A welding machine manipulated by automated equipment controls feeding of depositing metal independently of controlling a welding current, so that the welding can be finely controlled and quality welding is achievable. The welding machine includes a robot having an arm for moving a welding torch, a robot controller for controlling the movement of the robot, a welding power source coupled to the torch, a depositing metal feeder for feeding depositing metal to the welding torch, and a feeder controller for controlling the feeder. The robot controller is coupled to the feeder controller for transmitting a control signal, related to feeding the depositing metal, to the feeder controller.

The present invention relates to a welding machine of which welding tool, such as a welding torch, is moved by automated equipment such as a robot. More particularly, it relates to a welding machine manipulated by the automated equipment and performing arc welding using a consumable electrode.
In arc welding, it is important to move a welding torch maintaining a relative position between a work-piece and the welding torch. Welding by a robot has an advantage of higher speed over welding by holding a torch with a worker""s hand (hereinafter referred to as xe2x80x9cmanual weldingxe2x80x9d). Reproducibility in repeating operations is also important in welding. Regarding high-speed-welding in particular, which allows little tolerance for disperse of relative positional relation between the work-piece and the welding torch, the manual welding cannot deal with it but a robot welding can do it. As a result, welding machines manipulated by automated equipment expand their application extensively.
A case of gas shielded metal arc welding, which uses a dc power source having a constant voltage characteristic as a welding power source, and also uses a consumable electrode as a welding electrode, is described hereinafter.
A voltage at an electrode is dependent both on an arc voltage and a weld-electrode-resistance, so that an amount of heat given to the welding electrode is controlled by a welding current. Heat generated melts metal, so that supply quantity of depositing metal is determined with respect to the current. In other words, when an arc voltage and a wire extension remain constant, the welding current is determined by a supply quantity of the depositing metal (=welding wire). A voltage supplied to the electrode is referred to as a welding voltage. This welding voltage and the welding current are controlled by a welding controller. The welding manipulated by automated equipment such as a robot has been controlled basically in the same way as the manual welding.
If the heat amount generated is constantly used for melting the depositing metal, uniform welding is always expected. However, there are the following abnormal cases: a work-piece has a gap and the gap is uneven, or a thickness of the material constituting the work-piece varies depending on spots, or a member of greater heat capacity is disposed near a groove and thus the heat is absorbed unevenly. For these cases, an amount of depositing metal supplied should be finely controlled responsive to the heat amount generated depending on spots along a weld line.
FIG. 3 shows a depositing metal feeder. In FIG. 3, welding wire 12 wound on spool 11 is pulled out, then fed to a welding torch (not shown) by wire feeder 14 driven by motor 13. Motor 13 is powered through cable 15, which also couples motor 13 to a controller (not shown). Cable 15 transmits a control signal, e.g., an armature voltage signal in addition to powering motor 13. Spool 11 is held by base 17, and wire feeder 14 as well as driving motor 13 is held by base 18.
FIG. 6 shows a control system of a conventional depositing metal feeder. Depositing metal feeder 21, detailed in FIG. 3, is controlled its feeding of the depositing metal by feeder controller 22 via cable 15. Feeder controller 22 follows a signal transmitted via cable 25 from welding controller 24 built in welding power source 23, and controls feeder 21. In other words, feeder 21 is controlled by welding controller 24 built in power source 23. Welding wire 12 is fed to the welding torch (not shown) to be welded. Power cable 16 supplies a welding current and a welding voltage from welding power source 23 to the welding torch. In general, power cable 16 transits wire feeder 14 and is led to the torch by a torch cable (not shown). Welding power source 23 is powered from outside via input cable 26.
As discussed above, in the conventional control system of the depositing metal, welding power source 23 powers the torch, while welding controller 24 built in power source 23 controls the wire feeding. Therefore, fine control, such as varying the supplying amount of the depositing metal responsive to the heat amount generated depending on spots along the weld line, could not be expected.
A welding machine is manipulated by automated equipment, where the automated equipment can control a supplying amount of depositing metal while a welding controller controls a welding current and a welding voltage during the welding. A welding machine in an exemplary embodiment of the present invention comprises the following elements:
(a) automated equipment for moving a welding tool relative to a work-piece;
(b) an equipment controller for controlling the automated equipment;
(c) a depositing metal feeder for feeding the depositing metal to a weld point nearby the welding tool; and
(d) a depositing metal feeder controller for controlling the depositing metal feeder.
In the construction discussed above, the equipment controller is coupled to the feeder controller so that a signal related to feeding the depositing metal is transmitted from the equipment controller to the feeder controller.
This structure allows a feeding amount of the depositing metal to be controlled by the information of a fed amount of the depositing metal on the equipment controller side in addition to the information about a welding current and a welding voltage supplied from a welding controller on a welding power source side. Therefore, an optimum welding condition for respective weld points along a weld line is obtainable. As a result, quality welding can be achieved.

Welding machine manipulated by automated equipment

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


A radiator frame having an antenna radiator formed on a surface thereof and a method of manufacturing the same are provided. The radiator frame includes: a radiator including an antenna pattern portion configured to transmit or receive a signal, and a connection terminal portion configured to electrically connect the antenna pattern portion and a circuit board; and a molding frame connected to the radiator such that the antenna pattern portion is exposed at one surface of the molding frame and the connection terminal portion is exposed at another surface of the molding frame opposing the one surface of the molding frame. The connection terminal portion may include a plated layer exposed at the other surface of the molding frame to contact the circuit board.

1. Field
The following description relates to a radiator frame having an antenna radiator formed on the surface thereof and a method of manufacturing the same.
2. Description of Related Art
Mobile communications terminals such as mobile phones, PDAs, GPS navigation devices, laptop computers, and the like, which support wireless communications, are necessities in modern society. Mobile communications terminals have been developed to allow for communications to be undertaken using schemes such as CDMA, wireless LAN, GSM, DMB, and the like. One of the most important components that enables these schemes is an antenna.
The antenna used in a mobile communications terminal has evolved from an exterior type antenna such as a rod antenna or a helical antenna to an internal type antenna mounted in the terminal.
There have been problems in mobile communications terminals due to the exterior type antenna being vulnerable to external impacts and the interior type antenna increasing the volume of the terminal.
In order to solve these problems, research into integrating the mobile communications terminal with the antenna has been actively conducted.
A method in which a radiator frame is formed using a radiator formed through injection-molding has been used in the related art.
However, when the radiator has been injection-molded, since painting is undertaken after the injection molding, a terminal part of the radiator may also be partially painted by overspray of paint during the painting, and as a result, a contact failure between the terminal part and a substrate may occur.

Radiator frame having antenna pattern embedded therein and method of manufacturing the same


A folding menstrual cup comprising an outer cup body with a top accommodating cavity formed therein and a round opening provided on the top thereof and the bottom thereof being connected with a flow guiding pipe via a folding part at the side opposite to the opening; a flow guiding pipe providing with a pipe orifice communicating with the top accommodating cavity and a valve controlling communication to the pipe orifice; and a folding part being capable of protruding upward and enabling the top end of the flow guiding pipe to extend into the top accommodating cavity along with the folding part, and capable of straightening downward thereby a bottom accommodating cavity is formed inside the folding part. When in use, the folding part extends into the top accommodating cavity of the outer cup body and is placed in a body.

Females may suffer from lower abdomen pains and a falling distention feeling together with waist soreness and other discomforts before and after the menstrual period or during the menstrual period, and these symptoms seriously influence the living quality. A menstrual ball is a feminine physiological product, a female usually uses a sanitary napkin for nursing when the physiological cycle arrives, but the sanitary napkin commonly has some defects in the using process. For example, the sanitary napkin is a product for external use, which cannot relieve the lower abdomen pains and the falling distention feeling which occur in the menstrual period and which may cause a leakage due to an improper placement in use or poor liquid absorbing capacity of the sanitary napkin. Moreover, when the female walks or does some exercises, friction is generated between side walls of the sanitary napkin and both legs, which may makes the user uncomfortable. Since the sanitary napkin is a product for external use and adsorbing liquid, the female cannot take part in underwater activities, e.g., swimming and the like, when she is using a sanitary napkin. In order to solve various problems above, currently, reusable menstrual cups are commercially available, the existing menstrual cups are all of a fixed shape structure, a closed effect is generated after the menstrual cup is placed into the vagina of a female, and during the menstrual period, a menstrual cup body structure is used for containing menstrual blood. However, when the menstrual blood is discharged out of the body, air in the menstrual cup cannot be exhausted, thus the female will have an abdominal distention feeling when using the menstrual cup.

Guangzhou Tianyuan Silicone Machine Technology Co., Ltd.


Process and system for processing wafer-shaped objects, such as semiconductor wafers is disclosed. In accordance with the present disclosure, a multiple of two wafers are processed in a thermal processing chamber. The thermal processing chamber is in communication with at least one heating device for heating the wafers. The wafers are placed in the thermal processing chamber in a face-to-face configuration or in a back-to-back configuration.

