A method for controlling transmission power of shared control channel for high speed downlink shared channel (HS-SCCH) in an UMTS system adopting a high speed downlink packet access (HSDPA) is disclosed in which a power offset value for power control of HS-SCCH is determined by a serving radio network controller and transmitted as a control frame or message type to a base station. A first PO field for transmitting a PO value for non-handover or soft handover of a dedicated physical control channel, a second PO field for transmitting a PO value used for the primary cell and a third PO field for transmitting a PO value used for the non-primary cell are selectively implemented in the control frame or message type, so that the transmission power of HS-SCCH can be suitably controlled according to changes in environment or circumstances of the radio link.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a 3GPP universal mobile telecommunication system (UMTS) system and, more particularly, to method for transmitting control information of a high speed shared control channel (HS-SCCH).
2. Background of the Related Art
In general, a UMTS system of third generation partnership project (3GPP) supports a new high speed downlink shared channel (HS-DSCH) in order to support a high speed packet data service. The HS-DSCH is used in a system following a Release 5 which specifies a high speed downlink packet access (HSDPA) among the technical specifications of 3GPP.
Unlike a W-CDMA system of the existing 3GPP Release 99/Release 4, the HS-DSCH uses a short transmission time interval (TTI) (3 slot, 2 ms) and supports diverse modulation code sets (MCS) and hybrid ARQ (HARQ) techniques in order to support a high data rate.
The HS-DSCH, a transport channel, of the HSDPA system, is mapped onto HS-PDSCH (High Speed Physical Downlink Shared Channel). The HS-PDSCH has been devised to transmit high speed user data to different users through each sub-frame.
FIG. 1 illustrates the construction of the HS-PDSCH. As shown in FIG. 1, the HS-PDSCH is constructed with 2 ms sub-frame and different users can share it for use through each sub-frame.
In order for a user equipment (UE=terminal) to receive a user data through the HS-DSCH, a shared control channel for HS-DSCH (HS-SCCH) and a dedicated physical channel (DPCH) should be constructed.
FIG. 2 illustrates a structure of a frame of a physical channel constructed in the dedicated physical channel (DPCH). With reference to FIG. 2, the DPCH is constructed with 10 ms—period (Tf) radio frame, and each frame includes 15 slots (Slot #0˜Slot #14). One slot length (Tslot) is 2560 chips, and a dedicated physical data channel (DPDCH) and a dedicated physical control channel (DPCCH) are alternately inserted in each slot.
In the DPCH, in turn from left, Ndata1 bit data (Data1) is included in the first DPDCH, a TPC (NTPC bit) and a TFCI (NTFCI) bit) are included in the first DPCCH, Ndata2 bit data (Data2) is included in the second DPDCH, and an Npilot bit pilot signal is included in the second CPCCH. The TFCI field includes size information of a data transmitted to a data field.
The HS-SCCH, a physical channel, is a type of a downlink common control channel to support the HS-DSCH. HS-SCCH transmits a UE ID (Identification) and control information so that the terminal can receive the HS-DSCH transmitting the high speed user data.
The UE ID and the control information are transmitted through each sub-frame (2 ms) of the HS-SCCH. The control information transmitted through the HS-SCCH is generated by a Node B (a base station) to which a cell transmitting the HS-DSCH belongs. The UE monitors the UE ID transmitted through the HS-SCCH to recognize whether there is a data to be received by itself and then receives a user data transmitted through HS-DSCH by using control information transmitted through HS-SCCH.
FIG. 3 is a structure of a sub-frame of HS-SCCH.
As shown in FIG. 3, HS-SCCH is constructed with a 2 ms sub-frame and different users can share it for use through each sub-frame. The control information that HS-SCCH transmits is roughly divided into transport format and resource related information (TFRI) and HARQ related information. The TFRI includes information related to a HS-DSCH transport channel set size, modulation, a coding rate and the number of multicodes, and the HARQ related information includes information such as a block number, a redundancy version. Besides, UE ID information representing user information is transmitted.
Each UE has an associated downlink DPCH, and as shown in FIG. 4, the terminal can receive maximum 4 HS-SCCHs.
FIG. 5 is a drawing illustrating a transmission timing of the HS-SCCH and the HS-DSCH. As shown in FIG. 5, after the UE ID and the control information are transmitted through the HS-SCCH, a data is transmitted through the HS-DSCH. The UE reads the control information transmitted through HS-SCCH and restores an HS-DSCH data. At this time, by enlarging an overlapping interval of the two channels as much as possible, a transmission delay can be reduced.
As mentioned above, in the case that a high speed user data is provided to different users through the HS-DSCH proposed in the HSDPA technique, at least one or more HS-SCCHs are configured in one cell. Especially, if there are many HSDPA terminals, configuration of plural HS-SCCHs in one cell ensures providing of an effective data service.
FIG. 6 illustrates a structure of a conventional UMTS radio access network (UTRAN). With reference to FIG. 6, UTRAN 112 has a structure that a serving RNC (SRNC) 114 and a drift RNC (DRNC) control base stations (Node B), respectively, and in soft handover, the UE (=mobile station) maintains a traffic channel with the base stations 118 and 120 located in the SRNC 114 and the DRNC 116.
A plurality of base stations (Node B) are placed under the SRNC 114 and the DRNC 116, and in occurrence of soft handover, the UE 122 can be simultaneously connected with each base station belonging to the SRNC 114 and the DRNC 116. The base station (Node B), SRNC 114 and DRNC 116 are connected through an Tub interface, and SRNC 114 and DRNC 116 are connected through an Iur interface. An interface between SRNC 114 and core network (CN) 110 is called 'Iu'.
In general, the radio network controller (RNC) includes a control RNC (CRNC) (not shown) managing a common radio resource and a serving RNC (SRNC) 114 managing a dedicated radio resource allocated to each UE 122. The DRNC 116, existing in a drift radio network subsystem (DRNS), is a control station of a destination which provides a radio resource to the UE 122 if the UE 122 goes beyond the SRNC 114 and moves into its area.
In the UMTS system, transmission power of a common channel is determined by the CRNC, which manages a common radio resource. The power of the common channel determined by the CRNC is included in the data frame and transmitted to the base station (Node B) and the base station sets transmission power of the common channel on the basis of the transmission power value included in the data frame. Meanwhile, transmission power of a dedicated channel is determined by an SRNC which manages a dedicated radio resource. The power of dedicated channel as determined in the SRNC is included in a control frame and transmitted to the base station (Node B), and the base station sets transmission power of the dedicated channel on the basis of the transmission power value included in the control frame.
FIG. 7 illustrates a structure of a control frame used for updating a radio interface parameter in the UTRAN. With reference to FIG. 7, the control frame consists of a 2 byte flag field indicating whether there is a parameter, a 1 byte connection frame number (CFN), a 5 bit transmit power control (TPC) power offset (PO) and a 1 bit downlink power control (DPC) mode information field and is constructed with more than a 4 byte payload overall.
As stated above, in the current system, power of the common channel is controlled by the CRNC. HS-SCCH, a kind of the common channel, transmits information of different terminals through each sub-frame. Like the current system, if the CRNC manages power of HS-SCCH, the common channel, it is not possible for the CRNC to control power of HS-SCCH suitably to radio channel of each terminal. The reason is at least because the CRNC can not be aware of the radio channel condition of each terminal. Therefore, the current system can not effectively control power of HS-SCCH.
The above references are incorporated by reference herein where appropriate for appropriate teachings of additional or alternative details, features and/or technical background.

Method for transmitting power control information for HS-SCCH in mobile communication system


Ignition of a gas discharge lamp 10, which has a gas containing main space and two inner electrodes, of a lighting unit 4 of a lighting system is achieved by the use of a high frequency resonance circuit. The resonance circuit is connected to the inner electrodes and to a supply device 2, which supplies an alternating supply voltage. An outer electrode 22 is arranged near one the inner electrodes and to a node of the resonance circuit. Upon supplying the supply voltage a high voltage alternating burst will be generated at the outer electrode. This will result into a discharge of the gas in the main space. In turn, this will induce a discharge of the remaining gas. Then the frequency of the supply voltage will increase and a small reactive current only will remain to flow through the resonance circuit.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,734,643 discloses a lighting system comprising a feed circuit part, a lamp unit which contains a gas discharge lamp and a starter circuit. The starter circuit is divided in a starter drive part, which is contained in the feed circuit part, and a high voltage generating part, which is contained in the lamp unit. The feed circuit part further comprises a feed circuit for supplying an alternating supply voltage to the lamp unit, and a starter drive part. The lamp unit comprises a lamp and a high voltage generating part. Inner electrodes of the lamp are connected via two terminals of the lamp unit and via two terminals of the feed circuit part to the supply source. An outer auxiliary electrode of the lamp and an inner electrode of the lamp are connected to the high voltage generating part of the lamp unit. The high voltage generating part is connected via two terminals of the lamp unit, of which one terminal connected also to an inner electrode, via terminals of the feed circuit part to the starter drive part of the feed circuit part. The starter drive part is supplied by the alternating supply voltage. The starter drive part comprises an electronic switch and a capacitor to alternately charge and discharge said capacitor by which a transformer of the high voltage generating part induces a sequence of high voltage pulses, which are supplied to the outer electrode of the lamp. Said pulses may discharge a portion of gas contained in the lamp between said outer electrode and one of the inner electrodes. This may cause a discharge of between the inner electrodes, that is to ignition of the lamp. As a result the alternating supply voltage supplied to the lamp will decrease. As a result the electronic switch of the starter drive part will fail to conduct anymore, so that the supply of high voltage pulses to the outer electrode of the lamp terminates. The electronic switch may comprise a thyristor or a SIDAC, which means that the starter circuit, and as a consequence the disclosed system as a whole, operates at a relatively low frequency. A frequency of less than 500 kHz is considered low in this description.
A disadvantage of said prior art is that it requires quite some hardware to provide the starter circuit, such as a high voltage transformer and an electronic switch. Another disadvantage of said prior art is that it requires three conductors to connect the feed circuit part to the lamp unit, of which one conductor is used during less of a second for igniting the lamp only. As a result a dedicated, expensive cable is required to connect the feed circuit part to the lamp unit. A further disadvantage of the prior art is that a supply voltage for the lamp having a high frequency, for example above 2 MHz will be too expensive to be used in many cases. If the hardware of the starter circuit would be made suitable to operate with such a high frequency it would require an even more dedicated high frequency cable containing three conductors.
A gas discharge lamp of the above type may comprise start-promoting means as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,734,643 and as described in more detail in U.S. Pat. No. 6,563,267. Accordingly, for each electrode, the lamp may comprise a seal incorporating an electric conductor in the form of a foil which connects the electrode inside the main space or vessel of the lamp to a metal wire, which projects to the exterior from the seal. The seal has a cavity, which contains a gaseous constituent, for example mercury vapor. The cavity constitutes the start-promoting means as a source of UV radiation when applying an electric voltage across the cavity. The UV radiation source is referred to as UV enhancer.


