The present invention provides an undergarment, alone or in combination with a compatible overgarment. Also, an embodiment of the present invention includes a bodysuit comprising a torso section and an undergarment section. Undergarments of the present invention comprise a crotch panel for covering a crotch opening. In a closed position, the crotch panel is fixably attached to a back panel and is releasably attached to a front panel. The crotch panel is slidable from front to back which permits bodily waste elimination without the need for disrobing. In the open position, the crotch panel can be secured to the back panel. Methods of facilitating elimination of bodily waste are also provided by the present invention.

During the latter part of the twentieth century, it has become customary for many women to wear pants for everyday, business, athletic, travel and other outdoor activities. Such garments both allow and foster women's varied activities outside the home, as they are comfortable and facilitate movement of the body. These convenient garments however do not provide the same facility as men enjoy when it comes to urination. Because men's outer and under garments each have an openable/closable crotch, they have the convenience of standing and not disrobing for urination. Men's garments allow the belt, shirt, waistband and underwear to remain conveniently in place on a man's body during urination. There have been no similar garments for women. When wearing slacks or other legged garments since "bloomers," were invented, women have had to undo some or all of the following: belt, button, snaps, zipper, panties and remove them from the lower torso in order to urinate. This process can be both time-consuming and disconcerting especially when private parts of the body must be exposed.
Especially in public places, partially disrobing may cause the garments to drag on the ground where they may become soiled or wet. If one uses a "hovering" technique rather than sit on the toilet seat, substantial physical, e.g., muscular, control is necessary. Older women and physically-challenged women, as well as women who simply have to manage packages or heavy outer garments in a public restroom have similar problems. In outdoor activities such as hiking and camping, disrobing can also be undesirable because of the lack of privacy, since there are often no toilet facilities. Also in outdoor situations when the weather is adverse it can be undesirable to disrobe and expose one's body to the elements.
The problem of disrobing has been addressed in part by U.S. Pat. No. 4,597,110 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,835,795, which relate to openable undergarments. These undergarments have front opening flaps which must be fastened or otherwise maintained out of the way. If these undergarments are used in combination with a bifurcated overgarment it may require pulling the flap through an opening in the overgarment, then repositioning the flap under the overgarment and refastening the flap to the undergarment. This process requires several motions and is time-consuming. The problem of a flap has been overcome in part for undergarments by the flapless undergarment disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,823,721. However, the undergarment does not have means for securing the garment in a closed position. Furthermore, none of these garments provide a bifurcated overgarment which can be used in combination with undergarments.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,324,699 describes a "pantyhose undergarment with crotch flap" designed to provide an openable crotch for pantyhose. A flap is disclosed that requires use of the wearer's hands for the purpose of holding the flap out of the way. The pantyhose has to be reclosed at different points in the crotch area which is inconvenient and perhaps unsanitary. Also, there is no provision for a compatible bifurcated overgarment and therefore it is presumably more suitable for wearing with skirts.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,239,706 discloses "underpants and coordinated bifurcated overgarment." The undergarment described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,239,706 provides a flapless garment with a slidable crotch.
There is a continuing need for convenience garments designed for women which allow the wearer to eliminate body waste without disrobing and to stand for urination if necessary.

Women's undergarment and compatible overgarment


The invention provides a clamping system (1) for a rotary tool (70), for example a milling cutter or drill. The clamping system (1) includes a base element (10), a collet (30) and a clamping nut (50), said clamping nut (50) friction-locking the rotary tool (70) within the base element (10) with the collet (30). In order to avoid a relative rotation of the base element (10) and the collet (30), the clamping system (1) has a form locking anti-twist protection which blocks a rotation of the collet (30) relative to the base element (10).

The present invention relates to a clamping system, a collet, a base element, a reduction sleeve and a rotating tool The present invention furthermore relates to an installation method for a clamping system.
It is known to support rotating tools like for example drills and in particular milling tools in a clamping device of a machine tool. Such clamping devices include a base element with a coupling side end for reception in a machine tool. Furthermore the base element includes a tool side end with a receiving bore hole that is concentric to a rotation axis of the rotating tool. In this receiving bore hole a shaft of the rotating tool is insertable in axial direction starting from a forward face of the tool side end of the base element.
A collet is arranged axially moveable in the receiving bore hole of the base element, wherein the collet envelops the shaft of the rotating tool. This collet preferably has a conical shape which tapers in a direction towards the coupling side end of the base element. The collet is supported at an equally tapering conical section of the radial inner surface of the receiving bore hole of the base element.
In order to attach the collet and the shaft of the rotating tool arranged therein the clamping nut axially forces the collet into the receiving bore hole of the base element in a direction of the coupling side and of the base element. When tightening the clamping nut the collet is pressed into the conical receiving bore hole of the base element so that the inner diameter of the collet is reduced and the collet is radially clamped in the receiving bore hole of the base element. Thus, the collet as well as the shaft of the rotating tool is supported in the base element in a friction locking manner.
According to another known embodiment of a clamping system the collet is a shrink fit collet which is clamped in the base element or in the chuck. In a system of this type in which the shrink fit collet is fixated in the base element through shrinking no additional clamping nut is required. Alternatively a shrink fit collet can also be interpreted as a collet which is shrunk with the tool to form an integral unit together with the rotating tool. According to another alternative clamping system the rotating tool is clamped directly in the base element or chuck and thus fixated. Respective embodiments are a shrink fit chuck and a hydro expansion chuck. In these clamping systems that include a base element or a chuck and a rotating tool neither a collet nor a clamping nut is required for attaching the rotating tool.
Due to its configurative cooperation the combination of the base element, collet and clamping nut is also designated as clamping system. A clamping system of this type is described for example in WO 2008/049 621 A2.
In the field of tool holders with clamping system for rotating tools in particular in the field of heavy duty chip removal over and over again there are problems with respect to strength of the clamping system. Heavy duty chip removal causes high forces and torques which are transferred by the rotating tool for example a cutter or drill bit through the collet supporting the rotating tool to the base element or the chuck. During heavy duty chip removal it can occur that the prevailing forces and/or torques exceed the retaining force between collet and base element. In this case the collet starts turning or slipping in the base element. This stops operations which causes undesirable production interruptions since the rotating tool has to be newly clamped. However it is also possible that the base element, the collet, the tool, the rotation machine and/or the work piece to be machined are damaged or even destroyed due to the occurring chipping forces.
Thus, it is a technical problem of the present invention to provide a clamping system for a rotating tool which reliably fixates the rotating tool and/or the collet in the base element also during heavy duty chipping operations so that the disadvantages known in the prior art are avoided.

Clamping system and base, collet chuck and rotary tool therefor and method for mounting the rotary tool in the clamping system


