The present invention provides fluorinated quinolones which are fluorinated on the phenyl group thereof, along with pharmaceutical formulations containing the same, methods of treating tumors or cancer by the administration of such compounds, and methods of inhibiting cellular mitosis by the administration of such compounds.

The present invention concerns quinolone derivatives, pharmaceutical formulations containing the same, and methods of use thereof as antimitotic and antitumor agents, particularly for the treatment of tumors such as breast cancer and ovarian cancer.
Microtubules are one of the most important subcellular targets for the development of anticancer chemotherapeutic compounds. Vinca alkaloids and taxoids are well-known examples of antimitotic agents that are widely used clinically to treat different cancers (E. Rowinsky et al., Pharmacol. and Ther. 1992, 52, 35-84; J. Verweij et al., Ann. Oncol. 1994, 5, 495-505). Colchicine (FIG. 1) is another well-known agent that inhibits microtubule assembly (S. Hastie, Pharm. and Ther. 1991, 51, 377-401; S. Hastie, Pharm. and Ther. 1991, 51, 377-401). Although colchicine has limited utility for cancer therapy, the drug has been an important tool in studies of microtubule structure and function. The vinca alkaloids, taxoids, and colchicine each interact with tubulin by a unique mechanism, probably involving distinct binding sites on the protein.
The synthesis and biological evaluation of a series of 2-phenyl-4-quinolones as antimitotic and antitumor agents has been reported (S. Kuo et al., J. Med. Chem. 1993, 36, 1146-1156; L. Li et al., J. Med. Chem. 1994, 37, 1126-1135; L. Li et al., J. Med. Chem. 1994, 37, 3400-3407). The compounds were evaluated in the National Cancer Institute""s 60 human tumor cell line (HTCL) in vitro screen and in a tubulin polymerization inhibition assay. Most compounds showed cytotoxicity in the HTCL screen, with GI50 values in the low micromolar to nanomolar concentration range. In general, a good correlation was found between cytotoxicity and inhibition of tubulin polymerization. SAR studies led to the discovery of 2xe2x80x2-fluoro-6,7-methylenedioxy-2-phenyl-4-quinolone (Compound 1; FIG. 1) (L. Li et al., J. Med. Chem. 1994, 37, 1126-1135), which showed cytotoxicity with an average log G150 value of xe2x88x926.47 (log concentration which reduced cell growth by 50%) in the HTCL screen. Compound 1 was also an inhibitor of tubulin polymerization, with an IC50 value of 0.85 xcexcM. Compound 1 also demonstrated good in vivo activity against the OVCAR-3 ovarian cell line, prolonging the life span of mice bearing the tumor by 130%.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to develop additional compounds that can be used as antimitotic agents, antitumor agents, or both.
A first aspect of the present invention is, accordingly, a compound according to Formula I, or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof:
wherein:
R1 is selected from the group consisting of H, hydroxy, lower alkyl, lower alkoxy, hydroxy, halo, and amino (preferably H or lower alkyl; most preferably H);
R2 is is selected from the group consisting of H, hydroxy, lower alkyl, lower alkoxy, hydroxy, halo, and amino (preferably H or lower alkyl; most preferably H);
R3 is is selected from the group consisting of H, hydroxy, lower alkyl, lower alkoxy, hydroxy, halo, and amino (preferably H or lower alkyl; most preferably H);
R4 is is selected from the group consisting of H, hydroxy, lower alkyl, lower alkoxy, hydroxy, halo, and amino (preferably H or lower alkyl; most preferably H);
R5 is is selected from the group consisting of H, hydroxy, lower alkyl, lower alkoxy, hydroxy, halo, and amino (preferably H or lower alkyl; most preferably H); and
n is 0, 1, 2, 3 or 4 (it being understood that, when n is 0, then all positions are substituted by H).
Preferably F is substituted on the phenyl group at the ortho position, or multi-F substituted at the ortho and other positions, as in a compound of the structure:
or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof.
A second aspect of the present invention is a pharmaceutical formulation comprising or consisting essentially of a compound according to Formula I, or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof, in a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier (e.g., an aqueous carrier).
A third aspect of the present invention is a method for treating a tumor comprising administering to a subject in need of such treatment a treatment effective amount of a compound of Formula I, or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof.
A fourth aspect of the present invention is a method of inhibiting cellular mitosis, comprising: contacting a cell with a compound of Formula I, or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof, in an amount effective to inhibit cellular mitosis.
A fifth aspect of the present invention is a compound according to Formula II, or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof:
wherein:
R1 is selected from the group consisting of H, hydroxy, lower alkyl, lower alkoxy, halo, amino, and heterocyclic rings;
R2 is selected from the group consisting of H, hydroxy, lower alkyl, lower alkoxy, halo, and amino (preferably H or loweralkyl; most preferably H);
R3 is selected from the group consisting of H, hydroxy, lower alkyl, lower alkoxy, halo, and amino (preferably H or loweralkyl; most preferably H); and
R4 is selected from the group consisting of H, hydroxy, lower alkyl, lower alkoxy, halo, and amino (preferably H or loweralkyl; most preferably H).
Preferably F is substituted on the phenyl group at the ortho position, or multi-F substituted on the phenyl group at the ortho and other positions, as in a compound of the structure:
or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof.
A sixth aspect of the present invention is a pharmaceutical formulation comprising or consisting essentially of a compound according to Formula II, or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof, in a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier (e.g., an aqueous carrier).
A seventh aspect of the present invention is a method for treating a tumor comprising administering to a subject in need of such treatment a treatment effective amount of a compound of Formula II, or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof.
An eighth aspect of the present invention is a method of inhibiting cellular mitosis, comprising: contacting a cell with a compound of Formula II, or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof, in an amount effective to inhibit cellular mitosis.
The foregoing and other objects and aspects of the present invention are explained in detail in the drawings herein and the specification set forth below.

Fluorinated quinolones as antimitotic and antitumor agents

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill


The combination greenhouse cold frame apparatus includes two foldable side panels that cover two arched sides that have a plurality of arched vertical legs to provide a framework for the foldable side panels. The arched sides are connected with the help of a junction between them that has a plurality of top frame connectors each having two ends that are dimensioned to receive the arched vertical legs. The top frame connectors also have a U-shaper portion dimensioned to hold the foldable side panels in different stages of retraction. A plurality of securing devices connectable to an exterior of the arched vertical legs is used to secure the foldable side panels when they are in a partially open position. Each foldable side panel can independently or jointly be opened from a top in a downward direction or from a bottom in an upward direction completely or partially, thereby providing adjustable amounts of sunlight and ventilation for plants enclosed by the combination green house and cold frame apparatus.

Greenhouses are typically used to provide a controlled environment for plant growth. The environment within a greenhouse is controlled by varying the amount of sunlight, heat and ventilation. Various structures of greenhouses exist in the art to provide plant growth in a controlled environment. These structures vary in complexity and consist of both fixed and portable embodiments.
A typical greenhouse consists of a framework enclosing a space; this framework being covered with a flexible material such that plants in the enclosed space can be provided with varying amounts of light and ventilation through various techniques of adjusting the flexible material.
One such technique is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,038,517 issued Aug. 13, 1991 to Talbott and describes a greenhouse with a flexible cover positionable over the frame for providing a roof enclosure for the structure. An elongate roller is secured to a lengthwise edge of the cover and a power source is coupled to the roller. When the roller is rotated about its longitudinal axis with the help of the power source, the cover retracts or extends relative to the frame thereby providing the plants with variable amounts of light and ventilation.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,216,834 issued Jun. 8, 1993 to Crowley provides another technique that utilizes a pair of opposed spools mounted on respective sides of a framework such that the cover is wound from one spool to the opposed spool.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,813,169 issued Sep. 29, 1998 to Engerman discloses a portable greenhouse construction with a roof that is arch shaped and includes a pair of retractable, translucent covers which are rolled up onto a shaft to permit fresh air into the interior of the greenhouse through a mesh screen.
Prior art methods of adjusting flexible covers for greenhouses pose several significant problems. First, present systems allow for retraction of flexible covers in only one direction, from down up, and extension also in one direction, from up down. Therefore effective control of sunlight falling on the plants can only be accomplished partially with prior art greenhouse embodiments. Adjusting openings in a greenhouse roof based on wind direction is also limited.
Another problem with current apparatus is the need for a rotatable shaft attachment for extension or retraction of the flexible covers. The use of this increases the complexity and also the time taken to assemble the system by adding a step to the process.
An offshoot of increased structural complexity of the greenhouse is increased cost and also more difficulty in installing additional sections to increase the length of the greenhouse.
Therefore, a means for bi-directional extension and retraction of covers for greenhouses which simultaneously eliminates the need for an attached rotatable shaft to accomplish cover adjustment is desired. Reduced structural complexity, decreased cost and ease of adding additional sections are also desired.

Combination greenhouse and cold frame apparatus


A multilayer wiring board having a first layer and a second layer laminated with a ground conductor, respectively, and having a differential wire line configured with a first wire line and a second wire line, includes a pair of through-holes and which is formed in the first layer and the second layer and electrically connects the first wire line and the second wire line arranged on one surface of the multilayer wiring board and the first wire line and the second wire line arranged on the other surface of the multilayer wiring board, respectively; and clearances and which insulate the ground conductor and the through-holes and, in which the pair of through-holes formed in the second layer is arranged so that a virtual line connecting centers of the pair of through-holes is inclined with respect to a line perpendicular to a signal propagation direction of the differential wire line.