Various heating devices have been proposed in the past for processing semiconductor wafers during the manufacture of integrated circuit chips. For instance, rapid thermal processing devices are thermal processing chambers where wafers are heated in a small compartment using radiant energy as the energy source. Such systems typically only process a single wafer at a time and include a substrate holder for holding the wafer and a light source that emits light energy for heating the wafer. During heat treatment, the semiconductor wafer is heated under controlled conditions according to a preset temperature regime. For monitoring the temperature of the semiconductor wafer during heat treatment, such processing chambers also typically include temperature sensing devices, such as pyrometers, that sense the radiation being emitted by a semiconductor wafer at a selected band or wavelength. By sensing the thermal radiation being emitted by the wafer, the temperature of the wafer can be calculated with reasonable accuracy.
In alternative embodiments, instead of or in addition to using radiation sensing devices, thermal processing chambers can also contain thermocouples for monitoring the temperature of the wafers. Thermocouples measure the temperature of objects by direct contact.
Many semiconductor heating processes require a wafer to be heated to high temperatures so that various chemical and physical reactions can take place as the wafer is fabricated into a device. During thermal processing, semiconductor wafers are typically heated to temperatures of from about 200° C. to about 1300° C., for times that are typically less than a few minutes.
Rapid thermal processing chambers that heat the wafers using light energy typically operate in a non-equilibrium state. Specifically, the walls surrounding the wafer are kept cool and thus the chambers are typically referred to as "cold wall" systems. The non-equilibrium configuration refers to the fact that the filament temperature inside the radiant source is at a much higher temperature than the wafer. The key advantage of using rapid thermal processing systems is the ability to quickly change wafer temperature therefore enabling very short heating cycles. A drawback to rapid thermal processing systems, however, is the cost per wafer processed, especially for cycles greater than one minute, since most systems are only equipped to heat one wafer at a time.
Thermal processing systems capable of processing a plurality of semiconductor wafers have been proposed. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 6,051,512 discloses an apparatus and method for rapid thermal processing of a plurality of semiconductor wafers, which is incorporated herein by reference. The '512 patent has provided great advances in the art in that multiple wafers can be processed during a single heat cycle. The present disclosure is directed to further improvements in thermal processing chambers for processing multiple wafers simultaneously.

Method and system for thermally processing a plurality of wafer-shaped objects


An illuminatible shoelace device is disclosed which comprises a section of flexible material having a cavity within the section and the section having a pair of ends, a fiber optic section is positioned within the cavity with a light source coupled to an end of the fiber optic section, a power supply is provided to power the light source, and switching circuitry, associated with the light source and the power supply, switches the light source on and off for transmitting light through the fiber optic section with the transmitted light illuminating the fiber optic section and the section of flexible material.

The present invention relates to articles having light emitting fibers or strands and in particular to a shoelace having light emitting strands throughout the lace.
Various articles of clothing have been developed which include light emitting devices such as light bulbs, light emitting diodes, or fiber optics. Some examples of such articles of clothing include jackets, shirts, belts, shoes, and ski boots and are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,652,981; 4,727,603; 4,839,777; 4,935,851; and 5,151,678. Such illuminated devices have been used for at least two purposes. One purpose is to decorate or embellish a particular design fabricated on the article of clothing. The other purpose is to provide a safety indicator on the article to illuminate a person such as a jogger at night or other periods when an object is not easily visible.
Light emitting fibers or strands, such as fiber optic cables, are used to transmit light from a light source along the length of the fiber to be emitted from an end of the fiber. While light emitting fibers have been employed in the past in various articles of clothing as discussed above, their use has not gained wide acceptance probably due to the difficulty in manufacturing such devices and the cost in manufacturing such devices. There remains a need to provide a simple and easy to use illuminatible shoelace device. An illuminatible shoelace device would provide decoration and also function as a safety indicator.


A method of creating a debug specification includes the steps of reading in either a measurement specification or a test program, extracting setting conditions for each measuring parameter from the read measurement specification or the test program, extracting terminals of a circuit to be measured required for debugging as checking terminals, extracting the setting conditions of the extracted checking terminals as checking conditions, determining whether the checking terminals and the checking conditions for each extracted measuring parameter are changed from the corresponding previous measuring parameter of the previous stage, extracting the changed checking terminals and the checking conditions as changing conditions when the checking terminals and the checking conditions have changed and extracting a changing timing at which the change takes place, and outputting all the changing conditions and the changing timings extracted for all the measuring parameters as a debug specification. A test program creating specification can be created in a similar manner.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of creating a debug specification used in debugging an electronic circuit measuring apparatus and a test program specification used for creating a test program.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 3 shows an ordinary electronic circuit measuring circuit. A circuit 4 to be measured, such as a semiconductor integrated circuit, is set in a measuring peripheral circuit 5. The electronic circuit measuring apparatus 1 has a plurality of power sources R1 to R4 which are connected through switches SW1 to SW4 provided in the peripheral circuit 5 to pins P1 to P4 of the circuit 4. The peripheral circuit 5 has a switch SWa between the pin P2 of the circuit 4 and a grounded terminal. The electronic circuit measuring apparatus 1 also has a peripheral circuit control unit 2 for controlling the switches SW1 to SW4 and SWa of the peripheral circuit 5, and a tester controller 3 programmed to control the peripheral circuit control unit 2 and the power sources R1 to R4. The peripheral circuit 5 is provided when the measuring specification cannot be implemented by the electronic circuit measuring apparatus 1 alone or when it is inconvenient to implement the measuring specification in terms of the measuring operation by the electronic circuit measuring apparatus 1 alone.
When the characteristics of the circuit 4 are determined using such a measuring apparatus, measurements are carried out on the basis of the measurement specification shown in, for example, Table 1.
TABLE 1 __________________________________________________________________________ Measuring parameter Measuring Standard value Setting condition No. Name of parameter condition Minumum Maximum P1 P2 P3 P4 SW1 SW2 SW3 SW4 SWa __________________________________________________________________________ 1 Leak current 1 VF = 0.4 V, IM 1 .mu.A 3 .mu.A M OV on on 2 Leak current 2 VF = 0.4 V, IM 2 .mu.A 4 .mu.A M OV on on 3 Circuit current VF = 5 V, IM 10 mA 20 mA OV M on on on 4 Terminal voltage 1 IF = 0 .mu.A, VM 1 V 2 V M OV 5V on on on on 5 Terminal voltage 2 IF = 0 .mu.A, VM 2 V 3 V M OV 5V on on on on __________________________________________________________________________
Alternatively, measurements are carried out on the basis of the test program obtained by converting the measurement specification shown in Table 1 to a computer program. For example, measurement of leakage currents 1 and 2 as the measurement Nos. 1 and 2 in Table 1 respectively correspond to the following test programs TEST1 and TEST2.
TEST 1: leakage current 1 PA1 TEST 2: leakage current 2
SET SW1=ON, SW3=ON PA2 SET PIN1=0.4 V, MEAS. MODE=I PA2 SET PIN3=0 V PA2 MEAS PIN 1 PA2 JUDGE LO 1.mu.A, HI 3.mu.A PA2 SET SW2=ON, SW1=OFF PA2 SET PIN1=OFF PA2 SET PIN2=0.4 V, MEAS. MODE=I PA2 MEAS PIN2 PA2 JUDGE LO 2 .mu.A, HI 4 .mu.A
These test programs contain a series of steps which can be carried out by the tester controller 3 of the electronic circuit measuring apparatus 1. According to these test programs, the peripheral circuit control unit 2 of the electronic circuit measuring apparatus 1 controls the switches SW1 to SW4 and SWa of the peripheral circuit 5, supplies electronic signals from the power sources R1 to R4 to the circuit 4, and measures output signals from the circuit 4 to determine the characteristics thereof.
Prior to the measurement, it is necessary to check whether the measuring conditions defined by the test program satisfy the measuring conditions indicated in the measurement specification, i.e., debugging must be performed. This debugging is conducted by checking the electrical state at the pins P1 to P4 of the circuit to be measured 4 using a waveform observing device, such as an oscilloscope, connected to the pins P1 to P4. Regarding, for example, the TEST1, i.e., the measurement of the leakage current 1, 0.4 v and 0 v are respectively applied to the pins P1 and P3 of the circuit to be measured 4 and the states of the switches SW1 and SW3 are checked. In the TEST2, i.e., in the measurement of the leakage current 2, the states of the switches SW2 and SW3 are checked. Debugging is conducted similarly regarding the other measuring parameters.
In the conventional debugging method, checking of the measuring conditions is thus conducted for each of the consecutive measuring parameters. Consequently, debugging requires time and is troublesome work.
Furthermore, there is the possibility that the power source or the like used in a previous stage is not disconnected and therefore measured in a measurement to be executed after the power source or the like used in a previous stage should have been disconnected.

Method of creating debug specification and test program creating specification


Methods and apparatus implementing communications using different types of symbols, e.g. different characteristic OFDM symbols, at different times for different purposes are described. A first type of symbol is used for control signaling including conveying transmission request signals and/or transmission request response signals. A second type of symbol is used for conveying user data, e.g., traffic signals. The symbol period for a first type symbol is larger than the symbol period for a second type symbol. The tone spacing for a first type symbol is larger than the tone spacing for a second type symbol. The methods and apparatus are well suited for peer to peer communications systems in which a peer to peer communications device operates in a half-duplex mode of operation.

Various wireless communications systems use OFDM symbols to communicate information. It is convenient to construct and operate such a system utilizing a uniform OFDM symbol structure, e.g., same tone spacing, the same set of contiguous tones, and same symbol duration, irrespective of the type of information being communicated. However, a one size OFDM symbol implementation is not necessarily the best approach from an efficiency standpoint. Different types of information and/or different situations can be better suited to be communicated using different types of characteristic OFDM symbols. It would be advantageous if methods and apparatus were developed which utilized different types of characteristic OFDM symbols at different times to better suit the type of information being communicated and/or situational needs. Methods and apparatus that allowed a wireless communications device to limit transmission time and/or be more informed of interference would also be beneficial.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Methods and apparatus for communicating information using different types of symbols


Ultra-high purity zinc bromide and quaternary ammonium bromides suitable for use in zinc-bromine batteries, and methods for making same, are provided.

