A piezoelectric composite material including an organic matrix, and 72-78 % by volume of a piezoelectric ceramic powder dispersed in the matrix and consisting of 25-41.6 % by weight of a first group of lead titanate particles having a first average particle size, 25-41.6 % by weight of a second group of lead titanate particles having a second average particle size and 25-41.6 % by weight of a third group of lead titanate particles having a third average particle size. The first, second and third average particle sizes are different from each other and generally 2.5-4.5 .mu.m, 5-10 .mu.m and 20-40 .mu.m, respectively. At least a portion of the lead titanate particles of one of the first to third groups may be substituted with lead titanate zirconate having a similar particle size.

This invention relates generally to a piezoelectric composite material and, more specifically, to a flexible piezoelectric composite material containing a blend of piezoelectric ceramic powder homogeneously dispersed in an organic matrix and suitable for use in underwater acoustic transducers adapted to generate acoustic waves or supersonic waves or to receive such waves propagating in water.
Piezoelectric composite material containing piezoelectric ceramic powder, such as PbTiO.sub.3 or Pb(Ti,Zr)O.sub.3 powder, with an average particle size of several .mu.m homogeneously dispersed in an organic matrix such as a synthetic rubber is known. This composite material has a high piezoelectric constant and a good flexibility and shows good acoustic compatibility with water because of its low density and, hence, is suitable for utilization for underwater acoustic transducers.
The piezoelectric characteristics of such a piezoelectric composite material can be enhanced as the content of the piezoelectric ceramic powder in the matrix is increased. However, when the piezoelectric ceramic powder is used in a large amount, the amount of pores contained in the composite material is increased to the extent that the piezoelectric characteristics vary according to the hydrostatic pressure to which the composite material is subjected during use. To cope with this problem the present inventors have proposed the use of two kinds of ceramic particles with different average particle sizes (Japanese Patent Applications Nos. Sho 63-223342 and Hei 1-288442). Since small particles can fill the space between large particles, the amount of pores can be decreased so that the resulting composite exhibits less pressure dependency. However, the reduction of the pressure dependency and the piezoelectric characteristics of this composite material are still not fully satisfactory.
In hydrophones using a piezoelectric composite material of the above-mentioned type, the sensitivity is expressed as d.sub.h (=d.sub.33 +2d.sub.31). A piezoelectric composite material showing a large d.sub.h value has a high sensitivity. For the purpose of increasing the d.sub.h value, there have been proposed a method in which a piezoelectric ceramic having a large piezoelectric constant, such as Pb(Ti,Zr)O.sub.3, is used, a method in which the amount of the piezoelectric ceramic is increased and a method in which the polarization voltage is increased. Up to present, however, piezoelectric composite material having sufficiently high sensitivity and low pressure dependency has not been provided yet.
In known piezoelectric composite materials, when the strain in one direction, for example, d.sub.33 direction (in the direction parallel with the electrical field, is increased, the strain in the other direction, for example, d.sub.31 direction (in the direction perpendicular to the electrical field) is also increased as a result of lateral-longitudinal coupling. Thus, in the case of a hydrophone which is to be connected to a hull and displaced therewith, noises attributed to the strain in the d.sub.31 direction are unavoidably generated.
More particularly, a piezoelectric composite sheet obtained by impressing a direct current voltage of 70 kV/cm between opposing electrodes having disposed therebetween a sheet-like piezoelectric composite containing 60% by volume of Pb(Ti,Zr)O.sub.3 powder dispersed in an epoxy resin matrix has d.sub.33 and d.sub.31 of 104.times.10.sup.-12 C/N and -45.5.times.10.sup.-12 C/N, respectively. When such a composite sheet is used in air, the wave receiving sensitivity thereof is generally equal to d.sub.33. On the other hand, when used in water, the composite sheet is subjected to hydrostatic pressure in all directions so that the sensitivity is d.sub.h which is d.sub.33 +2d.sub.31 as described above, namely 13.times.10.sup.-12 C/N. Thus, the sensitivity is reduced to about 1/8 of d.sub.33. Furthermore, when such a composite is used as a hydrophone, a noise signal is generated due to the strain in d.sub.31 direction. This noise is added to the positive signal generated by the strain in the d.sub.33 direction to lower the Signal-to-Noise ratio.


An improved hook and loop reusable and reclosable fastening system for pairing socks, hosiery and gloves. The fastening system is permanently attached to the socks and hosiery. A preferred embodiment includes an elastic or other stretchable backing material attached to each hook and loop panel preferably made up of thin separable strips which can move with the expansion and contraction of the sock and attachment material. Another preferred embodiment includes several thin strips of the hook and loop panels attached directly to each sock, so that the sock itself can serve as a stretchable backing material. Another preferred embodiment is that each hook and loop panel, respectively, is attached to a logo or decorative pattern on the sock to camouflage the particular hook and loop panel. The products, such as socks, hosiery, gloves and the like can be attached by the hook and loop attachment means for washing, drying and storage. The VELCRO type fasteners are able to withstand the high temperature and forces encountered during the washing and drying process.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to apparatus for pairing socks, hosiery and gloves, and more particularly, relates to an improved staggered fastening structure for holding hosiery pairs together during laundry and storage.
2. Background of the Related Art
The household chore of matching pairs of socks or hosiery that have been laundered is tedious and timeconsuming. A variety of mechanical holding apparatus has been designed to retain pairs of socks and hosiery together during and after laundering. Clips and pins may damage the socks during laundering and may not be available when the socks are placed in a laundry bin. Perforated packets or bags which can be used in the washing machines are another solution to this problem, however, these are time intensive and require bagging each pair of socks prior to washing.
Another attempt to solve this problem is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,688,348 to Klotz which utilizes bands that are wrapped around the shank of the socks to keep the pair together during washing. Such bands, however, must be available when the socks are placed in the laundry bin, otherwise, the socks must be paired prior to washing.
To solve this problem, various fasteners have been described as being affixed directly on each of the socks. For example, snaps and hook and eye fasteners have been disclosed. However, snaps and hook and eye fasteners are usually stiff and inflexible resulting in pulling during washing and drying. This results in stretching and tearing of the socks. Additionally, stiff and inflexible fasteners may be uncomfortable if pressed into the wearer's leg.
Tie strings have also been disclosed as being sewn to the socks pair. However, these are cumbersome and may become tangled or permanently knotted together.
More recently, Boxer et. al. in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,165,555 and 4,058,853 have taken advantage of hook-and pile VELCRO type fasteners which are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,000,384 and 3,009,235. The Boxer et. al. patents describe the general concept of attaching socks, gloves and other items together using a patch containing a hook type fastener on one sock and a patch containing a loop type fastener on another. See, for example, FIGS. 1 and 2. Both patents also describe the use of a sewn on backing or a heat activated adhesive such as an iron on patch or other adhesives to attach the fasteners to the socks. Both Boxer et. al. patents are particularly concerned with covering the hook portions of the fastener with a cover containing complementary piece of material, i.e. a loop structure, and having such flap being an integral part of the patch. This is shown in FIGS. 3 and 4.
A disadvantage of the Boxer et. al. concept is that the VELCRO portion is relatively inelastic while the shank of typical socks stretch when placed on the user's calf. Thus, the VELCRO strap may tear off or become partially detached after use. In addition, due to the inflexibility of the fasteners of Boxer et. al., if the fasteners are sewn on or adhered too strongly to be pulled off during repeated use, the sock fabric would be pulled, stretched and eventually may even tear. Also, the VELCRO patch described by Boxer et. al. is highly visible and may be unfashionable when the socks are exposed, i.e. when shorts or a skirt is worn.
Socks utilizing VELCRO attachment means for purposes other than holding pairs of socks together are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,106,126 and 3,938,264.

Fastening system for pairing socks, hosiery and gloves


An adaptive control VGR steering system that varies the steering gear ratio between a vehicle hand-wheel angle and the road wheel angle based on vehicle speed and one or more of hand-wheel angle, driver attentiveness and a driver's driving style and skill.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to an adaptive control variable gear ratio (VGR) steering system and, more particularly, to an adaptive control VGR steering system that changes the gear ratio between a vehicle hand-wheel angle and the road wheel angle based on vehicle speed and one or more of hand-wheel angle, driver driving style and skill, and driver attentiveness.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
The steering gear ratio of a vehicle is a proportional factor between the steering wheel angle and the road wheel angle. Conventional steering systems have a fixed steering gear ratio, where the steering gear ratio remains substantially constant except for minor variations due to the suspension geometry of the vehicle. In order to improve handling for all driving conditions, variable gear ratio (VGR) steering systems have been provided. For VGR steering systems, the gear ratio varies with vehicle speed so that the number of steering wheel turns to make a vehicle turn is low at low vehicle speeds and high for high vehicle speeds. In other words, the gear ratio between the vehicle hand-wheel angle and the road wheel angle increases as the vehicle speed increases so that turning is easier at lower speeds and steering sensitivity is suppressed at higher speeds where stability may be a factor. The VGR steering system can be implemented by adding an angle to or subtracting an angle from the driver's steering input using a gear differential between the steering wheel and the steering gear. A planetary gear set or a harmonic drive can be used to create such a differential.
Known steering systems focus on the steering response of on-center handling, where the steering wheel angle is relatively small and the tires are in their linear region. As the steering wheel angle increases and the tires enter their non-linear region, the vehicle steering sensitivity decreases, requiring the driver to steer more to maintain a desired steering-to-yaw-rate gain.
Practically, the design of known steering systems is a compromise to meet the needs of all types of drivers with one single speed-VGR curve. Nonetheless, many customers, especially sporty drivers, expect electric aids to enhance their driving experience, even in situations that an average driver would never encounter. Also, automotive enthusiast magazines show that vehicle evaluation often focuses on high-performance driving. The challenge for the design is to create a system that satisfies average drivers as well as motor sport enthusiasts.
In addition, a drivers psychological and physiological conditions also affect his or her ability to control a vehicle safely. Although the detection of a driver's psychological condition, such as emotion and stress, is still immature, various systems have been developed to detect a drivers physiological conditions. Vehicle control systems, such as VGR steering systems, should be able to work with those driver-condition detection systems and adapt themselves to driver conditions to further enhance roadway safety.

