A recipient-dosage delivery system including shearlite particles of a bio-affecting agent for delivery to a recipient. The particles are provided in a metered dose and are packaged in a bi-functional vessel. The particles are produced under liquiflash conditions and exhibit sufficient flowability so as to allow administration of the metered dose to the recipient under the force of gravity.

The present invention relates to the art of processing material, and to a method of harnessing natural mass formation forces and the products resulting therefrom. More particularly, the present invention relates to a delivery system for administering a bio-affecting agent to a recipient without use of a conventional delivery format.
In the past, it has been common to deliver various medicaments and other active ingredients by conventional delivery formats such as tablets and capsules. The use of such formats, although practical in a number of such situations, has certain disadvantages associated therewith. For example, the non-medicament components of the tablet or capsule may negatively impact or be incompatible with the medicament itself. Further, the use of tablets or capsules generally precludes absorption of the medicament by the oral cavity of the recipient (the tablet or capsule having to be first be broken down by the recipient's body before the medicament can be absorbed). This required breakdown of the medicament-carrying delivery format thus delays absorption of the medicament for what may be a medically significant period of time. More to the point, certain medicaments and active ingredients are incompatible with the fluids encountered in the digestive system of the recipient. Finally, certain individuals such as the elderly, have difficulty swallowing tablets and/or capsules.
To address several of the disadvantages associated with the use of tablet and/or capsule delivery formats, the prior art has experimented with the use of powdered medicaments which may be delivered directly to the oral cavity of a recipient. These powdered medicaments, which may be manufactured by processes such as spray congealing, spray drying and granulation processing, are typically delivered to the oral cavity of a recipient by other conventional delivery formats, namely mechanized delivery devices, such as low velocity spray apparatuses including various powder blower devices and inhaler devices. The prior art is replete with examples of such devices.
The delivery of powdered medicaments to the oral cavity of a recipient by means of a low velocity spray apparatus is also not without its disadvantages. For example, the fact that the medicament has been produced in powdered form necessitates the need for the use of a delivery instrument. With respect to the blowers and inhalers used to deliver powdered medicament, it is often difficult to ensure that an accurate dosage of such medicament is consistently delivered to the recipient. Moreover, the delivery instrument must be carried at all times by the recipient and maintained in proper working condition. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that such instruments are often bulky and/or burdensome to transport and, further, increase the total cost associated with delivery of the medicament to the recipient. Moreover, because the same instrument is used for a plurality of applications of medicament to the recipient, the sterility of the instrument must not be compromised.
The prior art has also experimented with the delivery of medicaments by use, for example, of a propellant-containing dosage inhaler. Such devices normally include a pressure unit that contains the propellant. The active compound may either be dissolved in the propellant or suspended in the propellant in solid micronized form. Again, because of the physical form of the medicament, a mechanized device having the above-discussed limitations is necessary to deliver the substance to the recipient.
Thus, the prior art has attempted to deliver medicaments and other active ingredients directly to a recipient in the absence of delivery formats such as tablets, capsules and mechanized devices and/or instruments such as low velocity spray apparatuses. There is therefore a need in the art for a dosage delivery format which allows direct delivery of the dosage to the recipient.
Over the years considerable time, energy and expense have been expended to devise methods for producing substances having unique morphologies in order to meet different requirements for utilizing a variety of substances. For example, it has been found that multiparticulates are useful in providing bio-availability of active ingredients to a recipient subject. Dosage units prepared from multiparticulates are able to introduce active ingredients in a form which a) disperses freely, b) maximizes absorption by increased surface area, while c) toxicity is minimized.
Within the last two decades, investigation in the area of multiparticulates has resulted in the development of spheroidal particles carrying active ingredients for delivery to a bio-system. This process, in general, will be referred to from time to time herein as spheronization. Spheronization has led to the development of several technologies such as spherical agglomeration (e.g., balling, pelletizing), spray congealing, and cryopelletization.
For example, spherical agglomeration processes employ the uses of inclined dish pelletizers, rotary fluidized bed granulators, and marumerizers. Each of these systems rely primarily on liquid bridging and intermolecular and electrostatic forces for binding, often employing binding agents as a necessary part of the formulation. The dish pelletizing process has been found most useful for production of non-powder agglomerations. In order to produce powder agglomerations, a rotary fluidized bed granulator has been used. This process can produce particles which are smaller than that produced using a dish pelletizer.
In spray congealing processes, the drug or active ingredient can be melted or dispersed in hot melts of waxes, fats, and other materials such as excipients. The molten mass is atomized using air, ultra-sound, or a spinning disk. Usually, this process results in a wide distribution of particle sizes, and care must be taken to obtain the correct range of sizes desired for the particular application. Spray congealing is not considered useful for preparing particulates which include heat sensitive drugs since the exposure to high temperature can be inimical to the stability and viability of the active ingredient.
Indeed, the need for preparing particulates which include heat sensitive active ingredients has led to another recent advancement of spheronization technology which is referred to as cryopellitization. Cryopellitization includes the dissolution or dispersion of a drug or active ingredient with water fillers and binders. The viscosity of the resulting dissolution system is very low. Consequently, the dissolution can be poured into liquid nitrogen and thereby form droplets as the dissolution system falls through the nitrogen. The droplets quickly freeze and are later lyophilized to produce fairly large bead like granules having a largest dimension (e.g., diameter) of 0.8 to 2.0 millimeters. While cryopellitization reduces the disadvantage of heat stress generally related to solvent-free products, disadvantages include cost of production, particle size, and output.
Yet another process, referred to as marumerizing is a method whereby a wet paste prepared from a drug or active ingredient, water and a binder is extruded through a screen to produce extrudate. The extrudate is chopped as it exits the extruder opening to produce rod-shaped particles. The rod-shaped particles are further shaped into spheroids using centrifugal and frictional forces provided by a rotating plate. Marumerizing suffers from several disadvantages including composition requirements, difficult and involved processing steps, and mechanical and electrical energy required to drive the processing equipment. Moreover, it is difficult to maintain a high degree of size and shape consistency by the marumerizing process.
None of the processes presently known in the art of particulate preparation have been able to take advantage (at commercial manufacturing volume) of natures ability to form masses of material with a high degree of consistency.
In commonly-owned copending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/269,647 filed Jul. 1, 1994 entitled "Flash Flow Formed Solloid Delivery Systems" (the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference), a method of forming a solloid is disclosed. The solloid formation procedure involves feeding a composition, which includes an active-bearing non-fat substrate and a solid fat at room temperature, preferably to an extruder, subjecting the composition to flash flow conditions, and expelling the composition in a flowable state while applying disruptive force to the composition to form discrete solids. The method includes a carrier element in which an active ingredient is carried.
There is therefore a need in the art for a highly efficient and predictable means of naturally forming minute masses of material on a commercial scale. More to the point, there is a need in the art for a delivery system and/or method of delivering a bio-affecting agent or other active ingredient directly to a recipient in the absence of conventional delivery formats such as tablets, capsules, and mechanized delivery devices or instruments. Other and further objects of the present invention will be realized by those skilled in the art in view of the disclosure set forth herein.


A detachable stacked attachment for a modular conveyor belt. An attachment, for example, a bucket, comprises a group of components arranged side by side in an aligned stack of parallel layers. Interior components are sandwiched between outermost and end components. The number and widths of the components in the stack define the width of the resulting stack attachment. In this way, an attachment of selected width may be attached to a conveyor belt.

The invention relates generally to power-driven conveyor belts and, more particularly, to modular conveyor belt attachments formed of stacked layers of components.
Generally flat conveyor belts often include appurtenances to meet special conveying applications. Flights, buckets, or scoops may be added to a conveyor belt to help convey articles, liquids, or aggregates up inclines. These appurtenances may be integrally molded with the belt or belt modules or may be separate pieces that are attached to the belt. If the topology of a plastic belt module with an appurtenance makes it difficult to mold a unitary part, the appurtenance can be molded separately and attached to the conveyor belt. But some appurtenances, themselves, may have topologies that make molding difficult. For example, a part that includes closed ends and undercut portions may be difficult to mold. Furthermore, whether molded integrally with a belt module or separately, an appurtenance with fixed dimensions may not optimally suit some applications.

Stacked attachments for modular conveyor belts


It is desirable to send documents to a user in such a way as to minimize the bandwidth and other computer resources required. To this end, a document may be categorized as (1) delta information (information that changes rapidly), (2) sub-template information (information that changes less frequently) and (3) template information, which changes very seldom. The template information and sub-template information are compressed and cached at a site remote from the requesting party. Compressing and caching both sub-template information and template information results in a significant savings of bandwidth and computing resources, such as would be required if the sub-template information were treated as delta information and were not stored in a cache as is the case in the prior art. This savings is enhanced when the compressed template and sub-template information are sent to a large number of users.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to distinguishing different elements in a web page so as to reduce the bandwidth and computing resources required to transmit a web page over a network.
2. Related Art
One technique to optimize bandwidth usage and save computing resources involves responding to a request for a web page by looking to what information a client device may have already received from a server at an earlier point in time. Information included in a document may be distinguished from other information included in that same document by looking to how frequently the information changes and whether a user has the most recent version of that part of the document. Using these criteria, information in a document may be categorized as either (1) template information (including information that changes infrequently) or (2) delta information (including information that changes relatively frequently or is somehow personalized with respect to a user). Differential caching and service of template and delta information results in a saving of bandwidth and other computing resources because information that does not change frequently may be compressed and cached at a server that is relatively proximate to one or more end users.
Differential caching based upon the distinction between template information and delta information does not necessarily result in a substantial savings of bandwidth and computing resources under all conditions, particularly under those conditions when amount of delta information exceeds the amount of template information. For example, different elements in a personal web page, such as those provided by Yahoo, may change at very different rates with respect to each other.
For example, the headline stories presented to a user may change every hour, whereas elements associated with the user's decision to view a particular topic may change only occasionally, and still other elements (such as the title bars in a page or logos associated with the provider of the content) may change very rarely. Under these circumstances, the template contains relatively little information compared to the amount of delta information. Under these circumstances, differential caching may not significantly reduce the amount of bandwidth and other resources needed to transmit a web page because a large part of the page must be freshly obtained from the content delivery network or re-compressed every time it is transmitted.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a technique for efficiently serving relatively non-static content in a content delivery network that does not suffer from the drawbacks of the known art.

