The present invention relates to a radial roller bearing assemblies. More specifically, the invention relates to radial roller bearing assemblies including an outer ring having radially inwardly directed stop flanges, a cage comprising a pair of side rings and webs connecting the side rings, circumferentially spaced to define pockets for rolling elements, each of the side rings having radially projecting segments located at diametrically opposed locations wherein the distance (Dc) between the highest point on the segmental projection of one of the cage side rings and the diametrically opposite point of the same cage side ring is in a predetermined relation to the diameter (Dk) of the bore of the stop flange so that when the axial centers of the cage and ring are coincident, the segmental projections confront the inner radial faces of the stop flanges.

In radial roller bearing assemblies of the type described above, the outer ring frequently is designed as a thin-walled sleeve with flanges at both axial ends for the axial retention of the cage. In order to facilitate assembly of the rollers, the sleeve is first prefabricated with only one flange so that the cage into which the roller elements have been inserted may be pushed onto the sleeve from the side without a flange. In the final assembly step, the opposing second flange is formed on the sleeved by a rolling process. It has been found that this subsequent shaping process required to form the second flange raises the cost of producing bearing assemblies in this fashion considerably. Additionally, radial roller bearings of this type cannot usually be disassembled without destroying them.
There have been proposed solutions to the problem discussed above. For example, German Patent DE-OS 3,902,194, discloses that either one or both side flanges of the outer ring can be provided with an opening eccentric to the bearing axis or the cage can be provided with side rings arranged eccentrically to the bearing axis and in this way the cage can be introduced axially into the bearing ring in a position different from that of this final installation to avoid the extra step of shaping the second flange and making it possible for the bearing to be disassembled without destroying it. However, these designs have certain drawbacks and disadvantages. For example, in these assemblies, the cage is fixed in place in the two axial directions only at one point around the circumference. Furthermore, the eccentric opening of one or both side flanges increases the cost of fabrication considerably.
Cylindrical roller bearings with comb-type cages with separating webs which engage between the rollers are also known (U.S. Pat. No. 2,977,164). Tabs and the like which project radially outwardly over the side ring of the cage, are provided on the lateral surfaces of the webs to engage behind a side flange of the outer ring of the bearing. When these cages are introduced into the flanges bearing rings, the tabs or webs are deformed under pressure. These designs mean that the material out of which the cage is made must be relatively soft.
So that significantly harder materials can be used, a comb-type cage of this type is known (GB 1 380 454) in which tabs or the like projecting radially out over the cage side ring are provided on only some of the separating webs, that is, at only two diametrically opposing points on the cage. As a result, it is possible to tip the cage as it is being introduced into the outer ring around an axis perpendicular to the diametrical axis of the webs and their projections and then to right it again side the raceway. Such comb cages are not universally applicable.


A system and a method for remediation of organic contaminated soil are provided, which comprises M*N electrodes to form an electrode matrix of symmetrical electric field structure. The field intensity is uniform in those points that are equidistant from each electrode in remediation area. The electrodes arrayed in mesh style in remediation area are carried out electrokinetic remediation. To exchange between positive polarity and negative polarity of the electrodes periodically is to make each electrode be a state of anode intermittently which has preferable remediation efficiency, by operation mode of reversing row/column electrode groups in manner of electrical scanning.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a remediation technology for organic contaminated soil, and more particularly to a system and method of remediation of organic contaminated soil.
2. Description of Related Arts
Electrokinetic remediation of organic contaminated soil relates to technology of reinforced remediation which is developed in the 90's in the 20 century in which inert electrodes are inserted in the contaminated soil to create a DC electric field. The electrical interactions increase an activity level of microorganisms through which the remediation elements are improved and the rate of degradation of contaminants is increased. Compared to other remediation methods, electrokinetic remediation method is advantageous in providing high efficiency and high safety level.
Electrokinetic remediation of organic contaminated soil has two major limitations. First, imbalance pH value in the soil is caused by a process of acidification of anode. The reason is that after a DC electric field is applied, oxidation reduction reaction becomes feasible for water around the electrode and hence H+ and OH− ions are resulted and accumulated around the anode area and cathode area respectively, creating two zones for the acid and alkaline respectively. Accordingly, the soil is separated into two areas, the acid area and the alkaline area, which in turn decreases the activity level of the microorganisms in the soil and hence lowered the efficiency of removing contaminants. Second, the usable area percentage of the electrical field is relatively low, therefore the efficiency of removing contaminants is lowered. Different grid patterns or alignments are employed to solve this problem but the major problem of having a high percentage of non-usable area is not solved. On the other hand, the usable area in the field, the strength of electric field and the efficiency of degradation of contaminants are interrelated and are positively correlated.
In order to solve the problem of anode acidification, control methods such as bridging the two electrodes with electrolytes (Lee and Yang, 2000); adding cation exchange membrane (Li et al., 1998); adding buffer solution around the two zoned areas (Saichek et al. 2003); and applying electrodes to control a change of soil pH (Shen et al. 2007) are proposed. These methods is able to solve anode acidification at some level, but their applications are complicated, difficult to monitor, and costly in general. In order to increase the percentage of usable area for electrokinetic process, conventional method includes one-dimensional/two-dimensional electrode grid and two-ways operation process (Wang Wai et al. 2006). However, since the two adjacently positioned electrodes always have the same polarity under the two-ways operation process, dead corners are created and hence the percentage of usable area is still very low.

System and method for remediation of organic contaminated soil

SHENYANG INSTITUTE OF APPLIED ECOLOGY, CHINESE ACADEMY OF SCIENCES


An optical pickup includes a first optical source producing a first optical beam having a wavelength λ1, a second optical source producing a second optical beam having a wavelength λ2 (λ1<λ2), and a single objective lens focusing any of the first and second optical beams to an optical recording medium, the first optical beam is incident to the objective lens as a parallel beam and the second optical beam is incident to the objective lens as a divergent optical, wherein an aperture is provided at a front side of the objective lens with offset from a principal point at the front side by a distance t given by an equationt=L−NA1·f/tan(a sin(NA2obj)),wherein f represents a focal distance of the objective lens, NA1 represents the numerical aperture at the side of the image surface when the first optical source is turned on, NA2obj represents the numerical aperture at the front side when the second optical source is turned on, and L represents the object distance at the time when the second optical source is turned on.