Control adaptation of variable gear ratio steering


An apparatus for adjusting the position of a handlebar on a bicycle or the like having a base member, an upper link, a lower link, and a intermediate member forming a parallelogram type link. A protrusion formed on the lower link extends into and slidably contacts a tracking slot formed in the upper link. A locking means for fixing the upper and lower links has a locking pin disposed in a bore formed in the upper link and extending through one of a plurality of holes formed in the protrusion of the lower link. The locking pin defines a locked position when extending into one of the plurality of holes and an unlocked position when released. The pin is biased in the locked position. A release lever is disposed on the upper link having a operating portion for grasping by a rider and a locking pin portion for engaging the locking pin.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an adjustable handlebar stem for bicycles and the like. More particularly, the present invention relates to parallelogram type linkage between the handle bars and the stem to permit adjustment of the position of the handle bars and a locking means for locking the upper and lower links in a fixed and stable position.
2. Prior Art
Bicycling for long distances can be uncomfortable because the rider must sit in the same position for extended periods of time. In addition, for riders with health problems, such as arthritis, bicycling for even short distances can become uncomfortable. Although bicycle components and configurations are typically adjustable, the adjustments require tools and the adjusted position is permanent for all practical purposes. For example, the stem and the seat may typically be adjusted vertically and the handle bars and seat rotate forward and back by loosening a bolt and clamp with a set of wrenches. These adjustments are usually made to accommodate the physical build of the intended user and are not readjusted. The difficulty in making the adjustments makes frequent changes to suit comfort unpractical. For example, a rider will not usually stop, dismount, obtain tools, loosen a component, adjust the component, tighten the component, put away the tools, and continue riding every time the rider feels uncomfortable.
In addition, many bicycle components and configurations are intended for specific purposes. For example, racing and mountain bicycles often have handle bars that are positioned low and forward with respect to the bicycle and away from the rider. Touring bicycles often have handle bars positioned high and back with respect to the bicycle and towards the rider. These components and configurations take advantage of efficiencies inherent in the rider's posture. A rider positioned low and forward is more suited to racing or climbing while a rider positioned high and back is more suited to touring. While many riders are dedicated enough to a particular type of riding, such as racing, to own a bicycle specifically designed for that purpose, others own a single bicycle that is used for all purposes, such as mountain biking, touring, and racing. Because a rider lacks the dedication to any particular type of riding, or perhaps lacks the funds to own several bicycles, the rider must settle on one style of bicycle and use it, with the inherent inefficiencies, for all types of riding.
Furthermore, all types of riders encounter various riding conditions that may alter the preferred posture of the rider. For example, while climbing or riding at high speed, the rider may wish to be positioned low and forward. But as traffic is encountered, the rider may prefer to be positioned high and back.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,138,900 issued on Aug. 18, 1992 to Hals discloses a quadrilateral type linkage between the handlebars and the stem to allow the handlebars to be adjusted between a low and forward position to a higher and back position. The position of the handlebars is fixed by a wheel hub quick-clamp mechanism disposed on an upper link engaging a groove formed in a lower link. Thus, the upper and lower links are essentially clamped together and held by friction. One problem with this method for positioning the handlebars is that the friction type connection between the upper and lower links may be overcome by a large force causing an abrupt change in the handlebar position. An abrupt change in the handlebar position may cause the rider to lose balance or control. In other words, if the rider exerts a large force on the handlebars, as when the rider hits a bump or dip, the friction connection between the links may loosen and cause the position of the handlebars to adjust abruptly. This abrupt change may cause the rider to lose control, injuring himself and damaging the bicycle.
Alternatively, Hals discloses a cable operated conical plunger disposed in the upper link and engaging a conical recess formed in the lower link to fix the position of the handlebars. One problem with this method of fixing the handlebar position is that the tapper or conical shape of the plunger and recess may enable the plunger to slip from the recess when a large force is exerted on the handlebars. Furthermore, the cable system adds complexity and provides an additional area for possible failure.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,273,302 issued on Dec. 28, 1993 to Ureel discloses a parallelogram type linkage between the handlebars and the stem to allow the handlebars to change positions. The position of the handlebars is fixed by a pin disposed in a handlebar member engaging radially extending slots formed in the end of one of the links, like a toothed gear. One problem with this method of positioning the handlebar is that the link attached to the toothed gear acts as the long arm of a lever. Force applied to the mechanism is multiplied by the length of the link, thus tending to cause an excessive force and risk of failure at the teeth of the gear.
Another problem with both the Hals and Ureel devices is their structure. The linkage structures disclosed by Hals and Ureel are loose and unstable. For proper control and feel, bicycling requires that the structure of the bicycle be firm and solid. In addition, for some types of bicycling, such as mountain biking, the structure must have great strength. Furthermore, the bulk of the structures does not lend themselves to the streamline, efficient, light-weight style of bicycling.
Therefore, it would be advantageous to develop an apparatus for adjusting the position of the handlebars to adapt the bicycle to the riding conditions encountered and to change the riders posture for comfort. It would also be advantageous to develop and apparatus for easily adjusting the position of the handlebars while riding. It would also be advantageous to develop and apparatus for adjusting the position of the handlebars of a bicycle while maintaining control and the firm and solid feel of the bicycle and maintaining the efficient, lightweight style of bicycling.

Adjustable handlebar stem using a locking pin system


In an embodiment, an apparatus includes a projection subsystem to project an image-containing beam, and an image adjustment element. The image adjustment element is to cause adjustment of the image-containing beam in response to a detection of relative movement of the apparatus with respect to a reference object. A method includes determining whether substantial relative movement of a projection system has been detected, in an embodiment. When substantial relative movement has been detected, the method further includes producing control inputs, and altering operation of one or more image adjustment elements and/or altering image data in response to the control inputs, in an embodiment.

Projection equipment (i.e., a "projector") may be used to display images onto a projection surface (e.g., a screen or wall). A conventional projector may be mounted to or set on a stable surface, such as a ceiling or table, for example. Under normal conditions, a conventional projector will not likely be subjected to significant movement or vibration, and the relative position between the projector and the projection surface will remain constant. Accordingly, the images that it projects will appear relatively still and stable on the projection surface.
If conditions exist under which a conventional projector or its projection surface are subjected to relative movement or vibration, the projected image will appear unstable, and the image may appear jittery or out of focus. For example, even a slight projector movement, with respect to a projection surface, may lead to a significantly destabilized image, and details included in the destabilized image may not be perceptible. If the image is being displayed in the context of a presentation, the destabilization effect may significantly reduce the effectiveness of the presentation. Accordingly, a conventional projector is practically limited to use in connection with a stable, non-vibrating surface, where the distance between the projector and the projection surface remains relatively constant.

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


An earmold for a hearing aid includes a cylindrical tube of a soft, pliable material having a cylindrical passage therethrough. A plurality of conical fins project outward from the tube and are along the entire length of the tube. A pull is secured to and extends from one end of the tube.

Most hearing aids include an earmold which is inserted and retained in the canal of the ear of the user. The earmold may contain the electronics of the hearing aid, including the speaker, or may be connected to the electronics, which are outside the canal of the ear, by a tube. The earmold must fit comfortably in the ear and must be formed in a manner that it is readily retained in the canal of the ear. Retention of the earmold in the canal of the ear can be accomplished by friction and/or mechanical locking. Friction is created by radial pressure of the earmold on the wall of the canal. The more pressure, the greater is the retention force. However, friction is also dependent on lubricants between the earmold and the wall of the canal. The presence of cerumen (ear wax), perspiration or water significantly reduces friction retention. Therefore, mechanical locking is the primary means by which most hearing aids are retained in the ear. For mechanical locking, the earmolds are molded to fit the complex shape of the ear canal. These complex interlocking shapes hold the hearing aid in place without relying on friction so that they are not susceptible to the loosening caused by forces which tend to dislodge the hearing aid. However, the making of these complex interlocking shapes is a laborious, inaccurate and time consuming process which often requires the user to make several visits to the audiologist or dispenser before an earmold with a secure fit can be made. This is not only time consuming, but also greatly increases the cost of the hearing aid.
Another problem which arises in hearing aids is acoustic feedback. Acoustic feedback occurs when amplified sound from the hearing aid's speaker enters the microphone and is subsequently re-amplified, resulting in a squealing noise. If the earmold fits well, it attenuates the sound sufficiently to prevent feedback. Therefore, a good fit of the earmold in the canal of the ear is desirable to minimize acoustic feedback. It has been demonstrated that soft earmolds are superior to hard earmolds in the reduction of feedback. However, the earmolds generally used which are specifically shaped to fit a particular ear canal are generally made of a hard material. This provides an earmold which has a longer life and which can be easily removed and reinserted for cleaning and repair.
Two of the more recent attempts at commercializing preformed earmolds are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,870,688 to B. Voroba et al., issued Sep. 26, 1989, entitled MASS PRODUCTION AUDITORY CANAL HEARING AID, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,002,151 to R. J. Oliveira et al., issued Mar. 26, 1991, entitled EAR PIECE HAVING DISPOSABLE, COMPRESSIBLE POLYMERIC FOAM SLEEVE. The earmold shown in the patent to Oliveira et al. uses a compressible retard recovery foam that can be compressed and then inserted into a person's ear, and allowed to recover to fill into the canal. This earmold is held in only by friction. Also, the earmold is connected to the electronics by a tube which has the tendency to pull on the earmold frequently and thus dislodge it. For this reason, these devices are limited to short trial periods.
The hearing aid shown in the patent to Voroba et al. uses a soft polymeric material in solid form. The earmold is designed to utilize both friction and mechanical locking. However, the earmold contains the electronics and the weight and cantilever of the hear aid dislodges the earmold over time. To support the cantilever, the Voroba et al. earmold is designed to fill in the canal and the concha. However, making a generic earmold which fits well both the canal and the concha is difficult. Also, the earmold of Voroba et al. is designed for several years of use, requiring that it be made of a harder material.


