A flame-retardant of an aromatic phosphoric acid ester of formula (I) and a fluororesin such as polytetrafluoroethylene, are added to a mixture of an aromatic polycarbonate and a styrenic resin: ##STR1## wherein (i) at least one of R.sup.1 to R.sup.4 is a 2,3-dialkylphenyl group, a 3,4-dialkylphenyl group or a 3,5-dialkylphenyl group each substituted with alkyl groups each having 1 to 3 carbon atoms, A is a phenylene group, n denotes an integer of 0 to 5, and R.sup.1 to R.sup.4 contain the dialkylphenyl group and a monoalkylphenyl group in a ratio of the former/the latter is 50/50 to 90/10 (% by weight); or (ii) at least one of R.sup.1 to R.sup.4 is a phenyl group substituted with 1 to 5 alkyl groups each having 1 to 4 carbon atoms, A is 1,3-phenylene group and n denotes an integer of 1 to 5. The flame-retardant may be a mixture of the compound (i) and the compound (ii).

A mixture of a polycarbonate and a styrenic resin such as ABS resin, SAN resin and so forth has high heat resistance and impact resistance, so that it is generally used, as a polymer alloy, for various shaped or molded articles such as parts for an automobile, electric products, an electronic products and the like. When the polymer alloy is employed for a housing, an enclosure, a chassis or the like of electric or electronic parts or office automation (OA) apparatus or instruments, flame-retardancy or fire-resistance is required of such a polymer alloy.
In particular, for increasing the safety of a product, a standard qualification of V-O or 5 V is recently frequently required of a shaped article of an OA apparatus or a home electric product. While the V-O or 5 V standard is the highest flame-retardancy level according to the Subject 94 of Underwriter's Laboratory Co., Ltd. (hereinafter briefly referred to as UL) it is used as the flame-retardancy standard in U.S.A.
On the other hand, in order to decrease the amount of material used only miniaturization and also making the part or the housing thinner is useful. Such part or housing has, however, a risk of a fire drip arising from the thinned part of the shaped article accompanied with burning (combustion), and thus spreading fire to another inflammable or combustible substance. Accordingly, a flame-retardant resin composition is also required for such a higher flame resistance or flame-retardancy is as not to cause a flame drip.
For imparting the flame-retardancy, a halogen-containing flame-retardant is usually added to a polymer alloy comprising a polycarbonate and a styrenic resin. As the halogen-containing flame-retardant, there may frequently be employed a combination of a bromine-containing flame-retardant exemplified as tetrabromobisphenol A or its oligomer, a brominated epoxy oligomer, and a flame-retarding-auxiliary comprising, as a main component, a metallic oxide exemplified as antimony trioxide. It is, however, pointed out by an organization for environmental protection in Europe that, among such bromine-containing flame-retardants, use of decabromodiphenyl ether (DBDPE) or octabromodiphenyl ether (OBDPE) possibly generates toxic dibenzodioxin with burning of the resin composition. Therefore, a non-halogen-containing making a flame-retardant is useful for flame-retarding (flame-proofing) resin.
As the non-halogen-containing flame-retardant, a phosphorus-containing flame-retardant, specifically a flame-retardant comprising an aromatic phosphoric acid ester is employed. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,061,745 corresponding to Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 32154/1990 (JP-A-2-32154) discloses the use of a flame-retardant comprising a monomeric phosphoric acid ester in combination with polytetrafluoroethylene as a flame-retarding-auxiliary. U.S. Pat. No. 5,204,394 discloses an addition of an oligomeric phosphoric acid ester to a mixture of a polycarbonate and a styrenic resin. Further, U.S. Pat. No. 5,122,556 discloses the use of a polycarbonate and a flame-retardant of a dimeric phosphoric acid ester. Moreover, an addition of such flame-retardant comprising a phosphoric acid ester to a polymer alloy comprising a polycarbonate and a styrenic resin is also disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Nos. 62556/1986 (JP-A-61-62556), 4746/1987 (JP-A-62-4746), 115262/1990 (JP-A-2-115262), 298554/1992 (JP-A-4-298554), 179123/1993 (JP-A-5-179123), 262940/1993 (JP-A-5-262940), 279531/1993 (JP-A-5-279531) and so on.
Use of these flame-retardants comprising an aromatic substituted or non-substituted phosphoric acid ester can impart flame-retardancy and impact resistance suitably to a polymer alloy comprising a polycarbonate and a styrenic resin. Therefore, some of such resin composition as a molding material for a home electric apparatus or an OA apparatus has been commercially implemented.
The polymer alloy comprising the non-halogen-containing flame-retardant has, however, frequently poor melt fluidity during the molding process. Accordingly, a shaped article or molded article requiring not only miniaturization but also lightening and thinning can hardly be produced with high efficiency, by imparting high fluidity (flowability) to the polymer alloy.
Further, the polymer alloy is liable to become attached to a mold of the molding machine and thus a frequent cleaning of the mold is required. Deterioration or degradation by residence of the resin by, for example, heat or thermal degradation of the flame-retardant is apt to occur during the molding process.
Furthermore, even if using a polymer alloy having comparatively high melt fluidity, the resultant molded article may have poor light resistance (light stability) and is liable to be discolored. The heat resistance, impact resistance, mechanical strength and the like of the molded article is likely to be decreased when increasing or enhancing the melt fluidity. For instance, the heat resistance and flame-retardancy of the shaped article is liable to be decreased with an increased ratio of the styrenic resin relative to the polycarbonate, although the melt fluidity is enhanced. Accordingly, the light resistance, heat resistance and impact resistance and the mechanical strength of the molded article can hardly be increased with maintaining high melt fluidity.


Arylsulfonamides which have the general structure: with the symbols R.sup.1, R.sup.2, R.sup.3, R.sup.4, A and n representing the groups and integers provided in the detailed description are provided herein. These compounds have activity as inhibitors of phospholipase A2, inhibitors of cytokine release and as inhibitors of neurodegeneration.

