The invention relates to a brake device for braking a movement of an object by mechanical friction, such as the movement of rails relative to a train, or the rotation of a brake disc or a cycle wheel. The brake device has a basic part with an engagement point for engagement of a braking force which can be exerted via an operator; a brake block arranged on the basic part for braking the movement of the object by friction, wherein the basic part is movable such that the brake block is movable with at least a substantial transverse component relative to the movement of the object; resetting spring means for urging the brake block away from the object to a free rest position such that in the case of a braking force smaller than the spring force a space results between the object and the brake block; a first and a second stop, which stops are arranged at a fixed mutual distance, which first stop determines the maximum distance between the object and the brake block, and which second stop adjusts itself to the contact position, i.e. the position wherein brake block and object make mutual contact, when a braking force is exerted which exceeds the spring force.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a brake device for braking a movement of an object by mechanical friction, such as the movement of rails relative to a train, or the rotation of a brake disc or a cycle wheel, which brake device comprises:
a basic part with an engagement point for engagement of a braking force which can be exerted via operating means;
a brake block arranged on the basic part for braking the movement of the object by friction, wherein the basic part is movable such that the brake block is movable with at least a substantial transverse component relative to the movement of the object;
resetting spring means for urging the brake block away from the object to a free rest position such that in the case of a braking force smaller than the spring force a space results between the object and the brake block.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
A drawback of the existing brake devices is that due to fouling of the pivot points of the brake device the distance from the brake block to the object for braking is not constant. The braking action is adversely affected hereby. When the distance from the brake block to the object for braking is not constant, the path of the braking force is therefore not constant. This is noticeable in for instance the brake pedal or the brake handle.
When a stop is provided against which the basic part lies in rest position, there is still the drawback that the distance between brake block an d the object for braking is uncertain. This is the result of wear of the brake block. The further problem can arise that although the distance between brake block and object for braking is certain, there is an uncertain play in for instance the brake cable.
The above stated drawbacks are prevented according to the present invention, which is characterized by:
a first and a second stop, which stops are arranged at a fixed mutual distance, which first stop determines the maximum distance between the object and the brake block, and which second stop adjusts itself to the contact position, i.e. the position wherein brake block and object make mutual contact, when a braking force is exerted which exceeds the spring force.
The clearance between the brake block and object for braking is determined by the first and second stop. When now the brake block wears, the clearance would become greater. This is obviated according to the invention in that the second stop adjusts itself to the contact position, i.e. the position wherein brake block and object make mutual contact, when a braking force is exerted which exceeds the spring force. The first stop is herein also adjusted in that the stops have been arranged at a fixed mutual distance. Adjusting means can preferably be provided for adjusting the fixed distance between the stops.
A preferred embodiment of the invention comprises:
a first friction part arranged slidably on the basic part;
a second friction part which is pressed under spring load against the first friction part;
wherein both stops are connected to the second friction part.
The adjustment of the two stops is effected in simple manner by the two friction parts. An efficient adjustment can be obtained by setting the spring load.
The friction parts are preferably disc-shaped.
In yet another embodiment according to the invention both stops are formed as the end surfaces of a slot arranged in the second friction part or the basic part and a pin which extends in the slot, is arranged on the basic part respectively on the second friction part and co-acts with these respective end surfaces.
The advantage hereof is that a compact, simple and effective embodiment is obtained.
The invention further relates to a cycle brake for braking a wheel arranged rotatably in a fork, which cycle brake comprises two brake devices, each arranged on an arm of the fork on either side of the wheel, wherein the first friction parts are arranged fixedly on the fork, wherein the brake locks engage on the cycle wheel and wherein the resetting spring means are arranged between the basic parts.
The advantage of the above stated cycle brake is that the brake blocks are always arranged with a fixed clearance relative to the wheel rim. A reliable and predictable braking action is hereby obtained. Furthermore, the braking force is evenly distributed over both sides of the rim, whereby a uniform wear of the brake block is obtained. This enhances safety, since the braking action is always reliable.
Another advantage of the cycle brake according to the invention is that, particularly in the case of cycle races, a wheel can be replaced quickly without the brake having to be readjusted.
In yet another preferred embodiment of the invention the engagement point for engaging a braking force comprises a device for eliminating play between a bowden cable and the basic part, which device comprises:
a first cylindrical bush,
a second cylindrical bush placed slidably in the first cylindrical bush, to which second bush the outer casing of the bowden cable is coupled so as to be resistant to compression and tensile strain and through which the inner cable runs, wherein the second bush comprises on the outside a recess which together with the outer bush bounds a wedge-shaped space;
at least one ball placed in the groove for blocking by wedging action the sliding movement of the second bush relative to the first bush in an axial direction.
When a brake is sought wherein the clearance between brake block and the object for braking is always constant, it is likewise important to preclude play in other parts of the brake system. Wear does for instance occur in the case of a bowden cable whereby play will occur in the cable. Such a cable will moreover have to be readjusted when the brake block becomes worn. The invention therefore provides the above stated adjusting device.
In yet another embodiment according to the invention the device for eliminating play comprises a third cylindrical bush placed slidably between the first and the second bush for engagement on the at least one ball, in order to discontinue the blocking action as desired.
The inner cable can hereby be displaced in simple manner in both directions relative to the outer cable of the bowden cable, whereby the distance between brake block and the object for braking can be increased, which may be desired when the brake blocks are replaced or when the object for braking is replaced. As soon as the brake device is operated again, the fixed clearance between brake block and object for braking is set once again.


A robe-like garment for use in changing clothes is large and loose-fitting on the wearer, with a hood, a large neck opening and a pair of short enlarged-diameter sleeves. In the front of the changing robe is a large central pocket which is accessible by zipper from the outside front of the garment and is also accessible from the inside of the garment. The changing robe is sufficiently roomy to permit the user to disrobe and change clothes inside the robe, retrieving clothing to be worn from the interior access of the large pocket, and placing the changed clothing in the same pocket. The sleeves of the robe are short enough and have large enough openings to permit convenient withdrawal of the user's arms to the interior of the robe. In a preferred embodiment the garment is formed of a liquid-absorbent terry cloth. The changing robe is useful in situations such a public beaches, for changing into and out of swimming gear. A slightly modified form is provided for wheelchair-bound persons, enabling the robe to be slipped down over the head and torso without leaving the sitting position.

This invention relates to garments, and in particular the invention is concerned with a robe which can be worn in public to facilitate the changing of clothing underneath the robe.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,079,611 shows a type of garment made from two opposing terry cloth towels which are releasably secured together, with a pocket formed on the inside of one of the towels. The device is disclosed as useful in permitting changing into and out of beach attire.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,034,999 and 5,259,068 disclose garments for use by nursing mothers, for covering the baby and the breasts during nursing, while also enabling the mother to view the baby through pockets or openings.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,569,960 discloses a disposable paper raincoat for fitting loosely over a user, with an opening for the head and neck.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,864,657, 5,005,217, 5,042,090, 5,101,513 and 5,208,918 show additional garments, sometimes in the forms of robes or privacy devices.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a changing robe capable of convenient use in affording privacy to the wearer while facilitating the changing of clothing, such as into and out of swimming gear or beach attire, with provision for efficient storage and retrieval of clothing to be changed. The changing robe is used to advantage by scuba divers, surfers, boaters, campers, swimmers and those engaged in other water sports, as well as in gyms, on cruise ships, in salons and spas and in physical therapy. In addition, the robe is useful to truck drivers, new mothers who are breast-feeding, transsexuals who are excluded from normal changing areas, expectant mothers and wheelchair-bound persons, and can be made in any size from child sizes to the largest adult size.


The invention relates to emergency-deceleration condition transducers, including an insulation house made by insulation material, which defines a closed arc hollow groove. Said arc hollow groove is filled with some mercury. Said mercury in the arc groove will be moved for front and behind along the arc surface when the traveling speed is changed during the motor vehicle travailing, so that the electrodes spaced will be turned on/turned off to produce corresponding condition signal. The invention relates still to emergency brake lamps using the emergency-deceleration condition transducers, the turning on/off of the lamps will be carried out automatically without effects by driver mistaking operating, so the accident of vehicle striking from behind can be effectively avoided.

