A spouted bed device according to the present invention includes a vertically extending cylinder; a decreasing diameter member which is formed on the cylinder, has an inside diameter that decreases progressively downward, and has a gas inlet orifice at a bottom end thereof; and a tubular portion which extends downward from an edge of the gas inlet orifice. A spouted bed is formed in a treatment zone enclosed by a top surface of the decreasing diameter member and an inner wall of the cylinder above the decreasing diameter member.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a spouted bed device, a polyolefin production system equipped with a spouted bed device, and a process for producing polyolefins such as polyethylene and polypropylene using such a device and system.
2. Related Background Art
A spouted bed has the advantage that all the particles, even relatively large particles several millimeters in size which require an excessively high gas velocity for fluidization in a fluidized bed, circulate and are thoroughly mixed. Various studies have been conducted on spouted bed devices of differing construction which utilize a spouted bed. As used herein, "spouted bed" refers to a state characterized by the circulatory movement of particles wherein, under the action of a gas introduced at a high velocity from a gas inlet orifice provided at the bottom end of a cylindrical vessel, there forms a spout (sometimes referred to below as the "spout portion") which has a dilute particle concentration near the center axis of the particle bed held within the vessel and in which particles flow upward together with the gas, and there also forms at the periphery of the spout an annular particle bed where particles fall in a moving bed state under the influence of gravity (see, for example, Terminology Dictionary of Powder Technology, 2nd Edition, edited by The Society of Powder Technology, Japan (The Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun, 2000), p. 321).
However, to make a spouted bed device commercially feasible, it is important that a stable spouted bed be fully sustained even with some fluctuation in the treatment conditions. For example, if a fluctuation in the velocity of the gas being introduced or the amount of particles held inside the device causes the spouted bed to become unstable, resulting in particles dropping down through the gas inlet orifice, operation of the device must be interrupted to recover the particles.

Spouted bed device, polyolefin production system with spouted bed device, and polyolefin production process


The biochemical oxidation of two wastewater feeds, one containing at least ten times more ammonia nitrogen, and the other at least ten times more chlorinated hydrocarbons, than present in a conventional municipal wastewater stream were treated in an aerated packed bed bioreactor inoculated with microorganisms ("cells") especially cultured and acclimated to the task. Arbitrarily shaped pieces of numerous microporous synthetic resinous materials (familiarly referred to as "porous plastics") are discovered to provide not only an excellent packing for the bioreactor, but also a peculiar catalytic function not normally associated with a bio-support. Microporous polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE foam) appears to be too inert to generate a high level of microbial activity for either feed which was tested, while microporous polyethylene appears to be exactly what the cells ordered. Such activity cannot reasonably be correlated to the overall size of the micropores alone, because a calcined dolomite having substantially the same range of average pore sizes, exhibits a removal rate, measured as mg/min/m.sup.2 of surface, which is generally about ten times lower than the rate obtained with the plastic biosupport, all other process conditions being the same. The comparison was made by simultaneously feeding several columnar glass reactors, each having a packed bed of different porous plastic packing, and one with commercially available microporous Celite.RTM.. As one might expect, the removal rate per unit volume (liter) of packing appeared not to correlate with the removal rate per unit of surface area, since the distribution of cells over the surface, and the rate at which the substrate is fed to the cells are the determining factors for removal rate. Shape of the micropores in the packing appear to influence activity.