One or more interfacial layers in contact with a solid-state electrolyte and hybrid electrolyte materials. Interfacial layers comprise inorganic (e.g., metal oxides and soft inorganic materials) or organic materials (e.g., polymer materials, gel materials and ion-conducting liquids). The interfacial layers can improve the electrical properties (e.g., reduce the impedance) of an interface between an a cathode and/or anode and a solid-state electrolyte. The interfacial layers can be used in, for example, solid-state batteries (e.g., solid-state, ion-conducting batteries).

Solid-state lithium batteries (SSLiBs) provide potential solutions to the primary problems encountered in traditional lithium (Li)-ion batteries with flammable liquid electrolytes, such as poor safety, limited voltage, unstable solid-electrolyte interphase (SEI) formation, and poor cycling performance. Solid-state electrolytes (SSE) are the enabling material for the successful development of a variety of solid-state batteries, such as SSLiBs for electrical vehicle applications and solid state Na-ion batteries (SSNaBs) for large scale grid scale energy storage. A range of SSEs have been investigated, such as LiSICON, thio-LiSICON, perovskites, LiBH4, sulfide-based glass/ceramic, Li-garnet for SSLiBs, and NASICON and beta-alumina for SSNaBs. Steady progress on the improvement of ion conductivity in SSEs has resulted in high conductivity of 10−2 S/cm in sulfide-base electrolyte, which rivals the conductivity of organic electrolytes. However, for full cell development, a stable interface with small interfacial impedance between SSE and electrodes is critical. A few approaches have been applied to reduce interfacial impedance between SSE and cathodes, including surface coating, interface softening, buffer layer, e.g., LiNbO2, Nb, BaTiO3, and an additive in cathode composite, e.g., LBO. The interface at the anode side, however, is rarely explored, especially when metal Li is used. It is likely due to the fact that many solid electrolytes including perovskite-type (Li, La)TiO3, NASICON (especially Ti-based materials), and sulfide-based glass electrolytes are not stable against metallic Li. Given the fact that Li metal has the highest capacity (3860 mAh/g) and the lowest potential (−3.040 vs. standard hydrogen electrode) as an anode, solving the interface between SSE and Li metal anode is extremely critical for high energy density SSLiB development.
Among the variety of SSEs, garnet electrolytes are very attractive for SSLiBs because they (1) have a wide electrochemical window, are stable against Li metal and up to 6 V, and are unique from most other SSEs; (2) are environmentally stable with much processing flexibility; and (3) have high ionic conductivity, close to 1 mS/cm at room temperature. Since their discovery more than ten years ago, fundamental research has led to both increased understanding of the underlying mechanisms and improved Li-ion conductivity. However, there is still little progress on the successful demonstration of high performance SSLiBs with garnet SSE. The primary challenge is the large interface resistance between garnet electrolyte and electrode materials due to its rigid ceramic nature. Heating or even melting Li metal for its integration with garnet electrolytes was reported. However, the resistance reduction at the interface was limited, likely due to microscopic gaps existing at the interface and potential wetting issues. It was previously confirmed that Li2CO3 naturally formed on the garnet surface as a source of high interfacial resistance for LLZO with Li metal. After removing surface impurity by polishing, they successfully achieved a much lower interfacial area specific resistance (ASR), ˜109 Ω·cm2. Nevertheless, the achieved interfacial impedance is still too high for SSLiBs, and their polishing approach is only applicable to flat garnet electrolytes, significantly limiting cell geometries and manufacturing scalability.
Due to their intrinsic safety, SSLiBs could provide low-cost safe energy storage solutions for electrical vehicle, cell phone, and various other applications. However, SSLiB interfaces are typically planar resulting in high impedance due to low specific surface area, and attempts to make 3D high surface area interfaces can also result in high impedance due to poor contact (e.g., pores) at the electrode-electrolyte interface that hinders ion transport or degrades due to expansion/contraction with voltage cycling. The current state-of-art interfacial impedance in SSLiBs is ˜1000 Ω/cm2, which is 100-1000 times higher than Li+ batteries with organic electrolytes. Such high interfacial impedance not only limits the initial rate performance of SSLiBs, but also increases dramatically over charge-discharge cycling, greatly impacting the battery cycle life. Thus, grand challenges exist at the SSE-electrode interface, specifically: (1) large interfacial impedance for charge transfer and transport; and (2) mechanical degradation of interface with electrochemical charge/discharge cycles.
Further, challenges exist with SSEs that may explain the limited success in SSLiBs and SSNaBs. These challenges include: large interface resistance in the cells between electrode particle-electrolyte particle, between electrode particles, and between electrolyte particles; poor structure interface integrity during cycling as SSEs are typical fragile; and high processing temperature that is not compatible with most anode and cathode materials.
Therefore, there is a need for solid-state batteries with improved electrolyte-electrode interfacial impedance properties.

Interfacial layers for solid-state batteries and methods of making same


A storage system is provided including fixed and mobile frames disposed in modules forming the storage system. Each module also includes one or more mounting rails formed with engagement structures that can be utilized to attach storage bins and slat wall pegs, among other structures, to the rails in order to hold various items within the bins and rails in various configurations on the rails. The rails and other supporting structures such as shelves and work surfaces can also be secured to the frames, optionally in inclined configurations with respect to the frames. The frame structures and storage modules are readily conformable to accommodate different environments and uses for the storage system.

In numerous environments it is necessary to store a large number of items in a relatively small space. To do so, a wide variety of storage systems have been developed that enable many different items to be held in a high concentration within the system. These systems employ different types of containers to hold the items within the systems, including bins and pegs that are mountable to the surfaces of the storage systems. The items to be held in the containers can then be placed in the containers for later removal when desired.
One issue with the majority of the prior art storage systems is the relative inability of the systems to be modified to accommodate different types of item containers and to include different structures for use in different situations. For example, in a large number of pharmacy environments, the storage systems utilized therein are provided only with shelves and slat wall peg options for holding items thereon. The pegs are limited to holding suitably formed containers thereon. The shelves, while able to hold items directly thereon and to support other types of containers, such as plastic storage bins, have issues with regard to dust collection on the surfaces of the shelves, which is highly undesirable in pharmacy environments.
Therefore, it is desirable to develop a storage system that can be easily modified in its construction to allow the system to be altered quickly to accommodate the particular configuration desired, and/or the particular environment in which the storage system is to be utilized. Further, the storage system should include components that are formed to be able to be secured to the storage system structure in different orientations, and to have different types of storage containers attached directly to them without additional modifications or supporting structures to eliminate the cleaning and assembly issues associated with prior art storage systems.

Storage system with accessory mounting rail


Techniques are described to furnish a touchless joystick-type controller in a portable electronic device. The techniques may be implemented within an electronic device that comprises one or more sensors configured to detect a target at a distance from the sensor and provide a signal in response thereto. The signal is received in response to the sensor detecting a target within a field of view of the sensor. A position of the target relative to a point of reference is then determined based on the signal. Movement of the target may be tracked based on changes in the determined position relative to the point of reference. In embodiments, the target comprises a thumb or a finger of a hand of a user of the electronic device and the determined position to furnish a joystick-type control input.

Touchscreens are common in portable electronic devices such as smartphones and tablets. A touchscreen allows a user of the portable electronic device to enter data and control functions of the device by touching the screen with one or more fingers, a stylus, or the like. The touchscreen enables the user to interact directly with displayed information. A user can, for example, input a command by touching the screen in a predetermined pattern to cause the device to perform a corresponding function.
Touchscreens, when implemented with gaming applications, are used to input commands for controlling the game. A user can progress through a game by touching visual representations of characters, objects, and so forth displayed on the screen in order to manipulate them.

Integrated touchless joystick-type controller


A method is provided for producing an arthropod comprising introducing a microsystem such as a MEMS device into an immature arthropod under conditions that result in producing an adult arthropod with a functional microsystem permanently attached to its body. A method is also provided for producing a robotic apparatus. The method can comprise introducing a microsystem such as a MEMS device into an immature arthropod under conditions that result in producing a robotic apparatus with the microsystem permanently attached to the body of the adult arthropod.