The invention relates to a vehicle safe traveling alarm device, and particularly, to a transducer and a signal control circuit for an emergency-deceleration condition, and an emergency brake lamp using said transducer and signal control circuit.
At present, deceleration alarm signals of all automobiles in the world are produced artificially by the driver""s brake action. Since it is impossible to identify whether normal deceleration or emergency brake signals are indicated by the tail lamps, an accident of vehicle striking from behind is extremely liable to occur, or even a chain of vehicle striking accidents are caused.
In general cases, drivers do not activate emergency brakes purposelessly unless they are at a critical moment or in a last resort. However, unexpected events, particularly mechanical troubles, such as tire sudden explosion, engine rotating section damage and blocking etc., involuntarily occur to drivers. Since such events are not caused artificially, emergency breaking down occurs without starting the brake tail lamps, and likely causes accidents of vehicle striking from behind. Particularly for expressways, once accidents of vehicle striking from behind occur due to unexpected events, the drivers must be injured, suffer shock, or even be killed without issuing accident signals. At this time, if the other drivers following do not attentively focus on driving or there is a poor visibility, further striking accidents would be resulted, or even similar accidents cyclically occur like chain actions.
On Nov. 29, 1991, a chain of serious vehicle striking accidents occurred in California, US, 17 people were killed and 157 injured. On Nov. 6, 1990, many vehicles collided in Holland, 10 people were killed and dozens injured. On Feb. 27, 1991, more than 100 vehicles collided in France, 4 people were killed, and 20 injured and 12 seriously injured. And also in France, above 140 vehicles had collided before, and heavy casualties suffered. On Nov. 31, 1991, about 80 vehicles collided in California, US, 12 people were killed and many injured. And also in California, US, three accidents occurred on Jan. 15, 1994, in which above 60 vehicles collided, 2 people were killed, and above 50 injured. On Feb. 27, 1991, above 100 vehicles collided in Belgium, 23 people were injured and 2 killed. On Feb. 26, 1998, above 140 vehicles collided on Beinjing-Tianxin-Tangshan expressway in China, and traffic was interrupted seriously. On Mar. 10, 1998, 98 vehicles collided on expressway No. 31 in the North of France, 53 people were injured, and 8 seriously injured. In addition, serious vehicle accidents have occurred also in following countries: Italy, Britain, former Soviet Union, Japan, Germany, and nearly all developed or developing countries. Among them, Italy""s most serious accident occurred on Feb. 10, 1993, in which several hundreds vehicles collided, 8 people were killed, the injured and seriously injured were up to 107, serious economic losses were caused, and traffic was blocked for a long time. On the day before, also in Italy, a similar serious event occurred, in which 5 people were killed, and above 100 injured. In China, only in Henan Province, 13317 road traffic accidents occurred in 1997, and 3513 people were killed, which means that every day 37 accidents would occur, 10 people were killed, and 28 injured, among them the accidents of vehicle striking from behind occupying a considerable proportion, published by xe2x80x9cDa He (great river) Dailyxe2x80x9d, on Mar. 13, 1998.
It is illustrated from above instances and references that whether expressways or roads, heavy or light accidents of vehicle striking from behind occur sometimes, less as two or three vehicles, more as several hundreds vehicles.
Such serious results are caused by following reasons, the first reason is: the following drivers are warned only by artificially manipulating the brake tail lamps, which can not satisfy the need of modern vehicle traveling, but the actual effects of such brake tail lamps are over-believed.
Second, such brake tail lamps can not tell normal deceleration from emergency brake, and the following drivers would realize the risks too late.
Third, the warning effects of such brake tail lamps are not ideal, particularly when there is a poor visibility or the driver do not attentively focus on driving; and measures can not taken in time even finding the risk quickly.
Therefore, governments have stipulated that for any breaking down vehicles on the way, a warning or sign board must be set about one hundred meter away from their parking site so as to prevent a serious accident from occurring. However, such action needs a long preparing and carrying out process. It is obvious that there is no time to respond the accident on a heavy traffic expressway, and in this case, following collision would occur in several seconds or dozens of seconds.
Therefore, in Japan, a safe airbag is designed for and added to the steering wheel in cooperation with a safe belt in order to reduce the effects of the vehicle collision on the personnel. But the fact is that only the drivers are protected in a certain degree and that for passenger, particularly for vehicles themselves, there is little significance. Particularly for the earlier collided vehicle and the passenger in it, any effective result and protection are not obtained, and the earlier collided vehicle in turns become another collision target. Thus, it is obvious that such airbag is not the best means to solve the collision problem, and the active method to remedy and control the situation.
In order to solve the vehicle collision problem, scientists in various countries have made attempts to prevent collision by a method in which an active brake is performed with a distance-measuring radar using ultrasonic wave, infrared ray, electromagnetic wave, laser etc. But that method needs expensive instruments mounted (proportional to performance). Furthermore, that method requires to improve and add complex electronic brake devices, and its fatal disadvantage is that traffic accidents are more liable to be caused (a near-distance dodging of flying birds, insects, bats, tree leaves, and falling paper sheets can result in strange emergency braking), and that groundless troubles are brought, or even a chain collisions are caused. Therefore, such envisage and scheme has remained in test stage and no substantial progress is made since the appearance of expressway.
An object of the invention is to provide an emergency-deceleration condition transducer, which can detect vehicle traveling conditions, such as normal traveling, emergency-deceleration, vehicle collision, or even an overturn accident.
Another object of the invention is to provide a signal control circuit which is used cooperatively with the emergency-deceleration transducer.
A further object of the invention is to provide an emergency brake lamp which can automatically detect vehicle traveling conditions and issues effectively a corresponding warning signal when vehicle emergency-deceleration or vehicle collision or even overturn accidents occurs.
In order to achieve the objects described above, the invention provides a emergency-deceleration condition transducer including an insulate house made of an insulate material, in which a close hollow arc groove is formed, said arc groove having an arc surface; some mercury is injected into said arc groove and changing with the vehicle traveling speed, said mercury in the arc groove would freely move backwards and forwards along the arc surface; a plurality of metal contacts are provided on the said arc surface and led outside of said housing as leading out electrodes, the adjacent metal contacts are turned on and off successively when the mercury moves from one end contact to the other.
The length of the arc groove of the emergency-deceleration condition transducer described above is about 8-35 times of the length of the mercury along the longitudinal direction of the arc groove, and preferably 13 times.
The metal contacts in the emergency-deceleration condition transducer described above are preferably arranged successively along the extension direction of the arc groove, in a single column, in double columns, or alternatively in single column and in double columns, and more preferably in a single column.
The metal contacts in the emergency-deceleration condition transducer described above may be also arranged successively in multi-columns along the extension direction of the arc groove.
The number of the metal contacts in the emergency-deceleration condition transducer described above, when arranged successively in single column, is selected as 4-36, and preferably as 17.
The arc surface of the arc groove in the emergency-deceleration condition transducer described above should be set higher in front and lower in rear to the vehicle traveling direction, and a connection line between the highest metal contact and the lowest contact on the arc surface has a incline angle of 15-60 degree to the vehicle traveling direction, and preferably 40 degree.
Said a plurality of metal contacts, according to their different positions on the arc surface of the arc groove , are divided into a normal traveling detection section, whose corresponding contacts send a on-off signal when the vehicle is normally traveling; an emergency braking detection section, whose corresponding contacts are turned on momentarily when emergency braking is applied; and a collision detection section, whose corresponding contacts are turned on momentarily when a vehicle collision accident occurs, and are continuously kept on turning on state when an overturn accident occurs.
The collision detection section in the emergency-deceleration condition transducer described above includes at least two contacts, which are continuously kept in a turning on state by the mercury when an overturn accident occurs.
The invention further provides an emergency-deceleration condition signal control circuit including an emergency-deceleration condition transducer provided with: an insulate house made of an insulate material, in which a close hollow arc groove is formed, said arc groove having an arc surface; some mercury is injected into said arc groove and changing with the vehicle traveling speed, said mercury in the arc groove can freely move along the arc surface; a plurality of metal contacts are provided on the said arc surface and led outside of said housing as leading out electrodes, the adjacent metal contacts being turned on and off successively when the mercury moves from one end contact to the other. A plurality of said metal contacts, according to their different positions on the arc surface in the arc groove, are divided into a normal traveling detection section, whose corresponding contacts send a on-off signal when the vehicle is normally traveling; an emergency braking detection section, whose corresponding contacts are turned on momentarily when emergency braking is applied; and a collision detection section, whose corresponding contacts are turned on momentarily when a vehicle collision accident occurs, and are continuously kept in a turning on state when an overturn accident occurs. The emergency-deceleration condition signal control circuit also includes: a first flip-flop circuit for receiving a pulse output signal from the emergency braking detection section of said transducer, and for being flipped to output the emergency braking condition information when the pulse signal is detected; a second flip-flop circuit for receiving a output signal from the collision detection section of said transducer, and for being flipped to output the collision or overturn information when a collision or overturn signal is detected; a time delay circuit for locking, after the first or second flip-flop circuit is flipped, the state for a predetermined time; and a pulse generating circuit for receiving a output signal from the normal traveling detection section, and for using a pulse signal generated in vehicle traveling to reset the first or second flip-flop circuit delayed.
The invention further provides an emergency-brake lamp including an emergency-deceleration condition transducer provided with: an insulate house made of an insulate material, in which a close hollow arc groove is formed, said arc groove having an arc surface; some mercury is injected into said arc groove and changing with the vehicle traveling speed, said mercury in the arc groove can freely move along the arc surface; a plurality of metal contacts is provided on the said arc surface and led outside of said housing as leading out electrodes, the adjacent metal contacts being turned on and off successively when the mercury moves from one end contact to the other. A plurality of said metal contacts, according to their different positions on the arc surface in the arc groove, are divided into a normal traveling detection section, whose corresponding contacts send a on-off signal when the vehicle is normally traveling; an emergency braking detection section, whose corresponding contacts are turned on momentarily when emergency braking is applied; and a collision detection section, whose corresponding contacts are turned on momentarily when a vehicle collision accident occurs, and are continuously kept in a turning on state when an overturn accident occurs. The emergency-brake lamp also includes: a first flip-flop circuit for receiving a pulse output signal from the emergency braking detection section of said transducer, and for being flipped to output the emergency braking condition information when the pulse signal is detected; a second flip-flop circuit for receiving a output signal from the collision detection section of said transducer, and for being flipped to output the collision or overturn information when a collision or overturn signal is detected; a time delay circuit for locking, after the first or second flip-flop circuits is flipped, the state for a predetermined time; a pulse generating circuit for receiving a output signal from the normal traveling detection section, and for using a pulse signal generated in vehicle traveling to reset the first or second flip-flop circuit delayed; and a light source for emitting light to indicate the vehicle being in emergency braking condition or other emergency conditions by taggling said first flip-flop circuit to be flipped when the vehicle is in emergency braking condition or a collision or overturn accident occurs.
Said light source in the emergency brake lamp is preferably a high voltage xenon arc lamp, and includes a low frequency oscillating circuit and an oscillating boost rectifier circuit.
Said emergency brake lamp is preferably includes a radio transmitter-receiver.
Said emergency brake lamp can be mounted on the existing modern vehicles, and can indicate unambiguously the difference between the emergency braking, trouble emergency stopping and collision signals and normal deceleration signal in any environments and conditions, so as to make things convenient for others, protect oneself, and increase the view attraction of the warning signal and effective distance in bad environments. In addition, its starting and turning off are not restricted by the driver""s faults and casualties, and all automatized, so as to effectively prevent the accident of vehicle striking from behind as well as serious collision events from occurring.

