A fluid dispenser (100; 200; 300; 400) for dispensing a fluid in liquid or in powder form, the dispenser including a reservoir (12) serving to contain fluid, and a dispensing orifice (114; 214; 314; 414) via which the fluid is dispensed. The reservoir (12) having an actuating wall (111; 211; 311; 411) and a backing wall (112; 212; 312; 412), the walls be adapted to be brought towards each other by elastic deformation to reduce the volume of the reservoir, and thus to deliver fluid through the dispensing orifice. The dispenser further having a one-piece body (110; 210; 310; 410) and at least one flexible sealing film (120; 220; 320; 421; 422), the actuating wall and the backing wall being formed by the one-piece body, wherein the actuating wall and the backing wall are angularly positioned relative to each by forming an angle that decreases when they are brought towards each other.

The present invention relates to a fluid dispenser for dispensing a fluid in liquid or in powder form, i.e. a liquid of various degrees of viscosity, or a powder, contained in a reservoir. The dispenser is provided with a dispensing orifice via which the fluid is dispensed. To this end, the reservoir has an actuating wall and a backing wall, said walls being adapted to be brought towards each other by elastic deformation to reduce the volume of the reservoir, and thus to deliver fluid through the dispensing orifice. This type of dispenser is in frequent use in numerous fields, and in particular in cosmetics, perfumes, or indeed pharmaceuticals.
Fluid dispensers of this type are used, inter alia, in the fields of pharmaceuticals and of cosmetics as product samples which can, for example, be distributed free of charge to enable consumers to test the product before they purchase it. Documents FR 2 778 639 and FR 2 791 645 describe such dispensers that are mainly but not exclusively used as samples. In the dispensers of those documents, provision is made to seal together two films or to seal a shell to a film around their peripheries to define a fluid reservoir. Those documents also make provision to insert a dispensing part between the two films or between the shell and the film. The dispensing part defines the dispensing orifice and optionally serves as support means for supporting a piece of porous material suitable for being soaked with fluid. To actuate those dispensers, the films or the shell define a deformable actuating wall suitable for being pressed by one or more fingers. When the dispenser comprises two sealed-together films, there are two actuating walls, and it is possible, for example, to actuate the dispenser by holding it between the thumb and one or more fingers of the same hand. The wall in contact with the thumb thus defines the actuating wall, while the wall in contact with the other finger(s) of the same hand serves as a backing wall making it possible to exert thrust on the wall in contact with the thumb. Similarly, when the dispenser comprises a shell fixed to a film, the thumb comes into contact with the shell which defines the actuating wall while the other fingers of the same hand come into contact with the sealing film which thus serves as a backing wall to enable thrust to be exerted on the actuating wall by using the thumb. Thus, in both of those prior art dispensers, the actuating wall and the backing wall are formed by two separate parts, while the dispensing orifice is formed by a third part.
In a technical field that is somewhat remote, Document GB 626 631 describes a carton of insecticide making it possible to spray powder that it contains. For that purpose, the carton is in the form of a bellows defining two actuating walls that can be brought towards each other by pivoting about a coupling portion that defines the spray orifice. However, to impart an elasticity or return characteristic to that carton, a metal spring is disposed inside the carton so as to urge the two actuating walls apart. Thus, in the rest position, the two actuating walls are spaced apart to the maximum extent, and they can be brought towards each other by compressing the spring situated inside the carton. In that document, the two actuating walls are formed by two pieces of cardboard connected at one end to a block of wood defining a hole in which a metal nozzle is inserted. The V-shaped spring is inserted between the two pieces of cardboard and the resulting assembly is wrapped in one or more layers of flexible material, e.g. foil. Thus, the flexible foil covers the two pieces of cardboard and thereby defines the two actuating walls. In all, the prior art dispenser described in that document is made up of six distinct component elements.


A method of forming substrates. The method includes providing a donor substrate; and forming a cleave layer comprising a cleave plane on the donor substrate. The cleave plane extends from a periphery of the donor substrate through a center region of the substrate. The method also includes forming a device layer on the cleave layer. The method also includes selectively introducing a plurality of particles along the periphery of the cleave plane to form a higher concentration region at the periphery and a lower concentration region in the center region. Selected energy is provided to the donor substrate to initiate a cleaving action at the higher concentration region at the periphery of the cleave plane to cleave the device layer at the cleave plane.

The present invention relates to the manufacture of objects. More particularly, the invention provides a technique including a method and device for cleaving a substrate in the fabrication of a multi-layered substrate for semiconductor integrated circuits, for example. But it will be recognized that the invention has a wider range of applicability; it can also be applied to other substrates for multi-layered integrated circuit devices, three-dimensional packaging of integrated semiconductor devices, photonic devices, piezoelectronic devices, microelectromechanical systems (xe2x80x9cMEMSxe2x80x9d), sensors, actuators, solar cells, flat panel displays (e.g., LCD, AMLCD), biological and biomedical devices, and the like.
Many ways of fabricating substrates for the manufacture of integrated circuits have been proposed. In the early days, conventional integrated circuits were fabricated on xe2x80x9cbulkxe2x80x9d silicon wafers. These bulk silicon wafers were generally single crystal and formed using a process called Czochralski, which is known as CZ. The CZ process melts a batch of silicon metal in a crucible. A seed crystal is used as a starting material to pull a silicon ingot from the melt in the crucible. The ingot is then cut and polished to form the bulk silicon wafers.
Although bulk silicon wafers are widely used today, many such wafers have been replaced by other types. These other types of wafers include, among others, epitaxial silicon wafers, silicon-on-insulator wafers, and the like. High purity applications often require the use of epitaxial silicon wafers. These applications often produce lower yields on CZ wafers so such epitaxial silicon wafers are desirable. High purity applications include the manufacture of high density memory devices, high voltage devices, and microprocessor devices.
Some applications also use silicon on insulator wafers. These wafers generally include a silicon material layer, where devices are to be formed, overlying an insulating layer, commonly made of silicon dioxide, which overlies a bulk substrate material. Silicon on insulator wafers, which are known as SOI wafers, are made using one of many techniques. A common technique for making such wafer is xe2x80x9cseparation by ion implantation of oxygen,xe2x80x9d also termed as SIMOX. These SIMOX wafers are often made by implanting high doses of oxygen impurities into a silicon substrate, where the oxygen is later annealed to create an insulating layer underlying a surface of the silicon substrate. An active device layer is defined overlying such insulating layer. SIMOX wafers, however, have numerous limitations. For example, SIMOX wafers are often difficult to make in an efficient manner, since the high doses often require a long implantation time. Implantation is generally an expensive operation in the manufacture of wafers. Additionally, implantation of oxygen often causes damage to the device layer. Such damage can influence the operation and reliability of integrated circuit devices that are fabricated onto the device layer.
Accordingly, other ways of developing SOI wafers have been proposed. One such way is a xe2x80x9cblisteringxe2x80x9d method for film separation known as Smart Cut(trademark). Such blistering technique is described in detail in U.S. Pat. No. 5,374,564, in the name of Bruel (xe2x80x9cBruel ""564xe2x80x9d). This thermal blistering technique for manufacturing SOI wafers has many limitations. For high volume production, the high doses of hydrogen often requires the use of many ion implanters, which are expensive and difficult to maintain. Additionally, thermal blistering often creates rough surface finishes, which can produce worthless scrap product. European Application No. EP 0807970A1 (xe2x80x9cBruel ""970xe2x80x9d), which is also in the name of Bruel, suggests an improved method to the Bruel ""564 patent of forming SOI wafers. Bruel ""970 suggests a method of mechanically separating a layer having microcavities or microbubbles. Although the Bruel ""970 suggests that the dose are generally lower than a minimum causing surface blistering, the doses of hydrogen should still be sufficiently high to allow microcavity and microbubble coalescence through a subsequent heat treatment process. Such thermal treatment process would often require a high temperature, which would lead to an exceedingly rough and imprecise fracture morphology along the microcavity plane. Accordingly, the Bruel ""970 also requires high temperatures, which are generally undesirable and lead to excessive surface roughness characteristics.
Still another variation is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,882,987, which is assigned to International Business Machines Corporation, and in the name of Srikrishnan, Kris V (xe2x80x9cSrikrishnanxe2x80x9d). Srikrishnan suggests an improvement to the blistering technique taught by the Bruel ""564 patent. Here, Srikrishnan suggests an etch-stop layer within a device layer to be released. Additionally, Srikrishnan suggests implanting a large dose of hydrogen to allow separation using the aforementioned xe2x80x9cblisteringxe2x80x9d process to separate the film at a location away from the etch-stop layer, thereby resulting in a structure characterized by the device layer covered by the etch-stop layer and a top surface layer and then selectively removing both layers. This process, which may be advantageous by reducing or eliminating the need for a chemical-mechanical polishing (CMP) step, still generally requires the use of the blistering process, high doses of hydrogen or rare gas ion implantation, and complicated chemical removals.
Yet another method for forming SOI wafers has been described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,854,123, which is assigned to Canon Kabushiki Kaisha, and in the names of Sato, et al (xe2x80x9cSatoxe2x80x9d). The Sato patent suggests releasing an epitaxial layer, which has been formed on a porous silicon layer. The porous silicon layer is generally made to release the epitaxial layer by providing a high degree of etch selectivity between the epitaxial silicon layer and the porous silicon layer. Unfortunately, this technique is often complicated and expensive. Moreover, epitaxial growth on a porous layer can compromise the quality of the epitaxial film by the introduction of defects into it, which is very undesirable. Other limitations can also exist with such technique.
Accordingly, a pioneering technique made by a company called Silicon Genesis Corporation has been developed. Such technique relies upon a controlled cleaving process, which is known as CCP, to manufacture SOI wafers and other structures. The CCP technique produces improved films using a room temperature process to cleave films. The room temperature process is generally free from microbubbles or microcavities, which may lead to blisters and the like caused by the conventional process described in Bruel. Although overcoming many limitations in conventional techniques, CCP can still be improved.
From the above, it is seen that an improved method for manufacturing substrates is highly desirable.
According to the present invention, a technique including a method and device for manufacturing objects is provided. In an exemplary embodiment, the present invention provides a method for fabricating multilayered substrates from a cleaving process. Such substrates use low doses of particles, which are used to create stress in a cleaving layer. The low doses of particles improve film quality and efficiency of the present method.
In a specific embodiment, the present invention provides a method of forming substrates. The method includes providing a donor substrate; and forming a cleave layer comprising a cleave plane on the donor substrate. The cleave plane extends from a periphery of the donor substrate through a center region of the substrate. The method also includes forming a device layer on the cleave layer. The method also includes selectively introducing a plurality of particles along the periphery of the cleave plane to form a higher concentration region at the periphery and a lower concentration region in the center region. Selected energy is provided to the donor substrate to initiate a cleaving action at the higher concentration region at the periphery of the cleave plane to cleave the device layer at the cleave plane.
Numerous benefits are achieved over pre-existing techniques using the present invention. In particular, the present invention uses controlled energy and selected conditions to preferentially cleave a thin film of material from a donor substrate which includes multi-material sandwiched films. This cleaving process selectively removes the thin film of material from the substrate while preventing a possibility of damage to the film or a remaining portion of the substrate. In other aspects, the process also provides a multilayered substrate structure, which can be reused without substantial damage. Accordingly, the remaining substrate portion can be re-used repeatedly for other applications. Still further, the method provides smoother films (e.g., less than 30 or 20 or 10 or 5 or 3 or 2 Angstroms RMS) upon cleaving. Depending upon the application, one or more of these advantages may exist.
The present invention achieves these benefits and others in the context of known process technology. However, a further understanding of the nature and advantages of the present invention may be realized by reference to the latter portions of the specification and attached drawings.