With a great increase in the amount of data to be processed in the information telecommunication field, there is a demand for an increase in signal transmission speed within a device and between devices. In recent years, in order to cope with such high-speed transmission, a differential transmission system has been used.
For example, a system using a cable with a connector such as a quad small form-factor pluggable (QSFP) is adopted for transmission within the device and between devices, and for example, a direct attach cable (DAC) is frequently used. However, since the transmission distance of the DAC is limited to about 3 m, a longer transmission distance is required. In addition, for example, in such high-speed transmission exceeding 25 Gbit/s, loss in a transmission line becomes a problem. For this reason, application of an active copper cable (ACC) in which an equalization element for compensating for loss occurring in a transmission line is mounted in a connector such as QSFP as a transmission cable which replaces the DAC has been studied. As a board of the connector used for this cable, a multilayer board where two or more types of resin boards having different thicknesses are laminated is frequently used.
The equalization element of the ACC is mounted on one side of the multilayer board in consideration of assembly cost and reliability after mounting the element. On the other hand, in general, signal input/output pins of the connector are provided on both front and back surfaces of the multilayer board from the viewpoint of high density. Therefore, in the multilayer board for the connector of the ACC, for example, it is required that a pin on the surface on which an equalization element is not mounted can be electrically connected to the equalization element by providing a through-hole. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a configuration example where a land of a first wire line layer and a land of an n-th wire line layer are connected by a via-hole provided inside a multilayer printed wiring board.

Multilayer wiring board and differential transmission module


A rotating egg container is disclosed having a body and an internal rotating unit for storing a plurality of eggs. The internal rotating unit has a plurality of egg holding sections joined to two opposing tracks defining a pathway through which the egg holding sections can be moved.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to the field of food storage devices and systems, particularly for the storage of eggs in cooled food storage spaces.
2. Discussion of Related Art
Many containers for eggs have been proposed, including the ubiquitous foam-based and paperboard egg cartons, plastic egg holders in refrigerator units, and a variety of rigid egg trays. Examples include those described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,188,044, "Egg Tray," issued to R. N. Hickman, Jan. 23, 1940; U.S. Pat. No. 2,438,443, "Egg Tray for Refrigerators," issued to A. C. Jermyn Mar. 23, 1948; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,102,034, "Egg Container," issued to A. Arnabili, Apr. 7, 1992, and D210,613, issued Aug. 14, 1967 to R. G. Moore.
In spite of the many products offered, there remains an unmet need for storage containers that can make efficient use of space, particularly in refrigerators where users frequently struggle to find adequate space to store and organize various items. Previous devices such as portable durable egg containers with covers often require that the user remove the entire container from a cooled storage space in order to remove even one egg, or provide sufficient clearance above the egg container to be able to remove a cover or lid that spans the entire length of the container in order to remove a single egg. Further, containers commonly provided for eggs often are unable to bear significant weight, making them unsuitable for routine stacking of other items thereupon. These and other limitations of the prior art have resulted in unmet user needs regarding efficient and convenient egg storage and removal systems. The various embodiments of the invention described below may individually address one or more of such needs or problems, but it is to be understood that not all prior problems herein noted need be addressed in any one embodiment of the invention as defined by the claims below.


Apparatus comprising a striking piston driven hydraulically in a reciprocating fashion by an incompressible fluid inside a cylinder and striking against a tool, of the type in which the piston slides in a cylinder having two concentric piston bearing surfaces of different sections, of which that situated on the tool side has a section smaller than that remote from the tool, the piston and the cylinder delimiting two antagonistic chambers, an annular bottom chamber and a top chamber of larger section.. According to the invention the interior of the top chamber is permanently at a regulated pressure of a value intermediate between the inlet or high pressure and the outlet or low pressure, and the annular bottom chamber is connected alternately by a distributor to the high pressure supply circuit during the upward phase of the piston and to the top chamber during the accelerated downward phase of the piston.

The subject of the present invention is a hydraulic percussion apparatus, more particularly a hydraulic hammer of simple design which is intended to be easily fitted to various carrier appliances possessing energy sources of different powers.
Taking into account its multipurpose character, a hammer of this kind must be able to operate over a wide range of inlet flows while retaining an efficiency higher than 0.5, efficiency being the ratio between the power supplied to the tool and the input power. This apparatus must operate independently of the return pressure value, which, depending on the carrier appliances, may vary within large proportions.
Finally, this apparatus must generate a weak recoil force during the striking stroke of the piston in order to limit the vibrations transmitted to the carrier equipment, while supplying a constant energy and a high striking frequency in order to ensure good production.
As an example, a hydraulic hammer capable of being fitted to an appliance of 0.8 to 3 tonnes must be able to have the following characteristics:
inlet flow of hydraulic fluid: from 20 to 45 liters per minute. PA1 return line pressure: PA1 recoil force less than 700 daN. PA1 energy per blow: 180 joules. PA1 striking frequency from 600 to 1500 blows per minute. PA1 diameter of the tool of the order of 45 mm with a minimum diameter of the striking piston of 40 mm. PA1 driving pressure: 56 bars, PA1 the input pressure necessary being 56 bars and the maximum pressure of the return circuit being 30 bars, it is possible to calculate the minimum diameter of the large section of the striking piston, which works out at 59 mm, PA1 the kinetic energy of the striking piston being equal to the hydraulic energy supplied during the accelerated stroke, it is possible to calculate the stroke of the striking piston and the amount of oil needed per blow, which is 70 cm.sup.3, PA1 the predetermined striking frequency makes it possible to calculate the required inlet flow: 105 liters per minute. PA1 the interior of the top chamber is at a regulated pressure of a value intermediate between the inlet or high pressure and the outlet or low pressure, PA1 the annular bottom chamber is alternately connected by a distributor to the high-pressure supply circuit during the upward phase of the piston and to the top chamber during the accelerated downward phase of the piston.
from 0 to 30 bars (1 bar=10.sup.5 Pa).
These different parameters are interconnected.
The choice of the striking frequency in dependence on the inlet flow determines in fact the amount of oil under pressure available for an operating cycle, the permissible recoil force determines the maximum pressure that can be applied to the driving section of the striking piston, and the energy per stroke, which is equal to the kinetic energy stored by the piston at the moment of the impact, determines the striking stroke of the piston.
The stress in the steel of the striking piston and of the tool is in fact proportional to the speed of impact of the piston. Since the permissible fatigue stress is known, and since the force applied to the driving section and the kinetic energy are defined, it is easy to calculate the striking stroke required, it being specified that this stroke must be sufficient to achieve the different switchings needed for the distribution to function.
Finally, the amount of oil under pressure available for a cycle must serve not only for the accelerated stroke of the striking piston, but also for the return stroke of said piston, since the distribution of this amount of oil substantially influences the total efficiency of the apparatus.


A method and apparatus for aliasing an address for a location in a memory system. The aliasing permits an address generating unit to access a memory block of variable size based upon an address space of fixed size so that the size of the memory block can be changed without changing the address generating software of the address generating unit. The invention provides an address aliasing device arranged to receive an address from the address generating unit. The address aliasing device includes a register that stores memory block size information. The memory block size information is read by the address aliasing device and decoded to provide bit information representative of the size of the memory block. The address aliasing device logically combines the bit information with appropriate corresponding bits of the input address to provide an alias address that is consistent with the size of the memory block.

In modern computer design, resources provided in a computer system are shared among several processing devices for efficient performance. Each resource can comprise, e.g., a processor configured to perform preselected operations or processing services for the other processing devices of the system. Whenever a resource is provided in a computer system, fairness becomes a design issue. Fairness concerns the fair allocation of the services provided by the resource among the processing devices that utilize the resource. It is typically a design criteria in the implementation of a resource that no one processing device so dominate the use of the resource that other processing devices of the computer system are unable to receive adequate service from the resource.
In one scheme for interlocking processing devices to a shared resource, a plurality of storage devices, such as, e.g., ring buffers, is provided. Each processing device of the system that utilizes a particular resource is allocated one or more of the ring buffers. In this manner, each processing device can write into addressable locations within an allocated ring buffer, requests for use of the resource and other information that may be required by the resource for the performance of its service. The resource operates to poll the addressable locations of the ring buffers, as, e.g., in a round robin scheme, to read and process the requests and other information stored in the ring buffers.
Typically, an "ownership" scheme is implemented in the ring buffer system so that a processing device will write a request into an allocated ring buffer location only when the processing device "owns" that location. The processing device relinquishes ownership once it writes a request into a particular location. The resource returns the ownership to the processing device after it has read the information in the particular ring buffer location and proceeds to process the request. A processing device will not be able to write additional requests once it has relinquished ownership of all of its allocated locations until the resource returns ownership for at least one location.
The number of buffered requests represents the workload imposed by the processing devices on the resource. Thus, the fair allocation of the resource can be controlled by fixing the size and number of ring buffers allocated to each processing device that utilizes the shared resource on the basis of the expected use of the resource by each processing device. A processing device will be allocated a number of locations that will not result in an inordinate number of outstanding requests at any one time. Once the size of a ring buffer is fixed, the corresponding processing device must be made cognizant of that size and execute address software that generates addresses to properly identify the locations within the physical address space occupied by the allocated ring buffer.
If a processing device were coupled to several resources and the allocated ring buffers for the various resources were of different sizes, each ring buffer size must be communicated to the respective processing device and the processing device would have to execute different address software, each appropriate for the generation of addresses for the address space of one of the ring buffer sizes.
For example, a processing device would generate one of 256 possible addresses to verify ownership and thereafter write a request to a particular location within a 256 byte ring buffer. If the size of another ring buffer allocated to the processing device were 128 bytes, the corresponding processing device would then have to execute address software that recognizes a 128 location address space. Since a processing device may be allocated different sizes of ring buffers by different resources in a system, it has to 1) be cognizant of the size of the ring buffer allocated to it by the particular resource when it attempts to access its ring buffer for that resource and 2) when processing the ring buffer to a given resource, take into account the size of the ring buffer so as to execute address software that generates addresses to properly identify the locations within the physical address space occupied by the allocated ring buffer.