A lead body for use with medical devices and method for lead body manufacture are provided. The lead body defines a lumen. The lumen has an electrically conductive material deposited on the lumen wall. The lead body""s manufacture includes coating a lumen wall of a lead body with a conductive material to provide a conductor between the proximal and distal ends of the lead body. The manufacture further includes fitting sleeves electrically connected to electrical elements within the lumen to provide an electrical connection between the sleeve and the conductive material.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to medical leads, and more particularly to implantable medical leads having conductive materials deposited within the lumen of the lead body.
2. Description of the Related Art
Implantable leads form an electrical connection between a pulse generator or other electronic device and a tissue or structure in the body. For example, leads transmit electric signals used to stimulate cardiac or nerve tissue in one direction and signals generated by sensors placed in proximity to particular organs or tissues in the opposite direction. Leads typically include one or more electric elements at the lead""s distal end. The electric elements are designed to form an electrical connection with a tissue or organ. Most leads also include a lead connector pin at the lead""s proximal end. Lead connector pins are adapted to electrically and mechanically connect leads to the pulse generators or other electronic medical devices. A conductor connects the electric element to the lead connector pin. Commonly, the conductor takes the form of a single or multifilar wire coil. Stranded cable conductors are also common. Regardless of the conductors form, an insulating layer of material typically surrounds the conductors. Together, the flexible conductor and the insulating layer form the lead body.
Lead bodies having coils or cables can suffer from a variety of disadvantages, including fractured coils/cables, coil corrosion, difficult assembly, limited flexibility, and size limitations among others. Flex fatigue is a particularly prevalent problem. Flex fatigue is the fatiguing of the conductors upon repeated flexing caused, for example, by the pumping of the heart. Flex fatigue can lead to the fracture of one or more conductors reducing or eliminating the lead""s conductivity. This problem is exacerbated as coils are reduced in size. Closely related to fatigue is clavicle crush. Clavicle crush is the crushing of a lead implanted through the subclavian vein by the clavicle. The crushing can cause fracture of the conductors. Because of the need to access the heart through the subclavian vein, there is a need for a lead body more resistant to clavicle crush. Hence, a need exists for a lead that is more resistant to fracture due to flex fatigue, clavicle crush and other stresses that will be recognized by those skilled in the art.
The coils or cables also limit the minimum size for a lead body. Smaller diameter leads allow the placement of leads in more restricted spaces, such as cardiac veins or the epidural space, with a reduced affect on the patient relative to current lead sizes. Further, a smaller lead allows the use of smaller introducers that reduce the trauma associated with implantation. Similarly, a smaller removal sheath may also be used when explanting the reduced diameter lead. Hence, there exists a need to reduce the diameter of the lead bodies.
In addition, manufacturing leads is costly. Forming a secure electrical junction between the conductors and electric elements has proven difficult and time consuming. Laser welds are commonly used to connect the conductors to electric elements. Laser welding the coils to electric elements typically requires that the end of a coil be ground flat. Grinding the ends flat allows sufficient contact between the coil and the electrical element to weld the two together with a butt joint. Grinding increases the time, complexity and cost of manufacture. Further, welding may require the synchronized rotation of the conductor and electric element to weld at the various points around their circumference. The rotating also adds to the time, complexity and costs of manufacture. Alternatively, ring electrodes are connected to a conductor by etching away a region of insulator, applying a coating of electrically conductive adhesive, and then placing the ring electrode around the conductor. This method is also time consuming and expensive. Certain electrodes can also be crimped to the coiled or stranded conductor. Crimping, while a relatively simple process, places restrictions on the lead""s design. Further, crimping is relatively time consuming and can add significantly to the products cost. Hence, there exists a need to improve the manufacturing techniques used to secure electric elements to conductors in leads to reduce the time, complexity and cost.
The present invention meets these needs and provides other advantages and improvements that will be evident to those skilled in the art upon review of the following figures and description.
The present invention provides a lead body having an electrically conductive coating deposited within its lumen. The lead body is more flexible than leads employing coils or cables and offers the advantage of increased fatigue life while decreasing susceptibility to damaging in vivo forces, such as clavicle crush. The present invention reduces the cost in time and materials for the manufacture of the lead body relative to lead bodies employing coils or cables as conductors. The costs are reduced by, inter alia, eliminating various processes and related equipment required to join the coil or cable to other electrical components such as distal electrodes or the terminal components. The lead body may be manufactured in smaller sizes and with greater flexibility than with current methods of manufacture. The conductive coating occupying only minimal space in the lead body compared to typical coils and cables facilitates this reduction in size. In addition, the lead body allows for a simplified electrical connection between the lead body and the associated electrodes and/or sensors further reducing the cost of manufacture. Further, the present invention provides a lead that may realize the above and other advantages while providing handling characteristic similar to that of current lead designs, if desired by the user.
A lead body in accordance with the present invention includes a body defining at least one lumen, the lumen having a lumen wall. A conductive material is deposited on the lumen wall to conduct an electric current. When there are a plurality of lumen, at least one lumen is coated with a conductive material. The conductive material may be substantially coextensive or coextensive with the wall of the lumen. The lumen may be any of a number of shapes such as round, oval, triangle, square, pentagon, hexagon, heptagon, octagon or other shapes. The lead body may further include a protective layer covering the conductive material. The protective layer may impart desired performance characteristics on the lead body, protect the conductive layer, or both impart performance characteristic and protect the conductive layer.
In another embodiment, the lead body may include an inner body received within a lumen of an outer body. The inner body defines a lumen, the lumen having a lumen wall. The inner body may have a conductive material deposited on its lumen wall to conduct an electric current. Additional inner bodies may be provided to fit within the body. Each of the plurality of bodies defining a lumen, each lumen having a wall, and a conductive material deposited on the walls of at least one of the bodies to conduct an electric current. The plurality of inner bodies are received within the lumen of the body. The additional inner bodies may have different outside diameters and lumen diameters. The outside and lumen diameters corresponding such that in descending order of size each smaller body is fitted within the lumen of the next larger body.
A lead in accordance with the present invention is manufactured by providing a lead body defining a lumen and depositing a conductive material on a wall of the lumen. The conductive material may be deposited by electroless deposition, plasma deposition, sputtering, chemical deposition or other methods that will be recognized by those skilled in the art.
Electric elements, such as electrodes and sensors, may be secured to a lead body by fitting a sleeve of the electrical element within the lead body""s lumen to form an electrical contact between the electrical element and a conductive material. Further, electric elements may be secured to a lead body having an inner body and an outer body by fitting a sleeve of the electrical element between the inner body and the outer body to form an electrical contact between the electrical element and the conductive material. An adhesive that may itself be conductive may also be included to secure the sleeve within the lumen or between the bodies. Alternatively, the sleeve may be compressionally fit within the lumen or between the bodies. Again, an adhesive that may itself be conductive may also be included to secure the compressionally fit sleeve within the lumen or between the bodies.


A newel guide for supporting a passenger conveyor handrail traveling over a newel includes an integral one piece body and a plurality of rollers. The one piece body may be formed by an extrusion process and formed into the desired shape. In a particular embodiment, the one piece body incorporates an attachment portion, a deflector portion and a portion to retain the rollers. A transition piece is used between the newel guide and the handrail guide to smoothly transition between the guides. The transition piece has a profile to match the newel guide on one end and a profile to match the handrail guide on the opposite end.

Passenger conveyors, such as escalators and moving walks, typically include a continuous loop of sequentially connected treadplates, a pair of handrails and a pair of balustrades extending along side the treadplates, and a drive system. The treadplates may be steps (escalators) or flat pallets (moving walks). The drive system includes a drive sprocket engaged with a pair of step or pallet chains that are connected to the treadplates. The drive system also provides the motive force for the handrails as they rotate about the balustrades.
The balustrade typically includes a linear section that extends the length of the conveyor and a pair of newels that extend beyond the ends of the conveyor. The newels provide means to extend the handrails into the areas in which the passengers are entering or exiting the conveyor and contribute to the safety of the conveyor. A typical newel is curved to permit the handrail to reverse direction for the return to the opposite end of the conveyor.
The balustrade includes a handrail guide that retains the handrail to the balustrade. The handrail engages in sliding contact with the handrail guide. The newel includes a newel guide for supporting and guiding the handrail around the newel. The tensioned handrail exerts the maximum contact force on the newel because of the reversal in direction. To accommodate the forces associated with the reversal in direction of the tensioned handrail, the newel guide includes a plurality of rollers that define a rolling contact surface for the handrail.
Assembly of the balustrade is a labor intensive process. The conventional newel guide is formed from sheet metal and includes a channel for supporting the rollers, a second channel to engage the balustrade, and a plurality of plastic deflectors. The channels are bonded together by spot welding and then deformed to approximate the shape of the newel. The second channel is then bored to fasten it to the newel, which is typically a glass panel. Finally, the plastic deflectors are fastened to the channels by screws and bonded to the newel. Due to the curved edge of the newel, the assembly of the newel guide to the newel may require extensive rework to get the pieces to fit together properly.
The above art notwithstanding, scientists and engineers under the direction of Applicant's Assignee are working to develop balustrades that are sturdy and that are inexpensive to manufacture and assemble.


A current generator, particularly for vehicles, has a shaft, a liquid cooled generator, a liquid cooled internal combustion engine forming a drive motor for the generator, and a pump for supplying a liquid coolant. The generator, the internal combustion engine and the pump are arranged coaxially on the shaft. The pump for a liquid coolant is located on the shaft between the generator and the drive motor.

The present invention relates to a current generator, in particular for motor vehicles, which is composed of a liquid cooled generator and a liquid cooled internal combustion engine formed as a drive motor as well as a pump for the liquid coolant, which are arranged coaxially on a shaft.
Such a current generator is disclosed, for example, in the German patent document G 86 01 003. The water pump which is required for the cooling is arranged outside of the motor so that it is easily accessible for maintenance.
An air cooled current generator is disclosed in the U.S. Pat. No. 4,827,147. Current generators of this type have the advantage that the blower wheel does not need any maintenance. However, there are some disadvantages. In order to avoid two separate blower wheels, a single, double acting blower wheel is arranged between the motor and the generator. Fresh air is aspirated in two partial streams separately through the motor and through the generator and then jointly expelled. Thereby, the action of two separate blowers is obtained with one blower wheel.
Furthermore, the U.S. Pat. No. 4,486,668 describes a generator with a vacuum pump which is arranged between a driving V-belt pulley and the generator. The pump is easily accessible due to the belt drive. A coaxial arrangement of the motor and generator shaft is thereby avoided. The generator is not cooled with liquid. The pump does not operate for cooling.
The German document DE 35 34 507 A1 describes exclusively an internal combustion engine with a cooling water pump which has a magnet rotor. The pump is also easily accessible.
The known current generators have the same disadvantage that the armature shaft bearings or drive motor shaft bearings fail especially in narrow space conditions, which affects the operational safety.


A negative electrode for lithium secondary battery includes a negative electrode collector having a proportional limit of not less than 2.0 N/mm and having a negative electrode material attached thereon, and the negative electrode material including a material to be alloyed with lithium.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a negative electrode for lithium secondary battery which comprises a negative electrode material and a negative electrode collector having the negative electrode material attached to a surface thereof, and to a lithium secondary battery employing such a negative electrode.
2. Description of the Related Art
As one type of the new secondary batteries featuring high powers and high energy densities, a lithium secondary battery is in wide use, which employs a non-aqueous electrolyte and which is adapted for charge/discharge by way of transfer of lithium ions between a positive electrode and a negative electrode.
In such a lithium secondary battery, the negative electrode comprises a negative electrode material including a material to be alloyed with lithium, and a negative electrode collector having the negative electrode material attached thereon.
However, in a case where the negative electrode material includes the material to be alloyed with lithium, the charging/discharging processes involve substantial expansion/contraction of the material to be alloyed with lithium. Hence, with repeated charging/discharging processes, the negative electrode is gradually deformed. A thin lithium secondary battery such as of a card type encounters a problem of increase in the thickness thereof.
More recently, the above lithium secondary batteries have come into use as a power source for a variety of portable devices. This leads to a demand for a lithium secondary battery having an even higher energy density.
In this connection, there has been proposed a lithium secondary battery, such as disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 2948205, which comprises a negative electrode fabricated as follows. A composite powder material containing silicon or a silicon-carbon composite material, having a high capacity density, is used as the negative electrode material. A slurry containing the negative electrode material and a binder resin is applied to the negative electrode collector of a metal foil, which is sintered in a non-oxidizing atmosphere to form the negative electrode.
Unfortunately, if a negative electrode collector of a metal foil having a smooth surface is processed by the method wherein the slurry containing the negative electrode material and binder resin is applied to the negative electrode collector and sintered in the non-oxidizing atmosphere, the following problem results. That is, the negative electrode collector of the smooth surface has such a small contact area with the negative electrode material that the sintering process cannot achieve a significant increase in the adhesion between the negative electrode collector and the negative electrode material. As a result of the expansion or contraction of the negative electrode material in association with the charging/discharging processes, contact between the negative electrode material and the negative electrode collector is decreased. Thus, resistance between the negative electrode material and the negative electrode collector is increased so that a battery is decreased in charge/discharge cycle performance.

