least a portion of a first port and a second position wherein the flow plug prevents flow through at least a portion of a second port. The stop is associated with the housing to interact with the flow plug to prevent the flow plug from blocking flow through all of the third port.
In accordance with a second preferred embodiment, the present invention also is directed to a multi-port valve comprising a housing, a flow plug and a stop. The housing defines a valve cavity and has at least three ports. The flow plug is moveably mounted within the valve cavity between a first position wherein the flow plug prevents flow through at least a portion of a first port and a second position wherein the flow plug prevents flow through at least a portion of a second port. The stop is positioned proximate a third port and has at least a portion in the cavity to interact with the flow plug to prevent the plug from blocking the third port.
In accordance with a third preferred embodiment, the present invention also is directed to a method of preventing flow blockage of a selected port in a multi-port valve. The valve comprises a housing and a flow plug. The housing defines a valve cavity and has at least three ports. The flow plug is positionable within the valve cavity between a first position wherein the flow plug is adapted to prevent flow through a first port and a second position wherein the flow plug is adapted to prevent flow through a second port. The method comprises:
attaching a stop into a third port so that the stop extends into the cavity to contact the flow plug to prevent the flow plug from blocking flow through the third port; and
attaching a conduit to each of the ports.


Methods of treatment using bendamustine formulations designed for small volume intravenous administration are disclosed. The methods conveniently allow shorter administration time without the active ingredient coming out of solution as compared to presently available formulations.

Bendamustine is used in the treatment of a number of cancers including leukemias, Hodgkin's disease and multiple myelomas. Bendamustine (present as the HCl salt) is the active ingredient of the commercial product Treanda™, a lyophilized powder for reconstitution. Current labeling requirements call for the reconstituted product to be immediately (within 30 minutes) diluted into 500 mL of parenterally acceptable diluents such as 0.9% saline (normal saline) or 2.5% dextrose/0.45% saline and administered as part of an intravenous infusion delivering 100 mg/m2 over 30 minutes or 120 mg/m2 over 60 minutes. The diluted admixture may be stored at 2-8° C. for up to 24 hours, or 3 hours at room temperature (15-30° C.); administration must be completed within this period due to limited chemical stability in aqueous solutions.
Solubility limitations at 2-8° C. with currently approved and/or available formulations are believed to prevent current formulations from being administered in smaller more concentrated infusion volumes up to about 150 ml; at volumes below 150 ml, solubility is not sufficient even at 25° C. Side effects associated with extravasation and local erythema, swelling and pain at the injection site also dictate that the infusion be as dilute as possible. Therefore, precautions are taken to avoid extravasation, including monitoring of the intravenous infusion site for redness, swelling, pain, infection, and necrosis during and after administration of bendamustine. Higher infusion volume and longer infusion times, however, are associated with many drawbacks. For example, after reconstitution, the current product has a short period of stability, degradation of the drug occurs from the time of reconstitution until the entire large volume infusion has been completely administered. The current label for Treanda™ therefore instructs that the admixture should be prepared as close as possible to the time of patient administration, and that administration of Treanda™ must be completed within the durations indicated above. From patient comfort and nursing administration points of view, higher infusion volumes and long infusion times are undesirable. Higher infusion volumes may be associated with higher likelihood of weight gain and edema. Shorter infusion times and smaller infusion volumes result in a better quality of life experience for the patient by reducing the overall "stress" to the patient and reducing the time spent in the infusion clinic. Shorter infusion times (and smaller volumes) also reduce the potential extravasation (and shorten the patient monitoring time required). It would be advantageous if the drug could be administered in smaller volumes and over shorter times. The present invention addresses these needs.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


An SOI CMOS inverter circuit in which a silicide layer in combination with body tie regions tie a p-type body region and an n-type body region together. At the same time, however, the body regions remain floating electrically so that the benefits of SOI are maintained. The silicide layer permits excess carriers to be recombined via the respective body regions so that the body region potential does not get modulated by generation/recombination effects. Thus, a hysteresis effect in the inverter circuit will be reduced.

