A supply or feed center for dry particulate material is modular in design with an application module and an exhaust module, along with optimal cabinet modules such as a pump cabinet module. The application module is partitioned into an application section and a utility section, both of which communicate with the exhaust module. An air diverter may be used to change relative air flow into the two sections, and in one embodiment is a swingable door. The exhaust module may include a self-contained exhaust system including after filters, motor, fan and final filters, or may share energy from a remote exhaust system. An inventive suction device is also provided to extract material from a hopper.

Material application systems are used to apply one or more materials in one or more layers to an object. General examples are powder coating systems, as well as other particulate material application systems such as may be used in the food processing and chemical industries. These are but a few examples of a wide and numerous variety of systems used to apply particulate materials to an object and to which the present inventions can find realization and use.
The application of dry particulate material is especially challenging on a number of different levels. An example, but by no means a limitation on the use and application of the present inventions, is the application of powder coating material to objects using a powder spray gun. Because sprayed powder tends to expand into a cloud or diffused airborne spray pattern, known powder application systems use a spray booth for containment. Powder particles that do not adhere to the target object are generally referred to as powder overspray, and these particles tend to fall randomly within the booth and will alight on almost any exposed surface within the spray booth. Therefore, cleaning time and color change times are strongly related to the amount of surface area that is exposed to powder overspray.
In addition to exterior surface areas exposed to powder overspray, color change times and cleaning time are strongly related to the amount of interior surface area exposed to the flow of powder during an application process. Examples of such interior surface areas include all surface areas that form the powder flow path, from a supply of the powder all the way through the powder spray gun. The powder flow path typically includes a pump that is used to transfer powder from a powder supply to one or more spray guns. Hoses are commonly used to connect the supply, pumps and guns.
Interior surface areas of the powder flow path are typically cleaned by blowing a purge gas, such as pressurized air, through portions of the powder flow path. Wear items that have surfaces exposed to material impact, for example a spray nozzle in a typical powder spray gun, can be difficult to clean due to impact fusion of the powder on the wear surfaces.
Known supply apparatus for powder coating materials generally involve a container such as a box or hopper that holds a fresh supply of previously unused or 'virgin' powder. This powder is usually fluidized within the hopper, meaning that air is pumped into the powder to produce an almost liquid-like bed of powder. Fluidized powder is typically a rich mixture of material to air. Often, recovered powder overspray is returned to the supply via a feed hose and sieve arrangement. A venturi pump may be used to draw powder through a suction line or tube from the supply into a supply hose and then to push the powder under positive pressure through another hose to a spray gun. Such systems are difficult to clean for a color change operation because the venturi pumps cannot be reverse purged, the suction tubes and associated support frames and pumps retain powder, and there are exterior surfaces that need to be cleaned. The sieve is also challenging and time consuming to clean as it often is in a separate housing structure as part of the powder recovery system or is otherwise not easily accessible. Most of these components need to be cleaned by use of a high pressure air wand which an operator manually uses to blow powder residue back up into a cyclone or other powder recovery unit. Every minute that operators have to spend cleaning and purging the system for color change represents downtime for the system and inefficiency.
There are two generally known types of dry particulate material transfer processes, referred to herein as dilute phase and dense phase. Dilute phase systems utilize a substantial quantity of air to push material through one or more hoses from a supply to a spray applicator. A common pump design used in powder coating systems is the venturi pump which introduces a large volume of air at higher velocity into the powder flow. In order to achieve adequate powder flow rates (in pounds per minute or pounds per hour for example), the components that make up the flow path must be large enough to accommodate the flow with such a high air to material ratio (in other words lean flow) otherwise significant back pressure and other deleterious effects can occur.
Dense phase systems on the other hand are characterized by a high material to air ratio (in other words rich flow). A dense phase pump and related concepts are described in pending U.S. patent application Ser. Nos. 10/711,429 filed on Sep. 17, 2004 for DENSE PHASE PUMP FOR DRY PARTICULATE MATERIAL, and 11/140,759 filed on May 31, 2005 for PARTICULATE MATERIAL APPLICATOR AND PUMP, the entire disclosures of which are fully incorporated herein by reference, and which are owned by the assignee of the present inventions. This pump is realized in general by a pump chamber that is partially defined by a gas permeable member. Material, such as powder coating material as an example, is drawn into the chamber at one end by negative pressure and is pushed out of the chamber through the same end by positive air pressure. This pump design is very effective for transferring material, however, the present inventions are not limited to use with such a pump design. The present inventions are also not limited to use in powder coating material application systems, but rather may find use in any material handling system that needs to provide a supply of dry particulate material, including both dense and dilute phase systems.