Alzheimer's Disease
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive disease known generally as senile dementia. Broadly speaking the disease falls into two categories, namely late onset and early onset. Late onset, which occurs in old age (65+years), may be caused by the natural atrophy of the brain occurring at a faster rate and to a more severe degree than normal. Early onset AD is much more infrequent but shows a pathologically identical dementia with brain atrophy which develops well before the senile period, i.e., between the ages of 35 and 60.
Alzheimer's disease is characterized by the presence of numerous amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles (highly insoluble protein aggregates) present in the brains of AD patients, particularly in those regions involved with memory and cognition. While in the past there was significant scientific debate over whether the plaques and tangles are a cause or are merely the result of AD, recent discoveries indicate that amyloid plaque is a causative precursor or factor. In particular, it has been discovered that the overproduction of .beta.-amyloid peptide ("A.beta."), a major constituent of the amyloid plaque, can result from mutations in the gene encoding amyloid precursor protein, a protein which when normally processed will not produce the A.beta. peptide.
One hypothesis regarding the pathogenesis of the disease is that deposition of A.beta. peptide, which is the major macromolecular component of amyloid plaques, is the causative agent of the characteristic AD pathological changes leading to formation of neurofibrillary tangles, neuronal cell loss, vascular damage, and, ultimately, dementia (Hardy and Higgins (1992) Science 256: 184). Amyloid precursor protein (APP) is encoded by a single gene in humans. RNA transcripts of the APP gene are alternatively spliced to encode several APP protein isoforms; the predominant APP isoform in brain lacks a serine protease inhibitor domain that is present in other tissues. A.beta. is a proteolytic cleavage product arising from the carboxy region of various APP isoforms, including the predominant APP isoform in the brain (U.S. Pat. No. 4,666,829; Glenner and Wong (1984) Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 120: 1131; Kitaguchi et al. (1988) Nature 331: 530; Ponte et al., ibid., p.525; R. E. Tanzi, ibid., p.528; Kang and Muller-Hill (1990) Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 166: 1192; Yoshioka et al. (1991) Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 178: 1141; Johnson et al. (1990) Science 248: 854; Neve et al. (1990) Neuron 5: 329). The accumulation of extracellular A.beta. results in insoluble amyloid deposits and may be neurotoxic, leading to neuronal death and neurofibrillary tangle formation.
Moreover, A.beta. peptide appears to be toxic to brain neurons, and neuronal cell death is associated with the disease (Schubert et al. (1995) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. (USA) 92: 1989; Lorenzo and Yankner (1994) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. (USA) 91: 12243; Yankner et al. (1990) Science 250: 279; Kowall et al. (1991) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. (USA) 88: 7247; and Pike et al. (1993) J. Neurosci. 13: 1676). Mattson et al. (1992) J. Neurosci. 12: 376 and Mattson et al. (1993) Trends in Neuroscience 16: 409, report that A.beta. and fragments thereof can destabilize calcium (Ca.sup.+2) homeostasis in cultured human cortical neurons, and can render the neurons more susceptible to calcium ionophore-induced neurotoxicity. Meda et al. (1995) Nature 374: 647 report that A.beta. and IFN-.gamma. activates cultured microglial cells, leading to neuronal cell injury in co-cultured neurons. Both Meda et al. (1995) op.cit and Schubert et al. (1995) op.cit report the likely involvement of reactive free radical species, such as reactive nitrogen intermediates and reactive oxygen species.
Reports show that soluble A.beta. peptide is produced by healthy neuronal cells in culture media (Haass et al. (1992) Nature 359: 322) and is present in human and animal cerebrospinal fluid (Seubert et al. (1992) Nature 359: 325). Thus, the mere presence of soluble A.beta. peptide may not be sufficient for explaining the onset and progression of AD. However, aggregation and formation of insoluble complexes of A.beta. have been implicated as having enhanced neurotoxicity to cultured neuronal cells.
To date, the exact molecular mechanisms which result in the characteristic pathology and neuronal deficits of Alzheimer's disease have not been described in the art. The development of experimental models of Alzheimer's disease that can be used to define further the underlying biochemical events involved in AD pathogenesis would be highly desirable. Such models could presumably be employed, in one application, to screen for agents that alter the degenerative course of Alzheimer's disease. For example, a model system of the biochemical events which contribute to the pathology of Alzheimer's disease could be used to screen for drugs or therapeutic regimens that reverse, arrest, or slow the pathogenesis and progression of AD. Presumably, such models could be employed to develop pharmaceuticals that are effective in preventing, arresting, or reversing AD.
Currently, there are no human pharmaceuticals which are known to be effective in inhibiting the development or progression of the degenerative CNS neuropathology of Alzheimer's Disease. U.S. Pat. No. 5,192,753 report that certain non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs useful in treating rheumatoid arthritis (e.g., indomethacin) are allegedly useful in reducing symptomatic progression in a selected group of five AD patients, but no effects on neuropathological progression were noted and the sample size and experimental methodology employed were insufficient to conclusively demonstrate efficacy. U.S. Pat. No. 5,137,873 disclose the use of tachykinin agonists to treat AD, although this approach has not proven successful in producing substantial amelioration of the progression of AD, and significantly more effective therapeutic agents are desired in the art.
There is a need in the art for new compounds having therapeutic use to treat or prevent Alzheimer's Disease and A.beta.-related neurodegenerative diseases which have similar pathogenic mechanisms. The present invention provides such new compounds, compositions and methods of treatment.

Arylsulfonamides as phospholipase A.sub.2 inhibitors


A flow sensor comprises a measuring chamber, into which a medium may be introduced and then removed, the volume and/or flow speed of which is to be measured. Freely rotating measuring elements are mounted in the measuring chamber Furthermore, at least one sensor for the measurement of magnetic fields and/or changes in magnetic fields is provided and a circuit to which the output signals from the sensor(s) are supplied. The sensor(s) provide an output signal and supply the same to the circuit. The output signal varies periodically on each passage of a single tooth and a corresponding tooth gap on one of the measuring elements, between a minimum and a maximum value. Depending on the position of the tooth relative to the sensor(s) the output signal takes on a reproducible intermediate value. The circuit is embodied such as to convert the intermediate values into discrete values, representative of part volumes of the volumes pumped between two teeth.

