An audio playback apparatus includes a playback section for playing audio back, a buffer section (13) for temporarily storing voice data to be played back, a switch (14) for on/off switching transmission of the voice data from the buffer section (13) to the playback section, at least one threshold judgment section (18) for judging whether an amount of voice data buffered in the buffer section (13) is equal to or smaller than at least one threshold value, the at least one threshold judgment section (18) providing a true output when the buffered voice data amount is equal to or smaller than the at least one threshold value, a timer (19) triggered by an output from the at least one threshold judgment section to output a trigger pulse with a predetermined duration of time, and a first control section (191) for controlling on/off of the switch (14) to prevent transmission of the voice data in the buffer section (13) to the playback section for the predetermined duration of time of the trigger pulse when the true output is provided from the at least one threshold judgment section (18).

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an audio playback apparatus and method for controlling pause and resume of audio. Particularly, the present invention relates to an audio playback apparatus used for conversation in an IP (Internet Protocol) phone and in an IP video telephony.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 1 illustrates a functional configuration of a preceded digital audio playback apparatus that is not known in public.
The preceded digital audio playback apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1 is configured to receive packets containing compressed audio data and play back audio in the packets. This apparatus 1 has an audio packet receiver section 11, an audio decoder 12, a buffer 13, a switch 14, a D/A converter section 15, an amplifier 16 and an initial buffering judgment section 17.
The audio packet receiver section 11 receives packets containing compressed audio data from the network, and transmits the compressed audio data to the audio decoder 12. The audio decoder 12 decodes the compressed audio data into non-compressed PCM (pulse code modulation) data and outputs the PCM data to the buffer 13. The buffer 13 temporarily stores the PCM data and outputs them to the D/A converter section 15 through the switch 14. The initial buffering judgment section 17 monitors the amount of data stored or buffered in the buffer 13 and controls based upon the buffered data amount on/off of the switch 14. The D/A converter section 15 converts the PCM data input through the switch 14 into an analog signal and outputs the converted analog signal to the amplifier 16. The analog audio signal output from the amplifier 16 is provided to the speaker 2 to play back the audio.
The initial buffering judgment section 17 is provided with a NOR gate 171, a comparator 172, an RS flip-flop 173 and an initial buffering value storage 174. The NOR gate 171 outputs an "H" level signal to the flip-flop 173 when the buffered data amount becomes zero. The comparator 172 compares the buffered data amount in the buffer 13 with an initial buffering value and outputs a "H" level signal to the flip-flop 173 when the buffered data amount becomes equal to or higher than the initial buffering value stored in the storage 174. The flip-flop 173 controls turning on/off of the switch 14 depending upon whether it is set or reset.
Hereinafter, operation of this audio playback apparatus will be described.
Under initial conditions, no PCM data is stored in the buffer 13. Therefore, "0" is input to the NOR gate 171 and thus its output becomes "H" level signal. As a result, the flip-flop 173 is set to turn the switch 14 off, so that PCM data output from the audio decoder 12 are stored in the buffer 13 without being output to the D/A converter section 15.
When the buffered amount of the PCM data in the buffer 13 becomes equal to or higher than the initial buffering value, the comparator 172 outputs an "H" level signal. Thus, the flip-flop 173 is reset and the switch 14 turns on, so that the PCM data stored in the buffer 13 is provided to the D/A converter section 15 and that the analog audio signal is provided to the speaker 2 through the amplifier 16 to play the audio back.
In such audio playback apparatus where packets containing audio data are received and audio in the packets is played back while receiving another packets, if receiving timings of the packets vary due to changes in the transmission rate through the network, it may occur that no packet can be received for a time period longer than the time equivalent to the buffered amount. In such case, all the buffered data may be extracted from the buffer to fall into an underflow state.
When the buffered amount of the PCM data in the buffer 13 becomes zero or underflows, the output of the NOR gate 171 becomes the "H" level signal, the flip-flop 173 is set and thus the switch 14 turns off. Thus, the PCM data output from the audio decoder 12 are not fed to the D/A converter section 15 but stored in the buffer 13. Then, when the buffered amount of the PCM data in the buffer 13 becomes equal to or higher than the initial buffering value, the switch 14 turns on.
During a period where the switch 14 is off state, playback of audio is paused and therefore break or interruption of voice occurs. This operation of the buffer during the off state of the switch is called as a re-buffering operation.
If the audio packets arrive without delay, the buffered amount of the data will not lower than the initial buffering value. However if delay in arrival of the audio packets occurs, the buffered level goes downward. If the delay continues, it will cause underflow. Thus break or interruption of voice will occur due to the re-buffering operation. Then when the delay in arrival of the audio packets is over and the delayed packets arrive at a time, the buffered data amount will abruptly increase.
The initial buffering operation and the re-buffering operation should be carried out for a somewhat long time so that the buffering data amount never underflows again. In case of real time applications such as Voice over IP (VoIP) or IP video telephony, it is necessary to perform the re-buffering operation for a period of one hundred milliseconds to several hundreds milliseconds in consideration of tradeoff between the resiliency against delay variation. Whereas in case of non-real time applications such as video streaming, a period of the re-buffering operation is in general set to several seconds in order to give a particular importance to stability.
However, in case of applications for voice communication such as VoIP or IP video telephony, break or interruption of voice for a period longer than one hundred milliseconds will be clearly recognized and deteriorate quality of audio communications. Therefore, in order to improve the audio quality in the audio playback system for receiving packets containing audio data and playing audio in the packets back, it will be necessary to shorten the period of break or interruption of voice due to the re-buffering.
As for known technique of voice buffering in voice information communication, International Publication No. WO 01/01614 A1 discloses a system for changing the delay on a communication link by adjusting relative positions of read and write pointers of a buffer during silent periods. However, this known technique cannot shorten the period of break or interruption of voice due to the re-buffering.

Audio playback apparatus for controlling pause and resume of audio


A method for fabricating a conductive blind via of a circuit substrate including the following steps is provided. First, the circuit substrate including a first dielectric layer, a patterned circuit layer and a second dielectric layer are provided. The patterned circuit layer including at least a capture pad is disposed between the first dielectric layer and the second dielectric layer. Next, a blind via exposing the capture pad is formed in the second dielectric layer. Then, an electroless plating process is performed to form an electroless copper layer on the capture pad and an inner wall of the blind via. Next, the electroless copper layer on the capture pad is removed. Finally, the blind via is filled with a conductive material to form the conductive blind via.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates in general to a method for fabricating a circuit substrate, and more particularly to a method for fabricating a conductive blind via of a circuit substrate.
2. Description of the Related Art
Circuit substrates are formed by stacking several dielectric layers and several patterned circuit layers alternately. The patterned circuit layers are defined by lithography and etching a copper layer. The dielectric layers are disposed between the patterned circuit layers for protecting and separating the patterned circuit layers. The patterned circuit layers are electrically connected to each other through conductive blind vias in the dielectric layers. Furthermore, several contacts are formed on surfaces of the circuit substrates for electrically connecting with an outer electronic device. In the present conductor packaging technology, circuit substrates have become the main trend of chip packaging because of the advantages including fine wiring structures and good quality.
FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional circuit substrate. Please referring to FIG. 1, a conventional circuit substrate 100 includes a core layer 110, a patterned circuit layer 120, a dielectric layer 130 and at least a conductive blind via 140. The patterned circuit layer 120 disposed between the core layer 110 and the dielectric layer 130 includes at least a capture pad 122. The capture pad 122 is made of copper. The conductive blind via 140 penetrates the dielectric layer 130 and contacts the capture pad 122.
In the conventional circuit substrate 100, the method for fabricating the conductive blind via 140 includes following steps. First, a blind via 142 penetrating the dielectric layer 130 is formed by laser drilling. The blind via 142 exposes the capture pad 122. Next, an electroless copper layer 144 (composed of sub-micro level copper particles) is formed on the capture pad 122 and an inner wall of the blind via 142 through an electroless plating process. Then, an electroplated copper layer 146 is formed on the electroless copper layer 144 by an electroplating process. The entire blind via 142 is filled with the electroplated copper layer 146. As a result, the conductive blind via 140 is formed by the above steps.
Although the capture pad, the electroless copper layer and the electroplated copper layer are all made of copper in the above circuit substrate, all of them have different microstructures. The electroless copper layer made of sub-micro level copper particles has less strength. Therefore, a portion of the electroless copper layer contacting the capture pad flakes off easily due to thermal stress generated when the circuit substrate is functioning. A bad contact occurs between the conductive blind via and the patterned circuit layer. The electrical connection between the conductive blind via and the patterned circuit layer fails easily. Therefore, reliability of the circuit substrate is lowered.

Method for fabricating conductive blind via of circuit substrate

Advanced Semiconductor Engineering, Inc.


A smoke detector includes a housing having therein a sensor for detecting smoke, an arrangement responsive to detection of smoke for producing an audio signal and an audible sound at an audio frequency, a telephone dialer circuit, a telephone jack on the housing for coupling the dialer circuit to a telephone line, and an arrangement responsive to the occurrence of the audio signal for causing the dialer circuit to automatically dial the telephone number. The telephone number may be a single specified digit, or a multi-digit number stored in a last number dialed memory of the dialer circuit. After dialing of the telephone number, the audio signal is supplied to the telephone line regardless of whether an answer occurs at the remote end. After a predetermined time interval, a timer circuit releases the telephone line, waits a predetermined time interval, causes the telephone number to be dialed again, and then causes the audio signal to again be applied to the telephone line. A keypad is provided on the housing to facilitate entry of a telephone number into the last number dialed memory.