The present invention relates to a method and a kit for detecting Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) or Nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) of patients. The present invention also relates to primers and probes used to detect Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) or Nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) by performing PCR.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) is a member of mycobacterium among gram-positive bacteria. Nontuberculous mycobacterium (NTM) is an atypical mycobacterium. "Mycobacterium other than tuberculosis" is a generally called for mycobacteria except M. tuberculosis. An example is Mycobacterium avium complex that has attracted huge attention since it was extensively isolated from specimens of AIDS patients.
Tuberculosis (TB) is the leading infectious killer of youths and adults and the first and most infectious disease worldwide. One third of the population in the world is currently infected and 20 million of those infected population are active cases. TB will kill 30 million people in this decade. More than 50 million people may already be infected by multidrug-resistant (MDR) strains of TB. TB is now becoming the leading cause of death among HIV positive people and it has a rapid fatality of 80%.
Tuberculosis is caused by infecting with M. tuberculosis, a bacillus bacterium. It is spread by aerosol droplets and causes irreversible lung destruction. If it escapes from the lung, it may cause systemic disease affecting many organs including bone, joint, liver, spleen, gastrointestinal tract and brain. 50% of people exposed to M. tuberculosis are infected by the bacterium and 15% of those infected people develop into a disease. Poverty, malnutrition and overpopulation contribute dramatically to the perseverance and wild spread of tuberculosis.
In the past, means of controlling TB have involved the use of combinations of antibiotics. Recently, because of complications caused by MDR strains, the number and combination of antibiotics administered must be individually tailored according to the strain. In extreme cases, surgical removal of the infected portion of the lung is required.
Traditionally, the diagnosis of TB has been made on the basis of clinical findings and chest radiographs and confirmed by sputum or tissue smears that show TB bacilli. These methods remain the "gold standard" for diagnosis.
Nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) are ubiquitous in the environment and include more than 90 different species, causing colonization, infection, and pseudo-outbreaks in health care settings. Data suggest that the frequency of nosocomial outbreaks due to NTM may be increasing, and reduced hot water temperatures may be partly responsible for this phenomenon. Attention to adequate high-level disinfection of medical devices and the use of sterile reagents and biologics will prevent most outbreaks. Because NTM cannot be eliminated from the hospital environment and they present an ongoing potential of infection, NTM should be considered in all cases of nosocomial infection, and careful surveillance must be used to identify potential outbreaks. Analyses of the species of NTM and the specimen source may assist to determine the significance of a cluster of isolated samples. Once an outbreak or pseudo-outbreak is suspected, molecular techniques should be applied promptly to determine the source and identify appropriate control measures.
Evidence suggests that nosocomial transmission of these organisms is increasing, and results in conditions ranging from harmless colonization to invasive infection. NTM may also contaminate microbiological specimens, which leads to unnecessary therapy and potentially harmful diagnostic procedures.
NTM have been classified into 4 groups by colony growing rate and the color showed after those colonies are illuminated:
Group 1: slow-growing photochromogens. Their colonies turn to yellow after being illuminated, including Mycobacterium kansasii, Mycobacterium marinum, Mycobacterium simiae and Mycobacterium asiaticum, which are all pathogenic bacteria. The most prevalent one among these is Mycobacterium kansasii.
Group 2: slow-growing scotochromogens. Their colonies turn to yellow without being illuminated, including Mycobacterium scrofulaceum, Mycobacterium xenopi, Mycobacterium szulgai and Mycobacterium flavescens, which are all pathogenic bacteria, and Mycobacterium gordonae, which is a non-pathogenic bacterium. The most prevalent one among these is Mycobacterium scrofulaceum.
Group 3: Slow-growing nonchromogens. Their colonies' colors are steady even after those colonies are illuminated, including Mycobacterium avium complex, Mycobacterium malmoense, Mycobacterium shimoidei and Mycobacterium flavescens, which are all pathogenic bacteria, and Mycobacterium gastri, Mycobacterium terrae and Mycobacterium triviale, which are non-pathogenic bacteria. The most prevalent one among these is Mycobacterium avium complex.
Group 4: Rapidly growing mycobacteria. They include Mycobacterium fortuitum, Mycobacterium chelonae-abscessus and Mycobacterium chelonae-chelonae, which are all pathogenic bacteria, and Mycobacterium phlei, Mycobacterium smegmatis, Mycobacterium vaccae and Mycobacterium flavescens, which are non-pathogenic bacteria.
Recently, investigation of putative nosocomial outbreaks of MTB or NTM has been aided by the use of molecular techniques to identify the source and mode of transmission. The development of DNA probes, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays, and liquid media now allow more sensitive and rapid diagnoses for MTB and NTM.
Unfortunately, increased sensitivity of rapid techniques is not always associated with increased specificity. For example, known method (such as real-time PCR assay) using the LightCycler (LC) instrument provides a rapid, sensitive and specific means to identify M. tuberculosis. PCT patent application No.: WO2007034118 disclosed a method for detecting the possible presence of bacteria belonging to the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex in a biological sample, using real time PCR technique and comprising a step of amplifying with a pair of PCR primers and a pair of FRET probes the hsp 65 gene and detecting the emitted fluorescence. However, the use of LC as a routine diagnosis of M. tuberculosis remains limited at present. It is because the installment and maintenance cost are too expensive to be afforded by most of the users in the medical centers.
There is another method for detecting M. tuberculosis. Korean patent application KR20030075315 disclosed a method for simultaneous detection of tubercle bacillus (TB) and Nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) by multiple-nested polymerase chain reaction, thereby rapidly detecting tubercle bacillus and nontuberculous mycobacteria. Nested PCR is often more successful in specifically amplifying long DNA fragments than conventional PCR, but it requires more detailed knowledge of the target sequences.


Systems for supporting a container are presented. A support system in one embodiment, includes a metal clip, an insulating sleeve surrounding a beverage container, and at least one magnet that is attached to the sleeve and drawn by an attractive force to the clip, such that the sleeve together with the container is selectively detachable from the clip. Another embodiment includes a metal insert positioned in a belt or garment, instead of the metal clip. Yet another embodiment includes a pair of dipole magnets, with one positioned on the sleeve and its mate positioned on a clip or embedded in a belt or garment.

Certain disclosed embodiments relate to the field of container supports and, more particularly, to a system for supporting a container that includes a belt or belt clip and a magnet attached to an insulated sleeve.
An insulated sleeve for a beverage container, sometimes referred to using the Koozie trademark, includes a generally cylindrical portion that is sized and shaped to closely surround a typical beverage can or bottle and may include a bottom or base portion. The insulated sleeve helps maintain the temperature of the beverage and may provide a comfortable gripping surface for the user.
Many cup holders include a hook, clamp, or clip assembly for temporarily securing the cup holder to a surface, such as a table edge, a tray, or a vehicle door. Some existing sleeve designs include a magnet for attaching the sleeve to a metal surface.
For many existing designs, detaching the insulated sleeve involves too many steps and/or requires complete removal of the cup holder or clip, followed by additional effort to re-attach the support. Also, many existing designs offer only partial insulation or include too many parts to be practical.
Thus, there is a need in the art for an improved system for supporting a beverage container.

Detachable support for a beverage container


A natural gas having steam and carbon dioxide added thereto is supplied into a reaction tube of a reformer provided with the reaction tube and a combustion radiation section for heating the reaction tube by combustion of a fuel so as to carry out a reaction between the hydrocarbon contained in the natural gas and the steam added to the natural gas, thereby forming a synthetic gas containing hydrogen, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide. Then, the synthetic gas is subjected to a reaction in the presence of a methanol synthesizing catalyst. A crude methanol obtained is subjected to a gas-liquid separation. Further, a liquid crude methanol separated in the separation is distilled. In the particular methanol manufacturing process, a part of the purge gas obtained in the separation is recycled into the natural gas having steam and carbon dioxide added thereto in advance.

