A cassette loading apparatus for a cassette player, the apparatus includes a guide protrusion which is rotatably connected with the holder so as to be moved up and down, and with which is capable of connecting a reel hub of the tape reel, and a connection driving body having a connection portion capable of connecting the reel driving table, wherein the connection driving body is connected with the reel driving table when the cassette is loaded, and at the same time is elevated, so that the connection driving body is connected with the reel hub of the tape reel. Thus, the apparatus can avoid the inferior loading of the cassette and minimize noises generated during cassette loading operations.

The present invention relates to a cassette loading apparatus for a cassette player, and more particularly, relates to an improved cassette loading apparatus for a cassette player capable of preventing an inferior loading of the cassette and of minimizing noise which may occur during cassette loading.
Generally, as shown in FIG. 1, a conventional cassette loading apparatus for a cassette player comprises a reel driving table 13 installed on deck 10, and a cassette holder 11 for loading and unloading a tape cassette 12 on reel driving table 13. Also, reel driving table 13 is composed of a reel pin 14 fixedly installed on deck 10, a reel disc 15 which is rotatably installed on reel pin 14 and of which the outer circumferential surface is provided with a reel gear 15a, a spindle 16 of which the outer circumferential surface is provided with a plurality of guide protrusions 16a, a cap 17 for preventing spindle 16 from being separated and a spring 18 for resiliently biasing spindle 16 upward. Here, reference number 12a designates a tape reel, and 12b designates a reel hub.
In such conventional cassette loading apparatuses for cassette players constructed as described above, cassette holder 11 and spindle 16 of reel driving table 13 are separately installed, and spindle 16 of reel driving table 13 is resiliently biased upward by means of spring 18. For this reason, the following problems occur when inserting tape cassette 12 into cassette holder 11, which effectively loads tape reel 12a onto spindle 16. First, when reel hub 12b of tape reel 12a in tape cassette 12 does not match guide protrusion 16a of spindle 16, reel hub 12b will not connect with guide protrusion 16a of spindle 16. Under these circumstances, since spindle 16 is pushed by tape cassette 12, the tape cassette cannot be accurately loaded in place on the spindle.
Also, when spindle 16 has been pressed by the downward force due to the weight of tape cassette 12 with spindle 16 being in an improper place, if guide protrusion 16a of spindle 16 matches with reel hub 12b, spindle 16 is restored by the restoration force of spring 18. In doing so, since spring 18 resiliently biases spindle 16 upward, spindle 16 is abruptly connected with reel hub 12b by the restoration force of spring 18. As a result, noise is generated due to the impact, thereby diminishing the perception of the product's quality.

Cassette loading apparatus for cassette player which smoothly engages a reel and a driving table


The flatness of the surface of a Si substrate is requested as the present gate length is miniaturized. The present invention is a semiconductor device fabrication method for flattening a silicon surface by continuously supplying a high-temperature fluoride ammonium solution to the surface a silicon substrate in which at least the silicon surface is locally exposed.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor device fabrication method and its fabrication apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
A recent semiconductor integrated circuit device is extremely miniaturized and smoothness of the surface of a Si substrate does not catch up with miniaturization of a gate length. Therefore, it is considered that the unevenness of the surface of the Si substrate is a cause of gate withstands voltage trouble, current leak trouble, and refresh trouble of a random access memory.
The following are conventionally generally performed to flatten the surface of a Si substrate.    (1) The surface of the Si substrate is plane-polished to remove a surface flaw or unevenness which is produced when the Si substrate is sliced from ingot.    (2) The Si substrate is immersed in acid or alkali to remove a working strain layer on the surface of the wafer flattened to a certain extent through the above surface polishing and etched.    (3) The Si substrate is roughly polished to remove roughness or uneven thickness in both sides of the surface and back of the Si substrate.    (4) The Si substrate is finish-polished to flatten the small unevenness of the surface of the substrate.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-135464 discloses a method using spin etching using mixed acid (hydrofluoric acid, nitric acid, sulfuric acid, and phosphoric acid) having a high etching rate and a uniform etching characteristic in order to efficiently remove a working strain layer produced through flattening such as plane polishing without damaging the flatness of the surface of a wafer.
However, a conventional the Si-substrate surface-flattening method cannot sufficiently flatten the surface of a substrate. Therefore, it is difficult to reduce gate withstand voltage troubles, current leak troubles, and refresh troubles of a random access memory, which may be due to the unevenness of the substrate surface.
In the case of a present semiconductor device having a gate length of 200 nm or less, reduction of the thickness of a transistor gate oxide film is rapidly progressed and the film thickness of the device is smaller than 4 nm. When the means square roughness of the surface of a Si substrate is 0.2 nm, it is estimated that the maximum unevenness is approx. 2 nm and this occupies 50% of a gate oxide film thickness becomes a level which cannot be ignored for the semiconductor device any longer.
However, the flatness according to the above method ranges between 0.2 and 0.3 nm in terms of the mean square roughness and the present semiconductor device of 200 nm or less is not always sufficiently flattened.
However, the present inventor et al. study the unevenness control (Non-patent Document: "Hydrogen termination structure of heat-NH4F-treated Si (100) surface "written by Yutaka Taniguchi, Yosuke Okamura, Hiroyuki Sakaue, Shouzou Shingobara, and Takayuki Takahagi in preliminary report collection of 49th Japan Society of Applied Physics in Spring, 2002) of Si substrate surface in accordance with the immersion-type wet method using the fluoride ammonium and find that it is possible to reduce the mean square roughness to 0.1 nm. However, as a result of applying the unevenness control to a Si substrate having a diameter of 20 cm, the mean square roughness becomes 0.15 nm. Therefore, when applying the unevenness control to a Si substrate having a diameter of 30 cm which is the main stream of present random access memories, the mean square roughness may be further impaired. Moreover, when the mean square roughness is 0.15 nm, it is insufficient for future reduction of a gate length.
Furthermore, the content of the Non-patent Document can be applied to the surface of a Si substrate according to the prior art. In the case of fabrication of a semiconductor integrated circuit device, however, the roughness of a substrate just before forming a gate oxide film becomes a problem. Before forming a gate oxide film, polycrystalline silicon is formed on the back of a regular semiconductor integrated device for gettering and moreover, a groove is formed on the surface of the device for element isolation and then, an oxide film is embedded in the groove.
The polycrystalline silicon on the back is etched through the fluoride ammonium treatment and unevenness occurs and influences the flatness of a surface tail in the back end step.

Semiconductor device fabrication method and fabrication apparatus


The present invention provides a dual-cure composition containing multifunctional polyols, uretdiones, peroxide curable monomers containing unsaturation and crosslinking agents. The dual-cure composition may be used to form a high modulus material useful as the matrix in a prepreg material and in composites. The present invention also relates to methods for the production of the dual-cure composition, prepreg materials comprising the dual-cure composition and a fibrous support, and composites made from the prepreg material.