The present invention generally relates to optical information professing and more particularly to an objective lens and an optical pickup for conducting at least one of information recording, information playback and erasing of information to optical media designed for blue wavelength band, red wavelength band or infrared wavelength band, as well as the information processing apparatus that uses the same.
For the means for saving video information, audio information or data in a computer, the use of optical recording media such as a CD having a recording capacity of 0.65 GB, or a DVD having a recording capacity of 4.7 GB, is spreading. In these days, there is an acute demand for further improvement of recording density for more recording capacity.
In order to increase the recording density in such an optical recoding medium, it is necessary to increase the numerical aperture (NA) value of the objective lens or reduce the wavelength of the optical source in the optical pickup used for writing or reading information to and from the optical recording medium, such that the size of the beam spot formed on the optical recording medium by the objective lens is reduced.
In the case of the optical recording medium called CD, a numerical aperture of 0.40-0.50 is used for the objective lens and a wavelength of about 785 nm is used for the optical source. In the case of the recording medium called DVD, in which the recording density is increased over the CD, a numerical aperture of 0.60-0.65 is used together with the wavelength of the optical source of about 660 nm.
As noted before, there is a keen demand for improvement of recording density and increase of recording capacity in the optical recording medium in these days, and thus, there is a desire to increase the numerical aperture of the objective lens beyond the conventional value of 0.65 and/or to decrease the wavelength of the optical source to less than 660 nm.
Thus, there appears a situation in which a new specification of higher numerical aperture value or shorter wavelength appears every year for the optical pickup, while the users of the optical information processing apparatus maintain CDs and DVDs of conventional specification. Because of this, there is arising a demand that such conventional optical recording media can be processed also in the optical information processing apparatus designed for such novel optical recording media of novel specification.
While such compatibility between different specifications can be achieved by providing a conventional optical pickup in addition to the optical pickup designed according to the new specification, such a construction is contradictory to the requirement of downsizing and cost reduction.
It is preferable to provide a construction shown in FIG. 1A in which a blue optical source 100 and a DVD optical source 200 use a single objective lens 104 that focuses the optical beams of the respective optical sources to an optical recording medium 103, such that the optical pickup, designed for a large-capacity (blue) optical recording medium by using the optical source 100 of the blue wavelength band, is still compatible with the conventional CDs or DVDs. Alternatively, it is preferable to provide a construction shown in FIG. 1B in which a blue optical source 100, a DVD optical source 200 and a CD optical source 300 cooperate with the single objective lens 2 that focuses the exit beams of the respective optical sources to the optical recording medium 1.
On the other hand, in order to focus the optical beams to the optical media designed for various different specifications such as blue color systems, DVDs or CDs, there arise various problems in relation to the difference in the wavelength/substrate thickness of the optical recording medium 103 as will be explained hereinafter.
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication 2002-107617 describes the problem of aberration (see FIG. 3) arising in the case an objective lens 110 of FIG. 2 designed of the optical source wavelength of 405 nm is used in the wavelength range of 400-800 nm. In FIG. 2, the reference numeral 111 shows an optical recording medium.
As will be explained below, it is generally required that the wavefront aberration should be 0.02 λrms or less. On the other hand, FIG. 3 shows that there appears an aberration of 0.10 λms or more at the wavelength of 660 nm or 785 nm used with a DVD system or CD system. In view of this situation, the foregoing Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication 2002-107617 proposes the use of a compound lens for the objective lens. However, the use of such a compound lens raises the problems in that it requires a bonding process at the time of manufacturing of the objective lens and there arises the problem of increase of weight associated with the construction that uses two lenses.
As an alternative, there is a proposal in ISOM2001 Abstract, "BLUE/DVD/CD COMPATIBLE OPTICAL HEAD WITH THREE WAVELENGTHS AND A WAVELENGTH SELECTIVE FILTER", or in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application 2003-67972 to construct the respective optical paths of DVD or CD by a finite optical system in view of the fact that there occurs a spherical aberration in the event an optical beam is focused to the optical recording medium of DVD or CD by the objective lens designed for a blue optical beam. In this proposal, there is further provided a phase compensation element such that the phase distribution is changed for the optical beam of DVD or CD while not causing any change of phase distribution for the blue optical beam of the blue wavelength band. By using a finite optical system, in which the incident optical beam to the objective lens is made divergent, an effect of reducing the spherical aberration is achieved. However, there still remains some spherical aberration, and compensation of this residual spherical aberration is achieved by inducing a spherical aberration of opposite phase by the phase compensating element.
For example, in the case of using a single objective lens, which is designed for minimizing the wavefront aberration when it is used with an infinite optical system (a parallel beam is incident to the objective lens) and with a blue optical recording medium (λ1=407 nm, NA(λ1)=0.67, substrate thickness t1=0.6 mm), for focusing a beam spot on a DVD recording medium (λ2=660 nm, NA(λ2)=0.65, substrate thickness t2=0.6 mm), there arises a spherical aberration shown in FIG. 12B due to the difference in the wavelength.
Such a problem was also noticed in the DVD/CD compatible optical pickup. Thus, in the case of using a single objective lens, which is designed for minimizing the wavefront aberration when it is used with an infinite optical system (a parallel beam is incident to the objective lens) and with a DVD recording medium (λ2=660 nm, NA(λ2)=0.65, substrate thickness t2=0.6 mm), for focusing a beam spot on a CD recording medium (λ3=780 nm, NA(λ3)=0.50, substrate thickness t3=1.3 mm), there arises a similar spherical aberration shown due to the difference in the wavelength.
In order to attend to this problem, Japanese Patent 2,725,653 or Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application 10-334504 teaches the construction in which there are provided two laser diodes of different wavelengths and a phase compensating element having wavelength selectivity, such that recording or playback is conducted for a DVD optical recording medium having the thickness of 0.6 mm by using a beam of 660 nm wavelength emitted from one of the laser diodes and carries out recording or playback for a CD optical recording medium having a thickness of 1.2 mm by using the beam of 780 nm wavelength emitted from the other laser diode. Thereby, the phase compensating element having the wavelength selectivity causes no change of phase distribution for the optical beam of the 660 nm wavelength, while the phase compensating element causes a phase distribution change for the optical beam of the 780 nm wavelength in such a manner that the spherical aberration caused by the difference in the thickness of the substrate is successfully compensated for.
As an alternative, there is generally known the means of compensating for the spherical aberration caused by difference in the thickness or wavelength between the DVD optical recording medium and the CD optical recording medium, by using an infinite optical system when the optical beam of the 660 nm wavelength for DVD is incident to the objective lens and by using a finite optical system (a state in which a divergent beam enters into the objective lens in the form of a divergent beam) for the case the optical beam for CD is incident to the objective lens.
Particularly, the ISOM2001 Abstracts op. cit., proposes the method of recording or playing back information to or from any of the three optical recording media of blue optical recording medium, DVD optical recording medium and CD optical recording medium while using a single objective lens. According to the teaching of this prior art, there is provided a system including three different laser diodes of the wavelengths of 405 nm, 650 nm and 780 nm and a wavelength-selective phase compensating element having wavelength selectivity, such that optical irradiation is made to a blue optical recording medium having a thickness of 0.1 mm with the wavelength of 405 nm by using an infinite optical system, and an optical irradiation is made to a DVD optical recording medium having a thickness of 0.6 mm with the wavelength of 660 nm by using a finite optical system, and optical irradiation is made to a CD optical recording medium having a thickness of 1.2 mm with the wavelength of 780 nm by using a finite optical system. Thereby, the wavelength-selective phase plate does not change the phase distribution for the optical beam of the wavelength of 405 nm while it changes the phase distribution for the optical beams of 660 nm and 780 nm. In this construction, the wavelength-selective phase compensating means and the finite optical system used for the case of the DVD/CD recording media constitute the wavefront compensating means compensating for the spherical aberration caused by the difference in the thickness of the substrate.
In addition to the foregoing problem of aberration, there arises another problem in that the numerical aperture value changes between the optical recording media of different specifications.
Generally, the numerical aperture values NA of 0.60 and 0.65 are used respectively for the playback system and recording system of a DVD optical recording medium, while the numerical aperture values NA of 0.45 and 0.50 are used respectively for the play back system and recording system of a CD optical recording medium.
Most of the optical information processing apparatuses currently sold are capable of recording for both of DVD and CD, and it is preferable to use the numerical aperture value NA of 0.65 for DVD and the numerical aperture value NA of 0.50 for CD.
On the other hand, with regard to the blue optical recording technology, there is proposed the use of the numerical aperture value NA of 0.65 in relation to the HD-DVD technology.
This means that there is a need of switching the numerical aperture value in response to the optical recording medium used for recording and playback.
Thus, in order to achieve two-generation compatibility between DVD and CD, there is proposed a technology that uses an aperture switching element as disclosed in the Japanese Patent 3,240,846, Japanese Patent 2,713,257, Japanese Patent 2,725,653, and Japanese Patent 3,036,314. Further, in order to achieve two-generation compatibility between a large-capacity optical recording medium and DVD, there is proposed a technology that uses an aperture switching element as disclosed in the Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application 2001-216676.
Further, with regard to the technology that achieves three-generation compatibility, there is proposed the use of a three-step aperture switching element in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application 2000-187870 and Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application 2003-67972.
With regard to such a conventional technology, the phase compensating element disclosed in the foregoing ISOM Abstract, op. cit, or Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application has to be driven integrally with the objective lens in view of the possibility of comma aberration when there is caused a displacement between the objective lens and the optical axis. With regard to the actuator that drives the objective lens in the focusing direction and the track direction, there is a demand of reducing the number of the parts in order to achieve weight reduction and reduction of the number of assembling steps. In order to suppress formation of comma aberration, there is a need for the adjustment of alignment between the objective lens and the phase compensating element.
Further, according to the method described in the foregoing ISOM Abstract, op cit., no satisfactory wave front performance is obtained when to achieve the compatibility between the DVD optical recording medium and the CD optical recording medium.
Generally, the reference value of 0.07 λ rms, known as Marshal criterion, is used as the wavefront aberration for the case of the diffraction limit. In the case of an optical pickup, on the other hand, there exist various factors that may become the cause of the error such as the thickness error of the optical recording medium, the tilt error of the optical recording medium, the defocus error caused by displacement between the optical recording medium and the objective lens. Thus, it is preferred that the wavelength aberration (median value) is suppressed to 0.03 λrms or less in the state there is caused no error, in view of the fact that there may be caused deterioration of the wavefront aberration as a result of buildup of these errors.
Contrary to this, it should be noted that the wavefront aberration (median value) becomes about 0.05 λ rms for a DVD optical recording medium in the technology described in the foregoing ISOM Abstract, op. cit. in view of the situation that it is not possible to minimize the wavefront aberration for both of DVD and CD by using a single element. Because of this, it was inevitable to make the design to target the intermediate point of phase compensation condition when to minimize the aberration in both of DVD and CD, while such an approach could not reduce the aberration sufficiently.
The same applies also to the numerical aperture switching elements. In the case of the numerical aperture switching element, it is preferable that it is driven integrally with the objective lens in view of the fact that the desired numerical aperture value is no longer attained when the optical axis of the objective lens is offset.
Generally, a numerical aperture switching element is mounted on an actuator such that the numerical aperture switching element is driven integrally with an objective lens so that the change of the numerical aperture value is avoided. On the other hand, an actuator is also required to include smaller number of parts for weight reduction and reduction of the number of the assembling steps. Thus, it is desired that such a numerical aperture switching element is removed from the actuator. Particularly, the numerical aperture switching element designed for three-generation optical recording and playback so as to operate in three steps has a complex structure, and design and manufacture thereof becomes difficult. Further, in spit of its complex construction, such a three-step numerical aperture switching element cannot provide sufficient compensation with regard to the wavefront characteristics and transmission characteristics.