Emergency-deceleration condition transducer, controlling circuit for emergency-deceleration condition signal, and emergency brake lamp


An agricultural working machine has a one control/regulating unit designed to adjust and monitor working parameters, quality parameters or both of the agricultural working machine that influence a harvesting process. The adjusting and monitoring are carried out in an automatable manner by the control/regulating unit using stored families of characteristics. The agricultural working machine also has at least one display device for depicting setpoint values and actual values of the working parameters, quality parameters or both. The control/regulating unit actuates defined measurement points in the stored families of characteristics and the specifically actuated measurement points are located in the boundary regions of the family of characteristics or outside the active working region of the particular family of characteristics.

The invention relates to an agricultural working machine comprising at least one control/regulating unit designed to adjust and monitor working parameters or quality parameters or both of the harvesting machine, which influence a harvesting process, in an automatable manner using stored families of characteristics and at least one display device for depicting setpoint values and actual values of the working parameters, quality parameters or both.
Monitoring and optimizing working and quality parameters of an agricultural working machine using a control/regulating unit is known. Document DE 10 2006 044 628, for example, presents a method for doing so in which a certain number of parameters is constantly optimized in relation to one another. This point-by-point regulation of machine parameters is developed, inter alia, in DE 10 2009 009 767, such that adjustable machine parameters are optimized depending on events. The operator of the agricultural working machine is thereby kept informed at all times about the on-going optimization processes by a display unit.
Such known optimization methods have the disadvantage that the quality of the characteristic curves stored in the control/regulating units are dependent on the currently occupied operating points. If the machine and crop parameters change abruptly here, the control/regulating unit must operate in another region of the stored families of characteristics, whereby it may become necessary for these families of characteristics to first adapt to the new basic conditions, such as crop properties. As a result, when conditions change abruptly, such regulating systems require a certain settling time before optimal operation thereof is restored.

Agricultural working machine having at least one control unit

CLAAS Selbstfahrende Erntemaschinen GmbH


Provided is an aluminum alloy clad material including an aluminum alloy core material, an intermediate layer material that is clad on one surface of the core material, and a first brazing filler metal that is clad on a surface of the intermediate layer material, the surface not being on the core material side, wherein the core material, the intermediate layer material, and the first brazing filler metal each include an aluminum alloy having a predetermined composition, the existence density of Al—Mn based intermetallic compounds having a circle-equivalent diameter between 0.1 and 1.0 μm inclusive in the intermediate layer material before brazing heating is at least 1.0×105 pieces/mm2, and the existence density of Al—Mn based intermetallic compounds having a circle-equivalent diameter between 0.1 and 1.0 μm inclusive in the intermediate layer material after brazing heating is at least 1.0×104 pieces/mm2. Further provided is a method for producing the aluminum alloy clad material.

An aluminum alloy is lightweight and has high thermal conductivity, and also achieves high corrosion resistance when properly treated. Thus, aluminum alloys are used for heat exchangers for automotive and other applications, such as radiators, condensers, evaporators, heaters, intercoolers, and oil coolers. Conventional tube materials for automotive heat exchangers include, for example, a two-layer clad material and a three-layer clad material, where the two-layer clad material has a core material made of an Al—Mn based alloy, such as 3003 alloy, and a brazing filler metal made of an Al—Si based alloy or a sacrificial anode material made of an Al—Zn based alloy that is clad on one surface of the core material, while the three-layer clad material additionally has a brazing filler metal made of an Al—Si alloy that is clad on the other surface of the core material. For a heat exchanger, in general, such clad material and a corrugated fin material are combined and brazed at a temperature as high as about 600° C. to be joined together.
Oil coolers, for example, usually employ a water cooling system in which heat is exchanged between engine oil and cooling water to cool the engine oil. Nowadays some intercoolers also employ such water cooling system. As the cooling water, an LLC containing an anti-corrosive agent as an additive should be used, but tap water or well water may sometimes be used in developing countries, for example. The tap water or well water can contain chloride ions, and thus may destroy a film of aluminum oxide to cause pitting corrosion, resulting in corrosion perforation in the passage for cooling water.
A typical countermeasure against this problem is cladding a sacrificial anode material made of an Al—Zn based alloy to give the sacrificial protection feature, so as to prevent the corrosion perforation caused by pitting corrosion. One method for forming a passage for cooling water in a heat exchanger includes stacking plates 1, which are made by forming a clad material into a passage for cooling water, via corrugated fins 2 as illustrated in FIG. 1. This method is advantageous because a heat exchanger can be changed in size merely by changing the number of stacks, thus providing higher design flexibility. However, to join plates together, the plate material itself is needed to supply a brazing filler metal during brazing. In addition, when Zn is used to give the aforementioned sacrificial protection feature, Zn becomes concentrated in the brazing filler metal that has gathered on a joint portion. This results in the problem that the pitting potential in the joint portion becomes significantly less noble to cause preferential corrosion in the joint portion.
In light of the foregoing, in order to apply the stacked-plate type to a water-cooling heat exchanger as seen in FIG. 1, it is necessary to clad layers that have a plurality of functions including: supplying a brazing filler metal during brazing to the inner side of the passage made of a material used for the passage forming component; having a sacrificial protection feature against pitting corrosion; and preventing preferential corrosion in the joint portion.
Techniques for supplying a brazing filler metal during brazing and giving a sacrificial protection feature against pitting corrosion are described in Patent Literatures 1 and 2. These patent literatures state that an Al—Zn based intermediate layer having the sacrificial protection feature is disposed between the brazing filler metal and the core material, with the result that both the brazability and the sacrificial protection feature can be accomplished. However, these patent literatures neither recognize the problem of preferential corrosion in a joint portion nor describe any method for preventing such problem.