Apparatus and method for addressing a variable sized block of memory


A method for forming a shallow trench isolation used to isolate a device is provided. A pad oxide and a mask layer are formed on a substrate and patterned. A trench is formed within the substrate under the patterned region and the trench is filled with insulator to form an insulation plug, which is a shallow trench isolation. A dielectric layer is formed on the whole substrate surface to cover the device region and the insulation plug.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates in general to a method for forming isolation, and more specifically relates to a method for forming shallow trench isolation (STI) which effectively reduces the kink effect.
2. Description of Related Art
There may be hundreds of thousands of devices formed on a single silicon substrate within an area of about 1-2 cm.sup.2. In order to keep the devices from disturbing each other, the existence of isolation regions formed between the devices is very important for modern semiconductor manufacturing technology. The local oxidation of silicon (LOCOS) is used widely for forming isolation regions in a conventional method. Another method for forming isolation regions is shallow trench isolation (STI,) by which a trench is formed within a substrate and is filled with insulator. The STI method is a necessary technology for process under 0.25 .mu.m.
FIGS. 1A through 1D schematically illustrate a conventional manufacturing process for forming a shallow trench isolation (STI) structure. Referring to FIG. 1A, a pad oxide 11 and a mask layer 12 are sequentially formed on a semiconductor substrate 10 and are patterned by photolithography and etching technologies. A trench 13 inside he substrate 10 is formed by anisotropic etching.
Referring to FIG. 1B, a liner oxide 14 is formed along the sidewalls and the bottom of the trench 13. Afterwards, an insulation layer is deposited on the mask layer 12 and fills the trench 13. With the help of chemical mechanic polishing (CMP), the insulation layer outside the trench 23 is removed and an insulation plug 15 is formed thereafter, as shown in FIG. 1C. A shallow trench isolation structure is then formed as shown in FIG. 1D after the mask layer 12 and the pad oxide 11 are removed.
Because the step for removing the pad oxide 11 uses isotropic etching, an over etching effect easily occurs at the edges of the insulation plug 15 by which a narrow dished portion 19 is formed and exposes a sharp corner 16. The sharp corner 16 easily accumulates electric charges, which will reduce the threshold voltage of devices to produce an abnormal sub-threshold current, called the kink effect. Therefore, the quality and the yield of devices are reduced.
At present time, the method mostly adapted for improving the kink effect is to change the corner shape so as to reduce the sub-threshold current. Rounding the sharp corner is a method for reducing the kink effect, and a rounded corner 17 is shown in FIG. 1E. Another conventional method for reducing the kink effect is to fill the narrow dished portion with insulator. However, the sub-threshold current is still produced even when the corner shape is changed. A large amount of the electric charge is induced by plasma used in the following processes, which the induced charges accumulate around the corner of the trench so that the kink effect occurs again.

Method for forming shallow trench isolation


A hydraulic actuation system for an automated transmission system including an active clutch includes, a hydraulic clutch actuator for controlling engagement of the active clutch, a gear engagement actuator for controlling engagement of a gear, a hydraulic accumulator, a hydraulic fluid reservoir, a main control valve for selectively connecting the hydraulic clutch actuator and the gear engagement actuator to the accumulator or to the reservoir and an isolation valve for isolating the gear engagement actuator from the main control valve, when the clutch actuator is connected to the accumulator, the clutch actuator causing the clutch to engage when connected to the accumulator and causing the clutch to disengage when connected to the reservoir. Two such hydraulic actuation systems may be connected in parallel to control the clutches of a twin clutch transmission system, allowing the twin clutch transmission system to be driven in a restricted emergency mode, using only one clutch.

This invention relates to hydraulic actuation systems and in particular hydraulic actuation systems for automated transmission systems.
In automated transmission systems of, for example, the type disclosed in WO97/05410 or WO97/40300, whose content is expressly incorporated in the disclosure content of the present application, fluid pressure actuators are used to control actuation of a clutch actuator mechanism and/or a gear engaging mechanism. In accordance with WO97/05410, separate control valves are used to control the clutch actuator mechanism and the gear engaging mechanism.
WO97/40300 discloses a hydraulic actuation system in which a main control valve controls both the clutch actuation mechanism and, together with secondary valves, shift and select actuators of a gear engaging mechanism. The use of a single main control valve in this manner reduces the number of components, providing savings in the overall size and cost of the system. The design of the master control valve is however significantly more complicated, which reduces the cost savings.
The use of a main control valve to control both the clutch and gear engagement actuator requires that the gear engagement actuator is connected to a source of hydraulic fluid under pressure when the clutch actuator is connected to the source of hydraulic fluid under pressure, the gear engagement actuator being isolated from the source of hydraulic fluid under pressure only when the clutch actuator is connected to a reservoir.
When the transmission system utilises a clutch which is maintained in engagement by mechanical spring means, the clutch being disengaged by the application of fluid pressure to a clutch actuator, this form of hydraulic actuation system permits the clutch actuator and the gear engagement actuator to be depressurised when the vehicle is in gear with the clutch engaged, thereby reducing the number of potential leakage points when the actuation system is not in use.
However if the transmission system utilises an active clutch, which is maintained in engagement by the application of fluid pressure to a clutch actuator, the clutch being disengaged by connection of the clutch actuator to a reservoir, the hydraulic actuation system of the type known will require the gear engagement actuator to be pressurised whenever to clutch is engaged, thereby increasing the number of potential leakage points.
According to one aspect of the present invention a hydraulic actuation system for an automated transmission system including an active clutch comprises:
a hydraulic clutch actuator for controlling engagement of an active clutch;
a gear engagement actuator for controlling engagement of a gear; a source of hydraulic fluid under pressure;
a hydraulic fluid reservoir;
a main control valve for selectively connecting the hydraulic clutch actuator and the gear engagement actuator to the source of hydraulic fluid under pressure or to the reservoir; and
an isolation valve for isolating the gear engagement actuator from the main control valve, when the clutch actuator is connected to the source of hydraulic fluid under pressure;
the clutch actuator causing the clutch to engage when connected to the source of hydraulic fluid under pressure and causing the clutch to disengage when connected to the reservoir.
With the hydraulic actuation system disclosed above, the isolation valve will disconnect the gear engagement actuator from the source of hydraulic fluid under pressure when the clutch actuator is pressurised and the clutch engaged. The number of potential leakage points is thereby reduced.
According to a further aspect of the present invention a hydraulic actuation system for an automated twin clutch transmission system having:
a first active clutch for transmitting torque via a first set of gears;
a second active clutch for transmitting torque via a second set of gears; said hydraulic actuation system comprising;
a source of hydraulic fluid under pressure;
a hydraulic fluid reservoir;
a first hydraulic clutch actuator for controlling engagement of said first active clutch;
a second hydraulic clutch actuator for controlling engagement of said second active clutch;
a first gear engagement actuator for controlling engagement of one if said first set of gears;
a second gear engagement actuator for controlling engagement of one of said second set of gears;
a first main control valve for selectively connecting the first clutch actuator and the first gear engagement actuator to the source of hydraulic fluid under pressure or to the reservoir; and
a first isolation valve for isolating the first gear engagement actuator from the first main control valve, when the first clutch actuator is connected to the source of hydraulic fluid under pressure;
a second main control valve for selectively connecting the second clutch actuator and the second gear engagement actuator to the source of hydraulic fluid under pressure or to the reservoir; and
a second isolation valve for isolating the second gear engagement actuator from the second main control valve, when the second clutch actuator is connected to the source of hydraulic fluid under pressure;
the first and second main control valves being connected to the source of hydraulic fluid under pressure and to the reservoir in parallel. With the twin clutch transmission system disclosed above the hydraulic control system permits a gear associated with one clutch to be engaged while that clutch is disengaged and the other clutch is engaged. Said one clutch may then be engaged as said other clutch is disengaged, in order to engage a new gear. The engagement of one clutch and disengagement of the other clutch may be controlled so that the torque transmitted is maintained constant and a smooth change is achieved.
The use of parallel hydraulic actuation systems permits one clutch and the gears associated therewith to be used, even though the other clutch/actuation system may be inoperative, so that the vehicle may be driven, albeit in a restricted mode.

