The present invention includes a palatable, stable composition comprising a biomass hydrolysate emulsion for incorporation, into, or used as, nutritional products, cosmetic products or pharmaceutical products. Preferred sources for biomass are microbial sources, plant sources and animal sources. The present invention also provides methods for making such compositions, specifically, a method for producing a product comprising a nutrient, particularly a long chain polyunsaturated fatty acid, comprising hydrolyzing a biomass comprising the nutrient and emulsifying the hydrolyzed biomass. Such compositions and methods are useful, for example, for increasing intake of nutrients such as omega-3 long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids having 18 or more carbons.

It is desirable to increase the dietary intake of beneficial nutrients omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (omega-3 PUFA), and omega-3 long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC PUFA). Other beneficial nutrients are omega-6 long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids. As used herein, reference to a long chain polyunsaturated fatty acid or LC PUFA, refers to a polyunsaturated fatty acid having 18 or more carbons. Omega-3 PUFAs are recognized as important dietary compounds for preventing arteriosclerosis and coronary heart disease, for alleviating inflammatory conditions, cognitive impairment and dementia related diseases and for retarding the growth of tumor cells. One important class of omega-3 PUFAs is omega-3 LC PUFAs. Omega-6 PUFAs serve not only as structural lipids in the human body, but also as precursors for a number of factors in inflammation such as prostaglandins, and leukotrienes.
Fatty acids are carboxylic acids and are classified based on the length and saturation characteristics of the carbon chain. Fatty acids having 2 to 14 carbons are typically saturated. Longer chain fatty acids having from 16 to 24 or more carbons may be saturated or unsaturated. In longer chain fatty acids there may be one or more points of unsaturation, giving rise to the terms "monounsaturated" and "polyunsaturated," respectively. Long chain PUFAs are of particular interest in the present invention.
LC PUFAs are categorized according to the number and position of double bonds in the fatty acids according to a well understood nomenclature. There are two series or families of LC PUFAs, depending on the position of the double bond closest to the methyl end of the fatty acid: the n-3 series contains a double bond at the third carbon, while the n-6 series has no double bond until the sixth carbon. Thus, docosahexaenoic acid ("DHA") has a chain length of 22 carbons with 6 double bonds beginning with the third carbon from the methyl end and is designated "22:6 n-3". Other important omega-3 LC PUFAs include eicosapentaenoic acid ("EPA") which is designated (20:5 n-3) and omega-3 docosapentaenoic acid ("DPA" or "DPAn-3") which is designated (22:5 n-3). Important omega-6 LC PUFAs include arachidonic acid ("ARA") which is designated (20:4 n-6), and omega-6 docosapentaenoic acid ("DPA" or "DPAn-6") which is designated (22:5 n-6).
De novo or "new" synthesis of the omega-3 and omega-6 long chain essential fatty acids such as DHA and ARA does not occur in the human body; however, the body can convert shorter chain fatty acids to LC PUFAs such as DHA and ARA although at very low efficiency. Both omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids must be part of the nutritional intake since the human body cannot insert double bonds closer to the omega end than the seventh carbon atom counting from that end of the molecule. Thus, all metabolic conversions occur without altering the omega end of the molecule that contains the omega-3 and omega-6 double bonds. Consequently, omega-3 and omega-6 acids are two separate families of essential fatty acids since they are not interconvertible in the human body.
Over the past twenty years, health experts have recommended diets lower in saturated fats and higher in polyunsaturated fats. While this advice has been followed by a number of consumers, the incidence of heart disease, cancer, diabetes and many other debilitating diseases has continued to increase steadily. Scientists agree that the type and source of polyunsaturated fats is as critical as the total quantity of fats. The most common polyunsaturated fats are derived from vegetable matter and are lacking in many long chain fatty acids (most particularly omega-3 LC PUFAs). In addition, the hydrogenation of polyunsaturated fats to create synthetic fats has contributed to the rise of certain health disorders and exacerbated the deficiency in some essential fatty acids. Indeed, many medical conditions have been identified as benefiting from omega-3 supplementation. These include acne, allergies, Alzheimer's, arthritis, atherosclerosis, breast cysts, cancer, cystic fibrosis, diabetes, eczema, hypertension, hyperactivity, intestinal disorders, kidney dysfunction, leukemia, and multiple sclerosis. Of note, the World Health Organization has recommended that infant formulas be enriched with omega-3 fatty acids.
The polyunsaturates derived from meat contain significant amounts of omega-6 but little or no omega-3. While omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids are both necessary for good health, they are preferably consumed in a balance of about 4:1. Concerned consumers have begun to look for health food supplements to restore the equilibrium. Principal sources of omega-3s are flaxseed oil and fish oils. The past decade has seen rapid growth in the production of flaxseed and fish oils. Both types of oil are considered good dietary sources of omega-3 polyunsaturated fats. Flaxseed oil contains no EPA, DHA, or DPA but rather contains linolenic acid—a building block that can be elongated by the body to build longer chain PUFAs. There is evidence, however, that the rate of metabolic conversion can be slow and unsteady, particularly among those with impaired health. Fish oils vary considerably in the type and level of fatty acid composition depending on the particular species and their diets. For example, fish raised by aquaculture tend to have a lower level of omega-3 fatty acids than fish from the wild. In light of the health benefits of such omega-3 and omega-6 LC PUFAs, it would be desirable to supplement foods with such fatty acids.
Due to the scarcity of sources of omega-3 LC PUFAs, typical home-prepared and convenience foods are low in both omega-3 PUFAs and omega-3 LC PUFAs, such as docosahexaneoic acid, docosapentaenoic acid, and eicosapentaenoic acid. In light of the health benefits of such omega-3 PUFAs, it would be desirable to supplement foods with such fatty acids.
While foods and dietary supplements prepared with such PUFAs may be healthier, they also have an increased vulnerability to rancidity. Rancidity in lipids, such as unsaturated fatty acids, is associated with oxidation off-flavor development. The off-flavor development involves food deterioration affecting flavor, aroma, color, texture, and the nutritional value of the particular food. A primary source of off-flavor development in lipids, and consequently the products that contain them, is the chemical reaction of lipids with oxygen. The rate at which this oxidation reaction proceeds has generally been understood to be affected by factors such as temperature, degree of unsaturation of the lipids, oxygen level, ultraviolet light exposure, presence of trace amounts of pro-oxidant metals (such as iron, copper, or nickel), lipoxidase enzymes, free radicals and so forth.
The susceptibility and rate of oxidation of the unsaturated fatty acids can rise dramatically as a function of increasing degree of unsaturation. In this regard, EPA and DHA contain five and six double bonds, respectively. This high level of unsaturation renders the omega-3 fatty acids readily oxidizable. The natural instability of such oils may give rise to unpleasant odor and unsavory flavor characteristics even after a relatively short period of time.
As stated previously it is also desirable to increase intake of other beneficial nutrients. Various sources, including certain types of microalgae and fungi, as well as plant sources, e.g., seeds and animal sources, e.g., aquatic animals, are nutrient dense sources of glycoproteins, vitamins, minerals, simple and complex carbohydrates, antioxidants, amino acids, lipids and other bioactive compounds. However, the unpleasant taste and/or texture of some of these sources has precluded their widespread incorporation into food products. Furthermore, because of the complex biochemical nature of their cell walls, the digestibility of certain microorganisms and seeds and the resulting bioavailability of their nutrients would likely be limited if they were ingested whole and intact.
Instead, selected nutrients are typically extracted from these sources for use in nutritional and/or pharmaceutical products. For example, DHA-rich microbial oil is manufactured from the dinoflagellate Crypthecodinium cohnii and ARA-rich oil is manufactured from the filamentous fungus Mortierella alpina, both for use as nutritional supplements and in food products such as infant formula. Similarly, DHA-rich microbial oil from Schizochytrium is manufactured for use as a nutritional supplement or food ingredient. Typically, the LC PUFAs are extracted from biomass and purified. The extracted and purified oils can be further processed to achieve specific formulations for use in food products (such as a dry powder or liquid emulsion).
It would be desirable to produce a composition comprising nutrient-rich biomass in a form that is easily digested, that exhibits a high nutrient bioavailability, is stable in terms of oxidation, and has acceptable organoleptic characteristics. Especially desirable would be such a composition comprising a PUFA-rich microorganism that exhibits a high oxidative stability. It would be additionally desirable to produce such a composition that is available in either a liquid form or a dry form to accommodate a variety of food and pharmaceutical applications. It would be further desirable to provide a low cost method for making such a composition, said method involving the use of non-hazardous materials, minimal processing steps, and minimal raw material inventory.

Biomass hydrolysate and uses and production thereof


An exercise machine (10-101) is provided having a platform (12-121) on which a user (14-141) is supported in a reclining position with the weight of the user (14-14G) being utilized as a resistance which may be selectively varied to the various exercises which may be performed on the exercise apparatus (10-101). A lever (20-201) is pivotally connected (30-321) to the platform (12-121) with the lever being actuated by the user for raising one end of the platform (12-121) with respect to a pivot point with resistance to such raising being varied by the pivotal mounting of the lever (20-201) on the platform (1 2121). Two of the various embodiments (FIGS. 13-16) include a base support (41 F, 41 G) having a rail (42F, 42G) on which a lever (20F, 20G) has a roller (47F, 47G) mounted for riding movement thereon and pivotally connected (32F, 32G) to a lower leg (62F, 62G) for pivotal movement. Other embodiments (FIGS. 17-18 include a lever (20H-20i) having telescoping members with an inner one (54H-541) for such telescoping member being selectively fixed to a rail (41 H-41 1). Such inner telescoping member (54H-541) reciprocates within an outer telescoping member (56H-561) as the platform is raised and lowered. Another embodiment of the invention includes a lower body frame which may be rotated with lower limbs, an upper body frame which may be rotated with upper limbs and a weight stack-cable system for resisting rotation of the lower body frame and/or the upper body frame. A further embodiment of the invention (FIGS. 23-27) includes an upper back support (210) interconnected by a connecting linkage with a lower body actuator (240) for coordinated simultaneous movement upon a lifting action exerted by limbs of a user against either the upper back support (210) or the lower body actuator (240).

