Chlorine dioxide, useful as a pulp mill chemical, is produced without producing sodium sulfate effluent for disposal, by effecting reduction of chloric acid in an aqueous reaction medium in a reaction zone at a total acid normality of up to about 7 normal in the substantial absence of sulfate ion and in the promence of a dead load of sodium chlorate added to and subsequently removed from the reaction medium. Chloric acid for the process is produced electrolytically from an aqueous solution of the deadload sodium chlorate and make-up quantities of sodium chlorate. The chloric acid reduction to produce chlorine dioxide may be effected using methanol or electrolytically.

Chlorine dioxide, useful as a pulp mill bleaching agent, is produced chemically by reduction of an acid aqueous chlorate solution in accordance with the equation: EQU ClO.sub.3.sup.- +2H.sup.+ +e.sup.- .fwdarw.ClO.sub.2 +H.sub.2 O
where the electron e- is supplied by various reducing agents, for example, methanol, chloride ion and hydrogen peroxide. In many commercial processes for effecting this reaction, the acidity for the procabs is provided by sulfuric acid while the chlorate ions are provided by sodium chlorate. The presence of these species leads to the formation of some form of sodium sulfate as a by-product.
One particular embodiment of a commercial process is the so-called "R8" process of the assignee of this application, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,081,520, assigned to the assignee herein and the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. Improvements in and modifications to that process also are described in the assignee's U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,465,658, 4,473,540 and 4,627,969, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.
In that chlorine dioxide generating process, the reaction medium is at a high total acid normality of sulfuric acid and is maintained at its boiling point under a subatmospheric pressure applied thereto. Methanol is used as a reducing agent for chlorate ions, resulting in the formation of chlorine dioxide in a substantially pure form. The boiling nature of the reaction medium produces steam which acts as a diluent for the gaseous chlorine dioxide, so as to prevent decomposition of the chlorine dioxide.
The sodium sulfate by-product builds up in the reaction medium after start-up until the solution is maturated with sodium sulfate, whereupon the sodium sulfate precipitates from the reaction medium. A slurry of the sodium sulfate is removed from the reaction vessel, the crystalline sodium sulfate is filtered therefrom and the mother liquor is recycled to the reaction zone after the addition of make-up quantities of sodium chlorate, sulfuric acid and methanol.
This process is highly efficient and rapidly produces chlorine dioxide in commercial quantities. An may be concluded from the above equation, for each mole of chlorine dioxide produced, a mole of chlorate ion and hence of sodium ion in introduced to the reaction medium. The sodium ions combine with the sulfate ions introduced with the sulfuric acid, to produce a sodium sulfate, which may be sodium bisulfate or, more normally under the conditions of an R8 process, the double salt sodium sesquisulfate, i.e., Na.sub.3 H(SO.sub.4).sub.2 (or NaHSO.sub.4.Na.sub.2 SO.sub.4), depending on the acidity of the solution.
Another sulfuric acid-based chlorine dioxide generating process, a low acidity "R3" process, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,864,456, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, produces neutral sodium sulfate as the by-product.
Such by-product sodium sulfate and sodium sesquisulfate (Bometines tenned "saltcake"), generally have been employed to make up sulfur losses in the pulp mill.
However, the adoption of high substitution of chlorine by chlorine dioxide in the chlorination stage of the bleach plant has led to saltcake by-product production from the chlorine dioxide generating process exceeding the mill make-up requirements.
There exists a need, therefore, for a chlorine dioxide generating process which possesses the attributes of, for example, the R8 process, while, at the same time, producing leas sodium sulfate by-product for the same level of production of chlorine dioxide.
It has long been suggested, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 2,811,420, to use chloric acid as a substitute for a metal chlorate to produce chlorine dioxide, in view of the fact that the metal cation does not need compensating for, so that a reaction of chloric acid and hydrochloric acid would produce chlorine dioxide, chlorine, water and no other by-product, in accordance with the equation: EQU HClO.sub.3 +HCl.fwdarw.ClO.sub.2 +1/2Cl.sub.2 +H.sub.2 O
However, despite the evident advantage of a procedure producing no saltcake by-product, there hall previously been no commercially-feasible process for producing chloric acid, and hence such a chlorine dioxide generating procedure has not been practiced.
Other prior art known to the applicants relating to chloric acid production includes published International Application WO 91/15613, wherein hypochlorous acid is electrolyzed using a filter press membrane cell. Published International application WO 91/15614 also describes the production of chloric acid by electrolysis of a specific hypochlorous acid.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,798,715 describes the formation of chloric acid from aqueous sodium chlorate solution by ion-exchange followed by electrolysis of the chloric acid to form chlorine dioxide, using cathodic Materials which are the same as those described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,426,263 referred to in U.S. Pat. No. 4,767,510, as described below.
Published International application WO 91/12356 describes a method of electrochemical treatment of an aqueous sodium chlorate solution to form chloric acid, which then is forwarded to a chlorine dioxide generator. This reference contemplates adding additional mineral acid to the chloric acid to effect chlorine dioxide generation in the presence of a reducing agent.
In our copending U.S patent application Ser. No. 535,165 filed Jun. 8, 1990 (now U.S. Pat. No. 5,122,240), assigned to the assignee hereof and the which in incorporated herein by reference, we have described an electrochemical process for the production of mixtures of sodium chlorate or other alkali metal chlorate and chloric acid from an aqueous solution of alkali metal chlorate.

Chlorine dioxide generation from chloric acid


A method for removing, condensing and collecting propellants, e.g. chlorofluoro-carbons (CFCs) in an environmentally friendly manner from foam materials, e.g. insulant materials from old (discarded) refrigerators, district heating tubes and other materials for which the method is suitable.

The invention relates to a method for driving off and collecting propellants, e.g. chlorofluoro-carbons (CFCs) from foam materials, e.g. insulating foam in refrigerators, freezers, district heating tubes, etc, which method involves the use of a closed container in which a mechanical decomposition of the product is effected.
By other prior art techniques it is only possible to destroy these foam products in such a manner that the propellants are liberated and either escape into the atmosphere thus charging the environment and/or are being decomposed to highly poisonous products.
From DE-A-3,830,118 a method is described by which the liberation of the propellants is effected in a closed chamber defined by a cylinder and two pistons. However, such chamber would be inconvenient as it is difficult to provide sealings by which any escape of propellants into the atmosphere is obviated.
It is the object of the invention to remedy the above drawbacks and to provide an environmentally friendly method for driving off and collecting propellants, e.g. CFCs from foam material. This object is achieved with a method being characterized in that the mechanical decomposition of the product and the liberation of the propellant is effected inside a cup-shaped process container having the closed part of the cup turned upwardly and the open part of the cup placed below the surface of a liquid medium, e.g. water, under/in which liquid medium the decomposition and liberation is effected.
If foam products are decomposed mechanically (crushed) without being surrounded by a liquid medium it is difficult to condense the propellants sufficiently as the propellant gases are mixed with large amounts of air which impedes an efficient condensing of the propellants.
Accordingly, these materials are being deposited for being removed/destroyed at a later time when a suitable method has been developed.

Method for removing, condensing and collecting propellants from foam materials


A micromechanical resonate device having an extensional wine-glass mode shape is described herein. Different embodiments of the device may employ vibrating polysilicon micromechanical ring resonators, utilizing a unique extensional wine-glass mode shape to achieve lower impedance than previous UHF resonators at frequencies as high as 1.2-GHz with a Q of 3,700, and 1.47-GHz (highest to date for polysilicon micromechanical resonators) with a Q of 2,300. The 1.2-GHz resonator exhibits a measured motional resistance of 560 kΩ with a dc-bias voltage of 20V, which is 6× lower than measured on radial contour mode disk counterparts at the same frequency, and which can be driven down as low as 2 kΩ when a dc-bias voltage of 100V and electrode-to-resonator gap spacing of 460 Å are used. The above high Q and low impedance advantages, together with the multiple frequency, on-chip integration advantages afforded by electrostatically-transduced μmechanical resonators, may be utilized in the front-end RF filtering and oscillator functions needed by wireless communication devices.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to micromechanical resonator devices having desired mode shapes.
2. Background Art
The following references are referenced herein:    1. J. Wang, Z. Ren, and C. T.-C. Nguyen, "Self-Aligned 1.14 GHz vibrating radial-mode disk resonators," TRANSDUCERS '03, pp. 947–950.    2. J. R. Clark, W.-T. Hsu, and C. T.-C. Nguyen, "High-Q VF μmechanical contour-mode disk resonators," IEDM '00, pp. 399–402.    3. M. A. Abdelmoneum, M. U. Demirci, and C. T.-C. Nguyen, "Stemless wine-glass-mode disk μmech. resonators," MEMS '03, pp. 698–701.    4. B. Bircumshaw, G. Liu, H. Takeuchi, T.-J. King, R. Howe, O. O'Reilly, A. Pisano, "The radial bulk annular resonator: towards a 50Ω RF MEMS filter, TRANSDUCERS '03, pp. 875–879.    5. G. Ambati, J. F. W. Bell, and J. C. K. Sharp, "In-plane vibrations of annular rings," JOURNAL OF SOUND AND VIBRATION, Vol. 47, no. 3, pp. 415–432, 1976.    6. R. A. Johnson, "Mechanical Filters in Electronics," New York, N.Y.; Wiley, 1983.    7. F. D. Bannon III, J. R. Clark, C. T.-C. Nguyen, "High-Q HF microelectromechanical Filters, IEEE J. SOLID-STATE CIRCUITS, Vol. 35, no. 4, pp. 512–526, April 2000
Having recently been demonstrated at frequencies past 1 GHz with Q's>1,500 in both vacuum and air [1], vibrating micromechanical ("μmechanical") resonators are emerging as possible enablers for on-chip versions of the pre-select (or even channel-select) filters needed in the RF front-ends of wireless communication devices. The availability of such on-chip RF filters could greatly simplify the realization of future multi-band reconfigurable wireless communicators, which are expected to require many more RF filters than today's communicators—e.g., one set for each supported communication standard. Unfortunately, however, although their Q's and frequencies are now sufficient, the impedances of the GHz range μmechanical resonators demonstrated so far are still too high to allow direct coupling to antennas in RF systems, where matching to impedances in the range of 50Ω and 330Ω is often required.