This invention is directed to the problem of disposing of ultra-toxic industrial wastewater streams containing high levels of toxins. Such an ultra-toxic stream is obtained as "feed" for this process, after a plant-wastewater stream containing "grey" and "black" water has been preliminarily treated. After such treatment, as will be explained herebelow, the "feed" obtained contains toxins such as ammonia, phenols, chlorocarbons, aromatic and aliphatic hydrocarbons, and the like, which could not have been degraded by the preliminary treatment.
This process converts the toxins to products such as carbon dioxide and water by biochemical oxidation, instead of separating the toxins with some type of adsorbent or separation medium (together referred to as "media"). The investment and cost of using such media is high, and the cost of disposing of the media after it has sorbed (whether adsorbed, absorbed, or otherwise) the toxins, is typically just as high, if not higher. The object was to develop a more cost-effective solely biological process than any currently used, or deemed suitable for use, preferably an aerobic process which would generate only a minimal amount of sludge to be disposed of, most preferably none.
This invention uses an aerobic process which stems from the discovery that available, acclimated microorganisms or bacteria, can quickly ingest and degrade toxins provided the toxins are fed to them at a sufficiently low concentration. Microorganisms or bacteria used in this and other processes for a similar purpose, are mainly unicellular organisms having a nominal diameter less than 2 .mu.m, and more typically, about 1 .mu.m or even smaller. These organisms will be referred to hereinafter as "cells" for convenience and brevity.
From a study of the prior art, the most relevant of which will be referred to herebelow, it appeared that a very large number of cells, adsorbed on a very high surface area adsorbent is necessary to degrade relatively low levels of toxins. The references appear not to have realized that relatively few cells can effectively dispose of a toxin at the same rate (measured as toxin removal rate, mg/min) as a much larger number of cells, if a large proportion of the latter cells are not able to feed on the toxin because they are engulfed with too much of the toxin; and, in contrast, the toxin is delivered to the former at a "regulated" or "metered", ingestible and degradable rate.
Stated differently, specific cells can only degrade as much of the toxin for which they are specifically acclimated, and no more. A cell will degrade even a relatively concentrated toxin if the amount fed to it is minimal. A cell will degrade a relatively large amount of the toxin if present in a dilute solution. It serves no useful purpose to serve a cell more toxin than it can ingest, and the cell will ignore the too-large amount of toxin, or the excess, until the excess is sufficiently large to affect the cell's well-being adversely. Thus, the logical deduction is: the more cells the better.
As a result, prior art solutions have relied on providing a biosupport having as large a surface area as possible, based on the fact that, in a process operating at equilibrium, cells cover every available square unit of surface. Therefore, the more surface area, the more the cells. Thus, the prior art has provided a host of processes (some are referred to in greater detail herebelow) using various adsorbents, specific combinations of adsorbents, and an adsorbent entrapped in a macroporous open-cell foam. (It will be recognized that the adjective "open-cell" simply describes the fact that the cells in the foam are in open communication with each other, and has nothing to do with a "cell" which biologically ingests and degrades toxin.)
However, for reasons which are not fully understood, simply having a very large surface area is not sufficient to expose all the cells in such a manner that each is exposed to an optimum level of toxin which the cell regards as a nutrient. For example, even when a very large number of cells are lodged on, and within, a high surface area activated carbon which is encapsulated in a macroporous foam (see Lupton et al, below), the removal rate of even a relatively low concentration of toxin is not commensurate with the total number of cells (as a function of surface area) available for the task.
Accordingly, we reasoned that a large number of cells, when fed with a toxin in high concentration in a feed, were unable to "see" their proffered nutrient in a concentration low enough to be ingested and degraded with dispatch. Particularly since a large surface area can realistically be provided only by porous supports, we reasoned that a large number of cells within the pores of the support were not, for one reason or the other, being proffered the nutrient at a concentration and in an amount they preferred, therefore could not ingest the toxin. Further, those cells at or near the surface, which were being presented with the "just right" concentration, were also presented with a much larger amount than they could degrade, therefore the cells ignored the remainder. The solution to the problem appeared to require that a very large number of cells be present, and that they be presented their nutrient (toxin) not only in an attractive concentration, but also in a usable amount. Since there appeared to be no problem lodging a very large number of cells, this being a function of surface area, it appeared that the real problem would be to find a way to "meter" the toxin to the cells in no higher an amount, and in no higher a concentration than they can ingest and degrade.
It was disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,581,338 to Robertson et al, that pore diameters of from 1-25 .mu.m are needed to accommodate cells which are about 1 .mu.m in diameter, and that either a porous gel, usually an alginate gel, or a porous high-silica pellet, or one of a mixture of silica and alumina, provided the requisite pore size. But they stated that the use of gels is not without problems (bottom of col 1), and that the average pore diameter in the silica pellet was too small relative to the 1-25 .mu.m diameter "needed to accommodate microbial cells"; therefore, concluded that "the economic attractiveness of such a support in commercial processes is greatly reduced" (see col 2, lines 39-48).
Despite the proscription relating to the use of small-pore supports, we were able to find in this teaching, the basis of a solution to our problem. We found that microporous open-cell supports, having particular cell geometries which are specific to those supports, provide "windows" or "openings" which serve as orifices to meter just the right amount of nutrient to the cells lodged on the available total surface of the support, both the exterior surface as well as the interior surfaces of the support's cells, all and each of which is covered with a colony or colonies of cells (microorganisms).
Some microporous supports, whether a solid synthetic resin or a naturally occurring material, simply do not have the right chemical compatibility for most cells. In this specific respect, namely the chemical composition of the foam, note that Lupton et al (U.S. Pat. No. 4,983,299) state that the particular composition of the very large pore foam they used, was a relatively unimportant aspect of their invention, therefore they simply chose polyurethane for ease and convenience. We found that not only did the chemical composition of the foam make a difference, but also its physical structure particularly with respect to the geometry of the pores.
Further we found that, despite having more than adequate surface area, some microporous open-cell resins (whether foams or not) which are known to have extreme chemical inertness, such as polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) do not appear to have requisite chemical compatibility demanded by cells which feed on highly recalcitrant toxins. Other resins appear not to have a requisite microorganismcompatible geometry with that demanded by these cells, for the metering task. Some resins have neither the desired chemical microorganism-compatibility nor the requisite geometry, for example, PTFE. Quite unexpectedly, various microporous clays (e.g. calcined diatomite, commercially available as Celite.RTM. from Johns Manville Corp), and activated carbon, both of which have relatively high surface areas appear not to possess either the desired chemical compatibility or the requisite geometry.
We believed that the discovery of how to meter an ingestible amount of toxin to the cells with micropores of requisite geometry, could be effectively implemented in a biochemical oxidation process, though there is no reasonably practical method now available to determine the precise geometry which will satisfy particular cells. We have now determined that the essential feature of such a process is a fixed or immobilized packed bed of particular (chemical) types of microporous synthetic resinous packing having micropores with preferred "just right" geometries, in essentially all of which micropores especially acclimated colonies of cells are lodged without being held in suspension. When fed with enough nutrient (pollutant or toxin) to maintain the health of the securely ensconced colonies, these acclimated cells generate only so much growth as will lead to a net production of less than 10% (based on the chemical oxygen demand, "COD", of the toxin degraded) of the cell population. This is also noted in Lupton et al's fixed bed process, specifically to degrade phenols.
This process is not concerned with the bioremediation of domestic or municipal wastewater streams such as are typically treated in a municipal wastewater treatment plant, though the presence of a minor proportion of such domestic or municipal waste might either be adventitiously present, or may be deliberately included to provide additional nutrients for the especially acclimated cells used in this process.
More specifically, though it will be obvious that lower concentrations of even a highly recalcitrant toxin, less than about 40 ppm, can be removed from a feed with a conventional activated sludge process, or the known PACT process, the microporous packed bed of this invention is used to remove much higher concentrations of the highly recalcitrant toxin, in a process for the aerobic degradation of wastewater containing:
(a) from about 40-1000 mg/L (=40-1000 ppm) of ammonia by an inoculum (or culture) of Nitrosomonas and Nitrobacter; PA1 (b) from 40-1000 mg/L of phenolic compounds, particularly phenol and resorcinol, PA1 (c) from 40-1000 mg/L of aliphatic and cycloaliphatic hydrocarbons, such as C.sub.4 -C.sub.12 alkanes, e.g. butane, pentane; C.sub.5 -C.sub.8 cycloalkanes, e.g. cyclohexane and cycloheptane; and C.sub.4 -C.sub.12 alkenes, e.g. butene, hexene; C.sub.7 -C.sub.28 cycloolefins, e.g. norbornene, dicyclopentadiene; PA1 (d) from 40-1000 mg/L of aromatic hydrocarbons, such as benzene, toluene, naphthalene, anthracene, etc.; PA1 (f) from 40-1000 mg/L of rubber chemicals such as mercaptothiazoles (MBT), MBT disulfide, MBT sulfenamide, etc.; PA1 (g) from 40-1000 mg/L of aliphatic and aromatic amines, for example, diethylamine, cyclohexylamine, aniline and aralkyamines such as alkylated diphenylamine; and, PA1 (h) from 40-1000 mg/L of a halogenated organic compound, for example, a haloalkane such as 1,2-dichloroethane (EDC), perchloroethylene (PERC), a haloalkylene oxide such as epichlorohydrin, or a halogenated aromatic compound such as a chloro- bromo- or iodobenzene.
Except for the inoculum for the biodegradation of ammonia which is obtained from a laboratory culture, the inocula for the other wastewater streams are either obtained from wastewater contaminated with the compound(s) to be treated, or from soil around a pond of wastewater containing the compound(s) to be treated.
By the prefix "halo" we refer to compounds containing at least one chlorine, bromine or iodine atom which is covalently bonded in the compound's structure. Each inoculum used is obtained from the sources stated, those from soil contiguous to the contaminated wastewater being obtained because the wastewater itself is generally too toxic to support life of most known cells.
Each of the aforementioned organic compounds, even when present in a relatively low concentration, in the range >40 ppm but <100 .mu.g/L, are known to be poisons for most common bacteria, particularly for those such as are generally used in a conventional municipal facility utilizing an activated sludge process. In the relatively low concentration range of from 40-100 mg/L, such organic compounds are essentially non-biodegradable by common bacteria.
Conventional domestic activated sludge such as is available from a typical municipal wastewater treatment plant is wholly unsuitable for use in our fixed packed bed process in which viable, aerobic cells are immobilized in the pores of a microporous synthetic solid resinous packing, familiarly referred to herein as "porous plastic". For this reason, an inoculum for use in our fixed packed bed is either especially cultured, or is isolated from a suitable source containing the toxins to be treated, and the inoculum is especially acclimated to ingest and biodegrade those toxins, such acclimation being accomplished by techniques which are well known in the art. The inoculum is thus specifically adapted to biodegrade the feed from which it is known to derive all or part of the nutritional requirements of the cells; therefore the inoculum is said to be adapted for a particular biodegradation duty.
As a result of the ultra-toxic nature of such industrial wastewater streams which are the "feed" to our process, unlike a municipal wastewater or sewage-containing stream, such ultra-toxic streams are generally treated with activated carbon, steam stripping and other comparably effective physical treatments. All these approaches, in principle, simply result in a physical exchange of the matrix which is contaminated, and hence are not environmentally friendly. In the PACT process the toxins are removed from the feed but remain on the adsorbent used. The adsorbent must then be disposed of. If the adsorbent is calcined, the toxins are released to the atmosphere.
Where a typical industrial wastewater stream, after primary treatment contains highly recalcitrant organics, or after secondary treatment, contains high ammonia-nitrogen concentration (greater than 40 ppm) the effluent is treated by additional means. Primary treatment comprises pH adjustment and solids settling; secondary treatment comprises biochemical oxidation using suspended cells (activated sludge treatment). A chlorocarbon stream containing >40 ppm of chlorocarbons cannot be biochemically treated conventionally. A typical feed containing >40 ppm ammonia-nitrogen will upon neutralization be ignored in the conventional secondary treatment because the ammonia-nitrogen containing salts are not toxic.
The typical industrial wastewater stream just referred to hereinabove, when fed to a conventional activated sludge treatment, has a relatively low BOD (biological oxygen demand), the ratio of BOD to COD being very low, typically less than 0.2 (<0.2). In contrast, a typical municipal wastewater stream has a BOD to COD ratio of greater than 0.6 (>0.6) because the stream contains mainly "grey" and "black" water. By "grey" water we refer to wash water from a sink, shower stall or bath, kitchen water including water from washing food-soiled dishes, laundry water and the like, all with detergents and/or soaps. By "black" water we refer mainly to water containing sewage from toilets, and effluent streams from meat packing plants and the like.
Since the cells are acclimated to degrade "feed" in the process we shall describe, the COD is essentially equal to the BOD, because what normally is non-biodegradable matter (and is therefore normally measured only as COD) is now consumed by the acclimated cells of the novel process as nutrients (carbon source). A typical chlorocarbon wastewater "feed" contains chlorocarbons in the range from 40-1000 mg/L, more typically from 65-600 mg/L. A typical ammonia-rich "feed" contains a number of nitrogenous compounds which are typically reported as "ammonia-nitrogen" which may range from 40-1000 mg/L, more typically 75-500 mg/L.
Ammonia is converted to nitrite by the Nitrosomonas cells, and the Nitrobacter cells convert the nitrite to nitrate. In addition to ammonia, the cells need to be supplied with a source of inorganic carbon and oxygen to effect nitrification. Such nitrification is accompanied with production of acid and the alkalinity of the influent wastewater is neutralized causing a drop in pH. A convenient means for supplying a combination of all three needs of the process is to maintain the pH of the bed by the addition of sodium carbonate or lime or caustic, or a combination thereof.
In such streams, aerobic bacteria, if adequately "protected" are able to withstand exposure to the ultratoxic compound(s), because the bacteria are nourished by the non-toxic easily biodegradable organic solids, while managing successfully to ignore the presence of the ultratoxic compounds. Because such wastewater streams are amenable to purification, albeit with primary, secondary and tertiary treatments, such wastewater streams are referred to herein as "relatively recalcitrant" wastewater streams. The process of this invention deals with even more recalcitrant wastewater streams, hence referred to as "highly recalcitrant" streams.
Such "protection" in the prior art, is provided by an adsorbent chosen to adsorb the toxin, as for example, in the well known PACT process in which either activated carbon, or a mixture thereof with Fuller's earth, is mixed into the wastewater, as will be described in greater detail herebelow.
It will immediately be evident that the higher the ratio of ultra-toxic toxin to non-toxic organic compounds in conventional wastewater, the less likely it is that cells will survive, and even less likely that they will replicate. When the BOD in such a wastewater stream is less than one-half the COD, even processes in which the stream is contacted with an adsorbent, fail to provide a bioreactor in which colonies of cells thrive at equilibrium conditions, and replicate regularly to maintain such conditions. The process of this invention is directed to either the secondary, and more typically, the tertiary treatment of highly recalcitrant streams in which the BOD is less than one-half the COD.
An example of a PACT process is the treatment, in a bioreactor, of a wastewater stream having a pH in the range from 4 to 11, and a total suspended solids (TSS) content of between 10 and 50,000 ppm (parts per million parts of feed) such as the process provided in U.S. Pat. No. 4,069,148 to Hutton et al.
This wastewater stream was specifically required to be mixed with a finely divided adsorbent having a surface area of at least 100 m.sup.2 (square meters) per gram, the adsorbent being a mixture of from 5-50,000 ppm of activated carbon and from 25-2500 ppm adsorptive Fuller's earth, to form a suspension of the adsorbent in the wastewater. The suspension was then aerated and the adsorbent was then removed from the bioreactor.
As stated in the '148 patent "Not only does the presence of carbon or fuller's earth cause a segregation of poisonous impurities, but it also causes greater percentage of BOD removal, and it does so in a much shorter time." (see col 6, lines 10-13). Clearly, the poisonous impurities are not subjected to biochemical degradation but were simply adsorbed by the adsorbent mixed into the wastewater, rather than being ingested and degraded by the cells. Moreover, there is no indication in the '148 reference as to what the ratio of BOD to COD in a waste-water treatable by their process may have been; nor is the range of BOD to the `total organic carbon` (TOC) specified. Most important, the only identification of the "poisonous impurities" treatable are heavy metal compounds, specifically lead, chromium and cobalt, which of course, are not biodegradable, but are highly susceptible to being adsorbed.
The problem with such adsorbent-based systems is that they require very long residence times in the bioreactor, result in the formation of mountains of sludge which must be disposed of, and if activated carbon is used, its cost dictates that it be separated and regenerated.
A process using a high surface area, macroporous biomass support of granular activated carbon, was used to degrade phenol with immobilized cells which are lodged within the support's macropores, and on the support's surface. With the cells so immobilized, they tolerated as much as 15 gm/L of phenol in the feed. (see H. M. Erhardt and H. J. Rehm, Appl. Microbiol. Biotechnol., 21 32-6, 1985). They indicated that the carbon served as a "buffer and depot" to protect the cells, the carbon absorbing the phenol, so that the concentration of phenol in the water surrounding the bugs was low enough for them to biodegrade the phenol.
Macroporous supports used for packing in fixed beds are those supports having an open-cell pore structure, the pores being larger than 200 .mu.m, and typically are much larger, so as to offer essentially no resistance to flow of feed not only around and over the packing, but through individual pieces or pellets of the packing. Microporous supports, on the other hand, have been used for packing in fixed beds for the sole purpose of providing an anchor for the cells, the flow of feed being over and around the packing. Especially heat treated clay pellets, such as of Celite.RTM. diatomite, have been used in the past, expressly for the purpose.
Lupton et al supra, discussed several embodiments of the "adsorbent" technology and presented yet another embodiment. They used a modification of packed bed technology in a "combination" process in which a packed bed of macroporous inert material (or "packing") is combined with an adsorbent, specifically, macroporous activated carbon, which is held within the much larger pores of an open-cell foamed polyurethane. This had the advantage of entrapping both, the activated carbon within the foam, and in turn, the phenol pollutant in the activated carbon. However, the activated carbon in this system is said to concentrate pollutants on its surface so that the proximity of the microorganisms to the locally high concentration of adsorbed pollutant would result in their faster and more complete degradation. (see col 5, lines 21-28). This was precisely what we sought not to do. We wished simply to meter the pollutant to the cells at the maximum rate at which they could ingest and degrade it.
Though the Lupton et al process purported to remove essentially all phenol within a hydraulic retention time (HRT) of less than 16 hr, and to lose no carbon from the reactor, thus avoiding the need to replace the carbon, their system was designed with different parameters from those used in our invention, and as a result are ineffective to cope with highly recalcitrant feeds.