Objective lens, optical pickup, and optical information processing apparatus using the same


An aerator or destratifier used to provide Oxygen to standing or less active bodies of water. The aerator has a non-floating internally driven motor within a non-floating sealed drum. The drum and motor are supported by a support frame attached to floatation devices.

This invention pertains to agitation of water for increasing levels of dissolved Oxygen for the purpose of sustaining increased growth of aerobic organisms.
The amount of organisms that can be supported by any particular environment is dependant on the available resources found within that environment. The ability of an environment to support life, and the concentration of the population, is governed by limiting factors. In a terrestrial environment, the limiting factors are usually the concentration of nutrients and the amount of space available to the organism in question. In an aqueous environment, the amount of dissolved Oxygen is an additional limiting factor when considering growth of aerobic organisms.
It is generally known that higher levels of dissolved Oxygen exist in water that is turbulent. Thus, turbulent water is able to support a higher concentration of aerobic life than standing water. Less active water will contain less dissolved Oxygen and will thus support a lower concentration of aerobic life.
When considering a body of water that is inactive or stagnant, such as a pond or a standing tank, the amount of dissolved Oxygen may be low in concentration. Additionally, stratification within a body of water can arise due to stagnation or a decreased amount of turbulence. Stratification is manifested as distinct bands of water in which the temperature may vary significantly from one band to the next. As is generally known, water of different temperatures will have different solubility factors for molecules such as Oxygen. These variances can be detrimental to aquatic life. Water that is colder will have a lower solubility for Oxygen and therefore be less capable of supporting particular kinds and/or amounts of aquatic aerobic life. Aerobic life in these situations is limited by the amount of Oxygen available for respiration. In situations where high concentrations of aerobic life are desirable, control of the amount of dissolved Oxygen as a limiting factor is extremely important. Accordingly, maintaining a consistent temperature or a temperature that varies within certain parameters is an important consideration when attempting to establish an optimum growth environment.
Introduction of air, and thus Oxygen, into aqueous environments using artificial means has been utilized for many years. The most common example would be aeration using an air pump to bubble air, and thus Oxygen, through the standing water of a recreational fish tank. In an industrial setting, aeration of water is performed by either spraying water into the air using jets or by agitating the water using paddles or brushes. All of these examples accomplish the common goal to varying degrees of introducing air bubbles into the water, thus increasing the amount of surface to air contact and therefore increasing the opportunity of dissolving Oxygen into the water.
In addition to the introduction of Oxygen into the water, aerators also help to destratify water by causing turbulence, thus mixing the different temperature bands and creating a more unified environmental temperature. The success of this is dependant on the power of the aerator/destratifier and the depth of the body of water.
Most of the agitating aerators in use today utilize one or more mechanical paddle wheels, with paddles attached to external drive shafts and employ external floatation devices. Motors are mounted externally on a frame which exposes them to possible damage from water and atmospheric conditions.
Exposure to the elements produces many problems with current aerators using external parts. Metal parts become weakened from erosion and rust, and must be serviced or replaced periodically. Moving parts such as bearings and shafts, must be lubricated often because of their constant exposure to water. Periodic cleaning is necessary to remove calcium and algae deposits that continuously build up on the aerators.
Engineering problems also plague currently available aerators. The motor providing the power source for the aerators may be either on board or remote from the paddle wheel. Aerators using a remote motor must have a power delivery system to the paddle wheel. Aerators using on-board motors as power sources must have a way to secure and protect the motor. External on-board motors must have weatherproof casings to protect the motors from the elements. Aerators using on-board motors must utilize a floatation device buoyant enough to support the additional weight of the motor.
Due to the shallow depth of the water in which the aerators are being used, there is a limitation to the size of the floatation device and the motor. The efficiency of a device to aerate water is generally expressed as pounds of dissolved Oxygen per horsepower per hour. Increasing the horsepower will increase the amount of dissolved Oxygen. However, increasing the horsepower will also increase the size and weight of the motor and gearbox. Increasing the size and weight of the motor and gearbox will require a larger support system. Therefore, floating aerators with external on-board motors have a reduced efficiency due to the limitation on the size of motor and gearbox that can be used and how they are attached to the paddle drum.
In the fishery industry, more precisely, the catfish industry, the amount of dissolved Oxygen directly affects the quantity of fish in a population as well as the size of the catfish. To increase the percent yield of any particular fish farm, the water has to be agitated to prevent stagnation, increase dissolved Oxygen, and to prevent stratification. The amount of horsepower necessary to accomplish these goals vary according to the size of the pond or holding tank as well as the population of fish present.
With respect to wastewater treatment, high levels of dissolved Oxygen are required to maintain maximum aerobic respiration. Wastewater treatment using aerobic microorganisms requires constant aeration of the wastewater liquor. Wastewater treatment currently favours the use of microorganisms such as bacteria for biological decomposition of waste material into harmless or useful products. Bacterial respiration may involve aerobic and/or anaerobic bacteria. Anaerobic bacteria do not tolerate high levels of Oxygen and in fact, high concentrations of Oxygen are detrimental to anaerobic bacterial populations.
Respiration by anaerobic bacteria generally produces undesirable noxious odors and is a slower process than aerobic respiration. Conversely, aerobic respiration is a faster process and the final products are not usually noxious. For example, aerobic respiration of organic waste would yield carbon dioxide and water, as well as the oxidized waste material. Thus, increasing the concentration of dissolved Oxygen in wastewater would reduce the population of anaerobic bacteria and increase the population of aerobic bacteria.
In the case of stagnant wastewater, bacterial respiration depletes the concentration of Oxygen present in the wastewater. Thus, as aerobic bacteria respire, the concentration of Oxygen decreases, hence, the concentration of aerobic bacteria, able to flourish in this environment, decreases. The lack of Oxygen would then allow the concentration of anaerobic bacteria to increase. Since anaerobic respiration is a less desirable form of wastewater treatment, methods of adding Oxygen to the wastewater are required.
It is the object of this invention to provide an improved aeration device capable of using an internally mounted on-board motor and gearbox, and capable of creating greater turbulence and thus delivering a greater Oxygen transfer than previously possible.
It is a further object of this invention to provide aeration paddles of unique design and construction for improved turbulence and increased Oxygen transfer.
The aerators according to the present invention overcome the deficiencies of previous aerators by providing an aerator having a smaller raft type device with a frame and floatation, a non-floating drum mounted on the frame, the drum having a plurality of externally mounted paddles affixed along the length of the outer surface of the drum. The interior of the drum is sealed and has an internally mounted motor and gearbox, mounted inside the drum and which turns the drum. The drum is connected to a frame by a fixed stationary shaft extending through the drum and mounted therein in sealed bearings. The shaft is fixed to the frame.
Other objects, features and advantages of this invention will become obvious upon reference to the following detailed description of the invention and the drawings illustrating the preferred embodiments thereof.

Internal drive aerator for body of liquids

Abstract: A plurality of elliptically shaped paddles are externally affixed to the exterior surface of the non-floating drum. Rotation of the drum by the internal motor and gearbox causes rotation of the plurality of paddles affixed to the drum exterior.

Abstract: The plurality of paddles cause agitation of the body of water and allow Oxygen to be dissolved therein.


According to the present invention there is provided a heat mode imaging element comprising in the order given:. i) a lithographic base, PA0 ii) a heat ablatable recording layer and PA0 iii) a top layer having an opposite affinity for ink or an ink abhesive fluid than the lithographic base,. characterized in that the top layer comprises as main substance an inorganic-organic composite material wherein the inorganic phase is formed by controlled hydrolysis and polycondensation of a metal alkoxide and the organic phase is an organic polymer or copolymer linked to at least one inorganic atom.