Micromechanical resonator device having a desired mode shape

The Regents of the University of Michigan


An automatic gearshift device for a power tool includes a speed reduction mechanism that decelerates and transmits a rotary power of a motor, a ring gear that slides and moves to switch a speed reduction ratio, a cam member that moves the ring gear, a rotation body rotated in cooperation with the cam member, a position detector that detects the position of the ring gear, and a controller that controls the driving of the gearshift motor based on the value generated by the position detector. An adjustment gear forming the rotation body includes a slot used as a positioning mark at a predetermined location in the rotating direction. When the slot of the adjustment gear is aligned with a predetermined device side positioning reference, the rotation body is positioned in an initial position in a relative positional relationship with the ring gear.

In the prior art, there is a power tool that includes a speed reduction mechanism, which decelerates and transmits the rotary power of a motor that is a driving source, and switches the speed reduction ratio by sliding a switching member of the speed reduction mechanism (for example, patent document 1).
The power tool of patent document 1 includes a gearshift actuator, which slides the switching member, a driving state detector, which detects a driving state of the motor, a slide position detector, which detects a position where the switching member slides, and a controller, which controls the driving of the gearshift actuator. The controller controls the driving of the gearshift actuator in correspondence with detection results of the driving state detector and the slide position detector to automatically switch the speed reduction ratio.
Additionally, as an example of the slide position detector, the fourth embodiment in patent document 1 illustrates a displacement sensor that detects a rotational state of a rotational gearshift actuator. The switching member moves in cooperation with the rotation of the gearshift actuator. Therefore, the displacement sensor indirectly detects the position of the switching member by detecting the rotational state of the gearshift actuator.
The movement distance of the switching member for switching the speed reduction ratio and the rotation angle of the gearshift actuator for moving the switching member are set in advance in correspondence with a number of speed reduction ratios. The displacement sensor is set so that when the rotation angle of the gearshift actuator from a predetermined initial position in the rotating direction reaches an angle that is needed to move the switching member, the displacement sensor generates a value that corresponds to the switched speed reduction ratio.
For example, the gearshift actuator rotates between a rotation angle corresponding to a low speed rotation mode for a large speed reduction ratio and a rotation angle corresponding to a high speed rotation mode for a small speed reduction ratio. When the rotation angle of the gearshift actuator reaches the rotation angle that corresponds to the low speed rotation mode, the displacement sensor generates a value that corresponds to the large speed reduction ratio. When the rotation angle of the gearshift actuator reaches the rotation angle that corresponds to the high speed rotation mode, the displacement sensor generates a value that corresponds to the small speed reduction ratio. Thus, based on the value provided from the displacement sensor, the controller determines the present speed reduction ratio and whether or not the switching of the speed reduction ratio has been completed.

Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd.


An extraoral dental radiographic apparatus which performs panoramic radiographies, cone beam volumetric radiographies of the facial skeleton and cranial teleradiographies. An alternating mechanism brings x-ray sensors toward the x-ray radiation source, such that the sensor axes intersect at an angle.

The present invention refers to the technical field of extraoral dental radiography, and particularly to a device alternatively performing panoramic radiographies, cone beam volumetric radiographies of facial skeleton and cranial teleradiographies. All these types of radiographies are well known in the art.
Panoramic radiography (also known as orthopantomography) produces a radiographic image of a curved plan approximating patient jaws, with blurring of the anatomical structures laying outside a narrow layer around the predesigned curved plane.
Cone beam volumetric radiography (also known as CBCT) is the acquisition, from different projection angles, of a series of bidimensional radiographic images which will be processed post-acquisition to reconstruct tridimensional volumes.
Teleradiography is a projective radiographic technique, producing radiographic images of the skull or of other anatomical areas from different projections, with minimum magnification and geometrical distortion. Usually two perspectives are represented, latero-lateral and anteroposterior.
Generally on the market two types of equipment are available: a first type is panoramic equipment, alternatively performing panoramic radiographies and teleradiographies, and a second type dedicated to CBCT volumetric radiography. These equipments are expensive and cumbersome.

Device for the acquisition of panoramic radiographies and CBCT volumetric radiographies


A first embodiment of the system to detect the amount of toner includes a first and a second light pipe attached in a substantially parallel orientation from the top to the bottom of a sidewall in the toner reservoir. An infra-red light emitting diode illuminates the first light pipe. A rotatable auger has an attached first arm. A light bridge attached to the first arm is positioned so that during rotation of the auger, the light bridge moves adjacent to the first and the second light pipe as the light bridge moves from the top to the bottom of the toner reservoir. When the light bridge is outside of the toner and adjacent to the first and the second light pipe, light is transmitted between the first and the second light pipe. When the light bridge is inside of the toner, light transmission between the first and the second light pipe is interrupted. A circuit detects light transmitted from the second light pipe using a photodiode. The circuit determines the amount of toner remaining in the toner reservoir by measuring the time interval during which light is detected and using this measurement to perform an interpolation that determines the amount of toner remaining. Other embodiments of the system to detect the amount of toner include the use of an auger that transmits light between a single light pipe and the circuit, rotating belts for moving the light bridge, light polarizers to selectively prevent light transmission, and additional light pipes.

Electrophotographic imaging involves the development of toner onto a latent electrostatic image formed on the surface of a photoconductor. In electrophotographic printing, the latent electrostatic image is developed by selectively discharging the surface of the photoconductor using a laser. In both electrostatic copying and electrostatic printing, toner stored in a reservoir is supplied to a developer used for developing the electrostatic image.
Near the time useable amounts of toner from the reservoir have been consumed, the print quality can be degraded. Without a device for determining the amount of toner remaining in the toner reservoir, the electrophotographic imaging system can generate output that will be discarded because of unacceptable print quality. Furthermore, if the electrophotographic printer uses a cartridge containing the toner, the inability to determine the level of toner remaining in the cartridge can result in prematurely discarding the cartridge. Therefore, a need exists for a device that will allow accurate detection of the amount of toner in the reservoir of an electrophotographic imaging device.

Determining an amount of toner in a reservoir by determining a time interval for the transmission of light between a first light guide and a second light guide


A polymer comprising a first repeating unit including an amino group protected by an alkoxycarbonyl group; a second repeating unit including a nucleophilic group; and a third repeating unit including a crosslinkable group, wherein the first repeating unit, the second repeating unit, and the third repeating unit are different from each other.

Photoresists are photosensitive films for transfer of images to a substrate. After coating a photoresist on a substrate, the coating is exposed through a patterned photomask to a source of activating energy such as ultraviolet light to form a latent image in the photoresist coating. The photomask has areas opaque and transparent to activating radiation that define an image desired to be transferred to the underlying substrate. A relief image is provided by development of the latent image pattern in the resist coating. The images formed can be of positive- or negative-type depending on the photoresist and developer chemistries.
Known photoresists can provide features having resolution and dimensions sufficient for many existing commercial applications. However, for many other applications, the need exists for new materials and processes that can provide highly resolved images of submicron dimension.
Reflection of activating radiation used to expose a photoresist often poses limits on resolution of the image patterned in the photoresist layer. The amount of scattering and reflection of imaging radiation will typically vary from region to region, resulting in further linewidth non-uniformity. Variations in substrate topography also can give rise to resolution-limiting problems.
One approach used to reduce the problem of reflected radiation has been the use of a radiation absorbing layer interposed between the substrate surface and the photoresist coating layer. Such layers have also been referred to as antireflective layers, BARCs, or underlayers. See U.S. Pat. No. 9,541,834; US20150212414; U.S. Pat. No. 6,767,689B2; U.S. Pat. No. 6,887,648B2; and U.S. Pat. No. 8,623,589.
With continuing reductions in feature sizes of semiconductor devices, photoresist patterning defects in the form of pattern collapse during photoresist development have become more pervasive. This is particularly problematic for pillar and line/space patterns formed in ArF and EUV lithography. A large pattern collapse margin would be desired to allow for an improvement in lithography process window.
Pattern collapse margin is largely dependent on film properties of the layer below and in contact with the photoresist layer, for example, a BARC or EUV photoresist underlayer. Control of basicity of the underlayer at the interface with the photoresist layer can positively impact pattern collapse margin. To control basicity of the underlayer, the use of photobase generator additives or photo-decomposable quencher (PDQs) additives are known. The concentration of such additives in the surface region of the underlayer can, however, become reduced during photoresist spin-coating due to dissolution in the photoresist composition solvent. This reduction can result in a diminished or eliminated effectiveness on pattern collapse margin.
It would be desirable to have new polymers and underlayer coating compositions containing such polymers useful in forming a photoresist underlayer.

Polymers, underlayer coating compositions comprising the same, and patterning methods

ROHM AND HAAS ELECTRONIC MATERIALS KOREA LTD.