There are a variety of commercial systems which are capable of detecting an alarm condition. For example, residential smoke detectors are in wide use and in response to detection of smoke and/or heat produce a piercing audible alarm sound to warn residents of the presence of a fire. Also, there are residential and industrial security systems which will detect fires, unauthorized entry and other types of alarm conditions. The systems may produce an audible sound in the local vicinity of the alarm condition, or may send a signal to a remote location, for example through a dedicated line, a radio link, or a telephone line.
With respect to the transmission of signals to a remote location, the dedicated line is prohibitively expensive in most applications. Further, the radio transmitter and receiver or the telephone dialing circuitry are frequently rather complex, and are thus typically found only in relatively complex units. Therefore, although these units have been generally adequate for their intended purposes, they have not been satisfactory in all respects
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an arrangement which is capable of automatically dialing a telephone number in response to detection of an alarm condition, but which is relatively simple and inexpensive and is thus suitable for use in almost any application at low expense.
A further object is to provide such a unit in which a sensor, the dialer and the telephone connection arrangement are all provided within a single housing.


A surgical fastening device includes a handle assembly having a stationary handle and a movable handle and an elongated member extending distally from the handle portion. The elongated member includes a distal end portion. The device also includes a pair of firing rods operably coupled with the movable handle and movable between a proximal position and a distal position. A tool assembly has a plurality of helical fasteners supported therein and includes a pair of opposing jaw members. At least one of the jaw members is movable in relation to the other jaw member between spaced and approximated positions. The jaw members are configured to form a pair of radial channels when the jaw members are in the approximated position. The firing rods are configured to advance helical fasteners through at least one radial channel and into tissue upon movement from the proximal position to the distal position.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to a surgical fastener applying device and, more particularly, to a surgical fastener applying device adapted to apply helical fasteners to tissue.
2. Background of Related Art
Commercially available surgical fastening apparatus are well known in the art, some of which are specifically adapted for use in various surgical procedures including, but not limited to, end-to-end anastomosis, circular end-to-end anastomosis, open gastrointestinal anastomosis, endoscopic gastrointestinal anastomosis, and transverse anastomosis. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,915,616; 6,202,914; 5,865,361; and 5,964,394 each describe one or more suitable apparatus which may be employed while performing one of these procedures.
In general, a surgical fastening apparatus will include an anvil that is approximated relative to a fastener cartridge during use. The anvil includes depressions that are aligned with, and/or are in registration with slots defined in the cartridge, through which the fasteners will emerge, to effectuate formation. The fastener cartridge typically has one or more rows of fasteners disposed laterally or radially of a channel that is configured to accommodate a knife, or other such cutting element, such that tissue can be simultaneously cut and joined together. Depending upon the particular surgical fastening apparatus, the rows of fasteners may be arranged in a linear or non-linear, e.g. circular, semi-circular, or otherwise arcuate configuration.
During each of the aforementioned surgical procedures, the tissue is initially gripped or clamped such that individual fasteners can be ejected from the cartridge, through the slots, and forced through the clamped tissue. Thereafter, the fasteners are formed by driving them into the depressions formed on the anvil.
Conventional surgical fastening apparatus generally require removal of the device from the surgical site to reload fasteners, thereby wasting valuable operating time. Exacerbating this problem is the generally cumbersome nature of conventional apparatus, which makes navigating the instrument in, out, and around the surgical site difficult. Accordingly, the joining of tissue utilizing such instruments may cause longer than necessary operating time.
Consequently, it would be advantageous to provide a surgical fastening apparatus wherein removal of the device from the surgical site may be reduced or eliminated, thereby reducing operating time. It would further be advantageous to provide a surgical fastening apparatus with reduced size (e.g., girth, length, width, etc.) to improve maneuverability in and around the surgical site.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Tissue fastening system for a medical device


A method for forming a contact plug in a semiconductor device includes providing a substrate having an insulation layer. A hard mask pattern is formed over the insulation layer. The insulation layer is etched using the hard mask pattern to form a contact hole. A plug material is formed over the hard mask pattern to fill the contact hole. The insulation layer, the hard mask pattern, and the plug material are polished at substantially the same time such that a seam generated in the contact hole while forming the plug material is not exposed.

The present invention relates to a method for fabricating a semiconductor device, and more particularly, to a method for forming a drain contact plug of a NAND-type flash memory device.
Recently, the demand for flash memory devices has increased. Flash memory devices can be electrically programmed and erased. Programming refers to writing data to a memory cell. Erasing refers to removing data written to a memory cell. Flash memory devices do not require a refresh function which re-writes data at regular intervals. Research on large scale integration technology has been actively conducted to develop a large-scaled semiconductor device which can store a large amount of data.
A NAND-type flash memory device is developed for the large scale integration of a memory device. In a NAND-type flash memory device, a plurality of memory cells is coupled in series to configure a string, i.e., to form a structure where adjacent cells share a drain and a source. The NAND-type flash memory device is a memory device which sequentially reads data, unlike a NOR-type flash memory device. The programming and the erasing of the NAND-type flash memory device is performed by implanting electrons into a floating gate and emitting the electrons using a Fowler-Nordheim (F-N) tunneling method to control a threshold voltage (Vt).
The NAND-type flash memory device transmits an externally supplied driving voltage, e.g., a bias voltage, to a lower semiconductor structure through a metal line. For instance, the lower semiconductor structure includes a source region and a drain region which are junction regions. A contact plug is generally required to electrically couple the metal line and the source and drain regions.
The contact plug of the NAND-type flash memory device includes a source contact plug (SRCT) and a drain contact plug (DRCT). The source contact plug couples the source region formed in an active region and an upper metal line, e.g., a source line. The drain contact plug couples the drain region and an upper metal line, e.g., a bit line.
Currently, a gate electrode is formed using a self-aligned shallow trench isolation (SA-STI) process in a NAND-type flash memory device under 70 nm to embody a large scale of integration and a micronized pattern.
However, in a gate structure formed using the SA-STI process, a seam in the shape of a keyhole may be generated in a polysilicon layer when forming the polysilicon layer for use as a drain contact plug in a contact hole formed in an insulation layer between gates.
FIGS. 1A to 1D illustrate cross-sectional views of a conventional method for fabricating a drain contact plug.
Referring to FIG. 1A, an insulation layer is formed to have a large thickness over a semi-finished substrate 10 including a source contact plug. A hard mask pattern 15 including a nitride-based material is formed over the insulation layer. The insulation layer is etched using the hard mask pattern 15 as a mask until the substrate 10 is exposed. Thus, a drain contact hole 17 is formed. Reference numeral 13 refers to a patterned insulation layer.
However, a bowing event (refer to 'A') may occur in the patterned insulation layer 13. In other words, portions of the patterned insulation layer 13 may be bent during the etch process when forming the drain contact hole 17 because the insulation layer has a large thickness to be etched. A critical dimension (CD) of the drain contact hole 17 in a portion where the bowing event occurs is represented with reference denotation CD1.
Referring to FIG. 1B, the hard mask pattern 15 is removed using an etch process. The bowing increases when the hard mask pattern 15 is removed. Therefore, the CD of the drain contact hole 17 becomes 'CD2'. The hard mask pattern 15 is removed in advance because there may not be a slurry which can simultaneously polish the hard mask pattern 15, the patterned insulation layer 13, and a subsequent polysilicon layer (represented with reference numeral 19 in FIG. 1C) for forming a drain contact plug.
Referring to FIG. 1C, the polysilicon layer 19 for forming the drain contact plug is formed over the patterned insulation layer 13 and fills in the drain contact hole 17 (FIG. 1B). However, the drain contact hole 17 may not be completely filled when the polysilicon layer 19 is formed. A seam in the shape of a keyhole (refer to 'B') may be generated. This result is obtained because the polysilicon layer 19 having a sufficient step coverage characteristic is formed along the surface profile of the drain contact hole 17. The seam is generated at a certain depth (D1) from an upper surface of the patterned insulation layer 13.
Referring to FIG. 1D, a chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) process is performed to polish the polysilicon layer 19. Thus, a drain contact plug 19A is formed. A portion of the patterned insulation layer 13 is removed while polishing the polysilicon layer 19 and an upper portion of the seam is exposed (refer to 'C'). Reference numeral 13A refers to a polished insulation layer 13A. The portion of the patterned insulation layer 13 is removed together with the polysilicon layer 19 because a slurry used for the polishing process has a polish selectivity ratio of the polysilicon layer 19 to the hard mask pattern 15 to the patterned insulation layer 13 in a range of approximately 1 to 2:0.3 to 0.4:1. There is a small difference between the polishing rate of the polysilicon 19 and the patterned insulation layer 13.
FIG. 2 illustrates a micrographic view showing the seam (refer to B) generated in the drain contact plug 19A in accordance with a conventional drain contact plug formation method. The seam generated in the shape of a keyhole in the drain contact hole 19A is exposed. Thus, a metal line M is formed in an undesirable manner over an upper portion of the drain contact plug 19A.
However, several limitations may occur during a subsequent metal line M formation process for transmitting a signal to the drain contact plug 19A when the seam is exposed. Thus, device characteristics deteriorate. For example, during a cleaning process performed before forming the metal line M, cleaning chemicals may not be sufficiently dried, the drain contact plug 19A may be damaged, a barrier metal layer may be undesirably formed, and unnecessary oxide-based materials including titanium oxide (TiO) may be generated. As a result, the likelihood of an erase failure may increase.

Method for forming contact plug in a semiconductor device


An energy-absorbing hood assembly for a vehicle includes upper and lower layers and a middle panel. The upper and lower layers have first and second interface surfaces, respectively. The middle panel has opposing first and second surfaces defining a corrugated profile having a plurality of bonding surfaces, the bonding surfaces being attached to the first and second interface surfaces to thereby define a plurality of laterally oriented channels. The corrugated profile further defines a height and wavelength along a substantial portion of the hood assembly, each being configured to be variably tunable to provide different predetermined levels of absorption and attenuation of kinetic energy imparted to the hood assembly by objects upon impact therebetween. Preferably, the hood assembly also includes an upper hood panel having an inner surface secured to the upper layer. Ideally, the corrugated profile is a trapezoidal waveform profile.

