A game ticket has validation data printed on the ticket substrate in invisible ink. The invisible validation data is capable of being irreversibly rendered visible by application of a developing agent. The ticket also has play indicia printed within the play area of the ticket and a removable layer affixed to the ticket over the game area.

Instant lottery games do not require additional drawings or other events to determine the status of the ticket-holder as a winner or loser. Instead, the play indicia which determine the status of the ticket and can include numbers, symbols, letters, or combinations thereof are selected before the lottery tickets are sold. The list of winning status indicia may be publicly posted or printed on the individual tickets. In either event, an individual purchasing an instant lottery ticket may determine whether the ticket is a winner or loser within a few moments of purchasing the ticket.
The lottery tickets are printed with a set of play indicia which are used by the ticket holder to determine if the ticket has a winning combination which 4,241,942, 4,012,268, and 3,900,219 all disclose lottery tickets in which the play indicia are concealed before sale of the ticket. One method for concealing the play indicia includes an opaque removable layer affixed to the lottery ticket over the play indicia to conceal the play indicia. Various types of removable opaque layers are known in the art. One type of removable opaque layer consists of a coating which can be removed by rubbing or abrasion. U.S Pat. No. 4,725,079 discloses a removable latex cover which conceals the play indicia. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,299,637 and 4,174,857 disclose a concealing layer consisting of cellulose acetate and latex. U.S. Pat. No. 4,726,608 discloses a concealing layer of a latex resin containing an ink and metal particles. U.S. Pat. No. 4,241,942 uses a removable coating of an elastomeric material to conceal the play indicia. A second type of removable opaque layers involves a separate sheet which is removed after tearing the sheet along perforated lines. U.S. Pat. No. 4,012,268 and U.S. Pat. No. 3,900,219 both disclose the use of this type of removable opaque layer. In all cases in which the play indicia are covered before sale of the ticket, after purchasing the ticket, the ticket holder removes the opaque layer to reveal the play indicia. The play indicia are then compared to the predetermined set of winning indicia to determine if the ticket holder is a winner. If the ticket has a winning set of indicia, the ticket holder then redeems the ticket in order to obtain the associated prize.
The manner in which prizes are distributed varies with the type of lottery game. Lotteries having high value prizes often require prize distribution by the lottery organizer or other designated clearing house. Other lotteries having low value prizes, such as many instant lottery games, frequently provide immediate prize distribution through the agent that sells the ticket.
Various means have been developed to prevent or detect falsification of lottery tickets for both high value and low value lotteries Unscrupulous individuals may try to alter a losing ticket by combining winning play indicia from a group of losing tickets. The unscrupulous individual may cut out winning play indicia and paste them together on a single ticket. Alternatively, the unscrupulous individual may attempt to forge the winning play indicia directly by printing or otherwise providing his own set of winning play indicia.
Validation codes have been developed to prevent this type of fraudulent practice. A validation code is a separate set of indicia that indicates whether the particular ticket was originally printed with winning or losing play indicia. Various types of validation codes are known in the art. U.S. Pat. No. 4,591,190 discloses a lottery ticket with a validation code which provides an entirely self-contained validation system. This validation system uses the play indicia themselves as the validation number. The play indicia are printed twice on the ticket. One set of the play indicia are clearly visible to the ticket holder and the second set is covered with a layer of scratch-off coating. When the ticket holder learns that the visible play indicia correspond to the winning indicia, the ticket holder presents the ticket to a lottery official. The lottery official in turn removes the scratch-off coating from the second set of play indicia. The second set should have indicia identical with the visible first set. If the two sets of indicia are the same and match the winning indicia, the ticket is valid and entitles the ticket holder to a prize. If, however, the second set of indicia is not the same as the first visible set, this indicates that someone has tampered with the visible set of play indicia in an attempt to forge a winning ticket.
Another type of validation system uses validation codes which are related to but not identical with the play indicia. In one such system, the validation code is created as the result of an algorithm which uses the play indicia as part of the creation process for the validation code. The resulting validation codes do not bear any apparent relationship to the play indicia. U.S. Pat. No. 4,725,079 discloses a lottery ticket in which the book number indicating the ticket lot is algorithmically converted into the validation number. U.S. Pat. No. 4,191,376 discloses a lottery ticket in which a validation code is simply a serial number which records information about the ticket, such as ticket lot number or distribution area, in numerical form. An algorithm is used to transform the serial number into the lottery number or play indicia. There is no apparent relationship between the serial number and the algorithmically generated lottery number so that one cannot tell if a ticket has winning play indicia by reference only to the serial number. Other validation systems use validation codes which, although related to the winning indicia, do not employ as sophisticated an algorithm for generating the validation code.
In all lottery tickets which use validation codes, the validation code provides separate verification of the status of the ticket. The actual method for verifying the status of the ticket varies with the type of validation system used. U.S. Pat. No. 4,398,708 discloses a verification method in which a computer is used to verify the play indicia and validation code of a given ticket. The ticket agent inputs the apparently winning lottery number into the computer along with the serial number which appears on the ticket. By reverse operation of the original algorithm which generated the lottery number from the serial number, the computer calculates the serial number which should be associated with the winning lottery number. The lottery ticket is verified as a winning ticket if the calculated serial number is identical with the serial number on the ticket. Alternatively, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,398,708, after reverse-generating the serial number, the computer may simply generate an output indicating "yes" if the inputed lottery number and serial number correspond with a winning number and ticket. A computer based validation system is most appropriate with high value lottery games. For lower value prizes, the ticket agent may verify the ticket by comparing the validation code to a list of winning validation codes.
Regardless of the specific type of validation system used, a ticket must therefore have both winning play indicia and a proper validation code to qualify as a winning ticket. Falsification of the validation code, however, is possible if the ticket holder has access to the list of qualifying validation codes. Removable opaque layers covering the validation codes have been developed to prevent this type of fraudulent practice. The removable opaque layer helps to prevent both the examination of the validation code prior to ticket redemption and alterations of the validation code. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,591,190, 4,174,857, and 4,726,608 disclose lottery tickets in which the validation code is concealed with a removable opaque layer. U.S. Pat. No. 4,591,190 discloses a removable opaque layer consisting of an opaque ultraviolet-cured ink. U.S. Pat. No. 4,726,608 discloses a removable opaque concealing layer consisting of a latex resin containing an ink and metal particles. U.S. Pat. No. 4,174,857 discloses a concealing layer consisting of cellulose acetate and latex. The removable opaque layer concealing the validation codes helps to prevent the inspection of the validation code prior to ticket redemption. If an individual has access to the list of validation codes corresponding to winning play indicia, or has access to the algorithm used to create the validation code from other known parameters, then the individual could pick out the winning tickets by merely examining the validation code. Removable opaque layers concealing the validation codes help to prevent this type of pre-selection of winning tickets.
The opaque layer is frequently overprinted with a legend such as "void if removed." U.S. Pat. No. 4,591,190 discloses a "void if removed" legend printed over the removable opaque layer concealing the validation code. The legend also includes line patterns which extend beyond the removable layer to the surface of the substrate. The "void if removed" legend indicates to the ticket holder that the covering should not be removed by the ticket holder. The legend also assists the ticket agent in determining whether the validation code has been altered. An unscrupulous person may attempt to remove the opaque covering and alter the validation code. Before presenting the forged ticket to the ticket agent for prize redemption, the opaque layer covering the validation code must be replaced. Distortion of the "void if removed" legend or other symbols printed on this opaque covering occurs during removal and replacement of the layer and indicates to the ticket agent that someone has tampered with the validation number. In addition, removal and replacement of the opaque layer frequently changes the layer such that it becomes very stiff and is not easily removed a second time. This change in the removal characteristics of the opaque layer also assists ticket agents in determining whether someone has tampered with the validation code.
Opaque layers covering the validation code do not, however, prevent all types of ticket falsification. The opaque covering helps to prevent fraudulent practices by lottery customers. The opaque covering does not adequately prevent fraudulent practices by lottery ticket agents. Prior to the sale of the ticket, the agent may remove the opaque layer covering the validation code to determine if a given ticket has a winning status. If the ticket does have a winning status, the agent retains the ticket himself and does not sell it to the public. If, on the other hand, the ticket is a loser, the agent simply replaces the opaque layer before sale to a customer. The opaque layer, once removed, can be stiffened by glue and then replaced by gluing it on the ticket. An opaque layer treated in this fashion becomes very stiff and is almost impossible to remove. If the lottery agent himself is responsible for removing and replacing the opaque covering, this type of fraudulent practice would not be detected. The agent would only replace the validation codes on losing tickets. Losing tickets in turn are not presented to lottery officials for verification of the validation code. Consequently, removal and replacement of the opaque covering on losing validation codes by unscrupulous ticket agents is largely undetected.

Lottery ticket having validation data printed in developable invisible ink


A dry color concentrate for use in coloring sugar/syrup solutions and sugarless syrup solutions used to coat confectionery forms, pharmaceutical tablets, and the like, comprises 1) a carbohydrate selected from the group consisting of corn syrup solids, maltodextrin, tapioca dextrin, sugar, polyols, and combinations thereof, 2) a colorant, and, optionally, 3) a plasticizer.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of coloring confectionery forms, pharmaceutical tablets, and the like, and specifically is concerned with a dry color concentrate for use in coloring sugar/syrup solutions used to coat confectionery forms, pharmaceutical tablets, and the like. Further, the invention specifically is concerned with a dry color concentrate for use in coloring sugarless syrup solutions used to coat confectionery forms, pharmaceutical tablets, and the like.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Generally, known color concentrates used in the food/confectionery industry are liquids. Such liquid color concentrates suffer from warehousing problems caused by storing liquids, such as susceptibility to changes because of heat, cold and bacteria, and shelf-life problems caused by the solvent in the liquid color concentrate.