A key sheet includes a base sheet and a plurality of key tops arranged on the base sheet and exposed from an operation opening formed in a case of a device. The operation opening has no partition bridge. The base sheet includes a plurality of bases for fixing the key tops and a reinforcing member for supporting the bases while allowing displacement upon pushing.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a key sheet for push-button switches to be used in an operation section of various kinds of devices such as a mobile phone, a PDA, a car navigation system, and a car audio system. In particular, the present invention relates to a key sheet suitable for the use of a plurality of key tops from an operation opening formed in the case of the device with no partition bridge.
2. Description of the Related Art
Like a mobile phone 1 shown in FIG. 32, due to a desire for miniaturization of the whole device or an operation section thereof and a desire for design performance, and so on, it has been desired to provide push-button switches such that plural key tops 3 of a key sheet 2 are narrowly arranged and exposed from an operation opening 1b formed in a case 1 a with no partition bridge. As shown in FIG. 33, the key sheet 2 of the related art is constructed of a plurality of key tops 3 (i.e., 17 key tops 3 in total) firmly fixed on a base sheet 4 made of silicone rubber. That is, the key sheet 2 includes a large-sized key top 3a in the middle upper side for input in upward, downward, right, and left directions in FIG. 33, four small-sized key tops 3b located on the left and right sides of the key top 3a, and twelve middle-sized key tops 3c located below the key tops 3b. The distance between the adjacent key tops 3a, 3b, and 3c is extremely narrow. For example, they are narrowly arranged with a distance of about 0.15 mm to 0.2 mm. They are also extremely narrowly spaced from the operation opening 1b and the distance is almost the same as the above.
The structure for mounting such a key sheet 2 is constructed such that structural elements inside the case 1a (in this prior art, the opening-edge portion of the operation opening 1b in the back side 1c of the case 1a and a circuit board 1d built in the case 1a) compress and retain completely around the outer edge portions of a base sheet 4. The inside of a pressure-contact portion is provided with an installed structure that does not restrain the case 1a and the circuit board 1d. Thus, when the key sheet 2 is turned upright as shown in FIG. 35 or is turned upside down as shown in FIG. 36 at the time of using the mobile phone 1, the base sheet 4 made of a rubber-like elastic body such as flexible silicone rubber may be extended and distorted as a whole by the weight loading of the key top 3. When the key sheet 2 is distorted on the whole in this manner, a pusher 4a of the base sheet 4 and a contact switch 1e constructed of a metal disk spring and a contact circuit in a circuit board 1d are displaced from each other. Thus, poor operation such as the impossibility or difficulty in input even by depressing the key top 3 may occur. In addition, depending on the appearance of the distorted base sheet 4, the amount of an input stroke differs for every key top 3, so that it may affect the operational performance. Furthermore, there is a problem in that the mobile phone 1 looks unattractive. Besides, one of the adjacent key tops 3 may slip into the space under the other.
The problems caused by distortion of the base sheet 4 made of the flexible rubber-like elastic body as described above should be solved particularly with respect to the key sheet 2 having all of the narrowly-arranged key tops 3 exposed from the operating opening 1b as shown in the figure. However, these problems may occur when one operation opening is formed for the key tops 3b located at the upper and lower positions (i.e., when two or more key tops are arranged in a single operation opening). In addition, even when a key sheet with a plurality of narrowly spaced key tops is mounted to a device when in use that is not designed to be turned upright or turned upside down as the mobile phone 1, problems such as slippage of one key top under the adjacent key top may occur as a result of distortion of the base sheet made of a flexible rubber-like elastic body. Therefore, the countermeasure is also demanded about the key sheet.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Key sheets and method of producing the same


The invention relates to novel compounds of formula (I): ##STR1## where R1 is chosen from hydrogen, saturated or unsaturated linear or branched C1 to C8 alkyl groups which are optionally substituted with a substituent, and optionally substituted benzyl groups, and R2 is chosen from hydrogen, saturated or unsaturated linear or branched C1 to C24 alkyl groups which are optionally substituted with a substituent, aromatic groups which are optionally substituted with a substituent, and saturated or unsaturated heterocyclic groups; and the use of these derivatives for skincare.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention also relates to a use of these L-2-oxothiazolidine-4-carboxylic acid derivatives as a precursor of cysteine and of hydroxy acid. The invention also relates to uses of these L-2-oxothiazolidine-4-carboxylic acid derivatives for skincare.
2. Description of the Background
Users of cosmetic and/or dermatological products are increasingly seeking to rejuvenate the skin, i.e. reduce wrinkles and fine lines, brighten the complexion of the face and make the skin supple. These signs of ageing are not only due to age but also especially to exposure to the sun and to other radiation such as artificial tanning by UV rays in particular.
In parallel, these same users are increasingly seeking to lighten the skin.
The active agents known to combat ageing are retinoic acid and derivatives thereof. Unfortunately, these active agents have side effects, such as stinging, heating sensations and causing redness, which are unpleasant for the user and exclude users with sensitive skin from using this type of active agent.
There is thus a need for anti-ageing and/or bleaching agents that are as effective in their action as those in the prior art but that do not exhibit the drawbacks thereof.
Moreover, there are currently very few active agents having depigmenting properties.
L-2-Oxothiazolidine-4-carboxylic acid esters intended to stimulate the intracellular synthesis of glutathione in certain cells of the human body are known from U.S. Pat. No. 5,208,249. These esters comprise a group having from 1 to 10 carbon atoms and is chosen from the methyl, ethyl, propyl, isopropyl, butyl, isobutyl and tert-butyl groups.
Other L-2-oxothiazolidine-4-carboxylic acid esters used as cysteine precursors and in combination with glutathione stimulators to prevent hair loss and to stimulate the growth of new hair are moreover known from EP-A-656,201. These esters have an alkyl group of from 1 to 10 carbon atoms and is chosen from the methyl, ethyl, propyl, butyl, pentyl, hexyl, peptyl, octyl, nonyl, decyl, isopropyl, isobutyl, sec-butyl, tert-butyl and isopentyl groups.

L-2-oxothiazolidine-4-carboxylic acid derivatives and use thereof for skincare


A multi-mode interference multiplexer/demultiplexer can suppress reflected return light while guiding light to a single-mode waveguide. The multi-mode interference multiplexer/demultiplexer includes a multi-mode waveguide, a first single-mode waveguide connected to a first end, a second single-mode waveguide opposing the first single-mode waveguide, a third single-mode waveguide connected to a second end, a reflecting surface opposing the third single-mode waveguide, and a fourth single-mode waveguide connected to a side end. Light entering from the second or third single-mode waveguide is reflected off the reflecting surface and forms an image at a first connection on a side end of the fourth single-mode waveguide.

Multi-mode interference multiplexer/demultiplexers have conventionally been applied as multiplexer/demultiplexers in optical integrated circuits, and reducing the reflected return light in the multi-mode interference multiplexer/demultiplexers is useful in improving element characteristics such as the extinction ratio of a Mach-Zehnder (MZ) modulator.
For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a configuration in which a multi-mode interference multiplexer/demultiplexer includes an inclined plane so that potential reflected return light is guided to a multi-mode waveguide.

Multi-mode interference multiplexer/demultiplexer and optical element using the same


A tray for a product vending machine including a flat base upon which product to be vended may be placed. A plurality of walls are attached to the base which define rows into which product is organized. A channel within the flat base houses a threaded shaft. The threaded shaft threadingly attaches to a product drive member.

In the past, vending machines have been used to dispense beverages. In one common configuration, cans or glass or plastic bottles are stacked in a vertical or offset-vertical columns and dispensed from the bottom of the columns into a holding area below the columns where the customer can retrieve the beverage. Generally, a funnel-type diverter will be used to divert the beverage to the location of the holding area and also to prevent the beverage container from being damaged during the drop. This configuration requires that the column be shorter than the height of the machine so that the beverage can be dropped into the holding area below the columns As a result, storage space that could be used to increase capacity is wasted on the holding area. This is undesirable because in the vending industry it is preferable to have the maximum capacity of product in a machine of a given size in order to maximize sales and maximize the time between product restocking.
Additionally, vending machines incorporating products, typically snacks and candy, have utilized trays having horizontal columns of product placed between each revolution of a helical shaft. The shaft is rotated one revolution, which causes an item near the end of the screw to be forced forward and become disassociated from the helical shaft. Typically, the product will drop from the front of the tray into a holding area that can be accessed by the customer to retrieve the item. The holding area must be lower than the lowest tray so that an item may drop into the holding area. As a result, space associated with the holding area is not used for storing product, thus wasting some usable space. Moreover, the helical shaft is not particularly suited for beverage containers.
Another type of vending machine, such as that shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,556,889 to Rudick et al., uses an elevator to receive product that is dropped from sloping trays. The product slides down the sloped trays by the force of gravity into the elevator that is moveable to a location adjacent the tray. An actuator located between the lowermost beverage and the elevator selectively allows a beverage to pass into the elevator. The elevator then moves to a second location whereby a conveyor belt in the elevator conveys the beverage to one side of the elevator where it is conveyed into a holding area to the side of the elevator. However, because the vending machine of the '889 patent utilizes sloped shelves, some of the vertical capacity of the vending machine is wasted. Moreover, because product dispensation relies on sloping shelves, jamming of product can occur if the slope is insufficient to allow for simultaneous movement of the column of product (particularly if product spillage occurs causing sticky trays) or of the product is heavy (such as large glass bottles) and applies too much force to the product dispensation actuator.
Therefore, there is a need for a vending machine, particularly a beverage vending machine, that does not waste space for a holding area for delivery of the product or for product trays that require the tray to be sloping for delivery of the product to the consumer.