Lithography is the process of printing from specially prepared surfaces, some areas of which are capable of accepting lithographic ink, whereas other areas, when moistened with water, will not accept the ink. The areas which accept ink form the printing image areas and the ink-rejecting areas form the background areas.
In the art of photolithography, a photographic material is made imagewise receptive to oily or greasy ink in the photo-exposed (negative working) or in the non-exposed areas (positive working) on a hydrophilic background.
In the production of common lithographic plates, also called surface litho plates or planographic printing plates, a support that has affinity to water or obtains such affinity by chemical treatment is coated with a thin layer of a photosensitive composition. Coatings for that purpose include light-sensitive polymer layers containing diazo compounds, dichromate-sensitized hydrophilic colloids and a large variety of synthetic photopolymers. Particularly diazo-sensitized systems are widely used.
Upon imagewise exposure of such light-sensitive layer the exposed image areas become insoluble and the unexposed areas remain soluble. The plate is then developed with a suitable liquid to remove the diazonium salt or diazo resin in the unexposed areas.
Imaging elements which comprise a photosensitive composition are called photo mode imaging elements.
On the other hand, heat mode imaging elements, the surface of which can be made image-wise receptive or repellant to ink upon image-wise exposure to heat obtained by conversion of irradiation into heat and in most cases a subsequent development are also known for preparing lithographic printing plates. A particular disadvantage of photo mode imaging elements such as described above for making a printing plate is that they have to be shielded from the light. Furthermore they have a problem of sensitivity in view of the storage stability and they show a lower resolution. The trend towards heat mode printing plate precursors is clearly seen in the market.
Some interesting heat mode imaging materials contain a support with a hydrophilic surface, a hydrophobic covering layer and therein between as heat mode layer a layer capable of being ablated by actinic radiation as described in e.g. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,379,698, 5,353,705, EP-A-683,728, 678,380, 649,374, 580,393, 580,394 and DE 2,512,038. Particularly interesting heat sensitive imaging elements are those where said layer capable of being ablated by actinic radiation is a layer of a low melting, non-toxic metal with a low thermal conductivity metal such as aluminum, bismuth, tin, indium, titanium and tellurium.
A problem that arises with the present ablation based printing plate precursors is that the adhesion between the top layer and the ablatable layer is not very strong. This results in staining of the printing plate and a low printing endurance. So, there is a need for heat mode imaging elements based on ablatable layers which have a strong adhesion between the heat ablatable metal layer and the top layer.

Heat sensitive imaging element and a method for producing lithographic plates therewith


A tactile sound speaker transmits sound-generated vibrations to a user through a touchpad to provide a tactile sound experience. The tactile sound speaker can include a speaker driver, a speaker cone, and a touchpad. The touchpad can be coupled to the speaker cone by transmission shafts that transmit vibrations generated by the speaker driver's output. A user may experience tactile sound by contacting the touchpad with a hand, foot, or other body part while listening to music or other sound.

Loudspeaker drivers typically include the following components: an electromagnet, a moving voice coil, and a speaker cone attached to the coil. The speaker driver components operate together to generate audible sounds, such as music or voice transmissions. The electromagnet receives sound transmissions in the form of electrical signals from a sound amplifier, and the variations in the signal frequency and amplitude cause the magnetic flux of the magnet to change in response thereto. The vibrating voice coil and a sound conversion component, such as a speaker cone, are responsive to the changes in magnetic flux and move in a manner characteristic of the frequency and amplitude of the signal.
The speaker cone is the component that is responsible for converting the electrical signals into audible sound. The movement of the speaker cone displaces the air in the vicinity of the speaker cone. The displaced air creates sound waves having amplitudes and frequencies indicative of those from the electrical signal, and in this manner the desired audible sound reproduction is achieved.
The speaker drivers are typically enclosed in a sturdy, non-vibrational housing. The electromagnet and voice coil are recessed into the housing, and the face of the speaker cone is generally focused outward from the housing to direct the audible sound outward into the listening area. A perforated grill made of a rigid material, such as plastic or metal, or an acoustically transparent foam is placed over the exposed surface of the speaker cone for protection.
It is known in the audio reproduction arts that the transmission of vibrations to the body intensifies the enjoyment of listening to music. For example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,064,376 and 4,354,067, which are herein incorporated by reference in their entirety, two devices for the implantation of a vibration device within a seat and backrest, respectively, of a chair are disclosed. The audio sensation created by the vibrations transmitted through the body cavity of the person sitting in the chair intensifies the enjoyment of the music. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,757,548, which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety, a speaker that transmits sonic vibrations to liquid and solid media is disclosed. U.S. Pat. No. 4,778,027, which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety, teaches the placement of speakers faced toward a surface to be vibrated. During operation, the sonic energy generated by the speaker is transmitted to the surface, causing the surface to vibrate.
It is also known in the audio reproduction arts to use sound induced vibrations to aid the hearing impaired. In U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,423,544 and 2,858,376 respectively, each of which is herein incorporated by reference in their entirety, two electro-acoustic bone conduction receivers mounted onto the elongated portion of eye glasses are disclosed. The bone conduction receiver as described in these references is an electromechanical device that transforms electric currents into mechanical vibrations and transmits the latter to the bones of the skull of the wearer of the glasses in the vicinity of the ear. This process of transmitting sounds to the inner ear of a deaf person is known to give good results in many instances where the inner ear is in reasonably good condition, although the middle ear may be seriously defective.
In U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,961,227 and 5,125,031, each of which is herein incorporated by reference in their entirety, loud speaker systems for transmitting vibrations are disclosed that include a speaker cone, a propagation member, and a housing that encloses the speaker cone and the propagation member. Generally, the vibrations on the speaker cone are transmitted to the housing through the propagation member. In some embodiments, the propagation member can extend through the housing or can include a vacuum environment within the housing.
In some settings, it is desirable that the vibrations from a loudspeaker be directly felt by a human body in more accurate and focused fashion. For example, the human body's feeling of the vibrations generated by music can be used to convey rhythm, timing, and steps to the deaf. In another example, when a person listens to music, the body feeling towards vibrations of the loud speaker enables the person to sense how hard and how quick the player strikes the keys of a piano. In some other settings, in addition to the requirements of more accurate and focused vibration transmission, it is also desirable to transmit the vibrations from the loudspeaker to the human body without transmitting audible sounds from the loud speaker. For example, loud speakers can be installed in a chair so a person sitting in the chair can feel the vibrations without disturbing others.


A transparent display case system that includes transparent hinges and a transparent case body. The case body is rotatable along an axis which is in alignment with the hinges.

People often collect and display various sports memorabilia such as jerseys. Jerseys for hockey, football, baseball, soccer, basketball, and other sports are often collected and displayed. Many collectors' jerseys are autographed and have monetary as well as sentimental value; in particular, jerseys that have come into direct contact with a professional player can have significant monetary value. However, jersey displays are not limited to sports memorabilia collectors. Jerseys may be displayed by schools or arenas as tributes to high achieving players or teams or in bars or other public establishments.
Sports jerseys have identifying features on both sides, front and back, and often on one or both sleeves. These features include team logos, numbers, names, and commemorative patches or appliques. To display the jersey, the jersey is placed in a framed display in which only one side of the jersey is facing glass and the reverse side of the jersey faces the backing of the display case. Once in a framed display, the jersey cannot be removed easily or replaced with another jersey. Thus a need exists for a display case that allows both sides of a sports jersey to be displayed or viewed while still providing protection for the jersey and which additionally allows the jersey to be removed or replaced easily.


A light emitting device includes a cladding layer composed of a III-V group nitride system semiconductor of a first conductivity type, an active layer formed on the cladding layer of the first conductivity type and composed of a III-V group nitride system semiconductor containing In, an undoped cap layer formed on the active layer and composed of a III-V group nitride system semiconductor, and a cladding layer formed on the cap layer and composed of a III-V group nitride system semiconductor of a second conductivity type.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a light emitting device and a manufacturing method thereof.
2. Description of the Background Art
Light emitting devices such as light emitting diodes and semiconductor laser devices which are formed of III-V group nitride system semiconductors such as GaN, AlGaN, InGaN and InAlGaN are receiving a great deal of attention because they are capable of, by direct transition, light emission in the yellow to ultraviolet region, especially in the blue region, with large luminous intensity.
FIG. 8 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a conventional light emitting diode composed of III-V group nitride system semiconductors.
In FIG. 8, formed in order on a sapphire substrate 101 are a GaN buffer layer 102, an n-type GaN contact layer 103 also serving as an n-type cladding layer, an InGaN active layer 104, a p-type AlGaN cladding layer 105, and a p-type GaN contact layer 106. A p electrode 107 is formed on the p-type GaN contact layer 106 and an n electrode 108 is formed on the n-type GaN contact layer 103.
The individual layers of this light emitting diode are grown by metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) at the growth temperatures shown in Table 1, for example.
TABLE 1 ______________________________________ Name of layer Growth temperature (.degree.C.) ______________________________________ Buffer layer 102 600 N-type contact layer 103 1150 Active layer 104 860 P-type cladding layer 1150 105 P-type contact layer 106 1150 ______________________________________
When manufacturing this light emitting diode, the p-type AlGaN cladding layer 105 is formed on the InGaN active layer 104 at a growth temperature higher than that for the InGaN active layer 104 to achieve good crystallinity. The growth of the p-type AlGaN cladding layer 105 at such a high temperature causes elimination of constituent elements such as In from the InGaN active layer 104. The crystallinity of the InGaN active layer 104 is thus deteriorated when crystal-growing the p-type AlGaN cladding layer 105. This causes difficulty in achieving larger luminous intensity with the light emitting diode.