The present invention pertains generally to a dual-cure composition containing uretdione groups and unsaturated sites. More specifically, the invention pertains to compositions containing multifunctional polyols, uretdiones, free radical curable monomers containing unsaturation and crosslinking agents which may be used to form a high modulus material useful in composites and in the production of prepregs.
Fibers or fabrics pre-impregnated with polymer or resin matrices, "prepregs", have become increasingly common in the composite industry as they offer several major advantages. One of the biggest advantages is a greater ease of use. Prepregs arrive as solid preformed sheets which can be stored prior to use in composite parts fabrication. Furthermore, methods of composite parts fabrication using hand layup in an open molding process or infusion into closed molds requires the use of liquid resins, solvents and hardeners which can be time consuming, messy and inefficient. For example, in a hand layup process much of the material is wasted in achieving a proper resin mix, and on the rollers, sprayers and other application equipment used to form the composite part.
Moreover, it is difficult to achieve high fiber or fabric content in a composite part using hand layup methods, with an industry standard being about 40% fiber or fabric. The low fiber content and thus increased resin content increases brittleness and diminishes the overall structural properties of the final fabricated composite part. Prepregs, on the other hand, can provide a near perfect resin content which leads to greatly improved strength properties and a higher volume capacity. Prepregs typically contain 65% or more fabric, leading to improved cure times and increased strength. Furthermore, the optimal resin content of prepregs leads to improved uniformity and repeatability of the final composite part. Without the pitfalls of human lamination techniques, there are neither resin rich nor resin dry spots. Thickness is uniform and every part that comes out of the mold has a theoretical likelihood of being identical.
Another advantage of prepregs is that they allow for the use of a wider range of polymer or resin matrices. The accuracy of the machinery used to produce prepregs enables the use of very tough and strong resin systems that would be too high in viscosity to be impregnated by hand.
Today, prepregs find use in commercial aerospace, military/defense, general aviation, space/satellite, marine, sporting goods, automotive, civil engineering, wind energy and the transportation markets. The wind energy industry, for example, is one of the fastest growing consumers of prepregs in the world as energy from wind power is currently the fastest-growing source of electricity production in the world. Contemporary wind turbines are fitted with three blades, each of which can reach 80 meters in length and weigh as much as 35 tons. These blades are typically 70 to 75% E-glass by weight infused with epoxy or unsaturated polyester resins. In 2011, there were 23,640 new wind turbines built globally. At the current growth rate, U.S. wind energy developers install two new wind farms per week, with tens to hundreds of turbines per farm. As such, an area of intensive research and development has been the quality of the rotor blades that are produced, and less expensive production methods and materials.
It is known that prepregs can be produced from a number of different synthetic polymers or resins and various fibers or fabrics. Glass fibers have proved to be a particularly advantageous reinforcing material. Epoxy, vinyl ester, bismaleimide, cyanate ester, phenolic, polyimide, polyetheramide and polyester resins have been processed with glass fibers to create storable prepregs which can be formed by means of heated presses and hardened to generate composite parts combining high strength with rigidity. This process is, however, attended by several disadvantages which often depend on the matrix material selected.
One shortcoming in the abovementioned prepregs is that they have a relatively short shelf-life. Heat cures prepreg materials and storage at warmer temperatures will reduce their shelf-life. Keeping the material cooler, such as by freezing, may extend the shelf-life significantly but adds another set of problems. Prepregs stored at low temperatures need to be wrapped and sealed in polythene and must be fully thawed before breaking the polythene seal in order to avoid moisture contamination. Epoxy resins, for example, are able to absorb water easily, thus storage conditions and processing methods may be critical to obtaining a uniform composite part.
Another shortcoming is that relatively high heats must be applied to the prepreg material in a mold to cure the polymer or resin and form the final composite part. For each prepreg resin system there is a minimum cure temperature and a range of options for cure temperature and duration. The oven or autoclave, the laminate, and all tooling (molds) need to reach and maintain the given cure temperature throughout the specified cure cycle. Frequently, the cure temperature exceeds the temperature that the fiber materials and/or molding equipment can handle. Bismaleimide resins, for example, are cured at 180° C. for three hours during which time the resin exhibits a low viscosity. A typical cure cycle for cyanate ester resins includes temperatures as high as 260° C. Many fibers and fabrics may not withstand such high cure temperatures and the low viscosity makes the molding process problematic.
Additionally, if the resin material has a high exotherm, the heat generated within the prepreg may exceed the temperatures that the fiber materials and/or molding equipment can withstand leading to a discolored or scorched composite part. As such, polymer or resin matrices with large exotherms may only be used in thin layers to avoid excessive heat build-up. Certain epoxy resin matrix formulations, for example, demonstrate exotherms in excess of 300 J/g which can lead to uncontrolled polymerization and excessive heat formation.
An additional shortcoming is the use of solvents, reactive diluents and other toxic materials in certain polymer or resin matrices. For example, unsaturated polyester resins often require reactive diluents such as styrene during the free radical initiated polymerization reaction (cure). Both solvents and reactive diluents have also traditionally been used to lower the viscosity of matrix materials and thus provide for better fiber wet-out properties and improved ease of handling. Reactive diluents are known to lead to a very high crosslink density which can make the final product extremely brittle and reduce its notched impact strength. Solvents, on the other hand, complicate processing as elaborate measures must be taken to extract the solvent vapors and, in many installations, explosion-proof processing equipment becomes necessary.
Alternative polymer matrices include polyurethanes which use uretdiones as the crosslinking agents. Uretidiones are, in effect, self-blocked isocyanates that provide the desired urethane or allophanate linkages while offering a latent heat induced reactivity without the release of toxic blocking agents. The prior art has recognized the advantages associated with this latent reactivity, but has for the most part failed to make practical application of this concept in prepreg matrix formulations which may be cured at lower temperatures.
By way of illustration, disclosures of the preparation of crosslinkable polyurethane rubbers and elastomers which take advantage of the latent reactivity of the uretdione linkage can be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,099,642 and 3,248,370. The processes described in these references involve combining, at temperatures of less than 100° C., a relatively high molecular weight (e.g., on the order of from 500 to 3,000 daltons) difunctional resin, a low molecular weight crosslinking reagent, and a uretdione diisocyanate, or a mixture of a uretdione diisocyanate and a monomeric diisocyanate. The resulting, essentially thermoplastic, formulations contain an excess of isocyanate reactive groups, and these formulations are finally cured to a crosslinked thermoset polymer by treatment at temperatures in excess of 140° C.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,138,372 discloses a prepreg matrix material comprising epoxy resins which are cured using the latent reactivity of the uretdione linkage. Dissociation of the uretdione ring to isocyanates was found to take place at about 170° C. in the absence of catalysts, while catalysts such as tetraphenyl borate-amine complexes lowered the dissociation temperature to some extent. At the high temperatures used in the aforementioned patents, however, the uretdione ring most often dissociates to form free isocyanates.
Furthermore, because of the environmental and economic requirements imposed on the matrix materials, i.e., that they should use as little organic solvent as possible or none at all, for adjusting the viscosity, there is a desire to use raw materials which are already of low viscosity. Known for this purpose are polyisocyanates with an allophanate structure as are described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,392,001.
The formation of allophanate compounds by ring opening of uretdiones with alcohols is known in principle as a crosslinking mechanism in powder coating materials. Nevertheless, the reaction temperatures required for this purpose, in the absence of catalysts, are too high (≧130° C.) for many prepreg applications. Catalysts such as organo-metallic compounds have been found to lower the reaction temperatures (<130° C.; cf. Proceedings of the International Waterborne, High-Solids, and Powder Coatings Symposium 2001, 28th, 405-419).
Historically, the direct reaction of uretdione rings with alcohols to form allophanates was first investigated for solventborne, isocyanate-free, 2K [2-component] polyurethane coating materials. Without catalysis, this reaction is of no technical importance due to the low reaction rate (F. Schmitt, Angew. Makromol. Chem. (1989), 171, pp. 21-38). With appropriate catalysts, however, the crosslinking reaction between hexamethylene diisocyanate (HDI)-based uretdione curatives and olefinic unsaturated alcohols is reported to begin at <130° C. (U.S. Pat. No. 8,202,618). The use of uretdione groups as curing agents in prepreg materials which cure from 100 to 160° C. has also been disclosed in U.S. Pat. Application 2012/0003890. The prepregs according to the invention use matrix materials which have Tg values of ≧40° C. As such, the matrix materials are dry when applied to the fiber, and the prepreg material lacks any tack. In certain industries, a prepreg material with a certain amount of tackiness may aid in aligning layers in a mold.
It was, therefore, an objective of the present invention to develop new solvent-free, storable matrix compositions which may be hardened at low temperature to form composites which combine high impact strength and dimensional stability. An additional objective of the present invention was to develop new prepreg materials with low exotherms and low pre-cure glass transition temperatures, yet high post-cure glass transition temperatures that would be useful in the renewable energy market.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Dual cure composite resins containing uretdione and unsaturated sites


A method for providing a composite capping cover for maintaining the surface of a sulphide bearing tailing and mine waste containing deposit moist thereby substantially eliminating oxidation of the sulphidic particulate in the deposit and the formation of heavy metal salts. The moisture is provided by atmospheric precipitation. The composite capping cover comprises a fine particulate layer, a fine-granular particulate layer and a coarse-granular particulate layer, the particle sizes of the particles making up the individual the layers having been selected such that the hydraulic conductivity of the layers increases with successive layers while the matric suction value within the layers decreases.