Superabrasive tools and methods for the making thereof are disclosed and described. In one aspect, superabrasive particles are chemically bonded to a matrix support material according to a predetermined pattern by a braze alloy. The brazing alloy may be provided as a powder, thin sheet, or sheet of amorphous alloy. A template having a plurality of apertures arranged in a predetermined pattern may be used to place the superabrasive particles on a given substrate or matrix support material.

Abrasive tools have long been used in numerous applications, including cutting, drilling, sawing, grinding, lapping and polishing of materials. Because diamond is the hardest abrasive material currently known, it is widely used as a superabrasive on saws, drills, and other devices, which utilize the abrasive to cut, form, or polish other hard materials.
Diamond tools are particularly indispensable for applications where other tools lack the hardness and durability to be commercially practical. For example, in the stone industry, where rocks are cut, drilled, and sawed, diamond tools are about the only tools that are sufficiently hard and durable to make the cutting, etc., economical. If diamond tools were not used, many such industries would be economically infeasible. Likewise, in the precision grinding industry, diamond tools, due to their superior wear resistance, are uniquely capable of developing the tight tolerances required, while simultaneously withstanding wear sufficiently to be practical.
A typical superabrasive tool, such as a diamond saw blade, is manufactured by mixing diamond particles (e.g., 40/50 U.S. mesh saw grit) with a suitable metal support matrix powder (e.g., cobalt powder of 1.5 micrometer in size). The mixture is then compressed in a mold to form the right shape (e.g., a saw segment). This "green" form of the tool is then consolidated by sintering at a temperature between 700-1200° C. to form a single body with a plurality of abrasive particles disposed therein. Finally, the consolidated body is attached (e.g., by traditional brazing or soldering) to a tool body; such as the round blade of a saw, to form the final product.
Despite their prevailing use, diamond tools generally suffer from several significant limitations, which place unnecessary limits on their useful life. For example, the abrasive diamond or cubic boron nitride (CBN) particles are not distributed uniformly in the matrix that holds them in place. As a result, the abrasive particles are not positioned to maximize efficiency for cutting, drilling, grinding, polishing, etc.
The distance between diamond or CBN abrasive particles determines the work load each particle will perform. Improper spacing of the diamond or CBN abrasive particles typically leads to premature failure of the abrasive surface or structure. Thus, if the diamond/CBN abrasive particles are too close to one another, some of the particles are redundant and provide little or no assistance in cutting or grinding. In addition, excess particles add to the expense of production due the high cost of diamond and cubic boron nitride. Moreover, these non-performing diamond or CBN particles can block the passage of debris, thereby reducing the cutting efficiency. Thus, having abrasive particles disposed too close to one another adds to the cost, while decreasing the useful life of the tool.
On the other hand, if abrasive particles are spaced too far apart, the workload (e.g., the impact force exerted by the work piece) for each particle becomes excessive. The sparsely distributed diamond or CBN abrasive particles may be crushed, or even dislodged from the matrix into which they are disposed. The damaged or missing abrasive particles are unable to fully assist in the workload. Thus, the workload is transferred to the surviving abrasive particles. The failure of each abrasive particle causes a chain reaction which soon renders the tool ineffective to cut, drill, grind, etc.
Different applications may require different size of diamond (or cubic boron nitride) abrasive particles. For example, drilling and sawing applications may require a large sized (20 to 60 U.S. mesh) diamond grit to be used in the final tool. The metal substrate of the tool is typically selected from cobalt, nickel, iron, copper, bronze, alloys thereof, and/or mixtures thereof. For grinding applications, a small sized (60/400 U.S. mesh) diamond grit (or cubic boron nitride) is mixed with either metal (typically bronze), ceramic/glass (typically a mixture of oxides of sodium, potassium, silicon, and aluminum) or resin (typically phenolic).
Often the tool may include a matrix support material, such as a metal powder, which holds or supports the diamond particles. However, because diamond or cubic boron nitride is much larger than the matrix powder (300 times in the above example for making saw segments), and it is much lighter than the latter (about ⅓ in density for making saw segments), it is very difficult to mix the two to achieve uniformity. Moreover, even when the mixing is thorough, diamond particles can still segregate from metal powder in the subsequent treatments such as pouring the mixture into a mold, or when the mixture is subjected to vibration. The distribution problem is particularly troublesome for making diamond tools when diamond is mixed in the metal support matrix.
There is yet another limitation associated with the many methods of positioning diamond grits in a tool. Many times a metal bond diamond tool requires different sizes of diamond grits and/or different diamond concentrations to be disposed at different parts of the same diamond tool. For example, saw segments tend to wear faster on the edge or front than the middle. Therefore, higher concentrations and smaller diamond grit are preferred in these locations to prevent uneven wear and thus premature failure of the saw segment. These higher concentration/smaller size segments (i.e. "sandwich" segments) are difficult to fabricate by mixing diamond particles with metal powder. Thus, despite the known advantages of having varied diamond grit sizes and concentration levels, such configurations are seldom used because of the lack of a practical method of making thereof.
Another drawback of many diamond tools is that the abrasive particles, or "grits" are insufficiently attached to the tool substrate, or matrix support material, to maximize useful life of the cutting, drilling, polishing, etc., body. In fact, in most cases, diamond grits are merely mechanically embedded in the matrix support material. As a result, diamond grits are often knocked off or pulled out prematurely. Moreover, the grit may receive inadequate mechanical support from the loosely bonded matrix under work conditions. Hence, the diamond particles may be shattered by the impact of the tool against the workpiece to which the abrasive is applied.
It has been estimated that, in a typical diamond tool, less than about one tenth of the grit is actually consumed in the intended application (i.e. during actual cutting, drilling, polishing, etc). The remainder is wasted by either being leftover when the tool's useful life has expired, or by being pulled-out or broken during use due to poor attachment and inadequate support. Most of these diamond losses could be avoided if the diamond particles can be properly positioned in and firmly attached to the surrounding matrix.
In order to maximize the mechanical hold on the diamond grits, they are generally buried deep in the substrate matrix. As a result, the protrusion of the diamond particles above the tool surface is generally less than desirable. Low grit protrusion limits the cutting height for breaking the material to be cut. As a result, friction increases and limits the cutting speed and life of the cutting tool.
In order to anchor diamond grit firmly in the support matrix, it is highly desirable for the matrix to form carbide around the surface of the diamond. The chemical bond so formed is much stronger than the traditional mechanical attachment. The carbide may be formed by reacting diamond with suitable carbide formers such as a transition metal. Typical carbide forming transition metals are: titanium (Ti), vanadium (V), chromium (Cr), zirconium (Zr), molybdenum (Mo), and tungsten (W).
The formation of carbide requires that the carbide former be deposited around the diamond and that the two subsequently be caused to react to form carbide. Moreover, the non-reacted carbide former must also be consolidated by sintering or other means. All these steps require treatment at high temperatures. However, diamond may be degraded when exposed to a temperature above about 1,000° C. The degradation is due to either the reaction with the matrix material or the development of micro-cracks around metal inclusions inside the crystal. These inclusions are often trapped catalysts used in the formation of synthetic diamond.
Most carbide formers are refractory metals so they may not be consolidated below a temperature of about 1,200° C. Hence, refractory carbide formers are not suitable as the main constituent of the matrix support material.
There are, however, some carbide formers that may have a lower melting temperature, such as manganese (Mn), iron (Fe), silicon (Si), and aluminum (Al). However, these carbide formers may have other undesirable properties that prohibit them from being used as the primary constituent of the matrix support material. For example, both manganese and iron are used as catalysts for synthesizing diamond at high pressure (above 50 Kb). Hence, they can catalyze diamond back to graphite during the sintering of the matrix powder at a lower pressure. The back conversion is the main cause of diamond degradation at high temperature.
Aluminum, on the other hand, has a low melting point (660° C.), thus, making it easy to work with for securing the diamond particles. However, the melting point of aluminum can be approached when diamond grit is cutting aggressively. Hence, aluminum may become too soft to support the diamond grit during the cutting operation. Moreover, aluminum tends to form the carbide Al4C3 at the interface with diamond. This carbide is easily hydrolyzed so it may be disintegrated when exposed to coolant. Hence, aluminum typically is not a suitable carbide former to bond diamond in a matrix.
To avoid the high temperature of sintering, carbide formers, such as tungsten, are often diluted as minor constituents in the matrix that is made of primarily either Co or bronze. During the sintering process, there is a minimal amount, if any, of liquid phase formed. The diffusion of carbide former through a solid medium toward diamond is very slow. As a result, the formation of carbide on the surface of diamond is negligible. Therefore, by adding a carbide former as a minor matrix constituent, the improvement of diamond attachment is marginal at best.
In order to ensure the formation of carbide on the surface of diamond, the carbide former may be coated onto the diamond before mixing with the matrix powder. In this way, the carbide former, although it may be a minor ingredient in the matrix, can be concentrated around diamond to form the desired bonding.
The coating of diamond may be applied chemically or physically. In the former case, the coated metal is formed by a chemical reaction, generally at a relatively high temperature. For example, by mixing diamond with carbide formers such as titanium or chromium, and heating the mixture under a vacuum or in a protective atmosphere, a thin layer of the carbide former may be deposited onto the diamond. Increasing temperature may increase the thickness of the coating. The addition of a suitable gas (e.g. HCl vapor) that assists the transport of the metal may also accelerate the deposition rate. Alternatively, the coating may be performed in a molten salt.
In addition to sintering, infiltration is also a common technique for making diamond tools; in particular for drill bits and other specialty diamond tools that contain large (i.e. greater than U.S. mesh 30/40) diamond grit. Most commonly used infiltrants for these tools are copper based alloys. These infiltrants must flow and penetrate the small pores in the matrix powder. In order to avoid the diamond degradation at high temperature, the melting point of the infiltrant must be low. Hence, the infiltrant often contains a low melting point constituent, such as zinc (Zn). In addition to lowering the melting point of the infiltrant, the low melting point constituent also reduces the viscosity so the infiltrant can flow with ease. However, as most carbide formers tend to increase the melting point of the infiltrant, they are excluded from most infiltrants. As a result, these infiltrants cannot improve the bonding of diamond.
One specific process that has become dependent on the use of diamond tools is chemical mechanical polishing (CMP). This process has become standard in the semi-conductor and computer industry for polishing wafers of ceramics, silicon, glass, quartz, etc. In general terms, the work piece to be polished is held against a spinning polishing pad of polyurethane, or other suitable material. The top of the pad holds a slurry of acid and abrasive particles, usually by a mechanism such as fibers, or small pores, which provide a friction force sufficient to prevent the particles from being thrown off of the pad due to the centrifugal force exerted by the pad's spinning motion. Therefore, it is important to keep the top of the pad as flexible as possible, and to keep the fibers as erect as possible, or to assure that there are an abundance of open and pores available to receive new abrasive particles.
A problem with maintaining the top of the pad is caused by an accumulation of polishing debris coming from the work piece, abrasive slurry, and polishing disk. This accumulation causes a "glazing" or hardening of the top of the pad, and significantly decreases the pad's overall polishing performance. Therefore, attempts have been made to revive the top of the pad by "combing" or "cutting" it with various devices. This process has come to be known as "dressing" or "conditioning" the CMP pad. The device most widely used for pad dressing is a disk with a plurality of super hard crystalline particles, such as diamond particles or cBN particles attached thereto.
Dressing disks made by conventional methods share several problems with other superabrasive tools, made by conventional methods. However, such issues may have a much greater impact on the CMP process. For example, poor superabrasive grit retention may lead to scratching and ruining of the work piece. Uneven work loading of the superabrasive grits resulting from clustered or unevenly spaced particle groups may cause overdressing of certain pad areas and under dressing of others, which results in unsuitable work piece polishing. Moreover, when the superabrasive particles of dressing disks do not extend to a uniform height above the substrate surface of the disk uneven dressing of the CMP pad is further propagated, because many particles from the dresser may not touch the pad.
In addition to the above-recited issues with particle retention and distribution, the CMP pad dressing process itself creates additional issues that make uncontrolled superabrasive particle placement unacceptable. For example, the downward pressing force of a dressing disk on a CMP may depress the pad upon contact with the leading edge of the dresser, and prevent the remaining superabrasive particles on the pad dresser from sufficiently contacting the pad to achieve even dressing.
Warping of the pad dresser working surface during the brazing process also often causes abrasive particles to dislodge. During the brazing process the pad dresser must be exposed to very high temperatures. Exposure to this extreme heat can cause the working surface of the pad dresser to warp, thus compromising the smoothness and planarity of the pad dresser's working surface. As a result, the braze portion of the working surface will be rough, having high and low spots. Such spots are undesirable, as they may cause the braze to begin flaking off, and making micro-scratches on the polished surface of the work piece.
As a result, suitable methods of maximizing the efficiency, useful life, and other performance characteristics of diamond tools are continually being sought.