Aluminum alloy cladding material and manufacturing method therefor


A method for optimizing settle characteristics of a read/write head on a data track on a rotating disk of a hard disk drive following a seek to the data track wherein each data track is assigned to a selected on of a plurality of concentric zones defined on the surface of the disk. Seeks are performed by a servo system in relation to a compensated velocity demand profile that provides velocities the head is to have at selected distances from a destination track and is selected for each zone by adding a velocity increment specific to the zone to a stored velocity demand profile for movement of the head in one direction and subtracted from the stored velocity demand profile for movement in the opposite direction. The velocity increment is selected to cause oppositely directed movements of the head in each zone for a selected demand velocity taken from the stored velocity demand profile to occur at equal speeds when added to the selected demand velocity for movement in one direction and subtracted from the selected demand velocity for movement in the opposite direction. The servo AGC is adjusted for each zone to cause the average of actual velocities of head movement in opposite directions to be equal to the selected demand velocity.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to improvements in servo methods, and, more particularly, but not by way of limitation to improvements in servo methods for effecting seeks between data tracks on disks of hard disk drives.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
A peripheral commonly used with a computer is a hard disk drive in which data generated by the computer is stored on concentric tracks defined in magnetic coatings formed on metallic disks. The rigidity of the disks permits the data tracks to be closely spaced so that the hard disk drive is capable of storing large amounts of information. Because of this capacity, the hard disk drive is becoming increasingly popular with computer users. Data is written to or read from a selected track by read/write heads that are supported by a pivotable actuator adjacent the disk stack so that the heads can be moved across the disks by a passing a current through a coil, immersed in a magnetic field, at the end of the actuator opposite the heads.
In order to carry out the storage of data to a selected track of a disk, it is necessary to move a read/write head that writes the data to the track and, similarly, it is necessary to move the read/write head to a track whereon data has been previously stored to read such data. For these purposes, the hard disk drive is provided with a servo circuit that reads a servo pattern in the data tracks or on a dedicated servo surface and responds, in a seek mode of operation of the servo system, to effect the movement to the track. Often, the response is carried out by using the servo pattern to generate a position error signal, indicative of the location of the head which reads the pattern, referred to as the servo head, with respect to the centers of the tracks, differentiating the position error signals to obtain a signal proportional to the radial velocity of the servo head across the disk, and comparing the actual velocities of the servo head with velocities stored as a velocity demand profile in a look up table in microprocessor. If the actual velocity at a given distance from the destination track is lower than the velocity taken from the velocity demand profile for that distance, a correction signal is generated and transmitted to a power amplifier which passes a current through the actuator coil in a direction that will tend to accelerate the heads across the disks. Conversely, if the actual velocity of the servo head is greater than the demand velocity for a given servo head location, the current passed through the actuator coil will be in a direction to decelerate the servo head. By designing the velocity demand profile to demand large servo head velocities at large distances from a destination track and to demand steadily decreasing velocities as the servo head approaches the destination track, the servo head can be caused to have a large acceleration at the start of a seek and a deceleration near the end of the seek that will ideally cause the head to arrive at the track with a velocity that will cause the head to rapidly settle on the track when the servo circuit undergoes a transition to a track following mode of operation in which the servo head is maintained in alignment with the track by control signals generated in proportion to the position error signal, and the integral thereof, and transmitted to the power amplifier.
In practice, this ideal has not been hitherto achieved. In particular, bias forces are exerted on the heads by air swirling about the disk surfaces and by electrical leads by means of which electrical connections are made to the heads with the result that the acceleration and deceleration of the the heads will not be proportional to the difference in the demand and actual velocities of the heads across the disk. Moreover, electronic offsets similarly affect the relationship between head acceleration and deceleration and the difference in actual and demand velocities. As a result, the heads do not follow the velocity demand profile and, accordingly, can arrive at the destination track with an excessive speed that causes overshoot of the track or with an insufficient speed that can cause the head to stall before reaching the track. In either case, time is consumed in settling of the head on the track sufficiently that reading from or writing to the track can be commenced. The net result is a loss of throughput of the hard disk drive; that is, the average rate at which data can be stored or retrieved by the computer with which the hard disk drive is used.
A second effect that results in the loss of throughput is bit crowding that occurs at inside tracks on the disk surface that is used in servoing. In many cases, it will be desirable to adjust the gain of the servo loop by providing an AGC circuit that responds to dibits of the servo pattern that are geometrically equivalent from one track to another so that, ideally, measurement of signals produced in the servo head by such dibits will provide a constant amplitude signal that can be used to AGC the loop gain. In practice, a geometrical equivalence of dibits of the servo pattern cannot be maintained because of the decreasing circumferences of the tracks from the edge of the disk toward the center thereof. As a result, signals generated in the servo head as dibits of the servo pattern pass thereunder can superimpose to cause the amplitudes of the signals to differ from the amplitudes of signals that would be produced by isolated servo pattern dibits. Moreover, because of the variation of the track circumferences with radius, the degree of superposition will vary from one track to another. The net result is that a loop gain that is appropriate for one track is not appropriate for other tracks. Thus, if an average loop gain is used for effecting seeks, the differentiated position error signals, to which signals corresponding to the demand velocities taken from the velocity demand profile are compared, will not be representative of the actual velocity of the servo head. Again, long settling times for the head on a destination track can result to lower data throughput.

Adaptive settle time minimization for a hard disk drive


A method for transferring a macromolecular complex to muscle cells by exsanguinating a region of the subject's microvasculature and delivering the complex to this region under high hydrostatic pressure. A balloon catheter having a balloon that extends substantially the full length of the cannula that is inserted into the subject is provided for use in the systemic delivery of macromolecular complex.

The invention relates generally to the field of gene therapy. A variety of methods have been described in the literature as being useful for delivering a desired molecule into a target cell. The combined use of 1) complete vascular isolation using tourniquets and proximal arteriovenous cannulation, 2) systemic heparinization to prevent thrombosis, 3) peripheral vasodilation to optimize perfusion of muscle capillaries, and 4) histamine to produce physical gaps between adjacent endothelial cells has achieved widespread, homogeneous, vector-independent gene transfer to muscles of entire extremities. These studies began with marker genes and were then applied to several disease models in larger rodents and dogs. However, the four essential components of the protocol listed above have stymied clinical translation because of the inherent risk of hemorrhage, hypotension, and pulmonary dysfunction.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,177,403 describes a kit for delivering a macromolecular assembly to the extravascular tissue of an animal. This kit involves the use of a vascular permeability-enhancing agent and a vasodilating agent. However, such agents can be associated with undesirable side effects, including short-term toxicity, which minimizes the usefulness of such methods.
Systems for pressure mediated selective delivery of therapeutic substances to specific areas of organs and cannula useful therein have been described. See, e.g., WO 99/59666, Nov. 25, 1999. However, these methods and devices avoid systemic delivery of therapeutic substances.
Further, studies in large animal models have revealed a trade-off between the efficiency of gene transfer using known methods and the inherent safety of the required pharmacological interventions.
What are needed are methods that facilitate delivery of target molecules to the desired host cell while minimizing side effects.

Methods, compositions and apparatus for delivering heterologous molecules to cells

The Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania


A semiconductor device includes a substrate, a power device, a protection circuit, a dielectric layer, a drain pad, a source pad, and a gate pad. The power device and the protection circuit are disposed on the substrate. The power device includes a drain electrode, a source electrode, and a gate electrode. The protection circuit has a first terminal electrically connected with the source pad and a second terminal electrically connected with the gate pad. The dielectric layer is disposed on the power device and the protection circuit. The drain pad, the source pad, and the gate pad are disposed on the dielectric layer and respectively electrically connected with the drain electrode, the source electrode, and the gate electrode. At least part of the protection circuit is disposed under the source pad, the gate pad, or the drain pad.

Field of Invention
The present disclosure relates to a semiconductor device.
Description of Related Art
Rapid improvements in semiconductor processes have produced smaller and smaller transistors and other integrated devices. However, the miniaturization of these devices also increases their risk of damage by static electricity. Electrostatic discharge (ESD) arises when electrostatic charge accumulated on one object (for example a human body or a piece of equipment) is conducted onto a second object (for example a power device). This conduction of charge often results in damages to devices, whether through electrical over-voltage stress or through thermal stress caused by large currents. Thus, there is a need for an ESD protection circuit which may provide adequate ESD protection in the devices.

Power semiconductor device integrated with ESD protection circuit under source pad, drain pad, and/or gate pad


During the manufacture of a semiconductor integrated circuit, contact holes or passages are formed through a non-planar insulating layer resulting from the deposition of dielectric over electrical contacts having differing profile heights from the surface of an internal layer, such as a substrate, to expose these contacts and/or provide electrical connections thereto. The passages are formed with a combination of sloped and vertical sidewall portions in which varying depth sloped portions are used to effectively planarize the dielectric layer and permit the vertical sidewall portions to have substantially identical vertical dimensions. This technique simultaneously exposes contacts with varying profile heights which thereby reduces contact damage. In addition, this technique effectively planarizes the dielectric layer, reducing the need for an additional planarization step.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to the formation of openings through a dielectric layer during the fabrication of an integrated circuit, and more particularly to a technique of etching passages with sloped sidewalls through the dielectric layer to expose contacts in an internal layer below the dielectric layer, particularly during the formation of conductive contact holes.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The fabrication of integrated circuits often requires the creation of interconnections between layers, conventionally accomplished by creating electrically conducting passageways or connections through contact holes or vias. Contact holes are conventionally fabricated by placing contacts on an internal layer, including the silicon substrate, covering such internal layer and contacts with an insulating or dielectric layer, etching passages through the dielectric layer to expose the contacts and metalizing the passages to provide electrically conducting paths to the contacts.
Several problems exist with the conventional techniques used for forming such inter layer interconnections, and in particular, with the techniques used for etching the required passages, or passageways. A simplified description of the conventional approach for forming contact holes through a dielectric layer for interconnection to contacts on the surface of a substrate will be described next.
In the formation of such conventional contact holes, the deposition of the dielectric layer normally forms a layer of equal thickness over the surface of the substrate and the contacts. Those contacts having profiles raised above the surface of the substrate create high spots in the top surface of dielectric layer as shown, for example, by high spots 11, 13, and 15 in FIG. 1.
Before the appropriate passages are etched, it is often necessary to planarize the dielectric layer, i.e., to remove elevated areas such as high spots 11, 13, and 15. One common approach to planarizing the dielectric layer is to spin a planar coat of photoresist over the surface of the layer. The photoresist and the high spots of the dielectric layer are then removed together during a reactive ion etch.
The photoresist material utilized is selected to be etchable at the same rate as the dielectric. This permits the planar surface of the photoresist layer to be maintained as the etch removes the high spots of the dielectric. The etch is stopped after all the photoresist has been eroded away and the surface of the dielectric is planar.
Thereafter, to form the passages, another layer of photosensitive, patternable photoresist is applied over the planarized dielectric layer. The photoresist is exposed with a mask related to the contacts, developed and either the exposed, or the unexposed, photoresist is removed. The resulting photoresist pattern exposes the dielectric above the contacts.
An etching process is then used to form passages through the dielectric layer exposing the contacts. Metal is then deposited in the passages in electrical contact with the contacts on the substrate to form the desired electrical connections.
The etching of the patterned photoresist and the dielectric layer is controlled to form the passages with a predetermined sidewall configuration in the same general manner as shown, for example, by sloped sidewall portion 29 and vertical sidewall portion 27 in FIG. 5. This combination of sloped and vertical sidewalls has been found to be beneficial during the subsequent metal deposition step.
There are several problems associated with such conventional techniques. In general, the planarization required to compensate for contacts having differing raised profiles makes it difficult to consistently etch the passages with properly configured sidewalls and without harmfully affecting the contacts by over-etching.
In particular, after conventional planarization, the dielectric layer will be of differing thicknesses over contacts of differing profile heights above the substrate. The higher profile contacts will be closer to the surface of the dielectric. During etching, contacts closest to the surface are exposed first. As the etching process is continued to expose the remaining contacts, the first exposed contacts may become over-etched, resulting in high contact resistance.
Another problem with the current techniques is the over-etching of passage sidewalls. The over-etching of sidewalls may cause the loss of desired sidewall configuration. The conventionally desired sidewall configuration includes a vertical sidewall near the contact and a sloped sidewall outward therefrom to the dielectric surface, in the general shape of an inverted funnel or frustum, as discussed above with reference to FIG. 5. Overetching can cause the loss of the vertical portion of the sidewall.
With contacts of varying profile heights, the use of the conventional techniques are limited because it is difficult to control over-etching of the shallower contacts, and/or verticality of the sidewalls near these contacts. These restrictions mandate very narrow manufacturing process margins. As a result, the conventional techniques are relatively expensive and have limited application.
What is needed is a technique which reliably and inexpensively forms contact holes on planarized dielectric with properly configured passageways through the dielectric layer to contacts of varying profile heights on the substrate or other internal layer.