The present invention relates generally to zinc-bromine batteries. More particularly, the present invention relates to improved zinc bromides and quaternary ammonium bromides for use in such batteries, methods of making same, and batteries utilizing same.
A zinc-bromine battery is a type of bipolar, electrochemical flow battery, which is capable of collecting and discharging electric charge. A zinc-bromine battery typically includes a series or stack of voltaic cells, a pump for pumping electrolyte through the cells, terminal electrodes electrically coupled to the stack of cells, and stud terminals electrically coupled to the terminal electrodes and through which electric charge flows into and out of the battery.
The operation of zinc-bromine batteries is described, e.g., is U.S. Pat. No. 5,591,538 and in U.S. Pat. No. 5,650,239. As described therein, the battery cells are made up of a series of alternating electrodes and separators. The electrodes are said to be "bipolar" because an anodic reaction takes place on one side of the electrode and a cathodic reaction takes place on its opposite side. Therefore, each cell can be considered as having an anodic half-cell and a cathodic half-cell. An ion permeable separator separates the anodic half-cell from the cathodic half-cell. Electrolyte is pumped through each half-cell, i.e., an anolyte through the anodic half-cell, and a catholyte through the anodic half-cell.
The electrolyte in zinc-bromine batteries is an aqueous solution of zinc bromide and quaternary ammonium salts, for example, methylethylpyrrolidinium bromide, with optional supporting salts, such as NH4Cl, and it is circulated through the individual cells from external reservoirs. It should be understood that the battery may be in several states including a discharged state and a charged state.
In the discharged state, the anolyte is substantially chemically identical to the catholyte. During the process of collecting a charge, the following chemical reactions take place:Zn2++2e−→Zn2Br−→Br2+2e−Zinc is plated on the anode, and bromine is produced at the cathode. The bromine is immediately complexed by the quaternary ammonium ions in the electrolyte to form a dense second phase which is subsequently removed from the battery stack with the flowing electrolyte. Further, and when the battery is charged, zinc in stored on one side of each electrode and the complex bromine is stored in the catholyte reservoir.
During the electrical discharge process, the following chemical reactions takes place:Br2+2e−→2Br−Zn→Zn2++2e−In this reaction, zinc is oxidized, and the released electrons pass through the electrode where they combine with molecular bromine to form bromide ions. Further, the positively charged zinc ions travel through the separator and remain in solution, and at the same time, bromide ions pass through the separator in the opposite direction and remain in solution.
Zinc-bromine batteries have several advantages over other types of batteries. In particular, one such advantage is the relatively high energy storage capacity of a zinc-bromine battery. Even though zinc-bromine batteries are in many ways superior to other types of batteries, current commercial technologies for zinc-bromine batteries are not completely satisfactory. For example, specifications for the entire electrolyte system are stringent and require low part per million ("ppm") levels of most of the transition metals; this being a quality issue to maintain recycle performance in the battery assembly after many charge/discharge cycles. The quaternary ammonium salt component typically must be fluid, capable of containing elemental bromine, and stable to the various operating conditions within electrochemical flow battery.
Commonly utilized classes of quaternary ammonium salts are dialkylpyrrolidinium halides, dialkylmorpholinium halides, and dialkylpiperidinium halides, including, e.g., methylethylpyrrolidinium bromide "MEP" and methylethylmorpholinium bromide "MEM". However, all of these salts, unless used in suitable combinations with other components, allow formation of crystallite structure of the salts and the zinc bromides, which would ultimately short out the flow batteries if costly, time-consuming maintenance procedures are not performed.
Therefore, there is a need for zinc bromides that meet the purity standards for zinc-bromine batteries, a need for commercially suitable quaternary ammonium salts, and a need for zinc-bromine batteries that utilize the zinc bromides and quaternary ammonium salts.

Ultra-high purity zinc bromides and quaternary ammonium bromides for use in zinc-bromine batteries


Disclosed are various embodiments for managing forms, for example, in portable document format (PDF) documents or other electronic documents. An electronic document that includes a form having multiple form fields is obtained. Each of the form fields is associated with multiple form field definitions. A data grid that shows the form field definitions for each of the form fields in the form is rendered for display. User input relative to the data grid is obtained, and the user input indicates a requested change to several of the form fields. The requested change to the plurality of the form fields is implemented in the electronic document in response to the user input.

Portable Document Format (PDF) is a standard found in common use for electronic documents. PDF is used to represent electronic documents in a way that is independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems. Each PDF file encapsulates a description of a fixed layout, flat document, including the text, fonts, graphics, and other information used to display it. Some PDF files include a field capability that, when used in a PDF, facilitates the creation of forms that may be filled out by the user. The completed PDF form may be saved electronically or printed. PDF-based forms are popular because they support autonomous and disconnected operation.


A binding machine is described for use in uncoiling the fingers of a binding comb (50), preparatory to an insertion of the fingers (54) of the comb into the apertures (48) provided in a packet or stack of sheets (46) to be bound together. The machine comprises a housing (6) supported for rectilinear reciprocal movement a drive plate (8), said drive plate being provided adjacent opposite side edges with a series of aperture (10), affording a rack, engageable by respective pinions (12) of the machine. The housing (6) is provided with a plurality of fixed abutment elements (28), a clamping member (16) being mounted on the housing for movement between a retracted position and an advanced position, in which advanced position clamping elements (18) of the clamping member are disposed closely adjacent to fixed abutment elements (28), to clamp the spine (52) of a binding comb therebetween. An operating member (36) is also mounted on the housing for movement between a retracted position and an advanced position, such movement of the operating member causing fingers (38) thereof to engage within the coiled fingers (54) of the binding comb, and causing them to be unwound allowing the fingers (54) to be inserted into the apertures (48) of the packet. Movement of the drive plate (8) from its rest position causes the clamping member (16) to be moved to its advanced position, and then the operating member (36) to its advanced position.

This invention is concerned with improvements relating to binding machines, particularly of the kind (hereinafter referred to as being of the kind specified) for binding packets having a row of apertures or perforations adjacent to one side edge, by the use of and a binding element (conveniently termed a "comb") comprising a spine and a series of curved, flexible fingers which may be located in the apertures of the packet, to bind the sheets of the packet together into book-like form.
Difficulty is encountered in the provision of a machine of the kind specified, which will clamp the binding element in a convenient position, and straighten the fingers to allow them to be inserted into the apertures of a stack, during a binding operation.


The invention provides a method for electrically connecting a polysilicon-filled trench to a diffusion region in a semiconductor device, wherein the trench and diffusion region are separated by a dielectric. The method provides for formation of a strap or bridge contact by utilizing a diffusion barrier layer which prevents diffusion into an overlying polysilicon layer when a subsequent boron out-diffusion step is performed. Selective etching is then utilized to remove the polysilicon layer where no boron has diffused, leaving a polysilicon strap connecting the trench and diffusion region.

Semiconductor devices typically have large numbers of conductive structures which need to be interconnected. Such conductive structures include, for example, silicon regions separated by a dielectric region. The conductive structures are interconnected by forming a "bridge contact" or "strap" between the structures.
Refractory metals and refractory metal silicides have often been used for interconnecting conductive structures. These materials possess low resistivity characteristics normally associated with metals such as aluminum and copper, without providing the manufacturing challenges inherent in these materials (heat sensitivity in the case of aluminum, patterning difficulties in the case of copper). Typically, silicide electrodes are formed on silicon diffusion regions by depositing the refractory metal layer on the substrate, heating the metal to form silicide regions over the exposed silicon regions, and treating the substrate in a wet etchant to remove the unreacted refractory metal.
This silicide forming method poses problems in that the method may consume up to several microns of the underlaying silicon in forming the silicide. This consumption has the effect of greatly reducing the effective dopant concentrations at the silicide/diffusion interface, which can have negative effects on the characteristics of the semiconductor device.
Several solutions have been suggested to remedy this problem. One method is to co-deposit the refractory metal with silicon, such that upon annealing a lesser amount of the junction silicon will be consumed. See U.S. Pat. No. 4,663,191, issued May 5, 1987 to Choi et al. Another technique is to provide additional silicon on top of the junction regions, which will be consumed instead of the underlying silicon. See IBM Technical Disclosure Bulletin, Vol. 20, No. 9, pages 3480-3483 (February 1978).
Others have approached the need for interconnecting conductive structures by utilizing other types of materials, as opposed to refractory metals and refractory metal silicides. For example, the article entitled "Diffusion Defined Bridge Contact" (IBM Technical Disclosure Bulletin, Vol. 29, No. 8, page 3423 [January 1987]) discloses the general concept of employing dopant out-diffusion to define a surface contact between a polysilicon region and a silicon region over a dielectric.
The following references disclose the formation of silicide bridge contacts for connecting a polysilicon-filled trench to a source/drain region over a dielectric: U.S. Pat. No. 4,873,205 (issued Oct. 10, 1989); U.S. Pat. No. 4,983,544 (issued Jan. 8, 1991); "CMOS Process For Titanium Salicide Bridging Of A Trench and Simultaneously Allowing For True Gate Isolation", IBM Technical Disclosure Bulletin, Vol. 29, No. 3 (Aug. 1986), pp. 1037-1038; "Self-Aligned Electrical Connection To Trench", IBM Technical Disclosure Bulletin, Vol. 29, No. 3 (August 1986), pp. 1421-1422; "Multi-Purpose Trench for Complementary Metal Oxide Silicon, Six-Device Static Random-Access Memory Cell", IBM Technical Disclosure Bulletin, Vol. 32, No. 9A (February 1990), p. 433; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,745,081 (issued May 17, 1988). None of the references in this group, however, employs a dopant out-diffusion technique.
In the following group of references, a dopant out-diffusion process was used in the formation of structures other than straps or bridge contacts:
U.S. Pat. No. 4,502,894 (issued Mar, 5, 1985) discloses a process for producing polysilicon resistors, by employing boron out-diffusion. After forming oxide regions, boron or other dopant is implanted into the oxide. A layer of polysilicon is then deposited and patterned, and the structure is treated to cause boron to out-diffuse into the polysilicon. PA1 Japanese Pat. No. 62-122124 (issued Jun. 3, 1987) discloses a process for out-diffusion of boron into an overlying polysilicon layer. After a silicon dioxide film is grown onto a silicon substrate a boron phosphorus silicate glass (BPSG) film is deposited. A contact hole is then formed in the BPSG and the oxide layers, followed by deposition of a polysilicon layer. The structure is then heated to effect boron out-diffusion from the BPSG layer into the polysilicon layer. PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,654,121 (issued Mar. 31, 1987) discloses a process for forming stacked CMOS devices. After forming the lower device, an undoped oxide layer and then a doped oxide layer are formed. A planarizing step is then carried out to expose the gate electrode and to form doped oxide regions to the sides of the gate. An upper gate oxide is grown and a polysilicon layer defined over the oxide. The source and drain regions for the upper device are then formed by boron out-diffusion from the lower doped oxide regions.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,782,036 (issued Nov. 1, 1988) discloses a process for doping the sidewalls and base of a trench. After the trench formation in a silicon substrate, a borosilicate glass layer is deposited by decomposition of TEOS and trimethylborate. Then, the structure is treated to cause boron to diffuse into the sidewalls and base, followed by removal of the glass layer.
Despite these approaches to strap formation, a need continues to exist for methods for forming a low resistance connection between conductive structures which can readily be utilized in the fabrication of semiconductor devices at minimal manufacturing expense.