Brazed diamond tools and methods for making the same


A portable, three-way wireless communication system provides a patient with a direct link to a caregiver, as well as a central facility such as a nurse's station. The system is comprised of a patient unit, a caregiver unit and a central station. The patient unit is designed to be small and portable, and can be worn on the patient's wrist or the like. The unit permits a patient to send a request for assistance directly to an assigned caregiver, and provides for two-way voice communications between the patient and the caregiver. The unit stores information associated with the patient, such as identification, medications, attending physician, and the like. The caregiver unit is also portable, and provides two-way voice communications with patients and other caregivers. The unit displays information about each patient to whom the caregiver is assigned. The central station functions as a backup, in the event that a caregiver is not able to timely respond to a call from a patient. In addition, it stores more detailed information regarding patients, which can be accessed by the caregiver via their individual units. It also functions as a management quality control facility, by recording all transmissions that take place via any unit in the communication system, and providing reports that indicate the calls for assistance, times of the calls, times of the responses by caregivers, and the like. The system functions to indicate the locations of respective patients by means of a distributed network of sensors throughout an area of interest, such as the buildings and grounds of a healthcare facility.

Most healthcare facilities employ some type of system which permits a patient who is confined to a bed to communicate with a caregiver who is located at a central facility, e.g. a nurse's station. An exemplary system employs a call button that is located on the end of an extension cord, and which can be clipped to a bedsheet or wrapped around a bedrail. When a patient requires assistance, the call button is pressed, which sends a signal to the central facility. In addition, it may cause a light or other indicator to be actuated immediately outside the patient's room, to thereby alert a caregiver in the vicinity of the room to the fact that the patient needs assistance. If no caregiver happens to be in the immediate vicinity, the call can be acknowledged by a person at the central facility, for example by means of a two-way intercom. This person can then notify the patient's caregiver, who can attend to the patient's needs.
Communication systems of this type have certain limitations associated with them. First and foremost is the fact that they require the patient to be near his or her bed to call for needed assistance. Although useful where patients are confined to their beds, they are less practical for patients who are free to move about. This concern is particularly relevant in nursing homes where the patients, or residents, are encouraged by governmental regulations to attend various activities outside of their rooms, and hence are frequently away from their beds and the call buttons.
As another concern, the typical cord length does not facilitate access to the button even at short distances from the bed. Thus, a patient who has fallen by the bedside or is in another area of the facility is not able to use the system to call for help.
As another consideration, the typical call button type of system is designed to be staff oriented. As such, it does not provide direct communication between the patient and the caregiver, whose duties may require him or her to be in different areas of the facility, and hence not always near the patient. Current systems require the caregiver to be in the vicinity of the patient's room, so that the visual indicator can be observed. Otherwise, it is necessary for the person at the central facility, who receives the call, to locate and notify the caregiver, which may require an inordinate amount of unnecessary waiting time on the part of the patient.
It is desirable, therefore, to provide a healthcare communication system that facilitates direct communication between a patient and his or her assigned caregiver. It is further desirable to provide such a system which is fully portable, and thereby not restricted to use only when the patient is in or near a bed.

Wireless healthcare communication system


Provided is an inverted container holding apparatus comprising a securing member and a retaining member. The securing member includes a region configured to receive and secure an inverted container, wherein securing is enhanced by a resiliently flexible material. The retaining member may be removably attachable to the securing member to form a unitary structure or may be attached to a support member which is in turn attached to the securing member to form a unitary structure. A corresponding method of accessing contents of a container includes the provision of an inverted container holding apparatus having a retaining member, wherein the retaining member is configured to capture and retain contents that may vacate the inverted container after it is inserted into the holding apparatus.

1. Technical Field
This invention relates generally to extracting contents from containers. More particularly, this invention provides an apparatus and methods which supports an inverted container such that contents may move near the container opening for easy access.
2. Related Art
Restaurant professionals, condiment connoisseurs, mechanics, and others who deal with containers often find it difficult to extract the final remaining contents from their containers, especially where the container contents include semi-viscous fluids. Most common is the case of ketchup in the ketchup bottle, but a wide variety of other condiments and household items can cause just as much grief. The simple solution to this problem is easily recognizable to many—invert the container and wait for gravity to draw the contents down toward the opening. When the container is opened the contents can be easily removed. The problem is that many content hoarding containers are not easy to stand on end and may readily tip over.
Attempts have made to solve this problem, including the provision of known devices designed to hold an inverted container using various implements and designs, i.e. concentric steps, flexible fingers, etc. Some devices have even removed the need for keeping the lid on the container while it's inverted—cups or other containers are placed below the inverted, open container. The cups are not attached to the rest of the apparatus. This makes the devices cumbersome because the cups or catching elements can be lose, may spill easily, and the devices are not easy to store in a refrigerator, place on a shelf, etc.
Accordingly, there is a need for a clean and efficient way to save the last remaining contents of containers. Hence, the present invention relates to new and useful improvements in an inverted container holding apparatus, system, and method.

Inverted container holding system, apparatus, and method


An electrokinetic fluidic system (100, 100′, 100″) for controlling liquid flow in e.g. a lab-on-a-chip system (200) comprising a first and a second electrode (10, 10′) said first and second electrode comprising a polymer based or oxide based conductive, electrochemically active electrode material, said electrode material being adapted to be subjected to an electrochemical reaction when in use in said electrokinetic fluid system (100).