A faucet body without compartment is disclosed. The faucet body is casted and forged integrally with an upright tubular shell, and the upper portion of shell comprises a thread segment. A first annular convex and a second annular convex are formed at a lower portion of the thread segment, and a flow space is formed between the first annular convex and the second annular convex. Below the second annular convex, At least a first bearing base, a second bearing base and a support block extend from the second annular convex. The first bearing base, second bearing base and support block are connected by a protruding shoulder to support the fined ceramic valve in the faucet body. An outlet conduit extends forward from a periphery of top of the shell, and an outlet channel is formed inside the outlet conduit to connect to the flow space of the shell.

The faucet structure used to have a fined ceramic valve inside for controlling the water flow opening and closing and the amount of water. The fined ceramic valve (60) used to install a valve stem (62), an upper ceramic piece and a lower ceramic piece inside the valve casting (61) and the free end of the fined ceramic valve (60) connects to a valve base. The fined ceramic valve is settled into the compartment (71) of the faucet body (70) which is preset in manufacturing process. The hot water and the cold water flows upward into the faucet by a cold/hot water inlet tube (72) which penetrates through the compartment (as shown in FIG. 14). When the faucet is in use, the valve stem, which extends from valve casting, enable the handle of faucet body (70) to rotate after the handle is pulled up, so that the valve stem (62) can make the limber hole on upper ceramic piece to align with the drain hole on lower ceramic piece. And then the cold water and the hot water can flow into the fined ceramic valve (60) and be mixed before the mixed water runs through the limber hole in valve base and flows out from the drain hole (73) which is on the bottom of compartment (71) in the faucet body (70). Conversely, pull down the handle of faucet body (70) causes the limber hole on upper ceramic piece to misalign with the drain hole on lower ceramic piece, so that the faucet is in off position and the water flow is blocked.
However, conventional structure described above still has some problems to apply to the practical application and there are some concerns below: (i) Because of the drain hole (73) in the compartment (71) can only be penetrated outward from the bottom of the compartment, the design of faucet body (70) is limited by the presence of compartment (71). In this embodiment, the height of the outlet channel (74) of faucet body (70) is requested to lower. Therefore, when the faucet body (70) is used in a wash-basin or similarly reserved tanks, the reserved tank is hard to be clean because of the lower height of the faucet body (70); and (ii) After the casting process of faucet body (70), the other two more processes are requested for casting the cold/hot inlet tube (72) and the drain hole (73). It cause the overall production process is various and many, and the manufacture cost is higher. Under this circumstance, the device will be not competitive and unable to maintain the technical advantage.
Therefore, there remains a need for a new and improved design for a fined ceramic valve of faucet to overcome the problems presented above.


A tool for crushing coke includes a casing which in the operational state is connected to a drill rod and on or in which is arranged at least one cutting nozzle and one drill nozzle for drilling coke and at least one valve for controlling a direction of flow of water flowing through the drill rod and the casing through the cutting nozzle and the drill nozzle.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a tool for crushing coke, including                a casing which, in the operational state is connected to a drill rod and on or in which        at least one cutting nozzle each for cutting and one drill nozzle for drilling of coke and        at least one valve for controlling a direction of flow of the water flowing through the drill rod and the casing through the cutting nozzle and the drill nozzle is arranged.
2. Background Art
In oil refineries the last, otherwise no longer usable fraction of the crude oil is converted into coke. The conversion is brought about by feeding this fraction into drums which, as the operation proceeds, become filled with coke. Once the maximum filling level of the drums has been attained, the coke is cut out of the drums.
This so-called "de-coking" is conventionally performed with high pressure water jets which crush the coke and flush it out of the drums. The tool for generating these high pressure water jets is introduced by way of a drill rod mechanism from above into the drum. The "de-coking" is performed in two steps. To begin with, an aperture is drilled by the tool in the drum, then the tool is, once again, taken to the upper end of the drum and the coke is now crushed by high pressure water jets generated by the cutting nozzles approximately at about right angles to the axis.
The tool which is, for example, known from WO 03/01461 A1 representing the genus, is accordingly designed for two operating conditions, firstly for the drilling of an aperture which is necessary for moving the tool and for the subsequent discharge of crushed coke and, secondly, for the cutting of the coke across the cross section of the drum. Accordingly, the drill nozzles direct high pressure water jets essentially parallel or at an acute angle to an axis, which is formed by the drill rod and by the aperture formed during drilling. The cutting nozzles, on the other hand, generate high pressure water jets which are directed essentially at right angles or at a shallow angle to the axis formed by the drilling rod and the aperture in the drum.
The change-over between the operational states of drilling and cutting must proceed rapidly and simply. The nozzles which are used in the tool, due to the high water pressure, suffer wear and tear and must be replaced at regular intervals. Accordingly, the tool must be so designed that a replacement of the nozzles can be performed rapidly and reliably.
The wear and tear of the nozzles is increased by the fact that in known tools of the afore mentioned type, water under high pressure is forced into an annular space which communicates with all nozzles, from where the water enters non-directionally into whichever nozzles are openedm in the course of which no reorientation whatsoever of the flow in the direction of the respective nozzles takes place.
In another tool as well, known from DE 39 41 953 A1 the feeding of water under pressure to the cutting nozzles and to the drill nozzles proceeds initially in a central piston and from there, depending on the position of the piston in the casing of the tool, through apertures traversing the wall of the piston into one or two annular cavities of which one is connected to the cutting nozzles and the other is connected to the drill nozzles. The pressurized water flow is subjected in the piston to vortex formation and, only after having suffered corresponding pressure and flow losses, passes by way of the apertures in the wall of the piston into radial ducts in which the water is conducted to the nozzles.
In the tool known from U.S. Pat. No. 5,816,505 as well, two annular cavities of this type are provided to each of which the pressurized water is conducted, as a function of a control bringing about either the drilling mode of operation or the cutting mode, with considerable flow losses and forwarded from the respective annular cavity by way of ducts connected there to the nozzles.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


A method for forming a semiconductor device is disclosed. A substrate comprising a structural layer thereon is provided. A hard mask layer is formed on the structural layer. A photoresist layer is formed on the hard mask layer. The photoresist layer is patterned to from a plurality of main photoresist patterns and at least one dummy photoresist pattern between the main photoresist patterns or adjacent to one of the main photoresist patterns, wherein width of the dummy photoresist pattern is less than that of the main photoresist patterns. Two main photoresist patterns are separated with each other by a first opening, and two dummy photoresist patterns are separated with each other by a second opening. Width of the second opening is less than that of the first opening. The hard mask layer is patterned using the patterned photoresist layer as a mask. The structural layer is patterned using the patterned hard mask layer as a mask.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method for forming a semiconductor device, and more particularly to a method for forming a memory device.
2. Description of the Related Art
With the wide application of integrated circuits (ICs), several kinds of semiconductor devices with high efficiency and low cost are produced based on different objectives. The dynamic random access memory (DRAM) is such an important semiconductor device in the information and electronics industry. Basically, a DRAM is an integrated circuit that stores data in binary form (e.g., "1" or "0") in a large number of cells.
Most DRAMs have one transistor and one capacitor in one DRAM cell. The memory capacity of the DRAM has reached 512 megabits (or further more than 1024 megabits). Therefore, under increasing integration it is required to shrink the size of the memory cell and the transistor so as to manufacture the DRAM with high memory capacity and high processing speed. A 3-D capacitor structure can itself reduce occupied area in the semiconductor substrate, so the 3-D capacitor, such as a deep trench capacitor, is applied to the fabrication of the DRAM of 1024 megabits and above.
FIGS. 1A-1D show a conventional method for forming gate lines or metal lines of a semiconductor device. Referring to FIG. 1A, a substrate 100 comprising an array region 102 and a periphery region 104 is provided, and a gate layer 106 is formed on top of both the array region 102 and the periphery region 104. Next, a silicon nitride layer 108 is formed on the gate layer 106. A polysilicon hard mask layer 110 is formed on the silicon nitride layer 108. A photoresist layer 112 is formed on the polysilicon hard mask layer 110.
Referring to FIG. 1B, the photoresist layer 112 is defined by lithography process to form a plurality of photoresist patterns 112a, wherein parts of the photoresist patterns 112a in the array region 102 are more concentrated than those in the periphery region 104. Next, the polysilicon hard mask layer 110 is etched using the photoresist patterns 112a as a mask, forming a plurality of openings 114. Thereafter, referring to FIG. 1C, the photoresist patterns 112a are removed, and the silicon nitride layer 108 is etched using the etched polysilicon hard mask layer 110 as a mask to pattern the silicon nitride layer 108 according to the pattern of the etched polysilicon hard mask layer 110. Referring to FIG. 1D, the polysilicon hard mask layer 110 is removed. The gate layer 106 is then etched using the etched silicon nitride layer 108 as a mask to pattern the gate layer 106 according to the pattern of the etched silicon nitride layer 108.
In the above conventional method, when etching the polysilicon hard mask layer 110 or other layers using the photoresist patterns 112a as a mask, non-conventional line widths and/or etching depths occur. The issues are due to non-conventional plasma concentration from parts of the photoresist patterns 112a in the array region 102 being more concentrated than those in the periphery region 104. The issue is called loading effect, in which depths of the openings in the periphery region 104 is deeper than those in the array region 102. Further, when device density is higher, loading effect is more serious.