Automotive vehicle bodies are typically constructed using stamped metal panels, which combine substantial overall strength and stiffness with a smooth, paintable exterior surface. With specific regard to vehicle hood panels (also referred to in the art as engine compartment hoods or bonnet structures), panel stiffness is often satisfied via the combination of a relatively high strength stamped metal outer or upper surface, referred to as an "A-surface", coupled with a preformed inner or lower surface, referred to as a "B-surface", supported by a series of engine-side or hat-section reinforcements. The hat-section reinforcements are typically positioned between the A- and B-surfaces of the hood, and include a pair of upper flanges oriented toward the A-surface as well as a single lower flange oriented toward the B-surface, with the upper and lower flanges interconnected by a web portion. This conventional hood construction increases the bending stiffness of the hood by placing relatively stiff material, usually stamped steel, as far away as possible from the neutral axis of bending of the hood.
In certain vehicle impact scenarios, an object may exert a downward force on the vehicle hood. Typically, vehicle hoods are deformable when a downward force is exerted thereto. However, the deformability of the hood and, correspondingly, the hood's ability to absorb energy may be impeded by the proximity of the hood to rigidly mounted components housed in the vehicle's engine (or forward) compartment. By way of example, the hood's ability to absorb energy through deformation can be significantly impeded where the hood and engine block are in close proximity. However, minimal clearance between the vehicle hood and the engine compartment components may provide significant benefits, such as improved driver visibility, increased aerodynamics, and aesthetic appeal.
In contrast, additional clearance between the vehicle hood and engine compartment can increase the hood's ability to absorb energy when acted upon with a downward force. Therefore, notwithstanding other design concerns, it can also be advantageous to increase the clearance between a vehicle hood and engine compartment components in the frontward and rearward areas of the vehicle hood.

Vehicle hood with sandwich inner structure


A hand tool with a mechanical linear drive mechanism coupled to a work implement. The drive mechanism includes a roller screw with a torque tube connected to a roller screw's nut body. The roller screw includes a fixed outer race, a rotating set of rollers axially aligned inside the outer race, a cylindrical nut body located inside the set of rollers, a plurality of inner rollers axially aligned and inside the nut body, a threaded shaft axially aligned and inside the inner rollers, and a torque tube axially aligned inside the inner rollers. The torque tube is connected to a multiple speed gearbox which includes a primary motor coupled to a carrier gear with three planet gears. Disposed around the planet gears is an outer ring gear. Coupled to the outer ring gear is a secondary motor which when activated causes the ring gear to rotate in the opposite direction of the planet gears.

Portable hand tools are commonly used by emergency personnel to bend, spread or cut metal pieces to free drivers and passengers from their vehicles after accidents. The working implements on these hand tools are actuated by a linear mechanism coupled to a hydraulic cylinder. The hydraulic cylinder is coupled to a gas or electricity powered hydraulic pump.
One drawback with power hand tools that use hydraulic pumps is the hydraulic pump's periodic inspection and maintenance requirements. Another drawback is the tool's housing is elongated to accommodate the hydraulic pump, the linear mechanism and the working implement.
During use, the load exerted on the working implement on the hand tool varies. With hand tools that use hydraulic cylinders, check valves and by-pass valves are used to control the hydraulic pressure exerted on the work implement.
What is needed is a portable hand tool with an electric, non-hydraulic linear drive mechanism coupled to a work implement. What is also needed is a portable hand tool with a lightweight efficient multiple speed gearbox that may be used with a digital or mechanical control mechanism.

Tool with linear drive mechanism, dual speed gearbox and elastomeric control system


An attrition mill comprising a grinding chamber (1), an axial impeller (10), a chamber inlet (3) for admitting coarse particles and a separator comprising a chamber outlet (6) through which fine particles exit from the chamber. The mill is characterized in that a classification as between coarse and the fine particles is performed in the mill upstream of the separator.

Hitherto, attrition mills have been mainly used for high value low throughput applications (e.g. below about 10 cubic meters per hour). The present invention was developed for use in mineral beneficiation in the mining industry which requires higher throughput volume than other industries in which attrition mills have previously been used.
Although the invention is herein described with particular reference to its use in a mill, it is not limited to that use and may have more general application in particle separation.
The term "attrition mill" is herein used to include mills used for ultra-fine grinding for example, stirred mills in any configuration such as bead mills, peg mills; wet mills such as ball mills, colloid mills, fluid energy mills, ultrasonic mills, petite pulverisers, and the like grinders. In general, such mills comprise a grinding chamber and an axial impeller having a series of mainly radially directed grinding elements such as arms or discs, the impeller being rotated by a motor via a suitable drive train. The grinding elements are approximately equally spaced along the impeller by a distance chosen to permit adequate circulation between the opposed faces of adjacent grinding elements and having regard to overall design and capacity of the mill, impeller speed and diameter, grinding element design, mill throughput and other factors.
Such mills are usually provided with grinding media and the source material to be ground is fed to the mill as a slurry. Although the invention is herein described with particular reference to the use of exogenous grinding media, it will be understood that the invention may be applied to mills when used for autogenous or semi-autogenous grinding. In the case for example of a stirred mill used for grinding pyrite, arseno-pyrite, or the like, the grinding medium may be spheres, cylinders, polygonal or irregularly shaped grinding elements or may be steel, zircon, silica-sand, slag, or the like. In the case of a bead mill used to grind a sulphide ore (for example galena, pyrite) distributed in a host gangue (for example, shale and/or silica) the gangue may itself be sieved to a suitable size range, for example 1-6 millimeters or 1-4 millimeters, and may be used as a grinding medium. The media size range is dependant on how fine the grinding is required to be. From about 40% to about 95% of the volume capacity of the mill may be occupied by grinding media.
It should be recognized that in the grinding process, grinding media undergoes size reduction as does source material to be ground. Grinding media which is itself ground to a size no longer useful to grind source material is referred to as "spent" grinding media. Grinding media still of sufficient size to grind source material is referred to as "useful" grinding media.
A source material to be ground, for example a primary ore, mineral, concentrate, calcine, reclaimed tailing, or the like, after preliminary size reduction by conventional means (for example to 20-90 microns), is slurried in water and then admitted to the attrition mill through an inlet in the grinding chamber. In the mill, the impeller causes the particles of grinding media to impact with source material, and particles of source material to impact with each other, fracturing the source material to yield fines (for example 0.5-25 microns). It is desirable to separate the coarse material from the fines at the mill outlet so as to retain useful grinding media and unground source material in the mill while permitting the fines and spent grinding media to exit the mill.
In existing attrition mills, outlet separation is achieved by means of a perforated or slotted screen at, or adjacent to, the mill exit and having apertures dimensioned to allow passage of spent grinding media and product but not permitting passage of useful grinding media. For example, if it is desired to retain particles of greater than 1 mm in the mill, the outlet screen aperture width would be a maximum of 1 mm so that only particles smaller than 1 mm would exit the mill through the screen. The outlet may in addition comprise a scraper or a separator rotor to reduce screen clogging. The axial spacing between the facing surfaces of the separator rotor and the last downstream grinding element is approximately equal to the spacing between the facing surfaces of all the other pairs of grinding elements.
The design and operation of attrition mills and media selection is highly empirical. Although various mathematical computer-based models have been proposed, none have yielded satisfactory predictions of mill performance.
In attempting to finely grind a sulphide ore using various grinding media in a high throughput bead mill e.g. having a mill throughput of greater than 10 TPH, it was found that the outlet screen rapidly clogged reducing the throughput to an intolerably low level. Moreover, the rate of wear of the separator rotor and outlet screen rendered operation uneconomic.


The present invention provides an improvement design for a digital servo motor controller IC to prevent the power feedback effect during manual adjusting the servo motor. A circuit is added at each output of the digital servo motor controller IC. The added circuit comprises a divider circuit and three NMOS inverter circuits connected sequentially. The outputs of the second and the third MOS inverter circuits are used as the inputs for the servo motor, so as to avoid the power feedback effect during manual adjusting of the servo motor.

The system block diagram of a conventional remote-controlled game motor or plane is shown in FIG. 1, in which the remote-controlled signal transmitter 2 accepts manual instructions from the joystick 1, and transmits signals to the receiver 3 of a game motor or plane. After being processed the signals will be inputted to a digital servo motor controller 4 for controlling the motor 5 of the game motor or plane, so as to rotate the wheels of the motor or control the propplers of the plane.
The circuits between the digital servo motor controller 4 and the motor 5 are shown in FIG. 2. The digital servo motor controller 4 has two outputs OUT1 and OUT2, after being passed through the INV1 and INV2 respectively to generate OUT1B and OUT2B, four signals OUT1, OUT2, OUT1B, OUT2B will be inputted to power MOS transistors PMOS1, NMOS2, PMOS3, NMOS4 respectively. Four diodes D1, D2, D3, D4 are parallel connected with the four power MOS transistors PMOS1, NMOS2, PMOS3, NMOS4 respectively as shown. Since the breakdown voltage of the four diodes is lower than that of the four power MOS transistors, the four power MOS transistors will be prevented from damaging by any static voltage. PMOS1 and NMOS2 are serially connected at point A. PMOS3 and NMOS4 are serially connected at point B. The motor 5 is connected between point A and B.
When OUT1 and OUT2 are both "0", the motor 5 is stopped. When OUT1 is "0", OUT2 is "1", the motor 5 will be turned left. When OUT1 is "1", OUT2 is "0", the motor 5 will be turned right. OUT1 and OUT2 are both "1" is prohibited. Table 1 shows the results.
TABLE 1OUT1OUT2motor 500stop01turn left10turn right11prohibited
Table 1 shows the operation of the system. When the system is not operated, the digital servo motor controller 4 and the motor 5 are not powered on, and the motor 5 can be rotated manually to adjust the initial position. As the motor 5 is rotated manually, the motor 5 will become a generator to generate some power to be fed back to digital servo motor controller 4 and cause both OUT1 and OUT2 to be "1", so as to short the points A and B of the motor 5. Due to this short situation, a huge amount of reverse current will be generated and fed to the motor 5, and generate a great reverse torque to resist the manual rotating of the motor, therefore the initial position of the motor 5 is not very easy to be adjusted.