This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority from the prior Japanese Patent Application No. 2000-249670 filed Aug. 21, 2000, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing methanol.
2. Description of the Related Art
The conventional method of manufacturing methanol (CH3OH) is as follows:
Natural gas having steam and carbon dioxide added thereto is supplied into a reaction tube of a reformer, the reformer being provided with the reaction tube loaded with, for example, a nickel-based catalyst, and a combustion radiation section for heating the reaction tube by the combustion of a fuel. In this case, the hydrocarbon in the natural gas reacts with the steam so as to generate a synthetic gas containing as main components hydrogen, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide.
Since the steam reforming reaction described above is an endothermic reaction, the fuel is combusted in the fuel combustion section so as to heat the reaction tube.
The synthetic gas contained hydrogen, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide is reacted in the presence of a methanol synthetic catalyst under a predetermined pressure and a predetermined temperature so as to synthesize a crude methanol.
The crude methanol is subjected to a gas-liquid separation for separation into a liquid crude methanol and a purge gas mainly containing hydrogen. The separated purge gas is recycled into the combustion radiation section so as to be utilized as a part of the fuel.
The liquid crude methanol recovered in the recovery process is distilled in one or a plurality of distillation towers so as to separate the crude methanol into a refined methanol and a waste water containing an organic compound having a boiling point lower than that of methanol (hereinafter referred to as a xe2x80x9clow boiling point organic compoundxe2x80x9d), an organic acid, and an organic compound having a boiling point higher than that of methanol (hereinafter referred to as a xe2x80x9chigh boiling point organic compoundxe2x80x9d).
Methanol is manufactured through the processes described above.
An object of the present invention is to provide a method of manufacturing methanol, in which a purge gas obtained by a gas-liquid separation of a crude methanol and mainly containing hydrogen is recycled to a natural gas having steam and carbon dioxide added thereto so as to utilize the purge gas as a part of the fuel, thereby increasing the methanol yield.
According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of manufacturing methanol, comprising:
a synthetic gas forming step, in which a natural gas having steam and carbon dioxide added thereto is supplied into a reaction tube of a reformer provided with the reaction tube and a combustion radiation section for heating the reaction tube by the combustion of a fuel so as to bring about a reaction between the hydrocarbon contained in the natural gas and the steam, thereby forming a synthetic gas containing mainly hydrogen, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide;
a crude methanol synthetic step for performing the reaction of the synthetic gas in the presence of a methanol synthetic catalyst so as to synthesize a crude methanol;
a gas-liquid separation step for separating the crude methanol into a liquid crude methanol and a purge gas mainly containing hydrogen; and
a distillation step for distilling the liquid crude methanol so as to separate a refined methanol;
wherein a part of the purge gas is recycled into the natural gas having steam and carbon dioxide added thereto in advance.
In the method of manufacturing methanol according to the present invention, it is desirable for a part or all of the carbon dioxide gas added to the natural gas to be the carbon dioxide recovered from at least one of the combustion waste gas generated from the combustion radiation section of the reformer and the combustion waste gas generated from the boiler for the steam generation.
In the method of manufacturing methanol according to the present invention, it is acceptable for a part of the purge gas to be recycled into the combustion radiation section of the reformer so as to be utilized as a part of the fuel.
Additional objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention may be realized and obtained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out hereinafter.


The present application relates to a method for transferring a file between a control device in a motor vehicle and a vehicle-external server device, the control device in the motor vehicle being connected to a communication device via a data network, which for the transfer of the file provides a radio link to the server device and which caches data of the file during the transfer. The invention provides that the file is divided into a plurality of file segments and a segment identifier is determined for each file segment, the segment identifiers are transferred via the radio link before the file is transferred, the file segments are individually requested independently of each other by a respective request command via the radio link, the request command including the segment identifier of the requested file segment, and then each requested file segment being transferred independently of the remaining file segments.

The transmission of data from a control device of a motor vehicle to a vehicle-external server device is possible if the control device itself has a radio modem or can send out the data indirectly via a communication device of the motor vehicle, which then has to provide the radio modem. In order to save costs, usually only one radio modem is provided in a central communication device, which may be connected to the control devices via a data network. Due to the limited transmission rate of the data network of the motor vehicle, correspondingly the transmission bandwidth for transmitting data to the server device is also limited. In addition, the data to be transmitted in the communication device must be cached. This results in particular in a problem when a control unit is to send contiguous data that are relatively extensive. This may be the case for contiguous data in the form of a file describing, for example, a camera image of a driver assistance system or a parameter set of an environment model or an artificial neuronal network of the driver assistance system. Then, the file must first be transferred to the communication device, which must cache the file in order to control the transfer process to the server device regardless of a capacity utilization of the data network.
The coupling of control devices with a vehicle-external server device via a communication device is known, for example, from DE 10 2013 016 554 A1. Therein is provided in the manner described that the communication device first collects data locally in a memory and subsequently carries out the transmission to the vehicle-external server device.
A vehicle communication architecture having a plurality of control units, which are coupled to a communication device via a data network, is also known from DE 102 37 715 A1. It is therein described that data contents of the motor vehicle can be actively accessed even from a vehicle-external server device.
The active collection or request of data from a plurality of control devices by an electronic device in a motor vehicle is known from DE 10 2012 020 637 B3.

Method for transferring a file between a control device of a motor vehicle and a server device outside the vehicle, control device and motor vehicle


A storage drive includes a first memory that stores first text. A first processor generates a first instruction to decrypt the first text. A cryptographic module includes a second memory, a cryptographic device, a memory module, and a second processor. The second memory is inaccessible to the first processor and stores a cryptographic key. The cryptographic device accesses the second memory to obtain the cryptographic key and based on the first instruction, decrypts the first text. The memory module stores a status of execution of the first instruction by the cryptographic device. The second processor, prior to the cryptographic device decrypting the first text, forwards the first instruction to the cryptographic device and stores the status of execution of the first instruction in the memory module. The memory module is connected between the first and second processors and isolates the first processor from the second processor.

Cryptography has enjoyed tremendous success in securing electronic data communications. Recently, cryptography has been used to secure stored data as well. For example, secure hard drives, referred to as "self-encrypting drives," are now commercially available. Such drives include a cryptographic module to encrypt data using a cryptographic key before it is stored on the drive, and to decrypt the data using the key on retrieval. If a computer or drive is stolen, the thief cannot access the data stored on the drive without the cryptographic key.
However, current self-encrypting drives have several flaws that compromise their security. For example, the cryptographic key, which is stored in the drive, can be obtained by a skilled hacker, allowing the hacker to access the data on the drive. As another example, a hacker can cause the drive to download and execute malware, which can provide access to the stored data.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Method and storage device for isolating and preventing access to processor and memory used in decryption of text


In a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device having a first conductive layer of a first conductive type and a second conductive layer of a second conductive type opposite to the first conductive type, an intermediate layer of a predetermined element selected from the group V is formed on the first and second conductive layers to a preselected thickness of several atomic layers. Next, a metal film is deposited on the intermediate film. The intermediate layer is absorbed in the metal film and vanishes during the deposition of the metal film. The metal film may be formed of tungsten or molybdenum, while the thickness of the intermediate layer may be equal to one or two atomic layers.

This invention relates to a semiconductor device having metal films formed on semiconductor regions or layers of different conductive types and a method of manufacturing the same. Herein, it is to be noted throughout the instant specification that such semiconductor regions or layers will be collectively referred to as conductive layers.
Recently, it is required in a semiconductor device such as a MOS transistor to reduce a parasitic resistance of an electrode such as a source electrode, a drain electrode, and a gate electrode of the MOS transistor with a reduction of a semiconductor device in size.
To this end, a proposal has been made for a method of selectively forming a metal film of, for example, tungsten having a relatively low resistance over a silicon substrate in a self-alignment manner through a chemical vapor deposition (CVD). However, where the tungsten films are formed on conductive layers having different conductive types by the above selective growth method, it has been pointed out that the tungsten films on the conductive layers have different thicknesses from each other. This is because a growth rate of the tungsten is variable in dependency upon the conductive types of the conductive layers.
Specifically, when the tungsten films are formed on an n-type conductive layer and a p-type conductive layer, respectively, the thickness of the tungsten film on the n-type conductive layer is different from that of the tungsten film on the p-type conductive layer, since the growth rates of the tungsten are different from each other on both the n-type conductive layer and the p-type conductive layer. Such a difference between thicknesses of the tungsten films causes a leak current and the like. To solve the problem resulting from the difference between the thicknesses, a conventional method is disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. Hei. 7-193026 (namely, 193026/1995).
In the above conventional method, the conductive layers of different conductive types are doped with impurities of the same conductive type. Consequently, the surface of the conductive layers is transferred to the same conductive type. As a result, the tungsten films are deposited to the same thickness on the conductive layers of the different conductive types because the growth rate of the tungsten is kept invariable on the same conductive type.
However, additional an impurity layer remains between the conductive layer and the tungsten film in this conventional method. The additional impurity layer forms a PN junction with the conductive layer. Therefore, a desired device structure can not be obtained because of the additional impurity layer. According to the conventional method, the tungsten reacts with the silicon (the conductive layer) by heating to form a tungsten silicide. The additional impurity region is absorbed in the tungsten silicide, and thereby the additional impurity region vanishes.
Thus, the additional process is needed to eliminate the additional impurity layer in the conventional method. Further, such a tungsten silicide increases the parasitic resistance of the electrode. The high resistance of the electrode is undesirable for the semiconductor device.