Microfluidic lab-on-a-chip (LOC) systems are stated to revolutionize the healthcare industry by replacing large-scale chemistry/biology laboratories with hand-held automated diagnostic tools, bringing sophisticated diagnostic techniques to patients' homes and third world countries. The LOC systems' capacity to handle and analyze minute sample volumes in the femtoliter to picoliter range and ability to test hundreds of samples simultaneously extends tremendous potential for areas like drug discovery and remote healthcare. Small, e.g. credit card-sized or smaller, self-contained LOC devices are expected to make complex medical diagnoses easy to perform.
One important component of sophisticated LOC devices is the microfluidic pump, which moves a liquid sample between the various mixers, separators, reactors and detectors required to perform an analysis. The ease-of-manufacture and small size of electrokinetic pumps, e.g. electroosmotic (EO) pumps, are advantages for their use as microfluidic pumps in LOC systems.
However, electrokinetic pumps usually produce gas bubbles; e.g. hydrogen gas, oxygen gas, hydrogen peroxide and/or protons (acid) or hydroxide ions (base), at the pump electrodes due to electrochemical reactions in the electrolyte when an electrical field is applied to the electrolyte. Such electrochemical reactions are undesirable. Gases, when generated, can quickly break the electrical connection between the liquid sample, e.g. an aqueous sample, and the electrode, affecting the mobility of the liquid sample within the electrokinetic pump. Further, generated acid, base and/or hydrogen peroxide can disturb or destroy the sensitive sample materials, e.g. proteins, to be studied.
The problem with today's electrokinetic pumps stems from the metal electrodes used to apply and maintain an electric field in the electrolyte. Maintaining an electric field in an electrolyte requires electrochemistry to be performed in or on the electrolyte at the pump electrodes, effectively transducing the current from electronic to ionic charge carriers or vice versa. These electrochemical processes often consume the electrolyte, e.g. water, itself, producing electrochemical by-products, such as H+, OH−, H2O2, H2 gas and O2 gas in the case of the electrolyte being water, which by-products can be detrimental to sensitive biological or chemical sample materials being transported or separated. In the specific case of microfluidic devices, the production of H2 or O2 gas at a pump electrode can create a bubble which, eventually, blocks liquid from reaching the pump electrode and renders the microfluidic device useless. Further, the formation of H+, OH− may change the pH of the electrolyte at the pump electrodes which may negatively affect the sample material to be studied. Furthermore, the electrochemical reaction may cause consumption of, or otherwise disturb the environment of, the reagents or analyte used.
The state-of-the-art for LOC devices of today offers three alternatives to solve the above-mentioned problems.
A first proposed solution uses an external pump. However, the external pump is often considerably larger than the LOC itself, and thereby precluding a self-contained device.
In a second proposed solution, an internal mechanical pump, such as an electro-mechanical, pneumatic or hydraulic pump, is used. However, such internal mechanical pumps are often very expensive to manufacture.
According to a third proposed solution, an internal electroosmotic pump is used. An advantage with the internal electroosmotic pump is that it has no moving parts, and is therefore easy to manufacture.
Unfortunately, as previously described, internal electroosmotic pumps usually generate unwanted by-products in the electrolyte at the pump electrodes which impede their application in a LOC device or negatively impact the sample to be tested. The side reactions generating these unwanted by-products can be mediated by adding a chemical buffer, e.g. a buffer to keep the pH at a desired level, to the solutions to be pumped, to a sample to be tested, separated, or to a carrier electrolyte. However, these chemicals can sometimes interfere with the materials being studied or transported, and are therefore undesirable. Further, the use of a buffer implies an additional cost for manufacturing and operating the device.
Alternatively, very large volume containers surrounding the metal electrodes can minimize the impact of the by-products through dilution. However, this alternative is undesirable in microfluidic LOC devices due to the size of the large volume containers and due to the size requirements on LOC devices.
In another alternative, a metal that can be oxidized and dissolved in solution (such as Ag, etc.) is used in one or both electrodes. The metal is oxidized at the positive electrode and released into solution as a cation, which is transported with the fluid in the pump to the negative electrode, where it is reduced again. The challenge with this type of system is the sensitivity of biological samples and proteins to the Ag cation. For example, a Ag cation is often toxic to bacteria or living cells.
The US application U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/168,779, published as US 2007/0009366 A1, to Myers et al., describes an electroosmotic pump wherein the problem of gas bubble formation is overcome by providing a sheath around at least one of the electrodes. The sheath being configured to pass ions, to reduce the passage of gas bubbles formed at the electrode and to collect the formed gas bubbles inside the sheath. Further, when the gas pressure is built up within the sheath, the gas bubbles are discarded from the electroosmotic pump.
The U.S. Pat. No. 6,287,440 B1, to Sandia Corporation, discloses a method and an apparatus for eliminating electrokinetic pump failure caused by gas bubbles formed by electrochemical decomposition of an electrolyte thereby blocking current flow through the electrokinetic pump. In the method and apparatus disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,287,440 B1, the electrodes are placed away from the pressurized region of the pump, such that gas generated at the electrodes can escape into a larger buffer reservoir and not into the high pressure region of the pump where the gas bubbles can interrupt current flow.
The US application U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/102,063, published as US 2005/0189225 A1, to Liu et al., describes a microfluidic system comprising an electroosmotic flow pumping means having a bubble-free electrode to prevent electrolysis and bubble formation. The bubble-free electrode comprises a tube loaded with an immobilized polymer and provides a means to apply voltage across pump channels while preventing passages of fluid through it, and a means to avoid electrolysis and bubble formation in or close to the microfluidic channels.
Drawbacks with these types of electrokinetic pumps are that they are difficult to include in a miniaturized device as they often requires a larger footprint. Furthermore, the complex geometries required and use of several different materials complicate their manufacture. Further drawbacks are bubbles generated at the pumping electrodes, as well as changes in pH caused by hydrolysis.
The present invention aims to overcome the drawbacks of the prior art electrokinetic fluid systems and to provide an electrokinetic fluid system suitable for a micofluidic lab-on-a-chip (LOC) system.


The present invention relates to a process for producing perfume-containing microcapsules with a polyurea wall that can be used in home or personal care products, as well as to the microcapsules themselves and consumer products that contain these microcapsules. The process of the invention uses a combination of aromatic and aliphatic polyisocyanates in specific relative concentrations.

One of the problems faced by the perfumery industry lies in the relatively rapid loss of the olfactive benefit provided by odoriferous compounds due to their volatility, particularly that of "top-notes". This problem is generally tackled using a delivery system, e.g. capsules containing a perfume, to release the fragrance in a controlled manner.
Polyurea capsules, formed by polymerisation between a polyisocyanate and a polyamine, are well known capsules that are used in a large variety of technical fields, including perfumery. However, such delivery systems may suffer from stability problems when incorporated into surfactant based products such as detergents or fabric-softeners, which are strongly aggressive towards said delivery systems.
It is especially difficult to prepare capsules having both good stability and good olfactive performance. The perfume retention ability, and therefore the ability of the capsules to avoid loss of the volatile ingredients, is in particular dependent on the stability of the capsules in the product base. On the other hand, the hedonic effect perceived by the consumer using a perfumed product, and therefore its perception of the quality of such a product, depends on the olfactive performance of the capsules. In particular, capsules having a good stability in a product base do not automatically have good olfactive performance. It is therefore desirable to provide capsules having both good stability and good olfactive performance.
Several prior art documents address the problem of the stability of polyurea microcapsules.
This is for example the case of U.S. Pat. No. 3,886,085, which discloses a process for the preparation of microcapsules of fine oil droplets employing a polyisocyanate adduct having a free isocyanate group and a polyamine or a polyamine adduct having a free amino group. Among the polyisocyanate adducts that can be used, aromatic ones are mentioned. Such a process allegedly produces capsules encapsulating a perfume, wherein the perfume can be preserved for a long period of time without being released through the capsule walls or shells (i.e. stable capsules). However, the capsules are specifically designed to be applied on paper. It is well known that the presence of surfactants in perfumed products such as home- and personal-care products renders these product bases very aggressive to capsules incorporated therein, thus having a very negative impact on the storage stability of the capsules. Such aggressive conditions do not exist when the capsules are applied on paper, so that stability of capsules applied on paper cannot be compared to stability of microcapsules in surfactant-containing mediums, such as perfumed products. Moreover, the problem of the capsules olfactive performance is not addressed in this document.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,668,580 describes a process for the production of polyurea microcapsules, in which a large variety of polyisocyanates can be used including aliphatic and aromatic ones. Example 3 of this document uses a mixture of polyisocyanate consisting of 90% biuretized hexamethylene-diisocyanate and 10% carbodiimide-modified polymethylenepolyphenyldiisocyanate. This document addresses the problem of providing capsules having an "inhomogeneous" organic phase having an organic liquid and a polyisocyanate insoluble therein. The application of this technology in the field of perfumery is not envisaged or even suggested in this document. Therefore, the problem of combining both storage stability of perfume capsules and good olfactive performance is not addressed in this document.
The present invention provides a new process for the preparation of polyurea microcapsules. It advantageously solves the problem of providing highly stable capsules having at the same time good olfactive performance. The present solution to this problem is not described or even suggested in any prior art document.