Digital servo motor controller IC design for preventing the power feedback effect during manual adjusting the servo motor


An electrically conductive roll including (a) a cylindrical core body, (b) an electrically conductive, resilient layer located radially outwardly of the core body, the resilient layer containing a softening agent, (c) a preventive layer located radially outwardly of the resilient layer, the softening agent being prevented from spreading by the preventive layer, the preventive layer being formed of N-methoxymethylated nylon as a major constituent thereof, and containing an electrically conductive material, and (d) a resistance adjusting layer located radially outwardly of the preventive layer, the adjusting layer being formed of epichlorohydrin-ethylene oxide copolymer rubber as a major constituent thereof, the core body, resilient layer, preventive layer and adjusting layer constituting an integral cylindrical body. The conductive roll may further include (e) a protective layer located radially outwardly of the adjusting layer, the protective layer being formed of N-methoxymethylated nylon as a major constituent thereof. In the latter case, the core body, resilient layer, preventive layer, adjusting layer and protective layer constitute an integral cylindrical body.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electrically conductive roll used in an electronic photo-copying machine, for example.
2. Related Art Statement
An electronic photo-copying machine produces a copy of an original image by forming a latent image of the original on a circumferential surface of a photosensitive drum, applying toner to the drum surface thereby forming a toner image, and transferring the toner image onto a copy sheet. For forming a latent image on the drum surface, it is required to electrically charge the drum surface in advance, and expose the charged drum surface to an original image through an optical system, thereby eliminating the electric charge from the exposed portions on the drum surface.
There have been known two types of electrical charging of the drum surface; corona charging and "contact" charging. In the corona charging method, the drum surface is charged by corona discharge produced from a corona discharging device. The corona discharging needs a high-voltage power supply (generally, 5 to 10 KV), therefore complete safety care must be taken. In addition, this charging method suffers from a disadvantage that, upon discharging, ozone is generated which is harmful to human beings. For this reason, attention has recently been directed to the contact charging method in which the drum surface is charged by frictional contact thereof with an electrically conductive roll.
FIG. 1 shows an electronic photo-copying machine employing the above-identified contact charging method. This copying machine produces a copy of an original 8, as follows: When a photosensitive drum 1 is rotated about an axis 1a in a direction indicated at arrow in the figure, an electrically conductive roll or charging roll 2 is rotated on the outer circumferential surface of the drum 1 in the same (or reverse) direction as that of the drum 1, in such a manner that friction occurs between the drum 1 and the roll 2 with the roll 2 elastically or resiliently being deformed. Reference numeral 3 denotes an exposing device having a slit through which the original image 8 is incident to the drum surface so as to form a latent image corresponding to the original 8. Numeral 4 designates a developing device which applies toner to the latent image thereby forming a toner image. Numeral 6 denotes sheet feeding rolls which feed a copy sheet 11 toward the drum surface, and a transferring device 5 transfers the toner image onto the copy sheet 11. Numeral 7 designates fixing rolls which fix the thus reproduced image on the sheet 11 when the sheet 11 passes therethrough. Thus, a copy of the original is produced.
A cleaning device 9 serves for removing the toner residue, from the drum surface. In addition, an eraser lamp 10 irradiates the entire surface of the drum surface so that the drum surface becomes zero potential. Numeral 12 designates a power supply which applies a 1 to 3 KV electric voltage to the charging roll 2.
An electronic photo-copying machine or the like employs a lot of electrically conductive rolls (hereinafter, referred to as the "conductive rolls"), such as charging roll, developing roll, transferring roll, cleaning roll, etc. These conductive rolls are required to have an electric resistivity (i.e., specific resistance) in a range of 10.sup.1 to 10.sup.12 .OMEGA..multidot.cm. As shown in FIG. 2, a conductive roll consists of a metal shaft (metal core) 21, and an electrically conductive resilient layer 22 formed on the outer circumferential surface of the core 21. Conventionally, the resilient layer 22 is formed of a mixture composition including synthetic rubber such as silicone rubber, and electrically conductive powder or fiber such as carbon black, metal powder, or carbon fiber.
Out of the above-indicated various sorts of conductive rolls, the charging roll in particular is required to have an electric resistance in a semi-conductive range of 10.sup.5 to 10.sup.7 .OMEGA..
However, regarding the charging roll of FIG. 2, the conductivity of the resilient layer 22 is created by contact between the conductive particles dispersed in the synthetic rubber. Generally, such particle contact is not uniform in the rubber. This problem particularly occurs with respect to the above-indicated semi-conductive range. Thus, it is difficult to obtain a charging roll having a desirable electric resistance in the range of 10.sup.5 to 10.sup.7 .OMEGA.. This problem results in failing to reproduce an excellent copy of an original image.
For solving the above-identified problem, it has been proposed to provide a resistance adjusting layer 23 on the outer surface of an electrically conductive resilient layer 22 of a charging roll, as shown in FIG. 3. However, common synthetic resins (e.g., polyethylene resin, polyester resin, epoxy resin) and common synthetic rubbers (e.g., ethylene-propylene rubber, styrene-butadiene rubber, chlorinated polyethylene rubber) each are an insulating material having an electric resistivity of more than 10.sup.12 .OMEGA..cm. In order that the resistance adjusting layer 23 is formed of one of these resins and rubbers so that the roll enjoys a suitable electric resistance of 10.sup.5 to 10.sup.7 .OMEGA., it is required that the thickness of the adjusting layer 23 be smaller than 1 .mu.m. However, such a thin layer 23 has no durability in service.
As is apparent from the foregoing, the conventional conductive rolls, in particular charging roll, lack resistance uniformity and serviceability, and therefore are not satisfactory.
In this situation, the inventors of the present application and another person had filed a Japanese patent application, which was laid open under Publication No. 1-142569 on Jun. 5, 1989. For overcoming the above-identified problems, we proposed to form a resistance adjusting layer of epichlorohydrin-ethylene oxide copolymer rubber (abbreviated to "CHC"). This adjusting layer enjoys uniform resistance, and sufficient adjustability to a suitable thickness for actual use or service. However, depending upon a rubber composition for the conductive resilient layer positioned under the resistance adjusting layer, a softening agent, such as oil, possibly contained in the composition may permeate, through the adjusting layer, to the outer surface of the conductive roll or charging roll. In this case, the oil may further be transferred to the outer surface of the photosensitive drum which is disposed in pressed contact with the charging roll. If the oil is spread on the drum surface, some of the toner representing an original image is adhered to the drum surface and is not transferred onto a copy sheet. Consequently, an image reproduced on the copy sheet lacks some part of the original image.
The photosensitive drum suffers from another problem that a resin film or coating provided on the drum surface is deteriorated because of permeation thereinto of the oil. Furthermore, since portions of the drum surface to which the oil is adhered cannot be electrically charged, those portions act as if they are charged and subsequently discharged by exposure to image light. In the case where discharged portions on the drum surface represent a positive image reproduced on a copy sheet, the oil-covered portions act as representing some of an image to be reproduced. It is known that, when oil is adhered to the roll surface, it often assumes a line extending in the axial direction of the roll, and consequently a black line appears as a part of a reproduced image on a copy sheet.


