A sandwich structure includes a deep-drawn outer skin and a plastic layer foamed onto the inner side of the outer skin. The plastic layer provides a decorative plastic film on its upper surface and a frame at its outer edge. An encircling canting about the plastic layer retains a sheathing that is provided over the entire flat area of the outer skin to increase the modulus of elasticity of the plastic layer.

The invention relates to a sandwich structure for vehicle bodies, in particular for flat areas of a vehicle including which require sufficient rigidity and good thermal and sonic insulation.
In order to achieve sufficient rigidity in the case of prior art construction of a roof (GM 79 29 367 U1), an initially separate semi-finished profile frame, rigid with respect to torsion, must first be prepared and must then be irremovably fastened to the outer skin of the roof along its edges. The foamed on plastic layer covers the semi-finished product profile frame connected irremovably to the skin of the roof. If the skin of the roof consisting of light metal or plastic is to be effectively made rigid with respect to bending, according to the known proposal, at least one profile strut extending transversely to the longitudinal beams of the semi-finished product profile frame must be provided. The prior art construction of such a roof requires a significant expenditure in material and production.
The corresponding description applies to the sandwich structures for the bodies of vehicles known from GB 2 311 966 A. According to this state of the art, an outer shell and an inner shell for the sandwich structure are produced from plastic by means of injection molding, and connected firmly and tightly to one another in a subsequent step by a plastic welding process or by the application of adhesive along their edges. Then the hollow body so formed is filled with plastic and allowed to harden. Alternatively, a filling body can be prepared in advance which is inserted between the outer and the inner shells when they are connected together. For higher rigidity requirements, reinforcing parts of aluminum must be inserted in the cavity between the outer and inner shells provided the outer shell is formed with channels for accommodating such reinforcing parts.
Finally, roofs of composite material are also known (DE 32 02 594 C2) that are composed of an airtight and rain-tight outer skin, a central honeycombed/structural layer with aluminum or cardboard webs or moderately hard foam and fleece structures, a partly rigid, porous inner layer, and a cushion and/or decorative layer, and produced by means of a hot pressing process.
In general terms, this invention includes a sandwich structure for a vehicle body. The structure has a deep-drawn outer skin and, foamed onto the inner side of the outer skin, a plastic layer which is provided, if necessary, with a textile flat pattern or a decorative plastic film on its upper surface, the outer skin is formed without a frame at its outer edges, and is provided with an encircling canting where the foamed-on plastic layer reaches up to the canting, and in the foamed-on plastic layer a sheathingxe2x80x94not rigid in itselfxe2x80x94is provided over the entire flat area of the outer skin by which method the modulus of elasticity of the foamed-on plastic layer is increased.
According to the invention, a sandwich structure for the body of a vehicle is provided without additional expensive profile elements for frames and struts, but which nonetheless, due to the effect of the outer skin and sheathed plastic layer, achieves a rigidity with respect to bending and total rigidity that satisfies all the stability requirements of the sandwich structure for the operational demands of the vehicle. The sheathing is not rigid in itselfxe2x80x94set within the plastic layer makes possible an effective sheathing of the plastic layer up to into the edge areas of the outer skin when formed with an encircling canting in a certain way.
Textiles, knitted materials, fleece, grids, mats, and so on such as glass, plastic (for example, polyester or aramide), and/or carbon fibers which are bendable or not rigid in themselves come into consideration as sheathing to the extent that they are adapted to the form of the outer skin into their edge areas, and can be penetrated and encircled by the foamed-on plastic in the closed foaming tool. Preferably, however, fibrous materials are used for the formation of the sheathing that are incorporated into the plastic layer as sections of fiber lengths in uniform distribution but in unordered position.
Particularly good results were achieved by the use of a sheathing of fiberglass materials that are present in longitudinal sections of twisted fiberglass bundles of ca. 4,800 TEX between ca. 12 mm and ca 100 mm in length. The modulus of elasticity of the foamed plastic material, which has a value of ca. 300 N/mm2 without this sheathing, could be increased to over 1600 N/mm2 according to claim 4 with the application of a fiberglass sheathing of 25 wt % with respect to the total weight of the sheathed plastic foam.
The fiberglass materials can be used in longitudinal sections of different lengths where particularly good sheathing results have been achieved by the use of two different lengths with a larger percentage on the smaller length, about two thirds of the amount of fiberglass. In the scope of the range of longitudinal sections, however, longitudinal sections of a single length can also be used.
Metallic materials such as steel or aluminum sheets are suitable for the outer skin. However, the use of an outer skin of thermoplastic plastic film, deep-drawn in a vacuum, preferably of a two-layer co-extrusion film, yields a sandwich structure of convincing stability.
The co-extrusion film advantageously includes PMMA for the outer layer as well as a mixture of PC and ASA for the inner layer, and has the layer thickness ratios specified whereby the thickness of the outer layer preferably makes up about 15% of the total thickness of the outer skin. For example, the total thickness of the co-extrusion film is about 1.3 mm of which about 0.2 mm is due to the outer layer.
The use of a plastic also offers the advantage that the plastic in the mass can be prepared in the color desired such that the sandwich structure does not have to be retroactively lacquered. The plastic film can furthermore be given a shining surface by use of a high-gloss, polished, deep-drawn form in the form of a shell or a grained surface by previous calendering during the production of the outer skin.
If the outer skin is formed of a thin aluminum sheet, its thickness can be relatively small because of the sheathed plastic layer, preferably ca. 0.6 mm in the interest of conserving weight. For the outer skin the aluminum alloy 0.4 Si 1.2 is particularly suitable.
With the use of an aluminum sheet as material for the deep-drawn outer skin, the sheet can be lacquered ready-made in the desired color through its hydraulic deep-drawn deformation, and provided with a protective film. In the case of the deep-drawn deformation, the lacquer layer remains undamaged after withdrawal of the protective film. The lacquer structure can be multi-layered to withstand the deformation of the aluminum sheet with tears or other damage.
A covering polyester-based lacquer of about 18 to 23 um in thickness can be applied, which in turn can be covered by a clear lacquer layer of PVDF of 22 um thickness to a primary layer of epoxy resin of about 5 to 7 um in thickness a covering lacquer on the basis of polyester of about 18 to 23 um in thickness. The burning in temperature for a multi-layer lacquer structure of this type is about 240xc2x0 C. The hydraulic deep-drawn deformation of the ready made lacquered aluminum sheet can be done in several steps, for example in three steps. Deep-drawing rates of 60 mm/s have proven themselves as non-damaging for the lacquer structure.
Canting the outer skin before trimming the edges passes into an encircling flange edge angled outwards such that the sheathed plastic layer is guided on the canting up to the flange edge. The trimming of the edge of the sandwich structure, for example by contour cutting or laser section, removes the encircling, angled off flange edge and the outer area of the canting of the outer skin, as well as the sheathed plastic layer adhering to the areas sloping away near it. A canting edge of the outer skin, important for rigidity, and the sheathed plastic layer on the canting edge remains after the trimming. The edge section is guided through the canting as well as through the sheathed plastic layer, forming a section face which, in the case of the vehicle roof, could be set directly on the roof frame located on the vehicle body.
A variant for the encircling canting of the outer skin in which the canting passes into an encircling flange edge angled outward on foaming in of the plastic layer, a seal is applied to the inner side of the outer skin over its entire width to seal the foam form between the lower part and the upper part. In the case of this formation variant, trimming of the edge after the foaming process is entirely omitted. Moreover, the encircling flange edge angled outward can be stamped or fine-cut for the formation of a defined final geometry of the outer skin during deep-drawing of the outer skin or in a subsequent step. With flat application to a seal of the foam form, the encircling flange edge advantageously provides for a good and clean seal of the foam form during the following foaming process. In fact, it is possible in principle that only the outer skin has an encircling canting before the foaming process without an encircling flange edge angled outward that has already been removed, if necessary. However, the sealing of the foam form is then more difficult in structure, in particular the sharp cant of the final canting could have a negative influence on the lifetime of the seal of the foam form.
In a particularly advantageous development of the sandwich structure, there is banded onto the canting of the deep- drawn outer skin, a seal which has a two-legged, essentially U-shaped cross-section, where in the inner leg of the seal is foamed on the plastic layer while the outer leg forms the sealing surface. As a result, the sandwich structure is already provided in an advantageous manner. The plastic layer on the inner side of the outer skin is foamed on with an integrated seal that seals the sandwich structure with respect to the bordering components of the body without additional operational steps. For example, the banding of an additional, initially separately prepared seal onto the finished sandwich structure is necessary for this purpose; which provides additional cost savings. This development offers still another advantage in that during the foaming process the seal bond between the lower part and the upper part of the foam form, such that at this point in the process, no additional sealant has to be provided which would potentially wear by repeated use.
The plastic layer includes a PUR foam that is formed of a polyol and an isocyanate in a specified mixture ratio, about 1 to 2. The mixture of the two plastic components with the fiberglass sheathing is done according to the prior-art LFI process (long fiber injection).
The liquid plastic/fiberglass mass mixed in the mixing head is then applied to the deep-drawn outer skin laid on the lower part of the foaming tool, with its inner side pointing outward, approximately in its center,. beginning over an approximately path before the upper part of the tool is brought into the position above the lower part of the tool corresponding to the intended thickness of the foamed plastic layer. The driven foam fills the form and penetrates into the edge areas of the outer skin, up to the encircling canting of the outer skin. If necessary, the foam may be trimmed later.
If a plastic film is used as the outer skin, the inner side of the outer skin is expediently exposed to flame for activation before the application of the foamable plastic, then an outstanding bonding of the outer skin to the foamed plastic layer is achieved.
In the case where a decorative flat pattern is to be provided on the surface of the foamed on plastic layer, a pattern can be selected. The form of foam applied to the side of the plastic layer away from the outer skin such that a firm bond between the foamed on plastic layer and the decorative flat pattern results. For expediency, the decorative flat pattern may be temporarily stretched on the upper part of the foam tool, would be carried along by this into the foam position, and would remain on the plastic layer after the removal of the upper part of the tool.
A porous decorative flat pattern can be structured in multiple layers, where in the flat pattern is provided with a protective layer turned toward the plastic layer that prevents the penetration of the foamed-on plastic into its layer region through the pores of the decorative flat pattern.
Even in the foaming process, the sandwich structure can be utilized in an advantageous manner with additional function elements. Thus, a sandwich structure, can be provide for example in a vehicle roof whose outer skin has an opening on the side of the plastic layer. A guide profile for any optionally closing sliding cover where the opening is foamed on.
A sound absorbing surface layer structure can be foamed behind the plastic layer away from the outer skin, even during the foaming process, whereby the sound insulating characteristics of the sandwich structure can be improved still further for the formation of, as an example, hoods for a motor. Finally, instead of or in addition to the above measures relating to the macrogeometry of the surface of the plastic layer, a structuring of the microgeometry of the side of the sandwich structure turned away from the outer skin said structuring corresponding to the current sound-insulating requirementsxe2x80x94can also be done. According to which partially damaging regions with reduced density of the foam material are foamed on the side of the plastic layer away from the outer skin. This foaming of the damping regions on the plastic layer is done expediently in a second shot; that is, after foaming of the plastic layer on the inner side of the outer skin in a subsequent step, the damping regions are foamed on the plastic layer.

