A blow molding die includes a housing, and a mandrel with a core integrated therewith, combined to form a vertically extending annular melt passage communicating with a hole formed at its top portion for feeding a plasticized resin melt from an extruder, and terminating at die lips formed at its free bottom end. The mandrel has a pair or grooves symmetrical relative to its axis, formed at its peripheral surface so as to have hanger type profiles in its front developed view, and connecting to each other at lower ends thereof. The feed hole opens to the symmetrical hanger type grooves at top and central points thereof. Each groove has an arced surface and a cross-sectional area decreasing in a direction from the top and central point to the lower end. A single circumferential dam is formed at the peripheral mandrel surface below the grooves, and a pair of lower lands defined between the grooves and the dam are formed, while an upper land is formed above the grooves, so that the grooves are defined between the upper and lower lands and connect to the dam at the lower ends. The grooves, the lower lands and the dam have radial depths from a peripheral surface of the upper land, the lower land depth being smaller than the groove depth but larger than the dam depth over the entire periphery, while the upper land is sealingly fitted to an inner peripheral surface of the housing.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an improved die for use in blow molding, preferably with a resin that is a so-called "engineering plastic", for producing a parison having an elliptical annular profile, in a cross-sectional view, which parison is preferably blow molded to produce a hollow double wall type plastic article having a basically concave, convex or bowl shape or a panel shape with a hollow double wall.
2. Description of the Related Art
A typical conventional die for use in blow molding comprises a vertically extending tubular housing and an integrated combination of a mandrel and a core, mounted in the housing to thus define a peripheral space gap therebetween providing an annular and axial melt passage. The die has a feed hole for feeding the melt from an extruder, which hole communicates with the melt passage. The melt passage forms die lips defined by the core and the housing at a lower free end of the die, through which a parison of the melt is provided for the blow molding. The mandrel has the feed hole formed such that it has an inlet opening at a top end portion of the mandrel and is branched to form a pair of diametrically opposite outlet openings in the top end portion at a peripheral surface thereof.
The mandrel has a pair of grooves symmetrical relative to its axis, each having a curved upper edge of an upwardly convex form and a horizontally straight edge with a substantially flat bottom surface therebetween, in a developed front view of the mandrel, so that it has an arc or semi-circle type profile. The paired grooves are connected to and communicate with each other at their opposite lower ends, while the feed outlet openings communicate with the grooves at top and central points thereof, respectively. Each groove has an upper side surface arced in a cross-sectional view, which surface is defined between the upper edge and the bottom surface, and has a cross-sectional area decreasing in a direction from the top and central point toward each lower end. The mandrel has symmetrical isolated lands or islands formed in the flat grooves (which may be called "seas") immediately below the feed outlet openings at the top and central points, respectively, so that the melt from each feed outlet opening is divided into two streams at the island in the groove.
The mandrel has a circumferential flat land upwardly adjacent to the flat grooves at the upper edge thereof. This flat land and the paired islands are sealingly fitted to an inner peripheral surface of the housing.
The mandrel has multi-staged straight dams extending radially and peripherally for a downward melt flow with circumferential straight grooves defined therebetween. The melt passage is defined between a portion of a peripheral surface of the mandrel forming the grooves, the islands and the dams, and a corresponding portion of the inner peripheral surface of the housing.
The entire melt passage has an upper zone having a circular periphery, a lower elliptical periphery zone and an intermediate transitional zone therebetween. The lower elliptical zone is defined by a lower section of the mandrel and the core integrated therewith, and a lower section of the housing therebetween, and terminates at die lips which have an elliptical annular profile and open at a free lower end of the die.
The lower housing section and the core are replaceable parts to be connected to the upper housing section and the mandrel, respectively, and they are designed in respect of their profiles and sizes so that the melt is ejected from the die lips to form a parison having a desired profile and size for use in producing blow molded articles having a specific profile and size.
With the above conventional die, there are the following problems:
The die is required to have a pressure loss of the melt from the extruder to the die lips distributed over the entire periphery of the melt passage at the die lips as uniformly as possible, in order to obtain a parison having a desired profile and size as expected at a predetermined melt extrusion rate. In order to obtain such a desired parison, the upper circular melt passage zone must be provided so as to have a pressure loss of the melt from the extruder to a lower end of the upper zone distributed over the entire circular periphery of the upper zone at the lower end thereof as uniformly as possible. However, according to the conventional die, a degree of the uniformity of the pressure loss distribution is improved as the number of the multi-staged dams is increased, but it is noted that the increased number results in enlarging the die in respect of a vertical length thereof, and increasing the pressure loss per se. These results require an increased power extruder and an enlarged die, and thus are economically disadvantageous.
Further, even if the uniform distribution of the pressure loss in the upper melt passage zone is attained, this does not ensure that the pressure loss at the die lips is distributed uniformly, except for a case where the die lip profile is circular. Therefore, in a case of an elliptical die lip profile, it is required to design the core and the lower housing part so that they render the melt from the upper melt passage zone to be ejected from the die lips through the intermediate and lower melt passage zones with a uniform pressure loss at the die lips. Such a design is difficult and troublesome, and is required every time a desired parison is changed in respect of its profile and size. Further, an operation of exchanging the lower housing part is also troublesome, since such a part is generally heavy, relative to the core.
In a blow molding operation using a parison having a specific profile and size, there may often occur cases where a resin of a product is changed to another kind of material or the resin is the same but a color of the resin is changed. If such a resin change or resin color change is required, it is desired that an old resin remaining in the die be completely discharged by extruding a new resin melt through the die with amounts of the new resin being wasted and, time and load required in this transitional operation should be as low as possible. However, with the conventional die, the old melt is apt to remain in various local places in the melt passage of the die, particularly a place immediately below the islands, the lower ends of the flat grooves connected to each other, the straight grooves, and local portions of the inner peripheral surface of the housing with relatively large radial space gaps from the mandrel. In this regard, it is desired to improve the die so that such melt remaining portions in the die are diminished and/or the old melt can be completely discharged with decreased amounts of the wasted new melt, and the time and load required in such a transitional operation.


A tumbler-type key verification system including a tumbler-type key and a lock apparatus. The lock apparatus includes a support member, a movable member movable relative to the support member, tumblers which are biased by tumbler springs and are arranged to engage with the support member and the movable member, and a lock mechanism that reinforces the locking strength of the tumblers. The lock mechanism having a two-piece structure including a first piece movably accommodated in the movable member and a second piece movably accommodated in the support member. The lock mechanism reinforces the locking strength of the tumblers by having the first piece or the second piece engage both the movable member and the support member before the tumbler-type key is inserted into the lock apparatus or when the tumbler-type key is being inserted into the lock apparatus.

