An image forming apparatus transmits, when a function which cooperates with a function providing apparatus is added, information on the added function to a management server, and changes a failure monitoring setting according to the returned monitoring condition. If a failure occurs, the image forming apparatus generates, if the failure is attributable to the function providing apparatus, failure information indicating that the failure is attributable to the function providing apparatus, and otherwise, the image forming apparatus generates failure information on the failure to transmit to the management server. Upon receiving the information on the added function from the image forming apparatus, the management server returns the monitoring condition corresponding to the added function to arrange for maintenance of the image forming apparatus. If the failure is attributable to the function providing apparatus, the management server does not arrange for maintenance of the image forming apparatus.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a technique for remotely managing an image forming apparatus in an environment in which functions provided via a network can be used in the image forming apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
An image forming apparatus used in an office, such as a copying machine or a printer, includes various functions. For example, the image forming apparatus includes a scanning function, a facsimile function, and a transmission function in which an address to be transmitted to is designated. Further, the image forming apparatus includes a function for converting scan data to a portable document format (PDF), and a function for converting such scan data to a desired page description language (PDL) when performing printing.
Conventionally, there is a system which detects and notifies a management server on the network of failures that have occurred when the functions included in the image forming apparatus are used (refer to Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-210103 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2010-142975).
The management server in the system stores, counts, and notifies a user of information that the management server has been notified of. Further, according to Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-210103, the management server in a management system controls instructions to be issued to the image forming apparatus based on status information (i.e., device information, failure information, and counter information) of the image forming apparatus. In such a case, management information includes network information and the device information of the image forming apparatus, and operation information includes the failure information and the counter information of the image forming apparatus.
Furthermore, in recent years, there are cases where at least a portion of the functions to be included in the image forming apparatus is assigned to a server on the Internet. In such a case, the image forming apparatus accesses the server via a communication line and uses the functions assigned to the server, so that the image forming apparatus is provided with the functions not included therein. For example, if the function for converting the scan data to the PDF format is provided on the network, it is assumed that the process to be described below is performed.
The image forming apparatus in the office performs scanning and transmits the data to the server on the network via the communication line. The server on the network then coverts the data to a PDF file and returns the PDF file to the image forming apparatus in the office. The image forming apparatus thus acquires the scan data in the PDF format.
If such a system is introduced, the image forming apparatus can freely use the functions provided by the server and convenience thereof is greatly improved. Further, it becomes unnecessary to install in the office an image forming apparatus including specific functions to be shared by a plurality of users. Furthermore, problems such as insufficient resources (e.g., a hard disk drive (HDD) and a memory) can be solved.
The functions provided by the server as described above may not be usable by previous models of the image forming apparatus. Such previous models may become capable of using the functions provided by the server by updating firmware or improving the functions using a universal serial bus (USB) memory.
However, the image forming apparatus in the conventional systems discussed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-210103 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2010-142975 notifies the management server of the failure information according to a predetermined rule. As a result, if a function which cooperates with the function on the network is newly added to the image forming apparatus, the image forming apparatus cannot appropriately notify the management server of failures in the newly added function.
For example, if a failure occurs when the image forming apparatus is to use the function provided on the network, the image forming apparatus cannot recognize whether the failure has occurred in the image forming apparatus itself or in an external device such as the server which provides the functions thereto. If the image forming apparatus then notifies the management server of the occurrence of an abnormality in such a state, the management server receiving the notification cannot determine whether the abnormality has occurred in the image forming apparatus or in the external device. Further, the management server may treat the problem as an abnormality occurring in the image forming apparatus.
In a conventional system, the management server issues, when there is a failure in an image forming apparatus managed thereby, a notification for arranging a service personnel to be dispatched, for restoring the image forming apparatus. Upon receiving the above-described notification from the image forming apparatus, the management server may proceed to arrange for the service personnel to be dispatched to an installation location of the image forming apparatus in which there is no abnormality. In such a case, unnecessary dispatching cost may be generated.
Further, in the case where a problem has occurred in the external device on the network, the external device can be promptly restored if the management server can notify a maintenance personnel for the external device at the time of the management server recognizing the problem.
There is thus a demand for the image forming apparatus to become capable of appropriately issuing a notification to the management server even if a function which cooperates with the function on the network is newly added to the image forming apparatus. Further, there is a demand for the management server to identify where a failure has occurred, so that an appropriate service personnel can be flexibly dispatched.

Management system, management server, image forming apparatus, and management method


A simple and implantable sustained release drug delivery device with an inner core containing an effective amount of a low solubility agent covered by a non-bioerodible polymer coating layer that is permeable to the low solubility agent is disclosed. A method for treating a mammal to obtain a desired local or systemic physiological or pharmacological effect by surgically implanting such a sustained release drug delivery device into a mammal in need of treatment is also disclosed.

Uveitis is a disease of the eye which can be located throughout the eye including the posterior and anterior chambers of the eye as well as the vitreous body. Uveitis, the inflammation of the uvea, is responsible for about 10% of the visual impairment in the United States.
Panuveitis refers to inflammation of the entire uveal (vascular) layer of the eye. Posterior uveitis generally refers to chorioretinitis and anterior uveitis refers to iridocyclitis. The inflammatory products, that is, cells, fibrin, excess protein, of these inflammations are commonly found in the fluid spaces of the eye including the anterior chamber, posterior chamber and vitreous space as well as the tissue involved in the inflammatory response. Uveitis may occur following surgical or traumatic injury to the eye, as a component of an autoimmune disorder such as rheumatoid arthritis, Behcet's disease, ankylosing spondylitis, sarcoidosis, as an isolated immune mediated ocular disorder, i.e., pars planitis, iridodyclitis etc., unassociated with known etiologies, and following certain systemic diseases which cause antibody-antigen complexes to be deposited in uveal tissues. Together these disorders represent non-infectious uveitities.
Cyclosporine A, a 1.2 kd cyclic peptide which is essentially insoluble in water effectively inhibits the development of experimentally induced uveitis. In human trials, cyclosporine A has been shown to be effective in treating chronic uveitis, especially that associated with Behcet's disease.
Unfortunately, systemic therapy with cyclosporine A has serious drawbacks. Cyclosporine A used systemically has also been associated with a high incidence of renal toxicity, some cases of hepatotoxicity, hypertension, and an increased incidence of opportunistic infections. The systemic side effects of cyclosporine A are so severe and so common that its use to treat life-threatening or in some cases severe sight-threatening disease is not recommended. The systemic toxicity is such that the National Eye Institute has recommended that, for uveitis inflicting one eye, cyclosporine should not be administered. Finally, a systemic application of cyclosporine A is limited by its prohibitive cost. Also, it should be noted that because of poor ocular availability, topical delivery does not result in the obtention of therapeutic levels of the drug in the back of the eye.
Accordingly, there exists a strong need for the elimination of the undesirable physiological and economic problems associated with cyclosporine A treatment of uveitis, while maintaining the advantageous therapeutic properties of this treatment.
The systemic toxicity of cyclosporine A may be minimized by delivering the drug locally. Although direct intravitreal injection prevents experimental autoimmune uveitis (EAU) , repeated injection is not a practical mode of administration.
Due to the risks that certain drugs impose, researchers have developed systems for administering such drugs to aid in the treatment of ailments and diseases. The systems have been designed largely to reduce and to control the release rate of incorporated drugs. However, these systems fail to achieve the surprising and unexpected results obtained by the present invention.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,091,185 to Castillo et al. relates to implantable pellets for veterinary use comprising a bioactive material such as somatotropin coated with a polyvinyl alcohol polymer to prolong the release of the bioactive material after implantation. Parenteral administration of the coated pellet is by subcutaneous implantation and may be accomplished surgically or by injecting small pellets through a needle. However, the Castillo patent does not teach that the polyvinyl alcohol polymer should be heated to temperatures greater than about 100.degree. C. to induce changes in the crystal structure of the polymer to render it nonerodible. Somatotropins are heat sensitive and rapidly decompose on heating above 100.degree. C. so such heating would be impractical for the systems described in the Castillo patent.
U.S. Pat No. 4,300,557 to Refojo et al. relates to an improved process for dispensing a lipid-soluble, labile drug by diffusion from an implantable silicon capsule to a site within an animal body being treated with the drug, wherein the silicon capsule is provided with a tube sealed at its distal end and through the interior wall of which is cut a longitudinal slit of 1 to 1.5 mm for filling the capsule following implantation. The capsule is surgically implanted near the site being treated so that the tube is accessible for filling without further surgical procedures. In another aspect of the invention, a drug is dispensed at a constant rate through an expandable, silicon microballoon implanted periocularly to an intraocular site within an animal body.
U.S. Pat No. 4,649,047 to Kaswan relates to a method for the treatment of, for example, uveitis occurring throughout the globe of the eye, by topical administration of cyclosporine to the eye.
U.S. Pat No. 4,923,699 to Kaufman discloses an eye treatment system wherein three dimensional particles of bioerodible material of a specific size which are suspended in a liquid carrier or ointment carrier having a pH acceptable to the eye are delivered topically to the eye. Various agents may be added to increase viscosity, promote suspension and/or improve ocular compatibility.
U.S. Pat No. 3,832,252 to Higuchi et al. relates to a drug delivery device comprising an inner solid matrix with solid particles of drug dispersed therethrough. Any solid material chemically compatible with the drug and permeable to passage of the drug by diffusion can be employed.
U.S. Pat No. 4,309,996 to Theeuwes relates to a system comprising a microporous diffuser for delivering a beneficial agent to a fluid environment of use at a zero order rate for an increased length of time at that rate. The system consists essentially of a microporous wall, or a part microporous part semi-permeable wall, surrounding a compartment having a space containing the agent separated by a partition from a space containing an expandable entity.
U.S. Pat No. 4,309,776 to Berguer relates to an intravascular implantation device having a chamber for containing transplanted cells that is implanted in a wall of a blood vessel or to be implanted between an artery and a vein in a wall of each for the purpose of introducing hormonal components into the bloodstream of a human being. It is disclosed that the material of which the chamber-forming device is made must be tolerated in a blood vessel without causing thrombosis and should permit the choice of various degrees of porosity.
U.S. Pat No. 4,973,304 to Graham et al. relates to devices which have use in medical or veterinary application as implants or as inserts. The devices can be implanted surgically into the body or introduced into a body cavity of a human patient or an animal such that the active substance diffuses out of the device through hydrogel windows into the surrounding body region. The device may be in the form of a tube of water-permeable material having at least one port in the tube wall.
The above described systems and devices are intended to provide sustained release of drugs effective in treating patients at a desired local or systemic level for obtaining certain physiological or pharmacological effects. However, there are many disadvantages associated with their use. The need for a better release system is especially significant in the treatment of uveitis. Thus, there remains a long-felt need in the art for an improved device for providing sustained release of a drug to a patient to obtain a desired local or systemic physiological or pharmacological effect.