Process for biochemical oxidation of ultra-toxic wastewater in a packed bed bioreactor


A combustion burner resulting in low oxides of nitrogen includes a primary combustion zone, for use as an ignition source. The primary combustion zone locating within a combustion chamber, and being separated from the base of the combustion chamber by a wall. A burner provides a secondary oxidant stream that is delivered to the combustion chamber at the base of an exterior wall, to entrain and mix with flue gases present in the combustion chamber. Then secondary fuel is injected into the resulting secondary oxidant-flue gas mixture. Combustion of the secondary fuel with the oxidant flue gas mixture results in lower concentration of oxides of nitrogen emitted to the atmosphere.

Air quality concerns have resulted in the regulation of oxides of nitrogen from fuel burning equipment. This has given rise to a number of techniques and burner improvements to lower oxides of nitrogen emissions. Flue gas recirculation, fuel lean pre-mixing of the oxidant and fuel, fuel staging, and air staging are all techniques readily applied by those skilled in the art of combustion.
Fuel staging is a method wherein a small amount of primary fuel, or ignition gas, is used as an ignition source for a secondary fuel stream that would not otherwise combust. The secondary fuel stream can entrain flue products from the furnace resulting in lower flame temperatures and subsequently lower emissions of oxides of nitrogen.
Methods and apparatuses have also been developed wherein several of these techniques have been employed. For example, the prior art utilizes a fuel lean pre-mix in a staged manner where the lean pre-mix entrains flue gases prior to combustion and is simply ignited by ignition gas. While these methods and apparatus have achieved some success in reducing oxides of nitrogen, they have often compromised desirable attributes of burners with standard emissions of oxides of nitrogen.
For example, fuel lean pre-mix systems require higher fuel pressures to overcome the pressure exerted by the combustion air into which the fuel is injected. Furthermore, it is well established that burners that employ pre-mixture of the fuel and oxidant are more likely to acoustically couple with the combustion chamber, resulting in damaging and dangerous harmonics and pulsations.
The U.S. Pat. No. 5,195,884 to Schwartz et al. describes a low oxides of nitrogen burner. This burner has a tile 30 with a centered venture tube generally extending vertically. The tile has slanted walls upon the perimeter generally above the outlet of the venture tube. This burner operates upon a mixture of fuel gas and air sent through the venture and a secondary gas supplied upwardly upon the exterior of the slanted walls. A damper regulates air flow into the burner.
The U.S. Pat. No. 6,565,361 to Jones et al., where Jones is the applicant, shows a method for burning fuel with low formation of oxides of nitrogen. This method introduces pressurized air and primary fuel into a burner of frusto-conical shape. The walls, slanting inward, of the burner, compress the flue gases discharged from the combustion of the primary fuel. This method then introduces a secondary fuel air mixture upon the exterior of the walls of the burner at a velocity. The secondary fuel air mixture then blends with the flue gases for combustion outside of the walls of the burner.
Thus, there is a need for improvements in the methods of combustion resulting in low emissions of oxides of nitrogen.

Combustion burner resulting in low oxides of nitrogen


A multilayer ceramic capacitor and a method of manufacturing the same are disclosed. A base part of the multilayer ceramic capacitor includes ceramic dielectric and inner electrodes formed inside the ceramic dielectric, and a terminal of each of the inner electrodes is exposed out of one of the two opposite sides of the base part, to form inner electrode terminals. First outer electrodes are formed on the two sides of the base part and the outside of the inner electrode terminals, and second outer electrodes are formed on the first outer electrodes. The first outer electrodes and the base part are formed together by sintering manner, and the second outer electrodes are formed by metal powder and resin material, thereby solving the problem that the vitreous component diffuses around, or solving the problem that plating solution permeates into the base part or the ceramic dielectric during plating process.

1. Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates to a multilayer ceramic capacitor and a method of manufacturing the same, and more particularly to a multilayer ceramic capacitor including a base part and outer electrode layer formed on two sides of the base part, and the outer electrode layer includes first outer electrodes formed with the base part together by a sintering manner, and second outer electrodes formed by solidifying a mixture of metal powder and resin; the process of forming the first outer electrodes of the outer electrode layer is performed at about 1300° C., and the subsequent process of forming the second outer electrode or the plating process for forming further-outer electrodes is performed at about 250° C. or lower temperature, and the material of the second outer electrode is mixture of resin and metal powder to replace the glass material used in prior art, so as to prevent glass thermal diffusion during the process of forming the second outer electrode, or prevent plating solution or other impurity from penetrating into the ceramic dielectric during sequential process of plating metal film, thereby maintaining entire strength, higher capacitance and higher stability of the multilayer ceramic capacitor.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, electronic products and their related electronic devices must use active and passive components. An active component (such as IC or CPU) can perform arithmetic processing function independently; and compared with the active component, the passive component does not change the resistance or impedance thereof during a change in the current or voltage applied on passive component. The common passive components generally include capacitor, resistor and inductor, which are called the three major passive components. In terms of function, the capacitor stores charges in electrostatic manner and can discharge within a predetermined time, and can be used for filtering or side-wave coordination. Resistors can be used to adjust the voltage and current in the circuit. Inductors can mainly be used to filter current noise or prevent electromagnetic interference. At present, all information devices, communication devices, consumer electronic devices or advanced electronic products are designed to achieve the purpose of electronic loop control by using these three passive components in cooperation with each other. Because of the wide application scope of electronic products, the requirement for capacitors among passive components has been raised, for example, the size of the capacitor is required to be smaller, or the capacitor is required to have higher dielectric stability.
According to the material, the capacitors can be classified into aluminum electrolytic capacitors, ceramic capacitors, plastic film capacitors, tantalum capacitors and mica capacitors. Compared with the electrolytic capacitor and the tantalum capacitor, the ceramic capacitor has characteristics of higher dielectric constant, better insulation, better heat resistance, smaller size, better stability, and better reliability, and is suitable for mass production, and is capable of withstanding higher voltage and higher heat, and operating in a wider temperature range. Furthermore, the ceramic capacitor can be implemented as a chip to be directly soldered by surface mount technology so manufacturing speed and quantity of the ceramic capacitor is much higher than that of the electrolytic capacitor, the tantalum capacitor and other capacitors. The ceramic capacitors are various, for example, circular plate ceramic capacitor, disc ceramic capacitor, and multi-layer ceramic capacitor are common typical ceramic capacitors available in market.
The multilayer ceramic capacitor mainly includes barium titanate with high dielectric property, and the capacitance of the multilayer ceramic capacitor is usually proportional to a size of a product surface area and a number of stacked layers of ceramic film of the multilayer ceramic capacitor. Generally, the multilayer ceramic capacitor includes inner electrode layers and ceramic dielectric layers stacked in interval by a staggered manner, so as to form capacitors electrically connected in parallel. In other words, each ceramic dielectric layer is sandwiched by the upper and lower electrode layers to form a flat capacitor, and then electrically connected to an outer electrode layer. Therefore, the multilayer ceramic capacitor can be used as a container for storing electricity. The multilayer ceramic capacitor has a larger number of stacked layers of ceramic dielectric layers and inner electrode layers, so the multilayer ceramic capacitors are the most popular and widely used ceramic capacitors in electronic products such as portable high-end electronic products and communication products, for example, PC, mobile phones, automotive electronics and so on.
Japanese Patent Publication No. 5-3131 discloses a multilayer ceramic capacitor including a multilayer body in which inner electrodes and ceramic dielectrics are alternately stacked, and an outer electrode layer. The inner electrode of the multilayer ceramic capacitor is formed by nickel, and the outer electrode layer on two sides of the ceramic dielectric includes first outer electrodes, second outer electrodes formed by combining glass and silver (or silver alloy) at outside of the two first outer electrodes, and third outer electrodes formed by plating metal film on the two second outer electrodes. Because of high sintering temperature, a diffusion layer of nickel oxide may be formed around the area where the ceramic dielectric and the first outer electrode formed by nickel are adjacent to and bonded with each other, so that the bonding strength can be improved. However, during the process of forming the second outer electrodes, the vitreous material may thermally diffuse into the first outer electrode and the ceramic inductor easily because the vitreous material has a very high sintering temperature and long sintering time, and it may reduce the structural strength of multilayer ceramic capacitor or the dielectric. In addition, since the second outer electrode includes both glass powder and silver (or silver alloy) material, uneven distribution of glass powder may occur. When the glass powder accumulates in the periphery of the second outer electrode or is intensively distributed, the plating solution (for example, nickel) may penetrate into the ceramic dielectric easily through diffusion path of the second and first outer electrodes during the process of plating the third outer electrodes on the second outer electrodes, and it may cause bad compactness and poor quality of the multilayer ceramic capacitor and make the multilayer ceramic capacitor fragile and easy to crack. When applied to electronic product, such multilayer ceramic capacitor cannot provide the expected normal function of the multilayer ceramic capacitor, so the conventional multilayer ceramic capacitor are many problems to be solved.
In the process of manufacturing the conventional multilayer ceramic capacitors, multiple heating or sintering processes are performed to produce the multilayer structure of the outer electrodes, but frequent sintering or overheating processes may damage the capacitor, especially the inner electrode and the first outer electrode. In order to produce a high-capacity multilayer ceramic capacitor and increase the number of the stacked inner electrodes, the inner electrodes are designed to be thinner, and it results in a much smaller contact area between each inner electrode and the first outer electrode. In this case, if the already formed first outer electrode is affected by the temperature of the subsequent process to undergo thermal expansion, the original contact part of the first outer electrode with the inner electrode may be damaged or broken to affect the electrical characteristics of the multilayer ceramic capacitor. Furthermore, the outer electrode or the first outer electrode of the conventional multilayer ceramic capacitor may include copper-containing metal or copper. However, the different types of materials have different thermal expansion coefficients, and when the volumes of the heated outer electrode and the heated inner electrode changes, the contact part of the first outer electrode with the inner electrode may also be easily broken.
As mentioned above, the conventional multilayer ceramic capacitor has the above-mentioned problems, in particular, the uneven distribution of glass causes the problem that the plating solution penetrates into the ceramic dielectric during the process of forming the outer electrode, and it causes stability degradation of the conventional multilayer ceramic capacitor. Therefore, what is needed is to solve the problem that the glass powder material or other impurity element may diffuse and penetrate into the multilayer ceramic capacitor.


Disclosed herein are inventive polypeptides (e.g., comprising a thermal sensitive ion channel or variant thereof and a domain 5 of kininogen 1 or variant or fragment thereof) and nucleic acid molecules encoding inventive polypeptides. Also disclosed are methods for modulating a cell comprising administering certain compositions (e.g., pharmaceutical compositions of the nucleic acid molecule) and applying a static magnetic field or an electromagnetic field. Methods for treating diseases or disorders in an animal (e.g., a human) comprising administering certain compositions (e.g., pharmaceutical compositions of the nucleic acid molecule) and applying a static magnetic field or an electromagnetic field, are further disclosed.

Thermal sensitive ion channels have been studied for several years. In certain instances, heat can alter ion flow or membrane potential in membranes that comprise thermal sensitive ion channels. This alteration can, under some circumstances, provide a change in the intracellular environment; if that cell is in an animal (e.g., human) then the alteration can sometimes provide a change in the animal physiology.
Ferritin is a ubiquitous intracellular protein that stores iron and has been studied for several years. Ferritin is produced by many animals (e.g., humans) and can be found in many biological tissues as a cytosolic protein (e.g., in the cytosol of a cell). In some circumstances, ferritin can be heated by radiofrequency fields.

Polypeptides, related nucleic acids, and their uses for cell modulation and treatments


A lock for a window on a topper cap found on pickup trucks and the like. The lock comprises an inner housing having a rotating geared pinion engaging two racks. The racks are attached to deadbolts that can extend and engage the frame tubing on opposite sides of the pinion gear. An outer housing surrounds the inner housing and the deadbolts. A handle shaft is disposed through the outer and inner housings to attach to the pinion gear. Turning the handle turns retracts or extends the deadbolts. The whole assembly can be easily installed by attaching the outer housing to the window inside surface. The housings make it difficult for intruders to open the window by tampering with the mechanical components.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to vehicle locks. More particularly it relates to locks for the rear tailgate window on the topper caps commonly mounted on the rear beds of pickup trucks. Such locks usually having a deadbolt connected to a rack and pinion gear that moves the deadbolts into a locked position upon turning of the pinion gear.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The following is a discussion of prior patents felt to be related to, but not disclosing, whether singly or in combination, the applicant's present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,536,773 issued to Ciaccio discloses a locking attachment for vehicles comprising two parallel racks engageable with a pinion and traveling in guides when the pinion is rotated until they secure or release the hood.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,055,289 issued to Hanan discloses a locking attachment for a automobile hood having a rotating central gear attached to two lever arms. Rotation of the gear pulls the lever arms out of locking engagement.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,022,886 issued to Jett et al. discloses rumble seat lock having a single rack engaged to a pinion. Rotating the pinion horizontally moves the rack to disengage the locking position.
None of the prior art patents cited above disclose housings for the gearing or deadbolts. Such devices when used with a window would allow an intruder to punch a hole in the window and tamper with the exposed lock mechanism. By providing housings to surround the working parts of the lock it prevents tampering with the lock.


A flexible member includes a reinforced area reinforced by first and second reinforcement portions, wherein: the area is defined by the posterior edge of a first reinforcement portion and the anterior edge of a second reinforcement portion; the first and second reinforcement portions are smoothly continuous with each other without gaps; the perimeter of the area is completely surrounded by the first and second reinforcement portions; the virtual first center line of the area extends obliquely forward and upward; and the angle formed between the first center line and the tread surface of the sole is about 40° to 55°.

The function of suppressing overpronation while running is called "stability (performance)". Such stability performance is regarded as one of the most important functions for a running shoe. Techniques known in the art for suppressing the overpronation include a structure in which a high-hardness member is provided on the medial side of the midsole (U.S. Pat. No. 6,199,302 B1), and a reinforcement unit placed in the middle foot portion of the sole so as to suppress the torsional deformation of the sole.


An equalizing circuit is disclosed, in which a received signal is divided into high frequency components in different bands and a low frequency component; after having subjecting the high frequency components to a predetermined signal processing, they are amplitude-modulated, based on amplitudes thereof; and amplitude modulated signals thus obtained and the low frequency component are combined to obtain a synthesized signal. By effecting such a equalizing processing, it is possible to make the reproduced image quality of a video signal more distinct and to make an audio signal, whose band is restricted, have richer sound quality.