Cleaving process to fabricate multilayered substrates using low implantation doses


A radio frequency (RF) application circuit is provided. In the RF application circuit, a pair of bipolar junction transistors (BJTs), instead of N-channel metal-oxide-semiconductor (NMOS) transistors, is composed of a switch-block operated in a reversion saturation region. The RF application circuit is used to serve as either an oscillator or a band pass amplifier according to the circuit characteristic of an active circuit. Thereby, not only the function of the conventional NMOS transistor served as a switch can be achieved by the switch-block, but also the element size, turned-on resistance value and turned-off parasitic capacitance value of the switch-block, and the power consumption of the RF application circuit thereof can be reduced. Thus, the resolution of the capacitance unit in a LC resonance circuit and the performance of the RF application circuit thereof can be promoted.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a radio frequency (RF) application circuit. More particularly, the present invention relates to a RF application circuit having a switch-block composed of a pair of bipolar junction transistors (BJTs) and applied in a capacitance unit of a LC resonance circuit.
2. Description of Related Art
Conventionally, in the LC (inductance-capacitance) filter or the LC oscillator of a radio frequency (RF) circuit, the switch used in a capacitance bank of a LC resonance circuit is usually implemented with N-channel metal-oxide-semiconductor (NMOS) transistor. This is because the gate side and drain side of the NMOS transistor are separated from each other, thus the DC level of the NMOS transistor is not affected when the NMOS transistor is turned on/off.
However, when the NMOS transistor is served as the switch in the capacitance bank of the LC resonance circuit, the NMOS transistor will be caused the RF circuit consuming a lot of power consumption, this is because the NMOS transistor with a high turned-on resistance value. In order to solve aforementioned problem, conventionally, a plurality of NMOS transistors, which are connected in parallel, can be reduced thereof turned-on resistance value. It is obviously, if the switch in the capacitance bank of the LC resonance circuit are utilized a plurality of NMOS transistors connected in parallel, the element size of the switch is increased, and the turned-off parasitic capacitance value thereof is also increased simultaneously.
In accordance with described above, the increased turned-off parasitic capacitance value of the switch further will be decreased the resolution of the capacitance bank in the LC resonance circuit, and thus the performance of the RF circuit thereof is adversely affected.


Anti-TACE (ADAM17) antibodies are disclosed that for the first time in the art are capable of binding to TACE, of acting as antagonists of one or more its biological activities, in particular by binding to TACE in a cross domain binding mode in which residues in both the catalytic domain and in the cysteine rich/disintegrin domains (Dis-Cys) are involved in antibody binding to TACE, helping to improve the specificity of the antibody binding and/or helping to improve inhibition of TACE biological activity. The therapeutic uses of the antibodies, in particular for the treatment of cancer are disclosed.

TNF-α Converting Enzyme (TACE) (also known as A Disintegrin And Metalloprotease 17 (ADAM17)), is a membrane-bound metalloprotease responsible for cleaving a variety of pathologically significant substrates. Initially identified as the enzyme responsible for solubilising membrane-associated pro-TNF-α, a process subsequently termed "ectodomain shedding", TACE has since proved capable of cleaving a wide range of substrates, such as epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) ligands, extracellular Notch, cell-surface receptors and adhesion molecules. As proteolytic cleavage is an indispensable activation event for many of these substrates, TACE has emerged as an attractive therapeutic target for the treatment of cancer and rheumatoid arthritis. The role of TACE is reviewed in Murphy (Nature Reviews: Cancer, 8(12): 929-941, 2008).
A role for TACE in regulating TNF-α and hence the potential utility of inhibiting TACE as a therapeutic strategy for treating inflammatory disease has been recognised for some time and many companies have tried to develop small molecule inhibitors of TACE. However, the metalloprotease family are highly conserved and developing selective small molecule inhibitors has proven to be a significant challenge. Early trials using broader spectrum metalloprotease inhibitors were prone to toxicity issues and as such the ability to generate selective inhibitors of this family is desirable, see Moss et al (Nature Clinical Practice, 4(6): 300-309, 2008).
An alternative strategy to developing a selective TACE inhibitor would be to utilise the selectivity that is generally achievable with antibodies. However, while antibodies which bind to TACE have been reported and are commercially available, unusually none of these to date have had antagonistic activity. By way of example of this, while WO 96/041624 discloses the identification of TACE enzyme and suggests producing anti-TACE antibodies, no antibodies are disclosed in the application, still less antibodies having specific functional properties such as antagonist antibodies. This in turn means that the development of antibody based therapeutics capable of blocking TACE activity remains an unsolved problem in the art.

Anti-tace antibody molecules and their uses


This invention relates to a process for preparing quinacridone pigment compositions by