Method of coating an edible substrate with sugar/syrup or sugarless solutions containing dry color concentrate


The present invention is a driving circuit that comprises a magnetically permeable core, a high voltage secondary winding around the core with the secondary winding being connectable to a device to be powered, a circuit connectable to a D.C. power source and being magnetically coupled to the secondary winding to induce a voltage thereacross sufficient to power a device, a plurality cf connected windings wound around the core, a RC network and a plurality of parallel connected transistors coupled to the windings and the RC network with each respective transistor having a base terminal connected to the RC network by a respective current-variable resistive element, and a first primary winding connected in series with a plurality of second primary windings, and each primary winding connected in parallel with a respective capacitor.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,072,159 issued Dec. 10, 1991 having the same inventor as the present invention is incorporated herein by way of reference for a discussion of the prior art leading up to the disclosure set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 5,072,159. The circuit of U.S. Pat. No. 5,072,159 has proven to be applicable in the driving of many components that require a stable circuit, quiet operation and minimal heating without general objectionable levels of radio frequency interference. There is, however, always a need for an improved circuit that supplies a superior wave form and has better switching characteristics. It is therefore a paramount object of the present invention to provide an improved driver circuit driven by a plurality of parallel transistors whereby various and different types of devices may be more effectively, efficiently and economically driven.
The object above and other objects of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings.

Driver circuit having paralleled transistors and current-variable resistive elements


Electro-optic modulator includes a substrate, a waveguide formed in a top surface of the substrate, a pair of first modulating electrodes and a pair of second modulating electrodes. The waveguide includes a Y-shaped incident member, a Y-shaped output member, first and second connection members. The Y-shaped incident member includes an incident portion, first and second incident branches. The Y-shaped output member includes an output portion, a first and second output branches. The first connection member includes a first non-modulated branch and a first modulated branch. The second connection member includes a second non-modulated branch and a second modulated branch. The first non-modulated branch and the first modulated branch are interconnected between the first incident branch and the first output branch in parallel. The second non-modulated branch and the second modulated branch are interconnected between the second incident branch and the second output branch in parallel.

Electro-optic modulators change refractive index of a branch of a waveguide (hereinafter the modulated branch) by an electro-optic effect of a modulating electric field. Thus, the electro-optic modulator can alter a phase of light waves traversing the modulated branch. As a result, a phase shift is generated between the light waves traversing the modulated branch and light waves traversing another branch of the waveguide (hereinafter the non-modulated branch). The light waves traversing the modulated branch interface with light waves traversing the non-modulated branch. Output energy of the light waves of the waveguide is modulated as the output energy depends on the phase shift, which in turn depends on the modulating electric field.
In theory, when an input energy Qin of light waves of the waveguide is about Q, and the output energy Qout of light waves of the waveguide is about Q, it represents that the electro-optic modulator is full open. When an input energy Qin of light waves of the waveguide is about Q, and the output energy Qout of light waves of the waveguide is about zero, it represents that the electro-optic modulator is full closed. A ratio between a maximum output energy Qout and a minimum output energy Qout is defined as an information ratio. The larger the information ratio is, the more apparent the electro-optic modulator is open or closed.


Exemplary methods, apparatuses, and systems include receiving selection of a virtual disk and a plug-in. The virtual disk includes an extent file storing data used by a virtual machine and a descriptor file including a reference to the extent file and used by a virtualization stack of a host computer to manage the virtual disk. The plug-in is attached to the virtual disk in response to the received selection. Attaching the plug-in includes adding an identification of the plug-in to the descriptor file. The plug-in is notified of the attachment to the virtual disk. A request is received from the plug-in to create a sidecar file to store data or metadata on behalf of the plug-in. The sidecar file is created for the attached plug-in. The sidecar file is attached to the virtual disk.

A virtual disk for a virtual machine (VM) may consist of a collection of files stored on an underlying file system. For example, the virtual disk may contain a metadata file, referred to herein as the "descriptor file," and at least one data file, referred to herein as the "extent file." The extent file stores the virtual disk's data, which is accessible to the VM. The descriptor file contains metadata accessible to the host's core virtualization stack for management of the extent file. For example, the descriptor file points to one or more extent files to indicate which extent files belong to the virtual disk and to provide the layout of a virtual disk. The descriptor and extent files for a virtual disk are migrated, cloned, and otherwise copied together.
Virtual disk I/O filters are plug-ins/pluggable code modules that are able to intercept and, if applicable, modify VM I/O requests directed to corresponding virtual disks owned by the VMs. In doing so, these filters may use and/or create data/metadata that needs to be stored. I/O filter data shouldn't be simply stored in a global location because it must be able to be easily migrated, cloned, and otherwise copied along with the virtual disk. Virtual disk I/O filters, however, may create too much data/metadata to be stored in the descriptor file. For example, a filter may require many megabytes or even gigabytes of storage space (e.g., for caching or storage of hashes), but a typical descriptor file is very small, on the order of a few kilobytes. Ballooning the size of the descriptor file to accommodate I/O filter data would severely impact performance and maintainability of the virtual disk. Additionally, such metadata should not stored in the extent file, which may be limited to the VM's data.

Sidecar file framework for managing virtual disk plug-in data and metadata


The invention provides a storage and retrieval routine for Web objects. A Web page typically includes several objects such as text, images and hyper-links to other Web pages. Each Web page and its objects are usually stored in separate files. A storage and retrieval routine stores objects that correspond to the same Web page in co-located positions on a disk. Therefore, when the Web page and its embedded and hyper-linked Web objects are retrieved, the seek time is reduced, thereby reducing the object retrieval time as perceived by a computer user and increasing the number of requests per second that a Web content server can deliver.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to Web content storage servers and more particularly to Web caching systems.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The Internet is rapidly becoming an important means of providing information and communicating with others, regardless of geographic location. One of the primary innovations responsible for the increase in use of the Internet is the World Wide Web. The World Wide Web (Web) is a set of protocols that enables users to access text, graphical data and other multimedia data from various geographic locations. This text, graphical data and other multimedia data, individually known as Web objects and collectively known as Web content, is typically organized as Web pages. A Web page may be implemented in any document markup language, such as Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) or Extensible Markup Language (XML). Document markup language commands for a Web page are stored in a file on a Web content server.
Other components associated with a Web page, such as images, graphs, charts, icons and other Web objects are typically each stored in a separate file. These components may be embedded in a Web page by including a reference to the embedded object in the document markup commands in a Web page file. An embedded object that is referenced in this way in a Web page is typically downloaded each time the Web page itself is downloaded. Alternatively, using document markup language commands in the Web page file, a Web object may be hyper-linked in a Web page, resulting in a hyper-link to the object being displayed rather than the object itself. To access the hyper-linked object, a user may select the hyper-link and the object is then downloaded. Although Web objects are stored in individual files, many or all of the files containing Web objects embedded in a particular Web page may be retrieved at nearly the same time as the file containing that Web page. Files containing Web objects hyper-linked in that Web page may be retrieved shortly thereafter.
To view a Web page, a computer user may launch a Web browser application on his computer. The Web browser allows a user to enter a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) that specifies the desired Web page. The Web browser then submits a request for the Web page over a communications network to an Internet Service Provider. The Internet Service Provider may satisfy the request in at least two ways.
The Internet Service Provider may submit the request across the Internet to a Web content origin server that stores the Web page data. The overall retrieval time for a request for a particular Web page includes the amount of time necessary to route a request to a Web content origin server, as well as the time to retrieve the Web page data from a storage device on the Web content origin server. Additionally, the overall retrieval time includes download time, which is the amount of time necessary to transfer data from the Web content origin server to a client computer, after being retrieved from disk on the Web content origin server.
Alternatively, an Internet Service Provider may utilize a Web caching server (also commonly referred to as a Web caching proxy) to decrease the overall retrieval time for the request. This Web caching server may be located on the Internet Service Provider's premises and stores frequently accessed Web content. Utilizing a Web caching server may significantly reduce the request routing time and the download time. For accesses that "hit" in the cache, i.e., for which a current copy of the requested data is present in the cache, the request routing and the download time are greatly reduced. In addition, a Web caching server also reduces the bandwidth used by the Internet Service Provider. However, the time necessary to retrieve Web page data from a disk on the Web caching server still remains a significant factor in overall retrieval time.
In some conventional Web caching servers, Web objects are stored by using file system commands for writing data to a magnetic disk. Most operating systems provide an electronic file system and directory structure in which system files, computer programs, and user generated files may be stored. In addition to providing a structure for electronic files, an operating system typically includes software routines and file system commands that may be used to store, modify and access files in the file system. However, the storage and retrieval routines provided with an operating system are generally not aware of the logical relationships between different files, and in particular they are not aware of embedding or hyper-linking relationships between files containing Web content. As a result of storing data in this manner, files and data that are logically related are often not co-located on a magnetic disk. Therefore, retrieval time for Web content stored on a magnetic disk is increased, as explained in the following paragraphs.
Magnetic disks are the most common type of storage device for Web content. One or more magnetic disks may be coupled to a Web content server or a Web caching server. A disk is a mechanical device, including one or more platters, a spindle on which the platters are mounted, and a disk arm having disk heads that read and write data to and from the disk. The disk operates in a continuous rotating motion at a fixed speed while the disk arm may be moved in and out to access portions of the disk. Each platter is divided into a number of annular disk tracks. The platters of the magnetic disk are arranged in a vertical stack, such that corresponding disk tracks on the platters may be accessed without requiring a movement by the disk arm. The corresponding disk tracks are collectively known as a cylinder. Each disk track is further divided into a number of disk sectors that are typically of a fixed size. The amount of time necessary to retrieve data from a magnetic disk includes time allotted to four operations. In order to retrieve data stored on a particular sector of the disk, the proper platter is selected in a process called head selection. A seek is performed such that the disk arm is moved to place a disk head over the proper track. Then, a time period called rotational latency is required to allow the disk head to arrive above the proper sector on the track. Finally, the data is transferred from the sector of the disk. Of the four operations, the time necessary to perform a seek is the most significant and dominates the other three steps. Furthermore, the seek time grows considerably with the length of the seek (the number of cylinders between the start and the end of the seek).
Electronic files and data are typically stored on a magnetic disk as one or more disk blocks. Generally, disk blocks are a fixed size series of bytes (e.g., 512 bytes) that are allocated by a file system to store a portion of a file. An electronic file may be stored as several disk blocks located at different tracks or platters on a magnetic disk. Typically, each file includes an index to all of the disk blocks for that file. In a UNIX® operating system, each file has an inode that stores administrative information about the file, including an index to all of its disk blocks.
The concept of allocating disk blocks for a single file in co-located positions on the disk and thereby reducing disk access times is well known. McKusick et al. teaches a UNIX® file system, the UNIX® Fast File System (FFS), in which allocation of disk blocks for each file is optimized for the purpose of reducing the number of seek operations necessary to read the file. M. K. McKusick, W. N. Joy, S. J. Leffler, and R. S. Fabry, "A fast file system for UNIX®," ACM Transactions on Computer Systems, Vol. 2, No. 3, pp. 181-197 (August 1984). Fast File System (FFS) uses the concept of cylinder groups to facilitate file allocation. A cylinder group is a collection of neighboring cylinders. The UNIX® FFS attempts to allocate all inodes of files from the same file system directory in the same cylinder group on a magnetic disk. Additionally, the UNIX® FFS attempts to allocate all disk blocks of a particular file in the same cylinder group as its corresponding inode. Although the UNIX® FFS attempts to store files according to the previously mentioned algorithm, if disk blocks in the desired positions are not available, the UNIX® FFS will store the data in other locations on the disk. The McKusick et al. paper is different from the present invention in that the FFS merely attempts to allocate the disk blocks of a single file in co-located locations on the disk, but does not attempt to store related files in co-located positions. Additionally, the FFS does not provide a method of decreasing disk retrieval times for Web content by taking advantage of the embedding or hyper-linking relationships between files representing Web content.
In another reference, Rosenblum et al. teaches a UNIX® file system, the log-structured file system (LFS), in which the allocation of disk space on a magnetic disk is optimized in order to improve the performance of write operations. M. Rosenblum and J. K. Ousterhout, "The design and implementation of a log-structured file system," ACM Transactions on Computer Systems, Vol. 10, No. 1, pp. 26-52 (February 1992). All data for files, including inodes and data blocks, is written to a sequential log on the disk. As a result, write operations are fast because seek operations are avoided while writing. However, the performance of read operations is not improved in the system set forth in Rosenblum et al. Also, the system does not attempt to store related files in co-located positions on the disk, and does not provide a method for decreasing disk retrieval times for Web content by taking advantage of the embedding or hyper-linking relationships between files representing Web content.
Therefore, it would be beneficial to provide a system for storing related files, and in particular Web objects with correlated retrieval times, such that the amount of seek time required to retrieve the files is reduced.