Boron out-diffused surface strap process

International Business Machines Corporation


A drill bit having a drill body and a drill shank including a substantially cylindrical guide portion (10) having at least one guide surface (101, 102), and a locking portion (11) projecting radially beyond the guide portion and having locking surfaces (111, 112) extending substantially perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the drill bit, with the locking portion (11) having, perpendicular to the drill bit longitudinal axis, a non-circular cross-section; and a drill chuck for receiving the shank.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a drill bit having a drill body and a shank connected with the drill body and including a substantially cylindrical guide portion having a least one guide surface, and a locking portion projecting radially beyond the guide portion. The present invention also relates to a chuck for receiving the drill shank.
2. Description of the Prior Art
For forming bores in hard constructional components formed of concrete, stone, steel and the like, a drill bit, such as described, e.g., in German Patent Publication No. 3,744,091 and having a tubular carrier member which is provided in its front, in the drilling direction, end region with an annular cutting element and is provided at its opposite, rear end with a shank, is used. Here and elsewhere, under "drilling direction" is understood the direction in which the drill bit advances when forming a bore. The shank has a guide portion and a locking portion which projects radially beyond the guide portion. The locking portion is provided with a thread which serves for axially fixing the drill bit in a drill chuck. The chuck has an axially displaceable locking sleeve with a mating thread corresponding to the shank thread. After the insertion of the drill shank into the chuck, the shank and, thus, the drill bit is locked in the chuck by completely rotating the locking sleeve several times into its locking position. Because of the thread, the manufacturing of the chunk is expensive.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a drill bit with a shank which can be economically produced and which can be rapidly and simply inserted into a chuck.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a chuck for receiving the inventive drill shank.

Drill and a chuck for receiving the drill shank


The present invention relates to a series of substituted aza-indole derivatives of the formula I:

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a series of substituted aza-indole compounds. More specifically, the present invention relates to a novel series of N,2,3-substituted aza-indole derivatives. This invention also relates to methods of making these compounds. The compounds of this invention are inhibitors of poly(adenosine 5′-diphosphate ribose) polymerase (PARP) and are, therefore, useful as pharmaceutical agents, especially in the treatment and/or prevention of a variety of diseases including diseases associated with the central nervous system and cardiovascular disorders.
2. Description of the Art
Poly(adenosine 5′-diphosphate ribose) polymerase [poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase, PARP, EC 18.104.22.168] also known as poly(ADP-ribose) synthetase (PARS) is a chromatin-bound nuclear enzyme of eukaryotic cells, present at about 2×105 molecules/nucleus. The high degree of evolutionary conservation of PARP in multicellular organisms can be taken as an indication of the physiological importance of poly(ADP-ribosyl)ation. Activated by DNA strand breaks PARP transfers ADP-ribose units from NAD+ to nuclear proteins including histones and PARP itself. This reaction generates poly(ADP) ribose and nicotinamide, with the latter being a negative feedback inhibitor of PARP. The role of NAD+ in this sequence is distinct from its role as a redox cofactor in other enzymatic processes. The poly(ADP-ribose) thus formed typically contains in the order of 200 ribose units having linear and branched connections with one branch approximately every 25 units of ADP-ribose. The links are by α-(1″-2′)ribosyl-glycosic bonds. Because of the negative charges of ADP-ribose polymers, poly(ADP-ribosylated)proteins lose their affinity for DNA and are, therefore, inactivated. Poly(ADP-ribosyl)ation is an immediate, covalent, but transient post-translational modification. Poly(ADP-ribose) is in a dynamic state, its rapid synthesis being followed by a degradation catalyzed by the enzyme poly(ADP) glycohydrolase (PARG). Thus, PARP and other modified proteins are returned to their native state. For reviews on PARP see: Liadet. L., "Poly(adenosine 5′-diphosphate) ribose polymerase activation as a cause of metabolic dysfunction in critical illness"; Current Opinions Clin. Nutrition Metabolic Care, 5, 175-184 (2002). Burkle, A., "Physiology and pathophysiology of poly(ADP-ribosyl)ation"; BioEssays, 23, 795-806 (2001). Hageman, G. J. and Stierum, R. H., "Niacin, Poly(ADP-ribose) polymerse-1 and genomic stability"; Mutation Res., 475, 45-56 (2001). Smith, S., "The world according to PARP"; Trends Biochem Sci., 26, 174-179 (2001). Tong, W.-M. et al., Poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase: a guardian angel protecting the genome and suppressing tumorigenisis"; Biochim. Biophys. Acta, 1552, 27-37 (2001).
In cerebral ischemia, calcium influx into neurons causes the activation of nitric oxide synthase, leading to production of nitric oxide and subsequently the reactive radical peroxynitrite. Peroxynitrite causes extensive damage to DNA and results in uncontrolled activation of PARP. Cellular NAD and ATP are quickly used up and the cell dies a necrotic death due to loss of the source of cellular energy. DNA is similarly damaged by peroxynitrite in myocardial ischemia and in inflammation.
Several studies with PARP −/− animals and with a variety of inhibitors support the role of PARP in the pathophysiology of a number of disease models. In a stroke model, for example, the infarct size in PARP-deficient animals is 80% smaller compared to control PARP +/+ animals. See, for example, Eliasson, M. J. L. et al., "Poly(ADP-ribose)polymerase gene disruption renders mice resistant to cerebral ischemia"; Nature Med., 3, 1089 (1997). In addition, many studies using various PARP inhibitors (e.g. 3-aminobenzamide, GPI 6150, PJ-34 and nicotinamide) have shown reduction in stroke-induced infarction volume and reduced behavioral deficits in post-stroke treatment paradigms. See, generally, Takahashi, K. et al., "Post-treatment with an inhibitor of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase attenuates cerebral damage in focal ischemia"; Brain Res., 829, 46, (1999). Mokudai, T. et al., "Delayed treatment with nicotinamide (vitamin B3) improves neurological outcome and reduces infarct volume after transient focal ischemia in Wistar rats"; Stroke, 31, 1679 (2000). Abdelkarim, G. E. et al., "Protective effects of PJ34, a novel, potent inhibitor of poly(ADP ribose) polymerase (PARP) in vitro and in vivo models of stroke"; Int. J. Mol. Med., 7, 255 (2000). Ding, Y. et al., "Long-term neuroprotective effect of inhibiting poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase in rats with middle cerebral artery occlusion using a behavioral assessment"; Brain Res., 915, 210 (2001).
Other disease models in which the role of PARP has been established by using inhibitors or the knockout are streptozocin-induced diabetes (see, Mabley, J. G. et al., "Inhibition of poly(ADP-ribose) synthetase by gene disruption or inhibition with 5-iodo-6-amino-1,2-benzopyrone protects mice from multiple-low-dose-streptozotocin-induced diabetes"; Br. J. Pharmacol., 133, 909-919 (2001); Gale, E. A. et al., "Molecular mechanisms of beta-cell destruction in IDDM: the role of nicotinamide"; Horm. Res., 45, 39-43 (1996); and Heller, B. et al., "Inactivation of the poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase gene affects oxygen radical and nitric oxide toxicity in islet cells"; J. Biol. Chem., 270, 11176-11180 (1995).
The PARP is also implicated in diabetic cardiomyopathy, see, Pacher, P. et al., "The role of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase activation in the development of myocardial and endothelial dysfunction in diabetes"; Diabetes, 51, 514-521 (2002); and in head trauma, see, LaPlaca, M. C. et al., "Pharmacological inhibition of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase is neuroprotective following traumatic brain injury in rats"; J. Neurotrauma, 18, 369-376 (2001). Also see, Verma, A., "Opportunities for neuroprotection in traumatic brain injury"; J. Head Trauma Rehabil., 15, 1149-1161 (2000).
Further diseases involving PARP include myocardial ischemia, see generally, Pieper, A. A. et al., "Myocardial postischemic injury is reduced by poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase-1 gene disruption"; Mol. Med., 6, 271-282 (2000). Also see, Grupp, I. L. et al., "Protection against hypoxia reoxygenation in the absence of poly(ADP-ribose) synthetase in isolated working hearts"; J. Mol. Cell. Cardio., 31, 297-303 (1999).
Additional diseases include experimental allergic encephalomyelitis (EAE), see for example, Scott, G. S. et al., "Role of poly(ADP-ribose) synthetase activation in the development of experimental allergic encephalomyelitis"; J. Neuroimmunology, 117, 78-86 (2001).
It has also been reported that cancer may be caused due to the effects of PARP, see for example, Martin, N. M., "DNA repair inhibition and cancer therapy"; J. Photochem. Photobiol. B. 63, 162-170 (2001). Finally, aging related diseases also have been implicated due to PARP, see Von Zglinicki, T. et al., "Stress, DNA damage and aging—an integrative approach"; Exp. Geront., 36, 1049-1062 (2001). Also see, Rosenthal, D. S. et al., "Poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase and aging"; in "The role of DNA damage and repair in aging", Gilchrist, B. A. and Bohr, V. A., eds., Elsevier Science B. V. (2001), pp 113-133.
All of the references described herein are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
It is an object of this invention to provide a series of substituted indole derivatives which are potent, selective inhibitors of PARP-1.
It is also an object of this invention to provide processes for the preparation of the substituted indole derivatives as disclosed herein.
It is further an object of this invention to provide a series of novel indole-3-carboxaldehydes that are potent inhibitors of PARP-1 enzyme as demonstrated by their activity against the enzyme in vitro and in a whole cell assay.