The mining industry is engaged in mining and recovering ores of metals and minerals from the ground, subsequently processing the ores and minerals to provide raw materials which are then further processed to obtain products of commercial use and value. The mined ores and minerals often contain the value metal compound or the commercially usable mineral in amounts less than 15 wt %, and therefore the ore or the mineral, needs to be subjected to various mineral separation and concentration processes. The mineral separation process usually comprises several process steps, eventually yielding a concentrate of the desired metal compound or mineral, and waste rock and tailings. The tailings may still contain low levels of the mineral or the value metal compound, however, the bulk of the tailings consists of gangue minerals, silicates, waste rock and other substances accompanying the ore or mineral in the ground. It is noted that when the value metal is in a form of a sulphidic compound, the tailings usually contain substantial amounts of iron sulphide which is often the host mineral of the value metal compound in the ground.
The tailings produced in the mineral separation process steps are often in a form of an aqueous slurry, such as for example, tailings resulting in flotation separation process steps, but they may also be dry. The particle size of tailings range from very fine to granular or sandy, often referred to as slimes and tailing sands, respectively. The tailings together with waste rock are usually regarded as waste products of mining processes. Tailings and similar mine waste products have often been deposited and left at the side of mining operations as tailing piles or dumps, or deposited in ponds or placed into cavities in the ground, such as mine shafts which may be subsequently flooded. Such remains of mining operations were often an eyesore, but most detrimentally, the oxidation products could lead to contamination of the regional surface and ground waters. Environmental regulations now require that a mining company takes responsibility for the visual appearance of the surroundings of the mine, and takes appropriate steps to ensure that the tailings and similar waste rock produced, and the effluent generated, do not contaminate the regional waters nor the environment. Furthermore, regulations also require that when a mine is decommissioned the mining area is left in such state that unpleasant, unsightly and harmful consequences of the mining operation, be that actual or potential, are controlled or eliminated. One of the most significant harmful effects of improper tailing management, is the possible chemical contamination of the regional waters. The regional waters may become contaminated as a result of escaped water soluble mining process reagents or oxidation products of substances in the mine waste products, such as remains of flotation separation and similar reagents in the tailings, but more particularly, as a result of atmospheric oxidation of the sulphides contained in the tailings, which can lead to acid generation and to the formation of sulphates and other heavy metal compounds which are subsequently solubilized and mobilized by rain. The water soluble compounds may interact with the surroundings of the tailing deposit in a manner that can cause contamination, unless properly intercepted and treated.
The subject of tailing management is discussed in several publications, and has become an important part of the initial mine design and mine operation, and the required closure planning conducted by responsible mining companies. A procedure sometimes practiced in handling tailings, is to feed a thickened slurry of the tailings at a point above the pile, allowing the tailings slurry to run down the sides of the pile. The tailing sands usually settle above the fines and the run-off water collects at the bottom. The run-off water may be treated subsequently to remove or neutralize harmful components. A method of treatment of mineral tailings is described in published Canadian patent application 2,090,141, which was filed by Peter Davies on Feb. 23, 1993. The treatment includes separating the tailings by physical separation process steps into a slime or fine fraction and a coarse fraction, then depositing alternating layers of these in the tailing deposit pile, thus allowing the effluent to run away more readily while the layers get compacted by their own weight. It is noted, however, that such tailing treatment methods are usually not recommended for sulphidic tailings and/or sulphide containing waste rock, which may yield undesirable oxidation products when exposed to atmospheric oxidation.
Another object of tailing management is to improve the appearance of tailing piles, by providing new growth surfaces for vegetation. Successful revegetation, however, is usually costly and the soil deposited on top of the tailings needs to be deep enough to isolate the roots of the plants from the underlying tailings, especially if the oxidation products generated in the tailings are detrimental to plant growth. The soil layer has to be able to sustain growth of the plants, however, a thick soil layer on top of a sulphide bearing tailing deposit may have little or no effect on the continued oxidation, nor on the solubilization of heavy metal salts and acid formation already present therein.
As discussed above, acid drainage caused by oxidation of sulphides in tailings and similar waste rock is considered a serious threat to the environment. Sulphidic minerals within an ore body will not oxidize as long as the ore body is not exposed to atmospheric oxygen in the presence of moisture. However, once the excavated sulphide bearing rocks and minerals are brought above ground and subjected to mineral separation processes, the sulphide in the tailing pile, waste rock and similar waste and by-products of mining processes, will be subject to oxidation, yielding sulphate and ferric ions which react with more pyrite in the tailings, thus promoting further in-situ oxidation and producing sulphuric acid and ferrous ion containing effluent or acidic drain water. The most significant oxidation reactions in sulphidic tailings may be summarized and represented by the following equations: ##EQU1## It can thus be seen that the predominating promoters of the oxidation of iron sulphides, in particular of pyrite, are oxygen and water. Similar equations may be written for the oxidation of pyrrhotite which is the other dominant sulphide mineral present in ore deposits. The rate and extent of these reactions are also influenced by other factors, including the presence of sulphur-oxidizing bacteria (Thiobaccilli ferrooxidans and Thiobaccilli thiooxidans) in the ground. The resulting acidic sulphate solution will react with other heavy metals present as sulphide or in other form, leading to heavy metal sulphate containing acidic drain water. Ferric ions generated will act as oxygen carriers in promoting further oxidation of the sulphidic minerals, thus further enhancing sulphuric acid formation, and leading to more acidic metal sulphate and similar salt containing solutions which can escape and contaminate the regional waters and lead to similar hazards detrimentally affecting the environment. The above discussion is intended merely as a brief summary of the more important mechanisms leading to acid mine drainage.
The above reactions taking place in sulphide bearing tailing deposits exposed to air and atmospheric moisture usually lead to the formation of three distinct zones: i) a top, highly acidic layer having pH less than 3, usually extending to a depth of 30-70 cm; ii) a hard layer, often referred to as `hard pan`, having thickness between 5 and 15 cm, containing gypsum, iron oxides, silicates and oxides or oxy-sulphates of other metals, which are usually formed by the interaction of calcium and silicate compounds present in the ground with sulphuric acid and salt containing drain water seeping from the top zone, and iii) a generally undisturbed zone of tailings which has not been oxidized hitherto, comprising unreacted sulphides, rock and other components of tailings. It has been suggested that the `hard pan` could protect the unaffected, deeper layers from further oxidation and acid drain formation. However, weathering, ice and snow in the winter and drought in the summer, and the inherent volume changes brought about by structure and composition changes in the course of the formation of the `hard pan`, are likely to result in erosion, breaks and cracks in the hard layer, which then can allow air and moisture to reach the previously unaffected zone, initiating further oxidation and acid drainage. It may be concluded that the `hard pan`, and by the same argument any hard covering layer, is unlikely to hinder reliably the oxidation of sulphidic tailing deposits and avoid the formation of acid ground water, in the long term. As mentioned above, reclaiming by revegetation sulphidic tailing deposits which have been previously exposed to oxidation, may fail, even if the top layer of the tailing deposit is covered by top soil and fertilizer. The roots of the growing plants and trees may penetrate below the top soil, into the oxidized tailing deposit, encountering water soluble salts and very acidic conditions, and may die after the first winter.
It has been observed that the oxidation of sulphides in mine tailings and similar mineral process waste products may be substantially diminished if the tailings and waste products are kept under water, such as in tailing ponds. However, if the water level in the tailing pond is not maintained, or the pond is allowed to dry out or drain away, thus allowing the oxidation of sulphidic compounds in the tailings to proceed, undesirable acid drainage is likely to be the result.
Another method proposed to prevent a harmful effluent generated seeping into ground water is to provide an impervious lining for a cavity containing the effluent generating waste material, this method, however, has serious drawbacks.
There are known processes for capping or providing a hard cover or sealing layer over municipal waste or industrial waste deposits, in particular for covering landfill sites and waste dumps. Composite layers utilized in such processes may be made of naturally occurring materials, such as gravelly moraine, loam, sand and similar substances, mixed with larger particles of gravel, sand and the like, in specific particle size distribution ranges. The layers made of such mixtures are frequently reinforced with a geotextile to provide a composite sealing layer. Such a process is described, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,141,362 and 5,374,139, issued to J- U. Kugler on Aug. 25, 1992 and Dec. 20, 1994, respectively. The Kugler patents teach a self sealing cap for waste dumps, comprising mixtures of fine particles capable of flowing and sealing cracks that have formed. The cap supported on a geotextile mat, is overlain by a filter layer and a soil layer. Other processes for synthetic hard covers over municipal waste piles, admix building waste and binders such as cement kiln dust, bentonite, fly ash, portland cement and the like, which may also be mixed with cellulose or plastic fibres and other organic or processed carbon bearing materials. The covers are required to eliminate bad odour, or damage by birds and animals, or in some cases to contain effluent formation, but not to control oxidation. Furthermore, the effluent generated by municipal waste is not necessarily harmful to the environment and in any case, it can be treated to render it harmless. In contrast, acid drain water generated in the oxidation of sulphidic mine tailing deposits cannot be readily eliminated or treated. As was discussed above, methods to provide a hard cover is not considered to be applicable to deposits of sulphidic mine tailings and sulphidic waste rocks, as a protective or oxidation preventive measure.
A method for providing a cap for tailing ponds is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,118,219, issued to D. D. Walker Jr. on Jun. 2, 1992. The cap is intended to prevent the drying out of such ponds and thereby eliminate dusting. The capping cover is made of lime, a sulphate component, a pozzolanic material and water, and allowed to harden.
It is known to introduce carbonaceous substances in direct contact with the sulphidic tailings to consume oxygen and thereby to prevent, or at least hinder, oxidation. In one form of utilizing a carbon containing material, in particular carbon in the form of dead vegetation and similar materials, the organic carbon containing material is mixed in with the sulphide bearing tailing particles, with the objective of acting in-situ as adsorbent for the acid produced as well as a reductant, thereby avoid oxidation. The treatment of sulphide bearing mine tailings by providing organic carbon layers in the tailing deposit directly below the water table and mixing particulate organic carbon source with the sulphide bearing tailing particles disposed above the water table, is described in Canadian patent 1,327,027 issued to Blowes et al. on Feb. 15, 1994. The position of the carbon layer and the amount of carbon mixed with the tailings are calculated based on the depth of the sulphidic tailings above the water table. The water table level may, however, shift with time and season, or all the carbon mixed in within the tailings may be consumed, thereby allowing the tailings to oxidize without hindrance.
There are several studies currently undergoing trials, involving various carbonaceous substances capable of consuming oxygen, directly overlaying sulphidic tailing deposits. Such carbon containing substances include wood shavings, compost, treated sewage sludge and municipal waste, dried and chopped vegetation, and substances of similar nature. However, whether a single capping layer containing predominantly carbon bearing substances is capable of preventing the oxidation of the underlying sulphide bearing deposit for a prolonged time period is not yet known. It may be assumed that if the organic carbon is not mixed in some way or anchored to a material which is able to retain water, the carbon containing material may dry out and be blown away. In other words, it seems that a predominantly carbonaceous material containing cover layer on top of the sulphidic tailings deposit is likely to lose its effectiveness in the long term.
There have been other known studies in which various natural particulate layers were provided over sulphidic tailing deposits, but those have not been shown to prevent the oxidation of the underlying sulphidic materials, or they have been found to require additional and costly effluent treatment.
It may be concluded from the above, that there is a need for an inexpensive method to eliminate or at least, substantially slow down the oxidation of sulphide bearing tailing and waste rock deposits.