Negative electrode for lithium secondary battery and lithium secondary battery


A post member supports a stationary lower jaw and a movable upper jaw. Two openings in the upper jaw are spaced one above the other the same distance apart as a plurality of equispaced openings on the post member. A pair of pins are insertable into the openings in the upper jaw and openings in the post member to secure the upper jaw in position on the post member. With a pin in place in the upper opening in the upper jaw and a pin removed from the lower opening in the upper jaw that jaw can be tilted upwardly about the pin in the upper opening to facilitate installation of the post member and jaws on a beam.

Workman installing roofing or flooring on the beam structure of a construction project run great risk of injury in falls from the beam structure. The risk of injury can be substantially reduced by attaching a strong safety line, or cable, to a stationary part of the structure, such as a beam.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,217,833 granted Nov. 16, 1965 to D. W. Smith for "Safety Device" discloses a system for connecting the belt of a workman to a metal I-beam with a rigid elongated metal bar. The attachment to the I-beam slides along the beam to permit the workman to move back and forth on the beam. The system disclosed, however, virtually precludes any side to side movement of the workman thereby limiting his activities.
Worker safety considerations prompted at least two other patented inventions. A perimeter guard rail post which can be clamped on the edge of a concrete slab is the subject of U.S. Pat. No. 3,747,895 granted Jul. 24, 1973 to W. E. Warren for "Guard Rail Post." And U.S. Pat. No. 3,938,619 granted Feb. 17, 1976 to K. Kurabayaski for "Stanchion" discloses a handrail supporting post that is adapted to be clamped onto an I-beam. Both of these patents disclose apparatus which is fairly complex and expensive to produce.
There continues to be a need for a reliable, easily fabricated adjustable device for attaching a worker safety line to a beam.


An apparatus for providing lateral guidance through a plurality of waypoints utilizing curved path transitions. When the curved path transitions overlap due to a short leg there is a discontinuity in the desired path of the aircraft, causing the aircraft to experience excessive and oscillatory bank angles to maneuver through the turn. The invention adjusts the transition parameters so that there are no discontinuities in the flight path by computing a new turn radius, turn center, or turn center coordinates, in accordance with the course through the waypoints. The invention determines which flight plan legs are short and calculates the parameters so that the path will not violate air space boundaries and bank angles will be minimized. A circular path is generated tangential to course changes in the same or opposite direction, irrespective of the value of the flight plan leg length.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to flight management systems for an aircraft and more specifically to lateral guidance in area navigation systems.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Aircraft area navigation systems in which a navigation computer guides an aircraft along a flight plan through a series of point-to-point transitions from an inbound course or leg of a waypoint to the next leg or outbound course thereof are known in the prior art. In U.S. Pat. No. 3,994,456, issued Nov. 30, 1976 to William C.; Post and Edmond E. Olive, entitled "Steered Lateral Course Transition Control Apparatus for Aircraft Area Navigation Systems," assigned to the assignee of the present invention, an area navigation system controlled the aircraft to follow a circular transition path from a first straight line course to a second straight line course through predetermined waypoints. An alternative prior art transition control apparatus may be found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,354,240, issued Oct. 12, 1982 to Edmond E. Olive, entitled "Flight Path Transition Control Apparatus with Predictive Roll Command," also assigned to the assignee of the present invention. In this area navigation system the transition control apparatus executes an exponential transition path from a first course to a second course, thereby avoiding undesirable overshoot of the new course experienced in the aforesaid Post, et al patent.
The above described transition methods do not preclude the aircraft from violating airway boundaries and may result in excessive oscillatory motions resulting in passenger discomfort. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) specifies a route width of protected airspace that cannot be violated while navigating along the flight plan. Typically the specified route width is four nautical miles on each side of the leg en route, and two nautical miles on each side of the leg in terminal areas. In the controlled environment of present air traffic, most flight plans consist of several legs or segments starting at the origin of the flight and ending at the destination of the flight plan. In order for the aircraft to fly from the origin to the destination it is necessary for the aircraft to steer from the first track to the next at a predetermined distance from the way point and permit steering signals to capture the next leg by either manual pilot control through the flight director or by applying the steering signals to the automatic flight control system, as programmed by the flight management system. The current method of transitioning between legs uses curved paths which are tangent to both of the adjoining legs. This transition method is defined in the above cited U.S. Patents.
When a leg of a flight plan is short enough so that these curved path transitions overlap, there may occur a discontinuity in the desired path of the aircraft. FIG. 1 shows a typical flight plan, wherein the aircraft is transitioning between first, second, and third waypoints 110, 112 and 114. An aircraft 116 initially approaches a northerly oriented course 118 and at point 120 enters a circular flight path 122 which is tangential to the course 118. This circular flight path results in a tangential intersection with the easterly course 124 at waypoint 112. In accordance with the prior art, a further circular path 126 for transitioning between waypoints 110 and 114 is tangent to the easterly course 124 at a point 128 and to a northeasterly course 130 at point 132. It may be seen that the two flight paths 122 and 126 do not intersect and therefore the aircraft is caused to use excessive and oscillatory bank angles to maneuver through the turn at waypoint 112. This problem of the "short leg" (i.e., the distance between waypoints 110 and 112) is not recognized by the prior art. While FIG. 1 refers to a flight plan wherein the aircraft transitions through two opposing turns, FIG. 2 shows a similar problem where the flight path is in the same general direction through waypoints 134, 136, and 138. Here the aircraft 116 enters a first circular path 140 between the northerly course 118 and the easterly course 24 and is required to transition between waypoints 134 and 138 through waypoint 136. Again, leg 135 is too short to permit a smooth transition between flight paths 140 and 142 resulting in a discontinuity on the short leg.
In FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 the solution conventionally applied to the above problem by the prior art navigation systems is shown for the cases of the opposite direction and same direction course changes, respectively. In flight path 144 the short leg 124 is effectively deleted and the aircraft flies the most direct route to the leg following the short leg. This then requires open loop capture to the following leg in which control is referenced to the leg 118 preceeding the short leg 124 and then referenced to the leg 130 following the short leg but is never referenced to the short leg. Similarly, control is referenced from leg 118 in FIG. 4 to leg 137 without referencing to the short leg 135. Thus, this method imposes an extra work load on the pilot and because the aircraft is in open loop control during the transition through the short leg, the aircraft may violate airway boundaries prescribed by the FAA. In particular geometries with large course changes, deleting the short leg can result in turns in the wrong direction. Further, because there is a discontinuity in the defined flight plan, the resulting bank angles may be excessive and oscillatory.
The present invention provides an apparatus for transitioning on and off of the short leg that maintains the aircraft in protected air space, minimizes the bank angle for passenger comfort, keeps the bank angle from oscillating, and enables the pilot to maintain cognizance of the aircraft position throughout the flight plan. The invention does not delete the short leg, so that the sequencing looks normal to the pilot on his flight instruments. The invention determines which flight plan legs are short and then recalculates the transition parameters so that there are no discontinuities in the flight path. The invention uses curved path transitions which are geometrically based and guaranteed to be within the airway boundaries. The commanded turns will always be in the correct direction,

Lateral guidance transition control apparatus for aircraft area navigation systems


A specimen collection assembly (100) including a flow control member (106) for adjustably altering a flow path is disclosed. In one configuration, the flow control member (106) defines a regulation channel (166) in fluid communication with a lumen of a cannula (112), wherein the flow control member (106) is configured to adjustably alter an effective flow distance between the lumen of the cannula (112) and an interior of an evacuated collection container. In another configuration, the flow control member (106) is positioned to vary an effective cross-sectional area of at least one of an inlet port (346) and an outlet port (350) adapted to be in fluid communication with the lumen and the evacuated collection container.