The present invention relates to a tumbler-type key verification system for use with a tumbler-type key including a code pattern region having an array of recessed portions that expresses a key code of the tumbler-type key, in which the lock apparatus verifies the key code.
In the prior art, various types of key systems are used to prevent unauthorized use of articles, doors, and the like by a third person. A typical key system uses a key that includes a grip and an elongated key plate (also referred to as a key blade), which has an engraved key code. Insertion of the key plate into a cylinder of a lock apparatus aligns the engraved key code with a plurality of disk tumblers (small steel pieces), which are biased by a spring arranged in the cylinder. Rotation of the cylinder with the key is permitted when the key code of the key plate matches a key shape formed by the disk tumblers. In such a case, the opening and closing of the lock apparatus is enabled.
Japanese Utility Model Registration No. 3090369 and Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2004-76375 describe examples of a card key system using a card key. FIG. 16 illustrates a card key system 81. The card key system 81 includes a card key 82 and a lock apparatus 86. The card key 82 has a code region 83 including an array of holes 84 that expresses a key code of the card key 82.
FIG. 17 illustrates the lock apparatus 86 (also referred to as a fixed component) in a state in which the card key 82 is not inserted therein. The lock apparatus 86 includes a supporting component 90 and a movable component 88 supported by the supporting component 90. The movable component 88 moves relative to the supporting component 90 when the card key 82 is inserted into the lock apparatus 86 to perform a key operation. The movable component 88 and the supporting component 90 may be referred to as the movable side and fixed side, respectively. A plurality of pin tumblers 87 are arranged so as to extend in the movable component 88 and the supporting component 90. Each pin tumbler 87 includes a lock pin 89 accommodated in the movable component 88 and a plunger pin 91 accommodated in the supporting component 90. The plunger pin 91 is biased towards the lock pin 89 by a tumbler spring 92. The plurality of pin tumblers 87 include first pin tumblers 87a and second pin tumblers 87b. In each first pin tumbler 87a, the plunger pin 91 is engaged with both of the movable component 88 and the supporting component 90 when the card key 82 is not inserted to the lock apparatus 86. In each second pin tumbler 87b, a shear line between the lock pin 89 and the plunger pin 91 is aligned with a shear line between the movable component 88 and the supporting component 90 when the card key 82 is not inserted into the lock apparatus 86.
As illustrated in FIG. 18, when the proper card key 82 is inserted into the lock apparatus 86, the shear line between the lock pin 89 and the plunger pin 91 is aligned with the shear line between the movable component 88 and the supporting component 90 in each of the pin tumblers 87 (first pin tumblers 87a and second pin tumblers 87b). This permits movement of the movable component 88 with respect to the supporting component 90 so that closing and opening of the lock apparatus 86 becomes possible.
As illustrated in FIG. 19, if the card key 82 inserted into the lock apparatus 86 is an improper key, the holes 84 of the card key 82 may be aligned with the first pin tumblers 87a, and the second pin tumblers 87b may be aligned with non-hole portions 85 of the card key 82. In such a first pin tumbler 87a, the plunger pin 91 may be lowered by the amount the distal end of the lock pin 89 is accommodated in the hole 84. Thus, the plunger pin 91 would be engaged with both of the movable component 88 and the supporting component 90. In such a second pin tumbler 87b, the distal end of the lock pin 89 may be lifted by a non-hole portion 85 of the card key 82. Thus, the lock pin 89 would be engaged with both of the movable component 88 and the supporting component 90. As a result, the pin tumblers 87 prohibit movement of the movable component 88 relative to the supporting component 90. Thus, the opening and closing of the lock apparatus 86 cannot be performed with the improper key.    [Patent Document 1] Japanese Utility Model Registration No. 3090369    [Patent document 2] Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2004-76375

Kabushiki Kaisha Tokai Rika Denki Seisakusho


A vehicle has an interior antenna for detecting transmissions from a keyless entry device (KED) and/or a radio frequency device (RFD) associated with a portable item when inside the vehicle, and an exterior antenna for detecting transmissions from the KED and/or the RFD when outside the vehicle. A processor receives determines, based on transmissions received by the interior and exterior antennas, passing of the KED from inside to outside the vehicle, and generates an alert if the interior antenna detects the RFD remaining inside the vehicle after said passing. The processor may further determine passing of the RFD from outside to inside the vehicle based upon detection by the exterior antenna of transmissions indicating the RFD is outside the vehicle, and subsequent detection by the interior antenna of transmissions from the RFD indicating it is inside the vehicle.

Radio frequency (RF) technology is commonly used for remote keyless entry systems whereby a handheld remote control device is used to lock and unlock a vehicle. For example the vehicle can be locked or unlocked by activation of the handheld device or automatically when the handheld device is within a predetermined distance of the vehicle.
Vehicle users can forget to take personal items that they have temporarily stored in their vehicle when they later leave the vehicle. This can cause the user significant inconvenience and annoyance. Also, the forgotten item may have a significant value and may be visible, which could encourage a thief to attempt to break into the vehicle. Typical items often left in a vehicle include a mobile phone, wallet, laptop computer, house keys or sunglasses.
Known radio frequency identification (RFID) systems have been used to locate, track and/or identify items in a wide range of applications. Such systems are wireless and non-contact; they use radio frequency electromagnetic fields to transfer data from a tag attached to the item. The tag contains electronically-stored information which may be read by a user using a reader device. The tag can be passive (it does not require a battery) and is powered and read at short ranges using an active reader. When used for locating or tracking, typically the user is informed by the reader when the item enters the range of the reader. However, RFID systems allow only one-way communication (from the tag at the item to the reader being operated by the user).
In US 2010/0188226 (GM GLOBAL TECH OPERATIONS INC), a system and method are described where the vehicle user, when entering the vehicle, is notified that a particular item is missing, where the item is part of a predetermined group of items.
Near field communication (NFC) devices are a development of RFID technology, where NFC devices allow two-way communication. To date, NFC devices have been used mainly for electronic payment/debit systems, smart cards, key fobs and the like. Many modern smartphones can operate as an active NFC device (for sending or receiving data).

Reminder apparatus and method for items left in a vehicle


An end gate assembly for a screed for a paving machine, where the screed is provided with a screed hinge component, includes a frame having a frame hinge portion that is adapted to mate with the screed hinge component to form a hinge having a hinge axis about which the frame may pivot. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the end gate has a pair of hinges. More specifically, the preferred end gate has a first frame portion having a first hinge portion and a second hinge portion. The first hinge portion is adapted to mate with the screed hinge component to form a first hinge having a first hinge axis about which the first frame portion may pivot. This preferred assembly also includes a second frame portion having a hinge member that is adapted to mate with the second hinge portion of the first frame portion to form a second hinge having a second hinge axis about which the second frame portion may pivot.

A screed is generally towed behind an asphalt paving machine in order to establish the thickness, and to some extent the density, of a layer or mat of asphalt which has been applied to a base surface to produce a roadway or parking lot. The free-floating paver screed, which is in common use today, is attached to the tractor of a paving machine at only one point on each side of the machine (the tow or pull point) to average out differences in grade that are encountered across the width of the paving machine. Typical screeds in common use are 8 feet (2.44 meters) in width, although screed extensions or cut-off shoes can be attached to the screed to increase or reduce the width of the asphalt mat that is applied by the paving machine. An end gate (also known as an end plate or edger plate) is attached to each outer end of the screed to restrict the outward movement of asphalt around the end of the screed and to provide additional control of the width of the asphalt mat that is applied. Under some circumstances, the elevation of the end gate may be set so as to allow some mix to bleed out under the end gate, and vertically adjustable end gates are described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,680,451 of Birtchet and in U.S. Pat. No. 6,238,136 of Sovik et al.
It is also known to remove end gates or to pivot them out of the way in order to install screed extensions or other attachments. U.S. Pat. No. 4,068,969 of Beach et al. describes a gutter attachment for a screed assembly which may be installed either after removal of the end gate or after pivoting a modified end gate out of the way.
Typical end gates may increase the width of the paving machine by more than six inches on each side. Since the width limit for transporting a paving machine on U.S. highways is 8.5 feet (2.59 meters), it is generally necessary to remove the end gates from a standard eight-foot screed before the machine can be transported. Because end gates are subjected to considerable forces by the asphalt being applied, they typically weigh as much as 300 pounds (136.2 kilograms) each. Consequently, one man cannot remove an end gate in order to prepare a paving machine for travel without the assistance of a crane or other lifting device. In addition, once removed, the end gates must be stored on the paving machine or on another vehicle during transport of the paving machine.
It would be desirable, therefore, if an end gate could be provided that can be easily manipulated to permit the paving machine to be transported on U.S. highways. It would also be desirable if such an end gate could be provided that does not have to be removed from an eight-foot screed on a paving machine in order to transport the machine on U.S. highways.


A digital copying machine includes a function that allows a standard photo size to be selected, an original photo to be scanned and multiple copies of the photo to be printed on a sheet. The digital copying machine automatically scales the copies to the selected size and rotates the copies to use maximum printable area.

