A select MOS transistor and a data storage MOS transistor are formed in an element region. The transistor has floating-gate electrodes. The floating-gate electrodes are spaced apart above the element region and connected to each other above a field region. Only a tunnel insulating film much thinner than a gate insulating film of the transistor is placed between the floating-gate electrode and a drain region. Only the gate insulating film much thinner than the gate insulating film of the transistor is placed between the floating-gate electrode and the channel region of the transistor. In the element region, the shape of a control electrode is the same as that of the floating-gate electrodes.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a nonvolatile semiconductor memory device capable of electrically rewriting data and semipermanently retaining data.
2. Description of the Related Art
Nonvolatile semiconductor memory devices using double-gate MOS transistors with a floating gate and a control gate are well known.
A conventional nonvolatile semiconductor memory device will be explained with reference to FIGS. 1 to 10.
FIGS. 1 and 2 show a first structure of a conventional nonvolatile semiconductor memory device.
The nonvolatile semiconductor memory device is of the most widely used type. FIG. 1 is a plan view of a memory cell in the nonvolatile semiconductor memory device. FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line II-II' of FIG. 1.
The memory cell is composed of a data storage MOS transistor MT and a select MOS transistor ST, which are connected to each other in series.
The source region of the select MOS transistor ST and the drain region of the data storage MOS transistor MT are made up of n-type regions 12 and 13 at the surface of a p-type semiconductor substrate 10, respectively.
On a partial surface of the n-type region, a very thin silicon oxide film 17 of nearly 10 nm in thickness is formed. A floating-gate electrode 19 and a control gate electrode 20 are formed on and above the channel region 22 of the data storage MOS transistor MT and the silicon oxide film 17. The floating-gate electrode 19 and control gate electrode 20 are made of polysilicon, for example.
In a place directly under the floating-gate electrode 19 where the silicon oxide film 17 has not been formed, and directly under the gate electrode 18 of the select MOS transistor ST, silicon oxide films 23, 16 (of several tens nm) several times as thick as the silicon oxide film 17 are formed.
The drain region of the select MOS transistor ST is composed of n-type regions 11, 12', and the source region of the data storage MOS transistor MT is made up of n-type regions 14, 15.
With the memory cell of such a configuration, the erasing of data is effected by applying a high potential to the control gate electrode 20 of the data storage MOS transistor MT. Specifically, once a high potential has been applied to the control gate electrode 20, Fowler-Nordheim tunneling allows electrons to move from the n-type region (drain region) 13 via the silicon oxide film 17 to the floating-gate electrode 19.
The writing of data is performed by applying a high potential to the n-type region (drain region) 11 and the gate electrode 18 of the select MOS transistor ST, and 0 V to the control gate electrode 20 of the data storage MOS transistor MT. As a result, the n-type regions (drain region) 12, 13 of the data storage MOS transistor MT are at a high potential, so that the tunnel effect allows electrons to move from the floating-gate electrode 19 to the drain region via the silicon oxide film 17.
Hereinafter, the source region and drain region of the memory cell will be described.
The n-type region (drain region) 13 of the data storage MOS transistor is formed directly under the floating-gate electrode 19 before the floating-gate electrode 19 is formed. On the other hand, the n-type region (source region) 15 of the data storage MOS transistor MT is formed in a self-aligning manner by implanting n-type impurities into the substrate 10 using the floating-gate electrode 19 and control gate electrode 20 as a mask.
when only the n-type region 15 is the source region, however, the channel length of the data storage MOS transistor MT is the distance between the n-type region 13 and the n-type region 15. Therefore, the channel length of the data storage MOS transistor MT varies depending on the misalignment of the mask for forming the n-type region 13 from the mask for forming a polysilicon mask used in forming the n-type region 15.
Since the change of the channel length of the data storage MOS transistor MT results in a change in the characteristics of the memory cell, it is not desirable to form only the source region in a self-aligning manner.
To avoid this problem, the following method is generally used: before the floating-gate electrode 19 is formed, n-type impurities are implanted into region D enclosed by a dot-dash line in FIG. 1, thereby forming the n-type region 13 and n-type region 14 at the same time.
with this method, the channel length of the data storage MOS transistor MT is the distance between the n-type region 13 and the n-type region 14. Since the n-type regions 13, 14 are formed with the same mask, the channel length of the data storage MOS transistor MT is always constant. As a result, the channel length of the data storage MOS transistor MT will not vary due to mask misalignment.
However, this method has a disadvantage in that, to assure the formation of the n-type region 14 directly under the floating-gate electrode 19, the floating-gate electrode 19 must be lengthened along the channel length of the data storage MOS transistor MT, by the sum of the amount of misalignment of the mask for forming the floating-gate electrode 19 and the amount of misalignment of the mask for forming the n-type regions 13, 14.
Hereinafter, the thin silicon oxide film 17 of nearly 10 nm in thickness between the n-type region 13 and the floating-gate electrode 19 will be examined.
The silicon oxide film 17 is formed by removing the thick silicon oxide films 16, 23 of several tens nm in thickness using a mask with an opening in area F in FIG. 1 and then performing thermal oxidation.
The thin silicon oxide film 17 must be formed on the n-type region 13 and directly under the floating-gate electrode 19. This causes a disadvantage: the floating-gate electrode 19 must be lengthened along the channel length by the sum of the amount of misalignment of the mask for forming the floating-gate electrode 19 from the mask for forming an opening in area F and the amount of misalignment of the mask for forming an opening in area F from the mask for forming the n-type region 13.
To sum up, the minimum dimension along the channel of the data storage MOS transistor MT in the memory cell is determined as shown in FIG. 3.
Specifically, the minimum dimension along the channel of the data storage MOS transistor MT is determined by the sum of the following:
The amount of alignment of the mask for forming the floating-gate electrode 19 and control electrode 20 from the mask for forming an opening in area F where the silicon oxide film 17 is to be formed (expressed by "a") PA1 The length of area F where the silicon oxide film 17 is to be formed (expressed by "b") PA1 The amount of misalignment of the mask for forming an opening in area F where the silicon oxide film 17 is to be formed from the mask for forming the n-type region 13 (expressed by "c") PA1 The channel length of the data storage MOS transistor MT (expressed by "d") PA1 The amount of misalignment of the mask for forming the n-type region 14 from the mask for forming the floating-gate electrode 19 and the control gate 20 (expressed by "e") PA1 The length of the second portion 40A of the floating-gate electrode (expressed by "a") PA1 The amount of misalignment of the mask for forming the n-type region 33 from the mask for forming the floating-gate electrodes 40A, 40B (expressed by "b" and "c") PA1 The channel length of the data storage MOS transistor MT (expressed by "d")
The memory cell of the structure shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 requires a lot of misalignments to be taken into account in designing, as compared with an ordinary MOS transistor having a self-aligning structure, and therefore has the disadvantage of resulting in larger memory cells.
Explained next will be the thickness of the gate oxide film of the data storage MOS transistor MT.
To withstand high voltages in a write operation or an erase operation, the gate oxide film of the select MOS transistor ST is several times as thick as the gate oxide film of a MOS transistor to which only an ordinary power-supply voltage (e.g., 5 V) is applied.
The gate oxide film of the data storage MOS transistor MT and the gate oxide film of the select MOS transistor ST are formed simultaneously. As a result, the gate oxide film of the data storage MOS transistor MT is as thick as the gate oxide film of the select MOS transistor ST.
To make the data storage MOS transistor MT smaller, it is necessary to make its gate oxide film as thin as possible. As mentioned above, the gate oxide film of the data storage MOS transistor MT is as thick as the gate oxide film of the select MOS transistor ST, that is, several times as thick as the gate oxide film of an ordinary MOS transistor. For this reason, the channel length of the data storage MOS transistor MT is larger than the channel length of an ordinary MOS transistor.
As described above, in the case of the memory cell shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, because a lot of misalignments have to be taken into account and a larger channel length is required, the cell area will become larger.
The potential of the floating gate when a high potential is applied to the drain region is determined by the capacitive coupling between the drain region and the floating gate. In the case of the memory cell of the above structure, the capacitive coupling between the drain region and the floating gate of the data storage MOS transistor MT varies according to the misalignment of the mask for forming the n-type region 13 from the mask for forming the floating-gate electrode 19. The variation in the capacitive coupling results in a variation in the amount of electrons released from the floating-gate electrode into-the drain region.
Accordingly, this causes variations in the threshold voltage of the data storage MOS transistor MT after electrons have been released.
FIGS. 4 and 5 show a double structure of a conventional nonvolatile semiconductor memory device. FIG. 4 is a plan view of a conventional nonvolatile semiconductor memory device. FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line V-V'.
The conventional nonvolatile semiconductor memory device has been disclosed in Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 63-84168.
With this conventional device, it is possible to solve the problem with the conventional device shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, that is, it is possible to suppress variations in the write characteristics of the memory cell due to mask misalignment.
As with the conventional device of FIGS. 1 and 2, the memory cell is composed of a data storage MOS transistor MT and a select MOS transistor ST, which are connected to each other in series.
Above the channel region 39 of the data storage MOS transistor MT, a first portion 40B of a floating-gate electrode is provided via a gate insulating film 37 of several tens nm in thickness.
On a partial surface of the drain region 33 of the data storage MOS transistor MT, a gate insulating film 36 of nearly 10 nm in thickness (much thinner than the gate insulating film 37) is provided. On the gate insulating film 36, a second portion 40A of the floating-gate electrode is provided.
Although the first portion 40B and second portion 40A of the floating-gate electrode are spaced apart, they are electrically connected to each other above a field region. On and above the first portion 40B and second portion 40A of the floating-gate electrode, an insulating film 42 and a control gate electrode 44 are provided. It is preferable that the shape of the control gate electrode 44 should be the same as that of the floating-gate electrode.
The source region of the select MOS transistor ST and the drain region of the data storage MOS transistor are made up of n-type regions 32, 33, 34 formed continuously at the surface of a p-type semiconductor substrate 30. The drain region of the select MOS transistor ST is made up of n-type regions 31, 32', and an n-type region 35 is the source region of the data storage MOS transistor MT.
In such a memory cell, too, the n-type region 33 is formed before the formation of the floating-gate electrode and control gate electrode, as with the conventional device of FIGS. 1 and 2.
In this case, the n-type region 33 is formed by implanting n-type impurities into area E of the substrate 30 enclosed by a dot-dash line in FIG. 4. On the other hand, the n-type regions 32', 32, 34 are formed in a self-aligning manner by implanting n-type impurities into the substrate 30 using the floating-gate electrodes 40A, 40B and control gate electrode 44 as a mask. The n-type regions 31, 35 are formed by implanting n-type impurities into the substrate 30 using a specific mask.
With this conventional device, there arises a misalignment of the mask for forming the floating-gate electrodes 40A, 40B and a misalignment of the mask for forming the n-type region 33.
In the case of this conventional device, however, even if such mask misalignments take place, this will cause no variations in the capacitive coupling between the n-type regions (drain region) 32 to 34 of the data storage MOS transistor MT and the floating-gate electrodes 40A, 40B.
The reason for this is that the capacitive coupling between the n-type regions (drain region) 32 to 34 and the floating-gate electrodes 40A, 40B is determined by the area of the portion where the n-type region (drain region) 33 overlaps with the second portion 40A of the floating-gate electrode and the area is constant regardless of mask misalignment.
Consequently, with the memory cell in the conventional device, the write characteristics of the memory cell will not vary due to mask misalignment.
Furthermore, with the conventional device, the n-type regions 34, 35 can be formed in a self-aligning manner using the floating-gate electrodes 40A, 40B and control gate electrode 44 as a mask. Therefore, it is not necessary to take into account a misalignment of the mask for forming the n-type regions 34, 35 and a misalignment of the masks for forming the floating-gate electrodes 40A, 40B and control gate electrode 44.
To sum up, in the memory cell in the conventional memory cell, the minimum dimension along the channel length of the data storage MOS transistor MT is shown in FIG. 6.
Specifically, the minimum dimension along the channel length of the data storage MOS transistor MT is determined by the sum of the following:
However, when the minimum spacing (expressed by "e") in which the floating-gate electrode and control gate electrode (polysilicon) can be processed is greater than b+c, the minimum dimension is determined by a+d+e.
Hereinafter, the conventional device in FIGS. 1 and 2 is compared with the conventional device in FIGS. 4 and 5.
If a, b, c, and d in FIG. 3 are almost equal to c, a, b, and d in FIG. 6, the data storage MOS transistor MT of FIG. 6 can be made smaller by the length of e. As a result, with the conventional device of FIGS. 4 and 5, the dimensions of a memory cell can be made smaller than those of a memory cell in the conventional device of FIGS. 1 and 2.
However, in the memory cell in the conventional device of FIGS. 4 and 5, the thickness of the gate oxide film 37 of the data storage MOS transistor MT is larger. Accordingly, the channel length of the data storage MOS transistor MT is larger, so that the area of the memory cell cannot be made much smaller than that of the memory cell in the conventional device of FIGS. 1 and 2.
To overcome this shortcoming, a third structure of a conventional nonvolatile semiconductor memory device has been proposed in John R. Yeargain & Clinton Kuo, "A High Density Floating-Gate EEPROM Cell," IEDM Technical Digest, December, 1981.
FIG. 7 shows a third structure of a conventional nonvolatile semiconductor memory device. FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along line VIII-VIII' of FIG. 7.
The memory cell is composed of a data storage MOS transistor MT and a select MOS transistor ST, which are connected to each other in series.
The source region of the select MOS transistor ST and the drain region of the data storage MOS transistor MT are composed of an n-type region 52 formed at the surface of a p-type semiconductor substrate 50. On the entire surface of the channel region 57 of the data storage MOS transistor MT, a thin silicon oxide film 54 of nearly 10 nm in thickness is formed. On the thin silicon oxide film 54, a floating-gate electrode 58 made of polysilicon is formed. On and above the floating-gate electrode 58, an insulating film 60 and a control gate electrode 61 are formed.
Directly under a gate electrode 59 of the select MOS transistor ST, an insulating film much thicker than the silicon oxide film 54, for example, a silicon oxide film 55 of nearly several tens nm in thickness, is formed.
The drain region of the select MOS transistor ST is composed of n-type regions 51, 52', and an n-type region 53 is the source region of the data storage MOS transistor MT.
With the memory cell of such a structure, the erasing of data is performed by applying a high potential to the control gate electrode 61 of the data storage MOS transistor MT. Once a high potential has been applied to the control gate electrode 61 of the data storage MOS transistor MT, Fowler-Nordheim tunneling allows electrons to move from the n-type region (drain region) 52, channel region 57, and n-type region (source region) 53 via the silicon oxide film 54 to the floating-gate electrode 58.
The writing of data is performed by applying a high potential to the n-type region (drain region) 51 and gate electrode 59 of the select MOS transistor ST, and 0 V to the control gate electrode 61 of the data storage MOS transistor MT. As a result, the n-type region (drain region) 52 of the data storage MOS transistor MT are at a high potential, so that the tunnel effect allows electrons to move from the floating-gate electrode 58 to the n-type region (drain region) 52 via the silicon oxide film 54.
with the structure of the memory cell, the n-type regions 52', 52, 53 are formed in a self-aligning manner using the gate electrode 59 of the select MOS transistor ST, the floating-gate electrode 58 and control gate 61 of the data storage MOS transistor MT as masks, respectively.
The thin silicon oxide film 54 is formed on the entire surface of the channel region of the data storage MOS transistor MT.
Therefore, unlike the conventional device of FIGS. 1 and 2 and that of FIGS. 4 and 5, it is not necessary to take into account the misalignment of the mask for forming the n-type regions 52', 52, 53 from the mask for forming the floating-gate electrode and the misalignment of the mask for specifying an area in which a silicon oxide film is to be formed from the mask for forming the floating-gate electrode.
Since the gate oxide film of the data storage MOS transistor MT is as thin as nearly 10 nm, the channel length can be made very small.
For the reasons described above, the area of the memory cell is much smaller than that in the conventional device of FIGS. 1 and 2 and that in the conventional device of FIGS. 4 and 5.
It is known that in a MOS device with a thin oxide film, a breakdown phenomenon takes place due to band-to-band tunneling. The phenomenon has been described in detail in R. Shirota, T. Endoh, M. Momodomi, R. Nakayama, S. Inoue, R. Kirisawa & F. Masuoka, "An Accurate Model of Subbreakdown due to Band-to-Band Tunneling and its Application," IEDM, 1988.
The phenomenon will be explained briefly.
For instance, with an n-channel MOS transistor, when a voltage higher than the gate voltage is applied to its source or drain, a depletion layer at the surface of the source or drain overlapping with the gate electrode expands. The phenomenon of electrons tunneling from the valence band to the conduction band, or what is called a band-to-band tunneling phenomenon, has occurred, and at the surface, electrons and holes are generated. Then, as the electrons move to the drain and the holes move to the substrate, thus, a substrate current develops.
In a conventional device in FIGS. 7 and 8, a thin oxide film 54 is formed on the entire surface of the channel region of a data storage MOS transistor MT.
As shown in FIG. 9, when a high potential is applied to the n-type region (drain region) of the data storage MOS transistor MT in a write operation, a depletion layer at the surface of the n-type region (drain region) 52 overlapping with a floating-gate electrode 58 expands, allowing a substrate current Is to flow through band-to-band tunneling.
On the other hand, with the conventional device of FIGS. 1 and 2, as shown in FIG. 10, the gate oxide film 23 of the data storage MOS transistor MT is as thick as several tens nm, and one end of the n-type region (drain region) of the data storage MOS transistor MT is under the thick gate oxide film 23.
This prevents the depletion layer at the surface at the end of the n-type region (drain region) 13 from expanding further. Because the depletion layer at the surface acts as a potential barrier, the holes generated at the surface at the end of the n-type region 13 do not move to the substrate, and a substrate current due to band-to-band tunneling does not flow.
In the conventional device of FIGS. 4 and 5, a substrate current will not develop because of similar reasons.
In a nonvolatile semiconductor memory device which electrically write and erase data, high potentials necessary for a write operation and an erase operation are generated at the step-up circuit in the LSI, in some cases.
With the device of FIGS. 7 and 8, since a large substrate current develops during a write operation, it is difficult to cause the step-up circuit in the LSI to supply a high potential (a write current). Especially, at the time of a page rewrite operation in which data should be written into many memory cells. The writing of data may not be carried out.
A substrate current during a write operation increases the power consumption in the LSI. Therefore, in the case of an LSI required to be less power-consuming, such as a battery-powered LSI, the generation of substrate current is not desirable. That is, the conventional device of FIGS. 7 and 8 has the following disadvantage: although the cell area can be made very small, a substrate current flows due to band-to-band tunneling in a write operation, thus preventing a high potential from being generated within the LSI, with the result that a less power-consuming operation cannot be achieved.
As described above, the conventional nonvolatile semiconductor memory devices have disadvantages in that when they are designed to make smaller the drawn current during a write operation, the area of the memory cell becomes larger, and in that, conversely, when they are designed to make the area of the memory cell much smaller, the drawn current during a write operation becomes larger.


