A liquid crystal display (LCD) device comprises a liquid crystal panel having a plurality of pixel regions defined by a plurality of gate lines and data lines, each pixel region associated with a thin film transistor, a gate driving unit having an amorphous semiconductor and integrally formed with the liquid crystal panel capable of sending a scan signal to the gate lines having a pulse width longer than a turned on time of the thin film transistor located within the pixel region, and a data driving unit connected to the data lines capable of sending an image signal to the data lines.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a liquid crystal display (LCD) device, and more particularly, to a LCD device capable of preventing an inferiority thereof due to a signal lowering by increasing a set pulse width of a scan signal applied to a gate line.
2. Description of the Related Art
A liquid crystal display (LCD) device is a transparent flat panel display device, and is being widely applied to each kind of electronic device such as a mobile phone, a PDA, a notebook computer, etc. Since the LCD device has light, thin, short and small characteristics and can implement a high picture quality, it is being used more than other flat panel display devices. Moreover, as a demand for a digital TV, a high picture quality TV, a wall mounted TV is increased, a large LCD to be applied to the TVs is being researched more actively.
The LCD device is divided into several devices according to a method for driving liquid crystal molecules. Among the several devices, an active matrix thin film transistor LCD device is being mainly used due to a fast response time and less residual image.
FIG. 1 is a view showing a structure of a panel of the TFT LCD. As shown, a plurality of gate lines 3 and data lines 5 arranged horizontally and vertically for defining a plurality of pixels are formed on the liquid crystal panel 1. A thin film transistor acting as a switching device is arranged in each pixel and is switched when a scan signal is sent to the pixel through the gate line 3 thereby to apply an image signal sent through the data line 5 to a liquid crystal layer 9. The reference numeral 11 denotes a storage capacitor for sustaining a data signal received until the next scan signal is sent to the pixel.
A scan signal is applied to the gate line 3 from a gate driving unit 20, and an image signal is applied to the data line 5 from a data driving unit 34. Generally, the gate driving unit 20 and the data driving unit 34 are formed of a driver integrated circuit (IC) and arranged outside the liquid crystal panel 1. However, recently, an LCD device in which the gate driving unit 20 is integrally formed at the liquid crystal panel is being actively researched. As the gate driving unit 20 is integrally formed at the liquid crystal panel 1, the LCD device has a decreased volume and fabrication costs can be reduced.
The data driving unit 34 is mounted on a flexible circuit board 30 for connecting the liquid crystal panel 1 to a printed circuit board 36, and applies an image signal onto the liquid crystal layer 9 through the data line 5. On the printed circuit board 36, a timing controller and a line are formed.
FIG. 2 is a view schematically showing a structure of the gate driving unit 20. As shown, the gate driving unit 20 is provided with a plurality of shift registers 22. Signals are sequentially produced from the shift registers 22 and applied to the gate lines G1˜Gn. The shift register 22 is connected to a clock generating unit 24, and thus a clock signal generated from the clock generating unit 24 is applied to the shift registers 22. A start voltage is sent to the shift registers 22, and an output signal of the previous shift register is sent to the next shift register as a start voltage after the first shift register.
FIG. 3 is a waveform view showing a start signal S, clock signals C1, C2, C3, and C4 sent to the shift register, and output voltages Vout1 to Voutn generated from the shift register 22. As the start signal S and the clock signals C1, C2, C3, and C4 are respectively sent to each stage of the shift register, the shift register 22 of each stage produces the output signals Vout1 to Voutn thereby to sequentially apply the output signals to gate lines.
The gate driving unit is integrally formed with a liquid crystal panel portion. That is, the shift register 22 is integrally formed on a substrate with a liquid crystal panel portion. Accordingly, a transistor, etc. constituting the shift register 22 is formed by a photolithography like a thin film transistor and acts as a switching device formed at a pixel region of the liquid crystal panel portion. The transistor is generally fabricated by using an amorphous silicon. A gate driving unit to which the shift register having the transistor fabricated by using an amorphous silicon is applied has the following problems.
As output voltages from the shift register 22 are applied to the thin film transistor of the pixel region as scan signals, the thin film transistor is turned on and at the same time, an image signal applied from the data driving unit is charged to a storage capacitor through a channel of the turned-on thin film transistor. That is, during a first period of an output voltage of a rectangular wave form shown in FIG. 3 (1H, that is, the period that a thin film transistor of a liquid crystal panel is turned on or the time that a signal is applied to a pixel), a signal is applied to the liquid crystal layer and a signal is charged to the storage capacitor.
Generally, an amorphous silicon is known to have a low field effect mobility. The low field effect mobility prevents a scan signal applied to the thin film transistor of the pixel region (that is, an output voltage of the shift register) from being a perfect rectangular wave. As shown in FIG. 4, the time of a signal rise and the time of a signal fall are delayed thereby to form a lowered tail region of an ideal rectangular wave. The rectangular wave decreases the turned ON time of the thin film transistor, thereby decreasing an effective time that an image signal is charged to the liquid crystal panel and thus deteriorating a picture quality of the LCD device.
As a resolution of the LCD device increases, the time for charging an image signal is decreased. For example, the time for charging an image signal in one pixel is approximately 60 μsec in case of a QVGA-LCD device. On the contrary, the time for charging an image signal in one pixel is approximately 20 μsec in case of an XGA-LCD device of a high resolution. As the charging time decreases, the lowering of the scan signal due to a low field effect mobility causes an effective charging time to be decreased much more. Accordingly, a picture quality of the LCD device may be degraded in the case of a high resolution device.
In order to solve the problem due to the low field effect mobility, the thin film transistor has to be fabricated to have a very large size (for example, several thousands of μm). However, since a region for forming a gate driving unit is greatly increased, the method was substantially impossible.


A fabricating method for a semiconductor device includes forming a heat spreading material on rear surface of the semiconductor wafer. The semiconductor wafer has a plurality of device areas and scribe lines which are arranged between the device areas. After the heat spreading material is formed on rear surface of the semiconductor wafer, the semiconductor wafer is separated at the scribe lines.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor device having a heat spreading layer.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a semiconductor device used in a portable device, downsizing of the semiconductor device is needed. A package called a Chip Size Package (hereinafter, called CSP) has therefore been developed. The CSP is similar in size to a semiconductor chip. A type of CSP is called a wafer level chip size package (Wafer Level Chip Size Package: WCSP) or wafer level chip scale package (Wafer Level Chip Scale Package: WCSP). Such a WCSP is described in Japanese Issued Patent No-3313547.
Recently, portable devices have been operated using a high speed clock. The semiconductor device used in the portable device is operated by a high speed clock. However, as a result of increasing the clock speed, electric power used in the semiconductor chip is increased. Also, as the number of transistors included in the semiconductor chip is increased, the electric power used in the semiconductor device is increased. Since electric power is increased, heat generated by the semiconductor device increases.
For radiating the heat generated by the semiconductor device, a heat radiating part is attached on the semiconductor chip. However, the heat radiating part increases the size of the semiconductor device. That is, the heat radiating part negates the beneficial effect of the WCSP.
A semiconductor device that has an improved heat radiation feature without the use of a heat radiating part has been described in Japanese patent Laid-Open No. 1999-67998. The semiconductor device disclosed in the reference has a film on the surface of the semiconductor device that has a function of heat radiation. However, the reference does not disclose a timing of forming the film. That is, the reference does not consider productivity.

Method for fabricating a semiconductor device having a heat radiation layer


A towing arrangement for towing vehicles, such as golf cars. A pivotable, elongated towing bar is carried at the rear of a vehicle for pivotable movement about a horizontal pivot axis between an outwardly extending, towing position, and a retracted, upwardly extending, storage position. A towing bar gripper is attached to the car adjacent the rear end for releasably gripping the towing bar in the storage position. The gripper is formed by a resilient, generally U-shaped frame having a pair of opposed, spaced apart arms that form a slot into which a gripper bar is frictionally inserted and retained.

The present invention relates to towing apparatus for towing small, powered vehicles, such as golf cars and utility vehicles. More particularly, the present invention relates to a structural arrangement for towing a vehicle, wherein the arrangement includes a pivotable towing hook that is carried at the rear of a powered golf car or utility vehicle, and a towing hook receiver and retainer that is carried at the forward end of such a vehicle for cooperative engagement with a towing hook carried on another car.


(S)-(+)-Hydroxychloroquine substantially free of (R)-(-)-hydroxychloroquine, or a pharmaceutically acceptable acid-addition salt thereof and a method of use thereof and a composition containing it for the treatment of malaria, lupus erythematosus or rheumatoid arthritis.