In conventional TV transmitting and receiving systems there are many cases where image signals are transmitted in a restricted band. For example, in the NTSC system used for the broadcast, the bands are 4.2 MHz for the brightness signal E.sub.Y, 1.5 MHz for the color difference signal E.sub.I, and 0.5 MHz for E.sub.Q.
Taking the brightness signal as an example, rectangular wave signals in the neighborhood of f=1 MHz and 2 MHz in the transmission band of 0.about.4.2 MHz indicated by (a) in FIG. 4 (corresponding to clear and dark stripes in an original image) are displayed as follows. Rectangular wave signals indicated by (b) are transformed into those indicated by (c) in the same figure by the band restriction. In particular, for f=2 MHz, only the sinusoidal wave, which is the fundamental wave, is displayed as the brightness signal in the reproduced pattern.
As described above, for the rectangular wave (stripe pattern), which is the fundamental wave of the brightness signal at f=2 MHz, heretofore only the sinusoidal wave, which is the fundamental wave, is displayed, as indicated by (c) in FIG. 4. Due to this fact, sharpness of the pattern is lost. Further the band for E.sub.Q is 0.5 MHz and since for the rectangular wave at 0.2 MHz only the fundamental wave is displayed, image quality is worsened.
On the other hand, for transmission recording of audio signals there are bands suitable therefor. For example, suitable transmission bands are 0 to 15 kHz for the FM broadcast and 0 to 20 kHz for CD. Designating the upper limit frequency of these transmission band by f.sub.C, this can be considered as a kind of low pass filters (LPF), whose cutoff frequency is f.sub.C. In the case where the frequency of a sound source is below f.sub.C as indicated by (a) in FIG. 11, there is no problem, even if the transmission is effected through the low pass filter (LPF) described above, because it is recorded or transmitted as it is.
However, in the case where the sound source has components over f.sub.C, as indicated by (b) in FIG. 11, it is transmitted or recorded without the components over f.sub.C, which are removed by the low pass filter (LPF) described above, as indicated by (c) in FIG. 11. Therefore, of course, the components over f.sub.C are not reproduced and thus sound different from the original is reproduced.
When sound sensing techniques become excellent and performance of reproducing apparatuses is improved, as they are recently, if components over 15 kHz for FM and over 20 kHz for CD are removed, worsening in sound quality may be felt. In general, it is said that the audible sound region is 20 Hz to 20 kHz, but sensitivity is not zero at 20 kHz.
Heretofore the reproduction of audio signals was aimed under the restriction in the band by the transmission system described above. However, when the original sound source has a frequency distribution f.sub.A as indicated by (b) in FIG. 11, since the transmitting system or the recording system is restricted in the transmission band as described above, audio signals pass through a low pass filter, whose cutoff frequency is f.sub.C, and the signals of f.sub.A >f.sub.C are removed. As the result, even if they are reproduced by a reproducing system with a high fidelity, the components of f.sub.A >f.sub.C cannot be reproduced. This gives rise to a problem from the point of view of a high fidelity reproduction.
That is, since the band of f.sub.A >f.sub.C thus removed includes frequency components giving rise to rich high frequency sounds, if these components are cut by a transmitting system equivalent to an LPF, as they were heretofore, there is a problem that high fidelity reproduction of the original sound is impossible and sound quality is worsened.

Equalizing circuit for reproduced signals


A containment arrangement is provided having a container with vehicle connection structure which allows an opening in the container to move through a variety of different planes without limiting accessibility to the opening. In addition, the present invention includes means for attaching a container to the vehicle at a corner of the vehicle, and allowing a vertical opening in the container to be fully accessible as the container is moved from a location adjacent one side of the vehicle to a location adjacent another side of the vehicle. Preferred embodiments of the invention include a double pivot structure connecting a container, such as an exterior kitchen, to a RV, where the front of the container serves as a kitchen counter when opened, and provides access to a stove and refrigerator. In those preferred embodiments, the exterior kitchen can be selectively locked into a variety of positions, rotated with respect to the corner of the vehicle, and vertically supported on the vehicle side wall and/or the ground, without manual lifting of the container.

The present invention relates to exterior storage and utility facilities for use with vehicles. More specifically, this invention relates to a containment system for recreational vehicles (such as travel trailers and motorhomes) which can be selectively located for optimal utility on the rear or sides of a vehicle without detachment from the vehicle while repositioning. This containment system is especially suited for holding and securing exterior kitchen applications.
Previously, various arrangement have been suggested for attaching containers or accessories to the exterior of a vehicle. In some arrangements, the item was removable from the vehicle by lifting the item off of a support structure, such as a latch or rail, and then stored within the vehicle or elsewhere. An example of this would be propane bar-b-que grills which are attached to the side of a travel trailer and coupled to a propane source when in use, and then detached from the trailer and the propane source for cleaning and/or storage elsewhere. While certainly useful for outdoor cooking, these items require the user to manually lift and carry the item and to visually align it with a support structure when coupling to the vehicle. Accordingly, such arrangements are of limited application when the item is heavier and/or when sufficient structural support for the item weight and/or size of the item requires more complicated alignment and/or coupling to the vehicle. Also, larger and heavier items require convenient storage locations when not in use.
Previously, larger containers and accessories have been attached to the rear of a vehicle for storage and have been removable for use. Example of this would be tool boxes or coolers mounted directly or indirectly to the hitch of a vehicle. These arrangements have often provided a convenient storage space, but they still require the user to manually lift the item out of or off of the hitch connection. Further, where direct connection is made to the vehicle hitch, the user is also required to align the connection components, often with visual impairment of the connection location, due to the size of the container, often while still manually holding or lifting the container. Indirect connection arrangements to the vehicle hitch often avoid the alignment difficulties, but at the expense of separate and additional structure, expense, and weight. Further, since many vehicle users desire to tow trailers with the hitch, use of the hitch for a container necessarily prevents concurrent towing. In addition, where the vehicle has a tailgate or rear ramp door, mounting a container to the hitch for either storage or use would block operation of the vehicle tailgate or ramp door.
Previously, it has been suggested to mount certain vehicle accessories, such as spare tires, on a swingable arm at the rear of the vehicle. Such arms are, for example, mounted to the side of the rear wall of the vehicle, over and/or under the rear lights, so that the tailgate can be raised and lowered when the arm is swung out of the way. They can also be mounted to the end portion of the vehicle bumper without attachment to the vehicle body. However, these arms are typically mounted via a single pivot point, intending a field of motion of 90 to 180 degrees at most. Typically, the pivot axis does not extend away from the vehicle past the plane of the vehicle side, so as to avoid reduction in aerodynamic characteristics of the vehicle and/or to keep overall vehicle width from expanding. Further, in each of these arrangements, the accessory typically needs to be manually lifted from the support structure and carried by the user, in order to be used.
Previously, methods have been proposed for mounting various containers to a vehicle which allow the container to be accessed or used at various locations and orientations with respect to the vehicle by means of pivoting structures connected to a vehicle. However, these structures typically the require the container to be accessed only through its top surface, which is maintained in the same horizontal plane in all locations and orientations of container use. It is often desirable to access a container through one or more sides or its front face, especially where it would be advantageous to have the side or front face fold down to be a usable surface, and/or where the objects stored within the container tend to be heavy or bulky.
Also, previously, various structures have been proposed to allow for exterior kitchens and/or entertainment systems in recreational vehicles ("RVs"). Such kitchens can include sinks, stoves, refrigerators, and/or counter space for food preparation. Such entertainment systems can include televisions, video recording and playback devices, and various stereo music components. In certain instances, a slide-out box has been used having a self-contained kitchen or entertainment system which is accessible from the exterior of the recreational vehicle when the box is opened and/or extended from the vehicle. However, when the exterior kitchen or entertainment system is not being used, the slide-out box is, for example, retracted into the vehicle (to keep the appliances therein secure) and takes up floor space within the vehicle. Moreover, slide-out mechanisms tend to be expensive and require greater maintenance and installation work. In other instances, the kitchen or entertainment system is disposed in a compartment formed in the sidewall of the recreational vehicle, accessible through an exterior door or hatch. These are often less costly than a slide-out box arrangement, but still take up floor space in the recreational vehicle, both when being used and when not being used.
In each case, the floor space used by prior exterior kitchen or entertainment systems require careful planning and orientation with respect to the rest of the structure and function of the vehicle features. It is especially difficult, for example, to place such kitchen or entertainment system compartments at the rear of "toy hauler" types of travel trailers, due to "garage" width requirements. Moreover, unless the recreational vehicle was designed for the exterior kitchen or entertainment system at the outset, it is especially difficult to retrofit an exterior kitchen or entertainment system to pre-existing recreational vehicles using these prior arrangements.
In addition, recreational vehicles are typically used in a wide variety of applications with differing spacial and orientation constraints. For example, in a given campground, the vehicle may need to park with a significantly sloping surface on the side of the vehicle or with trees in close proximity to the vehicle side, making use of an exterior kitchen on that side undesirable. In those situations, the rear of the vehicle may be preferable for the exterior kitchen location, since presumably the vehicle was driven over a sufficiently level surface to come to that location. In other situations, inclement weather may make location of the exterior kitchen on the side of the vehicle, under an awning covering the vehicle door, more desirable than in an exposed rear location. Also, since bar-b-que grills are often used in connection with recreational vehicles, it is desirable to have exterior kitchens capable of a wide variety of facing orientations, in order to facilitate the cooking process in conjunction with grill use. Further, it is sometimes advantageous to allow exterior cooking components to be fully removable from the recreational vehicle, for use at a location more remote from the recreational vehicle and/or to facilitate cleaning and maintenance. Thus, an ideal exterior kitchen arrangement would be able to accommodate such changes in location. However, the prior slide-out and compartment formed arrangements typically allow only a single, fixed location of use.
Similar disadvantages and concerns arise when attempting to use other equipment and supply containment systems for recreational vehicles, such as tool boxes and specialty equipment storage and use. Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide improved arrangements for exterior storage and use of containment systems for vehicles. More specifically, objectives of the present invention include providing exterior mounting of containers to vehicles which is:                a. less costly to manufacture, install, and/or to maintain,        b. more versatile in mounting location and available range of use locations,        c. readily adapted for use with RV exterior kitchens,        d. readily shifted for use at the rear and the side of a vehicle, without manual lifting,        e. capable of supporting significant loads for extended periods of time,        f. not an encumbrance to vehicle floor space, and        g. readily retrofitable to existing vehicles.