Simultaneous dielectric planarization and contact hole etching


A press has a press ram actuated by a drive apparatus and a dosing system to be actuated by the drive apparatus for lubricating at least the drive apparatus.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device having a part actuated via a drive apparatus, preferably a handling device having an actuated positioning part or a press having a press ram actuated by the drive apparatus.
2. Related Prior Art
Devices of this kind are commonly known from the prior art; they serve as presses, for example on the one hand for shaping objects and on the other hand for fitting together workpieces that must be assembled under pressure. The handling devices used in particular in the press sector are used, for example, to position under the press the workpieces that are to be fitted together.
On the one hand fluid-actuated piston-cylinder units, and on the other hand spindle drives that are actuated via an electric motor, are known as the drive apparatus for devices of this kind.
Especially in the case of presses that must perform a very high number of press strokes during their service life, it is inherently necessary to lubricate the moving parts. In the case of spindle drives, for example, it is known that if they are not continuously lubricated during operation, they fail due to insufficient lubrication after approximately 500,000 strokes.
In spindle drives of this kind which have either a driven, axially nondisplaceable threaded spindle or a driven, axially nondisplaceable spindle nut, lubrication of the threads between the threaded spindle and spindle nut is, however, of very complex configuration, especially in presses, since this region in the interior of the press is poorly accessible. For this reason, it is impossible to use such spindle drives in so-called electric presses if such electric presses are to be operated in continuous service.


An electrostatic dissipative coating composition comprises a phenoxy-epoxy resin system comprising from 40-80 parts by weight to 5-20 parts by weight of an epoxy resin. Carbon nanotubes are dispersed in the phenoxy-epoxy resin system. The coating composition includes at least one isocyanate crosslinking agent and at least one metal catalyst. In a further aspect, a label construction comprising the electrostatic dissipative coating composition is provided.

Adhesive labels comprising a layer of facestock material backed by a layer of adhesive which, in turn, is covered by a release liner to protect the adhesive during storage, transport, handling, and application are generally known in the art. Antistatic labels having a facestock material comprising a polyimide film with an antistatic base coat are also known. However, such prior art label constructions have low durability and poor temperature resistance.
It is desirable to provide an antistatic surface coating composition and label facestock materials and label constructions employing same that provide excellent electrostatic dissipative properties with high durability. It is also desirable that the label facestock material and label constructions employing the antistatic surface coating composition be resistant to deterioration when used for high temperatures applications. It is also desirable that such label facestock materials and label constructions be printable with a variety of inks and using a variety of printing systems.

Electrostatic dissipative surface coating and high temperature label employing same