(a) Field of the Invention
The invention relates to (S)-(+)-2-[[4-[(7-chloro-4-quinolinyl)amino]pentyl]ethylamino]ethanol [hereafter (S)-(+)-hydroxychloroquine] which is useful in the treatment of acute attacks and suppression of malaria due to Plasmodium vivax, Plasmodium malariae, Plasmodium ovale and susceptible strains of Plasmodium falciparum, systemic and discoid lupus erythematosus, and rheumatoid arthritis.
(b) Information Disclosure Statement
Racemic hydroxychloroquine, which is 2-[[4-[(7-chloro-4-quinolinyl)amino]pentyl]ethylamino]ethanol (Surrey U.S. Pat. No. 2,546,658, Mar. 27, 1951), and which is sold as the sulfate salt by Sanofi Winthrop Pharmaceuticals under the tradename Plaquenil.RTM. Sulfate, is primarily useful as an antimalarial agent and is also used in treating lupus erythematosus and rheumatoid arthritis.
A. J. McLachlan et al., J. Chromatogr., 570 (No. 1), 119-127, dated Sep. 18, 1991, disclose the high-performance liquid chromatographic separation of the enantiomers of hydroxychloroquine and its major metabolites in biological fluids. The authors acknowledge a gift of S(+)-hydroxychloroquine from Sterling Pharmaceuticals.
J. Iredale et al., J. Chromatogr., 573 (No. 2), 253-258, dated Jan. 17, 1992, disclose the development of a sequential achiral-chiral high-performance liquid chromatographic system for the determination of the enantiomers of hydroxychloroquine and its three major metabolites.
S. E. Tett et al., Br. J. Clin. Pharmac., 26, 303-313 (1988), disclose a dose-ranging study of the pharmacokinetics of racemic hydroxychloroquine following intravenous administration to healthy volunteers. The authors state that the pharmacokinetics of hydroxychloroquine are similar to those of chloroquine.
Chem. Abstr. 92, 69587p (1980) discloses that when administered orally daily for four days beginning at two hours after Plasmodium berger infestation in mice, doses of 5 and 20 mg/kg of the d-enantiomer of chloroquine diphosphate were more effective than corresponding doses of the 1-enantiomer in antimalarial parameters measured, including percentage of cured mice at >7.5 mg/kg; and that the d-enantiomer was also more active than the racemate, but only at subcurative doses.
Chem. Abstr. 90, 132863b (1979) discloses the results of a study of the activity of chloroquine enantiomers against rodent malaria in which it was found that (+)-chloroquine diphosphate was a more active antiplasmodial agent than (-)-chloroquine diphosphate in Plasmodium vinckei-infected mice, and that the activity of (.+-.)-chloroquine diphosphate was between that the two enantiomers.
J. C. Craig et al., J. Org. Chem., 53, 1167-1170 (1988), disclose the absolute configuration of the enantiomers of chloroquine and the synthesis of (R)-(-)-chloroquine by condensation of (R)-(-)-4-amino-1-(diethylamino)pentane of >90% purity with 4,7-dichloroquinoline.
G. Blaschke et al., Chem. Ber., 111, 2732-2734 (1978) disclose the chromatographic separation of the enantiomers of chloroquine as well as their preparation by condensation of (+) and (-)-4-amino-1-(diethyamino)pentane with 4,7-dichloroquinoline.
H. N. Bernstein, Annals of Ophthalmology, 23, 292-296 (1991), presents an analysis of all published cases and Food and Drug Administration reports of retinopathy induced by hydroxychloroquine. The author states that antimalarial therapy, because of a relative lack of systemic side effects compared with other immunomodulating drugs, has been used increasingly over the past 15 years for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, discoid and systemic lupus erythematosus, and other predominantly autoimmune disease, and that in the United States, hydroxychloroquine is preferred to chloroquine because it is considered significantly less retinotoxic at the current recommended maximum dose (400 mg/day, according to the FDA and the manufacturer). The author nevertheless notes that physicians are concerned about using drugs with retinotoxic potential at higher dose levels. He then suggests, inter alia, that the risk of true retinopathy is nullified when the maintenance daily dose is based on .ltoreq.6.5 mg/kg body weight and states that even in the absence of a real toxicity risk, it is recommended that a periodic ocular examination program be followed because of the retinotoxic history associated with hydroxychloroquine.


A blood pressure estimation device includes a display unit (10), a belt portion (20), a first contact electrode (61) and a second contact electrode (62) for detecting an electrocardiographic waveform, and a pulse wave sensor. The display unit (10) displays a blood pressure estimation result. The belt portion (20) is connected to the display unit (10) and surrounds a target measurement site. The pulse wave sensor includes a pulse wave detection unit (40E) that detects a pulse wave of an artery (91) passing through the target measurement site. The first contact electrode (61) and the pulse wave detection unit (40E) are provided on an inner circumferential portion (20a) of the belt portion (20). The second contact electrode (62) is provided on an outer circumferential portion (20b) of the belt portion (20). The first contact electrode (61) and the pulse wave detection unit (40E) are provided in a position where the first contact electrode (61) and the pulse wave detection unit (40E) are to be pressed against the target measurement site when the second contact electrode (62) is pressed from an outer circumferential side of the belt portion (20).

JP 2017-500069 T (Patent Document 1) is a document in the related art that discloses a mobile device capable of estimating blood pressure by using a photoplethysmography (PPG) measurement value by PPG, an electrocardiography (ECG) measurement value by ECG, and a pulse transit time (PTT).
The mobile device described in Patent Document 1 includes an outer cover, a processor, and a plurality of sensors physically coupled to the outer cover. At least one of the plurality of sensors is configured to obtain a PPG measurement value, and is accommodated in a contact button coupled to the outer cover. At least one of the plurality of sensors is configured to obtain an ECG measurement value, and includes a first electrode and a second electrode. The first electrode and the second electrode are contact electrodes that contact a body of a subject in order to obtain the ECG measurement value.


A system and method for automated lane change control for autonomous vehicles are disclosed. A particular embodiment is configured to: receive perception data associated with a host vehicle; use the perception data to determine a state of the host vehicle and a state of proximate vehicles detected near to the host vehicle; determine a first target position within a safety zone between proximate vehicles detected in a roadway lane adjacent to a lane in which the host vehicle is positioned; determine a second target position in the lane in which the host vehicle is positioned; and generate a lane change trajectory to direct the host vehicle toward the first target position in the adjacent lane after directing the host vehicle toward the second target position in the lane in which the host vehicle is positioned.

An autonomous vehicle is often configured to follow a trajectory based on a computed driving path. However, when variables such as obstacles are present on the driving path, the autonomous vehicle must perform control operations so that the vehicle may be safely driven by changing the driving path to avoid the obstacles.
In the related art, autonomous vehicle control operations have been determined by representing spatial information (e.g., a coordinate, a heading angle, a curvature, etc.) of the driving path as a polynomial expression or mathematical function for a movement distance in order to avoid a stationary obstacle. However, when dynamic obstacles are present on the driving path, the autonomous vehicle according to the related art may not accurately predict whether or not the vehicle will collide with the dynamic obstacles. In particular, the related art does not consider the interaction between the autonomous vehicle and other dynamic vehicles. Therefore, conventional autonomous vehicle control systems cannot accurately predict the future positions of other proximate dynamic vehicles. As a result, the optimal behavior of the conventional autonomous vehicle cannot be achieved. For example, the unexpected behavior of a proximate dynamic obstacle may result in a collision with the conventional autonomous vehicle.
The inability of conventional autonomous vehicle control systems to consider the positions, speed, and acceleration of other proximate dynamic vehicles is particularly problematic during autonomous lane changing maneuvers. A safe and comfortable autonomous lane change maneuver cannot be performed without an accurate determination of the status of proximate dynamic vehicles.

System and method for automated lane change control for autonomous vehicles


Thermally stable ultra-hard compact constructions of this invention comprise an ultra-hard material body that includes a thermally stable region positioned adjacent a surface of the body. The thermally stable region is formed from consolidated materials that are thermally stable at temperatures greater than about 750° C. The thermally stable region can occupy a partial portion of or the entire ultra-hard material body. The ultra-hard material body can comprise a composite of separate ultra-hard material elements that each form different regions of the body, at least one of the regions being thermally stable. The ultra-hard material body is attached to a desired substrate, an intermediate material is interposed between the body and the substrate, and the intermediate material joins the substrate and body together by high pressure/high temperature process.