Method of manufacturing contacts to diverse doped regions using intermediate layer of arsenic or phosphorus


This invention provides antibodies that specifically bind to and neutralize botulinum neurotoxin type A (BoNT/A) and the epitopes bound by those antibodies. The antibodies and derivatives thereof and/or other antibodies that specifically bind to the neutralizing epitopes provided herein can be used to neutralize botulinum neurotoxin and are therefore also useful in the treatment of botulism.

Botulism is caused by botulinum neurotoxin secreted by members of the genus Clostridium and is characterized by flaccid paralysis, which if not immediately fatal requires prolonged hospitalization in an intensive care unit and mechanical ventilation. Naturally occurring botulism is found in infants or adults whose gastrointestinal tracts become colonized by Clostridial bacteria (infant or intestinal botulism), after ingestion of contaminated food products (food botulism), or in anaerobic wound infections (wound botulism) (Center for Disease Control (1998) Botulism in the United States, 1899-1998. Handbook for epidemiologists, clinicians, and laboratory workers. Atlanta, Ga. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service: downloadable at "bt.cdc.gov/agent/botulism/index.as.asp". Botulism neurotoxins (BoNTs) are also classified by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) as one of the six highest-risk threat agents for bioterrorism (the "Category A agents"), due to their extreme potency and lethality, ease of production and transport, and need for prolonged intensive care (Arnon et al. (2001) JAMA 285: 1059-1070). Both Iraq and the former Soviet Union produced BoNT for use as weapons (United Nations Security Council (1995) Tenth report of the executive committee of the special commission established by the secretary-general pursuant to paragraph 9(b)(J) of security council resolution 687 (1991), and paragraph 3 of resolution 699 (1991) on the activities of the Special Commision; Bozheyeva et al. (1999) Former soviet biological weapons facilities in Kazakhstan: past, present, and future. Center for Nonproliferation Studies, Monterey Institute of International Studies), and the Japanese cult Aum Shinrikyo attempted to use BoNT for bioterrorism (Arnon et al. (2001) supra). As a result of these threats, specific pharmaceutical agents are needed for prevention and treatment of intoxication.
No specific small molecule drugs exist for prevention or treatment of botulism, but an investigational pentavalent toxoid vaccine is available from the CDC (Siegel (1988) J. Clin. Microbiol. 26: 2351-2356) and a recombinant vaccine is under development (Smith (1998) Toxicon 36: 1539-1548). Regardless, mass civilian or military vaccination is unlikely due to the rarity of disease or exposure and the fact that vaccination would prevent subsequent medicinal use of BoNT. Post-exposure vaccination is useless, due to the rapid onset of disease. Toxin neutralizing antibody (Ab) can be used for pre- or post-exposure prophylaxis or for treatment (Franz et al. (1993) Pp. 473-476 In B. R. DasGupta (ed.), Botulinum and Tetanus Neurotoxins: Neurotransmission and Biomedical Aspects. Plenum Press, New York). Small quantities of both equine antitoxin and human botulinum immune globulin exist and are currently used to treat adult (Black and Gunn. (1980) Am. J. Med., 69: 567-570; Hibbs et al. (1996) Clin. Infect. Dis., 23: 337-340) and infant botulism (Arnon (1993). Clinical trial of human botulism immune globulin, p. 477-482. In B. R. DasGupta (ed.), Botulinum and Tetanus Neurotoxins: Neurotransmission and Biomedical Aspects. Plenum Press, New York) respectively.
Recombinant monoclonal antibody (mAb) could provide an unlimited supply of antitoxin free of infectious disease risk and not requiring human donors for plasmapheresis. Given the extreme lethality of the BoNTs, mAbs must be of high potency in order to provide an adequate number of doses at reasonable cost. The development of such mAbs has become a high priority research aim of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. While to date no single highly potent mAbs have been described, we recently reported that combining two to three mAbs could yield highly potent BoNT neutralization (Nowakowski et al. (2002) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 99: 11346-50).
The development of mAb therapy for botulism is complicated by the fact that there are at least seven BoNT serotypes (A-G) (Hatheway (1995) Curr. Top. Microbio. Immunol, 195: 55-75.) that show little, if any, antibody cross-reactivity. While only four of the BoNT serotypes routinely cause human disease (A, B, E, and F), there has been one reported case of infant botulism caused by BoNT C (Oguma et al. (1990) Lancet 336: 1449-1450), one outbreak of foodborne botulism linked to BoNT D (Demarchi, et al. (1958) Bull. Acad. Nat. Med., 142: 580-582), and several cases of suspicious deaths where BoNT G was isolated (Sonnabend et al. (1981) J. Infect. Dis., 143: 22-27). Aerosolized BoNT/C, D, and G have also been shown to produce botulism in primates by the inhalation route (Middlebrook and Franz (1997) Botulinum Toxins, chapter 33. In F. R. Sidell, E. T. Takafuji, D. R. Franz (eds.), Medical Aspects of Chemical and Biological Warfare. TMM publications, Washington, D.C.), and would most likely also affect humans. Thus it is likely that any one of the seven BoNT serotypes can be used as a biothreat agent.
Variability of the BoNT gene and protein sequence within serotypes has also been reported and there is evidence that such variability can affect the binding of monoclonal antibodies to BoNT/A (Kozaki et al. (1998) Infect. Immun., 66: 4811-4816; Kozaki et al. (1995) Microbiol. Immunol., 39: 767-774). It is currently not clear the extent of such toxin variability within the different serotypes, nor its impact on the binding and neutralization capacity of monoclonal antibody panels.

Therapeutic monoclonal antibodies that neutralize botulinum neurotoxins

The Regents of the University of California


A leg of a billiard table includes a central tube, two outer hoods, an upper and a lower supporting cover. The central tube has its two ends respectively fitted in an engaging sleeve of the upper and the lower supporting cover. One of the supporting covers has two horizontal locking grooves dug on its surface. The leg also includes two outer hoods having a chamber respectively to contain the central tube and the supporting covers while combining them together. At least one of the outer hoods has an upper and a lower locking groove for fitting with the supporting covers. The lower locking groove has locking strips for fitting with the horizontal locking grooves. Finally, screws are inserted through the top and the bottom of each of the outer hoods to be fixed with the supporting covers.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a leg of a billiard table, particularly to one that is collapsible for saving cost of delivery and powerful enough to support the billiard table.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Commonly, a table, such as a game table or a billiard table etc., has four legs positioned under four corners of its surface to sustain the table at a certain height for use. As shown in FIG. 1, a conventional leg 10 of a billiard table is made of solid lumber, having defects of great bulk, heavy weight and a high cost. Although a newer billiard table has been provided by some manufactures, having its leg replaced with slenderer solid lumber wrapped with decorative plastics in order to improve the defects mentioned above, but it is relatively to lower its supporting strength.


Process for the radiation crosslinking of double-sided adhesive tapes, in which a backing material coated on both sides with adhesives is irradiated asymmetrically from both sides with different doses in an irradiation means.