Storage and retrieval system for WEB cache


A first access point (AP), which is associated with one or more first client stations, receives an announcement frame from a second AP that is associated with one or more second client stations. The announcement frame announces a coordinated multi-user (MU) transmission involving at least the first AP and the second AP, includes an indicator of a frequency resource unit (RU) allocated to the first AP for the coordinated MU transmission. The first AP participates in the coordinated MU transmission using the frequency RU indicated by the announcement frame while the second AP also participates in the coordinated MU transmission.

Wireless local area networks (WLANs) have evolved rapidly over the past two decades, and development of WLAN standards such as the Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 Standard family has improved single-user peak data rates. One way in which data rates have been increased is by increasing the frequency bandwidth of communication channels used in WLANs. For example, the IEEE 802.11n Standard permits aggregation of two 20 MHz sub-channels to form a 40 MHz aggregate communication channel, whereas the more recent IEEE 802.11ax Standard permits aggregation of up to eight 20 MHz sub-channels to form up 160 MHz aggregate communication channels. Work has now begun on a new iteration of the IEEE 802.11 Standard, which is referred to as the IEEE 802.11be Standard, or Extremely High Throughput (EHT) WLAN. The IEEE 802.11be Standard may permit aggregation of as many as sixteen 20 MHz sub-channels (or perhaps even more) to form 320 MHz aggregate communication channels (or perhaps even wider aggregate communication channels).
As the density of IEEE 802.11 WLANs increases over time, it tends to become more difficult for an access point (AP) to find several 20 MHz sub-channels that are idle and that can be aggregated together to form a larger aggregate channel. One way to increase the likelihood of WLANs being able to take advantage of wider frequency bandwidths is to allow APs of neighboring networks to coordinate the use of sub-channels amongst the WLANs.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Coordinated multi-user transmissions with multiple access points


A method, a system and a device for reducing energy leakage from an energy treatment device or system include at least one energy source, at least one sensor to detect energy associated with the at least one energy source or with ambient energy outside the energy treatment device, and a controller to enable a therapeutic energy source upon receiving a signal from the sensor indicating sufficient contact between the energy treatment device and a surface to be treated by the energy treatment device, such that a probability of energy leakage from the device during treatment may be reduced.

Energy based treatment devices, and in particular electromagnetic based devices for the treatment of medical and aesthetic conditions are gaining popularity among both consumers and practitioners. Current energy based devices utilize a variety of energy forms, such as light including laser energy and Intense Pulsed Light (IPL™), or microwave, and in a variety of wavelengths, and of modalities. One hazard associated with the operation of energy based devices is the possibility of energy leakage, and the accidental exposure of tissue and organs to electromagnetic energy. For example, exposure of the eyes to intense electromagnetic energy may cause transient or even permanent damage to the eyes.
It is therefore desirable to provide a safety arrangement for energy treatment devices that may prevent or at least reduce undesired leakage of energy, and may reduce the possibility of exposure of tissues or areas which are not the subject of treatment.

Method, a system, and a device for detecting and for reducing energy leakage from an energy treatment devices


A web based application makes data conveniently and readily available to individuals dispersed from a common collection site or database. Individuals can access various levels of retrospective or previously stored data in the database only in accordance with pre-defined roles, or levels which can be established at log on.

It has been recognized that there are substantial advantages to being able to remotely monitor biometric data at dispersed space locations from a centralized location and to accumulate the required data at such location. One such system has been disclosed in and claimed in Peddicord et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,402,691B1 assigned to the assignee hereof and incorporated herein by reference. In Peddicord et al., remote monitoring units couple patient/resident information via wired or wireless networks to a centralized monitoring location. Such information can be used at the centralized location to evaluate the medical condition of a particular patient/resident. Decisions can be made as to the necessary additional followup such as adjusting the individual's medication, treatments or diet, as well as additional physical followup.
A variety of different entities, which are not necessarily in the vicinity of the monitoring station, would benefit from ready access to all such collected information. For example, physicians, nurses, therapists, home health professionals and the like all of whom may be located at offices displaced from the central monitoring station, or traveling in their vehicles between the residences of various patients, may have substantial needs to view such information.
Additionally, there are outstanding needs to provide various levels of accessibility to the relevant population. For example, the patient/resident as well as relatives might benefit from access to at least portions of the information. Clinicians, such as physicians, dentists, nurses, physical therapists, home health workers, case managers and the like all might benefit from ready access to different levels of such information. Privacy is an ongoing concern and there is also a need to be able to exclude inappropriate individuals from access.
Thus, there continues to be an ongoing need for systems and methods which would enable health care professionals to access their patients' information on demand. Preferably role based access could be provided to respective individuals using the role of the respective individual as a vehicle to determine which information to make available relative to the respective patient/resident.
There is also an ongoing need to provide access to authorized individuals to the patient/resident information from a variety of locations displaced not only from the patient/resident but also from the central monitoring site where the information might have been collected. Preferably such access could be provided via one or more computer networks and through a variety of data processing units such as handheld units, laptops, desktop computers and the like, all without limitation in a wired or wireless environment depending on the user's circumstances.

Role based internet access and individualized role based systems to view biometric information


A practical method of manufacturing, assembling, and constructing a single silo or building or a cluster of polygonal storage silos using a column comprising horizontally-arrayed structural column panels. Column panels within a top horizontal array vertically aligning with column panels of a next lower horizontal array such that no discernible gap exists between top and bottom edges of column panels within the column. Seams, where top and bottom edges of column panels meet, preferably occur in different horizontal planes from each other throughout the column, thereby creating a stagger of column components in relationship to each other. Multiple layers of column components with the same, similar, or different configurations can be added to preferably cover seams of underlying column components to enhance structural integrity. A structure built with these columns can be constructed using a cost-effective and relatively safe method of jack-lifting. In addition, three or more of these structural columns can be connected together with wall panels or beams to fashion a polygonal compartment or multiple polygonal compartments, to serve as structural support for heavy loads, as a process tower for supporting equipment, a multi-story building for human occupancy (such as an apartment complex), or as bulk storage silo(s). The column can join standard and customized beams and wall panels. The column can extend above a structure to support a tower or another level, or it can extend below to serve as a support column for the entire structure. Columns can be attached to wall panels of round structures, to serve as stiffeners, or to the sides of polygonal structures, to serve as side-wall supports.