The invention relates to digital copiers. More specifically, the invention relates to the digital copying of photographs.
"All-in-One" and multifunction machines combine the capabilities of printers, scanners and copiers into a single compact package. By replacing a standalone printer, a standalone scanner and a standalone copier, a single All-in-One machine can free up desk space and reduce the number of computer cables. These features make the All-in-One machines ideal for home businesses.
All-in-One machines such as the "HP OfficeJet R Series" from Hewlett-Packard Company include inkjet print modules that are capable of photo-quality color printing. An R-80 All-in-One machine, for instance, can scan a photograph and print the scanned photo on photo-quality paper. Quality of the copy matches that of the original. Using a zoom function, the copy can be made larger or smaller than the original. Using a clone function, multiple copies of the original can be printed onto a single sheet of paper.
These features make the All-in-One machine ideal for home use too. Photographs can be scanned, printed out and distributed immediately instead of traveling to a photo shop and waiting for copies to be made. Pictures of newborns and toddlers can be conveniently and immediately distributed to friends and relatives. Use of the clone function can save paper, especially for wallet-sized copies.
It is usually desirable to distribute copies that have standard sizes, such as wallet size and 5″×7″ size. A photograph having a non-standard size can be difficult to place in a wallet or standard size frame.
However, using All-in-One machines to make standard size copies can be cumbersome. For example, if a person has a 3″×5″ original of his or her newborn infant and wants wallet size copies, the person selects a "Clone 100%" function and calculates the zoom percentage that is needed to create the desired copy size. In this case, a zoom percentage of 70% is calculated (this all requires measurements of the original to be taken, an understanding of math and the use a calculator). The person reduces the clone size to 70% and presses a "copy" button. The machine pre-scans the original and calculates the actual size of the original. The machine then calculates the number of copies that can fit on a single sheet, performs a full scan of the original and prints the copies.
If that person also wants copies of a different size (e.g., a 5″×7″ copy), a new zoom percentage is calculated, the clone function is selected again, the clone size is changed to the new zoom percentage, and the copy button is pressed again. If two copies of a standard size such as 5″×7″ are desired, the copy button is pressed yet another time (since only one 5″×7″ copy will appear on each sheet).

Digital copying machine including photo features function

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


The invention relates to a battery pack having a dual-type smart card interface. In one embodiment, a battery pack is connectable to a mobile communication terminal having at least one contact for a power supply and at least one contact for communication with the mobile communication terminal. The battery pack comprises a battery cell, an RF antenna, a slide-type connector, a contact-type connector coupled to the RF antenna, a plurality of battery pack contacts, which are coupled to the mobile communication terminal electrically, for supplying power to the mobile communication terminal and for communication with the mobile communication terminal, an SCR, which is coupled to the slide-type connector and the contact-type connector respectively, for reading data stored on a smart card that is coupled to either the slide-type connector or the contact-type connector and for writing data received from the mobile communication terminal on the smart card, and a battery protection circuit, which is located between the battery cell and the plurality of battery pack contacts, for protecting the battery cell from an instantaneous power surge.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a smart card interface. More particularly, the present invention relates to arranging a battery pack having a dual-type smart card interface for both a contact/non-contact subscriber identity module (SIM)-type smart card and an ID-1 type smart card.
2. Description of the Related Technology
In conjunction with wide spread use of the cellular phone, some mobile service providers have developed a financial transaction service, which is a new kind of profitable model, as well as a content download service. The method developed for the mobile financial transaction service uses the inherent number or the telephone number of the cellular phone and levies a charge for the financial transactions together with the charge for the mobile communication service. However, because the cellular phone still lacks in proper security, the aforementioned method cannot provide the requisite assurance that is required during financial transactions.
Accordingly, the mobile service providers and the financial companies want to incorporate the smart card into the cellular phone for maximum security of the financial transaction. The mobile service providers have tried adopting the SIM-type smart card, which has a small size dimension, for various uses of electronic money (e.g., "eCash"), a credit card, and an RF-type traffic card, while the financial companies have tried adopting an ID-1 type smart card, which has same size dimension of a conventional credit card, for use in an ATM and as an RF-type traffic card. However, complicated technical problems still exist to put both the SIM card reader and the ID-1 card reader within the cellular phone in order to meet both groups' requirements.
A cellular phone having a non-contact SIM card reader and an inside antenna was introduced in Korean Patent Publication Gazette No. 2000-0036900 "Cellular phone having RF antenna" and No. 2001-0077791 "Mobile communication terminal having SIM card". However, with the trend of making a light-and-slim cellular phone, it is difficult to reduce the dimensions of other modules of the cellular phone and combine the functions of modules in order to contain the SIM card and reader. To resolve the aforementioned problems, the following device was introduced.
A battery pack that provides enough space by mounting a SIM card reader on the battery pack was introduced in Korean Patent Publication Gazette No.2000-0003372 "A SIM card attached within a battery pack" and Korean Utility model Registration Gazette No.20-0251132. However, these devices relate to the original functions of the SIM card for providing compatibility with various mobile communication networks, and are limited to the non-contact type SIM card that can communicate with the cellular phone only. The RF communication devices using a non-contact type SIM card in the aforementioned devices use C4 and C8 contacts coupled to an RF antenna for wireless communication, however, this configuration has already been introduced by SLC, Inc. Moreover, since this configuration uses C4 and C8 contacts, which are reserved for other use, other applications using C4 and C8 contacts cannot be made any more.

Battery pack having a dual-type smart card interface


A light emitting apparatus includes a support having circuitry disposed thereon, at least one light emitting diode (LED) chip mounted on the support and in electrical communication with the circuitry and a reflective layer on the support adjacent the at least one chip.

The present invention relates to the lighting arts. It especially relates to high intensity light emitting diode packages, components, apparatuses, and so forth, and will be described with particular reference thereto. However, the invention will also find application in conjunction with other solid state light emitters such as vertical cavity surface emitting lasers.
High brightness light emitting packages typically employ a plurality of light emitting diode chips, surface emitting laser chips, organic light emitter chips, or the like. To mechanically support the chips and to electrically interconnect the chips, in some light emitting packages the light emitting chips are disposed on a printed circuit board. The printed circuit board can also support and electrically incorporate discrete electronic components, application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), programmable microprocessors, or the like, for providing input power conditioning, light output control, electrostatic discharge protection, or other functions.
Disadvantageously, the printed circuit board can contribute to optical losses by partially absorbing light that impinges upon the printed circuit board. Printed circuit boards typically include a topmost epoxy solder mask layer having lithographically defined openings through which the light emitting chips or other electronic components electrically contact bonding pads of the printed circuitry. In conventional printed circuit boards for electronic applications, the solder mask layer is not optimized for its optical properties, and is thus not very reflective.
For high brightness light emitting packages, printed circuit boards having a commercially available white solder mask are sometimes used. These white solder masks contain white talc or another white material that reflects visible light. White solder masks provide a substantial improvement in reflectance of visible light over conventional blue or green solder masks.
White solder masks have certain disadvantages for some high brightness light emitting packages. While the white solder mask appears to be highly reflective, it has been found that the reflectance of such boards is only about 80% or less in the visible spectral region. If 50% of the visible light produced by the light emitting package impinges on the printed circuit board, this reflectance corresponds to optical losses of around 10% or higher due to absorption in the printed circuit board.
Moreover, the reflectance of the white solder masks decreases in the blue, violet, and ultraviolet spectral regions. It has been found that the white solder board reflectance decreases below 60% for wavelengths less than about 410 nm. In certain light emitting packages, wide-bandgap light emitting chips emitting blue, violet, or ultraviolet light emission are coupled with a phosphor that converts the light emission into white or another selected visible light. In such packages, a substantial amount of blue, violet, or ultraviolet light typically reflects from the phosphor toward the printed circuit board. The relatively low reflectance of white solder masks for blue, violet, or ultraviolet wavelength light degrades the light output efficiency of these packages.
White solder masks have been constructed to have a reflectance of about 85% between about 400 nanometers and about 740 nanometers. These white solder masks have been formed of a film of photostabilized electrically insulating binder material, such as a photosensitive epoxy, a photosensitive polyimide, or so forth, in which particles of a reflective filler material are dispersed. The particles used for the reflective filler material include a titanium dioxide, TiO2, alumina, Al2O3, and a high-refractive index glass.
Another known material used as a solder mask is formed of a multiple-layer specular reflector sheet. Openings are cut into the sheet to define the vias, and the multiple-layer specular reflector sheet is glued or otherwise secured to the electrically insulating board. This reflector sheet includes a stack of reflective dielectric layers including alternating layers of dielectric material having different refractive indices, different birefringence characteristics, or other dissimilar optical characteristics. The thicknesses and optical characteristics of the layers has been selected to provide a high stack reflectance in the wavelength range between about 400 nanometers and about 470 nanometers, and preferably in the wavelength range between about 400 nanometers and about 740 nanometers. The multiple-layer specular reflector sheet that has been described is a commercially available reflector sheet, such as a VM2000 reflector film or a Vikuiti™ enhanced specular reflector film (available from 3M, St. Paul, Minn.). Solder masks formed of VM2000 or Vikuiti™ enhanced specular reflector films have been measured to have reflectances greater than 85% between 400 nanometers and 740 nanometers.
An approach for achieving high reflectances in the blue, violet, or ultraviolet would be to use a metallic reflector. However, incorporating a metallic reflector, which is generally electrically conductive, into a solder mask is problematic since the solder mask is in contact with or in proximity to the printed circuitry and electronic component leads.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Incorporating reflective layers into LED systems and/or components