A high shear mechanical device incorporated into a process and system for the production of cyclohexane is capable of decreasing mass transfer limitations, thereby enhancing the cyclohexane production process. A system for the production of cyclohexane from benzene and hydrogen, the system comprising a reactor, solid catalyst, and a high shear device, the outlet of which is fluidly connected to the inlet of the reactor; the high shear device capable of providing an emulsion of hydrogen gas bubbles within a liquid comprising benzene, the bubbles having an average bubble diameter of less than about 100 μm.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates generally to the hydrogenation of aromatic hydrocarbons, and more particularly to apparatus and methods for heterogeneous catalytic hydrogenation of aromatic hydrocarbons. More specifically, the disclosure relates to the reduction of mass transfer limitations of such methods in the apparatus and methods of hydrogenating
2. Background of the Invention
Heterogeneous catalytic hydrogenation processes of various kinds are widely practiced on a commercial scale. Typical hydrogenation reactions are conducted at a pressure of from about 1 bar (100 kPa) to about 300 bar (30,000 kPa) and a temperature within the range of from about 40° C. to about 350° C. Examples include hydrogenation of aldehydes to alcohols and the hydrogenation of unsaturated hydrocarbons to saturated hydrocarbons.
Catalytic hydrogenation is in all the above cases a heterogeneous process. In designing a hydrogenation plant a chemical engineer has to decide whether the process is to be operated as a liquid phase process or as a vapor phase process. The former offers the possibility of a compact plant but often high operating pressures have to be used as a rate determining factor is usually the low solubility of hydrogen in the organic liquid phase. This means that the costs of plant construction and operation are significant factors in the overall process economics.
An example of hydrogenation of an unsaturated hydrocarbon is the production of cyclohexane from benzene. Cyclohexane is a cycloalkane with the molecular formula C6H12. Cyclohexane is used as a nonpolar solvent for the chemical industry and as a raw material for the industrial production of caprolactam and adipic acid, both of which are intermediates used in the production of nylon. On an industrial scale, cyclohexane is produced by reacting benzene with hydrogen. Typical catalysts for such hydrogenation reactions include Group VIII metal catalysts, such as nickel, palladium and platinum. This reaction is exothermic. The use of high temperatures is normally recommended so as to maximize conversion of benzene to cyclohexane, but isomerization of cyclohexane to methyl cyclopentane, which is extremely difficult to separate from cyclohexane, can occur.
Over the years, researchers have developed numerous processes for manufacturing cyclohexane from the hydrogenation of benzene. The majority of these processes differ from each other in the techniques used to compensate for impurities, found in either the reaction components themselves or that are generated during the hydrogenation process.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,711,566 (Estes et al.) describes a process in which aromatic hydrocarbon feedstock containing sulfur are hydrogenated using a fluoridated platinum catalyst. Sulfur, a known poison to platinum catalysts, causes rapid deactivation of the catalyst as the hydrogenation process proceeds. Adding fluorine to the catalyst reduces sulfur poisoning; however, this undesirably increases hydrocracking activity that also deactivates the catalyst. Estes et al. inhibited hydrocracking activity by adding extremely small amounts, of carbon monoxide (a poison of metal catalysts itself) to the pure-hydrogen feed stream. This allowed the carbon monoxide to interact with the acidity of the fluoridated catalyst surface and prevent reactions, like hydrocracking, from taking place. Because carbon monoxide can also poison and deactivate the catalyst, care must be exercised in both purifying the hydrogen feed stream and in adding the carbon monoxide to the pure-hydrogen feed stream in order to achieve proper hydrogenation. This type of hydrogenation process therefore appears most useful when the hydrocarbon feedstock contains substantial amounts of sulfur requiring the catalyst to contain fluorine to prevent the sulfur from poisoning the catalyst.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,626,604 (Hiles et al.) describes a process in which hydrogenation occurs in a series of catalytic stages using at least three adiabatic reaction vessels. Because hydrogenation occurs in stages, lower operating temperatures can be used, which in turn reduces the formation of byproducts such as esters that can poison the catalysts and decrease, catalytic activity. However, Hiles et al. requires that the liquid unsaturated aromatic hydrocarbon be vaporized prior to mixing with the hydrogen gas. Portions of the vaporized unsaturated aromatic hydrocarbon are then hydrogenated in each catalytic stage before the saturated hydrocarbon is cooled and condensed back to liquid-form.
Accordingly, there is a need in industry for improved systems and processes for hydrogenating liquid aromatic hydrocarbons, whereby effective conversion is obtained. For example, systems and processes for enhanced conversion of benzene to cyclohexane are desired; such systems desirably do not lead to formation of a significant amount of undesirable cracking products, such as methylcyclopentane.

High shear process for cyclohexane production


A camera apparatus is installed in a portable electronic device. The camera apparatus includes an image sensing module and a double lens module. The double lens module includes a case, a first lens, a second lens, and a reflecting element. The first lens and the second lens are symmetrically positioned in the case, and the reflecting element is received in the case and positioned between the first lens and the second lens. The reflecting device reflects light passing through the first lens or the second lens to the image sensing module.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to lens modules, and particularly to a camera apparatus having a double lens module for portable electronic devices.
2. Description of Related Art
Camera apparatus are included in most portable electronic devices. Most camera apparatuses nowadays have two lens modules and two image sensors to capture images from opposite sides of the portable electronic device.
However, the portable electronic devices have limited space for assembling the camera apparatus therein.
Therefore, there is room for improvement within the art.

Camera apparatus and portable electronic device using same having a reflecting element arranged between two lens elements


Fluoroalkyl amidoalkyl alcohols of the formula

The use of perfluoroalkyl- (in the following abbreviated as RF) substituted polymers to impart oil and water repellency to a variety of substrates such as textiles and paper is well known. The vast majority of these polymers are perfluoroalkyl-substituted acrylate copolymers useful for treating paper and paper products to impart oil and water repellency. U.S. Pat. No. 3,919,183 (Jager et al.) discloses polymers useful as oil repellant coatings for porous substrates such as textile materials and paper which comprise a perfluoroalkylethyl acrylate. U.S. Pat. No. 4,582,882 (Lynn et al.) describes fluorinated paper sizes which are copolymers of perfluoroalkyl acrylate. Also U.S. Pat. No. 5,674,961 of Fitzgerald discloses fluorochemical polymers useful for water, oil and grease resistance to paper. The monomers used to synthesize the above perfluoroalkylated polymers are derived exclusively from RF-substituted alcohols where an ethylene group is present between the RF and the hydroxyl group.
Several patents also describe RF-substituted polyurethanes, for example U.S. Pat. No. 5,663,273. Polyamide-amino polymers derived from polyethyleneimine by reaction with esters of perfluoroalkyl-substituted carboxylic acids are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,769,307 and 3,567,500. These polymers contain a mixture of RF-substituted amide and secondary amino groups. These polymers are used to impart oleophobicity yet hydrophilicity to textile substrates.
Di-RF amidomonocarboxylic acids prepared from 1 equivalent of diethylenetriamine, 2 equivalents of an RF-acid and 1 equivalent of an anhydride are taught for use as textile finishes in U.S. Pat. No. 3,754,026. Similar RF-amide-substituted polyethyleneimines useful as chemically resistant surfactants are described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,271,430. They are obtained by reaction of a perfluorinated alkanoic acid with a large excess of ethyleneimine. Reaction products of RF-substituted acids with polymers bearing pendent primary amino groups attached to a carbon-carbon backbone by a linking group are claimed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,606,973 as low surface energy coatings for flat substrates.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,818,074 describes saturated and unsaturated fluorinated alcohols which can have 2 to 12 methylene groups separating a perfluoroalkyl radical having from three to 12 carbon atoms and the hydroxyl group.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,498,958, discloses perfluoroalkyl amidoalkyl alcohols which have 1 to 14 methylene groups separating the perfluoroalkyl radical and the amido group, (meth)acrylate esters thereof and copolymers derived therefrom. The amidoalkyl alcohols are the saturated analogues of the amidoalkanols of formula I described below, and are obtained by a different synthetic route.

Perfluoroalkyl substituted acrylate monomers and polymers thereof

Abstract: are disclosed and their corresponding (meth)acrylate esters. These fluoroalkyl amidoalkyl (meth)acrylate monomers can be copolymerized with a wide variety of conventional ethylenically unsaturated monomers. The resulting copolymers are useful as water, oil- and grease-proofing agents for paper, textiles and hard surfaces such as masonry and wood.


A brake booster apparatus for a vehicle has a constant pressure chamber, a variable pressure chamber, a control valve, a power piston, a plunger member and a solenoid coil. The plunger member is actuated under the energized condition of the solenoid coil. The power piston is actuated in response to the depression of a brake pedal and/or plunger movement. The output force of the brake booster is amplified by the pressure difference between the variable and constant pressure chambers. A clearance is provided between the input member and the plunger member to permit relative movement of the input member and the plunger member. The relative movement generates a continuous variable output force of the brake booster.

German Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 4,405,092C1 discloses a brake booster apparatus which has a solenoid coil for establishing automatic brake actuating operation. The brake booster includes a housing, a plurality of movable walls, a power piston, an input rod, an input member, a plunger member, a pressure control valve and a solenoid coil. The movable walls form front and rear constant pressure chambers, and front and rear variable pressure chambers. The variable pressure chambers are selectively communicated with the constant pressure chambers in response to the operation of the pressure control valve. The constant pressure chambers are communicated with an intake manifold (negative pressure source) of the engine at all times. The power piston is fixed to the movable walls, and in response to a pressure difference between the constant pressure chambers and the vacuum pressure chambers, the position of the movable walls changes. According to the movement of the movable walls, the power piston is actuated.
The pressure control valve is comprised of an atmospheric control valve and a negative pressure control valve. The atmospheric control valve controls communication between the variable pressure chambers and the atmosphere. The negative pressure control valve controls communication between the constant pressure chambers and the variable pressure chambers. Under the energized condition of the solenoid coil, the solenoid coil actuates the plunger member and the power piston, and the brake booster generates an operating force of the brake master cylinder.
The operation of the conventional brake booster can be seen with reference to FIG. 9 which graphically illustrates the relationship between the input force and the output force. The vertical axis represents the output value of the brake booster, and the horizontal axis represents the depression force of the brake pedal. The broken line C represents when the solenoid coil is energized. When the brake pedal is depressed with a force f.sub.1, the atmospheric control valve is operated to an open position. As a result, the movable walls and the power piston are operated and an output force corresponding to the point a.sub.1 is generated.
When the brake pedal has been rapidly depressed in an emergency situation, the solenoid coil is energized to attract the plunger member. The power piston is operated in response to the actuation of the solenoid coil. As a result, an output force corresponding to the point C.sub.1 is generated. After this time, the brake booster generates an output force along the broken line C. Under the condition where the depression force f.sub.1 is applied, when the solenoid is energized at point a.sub.1, the output force changes to point C.sub.1.
The above mentioned conventional brake booster suffers from a variety of disadvantages. In one respect, due to the ON-OFF controlling solenoid, the brake booster cannot generate a continuous variable output in response to the input force. More specifically, the brake booster is not able to generate an appropriate braking force in response to the load of the vehicle. Further, an appropriate output brake force cannot be generated to effect an automatic braking operation. Furthermore, when the brake pedal is released, the diminution of the braking force is not responsive to the driver's intention.


Invented are non-peptide TPO mimetics. Also invented is a method of treating thrombocytopenia, in a mammal, including a human, in need thereof which comprises administering to such mammal an effective amount of a linked cyclic polyamine derivative.