This invention relates to a process for the preparation of quinacridone pigment compositions in the presence of mixtures of certain sulfonyl-containing derivatives of 2,5-dianilinoterephthalic acid.
Processes for the preparation of quinacridone are known. E.g., S. S. Labana and L. L. Labana, xe2x80x9cQuinacridonesxe2x80x9d in Chemical Review, 67, 1-18 (1967); W. Herbst and K. Hunger, Industrial Organic Pigments, 2nd ed. (New York: VCH Publishers, Inc., 1997), pages 454-459; and U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,157,659, 3,256,285, and 3,317,539. The quinacridones thus obtained, known as crude quinacridones, are generally unsuitable for use as pigments and must undergo one or more additional finishing steps to modify the particle size, particle shape, or crystal structure to achieve pigmentary quality. For example, in a preferred method for preparing quinacridones, certain 2,5-dianilinoterephthalic acid precursors are thermally ring closed in the presence of polyphosphoric acid. E.g., U.S. Pat. No. 3,257,405. After ring closure is complete, the melt is drowned by pouring into a liquid in which the quinacridone is insoluble, usually water and/or an alcohol, after which the resultant crystalline pigment is typically further conditioned by solvent treatment and/or milling.
The addition of certain quinacridone derivatives or their precursors to the ring-closure step has been reported to enhance the coloristic and rheological properties of quinacridone pigments. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,368,641 discloses the use of various quinacridone derivatives in the manufacture of 2,9-dimethylquinacridone, U.S. Pat. No. 5,457,203 describes the use of quinacridone derivatives during the oxidation of dihydroquinacridone (prepared from 2,5-dianilino-3,6-dihydroterephthalic acid) to quinacridone, and U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,683,502 and 5,713,999 disclose the manufacture of quinacridone pigments in the presence of compounds other than quinacridones.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,755,873 describes the preparation of quinacridone pigments by ring closure of the corresponding dianilinoterephthalic acid precursors in the presence of various substituted dianilinoterephthalic acid derivatives, including 2,5-di(sulfamoylanilino)terephthalic acid. Although the resultant quinacridone pigment compositions typically exhibit improved coloristic and rheological properties, the quinacridone derivative that forms when using 2,5-di(sulfamoylanilino)terephthalic acid has an undesirable tendency to bleed from the resultant pigment preparations, which can adversely affect their use.
It has now been found that quinacridone pigment compositions exhibiting an advantageous combination of coloristic and rheological properties without excessive bleeding associated with 2,5-di(sulfamoylanilino)terephthalic acid can be obtained by using reduced quantities of 2,5-di(sulfamoylanilino)terephthalic acid in combination with other sulfonyl-containing derivatives of 2,5-dianilinoterephthalic acid during quinacridone synthesis.
The present invention relates to a process for the preparation of quinacridone pigment compositions comprising
(a) heating, at a temperature of about 80xc2x0 C. to about 145xc2x0 C. (preferably 95xc2x0 C. to 130xc2x0 C.) (preferably for about one to about 24 hours), a reaction mixture comprising
(i) 2,5-dianilinoterephthalic acid or 2,5-dianilino-6,13-dihydroterephthalic acid or a derivative of 2,5-dianilinoterephthalic acid or 2,5-dianilino-6,13-dihydroterephthalic acid having one or more substituents other than sulfonyl groups in at least one aniline ring, a salt or ester thereof, or a mixture thereof,
(ii) about 0.1 to about 5 percent by weight (preferably 1 to 3 percent by weight), based on component (a)(i), of a 2,5-di(sulfamoylanilino)terephthalic acid having the formula (I)
xe2x80x83and/or a 2,5-di(sulfamoylanilino)-6,13-dihydroterephthalic acid having the formula (Ixe2x80x2)
xe2x80x83wherein W1 and W2 are independently hydrogen, halogen,
C1-C6 alkyl, or C1-C6 alkoxy,
(iii) about 0.1 to about 15 percent by weight (preferably 5 to 10 percent by weight), based on component (a)(i), of one or more sulfonyl-containing derivatives of 2,5-dianilinoterephthalic acid having the formula (II)
xe2x80x83and/or one or more sulfonyl-containing derivatives of 2,5-dianilino-6,13-dihydroterephthalic acid having the formula (IIxe2x80x2)
xe2x80x83wherein
X1 and X2 are independently ORa or NRbRc,
Y1 and Y2 are independently hydrogen, halogen, C1-C6 alkyl, or C1-C6 alkoxy,
R1 and R2 are independently hydrogen, a metal, an ammonium ion, or C1-C12 alkyl,
Ra is hydrogen, a metal, an ammonium ion, or C1-C12 alkyl,
Rb is hydrogen, C1-C12 alkyl or substituted C1-C12 alkyl, C5-C7 cycloalkyl or substituted C5-C7 cycloalkyl, C6-C10 aryl, heteroaryl having five or six ring atoms (in which at least one such ring atom is N, O, S, or a combination thereof, and which is optionally fused to one or more additional aromatic rings), or C7-C16 aralkyl,
Rc is hydrogen, C1-C12 alkyl or substituted C1-C12 alkyl, C5-C7 cycloalkyl or substituted C5-C7 cycloalkyl, or C7-C16 aralkyl, or Rb and Rc together with the nitrogen atom form a heterocycle having 5 to 7 ring atoms, and
xe2x80x83m and n are independently from 0 to 3, with the provisos that
(1) at least one of m or n is not 0 (preferably where both m and n are 1),
(2) if X1 and X2 are both NH2, then either (A) at least one of Y1 or Y2 must be halogen, C1-C6 alkyl, or C1-C6 alkoxy or (B) Y1 must be different from W1 and/or Y2 must be different from W2 (i.e., so that component (iii) is always different from component (ii)), and
(3) if any one or more of components (a)(i), (a)(ii), or (a)(iii) is a 2,5-dianilino-6,13-dihydroterephthalic acid or any derivative thereof, reaction step (a) additionally comprises an oxidation step (which converts the initially formed dihydroquinacridone intermediate to the corresponding quinacridone),
(iv) about 3 to about 20 parts by weight (preferably 3 to 10 parts by weight), per part of component (a)(i), of a dehydrating agent (preferably polyphosphoric acid), and
(v) 0 to about 20 parts by weight, per part of component (a)(i), of a solvent;
(b) drowning the reaction mixture from step (a) by adding said reaction mixture to about 3 to about 15 parts by weight (preferably 5 to 10 parts by weight), per part of component (a)(i), of a liquid in which the quinacridone pigment composition is substantially insoluble;
(c) isolating the quinacridone pigment composition;
(d) optionally, conditioning the quinacridone pigment composition; and
(e) optionally, blending (preferably dry blending) the resultant quinacridone pigment composition with one or more pigment derivatives (preferably quinacridone derivatives).
Quinacridone pigments (by which is meant unsubstituted quinacridone, quinacridone derivatives, and solid solutions thereof) are prepared according to the invention by first ring-closing 2,5-dianilinoterephthalic acid precursors, including known aniline-substituted derivatives thereof, as well as their metal or amine salts or esters, by heating the 2,5-dianilinoterephthalic acid precursors in the presence of a dehydrating agent (preferably polyphosphoric acid) and a sulfonyl-containing derivative of 2,5-dianilinoterephthalic acid according to the invention or, less preferably, by thermally inducing ring closure in a high-boiling solvent in the presence of a sulfonyl-containing derivative of 2,5-dianilinoterephthalic acid according to the invention. The quinacridone-containing reaction mixture is then drowned and the resultant quinacridone pigment composition is isolated by known methods. Although generally not necessary, the resultant quinacridone pigment composition can also be subjected to additional conditioning steps to improve pigmentary properties and, if desired, blended with various additives.
Ring-closure step (a) is carried out in a dehydrating agent, particularly a strong acid such as polyphosphoric acid, acidic esters of polyphosphoric acid, or sulfuric acid. E.g., U.S. Pat. No. 4,758,665; and S. S. Labana and L. L. Labana, xe2x80x9cQuinacridonesxe2x80x9d in Chemical Reviews, 67, 1-18 (1967); and W. Herbst and K. Hunger, Industrial Organic Pigments, 2nd ed. (New York:VCH Publishers, Inc., 1997), pages 457-458. Polyphosphoric acid having a phosphate content equivalent to about 110-120% H3PO4 is particularly preferred. When using polyphosphoric acid, the weight ratio of polyphosphoric acid to the total amount of terephthalic acid precursors, including the amount of sulfonyl-containing derivatives, is typically about 3:1 to about 10:1 (preferably 4:1 to 8:1). This method does not require solvents (other than the dehydrating agents themselves). The reaction mixture of step (a) is heated at a temperature of about 80xc2x0 C. to about 145xc2x0 C. (preferably 95xc2x0 C. to 130xc2x0 C.), preferably for about 1 to about 24 hours (more preferably for 1 to 12 hours).
It is sometimes preferable to use a 2,5-dianilino-6,13-dihydroterephthalic acid (preferably as a C1-C6 alkyl ester) or a derivative thereof as a starting material for any of the components (a)(i), (a)(ii), or (a)(iii) in the ring-closure reaction, after which the resultant dihydroquinacridone must be oxidized by known methods (for example, using aromatic nitro compounds, chloroanil, anthraquinone-2-sulfonic acid or a salt thereof, anthraquinone-2,7-disulfonic acid or a salt thereof, air or other oxygen-containing gases, halogens, or electrolytic oxidation) to form the corresponding quinacridones, which are collected by known methods. When using this method, dehydration is typically carried out in a solvent, preferably a high-boiling solvent or solvent mixture such as diphenyl ether/diphenyl. E.g., S. S. Labana and L. L. Labana, xe2x80x9cQuinacridonesxe2x80x9d in Chemical Review, 67, 1-18 (1967) (see pages 4-5), and W. Herbst and K. Hunger, Industrial Organic Pigments, 2nd ed. (New York:VCH Publishers, Inc., 1997), pages 456-457. The present invention is also directed to this variant of quinacridone synthesis. It is, of course, possible to use mixtures of 2,5-dianilino-6,13-dihydroterephthalic acids and/or derivatives thereof to obtain quinacridone solid solutions.
The process of the invention can be used to prepare unsubstituted quinacridone or ring-substituted quinacridone derivatives, depending on whether the ring closure is carried out using unsubstituted 2,5-dianilinoterephthalic acid or 2,5-dianilino-6,13-dihydroterephthalic acid or a derivative thereof having one or more substituents in at least one of the two aniline rings. Although essentially any 2,5-dianilinoterephthalic or 2,5-dianilino-6,13-dihydroterephthalic acid derivatives known in the art can be used, particularly preferred 2,5-dianilinoterephthalic and or 2,5-dianilino-6,13-dihydroterephthalic acid derivatives are those in which both of the aniline moieties are substituted (typically with the same substituent) at the para position with groups such as halogen (preferably chlorine), C1-C6 alkyl (preferably methyl), and C1-C6 alkoxy (preferably methoxy). It is also possible to use derivatives of 2,5-dianilinoterephthalic acid or 2,5-dianilino-6,13-dihydroterephthalic acid in which the aniline moieties are substituted in the ortho or meta positions. The corresponding metal or amine salts (preferably alkali or alkaline earth metal salts) or esters (preferably alkyl esters) of each of the above compounds can, of course, also be used. Examples of particularly suitable 2,5-dianilinoterephthalic acid derivatives are 2,5-di(4-chloroanilino)terephthalic acid, 2,5-di(4-methylanilino)terephthalic acid, and 2,5-di(4-methoxyanilino)terephthalic acid.
It is also possible to use mixtures containing 2,5-dianilinoterephthalic acid or 2,5-dianilino-6,13-dihydroterephthalic acid and one or more derivatives thereof or mixtures containing two or more 2,5-dianilinoterephthalic or 2,5-dianilino-6,13-dihydroterephthalic acid derivatives. The use of such mixtures provides a particularly advantageous method for obtaining quinacridone solid solutions. Mixtures containing 2,5-dianilinoterephthalic acid or 2,5-dianilino-6,13-dihydroterephthalic acid or a derivative thereof in combination with a fully formed quinacridone pigment (generally in crude form) can also be used.
A critical feature of the invention is the inclusion of mixtures of small quantities of the 2,5-di(sulfamoylanilino)terephthalic acid compounds (a)(ii) in conjunction with other sulfonyl-containing 2,5-dianilinoterephthalic acid derivatives (a)(iii) during the ring-closure reaction used to prepare the quinacridone pigment composition. The compounds can be added at essentially any point during or before ring-closure step (a). Although additive precursors (a)(ii) and (a)(iii) can themselves produce highly colored quinacridone derivatives, the utility of the additive precursors is not dependent on the production of quinacridone derivatives that exhibit good pigmentary properties.
Suitable 2,5-di(sulfamoylanilino)terephthalic acid derivatives have the following formula (I)
in which W1 and W2 can be hydrogen, halogen, C1-C6 alkyl, or C1-C6 alkoxy. A particularly preferred precursor is unsubstituted 2,5-di(sulfamoylanilino)terephthalic acid, in which W1 and W2 are both hydrogen, as represented by formula (Ia)
Analogous 2,5-di(sulfamoylanilino)-6,13-dihydroterephthalic acid derivatives of formula (Ixe2x80x2) are also suitable, particularly when using 2,5-dianilino-6,13-dihydroterephthalic acids or derivatives thereof as starting materials (a)(i) and (a)(iii). The sulfonyl-containing dihydroquinacridones that form during ring closure can be oxidized to the corresponding sulfonyl-containing quinacridones under the same conditions used to oxidize the dihydroquinacridone intermediates of the other components.
Suitable sulfonyl-containing derivatives of 2,5-dianilinoterephthalic acid have the following formula (II)
in which X1 and X2 can independently be OH (i.e., free sulfonic acid groups), Oxe2x88x92cation+(i.e., salts of metals or various ammonium ions), O-alkyl (i.e., sulfonic acid alkyl esters), or NRbRc (i.e., various sulfon-amides in which each Rb can independently be hydrogen or an optionally substituted alkyl, cycloalkyl, aryl, heteroaryl, or aralkyl and each Rc can independently be hydrogen or an optionally substituted alkyl, cycloalkyl, or aralkyl or in which Rb and Rc together with the nitrogen atom can form a heterocycle having 5 to 7 ring atoms); Y1 and Y2 can independently be hydrogen, halogen, alkyl, or alkoxy; and m and n can be from 0 to 3 as long as at least one of m or n is not zero. In preferred embodiments, the Y1 and Y2 groups are identical and all X1 and X2 groups are identical. However, to assure that component (a)(iii) is always different from component (a)(ii), X1 and X2 can both be NH2 only if at least one of Y1 or Y2 is halogen, C1-C6 alkyl, or C1-C6 alkoxy or if Y1 is different from W1 and/or Y2 is different from W2.