Template identification with differential caching


A herbicidal composition, which can be formulated for selective or total kill of vegetation or as a growth regulator, comprises a synergistic combination of acetic acid and citric acid.

Many herbicidal compositions exist which are effective in killing all vegetation or selective vegetation. Many are based on sophisticated chemicals, some of which are toxic to other life forms.
Acetic acid exhibits some effect as a herbicide while citric acid at high concentrations exhibits some effect as a herbicide. There have been suggestions to use acetic acid as a herbicide, e.g. DE 4 030 687 (Kast), which describes such use alone or in combination with tensides.


The present invention relates to a grid apparatus that is useful for the training of athletes in speed, agility, strength, plyometrics, balance, cardiovascular and other training exercise activities. The grid apparatus allows athletes to move forward, backward, side to side, and diagonal at multiple height settings. Specifically, the present invention relates to a grid apparatus that has the ability to be held tight and maintain its shape while on any athletic surface. More specifically, the present invention relates to a grid apparatus that may be suspended above the ground at specific heights. The grid apparatus includes, generally, one or more straps intersecting in a grid configuration and one or more stabilizers to functionally suspend the grid apparatus above the ground.

It is, of course, generally known to increase strength, speed, power, and performance through training and exercise. Commonly, there are multiple forms of training such as aerobic and anaerobic exercises. Aerobic exercises are usually known as cardio exercises and relate to improving one's oxygen system. Exercises include, generally, long distance running or other performances over long periods of time. Anaerobic exercises are generally highly intensive activities that are performed in short durations. Exercises include, generally, sprinting or other performances over short periods of time. An individual's endurance is generally aerobic while an individual's agility is generally anaerobic. Universally, an athlete is an individual that engages in both aerobic and anaerobic exercises.
It is generally known that agility is the ability to change a body's position efficiently. Increasing agility requires a combination of increasing balance, coordination, speed, reflexes, strength, endurance, and stamina. Increasing agility is most important for professional and recreational sports, when short bursts of exercise are frequently required.
Often, cones, ladders, ropes, and tires are used to increase agility. These pieces of agility equipment are regularly configured in a straight line so an athlete may only train forwards and backwards, or left and right. Each application of these pieces of agility equipment is typically designed to have an athlete step through a series of footwork combinations in specific locations from one end of the equipment to the other.
Frequently, agility equipment is laid directly onto the ground, floor, or other surface without any anchors or weights supporting it. As an athlete progresses through the equipment using footwork combinations, the athlete may trip, fall on, or ultimately become tangled within the agility equipment. When this occurs, all agility exercises utilizing the equipment must halt until the athlete is removed for the equipment and the equipment is repositioned.
Often, agility equipment is suspended a height above the ground. This is generally achieved by using cages to suspend ropes or ladders a foot or more above the ground. Equipment a foot or more above the ground is difficult for athletes to move through quickly and change direction effectively and focuses more on strength than agility. Cages are normally bulky and surround the entire piece of equipment. This typically prevents athletes from entering and exiting the equipment from any direction and may increase the chance of injury if equipment is not used correctly. Bulky pieces of equipment are also difficult to store and take up a substantial amount of space.
A need, therefore, exists for an apparatus that may be used to increase an athlete's agility.
Moreover, a need exists for an apparatus that may allow an athlete to move forwards, backwards, left, right, and diagonally.
Further, a need exists for an apparatus that may be secured to the ground, floor, or other surface to prevent the apparatus from being repositioned.
Additionally, a need exists for an apparatus that may be suspended a height above the ground that allows an athlete to quickly change direction and swiftly move through the apparatus.
Furthermore, a need exists for an apparatus that may not interfere with or increase risk of injury of an athlete while the apparatus is in use.
Moreover, a need exists for an apparatus that may be stored compactly and efficiently.
In addition, a need exists for an apparatus that may allow an athlete to safely enter and exit the apparatus from any direction.

Athletic agility equipment and methods of using the same


A method for sign-on and sign-out for a computer system. The method includes receiving a first sign-on request for the computer system and obtaining, from the first sign-on request, a first user identifier where the first user identifier corresponds to a first user for the computer system. The method then includes obtaining, from the first sign-on request, a first uniform resource locator (URL) and determining whether the first URL includes a first root name for the computer system. When a determination is made that the first URL includes the first root name for the computer system a first cookie associated with the first user is issued and a first sub-domain name is obtained from the first URL. Also, a second cookie may be issued associated with the first sub-domain name and, when the first cookie and the second cookie are issued, the first user may sign-on to the computer system. In one or more embodiments, the method may include receiving a sign-out request.

Single sign-on web services permit a user to sign-on to multiple websites using one sign-on request. Single sign-on web services also typically permit a user to sign-out from the multiple websites using a single sign-out request.
One type of system that may be used with single sign-on web services is a multi-tenant document and information sharing system. In a multi-tenant document and information sharing system, a user may use a single sign-on request to sign in to the system and may also be signed-in to one or more tenant accounts in the system. When signing out of a multi-tenant document and information sharing system, a user may need to individually sign out of each of the tenant accounts into which the user is signed.


A quick service cart is provided with multiple functionality including a conventional cabinet structure that allow the technician to store tools and instruments for use in servicing or repairing a vehicle. The drawers of the cabinet are configured to prevent the drawers from tipping the cart over when fully extended. The cart also includes features for connecting to electrical and pneumatic tools and instruments, as well as structure for supporting separate tools, instruments and accessories. The cart includes a pair of handles that are ergonomically configured and positioned to facilitate moving the cart with minimal effort and minimal risk of tipping the cart over.

The present disclosure relates to service facilities and in particular to service carts used by technicians in such facilities.
Servicing vehicles, such as for repair or maintenance, usually requires a wide array of tools, ranging from manual tools such as screwdrivers and socket wrenches, to pneumatic tools, such as air wrenches, and several types of diagnostic tools, such as electrical instruments. In most facilities, the tools and instruments required by the service technician(s) are housed in cabinets and work benches that line the perimeter of the service facility. Depending upon the type of service being performed, the technician(s) may require ready access to several tools and instruments, and more significantly may require ready access at a part of the vehicle that is distant from the cabinet or work bench.
In order to address this concern, mobile tool boxes have been provided so that the technician can have immediate access to the tools at any location within the facility. However, the mobile tool box is generally limited to manual tools, or at best cordless electric tools. Moreover, the typical mobile tool box carries every tool used by the technician, which leads to a very heavy, difficult to move tool box.
Consequently, there is a need for a mobile component that carries multiple types of tools and instruments, that is easily moved anywhere in a maintenance or service facility and that allows the technician to have immediate ready access to manual, pneumatic and electrical tools and instruments.


A method and apparatus are provided for the removal of laser ablation byproducts generated in the imaging of laser sensitive media. In accordance with the invention, the byproducts are generated when a laser sensitive media is imaged with a laser. At least two sources of fluid flow are directed toward the imaging area and are oriented such that a substantial component of the bias of one source is anti-parallel with that of the other. These two fluid flow sources are operative to direct the ablation byproducts away from the imaging area, where they are collected by a sink, to which fluid moves. The sink removes the ablation byproducts from the vicinity of the laser sensitive media.

