A product dispenser and carrier (10, 110, 210, 310, 410, 510) for attachment to a surface such as a dryer fin includes a plate member (11, 111, 211, 311, 411, 511) and a product carrier (21, 121, 221, 321, 421, 521). The plate member (11, 111, 211, 311, 411, 511) attaches to the surface and the product carrier (21, 121, 221, 321, 421, 521) releasably attaches to the plate member (11, 111, 211, 311, 411, 511). Product (31, 131, 431, 531) is operatively connected to the product carrier (21, 121, 221, 321, 421, 521).

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a product dispenser and carrier, and more particularly, the present invention relates to a product dispenser and carrier for dispensing a solid fabric conditioner inside a dryer.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Laundry additives are commonly applied to laundry via a liquid either prior to or during the wash cycle or via a treated sheet during the dryer cycle. Laundry may be pre-treated prior to the wash cycle, or the liquid additive mixes with the water during the wash cycle to contact the laundry. The treated sheet tumbles around in the dryer during the dryer cycle to contact the laundry. For best results, either another dose of the liquid or a new treated sheet must be applied each time. Although treated sheets may be used more than one time, they become much less effective with each subsequent cycle. Therefore, using a new treated sheet each time works best to have consistent, effective results on the laundry. In addition, other types of laundry products can be applied prior to placing the laundry in either the washer and/or the dryer. For example, pre-treatment products in either a liquid or a semi-solid form may be applied to the laundry. However, again these products must be applied to the laundry each time before the appropriate cycle.


Packaging material 10 for a sealable, easy opening, tear resistant pouch-like package 100 comprises a first layer 12 including an oriented polymeric material having a front side capable of receiving surface printed information. A second layer 16 bonded to the first layer 12 includes a light barrier and moisture impervious material. Bonded to the second layer is a third layer 18 comprising a a coextruded film comprising carbon black-loaded linear low density polyethylene-EVA-polybutylene or carbon black loaded linear low density polyethylene film with an EVA gel lacquer coating. The material 10 overwraps the photographic product in a pouch-like structure comprising a flap 120, having along its length, a lengthwise seal 123 projecting outwardly of a second side 114. Second side 114 along with a first side 116 of package 100, extend between opposed hermetically sealed rearward and forward end portions 116,118.

Typically photographic sheet film, utilized for professional commercial photography, is packaged in a protective four-sided hermetically sealed pouch, and the pouch placed in a two or three-part "set-up" box constructed of corrugated, kraft, or chipboard materials. The pouch is generally constructed of an outer layer of paper, a second layer of polyethylene or adhesive, a third layer of aluminum foil, a fourth layer of polyethylene or adhesive, and a fifth layer of polyethylene, this last layer sometimes containing carbon black for additional light-shielding properties. Generally, the pouch structure has minimal oxygen barrier properties and minimal puncture resistance. The paper component typically comprises the bulk of the structure. Since paper has limited strength, it is prone to pin holing and tearing during both the loading of the sheet film into the bag and the loading of the bag into the box. Generally there are either ten or twenty five sheets of square-cut film in a stack, and a paper card (square-cut to the approximate size of the film) on both the top and bottom of the stack. The sharp corners of the film and the cards can slice the laminate material during the packaging operation, and especially during the rigors of the transportation cycle. The tears/pin holes are generally created where the corners of the stack interface with the pouch. Thus a breach of the hermetically sealed pouch is often created. Moisture and dirt can potentially enter these small openings and damage the sensitive film. Such damage may not be discovered until the photographer has taken and developed his pictures. Moreover, damage in the form of abrasions to the emulsion of the film may occur during transport. This latter damage is not related to moisture or dirt but to the individual sheets of film in the stack rubbing against each other during periods of package vibration and shock associated with shipping over long distances. One way to alleviate this problem is to evacuate air out of the pouch prior to the sealing operation. If this evacuation can be maintained during transport, the film stack is effectively immobilized, thereby preventing such abrasion. Experience indicates that an optimal level of air evacuation is required, above which damage will result to the sensitive film emulsion and below which the film will not be secured and immobilized in the pouch. Therefore, conventional pouch materials, made of mostly paper, are not well suited for solving the above problem because of their ability to develop pin holes and tears. Thus, a need exists for a stronger pouch material to ensure product protection during shipping and handling.
A further problem with conventional pouches for photographic sheet film is that the pouch is not reusable. Photographers, on location, often store exposed and unused film inside of the box and discard the opened pouch. Since the user generally physically tears the pouch open it is typically partially destroyed, preventing effective reuse. Storing the film directly in the box only can lead to dirt and moisture contamination of the film. However, if the pouch material were opened in a non-destructive manner and were of sufficient length to fold over one end of the pouch as a flap, the pouch would likely be retained for reuse. Moreover, the film would be more likely to be placed back into the pouch before being inserted in the box. One solution to this reusability problem is to offer extra, unused pouches in the box specifically for this purpose. However, a major shortcoming of this solution is that it adds significant cost and results in additional packaging materials for the solid waste stream. Therefore, a need persists for a stronger pouch material which can be opened easily and in a non-destructive manner to allow package reuse, which is a value-added feature for the photographer.
Yet another problem with conventional pouches for photographic sheet film is the inability to load the sealed, partially-evacuated pouch into the two or three-part set-up box, and to keep the pouch from pushing open the box. The box is generally sized close to the film size, for a tight fit to help minimize product movement/damage during shipping and to minimize packaging material costs. The current paper-based materials exhibit "dead fold" characteristics, i.e., they exhibit memory, such that when folded they tend to retain the fold. The pouch is typically over-sized, to facilitate the loading of the film into the pouch. Therefore the "flaps" of the four-sided sealed pouch must be folded for loading into the box. Given the "dead fold" characteristics of the current materials the pouch tends to load easily and lay down flat in the box tray. Materials with adequate strength to resist tearing tend to be of such stiffness and caliper that when the four-sided pouch is loaded into the box, the four folded flaps resist staying down in the box tray. The pouch tends to protrude above the tray. This can interfere with the assembly of the remaining box part(s), and with the subsequent labeling operation (a label is typically wrapped around the three panels of the box for product identification and to help ensure that the box remains closed). If the pouch is dramatically oversized, such that the four flaps are longer, the flaps tend to stay folded under the pouch better, but the excess material is undesirable from a cost and an environmental standpoint. Also pouch reuse is extremely difficult, as there is so much excess, stiff pouch material to fold and fit into the tight box. The packaging operation is typically manual but this problem would be inherent in either a manual or an automated packaging operation with a stronger pouch material.
Several attempts in various fields of endeavor have been made to address some of the above problems. U.S. Pat. No. 2,189,174 by Hohl teaches a pouch style allowing non-destructive opening, for the dispensing of "flowable" products such as coffee and sugar. Pleats are formed in the pouch, and these pleats act as finger tabs, which the user can grasp to separate the two pouch panels at the seam. Shortcomings of this pouch for solving the problems faced by applicant are that it does not allow for ease of film sheet loading and lacks puncture resistance.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,377,862 by Suter teaches a peel open h-wrap style pouch for vertical form-fill-seal applications, where the package is made in-line, just prior to product filling. The Suter pouch utilizes a paper web which is treated with a composition and coated with an adhesive.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,964,515 by Heyden teaches an easy-open h-wrap style pouch, with a tubular pocket in the seal area for the user to insert a finger. The finger is slid along the remainder of the seal to separate the two layers of pouch material. Shortcomings of this pouch for solving the problems faced by applicant are that it does not allow for ease of film sheet loading, ease of opening and it lacks puncture resistance.
Finally, U.S. Pat. No. 4,705,174 by Goglio teaches a peel open h-wrap style gusseted pouch utilizing a puncture-resistant material. The Goglio invention utilizes a defined strip of peel material, placed adjacent to the pouch opening, and the peel material is a blend of polyethylene and an ionomer.
Therefore, a need persists for a stronger packaging material for sheet film pouches which would eliminate tearing/pinholing. Moreover, there exists a need for a cost efficient, easy opening pouch that would facilitate film sheet loading with both manual and automatic packaging equipment, and would allow an unsealed box to remain closed.