Ultra-hard materials such as polycrystalline diamond (PCD) and PCD elements formed therefrom are well known in the art. Conventional PCD is formed by combining diamond grains with a suitable solvent catalyst material to form a mixture. The mixture is subjected to processing conditions of extremely high pressure/high temperature, where the solvent catalyst material promotes desired intercrystalline diamond-to-diamond bonding between the grains, thereby forming a PCD structure. The resulting PCD structure produces enhanced properties of wear resistance and hardness, making PCD materials extremely useful in aggressive wear and cutting applications where high levels of wear resistance and hardness are desired.
Solvent catalyst materials typically used in forming conventional PCD include metals from Group VIII of the Periodic table, with cobalt (Co) being the most common. Conventional PCD can comprise from 85 to 95% by volume diamond and a remaining amount of the solvent catalyst material. The solvent catalyst material is present in the microstructure of the PCD material within interstices that exist between the bonded together diamond grains.
A problem known to exist with such conventional PCD materials is that they are vulnerable to thermal degradation during use that is caused by differential thermal expansion characteristics between the interstitial solvent catalyst material and the intercrystalline bonded diamond. Such differential thermal expansion is known to occur at temperatures of about 400° C., which can cause ruptures to occur in the diamond-to-diamond bonding that can result in the formation of cracks and chips in the PCD structure.
Another form of thermal degradation known to exist with conventional PCD materials is also related to the presence of the solvent metal catalyst in the interstitial regions and the adherence of the solvent metal catalyst to the diamond crystals. Specifically, the solvent metal catalyst is known to cause an undesired catalyzed phase transformation in diamond (converting it to carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, or graphite) with increasing temperature, thereby limiting practical use of the PCD material to about 750° C.
Attempts at addressing such unwanted forms of thermal degradation in conventional PCD are known in the art. Generally, these attempts have involved techniques aimed at treating the PCD body to provide an improved degree of thermal stability when compared to the conventional PCD materials discussed above. One known technique involves at least a two-stage process of first forming a conventional sintered PCD body, by combining diamond grains and a cobalt solvent catalyst material and subjecting the same to high pressure/high temperature process, and then subjecting the resulting PCD body to a suitable process for removing the solvent catalyst material therefrom.
This method produces a PCD body that is substantially free of the solvent catalyst material, hence is promoted as providing a PCD body having improved thermal stability. A problem, however, with this approach is that the lack of solvent metal catalyst within the PCD body precludes the subsequent attachment of a metallic substrate to the PCD body by brazing or other similar bonding operation.
The attachment of such substrates to the PCD body is highly desired to provide a PCD compact that can be readily adapted for use in many desirable applications. However, the difference in thermal expansion between the PCD bodies formed according to this technique and the substrate, and the poor wetability of the PCD body diamond surface due to the substantial absence of solvent metal catalyst, makes it very difficult to bond the thermally stable PCD body to conventionally used substrates. Accordingly, PCD bodies that are rendered thermally stable according to this technique must be attached or mounted directly to a device for use, i.e., without the presence of an adjoining substrate.
Since such conventionally formed thermally stable PCD bodies are devoid of a metallic substrate, they cannot (e.g., when configured for use as a drill bit cutter) be attached to a drill bit by conventional brazing process. Rather, the use of such a thermally stable PCD body in such an application requires that the PCD body itself be mounted to the drill bit by mechanical or interference fit during manufacturing of the drill bit, which is labor intensive, time consuming, and which does not provide a most secure method of attachment.
It is, therefore, desired that an ultra-hard material construction be developed that includes an ultra-hard material body having improved thermal stability when compared to conventional PCD materials, and that includes a substrate material attached to the ultra-hard material body to facilitate attachment of the resulting compact construction to an application device by conventional method such as welding or brazing and the like. It is further desired that such a product can be manufactured cost effectively, without the use of exotic materials or manufacturing techniques.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Thermally stable ultra-hard material compact construction


Methods and systems are disclosed for providing fraudulent transaction processes. In one embodiment, a method is disclosed for performing fraudulent transaction processes that may include receiving an indication that a payment transaction has been identified as potentially fraudulent, the payment transaction involving a payment account associated with a user. The method may also include receiving a candidate voice print and comparing the candidate voice print to a user voice print that is associated with the payment account. The method may further include determining, based on the comparison, whether the candidate voice print matches the user voice print, and providing an indication whether the candidate voice print matches the user voice print, the indication configured for use to determine whether to approve or deny the payment transaction.

Account holders sometimes pay for purchases with payment instruments such as credit cards, debit cards, payment cards, online payment systems, or the like) in ways that may be detected as possibly fraudulent. As one example, after making a purchase in the United States, a second purchase in South Korea less than two hours later may be tagged as fraudulent because fraud detection systems may detect that the purchaser could not have traveled from the US to South Korea in the short amount of time between the two purchases. Known fraud detection systems may thus deny or hold the second transaction until the account holder is able to verify that it is a legitimate transaction.
Some fraud detection systems, however, may be too zealous in tagging transactions as fraudulent, resulting in an unacceptably high rate of false positives. This can cause frustration for legitimate users whose transactions are prevented or delayed because of an over-active fraud detection system. Additionally, some known solutions such as a call center agent manually calling the purchaser to verify the transaction—can be cumbersome and involve high labor costs.
Therefore, more efficient methods and systems are needed to enable purchasers to securely verify that a purchase is not being made fraudulently.

Systems and methods for authenticating potentially fraudulent transactions using voice print recognition


A storage system for compact disks including a holder and a loose rail which is secured to the edge of a compact disk cassette. The rail is provided on the top side or at the end with a moulding which together with the moulding of the holder form a fixed and pivotal, respectively, connection. One or several engaging devices are provided on the bottom side of the rail, the engaging devices fitting in mating openings in the edge of the compact disk cassette. In this manner the existing openings in the compact disk cassette are utilized and accordingly the compact disk cassette need not be particularly formed.

U.S. Pat. No. 3,452,878 discloses a storage rack for magnetic tape cartridges. The magnetic tape cartridges are provided with projecting adapter pieces, and the top side of each cartridge is provided with a rail which can engage said adapter pieces. At the top, the rail is provided with a moulding fitting in corresponding grooves in a transverse, superadjacent holder to which the rail can be secured.


A conic fluid bearing includes a bush fixed to a rotary body. The bush has upper and lower portions on which conic cavities are opposingly formed, respectively. Upper and lower cones fit on a shaft fixed to a fixed body and are rotatably combined with said upper and lower conic cavities, respectively.

The present invention relates to a conic fluid bearing, and to a head drum and spindle motor each including the same.
Fluid bearings are installed in places requiring high-speed rotation, such as, a disk driving spindle motor of a hard disk, a rotary polygonal mirror driving motor of a laser printer, a head drum driving spindle motor of a VCR, since fluid bearings provide secure and stable rotation at high speed rotations.
FIG. 1 shows a head drum 1 on which a fluid bearing 2 is installed according to the prior art, and FIG. 2 is a detailed drawing showing the configuration of the fluid bearing. Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a hemispherical fluid bearing 2 used in the head drum 1 is comprised of a bush 3, an upper hemisphere 4, a lower hemisphere 5 and a spacer 6.
The bush 3 is cylindrical, and hemispherical cavities 8 and 8' are formed on the upper and lower portions thereof to be respectively combined with the upper and lower hemispheres 4 and 5. A bush hole 7 is formed between the hemispherical cavities 8 and 8'. Through holes 9 and 9' having a smaller diameter than that of the bush hole 7 are formed through the upper and lower hemispheres 4 and 5.
The bush 3 is fixed to a rotary transformer 101 connected to a rotating upper drum 100 such that it rotates together with the upper drum 100. The upper and lower hemispheres 4 and 5 are compressedly fixed to a shaft 11 of a stationary fixed drum 102. The upper and lower hemispheres 4 and 5 are inserted to combine with the hemispherical cavities 8 and 8' formed on the bush 3, and the spacer 6 fits with the shaft 11 between the upper and lower hemispheres 4 and 5 and is situated in the bush hole 7.
In order to manufacture the fluid bearing 2 to be used in a head drum as described above, the bush 3 and the upper and lower hemispheres 4 end 5 are processed through machining, and the hemispherical cavities 8 and 8' in the bush 3 are ground using a lapping machine and then assembled. Also, the hemispherical cavities 8 and 8' and the upper and lower hemispheres 4 and 5 must be precisely processed. Therefore, machining is difficult, and it takes many hours to process. Furthermore, since the spacer 6 must be assembled to be situated in the bush hole 7 between the upper and lower hemispheres 4 and 5, it is difficult to set the size accurately. These disadvantages result in deterioration of productivity.

Conic fluid bearing and head drum and spindle motor each including the same


The present invention aims to provide a masterbatch for foam molding which can be suitably used in molding involving high shear force or molding requiring low molding temperature and which can provide a foam molded article having a high expansion ratio and good appearance quality. The present invention also aims to provide a foam molded article formed from the masterbatch for foam molding. Provided is a masterbatch for foam molding, containing: a base resin; and a thermally expandable microcapsule, the masterbatch having a true specific gravity of 0.80 g/cm3 or more and a Mooney viscosity ML 1+4 (100° C.) of 20 to 90, the base resin containing an EPDM resin, the masterbatch containing the thermally expandable microcapsule in an amount of 40 to 300 parts by weight relative to 100 parts by weight of the base resin.

Plastic foams can exhibit heat shielding properties, heat insulation properties, sound insulation properties, sound absorption properties, vibration proofing properties, light weight, and the like according to the material of the foam and the state of the formed cells. Plastic foams are thus used in various applications. An exemplary method for producing a plastic foam involves foaming and molding a masterbatch containing a chemical foaming agent under heat. Such a masterbatch containing a chemical foaming agent, however, is difficult to handle because sometimes it fails to foam even under heat, and the foaming agent may rapidly decompose in the injection foam molding device. In addition, such a masterbatch may fail to provide a sufficient expansion ratio depending on the type of the resin, making it difficult for the molded article to have desired hardness.
Patent Literature 1 teaches that an ethylene-α-olefin copolymer masterbatch pellet containing a chemical foaming agent can provide an injection foam molded article having high hardness, a high expansion ratio, and uniformly formed cells, regardless of the type of the resin.
However, chemical foaming agents, when decomposed under heat, produce foam residue as well as decomposition gas. The residue remaining in the molded article may affect the adhesiveness of the molded article. In addition, with the use of the chemical foaming agent, not all the cells are formed as closed cells, and some open cells are inevitably formed, making it difficult to provide a highly airtight foam molded article.
Patent Literature 2 discloses a masterbatch for a foamed resin which contains a polyolefin resin or styrene resin as a base resin and contains a thermally expandable microcapsule as a foaming agent instead of a chemical foaming agent.
Unfortunately, with the thermally expandable microcapsule disclosed in Patent Literature 2, the resulting foam has a low expansion ratio, and it is difficult to adjust the closed cells of the resulting foam to a predetermined size.
Meanwhile, Patent Literature 3 discloses a method for producing a foam complex sheet, including foaming and molding a resin composition obtained by blending a masterbatch containing a thermally expandable microcapsule and a masterbatch containing a chemical foaming agent.
Although such a method improves the expansion ratio to some extent, the molded article still has a low expansion ratio and fails to exhibit desired properties such as light weight and heat insulation properties. In addition, by this method, it is difficult to produce a molded article with good appearance quality.
Patent Literature 4 discloses a synthetic resin composition containing a thermally expandable microcapsule and a base resin, and a method for producing the composition. The literature teaches that the synthetic resin composition contains a base resin having a melt flow rate in a predetermined range, so that the base resin does not break the shell of the thermally expandable microcapsule and has high miscibility or compatibility with the thermally expandable microcapsule.