The present invention relates to the field of imaging laser sensitive media using lasers. Specifically, the invention relates to a technique of debris removal for an ablative imaging process.
The notion of using laser imaging is well known in the art. A laser sensitive media is mounted onto the surface of an imaging cylinder and an image is imparted onto the media using a focused write laser of relatively high power. This process is known as xe2x80x9cimagingxe2x80x9d and the laser sensitive media bearing the image is said to be xe2x80x9cimagedxe2x80x9d.
During imaging, the interaction of the laser and the media causes a physical and/or chemical change to the imaged areas of the media. In the process of imaging, matter may be expelled from the laser sensitive media. The expulsion of matter from the media is referred to as ablation. The matter expelled may consist of solids, liquids, gases and plasma; which is commonly considered to be smoke or particulate debris. This smoke and particulate debris are referred to in this application as xe2x80x9cablation byproductsxe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9cablation dustxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9cablation debrisxe2x80x9d.
Ablation byproducts present several difficulties, which may hamper the imaging process. A first problem is related to the immediate effect of the smoke and particulate debris, which accumulates in the imaging area. The functionality of the imaging lasers is impeded by the ablation byproducts in the vicinity of the imaging area. If the lasers are obstructed by smoke and particulate matter, then the result will be a poorly imaged laser sensitive media. Consequently, a need exists for a technique to remove the ablation byproducts from the imaging area in a manner that prevents any negative interaction between the ablation byproducts and the lasers.
When created during the imagewise ablation of a laser sensitive media, the ablation byproducts can also resettle onto the media; this is known as redeposit. This is a particularly critical problem in imaging laser sensitive media, because redeposit can be associated with imaging artifacts which are visible on the final product. Once redeposit has occurred it is difficult to remove the ablative byproducts from the media. Consequently, debris that has resettled onto the media is difficult to remove without damaging the image. A need exists for a technique to remove ablation byproducts from the imaging area of a laser sensitive media so as to minimize the amount of redeposit of debris on the surface of the laser sensitive media.
A third problem associated with ablation byproducts is related to the tendency of the ablation debris to accumulate in the sensitive areas of the imaging lasers and other areas of the imaging device. The ablation debris is dust-like in nature and has a tendency to accumulate almost anywhere. Accumulation of ablation debris can cause severe degradation and/or damage to the components in the imaging system, particularly the laser optics. For example, if a layer of debris collects on a lens, it may drastically affect the lens"" optical performance. For this reason, a need exists for a technique of removing ablation byproducts completely and efficiently from the vicinity of the imaging lasers and the other sensitive areas of the imaging device.
The nature of the ablation byproducts presents a difficulty with respect to its movement. Any attempt to physically move ablation byproducts in a rapid manner is likely to create a dispersing and fast moving plume of ablative byproducts. Once a plume of debris is created in this manner, it may become exceptionally difficult to control or direct and efficiently collect or remove from the imaging device. As a result, a need exists for a technique to direct and trap ablative debris away from the vicinity of an imaging area in a controlled manner, so as to allow efficient collection or removal of the debris.
FIG. 1 depicts two of the techniques used in the prior art. Laser 11 in the imaging head 10 is focused on the imaging area 14 of the media 15 by the laser optics 12 and 13. To date, debris removal techniques have concentrated on sucking or blowing the debris out of the imaging area 14. When ablation byproducts (not shown) are created, they may be sucked out of the imaging area 14 by vacuum source 17. Alternatively, the ablation byproducts may be blown out of the imaging area 14 by air jet 16. Each of these prior art techniques suffer from some of the aforementioned drawbacks. Specifically, the vacuum source 17 does not remove the ablation byproducts very effectively and there may be substantial interference with the lasers. In addition, the method involving air jet 16 effectively removes the debris from the imaging area 14, but generally causes the dispersion of the dust, allowing it to settle on the functional elements of the imaging head 10, and back onto the laser sensitive media 15.
In accordance with the present invention, a method and apparatus for the removal of byproducts associated with laser ablation on a laser sensitive media is disclosed. The invention involves a principal source of fluid flow (a component of which is oriented in a principal direction) and a secondary source of fluid flow (a component of which is oriented in a secondary direction). The principal and secondary sources of fluid flow are then used to direct the ablation byproducts. The ablation byproducts are moved in the principal direction and away from the vicinity of the imaging area by the principal fluid source. However, the debris is simultaneously restrained, so as to ensure that it does not travel too far in the principal direction and that it is not excessively dispersed. The invention also involves a sink, to which fluid moves, which collects the ablation byproducts and removes them from the vicinity of the imaging area.
A laser is given in this application to be any electromagnetic radiation of enough intensity to cause ablation as defined above.
Advantageously, the principal and secondary sources of fluid flow may be effected by a plurality of fluid sources.
Preferably, the sources of fluid flow may be effected by orifices attached to sources of pressurized fluid.
Advantageously, the sink, to which fluid moves, may be effected by a plurality of fluid sinks.
Preferably, the sink may be effected by an orifice attached to a vacuum source.
The laser sensitive media used in the present invention may be mounted on or integral with a flat surface, cylindrical surface, or other advantageous geometry.
Advantageously, the laser sensitive media may be usable in a printing process, which is one of: flexographic printing, lithographic printing, letterpress printing, gravure printing, or xerographic printing.
Advantageously, the invention may involve the additional provision of a barrier adjacent to the imaging area. The barrier is operative to allow the ablation byproducts to pass by the barrier in the principal direction, but to help bias the flow of fluid in the secondary direction.
Another aspect of the present invention concerns a method and apparatus for the removal of the byproducts associated with laser ablation on a laser sensitive media. As before, this aspect of the invention involves providing a principal source of fluid flow. The principal source of fluid flow (a component of which is oriented in a principal direction) directs the ablation byproducts away from the imaging area in the principal direction. A counter-flow source of fluid flow is also required. The counter-flow fluid source creates fluid flow in a counter-flow direction (at least a component of which is anti-parallel to the principal direction). The counter flow fluid source also acts to restrain the ablation byproducts, so as to ensure that they do not travel too far in the principal direction and that they are not excessively dispersed. The final requirement is a sink, to which fluid moves, which creates a fluid flow oriented in a third direction, at least one component of which is substantially orthogonal to the principal direction. The sink collects the ablation byproducts, removing them from the vicinity of the imaging area.
A third aspect of the invention also concerns a method and apparatus for the removal of byproducts associated with laser ablation on a laser sensitive media. As with the previous embodiments, the first requirement is a principal source of fluid flow, which (a component of which is oriented in a principal direction) directs the ablation byproducts away from the vicinity of the imaging area in the principal direction. A plurality of secondary sources of fluid flow is also provided. They create fluid flow in a secondary direction (at least a component of which is orthogonal to the a surface of the laser sensitive media). The plurality of secondary sources of fluid flow also act to restrain the ablation byproducts, ensuring that they do not travel too far in the principal direction and that they are not excessively dispersed. The method also involves the provision of a sink, to which fluid moves, in a third direction (at least one component of which is substantially orthogonal to the principal direction). The sink collects the ablation byproducts, removing them from the vicinity of the imaging area.
Further advantages of the invention will become apparent when considering the drawings in conjunction with the detailed description.

Method and apparatus for removal of laser ablation byproducts


The present invention relates to novel heterocyclyl-containing diaryl sulfide compounds that are useful for treating inflammatory and immune diseases, to pharmaceutical compositions comprising these compounds, and to methods of inhibiting inflammation or suppressing immune response in a mammal.

Inflammation results from a cascade of events that includes vasodilation accompanied by increased vascular permeability and exudation of fluid and plasma proteins. This disruption of vascular integrity precedes or coincides with an infiltration of inflammatory cells. Inflammatory mediators generated at the site of the initial lesion serve to recruit inflammatory cells to the site of the injury. These mediators (chemokines such as IL-8, MCP-1, MIP-1, and RANTES, complement fragments and lipid mediators) have chemotactic activity for leukocytes and attract the inflammatory cells to the inflamed lesion. These chemotactic mediators which cause circulating leukocytes to localize at the site of inflammation require the cells to cross the vascular endothelium at a precise location. This leukocyte recruitment is accomplished by a process called cell adhesion.
Cell adhesion occurs through a coordinately regulated series of steps that allow the leukocytes to first adhere to a specific region of the vascular endothelium and then cross the endothelial barrier to migrate to the inflamed tissue (Springer, T. A., 1994, "Traffic Signals for Lymphocyte Recirculation and Leukocyte Emigration: The Multistep Paradigm", Cell, 76: 301–314; Lawrence, M. B., and Springer, T. A., 1991, "Leukocytes' Roll on a Selectin at Physiologic Flow Rates: Distinction from and Prerequisite for Adhesion Through Integrins", Cell 65: 859–873; von Adrian, U., Chambers, J. D., McEnvoy, L. M., Bargatze, R. F., Arfos, K. E, and Butcher, E. C., 1991, "Two-Step Model of Leukocyte-Endothelial Cell Interactions in Inflammation", Proc. Nat'l. Acad. Sci. USA, 88: 7538–7542; and Ley, K., Gaehtgens, P., Fennie, C., Singer, M. S., Lasky, L. H. and Rosen, S. D.,1991, "Lectin-Like Cell Adhesion Molecule 1 Mediates Rolling in Mesenteric Venules in vivo", Blood, 77: 2553–2555). These steps are mediated by families of adhesion molecules such as integrins, Ig supergene family members, and selectins which are expressed on the surface of the circulating leukocytes and on the vascular endothelial cells. The first step consists of leukocytes rolling along the vascular endothelial cell lining in the region of inflammation. The rolling step is mediated by an interaction between a leukocyte surface oligosaccharide, such as Sialylated Lewis-X antigen (SLex), and a selectin molecule expressed on the surface of the endothelial cell in the region of inflammation. The selectin molecule is not normally expressed on the surface of endothelial cells but rather is induced by the action of inflammatory mediators such as TNF-α and interleukin-1. Rolling decreases the velocity of the circulating leukocyte in the region of inflammation and allows the cells to more firmly adhere to the endothelial cell. The firm adhesion is accomplished by the interaction of integrin molecules that are present on the surface of the rolling leukocytes and their counter-receptors (the Ig superfamily molecules) on the surface of the endothelial cell. The Ig superfamily molecules or CAMs (Cell Adhesion Molecules) are either not expressed or are expressed at low levels on normal vascular endothelial cells. The CAM's, like the selecting, are induced by the action of inflammatory mediators like TNF-alpha and IL-1. The final event in the adhesion process is the extravasation of leukocytes through the endothelial cell barrier and their migration along a chemotactic gradient to the site of inflammation. This transmigration is mediated by the conversion of the leukocyte integrin from a low avidity state to a high avidity state. The adhesion process relies on the induced expression of selectins and CAM's on the surface of vascular endothelial cells to mediate the rolling and firm adhesion of leukocytes to the vascular endothelium.
The interaction of the intercellular adhesion molecule ICAM-1 (cd54) on endothelial cells with the integrin LFA-1 on leukocytes plays an important role in endothelial-leukocyte contact. Leukocytes bearing high-affinity LFA-1 adhere to endothelial cells through interaction with ICAM-1, initiating the process of extravasation from the vasculature into the surrounding tissues. Thus, an agent which blocks the ICAM-1/LFA-1 interaction suppresses these early steps in the inflammatory response. Consistent with this background, ICAM-1 knockout mice have numerous abnormalities in their inflammatory responses.
The present invention discloses compounds which bind to the interaction-domain (I-domain) of LFA-1, thus interrupting endothelial cell-leukocyte adhesion by blocking the interaction of LFA-1 with ICAM-1, ICAM-3, and other adhesion molecules. These compounds are useful for the treatment or prophylaxis of diseases in which leukocyte trafficking plays a role, notably acute and chronic inflammatory diseases, autoimmune diseases, tumor metastasis, allograft rejection, and reperfusion injury.