This invention relates to TPO receptor ligands and their use as agonists of the TPO receptor.
Megakaryocytes are bone marrow-derived cells, which are responsible for producing circulating blood platelets. Although comprising  less than 0.25% of the bone marrow cells in most species, they have  greater than 10 times the volume of typical marrow cells. See Kuter et al. Proc. Natl. Acad. Aci. USA 91: 11104-11108 (1994). Megakaryocytes undergo a process known as endomitosis whereby they replicate their nuclei but fail to undergo cell division and thereby give rise to polypoid cells. In response to a decreased platelet count, the endomitotic rate increases, higher ploidy megakaryocytes are formed, and the number of megakaryocytes may increase up to 3-fold. See Harker J. Clin. Invest. 47: 458-465 (1968). In contrast, in response to an elevated platelet count, the endomitotic rate decreases, lower ploidy megakaryocytes are formed, and the number of megakaryocytes may decrease by 50%.
The exact physiological feedback mechanism by which the mass of circulating platelets regulates the endomitotic rate and number of bone marrow megakaryocytes is not known. The circulating thrombopoietic factor involved in mediating this feedback loop is now thought to be thrombopoietin (TPO). More specifically, TPO has been shown to be the main humoral regulator in situations involving thrombocytopenia. See, e.g., Metcalf Nature 369:519-520 (1994). TPO has been shown in several studies to increase platelet counts, increase platelet size, and increase isotope incorporation into platelets of recipient animals. Specifically, TWO is thought to affect megakaryocytopoiesis in several ways: (1) it produces increases in megakaryocyte size and number; (2) it produces an increase in DNA content, in the form of polyploidy, in megakaryocytes; (3) it increases megakaryocyte endomitosis; (4) it produces increased maturation of megakaryocytes; and (5) it produces an increase in the percentage of precursor cells, in the form of small acetylcholinesterase-positive cells, in the bone marrow.
Because platelets (thrombocytes) are necessary for blood clotting and when their numbers are very low a patient is at risk of death from catastrophic hemorrhage, TPO has potential useful application in both the diagnosis and the treatment of various hematological disorders, for example, diseases primarily due to platelet defects. Ongoing clinical trials with TPO have indicated that TPO can be administered safely to patients. In addition, recent studies have provided a basis for the projection of efficacy of TPO therapy in the treatment of thrombocytopenia, and particularly thrombocytopenia resulting from chemotherapy, radiation therapy, or bone marrow transplantation as treatment for cancer or lymphoma. See e.g., McDonald (1992) Am. J. Ped. Hematology/Oncology 14:8-21 (1992).
The gene encoding TPO has been cloned and characterized. See Kuter et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 91: 11104-11108 (1994); Barley et al., Cell 77: 1117-1124 (1994); Kaushansky et al., Nature 369:568-571 (1994); Wendling et al., Nature 369:571-574 (1994); and Sauvage et al., Nature 369:533-538(1994). Thrombopoietin is a glycoprotein with two distinct regions separated by a potential Arg-Arg cleavage site. The amino-terminal region is highly conserved in man and mouse, and has some homology with erythropoietin and interferon-alpha and interferon-beta. The carboxy-terminal region shows wide species divergence.
The DNA sequences and encoded peptide sequences for human TPO receptor (TPO-R; also known as c-mpl) have been described. See, Vigon et al. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 89: 5640-5644 (1992). TPO-R is a member of the haematopoietin growth factor receptor family, a family characterized by a common structural design of the extracellular domain, including for conserved C residues in the N-terminal portion and a WSXWS motif close to the transmembrane region. See Bazan Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 87: 6934-6938 (1990). Evidence that this receptor plays a functional role in hematopoiesis includes observations that its expression is restricted to spleen, bone marrow, or fetal liver in mice (see Souyri et al. Cell 63: 1137-1147 (1990)) and to megakaryocytes, platelets, and CD34+ cells in humans (see Methia et al. Blood 82: 1395-1401 (1993)). Further evidence for TPO-R as a key regulator of megakaryopoiesis is the fact that exposure of CD34+ cells to synthetic oligonucleotides antisense to TPO-R RNA significantly inhibits the appearance of megakaryocyte colonies without affecting erythroid or myeloid colony formation. Some workers postulate that the receptor functions as a homodimer, similar to the situation with the receptors for G-CSF and erythropoietin.
The slow recovery of platelet levels in patients suffering from thrombocytopenia is a serious problem, and has lent urgency to the search for a blood growth factor agonist able to accelerate platelet regeneration. It would be desirable to provide compounds which allow for the treatment of thrombocytopenia by acting as a TPO mimetic.
International Application PCT/GB92102334 (International Filing date Dec. 16, 1992; WO 93/12096, Published Jun. 24, 1993, hereinafter Bridger) discloses linked cyclic polyamines of Formula (I)
Zxe2x80x94Rxe2x80x94Axe2x80x94Rxe2x80x2xe2x80x94Yxe2x80x83xe2x80x83(I)
in which Z and Y are independently cyclic polyamine moieties having from 9 to 32 ring members and from 3 to 8 amine nitrogens in the ring spaced by 2 or more carbon atoms from each other;
A is an aromatic or heteroaromatic moiety, and
R and Rxe2x80x2 are each a substituted or unsubstituted alkylene chain or heteroatom-containing chain which spaces the cyclic polyamines and the moiety A;
as well as acid addition salts and metal complexes thereof.
Bridger does not disclose or claim the compounds of Formula (I) as TPO mimetics or for the treatment of thrombocytopenia.
As disclosed herein it has unexpectedly been discovered that certain small organic molecules, preferably the linked cyclic polyamines of Bridger, are effective as agonist of the TPO receptor, they are potent TPO mimetics.
This invention relates to a method of treating thrombocytopenia, which comprises administering to a subject in need thereof an effective amount of a TPO mimetic compound of Formula (I).
The present invention also relates to the discovery that the compounds of Formula (I) are active as agonist of the TPO receptor.
Also included in the present invention are methods of co-administering the presently invented TPO mimetic compounds with further active ingredients.
This invention also relates to the discovery that certain non-peptide compounds are effective as TPO mimetics.
All publications, including but not limited to patents and patent applications, cited in this specification are herein incorporated by reference as though fully set forth.
The preparation of the compounds of Formula (I) and acid addition salts and metal complexes thereof and formulations thereof is disclosed in International Application PCT/GB92/02334 (International Filing date Dec. 16, 1992; WO 93/12096, Published Jun. 24, 1993, Bridger), the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference. In Bridger metal complexes of the claimed linked cyclic polyamine compounds are disclosed as alternative methods for administration, and not disclosed as part of mechanism of activation as anti viral compounds.
By the phrase xe2x80x9cnon-peptide bifunctional ligandxe2x80x9d as used herein is meant a ligand containing two positively-charged regions connected by a linker of 6 to 16 atoms, which is capable of activating the TPO receptor by binding to two non-adjacent sites.
By the term xe2x80x9ctreatingxe2x80x9d and derivatives thereof as used herein, is meant prophylatic or therapeutic therapy.
The treatment of thrombocytopenia, as described herein, is accomplished by enhancing the production of platelets.
By the term xe2x80x9cco-administeringxe2x80x9d and derivatives thereof as used herein is meant either simultaneous administration or any manner of separate sequential administration of a TPO mimetic compound, as described herein, and a further active ingredient or ingredients, known to treat thrombocytopenia, including chemotherapy-induced thrombocytopenia and bone marrow transplantation and other conditions with depressed platelet production. Preferably, if the administration is not simultaneous, the compounds are administered in a close time proximity to each other. Furthermore, it does not matter if the compounds are administered in the same dosage form, e.g. one compound may be administered topically and another compound may be administered orally.
Because the pharmaceutically active compounds of the present invention are active as TPO mimetics they exhibit therapeutic utility in treating thrombocytopenia and other conditions with depressed platelet production.
In determining potency as TPO mimetics, the following assays were employed:
Luciferase Assay
Compounds of the present invention were tested for potency as mimetics of the TPO receptor in a Luciferase assay such as described in Lamb, et al., Nucleic Acids Research 23: 3283-3289 (1995) and Seidel, et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., USA 92: 3041-3045 (1995) by substituting a TPO-responsive BaF3 cell line (Vigon et al. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 1992, 89, 5640-5644) for the HepG2 cells utilized therein. The murine BaF3 cells express TPO receptors and closely match the pattern of STAT (signal transducers and activators of transcription) activation observed in primary murine and human bone marrow cells in response to TPO.
Some of the most preferred compounds of this invention were also active in an in vitro proliferation assay using the murine 32D-mpl cell line (Bartley, T. D: et al., Cell, 1994, 77, 1117-1124). 32D-mpl cells express Tpo-R and their survival is dependent on the presence of TPO. Likewise, some of the most preferred compounds of this invention were also positive in stimulating the maturation of megakaryocytes from human bone marrow cells. In this assay, purified human CD34+ progenitor cells were incubated in liquid culture with test compounds for 10 days and the number of cells expressing the transmembrane glycoprotein CD41 (gpIIb), a megakaryocytic marker, was then measured by flow cytometry (see Cwirla, S. E. et al Science, 1997, 276, 1696-1699).
The pharmaceutically active compounds within the scope of this invention are useful as TPO mimetics in mammals, including humans, in need thereof.
Compounds of Examples 1 and 2 showed activation of over 30% of control (control is the maximal response to TPO) between the concentration range of 10 and 100 uM in the luciferase assay. Compound of Example 1 promoted the proliferation of 32D-mpl cells at concentration 1-30 uM. Compound of Example 1 showed activity in the CD41 megakaryocytic assay at concentrations form 1-30 uM.
The present invention therefor provides a method of treating thrombocytopenia and other conditions with depressed platelet production, which comprises administering a compound of Formula (I):
Zxe2x80x94Rxe2x80x94Axe2x80x94Rxe2x80x2xe2x80x94Yxe2x80x83xe2x80x83(I)
in which Z and Y are independently cyclic polyamine moieties having from 9 to 32 ring members and from 3 to 8 amine nitrogens in the ring spaced by 2 or more carbon atoms from each other.
A is an aromatic or heteroaromatic moiety, and
R and Rxe2x80x2 are each a substituted or unsubstituted alkylene chain or heteroatom-containing chain which spaces the cyclic polyamines and the moiety A; and acid addition salts and metal complexes thereof in a quantity effective to enhance platelet production. The compounds of Formula (I) also provide for a method of treating the above indicated disease states because of their demonstrated ability to act as TPO mimetics. The drug may be administered to a patient in need thereof by any conventional route of administration, including, but not limited to, intravenous, intramuscular, oral, subcutaneous, intradermal, and parenteral.
The pharmaceutically active compounds of the present invention are incorporated into convenient dosage forms such as capsules, tablets, or injectable preparations. Solid or liquid pharmaceutical carriers are employed. Solid carriers include, starch, lactose, calcium sulfate dihydrate, terra alba, sucrose, talc, gelatin, agar, pectin, acacia, magnesium stearate, and stearic acid. Liquid carriers include syrup, peanut oil, olive oil, saline, and water. Similarly, the carrier or diluent may include any prolonged release material, such as glyceryl monostearate or glyceryl distearate, alone or with a wax. The amount of solid carrier varies widely but, preferably, will be from about 25 mg to about 1 g per dosage unit. When a liquid carrier is used, the preparation will be in the form of a syrup, elixir, emulsion, soft gelatin capsule, sterile injectable liquid such as an ampoule, or an aqueous or nonaqueous liquid suspension.
The pharmaceutical preparations are made following conventional techniques of a pharmaceutical chemist involving mixing, granulating, and compressing, when necessary, for tablet forms, or mixing, filling and dissolving the ingredients, as appropriate, to give the desired oral or parenteral products.
Doses of the presently invented pharmaceutically active compounds in a pharmaceutical dosage unit as described above will be an efficacious, nontoxic quantity preferably selected from the range of 0.001-100 mg/kg of active compound, preferably 0.001-50 mg/kg. When treating a human patient in need of a TPO mimetic, the selected dose is administered preferably from 1-6 times daily, orally or parenterally. Preferred forms of parenteral administration include topically, rectally, transdermally, by injection and continuously by infusion. Oral dosage units for human administration preferably contain from 0.05 to 3500 mg of active compound. Oral administration, which uses lower dosages is preferred. Parenteral administration, at high dosages, however, also can be used when safe and convenient for the patient.
Optimal dosages to be administered may be readily determined by those skilled in the art, and will vary with the particular TPO mimetic in use, the strength of the preparation, the mode of administration, and the advancement of the disease condition. Additional factors depending on the particular patient being treated will result in a need to adjust dosages, including patient age, weight, diet, and time of administration.
The method of this invention of inducing TPO mimetic activity in mammals, including humans, comprises administering to a subject in need of such activity an effective TPO mimetic amount of a pharmaceutically active compound of the present invention.
The invention also provides for the use of a compound of Formula (I) in the manufacture of a medicament for use as a TPO mimetic.
The invention also provides for the use of a compound of Formula (I) in the manufacture of a medicament for use in therapy.
The invention also provides for the use of a compound of Formula (I) in the manufacture of a medicament for use in enhancing platelet production.
The invention also provides for the use of a compound of Formula (I) in the manufacture of a medicament for use in treating thrombocytopenia.
The invention also provides for a pharmaceutical composition for use as a TPO mimetic which comprises a compound of Formula I and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier.
The invention also provides for a pharmaceutical composition for use in the treatment of thrombocytopenia which comprises a compound of Formula I and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier.
The invention also provides for a pharmaceutical composition for use in enhancing platelet production which comprises a compound of Formula I and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier.
No unacceptable toxicological effects are expected when compounds of the invention are administered in accordance with the present invention.
In addition, the pharmaceutically active compounds of the present invention can be co-administered with further active ingredients, such as other compounds known to treat thrombocytopenia, including chemotherapy-induced thrombocytopenia and bone marrow transplantation and other conditions with depressed platelet production, or compounds known to have utility when used in combination with a TPO mimetic.