1. Field Of The Invention
This invention relates to structures, particularly to structural columns that are integral and load-bearing parts of structures.
2. Prior Art
Certain grains, feed ingredients, seed, and various other organic or inorganic materials in either granular, powdered, liquid, or other particulate form are stored in multiple bins, such as an array of square or polygonal bins. Examples of such bins are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 521,951, to Fallis, 1894; U.S. Pat. No. 3,327,870, to Fairchild, 1967; U.S. Pat. No. 4,218,859, to Sams, 1980; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,893,445, to Hefer et al., 1990. The bins are usually assembled in one of two ways: (1) on their sides, as in the Sams patent, and then lifted on top of a substantial support structure such as an I-beam support structure or some other support structure, using a crane; or (2) the structures are assembled from the bottom up, atop a separate, substantial support structure, where each piece is individually lifted into place, requiring larger cranes as the vertical height increases. The Fallis patent discloses a storage bin that is hexagonal in horizontal cross section, and that has corner plates that join the walls of the bin. However, these corner plates are not load-bearing and do not form structural columns that can extend below the bin to support the entire structure. Consequently, if the bin must be elevated to accommodate a hopper, for example, the structure must be lifted onto a separate support structure. Furthermore, if the structure is tall, workers are exposed to dangerous heights during construction.
In cases where the columns are continuous or integral and consist of modular pieces, as disclosed in the Fairchild patent and U.S. Pat. No. 4,008,553 to Oliver (1977), the bins must still be constructed using cranes if the height of such bins exceeds a certain vertical limit. In addition, as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 (Prior Art), a substantial structural support such as an I-beam frame 310a or 310b or concrete pillars is usually required, especially if the bins have hoppers. Furthermore, these types of support structures can limit the vertical placement of the hoppers such that top edges 309 of all hoppers usually must be at the same vertical height. Other configurations which allow the tops of hoppers to begin at different vertical heights from each other are very cumbersome and difficult to build using current methods, and so such configurations are seldom used, even though advantages often exist in having tops of hoppers at different vertical heights.
Where columns of bin structures consist of elements that are all one length, such as in U.S. Pat. No. 3,706,169 to Eberhard (1972) and the Sams patent, the vertical height of a structure is limited. If one column can be connected to the top of another column, a dangerous environment where workers are suspended high above the ground to connect pieces is created, and a crane is often required. This is usually the case with current methods of constructing such multi-compartmented storage structures. Crane use is further required when constructing process towers, such as 308a and 308b in FIGS. 1 and 2 (Prior Art), where distribution and/or processing equipment is located.
The cost of I-beam or concrete support structures and crane use, associated with the construction of multiple square or polygonal bins as described above, may not be limiting for commodities that currently have relatively high value, such as seed and certain feed ingredients, but these costs are very often limiting for low-value commodities, such as cereal grains, corn, or soybeans. The use of multiple polygonal storage bins is often described as segregated storage, because the contents of the bins are segregated based on different characteristics. Segregation can be based on such characteristics as, including but not limited to, the following: (a) ingredient origin, (b) plant variety, (c) protein level, (d) moisture level, (e) quality, (f) particle size, (g) field origin, (h) proximity of growing location to potential contaminant pollen sources, (i) growing conditions, (j) farming practices, for example, organic versus non-organic, (k) foreign matter level, or (l) GMO status.
Despite advantages of segregated storage, which will be described below, those industries related to bulk commodity production have been slow to adopt segregated storage, even with tremendous customer, societal, and governmental pressures to do so. The reluctance to incorporate a segregated-storage approach to bulk commodities is partially due to the relatively high cost of current designs and methods of constructing segregated storage.
The conventional approach for storage of grains, commodities, and ingredients has been to use bulk storage, that is, very large, round grain bins that accommodate contents that are usually of different varieties, from different growers, with different harvest locations or dates, or with different characteristics, for example. Such bulk storage can reduce costs associated with handling, and the large, round grain bins are also relatively inexpensive to purchase and to build, compared to segregated storage options that are currently available. But bulk storage has its disadvantages, such as the inability to trace contents to a precise time and location of manufacture or production, and difficulty in keeping products with different characteristics separate. Other changes in storage needs have occurred over the last decade, such as the introduction of identity preservation and genetic engineering techniques that have produced so-called genetically modified organisms (GMOs). As a result, the storage industry has recognized a need to shift towards segregated storage, where contents can be traced to their origin, and away from bulk storage, which has certain liabilities that may not have existed in the past. This increased need for segregation stems from governmental, societal, and consumer pressures.
The seed industry can be a model for the grain industry, and to some extent, the feed industry. Historically, the seed industry has segregated seeds not only by variety, but also by grower, year, and location of production. In contrast, the grain industry has conventionally stored grain from many points of origin within a single, large bulk grain bin, often co-mingling grains of substantially different quality, with different characteristics, or even of different varieties. Stricter purity requirements are another factor that is forcing the grain industry to re-think its bulk storage practices, especially as governments accept increasingly lower levels of GMO in non-GMO items, and as customers, such as millers, brewers, and other processors, demand better identity preservation to acquire the product with the characteristics that best serves their purposes.
Not only has segregation pressure increased within the grain industry, it has also risen in the animal feed manufacturing industry, especially due to risks associated with food safety. In particular, a great concern has recently arisen with Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy, also known as Mad Cow Disease. Animals that consume feed that is contaminated with infectious animal by-products can contract the disease. The disease can be transmitted to humans who eat infectious portions of a diseased animal. The disease has now been documented to be in the United States. Complying with government regulations, such as those proposed recently by the European Union that require the ability of all feed ingredients to be traced to their point of origin, is difficult when utilizing large bulk storage. As a result, the feed manufacturing industry also has a need for more multi-compartmentalized bins, not only for the micro-ingredients (that is, feed ingredients that are used in very small proportions, such as vitamins, minerals, and growth enhancers) that have conventionally been stored in multi-compartmentalized bins, but now also for main ingredient storage, which has been handled in a similar manner as other bulk commodity storage. The transformation of the grain industry, and to some extent the feed industry, from a bulk storage mentality to a more refined, segregated storage system is limited in large part by the relatively large cost of segregated storage as it currently exists compared to the cost of bulk storage.
Typically, for multi-bin arrays, support structures, like 310a and 310b, shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 (Prior Art), are built first. These structures generally are a framework of I-beams, concrete pillars, or some other hefty assemblage. Then, individual storage bins are built either on top of the support structure, or in a workshop, or on the ground at the jobsite, and then lifted into place with a crane. Building the storage unit on top of the support structure requires that every piece be lifted up into place, requiring construction workers to continually build or move scaffolding up to increasingly deadly heights as the building progresses. In most cases, cranes are generally used to lift parts or entire bins into place, using skilled ironworkers that are competent to safely perform the work. Use of skilled labor also increases the cost of the construction project compared to jacking and assembling a structure at or near ground level using relatively unskilled labor.
Another limitation to some types of existing polygonal storage structures is transportation costs and size limits associated with bins that are completely assembled or prefabricated in workshops elsewhere. Although lifting prefabricated storage bins onto a support structure requires fewer crane hours than lifting each part into place, lifting a complete silo requires a larger, more costly crane than lifting individual parts. Furthermore, pre-fabricated tanks that are lifted onto a support structure still require that the vertical sides be bolted or welded together by a skilled worker that must traverse the entire vertical length of adjoining walls to bolt, fasten, or weld them together.
The typical, conventional corrugated steel flat bottom silo may be an adequate choice if only a single bin is required. However, if multiple bins are needed, the round grain bin has limitations. For example, a larger footprint (more land area) is needed for multiple round grain bins, compared to the amount of land required for conventional square or hexagonal bin arrays that share common walls. A second limitation of conventional corrugated steel flat bottom round grain bins is that they cannot discharge all of the grain by gravity, unless they are positioned on a concrete hopper, or they include devices such as sweep augers or air sweeps, or manual labor is used. If manual labor is used, strict confined-space-bin-entry safety procedures must be followed. A third limitation of steel round grain bins is the size constraints such bins are subject to under current practices. Even though steel round grain bins can achieve huge diameters, generally up to about 32 meters, difficulties have been experienced in bins with larger diameters. These difficulties, in many cases, are partially due to inadequate stiffener design. A fourth limitation is in distribution spouting, a method of filling bins involving spouts that are typically angled at 45 degrees from vertical, and that are erected above the bins. To achieve the recommended 45-degree spouting angle, a very high head house, which supports the spouting, would need to be built.
Despite these limitations of the round grain bin, a great advantage of it is the use of a relatively safe and inexpensive method of jack-lifting construction, which has not yet been applied to a multi-bin array with shared walls. One such method, illustrated in FIG. 3 (Prior Art) and disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,311,952 to Bainter (2001), involves hydraulic jacks, which are arranged along the perimeter of a roof assembly 301 of the bin. The roof assembly is usually assembled of one or two horizontal levels, or 'rings' 302, of wall panels, and then a roof is built on top of these first rings, while at or near ground level. Jacks 303 are anchored to a foundation stem wall 304 and bolted onto roof assembly 301. The jacks then lift roof assembly 301 so another ring of body sheets can be added below it. Once the next ring is added, the jacks are detached from assembly 301 and reattached to the next lower ring, which is then jack-lifted, and another ring of wall panels is attached. This process is repeated until the bin has reached a desired height. When all body sheet rings have been added, the bin is anchored to a foundation, such as concrete foundation stem wall 304, and jacks 303 are removed.
Such jacking methods, however, have not been used to build a structure comprising an array of polygonal bins, most likely because conventional designs of shared-wall bin arrays are not conducive to jack-lifting. Developing a design that allows jack-lifting would present a considerable savings in construction costs. The method of jack-lifting, as described, does not require an expensive crane to lift every part into place or to lift complete silos onto a structure. The labor does not need to be highly skilled, since the required tasks simply involve assembling sheet metal parts, using wrenches or power tools, working at or near ground level, and using jacks to raise the assembled structure. And a safer work environment is created, which further reduces job-related liabilities. These factors contribute to the low cost of erecting corrugated steel flat bottom round grain bins, and could conceivably be applied to building a structure comprising multiple compartments and multiple levels.
The conventional corrugated steel round grain bin with a hopper bottom can empty all stored particulate by gravity, unlike the flat round bottom grain bin discussed above. However, like its flat bottom cousin, its diameter is limited in size due to structural support considerations. Like the flat bottom round grain bin, the hopper bottom round grain bin uses land space inefficiently if more than one is needed. Furthermore, constructing a hopper bottom round grain bin generally costs significantly more than a flat bottom round grain bin. The increased cost is because a hopper 312 and a support structure 311, as illustrated in FIG. 2 (Prior Art), have to be built independently of the grain bin. Then, the entire grain bin, although having been completely constructed using an economical jack-lifting method, has to be lifted on top of the hopper and support structure with an expensive crane.
The advantage of an array of shared-wall bins (versus multiple round bins) is the efficient use of material and land area, but this advantage is at present overcome by the relatively expensive methods of constructing such an array. If the more cost-efficient method of jack-lifting can be used to construct a shared-wall multi-bin array, then in terms of cost, the advantages of constructing a multi-bin array reasonably approaches or outweighs those of constructing a plurality of round grain bins. Cost would no longer be the limiting factor of installing segregated storage.