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a variable resistance exercise machine and more particularly to an exercise machine having a platform to support a user in a reclining position with resistance to the exercise provided by the weight of the user.
2. Description of Prior Art
As indicated in U.S. Pat. No. 4,489,936 dated Dec. 25, 1984, a relative inexpensive and simple exercise board or machine has been utilized heretofore which is adapted particularly for home use. As shown in this patent, a platform or board is provided to support a user in a reclining position with the weight of the user providing resistance to the exercises. A movable frame having a single nonadjustable pivot axis is actuated by the user and may be positioned at selected fulcrum points along the platform to provide the desired resistance. Such an exercise machine is relatively inexpensive and can be utilized for exercising various body muscles.
The present invention is directed to an exercise machine in which a platform is utilized to support a user in a reclining or supine position with the weight of the user providing resistance to the exercises, the level of which may be adjusted with the machine. A lever is pivoted to one end of the platform and a plurality of spaced pivot axes on the lever permits the selection of a predetermined fulcrum point for the lever. Upon pivoting of the upper extending end of the lever by the user, the adjacent end of the platform is raised along with the body of the user. By varying the pivot axis or fulcrum point, the resistance is likewise varied thereby to permit the machine to be used with users of various strengths.
In one embodiment of the invention a seat supporting the lower torso of the user is pivotally mounted on the platform for relative pivotal movement upon pivoting of the lever for raising the lower body of the user supported on the seat and exercising pelvic muscles. Another embodiment provides a lower rail on which the lower end of the lever is supported for movement therealong upon pivoting of the lever by the user. Such an arrangement facilitates the movement of the lower end of the lever, which might be difficult, if supported on a thick plush carpet for example.
It is an object of this invention to provide an exercise device to support a user in a reclining position and with the resistance to the exercises provided by the weight of the user supported on a platform of the exercise device.
An additional object of this invention is to provide such an exercise machine which is adapted particularly for home use and may be easily folded and stored under a bed or the like.
Another object is to provide such an exercise machine in which the resistance may be easily varied for users of different strengths.
Other objects, features, and advantages of this invention will become more apparent after referring to the following specification and drawing.


A disclosed method includes: upon detecting an abnormal condition occurred in a system in which a certain command was executed, extracting one or plural commands executed within a predetermined time before the abnormal condition occurred, from among commands affecting a state of the system and executed in the system; upon detecting that a first command is inputted by a user, determining whether or not a command that matches the first command has been extracted; and upon determining that the command that matches the first command has been extracted, outputting display data representing there is a possibility that an abnormal condition occurs.

In a large-scale complex system, a management cost of the system is increasing. A manager of the system inputs various commands in order to carry out the management of the system, however, the manager who is not familiar with the system may not become aware that an input command badly influences the system. Then, when the input command is not appropriate, an error occurs in the system, and recovery operations or the like should be carried out for the system.
There is a technique for detecting a trouble by determining whether or not an event that occurs in the system matches definition manually registered in advance. However, according to this technique, when any event that has not been registered occurs, it is impossible to detect the trouble. Therefore, an operator cannot recognize that there is a possibility that the trouble occurs, and may carry out any operation that causes the trouble, erroneously. Moreover, because the event is manually registered, there is a problem that the load of the system manager is large.

Method and apparatus for managing system


A bicycle gear-shifting handgrip includes an inner tube fixedly fit over a bicycle handlebar and an outer tube rotatably fit over the inner tube. A casing that is fixed to the handlebar is fit over the inner tube and defines axially spaced front and rear chambers, both surrounding the outer tube. A toothed ring and a detent ring are axially stacked over each other and received in the front chamber. The toothed ring is rotatably fixed but axially movable in the front chamber and has a surface forming plural sets of teeth that are axially biased by a spring to respectively engage detent projections formed on the detent ring. The detent ring is rotatable in unison with the outer tube to induce a camming action between the teeth and the detent projection. A cable-driving ring is received in the rear chamber and is rotatable in unison with the outer tube for pulling a cable coupled to a bicycle derailleur.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a bicycle, and in particular to a gear-shifting handgrip of the bicycle.
2. Prior Arts
A conventional bicycle gear-shifting handgrip is shown in FIGS. 1, 2A, and 2B, generally designated with reference numeral 1, which allows for hand gripping by a bicycle rider for selectively doing gear shifting. The handgrip 1 comprises a main body 11 mounted on a tube that is fixedly fit over an end of a bicycle handlebar (not shown) and a tubular grip member 12 rotatably fit over the tube of the main body 11 whereby relative rotation is allowed between the main body 11 and the grip member 12. A crank 111 is rotatably fixed on the main body 11 and a transmission cable 121 is connected between the crank 111 and the grip member 12. When the rider rotates the grip member 12, the crank 111 is also rotated. A gear-shifting cable 112 extends from the crank 111 whereby when the crank 111 is rotated, the cable 112 is withdrawn to induce gear shifting.
The grip member 12 has a cylindrical projection having a side wall 125 in which a resilient member 123 is embedded. The side wall also defines a hole 122 to receive and retain an end of the transmission cable 121. A ratcheting ring 113 is fit over the side wall 125 of the grip member 12. The ratcheting ring 113 has an inner circumferential surface along which a plurality of axially-extending recesses 1131 is distributed in an equally spaced manner. A detent pin 124 is arranged between the side wall 125 and the ring 113 and is biased by the resilient member 123 to selectively engage one of the recesses 1131 thereby securing the relative angular position of the grip member 12 with respect to the handle bar, which in turn determines the length of the gear-shifting cable 112 withdrawn due to the rotation of the crank 111.
By forcibly rotating the grip member 12 about the tube of the main body 11, the detent pin 124 is forced to disengage from the current recess 1131 and act against the resilient member 123 to move to a next one of the recesses 1131. This completes the operation of gear-shifting to next sprocket of bicycle derailleur. Each time when the detent pin 124 gains engagement with the next recess 1131 of the ratcheting ring 113, an impact force is generated between the detent pin 124 and the recess 1131 and is transmitted through the grip member 12. This allows the rider to perceive the completion of the gear-shifting operation by tactility of the hand holding the grip member 12.
However, the conventional gear-shifting handgrip is a force-unbalanced device, for there is one detent pin that is movable in radial directions to engage with and/or disengage from the recesses of the ratcheting ring. In addition, such an arrangement makes it a dexterous device (or a sinistral device) only. Interchange between a dexterous rider and a sinistral rider is not possible. The parts are generally not common to both the dexterous device and the sinistral device.


A granular enzyme composition is produced, having reduced tendencies to form dust and leave residue, and exhibiting improved stability and delayed release characteristics. The granular composition comprises a core, an enzyme layer and an outer coating layer. The enzyme layer, and optionally the core and outer coating layer, contain a vinyl polymer. The vinyl polymer is preferably a hydrolyzed polyvinyl alcohol or copolymer thereof. The hydrolyzed polyvinyl alcohol has varying degrees of hydrolysis in the core, enzyme layer and outer coating layer. Also disclosed are methods for making such enzyme-containing granules, the methods having greatly reduced processing time.

Recently the use of enzymes, especially of microbial origin, has been more and more common. Enzymes are used in several industries including, for example, the starch industry, the dairy industry, and the detergent industry. It is well known in the detergent industry that the use of enzymes, particularly proteolytic enzymes, has created industrial hygiene concerns for detergent factory workers, particularly due to the health risks associated with dustiness of the available enzymes.
Since the introduction of enzymes into the detergent business, many developments in the granulation and coating of enzymes to reduce enzyme dust have been offered by the industry. However, in today's state of ever-increasing environmental concern and heightened awareness of industrial hygiene, there remains a continuing need for low dust enzyme granules. Furthermore, there are additional characteristics desirable in enzyme granules not currently available in known granulation products. Some of these additional characteristics are related to the need to further alleviate industrial hygiene concerns (lower cost granules) while optimizing customer and end-user satisfaction (oxidatively stable and low residue granules) with the product while simultaneously reducing the cost of granulation (improved processing time), thus reducing cost of the overall enzyme product.
Principal among these desirable characteristics is the need for delayed release of the enzyme, preferably without having to increase the amount of chlorine scavenger additives currently used in granulation techniques. This delayed release has potential benefit, for example, in protecting enzymes from oxidation or autolytic degradation in washing machines until sufficient amounts of stabilizing proteins or peptides are released from dirty clothing into the wash water. Additional desirable characteristics include low residue granule formulations (where low residue is defined as a reduced tendency to leave noticeable undissolved residues on clothes or other material). This characteristic is desirable to the customer (end-user) of a detergent formulation. In addition, improved stability (enhanced shelf life) formulations are needed in the industry. Accomplishing all these desired characteristics simultaneously while maintaining cost containment for the granule production is a particularly challenging task. For example, many potential polymers to delay the release of the enzyme leave behind insoluble residues, which are undesirable to the user, or such polymers cause increased processing time, which causes increased costs. Also, most potential granulating cores which are attrition-resistant and, therefore, suitable for producing low dust granules, tend to leave behind insoluble residues.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide low dust, low residue, delayed release enzyme granules. These granules preferably have increased stability. It is another object of the present invention to provide processes and enzyme granule compositions which afford the formation of such improved granules in much lower processing time, thus reducing cost of the granular product.