Vehicle container mounting arrangements, particularly for exterior kitchen of RVs


A three-dimensional image display device includes a display plate for producing light-emission or optical variations by an external electrical, magnetic, or optical operation, or a display member for arranging LEDs in matrix, a drive circuit for vibrating the display plate in a specified direction with respect to the display surface of the display plate, a shape data memory for storing two-dimensional sectional images for displaying on the display plate, through an input circuit, a position detector for detecting the position of the display plate while the display plate is vibrating, a controller for controlling so that a specified part of the display plate emits light or produces an optical variation for a specified time only, utilizing positional data from the position detector to display the two-dimensional sectional images on the display plate in sequence while the display plate is vibrating.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a three-dimensional image display device for displaying data in three-dimensional form within the movable space of a display means.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Conventionally, an object in three-dimensional form displayed as an image on a display device can generally be only displayed as a two-dimensional image. However, in recent years devices have been developed and used for displaying such objects in three-dimensional form.
Examples of conventional devices for displaying three-dimensional images include a three-dimensional image display device which displays on a display device a number of images obtained from two photographic devices arranged at a specified spacing, and by which a three-dimensional image can be recognized by viewing through special spectacles which have the function of shuttering the image and a three-dimensional viewing device for displaying a three-dimensional image of an object on a display device by computer graphics.
However, because it is necessary to use the two photographic devices and the special spectacles with the function of shuttering the image with the viewing device which uses the special spectacles with the function of shuttering the image, handling and operation are troublesome, and there is an inadequate sense of three-dimensionality of the object when viewed through the spectacles. The results of this method of viewing also differ by individual.
In addition, setting the viewing points is troublesome with the three-dimensional image display device which uses computer graphics, and, in addition, a large number of calculations and the like are required to create an image which provides a sense of reality each time the viewing points are changed. It is therefore difficult to effectively display a three-dimensional image.


A closure device (10) for closing a flexible retainer (12) holding a flowable material (14) is provided. The retainer (12) comprises a body (18) for retaining the flowable material (14), a sealed slit (26), an opening (24), a neck (20) and mouth (22) between the body (18) and open end (24). The device (10) is closed, thereby substantially preventing flow of the material (14) therethrough, when the neck (20) is folded about a channel (30) and the opening (24) is inserted through the slit (26).

Flowable material retainers, including containers or conduits, formed from flexible sheet materials have found or are adaptable to a broad range of applications. For example, such retainers may be employed as plasma bags, colostomy bags, fluid conduits, or packages for storing flowable materials, e.g., fluids, powders, or semi-fluid materials. Retainers formed from flexible materials have proved popular in part because they are relatively simple and inexpensive to produce, particularly if formed from sheet materials which can be heat sealed together to form a retainer body, and are deformable to facilitate storage or deployment of the retainer in compact or irregularly shaped areas.
In many applications, it is important that a closure device be provided which is capable of sealably closing the flexible retainer. For example, in the case of plasma bags, a reliable closure must be formed to prevent escape or contamination of the plasma. One method of closing a flexible retainer is by exerting a clamping force on opposing walls of the retainer thereby pressing the walls together to form a closure to inhibit flow of material therebetween. A difficulty encountered in connection with such closure devices is the tendency for the closure to fail when an expansion force is exerted thereon. Such expansion forces are exerted, for example, when the flowable material flows towards the closure urging the opposing walls apart in the vicinity of the closure. Flow towards the closure may result when a compression force is exerted on the retainer, such as when weight is placed on the retainer or the retainer is squeezed, or when the retainer is turned so that material flows towards the closure due to gravitational forces. It is desirable that a closure device be provided wherein the clamping force pressing the opposing walls together increases to counteract expansion forces resulting when material flows towards the closure.
One device for closing a flexible retainer is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,217,934. Two flexible sheets are sealed together to form walls of a package body and a discharge channel which tapers from the package body to an open end. One of the package walls has a slit therein and a means, such as a flexible strip, is applied to the inner face of the wall to prevent the contents of the package from escaping through the slit. The package is closed by folding the package along a line transverse to the discharge channel and inserting the open end into the slit. Presumably, the container walls are pressed together to form a closure thereby inhibiting passage of the container contents therethrough when the package is closed. However, the patent does not disclose a device whereby the force pressing the walls together increases to counteract increasing expansion forces resulting when material flows towards the closure. In addition, the patent does not disclose a closure device for retaining gases.
Other devices for closing flexible retainers provide a separate piece, such as a lid or clamp, which can be attached to the retainer body thereby closing the retainer. However, such devices have the disadvantage that the separate piece may be lost resulting in inconvenience to the user. In addition, the need for a separate piece increases the expense and difficulty of manufacture.
Also known are closure devices wherein mating elements are provided on opposing walls of the package so that the package may be closed by interlocking the elements, for example, zip-lock bags. However, the provision of such elements increases the difficulty and expense of production. Moreover, such closure devices do not provide a method whereby the forces pressing the opposing walls together increase to counteract expansion forces resulting when material flows towards the closure. In fact, such closure devices are typically reopened in ordinary use by pulling the opposing walls apart to break the closure.
Thus, there is a need for a closure device for closing flexible retainers wherein a clamping force increases to counteract expansion forces exerted on the closure due to material flow towards the closure. Preferably, such a device would be simple and inexpensive to produce yet capable of sealably retaining a broad range of flowable materials.


A fixture for luggage which has a flexible outer casing housing independent bottom and end panels disposed in substantially right angular relation to each other, the fixture having a base plate adapted to be mounted on the casing in fixed relation to the bottom panel adjacent to the end panel; a mounting plate borne by the base plate in upstanding relation; and a pivot assembly secured on the mounting plate and adapted to mount the end panel for pivotal movement about an axis substantially parallel to the bottom panel.

1. Field Of The Invention
The present invention relates to a fixture for converting luggage for articulated movement and more particularly to such a fixture which can be employed to convert luggage for self-supporting earth traversing movement while imparting a stability to the luggage during such movement which facilitates self-supporting transport thereof.
2. Description Of The Prior Art
It has been known to attach a variety of types of earth transporting mechanisms to luggage to provide them with the capability for self-supporting earth transport. Such luggage can then be pulled along in rested engagement with a supporting surface rather than be carried. Thus, it has been known to attach wheels, rollers, ball bearings, and the like to luggage during manufacture. It has also been known to install wheels on existing luggage to convert them to such use.
However, certain difficulties have arisen with luggage of the semi-flexible type. Luggage of this type possesses a number of advantages over the more rigid conventional luggage, but has been found less than satisfactory for wheel transport because of the propensity for the luggage to sag and to fall over when not supported by the handle. This problem is compounded as a result of the transfer of such sagging motion through the luggage to raise supporting wheels from ground engagement often causing the luggage to tip over. While this problem is particularly actute with luggage of the semi-flexible type, it also resides in other types of luggage.
Therefore, it has long been known that it would be desirable to have a fixture for luggage which is operable to provide a wheeled capability for luggage while imparting a stability during use not heretofore achievable.

Fixture for converting luggage for articulated movement


A method of frame synchronization serial data transmission. A transmitting circuit in a data communication apparatus converts frame data into serial data and transmit the same, and following the serial data, the transmitting circuit transmits frame synchronization data varying several times in the interval from an edge of a clock signal to an edge of the next clock signal; a receiving circuit receives the frame data and detects twice or more variations in the same interval to find out the end of the frame data, by receiving the serial data from a signal lines, serial data is transmitted while carrying out frame synchronization.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a transmitting circuit and a method for transmitting serial data to a receiving circuit, a receiving circuit and a method for receiving serial data sent from a transmitting circuit, and a data communication apparatus comprising said transmitting circuit and receiving circuit.
2. Description of the Related Art
Transmission of serial data has been reported in numerous literatures. Some of them are introduced below.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 11-178349 disclosed an invention of a pulse width modulation control apparatus for transmitting serial data.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 11-145944 disclosed a signal synchronization detection circuit for transmitting serial data.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 11-74893 disclosed a data communication apparatus and a communication method thereof for transmitting serial data.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 5-268210 and No. 6-21999 disclosed inventions of serial data communication apparatuses.
In the related art, frame synchronization during transmission of serial data was carried out by methods shown in the following (1) to (3).
(1) A signal line exclusively for frame synchronization is provided to transmit a frame synchronization signal.
(2) Streams of data are superposed in one signal line by means of frequency modulation or phase modulation and a frame synchronization signal is simultaneously transmitted.
(3) Data of a specific pattern is used as a frame synchronization signal. At the time of data transmission, the code of data is converted to a pattern other than the above frame synchronization signal. At the side of signal reception, data (or bits) corresponding to one frame is extracted based on the frame synchronization signal, and its data code is reversely converted to restore the original data.
The above method (1) has less signal lines for data transmission as a result of the serial transmission, but it needs more signal lines exclusively for frame synchronization because of the intermittently used frame synchronization signals.
The above method (2) and (3) need complicated circuits for code conversion and reverse conversion as well as modulation and demodulation.
In the above method (3), the end of a frame is not known until the whole serial data (a number of bits) corresponding to one frame synchronization pattern is received and compared with a predetermined pattern, so the time for receiving one frame is long.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Transmitting circuit and method thereof, receiving circuit and method thereof, and data communication apparatus


A method for automatically exchanging flaking knives in a knife ring of wood flaking machines in which the knives are attached to respective knife holders in a force-looking connection comprises the following steps: Loosening the force-locking connection between the flaking knife and the respective knife holder; automatically removing the flaking knife from its holder; automatically exchanging the removed flaking knife for a sharpened flaking knife; automatically inserting the sharpened flaking knife into the knife holder; and, depending on the wear of the wall portion, automatically positioning the sharpened flaking knife in the knife holder such that a cutting edge of the flaking knife protrudes relative to the adjacent inner wall surface of the knife ring to an extent that corresponds to the desired cutting depth. The exchange device for carrying out this method is comprised of a knife ring with knife holders and flaking knifes fastened to the knife holders; a device for receiving the knife ring; a support connected to the receiving device and insertable into the interior of the knife ring when the knife ring is received in the receiving device; a transport mechanism and an adjusting device connected to the support; an ejecting device connected to the receiving device and positioned at an outer circumference of the cutting block; and an exchange magazine slidably mounted on the receiving device and slidable in a direction transverse to the axial direction of the knife ring.