Over the past four decades, many attempts have been made to develop small (centimeter-scale) autonomous flying machines (micro-aerial vehicles "MAV" or unmanned aerial vehicles "UAV") for applications ranging from reconnaissance in the battlefield to environmental monitoring. Significant advances in microfabrication technology have made it possible to realize mm-scale low-power microsystems capable of carrying out a wide array of sensing and actuation tasks. These attempts to create mechanical MAVs have ultimately been unsuccessful (Ellington C P, 1999. The novel aerodynamics of insect flight: applications to micro-air vehicles. The Journal of Experimental Biology. 202:3439-348), however, because the power sources needed for powering flight have not been sufficiently miniaturized, even though micro-scale actuators such as MEMS (Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems), have existed for decades.
Insects can provide models for robotics as "biobots" (Crary, S. B., Moore, T. E., Conklin, T. A., Sukardi, F., and Kotiditschek, D. E. 1996. Insect Biorobotics: Electro-neural control of cockroach walking, Abstr. IEEE Int. Conf. Robotics and Automation, Workshop WT3, Bio-Mechanics, pp. 42-54; Louden, C. 1995. Insect morphology above the molecular level: biomechanics. Ann. entomol. Soc. Am., 88: 1-4), in which an intact (or nearly intact) biological system is incorporated into the design of a microdevice such as a MEMS device (Cary 1996 supra; Louden 1995 supra). Insects are autonomous flying machines and have aerodynamic performance superior to that of existing unmanned mechanical flying machines. Insects also exist in diverse shapes and sizes.
One important challenge that has not been solved, however, has been the permanent attachment of devices to adult insects. Several research groups have glued telemetric and electronic devices onto adult insects to track the insects' movements and migratory paths (Riley J R. 2005. The flight paths of honeybees recruited by waggle dance. Nature 435(12 May 2005): 205-207; Riley J R, Valeur P, Smith A D, Reynolds D R, Poppy G M. 1998. Harmonic radar as a means of tracking the pheromone finding and pheromone—following flight in male moths. Journal of Insect Behavior 11(2): 287-296), and have attached miniature "backpacks" for environmental monitoring, wireless communication, or biobotic manipulation of behavior (Crary 1996 supra; Mohseni P, Nagarajan K. 2001. An ultralight biotelemetry backpack for recording EMG signals in Moths. IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering 48(6): 734-737; Kuwana Y., Ando N., Kanzaki R., and Shimoyama I. 1999. A radio telemetry system for muscle potential recordings from freely flying insects. Proceedings of IEEEBEMS/EMBS conf., Atlanta, Ga., October 1999: 846; Kutsch W, Schwarz G, Fischer H, and Kautz H. 1993. Wireless transmission of muscle potentials during free flight of locust. The Journal of Experimental Biology 185: 367-373).
Attachment of devices to insects as adults, however, leads to reduced flying agility, presumably because the insect perceives the load as a foreign weight (Table 1).
TABLE 1List of advantages and disadvantages of usingrobotic MAV and insects as payload carriers.AdvantageDisadvantageMAV manual robotics1. Manipulation of flight is1. Expensive to designpossible.and manufacture2. Loss of MAV not due toversatile models.external natural stimuli2. Useful load(pheromone, ultrasound)disappears withdecrease in MAV size.Insect asSuperficial1. Versatile MAV models.1. Lack of control ofpayloadAttachment2. Can carry a load of half itsflight direction.carriersmuscle weight2. Unreliable andprone to dislodge.3. Light weight powersource not available.Surgical1. Permanent structure for1. Lack of control ofAttachmentattachment of payload.flight direction.2. Versatile MAV models.2. Light weight power3. Can carry a load of half itssource not availablemuscle weight.4. Acclimatization to the extraload is easier when load isattached at a pre-adult stage.
Telemetric devices glued onto insects are temporary attachments, and have been reported to fall off when the insect is in a confined space or foraging in vegetation. Handling a mobile and active adult insect to attach a payload is also difficult for mass production. Furthermore, with typical adult insect life spans of 2-3 weeks, delivery to the site of deployment at the correct time is challenging.
There is therefore a need in the art for methods for permanently attaching devices to adult insects. There is also a need in the art for unmanned, micro-aerial vehicles with permanently attached telemetric or electronic devices.
Citation or identification of any reference in Section 2, or in any other section of this application, shall not be considered an admission that such reference is available as prior art to the present invention.

Surgically implanted micro-platforms and microsystems in arthropods and methods based thereon


An industrial gas turbine engine includes in serial flow relationship a booster compressor, core engine, power turbine, and flow channel, with the power turbine having a first shaft, joined to the booster compressor, and an output shaft, and the flow channel having an outlet. Means for selectively varying flow area of the channel outlet are provided for controlling stall margin of the booster compressor in an exemplary embodiment of the engine and method of operation. The flow area varying means is effective for providing a minimum area of the channel outlet for controlling booster compressor stall margin at least at a synchronous speed associated with powering an electrical generator. In one embodiment, the flow area varying means effects a minimum horsepower from the output shaft for allowing lock-on and lock-off of the electrical generator at synchronous speed. In another embodiment of the invention, the flow area varying means is effective for braking the electrical generator during a full power stopcock rollback.

Marine and land-based industrial (M & I) gas turbine engines are frequently derived from engines designed for and used in various types of aircraft. Such M & I gas turbine engines are used, for example, for powering marine vessels, electrical generators, and various types of pumps.
The parent gas turbine engine of an M & I engine is typically designed and constructed to be lightweight and to operate at minimum specific fuel consumption (SFC) in an aircraft for predetermined thermodynamic cycles of operation having predetermined ranges of air and combustion gas flow rates, temperature, and pressure in the engine.
Development of an aircraft gas turbine engine requires a substantial amount of design, development, and testing resulting in substantial development costs. In designing gas turbine engines for marine and industrial applications, it has proven to be more cost effective to modify an existing aircraft gas turbine engine in the desired power class, than to design the M & I engine from the beginning. Accordingly, it is desirable to minimize the changes in the aircraft engine required for obtaining a suitable M & I engine. One application of an M & I engine is to provide output shaft horsepower for powering an electrical generator to provide electrical power to a utility electrical power grid, or network, for either meeting base load demands, or peaking demands greater than the base load. One goal in providing electrical power is to generate the required power during base load or peaking operation as efficiently as possible for reducing kilowatt-hour costs.
One factor in obtaining relatively low kilowatt-hour costs is the development cost for providing an industrial gas turbine engine for meeting the required power demands. In order to keep development costs relatively low, the industrial gas turbine engine typically utilizes the parent aircraft gas turbine engine and makes as few changes in the design thereof as practical for obtaining the desired land-based gas turbine engine. Accordingly, the parent aircraft gas turbine engine utilized for M & I applications may be adapted specifically for particular applications, including, for example, driving an electrical generator at a synchronous speed, such as 3000 rpm or 3600 rpm, for generating electricity at 50 Hertz or 60 Hertz, respectively.
One type of gas turbine engine used for powering an electrical generator includes two rotors. More specifically, the engine includes in serial flow relationship a conventional booster compressor, core engine, and power turbine having an output shaft connectable to the electrical generator. The power turbine also includes a first shaft, or rotor, joined to the booster compressor, and the core engine includes a conventional high-pressure compressor (HPC) joined to a conventional high-pressure turbine (HPT) by a second shaft, or rotor. The first and second shafts rotate independently of each other but are predeterminedly controlled for conventionally matching fluid flow rates between the booster compressor and the core engine, for example. Such an industrial gas turbine engine may be conventionally derived from an aircraft gas turbine engine by eliminating the conventional fan disposed upstream of the booster compressor in the aircraft gas turbine engine, and modifying the booster compressor, for example by modifying the first few rotor stages thereof as is conventionally known for use in powering an electrical generator. Downstream of the power turbine, a conventional industrial exhaust assembly is provided for discharging the combustion gases from the power turbine to the atmosphere.
In operation for powering an electrical generator, the industrial engine must be operated first for bringing the rotational speed of the power turbine and output shaft to the required synchronous speed, for example 3600 rpm, before the generator may be electrically connected or locked-on to the electrical power grid which will then conventionally maintain the generator and the power turbine at that speed, i.e. synchronous speed. However, the parent engine was initially designed for providing substantial horsepower from the power turbine at that synchronous speed for powering the fan, which was removed for this industrial application, which provided substantial thrust for powering the aircraft in which the engine was utilized.
For example, one such dual rotor industrial engine for powering an electrical generator is configured for obtaining about 56000 maximum shaft horsepower from the output shaft for operating an electrical generator at a full electrical power, on-line synchronous running condition. At part power, on-line synchronous running condition, the minimum output shaft horsepower at which the power turbine may operate in this exemplary embodiment, is about 6800 shaft horsepower. This relatively low value of output shaft horsepower is obtainable by closing to their fullest extent, i.e. about 40.degree. closed, conventional booster variable inlet guide vanes (VIGVS) disposed upstream of the booster compressor which controls inlet airflow to the booster compressor. And, conventional booster variable bleed valves (VBVs) disposed at the discharge of the booster compressor are positioned in a fully open position for bleeding overboard a portion of the air compressed by the booster compressor. In this way, the flow rate of the compressed airflow to the core engine is substantially reduced for minimizing the output shaft horsepower. However, at the 6800 output shaft horsepower condition, the electrical generator prior to being locked-on does not provide a corresponding amount of load for accommodating that amount of output shaft horsepower. Thusly, lock-on at the required synchronous speed cannot be obtained. Furthermore, without suitable means for allowing lock-off from the power grid, the power turbine would reach undesirable overspeed conditions.
Accordingly, the parent aircraft engine could be further modified by replacing the original VBVs with suitably larger VBVs for bleeding additional compressed air from the booster compressor, and the VIGVs may also be modified for closing even further the inlet to the booster compressor for further reducing airflow through the booster compressor. However, this is generally undesirable since it requires additional structural changes to the parent engine, and undesirable pressure and temperature distortions in the compressed airflow channeled to the core engine may be created.
In the exemplary engine described above, the required flow area of the VBVs would have to be increased twice as large as the original flow area for reducing the output shaft horsepower to a substantially zero value for allowing lock-on of the generator to the electrical grid. Substantially zero output shaft horsepower means that amount of horsepower required for overcoming windage losses and other loads of rotating the electrical generator rotor prior to the production of electrical power therefrom. And, of course, the power turbine also provides additional horsepower through the first rotor for powering the booster compressor.
An additional problem associated with operating an aircraft-derived industrial engine for powering an electrical generator occurs during lock-off of the electrical generator when it is electrically disconnected from the power grid. In this situation, the output power of the engine is reduced to a minimum value, and, when the electrical generator is disconnected or locked-off from the power grid, the electrical load on the power turbine is eliminated. If the output shaft horsepower from the power turbine is too large, the power turbine will immediately overspeed, resulting in undesirable booster compressor stall, for example. Accordingly, in the lock-off condition, means must be provided for reducing the horsepower from the output shaft to substantially zero for preventing overspeed of the power turbine and resulting stall of the booster compressor.
Furthermore, during a full power emergency stopcock, the low pressure rotor system including the power turbine and the electrical generator coasts down in speed very slowly relative to the core engine and can cause booster compressor stall. Thus, during unfired rolldown, it is desirable that the power turbine not extract power from the flow field so that the low pressure rotor system decelerates faster for reducing the possibility of booster stall.