Process for preparing polyurea microcapsules


A running mower of the present invention comprises a traveling body 1 provided, between the front wheels 2 and the rear wheels 3, with a rotary mowing unit 12 which includes a laterally spaced pair of mowing blades 16a, 16b. The traveling body is also provided with an outlet duct 26 extending backward from between the mowing blades past a position between the rear wheels for discharging grass mown by the mowing blades. The rotary mowing unit 12 is provided with a forwardly extending mower input shaft 22 disposed offset from the center of the mowing blades toward one mowing blade 16b by an appropriate amount L1. A front part of the traveling body 1 is provided with an engine 4 whose power is transmitted to the input shaft via a mower transmission shaft 23 having a respective end provided with a universal joint 23a, 23b. As a result, the power transmission from the engine to the rotary mowing unit is simplified while the mown grass is disposed smoothly from the outlet duct 26.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a running mower comprising a vertically movable rotary mowing unit that includes a laterally spaced pair of rotary mowing blades.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, this kind of running mower includes a traveling body supported by front wheels and rear wheels. The traveling body is provided, between the front wheels and the rear wheels, with a vertically movable rotary mowing unit that includes rotary mowing blades (Refer to JP A 9-09757).
The rotary mowing unit of the conventional running mower includes three rotary mowing blades disposed in a substantially triangular arrangement. The rotary mowing blades rotate in the same direction to mow grass that is thrown sideward from the rotary mowing unit. This structure makes the mower considerably large.
Recently, a rotary mowing unit is known which includes a laterally spaced pair of mowing blades that rotate inwardly toward each other in the moving direction of the traveling body. The mowing blades mow grass and discharge the mown grass through an outlet duct extending backward between the mowing blades from the upside of a housing covering the mowing blades.
However, according to the above structure, the height of the outlet duct extending backward from the upside of the housing of the rotary mowing unit cannot be increased between the mowing blades due to obstruction by a transmission shaft connecting an engine to the rotary mowing unit. Thus, there is a problem that mown grass is not smoothly guided into the outlet duct, whereby the mown grass may clog up the housing and the outlet duct.
Due to the outlet duct extending backward from the rotary mowing unit between the rear wheels, the running transmission for the rear wheels should be disposed above the outlet duct. The running transmission needs to be disposed at a raised position for providing a predetermined height of the outlet duct. Thus, the power transmission shaft for transmitting power from the engine at the front part of the traveling body to the running transmission protrudes from the floor between the steering wheel and the operator seat of the traveling body as much as the running transmission is raised, consequently posing an obstacle for the operator in getting on and off the traveling body.
A technical object of the present invention is to provide a running mower which solves the above-described problems.


A compensating system for compensating a cogging torque of a motor includes a speed measuring apparatus, a moment of inertia measuring apparatus, a rotor position sensor, a processor, a plurality of band-pass filters, and a current control apparatus. The processor receives a speed, a moment of inertia, and a rotor position of the motor, to determine the cogging torque of the motor. Each band-pass filter is arranged with a different frequency to filter different frequencies of waveforms of the cogging torque. The processor determines a Fourier transformation of the cogging torque according to a number of Fourier coefficients from the band-pass filters, a cogging torque at a preset rotor position, and a cogging current according to the Fourier transformation of the cogging torque. The current control apparatus outputs a current opposite to the cogging current, to compensate the cogging torque of the motor.

1. Technical Field
Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to compensating systems and methods, and more particularly to a compensating system and a method for cogging torque of a motor.
2. Description of the Related Art
Cogging torque of a permanent magnet motor is the torque due to the interaction between permanent magnets of a rotor and stator slots of the permanent magnet motor. Cogging torque is undesirable for the operation of the permanent magnet motor. Generally the cogging torque is especially prominent when the permanent magnet motor is operating at lower speeds, causing jerkiness.
The magnet pole are or width of a permanent magnet motor are usually optimized to reduce the cogging torque of the permanent magnet motor. However, changing structures of interior components of the permanent magnet motor is subject to the size of the permanent magnet motor.

Compensating system and method for cogging torque of motor


The subject invention concerns the use of Bacillus thuringiensis (B.t.) endotoxins to control hemipteran insect pests. Specifically exemplified is B.t. isolate PS123D1, and .delta.-endotoxins therefrom. These isolates and toxins can be administered to said pests, or to the environment of said pests, e.g. plants, to achieve control of the pests.

The soil microbe Bacillus thuringiensis (B.t.) is a Gram-positive, spore-forming bacterium characterized by parasporal crystalline protein inclusions. These inclusions often appear microscopically as distinctively shaped crystals. The proteins can be highly toxic to pests and specific in their toxic activity. Certain B.t. toxin genes have been isolated and sequenced, and recombinant DNA-based B.t. products have been produced and approved for use. In addition, with the use of genetic engineering techniques, new approaches for delivering B.t. endotoxins to agricultural environments are under development, including the use of plants genetically engineered with endotoxin genes for insect resistance and the use of stabilized intact microbial cells as B.t. endotoxin delivery vehicles (Gaertner, F. H., L. Kim 1988! TIBTECH 6:S4-S7). Thus, isolated B.t. endotoxin genes are becoming commercially valuable.
Until the last fifteen years, commercial use of B.t. pesticides has been largely restricted to a narrow range of lepidopteran (caterpillar) pests. Preparations of the spores and crystals of B. thuringiensis var. kurstaki have been used for many years as commercial insecticides for lepidopteran pests. For example, B. thuringiensis var. kurstaki HD-1 produces .delta.-endotoxin crystals which are toxic to the larvae of a number of lepidopteran insects.
In recent years, however, investigators have discovered B.t. pesticides with specificities for a much broader range of pests. For example, other species of B.t., namely B.t. var. israelensis and B.t. var. tenebrionis (a.k.a. M-7, a.k.a. B.t. var. san diego), have been used commercially to control insects of the orders Diptera and Coleoptera, respectively (Gaertner, F. H. 1989! "Cellular Delivery Systems for Insecticidal Proteins: Living and Non-Living Microorganisms," in Controlled Delivery of Crop Protection Agents, R. M. Wilkins, ed., Taylor and Francis, New York and London, 1990, pp. 245-255). See also Couch, T. L. (1980) "Mosquito Pathogenicity of Bacillus thuringiensis var. israelensis," Developments in Industrial Microbiology 22:61-76; and Beegle, C. C., (1978) "Use of Entomogenous Bacteria in Agroecosystems," Developments in Industrial Microbiology 20:97-104. Krieg et al. Krieg, A., A. M. Huger, G. A. Langenbruch, W. Schnetter 1983! Z. ang. Ent. 96:500-508), describe Bacillus thuringiensis var. tenebrionis, which is reportedly active against two beetles in the order Coleoptera. These are the Colorado potato beetle, Leptinotarsa decemlineata, and the beetle Agelastica alni.
Recently, new subspecies of B.t. have been identified, and genes responsible for active .delta.-endotoxin proteins have been isolated (Hofte, H., H. R. Whiteley 1989! Microbiological Reviews 52(2):242-255). Hofte and Whiteley classified B.t. crystal protein genes into 4 major classes. The classes were CryI (Lepidoptera-specific), CryII (Lepidoptera- and Diptera-specific), CryIII (Coleoptera-specific), and CryIV (Diptera-specific). Prefontaine et al. (Prefontaine, G., P. Fast, P. C. K Lau, M. A. Hefford, Z. Hanna, R. Brosseau 1987! Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 53(12):2808-2814) describe probes useful in classifying lepidopteran-active genes. The discovery of strains specifically toxic to other pests has been reported (Feitelson, J. S., J. Payne, L. Kim 1992! Bio/Technology 10:271-275). B.t. crystalline toxins are generally recognized as being protoxins, requiring either particular physicochemical conditions (ie., pH, redox, ionic strength), or the action of certain proteases, or both, to generate an active toxin (Hofte and Whiteley, supra). In most cases, the insect supplies conditions for activation of the toxin; however, cases have been documented where pre-solubilization or pre-proteolysis have been necessary for optimum activity (Jacquet, J., R. Hutter, P. Luthy 1987! "Specificity of Bacillus thuringiensis delta-endotoxin," Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 53:500-504) or detection of activity (Lambert, B., H. R. Hofte, K. Annys, S. Jansens, P. Soetaert, M. Peferoen 1992! "Novel Bacillus thuringiensis insecticidal crystal protein with a silent activity against coleopteran larvae," Appl. Environ. MicrobioL 58:2536-2542).
The cloning and expression of a B.t. crystal protein gene in Escherichia coli has been described in the published literature (Schnepf, H. E., H. R. Whiteley 1981! Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 78:2893-2897). U.S. Pat. No. 4,448,885 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,467,036 both disclose the expression of B.t. crystal proteins in E. coli. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,797,276 and 4,853,331 disclose B. thuringiensis var. tenebrionis (a.k.a. B.t. san diego, a.k.a. M-7) which can be used to control coleopteran pests in various environments. U.S. Pat. No. 4,918,006 discloses Bacillus thuringiensis var. israelensis toxins which are active against dipteran pests and reports that a protein of about 27 kDa, and fragments thereof, are responsible for the dipteran activity. U.S. Pat. No. 4,849,217 discloses B.t. isolates which have activity against the alfalfa weevil. U.S. Pat. No. 5,151,363 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,948,734 disclose certain isolates of B.t. which have activity against nematodes. As a result of extensive research and investment of resources, other patents have issued for new B.t. isolates and new uses of B.t. isolates. However, the discovery of new B.t. isolates and new uses of known B.t. isolates remains an empirical, unpredictable art.
Hemiptera represent a major group of insects that have not, to date, been effectively controlled by B.t. .delta.-endotoxins. Numerous hemipteran pest species, most notably Lygus species, cause considerable plant damage and economic loss each year.
Hemiptera ranks among the most economically destructive orders. See Arnett, R. H. Jr. (1985! American Insects, Van Nostrand Reinhold Co., Inc., New York). Of all Hemiptera, the mirids (Hemiptera: Miridae; includes Lygus) are the most notorious crop pests. Feeding causes injury that weakens plants and is a mode of plant disease transmission. In addition to L. hesperus, other pest Lygus include: L. lineolaris (Beauv.), L. pratensis (L.), L. rugulipennis Popp., and the common green capsid (Lygus pabulinus (L.)). Members of this genus are found variously on cotton, potato, sugar beet, celery, beans, peach, apple, alfalfa, pear, plum, quince and a variety of nursery stock, ornamental plants and vegetable crops. Specific Mirid pests include: the potato capsid Calocoris norvegicus (Gmel.), a pest of potato and brassicas (e.g., cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, kale, Brussels sprout, turnip); the stack bug (also carrot plant bug) Orthops campestris (L.), a pest of carrot, celery, parsnip, parsley and dill; the apple capsid Plesiocoris rugicollis (Fall.), a pest of apple, currants and gooseberry; the tomato bug Cyrtopeltis modestus (Distant), a pest of tomatoes; the suckfly Cyrtopeltis notatus (Distant), a pest of tobacco; the white marked fleahopper Spanagonicus albofasciatus (Reuter), injurious to grass, with damage particularly noticeable on golf greens; the honeylocust plant bug Diaphnocors chlorionis (Say), a pest of beets; the onion plant bug Labopidicola allii Knight, a pest of cultivated and wild onions; the cotton fleahopper Pseudatomoscelis seriatus (Reuter), found on cotton; the rapid plant bug Adelphocoris rapidus (Say), an occasional pest of cotton and legumes; the four-lined plant bug Poecilocapsus lineatus (Fabricius), often a pest of garden crops.
Other Hemipteran pests include:
Lygaeidae (seed bug family): chinch bug (Blissus leucopterus (Say)) is a pest of maize, sorghums, wheat, millets, rice, barley, rye and oats; false chinch bugs (Nysius spp., e.g., N. ericae, N. raphanus Howard) are pests of brassicas, beets and potato.
Pentatomidae (stink bug family): the brown stink bug, Euschistus servus (Say) is a pest of cotton. The green stink bug, Nezara viridula (L.) is a generalist pest of seedlings, especially vegetables and legumes; Eurygaster species, e.g. E. austiaca (Schr.) and E. integriceps (Put.) (wheat shield bug, Sunn pest, Senn bug) attack wheat and barley.
Coreidae (squash bug family): Anasa tristis (DeGreer) (squash bug) is a local pest of squash; A. armigera (Say) (homed squash bug) is an occasional pest of cultivated cucumber.
Pyrrhocoridae (red bug and cotton stainer family): the cotton stainer Dysdercus suturellus (Herrich-Schaeffer) is a pest of cotton.
Tingidae (lace bug family): Corythucha arcuata (Say) often is a pest of roses, maple, apple and chestnut. Other Corythucha species include the cotton lace bug, chrysanthemum lace bug, elm lace bug and hawthorn lace bug.
Belostomatidae (giant water bug family): members of this family are known to attack and suck the blood of fishes and therefore can be a pest in fish hatcheries.
Members of the Reduviidae and Cimicidae (including kissing bug and bed bugs, respectively) bite mammals and transmit diseases contractible by humans.
The digestive system of hemipterans is unusual among the insects in several ways: certain hydrolytic digestive enzymes are absent such as trypsin; the midgut lacks a peritrophic membrane, and there is no crop. These features reflect the liquid diet and sucking mode of feeding, subject to evolutionary constraints. Because of the differences in diet, feeding mode, and digestive physiology and biochemistry, one would not necessarily expect that proteins having insecticidal activity against leaf-chewing insects would also have activity against fluid-feeding Hemiptera.
Bacillus thuringiensis PS201T6, NRRL B-18750, deposited on Jan. 9, 1991, or a .delta.-endotoxin therefrom, was previously found to have activity against certain pests. For example, see U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,273,746; 5,298,245; and 5,302,387, which disclose the use of B.t. PS201T6. B.t. isolates PS123D1 has been disclosed in EP 0 409 438. B.t. isolate PS71M3 has been disclosed in EP 0 626 809 and in U.S. Pat. No. 5,273,746. The above patents do not disclose or suggest the use of any B.t. isolate to control hemipteran insect pests.
Practice of the present invention provides an alternative to control of hemipteran pests with chemical pesticides, thereby allowing more environmentally-friendly insect management and providing a tool for management of insecticide resistance.