When manufacturing wood chips or flakes for further industrial applications, the wear on the edges of the cutting, respectively, flaking knives is so great that their service life commonly only encompasses a few hours. This results in approximately one thousand knife exchanges within one year. Since with increasing dullness of the cutting edges the quality of the manufactured wood chips, respectively, flakes is quickly reduced and, simultaneously, the amount of drive energy for the flaking machine increases substantially, it is unavoidable to exchange the dull knives within relatively short periods of time with sharpened knives.
This knife exchange for rotatably supported knife ring within the flaking machine is in general possible by providing a respective opening within the machine housing; however, in order to reduce the downtime it is common to first remove the knife ring as a whole and replace it with a second knife ring with sharpened knives. The actual knife exchange is then performed at the removed knife ring.
After reinserting the sharpened knives in the knife ring, the cutting edges of the knives must be positioned such that they protrude relative to the cylindrical inner wall surface of the knife ring formed by so-called wearing plates to an extent that corresponds to the desired thickness of the flakes or cuttings produced. For this purpose, a knife holder is required which allows the adjustment of the knife edges with a special adjustment means outside of the cutting machine. Accordingly, each individual knife of the prior art is connected in a releasable manner to a knife support plate which is provided with a reference surface indicating the respective position of the knife edge for the required protrusion corresponding to the cutting or flaking depth, whereby this reference surface comes into contact with a corresponding reference surface provided at the knife holder of the knife ring when the knife unit comprised of the knife and its knife support plate is fastened to the knife holder. In this manner, a reproducible cutting edge positioning with respect to the initial state of the cylindrical inner wall surface of the knife ring is ensured; however, the wear of the inner wall surfaces at certain locations is not taken into consideration. Over an extended period of time, especially when the wear of the inner wall surfaces is great, a constant increase of the thickness of the flakes, respectively, cuttings will result which is finally no longer acceptable with respect to given quality standards.
During the frequent knife exchanges the handling of the relatively heavy knife rings is cumbersome, and bears the danger of causing injuries. Furthermore, it is time consuming, especially because the knives, before the sharpening step, must be released from the knife support plates and afterwards must again be connected thereto whereby their edges must be adjusted to the theoretical protrusion value relative to the provided reference surfaces at the knife support plates.
There have been numerous suggestions to find ways to avoid the cumbersome handling of the knife ring, however, the solutions that have been known so far concern only those exchange methods in which the knife ring remains positioned in the flaking machine. Accordingly, these methods are only suitable for knife rings that are rotatably supported and are not applicable to stationary knife rings.
Such a method for exchanging the flaking knives in the knife ring which is mounted in the flaking machine is described in the British patent application GB 2 013 135 A. The knives may be exchanged after being released from their respective knife holder, however, a complicated adjusting device is required which allows the adjustment of the projection of the cutting edges of the flaking knives relative to the adjacent wall portions corresponding to the desired flake thickness directly on the knife ring. This adjusting device requires at least three cylinder/piston units. After shutting down the flaking machine, a first unit must be attached to the arrested rotor and the two other units must be fastened to the exterior of the machine housing in the area of a closeable opening. In addition to the constructive expenditure, the mounting and demounting of the adjusting device requires a considerable preparation time which in addition to the time-consuming actual knife exchange results in an economically unfeasible downtime. This exchange method therefore has not been successful in practice.
A different approach has been suggested with the German Patent DE 33 09 517 C1 which discloses a method for providing a continuous sharpness of the knives in which the downtime resulting from the knife exchange is prevented by providing strip steel knives which during the operation of the flaking machine are continuously or stepwise fed into the working zone of the machine depending on the respective wear condition. This method is limited to resharpening so-called disposable knives made of strip steel, and the exchange of high-quality knives that need to be repeatedly sharpened, the subject matter of the present invention, is expressly avoided.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to eliminate the cumbersome and time-consuming handling of the heavy knife rings during removal and remounting, as well as during adjustment of the cutting edges without causing a reduction in quality of the manufactured wood flakes. Also, while employing the known knife holders, an automatic knife exchange should be possible with the aid of spring forces. Furthermore, according to the present invention, the suggested method should also be compatible with conventional knife rings, if necessary, after minimal retro-fitting.

Method and apparatus for automatically exchanging knives of wood flaking machines


In a light emitting diode print head of the dynamic drive method type including an upper substrate having a transversely elongated opening, a plurality of common electrodes arranged on the first side region of the opening of the upper substrate in parallel therewith, a plurality of light emitting diode array chips each mounted on one of the common electrodes, a plurality of drive circuits arranged on the second side region of the opening of the upper substrate, a plurality of drive ICs mounted on the upper substrate between the opening and the drive circuits, the number of the drive ICs being the same as that of the array chips, a lower substrate divided into a plurality of wiring regions and having the same size as that of the upper substrate, the number of the wiring regions being the same as that of the drive ICs, and a plurality of individual electrode wirings of undulated form arranged on the wiring regions along the length of the lower substrate and corresponding to the electrode pads of the light emitting diode array chips, wherein the upper substrate is mounted on the lower substrate.

The present invention relates to a light emitting diode print head for electrophotography, and more particularly to a dynamic drive light emitting diode print head comprising an upper and a lower substrates that are joined together.
Generally, the light emitting diode print head is employed in a non-impact printing mechanism, and comprises a plurality of chips each having a plurality of light emitting diodes arrayed. Parts of a charged body are discharged so that the light beams produced by the light emitting diodes of the chips may be focused on the surface of the drum through the self-focus lens array. The drum is rotated so as to pass the discharged parts through a developing means, transferring means and fixing means, thus printing images on paper.
There are generally two methods for driving the light emitting diode array chips, i.e. the static drive method and dynamic or matrix drive method. In the static drive method, a plurality of drive integrated circuits (hereinafter referred to as drive IC) are mounted on both or either side of the light emitting diode array chips so as to cause the bits of the drive ICs to respectively drive the light emitting diodes. In the dynamic drive method, there are simultaneously driven a plurality of light emitting diodes connected in parallel to each of the bits of one or more drive ICs, and the wiring between the drive ICs and the light emitting diodes constitutes a matrix, thus the method often being called the matrix drive method.
Referring to FIG. 1, illustrating a conventional light emitting diode print head for the dynamic drive method, a lower glass substrate 6 has common electrode 2 and individual electrode wiring 4. On the lower glass substrate 6 is mounted an insulating layer 8, on which in turn are mounted a plurality of light emitting diode array chips 10. A self-focus lens array 12 is mounted over the light emitting diode array chips 10. The under surface of the lower glass substrate 6 contacts a heat sink 11. A case 14 encloses the heat sink 11, lower glass substrate 6 and insulating layer 8 mounting the light emitting diode array chips 10 except the self-focus lens array 12.
Meanwhile, a drive IC 16 for driving the light emitting diode chips 10 is mounted on both or either end portion of the lower substrate 6 with the bits connected to the individual electrode wiring 4. The light emitting diode array chips 10 are connected to the common electrode 2 by means of epoxy resin or direct contact. The width of the insulating layer 8 amounts to about a half of the width of the lower substrate 6, and each of the electrode pads of the light emitting diode array chips 10 is electrically connected to the individual electrode wiring 4 by means of wire bonding. The common electrode 2 and the signal part of the drive IC 16 are connected to a flexible printed circuit, and then to a external drive circuit constructed separately from the light emitting diode print head, thus being connected to the system via the connector of the external drive circuit.
Referring to FIG. 2 for illustrating an enlarged view of the portion A of FIG. 1, the conventional light emitting diode print head more specifically comprises the lower glass substrate 6 mounting the common electrode 2 and individual electrode wiring 4, the insulating layer 8 laid on the upper surface of the lower substrate 6, a plurality of the light emitting diode array chips 10 mounted on the insulating layer 8, and wire bonding 20 for connecting the electrode pads 18 and the individual electrode wiring 4.
Referring to FIG. 3 for illustrating a cross section of the light emitting diode print head taken along line a--a' of FIG. 2, there are shown the lower substrate 6 having the common electrode and individual electrode wiring, insulating layer 8 laid on the upper surface of the lower substrate 6, the width of the insulating layer amounting to about a half of the width of lower substrate, and a plurality of light emitting diode array chips 10 mounted on the insulating layer 8 and connected to the individual electrode wiring (not shown in FIG. 3) via the wire bonding 20.
There is shown an equivalent circuit of the conventional light emitting diode print head. The bits of the drive IC are connected to the individual electrode wiring 4. Dynamic wiring section 22 comprises a plurality of light emitting diode array chips 10 each consisting of a plurality of light emitting diodes connected to the individual electrode wiring 4. The external drive circuit section 30 comprises a control circuit 24 and a plurality of transistors 26 each connected to corresponding light emitting diode array chip 10. The control signal, print data and selection signal of the system are connected to the wiring section 22 via the control circuit 24. Each transistor 26 of the external drive circuit section 30 has the base connected to the selection data of the control circuit 24 with the collector and emitter respectively connected to the common electrode 2 of the light emitting diode array chip and ground voltage.
In operation, if the print data and selection data are respectively applied through the control circuit 24 to the input of the drive IC 16 and the bases of the transistors, light is emitted only from the light emitting diode of the light emitting diode array chip connected to the transistor selected by the selection data. Of course, the light emitting diode that emits the light are those selected simultaneously by the print data. For example, the selection data SDn--1 corresponding to the "n--1"print data PDn--1 is applied to the "n--1"th transistor, light is emitted only from the light emitting diode corresponding to the "n--1"th print data PDn--1 of the "n--1"th light emitting diode array chip.
In such a dynamic drive method, if only one drive IC is used, n times sequences are required to print a line. If two drive ICs are used, ##EQU1## times sequences are required to print a line because of turning on two transistors and two light emitting diode array chips.
The light emitting diode print head for such a conventional dynamic drive method needs a number of connector parts because the head substrate section and the external drive circuit section are separated from each other. Furthermore, the electrical connection between the common electrode and the light emitting array chips is achieved by using epoxy resin or direct contact, thereby increasing the possibility of a short circuit.
In addition, insulating layer should be employed to insulate the lower substrate and the light emitting diode array chips, thus increasing the processing steps of fabrication. Further, when mounting the light emitting diode array chips on the insulating layer, it is essential to make a precise alignment between the electrode pads of the chips and the individual electrode wiring.
Moreover, because of simultaneously forming the common electrode and individual electrode wiring in the lower substrate, the remaining area of the substrate except the area occupied by the common electrode is too limited to contain the expanded individual electrode wiring when fabricating a light emitting diode print head of high resolution, so that it is impossible to achieve the straight wire bonding.
The connection area between the common electrode and the light emitting diode array chips is also too limited to increase the current flow in order to enhance the light output. Besides, it is very limited to increase the printing speed because the drive IC should be mounted on either end portion of the lower substrate.