It has long been known that with acrylate pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) compositions in particular the generation of outstanding adhesion properties requires crosslinking. With rubbers, too, the adhesion properties are improved by crosslinking.
In the production of adhesive tapes, the use of radiation crosslinking by means of UV radiation or electron beam (EB) has particular advantages over chemical/thermal crosslinking methods. Radiation crosslinking is also used advantageously to produce double-sided adhesive tapes.
The depth distribution of the absorbed radiation dose in a product exposed to accelerated electrons is known for any given acceleration voltage. A number of authors have developed empirical functions for this (for example, Heger, beta-gamma 1, 20, 1990; Neuhaus-Steinmetz, RadTech Europe, Mediterraneo 1993).
If the maximum acceleration voltage of the electron beam unit is inadequate for sufficiently uniform irradiation through the product owing to its high weight per unit area, the literature, and company brochures, describe the possibility of irradiation from both sides, the acceleration voltage and radiation dose set for both sides being the same.
For products which consist of a coating to be crosslinked, which can, for example, be a pressure-sensitive adhesive, and of a radiation-degradable backing, such as, for example, paper, woven or nonwoven cellulose, and OPP films, the damage can be minimized by optimizing the acceleration voltage. In this case the backing receives a significantly lower average dose than does the coating, while the dose reduction in the coating remains within acceptable limits.
Such conditions are described, inter alia, in EP 0 453 254 B (Yarosso et al.) and in the paper accompanying a lecture given by Dr Karmann to the 7th Munich Adhesives and Finishing Seminar, 1982.
A double-sided adhesive tape consisting of a backing with the adhesive compositions to be crosslinked on both sides and with an antiadhesive release liner should receive a dose of not more than about 10 to 50 kGy when irradiated uniformly from one side with accelerated electrons; otherwise, the release liner must be changed owing to the unacceptable deterioration of the mechanical and antiadhesive properties. The maximum acceptable absorbed radiation dose is a function of the type of pressure-sensitive adhesive and type of release coating.
Even here, given suitable layer thicknesses, a reduction in the unwanted effects can be achieved by a skilful choice of the accelerating voltage if the radiation dose in the release liner has already dropped significantly. However, it should be noted here that the PSA layer facing the release liner must still receive a radiation dose sufficient for crosslinking.
If both sides of a double-sided adhesive tape comprising a backing with PSA compositions on both sides and an antiadhesive release liner is irradiated symmetrically, the latter receives the full radiation dose. This also applies to those tapes known as transfer tapes, in which the pressure-sensitive adhesive to be crosslinked is coated without a further backing onto a release liner.
From the remarks above it is clear that the necessary expenditure for the crosslinking of double-sided adhesive tapes with electron beams becomes considerable when the radiation doses required to crosslink the PSA layer are so high that the mechanical and antiadhesive properties of the release liner are damaged to an unacceptable extent, since in that case the release liner must be changed for a new, unexposed liner by re-covering.
The object of the invention is to allow advantageous manufacture of double-sided adhesive tapes or, generally, double-sidedly coated backing materials, with radiation crosslinking using accelerated electrons or UV radiation.
This object is achieved by a process as set out in the main claim. The subclaims describe advantageous embodiments of the process and also a second embodiment of the process.
The invention accordingly provides a process for the radiation crosslinking of double-sided adhesive tapes, in which a backing material coated on both sides with adhesives is irradiated asymmetrically from both sides with different doses in an irradiation means.
In one advantageous embodiment, the process for the radiation crosslinking of double-sided adhesive tapes consists of the following steps:
a) coating a backing material with an adhesive A,
b) EB-crosslinking the adhesive A/backing subunit on the composition side with a dose A and acceleration voltage A set on the EB unit,
c) lining the adhesive A with a release liner,
d) coating the second side of the backing material with the adhesive B, and
e) EB-irradiating the assembly on the exposed side of the adhesive composition B with a dose B and acceleration voltage B set on the EB unit, the side carrying the release liner being guided through the EB unit preferably on a cooling roll and the dose A and the dose B and/or the acceleration voltage A and the acceleration voltage B having different values.
There is no need to change the release liner, and no re-covering operation is necessary. The steps of the process can be performed in one pass. If considered necessary, it is also possible to carry out in-line pretreatment and an additional levelling of the backing, i.e. a smoothing of the backing by heating owing to an absence of flatness in the backing (warping, for example).
To this end, first of all, in the case of EB crosslinking, the acceleration voltage and dose for the second irradiation that are to be set on the EB unit are calculated as a function of the individual thicknesses of the layers of the assembly, with total doses of up to 80 kGy or more in the composition layers, preferably with the aid of a computer program, such that
a) the dose on the exposed side of the release liner remains less than 40 kGy, preferably less than 10 kGy,
b) the dose at the release liner/adhesive composition A interface remains less than 50 kGy, preferably less than 15 kGy,
c) the surface dose in the adhesive composition B re main s less than (target dose +25%), preferably less than (target dose +15 %), and
d) the dose at the backing/adhesive composition B interface remains greater than (target dosexe2x80x9425%), preferably greater than (target dosexe2x80x9415%),
e) while on the other hand the dose reduction in the adhesive composition B towards the backing does not exceed 45%, preferably 25%, of the target dose.
The target dose denote s that radiation dose absorbed by the adhesive composition at which optimum product properties are obtained.
The acceleration voltage and the radiation dose for the first irradiation are then calculated in such a way (for example, with Gauss-Newton approximation) that the total radiation dose in the layer of adhesive composition A deviates by less than 30%, preferably less than 10%, from the desired target value, which may be different from the target value of the adhesive composition B.
As a basis for the calculation use is made, for example, of the following empirical formula, which was published by Neuhaus-Steinmetz at RadTech Europe, Mediterraneo 1993.       D              xe2x80x83        [    %    ]    =            exp                    xe2x80x83                          {                  -                                    (                                                                    18.8                    *                    X                                                                              (                                              U                        B                                            )                                        1.57                                                  -                0.7                            )                        2                          }                    1      +                        (                                    9.7              *              X                                                      (                                  U                  B                                )                            1.57                                )                15
where D is the dose in % UB is the acceleration voltage in kV X is the irradiated weight per unit area, in g/m2, consisting of the weights per unit area of the vacuum window, of the air gap between vacuum window and product, and of the depth in the product
The asymmetric irradiation from two sides permits a defined and sufficiently uniform radiation dose in the two adhesive layers with a greatly reduced radiation dose in the release liner. This does away with laborious and error-susceptible re-covering operations.
In addition, the process also permits controlled differences in the degree of crosslinking of the adhesive compositions on either side of the adhesive tape.
It is also possible to set controlled crosslinking profiles over the depth of the layers of adhesive composition. For this purpose, the acceleration voltages and set doses in the first and second irradiation are preferably chosen so that towards the backing in the adhesive composition A an ascending or descending depth/dose profile is formed, with which adhesive properties are influenced in a controlled manner.
The resulting radiation doses can, furthermore, preferably be up to 80 kGy or more in the adhesive compositions, and the chosen EB acceleration voltages can be from 40 to 350 kV. The weight per unit area in the beam path to the product, which is dependent on the design of an electron beam accelerator and consists of the weights per unit area of the vacuum window and of the air gap to the product, can typically be between 20 and 250 g/m2.
The adhesive compositions used can be acrylates and rubbers, applied from solution or from dispersion, or else hot-melt adhesive compositions, it also being possible for the adhesive compositions A and B to be different.
The adhesive compositions may, furthermore, be filled, coloured and/or foamed.
The backing materials employed are, in particular, those made of MOPP, BOPP, HDPE, LDPE, polyester, PVC, paper, nonwovens or foams.
Finally, the process can be employed in general for the radiation crosslinking of double-sidedly coated backing materials, where a double-sidedly coated backing material is irradiated asymmetrically from both sides with different doses in an irradiation means.
In this case, the coatings concerned are not adhesive compositions.
In a first alternative preferred embodiment, the process for the radiation crosslinking of double-sided adhesive tapes consists of the following steps:
a) coating a backing material with an adhesive A,
b) EB-crosslinking the adhesive A/backing subunit on the composition side with a set dose A and the acceleration voltage A, it being possible for the adhesive A to be both UV- and EB-crosslinkable,
c) lining the adhesive A with a release liner,
d) coating the second side of the backing material with the adhesive B, and
e) UV-irradiating the assembly on the exposed side of the adhesive composition B with a surface dose B.
For the first irradiation, the acceleration voltage and the set dose for the electron beams, and for the second irradiation the penetration depth of the UV radiation, can be chosen, through the selection of a photoinitiator with an appropriate wavelength, in such a way that the profile of crosslinking towards the backing in the adhesive composition A is virtually constant.
This embodiment also offers advantages with EB-degradable backings, which in this case are exposed significantly less than in the case of EB crosslinking from two sides. In addition, the release liner receives no EB dose.
In the second crosslinking pass with UV radiation, the absorbed UV dose in the adhesive B decreases with the depth towards the backing, approximately in an exponential function. Furthermore, it passes through a UV-permeable backing before penetrating into the adhesive A, where, in turn, an approximately exponential drop in the UV dose takes place from the backing towards the release liner.
In the first crosslinking pass with EB, the set dose A and the acceleration voltage A are chosen so that in the adhesive A following the second crosslinking pass with UV radiation an approximately uniform crosslinking over the depth is achieved, specifically by means of an opposite EB dose gradient, or else so that controlled profiles of crosslinking are produced.
If the precise depth-related decrease in the UV dose in the adhesives and in the backing is known, the parameters can be optimized in a purely mathematical procedure. Otherwise, experimental optimization, in particular of the accelerating voltage A, is advantageous.
In a second alternative preferred embodiment, the process for the radiation crosslinking of double-sided adhesive tapes consists of the following steps:
a) coating a backing material with an adhesive A, which can be both UV- and EB-crosslinkable,
b) UV-irradiating the backing, provided with the adhesive A, with a surface dose A in an irradiation means, it being possible for the adhesive A to be both UV- and EB-crosslinkable,
c) lining the adhesive A with a release liner,
d) coating the second side of the backing material with the adhesive B, and
e) EB-irradiating the assembly on the exposed side of the adhesive composition B with a dose B and acceleration voltage B set on the EB unit, the side carrying the release liner being guided through the EB unit preferably on a cooling roll.
Within the adhesive A, the absorbed UV dose decreases with the depth towards the backing in an approximately exponential function, the extent of the decrease in the desired wavelength range depending on various factors. From a certain layer thickness, therefore, there is insufficient crosslinking of the adhesive towards the backing. This is compensated by an opposite EB dose gradient from the EB irradiation in the following pass.
The set dose B and the acceleration voltage B are chosen in this case so that the dose ranges for the adhesive B and for the release liner, specified in the first advantageous embodiment, are observed. If the precise depth-related decrease of the UV dose is known, the parameters can be optimized by purely mathematical means. Otherwise, an experimental optimization (in particular of the accelerating voltage B) is advantageous.
In a third alternative preferred embodiment, the process for the radiation crosslinking of double-sided adhesive tapes consists of the following steps:
a) coating a release liner with an adhesive A,
b) EB-crosslinking the adhesive A/release liner subunit on the composition side with a dose A and acceleration voltage A set on the EB unit,
c) lining the adhesive A with a backing material,
d) coating the second side of the backing material with the adhesive B, and
e) EB-irradiating the assembly on the exposed side of the adhesive composition B with a dose B and acceleration voltage B set on the EB unit, the side carrying the release liner being guided through the EB unit preferably on a cooling roll and the dose A and the dose B and/or the acceleration voltage A and the acceleration voltage B having different values.
In a fourth alternative preferred embodiment, the process for the radiation crosslinking of double-sided adhesive tapes consists of the following steps:
a) coating a release liner with an adhesive A,
b) UV-irradiating the release liner, provided with the adhesive A, with a surface dose A in an irradiation means, it being possible for the adhesive A to be both UV- and EB-crosslinkable,
c) lining the adhesive A with a backing material,
d) coating the second side of the backing material with the adhesive B, and
e) EB-irradiating the assembly on the exposed side of the adhesive composition B with a dose B and acceleration voltage B set on the EB unit, the side carrying the release liner being guided through the EB unit preferably on a cooling roll and the surface dose A being different from the dose B.
For the first irradiation, the penetration depth of the UV radiation, through the selection of a photoinitiator with an appropriate wavelength, and for the second irradiation the acceleration voltage B and the set dose B for the election beams, can be chosen in such a way that the profile of crosslinking towards the backing in the adhesive composition A is virtually constant, with which adhesive properties are influenced in a controlled manner.
Furthermore, for the first irradiation, the penetration depth of the UV radiation can be chosen through the selection of a photoinitiator with an appropriate wavelength, and for the second irradiation the acceleration voltage B and the set dose B for the electron beams can be chosen in such a way that the profile of crosslinking towards the backing in the adhesive composition A is ascending or descending, with which adhesion properties are influenced in a controlled manner.
The purpose of the text below is to illustrate processes of the invention on the basis of a number of examples without, however, wishing to restrict the said processes unnecessarily.