Substituted AZA-indoles as inhibitors of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP)

Abstract: wherein R, R1, R2, R3, R4, X and Y are as defined herein. This invention also relates to methods of making these compounds. The compounds of this invention are inhibitors of poly(adenosine 5′-diphosphate ribose) polymerase (PARP) and are therefore useful as pharmaceutical agents, especially in the treatment and/or prevention of a variety of diseases, including diseases associated with the central nervous system and cardiovascular disorders.


A data block output apparatus includes a first queue that stores data blocks of first traffic; a second queue that stores data blocks of second traffic and is read preferentially over the first queue; a monitoring unit that monitors for occurrence of data blocks read out of the second queue after reading of a data block from the first queue is completed; and a control unit that controls a data block interval between completion of reading of one data block in the first traffic and a start of reading of a next data block in the first traffic when occurrence frequency of the data blocks read out of the second queue after the reading of one data block from the first queue is completed is equal to or higher than a predetermined value.

A transmission network which connects bases used in long-distance communications and the like has conventionally been constructed using apparatuses which are based on time division multiplexing (hereinafter abbreviated to TDM (Time Division Multiplexing)) technology such as SONET/SDH (Synchronous Optical NETwork/Synchronous Digital Hierarchy). Frequency synchronization among plural stations connected via the TDM network has been performed through clock recovery from "0" and "1" signals on the SONET/SDH physical layer. On the other hand, recent transmission networks, which are packet communication networks using the IP (Internet Protocol) and the like, are often constructed using devices, such as routers and switches, which use packet technology.
Frequency/time synchronization systems for packet communication networks include the NTP (Network Time Protocol) and IEEE 1588 PTP (Precision Time Protocol). IEEE 1588, which has the potential capability for high-accuracy time synchronization in milliseconds, is planned to be used, for example, for time synchronization and the like among cellular base stations.
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a communication system which uses a packet-based frequency/time synchronization system. The communication system illustrated in FIG. 1 is a cell phone network system and includes a cellular-station side apparatus, a base station (denoted by BS in FIG. 1) and plural rely devices adapted to relay communications between the cellular-station side apparatus and base station. Furthermore, the communication system illustrated in FIG. 1 uses IEEE 1588 as a frequency/time synchronization system, and a master apparatus (hereinafter simply referred to as the master) is installed on the side of the cellular station while slave apparatuses are installed on the side of individual base stations (hereinafter simply referred to as slaves).
As illustrated in FIG. 1, in the packet-based frequency/time synchronization system, frequency/time synchronization is performed as special synchronization messages are exchanged between the master and a slave. The synchronization message contains a sender or receiver time stamp. The slave calculates transfer time between the master and slave based on the time stamp contained in the synchronization message from the master, thereby performs frequency/time synchronization, and provides the synchronized time or clock to the base station and the like.
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a mechanism for calculating an amount of time offset according to IEEE 1588. The time at which the master sends a synchronization message (Sync) is designated as t1 and the time at which the slave receives the synchronization message (Sync) is designated as t2. Also, the time at which the slave sends a synchronization message (Delay_Req) is designated as t3 and the time at which the master receives the synchronization message (Delay_Req) is designated as t4. In this case, the slave calculates the time offset using Eq. (1) below. However, it is assumed that transfer times between the master and slave are equal between both directions. Using the time offset found according to Eq. (1), the slave modifies the time managed by the slave.Time offset={(t2−t1)−(t4−t3)}/2  Eq. (1)    [Patent document 1] Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-16637
When a packet network which relays communications between the master and slave is made up of rely devices such as switches and routers the rely devices relay user data traffic in addition to synchronization messages. Consequently, user data traffic and synchronization messages may sometimes merge together in a rely device by being inputted through different ports of the rely device and outputted through a same port. When a synchronization message merges with user data traffic, if the user data is already in the process of being read out, the synchronization message waits its turn to be read out until the reading of the user data is completed (see, for example, reference numeral 500 in FIG. 1).
A delay time experienced by the synchronization message as a result of the merge with the user data is difficult to avoid even if the rely device performs QoS (Quality of Service) processing. For example, even if the synchronization message is set at the highest class in terms of QoS, if a low-class packet is already being read on the arrival of the synchronization message, the synchronization message is not read until the reading of the packet is completed. This will result in a delay.
Hereinafter, the merging of a synchronization message and traffic of another packet (e.g., a user packet) on a rely device will be referred to as a conflict. Also, a packet and traffic which conflict with a synchronization message will be referred to as a conflicting packet and conflicting traffic, respectively. Also, a delay in the transfer of a synchronization message caused by a conflict will be referred to as a conflict delay.
FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining variations in forward delay time of a synchronization message. The timing with which a conflict occurs on a rely device as well as packet length of conflicting traffic vary from case to case, and consequently conflict delay time varies as well. For example, the larger the size of a conflicting packet being read when a synchronization message arrives, the longer the conflict delay time.
Since the conflict delay time varies depending on the situation, the transfer times (forward delay time; t2−t1 and t4−t3 described above; and so forth) of synchronization messages between the master and slave, which contain the conflict delay time and are found by the slave, also vary depending on the situation. For example, the longer the conflict delay time, the longer the forward delay time. Consequently, there is dispersion in the values of time offset found from the transfer times of synchronization messages between the master and slave using Eq. (1). This results in degradation of time synchronization accuracy. Such variation in forward delay is known as PDV (Packet Delay Variation).
FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating examples of delay distributions of synchronization messages. FIG. 4 illustrates a delay distribution G1 of synchronization messages when conflicting traffic occupies a narrow band and a delay distribution G2 of synchronization messages when conflicting traffic occupies a wide band. As illustrated in FIG. 4, the transfer times of synchronization messages between the master and slave become discrete due to PDV (see G1 and G2). As can be seen from the fact that the delay distribution G2 is more discrete than the delay distribution G1, the degree of discreteness depends on the band of conflicting traffic. In FIG. 4, the delay distribution G2 of synchronization messages when conflicting traffic occupies a wide band contains a smaller number of synchronization messages at and around transfer times at which there are no conflict than the delay distribution G1 of synchronization messages when conflicting traffic occupies a narrow band. That is, with increases in the band of conflicting traffic, a maximum value of delays increases as well, and the number of conflict-free synchronization messages decreases. The conflict-free synchronization messages are synchronization messages which are read without waiting for reading of any other packet of a low priority class in an output queue to be completed, i.e., synchronization messages without a conflict delay.
Even when conflicting traffic occupies a wide band, if a predetermined number of conflict-free synchronization messages can be secured, it is possible to reduce impacts of delay variation during relaying by using the transfer times gained from the conflict-free synchronization messages and thereby improve synchronization accuracy. Therefore, to improve synchronization accuracy on the slave, a predetermined number of conflict-free synchronization messages can be secured without regard to network usage. Since conflict-free synchronization messages are synchronization messages without a conflict delay, to secure a predetermined number of conflict-free synchronization messages, delays of synchronization messages can be reduced.
Incidentally, although time synchronization has predominantly been described above, frequency synchronization, which is performed based on the transfer times of synchronization messages between the master and slave as in the case of time synchronization, encounters problems similar to those of time synchronization.