A coating apparatus and process for coating selected surface areas of extruded substrates with decorative or functional coatings by passing the extruded substrates emerging from the extrusion die through a coating block. The coating block contains a coating cavity die conforming to the selected surfaces to be coated wherein liquid coating is supplied to the coating cavity die in a manner to selectively coat the selected surfaces on the extruded substrate.

Various types of extruded articles require surface coatings be applied to a plurality of selected surfaces without coating the entire surface of the extruded article. For instance, extruded elastomeric articles such as automotive window and door seals, fluid hoses, weather stripping and the like are extruded in specific cross-sectional designs which often require selective surface coating of separated surfaces. For example, automotive window seals require special slip- and abrasion-resistant surface coatings adjacent the window for engaging the glass so it can be raised or lowered easily without sticking to the window seal engaging surface. The remaining surfaces are generally maintained free of such coatings.
U.S. Reissue Pat. No. 30,789, relates to a process for coating an inflexible sheet substrate with a relatively thick coating of extruded molten thermoplastic polymer to coat the sheet substrate with a thermoplastic plastic layer to form boards used in construction. The sheet substrate advances in a spaced relationship with the die lip of the applied molten thermoplastic while the advancing sheet substrate forms the second die lip of the extrusion coating die. The sheet substrate ordinarily is wood, although other substrates, e.g., metal or polymeric, can be used. This coating process is not practiced in conjunction with an extruded substrate and utilizes a preformed substrate.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,841,807, and 3,836,297, relate to rotating coating application devices in an oscillating relationship with an advancing sheet substrate for depositing two separate coatings on the substrate surface to provide a heat-fused, marbleized plastisol coating on the substrate. This coating application process is not used in conjunction with an extruded substrate.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,155,540, relates to extrusion coating of fabrics by progressively feeding fabric and extruding coating material onto the fabric in a predetermined design and fusing the coating material to the fabric substrate. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 4,623,501, pertains to photographic photosensitive materials where photographic emulsions are applied to a belt-like substrate (web) by a coating means having auxiliary coating supply pipes interconnected to the coating application reservoir to prevent the coating from being stagnated within the coating supply cavity prior to applying the coating to the substrate.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,093,414, relates to a single die for co-extruding a high density polyethylene skin layer in a concentric relationship over a cellular polyethylene primary layer where the extruded layers provide cylindrical insulated layers for telephone wires. The two layers of insulating material are applied successively with a melt-flow separator disposed between the insulating layers prior to merging proximate the discharge tip of an extruder for the telephone wire. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 4,889,669, relates to a process for extruding two different resin compositions in the form of a laminate through a T-die to produce a foamed thermoplastic article. A similar coextrusion process for thermoplastic articles is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,856,975, wherein flat articles such as siding are extruded. The coextrusion process is based on a coextrusion block which enables the extruded capstock material to straddle the extruded substrate material.

On die solution coating of extruded profiles and apparatus therefor


The present invention relates to a blister package consisting of a lower web in which a row of cavities is provided, and an upper web which is welded to the provided lower web, and wherein perforation lines are provided between adjoining cavities, and wherein there is an area in connection with each cavity where the upper web is not welded to the lower web, such that a snip is created, said upper web being welded to the lower web by a first inner weld which surrounds the cavity completely, as well as a second outer weld which surrounds the cavity around the first weld and adjoins the area where the upper web is not welded to the lower web. The invention also relates to a method of making the blister package.

Blister packages consist of a lower web of a relatively thick material, which is configured such that cavities are created, and an upper web which is welded to the configured lower web, after a product has been filled into the cavities.
The lower web is frequently of PVC (polyvinyl chloride), but now and then also of APET (amorph polyester) or PP (polypropylene), and sometimes also with a layer of aluminium foil laminated to the polymer material—if the barrier requirements are very high.
Today, a relatively hard aluminium foil e.g. in 20μ is provided on most upper webs, through which the product (pill, chewing gum, etc.) may be pressed, but it cannot readily be approved as being childproof.
There are also types with pure aluminium which can be approved as a childproof blister package. Typically, these blister packages may be opened by making an area where the upper web forms a flap.
The childproofness is provided by using a somewhat tougher and optionally thicker aluminium foil which cannot be penetrated, or only with difficulty, it being instead necessary to peel or pull off the upper web. The childproofness is then that a preform of the lower web is made on a sheet, centrally between four cavities, where the upper web is not welded, and through which a perforation line extends. This means that a small snip is created which may be pulled when the upper web is to be peeled off the lower web in order to open a cavity.
Such a known blister package is described e.g. in German Utility Model DE 202004008975 U1 , which discloses a blister package with a lower web in which two rows of cavities are provided, and an upper web which is welded to the lower web. The blister package has perforation lines between adjoining cavities, which makes it possible to tear off one or more cavities from the blister package. The upper web and the lower web are not welded to each other in areas at the intersections of the perforation lines, thereby creating a snip which may be pulled in order to open the cavity.

Childproof blister package with controlled opening


The present invention is a system and method for providing access to electronic works over a network. In a preferred embodiment, the present invention offers a user access to electronic copies of works, such as songs, albums, movies, or music videos, over a network. The user responds to the offer by requesting to access to a particular work. Before such a request is granted, the present invention may verify that the user is authorized to access to the work. In one embodiment, the user verifies that they are authorized to access an electronic copy of the work by demonstrating that they possess a physical copy of the work. In another embodiment, the user verifies that they are authorized to access an electronic copy of the work by demonstrating that they ordered or purchased a copy of the work. If a user's authorization is verified, the user may then be provided with access to an electronic copy of the work by such techniques as downloading or streaming.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system and method for providing access to electronic works over a network.
2. Background
Several technologies exist that enable a user to upload digital music to a Web site storage location and then access that Web site for listening to the music at a later time. For example, mymp3storage.com clients can upload 50 megabytes of music (approximately 12 songs) from the client's hard drive to a storage location on this site, and then download it to a different computer.
Similarly, cablemusic.com uses a Javascript Audio Content Kit ("JACK"), which allows listeners to turn Compact Discs ("CDs") into small, high fidelity, music files. Using these webfriendly music files listeners can turn their personal computers into a personal jukebox and simultaneously upload their favorite music to the cablemusic.com site. Once on the cablemusic.com servers, listeners can construct playlists or listen to their individual songs via direct, immediate access to their music on demand from anywhere on the Web.
Myplay.com permits its members to store, organize, download, and share up to 250 megabytes (approximately 65 songs) of music in an online "locker" on its site. The myplay.com system protects the client's locker with a password. Clients can upload their MPEG-1 audio layer-3 ("MP3") and other digital music files to the site and listen to them from any Webaccessible computer in any order selected by the client.
Myplay.com and i-drive.com also facilitate "sideloading" of MP3 files. For example, the myplay.com system permits users to sideload or directly transfer MP3 files from particular MP3 vendors or from a URL currently storing the MP3 file to the user's individual's locker. This sideload or direct transfer feature obviates the steps of downloading the data, converting the data to MP3 format, and uploading the data to the locker. The client can store music by album, genre, and track. A database provides additional information about artists, including discographies and liner notes.
Unlike the systems described above, the present invention requires the user to actually possess the physical CD, which encourages individuals to buy CDs and thus furthers the protection of copyrighted material.
Another system in the prior art is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,987,525 (Roberts et al.), which claims a method for synchronizing delivery over a network of visual content from a first computer to second computer with playing of a musical recording on the second computer. The specification describes a method of searching that uses a unique identifier to identify a user's CD in the user's computer. Upon detecting the presence of a CD in the user's computer, a script in the Web page computes the unique identifier corresponding to the CD and sends this unique identifier to the server. This information can include a uniform resource locator ("URL") that relates to the audio CD (e.g., the artist's home page), simple data such as the names of the songs, and also complementary entertainment (i.e., photographs of the band, artwork, animates, and video clips). In an alternative embodiment, when the user inserts an audio CD into their computer, the browser 1) launches, if not already running; 2) computes the CD's unique identifier, and from this unique identifier derives a URL, and 3) retrieves the URL.