Implantable controlled release device to deliver drugs directly to an internal portion of the body

University of Kentucky Research Foundation


Systems and methods for data visualization are disclosed. An example method includes: obtaining, via a user device, first user biometric data from a user; comparing the first user biometric data with first stored user biometric data. The first stored user biometric data are stored in a hardware secure element of the user device. The method further includes: determining that the first user biometric data matches the first stored user biometric data; and in response to the determining, transmitting a payment token to a merchant device. The payment token is configured to enable a payment to be made from a payment account associated with the user to a merchant associated with the merchant device.

A user sometimes may have to give out confidential information (e.g., a home address) or payment instrument information (e.g., credit card numbers) to a third party who is not well-equipped to protect it. For example, when financing a car purchase, a user may have to give a small car dealership her social security number, date of birth, credit information, and home address.
This may subject the user to future fraud, e.g., when a hacker steals the confidential user information from the small car dealership's unprotected customer database server. The problem exacerbates when the user has no strong trust relationship with a third party, e.g., a merchant located and operating from overseas or an online merchant with no brick-and-mortar store.
There is therefore a need for a device, system, and method, which provides enhanced user authentication and confidential information management.
Embodiments of the present disclosure and their advantages are best understood by referring to the detailed description that follows. It should be appreciated that like reference numerals are used to identify like elements illustrated in one or more of the figures, wherein showings therein are for purposes of illustrating embodiments of the present disclosure and not for purposes of limiting the same.