Analogous sulfonyl-containing derivatives of 2,5-dianilino-6,13-dihydroterephthalic acid derivatives of formula (IIxe2x80x2) are also suitable, particularly when using 2,5-dianilino-6,13-dihydroterephthalic acids or derivatives thereof as starting materials (a)(i) and (a)(ii). The sulfonyl-containing dihydroquinacridones that form during ring closure can be oxidized to the corresponding sulfonyl-containing quinacridones under the same conditions used to oxidize the dihydroquinacridone intermediates of the other components.
As used herein, the term xe2x80x9cC1-C12 alkylxe2x80x9d refers to straight or branched chain aliphatic hydrocarbon groups having from 1 to 12 carbon atoms. Examples of C1-C12 alkyl are methyl, ethyl, propyl, butyl, pentyl, hexyl, heptyl, octyl, nonyl, decyl, undecyl, dodecyl, and the isomeric forms thereof. The C1-C12 alkyl groups can also be substituted, for example, with one or more C1-C6 alkoxy, C1-C6 alkylthio, or halogen groups. The term xe2x80x9cC1-C6 alkoxyxe2x80x9d refers to straight or branched chain alkyl oxy groups having from 1 to 6 carbon atoms. Examples of C1-C6 alkoxy are methoxy, ethoxy, propoxy, butoxy, pentyloxy, hexyloxy, and the isomeric forms thereof. The term xe2x80x9cC1-C6 alkylthioxe2x80x9d refers to analogous groups in which a sulfur atom replaces the oxygen atom. The term xe2x80x9cC5-C7 cycloalkylxe2x80x9d refers to cycloaliphatic hydrocarbon groups having from 5 to 7 carbon atoms. Examples of C5-C7 cycloalkyl are cyclopentyl, cyclohexyl, and cycloheptyl. The C5-C7 cycloalkyl groups can also be substituted, for example, with one or more C1-C6 alkoxy, C1-C6 alkylthio, or halogen groups. The term xe2x80x9cC6-C10 arylxe2x80x9d refers to phenyl and 1- or 2-naphthyl, as well as to phenyl and naphthyl groups substituted with alkyl, alkoxy, halogen, cyano, and nitro. The term xe2x80x9cheteroarylxe2x80x9d refers to five- and six-membered aromatic groups in which at least one ring atom is N, O, S, or a combination thereof, and which can optionally be fused to one or more additional aromatic rings. Such heteroaryl groups are attached to the sulfonamide nitrogen atom at a ring carbon atom. Examples of heteroaryl are pyrrolyl, imidazolyl, pyrazolyl, furanyl, thiophenyl, isothiazolyl, isoxazolyl, pyridinyl, pyrazinyl, pyrimidinyl, pyridazinyl, and the like. The term xe2x80x9cC7-C16 aralkylxe2x80x9d refers to C1-C6 alkyl substituted with C6-C10 aryl such that the total number of carbon atoms is from 7 to 16. Examples of C7-C16 aralkyl are benzyl, phenethyl, and naphthylmethyl. The term xe2x80x9cheterocyclexe2x80x9d, as used to describe compounds in which NRbRc is a heterocycle having 5 to 7 ring atoms, includes groups in which Rb and Rc together are linear C4-C6 alkylene, alkenylene, alkadienylene, or alkatrienylene groups having one or more substituents (such as alkyl, alkoxy, or halogen) and the nitrogen atom is always tertiary rather than quaternary. Suitable heterocycles also include groups in which one or more of the ring carbon atoms is replaced with N, O, or S (the maximum number of double bonds in the ring being limited, of course, to the number giving chemically reasonable heterocyclic groups). Examples of suitable heterocycles include pyrrolidinyl, pyrrolinyl, imidazolidinyl, pyrazolidinyl, pyrazolinyl, piperidinyl, piperazinyl, morpholinyl, and the like. Examples of halogen are fluorine, chlorine, bromine, and iodine.
Although it is possible to use sulfonyl-containing 2,5-dianilinoterephthalic or 2,5-dianilino-6,13-dihydroterephthalic acid derivatives containing one or more substituents in addition to the sulfonyl groups, including, for example, halogen (preferably chlorine), C1-C6 alkyl (preferably methyl), and C1-C6 alkoxy (preferably methoxy), the preferred 2,5-dianilinoterephthalic acid derivatives contain no substituents other than the sulfonyl groups. Particularly preferred 2,5-dianilinoterephthalic acid derivatives are xe2x80x9cdisulfonylxe2x80x9d compounds of formula (IIa)
in which X1 and X2 are defined as above, except that X1 and X2 cannot both be NH2.
Among the preferred sulfonyl-containing 2,5-dianilinoterephthalic acid derivatives are sulfonic acids (or salts thereof) having the following formula (IIb)
in which Ra is defined as above. The preferred compounds of formula (IIb) are the free sulfonic acids (i.e., in which Ra is hydrogen), but it is also possible to use the corresponding metal or ammonium salts. Suitable metals include alkali metals (such as lithium, sodium, and potassium), alkaline earth metals (such as magnesium, calcium, and barium), aluminum, transition metals and other heavy metals (such as nickel, iron, cobalt, manganese, copper, and tin), the polyvalent metals being used in stoichiometrically appropriate amounts (i.e., 1/k moles of a k-valent metal per mole of oxygen). Suitable ammonium cations include NH4+ and various N-alkyl, N-aryl, and/or N-aralkyl-substituted derivatives thereof. Although the strongly acidic conditions typically used for ring closure may convert such salts to the corresponding free sulfonic acids, it may nevertheless be advantageous to add the sulfonyl-containing 2,5-dianilinoterephthalic acid derivatives in salt form.
Particularly preferred sulfonyl-containing 2,5-dianilinoterephthalic acid derivatives include sulfonamides having the following formula (IIc)
in which each Rb is independently hydrogen, alkyl or substituted alkyl, cycloalkyl or substituted cycloalkyl, aryl, heteroaryl, or aralkyl and each Rc is independently alkyl or substituted alkyl, cycloalkyl or substituted cycloalkyl, or aralkyl or, somewhat less preferably, in which Rb and Rc together with the nitrogen atom form a heterocycle having 5 to 7 ring atoms. Preferred compounds of formula (IIc) are those in which Rb and Rc are both alkyl or in which Rb is alkyl, aryl, or heteroaryl and Rc is hydrogen.
Although the use of strongly acidic dehydrating agents (especially polyphosphoric acid) at elevated temperatures might be expected to convert many if not all of the sulfonamide groups of sulfonamide-containing compounds (such as those of formula (IIc), as well as formula (I)) to the corresponding free sulfonic acids, it nevertheless appears to be advantageous to use sulfonamides such as those of formula (IIc) instead of the corresponding free acids, salts, or esters.
It is possible, but not necessary, to add various fully formed quinacridone derivatives, particularly sulfonyl-containing quinacridone products prepared from sulfonyl-containing 2,5-dianilinoterephthalic acid derivatives such as used in the invention, to the ring-closure step.
After ring-closure step (a) (including any necessary oxidation) is completed, the quinacridone pigment composition is precipitated (i.e., xe2x80x9cdrownedxe2x80x9d) in step (b) by adding the strongly acidic melt to a liquid in which the quinacridone pigment composition is substantially insoluble, preferably water, a water-miscible solvent (such as methanol, or other lower aliphatic alcohols), or mixtures thereof. Although it is possible to add the drowning liquid to the acidic melt (e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 3,265,699), the present invention is preferably carried out by adding the acidic melt to the solvent (compare U.S. Pat. No. 4,100,162).
Suitable drowning liquids include water and/or water-miscible organic liquids; including, for example, lower aliphatic alcohols, such as methanol; ketones and ketoalcohols, such as acetone, methyl ethyl ketone, and diacetone alcohol; amides, such as dimethylformamide and dimethylacetamide; ethers, such as tetrahydrofuran and dioxane; alkylene glycols and triols, such as ethylene glycol and glycerol; and other such organic liquids known in the art. Other organic liquids can be used but are generally less preferred.
The temperature of the drowning liquid is usually between about 5xc2x0 C. and about 65xc2x0 C. In general, lower drown temperatures give pigments having smaller particle sizes. However, because process cycle time is also very important (because of manufacturing cost), a shorter drowning time is preferred. The presence of pigment derivatives (a)(ii) and (a)(iii), which act in part as particle growth inhibitors, allows the solvent temperature to rise during the drowning process, thus shortening the time without excessive particle size growth.
The drowned pigment composition is then isolated in step (c) using methods known in the art, such as filtration, and then dried if desired. Other collection methods known in the art, such as centrifugation, microfiltration, or even simple decantation, are also suitable.
Although generally not necessary, the crystalline pigment composition obtained in step (c) can be conditioned in an optional step (d) using methods known in the art, such as solvent treatment or milling in combination with solvent treatment. Suitable milling methods include dry-milling methods such as sand-milling, ball-milling, and the like, with or without additives, or wet-milling methods such as salt-kneading, bead-milling, and the like in water or organic solvents, with or without additives.
Tinctorial strength and transparency of the pigment composition can also be affected by solvent treatment carried out by heating a dispersion of the pigment composition, often in the presence of additives, in a suitable solvent. Suitable solvents include organic solvents, such as alcohols, esters, ketones, and aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons and derivatives thereof, and inorganic solvents, such as water. Suitable additives include compositions that lessen or avoid flocculation, increase pigment dispersion stability, and reduce coating viscosity, such as polymeric dispersants (or surfactants). E.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,455,173; 4,758,665; 4,844,742; 4,895,948; and, 4,895,949.
During or after the optional conditioning step it is possible, but generally not necessary, to use various other optional ingredients that provide improved properties. Examples of such optional ingredients include fatty acids having at least 12 carbon atoms, such as stearic acid or behenic acid, or corresponding amides, esters, or salts, such as magnesium stearate, zinc stearate, aluminum stearate, or magnesium behenate; quaternary ammonium compounds, such as tri[(C1-C4 alkyl)-benzyl]ammonium salts; plasticizers, such as epoxidized soya bean oil; waxes, such as polyethylene wax; resin acids, such as abietic acid, rosin soap, hydrogenated or dimerized rosin; C12-C18-paraffin-disulfonic acids; alkylphenols; alcohols, such as stearyl alcohol; amines, such as laurylamine or stearylamine; and aliphatic 1,2-diols, such as dodecane-1,2-diol. Such additives can be incorporated in amounts ranging from about 0.05 to 20% by weight (preferably 1 to 10% by weight), based on the amount of pigment composition.
After the pigment composition has been isolated and optionally conditioned, the pigment composition can be blended (preferably by dry blending) with one or more pigment derivatives known in the art. Suitable pigment derivatives for step (e) include quinacridone derivatives, particularly known quinacridone sulfonic acids and sulfonamides and quinacridone derivatives containing other substituents (such as substituents containing phthalimide or heteroaromatic groups).
Pigment compositions prepared according to the invention characteristically exhibit deep (dark), bright, transparent masstones, along with bright, blue metallics, and blue tints, and sometimes exhibit improved rheological properties, all of which are highly desirable characteristics of quinacridone pigments, especially when used for automotive applications.
Because of their advantageous properties, the quinacridone pigment compositions prepared according to the present invention are suitable for many different pigment applications. For example, pigment compositions prepared according to the invention can be used as the colorant (or as one of two or more colorants) for very fast pigmented systems, such as mixtures with other materials, pigment formulations, paints, printing ink, colored paper, or colored macromolecular materials. The term xe2x80x9cmixture with other materialsxe2x80x9d can be understood to include, for example, mixtures with inorganic white pigments, such as titanium dioxide (rutile) or cement, or other inorganic pigments. Examples of pigment formulations include flushed pastes with organic liquids or pastes and dispersions with water, dispersants, and if appropriate, preservatives. Examples of paints in which pigment compositions of this invention can be used include, for example, physically or oxidatively drying lacquers, stoving enamels, reactive paints, two-component paints, solvent- or water-based paints, emulsion paints for weatherproof coatings, and distempers. Printing inks include those known for use in paper, textile, and tinplate printing. Macromolecular substances include those of a natural origin, such as rubber; those obtained by chemical modification, such as acetyl cellulose, cellulose butyrate, or viscose; or those produced synthetically, such as polymers, polyaddition products, and polycondensates. Examples of synthetically produced macromolecular substances include plastic materials, such as polyvinyl chloride, polyvinyl acetate, and polyvinyl propionate; polyolefins, such as polyethylene and polypropylene; high molecular weight polyamides: polymers and copolymers of acrylates, methacrylates, acrylonitrile, acrylamide, butadiene, or styrene; polyurethanes; and polycarbonates. The materials pigmented with the quinacridone pigments of the present invention can have any desired shape or form.
Pigment compositions prepared according to this invention are highly water-resistant, oil-resistant, acid-resistant, lime-resistant, alkali-resistant, solvent-resistant, fast to over-lacquering, fast to over-spraying, fast to sublimation, heat-resistant, and resistant to vulcanizing, yet give a very good tinctorial yield and are dispersible.
The following examples further illustrate details for the process of this invention. The invention, which is set forth in the foregoing disclosure, is not to be limited either in spirit or scope by these examples. Those skilled in the art will readily understand that known variations of the conditions of the following procedures can be used. Unless otherwise noted, all temperatures are degrees Celsius and all percentages are percentages by weight.