A refill type coat film transfer tool, specifically a tape cartridge for a coat film transfer type having a support main body of lightweight and simple structure, capable of replacing a coat film transfer tape easily, securely and promptly. The support main body has a support base plate for rotatably supporting the opposite side ends of rotary shafts of the pay-off reel and take-up reel supported detachably and rotatably on a rotary support shaft of the case of the coat film transfer tool, and this support base plate has a flat skeletal structure having an outer contour corresponding to the inner contour of the case. Therefore as compared with the conventional plastic container, the rate of use of materials in the entire device of the support main body itself is substantially curtailed.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a coat film transfer tape cartridge and a coat film transfer tool, and more particularly to a refill type coat film transfer tape loading technique for replacing a coat film transfer tape in a coat: film transfer tool for transferring correction paint layer, marker paint layer, adhesive layer or other coat film on a coat film transfer tape onto the sheet of paper or the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
The coat film transfer tool of this kind is disclosed, for example, in Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. 5-58097 and Japanese Utility Model Laid-open Publication No. 5-13800.
These coat film transfer tools are both used as an eraser for correcting wrong letters, and as shown in FIG. 35(a) and FIG. 35(b), a pay-off reel (c) on which a coat film transfer tape (b) is wound, and a take-up reel (d) for collecting the used coat film transfer tape (bxe2x80x2) are rotatably provided in a case (a) which is held by one hand, and a coat film transfer head (f) for pressing the coat film transfer tape (b) onto the object of transfer (the correction area on the sheet of a paper) (e) is projecting from the leading end portion of the case (a) The both reels (c), (d) are automatically taken up as being linked mutually through an interlock unit (g) so as to cooperate. In the interlock unit (g), gears (h), (i) provided on the outer circumference of the both reels (c), (d) are engaged with each other.
The case (a) is a flat box having the contour shape and width dimension enough for incorporating the pay-off reel (c) and take-up reel (d), and the face and back of the flat shape, that is, the face and back to the sheet of paper in FIG. 35(a), (b) are the gripping sides when held by hand during use.
In the coat film transfer tool in FIG. 35(a), the leading end pressing portion (j) of the head (f) is designed to guide the coat film transfer tape (b) in a winding state of the pay-off reel (c) and take-up reel (d), and it is also-called vertical pulling structure suited to correction of a part of vertically written letters such as Japanese sentences. On the other hand, in the coat film transfer tool shown in FIG. 35 (b), the leading end pressing portion (j) of the head (f) is designed to guide the coat film transfer tape (b) almost oppositely to the gripping sides of the case (a), and it is a so-called lateral pulling structure suited to correction of a part of laterally written letters alphabetic sentences.
When correcting wrong letters by these coat film transfer tools, the gripping sides of the case (a) are held by fingers, the coat film transfer tape (b) is held tightly on the correction area (e) by means of the leading end pressing portion (j) of the head (f), and the case (a) is moved in a desired direction (arrow direction in FIG. 35 (a); vertical direction to sheet of paper in FIG. 35(b)). As a result, the correction paint layer of the coat film transfer tape (b) at the leading end pressing portion (j) of the head (f) is applied on the correction area (e) and the letter is erased, and the used coat film transfer tape (bxe2x80x2) is automatically taken up and collected on the take-up reel (d).
Recently, on the other hand, an effective use of resources of the earth is particularly demanded, and from the viewpoint of saving of resources, in this kind of coat film transfer tool, it is desired to employ a so-called refill type structure for replacing only the consumable part of coat film transfer tape (b).
From such viewpoint, lately, various replaceable tape cartridges provided in the case (a) are proposed. The tape cartridge as the consumable part is generally classified into a structure comprising four parts, coat film transfer tape (b), pay-off reel (c), take-up reel (d), and head (f), and a structure comprising three parts, coat film transfer tape (b), pay-off reel (c), and take-up reel (d)
In the tape cartridge of either structure, however, all components are put in a plastic container, and they are replaced entirely together with the used tape cartridge, and in particular the plastic container is relatively large filling up the inner space of the case (a) of the coat film transfer tool, and the rate of occupation of the materials in the entire device is large, and the structure has been demanded to be reduced in weight and simplified.
The conventional tape cartridge further comprises a member (not shown) for stopping rotation of the pay-off reel (c) and take-up reel (d) until being loaded into the case (a), and this rotation stopping member is discarded as refuse after loading the tape cartridge, and this point must be also improved from the viewpoint of saving of resources.
It is a primary object of the invention to present a novel tape cartridge for a coat film transfer tool solving the problems of the prior art.
It is other object of the invention to present a tape cartridge having a support body of lightweight and simple structure, and capable of replacing the coat film transfer tape easily and promptly, by improving the structure of the refill type coat film transfer tool.
It is a further object of the invention to present a coat film transfer tool comprising such tape cartridge, and having a small, simple, and inexpensive structure that can be used like a writing tool flexibly depending on the manner of holding of a writing tool of an individual user.
A first tape cartridge of the invention is a tape cartridge for coat film transfer tool replaceably loaded in a case of a coat film transfer tool, the coat film transfer tool comprising a pay-off reel having the coat film transfer tool and a take-up reel for collecting the coat film transfer tape after use, both rotating in cooperation, and further a coat film transfer head for pressing the coat film transfer tape on a transfer area, in which at least the rotatable pay-off reel having the coat film transfer tape and the rotatable take-up reel for collecting the coat film transfer tape after use are provided on a support body, this support body has a support base plate for rotatably supporting the opposite side ends of rotary shafts of both reels supported detachably and rotatably on a rotary support shaft of the case, and this support base plate has a flat skeletal structure having an outer contour corresponding to the inner contour of the case.
Preferably, the skeletal structure of the support base plate is composed of an outer contour skeletal member forming the outer contour of the support base plate, a bearing skeletal member forming the bearing for rotating and supporting the rotary shaft of the reel, and a connection skeletal member for connecting the both skeletal members, which are connected in a flat skeletal structure. The connection skeletal member is formed as being extended in the radial direction from the bearing.
Further, on the outer peripheral edge of the support base plate, a protective wall is integrally formed upright for surrounding and protecting the both reels, and the support base plate and protective wall may be combined to form a cartridge case for surrounding and holding three sides of the both reels, and in this case the cartridge case composed of the support base plate and protective wall is preferred to be formed in one piece made of synthetic resin. In other preferred structure, on the outer circumference of the protective wall, there is an engaging part to be engaged with a positioning engaging part provided in the inner circumference of the case of the coat film transfer tool, and when the tape cartridge is put in the case of the coat film transfer tool, the both reels are rotatably supported on both sides by the rotary support shaft and support base plate of the case.
Also preferably, at least one of the two reels is provided with a clutch mechanism for synchronizing the pay-off speed and take-up speed of the coat film transfer tape in the both reels, and this clutch mechanism specifically comprises a cylindrical tape core on which the coat film transfer tape is wound, a rotary drive unit for rotating and driving the tape core, and an engaging support member to be engaged with the rotary drive unit in the axial direction, and the tape core is supported at both sides in the axial direction by the rotary drive unit and engaging support member, and the tape core and the rotary drive unit are frictionally engaged with each other in the rotating direction by power transmitting means making use of the frictional force by thrust load.
A second tape cartridge of the invention is a tape cartridge for coat film transfer tool replaceably loaded in a case of a coat film transfer tool, the coat film transfer tool comprising a pay-off reel having the coat film transfer tool and a take-up reel for collecting the coat film transfer tape after use, both rotating in cooperation, and further a coat film transfer head for pressing the coat film transfer tape on a transfer area, in which the rotatable pay-off reel having the coat film transfer tape and the rotatable take-up reel for collecting the coat film transfer tape after use are provided on a support body, this support body integrally comprises rotation stopping means for stopping and holding the rotation of the reels, and this rotating stopping means has a structure to be engaged with the reels to stop rotation of the reels in a state before the support body is installed in the case, and engaged with a rotation stop release part provided in the case and released from the reels in a state of the tape cartridge being installed in the case.
A coat film transfer tool of the invention is a refill type coat film transfer tool containing the tape cartridge detachably and capable of replacing the coat film transfer tape, comprising a hand-held case, and a rotary support shaft supporting a pay-off reel and a take-up reel of the tape cartridge detachably and rotatably provided therein, in which the both reels are rotated and held at both sides by the rotary support shaft and the support body of the tape cartridge. A coat film transfer head for pressing the coat film transfer tool on a transfer area is provided either at the leading end of the case or at the support body of the tape cartridge.
Preferably, the coat film transfer head provided either in the support body of the tape cartridge or in the case of the coat film transfer tool has a structure of which leading end pressing part is suited to lateral pulling use, or a structure rotating about the axial center of the head for keeping a position suited to the manner of holding a writing tool of the user.
In the tape cartridge of the invention, firstly, the support body has a support base plate for rotatably supporting the opposite side ends of rotary shafts of the pay-off reel and take-up reel supported detachably and rotatably on a rotary support shaft of the case of the coat film transfer tool, and this support base plate has a flat skeletal structure having an outer contour corresponding to the inner contour of the case, and therefore as compared with the conventional plastic container, the rate of use of materials in the entire device of the support body itself is substantially curtailed.
Secondly, the support body integrally comprises rotation stopping means for stopping and holding the rotation of the pay-off reel and/or take-up reel, and this rotating stopping means has a structure to be engaged with the reels to stop rotation of the reels in a state before the support body is installed in the case, that is, in an ordinary state, and engaged with a rotation stop release part provided in the case and released from the reels in a state of the tape cartridge being installed in the case, and therefore an independent rotation stopping member in the prior art that is discarded after use is not required at all.
Further, the support body has at least a rotatable pay-off reel on which a coat film transfer tape is wound, and a rotatable take-up reel for collecting the coat film transfer tape after use, so that it can be replaced instantly.
That is, the support body is designed to support rotatably the opposite side ends of rotary shafts of the both reels supported on the rotary support shaft of the case, and therefore the user has only to hold the support body and put the tape cartridge into the case while keeping the rotary shaft of the reels in engagement with the rotary support shaft of the case from the upper side, then the replacement procedure is over. In particular, in the structure in which the coat film transfer head is provided in the support body, setting of the coat film transfer tape on the coat film transfer head is completed already in the product stage, and the replacement is easier and faster.
In the coat film transfer head, its leading end pressing part is suited to lateral pulling use, or it is designed to rotate about the axial center of the head, so that the user can use with a sense of holding a writing tool.
In the latter structure, in particular, the coat film transfer head rotates about the axial center of the head in a specified range, and depending on the application or manner of holding by the user, the head position can be held in an appropriate state. It also includes a concept that the coat film transfer tool of the invention, if originally designed for use by a right-handed user in the head basic structure, can be held and used by a left-handed user naturally in an optimum head position.
These and other objects and features of the invention will be more clearly understood by reading the detailed description with the accompanying drawings and the novel facts indicated in the claims.

Coat film transfer tape cartridge and coat film transfer tool


The magnetic anti-tampering system of the magnetically enhanced key and lock system provides a mechanical and magnetic security system. It utilizes a modified paracentric key and a locking assembly affixed to a component inside of a paracentric lock. The magnetically enhanced key and lock system increases the security of a pair centric lock by defeating the unauthorized operation of pair centric locks by unauthorized users, such as inmates, who have fabricated copies of the authentic, paracentric keys. Paracentric locks and keys are the most common type of locks used in jails, state prisons, and detention facilities. The locking system requires that both the teeth of the key and the magnetic pairs of the key and locking dog combine to open the lock.