System and method for providing access to electronic works


The present invention relates to flavanonol derivatives represented by formula (1): ##STR1## (wherein R.sup.1 represents an alkyl group, and each of R.sup.2 and R.sup.3 represents a hydrogen atom, an alkyl group which may have a substituent, an alkoxyl group which may have a substituent, a hydroxyl group, a cyano group, or a halogen atom), as well as to hair-nourishing and hair-growing compositions containing the derivatives. The compounds accelerate differentiation and proliferation of hair matrix cells, thereby exhibiting remarkable hair-nourishing and hair-growing effects.

Hitherto, synthetic chemicals and natural extracts performing a variety of actions have been used as pharmaceuticals or medicated cosmetics which are intended to be used for hair nourishing and hair growing. Neither of these chemicals nor extracts exhibits sufficient effects if used in small amounts. Particularly, natural extracts have drawbacks that they give uncomfortable stimulation to portions of application if they are used in large amounts; that inflammation of the skin may be caused when they are used continuously; and that they may not be used in large amounts due to their color and odor.
Moreover, these conventional hair-nourishing and hair-growing agents do not directly act on differentiation and proliferation of hair matrix cells but exhibit their effects through normalizing the conditions of the scalp. Even in cases where they act on hair matrix cells, they do not exhibit satisfactory nourishing and growing effects on human hair.
Accordingly, it is still desired to develop hair-nourishing and hair-growing agents which exhibit remarkable hair-nourishing and hair-growing effects as well as hair loss-preventing effects through acting directly on differentiation and proliferation of hair matrix cells, and which are quite safe when used over long periods.

Flavanonol derivatives and hair-nourishing, hair-growing compositions containing the derivatives


In the performance of density gradient centrifugation back mixing after centrifugation is prevented by placing a snugly fitted layering insert within the vessel. The insert is capable of supporting the body of liquid dispersion to be centrifuged under regular gravity condition and enables bi-directional cross-flow during centrifugation. A small mesh filter plate may be placed on top of the layering insert.

In the performance of density gradient centrifugation, a working fluid is used such as, for example, an aqueous polysaccharide solution commercially available under the trademarks Ficoll-Paque.TM. or Histo-Paque.TM. and having a density larger than that of the liquid phase of the dispersion to be centrifuged and intermediate between the densities of the solid components thereof. Preparatory to centrifugation, the liquid dispersion to be centrifuged is layered on top of a working fluid within a centrifugation vessel with as clean an interface between the two as possible, and upon centrifugation there results a liquid column with a density gradient in which, similar as in column chromatography, each of the solid components of the original dispersion occupies a different layer from where it may be separately recovered.
The crucial problem in the performance of density gradient centrifugation is the charging of the centrifugation vessel so as to ensure a clean interface between the lower body of working fluid and the upper body of liquid dispersion. In accordance with the state of the art various manual techniques and skills have been developed to this end. Thus, by one method the dispersion to be centrifuged, for example native or diluted blood, is first placed into the centrifugation vessel and the heavier working fluid is then carefully pipetted underneath the body of fluid to be centrifuged. Alternatively, the working fluid is first filled into the centrifugation vessel and the liquid to be centrifuged is carefully layered thereon.
Obviously both these procedures are tedious, require a high amount of skill and are unsuitable for serial operation.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,824,560 discloses method and means for centrifugation by which a tubular vessel is used with at least two compartments in a row communicating with one another via a narrow, essentially capillary opening. For operation, the working fluid is charged into the lower compartment and the liquid to be centrifuged into the upper one with no need for any special precautions to avoid mixing prior to centrifugation. While this method has some significant advantage over the above-described purely manual methods, it has the drawback that the rather narrow passage between the compartments provides some resistance even during centrifugation which may prolong the operation. Moreover, the method requires specially devised centrifugation vessels which renders it relatively costly. Furthermore, since in accordance with that method the entire lowermost compartment must be filled with working fluid it is not possible to vary the amount of working fluid in a given centrifugation vessel.
It is the object of the present invention to provide an improved method and means for density gradient centrifugation.

Method and means for density gradient centrifugation


Disclosed is an air filter element (200) for insertion into an air filter housing, comprising an intake surface (275), a discharge surface (285), a filter medium (210), and a filter element-retaining device (240) which extends along at least a section of the periphery of the filter medium (210), between the intake surface (275) and the discharge surface (285), and which includes a retaining arrangement (270) that radially projects from the filter medium (210).

Normally, air filters consist of an air filter housing and a replaceable filter element. The filter element can be replaced when it is dust-laden after a certain operating period and filter performance is decreasing. The operator normally replaces the filter element. In order to achieve an optimal filtering effect, it is necessary for the filter elements in the air filter housing to be arranged reliably and in an exact position to thereby facilitate optimal flow geometry and moreover obtain a reliable seal between a raw air side and a clean air side. Because replacement must frequently be carried out by less qualified personnel, a design of the filter element and filter housing is necessary that substantially prevents incorrect placement. For this purpose, filter elements are provided with retaining devices that make it possible to insert and position the filter element inside the air filter housing so that reliable operation of the air filter is facilitated. These types of filter elements are known for example from WO 2010/099317, which describes a filter element which can be inserted into an air filter housing.