LuK Lamellen und Kupplungsbau Beteiligungs KG


A greeting card made of a single sheet of material and adapted for holding a substantially flat object, comprises at least two sections separated by a single folding line, a first of the two sections having a smaller dimension than the second section in the direction perpendicular to the folding line. One of the two sections is formed with at least one slit spaced from the folding line and the other section is formed with at least one slit-engaging portion insertable into the at least one slit when the greeting card is folded along the folding line. Thereby, the first section lies flat over the second section and a pocket is formed for holding a flat object.

A greeting card is a commodity produced on large scale and in a vast range of forms and shapes. Frequently, it is used on holidays and celebrations, where it is given along with a present. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,096,058 discloses a greeting card folded to form a compartment having a volume for storing a box of candies or the like.
Often, the present is in the form of a cheque or cash inserted in an envelope together with a greeting card. Greeting cards incorporating flat objects such as cheques or photographs are disclosed, for example, in GB 2143177A, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,822,896, 5,822,897, 6,148,550, and others.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,148,550 relates to the manufacturing of a greeting card including a money pocket attached to its internal surface by means of an adhesive agent.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,822,897 provides a reversible greeting, letter and/or photograph frame with cover, which may be folded to a self-contained structure to be mailed without an envelope, and which may be reversed into a photo-stand to hold a photograph.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,822,896 provides a dioramic greeting card constructed of three panels, one of which is formed with a window through which a picture or writing, printed or adhered on another panel, can be seen.
GB 2143177 refers to folding a one-piece blank into a six-fold greeting card including a window that allows the viewing of a photograph inserted therein.


A swing away manway assembly for a tubular fluid conveying system having a manway opening in a first horizontal plane, the assembly including a cover disposed in a second parallel horizontal plane. The manway cover includes a circumferential sealing means for continuous sealing of the manway opening. The cover is provided with latch means for alternatively engaging and releasing the sealing means. Swing away means is secured to the cover in a plane perpendicular to the first and second horizontal planes of the cover and opening. The swing away means is adapted to facilitate swinging movement of the cover in a horizontal plane upon release of the sealing means. The swing away means includes biasing means for cooperation with the latch means in urging sealing engagement of the cover with the opening, and cam means for limited vertical movement of the cover during horizontal rotation thereof.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to devices for releasably sealing manway openings in tubular fluid conveying systems, and in particular to an apparatus to facilitate releasable sealing of a manway opening in a tubular system for conveying processed food products in liquified form, wherein a swing away assembly permits unsealing of the opening by rotational movement of a manway opening cover about a vertical axis, and limited vertical movement of the cover during such rotational movement.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
It is known to provide a manway opening in a tubular fluid conveying system. For example, it has long been the practice to provide municipal sewer and water systems with manways, in order to give maintenance personnel access to the interior of such systems. Such manways are traditionally sealed by manway opening covers, which may or may not be integral to such systems by mechanical attachment therewith.
It is also known to provide a manway opening in a commercial tubular fluid conveying system, such as, for example, in food processing operations and the like. Such systems are generally unlike municipal applications in that the former are generally of more reduced scope, and may also be adapted to convey fluids at a variety of pressure levels. For these reasons, commercial fluid conveying systems often include manway openings having releasable covers that are mechanically integrated with the system and capable of forming a tight seal therewith.
Most conventional manway opening covers of the commercial type are attached to the tubular structure by a simple hinge device. In the typical case, the hinge includes a horizontal pivot axis. In this way, most manway covers are opened by lifting the cover in a 180.degree. arc about the pivot axis. Therefore, the manway cover is moved vertically, requiring that there be available sufficient space to accommodate the full diameter of the cover as it is lifted through its arc. In many cases, this requires clearance of more than 24 inches. Obviously, in circumstances where such clearance is not available, the use of a traditional manway opening cover may be prohibited. This presents serious problems where access is necessary and space limited.


A universal hinge with a base member having a smooth semi spherical upper surface and a lower mounting surface and a vertically extending cylindrical opening therein. An intermediate member has a lower cylindrical surface that is received in the base member, and a latching member carried by the base member secures the intermediate member to the base member for relative rotation. The remote end of the intermediate member is pivotally secured to a mounted member, and the remote end of the latter is formed for securement of an item such as a Bimini Top.

1) Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to hinges, and more particularly to a universal hinge that will accommodate relative movement between the hinge members in more than a single plane.
2) Description of the Prior Art
Universal hinges are well known in the prior art and have particular application, inter alia, as a hinge for a convertible Bimini Top of a boat, that is a type of convertible top which can be raised to an upright usable position and lowered therefrom to a lowered unused or stored position. Such a hinge must have a base which can be mounted on a vessel, and a part carried by and pivotal relative to the base and securable to the Bimini top so that the Bimini Top can be moved between its positions. Such a Bimini hinge is shown in my U.S. Pat. No. 6,151,756, which has these desirable characteristics, however, this hinge requires that a receiving opening be provided in the boat hull to accommodate the housing which depends from the mounting flange. All boat manufacturers do not desire to have such an opening in their boat and all boat mounting surfaces are not conducive to having a receiving opening therein. Additionally, the two parts of the hinge are not easily separated, so that when a Bimini is removed from the prior art hinge, as for storage, the Bimini is detached from the hinge and the two portions of the hinge remain secured to the boat. In this condition the pivoting portion of the hinge projects from the base and becomes an obstruction for becomes an obstruction for the boat operator, as disassembly of the hinge is difficult.
It is an object of this invention to provide a universal hinge wherein the base of the hinge does not project below the surface upon which it is mounted. It is also an object of this invention to provide a universal hinge wherein the hinge elements are easily dissembled. Yet a further object of this invention is to provide such a hinge structure such that when the pivoting portion is removed from the base portion, there is no structure present to interfere with a user. To this end, the present invention includes a base which is securable to a surface such as a boat hull or cabin, and does not project below this surface. The base has a receiving opening therein, and includes a latching lever which is spring loaded to project into the receiving opening and which lever is manually operable to be withdrawn from the projecting position. A hinge intermediate member is rotatably received in the receiving opening and has a detent groove for receiving the latching lever to retain the intermediate member in the opening, and alternately, when the latch is withdrawn, to be removed from the opening to disassemble the parts. The intermediate member has an axial slot there in for pivotally receiving a tang carried by the mounted member to be mounted thereon, and a pivot pin transverses the slot and the tang to pivotally mount the mounted member to the intermediate member, whereby the mounted member is universally hinged relative to the base.


There is provided an information processing apparatus including a determination unit configured to determine, for each application, shift time length for each state shift while an application changes from a non-usable state to a usable state, and a control unit configured to shift a state of an application to the non-usable state, the application being specified on the basis of a result of the determination by the determination unit.

The present disclosure relates to an information processing apparatus, an information processing method, and a storage medium.
Recently, with development of ability of computational resources such as a central processing unit (CPU) or memory, it has become common to use a plurality of applications in parallel. However, in a case where many applications are launched, computational resources may be depleted. With regard to the above issue, JP 2006-285871A discloses a technology that displays a warning to a user on a display when an application starting request is issued and a sum of each maximum memory usage amount of an already-started application and an application relating to the starting request exceeds a certain acceptable amount.

Information processing to shut down application based on start-up time and network access time


A device for attachment to a bicycle which includes a flat strap of semi-rigid plastic a substantial portion of which is straight terminating in a free distal end. A portion of the strap is bent at a proximal end thereof against itself forming an area of double thickness. A fastener is engageable with the strap at the proximal end thereof to affix the apparatus to the bicycle so that the distal end of the strap may be sequentially engaged by the spokes of a rotating bicycle wheel to simulate the sound of a motor.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to bicycle accessories. More specifically the present invention pertains to apparatus for attachment to a bicycle for simulating the sound of a motorbike.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There are millions of bicycles. Many of these are owned by children who like to play as if they were operating a motorbike or motorcycle. These children are too young or too economically disadvantaged to be able to purchase a motorbike or motorcycle. Children may improvise by attaching items to their bicycle which simulate the sound of a motor. For example, a playing card may be attached to the fork of a bicycle by a clothes pin or some other apparatus so that the edge of the playing card engages spokes of the bicycle wheel as the wheel rotates. The sound of the playing card sequentially engaging the bicycle spokes is an attempt to simulate the sound of the motor.
Such improvisation is less than effective and may not last very long. Furthermore, there is a danger of damaging bicycle spokes if the improvised apparatus is not properly attached to the bicycle. Other solutions are needed.
In the present invention, apparatus is provided for attachment to a bicycle to simulate the sound of a motor. The apparatus comprises a strip of semi-rigid plastic, a substantial portion of which is straight, terminating in a free distal end. In a preferred embodiment, the remainder of the strap is bent back against the first portion and then curved in a reverse direction therefrom to form a loop portion for encircling a support member of a bicycle. Holes are provided in the strap for engagement by a fastener device for fixing the apparatus to a bicycle support member so that the distal end of the strap is positioned for sequential engagement by the spokes of a bicycle wheel, as it turns, to simulate the sound of a motor.
The selection of materials, fastener means and spacing of holes on the strap are important features for manufacture, installation and effectiveness of the motor sound simulating apparatus. A number of objects and advantages of the invention will be understood from reading the specification which follows in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.