1. Field of the Disclosure
The present disclosure relates generally to a fluid flow regulator for regulating the initial flow rate of a fluid specimen. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a variable fluid flow regulator that regulates the initial flow rate of blood into an evacuated blood collection device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Collapse of the patient's blood vessel during blood collection can occur as a result of a pressure differential created by the connection of the evacuated tube to the non-patient needle cannula. This collapse can occur as a result of the blood being removed too quickly from the patient's blood vessel. Physiological conditions such as the elasticity of the blood vessel wall can also contribute to this problem. With a standard evacuated tube, there is an instantaneous introduction of a sharp vacuum pressure when the evacuated tube is attached to the non-patient end of the blood collection device. This strong vacuum results in an initially high flow rate of blood out of the patient's blood vessel. This sharp outflow of blood coupled with the high elasticity of a patient's vessel can lead to the vessel wall being pulled down onto the bevel of the distal end of the patient cannula resulting in flow stoppage. The site for obtaining the blood supply can also be a contributing factor toward vessel collapse. Most typical blood collection sites are in the patient's arm and hand. Because of the one-way valves in the vessel, the supply of blood available for collection resides below the collection site. In-flow of new blood to this area is limited as a result of the capillary blood vessels. In the situations where there is little resident blood, such as a hand collection, the sharp vacuum from the collection tube leads to a high flow rate out of the vessel, which can lead to an outflow rate higher than the inflow rate and a rapid depletion of the resident blood. This scenario can quickly lead to collapse.
One way to avoid this collapse is to use a syringe for blood collection. Syringes can provide a user with greater control over the flow rate of blood out of the patient. The initial spike in pressure from an evacuated tube and the associated high flow rate can be avoided through the use of a syringe collection technique. However, the skill of the user plays a large role with this type of collection as there can be a lot of variability in the amount of force the user exerts on the syringe plunger and the associated flow rates. Also, if not used appropriately, the flow rates can be greater than a standard evacuated tube.
The manual flow regulator of the present invention seeks to minimize the incidence of vessel or vein collapse in patient populations susceptible to this type of condition. The device achieves this by controlling the flow rate of the blood out of the patient's vessel or vein. This is accomplished through the use of a variable flow resistor. The resistor acts to slow down the initial flow rate of blood into the evacuated tube and avoid the initial spike, as well as to slow down the overall collection time to avoid depleting the resident blood in the vessel too rapidly.

Manual flow regulation for blood collection


A propulsion unit arranged to propel a waterborne vessel comprising an electric motor arranged to provide propulsion, and a housing arranged to contain the motor. The motor is mounted within the housing on resilient couplings. Such propulsion units are used to propel ships, and the like, and are suspended from beneath the vessel. The resilient couplings reduce the noise emitted by the housing.

This invention relates to an improved propulsion unit, and an improved method of cooling such a propulsion unit.
It is well known to provide propulsion units that are suspended below the hull of a vessel, typically a ship in order to provide the ship with propulsion, and such propulsion units are commonly referred to as PODs. The concept of a POD for ship propulsion has been known for some time (examples are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,403,216, and European Patent No. 1 010 614) and is now in common use. In such an arrangement, the propulsion motor, which is generally electrical, is contained in a pod-like housing suspended below the hull of the vessel. The motor is directly connected to one or more propellers at one end, or both ends, of the pod housing. In cases where there is a propeller at only one end, the propeller can be either in front of or behind the pod casing relative to the water flow.
It will be appreciated that as the ship moves, the POD suspended therebelow will experience drag, which will oppose the motion of the ship. There is therefore a desire to reduce the physical dimensions of the POD so as to minimize the drag experienced by the ship. Therefore, PODs generally have minimal access to the insides thereof, and the propulsion motor is generally mounted on, or in close proximity to the wall of the POD. Therefore, vibrations from the propulsion motor are readily transmitted through the wall of the POD, leading to noise being passed from the POD, into the surrounding water.
In many applications, it is desirable to minimize the level of noise transmitted to the surrounding water. A typical application requiring the minimization of noise is for cruise ships that want to travel into environmentally sensitive areas, environmental research vessels, fisheries research vessels, etc. However, it is a problem that known noise isolation systems tend to require an increase in the size of the POD, and that the design of the POD therefore tends to be a compromise between low noise and small size.
It is an aim of the present invention to overcome, or at least reduce, the problems discussed above.
According to a first aspect of the invention there is provided a propulsion unit arranged to propel a waterborne vessel comprising an electric motor, arranged to provide propulsion, and a housing, arranged to contain the motor, wherein said motor is mounted within said housing on resilient couplings.
An advantage of such an arrangement is that the vibrations from the motor to the housing are significantly reduced and, therefore, the noise emission from the propulsion unit is reduced. Previously, such propulsion units were not fitted with resilient couplings because they entailed making the housing larger (and thus less hydrodynamically efficient), or access to the couplings could not be provided due to the restricted access within the propulsion unit and, therefore, the couplings could not be maintained.
Preferably, the resilient couplings include metallic cushion elements, which are preferably woven metallic cushion elements. Such cushion elements are advantageous because they do not require frequent maintenance. In the most preferred embodiment metallic cushion elements are arranged to stiffen as the deflection of the cushion element increases. Such metallic cushion elements are available from Stop-Choc, of Banbury Ave., Slough, Berks, England.
It will be appreciated that the resilient coupling will have a natural frequency. In the preferred embodiment, the natural frequency of the resilient coupling is roughly at least twice the maximum supply frequency of the electric motor. Such an arrangement is convenient because the electric motor will generate vibrations due to the fundamental component of flux within the motor, which occurs at twice the fundamental supply frequency of the motor. It is advantageous to arrange that the natural frequency of the resilient coupling be greater than twice the maximum supply frequency to ensure that the resilient coupling does not amplify these vibrations, which would occur if the resonant frequency were roughly equal to twice the maximum supply frequency.
Preferably, the resilient coupling has a natural frequency roughly selected to suit the motor. Generally, this will be in the range of between roughly 20 Hz, and roughly 50 Hz. Of course, the resilient coupling may have a natural frequency other than this and may be roughly any one or more of the following (or any value in between): 5 Hz, 10 Hz, 15 Hz, 25 Hz, 30 Hz, 40 Hz, 50 Hz, 75 Hz. It will be appreciated that it is advantageous to have a low natural frequency because the resilient coupling will not attenuate frequencies below the fundamental frequency, and therefore, the higher the fundamental frequency, the less frequencies will be attenuated. However, if the natural frequency of the coupling is too low, then it does not provide enough stiffness, and deflections of the motor on the couplings become too large.
In one embodiment, the motor is an induction motor, although other types of electric motor, such as a synchronous motor, are possible.
The propulsion unit may comprise a pulse width modulated drive unit arranged to supply the motor. Such a drive unit is advantageous because the noise components that it introduces onto the current and voltage it supplies will generally be at a high frequency relative to the resonant frequency of the resilient coupling and such an arrangement is convenient because it allows these noise components to be readily attenuated by the resilient couplings. In general, during normal operation, the largest generation of vibration in the propulsion unit will be due to the non-sinusoidal components in the supply to the motor.
Preferably, the motor is provided with a limiting mechanism, arranged to limit movement of the motor relative to the housing. Such an arrangement is convenient in conditions in which the routine operating conditions of the motor are exceeded, e.g., fault conditions, or an external impact, etc. In such conditions, the resilient coupling may not be able to offer sufficient resistance to the movement of the motor, and thus, the limiting mechanism is desirable to prevent excessive movement of the motor.
The limiting mechanism may comprise a gap of predetermined dimensions between an abutment portion of the motor and an abutment portion of the housing arranged to co-operate with the abutment portion of the motor. Such an arrangement is convenient because it is structurally simple.
In the preferred embodiment the gap is roughly 1.0 to 1.5 mm. However, the gap may be any other suitable dimension, and may be, for example, roughly any one of following, or any dimension between any of the following: 0.5 mm, 1 mm, 2 mm, 3 mm, 4 mm, 5 mm. It will be appreciated that as the size of the gap increases, the more the motor will be allowed to move before its movement is stopped, and further the housing becomes larger to accommodate the extra gap. If the gap is made too small, there is more of a likelihood of the motor touching the housing and, thus, the propulsion unit is likely to emit more noise.
Preferably, a space is defined between the motor and the casing which is arranged to allow for the passage of cooling fluid around the motor. Such an arrangement is convenient because it helps keep the motor cooled. Generally, the fluid will be a gas, and in particular air.
In one embodiment, a plurality of resilient couplings is provided along a side region of the motor. The plurality of resilient couplings may be provided substantially along a line roughly parallel to the longitudinal axis of the motor. Preferably, in such an embodiment at least two lines of resilient couplings are provided, preferably roughly diametrically opposed to one another. Such an arrangement is convenient because it may be more compact than other possible arrangements.
The housing may have extended portions arranged to house the resilient couplings.
An intermediate member may be provided between the housing and the resilient couplings. The intermediate member may comprise a bar running substantially parallel to the axis of the motor. An intermediate member may be advantageous because it may allow for easier alignment of the resilient members with the housing.
In an alternative, and perhaps less preferred embodiment, the resilient couplings may be provided at end regions of said motor. Preferably, a plurality of resilient couplings is provided at each end region thereof. Such an arrangement is convenient because it may provide for easier construction of the propulsion unit, but may result in a larger unit.