Air filter element having a specific retaining geometry


A touch screen includes a base substrate, a bundle of rectangular wirings in a column direction including a plurality of detection column wirings that are electrically connected in common, and a bundle of rectangular wirings in a row direction including a plurality of detection row wirings that are electrically connected in common, the bundle of wirings being formed on the base substrate. Also, a plurality of block areas obtained by dividing an intersection area in which the bundle of wirings in the column direction and the bundle of wirings in the row direction intersect in a plan view are defined, and only the detection column wiring or only the detection row wiring is provided in each of the block areas.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a touch screen, a touch panel, and a display device having the same.
2. Description of the Background Art
In related art, a touch panel that detects touch of a pointer such as a finger and specifies coordinates of a touch position has attracted attention as excellent interface means. In this touch panel, various schemes such as a resistive scheme and a capacitive scheme have been discussed and commercialized.
As a type of touch panel using the capacitive scheme, a touch panel using a projected capacitive scheme discussed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (Translation of PCT Application) No. 9-511086 (1997) is known. In the touch panel of the projected capacitive scheme, even when a front side of a touch screen having a touch sensor embedded therein is covered with a protective plate such as a glass plate having a thickness of a few mm, touch of, for example, a finger to the protective plate can be detected. Such a touch screen has excellent robustness, touch can be detected even when a user wears a glove, and the touch screen has a long life with no movable parts, and thus various technologies have been proposed based on these advantages.
For example, a touch screen constituting the touch panel discussed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (Translation of PCT Application) No. 9-511086 (1997) includes a first series of conductor elements formed of a thin conductive film, and a second series of conductor elements formed on the first series of conductor elements via an insulating film, as detection wirings (detection electrodes) for detecting capacitance. Further, a plurality of intersections are formed without electrical contact between the conductor elements. According to technology discussed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (Translation of PCT Application) No. 9-511086 (1997), capacitance formed between a pointer, such as a finger, and the conductor element, which is the detection wiring, is detected by a detection circuit, so that position coordinates of a position touched by the pointer can be specified. Further, a touch position between the conductor elements can be interpolated by relative values of detected capacitances of one or more conductor elements.
A touch screen constituting a touch panel discussed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2010-61502 includes detection column wirings and detection row wirings, and each of the wirings is formed as a metal wiring having a zigzag pattern in which the wiring is repeats a zigzag shape with inclined portions inclined at 45° in column and row directions. According to the technology discussed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2010-61502, high wiring density can be obtained and touch detection sensitivity can be improved without increasing parasitic capacitance between the detection wirings.
A touch screen constituting a touch panel discussed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2010-97536 includes detection column wirings and detection row wirings formed in a zigzag pattern, similar to the touch screen of Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2010-61502, and a wiring between the detection column wiring and the detection row wiring.
In Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (Translation of PCT Application) No. 2003-526831, a detection scheme generally called a mutual-capacitance detection scheme has been discussed. Specifically, a key matrix discussed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (Translation of PCT Application) No. 2003-526831 includes an array of a plurality of driving/receiving electrode pairs, and detects, as a charge amount, a change in coupling capacitance (mutual electrode capacitance) according to an electric field change between electrodes generated due to contact of a pointer, such as a finger, with a substrate.
A capacitance-based touch detection device discussed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (Translation of PCT Application) No. 11-505641 (1999) includes an electrode array including an X electrode and a Y electrode. Mutual-capacitance between the X electrode and the Y electrode is detected by a capacitance measurement circuit. Also, an output voltage change indicating the measured capacitance is determined according to the mutual-capacitance, known reference capacitance, and a known driving voltage change.
According to the technologies discussed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2010-61502 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2010-97536 described above, high wiring density can be obtained without increasing inter-wiring capacitance (hereinafter, "capacitance between row and column wirings") formed between the detection column wiring and the detection row wiring. Further, the detection wirings arranged in a rectangular shape have advantages such as an easy coordinate interpolation process based on a detection result or high linearity of coordinates obtained by the interpolation process (particularly, in an oblique direction), as compared to detection wirings arranged in a diamond chain shape.
Meanwhile, capacitance between row and column wirings changed according to presence or absence of touch of a pointer, such as a finger, to a touch screen is closely related to detection sensitivity depending on detection methods. For example, according to the mutual-capacitance detection scheme discussed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (Translation of PCT Application) No. 2003-526831, a high change in the capacitance between row and column wirings (a change in an electric field between electrodes) according to the touch of the pointer, such as the finger, can provide high detection sensitivity.
However, for example, in a configuration in which capacitance (electric field coupling) between a bundle of wirings in a column direction and a bundle of wirings in a row direction is high, like a configuration in which the detection method discussed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2010-97536 is applied to the touch screen discussed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2010-61502, it is difficult for a change in an electric field between the detection column wiring and the detection row wiring according to touch of the pointer, such as a finger, i.e., a change in capacitance between row and column wirings, to occur. Accordingly, when the mutual-capacitance detection scheme is applied in such a configuration, the touch detection sensitivity is low.

Touch screen, touch panel, and display device having the same


The invention relates to processes for producing anode grade coke from whole crude oil. The invention is accomplished by first deasphalting a feedstock, followed by processing resulting DAO and asphalt fractions. The DAO fraction is hydrotreated or hydrocracked, resulting in removal of sulfur and hydrocarbons, which boil at temperatures over 370° C., and gasifying the asphalt portion in one embodiment. This embodiment includes subjecting hydrotreated and/or unconverted DAO fractions to delayed coking. In an alternate embodiment, rather than gasifying the asphalt portion, it is subjected to delayed coking in a separate reaction chamber. Any coke produced via delayed coking can be gasified.

Conventional processes for treating crude oil involve distillation, and then various cracking, solvent refining, and hydroconversion processes, so as to produce a desired group of products, such as fuels, lubricating oil products, petro-chemicals, chemical feedstocks, and the like. An exemplary process includes the distillation of the crude oil in an appropriate atmospheric distillation column, resulting in gas oil, naphtha, other gases, and atmospheric residuum. This last portion is fractionated further in a vacuum distillation column, so as to produce so-called vacuum gas oil, and vacuum residuum. The vacuum gas oil, in turn, is usually cracked via fluid catalytic cracking or hydrocracking, to produce more valuable light transportation fuel products, while the residuum can be processed further, to yield additional useful products. The methods involved in these processes can include, e.g., hydrotreating or fluid catalytic cracking of the residuum, coking, and solvent deasphalting. Any materials recovered from crude distillation at fuel boiling points have typically been used, directly, as fuels.