Field of the Invention
Applicants' invention relates to a device for magnetic anti-tampering system. More particularly, it relates to magnetically paired keys and locks that use lever tumblers.
Background Information
There are many keys for many different types of locks. One type of lock and key commonly used in prisons and correctional facilities is the paracentric. Paracentric literally means to deviate from circularity, or changing the distance from a center. A paracentric key is distinguishable by the heavily contoured shape of its blade, which protrudes past the center vertical line of the keyway in the cylinder. Locks with paracentric keyways offer a higher level of protection against picking since they prevent direct access to the pins by traditional picking tools. A paracentric lock has a keyway with one or more wards on each side projecting beyond the vertical center line of the keyway. Instead of the wards on the outer face of the lock simply protruding into the shape of the key along the spine, the wards protrude into the shape of the key along the entire width of the key, including along the length of the teeth. The shape and wards of the paracentric lock and key are designed to hinder picking. This is the reason that person could locks and keys are often used in jails. However, even the paracentric lock and keys are not completely immune to picking by motivated individuals such as inmates.
A pin tumbler lock is a lock mechanism that uses pins of varying lengths to prevent the lock from opening without the correct key. Pin tumblers are most commonly employed in cylinder locks, but may also be found in other types of locks as well.
Pin tumbler locks are made up of a Bible which sits around a cylindrical plug. Unimpeded, the plug will rotate inside the Bible. The Bible of the lock contains the springs and the driver pins. The driver pins sit between the Bible and the plug of the lock. The plug is the portion of the lock that contains the keyway and will turn when the correct key is inserted. Below the driver pins are the key pins. The key pins will actually touch the key when it is inserted. The driver pins and the key pins are in contact and a thought one another but are not connected. All of the pins slide within a cylinder with the springs urging the pins down. The driver pins and springs are all the same length. In contrast, each of the key pins has a unique length that corresponds to the unique cuts (teeth) in the key. When no key is in the keyway, the springs urge the driver pins past the junction of the Bible and plug, thus the driver pins block rotation of the plug. If an incorrect key is inserted into the lock, then the lock teeth will either be too short or too tall. If a key tooth is too big, then the driver pin/lock pin combination is moved against the spring such that the lock pin extends beyond the junction of the Bible and plug and the lock pin blocks rotation of the plug. If a key tooth is too small, then like when there is no key at all, the spring urges the lock pin past the junction of the Bible and plug again blocking rotation of the plug. Of the Bible and plug is called the sheer line. When the correct key is inserted into the lock, the key pins are raised by the teeth such that the top of the key pins and the bottom of the driver pins sit at the sheer line. This allows the plug to rotate and disengage the lock.
In contrast to the pin tumblers, a lever tumbler lock is a type of lock that uses a set of levers (instead of pins) to prevent the bolt from moving in the lock. In the simplest of these, lifting the tumbler above a certain height will allow the bolt to slide past. In a double acting lever lock a slot is cut in the lever so that the lever must be lifted to a certain height but not too far in order for the bolt to be allowed to move within the lock. The number of levers may vary, and may be increased in order to provide correspondingly increased levels of security.
In the past, magnetic keys have been used with pin tumbler type locks. A magnetic-coded lock uses pins in combination with magnets to prevent unlocking with non-matching keys by teething and magnetic polarity. Magnetic locks/keys use paired magnets with opposing poles inside the key and plug. When a correctly matched key is inserted into the lock, not only are all the mechanical pins pushed into the correct positions, the magnetic pins are also driven to the appropriate level by the magnetic force inside the key. Magnetic-coded locks offer heightened security because in order to unlock a lock not only must the key teething fit with the pins, the magnetic pin locations and poles of the lock and key must correspond. The correct fitting position can be found by feeling the effect of the magnetic force, or by aligning with the markings. When the magnetic key is placed on a magnetic lock, the lock magnets online the magnetic catches arranged in a freely rotatable manner in relation to the key magnets such that the opposite poles oppose each other. Further, the lock magnets are pulled by the key magnets into locked positions. This occurs because the attractive force acting between the lock magnets and the key magnets is slightly greater in the online edition and the attractive force acting between the lock. If there is no magnetic key or respectively corresponding external magnetic force, the magnetic attraction of the key magnets combined so that the magnetic catches independently pull themselves into the locked position. This is in addition to the spring mechanisms of the pin tumbler locks.

Magnetically enhanced key and lock system


A linear compressor includes a mover which linearly reciprocates, a stator generating a driving force to allow the mover to linearly reciprocate and having a cylinder space formed on an inner circumferential surface thereof, a cylinder inserted into the cylinder space of the stator and having a compression space compressing a refrigerant, a piston reciprocating in an axial direction inside the cylinder, a frame provided on one side of the stator in an axial direction and supporting the stator in the axial direction, and a cylinder support member separated from the frame, provided between an inner circumferential surface of the stator and an outer circumferential surface of the cylinder, having one end fixed to the stator and the other end fixed to the cylinder, and supporting the cylinder with respect to the stator in the axial direction.

In a reciprocating compressor, a compression space is formed between a piston and a cylinder and the piston reciprocates linearly to compress a fluid. Reciprocating compressors are known to include a crank type reciprocating compressor that compresses a refrigerant by converting a rotational force of a rotary motor into a linear motion, and a vibration type reciprocating compressor that compresses a refrigerant using a linear motor that makes a linear reciprocating motion. The vibration type reciprocating compressor is termed a linear compressor. Such a linear compressor does not make mechanical loss in converting a rotational motion into a linear reciprocating motion, improving efficiency and having a simple structure.
The linear compressor may be classified as an oil lubrication type linear compressor and a gas lubrication type linear compressor according to the lubrication method. The oil lubrication type linear compressor is configured to store a certain amount of oil in a casing and lubricate between a cylinder and a piston using the oil as disclosed in Patent document 1 (Korean Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 10-2015-0040027). Meanwhile, as disclosed in Patent document 2 (Korean Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 10-2016-0024217), the gas lubrication type linear compressor is configured such that, without storing oil in a casing, a portion of a refrigerant discharged from a compression space is guided between a cylinder and a piston to lubricate between the cylinder and the piston by a gas force of the refrigerant.
In both the oil lubrication type linear compressor and the gas lubrication type linear compressor as described above, an outer stator and an inner stator, which form the stators of the linear motor, are supported by a frame. Thus, a gap allowing a mover to reciprocate is maintained between the outer stator and the inner stator. Also, the inner stator is inserted into an outer circumferential surface of the frame and a cylinder is inserted into an inner circumferential surface of the frame to support radial and axial directions of the inner stator and the cylinder.
Further, in the case of the gas lubrication type, the frame and the cylinder are assembled to secure a certain gap so that a refrigerant passage forming a gas bearing is formed between the inner circumferential surface of the frame and the outer circumferential surface of the cylinder.
However, since the related art linear compressor as described above is formed to support both the stator and the cylinder by the frame, a shape of the frame may be complicated. Thus, dimensions of the frame must be precisely controlled, which significantly increases processing cost for the frame.
In addition, in the related art linear compressor, the frame is formed to support both the stator and the cylinder, although it is formed of a material which is expensive, relative to other members. Thus, as the size of the frame is increased, material cost for the frame is increased. That is, as the frame supports the stator, the frame is formed of a material having relatively low magnetic permeability such as aluminum in consideration of leakage of magnetic flux, which, however, increases material cost.
In addition, in the related art linear compressor, as a front end of the cylinder is axially supported at a front end of the frame, a length of the cylinder is increased, so that material cost for the cylinder increases and a length of the compressor is increased.
In addition, in the related art linear compressor, since a discharge valve for opening and closing a discharge side of the compression space is provided outside the linear motor, the length of the linear compressor in the axial direction increases and the length of the piston is increased, which is disadvantageous for a high-speed operation and increases friction loss.
In addition, in the related art linear compressor, since the discharge valve is provided outside the linear motor, a discharge cover, which accommodates the discharge valve is coupled to one axial side of the frame so as to be assembled to increase an assembling process to increase manufacturing cost.
In addition, since the related art linear compressor is provided with a support member supporting a compressor main body with respect to a casing, the number of components is increased to result in a complicated structure of the compressor, and also, since a space for installing the support member is required, the size of the compressor is increased accordingly.
In addition, in the related art linear compressor, when the compressor main body is supported by the support member having an elastic force, sagging of the compressor main body may occur to cause alignment of components constituting the compressor main body may be distorted. As a result, collision may occur between components, leading to a decrease in reliability or an increase in friction loss.
In addition, in the related art linear compressor, since the compressor main body is installed inside the airtight casing, heat generated by the compressor main body may not be quickly dissipated to degrade efficiency of the compressor.

Linear compressor with a cylinder supported by a support member having bent portions


Serial analysis of gene expression, SAGE, a method for the rapid quantitative and qualitative analysis of transcripts is provided. Short defined sequence tags corresponding to expressed genes are isolated and analyzed. Sequencing of over 1,000 defined tags in a short period of time (e.g., hours) reveals a gene expression pattern characteristic of the function of a cell or tissue. Moreover, SAGE is useful as a gene discovery tool for the identification and isolation of novel sequence tags corresponding to novel transcripts and genes.

Determination of the genomic sequence of higher organisms, including humans, is now a real and attainable goal. However, this analysis only represents one level of genetic complexity. The ordered and timely expression of genes represents another level of complexity equally important to the definition and biology of the organism.
The role of sequencing complementary DNA (cDNA), reverse transcribed from mRNA, as part of the human genome project has been debated as proponents of genomic sequencing have argued the difficulty of finding every mRNA expressed in all tissues, cell types, and developmental stages and have pointed out that much valuable information from intronic and intergenic regions, including control and regulatory sequences, will be missed by cDNA sequencing (Report of the Committee on Mapping and Sequencing the Human Genome, National Academy Press, Washington, D.C., 1988). Sequencing of transcribed regions of the genome using cDNA libraries has heretofore been considered unsatisfactory. Libraries of cDNA are believed to be dominated by repetitive elements, mitochondrial genes, ribosomal RNA genes, and other nuclear genes comprising common or housekeeping sequences. It is believed that cDNA libraries do not provide all sequences corresponding to structural and regulatory polypeptides or peptides (Putney, et al., Nature, 302:718, 1983).
Another drawback of standard cDNA cloning is that some mRNAs are abundant while others are rare. The cellular quantities of mRNA from various genes can vary by several orders of magnitude.
Techniques based on cDNA subtraction or differential display can be quite useful for comparing gene expression differences between two cell types (Hedrick, et al., Nature, 308:149, 1984; Liang and Pardee, Science, 257:967, 1992), but provide only a partial analysis, with no direct information regarding abundance of messenger RNA. The expressed sequence tag (EST) approach has been shown to be a valuable tool for gene discovery (Adams, et al., Science 252:1656, 1991; Adams, et al., Nature, 355:632, 1992; Okubo et al., Nature Genetics, 2:173, 1992), but like Northern blotting, RNase protection, and reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analysis (Alwine, et al., Proc. Natl. Acad Sci, U.S.A., 74:5350, 1977; Zinn et al, Cell, 34:865, 1983; Veres, et al., Science, 237:415, 1987), only evaluates a limited number of genes at a time. In addition, the EST approach preferably employs nucleotide sequences of 150 base pairs or longer for similarity searches and mapping.
Sequence tagged sites (STSs) (Olson, et al., Science, 245:1434, 1989) have also been utilized to identify genomic markers for the physical mapping of the genome. These short sequences from physically mapped clones represent uniquely identified map positions in the genome. In contrast, the identification of expressed genes relies on expressed sequence tags which are markers for those genes actually transcribed and expressed in vivo.
There is a need for an improved method which allows rapid, detailed analysis of thousands of expressed genes for the investigation of a variety of biological applications, particularly for establishing the overall pattern of gene expression in different cell types or in the same cell type under different physiologic or pathologic conditions. Identification of different patterns of expression has several utilities, including the identification of appropriate therapeutic targets, candidate genes for gene therapy (e.g., gene replacement), tissue typing, forensic identification, mapping locations of disease-associated genes, and for the identification of diagnostic and prognostic indicator genes.