Gas turbine engine for controlling stall margin


An MRAM that is not subject to accidental writing of half-selected memory elements is described, together with a method for its manufacture. The key features of this MRAM are a C-shaped memory element used in conjunction with a segmented bit line architecture.

Magnetic tunneling junctions (MTJs) and GMR/Spin Valve (SV), with two ferromagnetic layers separated by a non-magnetic layer (a tunneling dielectric layer for MTJs and a transitional metal for GMR/SV), have been widely studied for use as a memory element (such as in MRAM). Usually one of the ferromagnetic layers has a fixed magnetization direction (the pinned layer) while the other layer is free to switch its magnetization direction (the free layer).
For MRAM applications, the magnetic stack (MTJ or GMR/SV) is usually shaped so as to exhibit shape anisotropy. Shape anisotropy is present whenever the shape of the storage element deviates from a circle, e.g. an ellipse. In its quiescent state, the free layer magnetization lies along the long axis of the cell either parallel or anti-parallel to the direction of magnetization of the pinned layer (see arrows in FIG. 1a). This long axis is referred to as the easy axis (x), the direction perpendicular to it being the hard axis (y). A cross sectional view of this for the case of a MTJ element is shown in FIG. 1b, with element 11 representing the free layer, element 12 the dielectric tunneling layer, and element 13 the pinned layer.
Digital information is thus stored according to the direction of magnetization of the free layer. FIG. 2 shows the resistance R of such a MTJ element as a function of external field Hs along the orientation of the pinned layer magnetization. When the field is off, the two states with minimum and maximum resistances correspond to the free layer magnetization being parallel and anti-parallel to the pinned layer magnetization respectively. The field required to switch between the two states (Hs) is determined by the shape anisotropy energy of the element. When an additional external field is simultaneously applied in the hard axis direction at the same time, the value of Hs is reduced, becoming zero when the hard axis field reaches a particular value (Hy_sat).
In MRAM applications, both the external fields used to program the MRAM cell are provided by current lines. As shown in FIG. 3a, bit line 31 provides the easy axis field while word line 32 provides the hard axis field. To program a cell, both bit and word line currents are applied. The combination of these two fields overcomes the shape anisotropy to set the magnetization of the selected cell into the desired direction. This cell is referred to as a selected cell. Due to process/film property variations, there will be some variation in the shape anisotropy so the combined value of bit/word line fields needed to write each selected cell also varies. To reliably write all selected memory cells, the bitline and wordline current (shown in the figure as Ibit and Iword, respectively) have to have been chosen to be able to write the cell will highest shape anisotropy.
However, while writing the selected cell, many other cells that lie under the bit line or the word line (but not both) that are not intended to be programmed experience the field of either the bit or word line current. Although this field is smaller than the combined field experienced by the selected cell, these cells can still be accidentally programmed, thereby causing an error. These cells are referred to as half-select cells. The probability of a half-selected cell being accidentally written depends on the value of the applied bitline or wordline current, Hs and Hy_Sat, the higher the bit/word line current and the smaller the Hs or Hy_sat, the easier it is for a half-select error to occur. Again, there are variations in Hs and Hy_sat. So the values of both the bit and word currents must be carefully chosen—too low and the selected cell cannot be reliably programmed, too high and they will cause errors on half-selected cells.
The window for programming an MRAM is determined by 3 boundaries: the combined field from both bit and word lines needed to reliably write the selected cells, the distance between the bit line field and the smallest Hs at which Iword=0, and the distance between the word line field and the smallest Hy_sat. It is crucial to have a window large enough for the reliable programming of selected cells yet small enough to not cause half-select errors. The window can be enlarged by increasing the shape anisotropy value but this approach demands higher bit and word currents which is not desirable for high density applications.
An alternative approach (U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,798,690B1 and 6,798,691 B1) is to increase Hs at Iword=0 while maintaining Hs at Iword, by confining the free layer magnetization configuration to the "C-state". The method to achieve this is by patterning the MTJ cell into certain curved shapes. The "C-state" will have much higher Hs, as described by Ref.[1]. As shown in FIG. 4, Hs for a small hard axis field, is significantly greater in the C-switching mode 44 than in the conventional rotational switching mode. In the high hard axis field region, the switching behavior of the C-state returns to the normal rotational mode. Thus, for C-state cells, the distance between the bit line field and the smallest Hs at Iword=0 is significantly increased. Note that FIG. 3b also shows a pair of lines (current source/sink) shared by both segments. Also shown in FIG. 3b is the enable gate that activates these lines as needed.
This approach will significantly reduce the probability of half-select errors under the bit line. The programming window now is mainly defined by the writing field needed to write the selected cell and the distance between the word line field and the smallest Hy_sat. The MRAM write operating points, 41 and 42, for these two prior art approaches are set near the inflection point 43 of the curves, as indicated in FIG. 4. The problem with this operating point is that the inflection point at which the switching mode changes from C-state to normal rotational switching, has a very wide distribution, as indicated by the dashed curves in FIG. 4. This causes significantly increased variation in the field needed to write the selected cells, which greatly reduces the operating window.
Another approach to handling half-select issues along bit and word line is the segmented write architecture (U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,335,890 and 6,490,217). This is illustrated in FIG. 3b. It provides a technique for overcoming the limitations of conventional write selection schemes. By way of example only, a write operation directed to a specific segmented group, e.g., 334 in FIG. 3b will now be described:
Select line memory array 300 directs the application of a destabilizing hard axis magnetic field to a subset of memory cells, namely, those memory cells associated with segmented group 334. All memory elements 342, 344 within the selected segmented group 334 are written simultaneously. An unselected segmented group (e.g., 336), sharing a common write word line 386 with segmented group 334, does not receive a half-select field along its hard axis even when the group select switch (e.g., 376) corresponding to the unselected segmented group 336 is enabled. This is primarily due to the fact that only one segmented bit slice among adjacent segmented bit slices, e.g., segmented bit slices N and N+1, can receive a destabilizing write current at any given time.
Consequently, the magnitude of the hard axis field can be increased with no danger of disturbing the state of an unselected memory cell. Since all memory cells experiencing a hard axis field will, by definition, be written simultaneously, there are no half-selected memory cells along the word dimension using the segment write architecture.
The operating point 45 for a selected memory cell in the segmented write architecture is also shown in FIG. 4. Seen there is a plot of the required switching field as a function of the hard axis field (both normalized by being shown as fractions of the saturation field Hy_sat). On this part of the operating curve, the magnitude of the easy axis field (used to write the selected cell) can be substantially decreased. The write margin between selected and half-selected cells is significantly increased. Moreover, because a large easy axis field is not required by the select line architecture of the invention, the bit line current required to write the memory cells can be significantly reduced, thereby reducing the overall write current required by the memory array 300.
An example of a C-shape is shown by FIG. 5a. The free layer magnetizations at the two tip regions have been arranged to be at an angle to its central region, tilted toward its hard axis direction with the magnetization components perpendicular to the hard axis located opposite to each other. The tip regions serve as the nucleation sites for inducing the C switching. The angle of a tip region with respect to the central region can be varied from 10 to greater than 90 degree.
In addition to the references cited above, the following references of interest were also found:
U.S. Pat. No. 6,272,040 (Salter et al) shows a method to program more than one coupled memory cell using a medium current level. U.S. Pat. No. 6,594,191 (Lammers et al) teaches that only memory cells in a selected segment get a hard axis high field. U.S. Pat. No. 7,020,015 (Hong et al) shows shape anisotropy with edge or tip portions in the "pacman" shape.


A recording medium having a substrate and an ink-receiving layer formed on the substrate is provided by (a) dissolving a plurality of organic compounds in a first solvent which is a good solvent in common for all of the organic compounds to form a solution, applying the solution onto a substrate and evaporating the first solvent off to form an ink-receiving layer, and then (b) applying onto the ink-receiving layer a second solvent which is a poor solvent for at least one of the organic compounds and is a good solvent for the rest of the organic compounds and evaporating the second solvent off.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for producing a recording medium such as ink jet recording paper. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method for producing a recording medium onto which a large amount of ink is to be applied per unit area such as in full color image formation at a high density and a high speed, the recording medium being superior in ink adsorptivity and anti-blocking property, exhibiting extremely little curling, and giving stable images even after long-time storage under a high humidity condition.