To elaborate on the processes described, supra, solvent deasphalting is a physical, separation process, where feed components are recovered in their original states, i.e., they do not undergo chemical reactions. Generally, a paraffinic solvent, containing 3-7 or 8 carbon molecules, is used to separate the components of the heavy crude oil fractions. It is a flexible process, which essentially separates atmospheric, and vacuum heavy residues, typically into two products: (i) asphalt and (ii) deasphalted or demetallized oil, referred to as "DAO" or "DMO," respectively hereafter. The choice of solvent is left to the skilled artisan, and is chosen with desired products, yields, and quantities in mind, as are other process parameters, such as the operating temperature, operating pressure, and the solvent/oil ratio. As a general rule, as the molecular weight of the solvent increases, so does solubility of the oil into the solvent. For example, either propane or a propane/isobutane mixture is typically used to manufacture lube oil bright stock. If, on the other hand, the DAO will be used in conversion practices, like fluid catalytic cracking, solvents with higher molecular weights (e.g., butane or pentane, or mixtures thereof), are used. The products of DAO solvation include those described supra, as well as lube hydrocracking feed, fuels, hydrocracker feed, fluid catalytic cracking feed, and fuel oil blends. The asphalt product may be used as a blending component for various grades of asphalt, as a fuel oil blending component, or as a feedstock for heavy oil conversion units (e.g., cokers.)
Conventional solvent deasphalting methods are carried out without catalysts or adsorbents. U.S. Pat. No. 7,566,394, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference, teaches improved solvent deasphalting methods which employ solid adsorbents. The improvement in the methodology leads to separation of nitrogen and polynuclear aromatics from DAO. The adsorbents are then removed with the asphalt products, and are either sent to an asphalt pool, or gasified in a membrane wall gasifier, where solids are required.
Hydrocracking processes, as is well known, are used commercially in many refineries. A typical application of a hydrocracking process involves processing feedstreams which boil at 370° C. to 565° C. in conventional units, and those which boil at 520° C. and above, in so-called "residue units." Simply stated, hydrocracking is a process by which C—C bonds of large molecules in a feedstream, are broken, to form smaller molecules, which have higher volatility and economic value. In addition, hydrocracking processes typically improve the quality of hydrocarbon feedstock, by increasing the H/C ratio via hydrogenation of aromatic compounds, and by removing organo-sulfur, and organic nitrogen compounds.
Given the significant economic benefits that result from hydrocracking, it is not surprising that there have been substantial developments in improving hydrocracking processes, and the development of more active catalysts.
In practice, hydrocracking units usually include two principal zones: a reaction zone and a separation zone. There are also three standard configurations: single stage, series-flow ("once-through"), with and without recycling, and two stage processes, with recycling. The choice of reaction zone configuration depends upon various parameters, such as feedstock quality, the product specification and processing objectives, and catalyst selection.
Single stage, once-through hydrocracking processes are carried out at operating conditions which are more severe than typical hydrotreating processes, but which are less severe than conventional full pressure hydrocracking processes. Mild hydrocracking is more cost effective than more severe processes but, generally, it results in production of lesser amounts of desired middle distillate products, which are of lower quality than the products of conventional hydrocracking.
Single or multiple catalyst systems can be used depending upon, e.g., the feedstock processed and product specifications. Single stage hydrocracking units are generally the simplest configuration, designed to maximize middle distillate yield over a single or dual catalyst system. Dual catalyst systems are used in stacked-bed configurations or in two different reactors.
Feedstock is typically refined over one or more amorphous-based hydrotreating catalysts, either in the first catalytic zone in a single reactor, or in the first reactor of a two-reactor system. The effluents of the first stage are then passed to the second catalyst system which consists of an amorphous-based catalyst or zeolite catalyst having hydrogenation and/or hydrocracking functions, either in the bottom of a single reactor or the second reactor of a two-reactor system.
In two-stage configurations, which can also be operated in a "recycle-to-extinction" mode of operation, the feedstock is refined by passing it over a hydrotreating catalyst bed in the first reactor. The effluents, together with the second stage effluents, are passed to a fractionator column to separate the H2S, NH3, light gases (C1-C4), naphtha and diesel products which boil at a temperature range of 36-370° C. The unconverted bottoms, free of H2S, NH3, etc. are sent to the second stage for complete conversion. The hydrocarbons boiling above 370° C. are then recycled to the first stage reactor or the second stage reactor.
Hydrocracking unit effluents are sent to a distillation column to fractionate the naphtha, jet fuel/kerosene, diesel, and unconverted products which boil in the nominal ranges of 36-180° C., 180-240° C., 240-370° C. and above 370° C., respectively. The hydrocracked jet fuel/kerosene products (i.e., smoke point >25 mm) and diesel products (i.e., cetane number >52) are of high quality and well above worldwide transportation fuel specifications. While hydrocracking unit effluents generally have low aromaticity, any aromatics that remain will lower the key indicative properties of smoke point and cetane numbers for these products.
One major technical challenge posed in hydrotreating and/or hydrocracking heavy oil fractions or whole crude is the effect of small concentrations of contaminants, such as organic nickel or vanadium containing compounds, as well as poly nuclear aromatic compounds. These organometallic compounds, and others, reduce the activity or lifetime of hydrotreating catalysts. The contaminants and polynuclear aromatics cause reduced process performance, a need for increased capital, and higher operating costs for refinery processing units. The metals in the residual fraction of the crude oil deposit on the hydroprocessing catalyst pores and results in catalyst deactivation. These problems are addressed and solved in the disclosure which follows.
Conventional, prior art processes in the field of the invention involve distillation of crude oil, followed by treatment of the light fractions (naptha and diesel fuel) which remain following distillation. These light fractions are desulfurized and/or treated (i.e., "reforming" in the case of naphtha) to improve their quality, and are then sent to fuel pools for further use. The vacuum residium, referred to supra, is treated via solvent deasphalting, so as to secure deasphalted oil and asphalt. Asphalt is then further treated, by being gasified, or it is sent to the "asphalt pool."
Prior art processes show the treatment of fractionates or distillates of crude oil, rather than treatment of crude oil per se, as in accordance with the invention. See, e.g., PCT/EP2008/005210 where distillates are used to produce asphaltenes and DAO; U.S. Pat. No. 3,902,991, wherein a vacuum residuum is solvent extracted followed by hydrocracking and gasification of the DAO and asphalt; published U.S. Patent Application 2011/0198266, showing treatment of a vacuum residue; published U.S. Patent Application 2008/0223754, where residues from a distillation process are used to manufacture asphaltene and DAO; and EP 683 218, which also teaches treating residual hydrocarbon products. Also see, e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 8,110,090; 7,347,051; 6,357,526; 6,241,874; 5,958,365; 5,384,297; 4,938,682; 4,039,429; and 2,940,920, as well as Published U.S. Patent Application 2006/0272983; PCT/KR2010/007651, European Patent Application 99 141; and Published Japanese Patent Application 8-231965. All references discussed herein are incorporated by reference in their entirety.
The current invention simplifies and improves the prior art process, by eliminating the need for distillation, and for treating the naptha and diesel fractions. Rather, the invention, as will be seen, simplifies whole crude oil processing by hydrocracking the whole stream, and eliminating the steps referred to supra, while providing a method for delayed coking of fractions produced by the method.
How the invention is achieved will be seen in the disclosure which follows.