A method for preparing a siloxane foam by mixing an organohydrogensiloxane, a hydroxylated organosiloxane, a platinum catalyst, and an aluminum silicate, and thereafter allowing a foam to form. Preferably, the aluminum silicate comprises about from thirty percent (30%) to about forty percent (40%) by weight of the total composition. The new foams are economical and have improved fire retardancy, physical strength, sealing and wear characteristics, and consistency of composition. The new foams are especially useful as fire retardant insulation in the construction industry, especially as a protective encasement for mechanical and electrical wires, pipes, conduits, and the like.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to improved fire retardant siloxane foams and a method for their preparation.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Siloxane foams and methods for their preparation are well known in the prior art, such as for example, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,923,705 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,026,842. While these foams have been used in a variety of applications, there has been increasing use of these foams in the construction industry as fire retardant insultation, especially as a protective encasement for mechanical and electrical wires, pipes, conduits, and the like. In an effort to improve the physical properties of the siloxane foams, such as physical strength and fire retardancy, various fillers and additives have been employed. For example, additives such as carbon black, organosilanols, silica, asbestos, potassium titanate, and a variety of other additives have been tried such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,026,842; 4,026,835; 3,677,981; 3,923,705; 3,425,967; 3,428,580; and 3,338,847. While some of the additives tried heretofore have proven to be satisfactory for specialized applications, none has yielded an economical product for use in the construction industry with sufficient strength, fire retardancy, sealing and wear characteristics and consistency of composition.

Fire retardant siloxane foams and method for preparation


A machine tool feed system of the type in which a tool supporting sliding carriage is moved toward and away from a workpiece which includes a mechanism for moving the carriage initially in a smoothly accelerated-decelerated rapid advance stroke toward the work and further moving the carriage in the same direction through a predetermined work stroke in a slower feed motion while the tool operates on the work. The mechanism thereafter retracts the tool carriage away from the work in a smoothly accelerated-decelerated rapid return stroke equal in distance to the feed stroke added to the rapid advance stroke. Mechanisms are provided for a first drive for the rapid advance stroke and a second drive for the work stroke, with interconnection with the tool carriage which unlock a portion of the first drive mechanism while initiating the second drive for the work stroke, and regenerating or relocking the interconnectionn during the composite rapid return stroke.

In multiple station machines referred to sometimes as automation equipment, each station is designed to perform a certain metal removal function. If an engine block is being carried from station to station, it will have some holes drilled at one station, others at another station, some reaming operations at still another station and probably some face milling operations, and so forth. Each metal removing tool must be advanced to the work and then retracted to allow the work to be moved from one station to another. The timing of each operation is important since seconds saved at any one station will accumulate to hours because of the high production figures in many industries.
In this field of multiple station automatic transfer machines used for metal cutting such as milling, drilling, reaming, or tapping, it is common practice to use, in the stations where such operations are performed, systems referred to as slide or way units on which the tool carriages are mounted and are rapidly advanced towards the workpiece, until the tools almost but not quite touch the workpiece, and then shift to a much lower speed to feed the tools into the workpiece for their respective cutting operations.
In conventional mechanically actuated slide or way units, operated through a lead screw or its equivalent, the transition from rapid advance, high speed motion to relatively slow feed motion is accomplished through some type of friction clutch or brake, engaged at high relative speed. This creates a certain range of uncertainty of the exact position from which the tools advance towards the workpiece at feed speed. The same is true if hydraulic feed and retract units are used since exact control is difficult.
It is one object of this invention to provide a system in which the slide or carriage carrying the tools is rapidly advanced towards the workpiece using a predetermined accelerated-decelerated motion, as opposed to the conventional substantially constant speed rapid advance motion which is abruptly decelerated to feed speed.
It is another object of this invention to provide a system in which the transition from rapid advance motion to feed motion is a very exact and reproducible position of the slide or carriage on which the tools are mounted. This not only provides a saving of time but also insures that no tool breakage will occur.
At the end of the feed movement or stroke, it is conventional practice for the tool carriage to be returned to its original starting position through a relatively high speed rapid return stroke. This is generally accomplished by the same constant speed drive mechanism used for the rapid advance stroke and results in very large short acceleration at the beginning of the rapid return stroke and a very high short deceleration at the end of this same stroke.
It is, therefore, another object of this invention to provide a system in which the slide or carriage carrying the tools is rapidly returned to its starting position using an accelerated-decelerated motion having a stroke which is the sum of the previous rapid advance motion and feed motion.
Other objects and features of this invention will be apparent in the following description and claims in which the principles of the invention are set forth together with details directed to those skilled in the art to enable them to practice the invention, all in connection with the best mode presently contemplated.

Tool carriage advance and retraction control


Machine system for continuous formation of molecularly oriented plastic bottles by blowing a heat-conditioned parison comprising a set number (N) of parison forming stations and a set but lesser number (N/X) of blowing stations, N/X being an integral fraction of N. A storage area is constructed and arranged between the parison forming and blowing stations. In the method of operation, N number of parisons are formed simultaneously at the parison forming stations, transferred to the storage area, and N/X of the parisons are sequentially withdrawn from the storage area and blown in the set number N/X of blowing stations. The temperature in the storage area is maintained within the temperature range suitable for blowing. Effective use is made of the blowing stations without loss of thermal energy from the parison forming stations.

This invention is directed to a method and apparatus for molding of plastic bottles. More particularly, it is directed to the hot-blow or one-step process for the manufacture of molecularly oriented plastic bottles having a high degree of blow mold utilization and overall efficiency.
In recent years substantial effort has been directed to the formation of plastic bottles as a replacement, or partial replacement of glass bottles. This effort has built on knowledge that plastic such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET) when molecularly stretched is tougher but lighter than glass and the glass art which describes both methods and apparatus for stretching and blowing glass in both the longitudinal and transverse directions.
According to the prior art, molecularly oriented containers such as plastic bottles have utilized either a reheat or two-stage process and system, or a hot-blow or one-stage process and system. In the reheat or two-stage process, parisons are first injection molded in a parison mold, cooled to room temperature, and stored for subsequent blowing into the finished bottle in a blow mold. At time of blowing, the parisons are reheated and brought to the blowing temperature of the plastic prior to blowing. In the hot-blow or one-stage process and system, the parison is injection molded in a parison mold and substantially immediately after formation is transferred at the blowing temperature to a blow mold where the parison is blown into the finished bottle.
Both of the above-noted systems have advantages and disadvantages. In the reheat process and system, efficient and effective use can be made of both the parison-forming and blowing stations which need not be integrated. However, substantial thermal energy is lost during the total operation in that the parison after formation is cooled down during storage and then reheated at time of blowing. Moreover, the parisons from storage must be fed to the blowing station, duplicating handling. The hot-blow process and system eliminates heat loss and duplicate handling. However, the advantages of the hot-blow process and system are mitigated in that conventionally, in order to have proper temperature conditioning of the parison at the blowing stage, for each parison station there is a corresponding blowing station. Since the time required for the parison forming stage, including temperature conditioning, is substantially longer than the blowing stage, i.e., approximately 20 seconds versus 5 seconds for polyethylene terephthalate (PET), inefficient use is made of the blowing stations.

Process for formation of molecularly oriented plastic bottles


An esophageal gastric apparatus includes a first elongated tube with forward and rearward ends, and a second tube inserted within the first tube with the forward end of the second tube projecting from the forward end of the first tube. The rearward end of the second tube projects outwardly through the wall of the first tube adjacent the rearward end of the first tube. The second tube has an outside diameter less than the interior diameter of the first tube, so as to form a cavity between the second tube and the first tube. A plurality of apertures are formed in forward end of the first tube, with a diaphragm surrounding the apertures, so as to transmit sound through the first tube to the rearward end thereof. The second tube has suction ports formed in the forward end thereof to suction fluid and material therethrough.

Anesthesiologists utilize esophageal stethoscopes to monitor heart rhythm and breathing during surgical procedures such as laparoscopies or the like. Such stethoscopes typically include an elongated tube having a separate diaphragm on one end which is inserted within the esophagus. The opposite end of the tube is hooked to an earpiece, and a tube extending from the diaphragm to the upper end of the tube is connected to the anestesiologist's earpiece.
Prior to surgery, it is typical to place an oral gastric or nasal gastric tube in the stomach for suctioning liquids and air. Such suctioning is especially necessary for laparoscopies to prevent gastric performation from the sharp trocars introduced during surgery. These gastric tubes are more difficult to insert within the stomach than an esophageal stethoscope, because the tubes are conventionally smaller in diameter and more flexible. If the initial gastric tube cannot be positioned within the stomach, it is then necessary to utilize a harder tube, which increases the chance of bleeding and potential contamination (infection) to the patient and anesthesia personnel through manipulation.
It is therefore a general object of the present invention to provide an improved esophageal gastric apparatus having dual functions within a single combined apparatus.
These and other objects will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