Embodiments of the present invention provide a prism film and a method and an apparatus for manufacturing the prism film. The prism film comprises a substrate which is provided with prism protrusions formed of photoresist; wherein at least two prism protrusions have different heights. The embodiments of the present invention adopt the laser interference lithography apparatus for forming the prism film, such that the prism film has adjustable prism period and modulation depths. Moreover, the depth of modulation is distributed randomly on the surface of the manufactured prism film, and a prism direction and a prism period can be adjusted conveniently.

FIG. 1 illustrates a structure of a backlight in a LCD module. The backlight comprises a liquid crystal panel 1, a protective film 2, an upper prism film 3, a lower prism film 4, a diffusing film 5, a light guiding plate 6 and a bottom reflecting sheet 8 successively from top to bottom. The backlight further comprises a light source 9 located at least one side of the light guiding plate 6, a reflector 10 surrounding the light source 9 and open to the light guiding plate 6, and grids 7 disposed on the bottom surface of the light guiding plate 6. Wherein the protective film 2 may be unnecessary in some backlights. The structure of backlight can be in forms of any combination of the elements mentioned. The backlight is not limited to be applicable to a liquid crystal display device, but can be applicable to other display devices such as an electronic paper etc.
The upper prism film 3 as shown in FIG. 1 is mainly used for converging light. FIG. 2 shows a conventional technology for fabricating the upper prism film; firstly a photoresist is formed on a surface of a substrate which may be composed of macromolecule polymers, for instance, the substrate may be composed of one layer or multi-layers of macromolecule polymers. The macromolecule polymers may be PET (polyethylene terephthalate) etc. The photoresist can be formed on the surface of the substrate by coating, sputtering or depositing, and then passing the substrate through a rotary wheel 13 with prism teeth. The shape defined by adjacent prism teeth on the rotary wheel 13 corresponds to the shape of the prism to be formed, and these prism teeth can form a prism structure on the photoresist. And then the photoresist is cured by a curing light source, such that the substrate and the structures of prism thereon constitute a prism film. For instance, the photoresist may be an UV photoresist, and the curing light source may be an UV curing light source accordingly. It can also adopt photoresists of other types as well as the corresponding curing light sources.
However, the above technology for manufacturing prism film has the following disadvantages in practice: (1) the prism teeth of the rotary wheel are worn and deformed in use, so as to degrade the prism film; (2) when repairing the prism teeth or changing of the prism's parameters such as prism period, modulation depth etc., it needs to process the prism teeth with a machining method such as a laser processing method or a mechanical processing method. However, these processing methods are very complicated, as well as being high-cost and low time-efficient; (3) the modulation depth of the prism structure on the surface of prism film processed by the conventional technology is generally fixed, thereby it can not effectively avoid conglutination between the prism film and other films or the liquid crystal panel.

Prism film and method and apparatus for manufacturing the same

BEIJING BOE OPTOELECTRONICS TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.


An intraocular lens is disclosed, with an optic that changes shape in response to a deforming force exerted by the zonules of the eye. A haptic supports the optic around its equator and couples the optic to the capsular bag of the eye. Certain haptic features improve the accommodative performance of the haptic, such that compressive/tensile forces may be more efficiently transferred from the haptic to optic. Furthermore, certain aspects also provide enhanced bag-sizing capability so that the IOL better fits within the capsular bag.

A human eye can suffer diseases that impair a patient's vision. For instance, a cataract may increase the opacity of the lens, causing blindness. To restore the patient's vision, the diseased lens may be surgically removed and replaced with an artificial lens, known as an intraocular lens, or IOL. An IOL may also be used for presbyopic lens exchange.
The simplest IOLs have a single focal length, or, equivalently, a single power. Unlike the eye's natural lens, which can adjust its focal length within a particular range in a process known as accommodation, these single focal length IOLs cannot generally accommodate. As a result, objects at a particular position away from the eye appear in focus, while objects at an increasing distance away from that position appear increasingly blurred.
An improvement over the single focal length IOLs is an accommodating IOL, which can adjust its power within a particular range. As a result, the patient can clearly focus on objects in a range of distances away from the eye, rather than at a single distance. This ability to accommodate is of tremendous benefit for the patient, and more closely approximates the patient's natural vision than a single focal length IOL.
When the eye focuses on a relatively distant object, the lens power is at the low end of the accommodation range, which may be referred to as the "far" power. When the eye focuses on a relatively close object, the lens power is at the high end of the accommodation range, which may be referred to as the "near" power. The accommodation range or add power is defined as the near power minus the far power. In general, an accommodation range of 2 to 4 diopters is considered sufficient for most patients.
The human eye contains a structure known as the capsular bag, which surrounds the natural lens. The capsular bag is transparent, and serves to hold the lens. In the natural eye, accommodation is initiated in part by the ciliary muscle and a series of zonular fibers, also known as zonules. The zonules are located in a relatively thick band mostly around the equator of the lens, and impart a largely radial force to the capsular bag that can alter the shape and/or the location of the natural lens and thereby change its effective power.
In a typical surgery in which the natural lens is removed from the eye, the lens material is typically broken up and vacuumed out of the eye, but the capsular bag is left intact. The remaining capsular bag is extremely useful for an accommodating intraocular lens, in that the eye's natural accommodation is initiated at least in part by the zonules through the capsular bag. The capsular bag may be used to house an accommodating IOL, which in turn can change shape and/or shift in some manner to affect the power and/or the axial location of the image.
The IOL has an optic, which refracts light that passes through it and forms an image on the retina, and a haptic, which mechanically couples the optic to the capsular bag or holds the IOL in contact with the capsular bag. During accommodation, the zonules exert a force on the capsular bag, which in turn exerts a force on the optic. The force may be transmitted from the capsular bag directly to the optic, or from the capsular bag through the haptic to the optic.
One challenge in implementing an accommodating optic is designing a suitable haptic to couple the optic to the capsular bag. The haptic should allow distortion of the optic in an efficient manner, so that a relatively small ocular force from the ciliary muscle, zonules, and/or capsular bag can produce a relatively large change in power and/or axial location of the image. This reduces fatigue on the eye, which is highly desirable.
Accordingly, there exists a need for an intraocular lens having a haptic with increased efficiency in converting an ocular force to a change in power and/or a change in axial location of the image.


A tracheostomy device for insertion into the trachea for ventilation has inner and outer cannulae. A sealing cuff on the inner cannula forms a seal with a wall of the trachea. A housing connects to the inner and outer cannulae and communicates with an outside air source. The outer cannula is provided with a fenestration between the cuff and the patient's vocal cords. The inner cannula is slidable within the outer cannula, the two being connected by a spring and bellows arrangement. The inner cannula slides down to close the fenestration during inhalation and slides up to open the fenestration upon exhalation of the air from the patient's lungs.

The present invention relates to tracheostomy devices and particularly to such tracheostomy devices for allowing a patient to speak during forced ventilation and natural breathing.
Under certain conditions, a medical patient who is having difficulty breathing will undergo a tracheotomy operation. During this operation, an incision is made to establish air communication with the interior of the patient's trachea. A tracheostomy device is inserted through the incision into the trachea. Typically, air is forced through the trachea and into the patient's lungs to assist in breathing.
Many tracheostomy devices are provided with a circumferential cuff which seals a lower portion of the trachea and the lungs from the patient's upper airway. In doing this, the exhaled air is forced out through the tracheostomy device, and is not allowed to pass over the patient's vocal cords, thus preventing the patient from speaking. With select patients, the inability to speak can be a major inconvenience, and conceivably a dangerous situation if the person cannot otherwise communicate.
Several attempts have been made to provide air to the upper trachea airway to allow vocalization. However, many of the prior devices have forced outside air into the upper trachea airway. Such devices are difficult to work, are uncomfortable and the resulting speech is muffled and barely understandable. Attempts have also been made to direct the patient's own exhaled air into the upper trachea airway, but these have either required the absence of the sealing cuff or have been found to be complex and cumbersome to use and are susceptible to clogging.
The sealing cuff is important for preventing foreign material from entering the lungs.