Preparation of quinacridone pigment compositions

Abstract: (a) heating a reaction mixture containing

Abstract: (i) 2,5-dianilinoterephthalic acid or 2,5-dianilino-6,13-dihydroterephthalic acid or a derivative thereof,

Abstract: (ii) about 0.1 to about 5 percent, based on component (a)(i), of 2,5-di(sulfamoylanilino)terephthalic acid and/or 2,5-di(sulfamoylanilino)-6,13-dihydroterephthalic acid or a derivative thereof,

Abstract: (iii) about 0.1 to about 15 percent by weight, based on component (a)(i), of other sulfonyl-containing derivatives of 2,5-dianilinoterephthalic acid and/or 2,5-dianilino-6,13-dihydroterephthalic acid,

Abstract: (iv) about 3 to about 20 parts by weight, per part of component (a)(i), of a dehydrating agent, and

Abstract: (v) optionally, a solvent;

Abstract: (b) drowning the reaction mixture from step (a) with a liquid in which the quinacridone pigment composition is substantially insoluble; and

Abstract: (c) isolating the quinacridone pigment composition.


This disclosure relates to a data storage device. A data port transmits data between a host computer system and the data storage device over a data channel. The device repeatedly broadcasts advertising packets over a wireless communication channel different from the data channel. Each advertising packet comprises a random value and a message authentication code calculated based on the random value and an identity key. The identity key is readable by a device to be connected and in proximity of the data storage device out of band of the data channel and the communication channel. The identity key enables the device to be connected to verify the message authentication code based on the random value and the identity key to thereby authenticate the data storage device.

The Bluetooth standard has gained widespread popularity due to its simplicity in pairing devices with each other. In particular for applications with low security requirements, such as connecting a media player or phone to a wireless headset, Bluetooth is the solution of choice.
However, there are concerns for applications with high security requirements. For example, in some application scenarios a manager device is to be connected wirelessly to a data storage device, such as to an external hard disk drive (HDD) or solid state drive (SSD) that can be connected to a host computer system via a Universal Serial Bus (USB). If a manager device, such as a mobile phone is to be connected wirelessly to such devices to perform administrator tasks, it is important that this connection is secure to prevent unauthorized access, corruption or loss of data stored on the data storage device. Current Bluetooth standards are associated with concerns, in particular in relation to privacy. It is desirable that the manager device does not need to share private information, such as keys, device information etc., with an unknown data storage device before the data storage device is authenticated. It would be undesirable, for example, if a malicious device could integrate a near field communication (NFC) chip that impersonates a valid data storage device and successfully pairs with the manager device to gain information about the manager device.