Composite component for vehicle bodywork


Electromotive apparatus comprising at least one winding (30) including a plurality of generally triangular coil turns (34). A plurality of generally triangular stator segments (55, 56, 57) are mounted within the coil turns (34). The winding is formed by a hollow conductor, and it is shaped for connection to a source of cooling fluid. A molded support (32) is fastened to the windings 30 and to the segments (55, 56, 57) for supporting the apparatus at its outer diameter.

This invention relates to an electromotive machine, and more particularly to a stator winding for an axial air gap generator.
While the typical electric motor or generator in common use is a type referred to as a radial air gap device, axial air gap devices are also well known. In a radial air gap device, a cylindrical rotor turns within an outer cylindrical stator, whereas an axial air gap device includes a generally flat "pancake" stator and, coaxial with it, at least one generally flat "pancake" rotor. The T. S. Varga U.S. Pat. No. 4,959,578, for example, describes a motor of the axial gap type.
An axial gap permanent magnet (PM) generator has advantages making it useful in aircraft electric power generating systems because it is relatively light, short and efficient. A preferred arrangement is one including a stator having windings and laminated stator teeth, and a PM rotor on each side of the stator.
Such an arrangement presents construction problems, however. The only practical way to support the stator is by attachment to the end turns at the outer diameter of the stator windings. Since a rotor is on each side of the stator, no "back iron" is provided in the stator, and therefore the stator teeth must be supported by other means. Further, the stator windings must be mounted in a relatively tight space, particularly at the inner diameter of the stator. At the outer diameter of the stator, the end turns of a conventional winding can be long and bulky, resulting in higher copper losses (and heat) and an undesirable increase in the overall diameter of the stator.
It is a primary object of the present invention to provide an improved construction which avoids the foregoing problems.

Stator windings for axial gap generators


The semiconductor device of the present invention comprises a substrate; at least one through hole formed through the substrate between front and back surfaces of the substrate; an electrical connection portion formed by a semiconductor process on at least one surface of the front and back surfaces of the substrate in a vicinity of an end opening of the through hole; an insulating layer formed of an organic material on an inside surface of the through hole; and an electroconductive layer formed on an inside surface of the insulating layer, wherein the electrical connection portion is electrically connected to the electroconductive layer to be electrically connected to a side of the other surface of the substrate.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor device having semiconductor elements formed on its surface and to a method of manufacturing the semiconductor device.
2. Related Background Art
Semiconductor devices have been formed in such a manner that wiring and electrode pads are formed on a substrate such as a semiconductor substrate or a glass substrate by a semiconductor process, and a plurality of semiconductor chips are mounted on the surface of the substrate. With the miniaturization of semiconductor devices, there has been an increased need to reduce the size of the semiconductor devices and to increase the mounting density. To meet this need, connections from the back surface of a substrate to external terminals are made by providing electrical conduction between the front and back surfaces of the substrate, the back surface of the substrate is used for wiring by providing electrical conduction between the front and back surfaces, or three-dimensional mounting is performed in such a manner that a plurality of substrates are stacked and electrical connections are made between the front and back surfaces of the substrates.
Methods for providing electrical conduction between the front and back surfaces of a substrate by using a through hole formed through the substrate are known. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-92675 discloses a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device in which electrical conduction is provided between the front and back surfaces of a substrate by using a through hole formed through the substrate.
In the method disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-92675, protective layer and openings where no protective layer is formed are first formed on the front and back surfaces of a substrate on which semiconductor elements are formed in advance. Subsequently, etching with an etchant corrosive to the semiconductor substrate or etching using water jetting or laser capable of etching a small-area portion is effected at openings until the semiconductor substrate is etched through, thereby forming through holes. Subsequently, an insulating layer is formed on the front surface of the semiconductor substrate and the inside surfaces of the through holes by using thermal oxidation or chemical vapor deposition. The through holes are then closed by chemical vapor deposition or plating and electrically electroconductive layers are formed on the front and back surfaces of the substrate. Thereafter, the electroconductive layers on the front and back surfaces of the semiconductor substrate are etched back. Portions of the electroconductive layers on front and back surfaces of the semiconductor substrate other than the portions of the electroconductive layers in the through holes of the semiconductor substrate are thereby removed. Thereafter, openings are selectively formed in the protective layer and the insulating layer covering the semiconductor elements formed on the front surface of the semiconductor substrate. Subsequently, a first surface layer wiring film is formed on the substrate surface by using chemical vapor deposition, physical vapor deposition or plating. Subsequently, the first surface layer wiring film is selectively etched to form first surface layer wiring, which connects the semiconductor elements and the conductors formed in the through holes. The semiconductor elements and the first surface layer wiring are connected by the above-described process, thus providing electrical conduction from the semiconductor elements to the back surface of the semiconductor substrate via the through holes.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 4-10649 discloses a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device in which electrical conduction is provided between the front and back surfaces of a semiconductor substrate via a through hole formed through the semiconductor substrate. Circuits and electrode pads are formed on a surface of a semiconductor substrate. Through holes are formed in the semiconductor substrate at positions at which the electrode pads are formed. Thereafter, an insulating material is stacked on the semiconductor substrate by chemical vapor deposition to fill the through holes with the insulating material. Holes smaller than the through holes are then formed through the insulating material in the through holes to expose the electrode pads at the other surface side of the semiconductor substrate. A layer of an electroconductive material such as Al is thereafter formed at the through holes by vacuum deposition and patterning is performed on the layer to form connection pads connecting to the electrode pads.
In recent years, through holes in semiconductor devices have been used in various fields, e.g., in integrated circuit substrates employed in stacked multi-chip packages (MCPs), semiconductor memories, complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) sensors, and auto-focus (AF) sensors, micromachines, etc., in semiconductor packages in which a plurality of semiconductor chips are stacked, and for connection of ink jet heads to main units. In a case where through holes are formed in a semiconductor device for electrical conduction between front and back surfaces, if semiconductor elements or electrode pads electrically connected to semiconductor elements are formed after the formation of the through holes, there is a need to again form a wiring pattern or the like after the formation of the semiconductor elements or the electrode pads and the manufacturing process becomes complicated, resulting in an increase in manufacturing cost. To simplify the manufacturing process to reduce the manufacturing cost, a procedure is required in which semiconductor elements and electrode pads electrically connected to the semiconductor elements are formed in the vicinity of opening ends of through holes in a semiconductor substrate by using a semiconductor process, and the through holes are thereafter formed in the semiconductor substrate.
In the art disclosed in the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-92675, however, a thermal oxidation treatment is used as a step of forming an insulating layer. In ordinary cases, a thermal oxidation treatment is performed at a high temperature of 1000° C. or higher to form a dense oxide film. It is known that in ordinary cases a failure can occur in the function of a semiconductor element when the semiconductor element is subjected to a high temperature of 600° C. or higher. Also, it is highly possible that an electrode pad formed on an electroconductive substrate by gold plating or the like will separate from the substrate if it is subjected to a high temperature of 600° C. or higher. Therefore it is difficult to use a step of forming an insulating layer by a thermal oxidation treatment in a case where semiconductor elements and electrode pads are formed on a semiconductor substrate in advance.
In Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-92675 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 4-10649, use of chemical vapor deposition as a step of forming an insulating layer is described. However, it is difficult to use thermal CVD among chemical vapor deposition methods in a case where semiconductor elements and electrode pads are formed on a substrate in advance, since thermal CVD ordinarily requires heating at a high temperature of 600° C. or higher, as in the case of the above-mentioned thermal oxidation treatment.
In a case where the inside surface of a through hole in a substrate is made electroconductive, for example, for the reason that the substrate is electroconductive, a leak occurs between the electroconductive semiconductor substrate and an electroconductive layer formed on the inside surface of the insulating layer, resulting in failure in the functions of the semiconductor device using the substrate. With the increase in the degree of integration or in packaging density of semiconductor devices, through holes have become reduced in bore diameter, and the aspect ratio, i.e., the ratio of the depth and the bore diameter of through holes, is increasing. Therefore there is also a need to form an insulating layer uniform in thickness and perfectly defect-free in through holes having higher aspect ratios.
However, according to the chemical vapor deposition methods described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-92675 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 4-10649, an insulating layer is ordinarily formed on the entire front and back surfaces of a semiconductor substrate as well as in a through hole. The forming speed of an insulating layer in a through hole is extremely small in comparison with that at the front and back surfaces of a semiconductor substrate, since the gas cannot easily enter the through hole and cannot circulate well. Thus, it is difficult to efficiently form an insulating layer on the inside surface of a through hole. It is also difficult to maintain the uniformity of formed layer. This phenomenon becomes noticeable in a case where an insulating film is formed on the inside surface of a through hole having a high aspect ratio or a small-diameter through hole. In particular, it is extremely difficult to form, by chemical vapor deposition, a uniform layer in a through hole of a semiconductor chip for ordinarily use when the aspect ratio is 5 or higher or when the inside diameter is 100 μm or smaller.
Also, the forming speed of an insulating layer formed in the inside surf-ace of a through hole is higher at the opening end of the through hole than at an inner portion of the through hole for the above-described reason. As a result, the film becomes thicker at the opening end of the through hole and thinner at the inner position. Thus, in some cases, there is high possibility of failure to insulate an inner portion of a through hole due to the existence of a defective portion of an insulating layer.