EB and UV crosslinking of composition layers, and products produced with these layers


A multi-functional furniture component has a frame, with a seat portion and a backrest portion, first motion means connected to the frame and connected to a conversion member. The conversion member has a first upholstered side and a second substantially planar side. Actuation of the first motion means enable arcuate movement of the conversion member between a first orientation to service a backrest and a second orientation in which the planar side is generally horizontal. The conversion member may also include a container member with a top panel, a bottom panel spaced apart from the top panel, and at least one side panel interconnecting the top and bottom panels and defining an interior storage region. Preferably, access to the interior storage region is provided by arcuate motion of the top of the container. A horizontally oriented upholstery roll is connected to the upper terminus of the backrest by a live hinge and in a first orientation, partially covers a pocket which may receive the conversion member and in the second orientation, expose the pocket.

The present invention relates to a furniture component and, in particular, relates to a reversibly convertible furniture component having a variety of configurations which in turn provide for multiple uses.
Furniture components which provide comfortable seating have been known since ancient times. In modern times a desire for economical space utilization has been partially satisfied by dual-purpose seating components, such as sofas which convert to beds, chairs which recline or incline, and storage units under seating surfaces.
Another trend in modern furniture is the provision of modular furniture. Modular furniture units afford consumers economical semi-custom furniture adapted to a particular individual floor plan. For example, modular sofas are formed from combinations of linear or corner subsections each typically providing a single seating unit. Selecting and combining appropriate subsections can yield a sofa which is semi-custom adapted to a particular room and capable of seating a number of people.
It would be particularly desirable to provide new furniture components, suitable for use in modular furniture, which function in a first orientation as a seating unit and in a second orientation provide additional space-saving functions.

Seating unit with convertible storage table

Mohasco Upholstered Furniture Corporation


The invention relates to a cross-sectional configuration of a transverse girder (1) on a roof luggage carrier of a vehicle. According to the invention, the outer surfaces are symmetric in relation to a vertical longitudinal plane (2) of the transverse girder. The underside (3) is substantially a flat, horizontal lower surface (b) facing towards the vehicle roof. The upper width (a) of the transverse girder (1) is smaller than (b). The upper side (4) and the underside (3) are connected via convexly curved and rounded lateral surfaces (5, 6). Relationships and ratios of width and curvatures provide improved aerodynamic characteristics and a reduction of the noise level caused by wind according to the invention.

The invention relates to the cross-sectional configuration of a transverse girder on a roof luggage carrier of a vehicle.
Roof luggage carriers are generally made of transverse girders placed crosswise over the roof which are held and supported on support legs on the sides of the roof. In conventional vehicles the support legs are attached by means of tensioning clamps to the rain gutters of the roof. In modern, aerodynamically optimized vehicles, no roof gutters are provided so that other and more expensive designs with support plates and tensioning clamps are required (DE-OS 34 06 431). Furthermore vehicles, in particular utility vehicles and off-the-road vehicles with a roof railing consisting of railing pipes extending o either side of the roof are known. In that case too, roof luggage racks consist of transverse girders which are connected to the railing pipes through tensioning devices.
In all of the above-mentioned designs of roof luggage carriers transverse girder are used as bearing rails extending above and at a distance from the vehicle roof at a right angle to the direction of travel.
Conventional transverse girder have cross-sections with square or rectangular profiles (DE-PS 35 16 483; DE-PS 31 04 163) or with round profiles (DE-PS 35 10 805). Obviously the aerodynamic characteristics of a vehicle are generally affected by such transverse girder extending at a right angle to the direction of travel above the vehicle roof. Also travel noise is generally increased due to the unfavorable flow of the oncoming air around the transverse girder.
Particularly unfavorable conditions exist with the usual, square or rectangular cross-sectional configurations of the transverse girder, where strong eddy currents at the edges cause an especially high noise level during rapid travel. The performance of the known round cross-sections is not much better.
In order to improve this situation, a known device (DE-OS 36 07 856) provides a cross-section for the transverse girder that is egg-shaped or drop-shaped. A better aerodynamic form with a reduction of the noise level is achieved. Further measures to improve the aerodynamic characteristics consist in providing forms that merge into each other in a flat surface between transverse girder and supporting legs, and by providing covering caps on the supporting legs.
With the above-described egg-shaped or drop-shaped cross-section the symmetrical axis is horizontal above the roof of the vehicle, with the arc of least curvature pointing in the direction of travel. The arc with the greatest curvature, i.e. with the shortest curvature radius, is pointed to the back of the vehicle. Due to an essentially symmetrical form with respect to a horizontal plane, approximately the same amount of arriving air is, in principle, deflected above and below the transverse girder profile. Especially the air flow deflected down towards the roof causes relatively loud wind noises to be produced even with this profile configuration. In order to obtain a stable profile with a suitably high bearing capacity, an extruded profile with a vertical standing continuous inner wall is provided.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention consists in achieving further improvement of the vehicle's aerodynamic characteristics and reducing the noise level on an installed roof luggage carrier by means of a suitable cross-sectional configuration of the transverse girder.

Cross-sectional configuration of a roof luggage carrier of a vehicle


The invention concerns an electromechanical device with variable resistance circuit serving to control a load. The device comprises a connection (10) for a source of power (12), a connection (14) apt to be connected to a load (16) supplied by the source of power (12), a resistance circuit formed by a plurality of branches (B.sub.1, B.sub.2, . . . B.sub.n) mounted in parallel between the connections (10, 14) and each comprising a resistance (R.sub.1, R.sub.2 . . . R.sub.n) in series with a switch (I.sub.1, I.sub.2, . . . I.sub.n) possessing an initial contact state and mechanical means comprising a carriage (20) moveable in translation between several predetermined positions, in each of which this carriage (20) is apt to co-operate with at least one of the switches (I.sub.1, I.sub.2, . . . I.sub.n) in order to modify its initial contact state and vary the intensity of the current traversing the load. Application particularly to the speed control of a fan motor in a heating-ventilation and/or air-conditioning installation of a motor vehicle.

Electromechanical devices of this type are already known, which comprise a first connection for a source of power, a second connection apt to be connected to a load supplied by said source of power and means for controlling the intensity of the current traversing the load, these control means comprising a variable resistance circuit connected between the first and the second connections, as well as mechanical means apt to vary the resistance of the resistance circuit.
In this manner the intensity of the current traversing the load can be made to vary and, in the event this load is a motor, the speed of said motor can be made to vary.
In the case of a device of this type applied to set the speed of the motor of a fan in a motor vehicle, the control means generally comprise a multi-position switch having one control arm apt to co-operate with a given number of terminals each of which is connected to the motor by an electrical connection comprising an electric wire and a resistance of definite value.
By acting on the switch, the arm is made to co-operate with a selected terminal, this making it possible to establish an electrical connection with the motor across the corresponding resistance.
In this manner the speed of the motor can be given a value chosen from among a limited number of values, each of which is defined by an appropriate resistance. For example, the speed of the motor can be set between a zero speed, a low speed, an intermediate speed and a high speed.
In known devices of this type a multiplicity of electrical connections is required, therefore also a large number of electrical wires between the switch and the fan motor.
This makes it necessary to have a great length of wire and may lead to inverted connections and the corresponding installation is disassembled and then reinstalled.
Moreover, inasmuch as the switch is located in the instrument panel of a vehicle, while the fan motor is housed in a box located at a distance from this instrument panel, the electrical wires form a bundle of great length for which a passage between the instrument panel and the fan housing must be provided.
Finally, the terminals or contacts located in the instrument panel are not cooled and can become damaged or yet deteriorate under the effect of the heat released.