Hardware and token based user authentication


A method for purifying a crude (meth)acrylic acid obtained by a vapor phase catalytic oxidation method, characterized in that the crude (meth)acrylic acid having most parts of water and acetic acid removed therefrom, is fed to and distilled in a first distillation column of a purification system comprising first to third three distillation columns, the top fraction from the first distillation column is fed to and distilled in the second distillation column, the resulting top fraction is recovered as a high purity (meth)acrylic acid product, the bottoms from the first and second distillation columns are fed to and distilled in the third distillation column, and the resulting top fraction is fed to the first distillation column.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for purifying (meth)acrylic acid, particularly to a method for purifying a crude (meth)acrylic acid obtained by vapor phase catalytic oxidation, by distillation to obtain highly pure (meth)acrylic acid which is useful for the production of a highly water absorptive resin and for the production of a (meth)acrylic ester. In this specification, (meth)acrylic acid means acrylic acid or methacrylic acid.
2. Discussion of Background
a. As a method for producing (meth)acrylic acid, a method of hydrolyzing the corresponding nitrile compound may, for example, be mentioned. However, at present, a vapor phase catalytic oxidation method of the corresponding hydrocarbon such as propylene or isobutylene, is mainly employed. Recently, a study has been made also on a vapor phase catalytic oxidation method using an inexpensive corresponding alkane as the starting material instead of an olefin.
In the production of (meth)acrylic acid by a vapor phase catalytic oxidation method, firstly the reaction product gas containing (meth)acrylic acid is contacted with an absorbing solvent such as water to recover (meth)acrylic acid in the gas in the form of a (meth)acrylic acid solution. This solution contains, in addition to (meth)acrylic acid, various impurities formed as by-products during the vapor phase catalytic oxidation, such as acetic acid, maleic acid, acrolein, furfural, benzaldehyde, acetone, etc. in the case of acrylic acid. Many methods have been proposed for recovering purified (meth)acrylic acid from such a (meth)acrylic acid solution. However, the principal ones are such that the absorbing solvent and a part of impurities are removed from the (meth)acrylic acid solution in a preliminary purification step to obtain a crude (meth)acrylic acid substantially comprising (meth)acrylic acid, dimers thereof and other heavy components, and then such a crude (meth)acrylic acid is purified in a purification step to obtain a product having a desired quality.
b. For example, in recent years, acrylic acid has found an increase in its demand as a starting material for e.g. a food additive or a highly water absorptive resin for e.g. paper diapers. In such applications, highly pure acrylic acid is required. Namely, if crude acrylic acid is used as a starting material for a polymer of acrylic acid without removing impurities, there will be a problem such as a delay in the reaction during the polymerization reaction, a decrease in the polymerization degree or coloring of the polymerized product.
Accordingly, industrially, purification of acrylic acid is carried out by distillation. However, it is not easy to remove by distillation impurities in crude acrylic acid obtained by vapor phase catalytic oxidation.
Heretofore, as a method for producing highly pure acrylic acid by separating and removing impurities from crude acrylic acid obtained by vapor phase catalytic oxidation, a method of carrying out distillation in the presence of a hydrazine, has, for example, been known (JP-A-49-30312, JP-B-58-37290, etc.). However, such a method is primarily intended to remove an aldehyde in the crude acrylic acid, whereby removal of maleic acid and/or maleic anhydride (these will be together hereinafter referred to as "maleic acids") tends to be inadequate.
Further, JP-A-7-330659 discloses a method of carrying out distillation in the co-presence of hydrazine and ammonia. This method is effective for removal of maleic acids, but has a problem such that the added ammonia will be distilled from the top, such being not suitable for the production of highly pure acrylic acid. Further, this application discloses batch treatment only, and discloses nothing about a method for continuously obtaining highly pure acrylic acid on a commercial scale.
Accordingly, it has been considered that with these techniques, it is not easy to continuously produce high purity acrylic acid by sufficiently removing impurities containing maleic acids from the crude acrylic acid.
On the other hand, JP-A-2001-316326 discloses a method for continuously producing high purity acrylic acid by preventing sludge formation in the distillation column, wherein crude acrylic acid having a concentration of maleic acids of at most 2000 ppm, is used as a starting material for high purity acrylic acid. However, in order to reduce the concentration of maleic acids in the starting material crude acrylic acid, it is necessary to remove maleic acids in the step of obtaining the crude acrylic acid, and such does not provide a substantial solution to the problem. Further, in the process for producing acrylic acid, for example, in a step of recovering acrylic acid from the bottom residue of the acrylic acid distillation column, maleic acids, will be distilled in acrylic acid, and consequently, accumulation of maleic acids will take place within the acrylic acid production process, and accordingly, from the industrial view point, it is desired to develop an economically excellent method whereby crude acrylic acid containing at least 2000 ppm of maleic acids can be used as the starting material, and yet, high purity acrylic acid can be continuously produced constantly.
c. On the other hand, as a purification method for (meth)acrylic acid obtained by vapor phase catalytic oxidation of propylene or isobutylene, a distillation method is common, but (meth)acrylic acid is extremely susceptible to polymerization, and its handling was problematic.
d. As one of distillation apparatus, a vertical thin film evaporator is known which comprises an evaporator main body with its principal portion being cylindrical, which has a heating means on its exterior surface, a liquid inlet and a vapor outlet at its upper portion and a residue discharge port at its lower portion, a rotary shaft set in the main body, and stirring vanes attached to the shaft and being movable in a peripheral direction along the inner wall surface of the evaporator main body. With this thin film evaporator, the interior surface corresponding to the exterior surface on which the heating means is provided, is a heat transfer surface, and a liquid to be treated, which is supplied from the upper liquid inlet will be pressed and spread in a film form on the cylindrical inner wall surface by the rotating stirring vanes, and in the process where this liquid film falls by gravity, low boiling point components in the liquid to be treated are permitted to evaporate by the heat supplied from the heating means. This apparatus is capable of evaporating low boiling point components in the liquid to be treated, in a short time, and thus, it is suitable for treating a liquid containing a substance sensitive to heat, such as a readily-polymerizable compound. Further, the treated liquid is forcibly stirred by the rotating stirring vanes, whereby the liquid in contact with the heat transfer surface is always renewed by a fresh liquid, whereby there is a merit such that local overheating of the liquid to be treated can be prevented, and baking or scaling of the liquid tends to scarcely occur.
Many methods are available for attaching stirring vanes to the rotary shaft. For example, in a movable vane system, the stirring vanes are attached to the rotary shaft via fulcrums or springs, so that they can be moved in a circumferential direction about the rotary shaft, whereby by rotation of the rotary shaft, they rotate while contacting with the cylindrical inner wall surface or while maintaining a slight distance therefrom, by a centrifugal force.
e. On the other hand, heretofore, it has been common to employ a method for producing an acrylic ester by an esterification reaction of acrylic acid with an alcohol. As the acrylic acid to be used, one obtained by a vapor phase oxidation reaction of propylene, followed by dehydration, removal of low boiling point impurities and further purification treatment for removal of e.g. high boiling point impurities, may be used. However, it has been regarded advantageous to employ one not subjected to treatment for removal of high boiling point impurities, since purification costs of acrylic acid can thereby be made low (JP-A-9-157213, JP-A-10-237012, JP-A-10-306052, JP-A-2001-213839).
However, if acrylic acid containing high boiling point impurities, is used as the starting material, there have been problems such that undesirable polymerization reactions or side reactions are likely to take place, thus leading to clogging of apparatus such as pipes by polymerized products, deterioration of unit consumption of main materials such as acrylic acid and an alcohol, and a decrease in the quality of the product.
f. The acrylic acid-containing gas obtained by vapor phase oxidation will then be contacted with water in a collection column to obtain an aqueous acrylic acid solution, and an azeotropic agent is added to this aqueous acrylic acid solution, whereupon in an azeotropic agent dehydration distillation column, an azeotropic mixture comprising water and the azeotropic agent, is distilled, while crude acrylic acid containing acetic acid is recovered from the bottom of the column. Then, this crude acrylic acid is subjected to a distillation column for separating low boiling point components thereby to separate low boiling point impurities such as acetic acid, and further, high boiling point impurities are removed in a distillation column for separating high boiling components, to obtain purified acrylic acid. Further, there may be a case where acrylic acid is collected by contacting it with a high boiling point solvent in a collection column.
Acrylic acid thus produced, may be used as a starting material for various acrylic esters. In recent years, its demand as a starting material for a highly water absorptive resin has increased. Such acrylic acid as a starting material for a highly water absorptive resin is required to be acrylic acid purified to a high purity, and especially, aldehydes are required to be highly removed, since they tend to hinder a polymerization reaction or they tend to color the product polymer.
Heretofore, as a method for removing aldehydes simply and efficiently from purified acrylic acid, a method is known wherein aldehydes are converted to heavy substances by means of an aldehyde-removing agent of e.g. an amine system including a hydrazine system or an amino acid system (JP-A-49-30312, JP-A-49-95920, JP-B-50-14, JP-A-10-204024), a hydrogen sulfite system (JP-A-7-330672), a mercaptan system (JP-A-60-6635) or a combined system of a hydrazine system and a dithiocarbamate system (JP-A-7-228548), followed by distillation in a distillation column for purification, to obtain high purity acrylic acid from the top of the distillation column for purification.
The bottom fraction containing high boiling point compounds formed at the time of this distillation, contains, together with reaction products of aldehydes with an aldehyde-removing agent, a polymerization inhibitor such as hydroquinone added at the time of the distillation, and further high boiling point substances formed during the distillation, such as many heavy substances, such as an acrylic acid dimer (β-acryloxypropionic acid) or oligomers being Michael adducts of acrylic acid, polymers, etc.
Heretofore, such bottom fraction was disposed, or recovered for the production process for acrylic acid. This bottom fraction contains acrylic acid dimer, etc. being Michael adducts, and if it is recovered for the production process for acrylic acid, it is considered preferred to treat it in a thermal decomposition treatment step before recovery in the purification step for acrylic acid (JP-A-2001-213839).
g. It is an object of the present invention to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems and to provide a method for producing high purity (meth)acrylic acid by sufficiently removing impurities such as aldehydes, ketones, dicarboxylic acids such as maleic acids from crude (meth)acrylic acid obtained by a vapor phase catalytic oxidation method, which is an economically excellent method for producing (meth)acrylic acid, whereby continuous operation for a long period of time is possible while suppressing formation of sludge in the distillation column.
h. Further, as mentioned above, a high purity (meth)acrylic acid product is required as the starting material for a water absorptive resin such as paper diapers. The reason is that if an impurity, particularly furfural, is contained in the above-mentioned (meth)acrylic acid obtained by vapor phase catalytic oxidation, there will be a problem such as delay in the reaction, deterioration of the polymerization degree, coloration of the polymerized product, etc. at the time of the polymerization reaction for a water absorptive resin. Therefore, industrially, purification of (meth)acrylic acid is carried out by distillation or crystallization. Crystallization usually requires a large initial investment, and from the economical viewpoint, a method by distillation is employed in many cases, but it is difficult to remove the above impurity, particularly furfural, by usual distillation.
In order to solve this problem, a method has been proposed wherein a hydrazine compound is added at the time of purification of (meth)acrylic acid. This method is effective from the viewpoint of removal of the above-mentioned impurity, but has had a problem that it causes polymerization of (meth)acrylic acid during the rectification.
Formation of a polymer causes clogging in the distillation column, whereby the performance of the distillation column decreases, or it will be required to stop the operation. Accordingly, a method for suppressing formation of such a polymer, is desired.
JP-A-7-228548 proposes to suppress the formation by adding copper dithiocarbamate. In an operation for a short time, the effect of this method is confirmed, but in a continuous operation for a long time for a usual industrial operation, the effect has been still inadequate.
i. Further, in the purification of (meth)acrylic acid or its ester by distillation, if it is attempted to recover (meth)acrylic acid or its ester by means of a thin film evaporator from a heavy component containing (meth)acrylic acid or its ester discharged from the bottom of the distillation column, there is a problem such that clogging frequently occurs at a liquid-withdrawal tube or at an outlet portion of a liquid collection part of the thin film evaporator.
The present inventors have sought to find out the causes and as a result, have found them to be such that the liquid flowing down on the inner wall surface of the thin film evaporator will polymerize on a lower inner wall surface rather than at the lower end of the stirring vanes, and as the liquid introduced into the same film evaporator is concentrated, a polymerization inhibitor preliminarily added for (meth)acrylic acid or its ester, will precipitate.
Namely, in the thin film evaporator, stirring vanes are disposed to stir the liquid film on the heat transfer surface where evaporation takes place, and no stirring vanes are disposed at the inner wall surface portion below the heat transfer surface, particularly at the inverted corn-shaped liquid collection portion following the cylindrical portion, or at the funnel-shaped liquid collection portion being a combination of the inverted corn-shape and a cylindrical shape. Accordingly, at such a portion, the liquid flowing down, has the majority of low boiling point components removed and thus essentially has bad fluidity, and besides, no stirring by stirring vanes takes place, whereby the liquid in contact with the inner wall surface tends to be hardly renewed by a fresh liquid. Consequently, the retention time of the liquid in contact with the inner wall surface tends to be abnormally long, and (meth)acrylic acid or its ester remaining in the liquid, tends to gradually polymerize to change the liquid to be heavy, whereby the fluidity of this liquid further decreases, and a polymer tends to accumulate on the inner wall surface. Further, as the liquid is concentrated, the polymerization inhibitor preliminarily added for (meth)acrylic acid or its ester tends to be precipitated. The accumulated polymer and precipitates not only hinder the flow of the liquid, but also clog the outlet portion of the liquid collection portion or the following liquid withdrawal tube, if they are peeled off from the inner wall surface. Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a thin film evaporator free from such clogging.
j. It is an object of the present invention to avoid conventional problems such as clogging of apparatus such as pipes by a polymer, deterioration of the unit consumption of the starting materials, deterioration of the quality of the product, etc. and to provide a method for producing an acrylic ester which is economically excellent and industrially advantageous.
k. Further, it is not desirable to obtain high purity acrylic acid from the top of the above-mentioned distillation column for purification while subjecting the bottom fraction of the distillation column for purification to thermal decomposition treatment to recover it for an acrylic acid purification step, because as the thermal decomposition treatment is carried out at a high temperature, many side-reactions or decomposition reactions will take place, whereby formation of undesirable by-products which cause to accelerate polymerization of acrylic acid, to contaminate an acrylic acid product or to present coloration to the product, or regeneration of aldehydes, takes place, and such compounds are likely to be recycled to the purification step of acrylic acid.
To avoid such problems, a method has also been proposed wherein distillation is carried out under such a distillation condition that the acrylic acid concentration in this bottom fraction will be sufficiently low, and the bottom fraction is subjected to disposal treatment. However, if the concentration of acrylic acid in the bottom fraction is lowered, the viscosity of the bottom fraction will increase, whereby precipitation of a polymer, etc. tends to readily take place, thus leading to a trouble of clogging at the withdrawal pipe. Accordingly, the lowering of the acrylic acid concentration is limited, whereby it has been impossible to avoid a loss of acrylic acid in an amount corresponding to the one disposed as contained in the bottom fraction.
It is an object of the present invention to solve the above described conventional problems and to provide a method for producing high purity (meth)acrylic acid, whereby a highly purified high purity (meth)acrylic acid is produced by simply and efficiently removing aldehydes contained in (meth)acrylic acid, and at the same time, a waste liquid other than high purity (meth)acrylic acid fraction formed by this treatment of aldehydes, is recovered industrially advantageously.