Aryl phenylheterocyclyl sulfide derivatives and their use as cell adhesion-inhibiting anti-inflammatory and immune-suppressive agents


An apparatus (10) for controlling a location of an image on a conductive transfer belt (15), the conductive transfer belt having a hole (14) and for transferring a plurality of images formed on a photosensitive belt (11), the apparatus includes a transparent photosensor (16) for sensing a location of the hole and for supplying a signal indicating the sensed location, and a microprocessor (CPU) for controlling a relative location of the conductive transfer belt with respect to the photosensitive belt, the microprocessor serving to transfer a plurality of images formed on the photosensitive belt onto different locations on the conductive transfer belt in accordance with the signal.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for adjusting an image location on a medium, more particularly, the apparatus which is capable of controlling a position at where an image is depicted on a medium and is used for a color copying machine.
2. Description of the Related Art
The inventors of the present invention know that a color copying machine known which is operated in the following manner in order to form a color image on a transfer medium.
The operation of the above-mentioned known copying machine includes the steps of giving a mark to a reference location on the transfer medium, sensing the given mark with a sensor, and transferring respective color images on the different places of the transfer medium so as to control a timing for forming a subject image on the basis of the information sent from the sensor.
As will be understood from the above-mentioned operation, the known color copying machine keeps an image-created location at a predetermined distance from the reference point on the transfer medium. Therefore, in case that a lot of same-sized images are created, the toner is transferred and a cleaning unit is pressurized on the same place of the transfer medium in any image so that the transfer medium may be abraded at one place while those images are copied over and over for a long period. The abraded medium may disadvantageously result in having an adverse effect on forming of the copy image.

Apparatus for controlling image location on medium


The invention relates to novel CD4-independent HIV Envelope proteins and uses therefor.

The present invention relates to CD4-independent variants of HIV, their proteins, and uses therefor.
HIV entry is known to require an interaction of the viral envelope glycoprotein (Env) with CD4 and cellular chemokine receptors. HIV Env protein is produced as a precursor (gp160) that is subsequently cleaved into two parts, gp120 which binds CD4 and chemokine receptors, and gp41 which is anchored in the viral membrane and mediates membrane fusion. Differential use of chemokine receptors by HIV and SIV has largely explained differences in tropism among different isolates (Berger, 1997, AIDS 11:S3-S16; Hoffman and Doms, 1998, AIDS 12:S17-S26). While a number of chemokine receptors can be utilized by HIV or SIV (Deng et al., 1997, Nature 388:296-300; Choe et al., 1996, Cell 85, 1135-1148; Rucker et al., 1997, J. Virol. 71:8999-9007; Edinger et al., 1997, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 94:14742-14747; Liao et al., 1997, J. Exp. Med. 185:2015-2023; Farzan et al., 1997, J. Exp. Med. 186:405-411), CCR5 and CXCR4 appear to be the principal coreceptors for HIV-1 (Zhang et. al., 1998, J. Virol. 72:9337-9344; Zhang et al., 1998, J. Virol. 72:9337-9344). Isolates of HIV that first establish infection target blood lymphocytes and macrophages using CCR5 (Alkhatib et al., 1996, Science 272:1955-1958; Deng et al., 1996, Nature 381:661-666; Dragic et al., 1996, Nature 381:667-673; Doranz et al., 1996, Cell 85:1149-1158), while, viruses that are generally associated with progression to AIDS and can infect T cell lines in vitro use CXCR4 (Choe et al., 1996, Cell 85:1135-1148; Feng et al., 1996, Science 272:872-876; Connor et al., 1997, J. Exp. Med. 185:621-628).
Binding of Env to CD4 initiates poorly understood conformational changes enabling gp120 to bind to a chemokine receptor and leading to fusion of the viral and cellular membranes (Jones et al., 1998, J. Biol. Chem. 273:404-409; Moore et al., 1994, J. Virol. 68:469-484; Wyatt, 1992, J. Virol. 66:6997-7004; Wu et al., 1996, Nature 384:179-183). Immunologic and mutagenesis approaches have indicated that these changes involve movement of V1/V2 and V3 hypervariable loops on gp120 (Moore, et al., 1994, J. Virol. 68:469-484; Wyatt et al., 1992, J. Virol. 66:6997-7004; Wu et al., 1996, Nature 384:179-183), which play a critical role in the specificity of chemokine receptor utilization (Choe et al., 1996, Cell 85:1135-1148; Cocchi et al., 1996, Nature Med 2:1244-1247; Cho et al., 1998, J. Virol. 72:2509-2515; Speck et al., 1997, J. Virol. 71:7136-7139; Ross et al., 1998, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 95:7682-7686; Hoffman et al., 1998, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 95:11360-11365). The recent crystallographic resolution of a gp120 core structure bound to CD4 has revealed an intervening β sheet (the "bridging sheet") between the inner and outer domains of gp120 that may serve as an additional contact site for the chemokine receptor (Wyatt and Sodroski, 1998, Science 280:1884-1888; Rizzuto et al., 1998, Science 280:1949-1953).
Although CD4 is generally required for gp120 to associate with a chemokine receptor, the identification of CD4-independent isolates of HIV-1, HIV-2, and SIV has demonstrated that functional interactions with chemokine receptors can occur in the absence of CD4 interaction (Edinger et al., 1997, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 94:14742-14747; Reeves and Schulz, 1996, J. Virol. 71:1453-1465; Endres et al., 1996, Cell 87:745-756; Dumonceaux et al., 1998, J. Virol. 72:512-519). The determinants for the CD4-independent phenotype have been mapped to the viral env gene, but the underlying mechanisms of this phenotype are unknown. It has been proposed that mutations in env may increase the exposure and/or the affinity of the chemokine receptor binding site on gp120, thus circumventing the need for CD4 (Endres et al., 1996, Cell 87:745-756).
Biochemical assays have also shown that mutated or deglycosylated recombinant gp120 can bind directly to chemokine receptors, suggesting that domains normally activated by CD4 can be artificially exposed (Hesselgesser et al., 1997, Curr. Biol. 7: 112-121; Martin et al., 1997, Science 278:1470-1473; Bandres et al., 1998, J. Virol. 72:2500-2504; Misse et al., 1998, J. Virol. 72:7280-7288). A greater understanding of the determinants responsible for CD4-independence should provide insights into the Env domains that mediate and modulate interactions of Env with chemokine receptors and that ultimately govern viral entry.
To date, the ability of HIV-1 to escape the immune system has hindered development of efficacious vaccines to this important human pathogen. Thus, there is a long-felt and unfilled need for the development of effective vaccines and therapeutic modalities for HIV-1 infection in humans. The present invention meets those needs.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

CD4-independent HIV envelope proteins as vaccines and therapeutics

The Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania


The disclosed invention provides apparatus and methods that can convert frequencies of time-encoded signals. In one aspect, a down-converter circuit includes low-pass filters, a switch, a time encoder, and an output low-pass filter. In another aspect, an up-converter circuit includes an analog or digital input time encoder, low-pass filters, a switch, an output time encoder, and a time-encoded band-pass filter. In yet another aspect, a complete receiver system is provided. The receiver system can operate effectively with signals in the radio frequency range.