One embodiment of the present invention provides a system which performs simultaneous speculative threading. The system staffs by executing instructions in normal execution mode using a first thread. Upon encountering a data-dependent stall condition, the first thread generates an architectural checkpoint and commences execution of instructions in execute-ahead mode. During execute-ahead mode, the first thread executes instructions that can be executed and defers instructions that cannot be executed into a deferred queue. When the data dependent stall condition has been resolved, the first thread generates a speculative checkpoint and continues execution in execute-ahead mode. At the same time, the second thread commences execution in a deferred mode. During execution in the deferred mode, the second thread executes instructions deferred by the first thread.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to techniques for improving the performance of computer systems. More specifically, the present invention relates to a method and apparatus that facilitates simultaneous speculative threading.
2. Related Art
Advances in semiconductor fabrication technology have given rise to dramatic increases in microprocessor clock speeds. This increase in microprocessor clock speeds has not been matched by a corresponding increase in memory access speeds. Hence, the disparity between microprocessor clock speeds and memory access speeds continues to grow, and is beginning to create significant performance problems. Execution profiles for fast microprocessor systems show that a large fraction of execution time is spent not within the microprocessor core, but within memory structures outside of the microprocessor core. This means that the microprocessor systems spend a large fraction of time waiting for memory references to complete instead of performing computational operations.
When a memory reference, such as a load operation, generates a cache miss, the subsequent access to level-two (L2) cache (or main memory) can require dozens or hundreds of clock cycles to complete, during which time the processor is typically idle, performing no useful work.
A number of techniques are presently used (or have been proposed) to hide cache-miss latency. Some processors support out-of-order execution, in which instructions are kept in an issue queue, and are issued "out-of-order" when operands become available. Unfortunately, existing out-of-order designs have a hardware complexity that grows quadratically with the size of the issue queue. Practically speaking, this constraint limits the number of entries in the issue queue to one or two hundred, which is not sufficient to hide memory latencies as processors continue to get faster.
Some processors are designed to support "simultaneous multi-threading" (SMT), wherein two or more "threads" of execution run simultaneously on a single processor core. On conventional processors that do not support SMT and can only handle a single execution thread, processor resources can sometimes sit idle (such as when the thread stalls awaiting data return from memory). In an SMT processor that supports multiple threads, processor resources can be employed more efficiently. For example, in one type of SMT processor, a high-priority thread runs on the processor until encountering a stall. At these points, the processor can deactivate the high-priority thread and can activate a low-priority thread. When the high-priority thread requires the processor again, the processor can inactivate the low-priority thread and can reactivate the high-priority thread. In this way, the processor avoids sitting idle while the high-priority thread is not performing useful work.
In an alternative scheme, processor designers have suggested using "speculative-execution" to avoid pipeline stalls associated with cache misses. Two such proposed speculative-execution modes are: (1) execute-ahead mode and (2) scout mode. Execute-ahead mode operates as follows. During normal execution, the system issues instructions for execution in program order. Upon encountering a data-dependent stall condition during execution of an instruction, the system generates a checkpoint that can be used to return execution of the program to the point of the instruction. Next, the system executes subsequent instructions in the execute-ahead mode, wherein instructions that cannot be executed because of a data dependency are deferred, and wherein other non-deferred instructions are executed in program order.
When the unresolved data dependency is resolved during execute-ahead mode, the system enters a deferred execution mode, wherein the system executes deferred instructions. If all deferred instructions are executed during this deferred execution mode, the system returns to normal-execution mode to resume normal program execution from the point where the execute-ahead mode left off. Alternatively, if all deferred instructions are not executed, the system returns to execute-ahead mode until the remaining unresolved data dependencies are resolved and the deferred instructions can be executed.
If the system encounters a non-data-dependent stall condition while executing in normal execution mode or execute-ahead mode, the system moves into scout mode. In scout mode, instructions are speculatively executed to prefetch future loads, but results are not committed to the architectural state of the processor. When the launch point stall condition (the unresolved data dependency or the non-data dependent stall condition that originally caused the system to move out of normal-execution mode) is finally resolved, the system uses the checkpoint to resume execution in normal-execution mode from the launch point instruction (the instruction that originally encountered the launch point stall condition).
By allowing a processor to continue to perform work during stall conditions, speculative-execution can significantly increase the amount of computational work the processor completes.
Unfortunately, existing processor designs that support the above-described type of speculative execution also have limitations. For example, existing processor designs that support speculative execution can only execute one thread of speculative execution at a time. Consequently, the processor may not achieve the maximum possible computational throughput.
Hence, what is needed is a method and apparatus for that increases the amount of simultaneous computational work that can be performed by a processor that supports speculative execution.