The present invention generally relates to silicon-on-insulator (SOI) technology and, more particularly, to a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) inverter for use in SOI circuit design.
Complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) devices that are produced in mass quantities are referred to as xe2x80x9cbulkxe2x80x9d CMOS. This is because such devices include a semiconductive bulk substrate on which active or passive circuit elements are disposed.
Recently, silicon-on-insulator (SOI) CMOS devices have been introduced which consume less power than do bulk CMOS devices. SOI devices are characterized by a thin layer of insulator material (a so-called buried oxide layer, or xe2x80x9cBOXxe2x80x9d layer) that is sandwiched between a bulk substrate and an active semiconductor layer. The circuit elements of the device are formed in the active semiconductor layer insulated from the bulk substrate by the BOX layer. Typically, no other layers of material are interposed between the BOX insulator layer and the bulk substrate.
In an SOI CMOS device, the circuit elements in the active semiconductor layer are established by regions which are doped as appropriate with N-type or P-type conductivity dopants. For example, for an N-channel transistor, the active semiconductor layer will include a gate element disposed over a body region having a P-type dopant, with the body region being disposed between a source region and a drain region, each of which are doped with an N-type dopant. These devices provide an important advantage in many applications such as battery-powered mobile telephones and battery-powered laptop computers. Also, SOI CMOS devices advantageously operate at higher speeds than do bulk CMOS devices. SOI CMOS architecture eliminates inherent parasitic circuit elements in bulk CMOS due to junction capacitances between adjacent components. Also, CMOS circuits are very fast, due to the fact that the bulk capacitance is very small. SOI CMOS is also immune to latchup.
Problems surrounding the technology include the SOI floating-body effect. This particular problem has been addressed by others, by example, in a paper entitled xe2x80x9cSuppression of the SOI Floating-body Effects by Linked-Body Device Structure,xe2x80x9d by W. Chen, et. al., 1996 Symposium on VLSI Technology Digest of Technical Papers.
The core of CMOS circuit designs is an inverter circuit consisting of a linked pair of complementary transistors. A CMOS integrated circuit may literally include millions of such inverters. Unfortunately, the aforementioned floatingbody effect has been found to affect detrimentally the operation of an inverter circuit. For example, excess carriers within the complementary transistors tend to accumulate due to the floating body. As a result, the output of the inverter circuit has been found to exhibit a hysteresis effect. Such hysteresis is problematic in that it can reduce significantly the acceptable switching rate of the device, for example.
In view of the aforementioned shortcomings associated with CMOS inverter circuits in SOI devices, there exists a strong need in the art for an SOI CMOS inverter circuit which exhibits reduced hysteresis effects. More generally, there is a strong need in the art for an SOI CMOS inverter circuit which is less susceptible to detrimental operation due to the floating-body.
In accordance with one aspect of the invention, a semiconductor-on-insulator (SOI) inverter circuit is provided. The inverter circuit includes a bulk substrate, an insulator layer formed on a surface of the substrate, an active semiconductor layer formed on a surface of the insulator layer opposite the substrate, a p-type body region and an n-type body region formed generally adjacent one another in the active semiconductor layer, an n-channel metal-on-semiconductor field effect transistor (MOSFET) formed in the p-type body region and a p-channel MOSFET formed in the n-type body region, wherein a gate of each of the n-channel MOSFET and the p-channel MOSFET are electrically coupled to form an input of the inverter circuit and a drain of each of the n-channel MOSFET and the p-channel MOSFET are electrically coupled to form an output of the inverter, a p-type body tie region formed in the active semiconductor layer immediately adjacent the p-type body region and an n-type body tie region formed in the active semiconductor layer immediately adjacent the n-type body region; and an electrically conductive element electrically coupling the p-type body tie region to the n-type body tie region.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, a method of manufacturing a semiconductor-on-insulator (SOI) inverter circuit is provided. The method includes the steps of forming an insulator layer on a surface of a bulk substrate, forming an active semiconductor layer on a surface of the insulator layer opposite the substrate, forming a p-type body region and an n-type body region generally adjacent one another in the active semiconductor layer, forming an n-channel metal-oxide-semiconductor field effect transistor (MOSFET) in the p-type body region and a p-channel MOSFET in the n-type body region, wherein a gate of each of the n-channel MOSFET and the p-channel MOSFET are electrically coupled to form an input of the inverter circuit and a drain of each of the n-channel MOSFET and the p-channel MOSFET are electrically coupled to form an output of the inverter, forming a p-type body tie region in the active semiconductor layer immediately adjacent the p-type body region and an n-type body tie region in the active semiconductor layer immediately adjacent the n-type body region, and providing an electrically conductive element electrically coupling the p-type body tie region to the n-type body tie region.