Semiconductor device and method of manufacturing semiconductor device


The present invention relates to a series of "reconstituted castor oils". The term reconstituted as used hereon refers to a process in which castor oil and one or more oils of natural origin are transesterified under conditions of high temperature and catalyst to make a "reconstituted product" having an altered alkyl distribution and consequently altered chemical and physical properties.

Natural waxes and oils fall into two distinct classes, based upon their chemistry. The first class is made up on the triglycerides and are generally referred to as oils. They are tri-esters of glycerin, hence the name triglycerides. The structure of the triglyceride is: ##STR1##
Naturally occurring triglycerides are natural products derived from plant species and have a species specific carbon distribution in the "R" portion. For example Soybean oil has a naturally occurring "R" 29% oleic C.sub.17 H.sub.33 (oleic), and 54% linoleic C.sub.17 H.sub.31 (linoleic). Soybean oil is a low viscosity oil that is not good for dispersing pigments.
In contrast castor oil, is a high viscosity oil that is a good pigment dispersant. In many applications the viscosity is prohibitively high. Castor oil as produced by the plant has a far different distribution. Castor oil is 89% by weight a hydroxy-acid having the formula C.sub.17 H.sub.34 -O referred to as ricinoleic.
The process of the current invention will allow for the synthesis of a reconstituted oil having a "mixed" carbon distribution and very desirable properties that can be customized for particular applications.
Another example of where reconstitution improves properties is mitigation of drying properties in so called drying oils. These oils have a high iodine value, generally over 175. These oils homo-polymerize to make films and generate heat. The heat is not properly dissipated can cause spontaneous combustion. By reacting a high iodine value oil with a lower iodine value oil we can lower the heat generated and the hardness of the film that forms.
It must be understood that these are not blends of oils. For example, if one blends castor oil and jojoba oil, the resultant mixture is s cloudy mass, that rapidly separates on standing. The process of the present invention makes the compounds react and remain clear and homogeneous. Not only that, the range of castor to Jojoba can be altered widely to change functional properties. Beeswax separates from soybean oil, but when reacted according to the process of our invention, remains clear and results in an altered melting point and hardness of the resulting wax. The process allows for very wide variation and preparation of materials heretofore unattainable.
The term "wax" refers to a series of esters. Unlike triglycerides that are tri-esters of glycerin, these products are monoesters having alkyl distributions on both sides of the ester. A typical ester is beeswax. Beeswax conforms to the following structure: EQU R'--O--C(O)--R"
Botanists attempt to alter the distribution of the "R" group using genetic engineering and plant selection processes for both waxes and esters. This is a difficult, expensive and time-consuming process that allows for only marginal modification of the "R" group in natural oils. We have discovered that by using a process called "Reconstitution of the waxes or oils" we are able to prepare compounds that can be made to vary far more radically in "R` composition and consequently have new unique and controllable properties, heretofore unattainable using genetic manipulation and plant selection. The present invention to provides a series of products that are produced by this process for use in applications where the altered properties can be used. For example the modification of the melting point of beeswax by reconstituting it with soybean oil results in an ability to custom tailor melting points of the resulting wax for use in lipsticks, where the ability to have a melting point near body temperature is important. Another example of an application is pigment processing. Castor oil is commonly used as a solvent for milling pigment. The high viscosity of castor oil can be a problem however. By reconstituting castor oil and coconut oil the viscosity can be made to a desired value and the pigment dispersing ability and viscosity specifically controlled. Attempts to control these properties by genetic engineering have not been successful. We can simply make more and different variations of reconstituted products than can be bio-engineered.


In some embodiments a ternary electrocatalyst is provided. The electrocatalyst can be used in an anode for oxidizing alcohol in a fuel cell. In some embodiments, the ternary electrocatalyst may include a noble metal particle having a surface decorated with clusters of SnO2 and Rh. The noble metal particles may include platinum, palladium, ruthenium, iridium, gold, and combinations thereof. In some embodiments, the ternary electrocatalyst includes SnO2 particles having a surface decorated with clusters of a noble metal and Rh. Some ternary electrocatalysts include noble metal particles with clusters of SnO2 and Rh at their surfaces. In some embodiments the electrocatalyst particle cores are nanoparticles. Some embodiments of the invention provide a fuel cell including an anode incorporating the ternary electrocatalyst. In some aspects a method of using ternary electrocatalysts of Pt, Rh, and SnO2 to oxidize an alcohol in a fuel cell is described.

The present invention relates to electrocatalyst compositions. More specifically, the invention relates to electrocatalysts which can be used on the anode of a fuel cell to oxidize alcohol, in particular, ethanol.
A fuel cell is an electrochemical device with an anode and a cathode that converts chemical energy provided by a fuel and an oxidant into electricity. An electrolyte is required which is in contact with both electrodes and which may be alkaline, acidic, solid or liquid. The basic process is highly efficient and essentially pollution-free. Also, since single fuel cells can be assembled in stacks of varying sizes, systems can be designed to produce a wide range of output levels.
As an energy conversion device, the fuel cell is distinguished from a conventional battery by its fuel storage capacity. Unlike a battery which consumes internally stored fuel and needs to be either discarded or recharged after a certain time, fuel is fed to the fuel cell from an external source giving the fuel cell a practically unlimited storage capacity. Also, the fuel cell is distinguished from a battery in that its electrodes are catalytically active.
Current is generated by reaction on the fuel cell electrode surfaces, which are in contact with an electrolyte. The fuel is oxidized at the anode and gives up electrons to an external electrical load. The oxidant accepts electrons and is reduced at the cathode. Ionic current through an electrolyte completes the circuit.
In many fuel cell systems, a hydrogen fuel is produced by converting a hydrocarbon-based fuel such as methane, or an oxygenated hydrocarbon fuel such as methanol, to hydrogen in a process called reforming. This reformate fuel contains, in addition to hydrogen, high levels of carbon dioxide, usually around 25%. The reformate fuel also contains small amounts of impurities, such as carbon monoxide, typically at levels of around 1%.
Other fuel cells, called "direct" or "non-reformed" fuel cells oxidize fuel high in hydrogen content directly, without the hydrogen first being separated by a reforming process. It has been known since the 1950s that lower primary alcohols, particularly the C1-C5 alcohols, can be oxidized directly (i.e., without reformation to H2+CO or H2+CO2) at the anode of a fuel cell. Methanol and ethanol are particularly useful.
Because compactness is critical to the commercial viability of utilizing a fuel cell as an energy source in such items as electric automobiles, the ability to oxidize alcohol as a fuel directly without having to also utilize a reformer is important. Serious drawbacks have also been encountered in the storage of hydrogen for use in fuel cells. Thus, a "direct" fuel cell, such as an ethanol fuel cell, is advantageous in that it is compact and no energy is used up in reformation. Further, the fuel is easily stored in liquid form, is high in hydrogen content, is highly reactive in a fuel cell, and is economically viable.
In a typical ethanol fuel cell, ethanol is oxidized to produce electricity, heat, water, and carbon dioxide. The goal in ethanol fuel processing is complete ethanol oxidation for maximum energy generation as shown in the equation:Anode: CH3CH2OH+3H2O→2CO2+12H++12e−Cathode: 3O2+12e−+12H+→H2ONet: CH3CH2OH+3O2→2CO2+3H2O.  (1)
In the absence of an electrocatalyst, a typical electrode reaction occurs, if at all, only at very high overpotentials. Thus, the oxidation and reduction reactions require catalysts in order to proceed at useful rates. Catalysts that promote electrochemical reactions, such as oxygen reduction and hydrogen oxidation in a fuel cell, are often referred to as electrocatalysts. Electrocatalysts are important because the energy efficiency of any cell is determined, in part, by the overpotentials necessary at the cell's anode and cathode.
Platinum (Pt), an expensive metal, is the best catalyst for many electrochemical reactions, including ethanol oxidation. A major obstacle in the development of ethanol fuel cells is the loss of electrochemical activity of even the best electrocatalyst due to "poisoning" by carbon monoxide (CO), and the accumulation of other intermediates such as acetate and acetaldehyde caused by the inability of Pt to break C—C bonds except at very high potentials. CO is an intermediate in the oxidation of ethanol to carbon dioxide (CO2). The CO molecule is strongly adsorbed on the electroactive surface of the electrode, obstructing the oxidation of new fuel molecules. It is well known that CO, even at levels of 1-10 ppm, is a severe poison to platinum electrocatalysts and significantly reduces fuel cell performance.
Various attempts have been made to find a solution to the CO poisoning problem. For example, Reddy et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,132,193 discloses the use of gold crystals for the oxidation of alcohol. Yepez, U.S. Pat. No. 5,804,325, discloses the use of deliberately occluded hydrogen in the anode to chemisorb the poisons. Various combinations of metals have also been employed as an electrocatalyst material in an attempt to avoid or minimize the CO poisoning problem. For example, Ma et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,702,836 discloses an electrocatalyst obtained by combining platinum oxides and iron oxides to form Pt/Fe particles in a colloidal solution.
In spite of the foregoing, prior attempts to solve the problem of CO poisoning and breaking the C—C bond at the anode of ethanol fuel cells have been unsuccessful. Prior attempts to avoid the problem have proven to be too expensive, ineffective, or impractical to be commercially viable. Thus, there remains a need for electrocatalysts that can be used on the anode for alcohol oxidation in fuel cells and that are resistant to CO poisoning and can break the C—C bond at low potentials.