A photoelectric conversion device comprises a photoelectric conversion unit, a floating diffusion region, a transfer transistor, and an output unit. A control electrode of the transfer transistor includes a first portion which extends along a channel width direction and overlaps a first boundary side when seen through from a direction perpendicular to a light receiving surface of the photoelectric conversion unit, and a second portion which extends along a channel length direction from one end of the first portion and overlaps a second boundary side when seen through from the direction perpendicular to the light receiving surface, and the control electrode of the transfer transistor has an L shape when viewed from the direction perpendicular to the light receiving surface.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a photoelectric conversion device, a method of manufacturing the same, and an image sensing system.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, digitization of cameras is accelerating, and digital cameras including a photoelectric conversion device for photoelectrically converting an object image formed by an image sensing optical system are now widespread. Typical examples of the photoelectric conversion device are a CCD image sensor and a CMOS image sensor such as APS (Active Pixel Sensor). The CMOS image sensor is expected to have wide applicability because it can select a pixel using an address system and readily achieves system-on-chip.
The CMOS image sensor generally uses a photodiode (buried photodiode) having a carrier accumulation region buried in the substrate to suppress a dark current generated in the surface. In the buried photodiode, however, the carrier accumulation region is arranged in the substrate far apart from its surface. This raises the threshold voltage of a transfer transistor.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-274454 discloses a technique of providing, between the carrier accumulation region of a photodiode and the control electrode of a transfer transistor, a region (to be referred to as a "bypass region" hereinafter) of the same conductivity type as the carrier accumulation region and increasing the impurity concentration in a floating diffusion region. According to Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-274454, the depletion layer extends from the floating diffusion region to the bypass region. In this state, the transfer transistor is designed to transfer electric carriers from the carrier accumulation region to the floating diffusion region via the bypass region having a low potential. This supposedly makes it possible to lower the threshold voltage of the transfer transistor.
In the technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-258231, the control electrode of a transfer transistor is formed from a main body portion and an expansion portion that is arranged adjacent to a photodiode with respect to the central portion of the main body portion. According to Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-258231, the expansion portion partially increases, to the photodiode side, the gate length of the central portion of the main body portion of the control electrode of the transfer transistor. This probably allows to read out signal from the carrier accumulation region of the photodiode by complete transfer.
However, the present inventor found the following facts. In the invention of Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-274454, the bypass region is provided between the carrier accumulation region of the photodiode and the region under the control electrode of the transfer transistor. Hence, the distance from the control electrode of the transfer transistor to an end portion of the carrier accumulation region of the photodiode tends to increase. Since the depletion layer hardly extends all over the carrier accumulation region, signal charges may remain at part of the carrier accumulation region.
In the invention of Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-258231, the expansion portion partially increases the gate length of the central portion of the main body portion of the control electrode of the transfer transistor toward the center of the photodiode. This makes it difficult to photoelectrically convert light that has entered near the center of the photodiode. Since the light amount is large near the center of the photodiode, the sensitivity of the photodiode degrades.

Photoelectric conversion device, method of manufacturing the same, and image sensing system


A puncture resistant electrostatic chuck (20) is described. The chuck (20) comprises at least one electrode (25); and a composite insulator (30) covering the electrode. The composite insulator comprises a matrix material having a conformal holding surface (50) capable of conforming to the substrate (35) under application of an electrostatic force generated by the electrode to reduce leakage of heat transfer fluid held between the substrate and the holding surface. A hard puncture resistant layer, such a layer of fibers or an aromatic polyamide layer, is positioned below the holding surface (50) and is sufficiently hard to increase the puncture resistance of the composite insulator.

The present invention is directed to an electrostatic chuck for holding a substrate in a process environment.
In integrated circuit manufacture, chucks are used to hold semiconductor substrates to prevent movement or misalignment of the substrate during processing. Electrostatic chucks, that use electrostatic attraction forces to hold a substrate, have several advantages over mechanical and vacuum chucks, including reduction of stress-related cracks caused by mechanical clamps; allowing utilization of a larger portion of the substrate surface; limiting deposition of corrosion particles on the substrate; and allowing use of the chuck in low pressure processes. A typical electrostatic chuck includes an electrically conductive electrode with an electrical insulator thereon. A voltage source electrically biases the substrate with respect to the electrode. The insulator prevents the flow of electrons therethrough, causing opposing electrostatic charge to accumulate in the substrate and in the electrode, thereby generating an electrostatic force that attracts and holds the substrate onto the chuck.
A typical electrostatic chuck comprises a metal electrode covered by a thin polymeric insulator layer. The thin polymer layer maximizes electrostatic attractive forces between the substrate and the electrode. However, when the substrate held on the chuck breaks or chips to form fragments having sharp edges, the substrate fragments puncture the polymer film exposing the electrode of the chuck, particularly when the polymer is soft and has low puncture resistance at high processing temperatures. Exposure of the electrode at even a single pinhole in the insulator can cause arcing between the electrode and plasma, and require replacement of the entire chuck. Polymer insulators also have a limited lifetime in erosive process environments, such as processes using oxygen-containing gases and plasmas. In these processes, the insulator can be eroded by the erosive process gas and the resultant exposure of the electrode results in failure of the chuck during processing and loss of the entire substrate at a significant cost. It is also desirable for such polymeric insulator layers to provide sustained operation at elevated temperatures, preferably exceeding about 175.degree. C., and more preferably exceeding 200.degree. C.
In one solution for increasing the puncture and erosion resistance of the insulator, a hard ceramic layer is formed over the electrode.
For example, commonly assigned EP 635 869 A1 discloses an electrostatic chuck that comprising a polymeric dielectric layer with a protective ceramic overcoat of Al.sub.2 O.sub.3 or AlN. In another example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,280,156 to Niori discloses a ceramic dielectric layer covering an electrode of an electrostatic chuck. In yet another example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,480,284 discloses a ceramic layer made by flame spraying Al.sub.2 O.sub.3, TiO.sub.2, BaTiO.sub.3, or a mixture of these materials over an electrode, and impregnating the pores of the ceramic dielectric with a polymer. However, there are several problems with these ceramic structures. One problem with ceramic overlayers is that the volume resistivity of ceramic layers generally decreases to values less than 10.sup.11 .OMEGA.cm with increasing temperature resulting in unacceptable current leakage from the electrodes of the chuck at high temperatures. Another problem is that the ceramic and polymer layers often delaminate from one another, particularly when the thermal expansion coefficients of the layers is mismatched.
Yet another problem with the hard ceramic layers occurs because it is often necessary to cool the substrate when the substrate is being processed in plasma processes. Bombardment by high energy plasma ions cause heat buildup and thermal damage to the substrate and chuck. Conventional chucks utilize cooling systems which hold coolant between the substrate and the insulator of the chuck to cool the substrate. However, it is difficult to form a seal between the hard ceramic coatings and the peripheral edge of the substrate causing coolant to leak from the grooves of the chuck, and resulting in non-uniform temperatures across the substrate. Also, it is difficult to machine the ceramic layers to form coolant holding grooves or coolant inlet apertures that do not have rough edges and corners. The rough edged grooves easily scratch and damage the substrate held on the chuck. Furthermore, such cooling systems can be inefficient when used on ceramic chucks because the highly thermally insulative ceramic insulator can impede the transfer of heat from the substrate to the chuck.
Thus, it is desirable to have electrostatic chuck that is resistant to failure from puncturing by sharp fragments and particles, and from failure by erosion in erosive process environments. There is also a need for an electrostatic chuck that is capable of sustained operation at elevated temperatures, preferably exceeding about 200.degree. C. It is also desirable to have a chuck which allows coolant to directly contact the substrate, without causing excessive coolant leakage from the periphery of the chuck. There is a further need for a fabrication process for providing a thin insulator that maximizes electrostatic attractive force, a strong bonding of the insulator to the electrode, and a conformal insulator layer with smooth edged coolant grooves and apertures.