Semiconductor device and fabrications thereof


Provided is a drum surface scanner with which punched holes and/or cuts can be formed in a plate which has been correctly defined by position, and the plate can be clamped to a recording drum. When a plate P comes in front of movable pins 113, i.e., on a hole punch unit 4 side, the upper roller of a conveyor roller 125 moves down, and conveyor rollers 124 and 125, and conveyor belts 111 all start rotating in the positive direction. Once the plate P moves out of the range covered by a sensor PH159, the movable pins 113 follow the tail end of the plate P at a given distance therefrom. When the front end of the plate P reaches the hole punch unit 4, the movable pins 113 which have been chasing the plate P push the tail end thereof to make the front end thereof abut to the hole punch unit 4. At the same time, based on the movement amount of the movable pins 113 from their original positions to current positions pushing the tail end of the plate P, the plate P is checked for its length Y. Plate conveyance with respect to positioning pins 51 on the recording drum 5 is carried out in a similar manner.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to drum surface scanners and methods for plate size check and, more specifically to, in a drum surface scanner in which a plate positioned by a hole punch unit and then attached to a recording drum is exposed by means of light beam scanning, a mechanism for conveying the plate to the hole punch unit and the recording drum, and a method for plate size check employed by the mechanism.
2. Related Art Statement
Color printouts require an exposure process, a printing process, and several others before completion. Prior to the exposure process, an original image for color printing is separated into several colors, typically four colors of Y (yellow), M (magenta), C (cyan), and K (black), and image data is generated for each of the resulting colors. The resulting image data is provided to a drum surface scanner for use in the exposure process. The drum surface scanner includes a recording drum, around which a sheet plate is installed. The sheet plate is exemplified by a presensitized plate (PS plate), which is made of aluminum, plastic, paper, and others, previously coated with a photosensitive coating.
In the exposure process, based on the provided image data, the drum surface scanner exposes the plate installed around the recording drum for image printing thereon for each color as a result of color separation. That is, in a case where an original image is separated into four colors of YMCK, four images differing in color are each printed onto a plate, i.e., four plates in total.
In the printing process, used is a printer of a type applying inks corresponding in color to the image-printed plates to produce multi-colored printouts. At printing, if image shifting occurs to the plates printed with each different colored image, the resulting color printouts will be poor in quality. In order to prevent such image shifting, the plates usually each have punched holes at predetermined positions to use as a basis for position setting at printing. These punched holes are also used as a basis for image printing onto plates. Thus, a hole punch unit for forming such punched holes is provided to the drum surface scanner. With the aid of such punched holes, the drum surface scanner becomes free from image shifting occurring to plates, leading to high-quality color printouts provided by the printer.
Such a conventional drum surface scanner is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2000-56467. As to the disclosed drum surface scanner, only its plate conveyor mechanism having relevance to the present invention is described briefly below.
FIG. 20 is an exploded view showing the structure of the conventional drum surface scanner. In the conventional drum surface scanner, an almost parallelepiped-shaped frame 1 is attached with a conveyor mechanism 2, a drive mechanism 3, a hole punch unit 4, a recording drum 5, and others. The drive mechanism 3 is not shown in FIG. 20 to avoid impairing clarity. FIG. 21 is a cross-sectional view of the main part of the conveyor mechanism 2, cut along a line A-A′ and viewed from the direction of an arrow B of FIG. 20.
In FIGS. 20 and 21, the conveyor mechanism 2 includes a lower tray 22, an upper tray 23, feed rollers 24, a conveyor roller 25 for plate loading, and a conveyor roller 26 for plate unloading. The lower tray 22 and the upper tray 23 are held securely in position to be a single piece between two side panels 21. The feed roller 24, and the conveyor rollers 25 and 26 are all rotatable, and also held securely in position between the two side panels 21. The feed roller 24 is used to convey plates placed on the lower tray 22 in the direction of the conveyor roller 25. The conveyor roller 25 is configured by two rollers, those of which are so arranged as to abut each other at the tip of the lower tray 22. Similarly, the conveyor roller 26 is also configured by two rollers, those of which are so arranged as to abut each other at the tip of the upper tray 23. The conveyor roller 25 and the feed roller 24 are each coupled, through a belt (not shown), with a motor M50 which is securely fixed to both of the side panels 21. The motor M50 drives both the conveyor roller 25 and the feed roller 24 into rotation. The conveyor roller 26 is coupled with, through another belt (not shown), a motor M54 which is also securely fixed to both of the side panels 21. The motor M54 drives the conveyor roller 26 into rotation.
The lower and upper trays 22 and 23 are provided, respectively, with small holes 27 and 28, and directly therebelow, sensors PH50 and PH54 are each affixed. These sensors PH50 and PH54 are used to detect whether there is any plate placed directly above the small holes 27 and 28, respectively.
The conveyor mechanism 2 structured as such is securely placed onto the upper part of the frame 1, as indicated by a one-dot arrowed line α in FIG. 20. Here, the conveyor mechanism 2 rotates at a predetermined angle about a rotary shaft 29 protruding outwardly from those two side panels 21 (see an arrow β in FIGS. 20 and 21).
The drive mechanism 3 is incorporated to rotate the conveyor mechanism 2 as such. FIG. 22 shows the drive mechanism 3 viewed from the direction of an arrow C shown in FIG. 20.
In FIG. 22, the drive mechanism 3 includes, two of each, a cum follower guide 31, a motor M55, a cum gear 32, and a cam follower 33. The drive mechanism 3 also includes, at least one of each, a sensor detection panel 34, a sensor PH55, and a sensor PH56.
The cum follower guides 31 each have a parallelepiped shape, and an oval-shaped through hole is formed therein. The cum follower guides 31 are fixedly attached to the side panels 21, respectively, such that the through holes are faced to each other via the conveyor mechanism 2. The motors M55 are placed proximal to the side panels 21, respectively, to face each other via the conveyor mechanism 2, and fixed to the frame 1. The cum gears 32 are also fixed to the frame 1 in such a manner as to face to each corresponding side panel 21. Here, the cum gears 32 are each driven by the corresponding motor M55 into rotation about their own shafts. The cum followers 33 are fixed, respectively, in such a position as to move in a circle, around the shaft of the corresponding cum gear 32, on the outer parts of one plane of the cum gear 32, i.e., the plane facing to the corresponding side panel 21. The cum follower 33 is disk-shaped, a diameter of which is almost the same as the narrower diameter of the through hole of the cum follower guide 31, and thus perfectly fits in the through hole. With such a structure, the cum follower 33 couples together the cum follower guide 31 and the gum gear 32, so that the conveyor mechanism 2 is supported by the drive mechanism 3. The disk-shaped sensor detection panel 34 is placed concentrically around the corresponding cum gear 32, and rotates together therewith. The sensor detection panel 34 has a slit 35 formed in the outer parts thereof. In order to detect the slit 35 in the rotating sensor detection panel 34, the sensors PH55 and PH56 are securely fixed to the frame 1.
With such a structure, the sensors PH55 and PH56 both become able to detect the slit 35 which does not stay at the same position, and the drive mechanism 3 moves and stops the conveyor mechanism 2 to/at its upper and lower positions.
Described next is the hole punch unit 4 of FIG. 20. FIG. 23 shows a cross-sectional view of the hole punch unit 4, cut along a line E-E′ and viewed from the direction of an arrow F of FIG. 20.