Laparoscopic esophageal gastric apparatus


A non-volatile semiconductor memory comprises a plurality of memory cells each composed of a floating gate field effect transistor, and an erasing circuit connected to a common source line connected to a source electrode of each of the memory cells. The erasing circuit includes first and second field effect transistors each of which has a source connected to an erasing voltage and a drain connected to the common source line. The first field effect transistor responds to a given erase signal to apply the erasing voltage to the common source line for the purpose of erasing date stored in the memory cells. The erasing circuit includes a control circuit for turning on the second field effect transistor when a voltage on the common source line becomes higher than a reference voltage, so that the erasing voltage is supplied through the first and second field effect transistor to the common source line.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a non-volatile semiconductor memory, and more specifically to an flash electrically erasable and programmable non-volatile semiconductor memory (flash EEPROM).
2. Description of Related Art
In the prior art, a non-volatile semiconductor memory includes a memory cell array, which is composed of a number of memory cells arranged in the form of a matrix, each of the memory cells being constituted of a floating gate field effect transistor (called a "FAMOS" hereinafter). A word line is located to extend along each of rows in the memory cell array, and a digit line is also located to extend along each of columns in the memory cell array. A row address decoder selectively activates one of the word lines, and a column address decoder also selectively activates one of the digit lines, so that one memory cell is selected. The digit lines are connected to sense amplifiers, so that the on/off condition of the selected memory cell is detected.
Here, the off condition of the memory cell can be set by a writing operation, by which electrons are injected into the floating gate of the FAMOS, so that a threshold voltage is elevated. On the other hand, the on condition of the memory cell is realized-by an erasing operation for extracting the electrons stored in the floating gate of the FAMOS, so that the threshold voltage is lowered.
With the erasing operation of the non-volatile semiconductor memory, a plurality of memory cells are simultaneously erased in the flash memory. In this flash erasing operation, the potential of the source region of the FAMOSs are put to a high voltage during a predetermined constant period of time. With application of the high voltage to the source region of the FAMOSs, the electrons stored in the floating gate are extracted by a Fowler-Nordheim tunneling phenomenon, resulting in drop of the threshold voltage of the FAMOS.
Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown one example of an erase circuit used in a conventional non-volatile semiconductor memory.
As shown in FIG. 1, the erase circuit 2 receives an erase signal ER and drives a memory cell common source line VS, which is connected to a source electrode of FAMOS memory cells M00 to Mnm in a memory cell array 1. More specifically, the erase circuit 2 includes a pair of buffers 31 and 32, each of which has an input connected to receive the erase signal ER. The buffer 32 is configured to output a signal having an amplitude reaching a Vpp level. An output ER0 of the buffer 31 is connected to a gate of an N-channel MOS transistor MN0, which has a source connected to ground and a drain connected to the common source line VS. An output ER0 (Vpp) of the buffer 32 is connected to a gate of a P-channel MOS transistor MP0, which has a source connected to an erasing voltage Vpp and a drain connected to the common source line VS.
Now, operation of the erase circuit shown in FIG. 1 will be described. In a condition other than the erasing operation, the erase signal ER is maintained at a high level. Therefore, the P-channel transistor MP0 is off and the N-channel transistor MN0 is on, so that the common source line VS is driven to the ground level.
In the erasing operation, the erase signal ER is brought to a low level, so that the N-channel transistor MN0 is turned off and the P-channel transistor MP0 is turned on. Thus, the common source line VS is driven toward the erasing voltage Vpp, so that the source region of each FAMOS memory cell is brought to the high voltage, and the erasing operation of the memory cells starts for the purpose of causing the electrons stored in the floating gate to be extracted to the source region.
It is known to persons skilled in the art that, in this source erasing method, a depletion layer is generated in the source region of the memory cell, because of a potential difference between the source region and the floating gate of the memory cell, with the result that there occurs a leakage current flowing from the source region of the memory cell to the substrate due to an inter-band tunneling phenomenon. The larger the potential difference between the source region and the floating gate of the memory cell is, the larger the leakage current flowing from the source region of the memory cell to the substrate becomes. In other words, the more the electrons stored in the floating gate is, namely, the higher the threshold value of the memory cell to be erased is, the larger the leakage current flowing from the source region of the memory cell to the substrate becomes.
Therefore, in the source erase type of flash EEPROM, the leakage current flowing from the source region of the memory cell to the substrate is large at an initial stage of the erasing operation, and lowers with the drop of the memory cell threshold voltage in accordance with the advance of the erasing. Accordingly, in the conventional erase circuit for driving the memory cell common source line with a high voltage, the P-channel MOS transistor MP0 shown in FIG. 1 has been constructed to have a small current supplying capacity, for the purpose of reducing the leakage current flowing from the source region of the memory cell to the substrate at an initial stage of the erasing operation.
Referring to FIG. 2, there is shown a characteristics diagram illustrating a relation between the memory cell common source line voltage and the leakage current flowing from the source region of the memory cell to the substrate. In the diagram shown in FIG. 2, the current supplying capacity of the P-channel MOS transistor MP0 is shown by a load line. The operating point moves along the load line with advance of the erasing operation, so that the leakage current flowing from the source region of the memory cell to the substrate and the memory cell common source line voltage change with advance of the erasing operation.
As seen from FIG. 2, when the leakage current flowing from the source region of the memory cell to the substrate changes with advance of the erasing operation, the memory cell common source line voltage elevates along the load line, and the driving current becomes smaller than a current value set by the initial stage of the erasing operation, with the result that the potential difference between the source region and the floating gate of the memory cell becomes insufficient or short, and therefore, the erasing time becomes long.
However, the prior art cannot solve this problem while making a possible solving means compatible with a request lowering the erasing power supply voltage, ceaselessly made by users.


In a method and apparatus for context-adaptive binary arithmetic coding (CABAC) of a syntax element, the bin string corresponding to the syntax element is processed by context-adaptive arithmetic coding with a reduced number of contexts using the bin-level bypass mode, bin-level context sharing, or both. The syntax element belongs to a group comprising merge_idx, ref_idx_1c/ref_idx_10/ref_idx_11, pred_type, and cu_qp_delta. In one embodiment, the syntax element corresponds to merge_idx and three bins of the bin string with bin indices corresponding to 1, 2 and 3 are coded in the bin by-pass mode. In another embodiment, the syntax element corresponds to ref_idx_1c/ref_idx_10/ref_idx_11 and one or more bins of the bin string with bin indices larger than 1 for larger than 2 are coded in the bin bypass mode.

The arithmetic coding is known as an efficient data compressing method and is widely used in coding standards, such as JBIG, JPEG2000, H.264/AVC, and High-Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC). In H.264/AVC JVT Test Model (JM) and HEVC Test Model (HM), Context-Based Adaptive Binary Arithmetic Coding (CABAC) is adopted as the entropy coding tool for various syntax elements in the video coding system.
FIG. 1 illustrates an example of CABAC encoder 100 which includes three parts: Binarization 110, Context Modeling 120, and Binary Arithmetic Coding (BAC) 130. In the binarization step, each syntax element is uniquely mapped into a binary string (also called bin or bins in this disclosure). In the context modeling step, a probability model is selected for each bin. The corresponding probability model may depend on previously encoded syntax elements, bin indices, side information, or any combination of the above. After the binarization and the context model assignment, a bin value along with its associated context model is provided to the binary arithmetic coding engine, i.e., the BAC 130 block in FIG. 1. The bin value can be coded in two coding modes depending on the syntax element and bin indices, where one is the regular coding mode, and the other is the bypass mode. The bins corresponding to regular coding mode are referred to as regular bins and the bins corresponding to bypass coding mode are referred to as bypass bins in this disclosure. In the regular coding mode, the probability of the Most Probable Symbol (MPS) and the probability of the Least Probable Symbol (LPS) for BAC are derived from the associated context model. In the bypass coding mode, the probability of the MPS and the LPS are equal. In CABAC, the bypass mode is introduced to speed up the encoding process.
In HEVC Test Model Version 5.0 (HM-5.0), syntax elements such as merge_flag (related to the merge flag for a coding unit, i.e., CU), merge_idx (related to the merge index), ref_idx_1c/ref_idx_10/ref_idx/11 (related to the reference picture index), pred_type (related to the prediction type), and cu_qp_delta (related to delta of quantization parameter QP for a CU) are coded using CABAC. Syntax element merge_flag, which has a value equal to either 0 or 1, has only one bin and is coded using one context. The bin strings of merge_idx, ref_idx_1c/ref_idx 10/ref_idx/11, and pred_type are shown in Table 1, Table 2 and Table 3 respectively. For merge_idx, pred_type and ref_idx_1c/ref_idx_10/ref_idx/11, one context is used for each bin. For ref_idx_1c/ref_idx 10/ref_idx 11, if the maximum value of ref_idx_1c/ref_idx_10/ref_idx/11 is larger than 3, the additional bins share the same context as the bin with binIdx equal to 2. For cu_qp_delta, the bin string is specified by a process equivalent to the following pseudo-code. The value of cu_qp_delta is denoted as synVal. For bin 0 (i.e., binIdx=0), the bin value is associated with the condition regarding whether abs(synVal) is equal to 0 or greater than 0 as shown in the pseudo code. When bin 0 has a value of 1, one or more additional bins are used to represent the value of delta QP. In the pseudo code, parameter QpBdOffsetY is recited due to specific data representation of delta QP used in HM-5.0 and QpBdOffsetY is related to bit depth of underlying video data.
TABLE 1Bin string of merge_idx in HM5.0ValueBin string0011021103111041111binIdx0123
TABLE 2Bin string of ref_idx_lc/ref_idx_l0/ref_idx_l1 in HM5.0ValueBin string00110211031110. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .N − 1111110N1111. . .11binIdx0123. . .N − 2N − 1
TABLE 3Bin string of pred_type for inter blocks in HM5.0Bin stringcLog2CUSize = = Log2MinCUSizeSliceValue ofcLog2CUSize >cLog2CUSize = = 3 &&cLog2CUSize > 3 | |typepred_typePredModePartModeLog2MinCUSize!inter_4x4_enabled_flaginter_4x4_enabled_flagI0MODE_INTRAPART_2Nx2N—111MODE_INTRAPART_NxN—00P/B0MODE_INTERPART_2Nx2N0101011MODE_INTERPART_2NxN00110010012MODE_INTERPART_Nx2N000100000014MODE_INTERPART_2NxnU00100——5MODE_INTERPART_2NxnD00101——6MODE_INTERPART_nLx2N00000——7MODE_INTERPART_nRx2N00001——3MODE_INTERPART_NxN——00004MODE_INTRAPART_2Nx2N111115MODE_INTRAPART_NxN—1010binIdx012340120123
Pseudo Code for Bin String Generation of Cu_Qp_Delta:
absV = abs( synVal )if( absV = = 0 ){put( 0 ) ---------------------------------------------------binIdx = 0} else {put( 1 ) ---------------------------------------------------binIdx = 0signV = ( synVal > 0 ) ? 0 : 1put( signV )cMax = 24 + ( QpBdOffsetY >> 1 ) + signVcNum = absV − 1absVGreaterThan1Flag = ( absV = = 1 ) ? 0 : 1put( absVGreaterThan1Flag ) ---------------------------binIdx = 1if( absVGreaterThan1Flag ){while( cNum−− )put( 1 ) ------------------------------------binIdx = 2......if( cMax > absV − 1 )put( 0 )}}
The contexts used for the bin string are also indicated in the above pseudo code. The first two bins of cu_qp_delta (i.e., binIdx=0 and 1) use two separate contexts for each bin, while other bins (i.e., binIdx≥2) share one common context. When a bin is coded using contexts, it requires additional memory and also results in higher complexity at both encoder and decoder sides. Therefore, it is desirable to reduce the number of contexts required.