The present invention describes a multi-well bone cell culture device for use in the quantitative and/or qualitative assessment of bone cell activity, the device comprising a flat base having a sintered film of calcium phosphate entities on one side and an open-ended multi chamber unit positioned on top of the film which by a sealing means is sealed to the film coated base forming individual containment wells. The device is useful in the analysis of bone cell function, for the screening and determination of bone cell disease, and the development of drugs to alter bone cell activity.

Bone is a complex mineralizing system composed of an inorganic or mineral phase, an organic matrix phase, and water. The inorganic mineral phase is composed of crystalline calcium phosphate salts while the organic matrix phase consists mostly of collagen and other noncollagenous proteins. Calcification of bone depends on the close association between the organic and inorganic phases to produce a mineralized tissue.
The process of bone growth is regulated to meet both structural and mechanical stresses. The cells involved in the processes of bone formation, maintenance, and resorption are osteoblasts, osteocytes, and osteoclasts. Osteoblasts synthesize the organic matrix, osteoid, of bone which after calcium phosphate crystal growth and collagen assembly becomes mineralized. Osteocytes regulate the flux of calcium and phosphate between the bone mineral and the extracellular fluid. Osteoclasts functions to resorb bone and are essential in the continuous process of bone remodelling. Disturbing the natural balance of bone formation and resorption leads to various bone disorders. Increased osteoclast activity has been demonstrated to lead to bone disease characterized by a decrease in bone density such as that seen in osteoporosis, osteitis fibrosa and in Paget's disease. All of these diseases are a result of increased bone resorption.
In order to understand the mechanisms involved which regulate bone cell functioning, it is important to be able to assess the normal function of bone cells and also the degree of perturbation of this activity in various bone diseases. This will lead to the identification of drugs targeted to restore abnormal bone cell activity back to within normal levels.
Several research groups have developed methods to directly observe the activity of isolated osteoclasts in vitro. Osteoclasts, isolated from bone marrow cell populations, have been cultured on thin slices of natural materials such as sperm whale dentine (Boyde et al Brit. Dent. J. 156, 216, 1984) or bone (Chambers et al J. Cell Sci. 66, 383, 1984). The latter group have been able to show that this resorptive activity is not possessed by other cells of the mononuclear phagocyte series (Chambers & Horton, Calcif Tissue Int. 36, 556, 1984). More recent attempts to use other cell culture techniques to study osteoclast lineage have still had to rely on the use of cortical bone slices (Amano et al. and Kerby et al J. Bone & Min. Res. 7(3)) for which the quantitation of resorptive activity relies upon either two dimensional analysis of resorption pit areas of variable depth or stereo mapping of the resorption volume. Such techniques provide at best an accuracy of approximately 50% when assessing resorption of relatively thick substrata. In addition these analysis techniques are also very time consuming and require highly specialized equipment and training. Furthermore, the preparation and subsequent examination of bone or dentine slices is neither an easy nor practical method for the assessment of osteoclast activity.
The use of artificial calcium phosphate preparations as substrata for osteoclast cultures has also met with little success. Jones et al (Anat. Embryol 170, 247, 1984) reported that osteoclasts resorb synthetic apatites in vitro but failed to provide experimental evidence to support this observation. Shimizu et al (Bone and Mineral 6, 261, 1989) have reported that isolated osteoclasts resorb only devitalized bone surfaces and not synthetic calcium hydroxyapatite. These results would indicate that functional osteoclasts are difficult to culture in vitro.
For these reasons it appears that the currently known methods used for culturing and measuring bone cell activity cannot provide consistent or reliable reference data for meaningful and statistical analysis. Therefore these methods are not suitable for wide scale screening for the assessment of bone cell function in normal health and/or in disease. These methods are also not suitable for diagnostic testing for disease.
Culturing systems developed for general tissue culture are also not suitable for the culturing of bone cells. U.S. Pat. No. 3,726,764 describes a microbiological chamber apparatus having a sealable sidewall access port for tissue culture directly onto a base for subsequent examination and storage. U.S. Pat. No. 3,745,091 describes a biological reaction chamber apparatus having a receptacle bonded to a base by a gasket for use in tissue culture. Neither of these systems is suitable or adaptable for the successful culture and assessment of both the activities of osteoclasts and osteoblasts.
The applicant's published PCT application (WO 94/26872) described a disc coated with a calcium phosphate based thin film which could be placed into individual containment wells onto which bone cells were cultured. Although this system was successful in culturing active bone cells, the system required a great deal of handling especially with respect to the cleaning and analysis of the individual discs. There was also the problem of bone cell migration from the discs as well as some variation in the film coating present on each disc from well to well. It was apparent that this system was not suitable for a large scale screening system aimed to quantitatively assess bone cell activity and diagnose bone cell disease.
We provide in the present invention a novel and improved bone cell culture device used to assess bone cell activity. The development of this bone cell culture device overcomes the difficulties previously encountered in the culturing of functional bone cells and the reliable assessment of bone cell activity.