A medical device of metallic or non-metallic material coated with a combination of antiseptics and a method for coating such an implant with a combination of antiseptics is provided. Different combinations of antiseptics can be used for different types of medical devices depending on the spectrum of organisms that cause the infections related to each device. The combination of different antiseptics has a synergistic effect against certain bacteria and fungi. The combination of antiseptic can be applied to the surface of a metallic device by dissolving the combination of antiseptics and a polymeric sticking agent in an acid solution to form an antiseptic solution, and applying the antiseptic solution, in an effective concentration to inhibit the growth of bacterial and fungal organisms, to at least a portion of the surfaces of the medical device. The antiseptic combination can be applied to the surface of and impregnate the material of a non-metallic implant by forming an antiseptic composition by dissolving the combination of antiseptics in an organic solvent and adding a penetrating agent to the composition, and applying the antiseptic composition to at least a portion of the medical implant under conditions where the antiseptic composition permeates the material of the medical implant.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the use of a combination of antiseptics for coating or impregnating indwelling or implanted medical devices, to inhibit the growth of bacterial and fungal organisms. The invention also relates to a method of coating or impregnating the indwelling or implanted medical device with a combination of antiseptics.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Indwelling vascular catheters are becoming essential in the management of hospitalized patients. Implanted orthopedic devices are also becoming more prevalent, partly to meet the needs of a growing elderly population. The benefit derived from these catheters and orthopedic devices, as well as other types of medical implants is often offset by infectious complications. The most common organisms causing infectious complications of vascular catheters and orthopedic devices are Staphylococcus epidermidis and Staphylococcus aureus. In the case of vascular catheters, these two organisms account for almost 70-80% of all infectious organisms, with Staphylococcus epidermidis being the most common organism. Gram-negative bacilli cause about 15-20% of infected cases, and Candida species, a fungal agent, accounts for about 10-15% of vascular catheter infections. Staphylococcus epidermidis and Staphylococcus aureus also are responsible for about two-thirds of the cases of infection in orthopedic implants. Other gram-negative bacteria and fungal organisms (Candida) account for the remaining one-third of cases.
Another common hospital-acquired infection is urinary tract infection (UTI). The majority of cases of UTI are associated with the use of urinary catheters, including transurethral foley, suprapubic and nephrostomy catheters. These urinary catheters are inserted in a variety of populations, including the elderly, stroke victims, spinal cord-injured patients, post-operative patients and those with obstructive uropathy. Despite adherence to sterile guidelines for the insertion and maintenance of urinary catheters, catheter-associated UTI continues to pose a major problem. In the U.S. alone, about 1 million cases of hospital-acquired cases of UTI occur annually. For instance, it is estimated that almost one-quarter of hospitalized spinal cord-injured patients develop symptomatic UTI during their hospital course. Gram-negative bacilli account for almost 60-70%, enterococci for about 25% and Candida species for about 10% of cases of UTI.
Colonization of bacteria on the surfaces of the implant or other parts of the device can produce serious patient problems, including the need to remove and/or replace the implanted device and to vigorously treat secondary infective conditions. A considerable amount of attention and study has been directed toward preventing such colonization by the use of antimicrobial agents, such as antibiotics, bound to the surface of the materials employed in such devices. In such attempts the objective has been to produce a sufficient bacteriostatic or bactericidal action to prevent colonization.
Various methods have previously been employed to prevent infection of medical devices. One of the simplest methods would be to flush the surfaces of the device with an antibiotic solution. Generally, the flushing technique would require convenient access to the implantable device. For example, catheters are generally amenable to flushing with a solution of rifampin and minocycline or rifampin and novobiocin. For use in flushing solutions, the effective concentration of the antibiotic would range from about 1 to 10 mg/ml for minocycline, preferably about 2 mg/ml; 1 to 10 mg/ml for rifampin, preferably about 2 mg/ml; and 1 to 10 mg/ml for novobiocin, preferably about 2 mg/ml. The flushing solution would normally be composed of sterile water or sterile normal saline solutions.
A method of coating the devices would be to first apply or absorb to the surface of the medical device a layer of surfactant, such as tridodecylmethyl ammonium chloride (TDMAC) surfactant followed by an antibiotic coating layer. For example, a medical device having a polymeric surface, such as polyethylene, silastic elastomers, polytetrafluoroethylene or Dacron, can be soaked in a 5% by weight solution of TDMAC for 30 minutes at room temperature, air dried, and rinsed in water to remove excess TDMAC. Alternatively, TDMAC pre-coated central vascular catheters are commercially available. The device carrying the absorbed TDMAC surfactant coating can then be incubated in an antibiotic solution for up to one hour or so, allowed to dry, then washed in sterile water to remove unbound antibiotic and stored in a sterile package until ready for implantation. In general, the antibiotic solution is composed of a concentration of 0.01 mg/ml to 60 mg/ml of each antibiotic in an aqueous pH 7.4-7.6 buffered solution, sterile water, or methanol. According to one method, an antibiotic solution of 60 mg of minocycline and 30 mg of rifampin per ml of solution is applied to the TDMAC coated catheter.
A further method known to coat the surface of medical devices with antibiotics involves first coating the selected surfaces with benzalkonium chloride followed by ionic bonding of the antibiotic composition. See, e.g., Solomon, D. D. and Sherertz, R. J., J. Controlled Release, 6:343-352 (1987) and U.S. Pat. No. 4,442,133.
Other methods of coating surfaces of medical devices with antibiotics are taught in U.S. Pat. No. 4,895,566 (a medical device substrate carrying a negatively charged group having a pK of less than 6 and a cationic antibiotic bound to the negatively charged group); U.S. Pat. No. 4,917686 (antibiotics are dissolved in a swelling agent which is absorbed into the matrix of the surface material of the medical device); U.S. Pat. No. 4,107,121 (constructing the medical device with ionogenic hydrogels, which thereafter absorb or ionically bind antibiotics); U.S. Pat. No. 5,013,306 (laminating an antibiotic to a polymeric surface layer of a medical device); and U.S. Pat. No. 4,952,419 (applying a film of silicone oil to the surface of an implant and then contacting the silicone film bearing surface with antibiotic powders).
These and many other methods of coating medical devices with antibiotics appear in numerous patents and medical journal articles. However, although antibiotic-coated medical devices, such as those coated with minocycline and rifampin, are very effective against Staphylococci, their efficacy against gram-negative bacteria and candida is limited. Moreover, there exists a potential concern of developing antibiotic resistance due to the use of antibiotics for coating devices.
Accordingly, there is a need for an antimicrobial coated medical device that will provide a broader range of antimicrobial activity. There is also a need for an antimicrobial coated medical device that will avoid the potential concern of developing antibiotic resistance.
An object of the present invention is the provision of an antiseptic coated medical device.
A further object of the invention is a practical, inexpensive, safe and effective method for coating or impregnating medical devices with a combination of antiseptics.
Another object of the invention is the application of a combination of antiseptics to a medical device to avoid developing antibiotic resistance.
Thus in accomplishing the foregoing objects, there is provided in accordance with one aspect of the present invention an implantable medical device comprising a medical device having one or more surfaces; and an antiseptic composition layer coating said one or more surfaces of the medical device, the antiseptic composition including a combination of antiseptics in an effective concentration to inhibit the growth of bacterial and fungal organisms. The medical device can be either a metallic or a non-metallic device.
In the non-metallic embodiment the antiseptic composition layer penetrates the surfaces thereof. The antiseptic composition, according to this embodiment, may preferably comprise a mixture of the combination of antiseptics, an organic solvent, such as methanol, and a penetrating agent, such as butyl acetate. The combination of antiseptics include methylisothiazolone and xcex1-terpineol; thymol and cetylpyridinium chloride; thymol and methylisothiazolone; or thymol and chloroxylenol. The medical device may be a urinary catheter, a vascular catheter, a vascular graft, a vascular catheter port, a wound drain tube, a hydrocephalus shunt, a peritoneal dialysis catheter, a pacemaker capsule, an artificial urinary sphincter, a small or temporary joint replacement, a urinary dilator, a long term urinary device, a tissue bonding urinary device, a penile prosthesis, a heart valve, or the like.
According to a further aspect of the invention, the antiseptic composition layer may further comprise a mixture of a polymeric sticking agent and an acid solution.
The metallic medical device embodiment is comprised of a metallic alloy, such as stainless steel, titanium, tivanium, vitallium, chromium alloy, cobalt alloy and combinations thereof. The medical device preferably comprises an orthopedic implant selected from the group consisting of joint prosthesis, screw, nail, nut, bolt, plate, rod, pin, wire, insertor, osteoport and halo device. The combination of antiseptics include chlorhexidine, methylisothiazolane and thymol; chlorhexidine and chloroxylenol; chlorhexidine and cetylpyridinium chloride.
A further embodiment of the invention provides a method for impregnating the non-metallic medical device with a combination of antiseptics comprising the steps of forming an effective concentration of an antiseptic composition to inhibit the growth of bacterial and fungal organisms by dissolving an effective concentration of the combination of antiseptics in an organic solvent and adding a penetrating agent to the composition; and applying the antiseptic composition to at least a portion of the medical device under conditions where the antiseptic composition permeates, the material of the medical device.
The step of applying the antiseptic composition to the medical device may comprise dipping the device in the composition for a period of between about 15 to 120 minutes, preferably about 60 minutes, and removing the impregnated medical device from the antiseptic composition.
Still a further embodiment of the present invention provides a method for coating a medical device, such as an orthopedic implant, with a combination of antiseptics comprising the steps of dissolving the combination of antiseptics and a polymeric sticking agent in an acid solution to form an antiseptic solution; and applying said antiseptic solution, in an effective concentration to inhibit the growth of bacterial and fungal organisms, to at least a portion of the surfaces of said medical device. The device also may be allowed to dry after the antiseptic solution is applied to the surfaces thereof.
One aspect of this embodiment provides that the step of applying the antiseptic solution comprises dipping the device into the antiseptic solution for a period of approximately one minute; and the step of drying the device comprises drying the device for at least 4 hours.
The combination of antiseptics include chlorhexidine, methylisothiazolone and xcex1-terpineol; chlorhexidine and cetylpyridinium chloride; chlorhexidine and chloroxylenol; chlorhexidine, methylisothiazolane and thymol; methylisothiazolone or thymol and chloroxylenol.

Method of coating medical devices with a combination of antiseptics and antiseptic coating therefor


Method and System for determining when a threshold condition representing the occurrence of a user specified number of events for a monitored activity has occurred within a specified time interval. For each threshold condition that is monitored, storage is allocated to save a number of timestamps equal to the specified number of events, with each timestamp representing the time of occurrence of an associated event. After all allocated storage locations for the threshold condition have been filled, a test is made with the occurrence of each new event to determine if the difference between the new timestamp and a designated stored timestamp is less than or equal to the specified time interval. Meeting this test represents detection of the threshold condition and results in the execution of specified automation actions.

Network management programs require the ability to specify a "threshold" number of occurrences for different network and system failures so that the automation processing performed by the network management programs can make smarter decisions on which automated action to perform for different situations.
The threshold is a specified number of occurrences of an event within a specified time period which becomes the triggering mechanism for the performance of particular actions. For example, if the same network device had failed more than five times within a one hour time period, a different recovery procedure could be attempted as opposed to what would be done if the device had failed only once in that one hour time period. The threshold in this case is the occurrence of more than five failures within a one hour period.
Enabling an automation process in the network management program to determine whether a threshold has been reached regarding the frequency of an identical or similar system or network problem within a specified time period allows the network management program to make complex decisions on which automation action to perform. There are numerous scenarios in which system and network problems result in the issuance of messages or alerts that must be considered as a group rather than individually. For example, if a network device fails, and all devices connected to the device send an alert to the network management program, one indication of the failing device is all that is required for recovery; all other alerts can be ignored, thereby saving valuable system processing time. If the resulting burst of alerts from a major outage is not filtered based on a threshold, the burst can slow the network management processing to the point that resolution of, and recovery from, the outage problem takes a long period of time.
Providing a function in the network management program to determine a threshold level for system and network events (specifically, messages and alerts) allows the automation capability of the program to make an additional determination when deciding how a system or network problem can be solved automatically. Automation thresholding allows system and network automation to make more human-like decisions.
Event counting and thresholding is well known in the computing and networking arts. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,080,589, the occurrence of an error triggers a timer and begins a counting interval. Subsequent errors occurring during the interval are counted until a predetermined threshold is reached or the timing interval expires. An alarm is signalled and the timer is reset if the threshold is reached before expiration of the time interval. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,291,403, if the error count exceeds the predetermined threshold during an established time period, an alarm is generated and a second threshold is established to measure subsequent error rates. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,339,657, a variable time interval is established that is measured by the occurrence of a predetermined number of operations. The arrangement counts errors occurring during the operations and also counts the number of times that the error count crosses a predetermined threshold.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,223,827, having the same assignee as the present invention, improves on the other prior art by providing a mechanism for managing network event counters that enables the accumulation of information that can be manipulated to provide a variety of performance measurements. It makes use of an event counter, a sliding event threshold counter and a sliding interval counter for detection of an event threshold that requires performance of some type of action in response. Each time an event counter exceeds a threshold established by the sliding threshold event counter, the sliding threshold event counter is incremented by the contents of an offset, event value, and the sliding counter is updated to the sum of the offset time value and the present time. The disclosure of this patent is incorporated by reference herein.
While the known art is useful in many instances, the art does not provide a system or method for determining whether a specified threshold condition has been reached without the use of timers or counters, and without the need to recalculate time intervals for event occurrence. If a large number of threshold conditions has been specified, using prior art techniques, it becomes necessary to provide a multiplicity of timers or counters, and to recalculate time intervals for each of the threshold conditions.
The present invention improves on prior art techniques by eliminating the need for maintenance of multiple timers or counters and for recalculating time intervals in order to determine whether or not prescribed threshold conditions associated with a plurality of events associated with a plurality of devices (resources) in a communications network have been detected.