A tile for covering an area and which interlocks with an adjacent tile includes a main body having a top surface and a bottom surface disposed opposite the top surface. The main body has at least a first lateral side and a second lateral side. The tile includes at least one male connector situated on at least one of the first lateral side and the second lateral side of the main body and extending outwardly therefrom. The tile further includes at least one female receptacle situated on at least one of the first lateral side and the second lateral side of the main body and extending outwardly therefrom. The male connector of the tile is engageable with a female receptacle of an adjacent tile so that the tile may interlock with the adjacent tile.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates protective padding and more particularly relates to recycled protective tiling.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The most common injuries at recreational facilities such as playgrounds and sporting arenas are attributed to falls. Such injuries include head trauma, fractures and sprains, some leaving long term disability. Children very often run on concrete slabs or loose gravel, while others play on swings, carrying them high above the ground. During incidents in which the child loses control or balance, the ground material can prove to be very unforgiving.
Conventional methods of minimizing injury from falls include padding the ground with dense material such as closed cell foam. This type of padding commonly comes in lengthy sheets that are cut to size. The sheets are placed over the ground, regardless of the composition. For example, closed cell foam pads are often placed over loose gravel in the same manner that they are placed over concrete slab. Unfortunately, the underlying ground material can affect the overall effectiveness of the protective padding.
Closed cell foam pads most typically have a planar bottom and top without any recesses. While this conventional design provides means for effectively positioning and maintaining coverage of a concrete slab, if the same foam pad is placed on loose gravel or rocks, it will not be secured and may cause further personal injury from movement of the protective covering. Additionally, when closed cell foam pads are placed on uneven surfaces such as gravel, the foam pads take the shape of the underlying surface, creating an uneven activity area that may provoke falls from tripping. Conventional closed cell foam padding also tends to become slippery when wet from inclement weather or nearby sprinklers as water commonly pools on the flat surface thereof.
There are also conventional tiles available that are made from reprocessed or recycled rubber, for example, from shredded rubber automobile tires. However, such conventional tiles do not interlock with one another and may separate, or buckle, leaving either an exposed area of the supporting surface on which the tiles are laid, or an uneven surface, which may cause injury to a child playing on the tiled surface.
The present invention provides a novel rubberized padding device that overcomes the inherent disadvantages found in the conventional designs.

Interlocking rubber tiles for playgrounds


The flowmeter of this invention computes the volumetric flow rate of a liquid by measuring the changing positions of objects carried in the flow. This information can be combined with data describing the size, shape and fraction of filling of the conduit. By measuring displacement instead of velocity, accurate measurements of liquid movement can be obtained even when flows are moving very slowly, or not at all.

Accurate measurement of wastewater flows in sewers and other open channels is increasingly important for both economic and environmental reasons. Existing flowmeters for open channels are of two types: head-type meters which measure water depth and are used with weirs and flumes; and velocity-area (VxA) meters which obtain flow cross section area from a measurement of depth and multiply this area by a factor based on a measurement of water velocity. Properly installed head-type meters are 1-2% accurate; VxA meters are typically at least an order of magnitude less accurate, but can be used where installation of a flume or weir is impractical or impossible.
The common weakness of VxA meters is in the measurement of water velocity. Techniques commonly used for wastewater velocity measurement are contrapropagating and reflective ultrasonics (both based on frequency shifting), electromagnetic probes, and (for short-term measurements) paddlewheels and turbines. Such devices are typically rated for velocity ranges to 30 fps (feet per second) and higher; accuracy is severely degraded at low velocities. The velocities found in open channel wastewater flows range from typical highs of 3 to 5 fps in free flow down to zero or even reverse flow under stoppage conditions.
In open channel flow applications, present velocity-measuring instruments are at best operating in the bottom 10-15% of their full range, with resulting poor accuracy. Electromagnetic probes are especially prone to fouling, with resultant calibration drift, in slowly moving flows. In wastewater flows, paddlewheel, turbine, target and other intrusive sensors typically fail in short times due to fouling and trash accumulation. There is a great need for an open channel flowmeter for wastewater which can operate accurately in pipes and channels (without using a weir or flume) which is not subject to the shortcomings of velocity measurements.
Several manual techniques are in common use for measuring water flowrate in channels without measuring velocity. These methods measure the movement of the water along the channel over a measured distance in a measured time, as contrasted with measuring the instantaneous water velocity at the location of the velocity sensor. The simplest of these techniques is the method of floats; small floats are dropped into the flow and visual measurements are taken of the travel time to a known point downstream. The water flowrate is computed as: ##EQU1## It is possible to compute a value for "average" velocity, dividing the travel distance by the travel time. The result is a fictitious value, which for most situations will not be the actual velocity of any significant portion of the flow. Regardless, this "average velocity" is a derived value; it is not a measurement, and it not required for the calculation of flowrate.
The same principle underlies dye and salt techniques. Dye may be dumped into moving water, and the time of travel observed visually. Salt may be dumped into the water, and the time of arrival at the downstream point observed with a conductivity meter. These techniques are characterized by low resolution in distance and time measurements, requiring the measurements to be made over large distances and times; rapid changes of flowrate are averaged out rather than measured. Also, for each measurement, material must be added to "tag" the water. On the positive side, the lack of velocity measurement means these techniques work equally well, though inaccurately, in both fast and slow flows. To date, this benefit has not been realized in an automated instrument because of these problems of the long baseline and need to continuously add "tagging" material.
The present invention solves these problems by using the solids already being carried by the flowing water, and by providing a precise, short-baseline method for accurately measuring the travel distances of such solids. The invention successively identifies and measures the location of individual solids at short time intervals and calculates the liquid flowrate based on the movement of these solids. Because solids are carried throughout the flow, the technique measures throughout the cross section of flow; accuracy is not dependent on laboratory-quality flow conditions. The present invention is also useful in flows without measurable solids by introducing bubbles in the flow.
Accordingly, the first object of the invention is to implement a channel flowmeter to continuously measure flowrate by measuring water movement instead of velocity.
Another object of the invention is to measure the water movement using short baselines and short times, for installation convenience and to better track short-term variations in flowrate.
Another object of the invention is to perform such non-velocity flow measurements without the addition of tagging material to the flowing water.
Another object of the invention is to take measurements throughout the flow, preserving accuracy where flow conditions are irregular.
Another object of this invention is to provide a volumetric flowmeter which accurately computes a true flow volume regardless of flow velocity, does not require a known flow profile, and is essentially independent of upstream and downstream flow conditions, including flow stoppages.
Another object of this invention to provide a volumetric flowmeter which can be used in the same applications as velocity-area meters, but which avoids the shortcomings of velocity measurement.
Another object of this invention is to provide an accurate method of measuring flowrates of object-bearing liquids moving slowly.


A process for fabricating an electrical terminal (48) having an integral capacitor (50) formed on the exterior of the terminal includes a laser ablation process for deposition of a thin layer of dielectric material (44) on to the body of the terminal (48). An outer electrode (46) is then deposited on the exterior of the dielectric layer and the terminal can be used in a filtered electrical connector. A wire (2) can be cleaned by, for example, a plasma cleaning step prior to the deposition of the dielectric layer (44) by laser ablation and lasers (12) can be used to anneal at least the outer portion of the additively deposed dielectric layer (44). The wire (2) can be rotated to provide complete coverage.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention is related to laser deposition or laser ablation of dielectric material on metallic substrates, especially to deposit a capacitive filter. This invention is also related to the use of capacitive filters in electrical systems and more particularly to the use of electrical connectors containing capacitive filters.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Filtered and shielded electrical connectors are commonly used to control electromagnetic interference (EMI) and radio frequency interference (RFI) in electronic circuits used in noisy environments. Susceptibility to external EMI must be limited both for the electronic systems to function properly and mandatory limits are also imposed for certain applications. Filter connectors are also used to prevent unwanted emissions from noisy circuits to the surrounding environment.
Perhaps the most common method of dealing with these problems is to introduce lumped filter components on printed circuit boards used in these electronic devices. Since filtering requirements are often determined only during testing and often after products are designed and produced, this approach typically means that printed circuit boards must be redesigned. In some applications printed circuit board real estate is limited and this requirement can cause other complications. Even where printed circuit board real estate is available, this band aid approach can cause significant delays. Even minor changes, such as the addition of one or more capacitors, can cause significant problems in applications using complex multilayer printed circuit boards. For these and other reasons, filtered electrical connectors provide a desirable alternative.
One common method for including filtering in electrical connectors is to mount an auxiliary printed circuit board subassembly, including capacitors and possibly other filtering components, on the connector. These auxiliary printed circuit boards are commonly designed for specific filtering applications. The filtered connectors provide probably the best way to address EMI problems because the connectors are generally located at input and output ports of electronic modules or components.
Typically these filter subassemblies are incorporated either in new connectors especially designed for the specific applications or in conventional electrical connectors, especially modified for filtering applications. This is especially true in automotive applications. However, not all applications have the same filtering requirements or the same connector configuration, thus limiting the economic advantage that can otherwise be realized by using standard commercially available connectors. Even in applications in which standard electrical connectors can be used, it has been common practice to provide filtering for all lines, even where noise is only a problem on certain lines. Subassemblies that add filtering to all lines are also inconsistent with applications in which some lines or individual circuits are ground rather than signal lines.
Surface mounted chip capacitors are currently used in may filtered applications. Dielectric material is screened onto a disposable surface to make surface mount chip capacitors. The screened material is then subjected to a drying and sintering process before the electrodes are plated. The high temperature sintering process precludes the use of low temperature substrates, such as copper and copper alloys, which are conventionally used for electrical contact terminals. One method of using standard surface mount chip capacitors for adding filtering to an electrical connector is to mount standard surface mount capacitors on a printed circuit board or other member. The printed circuit board is then mounted to the connector, typically at the rear of a connector, such as a pin header. and the capacitors are connected between the corresponding pin and a ground member, such as a metal shield. Another approach, represented by U.S. Pat. No. 4,682,129, is to form the capacitors on the substrate using a common technique, such as screen printing, to form conductive layers, or electrodes, as well as an intervening dielectric layer. Barium titanate is used to form the dielectric layer in that patent.
Barium titanate has also been suggested as a material to form a dielectric layer in field effect semiconductors in dynamic random access memory devices and for use in devices in super-conducting electronics. Laser deposition or laser ablation has been suggested as one method of forming the dielectric thin films for use in those applications.