Foam molding masterbatch, and molded foam article


A trash can with a lid can include a lock for the lid. The lock can include a latch that cooperates with the trash container body to lock the lid over the opening of the body. The latch can be configured to slide with respect to the edge of the opening of the body from an unlocked position to a locked position. This latch can be integrated into, built into or self contained in the lid. The trash can can also include a pedal actuator for opening the lid. The trash can can also include a damping mechanism mounted to the body of the trash can with a mounting plate. The mounting plate can be made from a material that is harder than the material used for the body of the trash can. Additionally, the trash can can have wheels.

Field of the Inventions
The present inventions are directed to lid mechanisms, such as those for trash containers.
Description of the Related Art
Receptacles and other devices having lids or doors are used in a variety of different settings. For example, in both residential and commercial settings, trash cans and other devices often have lids or doors for protecting or preventing the escape of the contents of the receptacle. In the context of trash cans, some trash cans include lids or doors to prevent odors from escaping and to hide the trash within the receptacle from view. Additionally, the lid of a trash can help prevent contamination from escaping from the receptacle.
Recently, trash cans with rotary-type motion dampers for slowing the motion of the lids have become commercially available. More specifically, these rotary dampening mechanisms are connected to the lids of the trash cans so as to slow the closing movement of the lids. As such, the trash can is more aesthetically pleasing because the lid closes slowly, thereby preventing a loud slamming noise when the lid is moved to a closing position.
These types of trash cans often are pedal-actuated, i.e., they include a foot pedal which is connected to the lid for moving the lid toward the open position. The rotary mechanisms are connected to the internal linkage connecting the foot pedal to the lid so as to slow the closing movement of the lid.


A tray assembly for a refrigerator which is inserted into and withdrawn from a refrigerating compartment. The tray assembly has a tray which is slidably installed on a pair of guide members which are formed at both side walls of a refrigerating compartment, a vertical roller which is mounted on both end portions of the tray and makes contact with the guide members, a horizontal roller which is mounted at both sides of the tray and makes contact with a side wall of the refrigerator compartment. The tray assembly allows the tray to be more conveniently inserted into and withdrawn from the refrigerating compartment, thereby preventing a shakiness of the tray in the left and right directions while the tray is being inserted into or withdrawn from the refrigerating compartment.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a refrigerator, and more particularly to a tray assembly for a refrigerator.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Generally, a refrigerator is a household electric appliance for storing foodstuffs freshly and is divided into a freezing compartment and a refrigerating compartment. The freezing compartment stores the foodstuffs to be frozen such as meats and the refrigerating compartment stores the foodstuffs at a lower temperature.
Generally, the refrigerator is provided with a tray for efficiently utilizing a space in the refrigerating compartment, and for allowing the user to easily take out foodstuffs.
The tray can be inserted into and withdrawn from the refrigerating compartment.
And, the tray is designed in such a manner that cold air can be circulated in the refrigerating compartment and a liquid formed in the upper portion of the refrigerating compartment is guided to a lower portion of refrigerating compartment through a draining passage of the tray.
FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional tray assembly for a refrigerator 300 which is disclosed in a U.S. Pat. No. 380,279 issued to James F. Dasher, and entitled "Pull-Out Freezer Floor For Refrigerator And Freezers".
As illustrated in FIG. 1, the tray assembly 100 is provided with a base 110 which is installed on an upper surface of a bottom wall of a refrigerating compartment , a tray 120 which is slidably mounted on an upper portion of the base 110, and a plurality of rollers 130 which are interposed between the base 110 and the tray 120.
The base 110 is fixed to an upper portion of the bottom wall of the freezing compartment by a fixing means(not shown) such as a bolt, and a roller receptacle(not shown) into which the plurality of rollers 130 are installed is formed on the base 110. A plurality of roller guides(not shown) are formed on the base 110 in the longitudinal direction for allowing the tray 120 to be guided in a predetermined direction.
As illustrated in FIG. 2, the tray 120 has a handle 180 at a front portion thereof for allowing the user to easily insert and withdraw the tray 120. The tray 120 is provided with a wall 190 at both sides thereof in order to easily store foodstuffs and in order to prevent foodstuffs from dropping from the tray 120 while the tray 120 is being inserted and withdrawn. The tray 120 has through regions 200 on both front ends thereof for draining a defrosted liquid or impuritier.
FIG. 1 illustrates a side view of the tray 120 and the base 110. Each of the roller guides which is formed on the base 110 is spaced apart from each other by a predetermined interval so as to facillate inspection and withdrawl of the tray 120 and so as to properly disperse a weight of the tray 120.
Roller channels 220 are provided at a lower portion of the tray 120, and the number of roller channels 220 is the same as the number of roller guides which are formed on the base 110. Taps 172, which are protruded in the downward direction of the tray 120, are provided at a back end of the roller channels 220, and the taps 172 are inserted into the plurality of the roller guides 10. The roller channels 220 coupled to an inside of the roller guides are slidably moved on the roller guides. A rotatable vertical roller 130 makes contact with an inside of the roller channels 220 which are mounted on a lower portion of the tray 120 so that the tray 120 can be slidably inserted and withdrawn with respect to the base 110.
However, in the conventional tray assembly 100 for a refrigerator, since the tray assembly 100 is shaken in the left and right directions while the tray assembly 100 is being inserted and withdrawn, it is very difficult to insert and withdraw the tray 120 smoothly.


The present invention provides a recessed floor box assembly including a cover and floor box housing designed to be adaptable to the cover. The cover is designed to be removable and repositionable for covering the open face of the box housing in either the closed or open positions. The cover can be selectively positioned to open or close an access opening into the box housing while still retaining a covering on the box housing.

It is well known to run electrical wires and telecommunications wires underneath the surface of a floor. These cables and electrical systems may be placed under the floor surface so as to be more efficient in supplying power and data/telecommunication signals in commercial buildings. The electrical cables or wires beneath the floor may be accessed through a hole in the surface of the floor. In order to provide convenient access to the wires or cables as well as the termination devices which terminate the wires, a floor box is typically placed in the hole through the floor.
The cables are typically housed in ducts that are placed beneath the floor surface. These ducts are typically made of a metal, i.e. steel, iron, aluminum, etc., for structural rigidity to support the weight of the floor on top of the ducts. After the ducts are properly positioned in the floor, concrete then covers the ducts to create the actual floor surface. The thickness of the concrete floor, and the depth at which the ducts must be buried in the floor, are usually regulated by local building codes. The floor boxes may be integrated into the ducts before the concrete floor is poured. However, in most instances, the concrete floor is poured over the ducts and then holes are drilled into the floor to insert the floor boxes that are connected to the duct.
With many electrical boxes, especially those which are used to house termination devices positioned within a floor, it is desirable to construct the box to be water resistant, so as to protect the components housed therein. Undesirable accumulation of water within the box can be detrimental to such components. Various electrical codes and standards such as those promulgated by Underwriters Laboratories (UL) require the floor boxes to have a certain degree of water resistance, i.e., resistance to entry of water over a period of time.
The art has seen a wide variety of box constructions which are designed to prevent the accumulation of water within the box. Many of these designs employ complicated gaskets which are interposed between the box and the cover of the box so as to prevent water from entering therebetween. While these gaskets do adequately prevent water entry, the gasket structures rely on precise assembly of the components, including the gaskets.
Many of these electrical floor boxes have access covers or panels that can be opened to provide access to the interior of the box for installing outlets for making connections to the wires and cables. The covers of the floor boxes are always opened when in use. Thus, the cover cannot be closed or put back on to the box when the wires or cables are connected into the interior of the box.
Alternatively, some floor box covers may have a small door thereon. The door allows the cover to be in a closed position, while the wires can exit through the door. However, the door itself protrudes above the cover which can break off and may also create a tripping hazard.
Further it is desirable to provide a cover assembly having a removable rotate snap cover for covering the box whether in closed or open positions. It is also desirable to provide a cover assembly having a removable rotate snap cover that is operable to selectively open or close an access opening into the box with no protruding parts that may break off or create a tripping hazard.


A power distribution system includes circuits each having an electronic circuit breaker as a protection for short-circuits and/or overloads, and a clocked power supply unit. The clocked power supply unit is connected to the circuits and feeds power to the circuits. The electronic circuit breaker has a power stage and an adjustable current limiting device connected to the power stage. The adjustable current limiting device, in the event of an overload, when a first adjustable current threshold is exceeded, turns off the power stage after a first adjustable disconnection time has expired, and in the event of a short circuit, after a second adjustable current threshold has been exceeded, turns off the power stage after a second disconnection time has expired.