Method and apparatus for using multiple threads to spectulatively execute instructions


A testing device for checking the quality of a paint or lacquer layer includes at least one friction element moving device. To prevent an impression on a test region, the friction element moving device is configured to (i) initially move at least one friction element in frictional contact along a defined path, e.g., a circular path, over a test region of a paint or lacquer layer, and (ii) subsequently eliminate the frictional contact between the friction element and the test region during the movement of the friction element.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a testing device for checking the quality of a paint or lacquer layer, and a corresponding method.
2. Description of the Related Art
In latex paints and lacquers, solvents or water as well as other volatile substances escape from the still wet layer after application. Since the composition of the lacquer is therefore constantly changing during the drying phase, flocculation (reagglomeration) of the pigments contained therein may occur. In addition, demixing of pigments having different densities, for example titanium dioxide and copper phthalocyanin, may occur. In the worst-case scenario, hexagonal cells, so-called Bénard cells, are formed which are caused by flow within the lacquer layer.
Shear forces are introduced into the system as the result of rubbing during drying. It is thus possible to disaggregate (deagglomerate) the agglomerates, i.e., eliminate the demixing. The rubbed surface may thus have an appearance which is significantly different from, usually more intensely colored than, the unrubbed surface.
The difference between a rubbed surface of a paint or lacquer layer and an unrubbed reference surface of the paint or lacquer layer is referred to as the "rubout effect." The rubout effect is stronger the more intensely colored/weakly colored is the appearance of the rubbed surface in comparison to the unrubbed surface. If the rubbed surface has a more intensely colored appearance than the unrubbed surface, this is referred to as a positive rubout effect, and if the rubbed surface has a more weakly colored appearance, this is referred to as a negative rubout effect. In the ideal case, no differences in color intensity or hue are apparent.
The rubout test is conventionally carried out manually, in that the person conducting the test rubs a bare finger, a gloved finger, or a brush over the test region to be checked. Depending on the paint or lacquer system, rubbing with the bare finger may have adverse health effects over the long term. On the other hand, the viscosity limit is practically imperceptible using laboratory gloves. When a brush is used for testing, the brush must be laboriously cleaned, which is one reason, among others, that this method is seldom used.
In addition, defining a test period is problematic. For example, a rubout test using the bare finger may be carried out until the lacquer "pulls up," i.e., until a specific limiting viscosity of the lacquer which is perceived by the tester is reached. However, identifying an end point independently of the tester is extremely difficult. On the other hand, setting a defined test period, for example in order to standardize the overall energy input during the testing, does not take into account differences between testers or different drying times due to system-related factors, since breakup of the flocculate is effective only when it is also stabilized by the advanced-stage drying.
Lastly, the conditions under which a rubout test is to be carried out have not been normatively defined. In most cases, the result of the rubout test is highly dependent on the tester and his physical and mental state on a given day. In addition, the results from different laboratories are rarely comparable due to differing procedures. Approaches according to which checking of the quality of a paint or lacquer layer may be automated are described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,316,518 A1, U.S. Pat. No. 2,287,148 A, U.S. Pat. No. 3,040,559 A, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,974,678.

Testing device for checking the quality of a paint or lacquer layer


The present invention relates to triorthogonal reagents useful for site-specifically modifying a protein with two orthogonal groups that can be subsequently functionalized in a single one-pot procedure. This approach relies on the selective tagging of proteins containing an appended farnesyltransferase or geranylgeranyltransferase I substrate sequence. The incorporation of a bifunctional ethynyl-hydroxybenzaldehyde into the farnesyl or geranylgeranyl group facilitates the facile labeling of proteins with two different moieties.

Over the course of the last decade, bioorthogonal chemical methods have been developed for the site-specific chemical modification of proteins and used to alter their properties and function.1-7 For example, fluorophores can be site-specifically attached to proteins as a biophysical or cellular localization tool, while protein-polymer conjugation is a well-established method for modulating the in vivo behavior of proteins.8-11 In addition, a number of groups have reported bioorthogonal approaches for the construction of bifunctional protein assemblies. Schultz and co-workers coupled two antibody FABs via an alkyne-azide cycloaddition click reaction using non-natural mutagenesis techniques.12 Bertozzi and coworkers, used an enzymatic formyl generating strategy13 to generate an aldehyde that was then converted to a cyclooctyne- or azide-functionalized protein via oxime formation followed by reaction with other azide-modified peptides or proteins. Ploegh and coworkers used a variation of sortagging to create N-to-N and C-to-C protein conjugates by preparing pairs of azide- and alkyne-containing proteins that were then linked via click reactions.14 In the above examples, proteins equipped with a single bioorthogonal group were modified with a second small molecule, polymer or protein bearing a complementary functional group.
Recently, progress towards the introduction of multiple functional groups into proteins has also been made. Wu and coworkers developed a strategy for site-specific two-color labeling of a Rab GTPase for FRET applications by applying chemoselective native chemical ligation and oxime ligation simultaneously.15 A C-terminal oxime was generated via expression of a C-terminal thioester while an N-terminal cysteine (for subsequent ligation) was revealed by TEV-catalyzed proteolysis. In other work, Schultz and coworkers developed a method for site-specific dual-labeling of proteins for FRET analysis based on the use of selective cysteine alkylation combined with non-natural amino acid incorporation of a ketone moiety.16 Park and coworkers successfully incorporated two unnatural amino acids bearing ketone and alkyne groups into a protein for analysis of protein dynamics using a related nonsense suppression approach.17 Very recently, Chen and coworkers, designed and synthesized bifunctional sialic acid analogues containing azide and alkyne moieties for incorporation of two distinct chemical reporters into cellular sialylated glycans for FRET imaging.18 While useful, that method is limited to sialylated-cell surface glycans and requires metabolic activation of the bifunctional sialic acid analogue to the corresponding CMP-sugar prior to incorporation.
Accordingly it would be desirable to provide new reagents for introducing multiple functional groups into proteins.

Triorthogonal reagents for dual protein conjugation


A computer implemented method, a computer program product, and a system for replicating data comprising: intercepting the IO data to a volume at the splitter; sending the IO data intercepted at the splitter to the volume; sending metadata of the IO data to a production RPA from the splitter, wherein an acknowledgement is sent to the splitter indicating that the metadata was received by the production RPA; and sending IO data, metadata, and timestamp of IO data to a remote site from the splitter, wherein IO data is sent to the remote site after splitter receives acknowledge of production RPA receiving the IO data.