Method and apparatus for context adaptive binary arithmetic coding of syntax elements


Provided is a vehicle headlight for forming a high-beam additional light distribution pattern overlaid on a high-beam light distribution pattern. The vehicle headlight is capable of making a driver feel the sense of turning-on of the headlight when the high-beam additional light distribution pattern is additionally formed. The vehicle lighting fixture can be configured to further form a turning-on perceptible light distribution pattern for causing a driver to feel a sense of turning-on together with the high-beam additional light distribution pattern.

In the technical field of vehicle headlights, there have been conventionally proposed vehicle headlights configured to form a high-beam additional light distribution pattern to be overlaid on a high-beam light distribution pattern, for example, those disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2012-243727 (or US2014/0112012A1 corresponding thereto).
The vehicle headlight disclosed in this publication is configured to form a high-beam synthesis light distribution pattern, as illustrated in FIG. 1, including a hot zone and a diffusion zone in which the light is diffused more than that in the hot zone. Specifically, the vehicle headlight for forming the high-beam synthesis light distribution pattern is configured to include a first lighting unit and a second lighting unit. The first lighting unit can include a laser light source, and a first optical system configured to project light from the laser light source forward on the hot zone to form a first light distribution pattern P2LD (high-beam additional light distribution pattern). The second lighting unit can include an LED light source, and a second optical system configured to project light from the LED light source forward on the diffusion zone to form a second light distribution pattern P2LED (high-beam light distribution pattern).
The vehicle headlight disclosed in this publication can turn on only the second lighting unit during driving in an urban area while turning on the first lighting unit in addition to the turning-on of the second lighting unit during driving on a highway. In this case, the vehicle headlight can be configured in such a manner that the first light distribution pattern P2LD (high-beam additional light distribution pattern) can be overlaid on the second light distribution pattern P2LED (high-beam light distribution pattern). Although this configuration can improve the distant visibility during driving on a highway, the driver cannot feel the sense of turning-on of the headlight due to the farther side being brightened.


A method and apparatus for restoring airseals on gas turbine blades and vanes. A worn or damaged airseal is removed by abrasive belt grinding perpendicular to its length to create a stub. Then a piece of material is joined to the stub, as by welding. Next the airseal weldment is contoured using abrasive belting, perpendicular to the weldment length.. The invention is particularly advantageous for the repair of components having two airseals of different dimensions. A single two-position fixture is usable to remove old airseals and to refinish airseal weldments. Refinishing is accomplished with a contoured belt; the contour is chosen to be intermediate, but within the tolerance of, the contours of the first and second airseals. As a result, airseals are economically restored in short runs.

This invention relates to the finishing of the airseal portions of gas turbine components and more particularly to the repair and restoration of gas turbine blade and vane airseals which are worn or damaged.
Gas turbine airfoils, such as turbine blades, are adapted to channel quantities of gases at high pressure, and often high temperature. In many designs, a multiplicity of blades having tip shrouds in communication with each other are attached around the periphery of a disk which is adapted to rotate within the enclosed duct of a gas turbine. A seal is needed to prevent the passage of gases between the duct and the circumferential ring which is formed by the mating shrouds of the blades. This is conveniently accomplished by the use of circumferential fins running along the ring. The fins are created by mating segments, or airseals, on each of the individual components' shrouds. By necessity of design, airseals are relatively thin, and therefore, they are delicate. Due to normal service experience and unusual incidents, airseals will become worn or damaged. Since gas turbine airfoils are often made of cast superalloys and other advanced materials which are difficult to fabricate, their repair often represents some difficulty.
When new parts are fabricated, they are processed in relatively large quantity lot sizes. Typically, in the sequence of operations which form an airseal in a finished turbine airfoil, a quantity of airfoils will be assembled in a fixture much like the disk in which they will serve. Then the circumferential fins are machined on the assembly using a large rotary grinder. When disassembled, an airseal will be found on each part. However, such techniques are not economical for the typical service center which must repair small lot sizes of a variety of different configurations. Attempts have been made to simplify the process. Generally, the process used heretofore has comprised putting airfoils in a fixture and using a surface grinder to remove the old airseal; then a new piece of material is welded to the stub; then any surplus weldment material overhanging the ends of the old airseal stub was removed to permit use of one of the two following techniques: either the parts were assembled in a fixture suited to holding a full wheel of parts, such as is used for the original parts, or the parts were placed individually in separated fashion in a rotary fixture suited to hold a reduced number of parts; then they were placed in a rotary grinder and the circumferential surface of the airseals ground. In both instances, the airseal portions of the airfoils were mounted at a distance from a center of rotation which was comparable to that of a turbine engine. Since the diameters of modern engines are commonly more than half a meter, this required relatively large machine tools. Furthermore, setup time was rather lengthy when changing from one part number to another. Normal checking and dressing of the grinding wheel dimension was necessary to assure dimensional accuracy. Labor costs were relatively high.
A machine for avoiding some of the disadvantages of the aforementioned process is described in DeMusis, U.S. Pat. No. 3,969,848. The DeMusis machine has a shoe adapted to contour the belt in its direction of motion. The airseal length is aligned with the travel direction and the force of the airseal on the belt is what forms the belt to the shoe contour. It is evident the belt will resist this deformation and the force distribution on the airseal and the probable rate of material removal will vary. In fact, since the belt is spring-tensioned toward a flat configuration, excessive lingering of the fixtured blade at its stop position will flatten the airseal contour from that defined by the shoe. Thus, it would appear that the contour of the shoe needs to be adjusted by trial and error for a particular metal, belt, and operator, to achieve the desired dimensions.
Consequently, there is a need for an improved apparatus and method for restoring airseals which rapidly achieve the necessary contours in airseals while avoiding repetitive checking or trial and error in a setup.
As indicative of a further need, the typical turbine airfoil has two airseals. Most often one of these will have a greater radius of curvature than the other as it will be adapted to interact with a larger diameter section of the engine duct. Of course, these different radii are conveniently machined using the unattractive rotary grinder method, but there is a need for a lower cost method and apparatus for achieving acceptable contours in both airseals of a component being restored, without the obvious alternative of different setups for each seal.

Apparatus and method for refinishing turbine blade airseals


A shift lever assembly for a vehicle is provided. The shift lever assembly ncludes a vertically oriented detent plate having a Z-shaped slot defining a 2-wheel-drive (2H) position, a 4-wheel-drive (4H) position, a neutral (N) position, and a 4-wheel-drive low-speed (4L) position. An actuator pivotally mounts to the detent plate and transfer case, the actuator including a first arm including a connector adapted to connect to a shift mechanism on a vehicle transfer case, and a second arm. A lever subassembly pivotally mounts to the actuator second arm and includes a detent pin adapted for movement in the Z-shaped slot. The lever subassembly is biased so that the detent pin engages the Z-shaped slot. As the lever subassembly is moved along a first path, it drives the connector on the actuator along a corresponding second path to shift the shifting mechanism. The Z-shaped slot and detent pin cooperate along with the actuator and lever subassembly to allow the operator to shift the lever from the 2H position through the 4H and N positions to the 4L position with a continuous "pull-down" type motion by the operator, which motion is ergonomical and readily performable by the operator, but which motion prevents accidentally "crashing-through" the positions from 2H through 4H and N positions to the 4L position.

The present invention relates generally to shift lever assemblies for vehicles and, more particularly, is directed to an automotive shifter for a transfer case, the shifter being adapted for improved assembly and shifting movement.
Many modern vehicles are adapted with 4-wheel-drive capability. However, to conserve fuel and minimize part wear, these vehicles are often adapted with transmissions that cooperate with transfer cases and shifting mechanisms to allow an operator to selectively shift between 2-wheel-drive (2H) and 4-wheel-drive (4H) operating conditions. Further, many if not most of these vehicles are also adapted to shift to a 4-wheel-drive low-vehicle-speed (4L) operating condition. The shift lever assemblies commonly used in these applications attach to the transfer case and include a shift lever that extends through the floor of the vehicle into the vehicle compartment. In order to prevent accidental shifting from 2H or 4H conditions into the 4L condition, the known shift lever assemblies require that the shift lever assembly be moved rearwardly, then pressed downwardly, and then moved rearwardly again. However, this movement is cumbersome and awkward for an operator to perform. Further, the known shift lever assemblies include a plurality of parts which are less efficient and more costly to assemble than is desired.
Thus, an improved shift lever assembly solving the aforementioned problems is desired.