Flow rate sensors are also known as volume sensors. Generally, they take the form of displacement meters. Examples of these are gear sensors, screw spindle meters, oval-wheel meters, cylindrical-piston meters or alternatively measuring turbines or proportioning gear pumps. They are used to measure a volume, a throughflow quantity or the rate at which a medium, here therefore a fluid, passes through the measuring instrument. The fluids may be liquids, pastes or gases.
In practice, flow rate sensors are often not measuring instruments in the narrower sense because the evaluation electronics are not part of the instrument but situated externally. Nevertheless, the term "flow rate measuring instrument" is often used and reference is also made to measuring chambers and measuring mechanism elements etc. The flow rate sensors are frequently also described as volume sensors, throughflow sensors, flow rate measuring instruments etc.
The volume sensors or flow rate sensors merely sense the throughflow or a throughflow volume and supply a signal to this evaluation unit or evaluation electronics, which only then produce a measured value therefrom. The expression "flow rate sensor" is used below. A confusion with specific structural elements in the instrument that are detectors or sensors in the narrower sense is avoided by use of the full designation.
A common feature of most flow rate sensors or volume sensors is that they scan the movement of a rotating gear wheel. In gear sensors, for example, two mutually meshing gear wheels are mounted in a freely rotatable manner. A medium (generally a fluid, such as a liquid or a gas) is fed to the two gear wheels, namely to the region where they are in mesh. The medium therefore passes into the chambers that are formed mutually in the tooth spaces of the two gear wheels. As a result of the following flow of the medium, the quantities situated in the chambers of the gear wheel are conveyed from the inlet side to the outlet side and by means of the movement of the teeth then set the gear wheels in rotation. The two gear wheels in said case rotate in opposite directions. In the housing surrounding the gear wheels a magnet is disposed, which builds up a magnetic field. This magnetic field is influenced by the rotating gear wheels. These changes of the magnetic field may be scanned by means of one or more suitable sensors.
In this case, each tooth of the gear wheel that passes under the sensor or sensors leads to a scannable pulse. From the number of these pulses it is then possible to determine the angle, through which the gear wheel was rotated, and/or how many revolutions the gear wheel has completed altogether in a specific period of time. From this information it is then possible to draw a conclusion about the quantity of fluid or of some other medium that has flowed through the flow rate sensor, or to determine the rate of flow of the fluid. Naturally, it is possible conversely, in terms of closed-loop control, to define in a closed-loop control circuit a specific setpoint value for the quantity of the medium to be conveyed or for the rate of flow, which the flow rate sensor together with a pump then adjusts accordingly.
For some time now, such instruments have been successfully marketed and are already known for example from DE 25 54 466 C3. There is in particular a demand for flow rate sensors, which are also capable of extremely precise measurement of small delivery quantities of the medium to be delivered and/or which allow an extremely precise indication of the delivery rate. The smallest measurable quantity of the medium to be delivered consists of the quantity corresponding to a rotation of the gear wheel through the angle that exists between two teeth of the gear wheel. This would correspond to the interval between two counted pulses during a rotation of the gear wheel. This volume then also determines the inaccuracy of measurements in the case of large quantities. It is also known as the "tooth space volume". It is also an indication for the overall size of a flow rate sensor.
If for example a quantity has been delivered with 9 such pulses, then the measuring instrument is unable to conclude which proportion of this tooth space volume or minimum volume has flowed through the measuring instrument before the first pulse and after the ninth pulse. The value "9 pulses" therefore stands for a delivered quantity, the volume of which is between slightly more than 8 and almost 10 of these minimum volumes. In the case of small delivery quantities or very slow delivery rates and equally in the case of rapidly changing delivery rates, this is quite a considerable measuring inaccuracy.
This problem has also already been identified and in this respect for example in U.S. Pat. No. 4,641,522 it is proposed that the sensor be disposed such that the movement of both gear wheels may be utilized for measurement. A similar proposal is made in EP 0 741 279 B1, with EP 0 642 001 A2 even proposing a circular arrangement of a complete ring of sensors in order to be able to carry out as many measurements as possible.
The aim of all of these proposals is, by increasing the number of measurements or measuring facilities, to reduce the minimum volume of the relevant medium that is to be delivered between two pulses and hence improve the measuring accuracy. The drawback of all of these arrangements is a considerable build-up of equipment as a result of the additional sensors and the incoming lines needed for them.
Further factors that also have to be considered are that occasionally and depending on concrete actual requirements the measurements also have to be carried out on relatively hot, flowing fluids or gases, that a high outlay for sealing of the instruments is necessary because these fluids or gases may be toxic, flammable or expensive, and that it is quite possible for the fluids and gases also to be aggressive media. All of these factors occasionally add considerably to the complexity and cost of the corresponding equipment.
An attempt is also made to achieve this mechanically by using gear wheels that are as small as possible. However, this then has the drawback that no meaningful processing of large quantities or rapidly flowing fluids, in particular gases, is possible with such measuring instruments.
The object of the present invention is to propose a practicable solution for a flow rate sensor, with which the measuring accuracy may be improved with a lower outlay for equipment.

Flow sensor and method for measuring the volume and/or flow speed of a medium


The present disclosure includes systems and methods that integrate a flare gas recovery process with a gas sweetening process used in oil and gas refining. A flare gas recovery system includes a primary gas sweetening unit and a liquid-driven ejector in continuous fluid communication with the primary gas sweetening unit. The ejector includes an inlet configured to receive a motive fluid including a regenerable amine solvent in a lean state from the primary gas sweetening unit, a gas inlet configured to receive a suction fluid including a gas, and a fluid outlet configured to either directly or indirectly discharge to the primary gas sweetening unit a two-phase fluid including a mixture of the suction fluid and the amine solvent in a rich state.

Many industrial plants around the world utilize gas flares primarily to burn off waste gas that is released by safety valves. The safety valves can open during planned events, such as plant startup and shutdown, or during an unplanned event during processing, for example, to prevent over-pressuring in industrial plant equipment. By burning the waste gas, the flare breaks down waste gas into compounds that are more environmentally friendly when released into the atmosphere as well as prevents large volumes of flammable gas to be blown by wind to areas that can potentially cause safety issues.
In a flare, a continuous flow of waste gas is provided to the gas flare to maintain a constant flame. If the flare tip loses its flame, the flare will fail to burn the waste gas and the waste gas will simply discharge into the atmosphere. Because the flare discharges combusted gases to the atmosphere, an associated piping system called a flare header, which routes fluids to the flare, normally operates a little above atmospheric pressure. The waste gas that enters the flare header has a pressure that is too low to be of practical use in an oil and gas refining plant.

System for flare gas recovery using gas sweetening process


An indwelling venous catheter and method capable of destroying undesirable cellular growth is provided. The catheter includes a shaft having at least one lumen and adapted to be placed inside a vein for long term use. A plurality of electrodes are positioned near a distal section of the shaft and are adapted to receive from a voltage generator a plurality of electrical pulses in an amount sufficient to cause destruction of cells in the undesirable cellular growth that have grown around the shaft. In one aspect of the invention, a probe is configured to be removably insertable into the at least one lumen and the electrodes are positioned near the distal section of the probe.