Method for capping mine waste and tailing deposits


An outrigger foot is configured to be disposed on an outrigger of a utility vehicle for detecting secure emplacement of the outrigger. The outrigger foot comprises a housing, a kingpin assembly, and a pad assembly. The housing is configured to be secured to the outrigger. The kingpin assembly is at least partially disposed within the housing. The kingpin assembly is adapted to be in a compressed position while the outrigger foot is securely in contact with the ground, and to be in an uncompressed position while the outrigger foot is free of secure contact with the ground. A proximity sensor is associated with the housing, such that the proximity sensor can detect a proximity of a portion of the kingpin assembly that is in the compressed position. The pad assembly is secured to the kingpin assembly for contacting the ground at various angles.

1. Field
Embodiments of the invention relate to the stabilization of aerial devices and other utility vehicles. More specifically, embodiments of the invention relate to a pressure-sensing outrigger foot for an aerial device or other utility vehicle.
2. Related Art
Utility workers utilize aerial devices, cranes, and other utility vehicles to perform numerous tasks. Utility vehicles typically include a boom assembly that aids in performing the task. In the case of an aerial device, the boom assembly supports a utility platform in which one or more utility workers stand. In the case of a crane, the boom assembly lifts and moves heavy loads. In these and other scenarios, a stable utility vehicle is of importance to prevent the tipping.
To achieve stability, many utility vehicles employ outriggers to widen their base and prevent tipping. Outriggers deploy from the base of the utility vehicle and contact the ground. However, outriggers of the prior art present several problems. First, there is no good way to ensure that the outriggers are securely in contact with the ground. Some outriggers of the prior art detect that the outriggers are properly extended, but this does not confirm ground contact. Some outriggers of the prior art detect stresses using a strain gauge, but just because there is strain on the outrigger does not mean that it is securely deployed. Second, outriggers of the prior art require substantially level ground on which to deploy. This can limit the locations in which deployment is possible. Because utility workers must level the ground before deploying outriggers of the prior art, deployments can be time and labor intensive as well as harming the ground.


A turbofan engine includes: a cylindrical fan case; a fan rotatably disposed in the fan case and including a central member and multiple fan blades arranged on an outer circumference of the central member such that the fan blades are spaced apart from one another in a circumferential direction; an annular member disposed to surround the fan; and an elastic support device that supports the annular member to the fan case radially elastically such that a predetermined clearance is radially defined between the annular member and tips of the fan blades.

In turbofan engines for aircraft, if foreign objects such as birds and hail (hailstones) collide with the fan disposed in the air inlet of the engine casing (cowl), the resulting impact may cause eccentricity (run-out) of the fan rotation shaft, which may cause a eccentric or conical rotation (which may be referred to as "whirling") of the fan. If the whirling of the fan occurs, the tips (outer edges) of the fan blades may hit the engine casing, which causes damage to the fan blades.
As a measure for preventing damage to the fan blades, it is known to provide a sacrificial abradable material layer on the engine casing such that when the whirling of the fan occurs, the tips of the fan blades come into contact with the abradable material layer, whereby damage to the fan blades can be avoided owing to the abrasion of the abradable material layer (JP2005-61419A, for example).
However, in the above prior art, the abrasion of the abradable material layer causes the clearance between the fan blades and the engine casing to increase steadily, and the loss of airflow caused thereby leads to a steady decrease in the thrust of the engine. In addition, the above prior art technology requires replacement and maintenance of the abradable material layer.


Separation of individual laminations is performed by positioning a row of the laminations against a metal tray or similar supporting surface. The opposite ends of the row are engaged between platens which are oriented parallel to each other at a first angle relative to the axis of the row. While compressing the row between the platens, a force is applied against a side of the row to compact it against the supporting surface. The row is the engaged between platens that are oriented parallel to each other but at a second angle relative to the axis of the row, and a compacting force is again applied while the row is compressed between the platens. At least one of the first and second angles is an oblique angle.

In the manufacture of a laminated stator core used in an electric motor, thin stator laminations are punched in high speed presses. After punching, the laminations undergo a heat treating process called annealing, which gives the laminations proper electromechanical properties for an efficient high quality motor. To begin the annealing process laminations are heated to 900.degree. F. to burn off contaminants such as lubricating oil. Then the laminations are transferred to a multistage annealing oven where they are gradually brought up to a temperature of 1500.degree. F. and cooled back down to 500.degree. F. Subsequently, trays of laminations are transferred to a cooling chamber where they are brought down to handling temperature.
The annealing process removes carbon from the steel. An unavoidable consequence of this process is the fusing of the laminations due to molecular bonding at the contacting surfaces of the laminations. To be useable, the laminations must be separated, which is currently done by a manual process referred to as cracking. The worker picks up a bulk stack of annealed laminations weighing as much as 26 pounds and raises it approximately 2 feet above a metal table and slams it down. For optimum results, this must be repeated at least twice for each bulk stack. Even with a substantial expenditure of energy, the laminations are not always cleanly separated. Additionally, this cracking process can result in bent laminations which must be scrapped.


A key sprocket drive system for a conveyor belt having a drive drum having an outer surface. The outer surface of the drive drum is adapted to engage a securement means. A contoured collar has an inner surface and an outer surface. The contoured collar is adapted to receive the securement means and adapted to engage the outer surface of the drive drum at predetermined positions therefore providing defined gaps between the inner surface of the contoured collar and the outer surface of the drive drum. The key sprocket drive system further comprises a sprocket member having a generally annular configuration with externally facing teeth-like protrusions at spaced intervals. The sprocket member is adapted to receive the securement means whereby the securement means engage the sprocket member and the contoured collar to secure the sprocket member and the contoured collar to the drive drum. The teeth-like protrusions engage the conveyor belt so as to drive the conveyor belt.

Conveyor drive systems are found in a wide variety of industries, as they are an important part of materials handling in all types of manufacturing. Sprockets are an integral part of the conveyor drive system, and as such make up a large part of the prior art. One particular issue is the securement of the sprocket on to drive drum so as to control the movement of the conveyor belt. Another issue is the wear of the sprocket as a result of the continuous engagement maintained with the conveyor belt.
Prior art conveyor drive systems have been devised to address the aforenoted problems. For example, U.S. Patent application 2003/0144098 discloses a split sprocket assembly, related apparatus and a method of mounting a sprocket to a rotatable structure such as a drive or idler drum. The sprocket assembly is comprised of at least three sections or segments each of which is secured to the adjacent section by a fastener such as a tangentially-extending bolt and nut combination. The sprocket assembly includes a plurality of receivers each for receiving a key that corresponds to a keyway formed in the rotatable structure.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,934,447 issued Aug. 10, 1999 to Kanaris discloses a roller drive sprocket system in which a drive roller mounts sprockets for driving a belt, and having a general cylindrical drive drum, semi-cylindrical grooves formed axially along the surface of the drive drum, sprockets formed of plastic with drive teeth for driving a belt, cylindrical metal keys located in the sprockets, spaced radially the keys fitting in the semi-cylindrical grooves in the surface of the cylindrical drive drum, portions of the keys extending inwardly to inter-engage with the semi-cylindrical grooves. U.S. Pat. No. 5,934,447 does not disclose a contoured collar adapted to engage the outer surface of the drive drum at predetermined points and thereby form predefined gaps between the drive drum and the contoured collar.
Thus a key sprocket drive system for driving a conveyor belt which has improved securement of the sprocket to the drive drum, and has predefined gaps that allows for improved expansion coefficients for the overall system thereby reducing wear of the key sprocket system is desirable.


A basket for cleaning semiconductor wafers is provided which can catch semiconductor wafers or semiconductor pieces slipping off from a slicing plate so as to prevent them from dropping, and which can hold semiconductor wafers even after the wafers are separated from the slicing plate in a cleaning step.. The basket for cleaning semiconductor wafers, includes:. at least two upstanding side walls on which ends of a slicing plate are to be respectively placed; at least two side holding rods which are substantially horizontally disposed between side portions of the sidewalls 21, 22, the side holding rods 31, 32 being separated from each other by a distance which is slightly larger than diameters of semiconductor wafers to be housed in the basket; a bottom plate which is formed between lower portions of the side walls; and two clamping rods which are horizontally movable along the side holding rods, thereby the semiconductor wafers sliced on the slicing plate are clamped by moving the clamping rods 51, 52.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a basket for cleaning which holds semiconductor wafers cut by a wire saw and a method of cleaning semiconductor wafers using the same, in a cleaning step of removing away abrasive grains and grease components from the wafers.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Conventionally, semiconductor wafers which have been cut by a wire saw are arranged under a state where their peripheral portions are bonded to a slicing plate made of carbon or the like, and then transported to a cleaning bath while being hung from a lifter. The semiconductor wafers are cleaned in the cleaning bath so that abrasive grains and grease components are removed away from the wafers. Thereafter, the semiconductor wafers are finally caused to be separated from the slicing plate, by an alkaline cleaning fluid. The separated semiconductor wafers are piled up in the cleaning bath, and then picked up.
In order to align the crystal orientations of semiconductor wafers, the cutting work using a wire saw must be conducted while adjusting the cutting direction of a semiconductor ingot. Therefore, the end portions of the ingot are cut into an irregular shape, and a part of the irregular-shape portions surely drops off. During the cleaning for removing abrasive grains and grease components, sometimes, several semiconductor wafers slip off from the slicing plate. These slipping off semiconductor wafers or semiconductor pieces produce a problem in that they drop into the cleaning bath and crack to cause a trouble in a cleaning apparatus.
When the semiconductor wafers are separated from the slicing plate in the cleaning bath, the wafers lose the support and fall over like a file of dominoes. This produces a problem in that, when the semiconductor wafers are then to be transferred to a wafer carrier, the efficiency of the work of picking up wafers is poor.
The invention has been conducted in view of the problems discussed above.