Conventionally, computer data is vital to today's organizations, and a significant part of protection against disasters may be focused on data protection. Traditionally, as solid-state memory has advanced to the point where cost of memory has become a relatively insignificant factor, organizations may be able to afford to operate with systems that store and process terabytes of data.
Generally, conventional data protection systems include tape backup drives, for storing organizational production site data on a periodic basis. Usually, such systems suffer from several drawbacks. Typically, a first drawback may be that they may require a system shutdown during backup, since the data being backed up cannot be used during the backup operation. Ordinarily, a second drawback may be that they may limit the points in time to which the production site can recover. Normally, if data is backed up on a daily basis, there may be several hours of lost data in the event of a disaster. Commonly, a third drawback may be that the data recovery process itself takes a long time.
Conventionally, data protection system may use data replication by creating a copy of the organization's production site data on a secondary backup storage system and by updating the backup with changes. Traditionally, the backup storage system may be situated in the same physical location as the production storage system, or in a physically remote location. Generally, data replication systems operate either at the application level, at the file system level, at the hypervisor level, or at the data block level.
Generally, current data protection systems may try to provide continuous data protection, which may enable the organization to roll back to any specified point in time within a recent history. Commonly, continuous data protection systems aim to satisfy two conflicting objectives, as best as possible; namely, (i) minimize the down time, in which the organization production site data is unavailable, during a recovery, and (ii) enable recovery as close as possible to any specified point in time within a recent history.
Typically, continuous data protection uses a technology referred to as "journaling," whereby a log is kept of changes made to the backup storage. Generally, during a recovery, the journal entries serve as successive "undo" information, enabling rollback of the backup storage to previous points in time. Traditionally, journaling was first implemented in database systems, and was later extended to broader data protection.
Commonly, one challenge to continuous data protection may be the ability of a backup site to keep pace with the data transactions of a production site, without slowing down the production site. Typically, the overhead of journaling inherently requires several data transactions at the backup site for each data transaction at the production site. Generally, as such, when data transactions occur at a high rate at the production site, the backup site may not be able to finish backing up one data transaction before the next production site data transaction occurs. Typically, if the production site is not forced to slow down, then necessarily a backlog of un-logged data transactions may build up at the backup site. Generally, without being able to satisfactorily adapt dynamically to changing data transaction rates, a continuous data protection system chokes and eventually forces the production site to shut down.


Bitumen granulate containing from 0.5 to 15% by weight, preferably from 6.1 to 15% by weight, of a powdering and separating agent such as, for example, synthetic silica or carbon black is produced by atomizing hot, liquid bitumen in a spray mixer and at the same time introducing the powdering and separating agent into the spray mixer by way of the stream of cold air.

Bitumen is a petroleum product obtained by the refining of petroleum. Consisting of a high molecular weight mixture of hydrocarbons, bitumen is a dark colored sticky mass with a consistency ranging from springy hard to viscous and with water-repellent properties (see DIN 55 946).
Bitumen is readily worked up at high temperatures owing to its thermoplastic properties.
For most applications, e.g. for the preparation of asphalt mixtures for road construction or bituminous roof coverings, bitumen must be supplied from the refinery in a hot liquid state and kept ready for use in insulated storage tanks.
It is known to prepare a pulverulent bitumen concentrate containing from 10 to 80% by weight of synthetic silica by spraying the liquid bitumen on to silica (German Patent DE-PS 29 33 339) so that the silica is completely covered by bitumen.
The known bitumen concentrate has the disadvantage that, owing to the static pressure, it sticks together during storage and thereby loses its capacity to flow freely. The problem therefore arises of preparing a bitumen granulate which can be stored over a considerable length of time without losing its free flowing property.

Granular bitumen coated with precipitated silica


A sheet metal slitter of the type having a pair of parallel shafts journalled at spaced axial points and a slitter roll on each shaft, the rolls cooperatively defining a cutting nip. The invention resides in a bearing assembly with bearings cantilevered from a support element. The bearings are positioned, respectively, adjacent the pair of slitter rolls on the shafts to resist forces tending to separate the shafts during metal cutting. The support element is slotted to accommodate the cut portions of the workpiece without spreading or tearing and with substantially no bending.

The invention relates to slitters for sheet metal or the like.
One of the presently common type of sheet metal slitters or cutters employs a pair of shafts with parallel axes each journalled at spaced axial points. One or more pairs of cutters are placed on the shafts, each comprising a pair of abutting cutter wheels having circular cutting edges and mounted on the respective shafts to cut a workpiece as it passes between the shafts. One of the shafts may be a drive shaft and the other a driven shaft. One of the advantages of cutters of this type is that a pair of cutters may be moved to any axial position to cut the sheet metal into any desired width within the limits of the shaft lengths. Another advantage is that more than one cut may be made at a time on the workpiece by using more than one pair of cutters on the shafts.
One of the problems associated with this type of sheet metal cutter is that substantial separation forces are exerted upon the cutters as the sheet metal passes between them. These forces tend to separate the shafts, thereby preventing clean cutting and exerting large wearing forces on the journals at the end of the shaft. The forces of separation also tend to bend or spring the shafts themseleves. Not only is there a resultant wear, with possibilities of distortion of the material of the cutter, but the accuracy of the cutters is also effected.
A somewhat different type of cutter is described in U.S. Pat. No. 1,098,671 granted June 2, 1914, to Lundy for "Sheet Material Cutter", this type of cutter having a U-shaped holder which supports a pair of journalled cutter wheels. In the Lundy U-shaped holder, a pair of slots extend from each side of the holder so that the material, after being cut by the cutter wheels, may pass substantially without tearing or distortion. Nevertheless, in the Lundy cutter only one cut may be made at a time, and the cutter is manipulated manually.
U.S. Pat. No. 679,566 granted July 30, 1901 to Kling for "Metal-Shearing Machine" describes a cutting machine having a pair of cutters held on a single somewhat U-shaped frame, the cutters being driven and in this case the metal instead of passing through slots, passes along guideways, one of which is rather ramp-like in an effort to avoid the tearing of the separated metal.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,126,780 granted Mar. 31, 1964 to Booth for "Sheet Metal Cutting Machine" involves a single cutter although driven by drive shafts which are journalled at their ends, the cutters being located beyond the journals of the drive shafts.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,084,967 granted June 22, 1937 to Babb for "Mechanism for Cutting Sheet Material" and U.S. Pat. No. 2,208,022, granted July 16, 1940 to Dworchuck et al. for "Machine for Cutting Sheet Metal" describe apparatus with single cutters.
Other patents relate to cutters which involve a pair of shafts journalled at their ends on which are mounted paired cutting wheels suitably positioned to cut the sheet metal passing through the shafts at desired spacings. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 91,512, granted June 22, 1869 to Briggs for "Machine for Shearing Metal" and U.S. Pat. No. 813,071 granted Feb. 20, 1906 to Abbott for "Metal Cutting Machine" illustrate machines of this character. Other patents are U.S. Pat. No. 3,195,388 granted July 20, 1965 to Neidigh for "Portable Machine Tool". In these machines there are no means to support the shafts against the opposing forces which occur upon the cutting of the metal tending to spread the shafts apart other than the journals at the ends of the shafts. U.S. Pat. No. 2,777,521 granted Jan. 15, 1957 to Tanis for "Sheet Slitting" machine and U.S. Pat. No. 1,678,186, granted July 25, 1928 to Hoelzel for "Pattern Cutter" do not deal with the problem of the opposing forces tending to spread the shafts apparently because these are not so great as to create a serious problem. A cutting mechanism is described in U.S. Pat. No. 1,723,660 granted Aug. 6, 1929 to Ross for "Cutting Mechanism" which is related more to the problem of supplying a gripping to the material being cut through the cutters.


A field serviceable IT system includes an IT enclosure. A first connector assembly is positioned within the IT enclosure. At least one I/O module is releasably coupled to the first connector assembly and positioned within the IT enclosure. A disk subsystem is releasably coupled to the at least one I/O module and positioned within the IT enclosure. At least one disk drive assembly is releasably coupled to the disk subsystem and positioned within the IT enclosure. A system board is releasably coupled to the first connector assembly and positioned within the IT enclosure. The system board is configured to be removable from the IT enclosure without first removing the at least one I/O module or the at least one disk drive assembly from the IT enclosure.

In today's IT infrastructure, high availability is of paramount importance. Specifically, critical (and sometimes non-critical) components within an IT infrastructure are often layered in redundancy. For example, primary servers may be supported by backup servers; primary switches may be supported by backup switches; primary power supplies may be supported by backup power supplies; and primary storage systems may be supported by backup storage systems.
Oftentimes, various IT components need to be serviced in the field and, naturally, the quicker these devices can be serviced, the less downtime for the device. Unfortunately, some IT components are designed in a manner that makes servicing them in the field difficult. For example, sometimes in order to remove a serviceable component (e.g., a system board) from an IT component, many other subsystems need to be removed just to access the serviceable component and enable its removal.


A mounting plate for an electrical outlet includes a central region having a front surface, a rear surface, and an opening for accessing an outlet. A first mounting tab and a second mounting tab extend from the central region at an angle. The mounting plate may be used to attach an outlet to an outlet housing having a wiring compartment and a panel at least partially enclosing the wiring compartment. The panel has a front wall and an opening for receiving an outlet.

Mounting assemblies and brackets have been developed for supporting electrical outlets in housings such as in wall electrical boxes. Typically, an outlet is attached to a housing by fasteners placed into a grounding strap. A cover plate or face plate is then attached to the electrical device to cover the open end of the electrical box, hide the grounding straps, and provide a decorative appearance. Face plates are typically attached by one or more screws that extend through a screw hole in the face plate and threadedly engage a threaded bore in the electrical device.
In addition to standard wall mounted outlets, other outlet housings, such as floor boxes, have been developed to provide modular solutions permitting access to multiple electrical, data, and communication outlets. Typical electrical floor boxes have two, four or more wiring compartments around a rectangular or square center access cavity with the same number of face plates. A cover is placed over the access cavity that lies flush, or close to flush, with the floor surface. The wiring compartments are capable of receiving different types of electrical, data, and communication outlets depending on the needs and desires of the user. Accordingly, the outlets are often installed in the wiring compartments after installation of the floor box and the outlets may need to be changed or replaced over time.
Typical prior systems require numerous and sometimes complicated fastening devices for the face plates over the outlets that are time-consuming to install and repair. Typical outlet housings include those described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,041,238 to Penczak titled "Preset Housing for Electrical Distribution Box", U.S. Pat. No. 4,591,656 to Mohr titled "Activation Kits for Pre-sets", U.S. Pat. No. 5,285,009 to Bowman titled "Electrical Floor Box", U.S. Pat. No. 5,362,922 to Whitehead titled "Electrical Floor Box Divider", and U.S. Pat. No. 8,350,154 to Shotey titled "Universal Wall Plate Mount", the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference for their general relevance and are not meant to supersede the description and definitions set forth herein.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Single-fastener mounting plate for electrical outlets


An odometer having a reset mechanism with a single spring that has a torsion section acting on the reset mechanism to bias pinions into engagement with the odometer wheels and a compression section for biasing the pinions into a predetermined axial position relative tot he odometer wheels.