Method for serial analysis of gene expression

The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine


Disclosed is a composition which comprises a phosphatized alicyclic compound represented by the formula (I), (II), (III), (VII) or (IX), shown in the specification.. The composition of the present invention is useful as an antigassing agent for a water-based coating composition containing metallic, for example, aluminum powder or flake pigments for coating automobile bodies, etc., a flame retardant for various resins and a water-based ink, and the like.

It has been well known to incorporate metallic pigments in coating compositions, in particular it is an established practice to use aluminum flake pigments in compositions intended for the production of so-called "glamour" finishes on automobile bodies, whereby a differential tight reflection is effected, depending on the angle at which the coated surface is viewed. Generally speaking, such coating compositions have been solvent-based, in common with the other coating compositions employed in the automobile industry. The tend is growing, however, toward the use of water-based coating compositions due to the need to improve work environments and reduce pollution.
For example, British Patent Specification No. 2073609 teaches a coating process in which a specified type of water-based base coat composition containing pigments, especially aluminum flake pigment is applied to a base surface, after which a transparent top coat composition is applied to the base coat.
However, difficulties arise in incorporating metallic pigments, particularly aluminum or aluminum alloys, into water-borne coating compositions, because the pigment tends to react with water to produce hydrogen.
This leads to problems, especially if compositions are stored in closed containers.
Ways have been proposed to minimize or prevent this "gassing effect" most involving some form of chemical treatment of the metallic pigment to render it less reactive toward the aqueous medium of the coating composition. It is known that ortho-phosphoric acid is effective for this purpose, but its presence in coating compositions leads to unacceptable poor humidity resistance in films derived from them.
Alkyl esters of phosphoric acid can overcome the problem to a limited extent, but their use involves an unsatisfactory compromise between the inhibition of gassing and a tendency toward deteriorating mechanical properties in the derived coatings, in particular poor adhesion between the base coat containing the agent and the transparent top coat.
The same is true of nonphosphorus-containing treatment agents, such as dimer acids, proposed for this purpose in British Patent Specification 2043092.
Furthermore, U.S. Pat. No, 4,621,112 corresponding to Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. 47771/1986! discloses the use of a reaction product of a Phosphoric acid and one or more compounds which contain in the molecule at least one epoxide group and which also contains in the molecule at least one aromatic or alicyclic group wherein one or both reactants contain an aliphatic group of more than six carbon atoms with the aliphatic group not exceeding 65% by weight. The reaction product provides antigassing without sacrificing the mechanical properties of the coatings.
In the instance of the additive, although mechanical properties are not affected, coating appearance, particularly "flop" is adversely affected. The "flop" means the visual change in brightness of the metallic aluminum flake with a change in viewing angle, that is, a change of from 90 to 180 degrees.
The greater the visual change from a light to dark appearance, the better the flop. Flop accentuates the lines and curves of a coated angle. Furthermore, a starting material of the antigassing agent in the USP is an aromatic glycidyl epoxy compound such as a bisphenol A glycidyl epoxy compound, prepared by the use of epichlorohydrin, resulting in that chlorine is brought in the gassing agent. Even in exceedingly minor amounts, the presence of chlorine adversely affects metallic pigments.
Still further, in the case when the starting material is an aromatic glycidyl compound, it would not be stable with light and oxygen, resulting in inferior weatherability.
In addition, European Patent Publication No. 0319971 corresponding to Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. 190765/1989! discloses a water-based coating composition containing aluminum flakes and an antigassing phosphatized acrylic polymer in which an epoxy-functional acrylic polymer is allowed to react with a phosphoric aced, or forming in situ phophatized polymer after an acrylic monomer is allowed to react with a phosphoric acid.
However, it has been found that the antigassing agent described in the EP is somewhat inferior from the viewpoint of a balanced stability of the composition, the tone of color in the coated layer, anti-strippability in the coated layer and weatherability or moisture resistance in the coated layer. Furthermore, the molecular weight of phosphatized acrylic polymer is not easy to adjust.
As a result of an intensive investigation, the inventors of this invention have now found that it is possible to solve the problems as described hereinabove by the use of the phosphatized alicyclic compound of the present invention as an antigassing agent for a water-based coating composition containing aluminum powder or flake pigments.

Composition comprising a novel phosphatized alicyclic compound and process for the preparation thereof


Spinning apparatus for carrying out a dry/wet-spinning process includes a spinneret for extruding filaments, a blowing device whereby the extruded filaments may be cooled immediately after being delivered from the spinning holes, a container containing spinning bath liquid, and means for bundling the extruded filaments provided in the spinning bath liquid. Preferably, the same means serves both for bundling and diverting the extruded filaments and is non-rotatable.

The invention relates to a spinning process and apparatus for carrying out an amine-oxide process according to the dry/wet-spinning process. The spinning apparatus comprises a spinneret having spinning holes for extruding filaments, a container for holding spinning bath liquid, an air gap defined as the distance between the spinneret and the surface of the spinning bath liquid and a shaped body supported in the container of spinning bath liquid for bundling and diverting the extruded filaments.
In general terms, in the dry/wet spinning process, the spinning dope is extruded through a forming tool, such as a spinneret, to form filaments or other shaped bodies. The extruded bodies are then exposed to a non-precipitating medium such as air or an inert gas. In the case of filaments, the filaments are stretched in the air or inert gas medium and subsequently conducted into a spinning bath liquid (precipitation bath), wherein the filaments coagulate.
The amine-oxide process according to the dry/wet-spinning process is known from DE-A -29 13 589. Generally, the amine-oxide process involves the production of cellulose molded bodies using tertiary amine-oxides. According to this process, cellulose is dissolved in a mixture of water and a tertiary amine-oxide to form a solution. N-methylmorpholine-N-oxide (NMMO) is primarily used as the amine-oxide. Other amine-oxides are described in, e.g., EP-A -0 553 070. A process for the production of moldable cellulose solutions is disclosed in EP-A-0 356 419, (U.S. Pat. No. 5,094,690).
WO 93/19230 and WO 95/04173 disclose an advantageous embodiment of the amine-oxide process and a device for the production of cellulose fibers. A solution of cellulose in a tertiary amine-oxide is molded in a hot state, and the molded solution is then introduced through a gaseous medium (air) into a precipitation bath to precipitate the cellulose therein. The hot, molded solution is cooled before it is introduced into the precipitation bath. The cooling is carried out immediately after the molding by blowing air on the molded cellulose filaments in a direction which is generally perpendicular to the direction of travel of the filaments. The process enables the cellulose solution to be spun with a high filament density, while preventing adhesion between the individual filaments after they are extruded from the spinneret.
DD-A -218 121 discloses another dry/wet-spinning process for the production of cellulose fibers from solutions of cellulose in tertiary amine-oxides. The cellulose solution is spun into an air gap, i.e. the space between the spinneret and the surface of the spinning bath liquid, stretched and conducted into an aqueous precipitation bath. According to DD-A - 218 121, the air gap may be reduced without any negative effects on the spinning safety if a polyalkylene ether is added to the cellulose solution before commencement of the spinning operation. The small air gap reduces the risk of adhesion between the freshly extruded filaments.
EP-A-0 574 870 discloses yet another dry/wet-spinning process for processing solutions of cellulose in tertiary amine-oxides and points out the advantage of a small air gap. According to the disclosure, adhesion between the individual filaments during the spinning operation is prevented even though the spinning process employs a small air gap and a high number of spinning holes per area unit, by directing the filaments through a spinning funnel and into the spinning bath liquid. Spinning bath liquid flows through the spinning funnel in a direction parallel to the flow of the filaments. The longitudinal axis of the spinning funnel is substantially vertical, i.e. perpendicular to the plane of the spinneret. The flow of the spinning bath liquid is directed downwards from above and is generated from the gravitational fall of the spinning bath liquid. The drawing or stretching of the extruded filaments is accomplished by the flow of the spinning bath liquid through the spinning funnel.
There are a number of problems associated with the spinning device disclosed in EP-A 0 574 870. First, the small diameter of the spinning funnel sets an upper limit on the number of filaments which can be conducted through the funnel at any one time. This upper limit prevents the device from being used effectively in industrial settings. For example, when employing a diameter of 6 mm, as disclosed in EP-A-0 574 870, it is only possible to conduct a filament bundle consisting of not more than 100 filaments through the funnel since spinning bath liquid also has to flow through the funnel. This limits the spinneret to no more than 100 holes.
When a larger spinneret is used, i.e. one having thousands of spinning holes, such as described in Austrian Patent AT-B 397.392 of the present assignee, the diameter of the funnel pipe must be larger and a greater amount of spinning bath liquid must be discharged through the funnel pipe and circulated in the bath. The heavy flow of spinning bath liquid causes turbulent flows in the spinning bath, thereby interfering with the dry/wet- spinning process.
GB-A-1,017,855 discloses another device having a spinning funnel for dry/wet-spinning of synthetic polymers. Spinning bath liquid flows through the funnel, parallel to the flow of the extruded fibers. The spinneret is located approximately 0.5 cm above the spinning bath surface.
In view of the problems discussed above, it is an object of the present invention to provide a spinning device which achieves "good spinnability" (high spinning safety) without complex equipment. "Good spinnability" is defined as attaining a maximum final drawing as high as possible (minimum titer) before the fiber breaks. Another indicator of "good spinnability" is the period of time during which spinning is possible without the occurrence of spinning deficiencies which require technical assistance. Moreover, even when using spinnerets having high hole densities, the adhesion of the fresh extruded filaments in the air gap is to be prevented, and a titer as constant as possible (low titer variations) is to be attained.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a spinning process and apparatus for a dry/wet spinning process whereby it is possible to perform the process with high spinning safety, simultaneously:
(a) to provide a small drawing space (air gap) and PA1 (b) to use spinnerets having a high hole density and allowing for a high dope throughput.
It is a further object of the invention to provide such spinning process and apparatus in which turbulent flow in the spinning bath is avoided and the apparatus is readily adjustable to accommodate spinnerets of various sizes.