Peelable pouch-like packaging for photographic sheet film


A resin composition comprising at least one copolymer (A) selected from an ethylene/(meth)acrylic acid copolymer (A1) and an ethylene/(meth)acrylic acid/(meth)acrylic acid ester copolymer (A2), and a polyethylene (B), wherein when the total amount of (A) and (B) in the resin composition is set to be 100% by weight, the content of (A) is less than 100 to 46% by weight, the content of (B) is in excess of 0 but not larger than 54% by weight, and (A) contains 0.1 to 5% by weight of a (meth)acrylic acid unit. There are thus provided a resin composition comprising an ethylene/(meth)acrylic acid bicopolymer or an ethylene/(meth)acrylic acid/(meth)acrylic acid ester tercopolymer and a polyethylene, as well as a film or a sheet made from the resin or the resin composition, and a laminate thereof featuring high-speed workability in the extrusion lamination working, particularly excellent adhesiveness to the polar base materials, adhering little in the extrusion-molding machine, without requiring the use of a purging agent and/or a purging resin at the time of changing the kind of the resin or changing the colored lot of the resin, or requiring the purging agent and/or the purging resin in conspicuously small amounts if they are used.

The ethylene/(meth)acrylic acid copolymer resin and the ethylene/(meth)acrylic acid/(meth)acrylic acid ester copolymer resin, contain polar groups in the molecular chains thereof and adhere excellently to a metal such as aluminum or to any other resins having polar groups, such as nylon and polyester. The above resins further have excellent heat-sealing property and hot-tacking property in addition to toughness and flexibility. Therefore, the above resins have heretofore been used chiefly as sealant resins or adhesive resins such as laminate films or sheets, i.e., have been much used as stretch films for wrapping, like materials for packing candies and sweets, foamed polystyrene trays, and as materials for the paper containers for juices, liquors, etc., for the containers for bathing agents, for the containers for poultices and for the laminated tubes for toothpastes.
The formed articles such as the above laminated films can be, usually, produced by the line-forming such as extrusion coating/extrusion lamination by using an extruder.
Therefore, the high-speed workability (DD property, NI, etc.) of the starting resins greatly affects the productivity of the products, i.e., the cost of the products. However, the high-speed workability of the resins of these kinds is considerably poorer than that of the general-purpose low-density polyethylenes, and it has been strongly urged improve the workability.
In order to improve the high-speed workability, JP-T-2004-510871 proposes a resin composition obtained by selecting an ethylene/(meth)acrylic acid copolymer or an ethylene/(meth)acrylic acid/(meth)acrylic acid ester copolymer having a relatively small acid unit content, and blending about 5 to 45% by weight thereof with about 95 to 55% by weight of a low-density polyethylene.
The above resin composition surely improves the high-speed workability to some extent and, therefore, helps increase the productivity correspondingly but cannot strongly adhere to certain kind of polar base materials such as nylon base materials and, often, fails to reach a practicable limit strength. Therefore, limitation is imposed on its use.
In addition to the above problem, further, when a resin containing polar groups such as acid groups like the above copolymer resin is melt-extruded for extended periods of time, the resin adheres and stays in the resin flow passage of the extruder, and is partly gelled, deteriorated or decomposed producing stripes in the products, or causing gels or lumps to be mixed into the products resulting in the production of defective products. Further, when the operation of the melt-extruder is started again after the operation thereof has once been stopped, gelled and decomposed products of the resin in the resin flow passage are discharged over extended periods of time. Therefore, a tremendous period of time and products are wasted until normal products are obtained after the restart of the apparatus.
In the field of modern plastic molding, it is a trend to produce an ever increased kinds of products in ever decreased amounts, changing colors of the resins to be molded or changing the kinds of the resins more frequently then ever before.
In this case, for example, when the color or the resin is to be changed by using a blow-molding machine, a tainted contaminant due to the preceding resin remains in the seam portion that is joined when a hollow cylinder is formed in a parison fitted in the extruder. The contaminant due to the preceding resin cannot be easily removed, and deteriorates the appearance and physical properties of the molded articles.
In order to solve the above problems, a method has heretofore been employed according to which the interior of the resin flow passage in the molding machine such as the extruder is substituted with a purging agent which is obtained by blending a resin such as a high-density polyethylene, a low-density polyethylene, a straight-chain low-density polyethylene, a polystyrene or a polypropylene, or a mixture of resins thereof with a surfactant or an inorganic filler.
For example, Japanese Patent No. 3568327 discloses a purging composition obtained by blending a hydrophobic thermoplastic resin such as a polyolefin resin, a hydrophilic thermoplastic resin such as an ethylene/vinyl alcohol copolymer, and a crystal water-containing compound such as a hydrated calcium chloride in amounts of particular ratios.
Further, JP-A-3-207734 discloses a washing composition obtained by blending a polyolefin resin and a polymethyl methacrylate resin with one or two of a neutral salt of an organic sulfonic acid, basic magnesium carbonate, aluminum hydroxide or zinc carbonate in amounts of a predetermined ratio.

Resin composition, and film, sheet or laminate comprising the same resin composition


A system and method for improving safety when operating an aircraft in reduced or modified visibility conditions is disclosed. A flight helmet having a visor with an electrically controlled optical state is configured to automatically move the visor up out of the pilot's line of sight on receipt of a signal from a safety sensor. This sensor-based automated moving of the visor helps alleviate danger in circumstances where the visor is improperly hindering the pilot. The helmet can be used, for example, in reduced-visibility training sessions and thereby improve the safety of such sessions. And the helmet can be used with enhanced or synthetic vision systems as a failsafe if the systems are hindering rather than helping the pilot.