It is common practice in a motor vehicle to provide two odometers, one of which gives a permanent reading of the distance traveled by the motor vehicle during its life, the other of which can give a reading for a specific journey. The latter odometer, therefore, has a reset mechanism which allows the odometer to be returned to zero before commencement of the journey. It is the latter type of odometer to which the present invention relates.
Such an odometer is well known, and an example is shown in U.S Pat. No. 4,314,149. In this example, separate springs are used to maintain the odometer wheels in a predetermined axial position (relative to the pinions), and to return the pinions into engagement with the odometer wheels after resetting to zero. In an alternative known arrangement, one of the springs acts on the pinions rather than the odometer wheels. The use of several springs in these known arrangements has disadvantages with regard to handling during assembly of the odometer, and cost.


A holding frame includes a main frame member extending along a first side of the light-receiving surface, and a sub-frame member extending along a second side adjacent to the first side, wherein the main frame member includes a main outer wall extending along the first side, main holding units formed on the main outer wall to hold the solar cell panel from the first-side side, and a main bottom piece formed on the main outer wall protruding towards inside of the holding frame. The sub-frame member includes a sub-outer wall extending along the second side, sub-holding units formed on the sub-outer wall to hold the solar cell panel from the second-side side, and a cylindrical part formed to include the sub-outer wall, extending along the second side on the back surface side of the solar cell panel.

Generally, a solar cell module is constituted by a rectangular solar cell panel that is constituted by solar cells arranged in plural and a frame member (a holding frame) that holds the solar cell panel.
In recent years, in order to maintain the strength of the frame member, frames that are hollow in cross section have been increasingly used. When the cross-section of the frame has a hollow shape, fluid tends to be accumulated inside of the frame. Accordingly, in a cold region, fluid accumulated inside of the frame freezes and expands, and may possibly deform the frame.
The following techniques are known as countermeasures for this problem. That is, Patent Literature 1 discloses a technique of providing draining holes in a hollow-shape frame and Patent Literature 2 discloses a technique of constituting a cross-section of a frame in a configuration in which a path connected to outside is provided at an abutting section of frames that are orthogonal to each other.


A coaxial quill assembly is used for supplying gaseous and liquid fuels from separate common rails to individual fuel injectors of a compression ignition engine. Each coaxial quill assembly includes a matched pair of an outer quill and an inner quill that are matched based upon a fuel system dimensional specification that causes both the inner and outer quills to sealingly engage a common conical seat of a fuel injector. During pre-installation handling, the matched pair of inner and outer quills are retained together with a retainer.

Co-owned U.S. Patent application publication 2012/0055448 shows a co-axial quill assembly for a dual fuel common rail system in which inner and outer quills sealingly engage a common conical seat on individual fuel injectors. That references teaches the utilization of separate loading devices to ensure that the inner and outer quills sealingly engage the fuel injector despite dimensional tolerance variations that would be expected during the manufacture of the individual inner and outer quills, fuel injector and other engine components. While such a strategy may permit any outer quill to be matched with any inner quill at the time the fuel system is assembled to an engine, the separate loading strategy for each quill may be cumbersome and occupy more space than desirable in and around the engine.
The present disclosure is directed toward one or more of the problems set forth above.

Coaxial quill assembly retainer and common rail fuel system using same


The present invention relates to a motion adaptive frequency folding circuit, and more particularly to a motion adaptive frequency folding circuit which can prevent the degradation of picture quality caused by artifact in reproduction by recording whole bands on a recording medium by way of providing different folding to the signal of limited frequency bands through the motion signal showing motion images.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a motion adaptive frequency folding circuit, and more particularly to a motion adaptive frequency folding circuit, which can improve resolution during reproduction by folding signal components having more than certain frequency over the signal components having less than certain frequency in accordance with the magnitudes of motion signals, using limited frequency bandwidth and being added to image signal treatment apparatus processing the information above the given bandwidth.

Motion adaptive frequency folding circuit


Phytoceutical compositions from organic extracts of the Ambrosia maritima or Ambrosia hispida plants and uses thereof for treatment of cancers is described.

Plant based therapeutics have been known and used since ancient times, and still provide between 30-40% of our new drug candidates each year. The complexity of the components contained within plants are not fully understood and it is appreciated that an in-depth biochemical analysis of the components of plants as they are found e.g. in leaves, stems, and the like, may continue to reveal valuable therapeutic compounds for the treatment of various illnesses as diverse as microbial infections or migraines.
Recently, there has been considerable interest in searching the phytochemical properties of many long ago discovered plants to determine their potential pharmaceutical benefits, most particularly, on secondary metabolites. In addition to the primary metabolism necessary for life, plants have a secondary metabolism that generates compounds, which aid in their growth and development. A common role of secondary metabolites is defense mechanisms to fight off animals, pest and pathogens. These compounds have become the focus of much pharmacological interest.
One such family of interest for natural therapeutics is the family Asteraceae (or Compositae). This family has a remarkable ecological and economical importance and is present from the polar regions to the tropics, colonizing all available habitats, though it is most commonly found in arid areas. Asteraceae has been regarded as a promising family of plants because of the amount and variety of active compounds produced by the secondary metabolism. Some commonly known uses of the Asteraceae family is in herbal products such as teas (Chamomile, Echinacea) or potpourri (Marigold). However, there is evidence that Asteranceae contains secondary metabolites that can be beneficial in the treatment of many diseases.
Cancer is a general term frequently used to indicate any of the various types of malignant neoplasms (i.e. abnormal tissue that grows by cellular proliferation more rapidly than normal), most of which invade surrounding tissue, may metastasize to several sites, are likely to recur after attempted removal, and cause death unless adequately treated. Although a variety of approaches to cancer therapy, including surgical resection, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy, have been available and commonly used for many years, cancer remains one of the leading causes of death in the world.
Cancer implicates several important signal pathways in the affected cells. The balance between proliferation and programmed cell death is disturbed in a patient having cancer, and certain genetic disturbances of apoptotic signaling pathways have been found in carcinomas, leading to tumor development and progression. Much work in cancer research targets the signal pathways as means of stopping cancer progression and treating the patient.
Many compounds naturally occurring in plants have been shown to elicit some improvements to cancer treatment, side effects of cancer treatments, and/or the progression of cancer itself. However, there exists a need to find and develop more plant-based compounds for cancer treatment and to understand how they affect the signal pathways so that the compounds can be combined for a more effective treatment plan.


Compounds and methods for the diagnosis and treatment of Chlamydial infection are disclosed. The compounds provided include polypeptides that contain at least one antigenic portion of a Chlamydia antigen and DNA sequences encoding such polypeptides. Pharmaceutical compositions and vaccines comprising such polypeptides or DNA sequences are also provided, together with antibodies directed against such polypeptides. Diagnostic kits containing such polypeptides or DNA sequences and a suitable detection reagent may be used for the detection of Chlamydial infection in patients and in biological samples.