Method and system for threshold occurrence detection in a communications network

International Business Machines Corporation


A stepladder includes a pipe/tube holder attached to the rear side for holding pipe and/or a strap bender attached to a rail or a rear rung through which a strap is inserted to be bent, and/or a utility hook attached to the rear side. A method for cutting a pipe. A method for using a tool. A method for bending a strap.

For years, stepladders have been designed for the general construction and painting professionals needs. Bauer Corporation provides a ladder vise, U.S. Pat. No. 4,318,454 that attaches to a stepladder to hold materials securely. This vise requires the user to first operate the vise on one side and place the conduit in and then open the opposite side and place the conduit in to hold it firmly. This holder is a spring loaded sliding design that will hold a variety of materials.
For years, stepladders have been designed for the general construction and painting professionals needs. The new Werner Pipe Trade ladder is designed for the specific needs of the Pipe of piping tubing, and slots and hooks for tool storage. These added features help make the user's job safer and more efficient.
Bauer ladders developed and patented a Ladder Vise in 1981, U.S. Pat. No. 4,318,454. Their design requires the user to first operate the vise on one side and place the pipe/tube in and then open the opposite side and place the other end of the pipe/tube in to hold it firmly. Their holder is a spring loaded sliding design that will hold a variety of materials.


An electrochemical cell (10) includes first and second electrodes (12) and (14) with an electrolyte system (26) disposed therebetween. The electrolyte system includes at least a filler material and a gelling polymer. The filler material comprises at least about 50 vol. % of the total amount of polymer in the electrolyte system, and has a porosity on the order of about 20-80%.

There has been a great deal of interest in developing better and more efficient methods for storing energy for applications such as cellular communication, satellites, portable computers, and electric vehicles to name but a few. Accordingly, there has been recent concerted efforts to develop high energy, cost effective batteries having improved performance characteristics.
Rechargeable or secondary cells are more desirable than primary (non-rechargeable) cells since the associated chemical reactions which take place at the positive and negative electrodes of the battery are reversible. Electrodes for secondary cells are capable of being recharged by the application of an electrical charge thereto. Numerous advanced electrode systems have been developed for storing electrical charge. Concurrently much effort has been dedicated to the development of electrolytes capable of enhancing the capabilities and performance of electrochemical cells.
Heretofore, electrolytes have been either liquid electrolytes as are found in conventional wet cell batteries, or solid films as are available in newer, more advanced battery systems. Each of these systems have inherent limitations and related deficiencies which make them unsuitable for various applications. Liquid electrolytes, while demonstrating acceptable ionic conductivities tend to leak out of the cells into which they are sealed. While better manufacturing techniques have lessened the occurrence of leakage, cells still do leak potentially dangerous liquid electrolytes from time to time. Moreover, any leakage lessens the amount of electrolyte available in the cell, thus reducing the effectiveness of the device.
Solid electrolytes are free from problems of leakage, however, they have traditionally offered inferior properties as compared to liquid electrolytes. This is due to the fact that ionic conductivities for solid electrolytes are often one to two orders of magnitudes poorer than a liquid electrolyte. Good ionic conductivity is necessary to insure a battery system capable of delivering usable amounts of power for a given application. Most solid electrolytes have not heretofore been adequate for many high performance battery systems.
One class of solid electrolytes, specifically gel electrolytes, have shown great promise for high performance battery systems. Gel electrolytes contain a significant fraction of solvents and/or plasticizers in addition to the salt and polymer of the electrolyte itself. One processing route that can be used to assemble a battery with a gel electrolyte is to leave the electrolyte salt and solvent out of the polymer gel system until after the cell is completely fabricated. Thereafter, the solvent and the electrolyte salt may be introduced into the polymer system in order to swell and activate the battery. While this approach (which is described in, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,456,000 issued Oct. 10, 1995) has the advantage of allowing the cell to be fabricated in a non-dry environment (the electrolyte salt in a lithium cell is typically hygroscopic) it offers problems with respect to performance and assembly. The gel electrolyte may lack sufficient mechanical integrity to prevent shorting between the electrodes while they are being bonded or laminated together with the electrolyte. The electrolyte layer thickness is typically on the order of 75 .mu.m, presumably to overcome this shorting problem and to help facilitate handling of the electrolyte material. When compared to the 25 .mu.m thickness typical for separators used in liquid lithium ion cells, this results in a significant reduction in the volumetric energy density for the cell.
Accordingly, there exists a need for anew electrolyte system which combines the properties of good mechanical integrity, as well as the ability to absorb sufficient amounts of electrolyte active species so as to produce an electrolyte with the high ionic conductivity characteristics of liquid electrolytes. The electrolytes so formed should also avoid excessive swelling and all of the problems associated therewith.


A shoe support for supporting lasts of a wide range of sizes comprises two support members in the form of spaced-apart bars (38) each of which can pivot at an axis (36) extending adjacent an elongated edge of its associated bar so that the distance between the ends of the bars can be varied. Instead of bars (38), plate members (138) may be used, dimensioned so as to provide a substantially continuous support surface, for e.g. shoe components, when pivoted to a horizontal position. For maintaining the support members (38;138) in adjusted position, furthermore, a friction arrangement (40,42; 144,146) is provided. The shoe support is especially suitable for use in a shoe transporter system forming part of a drying apparatus in which the bottoms of shoes and/or shoe components to which a coating of e.g. adhesive has been applied can be supported by the shoe supports with the coated surfaces exposed to turbulent air and heat.

This invention is concerned with a shoe support for supporting a lasted shoe, bottom up, comprising a pair of support members spaced apart from one another and each extending in a direction lengthwise of a shoe to be supported thereby such that the cone of a last can be received between the support members and the shoe is supported by shoe-supporting surface portions of the members with the shoe bottom exposed. Such a shoe support is particularly useful e.g. for supporting a shoe to the bottom of which adhesive has been applied, for the purpose of enabling the coating of adhesive to dry or be subjected to a drying operation.
A problem arises in the case of such shoe supports in that it is desirable that each such support be adjustable in order to accommodate shoes of a wide range of sizes, from a large man's shoe to a small infant's shoe. Proposals have been made for accommodating such a range, but these may often require the operator to release a locking arrangement, reposition the support members appropriately and then relock them, which is time-consuming and tedious, especially in the case of support members which are in use in a drying apparatus which must be able readily to accept shoes from different parts of a shoe factory and of a wide range of sizes.


A device for performing a multiplication of a matrix with a vector. The device comprises a plurality of memory elements, a signal generator and a readout circuit. The signal generator is configured to apply programming signals to the memory elements. The signal generator is further configured to control a first signal parameter of the programming signals in dependence on matrix elements of the matrix and to control a second signal parameter of the programming signals in dependence on vector elements of the vector. The readout circuit is configured to read out memory values of the memory elements. The memory values represent result values of vector elements of a product vector of the multiplication. The memory elements may be in particular resistive memory elements or photonic memory elements. Additionally there is provided a related method and design structure for performing the multiplication of a matrix with a vector.

Cognitive computing is a promising technology for deriving intelligence and knowledge from huge volumes of data. Today's cognitive computers are usually based on the Von Neumann architecture in which the computing and the memory units are separated. Cognitive computing is inherently data-centric, meaning that huge amounts of data need to be shuttled back and forth at high speeds. As the Von Neumann architecture is rather inefficient for such a task, it is becoming increasingly clear that other architectures are desired to build efficient cognitive computers, in particular architectures where memory and logic coexist in some form.
Memcomputing is a key non-Von Neumann approach being researched. A key element in this novel computing paradigm is a high-density, low-power, variable state, programmable and non-volatile memory device.
A fundamental computational primitive is a matrix-vector multiplication. This primitive is of particular interest as it forms the basis of several linear algebraic operations and it is one of the most commonly used mathematical operations in science and engineering. A matrix is usually represented by a two-dimensional array of matrix elements and a vector by a one-dimensional array of vector elements. A matrix may be considered as array of vectors. Hence a matrix-vector multiplication can be generalized to a matrix-matrix multiplication and to a vector-vector multiplication.
Accordingly there is a need for new and improved memcomputing devices, in particular for memcomputing devices that can perform matrix-vector multiplications.