A satellite communication terminal for a field environment includes: a broadband interface that creates a broadband link with a device in the field environment and that manages communication over the broadband link; a satellite antenna that creates a satellite backhaul link with a satellite in orbit; a satellite interface that manages communication over the satellite backhaul link; and a processor that controls a beam direction of the satellite antenna, performs broadband services on data exchanged with the device over the broadband link and the satellite backhaul link, and provides access to the exchanged data to the device.

A growing number of broadband satellite constellations are being launched to support communication networks around the world, even in the most remote field environments. Remote field environments often have minimal or no satellite networking infrastructure to interact with these satellite constellation. Accordingly, a satellite communication terminal that communicates with satellites in orbit and that established and maintains a local network on the ground can be beneficial users operating in or travelling across the field environment. Furthermore, a satellite communication terminal that provides access to the internet, a cloud computing platform, a sensor network, or a monitoring system can be beneficial or even essential to the user.

Beam-steering satellite communication terminal for field environments


The present invention relates to a test tool (X1) attached to an analyzing device (1) for analyzing a sample. The test tool (X1) includes a pinching portion (6) for attachment to the analyzing device (1) or removal from the analyzing device (1). The pinching portion (6) may include recesses or projections.

Simplified measuring devices that can be held in a hand have been widely used for facilitating the measurement of blood-sugar level at or away from home. An example of such simplified blood-sugar level measuring device is shown in FIG. 8. A biosensor 9 is attached to the measuring device and blood is supplied to the biosensor 9, whereby the blood-sugar level is measured by an electrochemical method.
As shown in FIG. 9, the biosensor 9 has a plate-like form as a whole, and includes an insulating base plate 90 on which a cover 92 is laminated via a spacer 91 (see JP-A-2001-159618, for example). The biosensor 9 further includes an end formed with a blood inlet 93, and the blood inlet 93 is communicated with an outlet 95 via a capillary 94. With such an arrangement, blood introduced from the blood inlet 93 moves in the capillary 94 toward the outlet 95. Such biosensor 9 is pinched by a user at a side surface 96 or upper and lower surfaces 97A, 97B of the biosensor 9, to be attached or removed relative to a blood-sugar measuring device 8 (see FIG. 8).
However, as the biosensor 9 is relatively small and the side surface 96 and the upper and lower surfaces 97A, 97B of the biosensor 9 are typically flat, attaching and removing of the biosensor 9 is not always easy. For example, if a portion where the user pinches and its vicinity at the biosensor 9 is a flat surface, the biosensor 9 may slip out of fingertips, and a relatively large strength is necessary for removing the biosensor 9 from the blood-sugar measuring device 8 (see FIG. 8). Thus, the removal of the biosensor 9 may be a large load especially for aged people with weakened muscle strength.
Further, as the conventional biosensor 9 does not define the portion for pinching the biosensor 9, the user optionally pinches the side surface 96 or the upper and lower surfaces 97A, 97B of the biosensor 9. Thus, when removing the biosensor 9 from the blood-sugar measuring device 8 (see FIG. 8), the finger may contact the blood inlet 93 or the outlet 95, and thus the blood may adhere to the fingertip. In a hospital, for example, when measuring blood of a plurality of patients, it is a hygienic problem that blood of a patient adheres to the user's fingertip. The user needs to handle the biosensor 9 without adherence of the patient's blood when removing the biosensor 9, which is another problem in handling of the biosensor 9.


A wire feeding device for very fine wire includes a straightening unit, a transporting unit, a wire buffer, and a wire guide arranged on a table on which a swivel unit with a wire drive is also arranged. The swivel unit serves wire-processing stations of a wire-processing machine. A supply of very fine wire is held in a drum and passes through the straightening unit which straightens the wire, bends and kinks being thereby removed. The transporting unit pulls the wire out of the drum and through the straightening unit and feeds the wire buffer. The wire buffer has a measuring device for monitoring a hanging wire loop. Depending on the requirement for wire in the wire-processing machine, the content of the buffer can decrease and the wire apex of the loop then moves upwards. The movement of the wire apex is detected by the measuring device and controlled with a control device via the transporting unit.

The present invention relates to a wire-feeding device for a wire-processing machine, there being provided after a wire supply and before the wire-processing machine a wire buffer which can be fed by a transporting unit, the wire buffer satisfying the requirement for wire of the wire-processing machine.
From German patent application DE 33 43 286 A1 an arrangement for coiling a lightwave conductor has become known. The coiling operation takes place under a constant mechanical tension. The tension is determined by the own weight of the hanging length of conductor and by an additional toroidal weight attached to it. The length of the hanging conductor and the position of the additional weight can be regulated by means of a regulating device and a detecting device. The rotational speed of the coiling reel is controlled in such manner that the length of the hanging conductor remains constant, light barriers arranged one above the other detecting the position of the additional weight.
A disadvantage of the known device is that to avoid hunting elaborate control and mechanical measures are necessary.

Wire-feeding device for a wire-processing machine


Propylene polymers containing a matrix of a propylene homopolymer and a copolymer of propylene and other alkenes, wherein, during the separation of the propylene polymers according to tacticity and comonomer distribution of the polymer chains, by first dissolving the propylene polymers in boiling xylene, then cooling the solution at a cooling rate of 10xc2x0 C./h to 25xc2x0 C. and thereafter, increasing the temperature, separating the propylene polymers into fractions of different solubility, either one or more of the conditions that