Electromechanical device with variable resistance circuit for controlling a load, particularly of an electric motor


A gear for an electric power steering device for reducing the rotation speed of an electric motor for steering assist with a reduction gear mechanism and transmitting the rotation to a steering mechanism, the gear being incorporated and used in the reduction gear mechanism, wherein at least the teeth of the gear are formed from a resin composition of a non-reinforced type comprising (a) a polyamide resin having a carboxyl group at least at a terminal end; (b) 0.5-5 wt. % a polycarbodiimide compound, and (c) 3-15 wt. % an elastic material modified with a reactive functional group.

Polyamide compositions are used in a wide variety of applications because of their excellent physical properties, chemical resistance, and processability. Common applications include automotive parts and electrical and electronic parts. Though polyamides have good inherent toughness, low-elasticity rubber impact modifiers are often used to increase the toughness of polyamide compositions. However, the addition of these impact modifiers can reduce the stiffness of the resulting resin. Stiffness can be improved by the addition of reinforcing agents and fillers, particularly inorganic reinforcing agents (for example, glass fibers) and mineral fillers, but this measure can lead to further problems with wear on processing equipment, anisotropy, increased melt viscosities, and decreased hydrolysis resistance. Hence, a polyamide composition containing impact modifiers that has good stiffness without the need to add additional reinforcing agents and fillers would be desirable.
The following disclosures may be relevant to various aspects of the present invention and may be briefly summarized as follows:
It is known that impact strength can be markedly improved by adding an elastomeric material modified with reactive functional groups to polyamide resins. For example, a toughened polyamide blend is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,346,194, which contains a) 60 to 97 weight percent polyamide (a mixture of 66 nylon and 6 nylon) and b) 3 to 40 weight percent of a polymeric toughening agent selected from (i) an elastomeric olefin copolymer with carboxyl or carboxylate functionality or (ii) an ionic copolymer of at least one α-olefin and at least one α,β-unsaturated carboxylic acid, which can contain a ternary copolymerizable monomer, and which is at least partially ionized by neutralizing its acidic ingredients with a metallic basic salt.
Polyamide compositions have been disclosed in which melt viscosity and resistance to hydrolysis have been improved by the addition of polycarbodiimides. For example, a polycarbodiimide modified tractable polyamide product is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,128,599 with unique rheological properties and improved shear properties. It is disclosed that the polycarbodiimide functions as a bridging agent in which the carbodiimide group bridges the terminal COOH and the NH2 group in the polyamide.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,360,888 discloses a polyamide resin composition containing 0.1 to 5 weight aromatic polycarbodiimide that is stabilized to hydrolysis at high temperatures.
US patent application publication 2004/0010094 discloses a polyamide resin composition comprising aromatic or aliphatic polycarbodiimides in a ratio of 0.10 to 3.5 molar equivalents of carbodiimide groups to acid end groups in the polyamide.
The application of polyamide composition includes automotive parts as described above. In column-type electric power steering devices, for example, a small gear such as a worm and a large gear such as a worm wheel are used as a reduction gear mechanism and, after the rotation speed of an electric motor has been reduced and the power output has been augmented by transmission from the small gear to the large gear, the rotation is applied to a steering shaft, thereby torque assisting the steering operation. In electric power steering devices used in lightweight four-wheel automobiles or in the usual passenger vehicles, in particular comparatively small-size passenger vehicles, the so-called resin gears have been generally used for at least one gear of the small gear and large gear, in particular for the large gear, in which at least the teeth thereof are made from a resin instead of the conventional metal, with the object of reducing the noise level by decreasing the tooth impact noise in the reduction gear mechanism, decreasing the weight, and reducing the sliding resistance.
More specifically, resin gears having a composite structure of an annular metal core that is coupled to a steering shaft so as to enable the integral rotation therewith and an annular gear body made from a resin, having teeth on the outer periphery thereof, and formed so as to surround the outer periphery of the core have been widely used as large gears for gear reduction mechanisms of electric power steering devices. Furthermore, polyamide resins such as, for example, MC (monomer casting) Nylon, Polyamide 6, Polyamide 66, and Polyamide 46 have been generally used as the base resins for forming the gear body. In recent years, the possibility of using resin gears as large gears for reduction gear mechanisms also in electric power steering devices of larger automobiles has been more studied compared to before. Furthermore, a demand has been recently created for electric power steering devices that are smaller in size and weight than the conventional devices, regardless of the automobile size, with the object of producing automobiles with better fuel efficiency that cause less environmental pollution.
However, the problem associated with such conventional resin gears is that when they are incorporated in electric power steering devices of large automobiles or electric power steering devices reduced in size to decrease fuel consumption, the required endurance performance cannot be sufficiently ensured and the gears are fractured within a comparatively short interval. This is because the power output of the electric motor has to be increased and the torque transmitted to the reduction gear mechanism increases as the automobile becomes larger in size. Furthermore, as the size of the electric power steering device is reduced, it becomes difficult to take such measures as increasing the module and decreasing the surface pressure in large gears, and the surface pressure transmitted from small gears to large gears tends to increase. Presently, the conventional resin gears are unable to meet fully the requirement to increase the power output of reduction gear mechanisms.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide resin gears with both the high rigidity corresponding to a transition to a higher power output of reduction gear mechanisms, in particular, the rigidity necessary to maintain a high strength in a high-temperature environment in which the electric power steering devices are used, and the high toughness preventing the resin gear from fracturing easily under applied stresses. It is well known that the rigidity of resin compositions can be increased by blending reinforcing fibers such as glass fibers with a polyamide resin serving as a base resin. However, the resultant problem is that the toughness of the resin composition decreases significantly. Yet another problem is that the resin gears formed from such resin compositions have the so-called attack ability and the teeth of the metal gears assembled therewith are easily damaged or worn. Moreover, the fine metal powder (wear powder) produced from the damaged and worn-out metal gears easily cut or damage the teeth themselves. For this reason, resin compositions of a non-reinforced type that contain no reinforcing fibers are preferred for forming resin gears. Various research have been conducted to improve properties of non-reinforced resin compositions.
For example, it is known that the toughness of a resin composition can be increased by blending an elastic material with a polyamide resin serving as a base resin. However, because the rigidity is decreased, the resin gear formed by using such resin composition can be easily deformed. The resultant problem is that, for example, when the resin gear is used as a large gear, and a torque is applied by the rotation of an electric motor via a small gear, the large gear deforms, the transmission ratio of the torque from the small gear is reduced or the rotation is delayed and the engagement with the small gear is easily degraded. Yet another problem is that, in addition to susceptibility of such resin gears to instantaneous deformation, a creep deformation also can easily occur therein, and the creep deformation easily decreases dimensional stability and causes fluctuations of backlash in engagement with the small gears.
It is also known that increasing the molecular weight of polyamide resins can increase the toughness, while preventing the rigidity from decreasing. However, for example, when various additives are blended with a polyamide resin and a molding material (pellets, etc.) for injection molding is manufactured after kneading in a state where the resin is heated to a temperature equal to or higher than the melting point of the polyamide resin and melted, or when a resin gear is produced by heating again the manufactured molding material to a temperature equal to or higher than the melting point thereof and melting in a cylinder of an injection molding apparatus and then injecting the resin into a metal mold linked to the injection molding apparatus, for example, into a shaped cavity corresponding to the shape of the gear body in the case of resin gears of a complex structure, the decomposition of the polyamide resin is enhanced and the molecular weight thereof decreases under the effect of moisture adsorbed by the polyamide resin and heat during melting. The resultant problem is that even if a polyamide resin with an increased molecular weight is used, the toughness of the resin gear manufactured by the above-described process cannot be increased.
It is known that various properties of resin compositions can be improved by blending a polycarbodiimide compound with a polyamide resin. For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. H6-16933 (claim 1, paragraph No. 0001, 0004-0007) describes that if a polymer aromatic polycarbodiimide is blended at a ratio of 0.1 to 5 wt. % with a polyamide resin, then stability of the resin composition against hydrolysis, in particular, in acidic media can be improved. Furthermore, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. H9-194719 (claim 1, paragraph No. 0005-0008, 0031, 0062) describes that if 1-300 parts by weight of at least one elastic material selected from the group including a polyamide elastomer, a polyester elastomer, an acrylic rubber, a silicone rubber, and a fluorine-containing rubber, a modified polyolefin rubber, and a modified rubber is blended with a total of 100 parts by weight of 30 to 99 wt. % a thermoplastic resin such as a polyamide resin and 70 to 1 wt. % polycarbodiimide, then heat resistance and impact resistance of the resin composition can be improved. Furthermore, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. H11-343408 (claim 1, paragraph No. 0002-0003, 0006-0007, 0012-0014) describes that if an aliphatic carbodiimide compound is blended with a polyamide resin, then stability of the resin composition against hydrolysis, oil resistance, and resistance to metal halides can be increased.


The invention relates to a method of utilizing secondary raw materials containing iron, zinc and lead, preferably steelmaking dusts, in a rotary tubular furnace customarily equipped for the rolling process, with basically adjusted rolling slag. By reducing the portion of the carbon carriers in the burden, the energy balance of the rolling process is improved on one hand, and the throughput of the rotary tubular furnace used is increased on the other hand. By improving the quality of the rolling slag, the capability of utilizing the same is favored.