Body-tied-to-body SOI CMOS inverter circuit


Control mechanism with at least two side push buttons for the distribution of a product contained in a receptacle. The control mechanism includes an end piece capable of being mounted on an opening of a receptacle and a cap capable of being arranged on the receptacle so as to cover the end piece. The cap is provided with at least one outlet hole for the product. At least two side push buttons, which are also provided on the cap, are diametrically opposed lever action push buttons which are hinged to swing inward and are secured to stops. The cap further includes a mechanism capable of fixing the cap on the receptacle. The end piece is capable of being movably mounted on the opening of the receptacle. The end piece includes at least two diametrically opposed radial support surfaces, on which the stops of the at least two side push buttons are pressed such that a lateral pressure applied on the at least two push buttons causes an axial displacement of the end piece from a closed position to an open position. An elastic mechanism is provided to bias the end piece against action of the push buttons in order to enable the end piece to resume its closed position.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a control mechanism with side push buttons for the distribution of a product contained in a receptacle.
2. Discussion of Background
There are numerous systems to ensure the distribution of a product contained in a receptacle.
Whether it is a distributing capsule for a pasty or liquid product contained in a receptacle with a vaporizing pump, or of the aerosol-type, it is always necessary to open the capsule and/or to control the pump or valve of the aerosol receptacle.
To this end, it is necessary to provide an opening and/or actuating mechanism.
The known systems generally comprise translative slides and/or rotating capsules.
To particularly facilitate the handling, one has imagined a mechanism with side push buttons, for example, such as that described especially in the patent FR-2 600 976, and which comprises an end piece mounted on an opening of the receptacle and a cap that is arranged on the receptacle so as to cover said end piece and is provided with at least one outlet opening for the product and at least two diametrically opposed lever-action side push buttons which are hinged to swing inward and are secured to stops.
However, in this device, the end piece serving as a shutter is fixedly mounted on the neck of the receptacle while the cap is movable, whereas a means for returning to the closing position is not provided.

Control mechanism with side push buttons for the distribution of a product contained in a receptacle


A new miniature rose plant which has abundant, long lasting, orange colored flowers and attractive foliage. The variety successfully propagates from softwood cuttings and is suitable for year round production in commercial glass houses as a flowering pot plant. This new and distinct variety has shown to be uniform and stable in the resulting generations from asexual propagation.

The present invention constitutes a new and distinct variety of miniature rose plant, which was developed by artificially pollinating an unnamed seedling (not patented in the US) with an unnamed seedling (not patented in the US). The two parents were crossed during the summer of 2001, and the resulting seed was sown in December 2001, in a controlled glasshouse environment. Out of the resulting seedlings one seedling was selected, as a distinct new variety and was named 'JENfour'.
The variety can be distinguished from its seed parent, an unnamed seedling, by the following combination of characteristics:                'JENfour' has medium sized double flowers, while the unnamed seed parent has large double flowers.        'JENfour' has orange colored petals, while the unnamed seed parent has red petals.
The new variety may distinguished from its pollen parent, an unnamed seedling created by the same inventor, by the following combination of characteristics:                'JENfour' has smaller flowers and foliage as compared to the unnamed pollen parent.        'JENfour' has orange colored petals, while the unnamed pollen parent has dark yellow petals.