Controlling hemipteran insect pests with bacillus thuringiensis isolate PS123D1


A cooling device includes a base connected on a CPU and a pipe unit 2 includes a plurality of absorbing pipes which are engaged with the base. A plurality of cooling pipes are connected to two ends of the absorbing pipes and extend upward in V-shape. Two cooling units are connected to the cooling pipes and each cooling unit includes fins and a cooling fan which generates air flows toward the fins and cooling the parts around the CPU.

(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cooling device for removing heat from CPU and the air flows also cool other parts around the CPU.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
A conventional cooling device for removing heat generated from CPU generally includes a plurality of fins which absorb heat from the CPU and a cooling fan is cooperated to generate air flows which bring the heat away from the fins so as to quickly cool the CPU. However, the fins and the cooling fan cannot bring sufficient heat from the CPU which operates at even higher speed in the latest computer. Besides, not only the CPU needs a cooling device, there are other parts generate heat which may affect the temperature of the CPU.
The present invention intends to provide a cooling device for removing heat from CPU and includes a base connected on the CPU and a plurality of cooling pipes are connected to the base. At least one cooling unit is connected to the cooling pipes and generates air flows which blows toward the cooling pipes and other parts around the CPU.


A lawn mower includes a housing with a baffle that defines an air path to produce a cross-flow. The baffle includes a vent to manipulate air pressures within the housing and facilitate movement of plant clippings. A hand-held device for trimming with a rotary blade assembly may also include a housing that defines an air path to produce a cross-flow. The hand-held trimming device may also a baffle with a vent to facilitate movement of plant clippings.

Lawnmowers traditionally come in two varieties: rotary mowers, where blades rotate horizontally in a plane; and reel mowers, where helical blades rotate about an axis so that the helical blades can shear grass against a bedknife.
Trimming devices generally cannot utilize existing mower designs because helical mowers operate with very tight tolerances and rotary mowers and too heavy and cannot spin fast enough to produce an adequate tip speed in a compact form.
Consequently, it would be advantageous if an apparatus existed that is suitable for trimming with a horizontal rotary blade assembly.

Hand-held horizontal rotary trimmer with vented baffle


A nonvolatile semiconductor memory device according to an embodiment includes: a semiconductor layer; a block insulating layer; an organic molecular layer, which is formed between the semiconductor layer and the block insulating layer, and contains first organic molecules and second organic molecules, and in which the first organic molecule has a first alkyl chain or a first alkyl halide chain on the semiconductor layer side and a charge trapping unit on the block insulating layer side, and the second organic molecule has a second alkyl chain or a second alkyl halide chain on the semiconductor layer side and a hydroxy group, an ether group, a carboxyl group or an ester group on the block insulating layer side; and a control gate electrode formed on the block insulating layer.

As a method for realizing reduced bit cost of a nonvolatile semiconductor memory device and also enhancing memory performance thereof, scaling down of a memory cell is promising. However, scaling down of the memory cell has become technically difficult.
It has thus been proposed to use organic molecules for a charge trapping layer. Because various organic molecules can be formed by organically synthesize a variety of molecular structures and substituent groups, desired electrochemical properties can be applied to the organic molecules. And structural unit of the organic molecules is small. Therefore, the organic molecules may realize further scaling-down of the memory cell. When the organic molecules are used for the charge trapping layer, a monolayer is often applied because of its film uniformity and small thickness. In particular, organic molecules that form the monolayer in a self-assembling manner are often selected.
However, the surface of the organic molecular film often has hydrophobic (lipophilic) properties. For example, even when it is attempted to form an oxide film on this organic molecular film by Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD), an oxide film with inferior film quality is formed due to lack of hydroxyl groups that serve as reactivity sources in ALD. The oxide film with inferior film quality has a large leakage current and a low break down voltage. This thus brings about problems of degradation in data retention time for the memory cell and degradation in reliability.


A method and a device for displaying vehicle parameters, which comprise at least a first and a second parameter is provided. A value of the first parameter and a value of the second parameter are determined and the value of the first parameter and the value of the second parameter are displayed on a display area. In addition, the value of the first parameter is changed and the change in the value of the first parameter at least in a first portion is converted into a change in the value of the second parameter. A first display element, via which the conversion of the change in the value of the first parameter into the change in the value of the second parameter is depicted graphically, is created on the display area.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and a device for displaying vehicle parameters, which comprise at least a first and a second parameter. Further, the invention relates to an electric vehicle with a device of this type.
Description of the Background Art
The display of vehicle parameters is usually limited to a separate display for each vehicle parameter. In this regard, the driver is shown the value that a particular parameter has at the current time. Thus, for example, a temperature, a remaining range reachable with the available energy supply, a distance traveled, the energy supply, the driven speed, or revolutions per minute are displayed as specific numbers. In this case, a connection between the different driving parameters is not evident to a driver. In particular in vehicles obtaining their power for driving at least partially from a battery, it is desirable to point out to the driver a connection between the different parameters.
To this end, an integrated range display is described in DE 10 2010 010 620 A1. The display indicates a time at which a return of the motor vehicle to a predefined starting point is no longer possible due to an insufficient energy supply.
DE 10 2011 018 899 A1 describes a method for supporting a driver in evaluating battery-related information of an electrically powered motor vehicle. The energy content of the battery or a range at different times is displayed for this purpose.

Method and device for displaying vehicle parameters including energy supply and distance traveled