Enzyme-containing granules coated with hydrolyzed polyvinyl alcohol or copolymer thereof


A method of removing a handler wafer. There is provided a handler wafer and a semiconductor device wafer having a plurality of semiconductor devices, the semiconductor device wafer having an active surface side and an inactive surface side. An amorphous carbon layer is applied to a surface of the handler wafer. An adhesive layer is applied to at least one of the amorphous carbon layer of the handler wafer and the active surface side of the semiconductor device wafer. The handler wafer is joined to the semiconductor device wafer through the adhesive layer or layers. Laser radiation is applied to the handler wafer to cause heating of the amorphous carbon layer that in turn causes heating of the adhesive layer or layers. The plurality of semiconductor devices of the semiconductor device wafer are then separated from the handler wafer.

The present invention relates to the removal of a handler wafer from a semiconductor device wafer and, more particularly, relates to the addition of an amorphous carbon layer on the handler wafer which promotes efficient heating of the bonding layer between the handler wafer and semiconductor device layer to enable the separation of the handler wafer from the semiconductor device wafer.
Typical wafer-scale three dimensional (3D) integration involving chip-to-chip and chip-to-wafer bonding includes temporary bonding of a semiconductor device wafer to a handler wafer. The handler wafer may also be referred to as a carrier wafer.
In a typical process flow, semiconductor device wafers are bonded to an optically transparent handler wafer by use of an adhesive medium in order to facilitate the backside thinning of the semiconductor device wafer and then subsequent dicing and de-bonding of the handler wafer from the semiconductor device wafer.
Optically transparent wafers may be, for example, glass, quartz, sapphire. Optically transparent wafers have certain disadvantages in that they need to be engineered to have compatible coefficient of thermal expansion and ultraviolet light transparency with the silicon wafers that comprise most semiconductor device wafers. These optically transparent wafers further require separate wafer finishing fabrication facilities and tooling which makes them expensive.
The typical de-bonding process relies on optical/ultraviolet lasers for ablation of the bonding medium to enable release of the handler wafer from the semiconductor device wafer. Expensive optically transparent wafers must be used in this process which necessarily leads to higher costs.

Handler wafer removal facilitated by the addition of an amorphous carbon layer on the handler wafer


A Space-based Calibration Transfer Spectroradiometer (SCATS) instrument that establishes a maintainable SI traceable radiometric calibration on-orbit with long-term stability accuracy, such as is required for long term climate monitoring missions, is provided. The SCATS instrument includes sensors that directly measure the highly stable solar irradiance and/or the lunar irradiance, and the Earth radiance through an invariant instrumental optical path. This common path measurement concept eliminates uncertainties associated with the calibration and degradation of intervening solar attenuation elements that represent the current state of the art. The SCATS instrument can be used to calibration of hyperspectral and multi-spectral sensors operating from the ultra-violet to long wave infrared. A suitable selection of detectors and filters enables this wide wavelength application.

Quantifying the changes in the Earth's climate and determining if the changes result from natural variability or have an anthropogenic origin are fundamental to scientific and public policy. The climate change variables of interest are derivable from passive space-borne measurements in the wavelength range from the ultraviolet into the thermal infrared. These atmospheric variables include temperature profiles, water vapor, ozone, aerosols, precipitation, CO2 and other greenhouse gases; surface variables include vegetation, snow cover, sea ice, sea surface temperature, and ocean color. Solar spectral and total solar irradiance measurements are required to retrieve the needed climate parameters. These measurements contribute to the Earth radiation budget, the accounting of the incoming solar radiation, the re-radiated portion, and the trapped fraction responsible for climate change. Currently on-orbit instrumental uncertainties are comparable to or substantially greater than the desired climate change geophysical signals, and they occur on time scales that are at the operational lifetime of typical satellite systems that perform the essential measurements. Stable long term on-orbit calibration is needed for these measurements to separate physical process related signals from those that are instrumental in origin. Climatologists recognizing this have called for space based calibration traceable to the International System of Units (SI) with an accuracy that assures the fidelity of long term trending between generations of sensors.
Historically, reflective or transmissive solar diffusers have been used for top of the atmosphere calibration of atmospheric radiances. Solar radiation scatters from a diffuser into the entrance aperture of the remote sensing instrument to be calibrated. The diffuser transforms the solar irradiance into a top of the atmosphere radiance source that is used to calibrate Earth spectral radiance measurements. Use of a NIST standard of spectral irradiance combined with an accurate measurement of the diffuser bidirectional reflection distribution function (BRDF) calibration allows the accurate calibration of the sensor. This approach has long been the accepted method for calibrating atmospheric and surface radiance sensors. However, this methodology has been plagued by unaccountable changes in the diffuser properties. Therefore, by itself the diffuser technique does not provide the long term stability needed for climate trending on-orbit.
Several techniques have been proposed, explored, and implemented on-orbit to overcome the diffuser problem. For example, terrestrial radiance measurements from high spectral and high spatial resolution imaging instruments have been referenced to lunar irradiance measurements for determining the long term effects of on-orbit instrument degradation. Using lunar irradiance for on-orbit calibration has proven to be insufficient for climate change detection. In particular, the lunar spectral radiance is rapidly changing and non-uniform; however the lunar spectral irradiance is described by the Robotic Lunar Observatory (ROLO) model as a function of lunar phase angle that has a relative uncertainty of approximately 1.0%. The problem of variable radiance is compounded by detector spatial non-uniformity coupled with a wavelength-dependent responsivity; consequently, high spatial resolution instruments require an integration of the Lunar spectral radiance. The absolute albedo of the Moon is known with an uncertainty of about 5%. This limits its usefulness as an absolute spectral albedo standard in space; however, it is an excellent relative spectral albedo reference in space. Through modeling and measurement this uncertainty can be reduced and inter-calibration of satellite sensors will benefit. Vicarious calibration offers another approach to long-term calibration stability. Using the vicarious calibration approach, ground truth measurements of selected terrestrial areas exhibiting a high degree of spatial and spectral uniformity are periodically measured as spectral radiance targets for high spatial resolution instruments in space. The uncertainties of this technique limit its accuracy to roughly 3%. A third method, simultaneous nadir overpass (SNO) for inter-satellite calibration has been developed and applied to sensor calibration. A relative calibration accuracy of 2 to 3% has been achieved between instruments. There are plans to support other instruments with the SNO technique.
Signal attenuation methods have been used to observe and quantify the total solar irradiance. In signal attenuation approaches, calibrated apertures and beam attenuating filters are inserted into the optical path to attenuate the solar signal. In this spirit, a spectrometer using precision apertures, optical attenuators, and variable integration times to measure the solar irradiance while directly viewing the Sun is being developed. The apertures and attenuators from the beam path are removed and the integration time is changed to view the Earth. The solar and Earth views do not have a common instrumental optical path. When the solar and Earth measurements are divided, common path uncertainties propagate. This variable optical path method suffers from the unavoidable uncertainties associated with each signal attenuation step.
While various approaches have been proposed or deployed, stable on-orbit calibration that assures high confidence in detecting changes in climate related variables remains unrealized.

Space based calibration transfer spectroradiometer


A device for modifying source image frames to create modified image frames and for projecting the modified image frames onto a geometrically changing viewable surface is presented. The device may include a viewable surface image sampler for outputting surface image frames each including surface image pixels that reflect the geometrically changing viewable surface and a comparator in circuit with the surface image sampler. The comparator may be configured for identifying a number and a location of the surface image pixels of one or more of the surface image frames and for identifying a number and a location of source image pixels in one or more of the source image frames. The comparator may be further configured to thereafter compare the number and the location of the surface image pixels with the number and the location of the source image pixels to determine a number and a location of target pixels. An image modification device may be interconnected with the comparator and configured to receive the target pixels and to reconfigure the one or more source image frames to one or more modified image frames that are reconfigured to fit the target pixels and thereby fit the geometrically changing viewable surface. At least one projector may be configured to project the one or more modified image frames onto the geometrically changing viewable surface.

1. Field of the Invention
The subject matter described herein relates generally to image processing and, more particularly, to devices and methods for varying a geometry of an image.
2. Related Art
U.S. Pat. No. 6,594,404 to Smith describes a technique for resizing a digital video image, extending over a given number of source pixels, to meet a different number of target pixels. This technique requires expressing point brightness energy associated with each source pixel as an area that spans two source pixel intervals, each area span having a shape proportional to the energy distribution of the source pixel with time. Creating for each target pixel a sample aperture of a duration which is a function of the resizing factor, sampling the area spans with each sample aperture to provide, for each target pixel, a set of coefficients, where each coefficient represents the proportion of an area span which is within the sample aperture. Thereafter, scaling, with its associated coefficient, the amount of point brightness energy for each source pixel whose area span appears within any given sample aperture.
While the above described technique is employable for resizing a source image when a given number of source pixels and a given number of target pixels are provided, no suitable device or method of identifying various source pixels and various target pixels is available as is desired when it is necessary to project a source image onto a geometrically changing surface.