In FIG. 20, the hole punch unit 4 includes at least two punchers 41, and a mounting member 42. The punchers 41 each mainly include, as shown in FIG. 23, a main body 43, a sensor PH62, a motor M60, and a punch 44. The main body 43 has a gap 45, into which a plate coming over a first supply pass line (will be described later) is inserted. The sensor PH62 detects plate insertion into the gap 45. Once the sensor PH62 detects plate insertion, the motor M60 starts driving. With the aid of a cum mechanism (not shown) in the main body, the driving power eventually moves the punch 44 up and down. As the punch 44 moves up and down responding to the power provided by the cum mechanism, the plate inserted in the gap 45 is punched in. As such, the resulting plate has punched holes and/or cuts formed at one end thereof. The mounting member 42 has a parallelepiped shape, and a gutter 46 is formed along the longitudinal direction thereof. To the gutter 46, the corresponding puncher 41 is attached. Such a hole punch unit 4 is securely fixed onto the frame 1 as indicated by a one-dot arrowed line 6 shown in FIG. 20.
Described next is a recording drum 5 shown in FIG. 20. FIG. 24 shows the recording drum 5 and components locating proximal thereto, cut along a line G-G′ and viewed from the direction of an arrow H of FIG. 20.
In FIGS. 20 and 24, the recording drum 5 is placed within the frame 1, specifically, in such a position diagonally below the conveyor mechanism 2 and the hole punch unit 4. The recording drum 5 has an almost cylindrical shape, and rotates about its own shaft responding to the driving power coming from a motor M1. To the outer surface (annular surface) of the recording drum 5, a plate P (see a shaded part of FIG. 20) coming over a second supply pass line (will be described later) is installed therearound. Further, the drum surface scanner includes, for the purpose of securely place the plate P on the recording drum 5, at least two positioning pins 51, a head clamp 52, and a tail clamp 53. As shown in FIG. 20, these positioning pins 51 are securely affixed onto the outer surface of the recording drum 5 so as to be aligned parallel to the center axis thereof. Thereby, the positioning pins 51 can clamp one end of the plate coming over the second supply pass line.
Next, referring to FIGS. 25 to 33, a sequence of processes executed by the components described in the foregoing will be described in detail.
First, the plate P is provided to the lower tray 22 of the conveyor mechanism 2 (see FIG. 25). This plate supply is done manually by operators, or automatically by an automatic plate supply mechanism (not shown) additionally provided to the drum surface scanner. Once the sensor PH50 detects that the plate P has been supplied, the conveyor mechanism 2 moves the lower tray 22 to its upper position for a punching process. As a result, the conveyor roller 25 of the conveyor mechanism 2 and the gap 45 of the hole punch unit 4 are aligned straight, so that the first supply pass line as indicated by a two-dot arrowed line η is formed therebetween (see FIG. 26). Then, the feed roller 24 and the conveyor roller 25 rotate (positive rotation) in such a direction that the plate P moves from the conveyor mechanism 2 towards the hole punch unit 4 (see an arrow θ). With such a rotation, the plate P is conveyed over the lower tray 22 to the first supply pass line (see FIG. 27). Here, on the way in the first supply pass line, the plate P is adjusted in position with respect to the punchers 41 by a centering mechanism, which is not shown. As a result of position adjustment, the plate P preferably has two punched holes and/or cuts formed symmetrically with respect to the center line thereof. The resulting plate P after position adjustment is then guided to the gap 45 of the corresponding puncher 41.
In the hole punch unit 4, if the sensor PH62 of the corresponding puncher 41 detects that one end of the plate P has reached thereto, the plate P is formed with punched holes and/or cuts at predetermined positions thereof. Here, in the case with cuts, those are formed in the same shape at the same pitch as the positioning pins 51 which are securely affixed onto the recording drum 5. In the case with punched holes, those are formed in the same shape at the same pitch as pins provided to a printer (not shown) which is used in the printing process.
After the punching process, the feed roller 24 and the conveyor roller 25 rotate (negative rotation) in a direction from the hole punch unit 4 to the conveyor mechanism 2 (see an arrow ι) at, almost, a constant speed. As a result, the punched plate P moves backward over the first supply pass line to be on the lower tray 22 again (see FIG. 28). In response to such a movement of the punched plate P, the conveyor mechanism 2 moves the lower tray 22 to its lower position to have it face to the recording drum 5, i.e., to have the line extended straight from the conveyor roller 25 abut the outer surface of the recording drum 5 (see FIG. 29). In this manner, the second supply pass line is established between the conveyor roller 25 and the recording drum 5. Then, the feed roller 24 and the conveyor roller 25 rotate positively to forward the punched plate P from the lower tray 22 onto the second supply pass line in the direction of the recording drum 5 (see an arrow λ). The forwarded plate P is then defined by position with respect to the recording drum 5 by the cuts formed at one end as fitting into the positioning pins 51.
Thereafter, a first clamp drive (not shown) drives the head clamp 52 to clamp one end of the plate P. In response, the recording drum 5 rotates (positive rotation) in a direction indicated by an arrow μ of FIG. 30. As a result, the plate P is wound around the recording drum 5 while being ejected from the lower tray 22 (see FIG. 31).
After the exposure process to the plate P, the exposed plate P installed around the recording drum 5 is unloaded as below.
The recording drum 5 rotates in an opposite direction (negative rotation) to unload the plate P to the conveyor roller 26 through an ejection pass line which is indicated by a two-dot arrowed line ρ in FIG. 32. The conveyor roller 26 then rotates in the direction indicated by an arrow τ in FIG. 33, i.e., such a direction that the plate P coming over the ejection pass line is moved to the upper tray 23. As a result, the plate P is provided onto the upper tray 23 (FIG. 33).
The issue here is that such a conventional drum surface scanner bears the following problems. First, plate conveyance to the hole punch unit 4 and the recording drum 5 is dependent only on the movement of the feed roller 24 and the conveyor roller 25.
Therefore, if the feed roller 24 and the conveyor roller 25 get dirty and thus reduced in their conveyance capabilities, for example, plate conveyance may not be completed to the predetermined position of the corresponding puncher 41, specifically, until the plate perfectly fits in the gap 45. If this is the case, without position adjustment, the plate may be formed with punched holes and/or cuts. It should be noted here that the sensor PH62 provided to each puncher 41 merely detects plate insertion into the gap 45, and thus is not capable of detecting whether the plate has been correctly positioned.
Moreover, problematically, the plate is not completely conveyed until its cuts abut the positioning pins 51 of the recording drum 5. As a result, the plate is clamped without correctly defined by position, and the exposure process get started.
There is another problem about plate size in the conventional drum surface scanner. In detail, plates used in the drum surface scanner vary in size, and thus settings are accordingly made to the scanner depending on what plate size is to be applied thereto. The scanner follows the settings for a sequence of processes. However, this does not always work appropriately if plate supply is made manually by operators, possibly resulting in mistakes such that the plate supplied to the lower tray 22 of the conveyor mechanism 2 will be wrong in size, different from the previously-made settings. The conventional drum surface scanner detects the plate size to prevent mistakes of the type, but such detection is not enough.
The reason is that, in the conventional drum surface scanner, plate size detection is not made at once. In detail, with respect to the heading direction of the plate, the width X of the plate is detected at the time of centering process in the hole punch unit 4, while the length Y of the plate is detected at the time of conveyance to the recording drum 5, i.e., calculated from the rotation amount of the recording drum 5 when the tail end of the plate is detected. Accordingly, if the plate wrong in length Y is supplied to the lower tray 22, the plate resultantly goes all the way to the recording drum 5.