The invention relates to propylene polymers containing a matrix of a propylene homopolymer and a copolymer of propylene and other alkenes, wherein, during the separation of the propylene polymers according to tacticity and comonomer distribution of the polymer chains, by first dissolving the propylene polymers in boiling xylene, then cooling the solution at a cooling rate of 10xc2x0 C./h to 25xc2x0 C. and thereafter, increasing the temperature, separating the propylene polymers into fractions of different solubility, either one or more of the conditions that
i) more than 20% by weight of the matrix remain undissolved on further heating to 112xc2x0 C. or
ii) more than 8% by weight of the matrix remain undissolved on further heating to 117xc2x0 C. or
iii) more than 1% by weight of the matrix remain undissolved on further heating to 122xc2x0 C.
are fulfilled by the matrix which remains undissolved on heating the cooled propylene polymer solution to 80xc2x0 C.
The present invention furthermore relates to a process for the preparation of the propylene polymers, their use for the production of films, fibers or moldings and films, fibers or moldings comprising these propylene polymers.
The unpublished German patent application P 197 10 761.3 describes propylene homopolymers which have particularly high crystallinity and are prepared using a catalyst system containing a titanium-containing solid component, an aluminum compound and an electron donor compound.
Propylene/ethylene copolymers obtainable by polymerization over Ziegler-Natta catalysts have been described in many patents. U.S. Pat. No. 4,260,710 discloses the preparation of homo- and copolymers of alk-1-enes by polymerization with the aid of Ziegler-Natta catalysts in a stirred kettle. The catalyst components used contain, inter alia, compounds of polyvalent titanium, aluminum halides and/or alkylaluminum as well as electron donor compounds, silanes, esters, ethers, ketones or lactones generally being used (EP-B 14 523, EP-B 45 977, EP-B 86 473, U.S. Pat. No. 857,613, EP-A 171 200).
Furthermore, a number of processes for the preparation of propylene/ethylene block copolymers with the aid of a Ziegler-Natta catalyst system are known (U.S. Pat. No. 4,454,299, U.S. Pat. No. 4,455,405, ZA-B 0084/3561, ZA-B 0084/3563, ZA-B 0084/5261, GB-B 1 032 945, DE-A 38 27 565), in which first gaseous propylene is polymerized in a first reaction zone and the homopolymer obtainable therefrom is then brought into a second reaction zone where a mixture of ethylene and propylene is polymerized thereon. The process is usually carried out at superatmospheric pressure and in the presence of hydrogen as a molecular weight regulator. The copolymers obtainable generally have good impact strength and rigidity.
By varying the amount of the homopolymer obtained in the first stage and of the copolymer to be polymerized on in the second stage, it is possible to control the impact strength of the propylene/ethylene block copolymers. However, inevitably a decrease in the rigidity is associated with an increase in the impact strength and, conversely, a decrease in the impact strength with an increase in the rigidity. For some applications of plastics, however, it is necessary to increase the rigidity without reducing the impact strength or to improve the impact strength without reducing the rigidity. Moreover, the polymers should have a very low chlorine content and, for economic reasons, a further increase in the productivity of the catalyst system used is of interest.
It is an object of the present invention to provide propylene polymers which have a further improved ratio of rigidity to toughness, possess a low chlorine content and furthermore can be prepared by a process with increased productivity.
We have found that this object is achieved by the propylene polymers defined at the outset and a process for their preparation, their use for the production of films, fibers or moldings and the films, fibers or moldings comprising these propylene polymers.
The novel propylene polymers are generally present in a form comprising at least two phases. They contain a continuous phase of a propylene homopolymer, which is referred to as the matrix. This matrix phase is semicrystalline, ie. it consists of a crystallized fraction, ie. the crystallites, and an amorphous fraction. According to the invention, the term propylene homopolymer is also intended to mean those propylene polymers in which minor amounts of other alkenes are copolymerized units, the propylene homopolymers generally containing less than 2, in particular less than 1, % by weight of other alkenes. The matrix of the novel propylene homopolymers preferably contains only propylene as a monomer.
The novel propylene polymers preferably contain from 50 to 92% by weight of the matrix-forming propylene homopolymer. Particularly preferably, the amount of the matrix is from 60 to 90% by weight.
Furthermore, the novel propylene polymers contain a copolymer of propylene and other alkenes, which is present as a separate phase from the matrix and exhibits very low or no crystallinity. This copolymer referred to as a rubber or elastomer contains, as a rule, from 20 to 85% by weight of propylene. The propylene content of the copolymer is preferably from 35 to 80, in particular from 45 to 70, % by weight. Depending on the chosen ratio of matrix to elastomer, the phase of the copolymer of propylene and other alkenes is present in disperse form in the matrix or is likewise continuous and hence cocontinuous with the matrix.
The other alkenes which are copolymerized with propylene are to be understood as meaning preferably alk-1-enes of up to 10 carbon atoms. Ethylene, but-1-ene, pent-1-ene, hex-1-ene, hept-1-ene and oct-1-ene or mixtures of these comonomers are particularly suitable, ethylene and but-1-ene being preferred. In the case of the copolymers acting as elastomers, unconjugated dienes, such as ethylidenenorbornene, dicyclopentadiene or 1,4-hexadiene, may also be present as other alkenes and are then copolymerized, as a rule, with ethylene and propylene.
The novel propylene polymers preferably contain from 8 to 50% by weight of the copolymer of propylene and other alkenes. Particularly preferably, the amount of the elastomer phase is from 10 to 40% by weight.
In addition to the essential components, the novel propylene polymers may also contain further homo- or copolymers of alkenes, for example homo- or copolymers of ethylene or polyisobutylene. For example, the amount of the further homo- or copolymers of alkenes may be from 0 to 30% by weight, based on the total propylene polymer.
One method for analyzing propylene polymers with regard to the fractions of polymer chains of different tacticity and different comonomer incorporation is TREF (Temperature Rising Elution Fractionation), in which the dissolution temperature of the polymer fraction corresponds to its average length of sequences built up without defects. To carry out the TREF, the propylene polymers are first dissolved in hot, preferably boiling xylene, the solution is then cooled at a constant cooling rate and thereafter the propylene polymers are separated, with increasing temperature, into fractions of different crystallinity. The composition of the propylene polymers can be described in terms of the fraction which remains undissolved on heating the cooled propylene polymer solution to a defined temperature.
In the fractionation of mixtures of propylene homopolymers and copolymers of the propylene with other alkenes, the polymer chains composed of different monomers first go into solution with increasing dissolution temperature, the dissolution temperature being lower the shorter the average sequence lengths of a monomer type. This means that first the elastomer fraction goes into solution and then, at higher temperatures, the matrix, which can be separated again with regard to the average isotactic sequence length of the polymer chains. It has been found that the polymer fractions which go into solution up to and including 80xc2x0 C. can be assigned to the elastomer phase, whereas the fraction which remains undissolved at 80xc2x0 C. and goes into solution only at higher temperatures originates from the matrix.
The novel propylene polymers have a high content of polymer chains with long defect-free isotactic propylene sequences in the matrix. Regarding the matrix, ie. that fraction of the propylene polymers which remains undissolved on heating the cooled polymer solution to 80xc2x0 C., the propylene polymers fulfill either one or preferably two or all of the following conditions i) to iii):
i) More than 20, preferably more than 30, in particular more than 40, % by weight of the matrix remain undissolved on further heating to 112xc2x0 C.
ii) More than 8, preferably more than 12, in particular more than 16, % by weight of the matrix remain undissolved on further heating to 117xc2x0 C.
iii) More than 1, preferably more than 2, in particular more than 3, % by weight of the matrix remain undissolved on further heating to 122xc2x0 C.
To determine according to the invention the composition of the propylene polymers, TREF is carried out in the following manner:
1-10 g of the propylene polymer are dissolved in a sufficient amount of boiling xylene to give a 0.5-2% strength by weight solution. The boiling solution is then cooled with a linear cooling rate of from 2 to 15, preferably from 10 to 25, xc2x0 C./h, or a lower temperature, the major part of the polymer being precipitated. The crystal suspension is then transferred to a thermostatable extraction apparatus which corresponds to that described by W. Holtup in Makromol. Chem. 178 (1977), 2355, and is heated to the first elution temperature. The polypropylene crystals are then extracted for at least 10 minutes at this temperature with vigorous mixing. Thereafter, the polymer solution is discharged while the polymer crystals remain behind in the extractor. The dissolved polymer is precipitated in cold acetone (temperature  less than 0xc2x0 C.), and the precipitate is filtered off and dried under reduced pressure until the weight is constant.
The extractor is then heated to the next elution temperature, and xylene at the same temperature is added in the same amount as that used for dissolution. Extraction is then carried out once again for at least 10 minutes with vigorous mixing, the polymer solution is discharged, the dissolved polymer is precipitated in cold acetone and the precipitate is filtered off and dried. These steps are repeated until the total polymer has dissolved.
The elastomer fraction corresponds to the fractions dissolved up to and including 80xc2x0 C., and the matrix fraction is the sum of all fractions which dissolve at higher elution temperatures. The matrix fraction insoluble at the individual temperatures is obtained from the ratio of the TREF fraction at the corresponding temperature of the total matrix fraction.
Since the matrix accounts for only a part of the novel propylene polymers, the fractions which remain undissolved on heating to 112xc2x0 C., 117xc2x0 C. and 122xc2x0 C. are, based on the total propylene polymer, naturally smaller and are dependent on the ratio of matrix fraction to elastomer fraction.
The novel propylene polymers can be prepared by mixing the melts of the fractions separately polymerized beforehand. Mixing is then effected in a manner known per se, for example by means of an extruder. The polymer blends prepared in such a manner may also contain polymers which are obtainable with other catalyst systems suitable for the preparation of the matrix, for example polyisobutylenes or ethylene/propylene/diene/(EPDM) rubbers.
However, the novel propylene polymers are preferably prepared in a multistage polymerization process, as a rule the matrix being polymerized in a first stage and a copolymer of propylene with other alkenes then being polymerized thereon in a second stage. In addition, it is possible in subsequent stages to polymerize on further homo- or copolymers of alkenes. Particularly suitable alkenes for such processes are alk-1-enes of up to 10 carbon atoms.
In the process likewise according to the invention, the propylene polymers are prepared by polymerization of propylene at from 50 to 120xc2x0 C. and from 15 to 40 bar in a first polymerization stage and subsequent copolymerization of propylene and other alk-1-enes of up to 10 carbon atoms at from 30 to 100xc2x0 C. and from 5 to 40 bar in a second polymerization stage in the presence of a Ziegler-Natta catalyst system which contains, as active components, a titanium-containing solid component a) which is obtained by reacting a titanium halide with a chlorine-free compound of magnesium, an inorganic oxide as carrier, a C1-C8-alkanol and an electron donor compound and, as cocatalysts, an aluminum compound b) and a further electron donor compound c).
For the preparation of the titanium-containing solid component a), the titanium halides used are the halides of trivalent or tetravalent titanium, for example TiBr3, TiBr4, TiCl3 or TiCl4, or alkoxytitanium halides, such as Ti(OCH3)Cl3, Ti(OC2H5)Cl3, Ti(O-iso-C3H7)Cl3, Ti(O-n-C4H9)Cl3, Ti(OC2H5)Br3, Ti(O-n-C4H9)Br3, Ti(OCH3)2Cl2, Ti(OC2H5)2Cl2, Ti(O-n-C4H9)2Cl2, Ti(OC2H5)2Br2, Ti(OCH3)3Cl, Ti(OC2H5)3Cl, Ti(O-n-C4H9)3Cl or Ti(OC2H5)3Br, the titanium halides which contain only halogen in addition to titanium and among these in particular the titanium chlorides and especially titanium tetrachloride, being preferred. According to the invention, the titanium halides may also be used as mixtures of one another or in mixtures with further titanium compounds. Examples of suitable further titanium compounds are titanium alcoholates, such as Ti(OCH3)4, Ti(OC2H5)4 or Ti(O-n-C4H9)4. Preferably, the titanium halides are used alone.
Furthermore, a chlorine-free compound of magnesium or a mixture of said compounds is used in the preparation of the titanium-containing solid component. Chlorine-free compounds of magnesium are to be understood according to the invention as meaning those which contain no halogen in their structural formula. However, the amounts of halogen contained as impurities in the novel chlorine-free compounds of magnesium should not exceed 5, in particular 2, % by weight. Suitable chlorine-free compounds of magnesium are in particular alkylmagnesiums and arylmagnesiums as well as alkoxymagnesium and aryloxymagnesium compounds, di-C1-C10-alkylmagnesium compounds preferably being used. Examples of novel chlorine-free compounds of magnesium are diethylmagnesium, di-n-propylmagnesium, di-isopropylmagnesium, di-n-butylmagnesium, di-sec-butylmagnesium, di-tert-butylmagnesium, diamylmagnesium, n-butylethylmagnesium, n-butyl-sec-butylmagnesium, n-butyloctylmagnesium, diphenylmagnesium, diethoxymagnesium, di-n-propyloxymagnesium, di-isopropyloxymagnesium, di-n-butyloxymagnesium, di-sec-butyloxymagnesium, di-tert-butyloxymagnesium, diamyloxymagnesium, n-butyloxyethoxymagnesium, n-butyloxy-sec-butyloxymagnesium, n-butyloxyoctyloxymagnesium and diphenoxymagnesium. Among these, n-butylethylmagnesium and n-butyloctylmagnesium are particularly preferred.
In addition, the titanium-containing solid component a) contains at least one inorganic oxide as carrier. As a rule, a finely divided inorganic oxide which has a median particle diameter from 5 to 200 xcexcm, preferably from 15 to 100 xcexcm and in particular from 20 to 70 xcexcm, is used as carrier. The median particle diameter is to be understood here as meaning the volume-related median value of the particle size distribution determined by Coulter Counter Analysis according to ASTM Standard D 4438.
Preferably, the particles of the finely divided inorganic oxide are composed of primary particles which have a median diameter of the primary particles of from 1 to 20 xcexcm, in particular from 3 to 10 xcexcm. The primary particles are porous, granular oxide particles which in general are obtained by milling a hydrogel of the inorganic oxide. It is also possible to sieve the primary particles before their further processing.