Catheters, and more particularly, venous access catheters have many very important medical applications. For example, if a patient requires long-term dialysis therapy, a venous access catheter, such as a chronic dialysis catheter, will be implanted in a patient's body. Chronic dialysis catheters typically contain a polyester cuff that is tunneled beneath the skin approximately 3-8 cm and helps to anchor the dialysis catheter to the body. The chronic dialysis catheter is connected to a dialysis machine when the patient is treated. Hemodialysis is a method for removing waste products such as potassium and urea from the blood, such as in the case of renal failure. During hemodialysis, waste products that have accumulated in the blood because of kidney failure are transferred via mass transfer from the blood across a semi permeable dialysis membrane to a balanced salt solution.
In another example, a venous catheter can be used in combination with an implanted port. A port can be implanted in patients that require frequent access to the venous blood, such as chemotherapy patients. An implanted port includes attachment means for fluidly connecting a catheter. The port is implanted in a surgically created pocket within the patient's body and has a reservoir for delivering fluids through the catheter. One end of the catheter is connected to the port, and the other end terminates in a vein near the patient's heart.
Another example of a long-term venous access catheter is a peripherally inserted central catheter, also known as a PICC line. PICC lines are placed in patients requiring long-term access for the purpose of blood sampling and infusion of therapeutic agents including chemotherapeutic drugs.
Notwithstanding the importance of venous catheters, one problem that is associated with their use is the undesired formation of fibrin sheaths along the catheter wall. See, for example, Savader, et al., Treatment of Hemodialysis Catheter-associated Fibrin Sheaths by rt-PA Infusion: Critical Analysis of 124 Procedures, J. Vasc. Interv. Radiol. 2001; 12:711-715. Fibrin sheath formation is an insidious problem that can plague essentially all central venous catheters. It has been reported that fibrin sheath formation occurred as early as 24 hours after catheter placement and that this phenomenon was seen on 100% of central venous catheters in 55 patients at the time of autopsy.
The growth of a fibrin sheath along a catheter shaft can prevent high flow rates, adversely affect blood sampling and infusion of chemotherapeutic drugs, and provide an environment in which bacteria can grow, which may result in infections. Despite fibrin sheath build up, infused fluids may still enter the blood circulation, but when negative pressure is applied, the fibrin sheath can be drawn into the catheter, occluding its tip, thereby preventing aspiration. Complete encasement of the catheter tip in a fibrin sheath may cause persistent withdrawal occlusion. This can lead to extravasation of fluid where fluid enters the catheter to flow into the fibrin sheath, backtracks along the outside of the catheter, and exits out of the venous entry point and into the tissue. The presence of a fibrin sheath on the catheter shaft may also result in difficulty removing the venous catheter, particularly PICC lines, from the patient.
Often patients who need prolonged intravenous regimens have compromised peripheral venous access and thus venous catheters are often the only means available for the delivery of necessary treatment. Therefore, such venous catheters should be configured to remain in a patient so that drugs and other fluids can be effectively delivered to the patient's vasculature and to break up any fibrin sheath growth.
There are a number of different techniques that have been developed to address the fibrin sheath-impaired venous access catheter. These techniques include new catheter placement, catheter exchange over a guide wire, percutaneous fibrin sheath stripping, and thrombolytic therapy. For example, fibrin sheaths may be removed by mechanical disruption or stripping with a guidewire or loop snare, or by replacing the catheter. Mechanical disruption can help prevent the need to replace the catheter, and thereby eliminate disruption to the patient. However, mechanical disruption may not be effective because the fibrin sheath may not be completely removed and often causes damage to the catheter shaft and vessel wall. Mechanical removal of fibrin build-up may also increase the risk of embolism due to free floating debris within the vessel.
Replacing the catheter is also an option, but this can cause increased trauma to the patient, increased procedure time and costs, increased risks of pulmonary emboli, and may require numerous attempts before removal is successful. Thus, both mechanical disruption and catheter replacement may adversely affect a patient's dialysis schedule, cause patient discomfort, and loss of the original access site. Drug therapies that address the fibrin sheaths can also result in complications and are unreliable.
Therefore, it is desirable to provide a device and method for the destruction of undesirable cellular growth on a venous catheter in a safe, easy, and reliable manner without having to remove the catheter from the patient and without damaging the vein or catheter itself.

Device and method for the ablation of fibrin sheath formation on a venous catheter


The present invention relates to an improved walker device that is used to assist infants and toddlers in learning how to stand or walk. The improved walker has an integral structure and includes a vertical member, a cross member, a longitudinal member, a diagonal support member, a plurality of wheels, and a handle grip. The cross member has wheels at opposite ends and the longitudinal member extends horizontally from the middle of the cross member and has a wheel at the free end. The plurality of wheels work in conjunction to move the walker when forward force is applied to the handle grip. The wheels also ensure smooth movement over a floor surface, allowing the child to walk independently under adult supervision. The improved walker may have adjustable braking pads and/or wheels with treads for traction to control the speed of the improved walker.