Drum surface scanner and method for plate size check


A device and method for noninvasively quantifying important physiological parameters in blood. The device and method utilizes changes in molecular behavior induced by thermal energy of change to facilitate the measurement of the physiological parameters in blood. Oxygen saturation, partial pressure of oxygen, partial pressure of carbon dioxide, concentration of bicarbonate ion and total carbon dioxide, acid-base balance, base excess, hemoglobin level, hematocrit, oxyhemoglobin level, deoxyhemoglobin level, and oxygen content can all be determined quickly, easily, and continuously. There is no need for skin puncture or laboratory analysis.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to a noninvasive method of quantitatively determining the concentration of components in a light- or other radiation-scattering environment. A novel means of varying temperature or other parameters to assist in determinations is presented.
More particularly, the invention relates to spectrophotometry systems and measurements of behavior, action or function of substances which are affected by temperature or other variables.
A method and device for the continuous monitoring of blood parameters is especially disclosed. This technology makes use of measurement of temperature-induced changes in the respiratory molecule hemoglobin to determine acid-base balance and other parameters.
2. Description of the Related Art
There is no device currently known which can noninvasively measure pH and/or blood gases.
In a broad context, differential thermal analysis is a technique used in analytical chemistry for identifying and quantitatively analyzing the chemical composition of substances by observing the thermal behavior of a sample as it is heated. This methodology is widely used for identifying minerals and mineral structures, but is not performed noninvasively and is in fact usually destructive to the sample being tested. It is not useful in biologic applications. Similarly, related thermometric methods such as thermogravimetry, calorimetry, and cryoscopy are not related to the present invention.
Induction of temperature changes has been used in the experimental study of chemical kinetics to facilitate measurement of reaction rates. The technique described herein does not depend upon any chemical reaction taking place.
Temperature is a very important factor in the chemistry of both biologic and non-biologic systems. It reckons in the speed of reactions; indeed, if a reaction will occur at all. Temperature can be relatively easy to both measure and regulate. Furthermore, changing the temperature of a substance or system does not normally damage the substance in any way (within a certain range; clearly temperature extremes will harm almost any system). Temperature by itself can affect acid-base balance and pH because of a direct affect on the hydrogen ion.
Spectrophotometry is a commonly used technique for the identification and quantification of substances. It is used in medicine in the form of pulse oximetry, to determine the ratio of oxyhemoglobin to deoxyhemoglobin and thus measure the oxygenation status of a patient. Spectrophotometry deals with measurement of the radiant energy transmitted or reflected by a body as a function of the wavelength. Infrared (IR) spectroscopy passes infrared light through an organic molecule and produces a spectrum that can be plotted as the amount of light transmitted versus the wavelength of infrared radiation. Since all bonds in an organic molecule interact with infrared radiation, IR spectra provide a great deal of structural data, allowing identification to be made. There is a large area of prior art relating to spectrophotometry and, more specifically, to oximetry. The most relevant prior art known by the inventor is reviewed below, but none relate to the unique determinations made possible by the method and device disclosed in this application.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,431,159, issued Jul. 11, 1995 to Baker et al, describes methods of improving measurements made by standard pulse oximetry. While these devices may improve the signal quality and signal-to-noise ratio for oximeter calculations, they do not allow for any new determinations, as outlined in the present application.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,101,825, issued Apr. 7, 1982 to Gravenstein et al, purports to measure hemoglobin noninvasively by means of simultaneous measurement of volume changes and changes in the mass of hemoglobin species measured by oximetry. It is unclear how blood volume changes could be determined to the desired accuracy.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,499,627, issued Mar. 19, 1996 to Steuer et al, claims a system for noninvasive hematocrit monitoring. The patent describes techniques of measuring the infrared absorption of hemoglobin at isobestic points of the oxy and deoxy species. However, there is no discussion relating to the use of temperature changes and, therefore, Steuer et al. is not particularly relavent to the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,427,093, issued Jun. 27, 1995 to Ogawa et al, describes a device to disperse heat generated by the LED in an oximeter probe by means of a heat-dissipating plate. This is a potential benefit for standard pulse oximeters, but in no way improves their measurements or allow for new determinations, as in the device and method described herein.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,167,331, issued Sep. 11, 1979 to Nielsen, teaches the use of multiple wavelength techniques for identification of multiple absorbing substances.
Several patents claim the non-invasive measurement of blood glucose using modified light radiation. U.S. Pat. No. 4,704,029, issued Nov. 3, 1987 to Van Heuvelen, discloses the measurement of blood glucose by utilizing a refractometer. U.S. Pat. No. 5,448,992, issued Sep. 12, 1995 to Kupershmidt, bases measurements on a polarized-modulated laser. U.S. Pat. No. 5,433,197 to Stark describes non-invasive glucose measurement using irradiation of the eye. There are many other such references, but none relate specifically to the technique of this application.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,805,623, issued Feb. 21, 1989 to Jobsis, describes a spectrophotometric method of determining the concentration of a dilute component together with a reference component of known concentration. While not similar to the technology here disclosed, the patent teaches that obtaining an appropriate reference component is often problematic. The technique outlined in the present application obviates this lack of reference components for many cases, as determination of the concentration of many substances, such as hemoglobin level, in blood or other environments can now be done, and they in turn can serve as reference components.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,492,118, issued Feb. 20, 1996 to Gratton et al, also discloses a technique for determining material (specifically glucose) concentrations in tissues. This is done by measuring the scattering coefficient of light passed through the tissue and comparing this with a previous scattering coefficient determined with respect to the tissue.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,402,777, issued Apr. 4, 1995 to Warring et al, describes a device to facilitate non-invasive oxygen monitoring. This is a sensor system designed to improve the performance of a pulse oximeter under certain circumstances. While this may be a useful aid in standard pulse oximetry, it in no way enables any additional determinations to be made, as in the device described in the present invention.
Additionally, many patents disclose improvements to pulse oximeter probes or sensor as advances in the art. Included in this group is U.S. Pat. No. 5,469,845 DeLonzor et al, and many others.
3. Physiology and Biochemistry Background
This section refers specifically to hemoglobin and oximetry. Changes in many other substances secondary to thermal effects also occur, and measurements and determinations based on these effects are meant to be included within the scope of this patent application.
Hemoglobin is the molecule which is essentially entirely responsible for carrying oxygen in all vertebrates and some invertebrates (See; Nunn's Applied Respiratory Physiology, Cambridge, Mass.; Butterworth-Heinemann, 4th Edition (1993), Chapter 10, pp 219-246); the remainder of this discussion will be limited to humans. It is contained in the red blood cell (RBC, erythrocyte), which is the most common cell in the body. A molecule or single unit of hemoglobin (Hb) contains 4 iron groups, each of which can bind 1 molecule or unit of oxygen. Because there are 4 iron groups, a molecule of Hb can contain from 0 to 4 molecules of O.sub.2. Hb which is carrying O.sub.2 is known as oxyhemoglobin (HbO.sub.2), Hb not carrying oxygen in known as deoxyhemoglobin. The relative number of O.sub.2 molecules bound to a Hb molecule is referred to as saturation, expressed in percentage. Of course, blood is composed of billions and billions of RBCs and Hb molecules, so the averaged saturation can take on any value from 0 to 100%.
How well Hb is saturated with O.sub.2 depends mainly on the "partial pressure" of oxygen in the blood. The higher the pressure of oxygen in the blood (PO.sub.2), the higher the saturation (SO.sub.2). However, the relationship between PO.sub.2 and SO.sub.2 is not linear (change in one is not always directly proportional to change in the other). The dependence is described by a S-shaped "sigmoid" curve, common in the biologic sciences. This particular curve is call the Hemoglobin-Oxygen Dissociation Curve (HODC; see FIG. 1). Hb absorbs O.sub.2 in the lungs (to form HbO.sub.2). As the RBC travels to the tissues, the HbO.sub.2 releases oxygen.
Determination of the physiological parameters is a very important part of modern medical practice. Unfortunately, measurement of any of these parameters has until recently always required a blood sample (arterial and/or venous) to be drawn, which is then analyzed by a laboratory.
During the 1970's the first pulse oximeter was introduced. This device made use of spectrophotometry to allow approximation of arterial oxygen saturation (SaO.sub.2), termed SpO.sub.2 (saturation measured by pulse oximetry), by noninvasive means. After improvements, pulse oximeters are now commonplace in acute health care settings.
Pulse oximeter design and function are well documented. The two principal forms of Hb (oxy and deoxy: Hb and HbO.sub.2) absorb different wavelengths of light to varying degrees. The standard oximeter utilizes 2 wavelengths, one in the "red" portion of the light spectrum and the other in the near-infrared. The absorbance of emissions from light-emitting diodes (LEDs) of appropriate wavelength is measured. The pulsatile (AC) and non-pulsatile (DC) components are calculated and compared, and the ratio of the corrected signal is collated to a stored calibration curve to yield SpO.sub.2.
Transcutaneous monitoring of oxygen and carbon dioxide is also used as discussed in S. J. Barker, "Monitoring Oxygen and Carbon Dioxide", International Anesthesia Research Society, March 1996, pp 1-7, but there are several practical difficulties with this technology. It is dependent upon cardiac output and skin perfusion, the electrode must be calibrated before application to the skin, and the sensor's membrane and electrolyte must be replaced periodically. The only significant application has been found in neonatology.
There are many references disclosing noninvasive determination of glucose. However, no device has yet found acceptance in the marketplace for this function.
There have also been numerous attempts at monitoring using miniaturized probes passed through arterial cannulae. The first approach employed Clark electrodes, the same oxygen electrode used In the laboratory blood-gas analyzer. More recently, the principle of florescence quenching has been used to develop fiberoptic "optodes" which can continuously monitor pH and PCO.sub.2 as well as PO.sub.2 through an arterial cannula. Unfortunately, there have been some technical problems with optode accuracy and reliability. While this technology will no doubt improve, it remains very costly and is of course invasive in nature.
Thus, the SO.sub.2 can now be determined noninvasively. However, still the only way to determine pH and other parameters accurately has been by drawing a blood sample and utilizing laboratory analysis. Such analysis is obviously invasive (requires breaking the skin; any time the skin barrier is ruptured inflammation and/or infection can ensue), very painful (puncture of an artery is technically more difficult and much more painful than puncture of a vein, which is how most blood tests are performed), risks blood contamination for both the subject and the person drawing the blood, and creates toxic medical waste (syringe, needle, gloves, skin dressing, test tube or other container). It is expensive to perform, not only from the supplies and the cost of the analyzer making the measurement, but the operation of the analyzer and the drawing of the blood both require trained personnel. The analyzer must be calibrated frequently with chemical reagents which are costly and must be disposed of safely. Arterial puncture is also inherently dangerous, as it can cause a clot in the artery, and prevent blood flow "downstream", thus depriving those tissues of oxygen.
Therefore, it would be an advance in the art to provide a system and method to noninvasively and quantitatively assess acid-base balance and related variables. It would be another advance in the art to noninvasively and quantitatively measure hemoglobin level ("blood count") and oxygen content and capacity. It would be yet another improvement in the art to determine all these parameters rapidly and continuously. It would be of great betterment to make these measurements without the need for laboratory analysis, equipment, and personnel. It would be an progression to have a device with such capabilities that is easily transportable that could be used in an ambulance or when conveying a patient from one location to another.
It would be a further advance to have a device for immediate diagnosis of poisoning such as that due to carbon monoxide. It would be advantageous to allow rapid noninvasive screening of blood disorders such as sickle cell anemia.

Device and method for noninvasive continuous determination of blood gases, pH, hemoglobin level, and oxygen content