Electrocatalyst for alcohol oxidation at fuel cell anodes


A speed change device has an input member rotatable in opposite directions to transmit higher torque as its rotation angle becomes larger, and a variable angle-ratio change mechanism including rollers and teethed wheels that are arranged in parallel to each other. The rollers and teethed wheels are respectively connected to rotate together with each other. The teeth of the wheels have a clearance on a pitch circle between their adjacent teeth so that the clearance is larger than a slip amount of the rollers in a low torque range where the rollers transmit low torque with bypassing the wheels in a normal operation. The wheels are engaged with each other to transmit high torque in a high torque range where the high torque is applied in an exceptional operation and the rollers slip larger than the slip amount in the low torque range.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a speed change device that is capable of changing speed and torque between an input member and an output member, and also relates to a steering system using the speed change device to change a steering angle ratio thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
A steering system with a speed change mechanism of this kind is disclosed in Japanese examined patent publication No. (Sho) 56-45824. This steering system has a speed change device disposed between an input shaft connected with a steering shaft and an output shaft connected with steering gears. The speed change device includes a first and second planetary gear sets arranged symmetrically to each other, and one of the sets can be controlled to change a transmission ratio. In the steering system, however, the planetary gear sets cause slapping gear noise and play between the adjacent gear teeth, impairing steering operation feeling. Improving the precision of a tooth configuration for avoiding these disadvantages brings high manufacturing cost and large resistance torque in steering operation.
Another variable steering system of this kind is disclosed in Japanese patent laying-open publication No. (Hei) 08-291848. This steering system is equipped with a speed change device consisting of two planetary roller sets disposed between an input shaft connected with a steering shaft and an output shaft connected with steering gears. However, the rollers cause a large slip therebetween in high torque range, decreasing transmitting torque. Using larger torque-transmittable rollers for reducing the slip amount brings large resistance torque in steering operation.
Incidentally, Japanese patent laying-open publication No. 2002-213566 discloses a speed change device having a planetary roller set and a planetary gear set that are arranged in parallel to each other between an input shaft and an output shaft. In this device, a sun roller is connected with a sun gear, planetary rollers are connected with planetary pinions, and a ring roller is connected with a ring gear so as to remove the above disadvantages of the conventional steering systems.
The above known conventional speed change device, however, encounters a problem that it is not suitable for a steering system of a motor vehicle. The reason comes from that the conventional speed change drive is constructed so that the rollers with the gears rotate continuously for a certain period in one rotational direction or the other rotational direction. This operation is different from an operation, such as in a steering operation of a motor vehicle.
The gears used in this conventional speed change device are formed to have backlash, which is set very small, so that the gears can rotate smoothly and high-efficiently during continuously rotating. When the above conventional speed change device is used in a steering system, the input to the gears are continually changed in its rotating direction and in the amount of torque, which causes the gears to easily and frequently engage with each other during the steering operation, even in a normal steering operation when the vehicle runs. This frequent engagement of the gears impairs a steering operation feeling of a driver.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a speed change device which overcomes the foregoing drawbacks and can smoothly transmit torque under the circumstances such that input changes continuously or frequently in the amount of input torque and an input direction.
It is, therefore, another object of the present invention to provide a steering system which overcomes the foregoing drawbacks and can be operated smoothly in a normal steering operation and ensure high torque at variable steering angle in an exceptional steering operation, such when a motor vehicle is stopped and a steering wheel is rotated at a large angle.


There is disclosed a method, apparatus and computer program for deriving overlay information from a user input for a base message schema associated with a node in a message flow. The base message schema is presented to the user and has at least one variable portion. A user selection of a variable portion of the base schema is received. The user is then provided with possible overlay schema information for the selected variable portion. A user selection of the schema to be overlaid on the selected variable portion is received. The selected overlay schema is associated with the base schema.

The invention relates to message processing and more particularly to the use of schema information in the processing of a message.
It is known for business applications to use web services, messaging etc. to communicate with one another over an Enterprise Service Bus (ESB). For example, a certain class of applications may send messages to each other using messaging systems, which are connected together via the bus. In this way, one application connected to one messaging system may talk to a different application connected to another messaging system.
Applications interacting across an ESB commonly use messages such as XML messages to communicate with one another. Messages are normally described by type definitions (schema) that define the message structure and allowable content. Message type definitions may include weakly-typed fields, where the actual message contents may vary and more than one definition may apply for that part of the message. For XML messages and in some other cases, XML Schema provides the type definition, and weakly-typed fields are most commonly encountered where the "any", "anyType", or "anySimpleType" constructs are used. These are constructs that are well known in the art.
Tasks such as viewing message structure, for example, in order to define transformations between one message type and another usually depend upon a visualization of the message structure, which is derived directly from the message type definition. Visualizing the content of weakly-typed fields is difficult, because their content structure is variable, and the XML Schema or other type information does not describe the content fully. In these situations, the result is an incomplete visualization of limited assistance for defining how these messages should be handled, and the end user must often write custom logic to handle the weakly-typed content.

Deriving overlay information from a user input for a base message schema associated with a node in a message flow

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION


In general, the subject matter described in this disclosure can be embodied in methods, systems, and program products for generating a display of information regarding passengers of an airplane flight. The method includes displaying a graphical depiction of passenger seats for a particular airplane flight. The method includes identifying that multiple passengers booked to the particular airplane flight have a particular status. The method includes identifying that the multiple passengers that have been identified as having the particular status have been assigned to respective multiple passenger seats. The method includes displaying a graphical indication in association with each of the multiple passenger seats, concurrently with the display of the graphical depiction of the passenger seats.

Crew members of some commercial flights are provided with a passenger manifest that details the passengers that are booked to the flight and certain information on their boarding passes. Crew members use this document to carry out their job functions within the aircraft, for example, as the crew members interact with passengers. The crew members, however, may not always have the passenger manifest with them and the passenger manifest may only provide limited information on the passengers. Moreover, the information on the passenger manifest may not be up-to-date as to the status of the passengers due to seat changes and other last minute changes.