There is described a method for increasing the maximal tolerated dose and thus the efficacy of an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor (AChEI) in a patient suffering from an Alzheimer type dementia by decreasing concomitant adverse effects by administration of said AChEI in combination with a non-anticholinergic antiemetic agent, whereby an enhanced acetylcholinesterase inhibition in the CNS of said patient is achieved and alleviation of the symptoms of Alzheimer type dementia in said patient is thereby improved to a greater extent. The use of a non-anticholinergic antiemetic agent for the preparation of a pharmaceutical composition for the treatment of Alzheimer type dementia in combination with an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor (AChEI) and pharmaceutical compositions comprising (a) a 5HT3 receptor antagonist, a dopamine antagonist, a H1-receptor antagonist, a cannabinoid agonist, aprepitant or casopitant as an antiemetic agent and (b) an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor are also described.

Dementias of the Alzheimer type include, but are not limited to Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease dementia, and related maladies in humans involving cognitive and behavioral dysfunction such as Lewy body dementia. Most are chronic neurodegenerative disorders of the human central nervous system (CNS) characterized by progressive cognitive impairment, a variety of neurobehavioral and/or neuropsychiatric disturbances, and restrictions in activities of daily living.
Alzheimer's disease is the most common form of dementia. Prevalence studies indicated that in 2000 there were about 25 million persons with Alzheimer's disease worldwide and this number is expected to increase to 114 million by 2050 unless an effective preventive or neuroprotective therapy emerges. Onset usually occurs in those over age 65. Clinical signs include progressive cognitive loss and other associated neurobehavioral disabilities together with a declining capability of performing the activities of daily living.
The basic cause of sporadic Alzheimer's disease is not known, probably because the disease is heterogeneous and involves age-related changes together with a complex interaction of genetic and environmental risk factors. Current hypotheses advanced to explain the pathophysiology of Alzheimer's disease center on the putative deleterious effects of the two misfolded and aggregated proteins, extracellular beta amyloid and intracellular tau. Presumably, as a consequence of the selective neurodegenerative process, the synthesis of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine declines. This reduction undoubtedly interferes with normal synaptic transmission in brain. Drugs that act to correct the acetylcholine deficiency thus constitute the mainstay of current therapy.
Dementias of the Alzheimer type also include cognitive impairments associated with Parkinson's disease. One example is Parkinson's disease dementia, also a chronic progressive CNS degenerative disorder with relatively late life onset. Parkinson's disease itself primarily affects motor function. But secondary symptoms include cognitive deterioration, especially deficits in executive function.
Another dementia of the Alzheimer type that is commonly linked to Parkinson's disease is known as dementia with Lewy bodies or Lewy body dementia. Although Lewy body dementia is now generally regarded as a separate disease, differentiation from Alzheimer's disease and from Parkinson's disease dementia may be clinically challenging. Lewy body dementia thus tends to be under-diagnosed or misdiagnosed as Alzheimer's disease or Parkinson's disease dementia. The clinical presentation of Lewy body dementia is typically one of cortical and subcortical cognitive impairment, with visuospatial and executive dysfunction more pronounced than in Alzheimer's disease. Core clinical features of Lewy body dementia, in addition to parkinsonism, are cognitive decline plus fluctuations in attention and recurrent visual hallucinations.
Both Parkinson's disease dementia and Lewy body dementia are characterized neuropathologically by the presence of cortical Lewy body pathology and synuclein protein deposition. Genetic factors appear to play a role in pathogenesis. Not surprisingly, the pathology of Parkinson's disease dementia and Lewy body dementia is heterogeneous and overlapping, often intermixed with changes of the Alzheimer and vascular types. A reduction in brain acetylcholine-mediated neurotransmission has been linked to the primary clinical abnormalities found in both these disorders and drugs acting to stimulate cholinergic transmission now constitute the main approach to therapy.
In addition to the aforementioned disorders, the off label administration of drugs that augment CNS cholinergic transmission for various other cognitive disorders is widespread. Some of this use involves cognitive disorders for which relatively little clear evidence of cholinergic dysfunction currently exists. Nevertheless, an increasing number of clinical studies now support a rational extension of AChEI treatment to various additional disorders of cognitive function, including but not limited to, vascular dementia, Down syndrome, traumatic brain injury and mild cognitive impairment.
As noted above, reduced levels of neurotransmitters including acetylcholine have been reported in dementias of the Alzheimer type and related disorders. In particular, a deficit in acetylcholine-mediated transmission is thought to contribute to the cognitive and certain of the neurobehavioral abnormalities associated with these disorders. Accordingly, drugs known to augment cholinergic transmission in the CNS are widely used in therapy.
AChEIs are now part of the standard care for patients suffering from a dementia of the Alzheimer type and are widely used off label for various other chronic progressive disorders of cognitive function. AChEIs have the enhancement of acetylcholine-mediated neurotransmission as a general mechanism of action. All act in the human CNS to increase and prolong the availability of acetylcholine by inhibiting its degradatory enzyme acetylcholinesterase. Four AChEIs have been approved by the U.S. FDA for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease and for Parkinson's disease dementia: tacrine, donepezil [Aricept®], rivastigmine [Exelon®] and galantamine [Razadyne®]. AChEIs are available in various formulations including immediate release forms such as tablets, capsules and solutions as well as rapid dissolving and extended release forms for oral administration as well as those for parenteral (e.g. transdermal) administration.
For example, phenserine is administered in 15 mg tablets and is used at a daily dose of 30 mg, tacrine is administered, as hydrochloride, in capsules containing 10, 20, or 40 mg/capsule and is used at recommended daily dosages of from 40 to 160 mg (divided into 4 doses); donepezil is administered, as hydrochloride in IR forms, in tablets containing 5 or 10 mg/tablet and is used at recommended daily dosages of from 5 to 10 mg; rivastigmine is administered in capsules containing the tartrate in amounts corresponding to 1.5, 3, 4.5 or 6 mg of rivastigmine base, as an oral solution containing the tartrate corresponding to 2 mg of rivastigmine base and in the form of a transdermal patch releasing rivastigmine at 4.6 mg/24 hours or 9.5 mg/24 hours, the recommended daily dosage for the IR forms being of from 6 to 12 mg, divided into 2 doses and the maximal recommended patch dose being 9.5 mg/24 hours; galantamine, as hydrobromide, is administered in ER capsules containing the equivalent of 8 mg, 16 mg or 24 mg of galantamine base, in IR tablets containing 5.126, 10.253, or 15.379 mg of galantamine hydrobromide corresponding to 4 mg, 8 mg and 12 mg, respectively, of galantamine base and as a 4 mg/ml oral solution, the recommended daily dosage being from 16 mg to 32 mg, although, in the United States, the maximum recommended daily dose has been reduced to 24 mg divided into 2 doses; and huperzine A is administered in 50 μg IR tablets, the maximum recommended daily dosage being 450 mg.
Other AChEIs, in particular tacrine analogs, such as ipidacrine; phenserine analogs; icopezil; and zanapezil are under evaluation.
Augmentation of cholinergic transmission in the CNS by currently available AChEIs confers therapeutic benefit to patients with Alzheimer type dementias. Therapeutic efficacy can be measured by the degree of improvement in cognitive dysfunction and other neurobehavioral abnormalities associated with these disorders using standardized scales.
Unfortunately, however, none of the currently available cholinomimetic medications offers more than modest clinical benefit for some patients suffering from any of the aforementioned dementing disorders, even when these medications are administered at their maximum safe and tolerated doses. This is the first problem limiting the success of current AChEI therapy of Alzheimer type dementias.
Carefully conducted clinical trials of donepezil at a dose of 5 mg to 10 mg per day (Rogers et al., Neurology 1998, 50, 136-45; Winblad et al. Neurology. 2001 Aug. 14; 57(3):489-95), rivastigmine at doses of 1 mg to 4 mg and 6 mg to 12 mg per day (Rösler et al., Brit. Med. J. 1999, 318, 633-38; Farlow et al. Eur. Neurol., 2000, 44, 236-41) and galantamine at doses ranging between 8 mg to 32 mg per day, usually between 16 mg to 24 mg per day (Raskind et al., Neurology, 2000, 54, 2261-68; Tariot et al., Neurology, 2000, 54, 2269-76) in patients with dementias of the Alzheimer type demonstrated small, but statistically significant, benefits on cognitive and global measures relevant to dementia. The magnitude of the effect in pivotal clinical trials was on the order of a 2.8 point improvement on the 70-point cognitive subscale of the Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale (ADAS-Cog), or 1-1.5 point improvement on the 30-point Mini-Mental Status Examination (MMSE) compared to placebo over six months. Differences in global measures assessed by the 7-point Clinician Interview-Based Impression of Change scale (CIBIC) were on the order of 0.3-0.5 points in patients receiving an AChEI compared to those receiving placebo. Efficacy was similar for the three commonly used AChEIs. AChEIs also appear to have a beneficial effect on the behavioral and neuropsychiatric symptoms in patients with Alzheimer type dementias. More recently, rivastigmine was given open-label to patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) at an initial dose of 1.5 mg twice a day and the dose was increased after 4 weeks to 3 mg twice daily, after 8 weeks to 4.5 mg twice daily and after 12 weeks to a maximal dose of 6 mg twice daily by trying, between weeks 12 and 26 of the trial, to keep the dose of rivastigmine constant at the maximal tolerated dose. According to the Authors, rivastigmine may improve the cognitive functions in PD patients with dementia with no worsening of motor function. (Giladi et al., Acta Neurol Scand 2003, 108, 368-373).
A second problem limiting the success of current AChEI therapy of Alzheimer type dementias is that, even at recommended amounts, all these drugs produce dose limiting adverse reactions. These side effects commonly include, for the aforementioned AChEIs tacrine, donepezil, rivastigmine and galantamine: anorexia, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain and weight loss (Physicians Desk Reference 2008, Thomson PDR, Montvale, N.J.).
The most frequently reported adverse effects of rivastigmine, for example, are gastrointestinal, especially nausea. About half of patients who take this drug in the recommended therapeutic oral dose range of 6-12 mg/day become nauseated and about one-third vomit at least once. Vomiting was severe in 2% of rivastigmine-treated patients and was mild or moderate in 14%. Five percent of patients discontinued rivastigmine because of vomiting, compared to less than 1% on placebo. A loss of appetite was reported by 17% of patients, and weight declined in 25% during rivastigmine therapy (averaging 7 to 10 pounds). Presumably, the drug-induced anorexia, nausea and vomiting contribute to the observed weight loss. These untoward gastrointestinal effects, as well as others occurring with AChEI treatment, make it difficult to increase rivastigmine dosage above 6 mg daily in most patients.
Adverse events significantly reduce the safety and tolerability of AChEI therapy. Attempts to limit them in clinical practice now rely on initiating treatment with a low dose and then escalating the dose slowly. Nevertheless, in current clinical practice, AChEI dosage is guided mainly by side effects and not by therapeutic effects in contrast to most drugs used in the treatment of neuropsychiatric disease. The administration of higher doses than recommended doses tends to increase the frequency and severity of these side effects as well as introduce additional kinds of adverse reactions. These include those generally found with high dose administration of cholinomimetics. In view of the frequency and potential severity of these high dose adverse effects, maximum recommended oral doses of AChEIs are rarely intentionally exceeded in clinical practice.
It is reported that recommended maximal dose levels, intended as the recommended maximal daily doses, of these drugs typically achieve only about 45% acetylcholinesterase inhibition in the CNS of Alzheimer disease patients (Brannan S et al. ACNP 46th Annual Meeting, Program No. 4. Boca Raton Fla., Dec. 10, 2007—"Brannan 2007") and that inhibition of acetylcholinesterase activity and cognitive improvement are significantly correlated (Giacobini et al. J Neural Transm. 2002 July; 109(7-8):1053-65) and that, ordinarily, a higher degree of enzyme blockade must be attained for maximum functional effect (Jann et al., Clin Pharmacokinet. 2002; 41(10):719-39—"January 2002").
On the other hand, doubling the dose of rivastigmine, which became clinically practical when AChEI administration by immediate release tablets was replaced by skin patches, which diminished side effects by blunting peak blood levels, significantly increased the amount of cognitive improvement in patients with Alzheimer's disease without increasing side effects.
By virtue of being dose limiting, these adverse effects also constrain the efficacy of AChEI therapy. Studies in animal models of human cognitive dysfunction indicate a direct dose-response relation between the amount of esterase inhibition and the degree of cognitive improvement (Bennett B M et al., Neuropsychopharmacology. 2007 March; 32(3):505-13). Similar conclusions have been drawn regarding AChEI effects on cognitive and behavioral symptoms in human patients with Alzheimer's disease (Jann 2002; Winblad B, Cummings J, Andreasen N, Grossberg G, Onofij M, Sadowsky C, Zechner S, Nagel J, Lane R. Int J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2007 May; 22(5):456-67).
The precise causes of the vomiting and related gastrointestinal symptoms induced by AChEI therapy are not known. Presumably, they reflect the cholinergic receptor hyperstimulation attending AChEI administration. Vomiting is coordinated in a center located at the base of the brain. The vomiting center communicates with the nearby chemoreceptor trigger zone, whose stimulation can lead to such complaints of gastrointestinal distress as anorexia, nausea and vomiting. The chemoreceptor trigger zone, which contains numerous serotonin 5-HT3 and dopamine D2 receptors as well as those for acetylcholine, opioids and substance P, lies outside the blood-brain barrier. Systemically administered antiemetics acting at these or related transmitter receptor sites can thus inhibit vomiting even if unable to enter the CNS.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Method and composition for treating alzheimer-type dementia