Basket for cleaning semiconductor wafers and method of cleaning semiconductor wafers using the same


Methods and devices enable a fine synchronization related to a data transmission on a physical channel. A fine timing reference signal is occasionally transmitted to the data transmission recipient using one of time-frequency resources in a recipient-specific pattern.

A prerequisite for a terminal to communicate with a network is to acquire time synchronization. Wideband reference signals are currently used for efficient and accurate time synchronization. In LTE (i.e., Long-Term Evolution, which is a mobile communication standard), wideband Cell-specific Reference Signals (CRS) are transmitted over all the system's bandwidth (BW), multiple times in every subframe. The CRS being transmitted over all the system's BW makes it difficult to introduce new channels and signals in the future, and transmitting CRS continuously leads to high network energy consumption.
It is desirable to improve the methods related to timing reference signal to enhance synchronization as needed while allowing more BW flexibility and using less energy than the conventional methods currently achieve.

Methods and devices operating with fine timing reference signals transmitted occasionally


A cathode-ray tube device including a deflection yoke for deflecting an electron beam emitted from an electron gun in horizontal and vertical directions. The deflection yoke has a vertical deflection coil that deflects the electron beam vertically. The vertical deflection coil is wound toroidally around a bell-shaped ferrite core, and on the electron gun side of the ferrite core, a square “U” shaped magnetic body that is doubled back partway along in a longitudinal direction is disposed on the horizontal axis, so that the ends thereof extend towards and are separated along the tube axis.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cathode-ray tube used in television receivers, computer displays, and the like.
2. Related Art
Generally, color cathode-ray tube devices raster scan a phosphor screen formed on the inside of a face panel by deflecting three electron beams emitted from an in-line electron gun in horizontal and vertical directions using a deflection yoke having horizontal and vertical deflection coils.
Since the vertical deflection coil deflects the electron beams vertically, the distribution of a magnetic field generated by this coil (hereinafter, "vertical deflection magnetic field") has a so-called barrel shape, for example. On the other hand, since the horizontal deflection coil deflects the electron beams horizontally, the distribution of a magnetic field generated by this coil (hereinafter, "horizontal deflection magnetic field") has a so-called pincushion shape, for example. The deflection coils are made to generate magnetic fields having the above distributions in order to realize self-convergence in which the three electron beams are focused at a single point on the phosphor screen.
The vertical deflection coil is wound toroidally around a bell-shaped ferrite core attached to a resin frame (insulator). During the manufacturing process, the ferrite core sometimes gets attached with a central axis of the core offset laterally in relation to a central axis of the resin frame.
Here, "laterally" (left/right) is used to indicate the horizontal direction, with the boundary between left and right defined by a vertical plane that includes the tube axis of the cathode-ray tube when viewed from the screen side. On the other hand, "perpendicularly" (up/down) is used to indicate the vertical direction, with the boundary between up and down defined by a horizontal plane that includes the tube axis when viewed from the screen side.
When the deflection yoke is mounted in the cathode-ray tube so that the central axis of the resin frame is aligned with the tube axis of the cathode-ray tube, with the central axis of the ferrite core offset as described above, the distribution of the vertical deflection magnetic field ends up being asymmetrical on the left and right sides of the tube axis (a so-called "off-axis magnetic field") because of a central axis of the vertical deflection magnetic field being offset from the tube axis. As a result, misconvergence occurs in which the landing position of the three electron beams is vertically displaced (hereinafter, "Yv misconvergence").
Yv misconvergence is described here using a specific example. FIG. 1, in which a ferrite core 91 is seen from above, shows the distribution of the magnetic field generated by a vertical deflection coil when a central axis A of ferrite core 91 is offset to the right of a tube axis Z when viewed from the screen side. FIG. 2 shows Yv misconvergence that occurs on the screen when the distribution of the magnetic field generated by the vertical deflection coil is as shown in FIG. 1.
Note that a horizontal deflection coil wound around ferrite core 91 is not depicted in FIG. 1 because of a vertical deflection magnetic field 92 distributed within ferrite core 91 being displayed. The orientation of magnetic field 92 when the electron beams have been upwardly deflected is indicated in FIG. 1 by the arrows.
The electron beams, when viewed from the screen side, are emitted from an electron gun 94 arranged in-line in the order blue (B), green (G) and red (R) from the left-hand side (in FIG. 1, red, green, blue are indicated by "R", "G", "B", respectively). Also, the magnetic flux density of the distribution of magnetic field 92 increases as the distance from the central axis of magnetic field 92 increases, due to the barrel shape of this magnetic field.
Consequently, the blue electron beam B positioned on the far left of the three electron beams is effected the most by the off-axis magnetic field, followed by the green electron beam G. As a result, the landing position of the three electron beams is, as shown in FIG. 2, displaced perpendicularly, being blue, green, red from the top ("R", "G", "B" also being used in FIG. 2 to indicate red, green, blue). Note that Yv misconvergence causes color shifts and the like.
One method for correcting Yv misconvergence involves making use of a leakage magnetic field 93 (see FIG. 1) that leaks from the magnetic field generated by the vertical deflection coil to the outside of the deflection yoke on the electron gun side (e.g. see Japanese Patent Application Publication 5-244614). According to this method, the leakage magnetic field from the vertical deflection coil is either focused or dispersed to locally strengthen or weaken the leaked magnetic field, by attaching two substantially "L" shaped magnetic bodies to the left and right of the tube axis on the end face of the deflection yoke on the electron gun side, so that the arm of each magnetic body is parallel with the tube axis.
While misconvergence can be reduced with this method, the reduction is small and the applicable range is limited.

Cathode-ray tube device capable of reducing misconvergence

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., ltd.


A system for laying out a capacitor array (400) implements a programmable capacitor (33-39) whose operation is controlled with a binary control word. A programmable capacitance is produced by coupling binary weighted, switchable capacitors (101-107) between terminals (51, 52) of the programmable capacitor. The capacitor array includes two or more unit capacitors (101, 103) of unequal areas. The other capacitors in the array are derived by interconnecting multiple capacitors that match one of the unit capacitors. Die area is reduced while accuracy is maintained by controlling the larger unit capacitor with the least significant bit of the binary control word whenever possible and using the smaller unit capacitor only as a trim capacitor.

The present invention relates in general to integrated circuits and, more particularly, to programmable analog arrays.
Programmable analog arrays are integrated circuits that include a plurality of programmable analog cells that perform analog operations such as amplifying, filtering, etc., on analog signals. The analog signals are transferred among the programmable analog cells on interconnect paths formed in routing channels between adjacent cells.
The analog operations are executed by active circuits such as amplifiers or comparators typically controlled by ratios of programmable capacitors. Each programmable capacitor includes an array of capacitors coupled in series with analog switching devices such as transmission gates that couple the capacitors to the active circuit. The switching devices are enabled by binary control words stored in memory to produce proportional capacitances that control the analog operations.
Prior art switchable capacitor arrays include a unit capacitor that produces a minimum capacitance corresponding to a least-significant bit of the controlling binary word. Higher order capacitors are derived by interconnecting matching sets of individual unit capacitors to produce a desired capacitance value. For example, a third-order capacitor is implemented as eight individual unit capacitors which are interconnected to form a single capacitor whose nominal capacitance is 2.sup.3 =8 times the unit capacitance.
A problem with prior art programmable analog arrays is the large amount of die area consumed by the binary weighted capacitor arrays. A large number of unit capacitors is needed for implementing even relatively low resolutions of programmable capacitance. For example, an eight-bit binary word is used to control an array comprising 2.sup.8 -1=255 unit capacitors. Moreover, several such programmable capacitor arrays may be used for controlling the operation of each active circuit.
Hence, there is a need for a circuit and method for executing analog operations with an active circuit controlled by an array of switched capacitors in a reduced amount of die area.