Electrical terminal with integral capacitive filter


A sheet discharge device neatly and uniformly aligns edges of print sheets irrespective of the thickness of a print sheet, and exerts the same effect even at a low discharge speed. The sheet discharge device includes: sheet information sensing means for detecting thickness of a print sheet to judge the sheet as a thick sheet, a regular sheet, or a thin sheet; conveying means for discharging the print sheet bearing a printed image in a predetermined direction; a discharge tray that accommodates a stack of the print sheets discharged by the conveying means; wings arranged at a tail end portion of the conveying means, coming in contact with two side edges in a widthwise direction of the print sheet so as to give a U shape curl by curving the sheet in a rough U shape during discharge; control means for commanding, based on the judgment by the sheet information sensing means, the wing to take a predetermined shift mode during discharge of the print sheet; and drive means for moving the wing in a shift mode designated by the control means.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to a printing apparatus, more specifically, to a sheet discharge device for discharging a print sheet toward a discharge tray.
2. Description of the Related Arts
In general, a printing apparatus has a sheet feed section to send out a top print sheet of a stack of paper loaded on a sheet feed tray, a printing section to carry out printing on the print sheet supplied from the sheet feed section, a sheet discharge device to discharge a print sheet, and a discharge tray to receive the print sheet discharged by the sheet discharge device.
Moreover, it takes some time for wet ink on the print sheet to dry. Therefore, when sheets of printing paper are printed successively, a print sheet being discharged now may brush a printed surface of a previously print sheet that is stacked on the top of the discharge tray, thereby smearing a printed image thereon.
Thus, in order to stack up print sheets on the discharge tray, it is desired to make a print sheet fall at right angles to the print sheet(s) on the discharge tray.
For instance, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2001-240290 discloses a sheet discharge device includes a pair of flying induction members that function as jump wings for flying a print sheet having been carried by a conveyor belt (or transfer belt), while maintaining the print sheet in a bent form (roughly U shape).
In order to give a roughly U shape curl in the sheet, the flying induction member pair shift in the widthwise direction of the sheet according to information (size of the sheet) of a print sheet, and the two opposite faces come in contact with two side edges in the widthwise direction of the print sheet. Accordingly, a print sheet being discharged maintains a horizontal state with respect to a sheet transfer direction, and ends of the discharged sheets are aligned neatly.
However, the thickness of a print sheet is expressed in terms of weight per unit area (g/m2). For example, a print sheet is described as 'regular' if the thickness falls within the range of 58 g/m2 to 105 g/m2, 'thick' if the thickness is greater than the range, and 'thin' if the thickness is less than the range. A typical sheet discharge device determines the distance between sheet discharge wings (flying induction members) corresponding to a regular print sheet of various sizes.
What happens in the case of discharging a thick print sheet more elastic than a regular sheet is that, when an attempt is made to give a rough U shape curl to the print sheet (thick sheet), the repulsive elasticity of the thick sheet wins over a nip force (the dead weight of a sheet discharge roller, or its dead weight+spring pressure) and a suction force of a suction section maintaining a print sheet on a conveyor belt, so the thick sheet is not curved in a roughly U shape but floats instead. As a result, the print sheet may not be conveyed. This problem occurs more easily as the repulsive elasticity of a sheet increases even more toward a bottom of the sheet in a cantilever state where the dead weight for pulling the sheet down is greater. If the nip force and the suction force are increased to keep a print sheet from floating, however, the sheet may be damaged during conveying, or problems like ink transfer contamination, a blurred looking image etc., may occur.
Therefore, when thick sheets are used for printing in a conventional printer, it is necessary to broaden the width of a sheet discharge wing (or lower the installation height of the sheet discharge wing) so as to give a small U shape curl to the sheet. However, because a sheet width during discharge increases correspondingly to a weak curl of a print sheet into the U shape, the width of a side fence of a V-shaped discharge tray shown in FIG. 2 has to be broadened greater than the width of loaded sheets. In consequence, a stack of loaded print sheets on the discharge tray may not be evenly arranged in the widthwise direction, thereby impairing alignment accuracy of sheet discharge.
In contrast, thin sheets are much less elastic than the regular sheet. Therefore, a conventional sheet discharge device sometimes fails to maintain a thin print sheet in a U shape during discharge, and the thin print sheet could sag downward from an exit port due to its dead weight. If the U shape curl of such print sheet is made in large scale to prevent any sagging of the print sheet, the width of a print sheet falling down onto the discharge tray becomes extremely narrower than the width defined by the side fences of the discharge tray. Hence, the print sheet cannot maintain its U shape and alignment of discharged sheets is not stable and uniform. Moreover, with a conventional sheet discharge device, a print sheet falling on the discharge tray comes in contact with the side fence thereof and the falling speed of the print sheet decreases by that. However, in the case of thin print sheets, no contact is made between the thin print sheets and the side fences of the discharge tray, so the falling speed of the sheets are not decreased. Rather, the thin print sheets may fly up while falling due to air resistance and jump over the end fence of the discharge tray.
Especially, the problems with thin sheets are more evident in ink jet printing or double-sided printing where a sheet discharge speed is set to lower than offset printing because print sheets at the exit port stay longer in the cantilever state.


An arrangement and method for matching a load and a power source, such as an r.f. power source for a vacuum plasma processing chamber, includes a match network coupled between the power source and the load. The match network has at least two controllably variable electrical characteristics. A sensor is provided that senses at least two parameters of the load. A drive controller responds to the sensed parameters of the load to independently control varying a first one of the electrical characteristics of the match network as a function of only one of the parameters of the load, and a second one of the electrical characteristics of the match network as a function of another one of the parameters of the load. This is done until the power source and the load are in a matched condition. The separation of the match variables to establish a nearly one-to-one correspondence with the load parameters allows independent adjustment of the match variables to provide fast and unambiguous reaching of the matched condition.

Vacuum plasma processing chambers are employed for processing workpieces, typically glass, semiconductor or metal substrates, so the workpiece is etched and/or has materials deposited thereon. Significant amounts of r.f. power must be supplied to the vacuum plasma processing chamber to excite ions in a gas in the chamber to a plasma and to maintain the plasma in a discharge state. The impedance of a load of the vacuum plasma processing chamber, including the plasma discharge and an excitation circuit component for it, usually a coil or one or more electrodes, varies non-linearly and unpredictably. For example, the quality factor (Q) of an excitation coil prior to ignition of the plasma is typically quite high, about 100-400. After ignition, the Q of the coil and its plasma load drops to about 10-20. Properties of the plasma also cause the reactive impedance seen looking into the matching network to decrease as a power matched condition is approached and reached. The resistive impedance results, to a large extent, from the charged carriers in the plasma. Hence, matching to a plasma presents particular problems due to these variations in the resistive (real) and reactive (imaginary) impedance components of the load seen looking into the matching network driving the excitation circuit element and plasma of a vacuum plasma processing chamber.
The matching network is intended to (1) maximize power supplied to the load, for efficiency, and (2) minimize power reflected from the load to a relatively high power r.f. excitation source, for efficiency and prevention of possible source damage. The matching network is connected between the excitation circuit components and an output terminal of a relatively long cable (e.g., greater than 10 feet) driven by the source. The source has a specified output impedance, such as 50 ohms resistive, and zero ohms reactive. The source output impedance equals the cable characteristic impedance. The matching network is supposed to match the impedance of the load to that of the source by adjusting the impedance seen by the source so it equals the source resistive impedance.
Typically, the matching network includes two variable reactances, one for primarily controlling the resistive impedance component (.vertline.Z.vertline.) seen looking into the matching network and a second for primarily controlling the reactive impedance component (.phi.) seen looking into the matching network. In one prior art arrangement, the variable reactances are automatically simultaneously adjusted in an attempt to minimize reflected power. The most commonly used technique for controlling the values of the variable reactances involves detecting the phase and magnitude of the impedance seen looking into the input terminals of the matching network. The automatic simultaneous adjustment according to the prior art, however, is imprecise and relatively slow to achieve a matched condition, for the reasons discussed below.
In general, the control surfaces of (.vertline.Z.vertline.) and .phi. in the space of the match network variables are complicated such that there is not a one-to-one correspondence between (.vertline.Z.vertline.) and .phi. and the two match variables. In other words, changing one of the match network variables so that, for example, (.vertline.Z.vertline.) is made to equal 50 ohms, will also have an effect on the value of .phi.. The same holds true when changing a match network variable to make .phi. equal to 0.degree., since there is not a one-to-one correspondence between (.vertline.Z.vertline.) and .phi. and the two match variables. Hence, attempting to adjust both match variables simultaneously in the prior art was difficult, since a change in one match variable would have an effect on the other match variable. This lack of correspondence leads to slowness in matching and a failure to match due to ambiguities in the surface shapes of (.vertline.Z.vertline.) and .phi..