The present invention relates generally to the detection and treatment of Chlamydial infection. In particular, the invention is related to polypeptides comprising a Chlamydia antigen and the use of such polypeptides for the serodiagnosis and treatment of Chlamydial infection.
Chlamydiae are intracellular bacterial pathogens that are responsible for a wide variety of important human and animal infections. Chlamydia trachomatis is one of the most common causes of sexually transmitted diseases and can lead to pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), resulting in tubal obstruction and infertility. Chlamydia trachomatis may also play a role in male infertility. In 1990, the cost of treating PID in the US was estimated to be $4 billion. Trachoma, due to ocular infection with Chlamydia trachomatis, is the leading cause of preventable blindness worldwide. Chlamydia pneumonia is a major cause of acute respiratory tract infections in humans and is also believed to play a role in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis and, in particular, coronary heart disease. Individuals with a high titer of antibodies to Chlamydia pneumonia have been shown to be at least twice as likely to suffer from coronary heart disease as seronegative individuals. Chlamydial infections thus constitute a significant health problem both in the US and worldwide.
Chlamydial infection is often asymptomatic. For example, by the time a woman seeks medical attention for PID, irreversible damage may have already occurred resulting in infertility. There thus remains a need in the art for improved vaccines and pharmaceutical compositions for the prevention and treatment of Chlamydia infections. The present invention fulfills this need and further provides other related advantages.
The present invention provides compositions and methods for the diagnosis and treatment of Chlamydia infection. In one aspect, polypeptides are provided comprising an immunogenic portion of a Chlamydia antigen, or a variant of such an antigen. In one embodiment, the antigen comprises an amino acid sequence encoded by a DNA sequence selected from the group consisting of (a) a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1, 15, 21-25, 44-64, 66-76 or 79-88; (b) the complements of said sequences; and (c) sequences that hybridize to a sequence of (a) or (b) under moderately stringent conditions. In a specific embodiment, a polypeptide comprising an amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 5 is provided.
In a related aspect, polynucleotide sequences encoding the above polypeptides, recombinant expression vectors comprising one or more of these polynucleotide sequences and host cells transformed or transfected with such expression vectors are also provided.
In another aspect, the present invention provides fusion proteins comprising an inventive polypeptide, or, alternatively, an inventive polypeptide and a known Chlamydia antigen. In yet another aspect, the present invention provides antibodies, both polyclonal and monoclonal, that bind to the polypeptides described above.
Within other aspects, the present invention provides pharmaceutical compositions that comprise one or more Chlamydia polypeptides disclosed herein, or a polynucleotide molecule encoding such a polypeptide, and a physiologically acceptable carrier. The invention also provides vaccines comprising one or more of the disclosed polypeptides and a non-specific immune response enhancer, together with vaccines comprising one or more polynucleotide sequences encoding such polypeptides and a non-specific immune response enhancer.
In yet another aspect, methods are provided for inducing protective immunity in a patient, comprising administering to a patient an effective amount of one or more of the above pharmaceutical compositions or vaccines.
In yet a further aspect, methods for the treatment of Chlamydia infection in a patient are provided, the methods comprising obtaining peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from the patient, incubating the PBMC. with a polypeptide of the present invention (or a polynucleotide that encodes such a polypeptide) to provide incubated T cells and administering the incubated T cells to the patient. The present invention additionally provides methods for the treatment of Chlamydia infection that comprise incubating antigen presenting cells with a polypeptide of the present invention (or a polynucleotide that encodes such a polypeptide) to provide incubated antigen presenting cells and administering the incubated antigen presenting cells to the patient. In certain embodiments, the antigen presenting cells are selected from the group consisting of dendritic cells, macrophages, monocytes, B-cells, and fibroblasts. Compositions for the treatment of Chlamydia infection comprising T cells or antigen presenting cells that have been incubated with a polypeptide or polynucleotide of the present invention are also provided.
In further aspects of the subject invention, methods and diagnostic kits are provided for detecting Chlamydia infection in a patient. In one embodiment, the method comprises: (a) contacting a biological sample with at least one of the polypeptides or fusion proteins disclosed herein; and (b) detecting in the sample the presence of antibodies that bind to the polypeptide or fusion protein, thereby detecting Chlamydia infection in the biological sample. Suitable biological samples include whole blood, sputum, serum, plasma, saliva, cerebrospinal fluid and urine. In one embodiment, the diagnostic kits comprise one or more of the polypeptides or fusion proteins disclosed herein in combination with a detection reagent. In yet another embodiment, the diagnostic kits comprise either a monoclonal antibody or a polyclonal antibody that binds with a polypeptide of the present invention.
The present invention also provides methods for detecting Chlamydia infection comprising: (a) obtaining a biological sample from a patient; (b) contacting the sample with at least two oligonucleotide primers in a polymerase chain reaction, at least one of the oligonucleotide primers being specific for a polynucleotide sequence disclosed herein; and (c) detecting in the sample a polynucleotide sequence that amplifies in the presence of the oligonucleotide primers. In one embodiment, the oligonucleotide primer comprises at least about 10 contiguous nucleotides of a polynucleotide sequence peptide disclosed herein, or of a sequence that hybridizes thereto.
In a further aspect, the present invention provides a method for detecting Chlamydia infection in a patient comprising: (a) obtaining a biological sample from the patient; (b) contacting the sample with an oligonucleotide probe specific for a polynucleotide sequence disclosed herein; and (c) detecting in the sample a polynucleotide sequence that hybridizes to the oligonucleotide probe. In one embodiment, the oligonucleotide probe comprises at least about 15 contiguous nucleotides of a polynucleotide sequence disclosed herein, or a sequence that hybridizes thereto.
These and other aspects of the present invention will become apparent upon reference to the following detailed description. All references disclosed herein are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety as if each was incorporated individually.
Sequence Identifiers
SEQ ID NO: 1 is the determined DNA sequence for the C. trachomatis clone 1-B1-66.
SEQ ID NO: 2 is the determined DNA sequence for the C. trachomatis clone 4-D7-28.
SEQ ID NO: 3 is the determined DNA sequence for the C. trachomatis clone 3-G3-10.
SEQ ID NO: 4 is the determined DNA sequence for the C. trachomatis clone 10-C10-31.
SEQ ID NO: 5 is the predicted amino acid sequence for 1-B1-66.
SEQ ID NO: 6 is the predicted amino acid sequence for 4-D7-28.
SEQ ID NO: 7 is a first predicted amino acid sequence for 3-G3-10.
SEQ ID NO: 8 is a second predicted amino acid sequence for 3-G3-10.
SEQ ID NO: 9 is a third predicted amino acid sequence for 3-G3-10.
SEQ ID NO: 10 is a fourth predicted amino acid sequence for 3-G3-10.
SEQ ID NO: 11 is a fifth predicted amino acid sequence for 3-G3-10.
SEQ ID NO: 12 is the predicted amino acid sequence for 10-C10-31.
SEQ ID NO: 13 is the amino acid sequence of the synthetic peptide 1-B1-66/48-67.
SEQ ID NO: 14 is the amino acid sequence of the synthetic peptide 1-B1-66/58-77.
SEQ ID NO: 15 is the determined DNA sequence for the C. trachomatis serovar LGV II clone 2C7-8
SEQ ID NO: 16 is the determined DNA sequence for a first putative open reading frame from C. trachomatis serovar D
SEQ ID NO: 17 is the predicted amino acid sequence encoded by the first putative open reading frame from C. trachomatis serovar D
SEQ ID NO: 18 is the amino acid sequence of the synthetic peptide CtC7.8-12
SEQ ID NO: 19 is the amino acid sequence of the synthetic peptide CtC7.8-13
SEQ ID NO: 20 is the predicted amino acid sequence encoded by a second putative open reading from C. trachomatis serovar D
SEQ ID NO: 21 is the determined DNA sequence for clone 4C9-18 from C. trachomatis LGV II
SEQ ID NO: 22 is the determined DNA sequence homologous to Lipoamide Dehydrogenase from C. trachomatis LGV II
SEQ ID NO: 23 is the determined DNA sequence homologous to Hypothetical protein from C. trachomatis LGV II
SEQ ID NO: 24 is the determined DNA sequence homologous to Ubiquinone Mehtyltransferase from C. trachomatis LGV II
SEQ ID NO: 25 is the determined DNA sequence for clone 4C9-18#2 BL21 pLysS from C. trachomatis LGV II
SEQ ID NO: 26 is the predicted amino acid sequence for 4C9-18#2 from C. trachomatis LGV II
SEQ ID NO: 27 is the determined DNA sequence for Cp-SWIB from C. pneumonia strain TWAR
SEQ ID NO: 28 is the predicted amino acid sequence for Cp-SWIB from C. pneumonia strain TWAR
SEQ ID NO: 29 is the determined DNA sequence for Cp-S13 from C. pneumonia strain TWAR
SEQ ID NO: 30 is the predicted amino acid sequence for Cp-S13 from C. pneumonia strain TWAR
SEQ ID NO: 31 is the amino acid sequence for a 10 mer consensus peptide from CtC7.8-12 and CtC7.8-13
SEQ ID NO: 32 is the predicted amino acid sequence for clone 2C7-8 from C. trachomatis LGV II
SEQ ID NO: 33 is the determined DNA sequence of a clone from C. trachomatis serovar D which shows homology to clone 2C7-8
SEQ ID NO: 34 is the predicted amino acid sequence encoded by the sequence of SEQ ID NO: 33
SEQ ID NO: 35 is the DNA sequence for C.p. SWIB Nde (5xe2x80x2 primer) from C. pneumonia
SEQ ID NO: 36 is the DNA sequence for C.p. SWIB EcoRI (3xe2x80x2 primer) from C. pneumonia
SEQ ID NO: 37 is the DNA sequence for C.p. S13 Nde (5xe2x80x2 primer) from C. pneumonia
SEQ ID NO: 38 is the DNA sequence for C.p. S13 EcoRI (3xe2x80x2 primer) from C. pneumonia
SEQ ID NO: 39 is the amino acid sequence for CtSwib 52-67 peptide from C. trachomatis LGV II
SEQ ID NO: 40 is the amino acid sequence for CpSwib 53-68 peptide from C. pneumonia
SEQ ID NO: 41 is the amino acid sequence for HuSwib 288-302 peptide from Human SWI domain
SEQ ID NO: 42 is the amino acid sequence for CtSWI-T 822-837 peptide from the topoisomerase-SWIB fusion of C. trachomatis
SEQ ID NO: 43 is the amino acid sequence for CpSWI-T 828-842 peptide from the topoisomerase-SWIB fusion of C. pneumonia
SEQ ID NO: 44 is a first determined DNA sequence for the C. trachomatis LGV II clone 19783.3,jen.seq(1 greater than 509)CTL2#11-3xe2x80x2, representing the 3xe2x80x2 end.
SEQ ID NO: 45 is a second determined DNA sequence for the C. trachomatis LGV II clone 19783.4,jen.seq(1 greater than 481)CTL2#11-5xe2x80x2, representing the 5xe2x80x2 end.
SEQ ID NO: 46 is the determined DNA sequence for the C. trachomatis LGV II clone 19784CTL2xe2x80x9412consensus.seq(1 greater than 427)CTL2#12.
SEQ ID NO: 47 is the determined DNA sequence for the C. trachomatis LGV II clone 19785.4,jen.seq(1 greater than 600)CTL2#16-5xe2x80x2, representing the 5xe2x80x2 end.
SEQ ID NO: 48 is a first determined DNA sequence for the C. trachomatis LGV II clone 19786.3,jen.seq(1 greater than 600)CTL2#18-3xe2x80x2, representing the 3xe2x80x2 end.
SEQ ID NO: 49 is a second determined DNA sequence for the C. trachomatis LGV II clone 19786.4,jen.seq(1 greater than 600)CTL2#18-5xe2x80x2, representing the 5xe2x80x2 end.
SEQ ID NO: 50 is the determined DNA sequence for the C. trachomatis LGV II clone 19788CTL2xe2x80x9421consensus.seq(1 greater than 406)CTL2#21.
SEQ ID NO: 51 is the determined DNA sequence for the C. trachomatis LGV II clone 19790CTL2xe2x80x9423consensus.seq(1 greater than 602)CTL2#23.
SEQ ID NO: 52 is the determined DNA sequence for the C. trachomatis LGV II clone 19791CTL2xe2x80x9424consensus.seq(1 greater than 145)CTL2#24.
SEQ ID NO: 53 is the determined DNA sequence for the C. trachomatis LGV II clone CTL2#4.
SEQ ID NO: 54 is the determined DNA sequence for the C. trachomatis LGV II clone CTL2#8b.
SEQ ID NO: 55 is the determined DNA sequence for the C. trachomatis LGV II clone 15-G1-89, sharing homology to the lipoamide dehydrogenase gene CT557.
SEQ ID NO: 56 is the determined DNA sequence for the C. trachomatis LGV II clone 14-H1-4, sharing homology to the thiol specific antioxidant gene CT603.
SEQ ID NO: 57 is the determined DNA sequence for the C. trachomatis LGV II clone 12-G3-83, sharing homology to the hypothetical protein CT622.
SEQ ID NO: 58 is the determined DNA sequence for the C. trachomatis LGV II clone 12-B3-95, sharing homology to the lipoamide dehydrogenase gene CT557.
SEQ ID NO: 59 is the determined DNA sequence for the C. trachomatis LGV II clone 11-H4-28, sharing homology to the dnaK gene CT396.
SEQ ID NO: 60 is the determined DNA sequence for the C. trachomatis LGV II clone 11-H3-68, sharing partial homology to the PGP6-D virulence protein and L1 ribosomal gene CT318.
SEQ ID NO: 61 is the determined DNA sequence for the C. trachomatis LGV II clone 11-G1-34, sharing partial homology to the malate dehydrogenase gene CT376 and to the glycogen hydrolase gene CT042.
SEQ ID NO: 62 is the determined DNA sequence for the C. trachomatis LGV II clone 11-G10-46, sharing homology to the hypothetical protein CT610.
SEQ ID NO: 63 is the determined DNA sequence for the C. trachomatis LGV II clone 11-C12-91, sharing homology to the OMP2 gene CT443.
SEQ ID NO: 64 is the determined DNA sequence for the C. trachomatis LGV II clone 11-A3-93, sharing homology to the HAD superfamily gene CT103.
SEQ ID NO: 65 is the determined amino acid sequence for the C. trachomatis LGV II clone 14-H1-4, sharing homology to the thiol specific antioxidant gene CT603.
SEQ ID NO: 66 is the determined DNA sequence for the C. trachomatis LGV II clone CtL2#9.
SEQ ID NO: 67 is the determined DNA sequence for the C. trachomatis LGV II clone CtL2#7.
SEQ ID NO: 68 is the determined DNA sequence for the C. trachomatis LGV II clone CtL2#6.
SEQ ID NO: 69 is the determined DNA sequence for the C. trachomatis LGV II clone CtL2#5.
SEQ ID NO: 70 is the determined DNA sequence for the C. trachomatis LGV II clone CtL2#2.
SEQ ID NO: 71 is the determined DNA sequence for the C. trachomatis LGV II clone CtL2#1.
SEQ ID NO: 72 is a first determined DNA sequence for the C. trachomatis LGV II clone 23509.2CtL2#3-5xe2x80x2, representing the 5xe2x80x2 end.
SEQ ID NO: 73 is a second determined DNA sequence for the C. trachomatis LGV II clone 23509.1CtL2#3-3xe2x80x2, representing the 3xe2x80x2 end.
SEQ ID NO: 74 is a first determined DNA sequence for the C. trachomatis LGV II clone 22121.2CtL2#10-5xe2x80x2, representing the 5xe2x80x2 end.
SEQ ID NO: 75 is a second determined DNA sequence for the C. trachomatis LGV II clone 22121.1CtL2#10-3xe2x80x2, representing the 3xe2x80x2 end.
SEQ ID NO: 76 is the determined DNA sequence for the C. trachomatis LGV II clone 19787.6CtL2#19-5xe2x80x2, representing the 5xe2x80x2 end.
SEQ ID NO: 77 is the determined DNA sequence for the C. pneumoniae LGV II clone CpS13-His.
SEQ ID NO: 78 is the determined DNA sequence for the C. pneumoniae LGV II clone Cp_SWIB-His.
SEQ ID NO: 79 is the determined DNA sequence for the C. trachomatis LGV II clone 23-G7-68, sharing partial homology to the L11, L10 and L1 ribosomal protein.
SEQ ID NO: 80 is the determined DNA sequence for the C. trachomatis LGV II clone 22-F8-91, sharing homology to the pmpC gene.
SEQ ID NO: 81 is the determined DNA sequence for the C. trachomatis LGV II clone 21-E8-95, sharing homology to the CT610-CT613 genes.
SEQ ID NO: 82 is the determined DNA sequence for the C. trachomatis LGV II clone 19-F12-57, sharing homology to the CT858 and recA genes.
SEQ ID NO: 83 is the determined DNA sequence for the C. trachomatis LGV II clone 19-F12-53, sharing homology to the CT445 gene encoding glutamyl tRNA synthetase.
SEQ ID NO: 84 is the determined DNA sequence for the C. trachomatis LGV II clone 19-A5-54, sharing homology to the cryptic plasmid gene.
SEQ ID NO: 85 is the determined DNA sequence for the C. trachomatis LGV II clone 17-E11-72, sharing partial homology to the OppCxe2x80x942 and pmpD genes.
SEQ ID NO: 86 is the determined DNA sequence for the C. trachomatis LGV II clone 17-C1-77, sharing partial homology to the CT857 and CT858 open reading frames.
SEQ ID NO: 87 is the determined DNA sequence for the C. trachomatis LGV II clone 15-H2-76, sharing partial homology to the pmpD and SycE genes, and to the CT089 ORF.
SEQ ID NO: 88 is the determined DNA sequence for the C. trachomatis LGV II clone 15-A3-26, sharing homology to the CT858 ORF.
SEQ ID NO: 89 is the determined amino acid sequence for the C. pneumoniae clone Cp_SWIB-His.
SEQ ID NO: 90 is the determined amino acid sequence for the C. trachomatis LGV II clone CtL2_LPDA_FL.
SEQ ID NO: 91 is the determined amino acid sequence for the C. pnuemoniae clone CpS13-His.
SEQ ID NO: 92 is the determined amino acid sequence for the C. trachomatis LGV II clone CtL2_TSA_FL.
SEQ ID NO: 93 is the amino acid sequence for Ct-Swib 43-61 peptide from C. trachomatis LGV II.
SEQ ID NO: 94 is the amino acid sequence for Ct-Swib 48-67 peptide from C. trachomatis LGV II.
SEQ ID NO: 95 is the amino acid sequence for Ct-Swib 52-71 peptide from C. trachomatis LGV II.
SEQ ID NO: 96 is the amino acid sequence for Ct-Swib 58-77 peptide from C. trachomatis LGV II.
SEQ ID NO: 97 is the amino acid sequence for Ct-Swib 63-82 peptide from C. trachomatis LGV II.
SEQ ID NO: 98 is the amino acid sequence for Ct-Swib 51-66 peptide from C. trachomatis LGV II.
SEQ ID NO: 99 is the amino acid sequence for Cp-Swib 52-67 peptide from C. pneumonia.
SEQ ID NO: 100 is the amino acid sequence for Cp-Swib 37-51 peptide from C. pneumonia.
SEQ ID NO: 101 is the amino acid sequence for Cp-Swib 32-51 peptide from C. pneumonia.
SEQ ID NO: 102 is the amino acid sequence for Cp-Swib 37-56 peptide from C. pneumonia.
SEQ ID NO: 103 is the amino acid sequence for Ct-Swib 36-50 peptide from C. trachomatis.
SEQ ID NO: 104 is the amino acid sequence for Ct-S13 46-65 peptide from C. trachomatis.
SEQ ID NO: 105 is the amino acid sequence for Ct-S13 60-80 peptide from C. trachomatis.
SEQ ID NO: 106 is the amino acid sequence for Ct-S13 1-20 peptide from C. trachomatis.
SEQ ID NO: 107 is the amino acid sequence for Ct-S13 46-65 peptide from C. trachomatis.
SEQ ID NO: 108 is the amino acid sequence for Ct-S13 56♯75 peptide from C. trachomatis.
SEQ ID NO: 109 is the amino acid sequence for Cp-S13 56-75 peptide from C. pneumoniae.