The continuing decrease in the minimum feature size of modern complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor processes has necessitated a reduction in the circuit supply voltage for reliability and power-dissipation reasons. This reduction is problematic for traditional analog-to-digital conversion schemes because of the reduction in the resolution available within the amplitude range. On the other hand, the decrease in the minimum feature size has a beneficial effect on the obtainable time resolution in the circuitry, owing to the increase in the intrinsic speed of the transistors. Therefore, it is of interest to turn over the amplitude axis to the time axis and to encode information in the latter rather than the former (Roza, IEEE Transactions on Circuits and Systems—II: Analog and Digital Signal Processing, Vol. 44, No. 11, 1997). Such a concept is now known as "time encoding."
Time encoding is a real-time, asynchronous mechanism for encoding the amplitude information of an analog band-limited signal into a time sequence, or time codes, based on which the signal can be reconstructed. Time codes can be generated by simple non-linear asynchronous analog circuits with low power consumption.
As described in Lazar and Tóth (IEEE Transactions on Circuits and Systems—I: Regular Papers, Vol. 51, No. 10, 2004), which is hereby incorporated by reference, time encoding of a band-limited function x(t) is a representation of x(t) as a sequence of strictly increasing times tk. Alternatively, the output of an encoder can be a digital signal that switches between two values ±b at times tk.
There are two natural requirements that a time-encoding mechanism has to satisfy (Lazar and Tóth, 2004). The first is that the encoding should be implemented as a real-time asynchronous circuit. Second, the encoding mechanism should be invertible, i.e., the amplitude information can be recovered from the time sequence with arbitrary accuracy.
Radio-frequency, or RF, signals are electromagnetic signals, i.e. waveforms with electrical and magnetic properties within the electromagnetic spectrum normally associated with radio wave propagation. Many communication systems modulate electromagnetic signals from baseband to higher frequencies for transmission, and subsequently demodulate those high frequencies back to their original frequency band when they reach the receiver. The original (or baseband) signal may be, for example, data, voice or video. These baseband signals may be produced by transducers such as microphones or video cameras, may be computer-generated, or may be transferred from an electronic storage device. In general, the high frequencies provide longer range and higher capacity channels than baseband signals, and because high-frequency signals can effectively propagate through the air, they can be used for wireless transmissions as well as hard-wired or wave-guided channels.
However, to our knowledge, there have been no successful attempts in the art at frequency conversion of time-encoded signals. There is a need in the art to provide circuits that are capable of being used as building blocks for software-programmable time-encoded radio receivers. What is essentially needed is a complete radio receiver system that includes effective time-encoded filters and down-converters.

Down-converter and up-converter for time-encoded signals


Processes include a process for transmitting a payload embedded in a picture using payload-in-picture-encoding. The process may comprises transmitting a human recognizable picture by a first device, receiving the transmitted human recognizable picture by a second device, the received human recognizable picture is processed and transformed into a payload, wherein the payload is one of a 2D payload image, an encrypted 2D payload image, a text message, an encrypted text message, a file, and encrypted file. The process is performed by taking remainders of an modulo operation with a modulus M of brightness values of pixels of the received recognizable picture, combining the taken remainders having n′ bits of a plurality of pixels of the received human recognizable picture into a payload having n bits, wherein n is larger than n′, and wherein a maximum of n′ bit number is less than the modulus M, reconstructing the transformed payload comprising the payload having n bits combined from the taken remainders having n′ bits.

Encryption processes such as AES encryption and RSA encryption and the like are widely known and commonly used for protecting a secret in transmission. A secret may be for privacy and the like. Since the message transmitted is encrypted, an unauthorized receiver may not be able to read it. However, although a receiver may not be able to decrypt the message received, the receiver knows that the message is encrypted, since the encrypted message is typically randomized and not human recognizable.
In some instances, an encrypted message may attract unwanted attention and more likely to get blocked or dropped in the transmission. Accordingly, not only an encrypted message is desired, but an encrypted message carried by a disguised media such as a human recognizable picture is also desired. So, the message transmitted looks like an unrelated but human recognizable picture, but actually a secret payload is encoded or embedded in the human recognizable image.
Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding components throughout the several views of the drawings. Skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of various embodiments of the present invention.


To determine a failure of a float switch for detecting whether or not the oil level is less than or equal to a predetermined oil level. A predetermined oil level OLth is set between a normal oil level and a minimum oil level in view of the fact that when the oil level in an oil pan is normal, the oil level is decreased from the normal oil level to the minimum oil level during a predetermined time period just after starting an engine. When a float switch is not changed from an OFF position to an ON position during the predetermined time period after starting the engine, it is determined that the float switch suffers a failure or the oil level is excessive.

A vehicular oil level detecting device is known wherein a detection level is set between an oil level at the time of turning on an ignition switch and an oil level at the time of starting an engine in view of the fact that the oil level in an oil reservoir is decreased at the time of the starting of the engine. In addition, an oil level switch is adapted to be operated when the oil level is less than or equal to the detection level mentioned above. The oil level switch is provided in the oil reservoir. See, for example, Japanese Utility Model Laid-open No. Hei 5-66523 (FIG. 4).
In the technique described in Japanese Utility Model Laid-open No. Hei 5-66523, when the oil level switch has already been operated (OFF position as defined in Japanese Utility Model Laid-open No. Hei 5-66523) at the time of turning on the ignition switch, an oil warning lamp is turned on.
However, the conventional vehicular oil level detecting device mentioned above has a problem such that when the oil level switch suffers an open position failure (i.e., the OFF position is always held), improper determination may be made in such a manner that the oil level is improperly determined to be normal in spite of the lack of oil in the oil reservoir.


A furniture object includes a load-bearing support assembly, a seating assembly, and a seal assembly. The load-bearing support assembly may support a structural load. The load-bearing support assembly includes a plurality of load-bearing beams. The seating assembly may receive the structural load such that the seating assembly conducts the structural load to the load-bearing support assembly. The seal assembly includes a partition structure configured to define a sealable aperture into an interior of the furniture object. The load-bearing beams, the seating assembly, and the seal assembly collectively define a sealable enclosure within an interior of the furniture object, such that the furniture object may hold a plurality of separate pieces of a separate furniture object within the enclosure, and the partition structure may detach from a remainder structure of the seal assembly to enable removal of the plurality of separate pieces from the enclosure through the opened aperture.

Furniture is often used in environments (e.g., residential, commercial, industrial, etc.) to support or otherwise aid in various human activities, such as seating, eating, sleeping, storage, and the like. To this end, furniture may include multiple furniture objects, referred to herein as a "furniture set," that collectively support or otherwise aid in one or more human activities. Such support or aid is generally referred to herein as providing "utility" to a human engaging ("interacting") with the furniture objects of the furniture set. A human interacting with one or more furniture objects may be referred to herein as a "user."
As an example of a furniture set including multiple furniture objects that collectively provide utility to a user, a sofa furniture set may include a first furniture object that is a sofa and a second furniture object that is an ottoman, where the sofa and the ottoman may collectively provide utility to a user seated on the sofa (e.g., to rest the user's legs on the ottoman). In another example, a sofa furniture set may include a first furniture object that is a sofa and a second furniture object that is a table, where the sofa and the table may collectively provide utility to a user seated on the sofa (e.g., to rest objects on the table for use and/or ease of access by the user that is seated on the sofa).
In some cases, the various furniture objects of a furniture set may be manufactured in one or more locations and transported over significant distances to a merchant and/or end-user of the furniture set.

Furniture object including sealable enclosure for storing piece of separate furniture object


Various methods and processing systems are disclosed which include sending and receiving components communicating over a bus having first and second channels. The sending component may broadcast on the first channel a plurality of read and write address locations, a plurality of transfer qualifiers, and write data. The receiving component may store the write data broadcast on the first channel at the receiving component based on the write address locations and a first portion of the transfer qualifiers. The receiving component may also retrieve read data from the receiving component based on the read address locations and a second portion of the transfer qualifiers, and broadcast the retrieved read data on the second channel.

1. Field
The present disclosure relates generally to digital systems, and more specifically, to a two channel bus structure capable of supporting address information, data and transfer qualifiers.
2. Background
Computers have revolutionized the electronics industry by enabling sophisticated processing tasks to be performed with just a few strokes of a keypad These sophisticated tasks involve an incredibly high number of complex components that communicate with one another in a fast and efficient manner using a bus. A bus is a channel or path between components in a computer.
A typical computer includes a microprocessor with system memory. A high bandwidth system bus may be used to support communications between the two. In addition, there may also be a lower performance peripheral bus which is used to transfer data to lower bandwidth peripherals. In some cases, there may also be a configuration bus which is used for the purpose of programming various resources. Bridges may be used to efficiently transfer data between the higher and lower bandwidth buses, as well as provide the necessary protocol translation.
Many buses resident in a computer have traditionally been implemented as shared buses. A shared bus provides a means for any number of components to communicate over a common path or channel. In recent years, shared bus technology has been replaced to a large extent by point-to-point switched connections. Point-to-point switched connections provide a direct connection between two components on the bus while they are communicating with each other. Multiple direct links may be used to allow several components to communicate at the same time.
Conventional bus designs include independent and separate read, write and address channels. A microprocessor, for example, can read or write to system memory by placing an address location on the address channel and sending the appropriate read/write control signal. When the microprocessor writes data to system memory, it sends the data over the write channel. When the microprocessor reads data from system memory, it receives the data over the read channel.
Although this particular bus structure provides a fairly standardized way to communicate between components of a computer, it requires a number of dedicated channels. These channels require driver, receiver and buffer circuits, all of which consume power. In integrated circuit applications, these channels occupy valuable chip area. Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a simplified bus structure.


A front airbag for vehicle occupants, comprising a front face (16) facing the vehicle occupant in the inflated state, a rear panel (14) facing the vehicle front end and a chamber defining the interior of the inflated airbag (10) is characterized in that, relating to the front face (16), a central sub-chamber starting from the front face (16) is provided which is defined by a central front panel (20) forming part of the front face (16) and a circumferential central side panel (22), wherein the circumferential side panel (22) protrudes into the envelope of the inflated airbag (10), and in that at least one outer chamber (30) laterally adjacent to the central sub-chamber (18) and surrounding the sub-chamber (18) at least partially on the outside is provided which includes an outer front panel (32) forming part of the front face (16) and a side panel (34) which is adjacent to the central side panel (22).