Adhesive compositions of a selected class of epoxy resins combined with a selected class of carboxylic group-containing acrylonitrile-butadiene and methacrylonitrile-butadiene copolymers, maleimide derivatives and an imidazole compound. The resultant compositions are electrically insulative, thermally resistant, highly capable of fabrication at low pressure and storage stable.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to adhesive compositions and more particularly to such a composition having special utility in the fabrication of electronic equipment.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Electronic equipment has become more and more economical in weight and smaller in dimension. This in turn calls for printed circuitry of increased compactness and multiplied construction. Glass epoxy prepregs find wide application in assembling or otherwise laminating a dielectric substrate with a copper pattern to thereby form a printed wiring board. Such type of prepreg, derived by impregnating an epoxy resin into fibrous glass, has been found unsatisfactory for reasons given here and below.
To remove air entrained in the prepreg, the foregoing mode of assembly is necessarily effected with a two-stage rise of temperatures and at a pressure as high as 40 kg/cm.sup.2. These conditions will in most cases produce a printed wiring board having residual strain which results from the heat and pressure during lamination and will eventually lead to pattern failure. Alternatively, it has been proposed that a composition made up of an epoxy resin and an acrylonitrile-butadiene rubber (NBR) be used in place of a glass epoxy prepreg. This composition, though able to be laminate at low pressure, is susceptible to insufficient electrical characteristics particularly with time under high temperature and humidity conditions. In such instance the decline in electrical quality is due primarily to the presence of the NBR. That problem is thought to be alleviated by the replacement of NBR with a carboxyl group-containing NBR rubber. NBR rubbers of this type are highly compatible and crosslink with the epoxy resin and hence are capable of improving electrical properties. The last type of composition, however, undergoes gradual reaction even at room temperature and hence has poor stability during storage.

Adhesive of epoxy resin, CTBN and maleimide


A computer-implemented method according to one embodiment includes compressing an uncompressed instance of data to create a compressed instance of data; encrypting the compressed instance of data utilizing wide-block encryption in response to determining that a size of the compressed instance of data is less than a predetermined threshold; and adding a zero pad to the encrypted compressed instance of data to create a ciphertext string.

The present invention relates to data encryption, and more particularly, this invention relates to implementing deterministic encryption of data that facilitates data deduplication.
Deterministic encryption is useful in data storage in that it allows duplicates of encrypted data to be identified and removed within such data storage. Deterministic encryption may be combined with length preserving compression (LPC) to enable a storage system to perform data deduplication of data that was already persistently encrypted at a host. However, current implementations require concatenating an initialization vector to encrypted compressed data to generate a ciphertext string. If the data cannot be compressed, current methods may not implement deterministic encryption to encrypt the uncompressed data when generating the ciphertext string.