This invention generally pertains to systems and methods for training pilots to fly in sudden-onset reduced-visibility conditions (conditions with flight visibility of 5 miles or less, such as Degraded Visual Environments ("DVE"), unexpected departure from Visual Metrological Conditions ("VMC"), entry into Inadvertent Instrument Meteorological Conditions ("IIMC")). More specifically, the invention pertains to systems and methods that incorporate electrical control of the transparency of lens material to manually or automatically selectively occlude a pilot's vision to simulate the sudden onset of a reduced visibility environment.
The use of devices to restrict a pilot's vision to simulate reduced-visibility conditions for fly-by-instrument training is well known. Typically, the condition is simulated either by (1) using a device, such as glasses, a hood, or a visor, to restrict the pilot's view during a training flight or (2) controlling the visual environment in a flight simulator. Where the prior-art fails, however, is in providing a realistic simulation of an unexpected entry into a reduced-visibility environment, such as IIMC.
Improper pilot reaction to sudden-onset reduced visibility conditions results in significant loss of life, property, and business every year. Pilots, including specifically helicopter pilots, continue to unexpectedly enter reduced-visibility conditions. These events cause spatial disorientation and loss of aircraft control. These events often result in accidents, 70% of which are fatal. According to the National Transportation and Safety Board accident data, there were over 80 civilian helicopter accidents involving IIMC, with a 70% fatality rate and another 19% injury rate, in the time period between 2000 and 2014. Overall, 89% of the accidents involving IIMC result in injuries or fatalities. See National Transportation and Safety Board, Aviation Accident Database and Synopses, available at http://www.ntsb.gov/_layouts/ntsb.aviation/index.aspx. Based on the Department of Transportation's Guidance on Treatment of the Economic Value of a Statistical Life—2015 Adjustment, these accidents had a human cost of over $1.4 billion. See https://www.transportation.gov/sites/dot.gov/files/docs/VSL2015_0.pdf. This number does not include the related damage to property and equipment or lost revenue to business. The value of property, equipment, and business that was lost or harmed due to pilot response to the sudden onset of reduced-visibility conditions could exceed the $1.4 billion mark.
The accidents in sudden-onset reduced-visibility conditions are due in large part to the flawed procedures and technological limitations of pilot training. In the National Transportation and Safety Board's 2015 Most Wanted List of Transportation Safety Improvements report, enhanced public helicopter safety was a key issue. http://www.ntsb.gov/safety/mwl/Pages/mw13_2015.aspx. Included in the report's recommendations were developing and implementing best practices for training flight crews for inadvertent flight into IMC conditions. The report also stated that training should be scenario-based. Unfortunately, there currently is no way to provide scenario-based training for Inadvertent IMC in an actual aircraft.
Currently there is no technology to simulate sudden-onset reduced-visibility conditions that provides the confusion, panic, disorientation and overall stress that comes when the visual environment is lost unexpectedly during flight. Research shows that surviving the first two minutes of the sudden-onset reduced-visibility event increases the survival rate significantly. This is the moment when the mental impact of the event is greatest. Current training techniques and equipment fail to prepare pilots to handle a sudden-onset reduced-visibility event because they fail to simulate the impact of the event on the pilot.
The most accepted technology for training pilots for sudden-onset reduced-visibility events, a flight simulator, does not properly prepare pilots for the actual event. This simulator training fails for a variety of reasons, including limited availability of simulator training, the simulator's failure to simulate the stress of an actual event, and the simulator's inability to simulate the spatial disorientation experienced in an actual event. Many pilots are rarely—if ever—able to use a simulator. And those pilots who have access to a simulator (typically commercial or military pilots) can use it at most a few times a year. Simulators do not effectively reproduce the stress of flying an actual aircraft where human life is at risk. This stress is an overwhelming factor in decision making during a true emergency. Perhaps most importantly—it is practically impossible to simulate spatial disorientation with a flight simulator. The signals the proprioceptive and vestibular systems send to the pilot's brain when the visual references are lost dictate how a pilot interprets an aircraft's attitude. Spatial disorientation is the leading cause of loss of control and is the single most important aspect that needs to be trained. The fact that most flight simulators today are non-motion simulators exacerbates the problem. Simply, these flight simulators do not accurately simulate a real-life sudden-onset reduced-visibility event.
Vision-restricting fly-by-instrument-training devices do not simulate the unexpected loss of the visual environment that leads to the stress and spatial disorientation of a sudden-onset reduced-visibility event. Because of this failing, aircraft (especially helicopters) continue to crash. People continue to die.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,572,656 ("Ortenburge?") discloses a device comprising two filters, either alone transparent but that together are opaque. The device is situated on the pilot such that when viewing the horizon and flight path of the aircraft, the pilot looks through both filters and when viewing instruments in the aircraft, the pilot looks through only a single filter. Thus, the pilot is able to view the instruments but is unable to see outside the aircraft. But the pilot using the Ortenburger device knows that his visibility will be reduced by using the device. That is, the Ortenburger device, while it simulates reduced-visibility conditions, does not simulate unexpected entry into such conditions.
Another vision-limiting device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,694,263 ("Francis et al."). Like the Ortenburger device, the Francis et al. device is situated on the pilot to reduce visibility in certain directions. The Francis et al. device is generally opaque with transparent sections that allow the pilot to see the instruments or the horizon, but not both at once. But like the Ortenburger device, the Francis et al. device cannot replicate the disorientation that comes with unexpected entry into reduced visibility conditions because the pilot dons the device knowing that it will restrict her vision.
The vision limiting device disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,021,935 ("Witt I") uses an electronically controlled LCD lens to limit a pilot's visibility based on the direction the pilot is looking. The Witt I device determines the pilot's viewing direction by measuring the incident light on the device using a directed photocell. When the pilot looks at the aircraft's instruments, the photocell registers a low level of light and the lens is kept transparent. When the pilot looks to the horizon, the photocell registers a high level of light and the lens is made opaque. A similar device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,152,846 ("Witt II"). The Witt II device uses multiple light sensors to better determine the pilot's viewing direction. The Witt I and Witt II devices cannot replicate the disorientation that comes with unexpected entry into reduced visibility conditions because the pilot dons the device knowing that it will restrict her vision when she looks at other than the instruments.
Another approach to reduced-visibility flight training is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,698,022 ("Gilson"). The Gilson device restricts the pilot's vision by placing a translucent material over glasses except for that portion of the glasses through which the pilot views the instruments. This reduces the pilot's vision other than to a narrow field designed to allow viewing of the aircraft instruments. The degree of translucency can be varied to simulate different visibility conditions by selecting different overlay materials. But the Gilson device fails to provide a mechanism to simulate unexpected entry into reduced visibility conditions because the pilot dons the device knowing that it will restrict her vision except for a narrow field.
Yet another approach to simulating reduced visibility conditions for pilots is disclosed in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2012/0156655 ("Goldberg"). The Goldberg device is a combination of a transparent polarized material to cover the windows of the cockpit and another transparent polarized material to cover the lens of a viewing shield such as glasses worn by the pilot. The window polarization is orthogonal to the lens polarization such that when the pilot dons the polarized viewing shield, he cannot see through the polarized windows. As with the previously described prior-art approaches, the Goldberg device fails to provide a mechanism to simulate unexpected entry into reduced visibility conditions because the pilot dons the device knowing that he will not be able to see outside the aircraft.
The prior-art approaches to simulating reduced-visibility conditions fail in at least one important way. They do not accurately simulate the confusion, panic, disorientation, proprioceptive, and vestibular sensations that come from unplanned entry into such conditions. That is, a pilot reacts differently to inadvertent entry into a reduced-visibility condition than she does to planned entry into such a condition. And this difference may leave the pilot unprepared for reality, regardless of her training, and reduce her ability to properly react in such conditions. Improper reaction to unexpected reduced-visibility conditions may lead to fatalities, injury, and property damage. The prior-art approaches do not adequately simulate inadvertent entry into reduced-visibility conditions.
Accordingly, there is a need for a system and method for safely enabling pilots to properly handle sudden-onset reduced-visibility events.

System and method for improving safety when operating aircraft in reduced- or modified-visibility conditions


A selective chemical species detector including a conductive polymer based sensing element having a detectable characteristic, for example, the polymer resistivity, permanently altered on exposure to a first chemical species and not permanently altered on exposure to a second chemical species. The detector then determines a permanent change in the detected characteristic and indicates the presence of a chemical species on detection of a such a permanent characteristic change. Also disclosed is a method of fabricating such a sensing element to achieve the desired selectivity.

Accurate selective detection and quantification of chemical species has to date not been achievable at a relatively low cost. Paper tape sensors coated with a compound which changes color when exposed to a chemical species can be relatively inexpensive. However, the tape coating layer may respond to a number of species, making selectivity difficult. In addition, the color change may be indicated at an extremely low concentration for one species, and a relatively high concentration for other species. In that case, the presence of a trace amount of the first species could be detected as a significant quantity of the second species. Since many species are present in the atmosphere in trace amounts, the potential for interference or false readings with these paper tape devices is thus significant.
Another category of relatively inexpensive chemical sensors are solid state devices, such as metal oxide films, which display a conductivity change in the presence of certain chemical species, but only at elevated temperatures. The solid state sensors are often used to detect toxic gases. Although adequate for the gross detection of certain species, these metal oxide sensors are typically responsive to many gases, leading to problems with accuracy and selectivity. In addition, because the devices operate at a high temperature, they require a power source for heating and can degrade quickly.
The sensing techniques which have the required sensitivity and selectivity are typically extremely sophisticated, expensive scientific instruments which need to be operated by a skilled technician. For example, mass spectrometers are very sensitive and can achieve the desired selectivity, unless two or more species present in the sample give rise to ions with the same mass to charge ratio. Spectroscopic techniques in principle can achieve the desired selectivity and sensitivity as long as there is no overlap in the species' spectroscopic features, but the instruments typically cost tens of thousands of dollars.