By way of background, an infant typically begins learning how to stand up or walk around the age of 7-12 months. While trying to learn to stand up or walk, the infant starts by holding onto nearby objects to provide support. Once the infant learns how to stand up by holding onto nearby objects for support, he or she gradually builds enough strength in his or her legs to stand alone. However, the infant may not be able to easily reach nearby objects for support, standing or walking. Once the infant learns how to stand up, the parents can assist in learning how to walk by holding the infant's hand. In addition, the infant's parents need to provide encouragement and positive support so the infant can easily learn this skill. This requires a great deal of attention and time from parents until the infant has mastered how to stand and walk independently.
Infants and young children learning how to walk can have difficulty when trying to stand up on their own since they are still learning how to balance and stabilize themselves. Without a proper support structure to grab onto, the infants may sometimes fall down and get injured as well. Additionally, when the parents assist their children in standing up or walking, they must carry their child and hold them upright while they learn how to use their legs. A child's legs may be too weak for them to stand upright on their own without any additional assistance. In this case, when the child's legs are unable to develop proper strength, it may have adverse effects on the child in their later life.
The process of learning how to stand and walk requires significant time and patience from both the infant and the parents. The parents may easily get frustrated while helping their child in standing up or walking, as they must leave their current task each time the child tries to stand up or walk. Due to this, people may find it difficult to get back to their task and complete it, as there may be frequent gaps. The infant may also get frustrated since there are not always objects nearby to hold onto when trying to stand up or walk. For example, if a walker is being used, the child typically will need a parent's support to hold onto the walker, and then parental supervision as the child walks using the walker, side by side.
Therefore, there exists a long-felt need in the art for a device that provides infants and toddlers with a walker device that can assist them when attempting to stand up. There is also a long felt need in the art for a device that can help infants learning to walk as well. Additionally, there is a long felt need in the art for a device that eliminates the need of requiring nearby objects for use as a support when infants are learning to stand up and walk. Moreover, there is a long felt need in the art for a device that helps in strengthening the infant's legs while assisting them in standing up and walking. Further, there is a long-felt need in the art for a device that does not require constant assistance from the infant's parents when learning how to stand up and walk. Furthermore, there is a long-felt need in the art for a walker device that can be conveniently used by the infant with minimal supervision by parents. There is a long-felt need in the art for a walker device that provides a comfortable support for the infant to grasp while attempting to stand up or walk. There is a long-felt need in the art for a walker device that can be easily moved on a floor surface, thereby helping the infant to quickly learn how to stand up and walk. Finally, there is a long-felt need in the art for an improved walker that offers a way for the infant or toddler to walk independently, without having to hold onto a parent's hand for support, which saves time and patience of the parents.
The subject matter disclosed and claimed herein, in one embodiment thereof, comprises an improved walker for assisting infants and toddlers who are learning how to walk comprising of a vertical member, a cross member, a longitudinal member, a diagonal support member, a plurality of wheels, a handle grip and a plurality of braking pads wherein the vertical member is connected to the handle grip at its top end, and is connected to the cross member at its bottom end, the cross member has wheels at opposite ends, the longitudinal member extends horizontally from the middle of the cross member and has a wheel at the free end, each wheel has attached braking pads to control the speed of the wheels, the diagonal support member provides structural support to the vertical member, and is connected between the midpoint of the vertical member and the free end of the longitudinal member, and the improved walker moves when a force is applied to the handle grip in a forward direction. The cross member and the longitudinal member form the wheeled base in a triangular formation, wherein the longitudinal member is oriented such that the free end that includes a wheel is in the forward direction of motion. The wheels ensure smooth movement on a floor surface, allowing the child to walk independently, under adult supervision.
In this manner, the improved walker of the present invention accomplishes all of the foregoing objectives, and provides a relatively safe, easy, convenient and efficient solution to help and assist infants and toddlers in learning how to stand up and walk. The novel walker device of the present invention provides a comfortable handle that the infant may grasp while using the walker (with parental supervision at all times), which provides support and stability to the infant when attempting to stand up or walk.


Techniques for debugging of a collection of instructions executed by a computing system including a set of actors are described herein. A first sub-set of actors from the set of actors to be monitored for debugging and one or more error condition associated with the collection of instructions may be identified. A set of indications including indications of messages processed by the actors, indications of associated actor states prior to processing of the messages, and indications of associated actor states subsequent to processing of the messages may be received from the sub-set of actors. It may then be determined that a first actor of the sub-set of actors has satisfied the error condition. Based at least in part on the set of indications, one or more messages associated with satisfaction of the error condition may then be identified, for example for re-processing and debugging.

In some examples, it may be advantageous to execute a program and/or program instructions using an actor-based model, in which multiple different actors may collectively execute program instructions. The actor-based model may offer a number of benefits, such as the ability of multiple actors to receive and respond to various messages concurrently or partially concurrently with one another. An executing program may have multiple associated actors that may be distributed across any number of physical devices at any number of different locations that may be remote and/or local with respect to one another. While the actor-based model may provide a number of advantages, the actor-based model may also present a number of challenges. For example, in some cases, debugging of a program that is executed using multiple different actors may be a complicated process that involves a number of difficulties. For example, traditional debugging techniques may involve the frequent use of break points and other stoppages of an executing program. However, in an actor-based system, large numbers of devices may sometimes be employed to execute a program, and coordinating a program stoppage across large numbers of devices may be a difficult and complicated process. Additionally, attempting to stop execution of multiple different actors, potentially on different physical devices, may cause various problems associated with implementation of program logic.


An input image is subjected to image region determination in a unit of prescribed block. Based on a result of image region determination, two or more pieces of layer data, of which validity or invalidity at the time of reproduction of the image is defined in a unit of prescribed block are generated by using data of the input image. Then, each of the two or more pieces of layer data is subjected to coding processing under a coding condition suitable for each of the generated two or more pieces of layer data, in a unit of block suitable for each of the two or more pieces of layer data.

In recent years, everything including paper documents is computerized. Accordingly, in order to store a larger amount of data in an apparatus or a medium for recording electronic data, efficient reduction in a data amount has been demanded.
For example, in recording data of an image where a plurality of different elements such as a character and a photograph are arranged in a recording apparatus or a recording medium, a technique to efficiently reducing a capacity of image data is important. Namely, a coding technique increasing an amount of reduction in data capacity with less image quality deterioration is important. In the following, a region within an image where elements such as a character and a photograph are displayed is also referred to as an image region. Here, a recording apparatus is implemented, for example, by a hard disk included in a personal computer, a copying machine or a multifunction machine. In addition, a recording medium is implemented, for example, by a CD-R.
Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 07-212601 discloses a technique to perform image region separation in a unit of matrix (block) used in coding processing and to apply coding using the matrix to a result after image region separation (hereinafter, also referred to as conventional technique A).
In addition, Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 07-212601 discloses a technique for efficiently separating a photograph portion in a unit of matrix (hereinafter, also referred to as conventional technique A). In conventional technique A, the photograph portion is coded (for example, JPEG (Joint Photographic Coding Experts Group)) in a unit of matrix and a character portion (a portion other than the photograph) is binarized, thus performing lossless coding (for example, run-length coding). In this manner, image data including a plurality of different image regions can efficiently be coded.
Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2004-187000 discloses a technique based on MRC (Mixed Raster Content) defined in ITU-T recommendation T.44 (hereinafter, also referred to as conventional technique B).
In MRC, image data including a plurality of different image regions such as a character, a line and a photograph is separated into three planes in total, i.e., a foreground plane, a background plane and a mask plane. Here, the mask plane refers to a plane indicating which of the foreground plane and the background plane is to be selected. MRC defines a scheme for individually coding the three planes.
In general, in an image coding apparatus employing MRC, the mask plane representing information for selecting between the foreground plane representing a character and a line and the background plane representing a photograph or the like is constituted of pixels.
In the image coding apparatus employing MRC, the mask plane is responsible for holding information on shape of a character and a line at high resolution for lossless coding at high resolution. In many cases, the foreground plane holding information on color of a character and a line and the background plane including a photograph or the like where deterioration due to lower resolution is not noticeable are subjected to lossy coding at resolution lower than the mask plane.
In addition, Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2004-187000 discloses a technique to lower color haze or the like that occurs when resolution of the foreground plane and the background plane is lowered, by devising a method of calculating a pixel value of a don't care pixel in the background image region in the foreground plane and a don't care pixel in the foreground image region in the background plane. Here, the don't care pixel refers to a pixel not referred to in reproduction of an image by combining data.
Meanwhile, in electronically recording the image data, selection of a data format (data form) is important. For example, if image data is coded, stored and decoded in one apparatus, an original data format may be employed. On the other hand, if coded and recorded data is transmitted between apparatuses, it is preferable to comply with a data format widely used in general.
For example, the data format complying with JPEG scheme is widely used in a personal computer, a digital still camera and the like. In addition, PDF (Portable Document Format) developed by Adobe (trademark) is also one of the widely used image data formats.
In conventional technique A, a character is binarized for lossless coding. Therefore, in conventional technique A, lossless coding of a colored character or a colored line present in the photograph image region is difficult, and a coding condition for a photograph image region is applied.
In other words, in conventional technique A, coding causes apparent deterioration in the shape of a character or a line, depending on a condition such as color. In addition, conventional technique A does not employ the widely used data format and suffers poor versatility.
In addition, in conventional technique B, the mask plane is responsible for holding the information on shape of a character and a line. Therefore, if the mask plane is coded, high resolution and reversibility are required, which leads to necessity for a large data capacity for holding the mask plane.
Moreover, though conventional technique B achieves lowering in color haze originating from the don't care pixel, it is difficult to completely avoid color haze.