Integrated process for producing anode grade coke


The invention relates to improvements in drug delivery and more particularly to the use of Cell Penetrating Agents (CPA's) or Cell Penetrating Peptides (CPP's) which have been stabilized by, for example: i) stapling two amino acids to form Stapled CPP's (StaP's) or ii) stitching three or more amino acids to form stitched CPP's (StiP's). These stabilized CPP's are conjugated to a drug or Biologically Active Compound (BAC) directly or via a Bi-Functional Linker (BFL) so that the BAC can be carried through a cell membrane by the CPP. The resulting molecules are referred to as Drug Carrying Cell Penetrating Molecules (DCCPM's). The preferred BAC is an electrically low charge carrying oligonucleotide such as a phosphorodiamidate morpholino oligonucleotide (PMO). The invention also relates to a method of facilitating the uptake of a BAC into a cell, the use of a DCCPM in the treatment of a disease requiring alteration of an endogenous or exogenous gene, a method of improving the bioavailability of a drug or BAC, a method of introducing a drug or BAC to a site which is refractory to the drug or BAC in its native state, a method of treating a subject comprising administering the DCCPM's of the invention and to a pharmaceutical composition comprising the DCCPM and one or more pharmaceutically acceptable excipients.

In the treatment of all diseases it is desirable to deliver a drug or BAC into the body, and more preferably into a cell, at a target site, in a manner that ensures a maximal effect with minimal toxicity. This can be challenging.
An example of drugs or BACs which are delivered in a targeted manner are oligonucleotides (ON's), which term includes ON analogues.
ON's can target essential DNA, RNA and protein sequences and can modulate gene expression in a number of ways that includes steric blocking to suppress (i) RNA splicing, (ii) protein translation or (iii) other nucleic acid:nucleic acid or nucleic acid:protein interactions.
Specifically, the hybridisation of ON's to specific RNA sequence motifs prevents correct assembly of the spliceosome, so that it is unable to recognise the target exon(s) in the pre-mRNA and hence excludes these exon in the mature gene transcript. Exclusion of an in-frame exon can lead to a truncated yet functional gene product; exclusion of an out of frame exon results in a frame-shift of the transcript, potentially leading to a premature stop codon and a reduction in the target gene expression level.
Additionally, ON's can be designed to target 5′ translation initiation start sites of viral gene transcript(s) to prevent binding of the translational machinery. Using antisense oligonucleotides (ASO) to suppress viral translation is a well-established technology1 and has progressed into clinical trials for viral haemorrhagic fevers such as Marburg and Ebola2,3.
Also, ON's can be designed to form aptamers such that the secondary and tertiary structures can bind proteins or other cellular targets thus impacting on specific gene expression levels or other cellular processes (e.g. post-translational modifications).
An advantage of steric blocking based suppression over that of siRNA/RNAi based RNase H-induction of the RNA Induced Silencing Complex is the reduced likelihood of off target side effects.
Modifications of an ON to produce a negatively charged backbone improve stability4-7, but these backbone chemistries e.g. 2′0-Methyl Phosphothioate analogues, elicit membrane toxicity issues, cause thrombocytopaenia and injection site problems upon clinical translation8, such that efficacy is prevented by toxicity issues, even when administration protocols become increasingly intermittent9.
Indeed WO2013/150338 and WO 2014/053622 both disclose delivering negatively charged ON's of small size (typically smaller than 1.5 KDa) by complexing them with positively charged linear or stapled peptides of equal or greater than 15 amino acids and in the range of 15-27 amino acids.
JACS, Vol 136, 2014, G J Hilnski et al, describe stapled and stitched peptides that are able to penetrate cells. Reference is made to the possibility that these peptides could be used to deliver an oligonucleotide, presumably in the same manner as disclosed in the international applications disclosed above, i.e. by complexation. There is nothing to suggest creating new entities of much larger size (greater than 1.5 KDa, through 2.5 KDa, 5 KDa, 7.5 KDa, 10 KDa, 12.5 KDa or more) by covalently linking a BAC with a CPA, optionally via a BFL and indeed, the prior methodology requires the respective components to have opposite charges to facilitate complexing.
The use of electrically low charge carrying oligonucleotides (charge −3 to +3 at pH 7.5) and most preferably electrically neutral oligonucleotides (charge −1 to +1 at pH 7.5), such as, but not limited to, polynucleic acids (PNAs), phosphorodiamidate morpholino oligonucleotides (PMO's), (covalently) conjugated directly or indirectly, using a BFL, was not apparent and indeed, limiting the charge on the ON further allows the use of smaller peptides (less than 15 amino acids in length, through 14, 13, 12, 11, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6 to as few as 4 or 5) as carriers.
The use of uncharged ON backbones, such as phosphorodiamidate morpholino oligonucleotides (PMOs), represent attractive BAC's as they have an impeccable safety record in a preclinical and clinical setting.2,10-13
However, their ability to penetrate cells and access their targets is compromised due to their uncharged nature14.
Overcoming the problem of facilitating their entry into cells is therefore desirable.
Over the last 20 years much research has been dedicated to developing CPA's that facilitate delivery of drugs and BAC's to the biological site of action.
The approach has generally been to use charged peptides as non-covalent complexes to facilitate cell entry of a BAC. Conjugation has also been tried.
WO2014/064258 is an example of the existing conjugating art. A negatively charged ON is coupled to a targeting peptide via a linker. The targeting peptide is a receptor targeting moiety, and not a stapled or stitched peptide, and indeed considerable doubt exists as to whether DNA or RNA molecules can gain cell entry using a receptor targeting moiety as once a negatively charged ON is bound to such a moiety, non-covalent interactions alter its conformation15.
WO89/03849 discloses oligonucleotide-polyamide conjugates. There is no disclosure of the use of stitched or stapled peptides. The methodology described uses oligonucleotides as a scaffold for the chain extension of peptides and not as a conjugate for delivery, per se.
WO2011/131693 describes nucleic acid constructs which contain a nucleic acid specific for a given target gene and a selective inhibitor of a neurotransmitter transporter. There is no disclosure of the use of stitched or stapled peptides as a delivery agent.
A peptide capable of effecting peptide-mediated cell delivery may also be referred to as a Cell Delivery Peptide (CDP). Examples include: poly arginine, penetratin (based upon an antennapedia homeodomain), or PMO internalization peptides (PIPs).
However, since their first description16 and given that many CPPs contain multiple arginines, β-alanine and 6-aminohexanoic acid residues, (e.g. poly-Arg12, TAT, Penetratin, Pip6a) [database maintained at crdd.osdd.net/raghava/cppsite/17, it is surprising that no CPP-delivered drug has progressed through all phases of clinical trials. In part, this may be because the common arginine-rich core, which makes most CPP's effective, also causes membrane deformities18 and in higher mammals this manifests as prohibitive toxic side effects, such as tubular degeneration of the kidney19.
At a physiological pH, and based on pKa of amino acid R groups, a formal charge (FC) can be calculated based on the formula:
      F        C    =      V    -    N    -          B      2
Where, V=valence electrons of the neutral atom in isolation; N=the number of non-bonding valence electrons on the defined atom; B=the total number of electrons shared in bonds.
Indeed, based on this, the CPPs typically used to date harbour many positively charged residues. It has been shown that there is a correlation between this positive charge and membrane toxicity20.
Therefore, CPPs with a lower amount of positively charged residues within the amino acid sequence, whilst retaining the ability to cross a biological membrane, will be more clinically relevant.
The Applicant has overcome this major impediment by utilising stabilized CPA's. By linking a drug or BAC to a stabilized CPA, including stitched and stapled peptides, they have surprisingly obtained enhanced cellular uptake dynamics, 10-20 fold better than current state of the art for CPA21,22.
They have illustrated this by delivering an ON targeted to repair a gene producing dystrophin. Targeting specific genes with ON is of course in itself known, as illustrated by, for example, WO2009/054725 and WO2010/123369. These publications however use a negatively charged backbone and deliver the cargo directly or using complexation.
One way to prepare stapled and stitched peptides, two linked amino acids (stapled) or three or more linked amino acids (stitched), is to incorporate amino acids into the peptide that are modified to bear e.g. an olefin (alkene) group (which may be incorporated at defined relative positions during solid-phase peptide synthesis). For example, on-resin ring-closing metathesis is then used to close one (stapled [denoted as StaP herein]) or two or more (stitched [denoted as StiP herein]) all-hydrocarbon cross-links that induce the peptide to adopt a stabilised structure, typically, but not essentially an alpha helix. For StaP's, it is preferred to use either one or both enantiomers of the un-natural amino acids, termed the S5 (S-pentenylalanine) or R5 (R-pentenylalanine), or the S8 (S-octenylalanine) or R8 (R-octenylalanine), depending on the stereo-chemical configuration. For StiP's, a further un-natural olefin-bearing α,α-di-substituted amino acid (B5 or B8) is utilised. Cross linking strategies are however not restricted to ring-closing metathesis of un-natural olefin-bearing α,α-di-substituted amino acids. Other cross-linking chemistry's may be used to stabilize the peptide, such as ring-closing metathesis between O-allylserine analogues (S-OAS or R-OAS).
The cellular entry dynamics of existing CPAs and the StiP's and StaP's differ. Traditional CPPs enter cells via energy-independent direct plasma membrane translocation or via energy-dependent, clathrin and caveolin-mediated endocytosis; whereas the StiP's and StaP's utilised in the invention enter via an energy dependent, but clathrin and caveolin independent mechanism21,23. Given that StiP's and StaP's uptake is abrogated with reduced cellular decoration of heparin sulphate21 a macropinocytotic entry mechanism is infered24, suggesting this altered entry mechanism enables enhanced cellular uptake and bio-distribution compared to the state of the art.
Relative to their unmodified peptide precursors, StaP's and StiP's generally exhibit robust cellular uptake, significant resistance to proteolytic degradation, and in vivo stability that can support a half-life of more than 12 hours in non-human primates25. It is likely that this increase in drug-likeness stems from the highly rigidified structure and the burial of the backbone amide bonds in the core of e.g. the α-helix. This structural rigidity also decreases the likelihood that StiP's and StaP's will be immunogenic, as the design of major histocompatibility complexes is such that peptides must adopt an extended conformation to be presented. The potential reduced or lack of membrane toxicity and immunogenicity enhances the clinical translatability of compounds when conjugated to drugs and BAC's such as ON's.
The BAC and CPP can be covalently conjugated directly, or covalently conjugated via a BFL. Many functional groups may be used for conjugation reactions.
ONs can be used to induce a steric block to any gene in humans, animals and lower order organisms and thus can be applied to natural disease (including genetic and age-related diseases) or acquired diseases in humans and animals.
For example, viral haemorrhagic fevers (VHFs) are animal-borne illnesses in which a prolonged inflammatory cytokine response leads to the gradual destruction of veins and arteries. Causes of VHF include Ebola and Marburg viruses and several Arena viruses; these diseases are presently considered untreatable. Viral haemorrhagic fevers are characterized by high fever and bleeding disorders, and can cause death by shock and organ failure. ASOs can be designed to target 5′ translation initiation start sites of viral gene transcript(s) to prevent binding of the translational machinery. Using ASO to suppress viral translation is a well-established technology1 and has progressed into clinical trials for viral haemorrhagic fevers such as Marburg and Ebola2,3. One PMO, AVI-7537 was evaluated for human use in the West African Ebola outbreak in 2014-15.
Some tissues are particularly refractory to naked PMO transfection, e.g. heart, which may reflect differential vesicle-mediated PMO uptake mechanisms23. In fact, direct intra-cardiac injection of naked PMO does not even lead to efficient transfection26, and refractory tissues tend to require repeat administration or high dose strategies27-23. However, whilst CPP conjugation improves PMO bio-distribution and serum stability36-32, toxicity is still a major roadblock for pipeline development19.
For effective clinical translation of steric blocking ASOs, CPPs need to effectively deliver the BAC to either the cytoplasm or nucleoplasm whilst limiting any toxicity associated with cell entry.
Thus, providing DCCPM's which are able to deliver a drug or BAC more efficiently or to a target site, or with lower toxicity and immunogenicity would be highly desirable.

Biologically active compound conjugated to a stapled or stitched peptide