Display of passenger information for an airplane flight


A vehicle side-view mirror water removal arrangement is easily retrofitted to vehicles having an existing source of compressed air and a side-view mirror with a reflective surface. The arrangement includes a valve having an input port connected to the existing source of compressed air and an output port, the valve being movable between open and closed positions to control the flow of compressed air from the existing source of compressed air to the output port of the valve. A conduit's proximal end is connected to the output port of the valve with its distal end located at the side-view mirror for conducting the compressed air from the output port of the valve to the side-view mirror. A fastener fastens the distal end of the conduit to the side-view mirror so that the compressed air flows down the reflective surface of the side-view mirror, a nozzle at the distal end being provided to spread the compressed air substantially over an entire width of the side-view mirror to clear any water adhering to the reflective surface of the mirror.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to an arrangement for clearing a vehicle side-view mirror of water adhering to the reflective surface of the side-view mirror, and more particularly, to such an arrangement for use on large vehicles such as trucks, buses and other vehicles in which the mirror is separated from the vehicle body and/or positioned remotely from the driver side of the vehicle and out of reach from the driver.
2. Background of the Invention
On large trucks, side-view mirrors provide the only effective means for enabling the driver of the vehicle to observe traffic and related conditions on both sides and to the rear of the vehicle. While systems are readily available for removing rain water from vehicle windshields, side-view mirrors generally are not provided with such systems.
Unfortunately, because such side view mirrors are mounted in positions outwardly of the side view windows of the vehicle, they are also in a position exposed to the accumulation of snow, ice, mud, rain water and other foreign material on the reflecting surfaces. This is particularly true during inclement weather, the very time when use of the mirror becomes even more critical because during wet and rainy conditions, rain water adheres to the side-view mirror making it difficult to see the reflected image. Since large vehicles such as trucks do not have rear-view mirrors in the cab, the driver must rely solely on the side-view mirrors to see what is behind them and to make lane changes and the like. As a result, this lack of visibility results in safety concerns when driving in wet conditions.
While periodic cleaning of the mirrors ensures good visibility under normal driving conditions, it is difficult if not impossible for a driver to constantly keep the surface of the side-view mirrors clean during unfavorable driving conditions and when the vehicle is in motion, because the side-view mirrors of a large vehicle like a truck are separated from the vehicle body or positioned remotely from the driver side of the vehicle making it difficult for the driver to reach the mirror while driving to clean off any rain water adhering to the mirror surface. Also, these mirrors are high off of the ground, making it difficult to clean them when stopped at a truck stop. Moreover, during wet and rainy weather, the mirrors need to be cleaned quite often so stopping to repeatedly clean these mirrors is not really an option and cuts into profits due to the increased travel time.
There are arrangements for cleaning side-view mirrors such as disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 4,928,580 to Mcintyre et al. which relates to an automobile windscreen cleaning device using high a velocity flow of air. As best seen in FIG. 1, a turbine 32 produces a high volume of high velocity air that is conducted by hoses 54, 55 to side-view mirrors 14, 16 respectively, to emit air upwardly over the surfaces of the mirrors to effect a cleaning and clearing action. However, this arrangement cannot be easily retro-fitted to existing vehicle configurations, requires the addition of a turbine not normally found on passenger vehicles and is operationally inefficient for use to clear a side-view mirror of adhering rain water since the flow of air is upward over the surfaces of the mirror and counter to the pull of gravity.
Other known arrangements are disclosed by U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,134,612 and 4,196,930 respectively to Nelson and Busche, which relate to vehicle mirror cleaning devices which use air flow deflections to direct a stream of air across the face of the mirror and provide a cleaning effect but these arrangements are generally ineffective since the force of the stream of air is limited by the vehicle's speed. U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,932,798 2,849,760 4.538,85 4,928,580, disclose vehicle windscreens or side-view mirror cleaning devices using wiper arrangements and are highlighted as an indication of the general state of the art.
Accordingly, the need has arisen for a means by which side-view mirrors on trucks and other large vehicles can be easily and effectively cleared of rain water during inclement weather in a quick, easy and effective manner without the need for the driver to stop repeatedly to manually wipe the mirrors, thus improving driving safety for all on the road.

Vehicle side-view mirror water removal arrangement


Systems, methods, and non-transitory computer readable media may be configured to provide instructions for driver training. Environmental information and driving information for a vehicle may be obtained. The environmental information may characterize positions of objects in an environment of the vehicle. The driving information may characterize operations of the vehicle in the environment. A desired vehicle operation may be determined based on the environmental information and the driving information. An instruction may be provided to a driver of the vehicle based on the desired vehicle operation. The instruction may describe one or more operations to be taken by the driver to execute the desired vehicle operation.

Under conventional approaches, a person who is proficient at driving may need to accompany another person or oversee another person's driving to teach the other person how to drive a vehicle. Such training of drivers may be restricted by the availability of persons who are proficient at driving. One person who is proficient at driving may be unable to adequately attend to the needs of multiple drivers at the same time. Additionally, driving instructions taught by a person may be inconsistent and may be costly to provide. Moreover, the type of skills that may be taught to a driver may be limited by the driving circumstances encountered by the driver.

Provision of instructions for driver training


A method, system, and computer program product for collapsing visual content on a screen including receiving input initiating a collapse function, and collapsing a section of visual content, the section of visual content outside of a selected portion of the visual content, the collapsing in response to said input.

Integrated Development Environments (IDEs) are software tools that allow a developer (e.g., a web developer) to create web pages, websites, interactive applications, and the like for use by end users (e.g., visitors to websites). Various IDEs exist in the current marketplace, such as DREAMWEAVER™, available from MACROMEDIA INC. of San Francisco, Calif. and FRONTPAGE®, available from Microsoft Corporation. DREAMWEAVER™ is an IDE that allows web developers to design Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) web pages in both a code editor and a graphical-based design time environment. DREAMWEAVER™ also allows the developer to design in other languages, such as, for example, Extensible Markup Language (XML), Extensible HTML (XHTML), Active Server Page (ASP), COLDFUSION™ Markup Language (CFML™), and the like.
An IDE may allow a developer to create a document in an environment that includes both a text-based code view and a graphical-based design view. The code view renders the source code as text in a portion of the screen and allows the developer to see and manipulate the source code in the document file. For example, the developer may write and edit HTML or Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) code in the code view. The design view, on the other hand, is a What You See Is What You Get (WYSIWYG) view of the document that allows the user to visually manipulate the interpreted and graphically laid-out version of the document, such as, for example, by dragging, dropping, cutting, and pasting visual components. As the developer works, changes to the document are reflected in both the code view and the design view.
Further, an IDE may support a code collapse feature. Code collapse, or code folding, in this example, is the ability to visually replace portions of the text in a document with an image or button, in effect hiding it, so that it does not take up much screen space. Users typically employ such a feature to hide portions of the code that they are not interested in or to bring two or more portions of the code closer together so that scrolling is not necessary to view them at the same time.
FIG. 1 is an illustration of example screen 100 from an IDE, including example code view 110. Code views, such as code view 110, are renderings of the source code as text for inspection, creation, and manipulation by the user. Example code view 110 is conceptual in that actual code is not shown thereon, but is understood to be represented by the word, "code." FIG. 2 is an illustration of example screen 200 from an IDE, including example code view 110. In screen 200, the user has selected code B 201. A user usually marks a region of source code (e.g., code 201) in code view 110 that he or she wants to collapse or hide. The marking may be performed by using a mouse or other pointing device to select code. The developer then indicates to the program that he or she desires to collapse selected code 201, for example, by clicking on widget 202 in the gutter area of code view 110. Internally, the program notates the region by dropping markers that capture the range that was selected—a marker at the beginning of the selection and a marker at the end of the selection. FIG. 3 is an illustration of example screen 300 from an IDE, including example code view 110. As shown in screen 300, when the IDE re-renders code view 110, it renders code collapse button 301 in the place of selected code 201.
When a developer is coding, his or her attention is usually focused on the selected portions of the code, rather than on other portions. Therefore, collapsing code often requires that the developer switch focus from an area of interest to one or more other areas for selecting and collapsing. The developer then returns to the area of interest to resume coding. Such actions may be inefficient, since they cause a developer to have to switch between areas of interest. Further, a developer may desire to collapse a section of code above and a section of code below a particular area of interest and may have to select and collapse each area separately. Therefore, to focus on a particular area of interest, the developer performs two collapsing functions while making sure that no part of the code of interest is accidentally selected and collapsed.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


A catheter for delivering therapeutic to an injection site within the body is provided. This catheter can include a shaft having a proximal end, a distal end, and an infusion lumen extending therein; a penetrating member coupled to the shaft and extendable from the distal end of the shaft, and a stabilizer positioned towards the distal end of the shaft. The catheter could also include a delivery system, able to be calibrated to deliver therapeutic through an injection port at a rate less than the therapeutic absorption rate of the injection site.