Image coding apparatus, image coding method, and recording medium, capable of creating highly versatile data


A curl forming method for a can end which enables satisfactory curl formation in a thin can end without occurrence of wrinkles and without occurrence of scratches on internal surfaces of the can end and which can make a can end thinner. A punched can end is pressed and bended from an open end of annular flange and an opposite side by a primary forming die having an inner diameter larger than a final curl diameter by 0 to 2.0 mm to effect a primary forming, and then it is pressed and bended from the side of the flange open end by a secondary forming punch having a forming surface 14 having a final shape of a curl.

(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a curl forming method for a can end in a can end manufacturing process, and more specifically, to a curl forming method for a can end capable of providing curl formation for a thin can end without inducing wrinkles.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
In a conventional curl formation of a can end, a can end punched by a press is formed with a curl by a curl forming apparatus of a rotary rail curl system as shown in FIG. 2. This curl forming apparatus consists of a rotating curling wheel 20, a curling guide segment 21 and a curling center guide 22. A can end 25 is supported by the curling center guide 22. The distance between the curling guide segment 21 and the curling wheel 20 is gradually narrowed while the can end 25 is being sandwiched between the rotating curling wheel 20 and the curling guide segment 21 and rolled whereby the can end is gradually reduced in diameter and subjected to curl forming.
A further method so far proposed is a forming method for performing curling forming using a forming die on the basis of a press system (JPA 60-158930 publication).
Recently, to make a can end material thinner has been strongly demanded in an attempt of saving resources and reducing the cost of can ends. However, when a can end having a thin wall-thickness is subjected to curling by a conventional curl forming apparatus, there arises the following problems. The thickness of a can end material capable of maintaining a good curling work is now at a substantial limit so that it is difficult to make the can end material further thinner.
(1) A slip occurs during curing work to fail to form an outer diameter of a curl into a shape close to round. Wrinkles caused by rolling tend to occur. PA0 (2) Wrinkles are generated in the extreme end of the curl. The wrinkles are grown larger by rolling to lower the sealability of the can end. PA0 (3) The strength in the radial direction of the can end is reduced due to the thinner thickness so that when forming, the internal surface of the can end tends to be flexed, and the internal surface of the can end tends to be damaged by the center guide. PA0 (4) The irregularities in thickness of a curl of a can end increases to make it impossible to accurately manage the number thereof in a bag. PA0 (5) In the case of the press system, a flange end is forced into a curling die from the side of a flange open end and forming is accomplished by one step or process.
Therefore, the extreme end of the curl at which wrinkles tend to occur most easily is reduced in diameter in a free state without being supported. When the wall thickness becomes thin, wrinkles tend to occur extremely easily in that portion.
In the case of the conventional rotary rail system, a can end is inserted into a rail, and forming is accomplished while rolling the can end. Therefore, a uniform peripheral force does not act on the outer peripheral portion of an annular flange of a can end. Further, the can end moves while sliding on the curling center guide. So, when the can end material is thin, occurrence of the aforementioned problems (1) to (4) cannot be avoided.


A method of manufacturing a display device reduces damage to pad electrodes. The method includes: forming a thin film transistor in a pixel area on a first substrate and simultaneously forming a pad electrode in a pad area on the first substrate; forming a first pixel electrode connected to the thin film transistor and simultaneously forming a pad protection layer covering the pad electrode; and exposing the pad electrode by removing the pad protection layer.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to a method of manufacturing a display device, and more particularly, to a method of manufacturing an organic light emitting diode (OLED) display capable of suppressing damage to pad electrodes.
2. Description of the Related Art
An organic light emitting diode (OLED) display displays an image by driving an organic light emitting element. The organic light emitting element includes an anode (e.g., hole injection electrode), an organic emission layer, and a cathode (e.g., electron injection electrode). When electrons and holes are injected to the organic emission layer respectively by the anode and the cathode, an exciton, which is a combination of an electron and a hole, is generated in the organic emission layer. Light is emitted by energy produced when the exciton relaxes from an exited state to a ground state.
An active matrix type OLED display generally has a substrate including a pixel area and a pad area, wherein an image is displayed in the pixel area, and the pad area is formed outside the pixel area. An external module is mounted on pad electrodes formed in the pad area. In the pixel area, red, green, and blue organic light emitting elements are disposed in a matrix form. At least two thin film transistors (hereinafter, referred as "TFTs") are provided for each organic light emitting element so that each organic light emitting element can be independently controlled.
In general, the OLED display is manufactured by using processes of: (1) forming a TFT including an active layer, a gate electrode, a source electrode, and a drain electrode on a substrate; (2) forming a planarization layer to cover the TFT; (3) forming a first pixel electrode on the planarization layer coupled to the drain electrode; and (4) forming an organic emission layer and a second pixel electrode on the first pixel electrode. The pad electrodes are formed in the pad area in the process of forming the TFT. The pad electrodes are covered with at least one insulation layer. Further, the pad electrodes are exposed on the substrate through an opening formed in the insulation layer(s).
In the aforementioned manufacturing processes, however, the first pixel electrode is formed in a state in which the pad electrodes are exposed. Therefore, the pad electrodes may be damaged by a first pixel electrode etchant. That is, if the pad electrodes comprise a material that is etched by the first pixel electrode etchant, the pad electrodes may be etched during etching of the first pixel electrode, which may cause disconnection of the pad electrodes.