The invention relates to a front airbag for vehicle occupants, especially a driver airbag which offers protection in the case of frontal impact.
Front airbags, for example for driver or passenger, are accommodated in the steering wheel and, resp., in the instrument panel and in the case of restraint exit the same for extending in the direction of the occupant. The part of the airbag panel facing the vehicle occupant in the inflated state forms the front face of the airbag which is contacted by the occupant.
It is quite generally known to arrange tensile means, usually tethers, in airbags to impart a particular shape to the airbag, i.e. to prevent particular portions of the airbag panel from moving unhindered during deployment or during penetration by the occupant.
In the case of front airbags, it becomes increasingly important to control the movement of the head while the latter penetrates the airbag due to the friction between the head and the airbag panel, which is technically extremely difficult, however. It is especially difficult in the case of diagonal impact, when the head does not penetrate the airbag in the center but in the boundary area.


An electrical connector, mounted upon a printed circuit board, includes an insulative housing, a number of terminals disposed in the insulative housing, a shielding shell attached to the housing, and a glue wall formed by glue. The housing defines a third base portion and a groove located at an upper surface in a rear end and for receiving glue. The terminals has a number of first contacts and a number of second contacts. Each first contact has a first soldering portion and each second contact has a second soldering portion. The shielding shell defines a guiding hole for flowing the glue. The glue wall flows from the guiding hole through the groove to seal up a gap between the insulative housing and the shielding shell.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electrical connector, and more particularly to an electrical connector with water resistance.
2. Description of Related Art
Universal Serial Bus (USB) and USB connectors are well known in the art. China Patent No. 203871583 discloses a reverse electrical connector. The electrical connector includes an insulative housing, a number of contacts, a metal case engaged with the insulative housing, and a shielding shell enclosing the insulative housing. The insulative housing includes a first insulative base, a second insulative base, and a third insulative housing. The third insulative housing defines a third insulative base and a tongue portion extending forwardly from the third base. The contacts include a number of first contacts retained in the first base and a number of second contacts retained in the second base. Each of the first contacts has a first contacting portion pendent from the first base and each of the second contacts has a second contacting portion pendent from the second base. There are a number of gaps between the first insulative base, the second insulative base, the third insulative housing and the contacts to cause fluid into the electrical connector to damage the contacts or contribute to failure to the contacts.
Hence, a new and simple electrical connector are desired.


According to one embodiment, a magnetoresistive element includes first, second and third magnetic layers, and first and second nonmagnetic layers. The third magnetic layer has stack layers including a first stack layer close to the second magnetic layer, and a second stack layer far from the second magnetic layer. Each of the first and second stack layers includes a first layer made of a ferromagnetic material and a second layer made of a nonmagnetic material, and a first ratio of a film thickness of the first layer to that of the second layer in the first stack layer is higher than a second ratio of a film thickness of the first layer to that of the second layer in the second stack layer.

Recently, a magnetic random access memory (MRAM) using a spin-polarized electric current has been proposed. This MRAM uses a perpendicular-magnetization magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) element.
In the perpendicular-magnetization MTJ element, a leakage magnetic field from a reference layer sometimes shifts the hysteresis of a storage layer, and this makes it impossible to write information in a zero-field state. To zero the shift magnetic field, therefore, a shift adjustment layer is formed in the MTJ element. However, the leakage magnetic field from the reference layer increases as the degree of micropatterning increases. This makes it necessary to increase the leakage magnetic field from the shift adjustment layer as micropatterning advances. To increase the leakage magnetic field from the shift adjustment layer, it is necessary to increase the saturation magnetization of the shift adjustment layer, or increase the film thickness of the shift adjustment layer. However, the perpendicularity of the shift adjustment layer becomes difficult to hold if the saturation magnetization is increased, and a pillar shape becomes difficult to process if the film thickness is increased.


The present invention includes: a resist film forming step of forming a resist film over a substrate; an exposure step of exposing the resist film into a predetermined pattern; a metal treatment step of causing a treatment agent to enter an exposed portion exposed in the exposure step of the resist film and causing metal to infiltrate the exposed portion via the treatment agent; and a resist film removing step of removing an unexposed portion not exposed in the exposure step of the resist film to form a resist pattern over the substrate.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a substrate treatment method, a non-transitory computer storage medium, and a substrate treatment system for executing the substrate treatment method.
This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority of the prior Japanese Patent Application No. 2013-44421, filed in Japan on Mar. 6, 2013, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a photolithography process in a manufacturing process of a semiconductor device, for example, a resist coating treatment of applying a resist solution onto a semiconductor wafer (hereinafter, referred to as a "wafer") to form a resist film, exposure processing of irradiating the resist film over the wafer front surface with light in a predetermined pattern to expose the resist film, a developing treatment of developing the exposed resist film and so on are performed in sequence to form a predetermined resist pattern in the resist film over the wafer front surface.
The aforementioned developing treatment is performed, for example, by supplying a developing solution onto the resist film over the wafer. In this case, a so-called pattern collapse in which the resist pattern tilts to collapse arises due to the surface tension of the developing solution affecting the resist pattern.
Hence, it is proposed that the developing treatment is performed using a developing solution with a surface tension decreased by mixing an organic solvent in an undiluted developing solution (Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2012-22244).
However, in the case of performing the developing treatment using the developing solution described in Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2012-22244, the pattern collapse can be suppressed correspondingly to the decrease in surface tension of the developing solution, but there is still room for improvement in practice.
In particular, semiconductor devices in recent years are miniaturized to be, for example, 20 nm or less, and resist patterns are being miniaturized. In other words, the aspect ratio of the resist pattern increases. Therefore, a problem of the pattern collapse becomes prominent, and it is necessary to suppress the pattern collapse so as to appropriately form a resist pattern also from this viewpoint.

Substrate treatment method, non-transitory computer storage medium and substrate treatment system


An automatic welding system uses an anti-gravitational welding controller to minimize or eliminate the undercutting and concavity of the roots of the welds caused by gravitational effects. The pressure within the pipes to be welded is continually changed as the welder orbits the pipes. At the upper section of the weld, positive pressure is applied to the pipes to eliminate undercutting at the upper surface of the weld and negative pressure (vacuum) is applied to the lower section of the weld to eliminate concavity of the root of the weld. In one mode, the internal pressure within the pipes is varied as a function of the position of the orbital welder. In another mode, the arc voltage at the tip of the weld, i.e., the distance between the tip of the weld and the surface of the weld, is maintained constant by varying the pressure within the pipes. The system allows for the completion of high quality welds with less weld material, less passes, and less time. It also allows the welding to be performed by welders who are less experienced and skilled as the present welders.

This invention relates generally to systems for welding pipes, and more particularly to a system for welding pipes which automatically compensates for the gravitational effect on the weld which causes undercutting of the weld in the upper section of the weld and concavity of the root of the weld in the lower section of the weld.
Welded pipes must meet ASME (American Society of Mechanical Engineers) specifications and codes. These codes require finished weld geometry, as well as freedom from discontinuities, voids, cracks and porosity. In addition, in welding pipes together, consideration must be given to the pipe orientation due to the effect of gravity on the molten weld puddle. Thus, when two cylindrical pipes are butt welded together in a horizontal orientation, the molten weld puddle at the 12:00 position, i.e. the upper most position, will tend to sag inward, causing an undercut at the outside of the weld. Similarly, at the 6:00 position, i.e., the lower most section of the weld, the inside part of the weld (the weld root) becomes concave and the outside part of the weld bulges outward.
In order to avoid these problems, the pipes are beveled inwardly and the weld is made in many small passes using filler metal. This method keeps the puddle small and when accurately performed, the surface tension of the smaller puddle can be stronger than the force of gravity eliminating the gravitational effect described above. The amount of beveling of the pipe depends on the wall thickness. The thicker the joint is, the more weld metal is required to fill it and thus, more passes and more time are required to complete the joint.
With the present system requiring multiple passes and extreme care in making the weld, highly skilled and experienced welders are required to provide welds with minimum undercutting on the outside of the weld and minimum concaving at the root of the weld.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,121,748 (Yokokawa et al.) discloses an automatic gas pressure welding system which uses positive pressure and heating to butt end pipes together. The system automatically controls the width of the heated areas in conformity with the amount of contraction of the pipes. U.S. Pat. No. 4,733,051 (Nadea et al.) discloses an automatic control system for controlling the penetration of the weld pool. U.S. Pat. No. 5,096,110 (Shmatz et al.) shows an automatic brazing control system which employs water and oxygen pressure as a function of temperature. U.S. Pat. No. 3,614,376 (Boodell) discloses an aluminum tube welding system which applies purging gas under pressure to reduce the concavity of the outer weld surface.
An article in Process Pipe and Tube Welding publication published in 1991 discloses an automatic pressure control system which applies a fixed negative pressure to remove concavity at the 6:00 position.
However, none of the available welding systems apply a continuously variable pressure and vacuum within the pipes during welding which proportionately provides increasing positive pressure from the 9:00 position to the 12:00 position, decreasing positive pressure from the 12:00 position to the 3:00 position, increasing negative pressure (vacuum) from the 3:00 to the 6:00 position and decreasing negative pressure from the 6:00 position to the 9:00 position, as does the present invention. This tends to eliminate all undercutting and concavity throughout the entire circumference of the weld, with the pressure applied within the pipes varying from a maximum positive pressure at 12:00 to a maximum negative pressure at 6:00 and approximately 0 pressure applied at 3:00 and 9:00.
The system of the present invention will drastically reduce the number of passes required in obtaining a weld, the amount of undercutting and concavity of the weld, and the amount of beveling of the surfaces of the pipes being welded together at the weld, thereby reducing the amount of weld material required as well as welding time. In fact, for thin wall pipe sizes less than 0.250 inches, the requirement for a bevel joint is eliminated and the weld can be performed in a single pass using less skilled operators.