The invention relates to a power distribution system in the low-voltage range, in particular, in the 24V DC range, having a number of circuits each having an electronic circuit breaker as a short-circuit and/or overload protection.
Such a power distribution system is disclosed, for example, by German Published, Non-Prosecuted Patent Application DE 197 03 236 A1, corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 6,157,089 to Xu.
In a power distribution or power supply system having a plurality of circuits fed jointly by a low-voltage power supply unit, high requirements are placed on operational reliability. In the main application of plant construction, there are loads, for example, in the form of actuators or sensors, in the circuits or current paths that are connected in parallel with one another and fed jointly by the power supply unit. In such a case, a mechanical circuit breaker, possibly a switching element (relay) and the actual load or the actuator or the sensor is usually disposed one behind another in each circuit or stream. The mechanical circuit breaker can operate in accordance with a thermal or in accordance with a thermal and a magnetic disconnection characteristic.
In a linearly controlled power supply unit or transformer power supply unit, usually employed in practice to supply power (having a rated current of, for example, 30 A and a short-circuit current of about 300 A) in the event of a short circuit, it is ensured, within an individual circuit, for example, that the fuse in the circuit also triggers. The reason for such is that the short-circuit current is always sufficiently high (for example, 100 A) to trigger the circuit breaker quickly enough. In addition, for the conventional case, in which twenty or more circuits are supplied simultaneously by such a single power supply unit, it is additionally ensured that, in the aforementioned short-circuit case, the output voltage supplied by the linear or linearly controlled power supply unit does not break down or breaks down only to an insignificant extent. As is also the case in the on-board controller for a motor vehicle disclosed by Xu, the aforementioned means that the circuits that are not affected continue to be supplied with the necessary power without disruption and, in particular, in a functionally reliable manner.
The behavior is different in the case of clocked power supply units that, on account of their comparatively small dimensions, are to be employed increasingly for the aforementioned application in plant construction. These clocked power supply units likewise supply the desired output voltage of, for example, 24 VDC, but only a short-circuit current of, for example, 33 A. The latter is, therefore, frequently only 10% higher than the rated current of the clocked power supply unit of, for example, 30 A. As opposed to the linearly controlled power supply unit, in the case of a clocked power supply unit it is not ensured that, in the event of a short circuit, that is to say, in the event of a short circuit within an individual circuit downstream of the circuit breaker, the latter also triggers reliably. The reason is because the clocked power supply unit, which protects itself by limiting its output, controls the voltage down appropriately or, in the case of long load lines, the short-circuit current necessary for triggering cannot flow because of the purely resistive line component.
In the extreme case, that is to say, also in the case of a short circuit in only one circuit, it is, therefore, possible for the output voltage from the clocked power supply unit, and, therefore, the supply voltage for the parallel circuits, to be controlled down at least approximately to zero volts (0 V). As such, virtually no (short-circuit) current flows through the actual circuit breaker in the relevant circuit. At the least, however, the latter is often too small to trigger the mechanical circuit breaker. A conventional circuit breaker as fuse in the relevant circuit may, therefore, trigger only thermally. However, this means that the triggering of such a circuit breaker, on account of the conventional thermal characteristic, only takes place after 20 sec, for example. During such time, the supply voltage is too low for the other circuits or current paths to ensure their reliable operation (power reset). Therefore, the entire part of the plant that is supplied by the clocked power supply unit is disrupted and, accordingly, no longer serviceable. In other words, in the event of a short circuit, even in only one individual circuit or current path, there is a reaction on the other, intact circuits, as a result of which the intact circuits are likewise disrupted. Operational reliability is, therefore, not reliably ensured. This is because there is no assurance that, in the event of a short circuit or else circuits an overload, the other in parallel with the affected circuit and likewise supplied by the clocked power supply unit will receive the necessary power, if the clocked power supply unit controls down its output and, therefore, the supply voltage.
Because, in addition, the mechanical circuit breaker in the affected circuit does not trigger, or triggers only with an extreme delay, it is virtually impossible to determine which circuit is affected, particularly because the other circuits are also disrupted due to the reaction. If xe2x80x9cpower-fail resetsxe2x80x9d are incorporated in the individual circuits or current paths, then all the circuits shut down in such a xe2x80x9cworst case.xe2x80x9d If no such reset is incorporated, then the power in the further, intrinsically intact streams is in any case so low that the loads, in particular, the actuators or sensors, can no longer operate without faults.
It is accordingly an object of the invention to provide a power distribution system that overcomes the hereinafore-mentioned disadvantages of the heretofore-known devices of this general type and that has a plurality of circuits supplied jointly by a clocked power supply unit in which the aforementioned disadvantages are avoided and ensures a high operational reliability of the overall system. In particular, a suitable protective device is supplied for such a power distribution system.
With the foregoing and other objects in view, there is provided, in accordance with the invention, a power distribution system includes circuits each having an electronic circuit breaker as a protection for at least one of short-circuits and overloads, and a clocked power supply unit connected to the circuits and feeding power to the circuits. In particular, the power distribution system is in the 24V DC range. The electronic circuit breaker has a power stage and an adjustable current limiting device connected to the power stage. The adjustable current limiting device, in the event of an overload and when a first adjustable current threshold is exceeded, turns off the power stage after a first adjustable disconnection time has expired, and in the event of a short circuit and after a second adjustable current threshold has been exceeded, turns off the power stage after a second disconnection time has expired.
According to the invention, an electronic circuit breaker is inserted into each of the circuits supplied by the clocked power supply unit in the power distribution system. The circuit breaker is used substantially to limit the current within the circuit affected by short circuit and/or overload. In such a case, the current limiting device is advantageously adjustable, that is to say, can be regulated or controlled actively.
For such a purpose, the electronic circuit breaker expediently includes a power stage, preferably, in the form of a semiconductor, for example, a power MOS transistor, which is turned on completely in the normal state, that is to say, with an intended load current in the respective circuit.
In accordance with another feature of the invention, the adjustable current limiting device is programmed to turn off the power stage after a first adjustable disconnection time has expired in the event of an overload and when a first adjustable current threshold is exceeded, and programmed to turn off the power stage after a second disconnection time has expired in the event of a short circuit and after a second adjustable current threshold has been exceeded.
In accordance with a further feature of the invention, the adjustable current limiting device has a means for turning off the power stage after a first adjustable disconnection time has expired in the event of an overload and when a first adjustable current threshold is exceeded, and a means for turning off the power stage after a second disconnection time has expired in the event of a short circuit and after a second adjustable current threshold has been exceeded.
In accordance with an added feature of the invention, the electronic circuit breaker has a measured-value registration part for measuring a load current flowing in a corresponding one of the circuits, and a control stage adjusting current limiting of the power stage and turning the power stage off as a function of time, the control stage connected to the power stage and the measured-value registration part.
The measured, value registration part is, for example, a shunt, with which, in particular, the load current flowing through the respective circuit is registered. Also provided is a control stage that, by using the registered load current and, preferably, by using the voltage across the load stage, that is to say, the voltage drop across the semiconductor, supplies an appropriate control signal for the power stage.
In the event of an overload, for example, in the range of 105% to 200% of the rated current of the load stage, and, therefore, in the event that a first adjustable current threshold is exceeded, a timer expires. The time expiry can be, for example, 1 sec to 20 sec, in particular, 5 sec, which corresponds to the thermal characteristic of a conventional circuit breaker. After the timer has expired, the power circuit breaker, that is to say, the power stage, is switched off. In the case of a semiconductor, this means that it is turned off and can be turned on again only by a reset.
In accordance with an additional feature of the invention, the adjustable current limiting device electromagnetically isolates a relevant one of the circuits from the power supply unit in the event of one of the group consisting of a short circuit and an overload. The isolation can be done by a controllable triggering relay with additional indicator, which is then activated appropriately by the control stage and isolates the affected circuit electromechanically from the power supply unit. To perform the isolation, in accordance with yet another feature of the invention, the adjustable current limiting device is programmed to electromagnetically isolate a relevant one of the circuits from the power supply unit in the event of one of the group consisting of a short circuit and an overload. Alternatively, in accordance with n yet a further feature of the invention, the adjustable current limiting device has a means for electromagnetically isolating a relevant one of the circuits from the power supply unit in the event of one of the group consisting of a short circuit and an overload.
In the event of a short circuit, in theory, the short-circuit current would exceed a predefinable second current threshold, which, for example, is 200% of the rated current of the power stage. However, the current flowing through the affected circuit will be (current) limited to preferably 200% of the rated current, that is to say, to twice the rated current of the power stage. Current limitation can also be carried out, for example, at more or less than 200% of the rated current.
In the event of a short circuit, therefore, the magnetic characteristic of a conventional circuit breaker will be simulated. In addition, the voltage across the power stage and, therefore, the voltage drop across the switched-on semiconductor can be registered. The voltage value across the power stage specifies the disconnection rate, that is to say, after the expiry of what time the semiconductor will be turned off. If, for example, only a small part of the supply voltage from the clocked power supply unit is present across the semiconductor, then disconnection will take place, for example, only after 500 ms. If, on the other hand, the entire power supply voltage is across the semiconductor, then disconnection will take place after, for example, at most 5 ms.
The advantages achieved by the invention reside, in particular, in the fact that when a clocked power supply unit is used for the simultaneous supply of a large number of circuits connected in parallel to the output side of the clocked power supply unit, high operational reliability of the corresponding power distribution system is ensured by the use of electronic circuit breakers in each circuit. At the same time, in the event of an overload and/or short circuit in one of the circuits fed, adequate line protection in the circuit is ensured and the other circuits are supplied with, if possible, an undiminished output. In the event of a short circuit and/or overload, the output voltage from the clocked power supply unit, and, therefore, the supply voltage for the intact circuits, does not fall or falls only to an insignificant extent below the nominal or intended voltage. In particular, in the event of a short circuit in a circuit, first of all current limitation over the affected circuit is carried out reliably, so that the output voltage of the clocked power supply unit is at least virtually completely maintained.
By the use of such electronic circuit breakers in each of the parallel circuits supplied jointly by the clocked power supply unit, virtually reaction-free short-circuit and/or overload protection of the entire power distribution system is ensured. The reason for the effect is that, even in the event of failure of a circuit, the electronic circuit breaker, by virtue of the actively controlled current limitation in the circuit, ensures that the other circuits are not affected to the extent that the output voltage from the clocked power supply unit is maintained virtually unchanged. The circuit breaking device having a number of electronic circuit breakers corresponding to the number of circuits supplied jointly by a clocked power supply unit is, therefore, particularly suitable for power or current distribution in the 24 V DC range, whose classic application is in plant construction, in particular, in the automobile industry.
In accordance with a concomitant feature of the invention, at least one of the circuits has a fail-safe element for redundant line protection and/or reverse polarity protection. The fail-safe element can be connected to the power stage and/or the control stage.
Other features that are considered as characteristic for the invention are set forth in the appended claims.
Although the invention is illustrated and described herein as embodied in a power distribution system, it is, nevertheless, not intended to be limited to the details shown because various modifications and structural changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention and within the scope and range of equivalents of the claims.
The construction and method of operation of the invention, however, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings.