Method of making a conductive polymer selective species sensor


The present invention provides a process for producing a polyurethane emulsion, capable of continuously producing a polyurethane emulsion which contains substantially no organic solvent and also has excellent storage stability over time. Disclosed is a process for producing a polyurethane emulsion by emulsifying a urethane prepolymer, which contains substantially no organic solvent and also has at least two isocyanate groups per one molecule, with water and completing chain extension, the process comprising (1) a first step of supplying the urethane prepolymer and water in an emulsifying apparatus comprising a stator section 5 fixed inside a cylindrical casing 1 and a rotor section 3 fixed to a rotational shaft 2 in the casing 1, the rotor section 3 having multiple rotor teeth 4, the stator section 5 having multiple stator teeth 6, which stand face to face with the rotor teeth 4, the stator section 5 having an inlet 8 and an outlet 10, from the inlet 8, continuously emulsifying them to obtain an emulsion of the urethane prepolymer having an average particle size of 0.1 to 2.5 μm, and discharging the emulsion from the outlet 10, and (2) a second step of reacting the emulsion of the urethane prepolymer obtained in the first step with a chain extender, thereby completing chain extension of the urethane prepolymer.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a process for producing a polyurethane emulsion having excellent storage stability by continuously emulsifying a urethane prepolymer containing substantially no organic solvent with water and reacting the urethane prepolymer with a chain extender.
This application is filed under 35 USC 371 based on the National Stage of International Application No. PCT/JP03/03627, filed on Mar. 25, 2003, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference. Priority is claimed on Japanese Patent Application No. 2002-91266, filed Mar. 28, 2002, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference.
2. Description of Related Art
In various fields relating to paints, inks, adhesives, textile processing and paper processing, polyurethane emulsions are used. To ensure excellent dispersion stability of the polyurethane emulsion, it is required that particles of the polyurethane emulsion have relatively small particle size and that dispersed particles of the emulsion are less likely to separate and settle over time and also are superior in storage stability.
As the process for producing a polyurethane emulsion having superior storage stability, there has been employed a process of premixing a urethane prepolymer with water containing an emulsifier using a simple propeller blade type mixer and finely dispersing the urethane prepolymer under high pressure conditions using a homogenizer.
When using a urethane prepolymer containing substantially no organic solvent in such a process, the resulting emulsion contains particles having relatively large particle size and poor storage stability over time. Therefore, a urethane prepolymer containing a certain amount of an organic solvent (in an amount of about 25 to 60 parts by weight based on 100 parts by weight of the solid content of the urethane prepolymer) must be used so as to obtain a polyurethane emulsion having superior storage stability.
Thus, it is necessary to perform the step of removing an organic solvent, which is optionally contained, so as to obtain an environmentally friendly polyurethane emulsion containing substantially no organic solvent.
The above process of the prior art had problems in that it requires numerous steps for fine dispersions and also requires the step of removing an organic solvent because the organic solvent is contained, resulting in poor production efficiency. Furthermore, the organic solvent contained in the urethane prepolymer remains in the polyurethane emulsion.
To solve these problems, there is proposed a process for continuously emulsifying by supplying a mixed solution of a urethane prepolymer and water in an emulsifying apparatus comprising a rotor section having multiple rotor teeth fixed to a rotational shaft provided in a cylindrical casing and a stator section having multiple stator teeth, which stand face to face with the rotor teeth, the stator section having an inlet, (see, for example, Japanese Patent Application, Second Publication No. Hei 7-68355 (pages 2 to 5)).
According to this process, an emulsion of a urethane prepolymer comprising fine particles can be obtained by continuously emulsifying a certain urethane prepolymer; however, there cannot be obtained a polyurethane emulsion which contains substantially no organic solvent and also has excellent storage stability over time. There is a problem in that the resulting emulsion has poor storage stability when using a urethane prepolymer which has an isocyanate group and has no hydrophilic group.
As the urethane prepolymer, a urethane prepolymer having a hydrophilic group such as ionic group, or a urethane prepolymer which has no hydrophilic group or has a very small content of hydrophilic group is used according to the purposes, and there is required a process capable of producing satisfactory polyurethane emulsion even when using any urethane prepolymer. Among the above urethane prepolymers, as the content of the hydrophilic group in the urethane prepolymer increases, the particle size of the polyurethane emulsion obtained by emulsification tends to become small.
In the above process for continuously emulsifying (see, for example, Japanese Patent Application, Second Publication No. Hei 7-68355 (pages 2 to 5)), when using a urethane prepolymer having no hydrophilic group, or a urethane prepolymer having a very small content of the hydrophilic group wherein the content of an ionic group such as anionic group or cationic group, as a hydrophilic group, is 0.01 equivalents or less based on 100 parts by weight of the urethane prepolymer, or the content of a nonionic hydrophilic group is 5 parts by weight or less based on 100 parts by weight of the urethane prepolymer, the particle size of the emulsion cannot become sufficiently small.
When using a urethane prepolymer wherein the content of the nonionic hydrophilic group is 10 parts by weight or more based on 100 parts by weight of the urethane prepolymer, the particle size can become small to some extent. However, the viscosity of the resulting polyurethane emulsion increases, and therefore the solid content of the polyurethane emulsion is limited to about 30% by weight or less and high concentration polyurethane emulsion cannot be obtained.
Thus, this process had such a problem that it is impossible to continuously produce a polyurethane emulsion which contains substantially no organic solvent and also has excellent storage stability over time.

Method for producing polyurethane emulsion


A receiver receives transmitted data, and a decoder detects the number of error bits in the received data based on check data contained in the received data. If the number of error bits is 2 or less, then when an error correction is instructed by a selector switch, the decoder effects an error correction on message data, and the corrected message data are stored in a RAM. If the number of error bits is more than 2, the decoder does not effect an error correction on the message data, and the message data with error bits are stored in the RAM. When the message data stored in the RAM are displayed on a display screen, the user sees either the corrected message or the uncorrected message.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a data reception device capable of correcting an error that has occurred in received data based on check data contained in the received data.
2. Description of the Related Art
Data reception devices for receiving data, including message data, are available in a wide range of sizes from relatively large sizes to relatively small sizes for portable use and attachment to information processing apparatus.
Small-size data reception devices, for example, have been realized as card-type data reception devices for use as unidirectional-communication pagers (so-called "pocket bells") in wide-area communication services and radio modems used as a component of radio LANs (local area networks) for data communication.
FIG. 1 of the accompanying drawings shows an example in which a card-type data reception device 1 is used. The card-type data reception device 1, which is portable, receives data transmitted through a radio channel from a base station when it is carried by the user, and stores message data contained in the received data in an internal memory such as a RAM, for example. For displaying the message data stored in the memory, the card-type data reception device 1 is inserted into a card slot 3 in an information processing apparatus 2 such as a personal computer or the like, and the message data are read from the memory and displayed on a display screen of the information processing apparatus 2.
When the card-type data reception device 1 is inserted as a PCMCIA card in the information processing apparatus 2, the card-type data reception device 1 receives data and stores message data of the received data in the memory, and the stored message is read and displayed on the display screen of the information processing apparatus 2.
In data communications, an error may occur in data while they are being transmitted or received, due to a malfunction of an electric circuit or noise.
Therefore, it has been customary in such data communications for a data transmitter to add an error-correcting code known as a BCH (Bose Chaudhuri Hocquenghem, same is applied hereinafter) code to data to be transmitted, and for a data reception device to detect error bits which are 2 bits or less in the received data and correct them. If an error of more than 2 bits occurs in the received data, then because the error cannot be corrected, the message code in the received data is replaced with a space letter code and stored in the memory.
When the message data stored in the memory which contains such a space letter code are displayed on the display screen of the information processing apparatus, many space letters are contained in the displayed message, making the user uncertain as to whether the displayed space letters are meant to indicate either real space letters or information indicating that the error has not been corrected.
If the card-type data reception device is inserted in the information processing apparatus to process received data, then since the clock signal used in the information processing apparatus for processing data interferes with the received data from the card-type data reception device, the received data from the card-type data reception device are more likely to suffer an error than if the card-type data reception device is carried by the user for receiving data.

Data reception device with error detection and correction


The actuating device is capable of automatically eliminating a clearance between a contact body and a rail. The actuating device comprises: a moving body guided by the rail; the contact body contacting the rail; and a pressure unit biasing the contact body toward the rail or in a pressing direction. The pressure unit comprises: a rod having one end, which contacts the moving body, and the other end, the rod being capable of moving in the pressing direction; a first biasing member biasing the rod; a casing covering an outer face of the rod, the casing having an inner face, whose distance from the outer face of the rod is gradually reduced toward the other end of the rod; and a spherical body contacting the inner face of the casing and the outer face of the rod.

The present invention relates to an actuating device, more precisely relates to an actuating device having a moving body, which is moved and guided by a rail or a guide section.
In conventional actuating devices having moving bodies guided by rails, the moving bodies are pressed onto the rails so as to smoothly move the moving bodies without plays.
One of the conventional actuating devices is disclosed in Japanese Patent Gazette No. 2002-122136. Balls are provided between a rail and a moving body. The moving body is moved along the rail by rolling the balls (see paragraphs 0002 and 0019 and FIGS. 1 and 2). The balls, whose sizes are slightly larger than a clearance between the moving body and the rail, are fitted in the clearance so as to apply a pressing force to the moving body and the rail (see the paragraph 0002).
By the method of applying the pressing force disclosed in the Japanese gazette, the clearance between the rail and the moving body is filled with the balls, so that plays can be removed. Therefore, even heavy goods, whose weight are several hundred Kg or more, can be smoothly conveyed by the actuating device.
However, in the actuating device disclosed in the Japanese gazette, the balls, whose sizes are larger than the clearance between the metallic rail and the moving body, are fitted in the clearance, so that the balls are deformed. Thus, rolling resistances of the balls or a dynamic resistance of the moving body must be increased, and energy consumption for moving the moving body must be large. The rail, the moving body and the balls must have high durability, and they must be case-hardened so that a manufacturing cost of the device must be increased. To generate a great driving force, the device must be large and heavy. Further, a large amount of lubricant must be frequently applied so as to reduce the rolling resistances and prevent damage of the rail, the moving body and the balls, so that a running cost and a maintenance cost of the device must be increased.
In case of conveying light goods, the large and high cost device disclosed in Japanese Patent Gazette No. 2002-122136 is not required. For example, an actuating device for conveying light goods is disclosed in Japanese Patent Gazette No. 7-54843. The actuating device comprises: a moving body; a rail for guiding the moving body; contact bodies, which are provided to the moving body and contact the rail; and biasing members for pressing the contact bodies onto the rail (see a paragraph 0078 and FIGS. 1 and 2).
By the method of pressing the contact bodies onto the rail, a dynamic resistance of the moving body can be smaller than that of the device disclosed in Japanese Patent Gazette No. 2002-122136. Further, the device can be made of light materials, and a manufacturing cost, a running cost and a maintenance cost of the device can be reduced.
However, when an external force, which is greater than elasticity of the biasing members, is applied to the contact bodies, the biasing members are deformed so that the moving body cannot be moved smoothly.
To solve this problem, the biasing members having great elasticity may be employed so as to increase the force for pressing the contact bodies onto the rail. However, frictional resistances between the contact bodies and the rail must be increased, so that the biasing members must be large, the device must be large and heavy, the manufacturing cost and energy consumption of the device must be increased.