A hose connector comprises (a) a tubular nipple comprising one end insertable into an end of a hose, the one end defining an annular shallow recess of a depth of 0.2 mm to 0.8 mm, the shallow recess being delimited by a flat bottom and two shoulders defining sharp edges and extending substantially perpendicularly to the cylindrical surface of the tubular nipple whereby a linear pressure is exerted upon a hose whereinto the one tubular nipple end is inserted, (b) a collar concentrically surrounding the one tubular nipple end, (c) a sleeve concentrically surrounding the one tubular nipple end and threadedly connected to the collar, the collar and the sleeve defining an annular groove for receiving the hose end, a portion of the internal collar wall frusto-conically diverging towards the sleeve, and an end of the sleeve facing the frusto-conically diverging internal collar wall portion forming an annular abutment, the conically diverging internal collar wall portion and the annular abutment defining an annular chamber, and (d) at least one toroidal coil spring arranged in the annular chamber opposite the annular shallow recess, the annular abutment having an outer diameter that is slightly larger than a median diameter of the coil spring in a radially tensionless state.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a hose connector, and in particular to a hose connector specially adapted for use with soft-walled hoses.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Hose connectors for such use have been disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,167,331, British patent No. 960,436, German patent No. 1,072,028 and German utility models Nos. 18 24 206 and 296 05 218, whose registration dates have been published but which are not printed publications.
In these hose connectors, compression coil springs are bent into an annular shape for use as tensioning elements to form a toroidal coil spring. Common to the enumerated disclosures is the principle that a divergent internal conical wall of a collar surrounding an end of a hose into which a tubular nipple is inserted radially presses the toroidal coil spring arranged between the conical collar wall and the hose end against the hose end and thus firmly holds the hose end on the inserted tubular nipple when a sleeve is threadedly connected to the collar. According to German utility model No. 18 24 206, the tubular nipple end inserted into the hose has shallow grooves delimited by rounded shoulders merging into the smooth circumferential surface of the tubular nipple end. The rounded groove shoulders do not contribute to the fluid-tightness of the connector and are provided apparently to facilitate pulling the hose end, which is under pressure, off the nipple.
Although some of these disclosures go back to the 1950s and 1960s and appear to provide ideal and simple fixing devices, they have not found a commercial market. This may be explained by recent tests (see German utility model No. 296 05 218) showing that the known screwed-together hose connectors are not sufficiently fluid-tight and the hose end cannot be readily pulled off these connectors. In addition, the toroidal coil spring is only radially pressed against the hose end, which means that radial resistance of the hose material is rapidly encountered when the collar and sleeve are screwed together so that it cannot be readily felt whether the end of the hose actually is sufficiently firmly held on the nipple.
In all the hose connectors of this general type, it was apparently assumed that pressing the hose end against the inserted tubular nipple end will automatically assure sufficient fluid-tightness and, at the same time, that orienting the internal conical wall portion of the collar so that it diverges in the direction of pulling the hose end over the nipple end will assure that the toroidal coil spring is ever more firmly wedged against the hose end as it tends to pull off the nipple end, which makes it unnecessary to impart a special profile to the tubular nipple end to prevent a tendency of the hose end to be pulled off the nipple end.