A motor driving circuit includes a control device, a detection module and a driving module. The control device is controlled by a control signal and is coupled to a motor. The control device includes a first terminal, a second terminal and a control terminal, wherein a driving current flowing through the motor flows through the first terminal and the second terminal. The detection module is used for detecting a voltage of the first terminal. The driving module is used for generating the control signal to control the driving current, wherein the detection module adjusts the driving capability of the driving module, thereby adjusting a slew rate of the control signal.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a motor driving circuit and a method thereof, and particularly relates to a motor driving circuit that can control a slew rate of a current flowing through a motor, and a method thereof.
2. Description of the Prior Art
FIG. 1 illustrates a prior art motor driving circuit 100. As shown in FIG. 1, the motor driving circuit 100 includes a control circuit 101, an H bridge circuit 103, an error amplifier 105, drivers 107 and 108, and a feedback resistor 109. The driving circuit 100 serves to control driving currents 11 and 12 flowing through the motor 111. The motor driving circuit 100 is configured to utilize a constant driving current, equal to voltage value of VREF divided by the resistance of the resistor 109, to drive the motor 111.
As shown in FIG. 1, the currents flowing through the motor 111 can have two paths, I1 and I2, to drive the motor 111 in two different rotation directions respectively. Since detailed operations of the motor driving circuit 100 are well known by persons skilled in the art, they are omitted for brevity here.
The motor 111 can be regarded as an inductance device plus a resistor, thus a voltage VM with a value
      V    M    =            L                              ⅆ          I                          ⅆ          t                      +    IR  is generated across the circuit, wherein I is the driving current flowing through the motor, and R and L are respectively the inductance and resistance of the motor. At the moment that the control device 121 is turned on to drive the motor 111, the motor 111 will suffer a largest voltage across the motor 111, such that the motor 111 will experience a driving current with a high slew rate. The output voltage Vout1 at one terminal of the motor and a feedback voltage VFB are very close to a ground level. As time goes by, the current I1 flowing through the motor 111 gradually increases, and the current flowing through the control device 121 tends to the desired constant current accordingly. However, for some reasons, the current I1 flowing through the motor 111 may be higher than the current flowing through the control device 121, charging the parasitic capacitor located at the node connecting between the motor 111 and the control device 121, and causing the occurrence of high-frequency LC oscillation, such that the current I1 flowing through the motor 111 vibrates but converges to the desired constant driving current value, as shown in FIG. 2. The oscillation indicates the instability of the motor speed, even if the current 11 eventually converges to the constant current value. Therefore, such an issue should be improved.

Motor driving circuit and method thereof


A method is provided for preparing an adhesive composition that contains both a hydrophobic phase and a hydrophilic phase, wherein the hydrophobic phase is composed of a crosslinked hydrophobic polymer composition and the hydrophilic phase is a water-absorbent blend of a hydrophilic polymer and a complementary oligomer capable of crosslinking the hydrophilic polymer through hydrogen bonding, ionic bonding, and/or covalent bonding. The composition is useful as a bioadhesive, for affixing drug delivery systems, wound dressings, bandages, cushions, or the like to a body surface such as skin or mucosal tissue.

Pressure-sensitive adhesives (PSAs) for application to the skin or other body surface are well known and have been used for many years in a variety of consumer and medical applications. Pressure-sensitive adhesives are characterized as being normally tacky and exhibiting instant tack when applied to a substrate. Many polymers have been used to manufacture pressure-sensitive adhesives as, for example, acrylic and methacrylic ester homo- or copolymers, butyl rubber-based systems, silicones, urethanes, vinyl esters and amides, olefin copolymer materials, natural or synthetic rubbers, and the like. All the PSAs are elastomers, i.e. they exhibit viscoelastic properties typical of rubbers.
Existing examples of pressure-sensitive adhesives used for affixing a drug delivery system, cushion, or the like to the skin include polysiloxanes (e.g., polydimethyl siloxanes, polydiphenyl siloxanes, and siloxane blends), polyisobutylenes, polyacrylates, acrylic acid-acrylate copolymers (e.g., copolymers of acrylic acid copolymers with 2-ethylhexyl acrylate or isooctyl acrylate), and tacky rubbers such as polyisobutene, polybutadiene, polystyrene-isoprene copolymers, polystyrene-butadiene copolymers, and neoprene (polychloroprene). All of these PSAs are hydrophobic polymers and their common disadvantage is a loss in adhesion toward hydrated substrates.
"Bioadhesion" is defined as a pressure-sensitive adhesion with respect to highly hydrated biological tissues such as mucosal tissue. In contrast to conventional pressure sensitive adhesives such as rubber, polysiloxanes, and acrylates that adhere mainly to dry substrates, bioadhesives (BAs) exhibit good tack when adhered to hydrated biological substrates. To be bioadhesive, water should provide a plasticizing effect on a polymer, i.e., the polymer should be hydrophilic. For example, the range of typical BAs includes slightly cross-linked polyacrylic and polymethacrylic acids (EP 0 371 421) as well as blends of hydrophilic cellulose derivatives (40–95%) with polyethylene glycol (PEG) (U.S. Pat. No. 4,713,243).
Bioadhesives become tacky as the crosslinked polymer swells in significant quantities of water. The cohesive strength of highly swollen hydrophilic polymers is generally low and the BAs thus differ from the PSAs in this regard.
Attempts to combine the properties of PSAs and BAs have been described by Biegajski et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 5,700,478, where a water-soluble pressure-sensitive mucoadhesive was obtained by blending 95–40% polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) with 0–50% hydroxypropyl cellulose (HPC) and 11–60% glycerol. Other examples of hydrophilic polymer blends coupling the properties of PSAs and BAs involve polyacrylic acid-polyvinyl alcohol (PAA-PVA) interpolymeric complexes formed by hydrogen bonding between the monomer units of the complementary polymer chains and plasticized with PEG-200, glycerol or polypropylene glycol (PPG), molecular weight 425 g/mol (German Patent Application No. DE 42 19 368).
The ideal performance characteristics of an adhesive composition intended for use on human skin and/or mucosal tissue present difficult and conflicting technical requirements. Initially, the adhesive should be suitable for long-term skin contact, and permeable to and physically and chemically compatible with any active agent and any permeation enhancers or other vehicles or additives that are present. The ideal adhesive should also be nonirritating, noncomedogenic and nonsensitizing, yet bond quickly to skin or mucosal tissue at the intended site of use with only very slight pressure. The adhesive should maintain its bond for as long a period of time as necessary and be resistant to inadvertent removal, yet be easily removed without removing any skin or leaving a residue (a suitable strength of an adhesive joint with the skin ranges from about 200 to 400 N/m under the 180 degree peel test). Furthermore, the adhesive composition should not be sensitive to or degradable by exposure to moisture or high humidity.
With bioadhesives, hydrophilic compositions are preferred for the adhesive compositions to adhere well to moist substrates. Hydrophilic adhesives are advantageous in other respects as well, insofar as:
(1) hydrophilic adhesives can provide greater adhesion compared with hydrophobic adhesives, because the surface energy of hydrophilic adhesives is typically higher and closer to that of biological substrates such as skin and mucosal membranes;
(2) hydrophilic adhesives are compatible with a wide variety of drugs, excipients and additives;
(3) the plasticizing effect of water sorbed by hydrophilic adhesives from hydrated skin or mucosal tissues enhances adhesion, in contrast to hydrophobic adhesives;
(4) the enhanced solubility of drugs in hydrophilic adhesives facilitates control over drug release kinetics;
(5) with hydrophilic adhesives, based on hydrophilic polymers, there is an expanded capability to control and manipulate the adhesive-cohesive balance; and
(6) the adhesive properties of hydrophilic polymers are considerably less sensitive to their molecular weight than those of hydrophobic polymers, as a result of specific intramolecular and intermolecular interaction within hydrophilic adhesives.
In order to increase the hydrophilicity of an adhesive composition, hydrophobic PSAs have been "hydrophilized" by incorporation of non-tacky hydrophilic polymers and fillers into a hydrophobic adhesive. Thus, polyisobutylene (PIB) PSA has been hydrophilized by incorporation of cellulose and cellulose derivatives (U.S. Pat. No. 4,231,369), polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), pectin and gelatin (U.S. Pat. Nos. 4, 367,732 and 4,867,748), and SiO2 (U.S. Pat. No. 5,643,187). Rubber adhesives have also been modified by filling with amphiphilic surfactants, or by treating the PSA polymer with a plasma-oxygen discharge. Acrylic PSAs can be hydrophilized by incorporation of PVP (U.S. Pat. No. 5,645,855). Hydrophilization of hydrophobic adhesives, while somewhat effective, tends to result in a partial loss of adhesion.
There is, accordingly, a need in the art for improved bioadhesive compositions that combine the properties of hydrophobic PSAs with the many advantages of hydrophilic adhesive compositions. It would also be ideal if such an adhesive composition could be adapted for a variety of uses, e.g., in wound healing and bandages, in the fabrication of transdermal and other drug delivery systems, in preparing medicated adhesive formulations for topical and transdermal pharmaceutical formulations, in pressure-relieving cushions (which may or may not be medicated), as sealants for ostomy devices and prostheses, as conductive adhesives for attachment of electroconductive articles such as electrodes to the skin, and the like.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Method for preparing a two-phase water-absorbent bioadhesive composition