A method for forming a dehydrated leguminous food product for reconstitution into a ready-to-eat food product. The method includes the steps of cleaning the food product, removing all unwanted material, tempering the food product until it is partially hydrated, steam cooking the food product in a low pressure steam environment, smoothly crushing the food product between at least one pair of rolls, dehydrating the food product, and breaking up the food product to a desired size. The food product produced by the present method has a moisture content of approximately 4% to 14%, and preferably 7%. The product formed by the present method is instantly reconstitutable and has the color, appearance, texture, aroma, and consistency of conventionally prepared pea soup.

As is well known, pea soup is standard fare in many households and institutions. Traditionally, split pea soup is formed by boiling peas with various spices in large quantities of water for approximately two to three hours. Though canned pea soup is also available, the bulk, weight, and cost associated therewith makes it prohibitive for use in the food service industries.
In view of the traditional method of preparing pea soup being time consuming and canned pea soup being costly and difficult to store, there has been developed in the prior art reconstitutable pea soup which may be prepared rapidly, is less costly, and easier to store due to its reduced bulk and weight. Currently, there are two well-known methods of producing a reconstitutable pea soup. In the first method, the peas are cooked, dried, and subsequently milled to a reconstitutable powder. However, one of the major problems associated with this particular method is the agglomeration which occurs when water is added to the powder. In this respect, the addition of water to the pea powder typically results in the formation of balls of pea powder, the middles of which are impervious to water. As such, constant stirring and mixing is required to achieve the proper transition of the pea powder into solution. A second major problem associated with this method is that the texture of the pea powder is typically not smooth when the water is added thereto. In this respect, despite the constant stirring and mixing, small lumps of powder typically remain within the solution, thus causing the resultant product to have a sandy mouth feel.
The second widely practiced method is a drum-drying method wherein a pea slurry is prepared and cooked with spices. After cooking, the slurry is drum dried into flakes on a conventional drum dryer. However, this particular process is extremely costly, thus making it highly uneconomical for mass commercialization. The present invention is intended to alleviate the deficiencies associated with prior art methods of making dehydrated pea soup by providing a system and method of processing a comestible leguminous product (i.e., peas) into a quick-cooking and instantly reconstitutable pea soup product.

Method for preparing dehydrated pea soup and product thereof


The present invention relates to a system and methodology providing automation services in a distributed industrial controller environment. In one aspect of the present invention, a data access service is provided that includes, sending and receiving data to and from a data access service namespace operative in the distributed controller environment. In another aspect of the present invention, an alarming service is provided wherein data values are monitored in a server component according to predetermined conditions configured by a user or other entity. If the data values are determined to be outside of boundaries as defined by the predetermined conditions, an alarm can be communicated to a plurality of other components cooperating in the distributed environment.

Industrial control systems have enabled modern factories to become partially or completely automated in many circumstances. These systems generally include a plurality of Input and Output (I/O) modules that interface at a device level to switches, contactors, relays and solenoids along with analog control to provide more complex functions such as Proportional, Integral and Derivative (PID) control. Communications have also been integrated within the systems, whereby many industrial controllers can communicate via network technologies such as Ethernet, Control Net, Device Net or other network protocols and also communicate to higher level computing systems. Generally, industrial controllers utilize the aforementioned technologies along with other technology to control, cooperate and communicate across multiple and diverse applications.
At the core of the industrial control system, is a logic processor such as a Programmable Logic Controller (PLC). Programmable Logic Controllers are programmed by systems designers to operate manufacturing processes via user-designed logic programs or user programs. The user programs are stored in memory and generally executed by the PLC in a sequential manner although instruction jumping, looping and interrupt routines, for example, are also common. Associated with the user program are a plurality of memory elements or variables that provide dynamics to PLC operations and programs. These variables can be user-defined and can be defined as bits, bytes, words, integers, floating point numbers, timers, counters and/or other data types to name but a few examples.
Industrial controllers and associated control systems have increasingly become more sophisticated and complicated as control applications have been distributed across the plant floor and in many cases across geographical or physical boundaries. As an example, multiple controllers and/or other devices may communicate and cooperate to control one or more aspects of an overall manufacturing process via a network, whereas other devices may be remotely located, yet still contribute to the same process. In other words, control applications have become less centrally located on a singular control system having associated responsibilities for an entire operation. Thus, distribution of the overall control function and/or process frequently occurs across many control components, systems or devices.
Due to the distributed nature of modern control systems, it has become more difficult to achieve reliable communications and control harmony amongst diverse components that are often only bound via common network connections. Thus, many network components do not operate according to well-coordinated software interactivity even though the network components may communicate via common network protocols such as Ethernet. For example, custom interfaces and/or communications configurations may have to be developed for each control component residing on the network in order for the control components to act in a coordinated manner. As the number of components increase, costly start-up time and development efforts are expended in order to cause the control components to communicate and ultimately cooperate to achieve an overall manufacturing process or outcome. Moreover, given that control systems and associated components are being configured and designed in a more distributed manner, it has become more complicated and time consuming to notify one portion of the control system of occurrences or problems that are happening in other portions of the system.

System and methodology that facilitate factory automation services in a distributed industrial automation environment


This invention relates to two-piece child resistant closures which utilize a ratchet feature to screw on the closure and, more specifically, to a two-piece child resistant closure wherein a particular ratchet configuration and placement of the elements thereof provides negligible reverse torque during undepressed counter-clockwise rotation of the outer closure member. Negligible reverse torque is defined as the torque caused by frictional contact of the outer and inner cap members when the undepressed closure is turned in the removal direction is insufficient to cause the undesired or accidental removal of the closure from the container.

This invention relates to two-piece child resistant closures which utilize a ratchet feature to screw on the closure and, more specifically, to a two-piece child resistant closure wherein a particular configuration and placement of the ratchet elements provides negligible reverse torque during undepressed counter-clockwise rotation of the outer closure member. Negligible reverse torque is defined as the torque caused by frictional contact of the outer and inner closure members when the undepressed closure is turned in the removal direction being insufficient to cause the undesired or accidental removal of the closure from the container.
Child resistant closures comprising two nested cap members are well known in the art. Typically, the inner and outer cap members of these closures are provided with cooperating sets of ratchet teeth which engage each other when the outer cap member is rotated in the direction to apply the closure to an associated container (usually the clockwise direction). When the outer cap member is rotated in the removal direction (typically counter-clockwise), these ratchet teeth cam or ratchet past each other on inclined surfaces, so that the closure generally cannot be removed by mere counter-clockwise rotation.
To provide positive engagement of the inner and outer closure members for removal, the known devices have employed sets of cooperating ratchet teeth or projections, which are normally held separated by a resilient or spring means. To remove these closures, the outer member must be variously squeezed, pushed, or otherwise manipulated to overcome the separating means, and bring the respective ratchet teeth into positive driving engagement.
The problem with known child resistant closures which utilize a ratchet feature to apply torque to screw on the closure is that this same feature must frictionally ride over itself under undepressed reverse torque of the closure to prevent unscrewing of the closure. In other words, all of the ratchet teeth on the inner and outer cap members must slide over one another. The frictional force created during this process is sometimes enough to unscrew the closure at low application torques. In other words, if the closure has not been relatively tightly placed on the container neck, it is possible that the closure may be accidentally and undesirably removed simply by virtue of the frictional force caused by the ratchet teeth sliding over one another during undepressed rotation of the outer cap member in the removal direction.
To assure that the ratchet teeth on the closure slide over one another without exerting sufficient torque or friction to unscrew the inner cap when the outer cap is turned in the removal direction, U.S. Pat. No. 3,776,407 to Cistone discloses the use of reduced thickness areas at the locations of the ratchet teeth of the outer ca to provide increased wall flexibility and a reduction in torque applied to the inner cap by the outer cap when the latter ratchets past the inner cap While the reduction in the skirt wall thickness is effective to increase the flexibility of the skirt in those areas and therefore generally accomplishes its intended purpose, the reduction of the thickness achieved by providing recessed areas in the outer wall circumferential surface has demonstrated some disadvantages, since the recessed areas necessarily result in a deviation from the desired overall circular configuration of the outer skirt surface.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide an improved closure assembly wherein the reverse torque resulting from the frictional force caused by the ratchet teeth sliding over one another is insufficient to affect removal of the closure.