A computer program product for causing a computer of an information processing device to execute processing for generating a sound that is generated by a mobile object with a plurality of tires, which moves on a predetermined surface within a virtual three-dimensional space, the computer being caused to execute the steps of: controlling the movement of the mobile object; calculating a load applied to at least one of the tires of the mobile object; controlling, on the basis of the load, a volume and a pitch of a squealing sound generated from the tires; and outputting the squealing sound. The computer is further caused to execute the steps of calculating a slip angle of at least one of the tires of the mobile object, and changing the tone of the squealing sound on the basis of the slip angle.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information processing device, a squealing sound generation method in the information-processing device, and a computer program product. More particularly, the present invention relates to an improvement of an artificial sound generation technology in a simulation game device on which one can play a game, such as a car race or Time Attack, as a driver of a vehicle within a virtual three-dimensional space.
2. Description of Related Art
There has been provided a simulation game device on which a player can play a car race, Time Attack, or other driving game as a driver of a virtual vehicle within a virtual three-dimensional space. Such a game device has games where a player can have a realistic excitement by skidding and crashing the virtual vehicle in accordance with the driving situations. Also, the sound effects of various artificial sounds produced according to the driving situations can bring further realistic excitement (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
The sound includes the engine sound, and shrill frictional noise that is generated when a tire violently skid when the vehicle accelerates suddenly, brakes suddenly, and makes a sharp turn (so-called "squealing sound", such as screeching and squeaking noises, that can be expressed in onomatopoeia). Conventionally, the squealing sounds in driving games were generated with a loop tone or single tone, while changing the pitches of the pre-registered tones as necessary, in accordance with the degree of frictional force between the tires of a virtual vehicle and the road surface.
[Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. H10-137445

Information processing device, squealing sound generation method in information processing device, and computer program product


A firearm safety device for use with semiautomatic pistols and other firearms which use striker pins to activate a firing pin is disclosed. The invention uses apparatus which selectively blocks the travel or operation of the striker pin to place the firearm in a safe condition. The invention allows for the application of key lock systems to place the firearm in a safe condition and to prevent tampering by unauthorized individuals. In the operation, the safety blocking mechanism operates by preventing the striker from reaching its released position upon application of trigger pressure. The firearm is also caused to be placed in an out of battery condition when selected on and there is any attempt to pull the trigger on the firearm.

1. Field of the Invention
This application relates to improved safety features for semi-automatic firearms with hammerless designs or which use striker pins to activate a firing pin. More particularly it concerns hand-held or guns of the type which do not have manual safety selectors and which use a striker type firing mechanism rather than a hammer strike firing mechanism.
2. Description of Related Art and the Class of Weapons to Which the Invention is Drawn
It is well known by police, military and other users of semi-automatic handguns that their accidental discharge is a very serious problem. Accidental discharge, often with fatal results, occurs by someone handling a weapon which was xe2x80x9csupposedxe2x80x9d to be on safety or, alternatively, which had its magazine removed and was supposed to be empty. Accordingly, much attention has been given, by designers, manufacturers and others skilled in the art of manufacture and use of semi-automatic firearms, to their construction or adaptation so as to avoid or mitigate the danger of accidental or inadvertent firing. The present invention further addresses this problem and provides the art with unique improvements in firearm construction that accomplishes this desired result with a manual safety system which heretofore was not available.
The majority of semi-automatic pistols in use, including those used as side-arms by the armed forces of the United States of America, are of the essentially single action type in which a firing pin, typically impacted by a hammer, is cocked into firing position by recoil of a slide when the weapon is discharged by pull of the trigger.(See U.S. Pat. Nos. 984,519 and 4,754,689). Some of these weapons may be double action on loading of the first round, but single action thereafter for all rounds in the magazine, i.e., they are not double action only weapons.
Such single action pistols are notorious for accidental discharge and various embodiments have been devised to improve their safety. This has included modification of the sear mechanism to reduce potential for movement on dropping or other impact of the weapon (see U.S. Pat. No. 4,646,619) and disablement of the trigger upon removal of the magazine (see U.S. Pat. No. 4,420,899).
Double action type pistols are those in which the firing pin is not cocked by slide recoil, but wherein trigger movement both cocks and releases the firing pin for weapon discharge (see U.S. Pat. No. 3,857,325). Since such pistols are not xe2x80x9carmedxe2x80x9d until trigger pull, they have less potential for accidental discharge upon being dropped or impacted. Still, accidental discharge is possible in such firearms and embodiments of them have been created to improve their safety, e.g., disablement of the trigger upon removal of the magazine (see U.S. Pat. No. 4,031,648). The present invention improves upon the inherent safety features of double action type firearms by provision of improvements thereto that virtually eliminate the possibility of their accidental discharge by dropping or impact or because there was a cartridge in the chamber of a gun from which the magazine had been removed.
A principal object of the present invention is the provision of new improved safety features for semi-automatic firearms which use a striker pin type of firing mechanism.
Further objects of the invention include an improved:
1. Manual safety device for hammerless pistols or other semi-automatic hand-guns guns wherein a firing pin is both cocked and released for firing by a trigger mechanism in contrast to the predominate type of semi-automatic guns in which a firing pin or related hammer is cocked by the recoil of the gun.
2. Manual safety lock mechanism for semi-automatic hand-guns having triggers, sears and firing pins that operate with relatively low and more constant friction as compared with prior known hand-guns.
3. Manual safety for such hand-guns that does not interfere with a constant, smooth trigger pull.
4. Manual safety in semiautomatic handguns in which the striker pin is positively blocked and/or prevented from reaching a fully retracted position necessary for the release of the pin and the firing of the weapon.
5. Manual safety in semiautomatic hand-guns in which attempted operation of the hand gun while the manual safety is engaged causes the gun to enter an out of battery condition, thereby preventing the firearm from operating.
6. Manual safety in semi-automatic handguns which provides an indication of the guns safe or ready-to-fire condition.
Other objects and further scope of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed descriptions given herein. It should be understood, however, that the detailed descriptions, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent from such descriptions.
A manual safety lock that allows positive manual lock-out of semiautomatic to hand-guns of hammerless design is disclosed. In hand-guns similar to the Glock and Smith and Wesson 99 style pistols which use hammerless firing mechanisms, frequently there are no manual safety lock-outs to provide for a positive disengagement of the striker pin used to strike the primer of a cartridge. The present invention provides a method for easily retrofitting existing hand-guns with a positive safety mechanism that can be manually selectable or can include the provision of a conventional lock pin screw device requiring a unique key type mechanism to unlock.
Although the present invention has been designed specifically to work with Glock brand pistols, and have been successfully operated in a prototype design, it is clear from the diagrams and consideration of similarly designed semiautomatic pistols that the invention should operate properly on all such similar striker pin hand-gun designs. Therefore, the description below will specifically reference a Glock hand-gun though it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the same mechanisms are frequently found on many other popular hand-guns using similar technology for striker pin design.
In the case of the Glock hand-guns, once fully assembled, the Glock has three safeties engaged. However, the safeties are not manually selectable and are meant simply to prevent the inadvertent movement of the striker pin, so that the firing pin operated by the striker mechanism cannot reach a primer on live ammunition without the trigger actually and deliberately being pulled. Such a system does not provide for a manual safety system which can be positively engaged by an operator to prevent firing of the pistol even if the trigger is inadvertently pulled by the operator or some other person. When the trigger is pressed on the Glock pistol and begins to move, the trigger safety of the Glock is disengaged. As the trigger safety is pressed flush with the face of the trigger, the rear-end of the safety retracts into, and flush with, the upper rear portion of the trigger. This allows the Glock trigger safety to clear the receiver as the trigger is moved to the rear. The vertically extending tab on the trigger bar pressing the firing pin safety upward disengages it. At this point, the ammunition primer of the pistol cartridge is now available for the firing pin to detonate. Thereafter, the trigger bar moves the firing pin to the rear as the trigger is pulled further backxe2x80x94this rear-end movement partially compressing the firing pin spring which ultimately provides the energy from moving the firing pin forward upon release. It is at this point that the present invention would operate to prevent further movement. When the tab of the trigger bar contacts the connectors angled lip, the Glock pistol is said to be cocked. Unlike conventional pistols which will remain cocked without trigger presser, Glocks will uncock themselves automatically if, at this point, trigger pressure is removed by the operator. At this point in the trigger operation, the firing pins spring of the Glock has been compressed roughly an additional xe2x85x9 inch.
As the trigger on the Glock moves further to the rear, the trigger bar is forced to move downward as trigger pressure moves it further to the rear. This downward movement of the trigger bar caused the sear plate, the interval rear portion of the trigger bar, to move downward as well. The present invention serves to prevent the Glock from reaching this ready to fire condition. Upon further application of trigger pressure, the firing pin is released and driven forward by the compressed firing pins spring when the trigger has been pulled enough to move the trigger bar back far enough to slide down the connectors angled lip sufficient to drop the sear plate below the downward extension of the firing pin tang. Once released, the firing pin travels forward through the tunnel in the rear portion of the slide. The firing pins tip protrudes through the opening in the breach face and strikes the chambered primer thereby discharging the round.
The present invention, in its simplest form, provides a screw mechanism which mates with a threaded rear plate on the Glock where such threaded insert is located directly behind the striker pin, also referred to as the firing pin, preventing rearward movement of the striker pinxe2x80x94thereby preventing any firing of the Glock pistol unless and until such manual safety is moved or unthreaded. It can be appreciated that instead of using a simple manual twist mechanism for the screw-in safety device, a small locking mechanism can be used allowing locking of the safety on the xe2x80x9cOnxe2x80x9d position until a key like mechanism, pin or other type of device, is inserted in the mechanism to release the blocking pin safety.
Various additional embodiments are disclosed with the present invention showing a button-like latching mechanism to allow the depression of the safety to come into contact with the rear of the firing pin to prevent firing in the same fashion as the simple twist-in safety which is first described below. Key-like mechanisms are also disclosed which utilize the same principle of blocking the movement of the striker pin to prevent firing and to render the pistol in a safe condition until the safety is removed using a key-like mechanism as disclosed. Finally, an improvement embodiment which utilizes a thumb slide safety which activates a latching piece which captures an extension of the striker pin to hold it in place until the unlatching of the slide safety mechanism. This last embodiment would require a replacement striker pin such that an extension of the pin shaft exists to mate with the extension capture mechanism disclosed. The present invention contemplates utilizing a modified striker pin which would be a direct replacement for the pistol without a requirement of altering the pistol or using a gunsmith to modify the firearm.
Therefore, in accordance with the disclosure, the present invention teaches an improved safety for any firearms utilizing a striker pin style of firing mechanism. The safety mechanism disclosed provides both a method of placing the firearm in a safe condition, and the means for accomplishing a safe condition. The method disclosed places a firearm of the type referenced in a safe condition by arresting the travel of the striker pin, which operates as the firearms firing pin, by selectively limiting the movement of the striker pin about its major axis. The method includes placing a selectively removable stopping mechanism substantially coaxial with the longitudinal axis or major axis of said firing pin or striker pin. Disclosed is also various embodiments discussed above, which, in all cases, provide a safety mechanism which include means for arresting the movement of the striker pin, and a firing pin integrated or operated by such striker pin selectively to prevent the striker pin from firing a cartridge upon attempted activation of the trigger. The selective activation means disclosed also provides a variety of different alternatives for capturing the movement of the striker pin in the types of firearms considered. Such means include conventional selecting means such as slide buttons and key locks, or ratcheting button type devices, all of which serve to capture the end of the striker pin of the firearm which is closest to the rear of the firearm.
The capturing or arresting means disclosed positions the safety blocking mechanism such as to prevent movement of the striker pin, or alternatively, to actually displace the striker pin by placing pressure against it when the safety blocking mechanism is activated. In such cases, additional pressure placed by the safety shaft blocking mechanism or other means used to displace the striker pin will cause the firearm slide to begin to move rearward, thereby taking the firearm into what is commonly known as an out of battery condition. Once placed in such a condition, most, if not all firearms, are designed not to allow operation of the firearm, thereby presenting a second level of safe operation.
Finally, disclosed is an alternative design which utilizes a field replaceable striker pin which has an extended tail which protrudes to the rear of the firearm allowing alternative capture means to arrest or control the striker pins movement. The alternative allows slide switch activation means to capture and hold the firing mechanism.