A switching power supply 38 for use in a switched anode, field emission flat panel display includes energy recovery modules 48.sub.R, 48.sub.G and 48.sub.B for recovering energy from each anode electrode 50.sub.R, 50.sub.G and 50.sub.B of the display as the voltage on the anode V.sub.A is switched from a high level to a low level, and for restoring this energy to the anode as the voltage is returned from the low level back to the high level. Each energy recovery module 48 includes a capacitor 62 for storing charge and an inductor 60 for storing energy. During the deactivation period of each anode electrode 50, dc source 40 is uncoupled from anode electrode 50 and energy is transferred from the anode electrode 50 to inductor 60, and subsequently from inductor 60 to storage capacitor 62. During the re-activation period, energy transfers from storage capacitor 62 to inductor 60 and anode electrode 50, and subsequently from inductor 60 to anode electrode 50. All of the recovered energy (minus the circuit losses) is returned to anode electrode 50. At this time, dc source 40 is recoupled to anode electrode 50, providing current thereto. The transfer and storage of energy, and its reuse when the anode electrode 50 is switched back to its high voltage state, allows the recovery of as much as eighty percent of the energy applied to the anode electrodes.

The advent of portable computers has created intense demand for display devices which are lightweight, compact and power efficient. Since the space available for the display function of these devices precludes the use of a conventional cathode ray tube (CRT), there has been significant interest in efforts to provide satisfactory flat panel displays having comparable or even superior display characteristics, e.g., brightness, resolution, versatility in display, power consumption, etc. These efforts, while producing flat panel displays that are useful for some applications, have not produced a display that can compare to a conventional CRT.
Currently, liquid crystal displays are used almost universally for laptop and notebook computers. In comparison to a CRT, these displays provide poor contrast, only a limited range of viewing angles is possible, and, in color versions, they consume power at rates which are incompatible with extended battery operation. In addition, color liquid crystal display screens tend to be far more costly than CRT's of equal screen size.
As a result of the drawbacks of liquid crystal display technology, field emission display technology has been receiving increasing attention by industry. Flat panel displays utilizing such technology employ a matrix-addressable array of pointed, thinfilm, cold field emission cathodes in combination with an anode comprising a phosphor-luminescent screen. The phenomenon of field emission was discovered in the 1950's, and extensive research by many individuals, such as Charles A. Spindt of SRI International, has improved the technology to the extent that its prospects for use in the manufacture of inexpensive, low-power, high-resolution, high-contrast, fullcolor flat displays appear to be promising.
Advances in field emission display technology are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,755,704, "Field Emission Cathode Structures and Devices Utilizing Such Structures," issued 28 Aug. 1973, to C.A. Spindt et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 4,940,916, "Electron Source with Micropoint Emissive Cathodes and Display Means by Cathodoluminescence Excited by Field Emission Using Said Source," issued 10 Jul. 1990 to Michel Borel et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,194,780, "Electron Source with Microtip Emissive Cathodes," issued 16 Mar. 1993 to Robert Meyer; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,225,820, "Microtip Trichromatic Fluorescent Screen," issued 6 Jul. 1993, to Jean-Frederic Clerc. These patents are incorporated by reference into the present application.
The Clerc ('820) patent discloses a trichromatic field emission flat panel display having a first substrate on which are arranged a matrix of conductors. In one direction of the matrix, conductive columns comprising the cathode electrode support the microtips. In the other direction, above the column conductors, are perforated conductive rows comprising the gate electrode. The row and column conductors are separated by an insulating layer having apertures permitting the passage of the microtips, each intersection of a row and column corresponding to a pixel.
On a second substrate facing the first, the display has regularly spaced, parallel conductive stripes comprising the anode electrode. These stripes are alternately covered by a first material luminescing in the red, a second material luminescing in the green, and a third material luminescing in the blue, the conductive stripes covered by the same luminescent material being electrically interconnected.
The Clerc patent discloses a process for addressing a trichromatic field emission flat panel display. The process consists of successively raising each set of interconnected anode stripes periodically to a first potential which is sufficient to attract the electrons emitted by the microtips of the cathode conductors corresponding to the pixels which are to be illuminated or "switched on" in the color of the selected anode stripes. Those anode stripes which are not being selected are set to a potential such that the electrons emitted by the microtips are repelled or have an energy level below the threshold cathodoluminescence energy level of the luminescent materials covering those unselected anodes.
An example given in the Clerc patent recites voltages on the anode electrodes for attracting emitted electrons in the range of 100-150 volts, with the voltage on the unselected anode electrodes at 40 volts. Recent experimentation, however, has indicated that substantially higher attracting voltages, in the range of 500-800 volts, are required to provide a satisfactory display, while the voltage on the unselected anode electrodes must be substantially zero for the desired purity of color. Since the attracting voltage on each anode electrode is switched on for a color field (or subframe) period of 5.56 milliseconds in each frame period of 16.67 milliseconds, for an illustrative frame rate of sixty frames per second, the switching losses for a several-hundred-volt swing at that rate are substantial. Where the field emission display device is used in a portable, battery-operated system, such as a notebook computer, large switching losses are incompatible with a desired goal of extended battery life.
In view of the above, it is clear that there exists a need for an apparatus for reducing the switching losses in a switched anode, field emission display, while permitting the use of anode voltages in the range of 500-800 volts, and switching the voltage on the unselected anode electrodes to substantially zero.

Power supply for use with switched anode field emission display including energy recovery apparatus


A cartridge with an expanding bullet that has advantageous terminal effects over an extended range. The expanding bullet including a bullet body including a metal jacket extending from a tail portion to a nose portion and surrounding an interior solid core and defining a forward opening and interior cavity. A tip has an exterior surface substantially flush with an exterior surface of the metal jacket. The tip has a main portion forward of the opening and a tip retention portion that at least partially fills the interior cavity. In certain embodiments the tip retention portion includes one or more fluid entry facilitation means such as a fracture regions configured to, upon impact of the bullet with a target, fracture or deform to expose one or more fluid pathways into the interior cavity and to a forward facing interior surface for initiating expansion of the expanding bullet.

In the sport of hunting, responsible hunters go to great lengths to ensure a quick, clean and humane kill. Hunters seek to select the best rifle, cartridge, bullet and optics for the particular species being hunted and the specific conditions likely to be encountered (e.g., rough terrain and thick underbrush). Hunters also practice marksmanship so that a shot can be carefully placed even under challenging circumstances. If a bullet is poorly placed, the game animal may travel a long distance through rough terrain after having been shot. In these situations, there is a risk that the wounded game animal will not be recovered.
Firearm projectiles, specifically bullets, may be designed as "hollow-points", having a central pit or generally hollowed out frontal cavity that causes the projectile to "upset" or expand upon impact with a target. Expansion may decrease penetration and as a result, increase the amount of kinetic energy transfer from the projectile to the target for improved stopping power. However, the central pit or hollowed out design may result in diminished aerodynamic characteristics. For example, the hollowed out design may increase axial drag which can reduce overall projectile accuracy and range.
To help counteract this, in some instances, hollow-point bullets may have a converging polymer tip that is inserted into the frontal cavity to mimic the shape of a spritzer or pointed bullet.