A.V. Topchiev Institute of Petrochemical Synthesis, Russian Academy of Sciences


In a grinding method and apparatus, a machining portion of a workpiece is ground with a grinding wheel on a trial, and shape errors in respective rotational phases of the machining portion are measured after the trial grinding. Based on the shape errors, control data defining workpiece rotational speeds for respective rotational phases of the workpiece is prepared so that the workpiece rotational speed is made to be slow for a rotational phase in which the machining portion is undercut, but to be fast for another rotational phase in which the machining portion is overcut, and the machining portion of the workpiece is ground as the rotational speed of the workpiece is controlled in accordance with the control data.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a grinding method and apparatus capable of grinding a workpiece at high shape accuracy by controlling the rotation of the workpiece.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Generally, in a grinding operation of a slender workpiece, the grinding resistance acting on a grinding wheel causes the workpiece to flex or yield when being grater than the rigidity of the workpiece. With the flexure, the workpiece is deviated from a grinding center, and an infeed amount of the grinding wheel against the workpiece cannot be a programmed grinding allowance. A problem arises from this in that the deviation of the workpiece causes errors in dimension as well as shape accuracy (e.g., roundness).
To cope with the aforementioned problem, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, steady rest devices 70 are provided at places which are selectively brought to face a grinding wheel 72, to enhance the machining accuracy by preventing the workpiece 74 from flexing.
However, the steady rest devices 70 need fine adjustments each time the kind of the workpieces is changed, so that a lot of time is required in altering the setup for the workpieces of a new kind. Further, for the grinding of a cylindrical workpiece 74 with the steady rest devices 70, the positions of rest shoes have to be controlled to follow the workpiece whose diameter changes with the progress of the grinding operation, thereby making the steady rest devices 70 complicated and expensive.
Therefore, a grinding machine disclosed in Japanese unexamined, published patent application No. 2-124254 has been developed as a technology for performing a grinding operation without using any such steady rest device. In the technology, there are used rotational position detecting means for detecting the rotational position of a workpiece and grinding resistance altering means for altering the grinding resistance, and by these means, the grinding resistance is controlled to be decreased at each rotational phase in which a grinding part (i.e., arc segment) is narrowed in the substantial grinding width due to the opening an oil hole thereon, so that each grinding part with the oil hole opening thereat can be prevented from being infed deeper than other non-holed parts (arc segments) of the workpiece. In this case, there can be conceived of various grinding resistance altering means for altering the grinding resistance upon grinding each local area at which the oil hole 6 opens. The various means include means for varying the rotational speed of the workpiece about the axis of the same or the rotational speed of the grinding wheel, means for varying the infeed amount of a wheel head, or means for varying the compliance of bearings which rotatably support the workpiece or grinding wheel bearings.
For a cylindrical workpiece with the oil hole opening at known angular phases, the technology described in the Japanese application has been designed to prevent each arc part with the oil hole from suffering a deep infeed by partially controlling the fluctuation of the grinding resistance caused by the oil hole for the period of each particular angular phase. However, nothing is described in the Japanese application about a grinding method of enhancing the shape accuracies in respective rotational phases of a workpiece of the property that the continuous variation in rigidity causes the workpiece to be overcut or undercut locally on the circumference thereof.


A base for a built-in oven wherein the oven is configured to be received into a cabinet cavity and the combined height of the base and oven equals the height of the cabinet cavity. The base comprises a first elongated support runner and a second elongated support runner. The support runners are positioned in a substantially parallel orientation with respect to each. A cross brace member extends between the support runners and has a first end connected to the first support runner and has a second end connected to the second support runner. A face plate assembly is attached to the front ends of the support runners. The face plate assembly includes a rigid panel connected to the front end of the first and second support runners, a frame disposed about the periphery of the rigid panel, and a thin panel secured by the frame adjacent the rigid panel.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an oven of the type which is inserted into a cabinet cavity and in particular to a support base for such an oven.
2. Description of the Related Art
Ovens which are designed to be installed into a cavity provided in a kitchen cabinet arrangement are well known. Ovens installed in this manner are commonly referred to as "built-in" ovens. Built-in ovens provide several benefits over free standing ovens. Many consumers find that built-in ovens provide an aesthetically pleasing appearance and can be attractively combined with kitchen cabinetry. Additionally, built-in ovens may be located in a cabinet cavity at a relatively high position (as compared to free standing ovens) such that accessibility to the oven interior is improved.
Unfortunately, along with the benefits there are some problems associated with built-in ovens. In particular, the installation of a built-in oven may be complicated by the need to have a correctly sized cabinet cavity to receive the oven. This problem is exacerbated by the fact the there currently exists no standardized size for built-in ovens. Cabinet oven cavities are typically fabricated to a particular size based on the particular requirements of the built-in oven model which is to be originally installed into the cabinet cavity. Subsequently, when attempting to replace the original built-in oven, a consumer may be constrained by the cabinet cavity size.
This problem affects both the oven manufacturer and the consumer. The consumer is limited in selecting a replacement oven which matches the cabinet cavity size. The manufacturer may be likewise limited in marketing and selling replacement built-in ovens based on the size of the manufacturer's built-in ovens.
Accordingly, it would be an improvement in the art to provide a means for installing a built-in oven into at least two different sized cabinet cavity openings. Specifically, it would be an improvement in the art to provide a base for built-in ovens wherein the base functions as a spacer such that the oven may be installed into a cabinet cavity having a predetermined vertical dimension substantially greater than the height of the built-in oven.


A submerged arc furnace having a partially insulated electrode produces molten metal such as foundry iron from scrap iron and steel sources where little or no slag is produced. The metal source, scrap iron or steel is fed into the submerged arc furnace with a source of silica and a carbonaceous reducing agent. The scrap iron and steel is melted while simultaneously smelting the silica in the presence of the carbonaceous reducing agent. The insulation surrounding the electrode can be a silica containing material, such as fiberglass, which is reduced to provide silicon to the molten metal. The amount of the silica source and carbonaceous reducing agent are added in an amount to selectively control the silicon and carbon content of the resulting foundry iron.

Foundry iron, used for casting and steel making, is produced in the iron industry in a number of different processes. The process used is typically dependent on the feed material and the intended use of the foundry iron.
One process of producing foundry iron utilizes a standard cupola-type furnace. A variety of iron sources such as scrap iron, scrap steel and pig iron are fed into the vertical shaft of the furnace fueled by combustion of coke by a blast of air. The charge added to the furnace generally contains a number of additives such as ferrosilicon to increase the silicon content of the iron and slag forming materials such as limestone to remove impurities such as sulfur. The iron produced by this process typically contains about 1 percent to 3 percent silicon and about 2 percent to 4 percent carbon.
The cupola-type furnace disadvantageously is a net silicon oxidizer with the result that as much as 30 percent of the available silicon charged is lost by oxidation and discharged in the slag. Typically, only about 70 percent of the available silicon charged reports to the iron. Silicon is an essential element of foundry iron and is typically added in the form of ferrosilicon since such a form of silicon is readily combinable with the iron. Ferrosilicon is an expensive source of silicon such that silicon losses through oxidation can significantly increase production costs.
The cupola-type furnace is often desirable since it can be energy efficient and requires a relatively low capital investment. A cupola furnace is also easily scaled up for large production from a single unit and can be operated as a continuous charging and tapping process. Carbon is easily combined with the iron and is picked up naturally in the cupola as the melted iron and steel droplets pass over the hot coke and dissolve the carbon.
The feasibility of producing foundry iron is dependent in part on the efficiency of the process used and cost of the charging materials. The cost of scrap iron and scrap steel depends on several factors including the iron content, amounts of desirable and undesirable alloy constituents present, and the particle size. The cost of very fine or light scrap iron and steel, such as borings or turnings, is typically much less than heavier scrap such that it is desirable to use light scrap whenever practical. The use of light scrap in a cupola requires agglomeration or briquetting since the high volume of gases exiting the cupola otherwise carries an unacceptably large percentage of the charge from the furnace. Very fine or light iron scrap will be collected in the baghouse or scrubber resulting in a low recovery of iron and thus increased operating cost.
Foundry iron is also produced conventionally and commercially with the electric induction furnace. In the electric induction furnace the charge, which can be iron scrap, steel scrap and pig iron, is introduced into the furnace, melted; and, then additives, including silicon, carbon, and a slag forming material to cover the iron are introduced. The iron charge is heated by eddy currents resulting from electromagnetic induction from the alternating electric current flowing in the coil surrounding the charge. Silicon is typically added as ferrosilicon, and carbon is added in the form of a low sulfur content graphite material. The resulting iron generally has a silicon content of about 1-3 percent and a carbon content of about 2-4 percent.
The electric induction furnace disadvantageously is limited to a batch process where individual units are typically capable of producing less than 20 tons of iron per hour. In addition, the electric energy is typically applied only about 80% of the time, resulting in inefficiency. Other disadvantages include the moderate to high refractory costs, high capital investment, high labor costs, high cost of ferrosilicon and carburizing additives, and limited scale up capability of the induction furnace.
Although not usually economical, foundry iron has been produced commercially in standard-type electric arc furnaces (EAF). The EAF typically consists of a refractory lined vessel or shell with a removable refractory roof through which three electrodes in a three phase AC furnace, or one electrode in a DC furnace protrude into the space above the charge material and bath contained within the furnace shell. For DC furnaces, the return electrode is typically built into the bottom of the furnace shell.
The operation of the electric arc furnace typically consists of charging the furnace by swinging the roof aside and emptying one or more charge buckets containing iron or steel scrap and other materials into the shell, closing the roof, and then lowering the electrodes until contact is made with the charge and arcing and melting of the charge occurs. After melting, a slag layer is usually established for refining purposes, and additions of ferrosilicon and carbon are made until the foundry iron composition reaches the desired target. The furnace is then tapped, any needed refractory repairs made, and the cycle repeated.
In recent years, the EAF has not been used extensively for production of foundry iron alloys because of the relatively high production cost. The EAF is not economical for the production of foundry irons because of the high cost of ferrosilicon and carbon additions required, and because it is a batch process. Presently, the use of the EAF has been mostly limited by economics to the production of special alloy foundry irons, and steels, which may not be readily or economically produced in either cupolas or in induction furnaces.
Another process of producing foundry iron is by smelting iron ore in a submerged arc electric furnace. Submerged arc furnaces have an advantage of directly smelting the ores using the heat of the electric arc along with simultaneous carbothermic chemical reduction of metal oxides by the carbonaceous reducing agents, such as coke and coal. The electrodes are immersed in the charge and slag layer which forms above the molten iron. That arrangement permits efficient heat transfer between the arc and charge materials. However, the nature of the heating in the submerged arc furnace requires that the electrical conductivity of the charge be controlled to permit the simultaneous immersion of the electrodes deep into the charge while avoiding excessive currents in the electrodes, which excessive currents could cause the electrodes to overheat.
Iron ore has low electrical conductivity making it amenable to smelting in a submerged arc furnace. The prior production of foundry iron in submerged arc furnaces generally uses iron ore in the form of fines, lumps or pellets as the primary source of iron. One example of the use of a submerged arc furnace to smelt iron ore is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,613,363 to Weinert. A disadvantage of the conventional iron producing processes using a submerged arc furnace is that the carbothermic reduction of ores to produce iron requires large amounts of electric energy, thereby increasing the production costs. Alternatively, the more widely utilized processes of producing foundry iron (cupola and induction furnaces) require comparatively expensive starting materials, such as heavy iron or steel scrap; and prior-reduced silicon sources such as silicon carbide or ferrosilicon, which are relatively expensive sources of silicon. All of these characteristics have limited these prior processes for producing foundry iron.
More recently, submerged arc furnaces have been used to melt scrap metal as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,555,259 to Feuerstache. The furnace is formed with a center pipe surrounding the cathode which prevents the charge from contacting the side of the cathode. The cathode extends beyond the pipe to form an arc between the cathode and an anode and melt the charge. The lower end of the pipe is tapered for feeding the scrap to the cathode. The pipe surrounding the cathode enables the cathode to be positioned deep in the charge bed. This construction, however, has several disadvantages including, for example, the complex and expensive water cooled components and complex electrical connection for the electrodes. In addition, the water cooled components within the shell of the electric arc furnace near the electric arc create potential safety concerns.
Accordingly, the iron foundry industry has a continuing need for an economical and efficient process for producing foundry iron.