A process for preparing a ginkgo leaf powder tea from which 2-hexenal has been eliminated, and whose taste has been improved, having the steps of selecting and washing fresh ginkgo leaves, roasting the leaves in a roaster whose internal temperature is controlled in the range of 160.degree. to 180.degree. C. for 10 to 15 minutes, rolling the roasted ginkgo leaves in a roller for 15 to 20 minutes, and heat-drying the rolled leaves by purging nitrogen gas of 90.degree. to 100.degree. C. for 30 to 40 minutes, shredding and pulverizing the dried ginkgo leaves to produce ginkgo leaf powder of 100 to 400 mesh, roasting the ginkgo leaf powder thus produced by rotating the powder at a temperature of between 80.degree. to 85.degree. C. for 2 to 3 hours, and, removing powder particles greater than 400 mesh from the ginkgo leaf powder by blowing air or fanning, and packaging the ginkgo leaf powder into teabags or other desired packaging.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a process for preparing a ginkgo leaf tea and, more specifically, relates to a process for preparing a ginkgo leaf powder tea from which 2-hexenal has been eliminated and whose palate has been improved.
2. Description of Related Art
It is well known that a ginkgo tree contains many physiologically active components. For example, a ginkgo nut contains phenolic compounds, ginkgo, ginkgolic acid, etc., while a ginkgo leaf contains various aromatic compounds including phenolic compounds, flavonoid glycosides, simple flavonoids such as kaempferol, quercetin, isoramnetin and luotelin, and terpenoid compounds such as ginkolides.
Since the discovery that ginkgo leaf extract facilitates blood circulation in guinea pigs (see: Arzneimittel Forschung, 16:719(1966)), studies on ginkgo leaves have been extensively carried out in the art. In addition, ginkgo leaf extract is commercially available as a medicament in many countries. Ginkgo leaf extract has been reported to be highly effective for treating Burger's disease, diseases caused by disorders in peripheral blood circulation, astigmatism, bradyacusia, disorders in physical coordination, and coldness of limbs in aged people, cerebral infarction caused by disorders of blood circulation in brain, dementia, limb paralysis, etc.
As illustrated above, ginkgo leaves, which have many beneficial components for the human body, are being actively studied as possible active ingredients in medicine. However, heretofore, ginkgo leaves have not been manufactured as foodstuff additives from which the above-described beneficial components can be utilized. In particular, the use of ginkgo leaves as foodstuff additives has been proven to be less than satisfactory because, inter alia, ginkgo leaves have a bitter taste and a flavor that many people find objectionable. In addition, ginkgo leaves include a toxic 2-hexenal component which, however, is also known to be an anti-bacterial and anti-viral material. Thus, for at least these reasons, there have been obstacles in utilizing ginkgo leaves as raw materials for foodstuffs (see: T. Kosuge and N. Yokota, Yakuyaku Zasshi, 83:422(1963)). Accordingly, there exists a need for exploring and developing a novel process for the preparation of ginkgo leaves with an improved palate and safety, to solve the problems existing in the art.

1119-1403 Mokdong Apartment, Shinjung-Dong 325, Yang Chung-Gu


The invention as presently conceived discloses a chemical formula for the composition of a liquid topical analgesic. It is produced from a unique blend of herbal essential oils and plant- and/or vegetable-derived oils. Although the precise proportions and method of mixture are held in confidence, it comprises at least olive oil, castor oil, grapeseed oil, almond oil, apricot kernel oil, Vitamin E, various herbal essential oils, and a stabilizer. Such essential oils may include eucalyptus (Eucalyptus globulus, among others), lavender (Lavandula angustifolia), tea tree (Melaleuca alternifloria), ginger (Zingiber officinale), lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus, among others), red thyme (Thymus vulgaris), sweet birch, (Betula lenta) and ylang ylang (Cananga odorata). Alternate and additional essential oils or plant- and/or vegetable-derived oils are anticipated to be used as well. When produced, the mixture would be bottled and promoted to the public to be used as a topical rubbing compound for the skin or for use in a soaking bath. It will reduce pain from sore muscles, bruised ligaments and tendons, lower back pain, arthritis and other similar ailments associated with common aches and pains.

Many people suffer from pain that can be derived from a number of sources. Some people suffer from ongoing pain that began as a result of a previous injury that never completely heals or is easily aggravated. Others suffer from pain that stems from the aggregation of years of improper posture and insufficient, or complete lack of, exercise. Finally, others suffer from pain that occurs as a result of a recent stress such as heavy lifting, repeated muscle use, an intense workout or the like. Regardless of the pain's origin, relieving it is essential to a person's general health and well being. Various creams and balms have been used with varying results. Also, the application of heat, such as that obtained through the use of a heating pad, provides relief for some people. However, there are still a great number of people who continue to suffer. Accordingly, there is a need for a means by which almost anyone can obtain relief from skin problems and pain from sore muscles, bruised ligaments and tendons, lower back pain, arthritis and other similar ailments associated with common aches and pains through the use of an all-natural, topical analgesic produced from a mixture of various all-natural plant and vegetable oils. The development of the invention herein disclosed fulfills this need.
Several attempts have been made in the past to provide relief from chronic and acute pain with all-natural products in an over-the-counter composition. U.S. Pat. No. 5,958,418 in the name of Johnson Prillerman discloses an external herbal composition for treating muscle aches and joint pain. This composition consists of an aqueous solution of effective amounts of various herbal essential oils.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,383,495 issued in the name of Ramakrishna et al. provides for an herbal formulation useful for the treatment of skin disorders consisting of plant extracts with conventional additives.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,541,045 issued in the name of Charters et al. describes an herbal composition and method for combating inflammation, comprising mainly Japanese knotweed, Devil's claw, grapeskin, and syzygium.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,752,838 and 6,436,150, both issued in the name of Watanabe et al., disclose a fabric protectant against pests comprising various known compounds noxious to fabric-related pests.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,998,335 issued in the name of Selga et al. describes an herbicidal composition and method, consisting essentially of a combination of pine oil, tea tree oil, and eucalyptus oil.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,455,033 issued in the name of Silverman et al. describes a medicinal composition for treatment of inflammation, consisting of essential plant oils, a local anesthetic, and soothing ingredients particularly suited for the treatment of genital ailments.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,582,736 issued in the name of Quezada describes a therapeutic oil composition, method of producing, and method of applying such a composition. The Quezada composition may or may not be applied topically with an oil-based carrier.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,146,639 issued in the name of Merich discloses an arthritis, muscle pain, and dry skin remedy mainly consisting of witch hazel, olive oil, and rubbing alcohol that can also be applied to horses.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,032,400 issued in the name of Wiersum et. al. describes a shark liver oil and garlic oil topical analgesic in a cream or ointment base.
None of the prior art particularly describes a topical analgesic for the therapeutic alleviation of sore muscles, bruised ligaments and tendons, lower back pain, arthritis and other similar ailments with a unique blend of essential plant-derived oils.


A solar canopy has a solar panel assembly including a first solar panel coupled to a second solar panel and oriented non-parallel with respect to the second solar panel. A solar panel assembly support structure is coupled to the solar panel assembly. One or more components of the support structure are manufactured by cold rolling. The solar panel assembly has an effective solar-panel-assembly wind loading less than a sum of a first-solar-panel effective wind loading and a second-solar-panel effective wind loading determined individually. An actual load applied by the solar panel assembly to a solar-panel-assembly support structure coupled thereto when the solar panel assembly is subject to a wind loading is less than a design load for the solar panel assembly subject to the wind loading based on a sum of a first-solar-panel net pressure and a second-solar-panel net pressure determined independently.

The present disclosure relates to solar canopy systems for elevating photovoltaic (PV) panels above parking surfaces, whether located on the ground or elevated parking structures ("parking garages").
Many solar canopy systems some combination of hot-rolled steel members (HSS tubes, I-beams, etc.) or custom welded components in combination with cold-rolled module purlins or aluminum extrusions for module support. The use of hot-rolled members is primarily driven by the relatively high wind loads PV canopies are designed to and the drive toward minimizing the number of foundations used for a given canopy project. Generally speaking, hot-rolled members and custom truss members are capable of supporting higher loading than cold-rolled steel members.
One obstacle to cost reduction of PV structures is the secondary operations required to convert hot-rolled steel members into usable components. This secondary operation work requires additional fabrication, welding, shipping, handling, and corrosion protection steps that can add significant cost to the raw material cost of the canopy and thus drive total material cost higher.
However, using current manufacturing techniques, it is not feasible to produce cold-rolled members that are large enough to support the load of the solar canopy systems. Supporting beams, for example, currently use 2-3 times the volume of steel that is feasible to produce with current cold-rolling processes. Accordingly, although cold-rolling has the advantages described above over hot-rolling, existing solar canopy systems are not designed to make use of these advantages.
An example conventional PV canopy structure is shown in FIG. 1 (hereafter referred to as the monoslope PV canopy 1). As shown in FIG. 1, a vertical post 2 extends above a grade 3 and anchored below the grade 3 by a foundation 4. One or more solar panels 5 are supported on a beam 6 by purlins 7 extending between the panels 5 and the beam 6. The beam 6, in turn, is mounted on the post 2 and an angle. The vertical post 2 is typically composed of a hot-rolled member such as an I-beam or hollow structured section tube ("HSS tube"), although other hot-rolled sections or truss designs can be used as well. The beam 6, which may be supported by one or more posts along its span length, is also composed of hot-rolled members or truss designs. Finally, modules may be supported by module rails which are typically positioned at right angles to the beams and span over multiple beams through 1 or more connected module rails. These rails are typically the only components to be cold-rolled steel members, although extruded aluminum is also used in some designs primarily for installation labor considerations. A number of different bracket designs and other fastening methods are employed to connect all steel members together into a PV canopy structure.
The structure of the monoslope PV canopy 1 may be found in the American Society of Civil Engineers Standard for Minimum Design Loads for Buildings and Other Structures, ASCE/SEI 7-10 (hereafter referred to as ASCE 7-10) in FIG. 27.4-4 for monoslope free roofs. It is well accepted within the solar power industry that the wind pressures prescribed in ASCE 7-10, FIG. 27.4-4 are representative of the real world loading of these structures. For this reason, the largest suppliers of PV canopy structures do not typically utilize any wind tunnel testing in the design of their products.
Under current practice, the wind loading coefficients prescribed for canopy structures with two or more non-parallel planes of solar panels can result in higher wind loading and thus higher costs than the single plane of solar panels designs based on the wind loading coefficients shown in ASCE 7-10, FIG. 27.4-4. Therefore, there is a need for a design methodology for canopy support structures for two or more non-parallel planes of solar panels based on determining the net instantaneous wind loading across the total combined area of the non-parallel planes of solar panels.