A grill having a top wall design incorporating a heat source that efficiently radiates heat towards the cooking cavity but allows the escape of flue gases and hot air towards the rear of the grill to protect the user. The grill has an access to the interior of the cooking cavity. In certain embodiments, a seating mechanism resides in the cooking cavity for accommodating a rack upon which food is placed and enabling the rack to reside on various levels. A rotisserie may be substituted for the rack. A control cavity in another embodiment may be used to house control mechanisms and electrical components sensitive to heat.

1. Field
The present invention relates generally to grilling systems, and particularly to a novel grill for cooking food efficiently, effectively, and safely, and for maintaining optimal flavor.
2. Background
Traditional outdoor grills are configured with heat sources residing below the cooking area. Heat sources herein refer to suitable heat emitting, gas and non-gas electrical sources and the like. One example is a simple charcoal grill. Such a grill contains a cavity in which charcoal is placed and ignited. This grill also contains a grate situated above the charcoal onto which the food is placed. A disadvantage of the charcoal grill is that food drippings generated from the cooking process fall into the cavity and ignite. The ignition of these drippings causes unwanted flames or flare ups to flow through the grate. These flames can scorch the food. Worse, the unwanted flames can pose a safety hazard to persons near the grill. Another example is a gas grill, where the charcoal is replaced by gas burners. Here, flare-ups from food drippings still present problems.
In many types of grills, including the charcoal and gas grill discussed above, the positioning of the cooking mechanism below the food creates other problems. Drippings and other by-products of the cooking process create a mess inside the cavity of these grills. For grills that use another type of burner such as an infrared burner, the drippings can clog the infrared device, requiring extensive and periodic cleaning. If left unchecked, the clogging can dramatically change the flame characteristics of the burner, producing undesirable emissions, unwanted temperatures or uneven hot spots. Eventually, the repeated flow of unwanted by-products onto the burner can result in permanent failure and the need for replacement. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/843,434 (Pub. No.: US2002/0157659A1 recognized the problem posed by a heat source residing below a cooking area by mounting a gas broiler above the cooking area. Additionally, to prevent the broiler flue products from entering the oven cavity or cooking area, a panel, transparent to radiation is placed beneath the broiler. While flue gases may be prevented from entering or circulating within the cooking area, this set up will allow residue from the vapors coming from the food to deposit on the surface of the panel facing the cooking area once the temperature falls below that required to fully burn the residue or vapors into the gaseous state. These deposits on the panel, if not cleaned immediately, will provide a breeding ground for microorganisms or more importantly, will affect the radiation transmission efficiency of the broiler.
Still other outdoor grills offer a rotisserie option, where the food is turned on a rotating spit. In one such system, an infrared burner is mounted vertically above the grilling surface and behind the food content. This arrangement results in the infrared flame being exposed forward toward the direction of the user. Hence, the burner releases high temperature and flue products towards the user. Obviously, this state of affairs can be highly undesirable. In a situation where the ignition is unpredictably delayed or the resulting flame is large in magnitude, the flame will move directly toward the unsuspecting user. Such a condition can produce a fire hazard and may even result in injury.
Moreover, in a traditional grill arrangement, the heat source generates juice originating predominantly from the bottom of the food content, where the heat source is closest. Gravity causes the juice to escape the food and drip into the cavity below. This arrangement can dry the food and deprive it of otherwise flavor-enhancing juices. Likewise, in a traditional rotisserie arrangement with the heat source located vertically behind the food content and rotating on a spit, the juice from the food will drip down below the rotating food and produce the same undesirable result.
With indoor grills where cooking is done in a sealed enclosed area, additional problems exist with the heat generated from cooking. In an outdoor grill, heat can be easily dissipated in the air. However, with indoor grills, the heat generated can overheat not only the inside but also the outside walls of the enclosure causing severe burns when accidentally touched from the outside which is currently prevented by heavy insulation between an inner wall and the outer wall which is costly and add unwanted weight to the grill, preventing it to be portable.


A method is disclosed comprising: imaging a feature of a component of an electrical power transmission system for example in combination with a reference component or feature of known dimensions, the reference component or feature comprising a reference, to produce one or more images; analyzing the one or more images with a photogrammetry algorithm to measure the feature of the component; and placing a protector at least partially over the component, the protector being selected to fit the component based on the measurement of the feature. In some embodiments the method may further comprise making the protector based on the measurement of the feature. A method is also disclosed comprising: remotely placing a reference object into a position that is inside a safe Limit of Approach and in the vicinity of a feature of a component of an energized live electrical power transmission system, the reference object comprising a reference; imaging a combination of the reference and the feature of the component to produce one or more images; and analyzing the one or more images with a photogrammetry algorithm to measure the feature of the component.

Long-distance electricity transmission is typically carried with high voltage conductors. Transmission at higher voltages reduces resistance power loss, therefore line voltage for long distance lines is stepped up after generation by passing it through transformer stations prior to feeding the power to long-distance transmission lines. Transmission lines traverse large regions and require numerous support towers. The conductors in high tension power lines are typically uninsulated because of the cost and additional weight of insulated versus uninsulated conductors.
Electric poles, towers, and other electrical equipment including substations provide attractive roosts for birds, particularly in treeless regions. If the wings of a bird simultaneously contact a conductor and another object such as an adjacent conductor, support tower or tree, the resulting electrical short-circuit can kill the bird and also damage the power system. The electrical short can further cause electrical system damage resulting in power outages. Because large (and typically protected) birds are more susceptible to such incidental contact, electrocution hazards disproportionately affect large bird species such as raptors.
Substations transform power from transmission voltages to distribution voltages (typically ranging from 2400 volts to 37,500 volts). Distribution voltages allow for reduced system clearances. These reduced clearances between phase to ground and phase to phase, increase station susceptibility to bird or animal caused outages. Faults caused by birds and other animals often trigger sensitive relay protection schemes, resulting in substation lockouts, interrupting service to thousands or possibly tens of thousands of customers and at the same time damaging expensive substation equipment.
Thus, in the field of electrical power transmission and distribution there is a need to insulate electrical power systems from short circuits caused by birds and other animals. The variety and number of proposed solutions for repelling birds and other animals from electrocution risks highlights the persistence and magnitude of the problems created by such undesirable intrusion. Many different types of scarecrows and other moving devices have been developed to repel birds. In addition to moving devices, various physical structures often involving spikes or other physical barriers, have been developed to discourage birds from roosting on structures. Other bird repelling concepts use electricity or magnetic fields to discourage bird intrusion. Equipment shield and cage devices have been specifically designed to block birds and other animals from accessing and short-circuiting electrical leads, such as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,153,383 and 5,485,307.
The inventor's own prior patent document discloses protectors for components of electrical power transmission systems, see United States patent publication no. 20080123254, as well as methods of making such protectors. These covers are made by spray molding dielectric materials. However, the process of making and installing these components can be costly. Firstly, in order to make a suitable mold for such a cover, accurate measurements must be made of the component itself. This involves taking a physical measurement that requires an on-site visit and usually a power-down of the electrical system, both of which add to the cost of producing the covers and protecting the electrical equipment.
Power downs for the purpose of measuring electrical equipment for protective covers can keep a system down for a half a day or longer time period, at great cost. Some systems are operated under the direction of a regulatory and scheduling authority that controls the system's downtime scheduling. In locations with minimal spare power transmission capacity, it can be a challenge for a system to get the downtime needed to measure its equipment.
Making accurate hands-on measurement of power equipment for close-fitting protective covers requires training and skill. Because electrical systems are usually scheduled for maintenance downtime on a fairly short notice (typically a week for non-emergency situations), and because scheduled downtime may be cancelled by the Regulatory Authority on an extremely short notice, there is no guarantee that a suitable expert will be available to take the required measurements during a system's available downtime period. As a result, a system can experience significant delays in protecting their equipment.
Further, electricity transmission systems are built using components made by a number of different manufacturers assembled in an almost infinite variety of configurations, creating variations in final system dimensions from site to site, such that in many cases custom molds are required in order to create a suitable cover. It is possible to reduce the cost associated with protecting such electrical systems by using a generic mold to make an approximately suitable cover for each component, but the end result is typically a looser-fitting and hence less effective cover.
Thus, there is a need for methods that reduce the costs of producing and installing effective, close-fitted covers. Specifically, there is a need for a method of accurately determining the dimensions of electrical equipment to allow measurements to be obtained from energized equipment by a person positioned outside the Limits of Approach.