Process for producing foundry iron with an insulated electrode


A method of manufacturing a reinforced skateboard deck during the skateboard deck manufacturing process with adhering non-wood materials to the laminate ply's of wood with non-wood materials and the steps of adhering the non-wood material to the wood ply laminate for installation on the top wood laminate and or between any of the laminated layers of the skateboard deck during the normal laminating process and a method of manufacturing a skateboard deck during the skateboard deck manufacturing process with the installation and adhering of a strip or strip's of non-wood metallic material to a laminate ply of wood with the method comprising of the steps of adhering the non-wood metallic material to the wood ply laminate creating a center core cartridge with the non-wood metallic material installed for the installation during the normal skateboard deck laminating process.

(1) Field of the Invention
The field of the invention widely pertains to methods of manufacturing a skateboard deck. The invention contained herein relates more particularly to a method of placing non wood materials, Carbon Fiber/Kevlar Hybrid Woven Material, or Kevlar or Kevlar Hybrid Woven Materials and/or Metallic Alloy/Titanium placed into and placed onto the wood laminates of the skateboard deck during the skateboard deck manufacturing process.
(2) Description of Prior Art
Since the invention of the skateboard, skateboarding has been growing widely and steadily in popularity. Skateboarders have been steadily performing more aggressively. Maneuvers and tricks have been increasing intricately in technical difficulty. Skateboards are anywhere from five laminated layers of wood to as many as nine laminated layers of wood depending on length and width of the skateboard and the use thereof, whether the skateboard deck has been manufactured for street use, ramp use and longboards for just cruising down the sidewalk.
A very important consideration in the manufacturing and development of the skateboard deck has been to make stronger, lighter and more resilient skateboard decks. It is widely known that the skateboard deck has been constructed of layers of wood ply laminations, mostly maple, along with the construction of placing cores of fiberglass, other materials and cores covered with fiberglass. These attempts have been to improve the strength of the skateboard deck. Unfortunately, most all of these so called improvements have only succeeded in making the skateboard deck too heavy and non-responsive for the skateboarder to skate. One such improvement is U.S. Pat. No. 6,182,986, February, 2001, Smith, 280/87.042, as on paper this improvement looks and even sounds like it would work, however to practically apply this method and manufacture a skateboard deck with up to 15 laminated layers of wood and placing Carbon Fiber or Fiberglass as illustrated and explained, creates a very lumpy skateboard and all that has been succeeded has been to dampen the resonance of the wood and to make a skateboard deck that is too thick and too heavy to skate, and without response performance which is due to the dampening of the wood and the overall thickness and weight. The purpose of the improvements contained herein are to enable the skateboarder to continually improve his or her ability in performing maneuvers with a lighter and stronger skateboard deck, without sacrificing the weight and resonance quality of the wood.
Very different types of skateboard deck designs and methods of manufacturing have been played with and developed with an attempt to improve the strength, resiliency, and or the Overall performance of skateboard decks. Some developments in skateboard deck designs have been the length, angle and the shape of the nose (front) and tail (rear) ends of skateboard decks, and the actual shape (concave). These processes are created with an adhesive developed for laminating skateboard decks and under high pressure in the mold which creates the particular shape and concave and are proven successful in adding control for the skateboarder while skating, yet, these have only slightly improved the overall strength and resiliency of the skateboard deck.
There have been different types of ply's and adhesives developed also with an attempt to improve the strength, resiliency and overall durability of skateboard decks. Unfortunately what comes along with these method's is an increase in the overall weight and loss of function ability of the skateboard deck, which in other term's, has affected the feel, sound and performance of the skateboard deck for the skateboarder.
The skateboard decks that are manufactured today are almost always manufactured with hard maple being the preferred laminate wood of choice and are manufactured with trying to maintain a thickness of 0.36″ to 0.40″ and a weight of 2.25 lbs to a max weight of 2.85 lbs. of the most common skateboard which is 7.75″ in width and approx. 32″ in length for a street skateboarder so the skateboard deck can be skated and control maintained by the skateboarder.
Skateboard decks are continually exposed to high impact stress. Due to this impact stress, skateboard decks are continually breaking. The integrity of the deck is constantly being breached, and as a result of this, skateboarders are being forced to purchase skateboard decks more often and are being exposed to serious injury due to deck breakage.
Known prior art includes U.S. Pat. No. 3,844,576; U.S. Pat. No. 4,412,687; U.S. Pat. No. 4,523,772; U.S. Pat. No. 5,005,853; U.S. Pat. No. 5,649,717: U.S. Pat. No. 5,759,664; U.S. Pat. No. 5,803,478; U.S. Pat. No. 5,855,389; U.S. Pat. No. 6,182,986, etc.
While these U.S. Patents probably fulfill their respective objectives and requirements, the aforementioned patents do not produce a skateboard deck that is lighter, stronger and more resilient for the skateboarder all at the same time.
In this respect, the skateboard deck in this new construction preparation and placement formula substantially increases the strength, resilience and lightens the overall skateboard deck with the resiliency, response and strength being the focus of the invention.


An optical amplifier includes a solid state gain-element. The gain-element is pumped by pump-radiation from a diode-laser bar. The diode-laser radiation is delivered from the diode-laser bar to the gain-element entirely via a tapered light-guide which guides the radiation only in a fast-axis direction of the diode laser bar. The tapering of the light-guide reduces fast-axis divergence of the pump-radiation by about a factor of ten. The pump-radiation is delivered to the gain-element as a line of radiation homogenized in the fast-axis direction.