A device for simulated heart's pulse in manikins and apparatus used in connection with training how to feel and recognize pulse, comprising an electric linear motor (1), the armature (2) thereof being put into pulsating movements which can be felt upon a touch, an armature coil (3) being supplied with an electric signal from a pulse generator adapted to be started and stopped by means of a signal from a detector coil (5), the inductance of the detector coil (5) being changed when the detector coil (5) is passed in over a ferrite core (6). The armature (2) is assigned a spring, the force thereof being sufficient to bring the armature (2) to the starting position when the external force from the touch ceases.

The invention relates to a pulse device for creating a simulated feelable heart's pulse to train feeling and recognition of pulse.
The training of feeling and recognition of pulse takes partly place by means of manikins containing technical equipment for simulating body functions and for recording if the student carries out actions concerning diagnosis and treatment in a correct manner.
Sensing the heart's pulse is a central point in many diagnoses. In connection with training, it is important to record if the student really is searching for the heart's pulse, and what kind of measures the student is putting into effect, depending on whether the heart's pulse is present or not.
It is known to provide training manikins with pulse devices at places where the student shall feel with the fingers for heart's pulse. Such pulse devices simulating the pulsation of an artery, are placed such that a pulse can be felt as natural as possible on the outside of the manikin's skin-like surface.
Known pulse devices comprise a hollow elastic pillow or bead which is supplied with an alternating gas or liquid pressure from a pump. An instructor can start and stop the pump and, thus, put the student to various tests. Behind said pillow or bead, a pressure sensor is placed, transmitting signals when the student touches the pulse point, and the instructor can record that the student is carrying out a correct diagnosis.
In known pulse devices, it is usual to use a hand-operated pump or an electrically driven pump, giving a pulsating pressure within said pillow or bead. Electrically operated pumps are as such advantageous, but known suitable electric pumps consumes relatively large amounts of electrical energy, a clear disadvantage when using battery operation and training in the field. Another disadvantage of such pumps is that they produce a sound which may remind the student of the need for feeling the heart's pulse. Also, it has been found that sound from the pump may appear misleadingly in that the student unconsciously ascertains that the heart's pulse is present, such that the student neglects to feel for the heart's pulse in a correct way. Thus, the training becomes unrealistic. Moreover, the pulsation within the pillow/bead influences the pressure sensor, and it requires an expensive signal filtration in order to achieve a secure and safe indication of whether the student feels the artery or not.
Some medical conditions are characterized by the course of pulse. In order to provide a natural pulse for training various medical conditions, it is necessary to be in a position to vary frequency, amplitude and strength. By means of known pulse devices, this is not possible.

Pulse device for creating a simulated feelable heart's pulse to train feeling and recognition of pulse


A photoelectric converting apparatus comprises a photoelectric conversion unit for outputting a photoelectrically converted signals. An analog memory is provided comprising switches and capacitors. The analog memory can be accessed at random and stores a first photoelectrically converted signal outputted from the photoelectric conversion unit. A controller outputs the first signal from the analog memory in correspondence to a second photoelectrically converted signal which is outputted from the photoelectric conversion unit.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a photoelectric converting apparatus and, more particularly, to a photoelectric converting apparatus in which a first signal output from a photoelectric conversion unit is stored and the first signal is output in correspondence to a second signal which is output from the photoelectric conversion unit.
2. Related Background Art
In recent years, a video camera using a solid-state image pickup device as an image input device has widely been used. It is considered that this is because the solid-state image pickup device has largely contributed to the realization of the small size, light weight, and low costs of the video camera. Although almost all of the video cameras for public use require color images, the solid-state image pickup device of a single plate is a main stream from viewpoints of the realization of small size, light weight, and low costs. In the case of obtaining a color image by using the single plate type solid state image pickup device, in many cases, a chrominance signal is obtained by adhering mosaic color filters to the solid-state image pickup device. In the case of obtaining an image signal by using such color filters, when considering only the signal of one horizontal line, all of the chrominance signals do not always exist. Therefore, color information which does not exist on the horizontal line is obtained from the horizontal line which is one line before.
FIG. 1 is a schematic constructional diagram showing an example of a construction of a conventional solid-state image pickup device.
As shown in the diagram, by inputting R/B outputs OR/OB of a solid-state image pickup device 7 to a delay element 8, a signal which is one horizontal period before a branch point a on the inputting side is always output to a branch point b on the outputting side of the delay element 8. Therefore, by switching means 10 and 11, signals of R, G, and B are always obtained.
There is also a configuration where a CCD type is mainly used as a delay element 8 and the delay element 8 is formed together with the solid-state image pickup device 7 onto the same chip.
However, in the above conventional solid-state image pickup device, when a CCD type delay element is used as a delay element, if a sensor unit is constructed by an element other than the CCD type, the manufacturing method becomes complicated, resulting in increase in costs. On the other hand, in the case of the CCD type, since the random access cannot be executed, there is a problem such that outputs of the delay elements cannot help being extracted in accordance with the serial inputting order.

Photoelectric converting apparatus having an analog memory


A cable marker strip includes two rows of cable markers which are arranged behind one another in a cable direction. The cable marker strip includes a labeling track which has one labeling surface for each cable marker, wherein one fastening structure is provided for each cable marker on a fastening surface of the labeling track. The fastening surface lies opposite the labeling surface and has a connecting track and two holding limbs which are connected to the connecting track, which lie opposite one another, and together define a cable receptacle. Starting from the connecting track, spacing the holding limbs from one another decreases in the region of the cable receptacle so that the cable receptacle tapers. A printer for printing the cable marker strip and a method for printing the cable marker strip by way of the printer are also provided. The printer includes a print head which is arranged above pressure bars for the rows of cable markers.