A dual injection system for selectively injecting a treating fluid in a predetermined treating zone (16) of a well bore hole (10) adjacent a productive zone (14) with a marker fluid injected from the annulus (36) outside a coiled tubing string (34). The coiled tubing string (34) is inserted within the well bore hole (10) and a sensor (40) is provided on the coiled tubing string (34) with a lower end portion (42) extending below the sensor (40) for the discharge of the treating fluid from the lower end (44) of the extending end portion (42). The sensor (40) senses a detectable material, such as a radioactive material, in the marker fluid injected from the annulus (36) outside the coiled tubing string (34) and may be reciprocated within the well with the coiled tubing string (34) for determining the interface (46) between the marker fluid and the treating fluid so that the treating fluid does not enter the productive zone (18). In one embodiment (FIG. 4) the productive zone (14A) is located below the treating zone (16A) and the treating fluid contains the marker to provide the marker fluid.

Heretofore, it has been common to inject two separate fluids downhole in a well bore hole with one fluid having a radioactive material therein with the other fluid being non-radioactive. A gamma ray detector is lowered within the bore hole and is utilized to determine the location or level of the radioactive fluid. Different pumping rates can be provided for the separate fluids and the interface between the fluids can be determined. Such an injection method has been utilized heretofore to determine the leakage of injected water within a zone. Also, this method may be utilized for the selective injection of acid into the most beneficial zone.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,870,734 dated Jan. 25, 1955 discloses a dual injection method in which two fluids are injected downhole with one of the fluids including a radioactive material. A gamma ray detector is lowered within the bore hole to monitor the interface between the two fluids which changes with different formations and pumping rates. The gamma ray detector or logging instrument is positioned on the end of a conventional electric line for monitoring or determining various characteristics of the bore hole. The logging instrument is received within a work string which receives the treating fluid for discharge from the lower end of the work string. The other fluid which is radioactive flows down the annulus between the work string and casing. In the event the well has been completed for production with a production tubing string within the casing and a packer in the annulus between the production tubing string and casing to block fluid flow, the tubing string and/or the packer must be removed before the injection of the two separate fluids downhole. Upon removal of the production tubing string and associated packers, a work string receiving a logging instrument therein may be inserted.
Other dual injection systems have utilized coiled tubing with a packer in the annulus between the coiled tubing and the casing. In such systems, the packer is positioned generally adjacent the productive zone and the pressure between the zones defined by the packer is measured to determine the injection rate of the two fluids. A sensor is not utilized in determining the interface between the two fluids. The treating pressure above and below the packer is measured for display at a surface location and fluid injection rates are adjusted so that the pressure differential between the fluids is substantially zero.

Dual downhole injection system utilizing coiled tubing


A collapsible box that provides access through both its top and front side, said box comprising sets of interior and exterior sidewalls, said interior sidewalls folding inward along a hinge and said exterior sidewalls folding along a hinge that runs along a bias. Said box capable of being made from either flat sheet material or molded parts.

Boxes are commonly used in transporting, moving, conveying, sorting and storing goods and materials, and are employed by a diversity of industries such as trucking, warehousing, manufacturing, office moving and household goods moving.
In its preferred embodiment, the box of the present invention is made of either corrugated cardboard ("corrugated") or paperboard. But it could also be made of other materials including, without limitation, plastic, metal or wood.
In a preferred embodiment, the box of the present invention is both foldable and collapsible. As a foldable box, it is initially die cut, as a pattern, from flat sheet stock, such as corrugated. Thereafter, such die-cut flat sheet is folded along various fold-lines and glued or stapled until it has been "formed". Once formed, the box can typically be maintained in either "open" or "closed" position without need to either return it to flat sheet stock or re-form it. When a formed box is in open position, it can be quickly and easily collapsed into closed position, thereby conserving space. In reverse, when a formed box is in closed position, it can be quickly and easily opened, thereby making it available to hold contents.
In one scenario, the box of the present invention can be shipped from a factory as flat sheet stock, thereby minimizing both production and shipping costs. The box would be later formed by the final user. In another scenario, the box could be formed at the factory level and then shipped in closed position, thereby reducing shipping costs as compared to boxes that require shipping in open position.
In an alternative embodiment, the box of the present invention could be made from parts that are not cut from flat sheet. As an example, without limitation, such parts could be molded of plastic using a process such as injection molding. Where applicable, such parts could be hinged together using any of a variety of hinging methods.
A major benefit of the preferred embodiment of the box of the present invention is that, when in open position, both the top lid and front door of said box can be opened at the same time. Thereby, objects can be loaded into said box (or unloaded from it) without either lifting them over a front wall or sliding them under a top wall. Such configuration in which both the top lid and front door are simultaneously open is possible when said box is either standing alone or positioned at the top of a stack of other boxes.
In its preferred embodiment, when the box of the present invention has other boxes stacked above it, the front wall of said box can still be opened. Thus, another major benefit of said preferred embodiment is that frontal access to any box in a stack is possible. Thereby, objects can be loaded into, or unloaded from, a lower box within a stack without lifting the box or boxes above it.
Since both the top wall and front wall of the preferred embodiment of the box of the present invention can be opened, said walls are referred to herein as a "top lid" and "front door," respectively U.S. Pat. No. 3,796,342 to Sanders et. al. and U.S. Pat. No. 4,693,387 to Stonier disclose collapsible containers. However, the Sanders and Stonier containers only allow top access. Neither container allows front access or can be formed from flat sheet stock, as does the box of the present invention. Nor do the Sanders and Stonier containers disclose: (i) a combination of both front and top access, (ii) any form of a front lid or front door or (iii) a combination of a front door and top lid, as does the present invention. The benefits of the present invention over Sanders and Stonier are significant in that the present invention minimizes production and shipping costs and allows (i) frontal access to any box in a stack without removing the boxes above it and (ii) easy loading and unloading with lifting objects over a sidewall or sliding objects under a top lid. Furthermore, in a preferred embodiment the structure of the present invention comprises a pair of vertical inner sidewalls (items 203J and 203K in FIG. 5C) that provide additional strength for bearing a load; the Sanders and Stonier containers lack such inner sidewalls.

Foldable box that collapses along a bias, providing both top and side access


The present invention provides methods of preparing extracts of material fermented with Paenibacillus sp., preferably Paenibacillus elgii ourofinensis. The extracts exhibit antimicrobial activity and may be used in the treatment or prophylaxis of infections in animals or plants or as a growth promoter in animals intended for slaughter for human consumption. The invention provides new peptides derived from the fractions of the fermentation of Paenibacillus elgii ourofinensis extract, prepared for example, by n-butanol extraction of the Paenibacillus fermentation broth. The extract may optionally be dried and/or mixed with other components such as appropriate nutritional components to form an animal feed, additional therapeutic adjuvants, or pharmaceutically or agriculturally acceptable carriers. The invention is also related to the isolation of this strain of Paenibacillus, including fermentation in a medium such as corn steep liquor and selection of catalase negative bacteria.