Method of and apparatus for independently controlling electric parameters of an impedance matching network


A casing (32) included in a baby carriage folding mechanism is mounted on a substantially middle part of the handle of a folding baby carriage. Hinged joints (33) each having a stationary member (34) and a movable member (35) are connected to the opposite ends of the casing (32), and pipes (18) forming the handle are connected to the hinged joints (33), respectively. The pipes (18) are connected to the movable members (35) of the joints (33). Actuating members (38a and 38b) capable of being operated by an operating mechanism included in the casing (32) are connected to the movable members (35) of the hinged joints (33). The actuating members (38a and 38b) turn the movable members (35) relative to the corresponding stationary members (34) for folding and developing the folding baby carriage.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a baby carriage folding mechanism for a baby carriage foldable in three and, more particularly, to a baby carriage folding mechanism mounted on the handle of a folding baby carriage.
2. Description of the Related Art
Various folding baby carriages for carrying a baby when taking the baby outdoors for walking or shopping have been proposed. When necessary, the folding baby carriages are folded for easy storage and carrying.
When folding the folding baby carriage in a compact package, the user holding the opposite ends of a handle or armrests needs to fold the baby carriage or the user holding a middle part of the handle needs to tilt the baby carriage so that one side of the baby carriage is folded onto the other side of the same by gravity, after folding a seat flat.
Accordingly, the user needs to change the position of the hands on the handle when folding the baby carriage by hand, and the user needs to use both hands for folding the baby carriage. Therefore, it is difficult for the user holding a baby in the user's arms to fold the baby carriage. When applying gravity to fold the baby carriage, the baby carriage needs an increased number of joints and the like to reduce resistance against the movement of parts when folding the baby carriage. Those joints reduce the rigidity of the body of the baby carriage and make it difficult to transmit the sensation of operations and locking of parts to the user.

Baby carriage folding mechanism for a folding baby carriage


A gift displaying system for resembling a snowman for displaying a plurality of gifts tied together. The gift displaying system includes a cover resembling a figurine for concealing any gifts, said cover member comprising a head member, said head member comprising a generally cotton material having a generally spherical-shape, and a body member comprising a panel being attached to and extending downwardly from a lower portion of said head member such that said panel defines a cavity extending from a free edge of said panel toward said head member, said body member comprising a generally cotton material. The invention further comprises a gift connecting assembly for connecting the gifts together that includes a plurality of connecting members. Each of the connecting members may be. releasably tied around at least two of the gifts. The gift connecting assembly further comprises a plurality of crackers. Each of the crackers is coupled to one of said connecting members and may be positioned generally between a pair of the gifts.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to decorative package enclosures and more particularly pertains to a new gift displaying system for resembling a snowman for displaying a plurality of gifts tied together.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of decorative package enclosures is known in the prior art. More specifically, decorative package enclosures heretofore devised and utilized are known to consist basically of familiar, expected and obvious structural configurations, notwithstanding the myriad of designs encompassed by the crowded prior art which have been developed for the fulfillment of countless objectives and requirements.
Known prior art includes U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,704,903; 4,782,950; 5,343,808; 5,901,496; 1,340,863; and U.S. Pat. No. Des. 315,001.
While these devices fulfill their respective, particular objectives and requirements, the aforementioned patents do not disclose a new gift displaying system. The inventive device includes a cover resembling a figurine for concealing any gifts, said cover member comprising a head member, said head member comprising a generally cotton material having a generally spherical-shape, and a body member comprising a panel being attached to and extending downwardly from a lower portion of said head member such that said panel defines a cavity extending from a free edge of said panel toward said head member, said body member comprising a generally cotton material. The invention further comprises a gift connecting assembly for connecting the gifts together that includes a plurality of connecting members. Each of the connecting members may be releasably tied around at least two of the gifts. The gift connecting assembly further comprises a plurality of crackers. Each of the crackers is coupled to one of said tying members and may positioned generally between a pair of the gifts.
In these respects, the gift displaying system according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in so doing provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of resembling a snowman for displaying a plurality of gifts tied together.
In view of the foregoing disadvantages inherent in the known types of decorative package enclosures now present in the prior art, the present invention provides a new gift displaying system construction wherein the same can be utilized for resembling a snowman for displaying a plurality of gifts tied together.
The general purpose of the present invention, which will be described subsequently in greater detail, is to provide a new gift displaying system apparatus and method which has many of the advantages of the decorative package enclosures mentioned heretofore and many novel features that result in a new gift displaying system which is not anticipated, rendered obvious, suggested, or even implied by any of the prior art decorative package enclosures, either alone or in any combination thereof.
To attain this, the present invention generally comprises a cover resembling a figurine for concealing any gifts, said cover member comprising a head member, said head member comprising a generally cotton material having a generally spherical-shape, and a body member comprising a panel being attached to and extending downwardly from a lower portion of said head member such that said panel defines a cavity extending from a free edge of said panel toward said head member, said body member comprising a generally cotton material. The invention further comprises a gift connecting assembly for connecting the gifts together that includes a plurality of connecting members. Each of the connecting members may be releasably tied around at least two of the gifts. The gift connecting assembly further comprises a plurality of crackers. Each of the crackers is coupled to one of said tying members and may positioned generally between a pair of the gifts.
There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the invention in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the invention that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.
In this respect, before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.
As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception, upon which this disclosure is based, may readily be utilized as a basis for the designing of other structures, methods and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present invention. It is important, therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent constructions insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention.
Further, the purpose of the foregoing abstract is to enable the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the public generally, and especially the scientists, engineers and practitioners in the art who are not familiar with patent or legal terms or phraseology, to determine quickly from a cursory inspection the nature and essence of the technical disclosure of the application. The abstract is neither intended to define the invention of the application, which is measured by the claims, nor is it intended to be limiting as to the scope of the invention in any way.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a new gift displaying system apparatus which has many of the advantages of the decorative package enclosures mentioned heretofore and many novel features that result in a new gift displaying system which is not anticipated, rendered obvious, suggested, or even implied by any of the prior art decorative package enclosures, either alone or in any combination thereof.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a new gift displaying system which may be easily and efficiently manufactured and marketed.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a new gift displaying system which is of a durable and reliable construction.
An even further object of the present invention is to provide a new gift displaying system which is susceptible of a low cost of manufacture with regard to both materials and labor, and which accordingly is then susceptible of low prices of sale to the consuming public, thereby making such gift displaying system economically available to the buying public.
Still yet another object of the present invention is to provide a new gift displaying system which provides in the apparatuses of the prior art some of the advantages thereof, while simultaneously overcoming some of the disadvantages normally associated therewith.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a new gift displaying system for resembling a snowman for displaying a plurality of gifts tied together.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a new gift displaying system which includes a cover resembling a figurine for concealing any gifts, said cover member comprising a head member, said head member comprising a generally cotton material having a generally spherical-shape, and a body member comprising a panel being attached to and extending downwardly from a lower portion of said head member such that said panel defines a cavity extending from a free edge of said panel toward said head member, said body member comprising a generally cotton material. The invention further comprises a gift connecting assembly for connecting the gifts together that includes a plurality of connecting members. Each of the connecting members may be releasably tied around at least two of the gifts. The gift connecting assembly further comprises a plurality of crackers. Each of the crackers is coupled to one of said tying members and may positioned generally between a pair of the gifts.
Still yet another object of the present invention is to provide a new gift displaying system that increases the entertainment value of selecting a gift from a pile of gifts.
Even still another object of the present invention is to provide a new gift displaying system that provides an alternative means for storing and sorting wrapped packages such as gifts.
These together with other objects of the invention, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the invention, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure. For a better understanding of the invention, its operating advantages and the specific objects attained by its uses, reference should be made to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter in which there are illustrated preferred embodiments of the invention.