Solar canopy system with roll-formed structural components


A tape-type magnet including a soft magnetic substrate which is a thin strip or tape with magnetic attraction. A first adhesive layer is uniformly laid on one face of the magnetic substrate. A releasable facial layer is bonded with the other face of the magnetic substrate via a second adhesive layer. The adhesion provided by the second adhesive layer is greater than an adhesion provided by the first adhesive layer, whereby the releasable facial layer is releasable from the first adhesive layer. The magnetic substrate is wound into a roll with the second adhesive layer serving as an outer face and the first adhesive serving as an outer face and the first adhesive layer serving as an inner face. An outermost end of the magnetic substrate can be easily unwound and tore off into a segment.

The present invention is related to an improved tape-type magnet having at least one adhesive face for adhering to a surface of a predetermined article. By means of the magnetic attraction of the tape-type magnet, the article can attract and attach to a magnetic article.
Taiwanese Patent No. M253047 discloses a magnetic tape structure formed of a very thin tape-shaped soft magnetic substrate. A layer of releasable agent is laid on one face of the substrate, while an adhesive layer is laid on the other face of the substrate. The substrate is wound into a roll. One end of the roll of substrate can be unwound and torn off into a segment. The segment can be attached to a back face of an article. Then the article can attract a magnetic wall face or board face by means of magnetic attraction. The magnetic tape itself is made from microgranule of ferric oxide. In use, such microgranule tends to detach from the surface of the substrate. In addition, such microgranule makes it difficult to spray the releasable agent on the face of the substrate. This directly affects the manufacturing cost and practicability of the magnetic tape.
Taiwanese Patent Application No. 94108103 of this applicant discloses an improved magnetic tape structure and a manufacturing method thereof. High-performance releasable agent and property-changing agent are directly added into the soft magnetic material and evenly blended therewith. Then the mixture is molded into a tape the entire surface of which has releasable effect. Then one face of the tape is purified or roughened. Then an adhesive is overlaid on the treated face of the tape. Accordingly, the surface of the tape is not apt to peel off and the adhesion of the tape is enhanced. In addition, it is no more necessary to further spray any releasable agent onto the surface of the tape. Therefore, the working time and labor can be saved and a reliable and uniform releasable effect of the entire tape can be ensured. However, the complicated components of the tape also increases the manufacturing cost and the magnetism of the tape may be affected. In addition, before produced, the tape must go through some development and test procedures. These procedures necessitate considerable cost. In comparison with the conventional magnetic tape, the improved magnetic tape is not advantageous in economic efficiency.


A nanocomposite thermite ink for use in inkjet, screen, and gravure printing. Embodiments of this invention do not require separation of the fuel and oxidizer constituents prior to application of the ink to the printed substrate.

This invention relates to an energetic ink based on nanocomposite thermites.
Vine et al. (U.S. Patent Application Publication 2006/0243151) reports an explosive device is provided, containing an explosive formulation or explosive ink, which is capable of being disposed of onto a substrate for the device by well known printing and depositing techniques, such as screen printing, ink jet printing or gravure methods. The formulation contains an ink resin binder, a metal and a non-metal in particulate form where the diameter of the particles is less than 10 .mu.m, such that when the formulation is heated, a reactive output results. The substrate can be chosen from any inert material or alternatively an energetic material for which the formulation provides a means of initiation. Preferred metals are aluminum iron or titanium and non-metals are carbon, silicon, boron or metal oxides such as copper oxide, nickel oxide or molybedenum oxide. The method of producing an explosive device comprises the steps of: a) mixing a potion of a binder with at least one metal in the form of particles having a diameter of less than 10 .mu.m; b) mixing a further portion of the binder with at least one non-metal, wherein the non-metal is selected from a metal oxide, or any non-metal from Group III or Group IV in the form of particles having a diameter of less than 10 .mu.m; c) mixing together the products of a) and b) to provide an explosive formulation; d) depositing the formulation so produced onto a substrate; and e) causing the formulation to dry on said substrate. The method of depositing an explosive formulation, includes the steps of: a) loading a printing apparatus with a mixture of a binder with at least one metal in the form of particles having a diameter of less than 10 .mu.m and with a mixture of a binder with at least one non-metal, wherein the non-metal is selected from a metal oxide, or any non-metal from Group III or Group IV in the form of particles having a diameter of less than 10 .mu.m such that the at least one metal and/or at least one non-metal mixtures are held separate in the apparatus; b) drawing up selected aliquots of the at least one metal and the at least one non-metal mixtures and mixing the same in-situ immediately prior to operation of the apparatus to deposit an explosive formulation onto a substrate.


The performance of a worm assembly seal is improved by (1) the use of a hardened steel worm with a bronze worm gear; (2) a tribological coating on one or both of the worm thread or spiral and the gear teeth; 3) a tribological coating on one or both of the input or output shaft or shaft sleeves; or (4) a tribological coating applied to the worm thread, the gear teeth, the input and output shafts or shaft sleeves, or combinations thereof. In each of the approaches, the worm, worm gear, and input and output shafts or shaft sleeves can have surface finishing treatments. Additionally, in each of the three approaches, carbon or carbon/nitrogen concentration gradients can be added to the worm.

This invention relates to worm-gear speed reducer assemblies, and, in particular, to an improved seal for the speed reducer's shafts.
The relative commercial usefulness of worm gear systems is based in part upon the ability for the gearbox seals to prohibit the egress of lubricants; the ability for the gearbox seals to prohibit the ingress of debris contaminants; the ability for the gearbox seals to minimize heat generation; and the ability for the gearbox seals to minimize wear of the seal itself and/or its mating shaft. Hence, the seals of worm gearboxes play an important part in the commercial usefulness of worm gear systems.
However, currently seals for worm gearboxes have a much lower life than any other gearbox component. Lubricant leaking indicates seal failure. Leaking lubricants into the environment is generally unacceptable and replacing seals is time consuming and costly. Debris tends to scratch and damage the seal elastomer and/or abrade and wear the shaft or shaft sleeve. The seals are also adversely affected by chemical reactions with the lubricant, by wear imposed by contact with the shaft or shaft sleeve, and by heat that can embrittle the elastomer. The seal is likely to be replaced one or more times over the useful lifetime of the gearbox.


A method of screening a hard disk drive (HDD) including: measuring one or more parameters to display read/write head performances at least two times during an HDD process; and calculating variances of the measured one or more parameters and judging whether head degradation has occurred based on the calculated variances.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a hard disk drive (HDD), and more particularly, to a method of screening an HDD having the possibility of head degradation during an HDD process.
2. Description of the Related Art
A hard disk drive (HDD) is a device that reads and/or writes data from and/or to a disk using a magnetic head. The disk is rotatably mounted on a spindle motor, and information is accessed by the magnetic head, namely, read/write head, mounted on an actuator arm that is rotated by a voice coil motor. The voice coil motor is excited by a current to rotate an actuator and move the read/write head. The read/write head detects a magnetic change occurring on a surface of the disk and reads the information recorded on the surface of the disk. To write information on a data track, current is supplied to the read/write head. The current creates a magnetic field, thereby magnetizing the surface of the disk.
As capacity of an HDD has increased recently, the size of a read/write sensor of a magnetic head has been reduced, and flying height (FH) has also been reduced. Such design of the HDD results in an increase in the possibility of head degradation during an HDD operation. The head degradation directly affects the reliability of the HDD.
After the HDD is assembled, a process of verifying and optimizing various parameters is performed. The process is referred to as the HDD process.
The head degradation is judged in a specific operation of a procedure for verifying the HDD. For example, instability of the magnetic head is checked in an adaptive read channel optimizing (ARCO) operation, which is performed in an early stage of the procedure.
In the conventional art, the instability of the magnetic head is checked using a thermal asperity detection (TAD) function or by examining changes of read parameters in the ARCO operation after a writing operation.
But since the head degradation may occur in any operation during the HDD process due to electrical and/or mechanical stress, the possibility of head degradation may not be determined using only the verification in the specific operation, when a final step of the HDD process finishes.
Particularly, when HDD sets, which have marginally passed process criteria even though performances of their heads have been changed during the HDD process, are put on the market, there is always the possibility of a poorly functioning HDD.
But with the conventional art, it is hard to detect the HDD with the possibility of head degradation in advance, for example, during the HDD process, thereby making it difficult to prevent a poorly functioning HDD.


A pipe formed from a continuous, cold rolled, lock seam quality, sheet steel, having a spiral rib. The pipe may be protected by an abrasion or corrosion resistant coating. The pipe is normally used for storm drains, culverts, sewer lines or HVAC. A closed spiral rib formed in the pipe wall adds strength to the wall, while maintaining a smooth inner wall that promotes exceptionally good fluid flow. The pipe has a smooth interior surface with outwardly projecting structural ribs of helical configuration throughout the length of the pipe.