Grand Haven Stamped Products Company, a Division of JSJ Corporation


A sensor arrangement (40 and 50) and an associated method are provided for sensing at least one occupant characteristic of a vehicle occupant (14). At least one transmitter (e.g., 42A) transmits an energy signal (e.g., 44A) toward an occupant location within a vehicle (12). At least one detector (e.g., 60A) detects whether absorption of the energy signal (42A) by the occupant (14) occurs and provides a signal (e.g., 74A) indicative thereof. An occupant sense module (50) processes the signal (74A) to determine at least one occupant characteristic. Preferably, the sensor arrangement (40 and 50) is part of an occupant protection system (10).

Vehicle occupant protection systems having an actuatable protection element are well known in the art. One particular type of actuatable protection system includes an inflatable protection module. An inflatable protection device of the module is commonly referred to as an air bag, and is mounted to inflate within the occupant compartment of the vehicle. The protection module has a source of inflation fluid and an electrically actuatable igniter, referred to as a squib.
The occupant protection system further includes a collision/crash sensor for sensing the occurrence of a vehicle crash condition and for providing an electrical signal indicative of the crash condition. When the sensor indicates that the vehicle is in a crash condition requiring inflation of the air bag to help protect a vehicle occupant ("a deployment crash condition"), an electric signal is provided to the squib for the purpose of igniting the squib. The squib, when ignited, activates the source of inflation fluid (e.g., ignition of a combustible gas or heat generating composition and/or opening of a container of pressurized gas). The source of inflation fluid is operatively coupled to the air bag, and, when activated, inflates the air bag.
Several known occupant protection systems include an occupant position sensor and a controller, which controls the associated protection module in response to a sensed position of a vehicle occupant. The occupant position sensor for such a system is an ultrasonic sensor, an infrared sensor, or a seating sensor. In response to the sensed occupant position, the timing of air bag deployment, the pressure of the inflated air bag, aiming of the air bag, and/or disabling the air bag are controlled. These controllable/adjustable aspects, collectively, adjust the dynamic profile of the air bag. A protection system with controllable/adjustable aspects is commonly referred to as a "smart" system.
One example of a system with an adjustable dynamic profile is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,232,243 to Blackburn et al., and assigned to TRW Vehicle Safety Systems Inc. This patent discloses that it is not always desirable to inflate an air bag with 100% of the inflation fluid (e.g., gas) provided from an inflation fluid source. The system disclosed by Blackburn et al. controls the amount of gas that inflates the air bag in response to the detected weight of the occupant. Another system disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,330,226 to Gentry et al., and assigned to TRW Vehicle Safety Systems Inc., controls the amount of gas that inflates an air bag in response to detected occupant position.

Apparatus and method for discerning at least one occupant characteristic via absorption of an energy signal


A drinker for chicken has a base, an outer case, a spring casing, a pull rod which is a match for the clearance of the spring casing, and a lever. The pull rod is connected to the combined part of a guideway ringlike valve at an end, and with the spring casing, forms two ringlike clearances within the case. A guide, a washer for the valve and an opening in the base form a clearance, which allows a jet-like spray of water to enter the case. The difference in the sectional areas between the clearances slows the velicity of the water. The time and the volume of water supply can be controlled be adjusting the stroke of the pull rod. By means of a back and forth movement of the guide and the pull rod, creating a jet-like spray, scale (mineral deposits) or any other contamination can be removed from the valve nozzle and the interior of the case. The result is a drinker which has no leakage nor any blockage because of scale build-up, and which is simple in structure and low in cost.

It is most important to prevent infection or disease in chicken farms. The utilization of drinking devices has generally been successful in the prevention of infection or disease.
Drinking devices should be designed to be leakproof, economic to manufacture, have utility, and not be subject to blockage at a low flow rate of water.
In actual practice, the above-mentioned properties are difficult to realize because scale, which is readily formed by the ions of calcium and magnesium in water, causes drinking devices to be leaky and blocked. For example, the mammillary drinking devices made by American VL Company, or made in Shanghai, both of which are available in China and which have excellent reputations, cannot achieve automatic descaling. Even if scale is not accumulated in these drinking devices, water is leaked from both devices at a rate of approximately one drop every fifteen minutes.
Furthermore, the volume of the water supply cannot be adjusted on the existing drinking devices. Such designs fail to take into consideration and compensate for the unbalanced volume of water supply, which is due to the length of the water pipe and the difference in pressure between the pipe ends.
Soviet Patent SU1586642 and European Patent EP69081 have respectively disclosed drinking devices with flowrate autocontrolling. The device disclosed in EP69081 comprises a pump, a tank and a flexible siphon pipe. The device disclosed in SU1586642 is equipped with a magnetoelectric device and includes a water supplying pipe, a floating rod and a magnet coupled with a magnet plate, etc. Such devices are complicated in structure, but do not avoid scale accumulation in the drinking devices, which results in leakage and eventual blockage.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,896,629 discloses a watering device for poultry comprising a casing, a valve assembly including a valve seat and a valve stem end connecting with a main water pipe, and a sealing member. The end of the valve stem may be pecked by the poultry so as to open the valve, and an elastic element in the valve assembly causes the valve stem and the sealing member to return to a closing position. However, such a valve is also deficient, in that scale is readily accumulated on the valve seat and the seal member, which produces the same problems of leakage and blocking as is encountered by other prior art devices.
Finally, all of the known prior art devices are mounted vertically. Consequently, some drops of water may not enter the chicken's mouth, but will drop to the floor or to the ground when the drinking device is operated.

c/o Wang Hua Kindergarten of Luoyang Cotton


The present invention is directed to a disposable absorbent article. The disposable absorbent article of the present invention includes a fluid storage layer disposed between the topsheet and backsheet and having a body-facing surface and a garment-facing surface opposing the body-facing surface. The fluid storage layer contains a superabsorbent material. The disposable absorbent article further includes an odor reduction layer disposed at either the body-facing surface side or the body-facing surface side of the fluid storage layer. The odor reduction layer contains a metalphthalocyanine material. The disposable absorbent article further includes an isolation means disposed between the superabsorbent material and the odor reduction layer for isolating the metalphthalocyanine material from contacting at least a part of the superabsorbent material.

A wide variety of disposable absorbent articles are designed not only to be efficient in the absorption of body fluids such as urine, blood, menses and the like, but also to be sanitary and comfortable in-use, are known in literature. Disposable absorbent products of this type generally comprise a fluid-permeable topsheet material, an absorbent core (or a fluid storage layer), and a fluid-impermeable backsheet material. Various shapes, sizes and thicknesses of such articles have been explored in an attempt to make their use more comfortable and convenient.
For some time now, studies for such disposable absorbent articles have been primarily focused on the absorptive capacity of the article. As a result, various absorbent polymers with high absorptive power have been developed. Such known superabsorbent materials (also known as hydrogel-forming absorbent polymers) are capable of absorbing from about 30 to 60 grams of water per gram of polymer.
More recently, research has been focused on the removal of foul odors and the prevention of skin diseases such as dermatitis, rash and redness caused by wearing a disposable absorbent article for a relatively long time. Many body fluids have an unpleasant odor (or an malodor), or develop such an odor when in contact with air and/or bacteria for prolonged periods. Additionally, urine and/or other exudates absorbed into the absorbent article are converted to ammonia by urease produced by skin-flora, i.e., a group of normal microorganisms on the skin. This ammonia, in turn, may cause dermatitis, rash and/or other forms of skin irritation. Such disease of the skin in infants can be a serious medical matter which, in extreme cases, can result in death.
Antimicrobial materials and bactericides in general are chemical compositions that are used to prevent microbiological contamination and deterioration of products, materials, and systems. Such antimicrobial materials and bactericides can also effectively work for the removal or reduction of foul odors developed from disposable absorbent articles which has already absorbed body fluids. However, depending on the manner of the application of antimicrobial materials or bactericides in disposable absorbent articles, it is found that such antimicrobial materials and bactericides tend to affect the absorptive capacity of disposable absorbent articles.
For example, Japanese Patent (Kokoku) Publication No. H4-17058 discloses a disposable diaper which includes an absorbent layer containing a superabsorbent material and a antimicrobial material included in the superabsorbent material. Similarly, Japanese Patent (Kokai) Publication No. H5-277143 discloses a disposable diaper which includes a superabsorbent material containing an odor reduction material. Metalphthalocyanine derivatives are disclosed in H5-277143 as examples of the odor reduction material. Further, Japanese Patent (Kokai) Publication No. S64-25856 discloses a sanitary napkin which includes an absorbent sheet including a superabsorbent material and a metalphthalocyanine derivative as an odor reduction material. In those structures disclosed, the antimicrobial or odor reduction material is in contact with the superabsorbent material, as a result, the absorptive capacity of the superabsorbent material tends to be decreased because of the existence of the antimicrobial or odor reduction material.
Based on the foregoing, there is a need for disposable absorbent articles whose absorptive capacity is not affected by the use of a metalphthalocyanine or its derivatives as an odor reduction material.

Disposable absorbent article employing odor reduction layer containing metalphthalocyanine material