Creating deterministic ciphertext using wide-block encryption

International Business Machines Corporation


An angular sensor has a shaped dual magnet structure carried upon a pole piece having a generally "c" shaped cross-section. The magnet and pole piece define a generally circular linear field which is concentric about the axis of rotation of the complete rotor. A Hall effect device is inserted into the open portion or gap between the two magnets and is exposed to a well defined field. Through the use of particular magnet materials and a magnet geometry extending from the axis of rotation to a point well beyond the Hall sensor, a precise and yet tolerant magnetic circuit is produced.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains generally to position sensing, and specifically to rotary or angular position sensors which are both durable and precise for application to rugged and demanding environments.
2. Description of the Related Art
There are a variety of known techniques for angular position sensing. Optical, electrical, electrostatic and magnetic fields are all used with apparatus to measure position.
There are many known apparatus for using these energies for sensing. A few of the known apparatus are resistive contacting sensors, inductively coupled ratio detectors, variable reluctance devices, capacitively coupled ratio detectors, optical detectors using the Faraday effect, photo-activated ratio detectors, radio wave directional comparators, and electrostatic ratio detectors. There are many other known detectors, too numerous to mention herein.
These detection methods tend to each offer much value for one or more applications, but none meet all application requirements for all position sensing applications. The limitations may be due to cost, sensitivity to particular energies and fields, resistance to contamination and environment, stability, ruggedness, linearity, precision, or other similar factors.
Transportation applications generally, and specifically automotive applications, are very demanding. Temperatures may rise to 150 degrees Centigrade or more, with road contaminants such as salt and dirt splashing upon the engine compartment. This may occur while the engine is still extremely hot from operation. At the other extreme, an engine is expected to perform in the most northern climates without fault, and without special preheating.
Present throttle position sensors are manufactured using a resistive sensor combined with a sliding contactor structure. The sliding contact serves to "tap" the resistor element and provide a voltage proportional to position. The resistive sensor has proven to offer the greatest performance for cost in throttle position sensing applications, unmatched by any other technology to date. However, the resistive throttle position sensors are not without limitation.
An automotive position sensor must endure many millions or even billions of small motions referred to in the industry as dithers. These dithers are the result of mechanical motion and vibration carried into the position sensor. Additionally, during the life of a throttle position sensor, there may be a million or more full stroke cycles of motion. In resistive sensors, these motions can affect signal quality.
In spite of this shortcoming, throttle position sensors are resistive sensors. Over the years, efforts at improving the contactor-element interface have vastly improved the performance of these devices. Similar improvements in packaging and production have maintained cost advantage. A replacement component must be able to meet throttle position sensor performance requirements while offering similar price advantage.
The combination of temperature extremes and contamination to which an automotive sensor is exposed causes the industry to explore very rugged and durable components. One particular group of sensors, those which utilize magnetic energy, are rapidly being accepted into these demanding applications. This is because of the inherent insensitivity of the magnetic system to contamination, together with durability characteristic of the components.
Applying magnetic sensing to tone wheels for applications such as anti-lock braking and ignition timing has been a relatively easy task. The impulse provided by the tone wheel is readily detected through all conditions, with very simple electronic circuitry.
Magnetic position sensors, particularly those using Hall effect IC detectors, are also being pursued. Many in the industry believe these sensors will ultimately offer advantages over the present resistive technology. However, prior to the present invention, none of these sensors were able to offer the necessary combination of low cost, reliability, and precision output.
Magnetic circuits offer admirable performance upon exposure to the usual moisture and dirt contaminants. However, linearity and tight tolerances are another issue. Sensors are subjected to both radial and axial forces that change the alignment of the rotor portion of the sensor with respect to the stationary portion (stator). Somewhere in the system is at least one bearing, and this bearing will have a finite amount of play, or motion. That play results in the rotor moving relative to the stator.
Unfortunately, magnetic circuits of the prior art tend to be very sensitive to mechanical motion between the rotor and stator. As noted, this motion may be in an axial direction parallel to the axis of rotation, or may be in a radial direction perpendicular to the axis, or a combination thereof.
Typical magnetic circuits use one or a combination of magnets to generate a field across an air gap. The magnetic field sensor, be this a Hall effect device or a magnetoresistive material or some other magnetic field sensor, is then inserted into the gap. The sensor is aligned centrally within the cross-section of the gap. Magnetic field lines are not constrained anywhere within the gap, but tend to be most dense and of consistent strength centrally within the gap. Various means may be provided to vary the strength of the field monitored by the sensor, ranging from shunting the magnetic field around the gap to changing the dimensions of the gap.
Regardless of the arrangement and method for changing the field about the sensor, the magnetic circuit faces several obstacles which have heretofore not been overcome. Movement of the sensor relative to the gap, which is the result of axial and radial play between the rotor and stator, will lead to a variation in field strength measured by the sensor. This effect is particularly pronounced in Hall effect, magneto-resistive and other similar sensors, where the sensor is sensitive about a single axis and insensitive to perpendicular magnetic fields.
The familiar bulging of field lines jumping a gap illustrates this, where a Hall effect sensor not accurately positioned in the gap will measure the vector fraction of the field strength directly parallel to the gap. In the center of the gap, this will be equal to the full field strength. The vector fraction perpendicular thereto will be ignored by the sensor, even though the sum of the vectors is the actual field strength at that point. As the sensor is moved from the center of the gap, the field begins to diverge, or bulge, resulting in a greater fraction of the field vector being perpendicular to the gap. Since this will not be detected by the sensor, the sensor will provide a reading of insufficient magnitude.
In addition to the limitations with regard to position and field strength, another set of issues must be addressed. A position sensor of value in the transportation industry must be precise in spite of fluctuating temperatures. In order to gain useful output, a magnet must initially be completely saturated. Failure to do so will result in unpredictable performance. However, operating at complete saturation leads to another problem referred to in the trade as irreversible loss. Temperature cycling, particularly to elevated temperatures, permanently decreases the magnetic output.
A magnet also undergoes aging processes not unlike those of other materials, including oxidation and other forms of corrosion. This is commonly referred to as structural loss. Structural and irreversible loss must be understood and dealt with in order to provide a reliable device with precision output.
Another significant challenge in the design of magnetic circuits is the sensitivity of the circuit to surrounding ferromagnetic objects. For transportation applications a large amount of iron or steel may be placed in very close proximity to the sensor. The sensor must not respond to this external influence.
The prior art is illustrated, for example, by Tomczak et al in U.S. Pat. No. 4,570,118. Therein, a number of different embodiments are illustrated for forming the magnetic circuit of a Hall effect throttle position sensor. The Tomczak et al disclosure teaches the use of a sintered samarium cobalt magnet material which is either flat, arcuate, and slightly off-axis, or in second and third embodiments, rectangular with shaped pole pieces. The last embodiment is most similar to the present invention, where there are two shaped magnets of opposite polarity across an air gap of varying length.
No discussion is provided by Tomczak et al for how each magnet is magnetically coupled to the other, though from the disclosure it appears to be through the use of an air gap formed by a plastic molded carrier. Furthermore, no discussion is provided as to how this magnetic material is shaped and how the irreversible and structural losses will be managed. Sintered samarium cobalt is difficult to shape with any degree of precision, and the material is typically ground after sintering. The grinding process is difficult, expensive and imprecise. The device may be designed to be linear and precise at a given temperature and a given level of magnetic saturation, presumably fully saturated. However, such a device would not be capable of performing in a linear and precise manner, nor be reliable, through the production processes, temperature cycling and vibration realized in the transportation environment.
Furthermore, devices made with this Tomczak et al design are highly susceptible to adjacent ferromagnetic objects. The variation in adjacent ferromagnetic material from one engine to the next will serve to distort the field and adversely affect both linearity and precision. The open magnetic circuit not only adversely affects sensitivity to foreign objects, but also sensitivity to radiated energies, commonly referred to as Electro-Magnetic Interference (EMI or EMC).
The Tomczak et al embodiments are very sensitive to bearing play. The combination of an open magnetic circuit and radially narrow permanent magnet structure provides no tolerance for motion in the bearing system. This motion will be translated into a changing magnetic field, since the area within the gap in which the field is parallel and of consistent magnetic induction is very small.
Ratajski et al in U.S. Pat. No. 3,112,464 illustrate several embodiments of a brushless Hall effect potentiometer. In the first embodiment they disclose a shaped, radially magnetized structure which varies an air gap between the magnetic structure and a casing, not unlike the last embodiment of the Tomczak et al patent mentioned above. However, there is no provision for radial or axial motion of the magnet carried upon the rotor. Furthermore, the large magnetic structure is difficult to manufacture and relatively expensive.
Wu in U.S. Pat. No. 5,159,268 illustrates a shaped magnet structure similar to Ratajski et al. The structure illustrated therein suffers from the same limitations as the Ratajski et al disclosure. Additionally, the device of the Wu disclosure offers no protection from extraneous ferromagnetic objects.
Alfors in U.S. Pat. No. 5,164,668 illustrates a sensor less sensitive to radial and axial play. The disclosed device requires a large shaped magnet for precision and linearity. The size of the magnet structure places additional demand upon the bearing system. No discussion therein addresses magnet materials, methods for compensating for irreversible and structural losses, or shielding from extraneous ferromagnetic objects. The combination of large magnet, enhanced bearing structure, and added shielding combine to make a more expensive package.

Rotary position sensor with improved bearing tolerance


At least one exemplary embodiment is directed to a projector which includes several optical elements, reflective devices and beam splitters, arranged to reduce back reflection effects. At least one exemplary embodiment includes a mirror, two beam splitters, three reflection devices, and two optical elements affecting polarization of incident light upon the optical elements.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a projector and more particularly, though not exclusively, to a projector that modulates a light beam via a reflective liquid-crystal panel.
2. Description of the Related Art
Reflective liquid-crystal panels have a higher aperture ratio and higher definition than transmissive liquid-crystal panels, and therefore, projectors equipped with reflective liquid-crystal panels are in great demand. However, in contrast to transmissive-type projectors, reflective-type projectors have the two following optical problems, which have been setting back the popularization of reflective-type projectors.
One of the problems is that a reflection of image light produced in an optical projecting system re-enters the reflective liquid-crystal panel where the light is reflected again so as to re-enter the optical projecting system. As a result, the light passes through the optical projecting system to reach the screen, causing the image contrast to decrease. The other problem is that the light needs to be selected depending on whether the reflective liquid-crystal panel is in an ON mode (a mode in which light is projected) or an OFF mode (a mode in which light is not projected), a polarizing beam splitter must be disposed in front of the panel. For this reason, the color separating/combining system tends to become large in size.
As an attempt to solve the first problem, U.S. Pat. No. 5,268,775 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,786,873 disclose examples in which the direction of polarization of feedback light is rotated by about 90° (e.g., by using a quarter-waveplate) so that the feedback light is substantially removed by a polarizing beam splitter and a polarizer.
On the other hand, for the purpose of solving the second problem, US AA2002/0140905 discusses a system in which two polarizing beam splitters are provided with respect to three reflective liquid-crystal panels corresponding to three primary colors, such that color separation and color combination are performed in the two polarizing beam splitters. According to US AA2002/0140905, wavelength-selective polarization rotators are provided proximate an incident side and an exit side of each polarizing beam splitter. This facilitates the control of the ON-OFF mode of two of the reflective liquid-crystal panels by one of the polarizing beam splitters, so as to select whether to project or not to project light.
However, simply combining these two examples does not solve the two aforementioned problems.


An optical system and apparatus for the diagnosis of a biological sample is disclosed. An embodiment of the apparatus includes an optical probe, a probe head distally connectable to the optical probe, the optical probe further comprising at least one optical element for applying an electromagnetic radiation of a first wavelength to the biological sample, and one or more collection elements positioned proximate the at least one optical element; and an analyzer for analyzing a signal received from the biological sample by the one or more collection elements.