Photogrammetric methods and apparatus for measurement of electrical equipment


A sun visor assembly includes a sun visor in which the corners associated with one of the longer edges are rotatably mounted to an automotive vehicle, one corner of which is fixed and the other corner being removable from a mount affixed to the vehicle. The removable corner has a cutout with a cylindrical pin coupled to the cutout at both ends of the pin. The mount has an arcuate cradle to engage the pin over less than half of its circumference. The opening to gain access to the cradle faces generally downward when installed and the pin is held in the mount by magnetic attraction.

1. Technical Field
The disclosure relates to a sun visor for an automotive vehicle.
2. Background Art
Typical sun visors for automotive vehicles are fixed to the vehicle roof at one corner of the sun visor and selectably affixed to the vehicle roof at a second corner. The visor is selectably affixed by a pin attached to the visor which can be engaged into a mount permanently coupled to the vehicle roof. The mount has a hook portion into which the pin can be snapped. When the pin is snapped into the hook, the hook wraps around the pin more than half of the circumference of the pin. The hook spreads apart when a force is applied to the sun visor to disengage the pin or to engage the pin. The pin snaps back in place after the pin has moved past the opening in the hook. One of the problems with such a configuration is that the amount of effort to snap the pin in place or to release the pin depends on the manufacturing tolerance of the hook, the temperature of the hook, and the amount of wear on the hook. As the hook is often made of a polymeric material, the hook is more or less resilient depending on the temperature. At extremely cold temperatures, the amount of force necessary to disengage the pin from the hook is great. If too much force is required to disengage the pin and the hook is brittle due to low temperatures, it is possible to fracture the hook. Under high temperature conditions, the amount of force to disengage may be too little so that when a person is attempting to adjust the visor, e.g., rotate the visor between an in-use and a stowed position that the visor is pulled out of the hook. This can be an unwelcome surprise, particularly if the person is operating the vehicle. It is costly to manufacture the hook with the desired tolerances that ensures reasonable performance under the expected operating condition ranges.
The hook-and-pin type configuration presents an inconvenience to a person trying to disengage the pin because it can be disengaged in only one direction. Typically, the pin is disengaged by pulling on the visor in a direction away from the windshield, i.e., toward the person pulling on the visor. Because it disengages in only one direction, or a small range of angles, it can be difficult for the person trying to disengage the visor to be successful, unless looking at the visor while trying to disengage the visor, which may not be possible if the person is operating the vehicle. The problem is likely exacerbated for a person of short stature or one who adjusts their seat farther from the windshield.
One of the reasons to have one of the attachment points of the sun visor being disengageable is to provide flexibility in blocking out the sun both in front of the person and to the side of the person. The other reason to provide such flexibility is that under certain, unusual circumstances, objects may be accelerated within the vehicle and impact the sun visor. To reduce damage to such objects that may be contacting the sun visor and to avoid snapping off the hook of the sun visor due to the impact, it may be desirable for the sun visor to disengage toward the front. Thus, the hooks of future sun visor systems may have the opening to the hook facing toward the windshield so that in such unusual circumstances of high acceleration when an object from the cabin may be accelerated toward the windshield, the pin of the visor disengages to allow the visor to move freely. Although such configuration of the hook is desirable under such unusual circumstances, this configuration is even more difficult for a person to operate. In releasing the pin from the hook in a direction away from the cabin, the person is likely to smash the sun visor into the windshield, possibly lightly pinching a finger or rapping a knuckle on the windshield in the process. Furthermore, by requiring the sun visor to move away from the person to allow disengagement, it may preclude smaller persons from being able to disengage the sun visor unless they are unbelted and the car is not moving.
Yet another disadvantage is that if a clearance between the pin and the hook develops or if such a clearance exists upon manufacture, the pin can rattle in the hook leading to undesirable cabin noise. Or, if the hook is too tight, the pin may squeak in the hook.


The object of the present invention is to prevent generation of leak caused by deterioration of a frit glass component at AlN/KB glass sealing section which is caused by discharge at the time of laser tube operation.. In the present invention, a high fusing point glass made up of a zinc/boric acids material is used at the sealing section of AlN/KB glass, adding to use a conventional low fusing point glass made up of a lead/sillic acids material. By means of this, it is possible to reduce the number of bubbles generation on the sealing interface of an AlN component and a low fusing point glass and to prevent deterioration of the low fusing point glass at laser tube operation and leak at the sealing section.

Conventionally, in an ion laser performing a laser oscillation by an energy transition owing to ionization of a gaseous active medium such as argon or krypton, it is necessary to increase ion density along with increasing an output level. In this case, a large electric current over 30 A may be charged. Therefore, for a discharge capillary and an envelope a material having a high thermal conductivity to effectively reject heat generated by a large electric current in the discharge section of the capillary and durable to high ion density plasma was needed.
Recently, silicon carbide(SiC) and aluminium nitride (AlN) as a material meeting such conditions are used. That is, in this case, SiC is used for a plasma capillary material and AlN is used for an envelope material. Also, AlN components are air-tightly sealed each other with frit glass for forming a laser tube.
A longitudinal section of a conventional ion laser tube is shown in FIG. 3. The bore material 1 made up of SiC having a capillary tube hole 2 in the center and the flange 3 is inserted to the envelope 4 made up of AlN and sealed by the high fusing point glass 6, thus the capillary composite component 7 is formed. Next, a plurality of capillary composite components 7 are coaxially and air-tightly sealed each other by an appropriate jig (not shown in the figure) and the high fusing point glass 8 made up of a zinc/boric acids material. Then, the hollow pipe 11 made up of AlN is sealed for including the anode 9 and cathode 10. The tubular components made up of boro-silicate glass 13 (hereinafter referred to as a KB glass component) are air-tightly sealed at the both sides of the hollow pipes with the low fusing point glass 12 made up of a lead/sillic acids material, thus the discharge capillary path 14 is formed. FIG. 4 is an enlarged cross section of the sealing section of the conventional hollow pipe 11 made up of AlN and the KB glass component 13. The hollow pipe 11 made up of AlN and the KB glass component 13 are sealed only with the low fusing point glass 12 made up of a lead/sillic acids material. Like this, in the conventional ion laser tube the fusing point glass 12 made up of a lead/sillic acids material of which sealing temperature is low is used for sealing, because the distortion point of the KB glass component 13 having the similar coefficient of thermal expansion to AlN is low such as 500.degree. C. and it is impossible to seal with the high fusing point glass 8 made up of a zinc/boric acids material.
More, the end plates 15 respectively having the anode 9 and the cathode 10 are connected to the respective end portions of the discharge capillary path 14, the respective glass valves 16 are connected to end portions of the end plates 15, further the Brewster windows 17 are connected to the end portions of glass valves 16. After that, argon gas of the pre-determined quantity is sealed. Thus, the ion laser tube is completed.
However, in the above-mentioned conventional ion laser tube, there is a problem that the low fusing point glass made up of a lead/sillic acids material used in the ion laser tube is low in heat resistance and the lead(lead oxide) component included in the low fusing point glass made up of a lead/sillic acids material reacts with aluminium (Al) in the AlN surface and nitrogen (N.sub.2) is generated on the sealing interface at the time of sealing of the hollow pipe 11 made up of AlN and the KB glass component 13. As the result, a defect such as many bubbles are generated on the sealing interface occurs and air-tightness at the sealing section is failed. Conventionally, a bubble occupation area ratio to the sealing area is over 50%.