A battery pack including a cover overlying a plurality of individual batteries and a plurality of inter-battery connectors for electrically coupling the several batteries together. The inter-battery connectors are secured to the cover such that upon removal of the cover all of the connectors are removed from the batteries en masse.

A number of applications (e.g., electric vehicle or stationary power sources) require that a plurality of batteries be bundled together into a battery pack to provide a specified amount of electric power. Such batteries are typically arranged on an underlying support (e.g., in a tray), and held down on the support by means of a cover that overlies the batteries and is secured (e.g., by bolts) to the underlying support. The terminals of the several batteries are electrically connected to each other (i.e., in electrical series or parallel) by means of a plurality of inter-battery connectors. When the time comes to replace or repair one or more of the batteries in the pack it has heretofore been necessary to individually disconnect the inter-battery connectors from each terminal of the batteries needing replacement/repair. Moreover, the other batteries remain electrically coupled with a high voltage output capability.


A self-contained, real-time self-use gait therapy device with a gait sensor, actuator, output speaker, and battery receptacle enclosed in a component case with a belt clip. Based upon step duration, step impact force, or step form data generated by the gait sensor, the actuator drives the speaker, producing beeps on a real-time basis with the pitch of each beep being a function of the step duration, step impact force, or step form for each step of the user. The speaker output is monitored and used by the user on a real-time basis to modify and improve his or her gait.

Congenital deficit, injury or illness involving one or more lower extremities or the spine or torso can result in the advent of a gait irregularity. Generally an irregularity is the manifestation of an asymmetry in the movement or step pattern of the right and left legs. A gait irregularity can include a step duration, step force, or step form difference between the left leg step and the right leg step. Anatomically, the irregularity can be the result of injury, atrophy, denervation or impaired nervation of one or more muscles or muscle groups, ligament or tendon injury, joint injury or disease, or pain or stiffness of any kind involving the lower extremities, spine or lower torso. An irregularity in the step duration, step force, or step form is commonly referred to as a limp.
Not only is elimination or reduction of gait irregularity an important part of the therapeutic and healing process, it is often essential to prevent the further injury or chronic pain which can be caused by the abnormal stress placed on the body as a result of gait irregularities.
A number of devices are disclosed in the art for gait monitoring or therapy.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,234,982 to Aruin discloses a device which provides for feedback training by the user by providing a signal in response to the change in distance between the legs of the user or between the body of the user and an assistive device.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,485,402 to Smith et al discloses a monitor device which determines and records the number of steps taken by the user during selected intervals. The data is analyzed by a stand-alone computer and reports are generated.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,692,449 to Brown discloses an apparatus and method for sensing and measuring lower extremity position acuity during ongoing movement.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,645,126 to Martin et al discloses a device appended to a treadmill for aiding rehabilitation by varying the belt speed of the treadmill to match the step cycle of the user based upon the leg length or step length of the user.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,557,275 to Dempsey discloses a biofeedback system which uses switches positioned on the patient's body to respond to changes in orientation or position of a body member.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,511,561 to Wanderman et al discloses a device for monitoring the amount of force translated through a patent's heel in each gait cycle and providing an annunciated warning to the user when a pre-selected force limit is exceeded.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,269,081 to Gray discloses a shoe like device for monitoring the force being applied to a user's leg with each step and warning the user if a pre-selected force limit is exceeded.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,858,620 to Sugarman et al discloses a warning system which uses pressure sensors for monitoring the force being applied to an injured part of a user body and warning the user if a pre-selected force limit is exceeded.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,788,976 to Gesotti discloses a movement timing stimulator which provides sensory output to the user when the user's movement timing for particular part of the body, as with a neurological disorder such as Parkinson's disease, exhibits impaired movement.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,678,549 to Cusimano et al discloses a monitoring system for monitoring functional capacity of selected parts of the body of a person.
Devices for monitoring and recording gait characteristics data which are commercially available include the Stride Analyzer™ offered by B&L Engineering, the Life Gait System™ offered by IDEEA Co., and the Gaitrite System™ offered by CIR Systems Inc.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a gait therapy device which is economical, reliable and simple to use.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a gait therapy device which is self-operated by the user.
It is a further objective of the present invention to provide a gait therapy device which provides real-time monitoring and feedback to allow real-time gait irregularity correction by the user.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a gait therapy device which is self-contained and easily attaches to the body or clothing of the user.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a gait therapy device which is readily adaptable to peripheral output and data download.

Self-contained real-time gait therapy device


An optical system includes a diffractive optical element in which a phase given to incident light from an optical axis toward the peripheral part in the radial direction is not reversed in an effective area and an absolute value of optical power on the optical axis is made minimum. In the optical system, chromatic aberration of magnification of a high order is satisfactorily corrected and flare caused by additional diffraction light (unnecessary diffraction light) is suppressed to as minimum as possible while maintaining a high imaging performance up to peripheral part of a field angle.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical system and an optical apparatus using the same, which are suitable for an optical apparatus such as a silver halide photographic camera, a video camera, an electronic still camera, a digital camera and a camera for reading an image (optical system for a copying machine), which satisfactorily maintain an imaging performance by combining a refractive optical element and a diffractive optical element.
In particular, the present invention is suited as a retrofocusing type image pick-up optical system with a long back focus, which satisfactorily maintains an imaging performance by combining a reflective optical element and a diffractive optical element.
2. Related Background Art
A solid image pick-up element used in an image pick-up apparatus in recent years has made progress in miniaturization with high definition by the development of manufacturing technology year by year. In the current state, a size of one pixel has been reduced to the order of several xcexcm. Thus, an image pick-up lens of a higher performance is required for an optical system used in the image pick-up apparatus and, in particular, it is desired to correct chromatic aberration of magnification to be extremely small in a wave band of a visible range. There is a method of using anomalous dispersion glass as a method of satisfactorily correcting chromatic aberration of magnification including the g line. Such an image pick-up lens is proposed, for example, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Nos. 5-134174, 7-181376 and 7-248447. In the embodiments disclosed in these laid-open patent applications, chromatic aberration of magnification is corrected in a wide wave length range including the g line using two to three pieces of anomalous dispersion glass. However, it is very difficult to process such anomalous dispersion glass.
In addition, recently, a diffractive optical element (DOE) utilizing a diffraction phenomenon attracts attention as a chromatic aberration correction element. An optical property of the DOE is different from that of a conventional refraction lens and has reverse dispersibility and anomalous dispersibility characteristics of an Abbe number xcexd=xe2x88x923.45 and a partial dispersion ratio xcex8gf=0.296. This is described in, for example, the thesis xe2x80x9cHybrid diffractive-refractive lenses and achromatsxe2x80x9d, Thomas Stone and Nicholas George, Applied Optics, 27, 14, 2960-2971 (1988. 7. 15). It is well known that chromatic aberration correction is possible with only one member by providing a DOE of a positive weak optical power in a refraction lens of a positive optical power utilizing these characteristics. In recent years, embodiments of various image pick-up lenses have been suggested utilizing the characteristics of the DOE. For example, the embodiment of U.S. Pat. No. 5,148,314 to Chungte W. Chen describes an eyepiece, a Petzval type lens, a large aperture lens, a telephoto lens, and the like, and discloses that chromatic aberration and off-axis aberration can be corrected by using a DOE in an optical system.
In addition, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Nos. 6-331898 (corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 5,631,779), 6-331887 (corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 5,629,799), 6-347700 corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 5,631,779) and 6-324262 (corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 5,790,321), Japanese Patent Translation Publication No. 8-508116 (corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 5,543,966), and the like disclose the embodiments in which a diffractive optical element is applied to an objective lens, a projection lens, a standard lens for photography and the like. Moreover, as examples in which a diffractive optical element is applied to a wide-angle lens, there are enumerated Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Nos. 10-11577 (corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 5,982,942), 11-64728 (corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 6,010,537) and 2000-66092.
Since image pick-up lenses described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Nos. 10-11577 and 11-64728 correct on-axis chromatic aberration and chromatic aberration of magnification, optical power of a diffractive optical element tends to be strong on an axis. When optical power of a diffractive optical element becomes strong on an axis, there arise the following problems.
a. Since a grating pitch of a concentric grating forming the diffractive optical element narrows and the number of orbicular zones increases, it becomes difficult to make the diffractive optical element.
b. Since an aspect ratio (height/pitch of a grating) of an element becomes larger, a percentage of diffraction light (additional diffraction light, also known as unnecessary diffraction light) of orders other than a design order increases to make larger flare.
c. Since a diffraction angle becomes larger, a spot by additional diffraction light on an image forming surface becomes large.
d. Flare caused by additional diffraction light is conspicuous around a light source when a high luminance light source enters a screen.
These problems will be hereinafter described more specifically.
FIGS. 12A and 12B show a conventional optical system using a diffractive optical element that utilizes diffraction light of a positive first order. FIG. 12A shows light beam of a positive first order (first order diffraction light) and FIG. 12B shows light beam of a positive second order. As shown in the figures, the light beam of the positive second order (second order diffraction light) defocuses greatly.
FIG. 13 shows a spot on a surface of an image obtained by the conventional optical system using the diffractive optical element that utilizes diffraction light of a positive first order. A unit of a numerical value of the optical system which is used here is mm. As shown in the figure, since the light beam defocuses greatly, it forms a spot of approximately 6 mm on the surface of the image. Although not shown in the figure, light beam of a zero-th order defocuses in the opposite direction of the positive second order and forms a spot of the same size.
Originally, although a diffraction efficiency is desirably 100% in an objective order, the 100% diffraction efficiency cannot be realized due to limitations of design and tolerance. Even if a laminated DOE is used, a maximum value of the diffraction efficiency is in the order of 98% and the remaining 1 to 2% of light becomes additional diffraction light.
For example, if a person 2 is photographed against light as a subject with the sun 1 in the background as shown in FIG. 14 using such an optical system, flare 3 due to additional diffraction light appears around the silhouette of the person 2. In addition, flare due to the additional diffraction light is also conspicuous around a high luminance light source.
The present invention has been devised in view of the above drawbacks, and it is an object of the present invention to provide an optical system in which chromatic aberration of magnification of a high order is satisfactorily corrected and flare caused by additional diffraction light (unnecessary diffraction light) is suppressed to as minimum as possible while maintaining a high imaging performance up to peripheral part of a field angle.
In order to attain the above-mentioned object, an optical system of an embodiment to be described later is characterized in that it is provided with a diffractive optical element which has a configuration such that a phase given to incident light from an optical axis toward the peripheral part in the radial direction is not reversed in an effective area and an absolute value of optical power on the optical axis is made minimum.
If this diffractive optical element is disposed ahead of an aperture stop of the optical system (at the object side in an image-taking system), the diffractive optical element is preferably configured such that optical power decreases from the optical axis toward the peripheral part in the radial direction in the effective area.
Conversely, if the diffractive optical element is disposed in behind the aperture stop of the optical system (at the image side in the image-takig system), the diffractive optical element is preferably configured such that optical power increases from the optical axis toward the peripheral part in the radial direction in the effective area.
In the case of an optical system of a so-called negative lead type in which optical power becomes negative in a lens unit disposed in the foremost part (at the object side of the image-taking system), it is preferable to provide the diffractive optical element in a foremost or rearmost lens unit.
More detailed configurations of an optical system, a diffractive optical element and an optical apparatus will be clarified in the following descriptions of embodiments.