The invention relates generally to diagnostic methods for real time diagnosis of biological cells and tissue. A diagnosis of abnormal tissue can be made by the detection of differences in properties of biological cells, properties such as cell density, size and composition. A diagnosis of abnormal tissue may also include a characterization of these differences in cellular properties. In addition to aiding a health care provider with making a diagnosis of abnormal tissue, an apparatus for diagnosis that provides real-time imaging ensures that the abnormal tissues is also completely removed during a surgical procedure so that the subject does not have to undergo multiple surgical procedures to remove all traces of the abnormal tissue. Typically it takes 2 to 5 days to obtain a conclusive answer on the surgical success which is determined after detailed pathology and histology analysis is performed on the sample. Real-time detection would give feedback to the surgeon during the surgery and thereby reducing the possibility that the subject will have to undergo a 2nd surgery due to the presence of "positive margins", or not enough cancer-free margins on the excised tissue.
Current devices and methods for detecting abnormal tissue in a sample have several disadvantages. The methods currently used, include X-rays, ultrasound imaging, magnetic resonance imaging, thermal imaging, radiofrequency (RF) reflection and absorption, and electrical impedance techniques. Electrical impedance techniques has the disadvantage that the detection of abnormalities in the tissues and the cells is done by measuring the changes in electrical impedance of the tissue globally rather than measuring electrical impedance locally because the current devices and methods are positioned outside of the body when in use. Apparatuses that use global measures to detect changes in electrical impedance are less sensitive and have relatively poor spatial resolution. For example, in X-ray imaging the sensitivity of the device in imaging small-size cancer lumps such as lumps that are less than 3 mm in size is low. Additionally, in cases where there is a low relative amount of malignant cells adjacent to benign cells, the sensitivity of the X-ray is less than 30%. X-rays are also affected by any other objects that may absorb the X-rays, such as a dense tissue structures or bone located between the X-ray source and the detector. Additionally, an X-rays machine cannot be used inside the body.
Another technique for detecting the presence of abnormal tissue is the use of ultrasound waves to detect cancer cells. Ultrasound machines image tissue by looking at the reflection of the ultrasound waves of the denser cells. Also the elasticity differences between benign and malignant cells contribute to the image produced by ultrasound. The use of ultrasound is further limited in the minimum size of detectable abnormal tissue because ultrasound imaging of smaller sizes is subject to poorer signal to noise ratio. Similarly, it is also difficult to detect changes in cell density of the tissue in denser media.
Another imaging apparatus used to detect the presence of abnormal tissue is the MRI machine. Like the other imaging apparatuses previously mentioned, MRI images are also affected by cell density and composition. Further, the MRI image is strongly affected by the amount of background noise from the overall tissue scanned and is also limited by the size of abnormal tissue that is detectable. And like X-ray, MRI cannot be used inside of the body.
Other imaging methods include: thermal imaging techniques which detect changes in the temperature of tissues that have denser cell densities and which attract more blood flow to the area; RF reflection and absorption, which is also used to detect cancer cells by detecting variations in the reflection and absorption of RF in suspect tissues as compared to benign cells; electrical impedance techniques have also been developed to determine the malignancy of the cells within the organ by monitoring electrical responses from the outer surface of the tissue.
Sometimes a tissue requires further analysis. For example, it may be beneficial to know whether a sample of abnormal cells is benign or malignant. It may, therefore, be necessary to send the sample out for analysis to a pathology lab. In the pathology lab, cancerous cells are characterized using histological methods which can be time consuming and may involve complex sample preparation procedures that can last anywhere from 8-12 hours.
Because the current techniques mentioned above are typically capable only of being positioned outside of the body there may be difficulty in detecting small volumes of abnormal tissue or testing small sample areas. Also, positioning the detecting device outside of the body creates the potential for a greater amount of interference with neighboring tissue; makes it more difficult to reach the target tissue through structures in between the target tissue and the testing device; and increase the likelihood that the signal to noise ratio will be poor. In addition, the current methods for detecting abnormal tissue employ bulky machinery. Further, tissue samples are currently sent to pathology labs for testing which ultimately increases the time frame for making a diagnosis.
A method currently being used for detecting and identifying variations in samples is the optical detection of cellular variations. Optical techniques for diagnosing include the use of Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS) as applied to tissues. Raman spectroscopy has been shown to have very good sensitivity down to the single cell level. In SERS electromagnetic radiation is introduced to a sample through an optical probe. Treating the surface of the structure for holding the sample with electrically conductive, metallic materials enhances the electromagnetic field experienced by the sample. The electromagnetic radiation interacts with the sample and is scattered and reflected back to a detector due to inherent properties of the sample. The scattered electromagnetic radiation can be used as an indicator of the characteristics of the tissue sample. This technique has been shown to have good sensitivity and specificity for cancer cells. However, the technique works on thin tissue sections and requires the use of a microscopy set-up.
Thus, there exists a need for optical devices and methods that detect in real-time the near-field effects of electromagnetic radiation on abnormal tissue with high sensitivity and precision and which is capable of being contained in a compact unit that is easily manipulated in reference to the sample. In addition to the advantage that the invention described herein provides real-time diagnosis of the sample being tested, an automated real-time diagnosis instrument will help to eliminate the possibility of human error or missing a critical volume of tissue.

Methods for optical identification and characterization of abnormal tissue and cells


A method for correcting structure-size-dependent positioning errors during the photolithographic projection by an exposure apparatus and the use thereof includes providing an exposure apparatus for exposing a plurality of exposure fields and a simulation model of the exposure apparatus for specifying correction values for intra-field errors, providing a first pattern with first structure elements and first measurement marks, which, in the case of a projection, are beset by a first positioning error and a second positioning error dependent on the dimensions and the position in the exposure field, providing a correction function suitable for specifying the first and the second positioning error, determining an average relative positioning error including the first and the second positioning error, calculating correction values for the control of the exposure apparatus, and transmitting the correction values to the exposure apparatus so that subsequent exposures are performed with an improved overlay.

In order to fabricate integrated circuits, layers provided with different electrical properties are usually applied to semiconductor wafers and patterned lithographically. A lithographic patterning may include applying a photosensitive resist, exposing the resist with a desired structure for the relevant layer, developing the resist, and subsequently transferring the resist mask thus produced into the underlying layer in an etching step.
As the integration densities of integrated circuits continuously increase, positional accuracy requirements of a structure to be projected onto the semiconductor substrate also increase. When preliminary layers have already been transferred in underlying layers, e.g., in a lithographic projection step, it is necessary to account for stricter tolerance limits with regard to the mutual orientation of the structure to be projected onto the substrate relative to the structures of the aforementioned preliminary layers to ensure functionality of the circuit.
Dense line-space patterns are formed, for instance, in the area of fabrication of dynamic random access memories (DRAM) with line widths of 70, 90, or 110 nm, for example, in the region of the first circuit layers. In modem technologies for DRAM fabrication, the accuracy required for the orientation of two structures, also referred to as the overlay budget, will decrease due to decreasing structure resolutions. Thus, for example, the tolerable positional inaccuracy is only approximately 20 nm in the case of the 100 nm process line. Current and future process lines are thus sensitive to errors in the positional accuracy.
For the lithographic projection step, which may be performed, e.g., in a wafer stepper or scanner, alignment sequences are therefore provided before the beginning of the respective exposures. The alignment marks are typically arranged in the edge regions of the masks providing the relevant structure. During the exposure, the alignment marks are transferred in the sawing frame separating the individual exposure fields on the wafer. The alignment marks make it possible to determine the position of the structures formed on the wafer, or, as a result of determining the position of the alignment marks, possible to deduce the accurate positioning and orientation of the structure for the integrated circuit.
The exposure of the individual exposure fields is usually performed such that the top side of the semiconductor wafer is subdivided into a pattern of exposure fields in the form of a matrix or grid and is successively exposed by the wafer scanner or the wafer stepper.
The positional accuracy of two layers lying one above the other is normally determined by overlay targets during the production of integrated circuits. The targets are two partial structures each imaged separately onto each of the layers. The first partial structure may comprise a rectangular structure element surrounded by a frame-type second partial structure. Overlay targets are usually arranged together with other alignment marks in the sawing frame region. The structure described above is known as a box-in-box mark or a box-in-frame mark. The offset of the individual partial structures with respect to one another is usually measured by an overlay measuring apparatus, for example, an optical microscope.
In the exposure of a semiconductor wafer by a wafer scanner, a number og effects may lead to overlay errors. These overlay errors can generally be assigned to two categories of error sources. First, errors may occur which arise during the exposure within an exposure field. These error sources are usually referred to as intra-field error or field error. Second, error sources may be caused by the division of the semiconductor wafer into individual exposure fields and may be different for each exposure field. These error sources are usually referred to as inter-field error or grid error.
The orientation or alignment of the substrate in the exposure apparatus with respect to the projection optical arrangement (i.e., the projection lenses, the respective mask to be projected, apertures, and the illumination source, etc.) is carried out by comparing the alignment marks with reference marks. Such reference marks are often inserted by the lens system with respect to a detector.
The way the alignment method (alignment or overlay) is specifically carried out depends on the apparatus manufacturers. Based on the mark comparison, an offset between the actual alignment mark position and the ideal position of the reference mark is ascertained, modeled, and corrected.
A problem to which little consideration has been given hitherto is the degree of positional accuracy of different structure pattern portions, which can be attained differently within an exposure field. Reasons for this are, in particular, lens imaging errors such as, for example, the distortions called coma, three-leaf clover, astigmatism, etc., which are generally referred to as aberration errors.
One problematic effect is that the size of the imaging error of a structure is dependent on the respective form, orientation, and size of the structure. Thus, for example, dense line-space structures with very small structure dimensions are provided with a different offset with respect to an ideal position in an exposure with a perfect lens than, for example, the alignment marks that generally have very large dimensions.
In such cases, the above-mentioned deduction of the positions of the respectively imaged structures from the position determined for the alignment mark during the alignment and the determination of the overlay may be erroneous. This holds true as the structures or structure elements differ from the alignment marks in size, form, and orientation.
In the area of the alignment methods, i.e., in the case of the alignment or overlay of a wafer in the exposure apparatus, overlay measurement marks with a microstructure are known. The microstructure is provided with structure elements representing the semiconductor component of this layer. The overlay measurement marks are thus subject to a different imaging error due to lens distortions than hitherto customary box-in-box or box-in-frame measurement marks. The exposure position determined by alignment mark comparison during the alignment of a substrate subsequently exposed is corrected such that the structures of the individual layers, instead of the overlay measurement marks, are imaged on one another with higher accuracy.
In this case, however, it proves disadvantageous for a determination of the positional accuracy error by the micro-patterned measurement marks for different structures. It is necessary to provide special measurement marks which permit a determination of the overlay or of the positional inaccuracies for the two layers lying one above the other. As a result, the determination of the positional inaccuracies for all layers of the integrated circuit, particularly in an evaluation of a new process line, is very time-consuming. In conventional measuring apparatuses, the frequently changing patterning are associated with varying contrast or intensity conditions, which impedes the measurability of the micro-patterned measurement marks.
Therefore, a method for an integrated circuit with one or a plurality of layers that enable a simple correction of the structure-dependent positioning errors for each layer is desirable.