Compounds and methods for treatment and diagnosis of chlamydial infection


A process and apparatus for fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) of a hydrocarbon feed. The process and apparatus includes a riser which upwardly discharges into a deflector baffle located within a stripping vessel. The stripping vessel is located within a disengaging vessel. The deflector baffle is spaced from the riser and the stripping vessel. Preferably, the deflector baffle is shaped similarly to a large bubble cap. Catalyst passes downwardly from the baffle into a stripping zone within a lower portion of the stripping vessel. Hydrocarbons stripped from the catalyst pass upwardly away from the stripping zone, then pass to a cyclone located outside the stripping vessel and then discharge from the disengaging vessel.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a process and apparatus for a short contact time fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) unit. More particularly, the present invention relates to a process and apparatus for reducing contact time between catalyst and hydrocarbon materials within an FCC disengaging vessel.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
By way of background, the hydrocarbon conversion catalyst usually employed in a FCC installation is preferably a high activity crystalline zeolite catalyst of a fluidizable particle size. The catalyst is transferred in suspended or dispersed phase condition with a hydrocarbon feed generally upwardly through one or more riser conversion zones (FCC cracking zones) providing a hydrocarbon residence time in each conversion zone in the range of 0.5 to about 10 seconds and usually less than about 8 seconds. High temperature riser hydrocarbon conversions, occurring at temperatures of at least 1,000.degree. F. or higher and a 0.5 to 4 seconds hydrocarbon residence time in contact with the catalyst in the riser, are desirable for some operations before initiating separation of vaporous hydrocarbon product materials from the catalysts.
Rapid separation of catalyst from hydrocarbons discharged from a riser conversion zone is particularly desirable for restricting hydrocarbon conversion time. During the hydrocarbon conversion, carbonaceous deposits accumulate on the catalyst particles and the particles entrain hydrocarbon vapors upon removal from the hydrocarbon conversion zone. The entrained hydrocarbons are subjected to further contact with the catalyst until they are removed from the catalyst by a separator, such as cyclonic equipment, or stripping gas in a separate catalyst stripping zone or both. Hydrocarbon conversion products separated and stripped from the catalyst are combined and passed to a product fractionation step. Stripped catalyst containing deactivating amounts of carbonaceous material, hereinafter referred to as coke, is then passed to a catalyst regeneration operation.
Of particular interest has been the development of methods and systems for separating catalyst particles from a gasiform mixture of catalyst particles and vaporous hydrocarbon product which is discharged from the riser. Efficient separating conditions are desirable to separate high activity crystalline zeolite catalyst particles to reduce overcracking of hydrocarbon conversion products and promote the recovery of desired products of a hydrocarbon conversion operation.
Various processes and mechanical means have been employed heretofore to effect rapid separation of the catalyst phase from the hydrocarbon phase, at the termination of the riser conversion zone, to minimize contact time of the catalyst with cracked hydrocarbons.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,502,947 to Haddad et al discloses a closed cyclone fluid catalytic cracking catalyst separation method and apparatus and is incorporated herein by reference. In the closed cyclone method and apparatus, hydrocarbon product from a riser is separated from catalyst and discharged from a disengaging vessel without substantially passing into an atmosphere of the disengaging vessel. Preventing passage of the hydrocarbon into the atmosphere of the disengaging vessel reduces time for the hydrocarbon products being subjected to high temperature cracking in the disengaging vessel, and to contact with catalyst in the atmosphere of the disengaging vessel.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,572,780 to Owen et al discloses a method and apparatus for fluid catalytic cracking of a hydrocarbon feed in an open or closed system and is incorporated herein by reference. The method and apparatus includes a multistage stripper system. The multistage stripper system comprises a means for spinning a gasiform mixture of catalyst and cracked hydrocarbons exiting from a riser, a first means for stripping the spun gasiform mixture, and a means for deflecting the gasiform mixture to separate catalyst from the cracked hydrocarbons. A downstream end of a riser conversion zone may terminate within a stripper vessel located within a disengaging vessel (reactor vessel).
A need exists for developing new systems, for decreasing contact time of catalyst and hydrocarbon products, particularly useful in modifying existing designs. Short contact time reactor designs are becoming increasingly valuable, particularly as the technology progresses to employing higher reaction temperatures and heavier feedstocks.