A method and system for converting an input signal into a dynamically-controlled digital output signal. A sensitivity and a threshold level of a digital input signal is adjusted. An absolute value or a constant polarity of the adjusted digital input signal is compared to a previous output signal and at least one state variable is modified to achieve a desired attack time of the filter. The adjusted digital signal is either then passed through or bypassed around the filter to produce the dynanically-controlled digital output signal.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention is for a method and system related to a dynamically-controlled multiplier capable of converting a digital input signal into a modified, dynamically-controlled digital output signal.
2. Description of Prior Art
In conventional Pulse-Code Modulation (PCM) technology, a signal is periodically sampled then quantized into a discrete number of levels, such as voltage levels, and subsequently coded as a sequence of digits. For a general explanation of PCM, see Bernard Sklar, Digital Communications Fundamentals and Applications, p. 73 (1988 Prentice-Hall, Inc.). Depending upon resolution of quantization, or number of binary bits per sample, and the sampling rate selected, the PCM representation can closely approximate an original continuous or analog signal. For example, electronic compact disc players typically employ a PCM signal. The term "voltage" can relate to a sequence of PCM samples.

Method for creating a digital control signal


A mixed-signal integrated circuit includes a metal-insulator-metal or polysilicon-insulator-polysilicon capacitor. The electrical path from one electrode of the capacitor passes through a first interconnecting line, then through multiple via holes to a second interconnecting line. During the fabrication process, the capacitor is first charged during a plasma deposition process used to deposit an interlayer dielectric film between the first and second interconnecting lines, then abruptly discharged during a plasma etching process that forms the via holes. The discharge does not damage the floors of the via holes, however, because each of the multiple via holes carries only part of the discharge current.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a mixed-signal integrated circuit, and more particularly to the interconnections in a mixed-signal integrated circuit.
2. Description of the Related Art
Mixed-signal integrated circuits, which incorporate both analog and digital circuitry, have become highly integrated, sometimes comprising an entire system on a chip (SoC). Their analog circuitry typically includes high-precision low-noise capacitors having a polysilicon-insulator-polysilicon (PIP) or metal-insulator-metal (MIM) structure with unit capacitance values in the general range from half a femtofarad to two femtofarads per square micrometer (0.5 fF/μm2 to 2.0 fF/μm2) These capacitors are interconnected to complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS), bipolar CMOS (BiCMOS), and other types of circuits. At high levels of integration, multiple interconnection layers become necessary, the interconnections being routed on complex paths including both horizontal interconnecting lines and vertical contacts and vias.
Contacts connect circuit elements to horizontal interconnecting lines. A capacitor, for example, is typically connected to a horizontal interconnecting line by multiple contacts, to enable the capacitor to be charged and discharged rapidly.
Vias interconnect horizontal interconnecting lines in different layers. Normally two interconnecting lines are interconnected through a single via. This is particularly true in a highly integrated system-on-a-chip, in which layout space is at a premium.
The processes used to fabricate multilayer interconnections involve much use of ionized gases or plasmas. For example, the interlayer dielectric films that provide electrical insulation between different layers are often deposited by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PE-CVD) or high-density plasma chemical vapor deposition (HDP-CVD). Contact holes and via holes are formed in the interlayer dielectric films by plasma etching processes. Plasma etching is also used to fashion horizontal interconnecting lines from metal films.
Since these plasma processes are carried out after the MIM or PIP capacitors have already been formed, some of the electrical charge of the plasma is transferred to the capacitors. Since the capacitors are almost always electrically floating, the charge cannot easily escape to the substrate or otherwise be removed.
As a result, when a contact hole or via hole leading directly or indirectly to a capacitor is formed by plasma etching, considerable charge may already have accumulated in the capacitor. At the instant when the hole is completely opened, or slightly thereafter, the capacitor abruptly discharges its accumulated charge through the hole into the plasma. When the via hole closest to the capacitor on the interconnection path is formed, the entire discharge is typically routed through a single via hole.
The sudden concentrated flow of discharge current through a single via hole can damage the floor of the via hole. If, for example, the floor of the via hole comprises a titanium nitride film formed on the surface of the underlying metal interconnecting line, this film may be oxidized and denitrified by the discharge, as observed in electron microscope studies by the inventor. If such damage occurs, then when the via hole is later filled with metal to form an interconnecting via, the via fails to make good electrical contact with the underlying metal interconnecting line, creating an abnormally high electrical resistance on the signal path. The analog circuit including the capacitor then acquires incorrect operating characteristics, or fails to operate at all. Investigations by the inventor have shown that this problem occurs when the total capacitance of the capacitor is 1700 fF or greater.
Further information will be given in the detailed description of the invention.

Multilayer analog interconnecting line layout for a mixed-signal integrated circuit


A communication unit operates in a wireless-networking environment and maintains a mapping for active channels and associated network identifiers. The communication unit may associate with a wireless network using the mapping for one or more of the active channels having a selected network identifier. For associations and reassociations with wireless networks, the communication unit may selectively scan the channels having mapping stored in a table to more quickly identify active channels and thereby reduce scan time. In some embodiments, an access point may perform channel-width measurements and radar detection using the bitmap.

Wireless networks, such as wireless local area networks (WLANS), utilize various operating channels depending on their geographic region. At power up and during their operation, communication units scan channels for their geographic region to determine which channels are active. Channel scans also allow a communication unit to determine network identifiers, such as service set identifiers (SSIDs), associated with the active channels. Scanning is generally performed when a communication unit wishes to associate with (e.g., become part of or join) a wireless network, and when a communication unit wishes to re-associate with a network. Communication units may maintain connectivity with a network by scanning followed by an association and/or reassociation process, if required. Communication units may also perform scans to monitor network changes including the creation of new networks, among other things. As a result, a communication unit may spend a considerable amount of time and resources scanning for active channels.
One problem with channel scanning is that the time it takes (e.g., up to two or more seconds) is fairly significant in a wireless-networking environment where associations and reassociations can occur on a frequent and regular basis. Another problem with channel scanning is that it consumes resources of the communication unit, requiring increased processing and battery capability.

Systems and methods for reducing communication unit scan time in wireless networks


Methods, systems, and computer readable media can be operable to facilitate the provisioning of data and video services to client devices using communication standards and/or protocols that are not compatible with corresponding CPE device(s). An IPTV adapter can be embedded in a CPE device, can be connected to a CPE device, or can be a stand-alone device, and the tuning adapter can translate/reformat communications between client devices and an upstream component and/or content server. The IPTV adapter can support various communication standards and protocols.

The advent of networked client devices (e.g., devices that are connected to a common network), such as Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) devices, within the home has created a mixture of different interfaces through which subscribers may consume multimedia. Once connected to a network, networked client devices can communicate and interact with each other as well as with customer premise equipment (CPE) devices. In embodiments, CPE devices in a subscriber's home are provided by a multiple system operator (MSO), whereas client devices are not. Client devices, and in some cases, CPE devices, may not be able to recognize or process communications that are delivered using a protocol or standard with which the client devices or CPE devices are unfamiliar.
MSOs offer a variety of services and content to subscribers, and generally, MSOs provide subscribers with CPE devices capable of receiving offered services and content. For example, MSOs may provide subscribers with a set-top box (STB) that can access quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) video sources through QAM tuners. MSOs may also provide Internet protocol television (IPTV) content to subscribers. IPTV content may include any video content that is delivered to a device at a customer premise over an Internet protocol (IP) infrastructure. However, an STB existing at a customer premise might only have the capability to access video from QAM sources, and might not have an avenue for communicating over an IP infrastructure. When switched digital video (SDV) became available to subscribers, MSOs offered SDV tuning adapters to allow existing STBs to receive content on SDV channels. However, SDV tuning adapters merely serve to guide a STB in tuning to SDV channels, and SDV tuning adapters do not give STBs the ability process IPTV content. Therefore, a need exists for improving methods and systems for delivering video content to subscribers over an IP infrastructure.
Like reference numbers and designations in the various drawings indicate like elements.

Internet protocol television tuning adapter


A method of shaping plastics material pre-forms into plastics material containers with the steps:                introducing a plastics material pre-form into a blow mold;        conveying the blow mold with the plastics material pre-form along a pre-set conveying path;        acting upon the plastics material pre-form with a gaseous medium during a pre-set period of time for the expansion thereof, wherein the supply of the gaseous medium is carried out in a controlled manner; and        releasing the container from pressure at a pre-set point in time.