Antibiotics are the most exploited microbial products in the biotechnology industry. Currently, the technology used for the treatment of veterinary infections and in the promotion of animal growth is based on conventional antibiotics. For example, it was shown that the bacteria Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli and Salmonella enteritidis that cause infections in chickens are resistant to known antimicrobial agents such as tetracycline, nalidixic acid, ampicillin, and others (see Ribeiro, A. R., Kellermann, A., Santos, L. R., Nascimento V. P. 2008. Resistência antimicrobiana em Salmonella enteritidis isoladas de amostras clínicas e ambientais de frangos de corte e matrizes pesadas. Arq. Bras. Med. Vet. Zootec. 60 (5): 1259-1262). Such conventional antibiotics are also used for the treatment of human infections. This overlay leads to the emergence of a large increase of resistant strains, which complicates the treatment of infections in humans. Thus, the isolation of new chemical entities with antimicrobial activity for exclusive use in animals will provide significant benefits in raising animals for slaughter, said entities being used as growth promoters and in the treatment of veterinary infections, and these benefits will result not only in increased earnings for producers, but also in the exclusion of the use of current antibiotics in animals consumed by men.
The emergence of resistant bacteria occurred soon after the clinical use of antimicrobial agents like penicillin Since then it became clear that for each new antimicrobial agent that is available on the market a bacteria resistant to these new agents quickly appears, and the rapidity with which this resistance is developed is proportional to the size of the use of new drugs. Recently it was found that the use of antimicrobials in animals used to feed men has caused the emergence of pathogenic bacteria resistant to the antibiotics used to treat infections in humans (for more details, see Wegener H. C. et al. "Public Health Impacts of the Use of Antimicrobials in Food Animals", Proceedings of the WBC Congress, 23rd World Buiatrics Congress, Quebec City, Canada, 2004).
The antimicrobial agents can be natural or synthetic substances which inhibit or kill microorganisms, including bacteria. Currently there are over 15 different classes of antimicrobial substances, which differ in chemical structure and mechanism of action, causing them to be highly specific in the treatment of specific pathogens. The emergence of antimicrobial agents was the great victory of the 20th century in the fields of medicine, veterinary medicine and agriculture, not only for its therapeutic value, but also for its property to promote the growth of plants and animals when used in sub-therapeutic amounts (see "Use of antimicrobials outside human medicine and resultant antimicrobial resistance in humans", Fact sheet No. 268, 01/2002, available on the Web at http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs268/en/).
The problems of the use of antibiotics as antimicrobial agents for the treatment of humans and animals have assumed such a strong position that governmental authorities of different countries have not only promoted researches to minimize the impact of resistance of pathogenic bacteria to existing antibiotics, but also worked in campaigns to educate the public to the increasing risks of this increase in resistance, aiming at reducing the use of antibiotics in animals, especially in subtherapeutic quantities to promote animal growth and improve the yield of meat production. Examples of these government initiatives are: (1) the Report "Overarching AMR" in the UK, published in 2004 (see "Overview of Antimicrobial Usage and Bacterial Resistance in Selected Human and Animal Pathogens in the UK:2004", available on the Web at http://www.dardni.gov.uk/index/publications/pubs-dard-animal-health/pubs-vet-meds.htm) and (2) the work performed by San Martin, B. et al. Funded by the Chilean National Fund for Scientific and Technological Development (see San Martín, B. et al. "Evaluation of Antimicrobial Resistance Using Indicator Bacteria Isolated from Pigs and Poultry in Chile", Intern J Appl Res Vet Med, Vol. 3, No. 2, 171-178, 2005).
One of the most promising paths in the quest to achieve this goal is to use a biological material that is effective as an antimicrobial agent and as a growth promoter in animals, especially in chickens and pigs. In 2004 the group of Dal-Soo identified (see Dal-Soo, K. et al. "Paenibacillus elgii sp. nov., with broad antimicrobial activity", International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology 54, 2031-2035, 2004), two strains (SD17 and SD18) which were classified as a new spore-forming bacteria with broad antimicrobial activity, said strains being isolated from roots of Perilla frutescens. Later, Dal-Soo, K. ela al. (see Dal-Soo, K. et al. "Paenibacillus elgii SD17 as a Biocontrol Agent Against Soil-borne Turf Diseases", Plant Pathol. J. 21(4):328-333, 2005) identified in strain SD17 a broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity against diseases caused by microorganisms in grass. Laboratory tests conducted with a granule formulation prepared with the fermentation broth of Paenibacillus elgii SD17 showed efficacy similar to the commercial fungicides, while field tests with the same formulation showed an efficacy lower than the commercial fungicides. Despite these results on the field, the authors considered the granule formulation made with Paenibacillus elgii SD17 an appropriate biocontrol agent.
The search for antimicrobial agents for the treatment of plant diseases caused by microorganisms also resulted in the composition disclosed in WO 09045023, which composition is based on the use of superabsorbent polymers as a support for (a) beneficial microorganisms which inhibit the growth of pathogens in plants and (b) a nutrient medium for said beneficial microorganism. On page 13, line 2 of document WO09045023 Paenibacillus elgii SD17 is mentioned as one of the beneficial microorganisms.
EP 1788074 describes new strains belonging to the genus Paenibacillus and their use, or the culture of these new strains to control plant diseases. These new strains are Paenibacillus sp. BS-0048, Paenibacillus sp. BS-0074, Paenibacillus polymyxa BS-0105 and Paenibacillus sp. BS-0277. This document describes formulations comprising the crude fermentation extract using the new strains and/or compounds produced in these fermentations, such compounds called Fusaricidin A, Fusaricidin B, compound 3 and compound 4 with their chemical formulas defined in claim 3.
As can be seen in the prior art mentioned above there is no mention of the isolation of proteins or peptides with protective activity and promotes of plant growth obtained from Paenibacillus sp. And also, there is no report about getting a protein or a peptide derived from Paenibacillus sp. with antimicrobial activity and/or growth promoter in animals intended for slaughter for human consumption. Such proteins or peptides bring an important advance in the search for alternatives to reduce the increasing resistance of pathogenic bacteria to antibiotics in use for the treatment of microbial infections in humans.

Peptides with antimicrobial activity, drug compositions for the treatment and prophylaxis of animals, compositions for the treatment and prophylaxis of plants, uses of said peptides, and uses of

OURO FINO PARTICIPAçÕES EMPREENDIMENTOS S/A

UNIÃO BRASILIENSE DE EDUCÃçO E CULTURA—UBEC


A method of patterning a conductive polymer, an organic light emitting device (OLED) manufactured using the method of patterning a conductive polymer, and a method of manufacturing the OLED are provided. The method of patterning a conductive polymer includes forming a conductive polymer layer on a substrate, aligning a shadow mask above the conductive polymer layer, and forming a conductive polymer pattern area and an insulating area in the conductive polymer layer by radiating charged particle beams through the shadow mask.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of patterning a conductive polymer layer, an organic light emitting device (OLED), and a method of manufacturing the OLED, and more particularly, to a method of patterning a conductive polymer using a charged particle beam, an OLED manufactured by the method of patterning the conductive polymer using a charged particle beam, and a method of manufacturing the OLED.
2. Description of the Related Art
OLEDs have received much attention due to their suitability for color display devices. OLEDs are emissive display devices that emit light using an organic compound. They are thin, and compared to TFT-LCDs, have lower manufacturing costs, lower power consumption, and quicker response time, due to their simple structure and manufacturing process.
OLEDs are devices that transform electrical energy into optical energy in an organic material, to emit light by generating excitons by recombining holes and electrons respectively injected into an anode and a cathode of the organic material.
The OLED includes a metallic cathode, an emission material layer (EML, or a light emitting layer), and an anode, which are sequentially stacked on a basic stacking structure. The performance of the OLED is largely affected by the variation of a multi-layer thin film structure, and the light emitting efficiency and lifespan of the OLED can be improved by adding various functional layers, such as a hole transfer layer (HTL) and an electron transfer layer (ETL), to the basic structure.
The hole transfer layer (HTL) includes a hole injection layer (HIL), a hole transport layer (HTL), and/or a electron blocking layer (EBL). The hole transfer layer (HTL) may be formed of electron donor molecules having low ionization potential to facilitate the hole injection into the hole transfer layer (HTL) from the anode. If the hole transfer layer (HTL) is formed of triphenyldiamine (TPD) monomer and the TPD monomer is exposed to heat for many hours, the TPD monomer crystallizes and loses its hole transferring characteristics, since the TPD monomer has low thermal stability. Therefore, conductive polymers having high thermal stability and conductivity, such as polyethylenedioxythiophene (PEDOT) or polyaniline (PANI), are used for forming the hole transferring material. Also, to use the OLED as a display device, a method of patterning a conductive polymer layer through a photo process after spin-coating the conductive polymer layer on a substrate has been considered.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a conventional method of patterning a conductive polymer for an OLED (refer to Korean Patent No. 2003-044562).
Referring to FIG. 1, the conventional patterning method includes forming a PEDOT layer 120 on a glass substrate 110 by spin-coating, and forming an insulating layer 150 and a hole transport layer (HTL) 140 by radiating high-energy UV rays or X-rays through a photomask 130 onto the glass substrate 110 on which a PEDOT layer 120 is coated.
The conventional method of patterning a conductive polymer forms a conductive polymer pattern using the photomask 130 by radiating high-energy photons, such as UV rays or X-rays.
The conventional method of patterning a conductive polymer uses photons, which have the characteristics of refracting, reflecting, and interfering. It is difficult to control the photons passing through the photomask 130, and an imperfect pattern may be formed due to wave guiding of the photons. When the gap between the photomask 130 and the PEDOT layer 120 is reduced to reduce the wave guiding of the photons, the PEDOT layer 120 can be contaminated by contacting the photomask 130. Furthermore, the conventional method of using high-energy photons to pattern a conductive polymer has a high power consumption.

Method of patterning conductive polymer layer, organic light emitting device, and method of manufacturing the organic light emitting device

Nongseo-Dong, Giheung-Gu, Yongin, Gyunggi-Do


In one embodiment, a method of driving a load can include: monitoring an AC input to a rectifier circuit in real-time, where the rectifier circuit can include first and second rectifier circuits, and controlling first and second controllable switches based on a state of the AC input is in a first state. For example, a first state can include the AC input being in a positive half cycle and increasing, or the AC input being in the positive half cycle and decreasing while being at least as high as a predetermined threshold value. The AC input can be used to supply power to a load circuit and an output capacitor via the first rectifier circuit when the AC input is in the first state, where the first rectifier circuit can include a first diode and the second controllable switch.

Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are widely used as loads in various applications, such as landscape lighting, street lighting, backlighting for electronic products, etc., due to characteristics of energy-savings, high efficiency, and low cost, as compared to other lighting options. Typical LED driving power supplies are designed to be input by commercial power, and to provide DC current for LEDs by rectifying the commercial power to DC power, and then performing a step-up or step-down conversion to the DC power.

Silergy Semiconductor Technology (Hangzhou) LTD