Method for correcting structure-size-dependent positioning errors in photolithography


A reservoir for holding fluid of a vehicle includes a tank and two brackets integrated with the tank to install the tank in the vehicle in an upper portion of the engine compartment. An attaching portion is arranged with each of the brackets to be fixed to the vehicle. A connecting portion is arranged with each of the brackets to connect the attaching portion to the tank. One of the connecting portions has a notch that is deformed or fractured so that the tank can be moved with respect to the vehicle to absorb an impact force that acts on the tank when the tank receives an impact force larger than a predetermined value. The attaching portion has a plurality of rib portions that is deformable or fracturable so that the tank can be moved with respect to the vehicle to absorb force that acts to the tank when the tank receives a force larger than a predetermined value.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a reservoir that a bracket is integrated with, more particularly, a reservoir that is installed into engine compartments of vehicles.
2. Discussion of the Background
Japanese Utility-Model Publication No. 6-16172 discloses a reservoir for various oils such as power steering oil for vehicles. This reservoir comprises a tank made of synthetic resin and a bracket made of metal to attach the tank to a body of the vehicle. A reservoir in which a tank and a bracket are integrally molded of synthetic resin is thus known.
Meanwhile, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 8-258668 discloses a method for protecting a pedestrian who is hit by a vehicle. The pedestrian is thrown up by a front bumper of the vehicle and impacts the engine hood according to the method. Thus, the shock of the pedestrian upon collision with the engine hood is relieved by deformation of the engine hood. That is, the engine hood is deformed downwardly by the collision with the pedestrian, and functions as a shock absorber. Generally, a reservoir is arranged in an upward manner into an engine compartment, because of easy access for oil maintenance, and is rigidly fixed to a body of the vehicle. Therefore, the deformed engine hood collides with the reservoir, and further deformation of the engine hood is prevented by the reservoir. This means that ability of the engine hood to act as a shock absorber for the pedestrian is deteriorated.

Reservoir tank having a bracket integrated therewith


Small particles provide for improved performance as phosphors especially in the production of display devices. Particles with an diameter less than about 100 nm have altered band properties that affect the emission by the particles. A collection of such small particles with a narrow distribution around a selected average diameter can be used to produce emission at a desired frequency. These particles are effective for producing a wide variety of display types including flat panel displays. Laser pyrolysis provides an efficient process for the production of desired particles.

Electronic displays often use phosphor material, which emits visible light in response to interaction with electrons. Phosphor materials can be applied to substrates to produce cathode ray tubes, flat panel displays and the like. Improvements in display devices place stringent demands on the phosphor materials, for example, due to decreases in electron velocity and increases in display resolution. Electron velocity is reduced in order to reduce power demands. In particular, flat panel displays generally require phosphors responsive to low velocity electrons.
In addition, a desire for color display requires the use of materials or combinations of materials that emit light at different wavelengths at positions in the display that can be selectively excited. A variety of materials have been used as phosphors. In order to obtain materials that emit at desired wavelengths of light, activators have been doped into phosphor material. Alternatively, multiple phosphors can be mixed to obtain the desired emission. Furthermore, the phosphor materials must show sufficient luminescence.

Phosphor particles having specific distribution of average diameters


A casing for a projection screen and a motorized projection screen system and method for controlling the same are disclosed herein. The casing includes a fascia and endcaps which are affixed to the casing spine without the use of tools thereby providing easy access to the working components housed within the casing and providing flexibility to the consumer in the appearance of the casing. The motorized projection screen system includes a roller having a projection screen attached thereto and a reversible motor operatively connected to the roller such that rotation of the motor causes the roller to rotate and the projection screen to be raised or lowered. The system also includes a biasing mechanism operatively connected to the roller such that rotation of the roller to lower the projection screen biases the roller toward rotation in the opposite direction. The biasing mechanism reduces the power requirements of the reversible motor of the system as it assists in lifting the weight of the projection screen. Furthermore, in one embodiment, the motor utilized is a DC motor and the system includes a DC power supply thereby providing a portable system and eliminating the requirement to connect the system to an external power supply.

Front projection screens are those which are viewed from the same side of the screen from which the image is cast onto the screen and are generally available in two types--manual screens, such as those used in the home for viewing slides or home movies, and electrically powered screens as may be used in a conference room or board room. Electrically powered projection screens comprise an AC motor for driving the roller about which the screen is wound and are generally operated via remote control or with controls located on a wall in the room in which the projection screen is installed. A casing is provided which houses the screen, the roller about which the screen is wound and the motor. Two types of AC motors have been utilized to power projection screens. Traditionally, gear motors as are available from Emerson Electric are positioned near the roller of the projection screen. Projection screens using gear motors include the Ambassador, Rolleramic and LumaLectric Models available from Draper Shade & Screen Co., Inc. of Spiceland, Ind. For smaller screens, a gear motor may draw approximately 1.4 amps and produce 38 inch-pounds of torque and 35 rpm. For larger screens, a motor drawing 3 amps and producing 240 inch-pounds of torque at 13.6 rpm may be required.
More recent advances in technology have produced tubular AC motors which are able to fit within the roller of the projection screen. Thus, tubular motors are advantageous in that the size of the casing required to house the projection screen's working components is significantly less than for an electrically powered projection screen which utilizes a traditional gear motor. Tubular motors are available from such sources as Somfy of Cluses, France and typically draw 1.1 amps and produce 50 inch-pounds of torque at 35 rpm. Examples of projection screens which use a tubular AC motor encased within the roller include the Targa, Envoy, Artisan/Series E and Premier Series models offered by Draper Shade & Screen Co., Inc. of Spiceland, Ind.
The requirement of electrically powered projection screens to be connected to an AC power source presents difficulty when installing an electrically powered projection screen in an existing office or room, as power must be routed from an existing power source to the projection screen. Should the consumer be leasing office space which cannot be modified, installation of an electrically powered projection screens may not be feasible to these power requirements. Furthermore, if the screen is installed in a leased office space, the cost of removing the screen and reinstalling it in another installation site is prohibitive. Thus, it is desirable to provide a portable, electrically powered projection screen which may be easily retrofitted into an existing installation site.
The concept of providing an electrically powered projection screen driven by a DC motor is very attractive as a DC powered projection screen system would to be portable and may be retrofitted into an existing installation site at a reasonable cost. However, difficulties are encountered in obtaining a DC motor of appropriate dimensions which is capable of winding and unwinding the screen about the roller, particularly when the screen is of a significant size, as DC motors typically provide less torque than AC motors produce. Thus, it is desirable to provide a projection screen which uses a reasonably sized DC motor. Furthermore, such a DC motor should be conservative in the amount of battery power it consumes to roll and unroll the screen. The projection screen system should also be comprised of inexpensive, reliable components and be inexpensive to manufacture. In addition, to limit the size of the casing required to house the projection screen's working components, it is desirable to utilize a tubular DC motor which may be located within the roller.
Projection screens as may be found in a conference room usually comprise a casing housing the screen, the roller and the motor. Fasteners are provided which allow the casing to be suspended from a ceiling, hung flush with the ceiling and/or hung on a wall. In some systems, such as in the Ambassador model projection screen offered by Draper Shade & Screen Co., Inc. of Spiceland, Ind., the casing is installed above the ceiling and has a pivotable door through which the screen is lowered. However, when the fascia of the casing is visible, it is desirable to provide fascias of various textures and colors so that the casing matches the decor of the room in which it is installed. Furthermore, it is quite possible that the decor of the room may change and therefore it is desirable to provide a fascia whose appearance and texture may also be easily changed to match the new color. Therefore, under ideal circumstances, it is desirable to provide a fascia for the casing which may be installed without the use of tools and which is easy to replace and to decorate such as in the application of paint or wallpaper to the fascia. If the fascia may be removed and replaced without the use of tools, easier and quicker access to the working components housed in the casing results. Such access helps to reduce labor costs associated with repairing or maintaining the components housed in the casing. Thus it is desirable to provide a fascia for the casing of a projection screen which is easy to remove, to decorate once removed and to reinstall for both aesthetic and repair and maintenance reasons. It is also desirable to provide a fascia which is inexpensive and easy to manufacture.

Replaceable fascia for projection screen case