In a master oscillator plus power amplifier (MOPA) system, the oscillator is a passively Q-switched laser. The laser is triggered into passively Q-switched operation by operating an optical switch to resonantly couple back into the laser amplified stimulated emission generated by the amplifier.

Passively Q-switched microchip lasers (MCLs) have been demonstrated as a promising concept for realizing compact laser-sources for various applications. MCLs employing neodymium doped yttrium vanadate (Nd:YVO4) as a solid-state gain medium and passively Q-switched by a semiconductor saturable absorber mirror (SESAM) can generate pulses with durations in the 100 picosecond (ps) range with energies of several 100 nanojoules (nJ). One microchip laser suitable for use with this gain medium is described in detail in U.S. Pre-grant Publication No. 2011/0243158, the complete disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference.
Such MCLs have inherently single longitudinal mode operation, due to the resonator length being short enough that only one lasing mode is possible within the gain-bandwidth of the gain-medium, and exhibit nearly diffraction-limited beam quality. This makes these MCLs potentially suitable for applications including spectroscopy, frequency conversion, micromachining, light detection and ranging (LIDAR), and precision medical and dental operations. Where additional power is required, the output of an MCL can be optically amplified creating a MOPA system with an MCL as master oscillator. One optical amplifier suitable for this purpose is described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,256,931, incorporated herein by reference. This amplifier is a compact, multi-pass, grazing-incidence amplifier employing a thin, relatively short slab of Nd:YVO4, faced-pumped by a diode-laser array (diode-laser bar). The compact nature of the amplifier, in conjunction with the compact MCL provides for a correspondingly compact MOPA system.
In present such MOPA systems, the passively Q-switched MCL delivers a train of pulses at some PRF determined, inter alia, by properties of a saturable absorption element such as a semiconductor saturable absorption mirror (SESAM) providing the passive Q-switching, and optical pump power supplied to the solid-state gain-medium of the laser. The amplifier amplifies the pulse-train from the laser to provide a train of amplified pulses as the MOPA output.
In many applications for which such a MOPA is suitable, it can be an advantage to deliver individual pulses having an arbitrary temporal separation therebetween, bursts of pulses having the laser-PRP between pulses in the burst, or a train of pulses having a PRP significantly different from that of the passively Q-switched laser. In current such MOPA systems, this is typically accomplished by providing an electro-optical switch, such as an acousto-optic modulator or an electro-optic modulator inside the laser oscillator. Opening the switch on demand leads to the evolution of a giant-pulse. This switching scheme is so called "active Q-switching". Another approach is to place the switch at the MOPA (amplifier) output of a passively Q-switched MOPA. The switch is electronically triggered to pass a pulse or pulses as required, rejecting those pulses not required. Such a switch is often whimsically referred to as a "pulse picker" by practitioners of the art.
A problem presented by active Q-switching is that a relatively long laser-resonator is required to accommodate the Q-switch leading to longer pulses. In the passive Q-switched, modulated output approach, the rejected pulses must be contained in some way. This is usually accomplished by directing the rejected pulses into an absorbing "beam dump". This usually results in the generation of heat, which must be removed either by active or passive cooling means. Another disadvantage of this approach is that it is incompatible with generating pulses with arbitrary temporal separation. These problems could be avoided if a passively Q-switched laser were available that delivered pulses only on demand.

MOPA with externally triggered passively Q-switched laser


A MEMS device includes: a substrate having a through hole; a first film provided on a top surface of the substrate with a bottom surface of the first film exposed in the through hole; a second film provided over the first film with an air gap interposed therebetween, and having a hole grouping including holes each in communication with the air gap; and a supporting layer interposed between the first and second films and having the air gap formed therein. Outermost holes of the hole grouping are located at regular intervals along a shape of an opening of the through hole at an upper open end.

The present invention relates to devices, such as sensors, using MEMS (Micro Electro Mechanical Systems) techniques, and methods for fabricating the same.
A technique called MEMS has recently seen progress in the art, which utilizes miniature processing techniques used in the fabrication of semiconductor LSI (Large Scale Integration) circuits. Using MEMS techniques, various miniature components, such as acceleration sensors, pressure sensors, and sonic sensors, have been proposed, and commercialization thereof has started.
Devices using MEMS techniques (hereinafter referred to as "MEMS devices") include, as their major components, a substrate having a through hole, a diaphragm provided on the top surface of the substrate, a fixed film provided over the diaphragm with an air gap interposed therebetween and having a hole grouping composed of holes, and a supporting layer interposed between the diaphragm and the fixed film.
The configuration of a fixed film having a hole grouping composed of holes will be described below with reference to FIG. 23 (see, for example, Patent Document 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2004-506394). FIG. 23 is a plan view illustrating the configuration of a fixed film in a conventional MEMS device.
As shown in FIG. 23, a hole grouping 201G, in which all holes 201 are arranged in a lattice pattern, is formed in a fixed film 200. When the center points of four adjacent holes 201 in the hole grouping 201G are connected, a square shape is formed in the lattice (see the dotted lines shown in FIG. 23).

MEMS device and method for fabricating the same


A weft removal device removes a waste weft using a catch cord yarn without a shed motion. The device includes a spindle having a cling part formed at its one end portion for entangling a thread to a cord, and a bracket supporting the spindle. The device further includes a weft pusher, a weft pusher carrier, and a housing for containing the pusher and the carrier. The housing is positioned on a weft guiding plate having a plurality of reed holes. As the spindle is rotated, the waste weft clings to the cling part of the spindle and is entangled with the catch cord yarn. The entangled weft and yarn is collected in a box.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a waste weft removal device for removing the waste weft with a catch cord yarn after the weft is cut off in a jet loom, and more particularly, to a thread removal device which uses a catch cord yarn without a shed motion.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Generally, weaving of a textile in a jet loom in the past has proceeded as follows.
As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, a weft 100 is thrust by a water injection through the shed of a warp 102. The weft 100 is conventionally thrust about 6-10 cm more than the width of a textile 104. Thus, when the thrust weft 100 is cut by a cutter 108, the waste weft 100 is entangled with a catch cord yarn 110 by the shed motion of catch cord yarn heddles 112. The entangled weft is then twisted by the rotation of a spindle 114 and removed out of the jet loom. Generally, the catch cord yarn 110 is formed with four strips of threads which are moved according to the shed motion of the catch cord yarn heddles 112. The shed motion of the catch cord yarn heddles 112 is transmitted to the catch cord yarn 110.
As described hereinabove, the weft 100 is entangled with the catch cord yarn 110 by the shed motion of the catch cord yarn 110. The entangled weft and yarn 113 is removed out of the jet loom through the spindle 114 and collected in a collecting box.
Such conventional devices, however, still suffer from a number of problems. For example, the four-strip catch cord yarn is moved up and down by the shed motion along with the operation of the jet loom and in the Dobby machine, only the catch cord yarn is to be moved in the shed motion. Such causes much abrasion on the machine and renders the preliminary operation of the machine difficult. Further, to avoid thread cuts, it is necessary to manage the four strips of the catch cord yarn so that tension for each of the strips equals the others. This requires much attention and complicates the device.
Moreover, in the conventional waste weft removal devices, the shed motion of the catch cord yarn interferes with the edge parts of the weft, causing difficulty in normal weaving operations.


The invention concerns an aqueous viscoelastic fluid for use in the recovery of hydrocarbons. According to the invention, the aqueous viscoelastic fluid comprises a monomer, a dimer or an oligomer of a viscoelastic surfactant able to form a viscoelastic gel under downhole conditions, said surfactant comprising a hydrophobic tail and a hydrophilic head, and being of the following formulae: R—X—Y-Z where R is the hydrophobic tail of the surfactant, Z is the hydrophilic head of the surfactant, said hydrophilic head being charged, X is a stabilising group and Y chain is a linear, saturated or unsaturated, hydrocarbon chain of 1, 2 or 3 carbon atoms or a branched, saturated or unsaturated hydrocarbon chain wherein the main chain is of 1, 2 or 3 carbon atoms, possibly incorporating an aromatic ring.

Hydrocarbons such as oil or natural gas are obtained from hydrocarbon-bearing subterranean geologic formations via flow paths connecting a reservoir of said formations and the wellbore. Impeded flow paths may lead to an inadequate hydrocarbon production. In such case, various techniques are used to stimulate this production. Amongst these techniques, it is common to inject specialised fluids via the wellbore into the formation at sufficient pressures to create fractures in the formation rocks through which the hydrocarbons may more readily flow into the wellbore. The latter technique is referred to as fracturing or hydraulic fracturing and the specialised fluids used in said technique are referred to as fracturing fluids.
Ideally, fracturing fluids should impart a minimal pressure drop in the pipe within the wellbore during placement and have an adequate viscosity to carry a propping agent that prevents the fracture from closing. Also, they should have a minimal leak-off rate and should degrade so as not to leave residual material that may impede the flow of hydrocarbons into the wellbore.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.