Data block output apparatus, communication system, data block output method, and communication method


A ferromagnetic track positioning type magnetic levitation transport system which transports without contact a large variety of ferromagnetic objects without impairing the expandability of the track. The track is composed of support units 3, propulsion units 5 and guidance units 7. In the support units 3, multiple magnetic support units 15 are mounted so that they are vertically moveable. Attraction control device 19 performs levitation control which contributes to the vertical movement of the center of gravity of the part of steel plate X overlapping support unit 3 and levitation control which contributes to the rolling of the same part of steel plate X. The height of steel plate X is maintained at a specified position by controlling height adjustment mechanisms with height control system 53. Stabilization of the pitching of steel plate X accomplished using coil springs 47 and dampers 49 which are provided in support units 3. Movement and at the same time, decrease of yawing of steel plate X is caused by propulsion unit 5. Guidance of steel plate X in the left and right directions is performed by guidance unit 7.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention concerns a track mounting type magnetic levitation transport system which performs non-contact transport of objects to be transported by attraction type magnetic levitation; the objects to be transported being made of ferromagnetic bodies such as steel plate.
2. Description of the Prior Art
For example, when transporting steel plate between steel plate processing equipment in the cold rolling process at a steel works, normally, a transport method using a roller track, in which multiple rollers are arranged in the direction of transport, is adopted. Also, in steel plate press processing at car plants and the like, generally, a transport method is adopted in which the steel plates to be pressed are transported to the pressing equipment using bogies or cranes.
However, with the method using roller tracks, if there is any dirt, etc. on the rollers, the surface of the steel plate which the track transports is liable to be scratched. Thus, there is a risk of significant reduction of the product quality. For this reason, the rollers must always be serviced so that dirt and the like does not adhere to the rollers. Thus, there is the problem of requiring large amounts of labour and cost. Also, with the bogie or crane methods, there are the problems that, not only is the steel plate liable to scratching when loading or unloading, but also a great deal of time is expended on the movement.
Therefore, currently, various systems are under development to resolve problems such as these. A system for the non-contact support of steel plate has been developed (Nikkei Mekanikaru, Jun. 12, 1989). In this, for instance, multiple electromagnets are laid in a track and these electromagnets are successively excited where the end of the steel plate, which moves along a track beneath the electromagnets, approaches the electromagnets. Here, the attraction of the electromagnets is used for supporting the weight of the steel plate and for imparting thrust to the steel plate. At the same time, adsorption of the steel plate to the electromagnets is prevented by jetting air on the steel plate from compressed air passages provided between the electromagnets and the steel plate. Also, a study on the support of thin steel plate by 4 electromagnets (Denki Gakkai Sangyo Oyo Bumon, Zenkoku Taikai Yokoshu, July 1989, p915) and the development of a system which guides steel plate without contact using specially shaped electromagnets (Japan Laid-Open Patent Gazette: Laid-Open Patent No. Heisei 2-270739) are in progress.
However, with these techniques, the systems are complex, and the range of dimensions and weights of steel plate which can be transported is restricted. Also, it is presumed that the transporting of various weights and types of steel plate over long distances will be difficult.
As described above, when transporting steel plate without any scratching with devices which use mechanical contact, large amounts of labour and time are required for maintenance, shock prevention during transport, etc. Also, with prior art non-contact transport devices, there are problems such as that the dimensions and weights of transportable steel plates are limited, the systems are complex and long-distance transport is difficult.


A common-emitter amplifier having its dynamic voltage gain controlled by using a controlled emitter-follower to shunt the emitter impedance of the common emitter amplifier.

The present invention is related to gain controlled common-emitter amplifiers and more specifically to a common-emitter amplifier having a controllable dynamic voltage gain. The circuit is particularly adaptable to hybrid circuits and facilitates the fabrication of such circuits without excessive trimming of resistors and/or matching of active components.
Previously designed amplifier circuits have been fabricated using field effect transistors (FET) as the gain controlling components, but the operating characteristics of the FET's vary substantially from lot to lot and even within a graded lot, thereby increasing the difficulty of fabrication of the hybrid devices. Specifically, it was necessary to "hot trim" the resistors associated with each FET to match the circuit gains and operating points, which required additional time and expense.
The present invention, however, simplifies the fabrication of such circuits due to the uniformity of bipolar transistors and the ability to "cold trim" components to fixed design values.


The present invention refers to the use of a glycerol ester composition of at least one short chain fatty acid for preventing and/or alleviating necrotic enteritis in the gastric tract of galloanserans. The glycerol ester composition comprises at least 75% by weight of glyceryl tributyrate, below 25% by weight of glyceryl dibutyrate and below 8% by weight of glyceryl monobutyrate. The present invention also refers to the use of the glycerol ester composition for modulating the gut flora of galloanserans.

Necrotic enteritis is an acute infection affecting galloanserans. Galloanserans are divided into the subgroups galliformes (landfowls) like chicken, turkey, grouse and pheasant, and anseriforms (waterfowls) like ducks, goose and swan. Necrotic enteritis has become an emerging problem especially among poultry and is characterized by severe necroses of intestinal mucosa. The clinical illness is usually very short and often the only signs are a sudden increase in mortality. However, birds with depression, ruffled feathers, and diarrhea may also be seen. The gross lesions are primarily found in the small intestine (jejunum), which may be ballooned, friable, and contain a foul-smelling, brown fluid.
The causative agent is the gram-positive, obligate, anaerobic bacteria Clostridium perfringens. There are two primary C. perfringens types, A and C, associated with necrotic enteritis in galloanserans. Toxins produced by the bacteria cause damage to the small intestine, but also liver lesions, and mortality.
C. perfringens is a nearly ubiquitous bacteria readily found in soil, dust, feces, feed, and used poultry litter. It is also a normal inhabitant of the intestines of healthy galloanserans.
Development of necrotic enteritis depends on the presence of predisposing factors, such as mucosal damage caused by coccidial pathogens and feed containing high protein levels.
Because C. perfringens is nearly ubiquitous, it is important to prevent coccidiosis, as well as changes in the intestinal microflora that would promote its growth. This has earlier been accomplished by routinely adding antibiotics to the feed. However, since the ban of growth promoting antibiotics in the European Union in 2006, necrotic enteritis has become an emerging disease among, for instance, poultry. There is a great need for alternative methods to counteract this disease or malfunction.
An alternative to counteracting harmful bacteria like C. perfringens through antibiotics is to try to balance or normalize the gut flora. The gut flora consists of a complex of microorganism species that live in the digestive tract. In this context gut is synonymous with intestinal and flora with microbiota and microflora. The microorganisms perform a host of useful functions, such as fermenting unused energy substrates, training the immune system, preventing growth of harmful, pathogenic bacteria, regulating the development of the gut, producing vitamins for the host and producing hormones to direct the host to store fats. However, in certain conditions, some species are thought to be capable of causing diseases or malfunction by producing infection or increasing cancer risk for the host.
The present invention discloses the use of a glycerol ester composition for preventing and/or alleviating necrotic enteritis in the gastric tract of galloanserans, like chicken and turkey. The use of said composition for modulating the gut flora of galloanserans is also disclosed. Use of the composition according to the invention balances or normalizes the gut flora of galloanserans in such a way that the growth of pathogenic species is inhibited and diseases like necrotic enteritis are prevented. One mechanism behind this effect is presently believed to be that the growth of helpful bacteria is favored and that this prevents the growth of pathogenic species by competing for nutrition and attachment sites to the epithelium of the colon.
The positive effects of butyric acid on gut health in poultry and other animals have been known for a long time. Different distribution forms of butyric acid have also been explored, among them distributing butyric acid in the form of glycerol esters. In recent years, a lot of interest has been directed to the use of glyceryl monobutyrate as a feed-additive to promote animal gut health.
Use of a glycerol ester composition, comprising mainly glyceryl tributyrate, has now surprisingly been found to be a more efficient way of preventing necrotic enteritis in galloanserans, such as broiler chicken, compared to giving the animal butyric acid in the form of glyceryl monobutyrate.

Composition preventing necrotic enteritis in galloanserans


A wireless power transmission device includes a mounting member, first and second terminals mounted on the mounting member and a transmission coil connected to the first and second terminals. The transmission coil includes an outer transmission coil and an inner transmission coil extending from the outer transmission coil and having a radius less than that of the outer transmission coil, and a distance between the outer transmission coil and the inner transmission coil is in a range from 20 mm to 30 mm.

In general, each of various types of electronic apparatus has a battery. Such an electronic apparatus is driven using power charged in the battery. The battery of the electronic apparatus may be replaced with new one or may be recharged. To this end, the electronic apparatus includes a contact terminal contacting an external charging device. That is, the electronic apparatus is electrically connected to the charging device through the contact terminal. However, as the contract terminal of the electronic apparatus is externally exposed, the contact terminal is contaminated by foreign materials or short-circuited by humidity. In this case, contact failure may occur between the contact terminal and the charging device and thus the battery of the electronic apparatus may not be charged.
In order to solve the above-described problem, a wireless power charging system for wirelessly charging an electronic apparatus has been proposed. The wireless power charging system includes a wireless power transmission apparatus and a wireless power reception apparatus. The wireless power transmission device wirelessly transmits power and the wireless power reception device wirelessly receives power. Here, the electronic apparatus may include the wireless power reception device or may be electrically connected to the wireless power reception device. At this time, the wireless power reception device should be disposed in a predetermined charging region of the wireless power transmission device. In particular, if the wireless power charging system is implemented using a resonance method, the wireless power transmission device needs to be designed to have the same coupling coefficient regardless of the position of the wireless power reception device. Otherwise, since a transmit power amount change range adjusted by the wireless power transmission device increases according to the position of the wireless power reception device, cost required to implement the wireless power charging system may increase and efficiency of the wireless power charging system may deteriorate.