Optical system and optical apparatus provided with the same


A low-power pulse-to-static conversion latch circuit is disclosed. The circuit includes self-timed control and an n-bit latch array both designed utilizing self-resetting CMOS circuit techniques. The self-timed feature of the control requires only one system clock input. The evaluation, reset and write-enable controls are all generated within a control macro. The latch is level sensitive scan design (LSSD) compatible and complies with self-resetting CMOS (SCRMOS) test modes. Use of these latches facilitates the synchronization, pipelined operation, power-management, and testing of advanced digital systems employing a mix of static and dynamic circuits to achieve high performance.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to digital integrated circuits and, more particularly, to sequential logic circuits and systems such as digital clock generators and latch arrays used in the datapaths and control paths of microprocessors, and other electronic digital systems. More specifically the invention relates to a pulse-to-static conversion with a self-timed control circuit latch for systems designed with dynamic circuits, and to the interfacing of dynamic and static circuits.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is usual to classify digital switching networks into two categories: combinatorial and sequential. Combinatorial switching networks are those whose outputs only depend on the present inputs. Sequential switching networks are those whose outputs depend on the past sequence of inputs as well as on the present inputs. Such circuits store information about the previous history of the inputs in storage elements called latches and/or registers. The information stored in latches and registers can be updated (a new state replacing a present state) in a controlled and predictable manner by triggering from a periodic global clock signal distributed throughout the digital system. The global clock ensures that all memory elements change state at approximately the same time. Systems which are synchronized to a global clock are called synchronous. Conversely, asynchronous systems have no global clock distribution, but instead require self-timed circuit techniques.
Synchronous systems require synchronization of the setting of latches to the global clock. Referring to FIG. 1, a conventional prior-art level sensitive D-latch is shown. The output of the latch follows its data-input for all the time that the clock maintains a given level. In CMOS this latch is constructed from two transmission gates and two CMOS inverters. The inputs are a data input, D1, and a clock and its complement, CLK and CLKN, respectively. The outputs are Q1 and its complement Q1N.
Referring to FIG. 1, when the clock is high, "H", Q1 obtains the value of D1 and the feedback path from the output of inverter I1 to the input of inverter I2 is broken (open). Conversely, when CLK="L" the feedback path is established and the input D1 is disconnected. Hence the output depends upon the level of the clock signal; as long as CLK="H", Q1 samples D1 continuously. The latch in FIG. 1 is positive level sensitive. By reversing the control signal connections to the transmission gates, a negative level sensitive latch can be formed.
Master-slave and edge-triggered registers are known to have improved reliability. A positive-edge-triggered D register, formed by combining a negative level-sensitive latch with a positive level-sensitive latch is shown in FIG. 2. The first stage latch is the "master", the second the "slave". In edge-triggered registers the data input is sampled only during a transition (edge) of the clock. As shown in the waveforms, in the example of FIG. 2, the output Q takes on the value of the input D only at the times of the positive (low-to-high) transitions of the clock, CLK.
Combinatorial logic can be formed from a wide diversity of circuit techniques. These techniques can be broadly divided into two categories: static and dynamic. Most often, if the performance constraints allow, static logic is used wherever possible, for expediency, simplicity and reliability. Static CMOS circuit nodes undergo at most a single transition during the course of a logic cycle (system clock period). However, with increasing pressure for ever higher performance, digital designs are increasingly employing dynamic circuit techniques in critical paths, both in datapaths and control paths. Dynamic circuits are characterized by circuit nodes which are typically discharged as quickly as possible at the time of logic evaluation, and then later in the cycle these nodes are pre-charged, i.e. reset, back to their initial, standby values. That is, if in a logic cycle a dynamic node is discharged, then later in that same cycle the node is re-charged back to its initial state. There are two transitions within the cycle, in contrast to one transition for a static node. Thus the waveforms on dynamic nodes are pulses of duration less than the cycle time.
FIG. 3 shows a comparison of the waveforms on the dynamic and static circuit nodes for similar bit-patterns. For example, DYN1 shows a dynamic node and ST1 a static node for a 1-1-1-0 bit pattern. For the dynamic node a "1" is represented by the presence of a unipolar pulse, whereas a "0" is represented by the absence of a pulse, during a clock period. In contrast, for the static node a "1" is represented by a high voltage level and a "0" by a low voltage level. Notice that a complete pulse is generated during each cycle for an active ("1") dynamic node, whereas for a static node at most a single transition occurs during a cycle, and in cases of consecutive same-bits the static level does not change. The bottom two waveforms show a dynamic node, DYN2, and a static node, ST2, for a different bit pattern, 1-0-1-0.
The implication for registers in a synchronous design are that if the inputs to the registers are dynamic then the registers must "capture" pulses, whereas if the inputs are static the register need only detect a level, at for example, the time of one of the clock edges. For the arbitrary dynamic pulses shown in FIG. 3, neither the level-sensitive D-latch of FIG. 1, nor the edge-triggered register of FIG. 2 would detect the dynamic "1" state. The fact is that prior-art latches and registers similar to FIGS. 1 and 2 are in general inadequate for capturing and storing the information content from dynamic inputs.
For the purpose of reviewing the merits of dynamic and static circuits, an example comparison of 3-input AND gates is shown in FIG. 4, for three different styles of logic. FIG. 4(a) shows the conventional static CMOS circuit. Two styles of dynamic circuits are shown in FIGS. 4(b) and 4(c). FIG. 4(b) is the corresponding domino-logic circuit and FIG. 4(c) is the corresponding self-resetting case.
The domino-logic circuit operation is tightly synchronized to the system clock. When the clock is low, the pre-charge device is held on and this pre-charges the dynamic node high. This is the standby mode. When the clock is active high, the pre-charge device is off and the tree of NMOS devices is enabled. The domino inputs must be valid during the clock-active period. In this example, if all inputs, IN1, IN2 and IN3 are active when the clock is high, the dynamic node will be discharged and the output will rise to "H". Then when the clock goes low again the pre-charge device turns on and resets the dynamic node to its standby-high state, and subsequently the output resets to "L".
The self-resetting case differs most significantly from the domino-case in that resetting of the dynamic node is totally independent of any system clock. Rather, the reset is derived locally either by feedback from downstream logic, or from a local timing chain triggered by an input upstream. That is, the circuit is self-resetting, or self-timed. During standby the RESET signal is high, "H". Therefore, to prevent the dynamic node (labelled "quasi-dynamic node" in FIG. 4(c)) from gradually discharging due to leakage during this standby period a small standby device, QS, is held on by feedback from the output (the output inverter and QS from a "half-latch").
In FIG. 4 the numbers next to the devices are relative device widths. The sum of all device widths gives an approximate size comparison among the three circuits. Summing the widths it can be seen that the static circuit is about 50% larger than either dynamic circuit. The generalization is true that dynamic circuits occupy less area, primarily due to the fact that there are fewer PMOS devices. Furthermore, the dynamic circuits are generally faster than static circuits, because there are fewer PMOS devices loading the dynamic outputs. The outputs of FIG. 4 go to inputs similar to the inputs of the FIG. 4 circuits. Less gate capacitance loading, again due to fewer PMOS load devices, also leads to lower power dissipation for the dynamic circuits. In short, dynamic circuits are faster and smaller than static circuits, and for a given cycle time dissipate less power.
However, static circuits have a significant advantage in ease of design. Static circuits avoid the pre-charging and clock distribution that are necessary for domino-logic, and avoid the resetting necessary in the self-resetting CMOS case. Furthermore, the noise margins for static circuits are larger than for dynamic.
Comparing the dynamic circuit cases, SRCMOS has the potential advantages over domino-logic of higher performance because of the absence of any clocking devices in the logic trees, and greatly reduces the loading on any system clock, thereby alleviating clock skew and power problems. However, SRCMOS is more difficult to design at the system level because of the lack of the global synchronization provided by a global clock.
Hence, it is seen that there are various pros and cons among the variety of static and dynamic circuit techniques. Consequently for high-performance designs it is advantageous to choose a mix of static and dynamic circuits, utilizing dynamic circuits where performance, area and power are a premium, and using static elsewhere. Thus, in order to reap the benefits of mixing logic circuit types in combinatorial logic, there is a need for fast pulse-to-static converters and pulse-to-static conversion latches in order to interface dynamic circuits with static circuits.
A further need for pulse-to-static conversion latches occurs in the case of driving long lines wherein load capacitances are dominated by line-capacitance, rather than gate capacitance. Such cases occur for example when one logic sub-system has to interface to another sub-system some non-negligible distance across the chip. In these cases less power will be dissipated if the long lines carry static signals rather than dynamic. The reason for this is as follows: Power dissipation in the long line occurs only when the line is charged up to the high voltage level, "H". Referring back to FIG. 3, it is evident that such charging takes place in dynamic lines whenever there is a 0-to-1 or 1-to-1 transition. In these situations a complete pulse is created, which first charges, and then discharges the line capacitance. However, in the case of static signals, charging of the line capacitance only occurs for a 0-to-1 transition, which can only occur at most once every two cycles. Thus for worst-case patterns, 1-1-1-1 . . . for dynamic, and 0-10-1 . . . for static, the static case will dissipate only half as much power as the dynamic case. That is, the "switching factor" for static circuits is at most one-half the dynamic-value, and in most practical cases the ratio is even smaller.
A concern in modern VLSI circuits, which can contain millions of transistors, is designing-for-test. This concept considers how a design can be effectively tested, right from the inception of the design, and specifically how to include appropriate test facilities.
One common technique is to make the register comply with the Level Sensitive Scan Design (LSSD) methodology. In the LSSD methodology, registers are constructed in a way such that they can be converted to shift-registers which can be serially interconnected. In the LSSD test mode test data can be shifted into the registers before performing a normal logic cycle, and then the results can be subsequently shifted out and compared with expected results.
An alternative test methodology specifically for self-resetting CMOS circuits is the "static-evaluate" mode. In the static-evaluate-mode, the dynamic circuits are converted to ratioed, pseudo-nmos circuits which reset automatically, at a slow rate, when the circuit inputs are reset. This enables slow-speed testing of functionality.