This invention relates to hydraulically efficient ribbed pipe and particularly to hydraulically efficient ribbed pipe having closed ribs, and the method of making thereof.
Corrugated pipe has been used for many years in culvert and other storm drain type applications. However, corrugated pipe is inefficient because it does not have a smooth inner surface. To achieve more efficient operation and to improve flow, smooth wall pipes, made from concrete or plastic, are used. Plastic pipe is expensive in the larger sizes, has strength problems, and must be properly supported. Concrete pipe is heavy, making installation difficult. Moreover, concrete has problems due to corrosion, depending on the type of liquid being transported.
To overcome these problems, steel pipe is now being manufactured. To achieve proper strength requirements and keep the weight down to reasonable levels, the pipe is typically made from flat sheets that are rolled into a spiral form (typically helical). The spiral pipe is joined by welding or by using a crimp-type lock seam. To increase strength, a rib is typically formed at a point intermediate to the lock seam. Typically, this rib is formed by a die type press. Such construction creates open type ribs. Examples of this type of pipe are found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,630,650 to Davis and 4,838,317 to Andre at al. The Davis structure forms either a triangular rib or a "U" shaped rib on one side of the sheet of steel. The opposite side of the sheet is formed with an interlocking fold. As the pipe is rolled into the spiral, the interlocking fold interlocks with a corresponding fold on the rib. Once interlocked, the folds can be crimped to lock the seam. The Andre et al patent teaches a number of open or semi open rib designs. In most cases, these rib designs are formed by rolling the sheet of steel over appropriate dies. Andre et al. teaches the use of semi-closed ribs that can act to secure lining materials to the inner pipe wall surface. Andre et al. teach that ordinary liners have difficulty in adhering to pipe walls. Such linings, as shown in the Andre et al. patent include plastics and concrete liners. Andre et al. also teaches formation of a triangular type rib that is formed by bending the wall upward and outward, forming a "V" shaped channel that is open at the top. A cap is placed over this channel and is crimped into place.
Open rib designs are easy to manufacture. However, an unlined ribbed pipe presents some hydraulic inefficiency. Moreover, the open ribs can become a breeding ground for bacteria. Finally, the size of the ribs in the Andre et al design is relatively small. Attempting to use the ribs as a means to hold a liner is tenuous. The process of forming complex interlocking rib designs is also expensive and time consuming.

Hydraulically efficient ribbed pipe and method of making thereof


Various embodiments include at least one of systems, methods, and software for product notice monitoring. Some embodiments include at least one product notice database that is an aggregation of product notices, such as product recalls, bulletins, safety notices, updated usage guidelines, and the like, that may be issued by various different sources. The product notice database is monitored in such embodiments in view of products of an organization to identify possible matches. When a possible match is identified, the notice is provided to the organization. Some embodiments may include routing the notice to particular people or departments responsible for the relevant product(s) of the notice. The matching in some embodiments may be relative matching based on one or more forms of fuzzy logic, which allows for approximate matching, although not necessarily identical. The product notice monitoring may be performed in whole or in part in the cloud.

Product notices are issued by many different entities, such as manufacturers, distributors, retailers, government and non-government organizations, and others. Product notices are often related to product recalls, safety warnings, maintenance checks, and other such advisories.
Organizations utilize a large number of products in furtherance of their efforts. Monitoring notices that are issued with regard to such products that are utilized or sold by an organization can be a very difficult and time-consuming task. Notices relevant to products used and sold by an organization need to be identified, considered by the appropriate employees, and often, action must be taken. The larger the organization, in terms of both employee size and the number of products utilized and sold, the larger the effort involved. Further confounding notice monitoring is the distributed nature of many organizations across broad geographic regions.


A Zener diode 16 is connected to each of single cells 10 of an electric double layer capacitor in parallel, and a resistor 18 is connected to each of the Zener diode 16 in series. Thus, in a case where a single cell 10 is excessively charged, when the bias voltage of the single cell 10 is equal to or higher than the Zener voltage, a discharge current flows through the Zener diode 16 connected to the single cell 10, so that the voltage decreases to the Zener voltage. Thus, it is possible to prevent the electric double layer capacitor from being excessively charged due to the dispersions in electrostatic capacity and internal resistance, and to stably accumulate electricity for a long time.

The present invention relates generally to a power supply unit for automotive vehicles. More specifically, the invention relates to a power supply for feeding electric current to various electrical loads of an automotive vehicle.
In recent years, it has been proposed to use an electric double layer capacitor, the capacity of which is remarkably increased using an electric double layer structure of electrons produced on the interface between electrodes and an electrolyte, as a cell. This electric double layer capacitor generates a voltage of, e.g., about 2.5 V, as a single cell. Therefore, in a case where this electric double layer capacitor is used for a power supply unit for an automotive vehicle, a plurality of single cells 100 are connected in series to be used as a capacitor pack as shown in FIG. 1.
That is, each of the single cells 100 is formed as an electric double layer capacitor which comprises a pair of current collecting bodies, each having an active carbon electrode, an electrolyte charged between the current collecting bodies, and a separator for separating the active carbon electrodes of the respective current collecting bodies from each other (all the elements are not shown). These single cells 100 are connected in series to form a capacitor pack 102. The capacitor pack 102 is connected to an on-vehicle generator 104 mounted on the vehicle. The on-vehicle generator 104 generates a voltage according to engine rotation, and the generated voltage is converted into a DC voltage by means of a rectifier to be output. Specifically, an alternator corresponds to the on-vehicle generator 104.
During the engine is operated, each of the single cells 100 is charged by the DC voltage from the on-vehicle generator 104, and the stored energy is discharged and used to drive a starter motor when the engine is restarted, and so forth.
The electromotive force of each of the single cells 100 is determined by the active voltage of the electrolyte. When a bias voltage, i.e., a charging voltage from the on-vehicle generator 104, exceeds the active voltage, the life time of the single cell 100 of electric double layer capacitor is rapidly decreased. In view of a margin of the safety, if the rated voltage of each of the single cells 100 is set to be lower than the active voltage of the electrolyte and if the single cells 100 are used at a voltage equal to or less than the rated voltage, it is possible to ensure a long life time which is one of the characteristics of the electric double layer capacitor.
However, the dispersions in electrostatic capacity and internal resistance of the single cells 100 may occur. Therefore, if the single cells 100 are charged from the on-vehicle generator 104 while being connected in series, the difference between the bias voltages may occur due to the dispersions in electrostatic capacity and internal resistance. That is, in a case where the single cells 100 are connected in series to be charged, if the electrostatic capacities and the values of internal resistance of the respective single cells are the same, the terminal-to-terminal voltages (the bias voltages) of the respective single cells are also the same. However, if there are the dispersions in electrostatic capacity and internal resistance, the imbalance in bias voltage occurs between the respective single cells. In addition, this difference in bias voltage may be integrated and increased when charge and discharge are repeatedly carried out.
Therefore, if the rated voltage is set in view of a margin of safety, a higher bias voltage than the rated voltage may be impressed on one of the single cells 100 due to the dispersion in characteristics of the respective single cells 100, which may cause a decrease in the life time.
In order to overcome such a problem, a "balance circuit system" has been adopted. As shown in FIG. 2, this system is designed to balance the bias voltages of the respective single cells 100 by connecting balance resistors 106 having the same resistance to the respective single cells 100 via resistors 108 in parallel for every single cell 100 and by connecting the respective balance resistors 106 in series.
In addition, Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 5-23527 discloses another conventional system wherein a balance resistor is electrically separated from a single cell when no charge is carried out, and the single cell and the balance resistor are connected in parallel when the terminal-to-terminal voltage of the single cell is higher than a predetermined value.
In the aforementioned conventional balance circuit system wherein the balance resistors 106 are connected to the respective single cells 100 in parallel, it is possible to equalize the bias voltages applied to the respective single cells 100, since the divided voltages are the same if the values of resistance of the respective balance resistors 106 are the same.
However, in the case of the balance circuit system, since the balance resistors 106 are always connected to the respective single cells 100 so that the whole electric circuit forms a closed loop, the electric energies stored in the respective single cells 100 are gradually lost as the discharge is carried out. Therefore, this system can not function as a "battery" since the discharge of each of the single cells 100 are started after the charge is stopped, so that this system can not be practically used as a power supply unit for driving, e.g., a starter motor, which is used when the engine is restarted, of an automotive vehicle.
In order to overcome this problem, in the aforementioned system disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 5-23527, the balance resistors are selectively connected to the single cells in parallel and separated therefrom by means of transistors and so forth. According to this system, it is possible to prevent the discharge to store the electric energy for a long time, since the balance resistors are separated from the single cells when no charge is carried out. However, according to this system, there are other problems in that the circuit structure is not only complicated due to the additional switch circuit to increase the manufacturing costs, but the reliability is also decreased due to the increase of the number of parts.
The aforementioned problems on the balance circuit system also appear in a lead battery pack used for a power supply unit of an electric vehicle. This lead battery pack is made by connecting a plurality of single cells like the capacitor pack shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

Power supply unit for automotive vehicle