A ball screw comprising a screw shaft 1 made of steel and having a thread groove 6 on outer peripheral surface, a ball nut 2 made of steel and having a thread groove 7 opposing the thread groove 6 on inner peripheral surface, a return tube 3 attached on the ball nut 2, and a plurality of balls inserted between the two thread grooves 6 and 7 and in the return tube 3. As the balls, steel balls 4 made of bearing steel and ceramic balls 5 made of silicon nitride are disposed alternately at a given ratio. Diameter Dc of the ceramic ball 5 is set to a value smaller than diameter Ds of the steel ball 4 so that contact stress acted on contact surfaces of the ceramic ball 5 and the two thread grooves 6 and 7 will be equal to contact stress acted on contact surfaces of the steel ball 4 and the two thread grooves 6 and 7.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a ball screw used in a feed system of machine tools, general industrial machinery and the like. In particular, the invention relates to a ball screw suitable for high-speed feed motion.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, a ball screw comprises a screw shaft having a thread groove on outer peripheral surface, a ball nut having a thread groove on inner peripheral surface opposed to the thread groove of the screw shaft and a plurality of balls to be inserted between the two thread grooves and recirculated along a ball circulation passage provided in the ball nut. So as to form ball circulation passage, return tube type, insert piece type, end cap type or guide plate type is adopted. In the ball screw used in the application for the positioning with high accuracy, a ball screw is held under a preload so that the axial clearance in the ball screw is eliminated and the rigidity of the ball screw may become larger with the lesser elastic displacement under the axial load. In addition, the two thread grooves are formed generally in form of gothic arc. The methods to apply preloading are roughly divided to: fixed position preloading and fixed pressure preloading (to apply tensile preloading with a spring between two ball nuts). As the fixed position pre-loading, over-sized ball preloading method or lead-shift preloading method is adopted in case of single nut. In case of double-nut, tensile preloading method to insert a thick spacer to match the preloading amount between the two ball nuts or compression preloading method to insert a thin spacer to match the preloading amount is adopted. (For instance, see: Minoru Izawa: xe2x80x9cApplied Technique of Ball Screwxe2x80x9d, 1st edition, published by Kogyo Chosakai, Ltd. (May 20, 1993), pp.18-21 and pp.49-51.)
In such a type of ball screw, chromium-molybdenum steel SCM415H or SCM420 H (JIS G 4105) is used as the material for the screw shaft and the ball nut. Surface hardness is held in HRC 58-62 (Hv 650-740) by carburizing and quenching and by tempering. As the ball to bear the axial load, steel balls for ball bearings (JIS B 1501) made of high carbon chromium bearing steel SUJ2 (JIS G 4805) is used. (Hereinafter, the steel balls for ball bearings is referred as xe2x80x9csteel ballsxe2x80x9d.) When preloading or pressurization is applied on the ball screw, spacer steel balls with diameter of several tens of xcexcm smaller than the diameter of steel balls are often disposed at a rate of every one ball, every two balls, or every three balls with the purpose of suppressing the increase of friction torque caused by jamming of steel balls against each other. Also, the screw shaft made of carbon steel AISI 4150H or S55C (JIS G 4051) and processed by induction hardening is often used.
In the ball screw with xe2x80x9conly steel ballsxe2x80x9d inserted in it, there have been problems as given below when high-speed feeding is performed at 60 m/min. or more, for instance.
{circle around (1)} Heat generation is increased, and this induces elongation of the screw shaft due to temperature increase. The elongation of the screw shaft leads to poor positioning accuracy.
{circle around (2)} When preloading is applied on the ball screw, the pre-load value increases due to thermal expansion of the steel balls or centrifugal force acting upon the steel balls when the screw shaft is rotated at high speed. The increase of the preload value leads to further increase of heat generation. That is, elongation of the screw shaft is increased, and this results in still poorer positioning accuracy.
{circle around (3)} Noise during ball screw operation is increased.
{circle around (4)} In case of the return tube type ball screw:
(i) Balls (steel balls or ceramic balls as to be described later) are separated from thread grooves on the screw shaft and these balls hit the tongue of the return tube when the balls enter the return tube. The increased hitting force of steel balls may repeatedly exerts action on the tongue, and the tongue may be damaged in many cases. (For instance, see xe2x80x9cApplied Technique of Ball Screwxe2x80x9d, ibid., pp.117-121.)
(ii) In the ball screw, a certain fluctuation or variation occurs in the circulating movement of balls due to deviation caused in fabrication and assembling stages. For this reason, the balls discharged from the return tube hit a portion near the land (cylindrical outer periphery of the screw shaft) of the thread groove of the screw shaft, and the balls are then caught in the thread grooves. The increased collision force of the steel balls repeatedly exerts action on a portion near the land and this results in damage on the thread grooves. As a result, practical service life of the ball screw is shortened.
As one of the means to solve the above problems, ceramic balls made of silicon nitride (Si3N4) with lower density and lower linear expansion coefficient than steel balls as shown in Table 1 (hereinafter referred as xe2x80x9cceramic ballsxe2x80x9d) are used instead of the steel balls.
However, in the ball screw with xe2x80x9conly ceramic ballsxe2x80x9d inserted in it, there have been the following problems:
{circle around (1)} When preloading or pressurization is applied on the ball screw and high-speed feeding is performed, temperature increase is relatively lower compared with the case where only the steel balls are inserted. However, axial clearance is apt to occur and then preload is lost, which will result in poorer positioning accuracy. The reason to cause the axial clearance is that the diameter of ceramic ball is smaller compared with sizes of the screw shaft and the ball nut made of steel (linear expansion coefficient: 11.9xc3x9710xe2x88x926/xc2x0C.), and linear expansion coefficient is also lower. As a result, it is more likely to be subjected to the influence of temperature increase.
{circle around (2)} Compared with the ball screw with only the steel balls inserted, the screw shaft has generally shorter service life. This is attributed to the fact that, if steel ball and ceramic ball have the same diameter, when the same axial load (i.e. the same magnitude of rolling element load) is applied, contact surface area of the ceramic balls and the two thread grooves is smaller than that of the steel balls. As a result, high contact stress is caused on contact surface, and this leads to shorter service life of the thread grooves (according to the elastic contact theory by Hertz).
{circle around (3)} When a rotating screw shaft is stopped and is rotated in reversed direction, shock load is applied on contact surface of balls (steel balls or ceramic balls) and the two thread grooves. (The higher the rotating speed of the screw shaft is, the higher the shock load is.) Ceramic balls are harder than steel balls and have higher modulus of longitudinal elasticity than steel balls (See Table 1 above), and indentation is more likely to occur on the thread grooves due to the shock load. As a result, noise during ball screw operation is increased, and service life of the thread grooves is decreased due to indentation. Thus, ceramic balls are inferior to steel balls in the shock resistance of the thread grooves.
{circle around (4)} Ceramic balls are very expensive in cost compared with steel balls. For instance, in case of a ball with nominal diameter of xc2xc inch (6.35 mm), market price of steel ball is about 0.8 yen/piece, while that of ceramic ball is 20 yen or more/piece.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a ball screw, by which it is possible to overcome the above problems in the conventional type ball screw with xe2x80x9conly steel ballsxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9conly ceramic ballsxe2x80x9d inserted in it and which is suitable for the application of high-speed feed motion.
The present invention provides a ball screw, which comprises a screw shaft made of steel and having a thread groove on outer peripheral surface, a ball nut made of steel and having a thread groove on inner peripheral surface opposed to the thread groove of the screw shaft and a plurality of balls inserted between the two thread grooves and to be recirculated along a ball circulation passage provided in the ball nut, whereby the steel balls made of bearing steel and the ceramic balls made of silicon nitride are disposed alternately at a given ratio as the balls, and diameter of the ceramic balls is set to a value smaller than diameter of the steel balls so that contact stress acted on contact surface of the ceramic balls and the two thread grooves will be equal to contact stress acted on contact surface of the steel balls and the two thread grooves.
According to the present invention, when high-speed feeding is performed:
(1) In comparison with the conventional type ball screw with xe2x80x9conly steel ballsxe2x80x9d inserted:
{circle around (1)} Heat generation is low, and elongation of the screw shaft due to temperature increase can be reduced. Also, when preloading is applied on the ball screw, it is possible to suppress the increase of preload value caused by temperature increase due to high-speed rotation of the screw shaft. Therefore, positioning accuracy as required can be maintained.
{circle around (2)} Noise during ball screw operation can be reduced.
{circle around (3)} In case of a return tube type ball screw, the probability to damage the tongue of the return tube can be reduced. Also, damage on the thread groove of the screw shaft can be minimized.
(2) In comparison with the conventional type ball screw with xe2x80x9conly ceramic ballsxe2x80x9d inserted:
{circle around (1)} When preloading is applied on the ball screw, even when preload is lost as result of occurrence of axial clearance between the ceramic balls and the two thread grooves due to temperature increase, the preload between the steel ball and the two thread groove is not lost. As a result, positioning accuracy as required can be maintained. Also, in this case, the ceramic balls serve as spacer balls, and this contributes to the improvement of workability during high-speed feeding. When the insertion ratio of the steel balls to the ceramic balls is set to 1:1, the axial load to be born is decreased to one-half. Thus, it is preferable to set the insertion ratio to 2:1 or 3:1.
{circle around (2)} Service life will be extended. That is, it will be as long as the service life of the ball screw with xe2x80x9conly steel ballsxe2x80x9d inserted.
{circle around (3)} ceramic balls and thread grooves come closer to each other by elastic approach after elastic approach occurs between the steel balls and the thread grooves. Thus, even when shock load is applied, indentation hardly occurs on the thread grooves.
{circle around (4)} Production costs may be suppressed.