Injection catheters may be used to inject therapeutic or diagnostic agents into a variety of organs, such as the heart. In the case of injecting a therapeutic agent into the heart, 27 or 28 gauge needles are generally used to inject solutions carrying genes, proteins, or drugs directly into the myocardium. A typical volume of an agent delivered to an injection site is about 100 microliters. A limitation to this method of delivering therapeutic agents to the heart is that the injected fluid tends to leak from the site of the injection after the needle is disengaged from the heart. In fact, fluid may continue to leak over several seconds. In the case of dynamic organs such as the heart, there may be more pronounced leakage with each muscle contraction.
Therapeutic and diagnostic agents may be delivered to a portion of the heart as part of a percutaneous myocardial revascularization (PMR) procedure. PMR is a procedure which is aimed at assuring that the heart is properly oxygenated. Assuring that the heart muscle is adequately supplied with oxygen is critical to sustaining the life of a patient. To receive an adequate supply of oxygen, the heart muscle must be well perfused with blood. In a healthy heart, blood perfusion is accomplished with a system of blood vessels and capillaries. However, it is common for the blood vessels to become occluded (blocked) or stenotic (narrowed). A stenosis may be formed by an atheroma which is typically a harder, calcified substance which forms on the walls of a blood vessel.
Historically, individual stenotic lesions have been treated with a number of medical procedures including coronary bypass surgery, angioplasty, and atherectomy. Coronary bypass surgery typically involves utilizing vascular tissue from another part of the patient's body to construct a shunt around the obstructed vessel. Angioplasty techniques such as percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) and percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) are relatively non-invasive methods of treating a stenotic lesion. These angioplasty techniques typically involve the use of a guide wire and a balloon catheter. In these procedures, a balloon catheter is advanced over a guide wire such that the balloon is positioned proximate a restriction in a diseased vessel. The balloon is then inflated and the restriction in the vessel is opened. A third technique which may be used to treat a stenotic lesion is atherectomy. During an atherectomy procedure, the stenotic lesion is mechanically cut or abraded away from the blood vessel wall.
Coronary by-pass, angioplasty, and atherectomy procedures, have all been found effective in treating individual stenotic lesions in relatively large blood vessels. However, the heart muscle is perfused with blood through a network of small vessels and capillaries. In some cases, a large number of stenotic lesions may occur in a large number of locations throughout this network of small blood vessels and capillaries. This tortuous path and small diameter of these blood vessels limit access to the stenotic lesions. The sheer number and small size of these stenotic lesions make techniques such as cardiovascular by-pass surgery, angioplasty, and atherectomy impractical.
When techniques which treat individual lesion are not practical, percutaneous myocardial revascularization (PMR) may be used to improve the oxygenation of the myocardial tissue. A PMR procedure generally involves the creation of holes, craters or channels directly into the myocardium of the heart. In a typical PMR procedure, these holes are created using radio frequency energy delivered by a catheter having one or more electrodes near its distal end. After the wound has been created, therapeutic agents are sometimes ejected into the heart chamber from the distal end of a catheter.
Positive clinical results have been demonstrated in human patients receiving PMR treatments. These results are believed to be caused in part by blood flowing within the heart chamber through channels in myocardial tissue formed by PMR. Increased blood flow to the myocardium is also believed to be caused in part by the healing response to wound formation. Specifically, the formation of new blood vessels is believed to occur in response to the newly created wound. This response is sometimes referred to as angiogenesis. After the wound has been created, therapeutic agents which are intended to promote angiogenesis are sometimes injected into the heart chamber. A limitation of this procedure is that the therapeutic agent may be quickly carried away by the flow of blood through the heart.
In addition to promoting increased blood flow, it is also believed that PMR improves a patient's condition through denervation. Denervation is the elimination of nerves. The creation of wounds during a PMR procedure results in the elimination of nerve endings which were previously sending pain signals to the brain as a result of hibernating tissue.
Currently available injection catheters are not particularly suitable for accurately delivering small volumes of therapeutic agents to heart tissue. Improved devices and methods are desired to address the problems associated with retention of the agent in the heart tissue as discussed above. This is particularly true for agents carrying genes, proteins, or other angiogenic drugs which may be very expensive, even in small doses.

Injection apparatus for delivering therapeutic


Methods and systems for implementing gestures with sensing devices are disclosed. More particularly, methods and systems related to gesturing with multipoint sensing devices are disclosed.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to gesturing associated with multipoint sensing devices.
2. Description of the Related Art
There exist today many styles of input devices for performing operations in a computer system. The operations generally correspond to moving a cursor and making selections on a display screen. The operations may also include paging, scrolling, panning, zooming, etc. By way of example, the input devices may include buttons, switches, keyboards, mice, trackballs, touch pads, joy sticks, touch screens and the like. Each of these devices has advantages and disadvantages that are taken into account when designing the computer system.
With touch pads, the movement of the input pointer corresponds to the relative movements of the user's finger (or stylus) as the finger is moved along a surface of the touch pad. Touch screens, on the other hand, are a type of display screen that has a touch-sensitive transparent panel covering the screen. When using a touch screen, a user makes a selection on the display screen by pointing directly to GUI objects on the screen (usually with a stylus or finger). In general, the touch device recognizes the touch and position of the touch and the computer system interprets the touch and thereafter performs an action based on the touch event.
In order to provide additionally functionality, gestures have been implemented with some of these input devices. By way of example, in touch pads, selections may be made when one or more taps are detected on the surface of the touch pad. In some cases, any portion of the touch pad may be tapped, and in other cases a dedicated portion of the touch pad may be tapped. In addition to selections, scrolling may be initiated by using finger motion at the edge of the touch pad.
Unfortunately, gesturing is severely limited by the fact that most touch technologies are only capable of reporting a single point even when multiple objects are placed on the sensing surface. That is, they lack the ability to track multiple points of contact simultaneously. In resistive and capacitive technologies, an average of all simultaneously occurring touch points are determined and a single point which falls somewhere between the touch points is reported. In surface wave and infrared technologies, it is impossible to discern the exact position of multiple touch points that fall on the same horizontal or vertical lines due to masking. In either case, faulty results are generated.
Based on the above, there is a need for multipoint sensing devices and methods of implementing gestures with multipoint sensing devices.

Gesturing with a multipoint sensing device


A flame detector system includes an ultraviolet sensor to detect ultraviolet radiation, and a microcontroller coupled to the ultraviolet sensor. The microcontroller processes output from the ultraviolet sensor to identify a flame. The system can also include a HV supply circuit to constantly refresh a drive voltage of the sensor. The microcontroller can sense when the sensor discharges and thereupon immediately refresh the sensor. The microcontroller can also monitor a run time for the sensor and adjust a drive voltage for the sensor accordingly. Further, a background count can be monitored to determine the health of the sensor. A memory can also be provided to store data associated with the detector, and a communications module can communicate the data stored in the memory to an external device. The microcontroller calculates a filtered event count and compares the filtered event count to a threshold to determine if a flame is present.

Fire detector systems are available to sense various attributes of a fire and to warn individuals when a fire is detected. For example, smoke detectors include sensors adapted to sense smoke associated with a fire and to alarm when a sufficient amount of smoke is detected. Other detectors sense other attributes associated with a fire.
For example, flame detector systems utilizing ultraviolet ("UV") sensors are known. In a flame detector system, UV radiation emitted from the flames of a fire is detected by the detector's UV sensor. When a sufficient amount of UV radiation is detected, the flame detector system alarms to warn individuals of a flame.
However, there are challenges associated with using flame detector systems with UV sensors to sense flames. For example, UV radiation is emitted from many sources other than the flames of a fire. For instance, sunlight emits UV radiation. It can therefore be difficult to distinguish between UV radiation given off from a flame and other sources of UV radiation, such as sunlight, which do not require alarming. Consequently, the sensitivity of the flame detector systems, and how such systems are configured to process UV radiation, can be important to minimize false alarming while providing adequate protection in case of a fire.
Other challenges associated with this type of flame detector system involve the sensor used to detect the UV radiation. Typically, a UV sensor can be constructed of a sealed UV glass tube with a pair of electrodes and a reactive gas enclosed therein. A constant voltage is typically applied across the UV sensor in order to adequately sense UV radiation. In the presence of UV radiation of a certain wavelength (typically in the range of 100–300 nm), the sensor discharges the voltage to indicate detection of UV radiation. After the UV sensor discharges, the voltage across the sensor must be refreshed to allow the sensor to continue to detect UV radiation. Typically, once a UV sensor discharges, it is refreshed at a periodic interval.
The performance of the UV sensor is known to degrade over time. It can therefore be important to monitor the performance or "health" of the UV sensor to identify when performance of the sensor degrades.
It is therefore desirable to provide flame detector systems that overcome one or more of these challenges and provide additional benefits over prior flame detector systems.