A receiver for receiving synchronized digital transmissions organized in frames, each frame having a frame start, has a clock for generating pulses at time intervals with respect to a time reference and a counter for generating a count of the time intervals with respect to the time reference. A/D converters sample the digital transmission using the pulses from the clock. A cyclic prefix correlator detects the frame start during a count corresponding to an A/D sample. This count is indicative of the time interval during which the frame start was detected with respect to the reference. A memory is provided for storing a plurality (typically 36) counts indicative of the time interval during which the frame start was detected. A pointer is generated from the counts stored in memory. The pointer is indicative of a projected time interval during which a future frame start is expected to arrive. This projected time interval is computed by using a lead/lag digital filter and an oscillator responsive to the digital filter. One or more portions of the receiver are implemented using a programmable signal processor.

This invention is in the field of detection of, and synchronization to, digital signals organized in a sequence of frames transmitted in a medium subject to fading and other changes in propagation characteristics and influences due to receiver and/or transmitter clock frequency drift.
In certain radio broadcast applications, made up of audio signals such as news or music, the content of a radio broadcast is simultaneously distributed to a plurality of locations. In general, such broadcasting can be performed using digital signals embedded in an analog carrier. When using digital signals, the news or music to be transmitted is first digitized with well known analog to digital converters into a series of digital pulses descriptive of the analog signals. Subsequently, the digital pulses are organized into groupings for subsequent transmission. Such a grouping of digital pulses containing digitized news or music make up a frame. Each frame contains digital signals corresponding to an audio signal as well as other digital signals related to the identification of the frame itself and its start, error correction and other functions. Examples of transmission methods using frames for digital audio broadcasting are well known in the art. Examples of digital broadcasting systems are described by R. L. Cupo, M. Sarraf, M. Sharriat and M. Zarrabizadeh in An OFMD All Digital In Band On Channel (IBOC) AM and FM Radio Solution Using the PAC encoder, IEEE Transactions on Broadcasting, Vol 44, No 1, March 1998, pp 22-27; B. W. Kroeger and A. J. Vigil, in Improved IBOC DAB technology for AM and FM Broadcasting, 1996 NAB SBE Conference, Los Angeles, Calif. November 1996; B. W. Kroeger and P. J. Peyla, in Compatibility of FM Hybrid In Band On Channel (IBOC) System Digital Audio Broadcasting, IEEE Transactions on Broadcasting, Vol 43, No 4, December 1997, pp 421-429. Descriptions of OFDM systems are made by W. Y. Zou and Y. Wu in COFDM-An overview, IEEE Transactions on Broadcasting, Vol 41, No 1, March 1995, pp 1-8; J. A. C. Bingham, Multicarrier Modulation for Data Transmission: An Idea Whose Time Has Come, IEEE Comm. Mag., May 1990, pp 5-14; as well as J. A. C. Bingham, The Theory and Practice of Modem Design, John Wiley Publishers, New York, 1988, pp 108-121.
Another example of a frame organized, digital transmission system for audio transmission is related to telephone packet switching and is described in the 1990 CCITT interim recommendations on ISDN number I.432, titled B-ISDN User Network Interface Physical Layer Specification and related documents.
In above examples, a string of frame organized digital signals are transmitted over a changing medium, such as air, using a frequency or amplitude modulated carrier. These digital signals are subject to distortion and interference from various probabilistic phenomena such as, for example, Rayleigh fading, attenuation due to precipitation, multipath transmission and others as detailed by K. Bullington in Radio Propagation Fundamentals, Bell System Technical Journal, vol 36, no 3, pp 593-626.