One particularly effective optical amplifier is described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,256,931. This amplifier includes a slab-type gain-element of a highly doped gain-medium such as neodymium-doped yttrium vanadate (Nd:YVO4). The gain-element is energized by laser-radiation from a linear array of diode-lasers (semiconductor-lasers) commonly referred to by practitioners of the laser art as a diode-laser bar.
Diode-lasers in a diode-laser bar have emitters characterized as having a fast-axis, in which radiation is emitted with a relatively high divergence (for example up to about 35° half-angle), and a slow-axis in which radiation is emitted with relatively low divergence (for example, less than about 10° half-angle). The emitters are aligned, spaced apart, in the slow-axis direction. Typically, a diode-laser bar has a length of about 10 millimeters (mm) and width between about 1 and 2 mm. Emitter apertures have a slow-axis dimension of up to about 100 micrometers (μm) and a fast-axis dimension of about 1 μm. One preferred number of emitters per bar is 19.
In an optical pumping arrangement for a conventional slab-amplifier, radiation from the diode-laser bar is collimated in the fast-axis by a first, elongated, cylindrical lens referred to as a fast-axis collimating (FAC) lens. The fast-axis collimated radiation is then focused by a second cylindrical lens into a lateral surface of the gain-element. The radiation is primarily absorbed close to the lateral face to form a narrow, shallow, nominally linear gain-region at that lateral face.
A beam of radiation to be amplified is directed into the gain-element through a first end-face thereof into the linear gain-region at a first location such that the radiation is incident at grazing incidence, for example at an incidence-angle of about 80°. The radiation is reflected by total internal reflection (TIR) out of the gain-element through an opposite second end-face thereof. That radiation is then directed by a pair of mirrors back into the gain-element through the second end-face back into the linear-gain region, again at grazing incidence, but at a second location spaced apart from the first location. TIR directs the twice-incident (amplified) radiation out of the gain-element through the first end-face thereof.
Emitting apertures in a diode-laser bar are rarely exactly fast-axis aligned. Misalignment in the fast axis direction can occur in particularly when the diode-laser bar is mounted on a heat sink. This fast-axis misalignment, which can be as much as 20 μm, is whimsically referred to by practitioners of the art as "smile". This presents a problem in the above-discussed optical pumping arrangement inasmuch as any smile in a diode-laser bar will be reproduced and magnified by the collimating and focusing lenses in the nominally linear gain-region of the gain-element. This can result in inefficiency or inconsistency of the amplifier gain.
If such inconsistency and inefficiency cannot be tolerated, diode-laser bars having tolerably low smile can be selected from a batch of mounted diode-laser bars. This of course can result in low yield and consequently higher cost for the selected mounted bars. There is a need for an optical pumping arrangement which is insensitive to smile in a diode-laser bar.

Optical pumping apparatus for slab lasers and amplifiers


An assembly to electrically attach equipment is provided. The assembly may include a junction box and the equipment may include solar panels. The junction box may include a housing with side openings through which interconnecting conductors may pass through and into an inner cavity within the box. The housing also may include bottom openings through which conductors from the solar panel may pass through and into the inner cavity within the box. Within the cavity, the junction box may include flat conductive plates to which the ends of the conductors are electrically connected. In this way, a set of junction boxes may be used to electrically connect a group of solar panels in series. Each junction box may also include a diode configured between its flat conductive plates.

The installation of solar panels onto residential and commercial buildings has become commonplace. However, installing the solar panels onto the buildings may sometimes be difficult.
Once the solar panels are physically installed, the panels may need to be electrically configured with one another in order to form a series of panels. Accordingly, the terminals of the adjacent panels may need to be electrically connected. Given the fact that the solar panels may be mounted on a sloping rooftop, the wiring of the panels together may be difficult and even unsafe.
In addition, there may be local, state and federal regulations that must be adhered to while installing the solar panels.
Accordingly, there is a need for an electrical support assembly that may adhere to the local, state and federal regulations, and that provide for the easy electrical connection and installation of the solar panels.

Electrical connection support assembly and method of use


A clock generator includes a ring oscillator for outputting a basic signal, a divide-by-N frequency divider for dividing the basic signal by a division ratio N to generate a clock signal having a target frequency, a divide-by-two frequency divider for dividing the clock signal by two when an enable signal is on, a counter for counting the number of pulses of the basic signal for a predetermined period of time, a calculator for calculating the division ratio N, and a comparator for comparing a count value of the counter with a threshold value. When the count value of the counter is less than the threshold value, the comparator turns on the enable signal. Thus, when a temperature of the ring oscillator increases, the frequency of the clock signal is reduced to half the target frequency.

As disclosed in, for example, JP-A-7-30388, a clock generator has been proposed that generates a periodic clock signal by using a ring oscillator. The ring oscillator includes an odd number of inverter circuits (i.e., NOT gates) connected in a circular chain. The output of each inverter oscillates between two voltage levels, representing high and low. Thus, the ring oscillator creates a pulse signal. The clock generator generates the periodic clock signal by dividing the pulse signal by a predetermined frequency division ratio.
A frequency of the pulse signal created by the ring oscillator varies with temperature. The clock generator continuously calculates the frequency division ratio based on the frequency of the pulse signal to keep a frequency of the clock signal constant. This type of clock generator has been widely used in various fields, because the cost of the ring oscillator is low, and the size of the ring oscillator is small.
However, a guaranteed operating temperature of the ring oscillator is relatively low. Therefore, the ring oscillator may be thermally broken, when repeatedly operated and consequently temperature of the ring oscillator is increased. Some kind of method to limit an increase in temperature of the ring oscillator is required, when the ring oscillator is operated in such a manner that the temperature of the ring oscillator is increased.
For example, in a case where the clock generator and a central processing unit (CPU) supplied with the clock signal from the clock generator are packaged in a single chip, heat produced by the CPU is transferred to the ring oscillator in the clock generator. Further, since the generated clock signal also produces heat, the temperature of the ring oscillator may exceed its guaranteed operating temperature. Therefore, the ring oscillator needs to be cooled.
One method to cool the ring oscillator is to add a cooling fan to the clock generator. However, the addition of the cooling fan to the clock generator increases the size and manufacturing cost of the clock generator.
Another method to cool the ring oscillator is to temporary reduce the frequency of the clock signal supplied to the CPU. When the frequency of the clock signal is reduced, the CPU operates at a lower processing speed so that the heat produced by the CPU is reduced. Accordingly, the heat produced by the generated clock signal is also reduced. Thus, the ring oscillator can be cooled by temporary reducing the frequency of the clock signal supplied to the CPU.
It is preferable that a reduction in the processing speed of the CPU should be minimized. Therefore, it is required to efficiently reduce the frequency of the clock signal. The frequency of the clock signal may be efficiently reduced by using a temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of the ring oscillator. However, an addition of the temperature sensor to the clock generator increases the size and manufacturing cost of the clock generator.


The organizer glide system of the present invention is comprised of a base frame slidably engaging a pair of support rails mounted to a support surface. A wire basket or other organizer container is removably secured to the base frame. The glide system is designed so that the application of external pressure, such as is generated by a heavy object held within the organizer, creates tension on the leg members of the base frame; thereby flexing the leg members resulting in a trussing effect by the side runners against the channel walls to control the sliding movement of the base frame and container. Interaction of the stop member of the base frame with the stops of the support rails limits the reciprocating movement of the glide system.

The present invention relates to a reciprocating organizer glide system having a base frame slidably engaging a pair of support rails mounted to a generally flat support surface. A wire basket or other organizer is removably secured to the base frame. The glide system is designed so that flexing the leg members of the base frame creates a trussing effect between the base frame side runners and the channels of the support rails to control the sliding movement and reciprocation of the base frame and organizer within the support rails.
Conventional cabinets have relatively long shelves and/or drawers to hold objects for storage. Items placed at the back of the shelf or drawer are often difficult to reach. Sometimes items on the shelf must be removed to reach a particular item, or a drawer must be removed in order to remove the item. The reciprocating organizer glide system of the present invention provides a means to move containers or other such organizers closer to the user with a minimum of effort, and to hold the organizer at a desired location without the user having to engage any type of stop or latch means.
The shelving industry has for many years attempted to provide a solution to provide easier access for the user to hard to reach storage areas. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 2,946,458 shows a typical reciprocating tray unit having a wire basket mounted on loops which pass over and around the rails of a base to reciprocate thereon. U.S. Pat. No. 2,367,218 shows a wire basket frame adapted to rest in and slide along open ended L-shaped "angle iron" tracks. Furthermore, U.S. Pat. No. 2,971,655 shows a conventional reciprocating tray formed of wire and adapted to slide in a guide via rollers. Yet another invention, U.S. Pat. No. 4,025,013 shows a support platform for a wire dish drainer having an extension leg member. However, none of these inventions incorporate the features of the organizer glide system of the instant invention to provide a simple means of controlled reciprocation of an organizer within a base.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a reciprocating organizer glide system which eliminates rolling parts such as wheels and does not require additional mechanical assemblies such as bearings.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a glide system having built in stop means which work in conjunction with stop means on the base frame to limit the movement of an organizer in the pulled-out open position, and in the pushed-in closed position.
It is yet another object of the reciprocating organizer glide system to design the glide system whereby the stop means permit the removal of the organizer units by simply lifting the organizer container upward and pulling the organizer forward toward the user. Furthermore, the glide system is designed so that the organizer units may installed within the glide system by simply inserting the leg members of the base frame within the glide system runners.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a base frame and support runners which can be manufactured from either metal or plastic and adapted for installation utilizing a base frame having either round or square tubing.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a glide system having a low profile in order to maximize usable space above the base frame, and provide a decorative appearance.
A further object of the present invention is to utilize support rails for the glide system which are symmetrical, having no left and right hand sides or front and back sides, in order to simplify installation of the runners within a drawer or upon some other flat surface by merely aligning the runners parallel to one another, and spaced the proper distance apart from one another.
Most important, the reciprocating organizer glide system of the present invention utilizes a novel means to control the sliding movement of the base frame holding the organizer within the support rails in order to create a trussing effect, so that the more downward weight is applied to the base frame, the more the base frame flexes within the support rails to control the sliding reciprocating movement and hold the organizer and base frame within the support rails.