Memory device for matrix-vector multiplications

International Business Machines Corporation


The present invention provides an imaging unit, a portable terminal device, and a portable terminal system capable of performing a satisfactory key synthesizing process. An imaging unit mainly includes an imaging section, a conversion section, and a key signal generating section. The conversion section converts the format of the imaged image data output from the imaging section from YUV format to RGB format. The key signal generating section generates a key signal based on each pixel data configuring the imaged image data and the reference data for the imaged image data input from the imaging section. The key signal generating section also outputs foreground image data having the generated key signal and the corresponding pixel data of RGB format as minimum configuring unit. An image synthesizing section of a main unit generates synthesized image data by overlapping the foreground image data from the imaging unit and the background image data stored in a RAM based on the key signal contained in the foreground image data.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to key synthesis executed in an imaging unit, a portable terminal device, and a portable terminal system.
2. Description of the Background Art
A technique for key synthesizing imaged image data by a camera and background image data stored in advance is conventionally known (e.g., Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 05-224630 and Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 10-042307).
The imaged image data by a camera (imaging unit) of Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 05-224630 or Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 10-042307 is sent to a processing section for executing a key synthesis process. The processing section executes processes necessary for key synthesis such as (1) process for synthesizing the imaged image data and the background image data, (2) process for setting a transmissive pixel to which corresponding background image data is fitted out of the pixels configuring the imaged image data, and the like. As a result, the calculation cost of the processing section increases in the techniques of Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 05-224630 or Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 10-042307.

Imaging unit, portable terminal device, and portable terminal system


In part, and in addition to apparatus and methods presented, an expansion board to be connected/disconnected to/from its mother board easily is provided. A face of a CDC (Communication Daughter Card), which is an expansion board to be connected to the mother board of a computer system is covered by an insulating sheet. In the CDC, an edge of one end of this insulating sheet is extended so as to form a projection. A user can take this projection with fingers, thereby carrying and connecting/disconnecting the CDC to/from the mother board easily.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an expansion board, expansion board for communication, insulating film for expansion board, computer system, expansion board removing method, and electronic circuit board, and more particular to apparatus and method for such to be employed with computer systems
2. Description of Related Art
In recent years, so-called PCs (personal computers) have come to be provided with more and more diversified functions. For example, many of those PCs are provided with functions for communicating with external just by connecting such an expansion device as a modem board, a LAN board, etc. to them. Those expansion devices are classified into two types; built-in type and external type. The built-in type device is installed inside the subject PC while the external type device is connected to the subject PC from outside. Users often select and install necessary expansion devices by themselves according to their requirement. For a built-in type device, the user is required to expose the PC by removing the case and connect the board type expansion device to the connector of the mother board inside the PC.
However, some expansion devices cannot be installed by users. Concretely, those devices are small expansion devices for lap-top PCs. Because portability is an very important item for lap-top PCs, those expansion devices are limited in size. Consequently, parts are packed at a high density thereon, so that the lap-top PCs become complicated in internal structure. In addition, expansion devices must be installed/removed very accurately and carefully. This is why usually the PC makers install those small expansion devices in lap-top PCs; no consideration is given to the installation of those devices by users from the beginning.
In spite of this, year after year there have increased users who want to expand the capability of their lap-top PCs more freely and accordingly, those users come to desire to install those small expansion devices by themselves. It would therefore be a significant advantage for those users if they could install/remove those expansion devices that are comparatively expensive small expansion devices and mother boards etc. by themselves.

Expansion board apparatus and removing method


The present invention generally relates to a semiconductor film and a method of depositing the semiconductor film. The semiconductor film comprises oxygen, nitrogen, and one or more elements selected from the group consisting of zinc, cadmium, gallium, indium, and tin. Additionally, the semiconductor film may be doped. The semiconductor film may be deposited by applying an electrical bias to a sputtering target comprising the one or more elements selected from the group consisting of zinc, cadmium, gallium, indium, and tin, and introducing a nitrogen containing gas and an oxygen containing gas. The sputtering target may optionally be doped. The semiconductor film has a mobility greater than amorphous silicon. After annealing, the semiconductor film has a mobility greater than polysilicon.

1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to a semiconductor material and a method for depositing the semiconductor material.
2. Description of the Related Art
The electron mobility of a semiconductor layer has a very strong effect on the speed of the device and the current which may be driven through the device. The higher the electron mobility, the faster the speed of the device and the higher the source-drain current under the same voltage. In recent years, amorphous silicon and polysilicon have been the semiconductor materials of choice for field effect thin film transistors (TFTs), for backplane to drive liquid crystal displays (LCDs), organic light emitting diode (OLED) displays, quantum dot displays, and building solar cell panels. Amorphous silicon may have an electron mobility as high as about 1 cm2/V-s. Low temperature polysilicon may have an electron mobility higher than 50 cm2/V-s, but requires a complicated process step such as laser annealing to achieve the electron mobility. Therefore, the cost of producing polysilicon with an electron mobility higher than 50 cm2/V-s is very high and not suitable for large area substrate applications.
In a field effect transistor (FET), the semiconductor material creates the channel between the source and drain electrodes. Without a voltage supply to the gate electrode, no current may go through the source-drain electrode even with a voltage between the source-drain electrodes. As voltage is supplied to the gate electrode, mobile electrons inside the semiconductor layer will accumulate in the area very close to the interface between the gate dielectric layer and the semiconductor layer. The semiconductor layer becomes conductive, and electrodes may go through the source-drain electrode easily with a low voltage between the source-drain electrodes. High mobility of the semiconductor materials indicates the mobile electrons in the semiconductor are more sensitive to the electric field created by the gate electrode, and the semiconductor channel becomes more conductive. The semiconductor material determines the current which may go through the semiconductor channel influenced by voltage applied across the gate and source terminals. The greater the mobility of the semiconductor material, the less voltage is needed to achieve the current required across the FET.
Amorphous silicon may rely upon hydrogen passivation to achieve a desired mobility in a TFT. The amorphous silicon may be deposited by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) at temperatures up to about 350 degrees Celsius. The hydrogen passivation, while helping the amorphous silicon achieve the desired mobility, may not be stable such that a TFT's threshold voltage may change with time under gate electrode voltage and under relatively high temperatures created by the device itself.
Therefore, there is a need in the art for a stable semiconductor material having sufficiently high mobility not only on glass substrates with high process temperatures, but also on plastic substrates and other flexible substrates.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Thin film metal oxynitride  semiconductors


Disclosed is a modified glucose dehydrogenases that has dramatically increased productivity in Escherichia coli and dramatically increased thermal stability, which is obtained by introducing specific amino acid mutations to glucose dehydrogenase derived from Botryotinia fuckeliana. Also disclosed is a modified glucose dehydrogenases that has dramatically increased productivity in E. coli and dramatically increased thermal stability, which is obtained by replacing two amino acid residues in glucose dehydrogenase of fungal origin with cysteine residues. The novel glucose dehydrogenase has a low reactivity to xylose.

The glucose concentration in blood is an important marker of diabetes. Enzymatic methods which use, for example, glucose oxidase (GOD), glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PDH), and glucose dehydrogenase associated with pyrroloquinoline quinone as a coenzyme (PQQGDH) have been used to measure glucose concentration. Since GOD requires oxygen as an electron acceptor, however, this technique has the drawback where the level of dissolved oxygen in the analyte influences the observed data. In case of G6PDH, the coenzyme NAD(P) must be added to the reaction, which will make the detection system complicated. PQQGDH has a high glucose oxidizing activity and thus offers an advantage in that oxygen is not required as an electron acceptor. However, it has a low selectivity for glucose and exhibits a certain activity with respect to maltose as well. Accordingly, there is a need for novel enzymes which can be used as a recognition element in glucose sensors. Moreover, to enable accurate measurement of the blood sugar level in patients who is receiving xylose absorption test, it is desirable that the enzyme have a low reactivity to xylose.
It has long been known that fungi have glucose dehydrogenase (see, for example, Biochim. Biophys. Acta 139(2), p. 265-276 (1967)). The following patent documents disclose glucose dehydrogenases from Aspergillus sp. and Penicillium sp., and the measurement of glucose concentration using such glucose dehydrogenases: Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Nos. 2007-289148, 2008-178380, 2008-035748 and 2008-035747, and WO 2007/11610, WO 2004/058958, WO 2006/101239 and WO 2007/139013. However, most enzymes of fungal origin are glycoproteins, which require glycosylation for functional expression. Because most of the extracellularly secreted enzymes such as glucose oxidase are highly glycosylated, it has been exceedingly difficult to produce such fungal glycoproteins by genetic recombinant techniques in Escherichia coli. Glucose dehydrogenases of fungal origin are also extracellularly secreted glycoproteins, and thus expression of recombinant fungal glucose dehydrogenases in E. coli is difficult. Even if the enzyme is expressed in E. coli, the productivity is low, thus the yield of enzyme per unit volume of culture is extremely low.
Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2007-289148
Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2008-178380
Patent Document 3: Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2008-035748
Patent Document 4: Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2008-035747
Patent Document 5: WO 2007/11610
Patent Document 6: WO 2004/058958
Patent Document 7: WO 2006/101239
Patent Document 8: WO 2007/139013
Non-Patent Document 1: Rolke et al., Mol. Plant. Pathol. 5(1), p. 17-27 (2004)