Multi-well bone culture device for use in assessment of bone cell activity


A reversible, backlit grooming mirror has a planar mirror and a concave mirror mounted back-to-back in a reflector unit in parallel relation, with a space between the mirrors. The reflector unit is mounted for rotation in a mirror frame between a first position presenting the planar mirror to a user and a second position presenting the concave mirror to the user. A light source such as a halogen lamp is disposed in the space between the mirrors. A switch responsive to rotation of the reflector unit terminates electrical power to the lamp unless the reflector unit occupies a position in which one of the mirrors is in an operative position before the user.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a grooming mirror, and more particularly, to a grooming mirror with multiple backlit reflecting surfaces.
2. Description of Related Technology
Mirrors with multiple reflecting surfaces, one of which is typically planar and the other of which is concave to provide magnification, are known to be particularly well-suited for personal grooming tasks such as applying makeup or shaving. There are many types of such mirrors, examples being disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,200,114, U.S. Pat. No. 3,268,715, U.S. Pat. No. 3,378,679, U.S. Pat. No. 3,824,001 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,453,915, and U.S. Design Pat. No. 258,017.
Most of the mirrors disclosed in those patents are illuminated, another feature that is especially useful for tasks that require good lighting of the face of the person using the mirror. Placing a light source behind the mirror and having light shine on the user's face from the periphery of the mirror's reflecting surface is one desirable way of providing such illumination. That type of arrangement is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 1,138,552, U.S. Pat. No. 2,180,151, U.S. Pat. No. 2,200,114, U.S. Pat. No. 3,378,679 and U.S. Pat. No. 3,641,334.
However, prior art approaches to backlighting multiple-sided mirrors have certain drawbacks. For example, the arrangement in U.S. Pat. No. 2,200,114 requires the user to tilt the mirror out of a reflector housing, rotate it to expose the mirror's reverse side, and then tilt the mirror back into the reflector housing. Among the problems with this approach is that it completely exposes the inside of the reflector housing to the user, which is undesirable from a marketing standpoint, and it requires that the mirror tilt be reset each time the reflecting surface is changed, thus inconveniencing the user.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,378,679 the two mirrors are on opposite sides of a lamp shade type member mounted on a light bulb by a wire spring clamp having opposing arms that engage the glass envelope of the light bulb in a manner similar to a conventional lamp shade. This arrangement makes it even more inconvenient for the user to change the reflecting surface, since the shade member must be grasped and rotated about the light bulb. Among other problems, the shade member may be too hot to grasp, the light bulb is subject to breakage and the tilt of the mirror will be disturbed when the shade member is rotated.
Heretofore there has been no known solution to these problems with prior art backlit mirrors having multiple reflecting surfaces.

Reversible backlit personal grooming mirror


The present invention provides for a method of selecting an antibody against a target substance to be measured, which comprises selecting the antibody against the target substance by antigen-antibody reaction in the presence of a substance interfering with the antigen-antibody reaction. That is, an antigen and a labeled antigen are reacted with the antibody in the presence of an interfering substance, such as an environment pollutant, and on the basis of the degree of reaction thereof, the antibody against the target substance, which is highly resistant to the interfering substance, is selected. Thereby, even if a test sample is contaminated with a substance interfering with antigen-antibody reaction, the antibody, which is highly resistant to the substance interfering with antigen-antibody reaction, is not influenced by the interfering substance and gives a correct value in the quantification. The present invention further provides for antibodies, which are highly resistant to the substance interfering with the antigen-antibody reaction, and hybridomas producing the antibodies.

In recent years, in the fields of environmental quantification etc., immunoassays (hereinafter abbreviated to IA) are frequently used because expensive devices and proficiency in the operation are not necessary.
However, the antibody used in IA, which acts specifically on a target substance to be measured, is a high-molecular protein, and thus the activity of the antibody is influenced by various substances exerting an influence on the protein, and as a result, quantifications are inaccurate in some cases.
On one hand, prior to measurement of a target substance existing in a very small amount in the order of ppb (part per billion) and ppt (part per trillion), concentrating the sample at high degrees may be necessary, and in such cases, the sample concentrated by a solid-phase extraction method (hereinafter also called solid-phase concentration) or by extraction with a solvent (hereinafter also called solvent concentration) is used to measure the target substance.
However, the test sample contains a wide variety of compounds in addition to the target substance, and thus when the test sample is concentrated by solid-phase concentration or solvent concentration, a compound exerting an influence on the antibody, that is, a substance interfering with the antigen-antibody reaction is also concentrated, and as a result, the activity of the antibody is influenced, resulting in abnormal values of quantifications in some cases.
One object of this invention is to provide a method of selecting an antibody which in measurement of the antigen by IA, is hardly influenced by an interfering substance with which a sample may possibly be contaminated, whereby occurrence of incorrect measurement in IA is prevented.
Another problem of this invention is to provide an IA kit with little occurrence of incorrect values by utilizing an antibody tolerant of or resistant to a substance interfering with the antigen-antibody reaction.

Hybridoma, an antibody resistant to an interfering substance, and a kit for immunological analysis


A system for ultrasonic inspection of a tubular member using an ultrasonic inspection unit having a platform, a guide member with a longitudinal axis, a wheel connected to the platform and contacting a surface of the tubular member for moving the platform along and around the tubular member relative to a rotation of the tubular member, and a bearing support connected to the platform at a location spaced from the wheel. The bearing support contacts the guide member for supporting the platform on the guide member and allowing the platform to move longitudinally in a direction along the longitudinal axis of the guide member in response to the moving of the guide wheel. A tubular member rotation mechanism receives the tubular member and rotates the tubular member around a longitudinal axis of the tubular member.

Drill pipe is used for the drilling of oil and gas wells. Typically, a large number of drill pipes extend from the surface of the earth down to the drilling bit. When each of the drill pipes is connected in end-to-end relationship, the "drill string" is formed.
During the drilling of oil wells, it is very important that each of the drill pipes has proper integrity and strength. As a result, an ultrasonic inspection of each of the drill pipes is necessary and important. Conventionally, ultrasonic inspection is carried out so as to determine whether or not any minute cracks or deformations exist in the drill pipe. If cracks and/or deformations are found in the drill pipe, then the drill pipe should not be used. Ultrasonic inspection involves transmitting an ultrasonic wave through the drill pipe and receiving the reflected signal of the ultrasonic beam. Various diagnostic programs and devices are used so as to properly analyze the results of the ultrasonic inspection.
At present, hand-held ultrasonic units are used manually by an operator to inspect the ends of the drill pipe. This area is known as the critical end area because this area is where most of the failures occur. Since the distance to be inspected at the end of the drill pipe is short, the ultrasonic beam is narrow. The ultrasonic inspection unit travels slowly and is held by the operator. There are various ultrasonic inspection units that carry out complete inspection of drill pipe. However, these units are large trailer mounted units or fixed units which are not easily transportable. These inspection units are mostly installed in pipe mills or large pipe yards. Typically, the pipe is delivered to the inspection unit. These units function by running the pipe on conveyors through one end of the inspection unit, under the inspection sensors, and out the other side.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for the inspection of tubular members.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for the inspection of tubular members which serves to inspect the entire length of the tubular member.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for the inspection of tubular members which allows for on-site inspection of the tubular member.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for the inspection of tubular members which allows the tubular member being inspected to act as a bridge on which an inspection cart runs the entire length of the tubular member.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for the inspection of tubular members which is easy to use, relatively inexpensive, and labor efficient.
These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from a reading of the attached specification and appended claims.

System and method of ultrasonic inspection of tubular members


Determining constituent components of a fluid sample. At least some of the illustrative embodiments are methods including: creating electromagnetic energy with a wavelength in the infrared region; directing the electromagnetic energy into a fluid sample; modulating the electromagnetic energy at a modulation frequency; directing the electromagnetic energy that passes through the fluid sample to a first resonant chamber, the first resonant chamber has an acoustic resonant frequency substantially equal to the modulation frequency; absorbing at least a portion of the electromagnetic energy by a detector fluid within the first resonant chamber; detecting acoustic energy within the first resonant chamber; and determining a first constituent component of the fluid sample based on the acoustic energy within the first resonant chamber.

Hydrocarbon drilling and production operations demand a great quantity of information relating to parameters and conditions downhole. Such information may comprise characteristics of the earth formations traversed by the borehole, as well as characteristics of the various fluids within the earth formations traversed by the borehole. Systems for measuring conditions downhole, including the movement and location of the drilling assembly contemporaneously with the drilling of the well, have come to be known as "measurement-while-drilling" techniques, or "MWD". Similar techniques, concentrating more on the measurement of formation parameters, have come to be known as "logging while drilling" techniques, or "LWD". While distinctions between MWD and LWD may exist, the terms MWD and LWD often are used interchangeably. For purpose of this disclosure, the term MWD will be used with the understanding that this term encompasses both the collection of formation parameters and the collection of information relating to the movement and position of the drilling assembly. In other situations, the parameters and conditions downhole may be detected by wireline devices placed in the borehole after the drill string has been removed or "tripped".
Many difficulties exist in performing MWD, such as limited space in which to perform testing and the conditions experienced downhole. For example, the temperature in deep hydrocarbon wells may reach or exceed 450 degrees Fahrenheit. Electronic devices designed and constructed for temperature ranges expected for surface applications may have severely reduced performance at expected downhole temperature, and in many cases are inoperable at expected downhole temperatures. The temperature operability problem is particularly pronounced for devices used to detect electromagnetic radiation, such as may be used in downhole spectroscopy.
Thus, any advance which overcomes difficulties relating to operation of devices at elevated temperature would provide a competitive advantage in the industry.

Method and system of determining constituent components of a fluid sample


A lift mechanism. The lift mechanism includes a base configured to support the lift mechanism in an upright position. A neck is upstanding from the base. A lift bracket is coupled to the neck. A coupling bracket includes a U-shape having a base and arms extending from opposing ends of the base. The base is coupled to the lift bracket. A linear actuator is configured to move the lift bracket up and down along the neck.

The present invention relates to medical exam tables and, more particularly, to a lift mechanism capable of lifting and moving a medical exam table.
An examination table (or exam table) is used to support patients during medical examinations. During these exams, doctors in offices, clinics, and hospitals use an adjusting mechanism to manipulate and position the table to allow patient support, closer examination of a portion or the entire patient, and the ability to move the patient on and off the table safely. Examination tables often have rolls of paper in which patients sit on, protecting the table. The paper is normally discarded after each patient uses the table.
Examination tables have included electric motors since the 1970s. These are fitted underneath the tabletop and power cables generally detach to prevent a tripping hazard. The ability to transfer power forward and backwards using a reversible electric motor means greater mobility of the examination table. Due to the motorized features, examination tables can weight between 350 and 500 pounds. Under manned movers in medical offices often suffer injuries attempting to lift the heavy examination tables. Hiring additional movers is costly, thus medical facilities try to hire the minimal amount for the job.
As can be seen, there is a need for a mechanism that aids in lifting and moving examination tables.