Integrated manual safety device for hammerless semiautomatic pistols


A multi piece electrical connector for use in a compact laser gyro. A connector unit, along with connectors 34A-C and paddle board 32, make a connection between the power supply and the dither motor 22 through wires 28 in the connector unit. The connector unit 30 includes a pair of connector substrates 34A, 34B used to sandwich a connector slug 36 to form a connector for connecting two printed wiring boards 38, 40.

This application is related to U.S. patent application 08/328,755 entitled COMBINED SUPPORT PLATE AND PRINTED WIRING BOARD FOR A SELF CONTAINED LASER GYRO and U.S. patent application 08/328,752 entitled DITHER MOTOR CONNECTOR FOR A SELF CONTAINED LASER GYRO filed on the same day by the same inventors and commonly assigned with the present application.
This invention is directed to the field of laser gyros and more particularly to a laser gyro which is contained in a package with its support electronics.
Laser gyros have attained wide acceptance as high quality, high accuracy navigation devices. Systems which originally used ring laser gyros could occupy an area of four cubic feet or more and generally weighed several pounds.
Such a large system would not work in certain applications, such as missles and satellites. Only a small, lightweight navigation system will work in these circumstances.
Accordingly, small laser gyro systems have been developed, such as the Honeywell GG1308, which is described in 9GG1308 Article by Thielman and Oelschlaeger. Such a laser gyro has size and weight advantages. But these advantages come at the expense of performance.
Larger gyros, which generally provide better performance, have been previously packaged such that only the laser block itself with any onboard circuitry is packaged within a hermetically sealed container. Other electronics were connected to the laser block, but resided outside the sealed container. Making connections to the block while retaining the seal thus became difficult.
It therefore became desirable to have a high performing, laser block co-located within the hermetically sealed container with its major support subsytems such as the power supply, path length control circuits, laser intensity monitor circuits and the like. This was to be accomplished while maintaining a small, lightweight system.

Connector for a self contained laser gyro


In a case where a fill-in pattern is temporarily inserted during an automatic performance, not only a main pattern to which the performance pattern should be shifted but also a main pattern which has been performed immediately before are taken into account and a fill-in pattern is automatically determined in accordance with a combination of the two main patterns. In a case where an introduction pattern is inserted at the beginning of the automatic performance, an introduction pattern is automatically determined depending upon which main pattern is performed after the introduction performance. In a case where an ending performance is inserted at the end of the automatic performance, an ending pattern is automatically determined depending upon which main pattern has been performed immediately before the ending. In a case where, during a fill-in performance, an operation for designating another fill-in performance has been made, the fill-in performance which is being performed is continued and, as to the main pattern to which the pattern should be shifted, one which is designated later is given priority. Transient performance patterns such as fill-in, introduction and ending are automatically determined in these manner and an automatic performance which is rich in variety can be realized.

This invention relates to an automatic performance device used in an electronic musical instrument or the like instrument and, more particularly, to an automatic performance device carrying out an automatic performance according to a desired automatic performance pattern such as an automatic rhythm performance and an automatic bass/chord accompaniment performance. More particulary, the invention relates to a technique for automatically selecting a transitional automatic performance pattern such as fill-in, introduction or ending pattern.
In a conventional automatic rhythm performance used in an electronic musical instrument, plural rhythm patterns are normally provided for a common rhythm name and a desired one of these rhythm patterns is selected. For example, a normal pattern and a variation pattern are provided for the rhythm name of bosanova and one of these patterns can be selected. The variation pattern is not limited to a single type but there is also a device in which plural variation patterns are provided. Each of these patterns generally has a length of several bars and a continuous automatic rhythm performance is carried out by repeating such pattern.
Since the same pattern is repeated as a main performance pattern as described above, the automatic performance tends to become monotonous. For avoiding such monotonousness, in a prior art automatic performance device (e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 4,936,183), a sub-pattern called "fill-in" or "break" or "ad lib" is provided and this sub-pattern is temporarily inserted in response to designation made by manual switch operation to be followed by performance of a main pattern. In this case, a main pattern which should follow the temporarily inserted sub-pattern such as fill-in, i.e., a main pattern to be shifted is designated, and the type of the sub-pattern is solely determined in accordance with the type of the designated main pattern to be shifted.
In a case where, for example, there are two types of main performance pattern, i.e., the normal pattern and the variation pattern, two types of fill-in designation switches are provided, i.e., for "fill-in-to-normal" (i.e., a designation of shifting to the normal pattern after performance of fill-in) and "fill-in-to-variation" (i.e., a designation of shifting to the variation pattern) and two types of fill-in patterns are correspondingly provided. When, therefore, the "fill-in-to-normal" designation has been made, the fill-in automatic performance according to the fill-in pattern exclusive for "fill-in-to-normal" is made regardless of whether the pattern which has been performed immediately before is the normal pattern or the variation pattern. Likewise, when the "fill-in-to-variation" designation has been made, the fill-in automatic performance according to the fill-in pattern exclusive for "fill-in-to-variation" is made regardless of the type of the main pattern which has been performed immediately before.
In the prior art automatic performance device, an introduction performance pattern and an ending performance pattern are provided in addition to the main performance patterns for the purpose of introducing vividness of a live performance in the automatic performance. The introduction performance pattern is inserted at the beginning of the automatic performance and the ending performance pattern is inserted at the end of the automatic performance. In this case, a performance according to a predetermined introduction pattern is simply inserted by an introduction designation operation and a performance according to a predetermined ending pattern is inserted by an ending designation operation.
Since the sub-pattern such as fill-in used in the prior art automatic performance device is determined solely in accordance with the type of the main pattern to which the pattern should be shifted after insertion of the sub-pattern, there arise problems that transition from the main pattern which has been performed immediately before tends to become unnatural and the fill-in performance itself tends to become monotonous. For example, in the case of the fill-in to be followed by the normal pattern, the same fill-in pattern is used regardless of whether the main pattern immediately before is the normal pattern or the variation pattern and, therefore, the same fill-in performance is carried out both in a case where the pattern returns from the normal pattern to the normal pattern after insertion of the fill-in and in a case where the pattern is shifted from the normal pattern to the variation pattern after insertion of the fill-in, with the result that the automatic performance is accompanied by monotonousness.
Further, in the prior art automatic performance device, a predetermined introduction pattern is solely determined by an introduction designation operation as described above and this causes monotonousness in the introduction performance. Likewise, a predetermined ending pattern is solely determined by an ending designation operation and this causes monotonousness also in the ending performance.
There may sometimes arise a case where, during a transitional performance such as fill-in, an operation for designating another transitional performance such as fill-in is made. In the prior art automatic performance device, however, no specific arrangement is made to cope with such case and therefore such case cannot be handled properly without causing inconvenience.
The above described problems take place not only in the automatic rhythm performance but also in the automatic bass/chord accompaniment performance and other automatic performances.


The container (1) is divided interiorly into an upper chamber (3) receiving a reservoir (9) for refrigerant product, typically dry ice, and a lower chamber (4) receiving the load, by a thermal shield (6) from the edges of which extend into the lower chamber (4) a flexible baffle structure (12) guiding the circulation of cold gas between the upper chamber (3) and gas passages along the walls of the lower chamber (4) defined by vertical (10) and horizontal (11) strips. The container is especially useful for the transport of fresh or frozen products.