Furthermore, the inorganic oxide preferably to be used is also characterized by the fact that it has cavities or channels with an average diameter of from 0.1 to 20 xcexcm, in particular from 1 to 15 xcexcm, whose macroscopic volume fraction is from 5 to 30%, in particular from 10 to 30%, based on the total particle.
The median diameter of the primary particles and the macroscopic volume fraction of the cavities and channels of the inorganic oxide are advantageously determined by image analysis with the aid of scanning electron microscopy or electron probe microanalysis, in each case on particle surfaces and on particle cross-sections of the inorganic oxide. The electron micrographs obtained are evaluated and the median diameter of the primary particles and the macroscopic volume fraction of the cavities and channels are determined therefrom. The image analysis is preferably carried out by conversion of the electron microscopy data into a gray scale binary image and digital evaluation by means of a suitable computer program.
The inorganic oxide preferably to be used may be retained, for example, by spray-drying the milled hydrogel, which is mixed with water or an aliphatic alcohol for this purpose. Such finely divided inorganic oxides are also commercially available.
Finely divided inorganic oxide further usually has a pore volume of from 0.1 to 10, preferably 1.0 to 4.0, cm3/g and a specific surface area of from 10 to 1000, preferably from 100 to 500, m2/g, these being understood as the values determined by mercury porosymmetry according to DIN 66133 and by nitrogen adsorption according to DIN 66131.
The pH of the inorganic oxide, ie. the negative logarithm to the base 10 of the proton concentration, is preferably from 1 to 6.5, in particular from 2 to 6, particularly preferably from 3.5 to 5.5.
Particularly suitable inorganic oxides are the oxides of silicon, of aluminum, of titanium or of one of the metals of main groups I and II of the Periodic Table. Silica (silica gel) is a very preferably used oxide in addition to alumina or magnesium oxide or a sheet silicate. Mixed oxides, such as aluminum silicates or magnesium silicates, may also be used.
The inorganic oxides used as carrier contain hydroxyl groups on their surface. By elimination of water, it is possible to reduce or completely eliminate the content of OH groups. This can be achieved by thermal or chemical treatment. Thermal treatment is usually carried out by heating the inorganic oxide for from 1 to 24, preferably from 2 to 20, in particular from 3 to 12, hours to 250 to 900xc2x0 C., preferably 600 to 800xc2x0 C. The hydroxyl groups may also be removed by chemical methods, by treating the inorganic oxides with conventional drying agents, such as SiCl4, chlorosilanes or alkylaluminums. Preferably used inorganic oxides contain from 0.5 to 5% by weight of water. The water content is conventionally determined by drying the inorganic oxide at 160xc2x0 C. under atmospheric pressure until the weight is constant. The weight decrease corresponds to the original water content.
In the preparation of the titanium-containing solid component a), preferably from 0.1 to 1.0, in particular from 0.2 to 0.5, mol of the chlorine-free compound of magnesium is used per mole of the inorganic oxide.
Furthermore, C1-C8 alkanols, such as methanol, ethanol, n-propanol, isopropanol, n-butanol, sec-butanol, tert-butanol, isobutanol, n-hexanol, n-heptanol, n-octanol or 2-ethylhexanol or mixtures thereof, are used in the preparation of the titanium-containing solid component a). Ethanol is preferably used.
The titanium-containing solid component a) furthermore contains electron donor compounds, for example mono- or polyfunctional carboxylic acids, carboxylic anhydrides or carboxylic esters, as well as ketones, ethers, alcohols, lactones or organophosphorus or organosilicon compounds.
Preferably used electron donor compounds within the titanium-containing solid component are carboxylic acid derivatives and in particular phthalic acid derivatives of the formula (II)
where X and Y are each chlorine, bromine or C1-C10-alkoxy or together are oxygen in an anhydride function. Particularly preferred electron donor compounds are phthalic esters, X and Y being C1-C8-alkoxy, for example methoxy, ethoxy, n-propyloxy, isopropyloxy, n-butyloxy, sec-butyloxy, isobutyloxy or tert-butyloxy. Examples of preferably used phthalic esters are diethyl phthalate, di-n-butyl phthalate, di-isobutyl phthalate, dipentyl phthalate, dihexyl phthalate, di-n-heptyl phthalate, di-n-octyl phthalate and di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate.
Other preferred electron donor compounds within the titanium-containing solid component are diesters of 3- or 4-membered, unsubstituted or substituted cycloalkyl-1,2-dicarboxylic acids, and monoesters of substituted benzophenone-2-carboxylic acids or substituted benzophenone-2-carboxylic acids. Hydroxy compounds used in these esters are the alkanols usually employed in esterification reactions, for example C1-C15-alkanols or C5-C7-cycloalkanols, which in turn may carry one or more C1-C10-alkyl groups, and furthermore C6-C10-phenols.
Mixtures of different electron donor compounds may also be used.
The titanium-containing solid component a) can be prepared by methods known per se which are described, for example, in EP-A 171 200, GB-A 2 111 066, U.S. Pat. No. 4,857,613 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,288,824. However, in the first stage of its preparation, the chlorine-free compound of magnesium in an inert solvent is used and is reacted with the carrier and C1-C8-alkanol to give a chlorine-free intermediate which is advantageously further processed without purification or extraction.
In the preparation of the titanium-containing solid component a), the following two-stage process is preferably used:
In the first stage, a solution of the chlorine-free compound of magnesium is first added to the inorganic oxide in an inert solvent, preferably a liquid alkane or an aromatic hydrocarbon, eg. toluene or ethylbenzene, after which this mixture is allowed to react for from 0.5 to 5 hours at from 10 to 120xc2x0 C., as a rule with stirring. The C1-C8-alkanol is then added in at least a 1.3-fold, preferably from 1.6- to 3-fold, in particular from 1.8- to 2.0-fold, molar excess, based on the magnesium-containing compound, usually with continuous stirring at from xe2x88x9220 to 80xc2x0 C., preferably from 0 to 40xc2x0 C. This results in the formation of a chlorine-free intermediate, which is preferably further processed without purification or extraction. After from about 10 to 120, preferably from about 20 to 60, minutes, the titanium halide and the electron donor compound are added to this intermediate at from 10 to 50xc2x0 C. From 1 to 15, preferably 2 to 5, mol of the titanium halide and from 0.01 to 1, in particular from 0.3 to 0.7, mol of the electron donor compound are used per mole of magnesium of the solid obtained from the first stage. This mixture is allowed to react for at least 10, preferably 30, in particular from 45 to 90, minutes at from 10 to 150xc2x0 C., in particular from 60 to 130xc2x0 C., in general with stirring, and the solid substance thus obtained is then filtered off and washed with a C7-C10-alkylbenzene, preferably with ethylbenzene.
In the second stage, the solid obtained from the first stage is extracted at from 100 to 150xc2x0 C. with excess titanium tetrachloride or with a solution of titanium tetrachloride in an inert solvent, preferably a C7-C10-alkylbenzene, which solution is present in excess, the solvent containing at least 5% by weight of titanium tetrachloride. The extraction is carried out as a rule for at least 30 minutes. The product is then washed with a liquid alkane until the titanium tetrachloride content of the wash liquid is less than 2% by weight.
The titanium-containing solid component a) obtainable in this manner is used with cocatalysts as the Ziegler-Natta catalyst system. Suitable cocatalysts are aluminum compounds b) and further electron donor compounds c).
Examples of suitable aluminum compounds b) are trialkylaluminum, and those compounds in which an alkyl group has been replaced by an alkoxy group or by a halogen atom, for example by chlorine or bromine. The alkyl groups may be identical or different. Linear or branched alkyl groups are suitable. Preferably used trialkylaluminum compounds are those whose alkyl groups are each of 1 to 8 carbon atoms, for example trimethylaluminum, triethylaluminum, triisobutylaluminum, trioctylaluminum or methyldiethylaluminum or mixtures thereof.
In addition to the aluminum compound b), electron donor compounds c), for example mono- or polyfunctional carboxylic acids, carboxylic anhydrides and carboxylic esters, as well as ketones, ethers, alcohols, lactones and organophosphorus and organosilicon compounds are used as the further cocatalyst, it being possible for the electron donor compounds c) to be identical to or different from the electron donor compounds used for the preparation of the titanium-containing solid component a). Preferred electron donor compounds are organosilicon compounds of the formula (I)
R1nSi(OR2)4-nxe2x80x83xe2x80x83(I)
where the radicals R1 are identical or different and are each C1-C20-alkyl, 5- to 7-membered cycloalkyl which in turn may be substituted by C1-C10-alkyl, C6-C18-aryl or C6-C18-aryl-C1-C10-alkyl, the radicals R2 are identical or different and are each C1-C20-alkyl and n is the integer 1, 2 or 3. Particularly preferred compounds are those in which R1 is C1-C8-alkyl or 5- to 7-membered cycloalkyl, R2 is C1-C4-alkyl and n is 1 or 2.
Among these compounds, dimethoxydiisopropylsilane dimethoxyisobutylisopropylsilane, dimethoxydiisobutylsilane, dimethoxydicyclopentylsilane, dimethoxydicyclohexylsilane, dimethoxycyclohexylmethylsilane, dimethoxyisopropyl-tert-butylsilane, dimethoxyisobutyl-sec-butylsilane and dimethoxyisopropyl-sec-butylsilane are particularly noteworthy.
The compounds b) and c) acting as cocatalysts may be allowed to act individually, in succession in any desired order or together as a mixture on the titanium-containing solid component a). This is usually effected at from 0 to 150xc2x0 C., in particular from 20 to 90xc2x0 C., and from 1 to 100, in particular from 1 to 40 bar.
The cocatalysts b) are preferably used in such an amount that the atomic ratio of aluminum from the aluminum compound b) to titanium from the titanium-containing solid component a) is from 10:1 to 800:1, in particular from 20:1 to 200:1.
In the process leading to the novel propylene polymers and likewise according to the invention, the molar ratio of the aluminum compound b) to the further electron donor compound c) is adjusted to from 1.5:1 to 9:1, in particular 2:1 to 8:1. If a molar ratio greater than 9:1 is used, the stereospecificity of the resulting propylene homopolymers is in general insufficient. If the ratio is less than 1.5:1, the process is generally not very advantageous for economic reasons, in particular owing to the large amounts of further electron donor compound c) then used.
Said process can be carried out in the conventional reactors used for the polymerization of C2-C10-alk-1-enes, either batchwise or, preferably, continuously, inter alia in solution, as suspension polymerization or, preferably, as gas-phase polymerization. Suitable reactors include continuously operated stirred reactors, loop reactors or fluidized-bed reactors. If a batchwise procedure is used, polymerization is effected in the stages in succession by varying the reaction conditions. As a rule, however, the continuous procedure is used, the matrix initially being prepared in the first stage in one or more reactors and then the elastomer phase being prepared in one or more further reactors. In addition, it is possible to polymerize on further homo- or copolymers of C2-C10-alk-1-enes in subsequent stages. It is also possible to combine different reactor types. In a particularly preferred embodiment, the preparation of the copolymers is carried out in a multistage, in particular two-stage, gas-phase process, the reactors used being continuously operated stirred kettles which contain a fixed bed of finely divided polymer which is usually kept in motion by suitable stirring apparatuses.
Said process is carried out by polymerizing propylene or a monomer mixture comprising propylene and minor amounts of other alk-1-enes of up to 10 carbon atoms at from 50 to 120xc2x0 C., preferably from 60 to 90xc2x0 C., and from 15 to 40, preferably from 20 to 35, bar for the preparation of the matrix in the first polymerization stage. The average residence time is as a rule from 1.0 to 3.0, preferably from 0.5 to 5, hours. The reaction conditions are preferably chosen so that, in the first polymerization stage, from 0.05 to 2, preferably from 0.1 to 1.5 kg of the matrix are formed per mole of the aluminum component b). Polymerization is usually carried out in the presence of hydrogen, a partial pressure ratio of propylene to hydrogen of, preferably, from 30:1 to 180:1, in particular from 30:1 to 150:1, being established.
The propylene polymer obtained is discharged together with the catalyst from the first polymerization stage and is introduced into the second polymerization stage, where a copolymer of propylene and other alk-1-enes of up to 10 carbon atoms is polymerized onto said propylene polymer. The amount of added monomers is as a rule such that the ratio of the partial pressure of propylene to that of the other alk-1-enes of up to 10 carbon atoms is from 0.5:1 to 20:1, in particular from 1.0:1 to 10:1. Moreover, by a suitable choice of the reaction parameters, the weight ratio of the monomers reacted in the first polymerization stage to those reacted in the second polymerization stage is usually established to be from 0.5:1 to 20:1, in particular from 1.0:1 to 15:1.
The polymerization is effected in the second polymerization stage at from 30 to 100xc2x0 C., preferably from 50 to 90xc2x0 C., and from 5 to 40, preferably from 10 to 35, bar. The average residence time of the reaction mixture is as a rule from 0.5 to 5, preferably 1.0 to 3.0, hours. The pressure in the second polymerizaton stage is preferably at least 3 bar below the pressure of the first polymerization stage. In the second polymerization stage, too, the polymerization is preferably carried out in the presence of hydrogen, the ratio of the partial pressure of propylene to that of hydrogen being as a rule from 100:1 to 5:1, in particular from 60:1 to 10:1.
It may also be advisable to add a C1-C8-alkanol, in particular a C1-C4-alkanol, to the reaction mixture of the second polymerization stage, which alkanol influences the activity of the Ziegler-Natta catalyst. Alkanols suitable for this purpose are, for example, methanol, ethanol, n-propanol, n-butanol and very particularly isopropanol. The amount of C1-C8-alkanol is in general such that the molar ratio of the C1-C8-alkanol to the aluminum compound b) serving as cocatalyst is from 0.01:1 to 10:1, in particular from 0.02:1 to 5:1.
The weight average molar masses of the novel copolymers of propylene are as a rule from 10,000 to 1,000,000 g/mol and the melt flow rates (MFR) are from 0.1 to 100, preferably from 0.2 to 20, g/10 min. The melt flow rate (MFR) corresponds to the amount of polymer which is forced, in the course of 10 minutes at 230xc2x0 C. and under a weight of 2.16 kg, out of the test apparatus standardized according to ISO 1133.
Compared with the propylene polymers known to date, the novel propylene polymers have a higher proportion of polymer chains with long defect-free isotactic polymer sequences in the matrix. This manifests itself, for example, in an improved ratio of rigidity to toughness. Moreover, the novel copolymers also have reduced chlorine contents. The productivity of the process used for the preparation of these copolymers is substantially higher compared with the known processes.
Owing to their good mechanical properties, the novel propylene polymers are particularly suitable for the production of films, fibers or moldings.