Short contact time fluid catalytic cracking apparatus


A clamping jaw (10) for a clamping device, adapted to be mounted on a profile member (31) is formed by two separate jaw members (11) and a common rear counter support (12) for said members, which is arranged to transmit clamping forces produced by means of clamping bolts (32) to the two jaw members (11). The jaw members (11) and the counter support (12) have cooperating engagement means (13, 15) for placing and holding the jaw members (11) in predetermined positions in relation to the counter support (12). In order to make it possible to adapt the clamping jaw (10) to profile members of different shape and size, the engagement means (13, 15) are arranged to permit each jaw member (11) to be placed and held in a plurality of different positions in relation to the counter support (12).

1. Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a clamping jaw.
More particularly, the invention relates to a clamping jaw for a clamping device of the kind, adapted to be mounted on a profile member and wherein the clamping jaw may be applied under pressure against the profile member by means of two transverse clamping bolts, placed each on one side of the profile member.
2. Prior Art
Such clamping devices are utilized as attachment means for profile members of many different kinds. For instance, they are utilized in connection with the attachment of profile members to buildings or the like and for mounting antennas on such members. Normally, the clamping device comprises two opposite clamping jaws, which may be applied under pressure against mutually opposite sides of a profile member by means of the two clamping bolts, which are placed each on one side of said member. However, in some cases, one clamping jaw may be replaced by a fixed building portion or the like, in which the two clamping bolts are anchored in a suitable manner.
In most clamping devices of the above kind previously known, the clamping jaw or each clamping jaw, respectively, is formed by a member, made in one single piece and having a shape and size adapted to the intended profile member.
However, through U.S. Pat. No. 4,444,370, it is also known, in a clamping device of said kind, to utilize a clamping jaw formed by two separate jaw members and a common counter support for said members, located behind them and arranged to transmit the clamping forces produced by means of the clamping bolts to the two jaw members in order to press said members against the profile member. The two jaw members and the counter support are provided with cooperating engagement means, serving to make it possible to place and hold the jaw members in predetermined positions in relation to the counter support.
According to said patent specification, the main reason for dividing a clamping jaw into three different portions, namely two separate jaw members and a common rear counter support for said members, is to facilitate the manufacture as well as the use of the clamping jaw when it has very large dimensions and forms part of a clamping device for pipes of very large diameter.
A disadvantage of the clamping jaw disclosed in the above-mentioned U.S. patent specification as well as of an ordinary clamping jaw, made in one single piece, is that the clamping jaw is suited to be mounted only on profile members having dimensions and shapes varying within rather narrow limits. Therefore, in order to meet the need for clamping devices for various kinds of profile members of strongly varying size and shape, it has previously been necessary to provide a large number of different clamping jaws of different shape and size.


A light emitting device includes a radiation source operable to generate and radiate excitation energy, the source being configured to irradiate a wavelength conversion component with excitation energy and the wavelength conversion component comprising a layer of photo-luminescent material configured to emit radiation of a selected color when irradiated by the radiation source and a color enhancement filter layer configured to filter undesirable wavelengths of an emission product of the layer of photo-luminescent material to establish a final emission product for the light emitting device.

Commercial and entertainment lighting applications such as lighting for advertisements, disco lighting, theater lighting, stage lighting, traffic lighting, etc. often times require light to be emitted with high color saturation for optimal presentation. Typically, high color saturation is generated by applying a narrow selective filter to an incandescent light source. The light source generates white light, which comprises a combination of light with different wavelengths in the visible spectrum. The filter selectively filters the white light to provide the desired color light emission. The color pigments, dyes, or colorants, used in these filters are typically transparent color filters which absorb the unwanted color light. While this system generates highly saturated color light, it also wastes a significant portion of the light generated by the light source, as a significant portion is absorbed by the selective filter rather than being transmitted.
White light emitting diodes (LEDs) are known in the art and are a relatively recent innovation. It was not until LEDs emitting the blue/ultraviolet of the electromagnetic spectrum were developed that it became practical to develop white light sources based on LEDs. As is known white light generating LEDs ("white LEDs") include photo-luminescent materials (e.g., one or more phosphor materials), which absorbs a portion of the radiation emitted by the LED and re-emits radiation of a different color (e.g., range of wavelengths). For example, the LED emits blue light in the visible part of the spectrum and the phosphor re-emits yellow or a combination of green and red light, green and yellow, or yellow and red light. The portion of the visible blue light emitted by the LED which is not absorbed by the phosphor mixes with the yellow light emitted to provide light which appears to the eye as being white. In addition to generating white light, the combination of an LED and photo-luminescent material may be configured to generate any number of colors in the visible spectrum.
This provides much more efficient use of the LED light source, as a significant amount of light generated by the LED light source is transmitted or absorbed and re-emitted by the photo-luminescent material.
However, a problem that arises is that although a photo-luminescent material may create sufficient light in the target color wavelength, this is typically a much broader emission curve than desired for high color saturation. This may be particularly problematic for certain type of lighting that require high color saturation, such as lighting for advertisements, disco lighting, theater lighting, stage lighting, traffic lighting.
Therefore, there is a need for an improved approach to improve the color characteristics for LED lighting devices.

Light emitting device utilizing remote wavelength conversion with improved color characteristics


A process is disclosed for the preparation of liquid, storage-stable, polyisocyanate compositions containing a release agent formed in situ which compositions are useful, for example, as binder resins in the formation of particle boards which latter, because of the presence of the release agent, show no tendency to adhere to the face of metal platens used in their formation. The process comprises heating an organic polyisocyanate (polymethylene polyphenyl polyisocyanate preferred) with an acid phosphate (e.g. a mixture of mono- and di-alkyl acid phosphates) under conditions controlled as to time and temperature so as to yield a product which is storage stable and shows no tendency to deposit solid or to separate into two liquid phases.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to polyisocyanate compositions and is more particularly concerned with storage stable liquid polyisocyanate compositions containing a release agent formed in situ, and with a method for the preparation of said compositions.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use is known of organic polyisocyanates as binders, or as components of a binder, for the preparation of particle boards; see, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,428,592; 3,440,189; 3,557,263; 3,636,199; 3,870,665; 3,919,017 and 3,930,110.
In a typical process the binder resins, optionally in the form of a solution or aqueous suspension or emulsion, are applied to or admixed with particles of cellulosic or like material capable of being compressed into particle board, using a tumbler apparatus or blender or other form of agitator. The mixture of particles and binder is then formed into a mat and subjected to heat and pressure using heated platens. The process can be carried out in a batch operation or continuously. To avoid adhesion of the board so formed to the heated platens it has hitherto been necessary to interpose a sheet, impermeable to isocyanate, between the surface of the board and the platen during the forming process, or to coat the surface of the platen, prior to each molding operation, with an appropriate release agent or to coat the surface of the particles themselves with a material which will not adhere to the platen. Any of these alternatives, particularly where the process is being operated on a continuous basis, is cumbersome and a drawback to what is otherwise a very satisfactory method of making a particle board with highly attractive structural strength properties.
It has recently been found that the above drawbacks to the use of organic isocyanates as particle board binders can be overcome in a very satisfactory manner by incorporating certain phosphorus-containing compounds as internal release agents. These findings are disclosed in copending application Ser. No. 35,647 filed May 3, 1979. Among the phosphorus-containing compounds which can be employed in accordance with the above findings are pyrophosphates derived from mono- and di-hydrocarbyl acid phosphates and related compounds. In accordance with the process described in the aforesaid pending application Ser. No. 35,647 the said pyrophosphates can be prepared separately by reacting the corresponding acid phosphates with dehydrating agents such as phosgene, phosphorus oxychloride and the like and, if desired, can then be mixed with the polyisocyanate for use in the formation of the particle boards. Alternatively, it is also disclosed in the aforesaid pending application that said pyrophosphates can be prepared by reaction with the dehydrating agent in the presence of the organic polyisocyanate.
We have now found that, by using very carefully controlled conditions, it is possible to prepare said pyrophosphates and related polyphosphates in situ in said organic polyisocyanates without the use of additional reagents such as the ecologically and toxicologically undesirable compounds phosgene, phosphorus oxychloride, and the like. We have further found that it is possible to prepare organic polyisocyanates which contain said pyrophosphates and related polyphosphates produced in situ and which possess the additional desirable characteristics of being liquid and storage-stable, i.e. they show no tendency to deposit solids or to separate into two liquid phases on storage for prolonged periods of time. This is in direct contrast to the behaviour of compositions made in a closely related manner but not observing the specific reaction conditions which are discussed in detail hereafter.
The ability to produce such liquid, storage-stable, polyisocyanate compositions greatly facilitates the utilization of polyisocyanates as particle board binders. Thus, it is possible thereby to provide the particle board manufacturer with a single composition, prepared in a highly economical manner, which can be utilized readily by the manufacturer in accordance with the process of the aforesaid Ser. No. 35,647. The polyisocyanate compositions prepared in accordance with this invention can be applied, either as such or as an aqueous emulsion or suspension, to the cellulosic or like particles which are subsequently molded, using heat and pressure, into particle boards. The latter, by reason of the pyrophosphate produced in situ in the compositions of the invention, release readily from the mold platens.

Polyisocyanate compositions containing in-situ formed pyrophosphate mold release agent and process of making