Another interfering phenomenon is clock drift or instability in both the receiver and the transmitter. Small clock frequency shifts, or drift, contribute to phase instability of the carrier emanating from the transmitter, and the corresponding clock mechanism at the receiver, thus adding to the interference induced by external phenomena listed above.
One effect of these probabilistic phenomena is to distort the transmitted digital signal or disable the synchronization mechanism at the receiver thus rendering the frame structure corrupt. This frame corruption presents a problem to the receiver of the frame. If the digital structure of the frame cannot be extracted because of its time distorted content, or phase shift, the receiver cannot correctly extract the digital message within the frame. When the start of a frame cannot be identified, the information contained in the frame is lost, resulting in an undesirable loss of data.
Various methods are known in the art to reduce the impact of data loss related to transmission problems. One approach is to induce retransmission of lost frames, such as described, for example, in open systems interconnection specification X.25 and its progeny. This retransmission of lost frames avoids data loss by redundant retransmission. However, retransmission increases transmission time. To contrast, in music and news broadcast applications, data retransmission is not practical and data loss is characterized by discontinuities in the audio signal, perceived as a decrease in sound quality or permanent data loss. Thus, it is desirable to reduce the occurrence of lost frames so as to increase transmission efficiency in telephone networks and increase audio quality in broadcast systems.
Above problems of frame synchronization are avoided in accordance with the present invention by providing a synchronizing receiver for receiving a digital transmission, the digital transmission composed of a sequence of consecutive bits. The sequence of consecutive bits form a plurality of frames, each of the frames having a frame start. The receiver has a clock for generating pulses at time intervals with respect to a time reference and a counter for counting the time intervals with respect to the time reference thus generating for each of the pulses a count of the time intervals with respect to the time reference. Sampling means, such as A/D converters, for sampling the digital transmission, use the pulses from the clock to extract the digital transmission. A cyclic prefix correlator detects the frame start within the sequence of consecutive bits during a count generated by the counter. This count is indicative of the time interval during which the frame start was detected with respect to the reference. A memory is provided for storing a plurality (typically 36) of counts indicative of the time interval during which the frame start was detected.
A pointer is generated from the counts stored in memory. The pointer is indicative of a projected time interval during which a future frame start is expected to arrive. This projected time interval is computed by using a digital filter. An oscillator responsive to the digital filter generates the pointer.
The digital filter is of the form yn=k0xn+k1xnxe2x88x921+k2ynxe2x88x921, n=0, 1, 2 . . . 35 where n references the frame, yn is the pointer, ynxe2x88x921, is a previous pointer, xn is the count, xnxe2x88x921, is a previous count, and k0=0.003253878916, k1=xe2x88x920.002986, and k2=0.9997325877. A means for adjusting a threshold in response to the absolute value of the difference between said count and said pointer is also provided.
One or more portions of the receiver are implemented using a programmable signal processor.