Wireless power transmission device and wireless power charging system including the same


A trocar and trocar obturator assembly having an obturator and a locking mechanism responsive to proximal, axial movement of the trocar obturator is disclosed. The trocar obturator has an elongated obturator shaft having a proximal end and a distal end with a piercing tip mounted thereto. The proximal end of the trocar obturator shaft is slidably mounted in a handle such that the obturator shaft is moveable axially. A protective safety shield having a distal end and a proximal end with a flange member mounted to the proximal end is slidably mounted on the trocar obturator. The safety shield is moveable, axially, between an extended distal position and a retracted proximal position. The protective safety shield is disposed concentrically about the obturator. A lockout arm for locking the safety shield in a locked extended position is mounted in the trocar obturator handle. An actuating collar member is mounted to the proximal end of the obturator shaft in the obturator handle and is moveable with the obturator shaft. The obturator collar disengages the locking arm when moved proximally and engages the locking arm when trocar is armed. The trocar obturator assembly may be concentrically mounted in a trocar cannula having a passageway for receiving the trocar obturator and safety shield. The locking mechanism is actuated by proximal, axial motion of the obturator.

The field of endoscopic surgery has become widely embraced by both surgeons and the public. The term "endoscopic" as used herein is defined to include the field of minimally invasive surgery including but not limited to endoscopic, laparoscopic, thoracoscopic and arthroscopic. There are numerous benefits associated with the use of endosurgical techniques including reduced trauma, reduced post-operative recuperation period, reduced incidence of infections, and reduced scarring. In addition, there tends to be a decrease in the length of endoscopic operative procedures when compared with conventional, open procedures, resulting in decreased time under general anesthesia. It is not unusual for patients who have undergone endoscopic surgical operations to be released from the hospital the next day after surgery and to be back on the job within several days. Recuperation periods of 2 to 4 weeks or more are associated with similar operations done using conventional, open surgical procedures.
Numerous endoscopic instruments have been developed which allow the surgeon to perform complex surgical procedures with minimal incisions into the skin and tissue surrounding a particular body cavity. In order to introduce the endoscopic instruments into a body cavity, it is first necessary to puncture and cannulate the body cavity by using a trocar. Trocars are widely known in the art and typically consist of an obturator and a trocar cannula. Trocars may have a protective housing or safety shield around the obturator which covers the sharp piercing tip of the obturator after insertion.
One type of trocar having an obturator safety shield is typically inserted by pressing the distal end of the trocar assembly against the outer skin of the patient with sufficient force to cause the piercing end of the obturator to pierce through the skin, underlying fat, muscle and fascia into a body cavity. Once the surgeon has properly positioned the trocar within the body cavity, the obturator and safety shield are removed, and, the trocar cannula is then available as a pathway, e.g., for the insertion of conventional endoscopic instruments and devices.
Conventional trocar obturators typically consist of an elongated obturator shaft having a distal piercing tip. The proximal end of the obturator shaft is typically mounted in an obturator handle. A biased safety shield for covering the piercing tip may be concentrically mounted about the obturator such that the shield is slidable between a fully extended position, wherein the piercing tip is covered, and a fully retracted position, wherein the piercing tip is exposed. The trocar obturator is, typically, concentrically mounted within a trocar cannula to form a trocar.
Conventional trocar cannulas typically consist of a distal cannula tube and a proximal cannula handle. The cannula tube is typically inserted into a patient (along with a section of the obturator shaft), while the proximal handle of the trocar cannula typically remains outside of the patient. Trocar cannula handles typically contain a spring-loaded flapper-type valve which seals the proximal opening of the trocar cannula, thereby allowing the patient's body cavity to remain insufflated with a gas by preventing the gas from escaping through the trocar cannula after the trocar obturator has been removed. The trocar cannula handle typically has an exterior control lever to manually control the position of the flapper valve and to indicate the position of the flapper valve.
Most surgeons prefer using a trocar having a protective sleeve or safety shield concentrically mounted about the trocar obturator. The safety shield is designed to help prevent the piercing tip of the trocar obturator from inadvertently piercing or cutting internal organs or blood vessels or tissue after penetration has been made through the layers tissue surrounding a body cavity. The safety shield typically operates in the following manner. When the distal end of the trocar is placed against the outer skin surrounding a patient's body cavity, the tip of the trocar obturator and the tip of the safety shield are typically in contact with the skin. As the surgeon pushes the trocar obturator into the layers of tissue and fascia surrounding the body, the concentrically mounted safety shield is displaced axially, against a biasing force, in a proximal direction to a retracted position, thereby exposing the piercing point of the obturator and allowing the tip to cut through tissue. The biasing force is typically provided by a spring member such as a compression spring. After the piercing tip has penetrated into the body cavity, the distal biasing force on the safety shield causes the safety shield to move rapidly in a distal direction to an extended position, thereby covering the piercing point of the obturator and preventing the obturator from piercing or cutting any internal tissue, organs, or blood vessels. Typically, the trocar assembly will have a locking mechanism which engages the safety shield and prevents the safety shield from displacing and uncovering the piercing tip of the obturator after the obturator has passed into the body cavity.
Although locking mechanisms for safety shields in trocar obturators are known in this art, there is a constant need in this art for advancement and progress with regard to the design of endoscopic surgical instruments, in particular with regard to the design of trocars and safety shield locking mechanisms for trocars.
Therefore, it is an object of this invention to provide a trocar having a safety shield and a lockout mechanism wherein the safety shield lockout mechanism is triggered by axial, proximal movement of the trocar obturator.
It is a further object of the present invention to have a locking mechanism for a safety shield of a trocar obturator which is reliable.


An electrical cord retraction device including a spring biased reel contained within a housing, a retractable cord stored on the reel, and an electrical connector capable of accommodating relative rotation between the reel and housing. A preferred embodiment of the device includes an electrical connector comprising a set of printed circuit boards with one printed circuit board having concentric rings and the other printed circuit board having electrical contacts. Another embodiment of the device includes an electrical connector defined by a spiral electrical connector, in particular a spiral strip electrical connector. A preferred embodiment is a retractable telephone cord device mounted to or part of a telephone base receiver unit, and/or a handset or headset.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a retractable electric cord device, and method of making the complete device and one or more components thereof. The device can be used for delivering power and/or information (e.g. data transmission for telephone, computer, printer, robotic, and other applications and appliances.
2. Prior Art
Conventional telephones are provided with a base unit connected to a handset by means of a cord formed in a coiled manner. With use, the cord of this type becomes tangled and unsightly due to twisting of the handset relative to the base unit a number of times over a period of time. After being sufficiently tangled or twisted, the telephone cord of this type becomes substantially unusable since the effective length of the cord is substantially reduced so that it is difficult for a user to remove the handset a sufficient distance from the base unit to use the telephone.
A new product has been recently marketed that can be referred to as a swivel connector. The swivel connector includes a male terminal that can be received within the female terminal of the handset, and the male terminal is pivotally connected to a female terminal that can receive the male end of a conventional coiled type telephone cord. The swivel connector allows the handset to be rotated freely about the base unit without tangling or twisting the conventional telephone cord. This prior art device is only relevant as a product that competes in the same market as the device according to the present invention, but is totally unrelated in structure or function.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,940,859 discloses a telephone cord take-up reel assembly comprising a housing with a take-up reel having a predetermined length of telephone cord. This assembly utilizes a slip ring connector to accommodate relative rotation between the housing and take-up reel. The slip ring connector is not desirable, since such a connector produces signal noise that may not be suitable for many applications such as electrical information transfer.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,499,341 discloses an extensible electrical cable assembly comprising a housing in combination with a resiliently stressable flat cable. The cable is provided with electrical connectors at its ends, and is wrapped in a coil around a hub in the housing. The assembly is used to provide electrical power to reciprocally moving parts including robots, typewriters, and computer printers. This assembly is unlike the present invention since it does not include a reel for winding and storing an electrical extension cord, nor a spiral electrical connector for electrically connecting the electrical extension cord to an electrical connector extending through the housing, nor a spring for winding the reel as in the present invention.


In a TDMA cellular system, there is provided a mechanism for splitting the allocation of time slots within a TDM frame between adjacent coverage areas. There is provided a method of and apparatus for time-allocation of TDMA channels. It comprises: periodically allocating some portion of a carrier of radio traffic to one coverage area during one time interval and periodially allocating some other portion of that same carrier to another coverage area during a substantially non-overlapping time interval, all in time synchronism with any proximal reuse of that carrier. The distribution of channels in adjacent coverage areas thereby approaches parity and the minimum channel capacity per coverage area is enchanced.

Currently proposed FDMA/TDMA cellular radiotelephone systems are spectrally inefficient due to an undesirable granularity in their channel allocation.
Traditionally, in cellular systems, as capacity is needed at any cell site, additional frequencies are more or less permanently and fixedly allocated to that cell. In Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) systems, like the next generation digital cellular system in Europe commonly known as GSM Pan-European Digital Cellular, each carrier has multiple (eight) time slots in each sequentially repeating time frame. Each slot represents a single channel of radio traffic capacity. Thus, channel capacity would ordinarily and naturally be added on a modulo-eight basis with the addition of each carrier, in others words--a granularity of eight.
This granularity-by-eight is spectrally inefficient because overall nominal system capacity and planning is based upon providing the minimum number of traffic channels to serve the expected, offered load in a given area. Yet adjacent coverage areas might well exceed this nominal capacity by one or two orders of magnitude (modulo-eight) due to this granularity. This is a particular problem in FDMA/TDMA systems because a fixed number of time slots per repeating frame are allocated every time a new carrier is allocated to a coverage area.
Others attempted to solve somewhat analogous capacity problems in FDMA systems by load shedding, or sharing carriers between adjacent sectors of a cell, but such frequency sharing disturbs the regular cellular frequency reuse pattern and causes co-channel interference. Cellular systems require a certain geographic separation of reused frequencies to avoid undo interference. In other words, the level of co-channel interference (carrier-to-interference ratio) experienced by a cellular subscriber from a proximal reuse of that same carrier frequency establishes the distance at which co-channel, omni-directional antenna sites are allowed to exist, while the predictability of the directivity of sectored antennas serves to reduce the reuse distance (see U.S. Pat. No. 4,128,740 to Graziano and assigned to the instant assignee). Sharing a carrier frequency from its intended orientation to an adjacent sector of unintended orientation adversely affects the interference in that direction.
This invention takes as its object to overcome these shortcomings and to realize certain advantages presented below.
According to this invention, to even the granularity-induced discontinuities between adjacent coverage areas and to provide additional capacity as needed, certain time slots from one frame are allocated to one coverage area while other time slots in the frame are allocated to another coverage area.