A CMOS integrated circuit structure with planarized self-aligned transistors and local planarization in the vicinity of the transistors so as to allow an interconnect, with a planar upper surface, which is free of bridging, has good continuity over the planarized topography and is compatible with self-alignment schemes, hence conserving chip real estate. The structure is compatible with planarization using BPSG, BPTEOS, SOG or CMP. After formation of self-aligned insulated transistor gates and active transistor regions, a "landing pad" is formed on the substrate at the buried contact and polyiso contact locations so as to allow more effective etching at the exact location of the buried contact and polyiso contact. Then the integrated circuit structure is locally planarized by formation of an oxide layer and a reflowed overlying glass layer. The glass layer is etched back to planarize the surface. Then using a polyiso mask, portions of the glass layer and underlying oxide, landing pad, and nitride layers are removed in the area of a gate contact. Then using a buried contact mask, portions of the glass layer and underlying oxide, landing pad, and oxide layers are removed only in the area of the buried contact. Then a combined horizontal and vertical interconnect, with a planar upper surface, is formed to electrically connect the buried contact to the gate.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a self-aligned contact and interconnect structure, and method for making same, for use in integrated circuits and particularly in CMOS integrated circuits, having broad applicability in both memory and logic products. More specifically, the invention relates to integrated circuit multi-layer local interconnections where the transistors are self-aligned and a relatively thick planarization layer is formed over the entire surface of the substrate.
2. Description of The Prior Art
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,166,771 (incorporated herein by reference) issued Nov. 24, 1992 and entitled "Self-Aligning Contact and Interconnect Structure", Norman Godinho et al. describe a self-aligned contact structure which allows for high packing density (i.e., more transistors per unit area) of integrated circuits without forcing the production process to finer line geometries and hence higher cost.
The self-aligning source and drain contacts described therein overlap the gate electrode, without shorting the source or the drain to the gate electrode. This overlapping also allows for a looser alignment tolerance requirement thus allowing a smaller size transistor.
Contacts to the polycrystalline silicon ("polysilicon") gate are made on top of the gate region over the active channel, because the source and drain regions are protected by a hardened layer of photoresist during etching of the insulation to expose the gate contact. This allows a reduction in the size of the field of the device which saves valuable silicon area and allows a higher packing density to be obtained in a given integrated circuit.
In one embodiment a layer of titanium silicide covered by a thin film of titanium nitride is formed on the exposed source, drain and polysilicon gate contacts. The silicided areas are formed only in selected locations.
The second layer of polysilicon is deposited and patterned to form local interconnects. The etching process to define the local interconnects does not attack the exposed underlying silicided source, drain and gate contacts in the interconnects. Therefore, the polysilicon local interconnect layer is not required to completely cover and protect the source, drain and gate contacts in the interconnects, reducing alignment tolerance and saving space.
However, this patent (and other well known prior art using self-alignment without surface planarization and high topography) faces the typical problem that as an integrated circuit layout area is reduced it becomes more difficult to ensure a stringer-free (without local bridging) interconnect. This is because of the relatively tight gaps created. Current planarization techniques require the layout area to be enlarged, to allow the local interconnects to make contact to the underlying conductors. This is because as the valleys (for instance between the gate structures) are filled with a planarizing dielectric, it becomes difficult to make electrical contact to the bottoms of the valleys while simultaneously extending the electrical contacts to the tops of the gate structures, without sacrificing semiconductor fabrication process margin.
It is possible to form a self-aligned transistor using relatively small layout areas using interconnects through a thin isolation layers. However, problematically in such a case the surface is not planar due to the relatively thin dielectric, and this results in a relatively high topology, i.e. the gate structures are relatively high steps above the semiconductor substrate surface. In this case when relatively narrow interconnect lines are formed there is frequently a problem with bridging, in that stringers are left on the steps overlying the gate structures. The extreme over etches needed to remove such stringers often undesirably break the continuity of the local interconnect lines.
Therefore, with most prior art self-alignment techniques it is almost impossible to use a thick planarizing dielectric, because such a thick dielectric reduces the process margins, causing one conductor to undesirably contact another conductor in spite of the self-alignment. (In this case, typically a thin planarization dielectric is approximately 1000 to 1500 .ANG. thickness or less, and a thick dielectric is anything greater in thickness.)
Thus in the prior art, local planarization for transistor fabrication is contradictory to self-alignment schemes. It would be desirable to combine the two so as to achieve both the relative economy of self-alignment techniques which reduce the number of masking steps, with the advantages of a planarized surface which allows formation of relatively tight pitched narrow interconnect lines. Planarization is important because it overcomes the continuity problems caused by severe (non-planar) topography, such as varying resistance across a vertical step portions during implantation and poor coverage over a vertical step during silicidization (such as of titanium) or any sputtered metal layer. This combination of self-alignment and local planarization is especially important in semiconductor fabrication techniques using multi-layer local interconnections below the first major and middle interconnect layer, such as used in a planarized BPSG (boro-phosphosilicate glass) or SOG (spun on glass) or CMP (chemically mechanically polished) planarized surface.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,340,774 (incorporated herein by reference) issued Aug. 23, 1994 and entitled "Semiconductor Fabrication Technique Using Local Planarization with Self-Aligned Transistors", Ting-Pwu Yen describes formation of self-aligned transistors while providing local planarization of the surface of the integrated circuit over the self-aligned transistors. This disclosure provides partial planarization by using an oxide layer and planarizing filler layer, such as reflowed BPSG, over the substrate surface and over the gate structures. The filler layer is etched down to the oxide layer but remains in the valleys between gate structures to planarize the area around a transistors. A polysilicon layer is then formed over the planarized surface. Then portions of the polysilicon and filler layer are removed with an additional polysilicon masking step to allow a buried contact to connect with the active regions of the transistors. Then a polysilicon isolation mask is used to allow contact to the gate structure. Since the filler layer has planarized the area between the buried contact and the gate structure, local interconnects can be formed free of bridging in self-alignment schemes.
However, this method provides only partial local planarization so that additional layers above the local interconnect will suffer the problems described above. In addition the process described in Yen requires an additional masking step which would increase the cost of fabricating ICs using this process. Furthermore, the buried contact region formed through the filler layer is narrow and deep; therefore, it is difficult to make adequate contact to the active regions of the transistors. Consequently, the local interconnect may have a high resistance at that junction.

Semiconductor device with a planarized interconnect with poly-plug and self-aligned contacts


The Hybrid Energy System is a business network with utility company headquarters employing several hybrid energy power generating methods which integrate to work together onsite thus producing substantially more energy power onsite-at businesses, factories, buildings and infrastructure, offshore aqueducts, and vessels. The hybrid utility service vehicles recycle, deliver and consigns surplus power. An assortment of unique electric generating devices include; wind turbine array integrated with PV solar panels sited on a tower, an array of hydroelectric turbine valves, and hydro-piezoelectric pipeline systems. various offshore power producing vessels do business with on shore utility grid companies ship to rent or sell hybrid energy battery containers for consignment locations, as well the grid connected mega ship comprising an off shore grid transmission control system which shunts net electrical energy underground sea to shore via a large scale cable network system which distributes extra power to on shore applications accordingly for profit, and also shunts extra electric energy to other off shore vessels for profit, and vessels can dock inland and dock off coastline to shunt net power to utility grid companies and ship hybrid energy battery containers to consignment locations globally.

1. Field of the invention
The present disclosure relates to a hybrid energy system comprising collaborating kinetic energy turbine systems, turbine valves and pipes, solar power and piezoelectric devices which generate substantially more electricity at the same site, and also employs network controllers to manage the electricity power on site and off site accordingly.
2. Description of the Related Art
As related art discloses, it is generally well known that there are wind turbines, hydroelectric turbines, piezoelectric systems and solar energy systems that are placed accordingly at a setting to generate electricity power. For example, related art discusses an assortment of electric energy generating devices to work together on site which is sensible to reduce waste and carbon pollution.
The present hybrid energy system employs an assortment of electric energy generating devices to work together on the same site thereby generating substantially more power AC/DC power for on site location use.
A Hybrid Energy System or ("HES") utilities headquarter mainframe is to manage renewable energy power generated by sited components. Via satellite telecommunications the HES network mainframe manages system operations at preferred site's such as; business, factories, hospitals and as well homes, buildings and infrastructure, and off shore aqueducts, as well as mobile site vessels and hybrid utility service vehicles that recycle, deliver and sell HES surplus power.
Furthermore, the HES power control system manages components on a preferred location site which comprises an assortment electric generating devices, renewable energy PV solar panels set above wind turbines array integrate and set on a tower, an array of hydro hydroelectric turbine array and valves integrate with hydro-piezoelectric pipeline systems. The HES system controllers with sensor array manage the integrated devices at the preferred site produce surplus electricity power for use, consignment and to shunt surplus energy power to the grid via on and offshore transmission cable network.


A portable curing cell assembly is provided for storing tobacco for curing, the curing cell assembly may comprise a kit of component parts capable of being easily assembled and disassembled in the field. The curing cell assembly includes a frame structure which defines at least one storage bay through which an elevating trailer can be transported. Tobacco rod holding members are provided disposed longitudinally along the side of the storage bay so that tobacco laden tobacco rods can be suspended from the holding members across the storage bay. A roof is disposed across and above the storage bay, the roof being supported generally by the frame structure as a predetermined height above the tobacco rod holding members. Tobacco rod maintaining members are provided in place along the top of the tobacco rod holding members so that the tobacco rods extending across the storage bays are generally parallel relative each other and maintained in that position for subsequent retransfer to the elevating trailer once the tobacco has cured. Guiding and aligning rails are provided to positively guiding the elevating trailer through the storage bays.

The present invention relates to a curing cell for storing burley tobacco for curing and more particularly to an apparatus and method for assembling a portable curing cell assembly having holding means for storing a plurality of tobacco laden tobacco rods.
Burley tobacco plants grow as relatively tall stalks with the tobacco leaves growing radially out from the stalks. Typically, when the burley tobacco stalks are cut down, the widest portion (bottom of the stalk) of the main stem is manually skewered onto a stake or rod which has a sharpened point affixed or attached at one end thereto. Generally, the rods are about five or six feet long, and about five or six different stalks are threaded onto each stake. After the threading process, the stakes would then be transported to wooden curing sheds for curing the tobacco.
The tobacco rods or stakes were usually suspended in levels or tiers within the curing sheds, generally three or four tiers of tobacco stakes would be hung within any single curing shed. The stakes were fairly tightly packed within the curing shed and this condition necessitated a relatively long time for curing the tobacco.
The tobacco stakes were either carried to the curing sheds by workers or loaded onto trailers and driven to the curing sheds. Once at the sheds, the stakes were manually transferred to the supports within the curing shed. Mechanical means, such as the tobacco stick elevator disclosed by Arnold U.S. Pat. No. 3,580,386, may have been used to raise the tobacco sticks to their appropriate tiers within the curing shed where they would then be manually transferred to racks within the curing shed.
In general, the conventional process of harvesting burley tobacco and hanging it in curing sheds is a fairly labor intensive operation requiring a number of workers and a permanent curing shed structure. Also, the further the tobacco field is located from the curing shed, the more equipment, time, and manpower is expended in preparing the tobacco for curing.
References related to roofed structures in general which may be of interest to the present invention include U.S. Pat. No. 3,330,080 to Grieb et al., U.S. Pat. No. 2,988,810 to Wilken, U.S. Pat. No. 2,832,362 to Critoph, U.S. Pat. No. 4,676,032 to Jutras, U.S. Pat. No. 715,185 to Warner, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,777,425 to Le Bourgeois. U.S. Pat. No. 4,258,154 to St. Clair discloses a method and means for anchoring a dismountable building by means of earth penetrating members. U.S. Pat. No. 4,649,678 to Lamson, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,279,133 to De Korte pertain to boundary markers in general.