A rotation angle detecting device includes a housing which is constituted by a combination of a case and a cover; a resistance board; a code wheel; a slider rotating plate; a slider; a circuit board; signal detecting elements; and a gear which transmits the rotation of the code wheel at a predetermined speed reduction ratio to the slider rotating plate, which are enclosed in the housing. Circular pin insertion holes are formed in positions where the code wheel, the case, and the cover face each other, respectively. A pin insertion hole having a circular-arc shape is formed in the slider rotating plate.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a rotation angle detecting device which is applied to a rudder angle sensor for a car, and more specifically to an adjusting unit for a neutral position (a position where an absolute angle is 0°) in a rotation angle detecting device including a digital incremental-type rotation detecting unit which detects a rotation angle within 360° to output a digital code signal and an analog absolute-type rotation detecting unit which detects the number of rotations more than one rotation to output an analog signal.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, a technique is known in which a rotation angle detecting device is provided between a steering shaft and a chassis of a car so that the damping force of a suspension, the shift position of an automatic transmission, and steering of a rear wheel in a four-wheel steering car are controlled based on the steering angle, steering speed, and steering direction of a steering wheel which are detected by the rotation angle detecting device. In order to perform such control, a rotation angle over 360° needs to be detected. Therefore, a rotation angle detecting device capable of detecting an absolute angle is used.
As the rotation angle detecting device capable of detecting an absolute angle, a device is conventionally known which is constituted by a combination of an incremental-type rotation detecting unit for detecting a rotation angle within 360° and an absolute-type rotation detecting unit for detecting the number of rotations more than one rotation and which transmits the rotation of a rotor member constituting the incremental-type rotation detecting unit to a rotation ring constituting the absolute-type rotation detecting unit through a gear mechanism having a predetermined speed reduction ratio (for example, see Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 10-227631).
The rotation angle detecting device disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 10-227631 includes an incremental-type rotation detecting device and an absolute-type rotation detecting device which are all digital types. However, instead of the rotation angle detecting device having such a constitution, a device is also known which is constituted by a combination of a digital incremental-type rotation detecting unit and an analog absolute-type rotation detecting unit which are all digital types. As the analog absolute-type rotation detecting unit, a unit is used which is constituted by a resistance board having a resistance pattern and a slider which is slidably brought into contact with the resistance pattern.
In this type of rotation angle detecting device which is used for controlling a car, the neutral position of a steering shaft needs to exactly coincide with the position of the rotation angle detecting device where an absolute angle is 0°, when the rotation angle detecting device is incorporated into a car. Therefore, in order that the rotation angle detecting device is easily incorporated into a car, the position of a signal detecting section with respect to a rotating section, such as the rotor section or the rotation ring, is set to the position where an absolute angle is 0°, and the rotating section and the signal detecting section are required to be fixed to the position, when the rotation angle detecting device is shipped.
In order to fix the position of the signal detecting section with respect to the rotating section to the position where an absolute angle is 0°, the following method is used. Pin insertion holes having the same diameter are respectively formed in predetermined positions of a housing and the rotating section constituting the rotation angle detecting device, that is, in the positions where the signal detecting section and the rotating section face each other in a state where the position of the rotating section with respect to the signal detecting section is adjusted to the position where an absolute angle is 0°. After the rotation angle detecting device is assembled, a fixing pin passes through the respective pin insertion holes.
When a car is assembled, the rotation angle detecting device is assembled into a steering shaft or the like in a state where the fixing pin has passed through the respective pin insertion holes. After a car is assembled, the fixing pin is pulled out, so that the steering shaft can be rotated. Accordingly, the neutral position of the steering shaft when a car is assembled and the position of the rotation angle detecting device where an absolute angle is 0° do not need to be adjusted, which makes it easy to assemble a car.
In the meantime, in the rotation angle detecting device for a car including the analog absolute-type rotation detecting device, an output voltage value of the absolute-type rotation detecting device is required to be set in the strict range of 2.5±0.05 V, for example, in a state where an absolute angle is 0°.
However, the output voltage value of the analog absolute-type rotation detecting device is determined by the contact position of the slider with respect to the resistance pattern when the fixing pin passes through the respective pin insertion holes formed in the housing and the rotating section, and the voltage value is varied by a forming error of the resistance pattern and an assembling error of the resistance board into the housing. Therefore, it is hard to obtain an output voltage value in the above-described strict range, even though forming precision of the resistance pattern and assembling precision of the resistance board into the housing are designed to be enhanced. For this reason, in the related art, a method is adopted in which an output voltage value of an absolute-type rotation detecting device is examined after assembling, and then only an absolute-type rotation detecting device whose output voltage is determined to be proper is shipped.
As such, the conventional rotation angle detecting device is not provided with a unit for adjusting an output voltage value of an absolute-type rotation detecting section during assembling, so that only rotation angle detecting devices having a good quality are selectively shipped. Therefore, the manufacturing yield is lowered, and a rotation angle detecting device becomes expensive.
Moreover, if an output voltage adjusting unit, such as a variable resistor, is incorporated into a rotation angle detecting device, the manufacturing yield can be improved. However, the number of components increases, and an assembling operation becomes complicated, which makes it difficult to obtain an effect of a reduction in cost.


A noninvasive device and methods for measuring the end-tidal carbon monoxide concentration in a patient's breath, particularly newborn and premature infants. The patient's breath is monitored. An average carbon monoxide concentration is determined based on an average of discrete samples in a given time period. The ratio of the end-tidal portion of the breath flow sample is separately determined, preferably based on monitoring the level of carbon dioxide in the gas sample and identifying the carbon dioxide concentration levels corresponding to the end-tidal portion of the breath sample. The sensed carbon monoxide level is converted to the end-tidal carbon monoxide level by subtracting the ambient carbon monoxide level and dividing the remainder by the ratio of end-tidal breath to breath in the breath sample. An easy to use microcontroller-based device containing a carbon dioxide detector, a carbon monoxide detect and a pump for use in a hospital, home, physician's office or clinic by persons not requiring high skill and training is described.

In most animal systems, carbon monoxide is a waste product produced in the breakdown of free hemoglobin within the blood. Ordinarily, hemoglobin is contained within red blood cells and is stable. However, aging of red blood cells and certain disease processes produce hemolysis, i.e., the breakdown of the cell wall. This produces free hemoglobin which breaks down in the blood. The carbon monoxide that is produced by the breakdown of free hemoglobin is normally excreted in the breath.
When the system is in equilibrium, the carbon monoxide concentration in the breath is proportional to the difference in the concentration of carbon monoxide in the blood and the concentration of carbon monoxide in room air. This difference in concentration is proportional to the rate of hemolysis in the blood.
The concentration of carbon monoxide in the end-tidal breath, i.e., the gas that is last expelled each breath, is presumed to be at equilibrium with the concentration in the blood. This is because the end-tidal breath contains predominantly, if not exclusively, the gas expelled from the alveoli in the lungs, which gas was within the alveoli for a time generally sufficient to equilibrate with the blood.
It is known that hemolysis and the resulting byproducts and consequences of hemolysis can be estimated or predicted from a measure of the concentration of carbon monoxide in the end-tidal breath. See Smith, D. W. et al., "Neonatal Bilirubin Production Estimated from End-Tidal Carbon Monoxide Concentration", Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition, 3:77-80, 1984.
One method of analysis previously reported includes incrementally acquiring a sample of end-tidal breath and analyzing the acquired sample by mass spectroscopy or gas chromatography to determine the end-tidal carbon monoxide concentration. The sample is obtained by extracting from each of several successive breaths a portion of the apparent end-tidal breath using a syringe. The end-tidal portion of breath is determined by observing the chest movements of the infant. See, e.g., Vreman et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,831,024.
One problem With this technique is that it requires a skilled, trained user to obtain the end-tidal sample in successive increments based on watching chest wall movements. It also requires a trained, skilled person to operate a complex piece of analytical laboratory equipment to analyze the acquired sample. In addition, this technique requires time and personnel to transport the sample from the patient to the laboratory (or equipment) where the analysis is conducted, and then to report back to the attending physician/practitioner for a diagnosis and prescription, if any.
Another problem with this technique is that accurate assessment of the concentration difference in carbon monoxide requires obtaining good samples of end-tidal patient breath. This essentially requires that the patient have a regular, predictable breathing cycle. Thus, it can be difficult to obtain a good sample by watching chest wall movement, particularly for a newborn and for patients having irregular breathing cycles.
Chemical electrochemical sensors capable of measuring carbon monoxide concentrations in the range of interest, 0 to 500 parts per million (ppm), are commercially available, e.g., model DragerSensor CO available from Dragerwerk, Lubeck, Germany. However, such sensors are sensitive to many other gases as well as carbon monoxide, and are therefore susceptible to error. Another problem with such sensors is that the measurement dynamics of the sample gas transport through the gas permeable membrane and oxidation-reduction in the electrochemical cell results in a relatively slow response time such that discrete samples of the end-tidal breath must be obtained and analyzed to determine the end-tidal carbon monoxide concentration.

In-vivo measurement of end-tidal carbon monoxide concentration apparatus and methods


A reclosable bag having two spaced-apart flexible closures and external finger guide ridges and/or pressure distribution ridges to facilitate their closure. The ridges lie in a region between the double closures and they extend generally parallel to each other and to the closures when the bag is in an empty and flat state. The pressure distribution ridges improve the finger pressure distribution by moving the applied forces closer to the closure profiles. When used in conjunction with external finger guide ridges, the pressure distribution ridges also improve the bearing surface of the external finger guide ridges with the thumb and forefinger of the person closing the bag.

Reclosable bags are finding ever-growing acceptance as primary packaging, particularly as packaging for foodstuffs such as cereal, fresh fruit and vegetables, cold cuts, snacks and the like. Such bags provide the consumer with the ability to readily store, in a closed, if not sealed, package any unused portion of the packaged product even after the package is initially opened.
Reclosable bags typically comprise a flexible receptacle formed of two opposing walls equipped at the mouth with a plastic closure or fastener. Typically, a plastic closure for a reclosable bag includes a pair of interlockable profiled closure strips that are joined (e.g., by thermal crushing or ultrasonic welding) at opposite ends of the bag mouth. The closure strips are formed by extruding thermoplastic material out of orifices having the desired profiles. The profiles of interlockable extruded plastic closure strips can take on various configurations, e.g. interlocking rib and groove elements having so-called male and female profiles, interlocking alternating hook-shaped closure elements, etc. The profiles are shaped so that when they are aligned and pressed together into an engaging relationship, they form a continuous closure for the bag. The bag may be opened by pulling the walls apart, thereby separating the profiles.
When trying to close the bag, the profiles of the interlockable closure strips must be aligned and then force-fit or pressed together along their length. Because the plastic closure strips are flexible, it can be difficult for the consumer to align the interlockable closure profiles before causing those profiles to engage. For example, it is sometimes difficult to close a reclosable bag because the user's finger may drift off the profiles, resulting in the closing pressure not being directly applied to portions of the closure.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,211,481 discloses a reclosable bag having guide means that guide the fingers of a user when closing the bag, whereby the bag can be easily and securely closed. More specifically, the guide means include a respective pair of ribs on the outside of each wall, the ribs of each pair forming a valley therebetween, which valleys are respectively located directly behind the male and female closure profiles. The spacing between the ribs and their sizing are such that each valley is sized and shaped to act as a finger guide for the end user of the bag. Thus, as the user passes his finger and thumb along the valleys, the user's finger and thumb are directed towards the optimum positions for applying pressure for forcing the profiles together, thereby ensuring that the profiles interlock properly across the entire width of the bag.
Double-closure reclosable storage and freezer bags are commercially available. In general, the double closure in such bags comprises two flexible closures that are mutually parallel and spaced apart when the bag is empty and flat. Each closure in turn comprises a respective pair of interlockable closure strips. Because two pairs of closure strips need to be aligned, closing a bag having two closures may be more difficult than closing a bag having one closure. There is a need to provide means for facilitating the alignment and pressing together of two mutually closures installed in a reclosable bag.