A container of this type is described in European application No. 337,860, in the name of the present applicant.
With this type of container, typically using as refrigerant solid phase CO.sub.2 (dry ice or carbon dioxide snow), penetration of heat across the heat insulation of the isothermal casing is compensated by sublimation of the dry ice, thereby liberating cold gas. The shield allows the upper part of the load in the lower chamber to be largely isolated from the cold source, and promotes circulation of cold gas to the periphery of at least the upper part of the lower chamber. In practice, the load must in no case be allowed to contact or become flush with the thermal shield, and it is therefore necessary to provide a clearance, typically at least 2 cm, between the shield and the upper end of the load in the lower chamber. This spacing principally promotes circulation of cold gas immediately beneath the thermal screen shield, which affects the natural convection conditions of the cold gas in the lower chamber.

Isothermal container, particularly for transporting fresh or frozen products

L'Air Liquide, Societe Anonyme pour l'Etude et l'Exploitation des Procedes Georges Claude


A sealing device dispossed between two members which are relatively rotatable, such as rotation shaft and housing of machinery, includes a first seal ring provided with a resin seal lip being disposed in an axial direction of one of the members to be sealed and having a sealing surface and a second seal ring provided with an elastic rubber seal lip disposed in an axial direction of one of the members to be sealed, the rubber seal lip being provided with a sealing surface closely contacting the sealing surface of the resin seal lip. The first and second seal rings are secured by a securing means. The securing device for securing the first and second seal rings is composed of an annular sealing recess formed on another surface of the resin seal lip opposed to the sealing surface thereof and a sealing projection formed on the sealing surface of the rubber seal lip of the second seal ring. The securing device may be composed of a bonding agent disposed between the end surface of a flanged portion of the first seal ring and the flanged portion of the second seal ring. The securing device is formed at the valcanization treatment of the sealing device in a mold.

The present invention relates to a sealing device utilized for a construction machine, a vehicle for civil construction engineering or an engine of an automobile and, more particularly, to a sealing device provided with a seal lip made of resin material and a seal lip made of rubber-like elastic material, which are firmly sealingly engaged with each other, and also relates to a method of manufacturing the sealing device.
One example of conventional sealing devices will be described hereunder with reference to FIGS. 10 and 11.
Referring to FIG. 10, a sealing device is generally designated by reference numeral 100. The sealing device 100 comprises a first seal ring 103 provided with a seal lip 102 made of resin (hereinafter resin seal lip 102,) hermetically contacting a rotating shaft 101 of a machinery such as a construction machine to which the sealing device is applied, and a second seal ring 105 provided with a seal lip 104 made of rubber-like elastic material (hereinafter rubber seal lip 104). These two seal rings 103 and 105 are in a tightly contacting relationship, but not bonded to each other. To the second seal ring is bonded a reinforcing ring 106 on which are formed a plurality of holes 107 on the circumferential portion thereof. The first seal ring 103 is provided with a base portion 108 on which are formed a plurality of projections 108a, which are engaged with the holes 107 of the reinforcing ring 106 for preventing the first seal ring from being rotated. An annular seal member 109 made of a felt material is disposed on one side, i.e. atmosphere side A of the second seal ring 105.
Before the application of the sealing device 100 to a housing 110 to be sealed, the inner diameter of the rubber seal lip 104 is made smaller than the outer diameter of the rotation shaft 101 in a state shown by a dotted line in FIG. 10 for ensuring an interference fit, and the back surface other than (opposite the sealing surface b) of the resin lip 102 is in close contact with the second seal ring 105. When the second seal ring 105 is mounted, the rubber lip 104 is deformed as shown by a white arrow to thereby form a gap d between the back surface of the resin lip 102 of the first seal ring 103 and the second seal ring 105. An annular groove 111 is formed in the sealing surface b of the resin lip 102.
In the sealing device 100 of the structure described above, the atmosphere on the side A in FIG. 10 is sucked through the grooves 111 by pumping action during the rotation of the rotating shaft 101 and the sealing fluid B is thus sealed. When the shaft 101 is not rotated, the sealing fluid B is sealed by the rubber lip 104. During the described operation of the sealing device 100, since the first and second seal rings 103 and 105, as well as the first seal ring 103 and the reinforcing ring 106, are not connected, the resin lip 102 and the rubber lip 104 of the first and second seal rings 103 and 105 are not influenced by each other, thus performing the sealing function.
In general, the sealing device of the structure described above may be formed in a formation mold, not shown, by heat compressing the first seal ring 103 and rubber material and then carrying out the vulcanization treatment to thereby tightly secure the both materials with relatively low cost.
However, with the sealing device 100 shown in FIG. 10, in a case where the sealing fluid B leaks on the side of the resin lip 102 by the lowering of the sealing performance due to the wearing or degradation of the rubber lip 104, the leaking fluid leaks on the side of the atmosphere A through the gap d, as shown by black arrows, between the contacting surface of the second seal ring 105 and the base portion 108 of the first seal ring 103 and the contacting surface of the base portion 108 and the reinforcing ring 106.
In another example of a sealing device 200 shown in FIG. 11, the first seal ring 202 provided with a resin lip 201 and the second seal ring 204 provided with a rubber lip 203 are formed independently and, thereafter, the sealing device 200 is formed by calking, as shown by a symbol R in FIG. 11, the outer periphery of a reinforcing ring 205 integrally formed with the second seal ring 204.
According to this example, the leakage of the sealing fluid caused in the aforementioned example is not caused because of the formation of the calked portion. However, it is obliged to additionally dispose a reinforcing ring 206 for supporting the first ring 202 and, in addition, the calking process is required for assembling the first seal ring 202 and the second seal ring 204, thus increasing the manufacturing process and cost.
In a further example of the sealing device shown in FIG. 12, the sealing device 300 comprises a second seal ring 301 and a first seal ring 302 closely contacting to the second ring 301 on the side of the atmosphere A. The second seal ring 301 includes a sealing body composed of an annular engaging portion 303, a flanged portion 304 and a rubber seal lip 305 axially extending towards the sealing fluid side B and a metal ring 306. The first seal ring 302 includes a flanged portion 307 extending in a direction of the diameter of the rotation shaft and a resin seal lip 309 provided with a thread groove 308.
In the sealing device 300 of the structure described above, the rubber seal lip 305 and the resin seal lip 309 are in close contact before the mounting thereof as shown in solid outline in FIG. 12, but when both the seal lips are assembled in a portion between the housing 310 and the rotation shaft 311, the seal lips 305 and 309 are elastically deformed in the diameter direction by amounts different from each other as shown by the dot and dash line (in the illustration, only the deformation amount of the seal lip 305 is shown), thereby achieving the sealing performance therebetween. Accordingly, the first and second seal rings 302 and 301 are in the state merely in contact with each other and the projection 313 formed to a sealing body S is engaged with an engaging hole 312 formed to the flanged portion 307 of the first seal ring 302 to thereby attain the rotation prevention function between the respective seal rings 301 and 302.
FIG. 13 shows a still further example of the sealing device of the prior art and the sealing device 400 is of substantially the identical structure of the sealing device 300 shown in FIG. 12 except as discussed below.
In the sealing device 400, an engaging hole 414 is formed in a metal ring 406, and an engaging projection 415 formed to a second seal ring 402 is engaged with the hole 414 to thereby attain the rotation prevention function between the first and second seal rings.
The other structures and the description thereof are eliminated herein by increasing the reference numeral by 100 in FIG. 13 to that applied to portions or members corresponding to those shown in FIG. 12, for example, second seal ring 301 in FIG. 12 to second seal ring 401 in FIG. 13.
In both the examples shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, the sealing device 300 or 400 attains the sealing function for the sealing fluid B by sucking the atmosphere on the side A of the atmosphere by pumping function through the thread groove 308 or 408 during the rotation of the rotation shaft 311 or 411. When the rotation of the rotation shaft stops, the sealing of the fluid B can be performed by the seal lip 305 or 405. The sealing devices 300 or 400 are usually formed by a vulcanization treatment in a closely contacting condition with a desired shape by heating and pressing the ring-shaped resin material, metal ring and rubber material in a cavity of a mold, not shown.
However, with the sealing device 300 or 400 shown in FIG. 12 or 13, in a case where the sealing fluid B leaks on the side of the resin lip 309 or 409 by the lowering of the sealing performance due to the wearing or degradation of the rubber lip 305 or 405, the leaking fluid leaks on the side of the atmosphere A through the gap d and the engaging hole 312 and through the contacting surface of the first seal ring 302 and the metal ring 306 (FIG. 12), and through the outer peripheral side of the first seal ring 402 and the engaging hole 414 (FIG. 13).
In addition, according to these examples, it is necessary to form the first seal ring before the vulcanization treatment so as to have an L-shaped cross section at the manufacturing of the sealing device. Furthermore, the engaging hole 312 of the first seal ring 302 and the engaging hole 414 of the metal ring 406 are additionally required for the manufacture of the sealing device 300 or 400, thus being troublesome and involving increased method of manufacturing cost.

Sealing device and manufacturing method of the same