Pulse-to-static conversion latch with a self-timed control circuit

International Business Machines Corporation


A nozzle assembly for spraying a wash liquid towards a pulp mat, the assembly including an integral fastener-nozzle having a conduit for the wash liquid, an outlet to the conduit for discharging the wash liquid and an attachment to secure the fastener-nozzle to an aperture in a wash liquid pipe, and a wash liquid direction device extending outwardly from the pipe and adapted to direct the wash liquid from the outlet towards the pulp mat.

The present invention relates to nozzles for a shower pipe to spray wash liquid onto a pulp mat.
Pulp is typically processed in mills by soaking or mixing wood pieces in tanks with chemicals that convert the wood pieces into pulp, and then bleaching pulp. The processing typically involves repeated stages of mixing the pulp with liquid and drawing the liquid out of the pulp by allowing the pulp to form mats on cylindrical vacuum drums. The pulp mats are washed by spraying wash liquid onto the mats. The wash liquid cleans chemicals out of the pulp mat. The wash liquid is sprayed from nozzles attached to liquid pipes spanning the width of the vacuum drums. There is a long felt need for liquid pipes and nozzle assemblies that uniformly spray wash liquid onto the mat and are inexpensive to manufacture and operate.

Wash liquid spray nozzles for pulp mat and method to assemble nozzle


A vehicle electronic key system for unlocking a vehicle includes an electronic key and a vehicle controlling device. The electronic key includes a first controller, a signal transmitting module configured to collet and transmit speech signals, and a wireless charging receiving coil configured to transmit electromagnetic signals to the first controller. The vehicle controlling device includes a second controller configured to authenticate the speech signals and unlock the vehicle, a signal receiving module configured to receive speech signals sent by the signal transmitting module and send the speech signals to the second controller, and a wireless charging transmitting coil configured to transmit the electromagnetic signals to the wireless charging receiving coil. The second controller is further configured to drive the wireless charging transmitting coil. The first controller is configured to convert the electromagnetic signals to electric energy and send the electric energy to the signal transmitting module.

The use of passive keyless entry (PKE) systems in automobiles has increased significantly recently. The PKE systems have increased the convenience of entering an automobile, especially when the vehicle operator's hands are full. They also are more secure than prior key-based security systems. The PKE system enables a driver lock/unlock an automobile using an electronic key.


An injector is stored in a fixing block integrally formed with an intake manifold. A soundproof cover covers the entire electric supply terminal projecting from the injector in a lateral direction and the coupler connected to the plug. In addition, the soundproof cover brought into close contact with a fuel distribution pipe covering over top portions of a plurality of injectors to supply fuel and with the intake manifold to prevent operating sound from leaking out. Further, a hard material cover for covering the fixing block of the intake manifold, the soundproof cover and the fuel distribution pipe so as to improve its aesthetic appearance as well as its soundproof effect is also provided. This arrangement results in shutting off operating sound from an injector of an engine having a cylinder head projecting in a transverse direction of a vehicle body.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an engine having a soundproof cover for an injector, and more particularly an engine having a soundproof cover for an injector having an improved soundproof effect as well as a superior outer appearance.
2. Background Art
A fuel injection device, i.e. an injector, is often used for injecting fuel into an intake pipe or intake manifold of an engine by opening or closing an electromagnetic valve at high speed. Typically, a hammering sound is generated when the valve is abutted against the valve seat in synchronization with the rotation of the engine.
Attempts in the conventional art have proposed providing an engine having an injection valve chamber storing the injection valve so as to prevent the hammering sound, i.e. the operating sound from leaking out of the engine (see Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. Sho 63-100269).
In addition, in the case of a motorcycle having an exposed engine, the operating sound of the injector is likely to leak out unlike that of an automobile having the entire injector accommodated in an engine compartment. In view of this fact, it has been proposed to provide an engine in which a soundproof countermeasure is applied by installing the injector within a space enclosed by peripheral component parts (for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. Hei 11-82163 and Japanese Patent No. 2,938,204).
A system in which peripheral component parts surround an installed injector is preferable when the injector is mounted near a central part in a transverse direction of a vehicle body of the vehicle. However, in this case, it is hard to employ a layout in which the injector is preferably surrounded by peripheral component parts, in particular, in the case of a horizontal oriented engine or a V-shaped vertically oriented engine (an engine in which a plurality of cylinders with their crankshafts oriented longitudinally in forward and rearward directions of the vehicle body are opened in a shape of V in a transverse direction of the vehicle body).
In these cases, the injector is arranged at the outermost side of the vehicle body in its transverse (width) direction. Accordingly, since there are very few, if any, peripheral component parts capable of enclosing the injector, it is not possible to form a space sufficient to improve a soundproof effect.
In addition, since the cover provided with the injector installed at the outermost side of the vehicle body has a substantial influence on the outer appearance of the vehicle, it would be desirable to provide an adequate soundproof means having a satisfactory outer appearance.
The present invention overcomes the shortcomings associated with the related art and achieves other advantages not realized by the related art.
It is an aspect of the present invention to eliminate the aforesaid problems and provide an engine having a soundproof injector cover having a significant soundproof effect and also having a satisfactory outer appearance.
These and other aspects of the present invention are accomplished by a fuel injection engine comprising a soundproof cover for an injector fixed to an intake pipe at a predetermined angle; a fuel supply pipe connected to a top part of the injector; a coupler having a cable connected to an electric supply terminal for the injector projecting from between the intake pipe and the fuel supply pipe; and wherein the soundproof cover includes a resilient cover covering the coupler and arranged in a position in contact with the fuel supply pipe and the intake pipe.
These and other aspects of the present invention are accomplished by a fuel injection engine for a vehicle, the fuel injection engine comprising an air intake manifold; at least one fuel injector; an injector fixing block; a fuel supply pipe connected to a top portion of each injector via a fuel distribution pipe; and at least one coupler having a cable connected to an electric supply terminal for each injector projecting from between the air intake manifold and the fuel supply pipe; and a soundproof cover for each injector fixed to the air intake manifold and covering each coupler.
Accordingly, the exposed part of an injector is covered by a soundproof cover, the fuel supply pipe and the wall surface of the intake manifold, thereby making operating sound from the injector unlikely to leak out of the engine. Further, since the soundproof cover is such a small-sized unit for covering an electrical supplying connector and a cable, its aesthetic appearance can be kept desirable. Further, the soundproof cover can serve waterproof and dustproof effects.
Since the soundproof cover is also applied together with the cover for the electric supply terminal, the number of component parts is not increased.
Further, any portion that cannot be sufficiently covered by the aforesaid soundproof cover can be widely covered as well with an outer cover 50. The cover 50 can be covered with an ornamental design applied with plating or coating, for example. This will further improve its aesthetic appearance and further increase its commercial value.
Further, a soundproof effect is obtained in the situation where the injector is placed outside the vehicle body in a transverse direction, the operating sound is likely to be heard by the rider, and a fewer number of component parts acting as the soundproof wall is required.
Further scope of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter. However, it should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description.

Engine with soundproof cover of injector