A catheter includes a proximal shaft and a distal shaft having differing diameters; often, the distal shaft will have a smaller diameter than the proximal shaft. A coupling joins the distal shaft to the proximal shaft. For example, a proximal portion of the distal shaft can be inserted into the coupling through its distal end, while the proximal portion of the coupling can be inserted into the proximal shaft through its distal end. To provide an atraumatic transition from the distal shaft to the proximal shaft, coupling can taper towards its distal end, for example by using a dome- or frustoconical-shape for the distal portion of the coupling. The exterior of the coupling can be ribbed to facilitate bonding to the proximal shaft. The distal shaft can be formed into at least a partial loop having a fixed or variable radius of curvature.

The instant disclosure relates to catheters for use in medical procedures, such as electrophysiology studies. In particular, the instant disclosure relates to an atraumatic coupling that can be used to join two shafts of unequal size.
Catheters are used for an ever-growing number of procedures, such as diagnostic, therapeutic, and ablative procedures, to name just a few examples. Typically, the catheter is manipulated through the patient's vasculature and to the intended site, for example, a site within the patient's heart.
A typical electrophysiology catheter includes an elongate shaft and one or more electrodes on the distal end of the shaft. The electrodes may be used for ablation, diagnosis, or the like. Oftentimes, these electrodes are ring electrodes that extend about the entire circumference of the catheter shaft.
One specific use of an electrophysiology catheter is to map the atrial regions of the heart, and in particular the pulmonary veins, which are often origination points or foci of atrial fibrillation. Such electrophysiology mapping catheters typically have at least a partial loop shape at their distal end, oriented in a plane generally orthogonal to the longitudinal axis of the catheter shaft, which allows the loop to surround the pulmonary vein ostia.
Further, the more proximal and elongate region of the shaft often has a larger diameter than the more distal region (e.g., the portion formed into at least a partial loop). Thus, there is a need to transition from the larger diameter proximal shaft to the smaller diameter distal shaft.

Atraumatic coupling and catheter employing the same

St. Jude Medical, Cardiology Division, Inc.


A method comprising feeding a liquefied refrigerant selected from the group consisting of 1,1,1,2,3,3,3-heptafluoropropane; 1,1,1,2,2,3,3-heptafluoropropane; 1,1,1,2,2,3-hexafluoropropane; 1,1,1,3,3,3-hexafluoropropane; perfluorobutane; and octafluoropropane into direct contact with a volume of aqueous liquid in an enclosed ice making vessel to convert part of the aqueous liquid to ice crystals, without the formation of a water-refrigerant hydrate, by vaporizing the refrigerant by heat exchange with the aqueous liquid.

The production of ice in aqueous liquids has many useful purposes. Ice can be produced and used immediately, or the ice can be stored and used later, for example, for cooling purposes. Also, in the production of potable water, sea water and brackish water can be cooled to produce ice, the ice separated and then melted to give the desired fresh water. Fruit and vegetable juices are also concentrated by cooling them to produce ice and then separating the ice from the concentrated juice.
The production of ice for the described purposes, as well as others, can be achieved in a number of ways including indirect heat transfer in a shell and tube freeze exchanger. A refrigerant can be used as the cooling medium on the shell side of the freeze exchanger. This method is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,286,436.
Another method of producing ice is to directly contact the aqueous liquid with a refrigerant. Direct contact heat transfer typically permits the use of a smaller temperature difference between the vaporizing refrigerant and freezing solution than is required by an indirect heat transfer system to achieve the same energy transfer, due to the elimination of the heat exchanger surface. However, the exact temperature difference required in the direct contact heat exchanger will depend upon several factors including the properties of the two fluids, the ratio of the two fluids and agitation. This method, as well as apparatus useful therefore, is disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,017,751; 3,017,752; 3,259,181; 3,835,658; 3,885,399 and 4,046,534. After the ice is produced it is separated and then discarded, melted and used as potable water, or melted to recover stored refrigeration. The refrigerant used for cooling and ice formation is recovered to the extent possible and then reused in the process.
Experience has shown that in direct contact methods a significant amount of refrigerant vapor and liquid can be encapsulated or entrapped in the aqueous solution, either by gross inclusion in the ice crystals or by the formation of clathrate hydrates. When the ice or hydrate is later melted or disposed of, some or most of the encapsulated refrigerant may be difficult to recover. Additionally, encapsulation of the refrigerant constitutes a economic penalty because the amount of refrigerant required for continuous operation is substantially increased. Accordingly, it is desirable in the production of ice, by directly contacting an aqueous liquid with a refrigerant, if refrigerant capsulation in the water or ice could be reduced. Thus, only select chemical refrigerants are desirably used in direct contact heat transfer aqueous processes.
Many chemical refrigerants form clathrate hydrates with water at temperatures substantially above 32.0.degree. F. (0.0.degree. C). For example, chlorodifluoroethane (CH.sub.3 CClF.sub.2), commonly designated HCFC-142b, and 1,1-difluoroethane (CHF.sub.2 CH.sub.3), commonly designated HFC-152a, form hydrates with water at 56.degree. F. (13.1.degree. C.) and 60.degree. F. (15.3.degree. C.) respectively per Briggs, F.A. and Barduhn, A.J. "Properties of the Hydrates of Fluorocarbons 142b and 12B1", Advances in Chemistry Series, American Chemical Society, No. 38, pp. 190-199, 1963. Also, 1,1,1,2-tetrafluoroethane (CH.sub.2 FCF.sub.3), commonly designated HFC-134a, forms a hydrate with water at 50.degree. F. (10.degree. C.) per Mori, Yasuhiko H., and Mori, Tatsushi, "Formation of Gas Hydrate with CFC Alternative R-134a", AlChE Journal, Vol. 35, No. 7, July 1989, pp.1227-1228. Other chemical refrigerants which form hydrates are bromodifluoromethane (CHBrF.sub.2 ; HBFC-22B1) (50.0.degree. F.; 9.9.degree. C.); bromochlorodifluoromethane (CBrClF.sub.2 ; BCFC-12B1) (50.0.degree. F.; 9.9.degree. C.); methylene fluoride (CH.sub.2 F.sub.2 ; HFC-32) (63.7.degree. F.; 17.6.degree. C.); chlorofluoromethane (CH.sub.2 ClF; HCFC-31) (64.1.degree. F.; 17.8.degree. C.); chlorodifluoromethane (CHClF.sub.2 ; HCFC-22) (61.3.degree. F.; 16.3.degree. C.); dichlorofluoromethane (CHCl.sub.2 F; HCFC-21) (47.5.degree. F.; 8.6.degree. C.); dichlorodifluoromethane (CCl.sub.2 F.sub.2 ; CFC-12) (53.8.degree. F.; 12.1.degree. C.); trichlorofluoromethane (CCl.sub.3 F; CFC-11) (47.3.degree. F.; 8.5.degree. C.); cyclopropane (CH.sub.2 CH.sub.2 CH.sub.2 ; C-270) (63.degree. F.; 17.2.degree. C.); propylene (CH.sub.2 =CHCH.sub.3 ; C-1270) (33.7.degree. F.; 0.94.degree. C.); and methyl chloride (CH.sub.3 Cl; R-40) (70.0.degree. F.; 21.1.degree. C.), per Briggs and Barduhn (above) and Water: A Comprehensive Treatise, Volume 2, edited by F. Franks (Plenum Press, New York, 1973).
It is often advantageous if the chemical refrigerant used in a direct contact heat transfer process has a normal boiling point less than 32.0.degree. F. (0.0.degree. C.). In a process such as that described by Knodel et al in U.S. Pat. No. 4,596,120 the ice is accumulated in a vessel which operates essentially at the refrigerant evaporating pressure. If the refrigerant has a normal boiling point less than 32.0.degree. F. (0.0.degree. C.), than the vessel operates above atmospheric pressure, and the potential of air in leakage is minimized. This is of particular importance since large commercial systems typically require a number of field assemblies and joints.
Additionally, it is considered advantageous if chemical refrigerants do not contain the chemical element chlorine, as recent world environmental agreements have restricted the production and use of certain chlorine-bearing compounds, in an effort to protect the earth's stratospheric ozone layer.
Knodel et al U.S. Pat. No. 4,754,610 discloses refrigerants useful in that process and which do not form hydrates or react with an aqueous body. Those refrigerants include butane (R-600), octafluorocyclobutane (C-318), 1,2-dichlorotetrafluoroethane (CFC-114), and a mixture of CFC-114 and dichlorodifluoromethane (CFC-12) where less than 40% by weight of the mixture is CFC-12. Some of these listed refrigerants are flammable and some are considered to be environmentally harmful, and so their use will be prohibited in some countries before long. Apart from these disadvantages it would be beneficial in the art of ice making by direct contact of a liquefied refrigerant with an aqueous liquid if one could be able to select an alternative or substitute refrigerant from a group which it was known did not form clathrate hydrates to thereby design an optimum process for the conditions otherwise involved in the process.

Method and apparatus for producing ice by direct contact of a non-hydrate producing refrigerant with water

Chicago Bridge & Iron Technical Services Company