An information handling system may identify a process identifier of a client application that has requested a connection with the information handling system. The information handling system may obtain an access control list of a process associated with the process identifier. The information handling system may determine whether to establish a connection between the client application and the information handling system based, at least in part, on analysis of the access control list.

As the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option available to users is information handling systems. An information handling system generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes thereby allowing users to take advantage of the value of the information. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements vary between different users or applications, information handling systems may also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in information handling systems allow for information handling systems to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. In addition, information handling systems may include a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems.
System objects, e.g., files and named pipes, of an information handling system are typically accessed by client applications. Two common application programming interfaces (APIs) used to develop client applications for Microsoft Windows operating systems are the Windows API and the Universal Windows Platform (UWP) API. For example, Win32 applications are developed using the Windows API, and UWP applications are developed using the UWP API.
Shortcomings mentioned here are only representative and are included to highlight problems that the inventors have identified with respect to existing information handling systems and sought to improve upon. Aspects of the information handling systems described below may address some or all of the shortcomings as well as others known in the art. Aspects of the improved information handling systems described below may present other benefits than, and be used in other applications than, those described above.

Securing a server from untrusted client applications


A clip for holding an identification card on a pocket, lapel or other piece of fabric is a clam-shell arrangement of upper and lower plastic members molded unitarily with one another via a film hinge. A tongue from the lower member projects through an opening of the upper member to form a ratchet therewith enabling various fabric thicknesses to be gripped and the upper member has a separate stud onto which the hole of an identification card or strap holding an identification card can be pressed.

For the purposes of this description, the reference to a clip capable of being removably attached to a pocket, lapel or other flap of a garment of a wearer, to retain a card holder, badge or the like, will be understood to include other uses of the clip without limitation, including the use of the clip itself as an indication of information, for example depending upon its color, or to retain indicia of other types on garments, fabrics, webs and other material in a removable and readily detachable manner.
A clip of the type referred to should be easily manipulatable by the user, and, especially manipulatable with one hand, should be readily applicable to the pocket, lapel or the like, should be nondamaging to the garment to which it is applied, regardless of the force used in applying it and the quality or nature of the garment fabric (e.g. fine silk) and should be capable of retaining the identification item or article reliably on the garment so that it does not fall off even with vigorous agitation and casual contact in crowds or the like.
The problem of attaching an identification badge or like identification article to the garment of a wearer is substantial, considering the fact that many millions of identification badges are worn yearly, the badges are frequently intended to be disposable and the wearer may have physical disabilities, e.g. may be arthritic, or may otherwise be incapable of attaching an identification badge in a convenient manner.
For example, badges which include safety pins require considerable dexterity for use and always damage the garment, if only because the garment must be pierced.
Prior art clip devices have also damaged garments, have been assembled from a number of parts so that they are expensive and frequently are not disposable as a practical matter and may require a number of steps to attach them and even two hands to remove them.
Another problem encountered with prior art clips for the purpose described is that the garment or fabric to which the clip is to be attached may range in thickness or weight widely, to the point that a clip designed for engagement with heavy suit materials will not adequately be retained on fine silk, lace or chiffon.
Conversely, a clip which is capable or being secured to fine silk without damaging it, may not be applicable to heavier materials like those of men's suit coats.

Pocket clip for card cases, identification badges and the like


A standardized/modularized partition wall with a basic sandwich structure for purposes of separating a cabin area of an aeroplane. The partition wall has a multiplicity of defined zones for the flexible positioning of holding fixtures for the connection of accessories such as flat screens, baby carriers, newspaper racks, and similar, and which is dimensioned for a maximum population with accessories.

The invention concerns a partition wall for an aeroplane cabin and an aeroplane.
Partition walls make possible the subdivision of an aeroplane cabin into areas fitted out with different levels of comfort, such as e.g. first class and economy class. Partition walls of this kind are of known art from DE 10 2008 016 419 A1 or US 20090242149 A1, amongst others. As a rule the function of the partition walls, however, is not only in the separation of cabin areas, but also in the attachment of accessories, such as e.g. flat screens, newspaper racks and baby carriers. Since the position of the partition walls within the cabin as well as their extrinsic appearance is ultimately decided by the airlines, partition walls can in principle be installed in different positions in the cabin, with different geometric dimensions as a consequence. This results in a multiplicity of variants of embodiment, as a result of which automated production is almost impossible and the level of manual intervention in production is very high. At the same time the same technical requirements apply for all variants of embodiment. In addition to requirements with regard to e.g. behaviour in the event of fire, moisture absorption, or vibration resistance, only a certain level of deformation of the partition is acceptable, as conditioned by the occurrence of in-flight loads. Moreover, the basic demand for continuous reduction of fuel consumption has to be satisfied, so that the partition walls are only allowed to have minimal weight.
Partition walls of known art have a sandwich-type planar structure reinforced by means of stiffening profiles, which consists of a honeycomb core, and two cover layers on either side. However, in the event of fire the cover layers often have a tendency to detach from the honeycomb core. At the same time, however, the cover layers in particular have a great influence on the level of deformation, so that to prevent any detachment of the cover layers the latter can or may only have a certain maximum strength.

Partition wall for an aeroplane cabin, and an aeroplane