A method for producing an insulated electric wire includes a step of preparing a conductor having a linear shape; a step of forming an insulating coating so as to cover a surface on an outer peripheral side of the conductor to obtain an insulated electric wire that includes the conductor and the insulating coating covering the conductor; and a step of measuring a first electrostatic capacity between the insulated electric wire and a first electrode disposed outside in a radial direction of the insulated electric wire so as to face an outer peripheral surface of the insulated electric wire while transporting the insulated electric wire in a longitudinal direction of the conductor, and inspecting a formation state of the insulating coating, the formation state including a formation state of a defective portion in the insulating coating, on the basis of a change in the first electrostatic capacity.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 8-220184 (PTL 1) discloses a method for detecting a crack formed on an insulating coating of an insulated electric wire by optically inspecting the state of the insulating coating.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 8-249958 (PTL 2) discloses a method for producing a foamed insulated electric wire, the method including a series of steps of injecting a gas for foaming into a molten thermoplastic resin and coating a conductor with the resulting foamed resin insulator by extrusion to form a foamed insulated electric wire; introducing the formed foamed insulated electric wire into a water tank having a moving water tank that is movable; and monitoring, with an electrostatic capacity meter, an electrostatic capacity of the foamed insulated electric wire cooled in the water tank.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2016-81563 (PTL 3) proposes, as an insulated electric wire that includes an insulating coating having a low dielectric constant, an insulated electric wire in which an insulating coating having pores is provided on a conductor.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2016-110847 proposes, as an insulated electric wire that includes an insulating coating having a low dielectric constant, an insulated electric wire in which an insulating coating having pores is provided on a conductor.

Method for producing insulated electric wire, method for inspecting insulated electric wire, and apparatus for producing insulated electric wire


An intraocular lens for providing accommodative visions to a subject includes an adjustable optic and a haptic that is operably coupled to the optic. The adjustable optic comprises an optical axis, a central zone disposed about the optical axis, and an annular zone surrounding the central zone. The optic may also comprise additional annular zones disposed about the central zone and the first annular zone. The haptic comprises a transparent portion protruding into the adjustable optic. The intraocular lens has a disaccommodative configuration in which the central zone has a base optical power and an accommodative configuration in which the central zone has an add optical power that is at least about 1 Diopter greater than the base optical power, preferably at least about 2 Diopters greater than the base optical power. In some embodiments, the add optical power is at least 3 Diopters, or even 4 Diopters, greater than the base optical power. The central zone and the annular zone have different optical powers when the adjustable intraocular lens is in the accommodative configuration and/or when the adjustable intraocular lens is in the disaccommodative configuration.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to intraocular lenses, and more particularly to accommodating intraocular lenses having more than one focus or an extended depth of focus.
2. Description of the Related Art
A human eye can suffer diseases that impair a patient's vision. For instance, a cataract may increase the opacity of the lens, causing blindness. To restore the patient's vision, the diseased lens may be surgically removed and replaced with an artificial lens, known as an intraocular lens, or IOL. An IOL may also be used for presbyopic lens exchange or other elective ocular surgical procedures.
Monofocal IOLs have a single focal length, or, equivalently, a single power. Unlike the eye's natural lens, which can adjust its focal length within a particular range in a process known as accommodation, these single focal length IOLs cannot accommodate and provide clear vision only over a limited range of distances. As a result, distant objects may appear in focus, while objects at a normal reading distance from the eye may appear blurred.
Vision over a broader range of distances can be obtained either through the use of a multifocal lens, which provides different foci configured to produce focused images for different object distances, or an aspheric lens configured to provide an extended depth of focus or depth of field. While such lenses can improve the overall vision range, there may also be an associated reduction in visual acuity or overall visual quality.
Another approach is to use an accommodating IOL, which can adjust its axial position and/or optical power within a particular range, similar to the eye's natural lens. As a result, the patient can clearly focus on objects in a range of distances from the eye, rather than at a single distance. This ability to accommodate is of tremendous benefit for the patient, and more closely approximates the patient's natural vision than a single focal length IOL. One of the challenges in accommodating IOL's is providing a sufficient range of accommodation with the limited amount of ocular force available from the ciliary muscle. One solution to this problem is to combine an accommodating IOL with a multifocal or extended focus lens. Such approaches are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,503,276, 6,554,859, 6,638,305, and 7,018,409, which are herein incorporated by reference.
Another consideration is the location of the IOL within the eye. In the case of a pseudophakic eye, the IOL that replaces the eye's natural lens is commonly implanted within the capsular bag of the eye. The IOL has an optic, which refracts light that passes through it and forms an image on the retina, and a haptic, which mechanically couples the optic to the capsular bag. In the case of an accommodating IOL, the ciliary muscle and zonules exert a force on the capsular bag, which in turn exerts a force on the optic. The force may be transmitted from the capsular bag directly to the optic, or from the capsular bag through the haptic to the optic.
A desirable optic for an accommodating IOL is one that distorts in response to a squeezing or expanding radial force applied to the optic (i.e., by pushing or pulling on or near the edge of the optic, circumferentially around the optic axis). Under the influence of a squeezing force, the optic bulges slightly in the axial direction, producing more steeply curved anterior and/or posterior faces, and producing an increase in the power of the optic. Likewise, an expanding radial force produces a decrease in the optic power by flattening the optic. This change in power is accomplished in a manner similar to that of the natural eye and is well adapted to accommodation. Furthermore, this method of changing the lens power may reduce undesirable pressures exerted on some of the structures in the eye.
One challenge in implementing such an optic is designing a suitable haptic to couple the optic to the capsular bag. The haptic should allow distortion of the optic in an efficient manner, so that a relatively small ocular force from the ciliary muscle, zonules, and/or capsular bag can produce a relatively large change in power and/or axial location of the image. This may reduce fatigue on the eye, which is generally desirable.
Accordingly, there exists a need for an intraocular lens having a haptic with increased accommodative range and enhanced efficiency in converting a zonular force to a change in power and/or a change in axial location of the image. Better methods of implementing multifocal and extended focal IOL's into accommodating IOL's are also needed as a means for supplementing the overall accommodative range available to the eye.

Multifocal accommodating intraocular lens


An exemplary mounting arrangement for components of an elevator system comprises a machine support that is configured to support a load associated with an elevator machine. A support for control electronics that operate the elevator machine is connected to the machine support.

Elevators carry passengers, cargo or both between different levels in a building, for example. There are different mechanisms for moving an elevator car within a hoistway. Traction-based elevator systems utilize a roping arrangement for suspending the elevator car and moving the car as desired. Most traction based systems include a counterweight.
Traditionally, traction based elevator systems included a machine room in which the elevator machine, drive and control components were located. For example, a separate structural room would be placed on top of a hoistway on a roof of a building. The machine room provides access to the motor, brake, drive and controller components for service and maintenance operations, for example.
A modern trend in elevator systems has been to eliminate the machine room and provide a machine roomless elevator system. Eliminating the machine room provides the advantage reducing construction cost otherwise associated with providing a separate machine room, for example. While there are advantages associated with eliminating the requirement for a machine room, certain challenges are introduced.
For example, strategic placement of the elevator components is required to provide an adequate machine support that also supports the loads of the elevator system. At the same time, the desire is to keep cost down and to minimize the complexity of the installation process. Another issue that is presented by machine roomless elevator systems is that a technician or mechanic may need to enter the hoistway for maintenance or service procedures. It is desirable to limit the amount of time that an individual needs to be within the hoistway for such procedures.
Various proposals have been made for supporting elevator system components within a hoistway for a machine roomless configuration. Examples are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,446,762 and WO 99/43596. Those skilled in the art are always striving to make improvements in areas such as simplifying installation procedures, reducing costs associated with elevator system components and installation and decreasing the burden on service personnel for performing maintenance and service procedures.

Elevator system including control electronics supported on an elevator machine support


A system and method for treating a fluid carrying a biological contaminant to which a photoactive material has been bound include a treatment device that defines a flow passage with a gap. The system and method operate to establish a flow of fluid from the inlet end of the gap to the outlet end of the gap. The system and method expose the fluid, as it transits the gap, to a source of radiation that activates the photoactive material bound to the contaminant. The system and method also mix the fluid as it flows within the gap.

With the coming of blood component therapy, most whole blood collected today is separated into its clinically proven components for storage and administration. The clinically proven components of whole blood include red blood cells, used to treat chronic anemia; platelet-poor plasma, from which Clotting Factor VIII-rich cryoprecipitate can be obtained for the treatment of hemophilia; and concentrations of platelets, used to control thrombocytopenic bleeding.
It is well known that blood can carry infectious agents like hepatitis-B virus; the human immuno-deficiency (AIDS) virus; the Herpes virus; and the influenza virus. To avoid the transmission of these infectious agents during blood transfusions, donors of blood are routinely screened and also undergo serologic testing to detect the presence of these agents. Still, it is difficult to always assure that these infectious agents are detected.
The use of photodynamic therapy has been suggested as a way to eradicate infectious agents from collected blood and its components prior to storage and transfusion. See Matthews et. al., "Photodynamic Therapy of Viral Contaminants With Potential for Blood Bank Applications," Transfusion, 28(1), pp. 81-83 (1988). Various extracorporeal systems have been proposed that use photodynamic therapy to treat blood prior to storage and transfusion. See, for example, Edelson U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,613,322 and 4,684,521; Troutner et. al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,708,715; Wiesehahn et. al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,727,027; Sieber U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,775,625 and 4,915,683; and Judy et. al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,878,891.
To date, there has been a general lack of success in economically adapting the benefits of photodynamic therapy to the demands of the blood banking industry. The extracorporeal systems proposed to date have not been able to provide acceptable levels of eradication at the relatively high flow rates required to economically process therapeutic units of blood components.
For this and other reasons, the promise of photodynamic therapy in treating the nation's banked blood supply has gone largely unfulfilled.

Systems and methods for eradicating contaminants using photoactive materials in fluids like blood