A diagnostic sub-routine for use by the control system of a gas discharge laser is disclosed. The sub-routine provides a prediction of the time remaining, based upon real-time laser system operations, for each pulse-limited sub-system within the laser. The sub-routine utilizes a calculated average pulse repetition rate over a user-defined time interval as the basis for predicting the time remaining, under current operating conditions, until the end-of-life for each pulse-limited sub-system; and continually updates the time prediction to account for changes in the lasers operation. The predicted time is reported to the operator to allow advanced scheduling of routine maintenance.

Pulsed laser applications, such as materials processing, require a known amount of laser energy incident upon the material being processing. In most of these applications, process control is achieved by controlling the energy incident upon the surface of the material. Therefore, for such industrial applications, laser systems utilize all energy detector which measures the energy of each laser pulse. This energy information is communicated to the system user by the laser-based micro-controller, wherein the user can modify operating conditions to maintain constant laser energy or change the laser's energy to a new value.
Unlike lamps, which are discarded after use, gas discharge type lasers have to be maintained at specified intervals during use in a production environment, and the various subsystems must be refurbished due to contamination resulting from the various laser gasses reacting with the electrodes and chamber materials. This type of contamination, generally in the form of a metal fluoride dust in excimer laser systems, causes deterioration in the beam profile and bandwidth increases as a result of deposition and/or etching of the laser's windows. Erosion of the lasers electrodes during operation as a result of arcing and fluorine passivation in turn causes degradation of the laser's bandwidth, degradation of pulse-to-pulse energy stability, inconsistent burst mode behavior and degradation in beam profile. As the number of total pulses output by the laser increases during normal operation, sub-components such as the thyratron switch and the line narrowing modules likewise degrade in performance, resulting in less-than-expected energy output from the laser and an overall loss of process control. Typically, if the laser energy deviates too far from a user-specified range, the laser controller will terminate laser operation, thereby resulting in costly down-time for the user.
Industrial laser systems currently manufactured, have built in diagnostics to monitor system performance and help the user identify the cause of the laser's deteriorating performance. One such system is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,377,215, assigned to the assignee of the present invention and specifically incorporated herein by reference as part of this disclosure. Diagnostics, such as those described in the '215 patent, utilize sensors placed in various critical locations within the laser; wherein the laser's micro controller continually monitors the inputs from these sensors and updates the memory locations used to store the individual inputs. These types of diagnostics provide a snapshot of the laser's status at the instant the sensory information is downloaded from memory, and are therefore limited to providing notice to the user once a problem occurs; they are not capable, however, of providing predictive information, based upon sub-component deterioration and sub-component end-of-life information, as to when a probable failure could occur.

Maintenance strategy control system and monitoring method for gas discharge lasers


The present invention relates to a side mirror for a vehicle, the side mirror being provided on a vehicle for facilitating the checking of road situations on the left, right, and rear sides. The side mirror for a vehicle comprises a mirror housing which is mounted on the exterior of the vehicle, and a mirror part which is supported by the mirror housing, and is divided into multiple mirror areas which are in aspherical form respectively across the horizontal direction from the internal side, which is close to the vehicle, to the external side, which is far from the vehicle. In the mirror part, the respective optical powers of the mirror areas gradually increase from the internal side to the external side so as to have the same optical power at the borders of the mirror areas, and the optical power rate for at least one of the mirror areas is constant.

In general, a vehicle has mirrors mounted on the outsides of left/right front doors, the front left/right points of a bonnet, and the inside of a vehicle so that a driver can easily check road situations on the left, right, and rear sides. The mirrors are referred to as room mirrors and side mirrors, depending on the mounting locations thereof. That is, the mirrors located at the outsides of left/right front doors or front left/right points of a bonnet in the vehicle are referred to as the side mirrors.
A driver may recognize driving directions or speeds of other vehicles moving behind through the side mirrors while watching the road ahead on the left and right sides. Therefore, the driver may keep a safety distance from vehicles ahead or behind, and may also safely pass other vehicle moving behind, or change traffic lanes without interfering with the driving of the other vehicles.
Basically, the side mirrors include plane mirrors which are in a plane shape and thus easily manufactured. However, there has been an increasing demand for side mirrors which include convex mirrors in a convex shape so as to allow a vehicle driver to ensure a wider viewing angle, thereby widening the driver's field of view. Such convex mirrors have a wider field of view, compared to the plane mirrors, but have problems in that a driver's judgement may be impaired since objects look smaller due to a high reduction magnification, and an image may be distorted due to spherical aberration.
To solve the problems of the plane mirrors and the convex mirrors, an assistant mirror may also be further mounted on the vehicle. However, since an image is severely changed through a border area for installation of the assistant mirror, the assistant mirror has a problem in that it does not rather provide a sense of rear vision. Therefore, two areas through which a rear object is viewed at a fixed size need to be expressed on one side mirror while minimizing optical distortion.
By way of an example, Korean Registered Utility Model Publication No. 20-0288548 discloses a side mirror which includes an area directed toward a vehicle body and formed in a plane shape and an outside area formed as a plane of curvature in a convex shape. Korean Registered Utility Model Publication No. 20-0322014 discloses a side mirror which includes a plane mirror provided adjacent to a vehicle body and a convex mirror provided relatively far from the vehicle body.
However, such techniques also have problems in that it is difficult to expect a wider field of vision since the expansion of vision depends only on the curvature of the convex mirror far from the vehicle body, and the convex mirror provides an inaccurate sense of distance to an object, compared to the plane mirror, since the convex mirror has a characteristic in which an object looks smaller and looks far away from the center to the edge thereof.


The present invention relates to a method for producing anhydrosugar alcohol, and more particularly to a method of producing anhydrosugar alcohol using a solvent including at least two components that form an azeotrope with water at atmospheric pressure and that have significantly different boiling points. The method for producing anhydrosugar alcohol according to the present invention can increase the yield of anhydrosugar alcohol by efficiently controlling the reaction temperature by use of a solvent including at least two components that form an azeotrope with water at atmospheric pressure and that have significantly different boiling points.

Due to the exhaustion of traditional energy sources together with an increase in the global energy demand, impetus is currently being given to the development of alternative energy sources. Among them, biomass is renewable quantitative biological resource that attracts a great deal of attention.
Among biomass-based industrial raw materials, isosorbide (C6H10O4) that is prepared by dehydration of sorbitol (C6H14O6) attracts attention as an environmentally friendly raw material for preparing polycarbonate (PC) as a substitute for bisphenol A (BPA), an epoxy monomer or an environmentally friendly plasticizer. Namely, isosorbide, a material that can be obtained by simple dehydration of sorbitol, is attracting attention as a monomer required for synthesis of next-generation, high-performance, environmentally friendly materials that can replace conventional polymer products, and many studies thereon have been conducted.
Environmentally friendly materials generally show poor properties compared to petrochemical-based materials, whereas isosorbide advantages in that it is environmentally friendly and, at the same time, shows excellent properties compared to conventional petrochemical-based materials. In addition, isosorbide may be used as an additive that can make plastic materials stronger and tougher, and that is also used as an agent for treating cardiac diseases by being boded to nitrate.
When D-glucose obtained from biomass by pretreatment is hydrogenated in the presence of a catalyst, sorbitol is produced. Isosorbide is produced by double dehydration of sorbitol. This cyclization reaction is influenced by various reaction conditions, including temperature, pressure, solvent, catalyst, etc.
Technologies of removing water using vacuum reactions or azeotropic solvents are mainly known. As a technology of removing water under a vacuum, U.S. Pat. No. 7,649,099 discloses a process of producing isosorbide using two reactors including a first reactor and a second reactor, wherein a heterogeneous solid catalyst is introduced into the first reactor and a homogeneous catalyst is introduced into the second reactor and wherein a reaction is carried out at a controlled temperature under a vacuum. However, the above US patent has a disadvantage in that, because the two reactors are used, the investment for the vacuum reaction process is high. Meanwhile, a technology that uses an azeotropic solvent is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,639,067. The latter US patent discloses a process in which anhydrosugar alcohol is produced by dehydration in the presence of an acid catalyst and an organic solvent, and then separated by azeotropic distillation. However, the process disclosed therein has disadvantages in that it is difficult to control the reaction temperature, because a single azeotropic solvent is used, and in that the reaction temperature is determined according to the boiling point of the solvent used.
Thus, there is a need for a method capable of more efficiently controlling the reaction temperature, unlike the method that uses the single azeotropic solvent.
Accordingly, the present inventors have found that, when a solvent comprising at least two components that form an azeotrope with water and that have significantly different boiling points is used in a process that produces isosorbide from sorbitol, the reaction temperature can be efficiently controlled and the yield of isosorbide can be increased, thereby completing the present invention.

Method for producing anhydrous sugar alcohol using azeotropic distillation