Ball screw with alternately disposed steel balls and ceramic balls


A valve control assembly includes a valve body having an inlet adapted to be coupled to a source of process fluid having a first temperature, an outlet, and a fluid flow path extending between the inlet and the outlet, and a bonnet coupled to the valve body. An inlet port, an outlet port, an annular plenum, an inlet passage, and an outlet passage are integrally formed in the valve body or the bonnet. The inlet port is adapted to be coupled to source of media and the annular plenum is disposed between the inlet port and the outlet port, immediately adjacent a portion of the fluid flow path. The inlet passage directs the media from the inlet port to the annular plenum, which changes a temperature of the process fluid flowing through the fluid flow path from the first temperature to a second temperature different from the first temperature.

In process control systems, such as distributed or scalable process control systems commonly found in chemical, petroleum, power generation, or other industrial processes, it is often necessary to reduce the pressure of a fluid. However, pressure reduction may lead to cavitation in the fluid or solidification when the fluid is a viscous fluid. Thus, process control systems often employ flow reduction devices that aim to reduce fluid pressure in a manner that does not lead to cavitation or solidification.
However, known flow reduction devices that attempt to prevent cavitation or solidification are manufactured using time consuming and expensive fabrication processes. For example, FIG. 1 illustrates a known flow reduction device in the form of a valve for reducing or eliminating solidification in applications using high viscosity polymers. The valve of FIG. 1 is manufactured by block forging a body, drilling multiple passages into the sides of the body, and then plugging certain drilled passages to produce a single inlet and outlet. FIGS. 2 and 3 illustrate a device, commonly referred to as a Mueller® plate, that can be fabricated on an exterior surface of a valve for reducing or eliminating solidification. The Mueller® plate has "dimples" pressed into a piece of sheet metal that create passageways for media to travel through and either cool or heat a process fluid flowing through the valve.

Valve assemblies with integrated temperature control


In a system comprising a current controlling device and a plurality of signal lines coupled to the current controlling device, wherein the current controlling device has an output driver including a register, an improved method for setting a current of the output driver for at least one of the plurality of signal lines. The improved method determines a reference register-setting for the register of the current controlling device. The reference register-setting corresponds to a reference voltage for at least one of the plurality of signal lines. A target register-setting is then determined for the register based on the reference register-setting. The target register-setting corresponds to a target voltage for at least one of the plurality of signal lines, wherein the target voltage produces an appropriate swing about the reference voltage. An operational register-setting is then determined for the register based on the target register-setting. The current of the output driver for at least one of the plurality of signal lines is then set based on the operational register-setting so that a swing about the reference voltage is optimal.

Computer systems and other electronic systems typically use buses for interconnecting integrated circuit components so that the integrated circuit components can communicate with one another. The buses typically connect masters such as microprocessors and controllers and slaves such as memories and bus transceivers.
Each master and slave coupled to a bus typically includes output driver circuitry for driving signals onto the bus. The output driver circuitry may comprise a current mode output driver. A current mode driver draws a known current regardless of load and operating conditions and has a high output impedance.
An example of a current mode output driver for use in a master or slave device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,254,883, issued Oct. 19, 1993, of Horowitz et al. ("Horowitz"), entitled Electrical Current Source Circuitry for a Bus. Horowitz describes a process for calibrating a register-setting for a register in a current controller of a current mode output driver. The process determines a register-setting that causes an output driver to produce a bus voltage approximately equal to a reference voltage. The process sends an initial register-setting from the master to the slave. The initial register-setting induces a voltage VOL on a particular transmission line of a current mode bus by coupling selective ones of a plurality of capacitors to the output of a current mirror of the output driver. The master measures VOL on the one transmission line one time, and compares VOL with a reference voltage Vref. If VOL is greater than Vref, the initial register-setting is updated and the process is repeated until a register-setting is achieved which results in VOL being less than or equal to Vref.
One disadvantage of Horowitz is that in determining the register-setting, errors may be introduced in the process resulting in a suboptimal register-setting. For example, Horowitz describes measuring VOL on one transmission line one time. A calibrated register-setting based on this measurement is then used to set the register-setting for each output driver in a slave. Practically, variations exist between output drivers in a slave device such that a register-setting based on the measured voltage of one transmission line may not necessarily result in the correct register-setting for another transmission line.
Additionally variations between comparison circuits in the master, variations in the reference and circuit voltages in the master and the slave, and variations in bus termination may also cause errors in the register setting process disclosed in Horowitz.
Another disadvantage of Horowitz is that for the process for determining a register-setting, errors may be introduced as a result of small time-dependent variations in the measured bus voltage VOL. Thus, VOL will not stabilize on the bus until after a certain amount of time. The time-dependent variations in VOL are due to transmission line effects caused by bus impedance variations and non-linear effects of output transistors of the slave coupled to the bus. These variations may be significant enough to adversely affect the comparison of VOL with Vref if the comparison occurs before the time-dependent variations in VOL have stabilized. Additionally, small voltage variations on the bus induced by nearby electrical components within or outside of the system may contribute to errors in the comparison of VOL with Vref, and consequently result in an erroneous determination of the register-setting.
Horowitz further describes that the register-setting is doubled in order to achieve a symmetric voltage swing about Vref. A simple doubling of the register-setting would suffice if the output transistors were ideal linear current sources; however, practical transistor devices have finite output impedance. These transistor characteristics can cause the doubled register-setting to induce a bus voltage on the bus that does not achieve symmetry about Vref with a sufficient degree of accuracy.
Another disadvantage of the process of Horowitz is that the process depends upon a fixed relationship between the register-setting, the selection of a plurality of capacitors, and the time to charge the selected capacitors. Practically, there is additional capacitance in the current controller circuitry due to parasitic capacitance of the plurality of capacitors and other stray effects as well as non-linearities at the beginning of circuit operation. These combined effects result in a register-setting having a small positive offset. Therefore, simply doubling the register-setting having the small positive offset may not result in a symmetric voltage swing about Vref.

Method and apparatus for setting a current of an output driver for the high speed bus


An encoder is provided in which the absolute angle can be detected with high accuracy even when the irradiated position of light to be detected with respect to a scale is displaced from a reference, and a photodetecting device for an encoder used for such an encoder. In the encoder 1, by passing light to be detected through a straight-line light transmitting portion 17, a bright portion 19 to which the light to be detected is irradiated is formed in an area of a scale plate 11 containing mutually separate parts of arranged lines L1 and L2 and also a dark portion 20 to which no light to be detected is irradiated is formed in the other area.

For example, an optical encoder described in Patent Document 1 is known as a conventional optical encoder. The conventional encoder has an optical scale in which lattice windows having different diffracting patterns are annularly arranged, and diffracted patterns of light to be detected to the lattice windows through a slit are picked up by an image sensor. Then, the lattice windows are specified from the picked-up diffracted patterns, and also the positions of the lattice windows are specified on the basis of the positions of the diffracted patterns in the image, whereby the absolute angle of a measurement target is detected.
Patent Document 1: Japanese Published Examined Patent Application No. H08-10145

Encoder and light receiving device for encoder


A sensor assembly and method includes a window regular mechanism having a main lift arm supporting the pane and a drive mechanism. The main lift arm includes a sector gear plate that is drivingly rotated by the drive mechanism. A slot defined in the sector gear plate receives a guide of a sensor mechanism. The guide is moved along the slot as the sector gear plate is rotated such that the guide is moved into a first portion of the slot when the sector gear plate is driven in a first rotatable direction to move the window pane toward its closed position and moved into a second portion of the slot when the sector gear plate is driven in a second, opposite rotatable direction to move the window pane toward its open position.

The present disclosure relates to vehicle closures having an openable window pane, and more particularly relates to an improved sensor assembly and method for detecting or sensing the position of an openable pane in a sliding vehicle door.
Sliding doors on vehicles are increasingly equipped with a glass window pane that is openable. More particularly, the window pane of these types of sliding doors can move up and down as desired. Movement of the window pane can be controlled by a window regulator, such as an x-type window regulator.
One concern with these types of doors having openable window panes is the need to prevent or limit opening of the sliding door when the door's window pane is open. This is necessary to prevent a person or object from being caught between the door sash framing the open window and the body pillar that forms a side of the door opening in the situation where the person or object extends through the opening vacated by the window pane.
One prior art design allows a sliding vehicle door to completely open when the door pane is completely closed or when the door pane is opened less than a predetermined amount, such as an amount less than would allow a passenger head to stick out the open window. When the window is open beyond this predetermined amount, the slide door is prevented from being fully opened by a door stopper mechanism. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,477,806, expressly incorporated herein by reference.