The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for the shaping of plastics material pre-forms into plastics material containers. Machines of this type, referred to below as blow-moulding machines, have long been known from the prior art. It is usual in this case for plastics material pre-forms to be transferred to a blow-moulding station and for this blow-moulding station to be arranged on a movable carrier, for example a rotatable blow-moulding wheel. During the conveying of the plastics material pre-form situated inside the blow-moulding station it is blown or expanded by being acted upon with compressed air in order to form a plastics material container. For this purpose the plastics material pre-form is acted upon at very high pressure, for example over 40 bar.
It is also known from the prior art for blow moulds of this type or the carriers thereof to be locked with one another during the expansion process. After the actual expansion, the pressure inside the container is reduced again and the container is released. In this case, it should be noted that at a specific point on the blow-moulding station along its conveying path, it has to be released again so that it can be opened again without damage.
In this case, it is usual in the prior art for the release of the container to be initiated at a process angle or at a pre-set process time, so that the container is completely released in every case at the aforesaid point in time, so that the blow-moulding station can be opened in this way without risk. Accordingly, the starting time at which the release of the plastics material pre-form is started is set relatively early in order to ensure that the pressure is released sufficiently at the aforesaid point in time.
In many cases, however, this leads to a waste of process time, since it would frequently be desirable to maintain this process time or the pressure inside the containers as long as possible.

Blow-moulding machine with automatic optimization of the process angle

Abstract: According to the invention the pre-set point in time (t2) is variable.


A micro fluidics system includes a closed, expandable volume for mixing a fluid, and a flexible membrane for allowing mixing in the closed, expandable volume. The system further includes a surface having at least one channel for fluidically coupling a first side of the surface to the closed, expandable volume on a second side of the surface. The channel includes a first channel opening fluidically coupling the first side of the surface to the channel and a second channel opening fluidically coupling the channel to the closed, expandable volume. The expandable volume is defined by the flexible membrane closing the second channel opening when there is no fluid in the expandable volume.

An embodiment of a microfluidics system as referred to above is known from US 2005/0019898 A1. This document describes a fluid mixing device comprising a chamber comprising two diaphragm regions. The diaphragm regions are displaced into and out of the chamber by inflation and deflation of two mixing bladders to generate fluid movement within the chamber. Mixing results from the fluid movement obtained by operating the mixing bladders and diaphragm regions. It is a drawback of the known device that the mixing can be improved and that the mixing bladders and associated means for inflating and deflating the mixing bladders take-up volume. The fluid cannot be removed from the mixing chamber except by replacing with another fluid (air) which requires another fluid source and additional sealing measures.

Mixer with zero dead volume and method for mixing


Provided is an electroconductive member configured to suppress a void image caused by abnormal discharge and a horizontal streak-like image caused by downstream discharge without depending on the thickness of a photosensitive layer of a photosensitive drum over a long period of time. The electroconductive member for electrophotography comprises at least an electroconductive support and a surface layer formed on an outer side of the electroconductive support. The surface layer includes a porous body and satisfies the predetermined (1), (2), and (3).

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electroconductive member for electrophotography, a process cartridge, and an electrophotographic apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
In an electrophotographic apparatus as an image forming apparatus adopting an electrophotographic system, an electroconductive member is used as a charging member or a transfer member. Such electroconductive member is required to maintain suitable electrical characteristics over a service life of the electrophotographic apparatus.
From the viewpoint of controlling the electrical characteristics of the electroconductive member within a suitable range, an electron conductive agent such as carbon black and an ion conductive agent such as a quaternary ammonium salt have been used for resistance control. However, for example, in the case where the electroconductive member is used as the charging member over a long period of time, even when local resistance unevenness is small, there is a risk in that an electric field is concentrated in the local portion with resistance unevenness to cause abnormal discharge, and consequently, a void image may be generated. Further, when the resistance of the electroconductive member increases with long-term use, discharge (hereinafter sometimes referred to as "downstream discharge") occurs on a downstream side of an abutment portion between the electroconductive member and the body to be charged, and consequently, a horizontal streak-like image may be generated.
As described above, it is not easy to maintain suitable electrical characteristics over a long period of time. As a method of maintaining the electrical characteristics of the electroconductive member, the following methods are disclosed. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-276026 discloses a method involving dispersing roughening particles in a surface layer of the charging member so as to form surface irregularities. Further, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H07-140755 discloses a method involving providing a non-electroconductive two-dimensional mesh on a surface of the charging member.

Electroconductive member for electrophotography, process cartridge, and electrophotographic apparatus


A semiconductor manufacturing apparatus may include a chamber accommodating a substrate to be processed, a first electrode providing electric field in the chamber and a second electrode opposing to the first electrode, and a first power transmitting rod connected to one of the first electrode and the second electrode. A conductive stress attenuating unit may be formed in the first power transmitting rod. Methods of manufacturing semiconductor devices using the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus are also disclosed.

The present disclosure relates to a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus and a method for manufacturing a semiconductor device using the apparatus. The semiconductor manufacturing apparatus may include rods.
Recently, in order to manufacture semiconductor devices, various kinds of semiconductor manufacturing apparatuses have been developed and used. Various kinds of processing environments including, for example, a vacuum, a high temperature, and plasma are required to manufacture a semiconductor device. Parts of a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus may deform in the processing environments, and time and cost may be required in maintaining and repairing the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus.

Semiconductor manufacturing apparatus and semiconductor device manufacturing method using the same

Samsung-ro, Yeongtong-gu, Suwon-si, Gyeonggi-do


There is disclosed a storage device for sports card collections and the like. The storage compartment within the device is widened at the top to allow removal of individual cards and, in one embodiment, is partitioned by removable dividers which are firmly held in place by opposing guides formed within the sides of the storage box. The dividers may be arranged in any desired order resulting in various combinations of storage space between such dividers. A lid can be provided to firmly enclose the stored cards and a number of the storage boxes may be interlocked in a side-by-side manner to expand the card storage capacity.

Sports card collections such as baseball cards have become a major investment vehicle. No longer is collecting baseball cards just a hobby for adolescent children idolizing their sports heroes. Card collecting is big business evidenced by the price for a rookie Nolan Ryan card being several thousand dollars. Card collection conventions are held throughout the United States wherein adults as well as children buy, trade and sell their collections of cards for considerable amounts of money. College students have even been known to support themselves through the buying and selling of baseball cards.
It is common knowledge within the card collecting community that the older the card, the more valuable it is. Some of the more valuable cards are of the baseball superstars of the 1940s and 1950s, such as Ted Williams and Joe DiMaggio. The storage and protection of these valuable commodities is of great interest to card collectors. A card which has been water damaged, bent, torn, faded, or has had the edges rolled or frayed, is greatly depreciated in value. The card collecting hobby even has its own array of magazines which often include articles on the safe storage of card collections. Much opinion has even been given to the utilization of PVC or polyvinylchloride sheets for storing such cards since there is some evidence that over time the PVC sheets undergo a chemical reaction releasing hydrochloric acid which deteriorates the cards.
Previously, card collectors have stored their collections in shoeboxes, photo albums and any other unused container available around the house. The problem associated with photo albums has been previously mentioned in relation to the utilization of clear PVC sheets within the photo albums. Shoeboxes and the like do not provide a good, safe environment for the protection of cards since moisture can enter the boxes, the jumble of cards rub against each other damaging their finish and cards become bent under their own weight when stacked upon each other. Even the utilization of file boxes used for index cards or recipes does not provide the proper safety needed to protect the cards since a user then must thumb across the top of the cards looking for the one he or she desires. This tends to bend the top edges of the cards. The dividers within such storage devices are not rigidly held within the inside, thus the cards are still susceptible to bending and having their finish damaged since the cards remain stacked against each other resulting in friction contact between them.
Therefore, what is needed in the art is a storage device for card collections which allows the collector to file his or her cards in any order desired, but also provides an environment for the collection that protects the cards against damage from either rubbing against each other or being stacked against each other resulting in the bending of the cards and the fraying of their edges.
A further need exists in the art for a storage device for card collections which allows the user to transport the storage device to and from card collection conventions without the risk of the cards becoming damaged in transit.
A further need exists in the art for a card collection storage system which allows the cards to be maintained upright without undue friction between them and which allows the cards to be removed, or inserted, without damage.

Storage device and system for card collections