The invention relates to a method of utilizing secondary raw materials containing iron, zinc and lead, preferably steelmaking dusts, in a rotary tubular furnace customarily equipped for the rolling process, with basically adjusted rolling slag.
It is known that materials containing zinc and lead are mixed with coke breeze (carbon carrier) during the rolling process and are charged to a rotary tubular furnace operating on the counterflow principle. Due to the inclination of the furnace center line and the rotation of the furnace, the material moves to the deeper end of the furnace. The counter-flowing air, which is heated by a burner multiple times, oxidizes the gases resulting from the burdening, whereby the temperature of the gases rises and the furnace chamber and the burden are heated.
When travelling through the furnace, the burden undergoes a change of composition such that carbon reacts with reducible iron oxides first by forming metallic iron, that resulting carbon oxide and solid carbon then react with zinc oxide to form zinc metal, that lead and compounds thereof react correspondingly and that eventually everything vaporizes in correspondence with its vapor pressure ratios. The metallic iron is carburized by excess carbon. The solid residues called rolling slag contain excess coke, carburized metallic iron and a remainder of slag-forming oxides, and also small amounts of zinc. The flue gases lose the content of free oxygen on their way through the furnace. In an ideal rolling operation, the flue gases neither contain O2 nor CO at the gas outlet.
In the previously known basic processes the rolling slags are characterized by eluate values and building-physical properties, which limit the utilization thereof to a few fields of application, such as the construction of waste dumps.
Additional disadvantages of the previously known basically performed rolling processes are:
1. High energy consumption due to high coke growth.
2. Higher energy consumption due to frequent additional firing with a high-grade combustible.
3. Waste of energy due to 5-10% residual coke and metallic iron ( greater than 90% of the prerun) in the rolling slag.
4. Occurrence of ferriferous scaffolding at the furnace walls or of iron pellets in the proximity of the discharge area, favored by high carbon contents in the iron sponge.
For avoiding said disadvantages, suggestions are provided in the literature, namely to achieve an oxidation of the rolling slag by blowing up hot air at the slag outlet.
In the method according to U.S. Pat. No 3,66,522 hot air is blown up at the discharge area of a rotary tubular furnace, which is heated to 700xc2x0 C.-750xc2x0 C. in a separate recuperator unit, without claiming that the energy required therefor is taken from the process. The temperature in the top-blowing area is to be capable of rising up to 2000xc2x0 C., which also follows from the flow temperature of the reaction partners. The rolling slag will melt at least partially, it is to be in the form of granules. The method is preferably meant for pyritiferous ores.
Nearly identical with the principles of said method is the known rolling method according to EP 0 654 538. Here, too, hot air of 500-1000xc2x0 C. is blown into the discharge area of the rotary tubular furnace so as to include the oxidizable constituents of the rolling slag in the energy utilization. By burning excess carbon and metallic iron the temperature of the rolling slag rises up to 1200xc2x0 C.-1500xc2x0 C., it is, however, meant to remain crumbly and not to flow out in a melted form. Therefore, the method can only be used in connection with a basic operating mode. For limiting the thermal profile in the gas chamber of the furnace the air volume is so dimensioned, that the flue gas at the uptake of the furnace (charging side for the burden) still contains CO and Zn vapor beside other components, i.e. that it is substoichiometric in view of the combustion. Therefore, a controlled subsequent combustion is necessary. The hot air preparation in this method has been solved in a laborious manner. The waste gases of the subsequent combustion serve the preheating of the combustion air, for which a special recuperator is required, which operates under unfavorable conditions (dust, chlorides, lead). Technical solutions for such a recuperator are not known.
The invention is based on the object to provide a method of performing a rolling process with basically adjusted slag in normally equipped rolling plants with a justifiable technical expenditure. The method is to operate at a temperature in the rolling slag lower than the previously usual one and without a subsequent combustion of waste gas with air outside the rotary tubular furnace. Further, the energy balance of the rolling process is to be improved and the throughput of the used rotary tubular furnace is to be increased. Further, the quality of the slag is to be improved so that it becomes utilizable in a more versatile manner.
According to the invention these objects are solved by a method according to claim 1. Preferred embodiments are described in the dependent claims.
In the method according to the invention secondary raw materials containing iron, zinc and lead, preferably steelmaking dusts, are processed in a rotary tubular furnace operating on a counterflow principle in view of burden and gas atmosphere, with basically adjusted rolling slag such that the raw materials are mixed and/or agglomerated with a reactive fine-grained carbon carrier, with the quantitative portion of the carbon being strongly substoichiometric in contrast to all carbon-consuming reactions in the burden, that an additional portion of coarse-grained carbon carriers is distributed between the agglomerates, that the total portion of the carbon is  less than 80% of the quantity required by all carbon-consuming reactions in the burden at a rolling temperature of  less than 1150xc2x0 C. It is preferred that the carbon portion is so dimensioned that the rolling slag does not contain any free carbon ( less than 1%) even without a subsequent oxidation, that a total air volume is supplied to the furnace, which is stoichiometric or respectively hyperstoichiometric in view of all oxidizable gas constituents, i.e. it can do without a special controlled subsequent combustion, that the rolling slag is supplied with cold air in the proximity of the furnace outlet upon reaching a stable run of the furnace in an amount reducing the portion of metallic iron to less than 20%, preferably  less than 10%, and that a high degree of basicity of the rolling slag is adjusted with a high portion of magnesium with MgOxe2x89xa70.1%Cao also by adding lime and magnesium containing wastes, such as plaster precipitation sludge.
According to the invention the fine-grained carbon carriers have a diameter of about 0-6 mm, preferably 0-4 mm and most preferred  less than 2 mm. According to the invention the coarse-grained carbon carriers have a diameter of about 0-16 mm, preferably 0-12 mm and most preferred  less than 10 mm.
The method has the advantage that it is completely sufficient to cover an additional need of heat at the outlet of the furnace by deliberately introducing cold air in an amount of 30-40% of the total air volume. The air causes the oxidation of the metallic iron and the generation of heat related therewith. The temperature of the rolling slag can be adjusted to a temperature of  less than 1150xc2x0 C. by controlling the air volume. The absorbed air volume is controlled by the flue in a known manner. It is to be dimensioned in a way that the flue gas at the uptake of the furnace contains 0.5-2% O2.
In accordance therewith a furnace regime is achieved, in which the quantitative portion of the carbon in the layer of solid matter, i.e. in the furnace burden, is substoichiometric in view of the need of carbon for all carbon-consuming reactions, but allows a total combustion of all constituents in the gas chamber, thereby being stoichiometric or hyperstoichiometric, respectively, in view of the combustion with free O2 in the flue gas.
This principle is rendered advantageous by using a reactive and fine-grained carbon carrier, which also contains small amounts of volatile substances, which is charged to the furnace after having been mixed and/or agglomerated with the fine-grained raw materials and admixtures.
Said principle is further rendered advantageous by being capable of also using waste plasters as basic admixtures allowing a largely troublefree run of the furnace. The latter is additionally improved by the low carbon content of the formed metallic iron and its higher melting point effected thereby.
In accordance with the described operating mode, said principle allows a normal operation also of smaller furnaces largely without additional heating.
The technical realization thereof is effected by carefully dosing and mixing the components and by using an agglomerating plant. Furthermore, an air supplying device is required comprising a fan, measuring and controlling systems and a movable blowing lance. The resulting rolling slags can be used in the field of waste dump construction or in asphalt sub-bases. They are densely sintered in view of the surface, free of carbon ( less than 1%) and only contain small amounts of metallic iron. Their eluate values comply with the legal provisions.
The crumbly rolling slag is granulated or quenched in a water beam upon its discharge from the furnace.
In the method according to the invention the energy balance of the rotary tubular furnace and also the throughput of the utilized rotary tubular furnace are improved by the reduction of the amount of carbon carriers and by the utilization of the energy potential of the metallic iron at the furnace outlet.

Method of utilizing secondary raw materials containing iron, zinc and lead

FNE Forschungsinstitut fur Nichteisen-Metalle


A liquid treatment apparatus according to the present disclosure includes a dielectric tube that defines a channel through which water to be treated flows, the channel being split upstream of the dielectric tube into a first channel and a second channel, the first channel and the second channel being merged with each other downstream of the dielectric tube, a first electrode at least partially disposed within the first channel, a second electrode at least partially disposed within the first channel, a first gas-supply unit that supplies gas to form a gas bubble into water to be treated that flows through the first channel, and a first power-supply that applies a voltage between the first electrode and the second electrode.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to a liquid treatment apparatus and a liquid treatment method.
2. Description of the Related Art
Sterilizing apparatuses in which water such as polluted water is treated using plasma have been proposed. For example, the sterilizing apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 4784624 includes a high-voltage electrode and a ground electrode that are disposed with a space therebetween in water to be treated in a treatment tank. In the above-described sterilizing apparatus, a high-voltage pulse is applied to both electrodes to cause an electric discharge, which generates plasma in gas bubble formed due to an instantaneous boiling phenomenon. This creates OH, H, O, O2−, O−, H2O2, which kill bacteria and germs contained in the water to be treated.

Liquid treatment apparatus and liquid treatment method

PANASONIC INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT CO., LTD.