Abstract: are fulfilled by the matrix which remains undissolved on heating the cooled propylene polymer solution to 80xc2x0 C.,

Abstract: a process for the preparation of the propylene polymers, their use for the production of films, fibers or moldings and the films, fibers or moldings comprising these propylene polymers, are described.


In digital content including; data in which digital copyrighted work is stored, and a plurality of separation data separated from the data, a header of the data stores position information for specifying a separation region in which one of the separation data is separated. Moreover each separation region in which the separation data is separated, stores position information for specifying other separation regions in an interlinked manner. Furthermore the data excluding the separation region is encrypted by a content key of the data, and the separation region of the data, and the separation data are encrypted respectively by a content key different for each separation data. Moreover, the separation data is distributed together with the content key on a route different to the data.

In the case where encrypted digital content is stored on various recording media and circulated, or is circulated via a network, the digital content is exposed to an attack of estimating a content key for decrypting the digital content. Therefore, a technique has been proposed where a part of the digital content is separated from a digital content body and distributed together with a license, to thereby protect the digital content.
However, in the conventional technique, because there is only one separation data separated from the digital content body, the proportion of a region which cannot be used in the digital content body has been small. Therefore, if a third person who has acquired the digital content body can estimate the content key of the digital content body, he/she may be able to use the digital content to some extent, even in a state where the separation data cannot be used.

Computer-readable, non-transitory medium storing digital content distributing program, computer-readable, non-transitory medium storing digital content playback program, digital content distributing apparatus and digital content playback apparatus