The present invention relates to a cable marker strip with at least one, and preferably two, rows of cable markers which are arranged behind one another in a cable direction. The cable marker strip includes a labeling track which has in each case one labeling surface for each cable marker, wherein in each case one fastening structure is provided for each cable marker on a fastening surface of the labeling track. The fastening surface lies opposite the labeling surface, and the fastening structure has a connecting track and two holding limbs which are connected to the connecting track, which lie opposite one another, and together define a cable receptacle. Furthermore, the present invention relates to a printer for printing the cable marker strip, and to a method for printing the cable marker strip by way of the printer.

Printer for printing a cable marker strip, and cable marker strip for the same


There is provided a rubber track used for an undercarriage of a vehicle, and particularly an improvement in a guide lug which protrudes from an inner peripheral surface of the rubber track. In the rubber track in which a plurality of rubber lugs are formed on an outer peripheral surface of an endless rubber elastic body and a plurality of guide lugs are formed on an inner peripheral surface of the elastic body, the guide lugs being used for transmission of driving force or prevention of detracking between the guide lugs, and track rollers, idlers or sprockets, a heat-resisting thermoplastic resin member having low friction properties, a heat-resisting thermosetting resin member having low friction properties, or a resin member having a Barcol hardness (A type) of 40 degrees or less is exposed at one or more surfaces of each of the guide lugs, the surface or surfaces contacting other member.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a rubber track used for an undercarriage of a vehicle, and particularly to an improvement in a guide lug which protrudes from an inner peripheral surface of a rubber track.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, guide lugs are formed at equal pitch on the inner peripheral surface along the longitudinal direction of the rubber track. The functions of these guide lugs are to transmit the driving force from a sprocket to the rubber track and to prevent detracking of the rubber track from track rollers, i.e., to prevent the rubber track from coming-off of track rollers.
Particularly, when the rubber track is shifted laterally against track rollers due to lateral force, the track rollers and the guide lugs repeatedly contact each other and the force to bring the rubber track back to the original position is generated. In these cases, the friction between the guide lugs and track rollers causes detracking, and further, abrasion or breakage of the guide lugs.
FIGS. 14 and 15 each show an inner peripheral surface of a rubber track 11 in the state described above. FIG. 14 shows a structure in that a plurality of pairs of guide lugs 12, 12 are formed to protrude from an endless rubber elastic body.
A track roller 20 usually rolls straddling these guide lugs 12, 12. When the rubber track 11 is shifted laterally against the track roller 20, the track roller 20 contacts the guide lugs 12, 12 as indicated by the dotted line (only one side is shown) and further shift of the track roller 20 is restricted and the track roller 20 is brought back to its original rolling contact surface.
For this reason, large frictional force is applied particularly to outer side surfaces of the guide lugs 12, 12 and the rubber track is apt to detrack from the track rollers. And in some cases, abrasion or breakage may occur in the guide lugs.
On the other hand, FIG. 15 shows a rubber track having plurality of guide lugs 12 formed in a protruding manner on a single line along the longitudinal direction of the rubber track. In the same way as in the structure shown in FIG. 14, when the track roller 20 is shifted from a normal rolling position, the track roller 20 repeatedly contacts the guide lugs 12 as indicated by the dotted line to prevent the shift of the track roller 20. In this case as well, the rubber track is apt to detrack from the track rollers 20. According to circumstances, abrasion or breakage may occur in the guide lugs.
Further, when these guide lugs 12 are engaged with an unillustrated sprocket and are used for transmission of driving force, a sprocket pin and each guide lug 12 are constantly in a state of being rubbed against each other so that a base portion of the guide lug 12 particularly deforms. For this reason, not only the rubber track is apt to detrack from the track roller, but also abrasion or breakage is apt to occur in the base portion of the guide lugs 12. Particularly, when the guide lugs 12 are each formed of rubber, there is a strong tendency toward occurrence of these states.
In addition, when the track roller 20 contacts the guide lugs 12, large running resistance is generated and energy loss is thereby caused.


An overhead garage door with a counterbalance mechanism incorporated into a pocket or hollow section formed in the door.

Overhead doors are not new and are seen frequently in buildings such as homes, automotive shops, barns, aircraft and blimp hangars, commercial warehouses, portable military field structures, and the like. A wide variety of doors are currently used in industrial and other settings. For example, one type of movable door consists of a series of generally horizontal panels disposed one on top of the other with each panel hinged to the panel above. Stemmed rollers are disposed on opposed lateral edges adjacent a bottom and top location of each door panel. Such sectional doors are typically movable between a closed or blocking position and an open or stored position relative to a doorway. For this purpose, guide tracks having a generally "C" shaped cross-section are provided on either side of the doorway for receiving the rollers disposed on the adjacent edges of each of the panels. Each track has a substantially vertical portion disposed adjacent and parallel to the doorway opening, a substantially horizontal portion disposed above and behind the doorway generally perpendicular to the doorway opening, and a connecting curved portion. A track is positioned on either side of the doorway providing a continuous guide track for receiving the stemmed rollers of the adjacent panel sections. In this construction, the door is substantially horizontal when in the open or stored position. Another type of movable door is a vertically storable door which moves in a continuous generally vertical plane between the closed and open (stored) positions along substantially straight and vertical guide tracks disposed from floor level of the door opening to a location above the doorway opening. The lifting force needed to counterbalance the door is recognized to vary so that different types of lifting assist devices are used to provide a statically balanced overhead door i.e. a door that will maintain a position assigned to it by an operator (user). The position can be closed, open or any location in between.
One type of garage door operating mechanism is the so called torsion spring control system. The torsion spring control system uses a shaft around which are disposed control springs to provide the counterbalance for the door. This type of mechanism avoids the use of extension springs but the torsion spring is exposed and can provide a source of injury if repairs or adjustments are attempted by one not skilled in working with such devices.
Another type of counterbalancing mechanism comprises horizontally extendable springs disposed above and generally parallel to the horizontal portion of the guide tracks for counteracting the effect of gravity on the door as it moves between a closed and an open (stored) position or from an open to a closed position. Such counterbalance devices typically include a cable system with a pair of cables attached to the opposite edges of the door with springs connected to each of the cables. In the door open or stored position the spring is not extended, eg. Relaxed or compressed. When the door moves from the stored position, the spring extends or is streched providing a force which counteracts the weight of the door. In this way, the spring controls the descent of the door as it moves toward the closed position. Conversely, when the door is raised from the (doorway-blocking) closed position, the contracting spring provides a lifting force which makes the door easier to raise. Unfortunately, such mechanisms are complicated to assemble, they lack aesthetic appeal and expose the user to potential injury if the spring or cable breaks.
It would therefore, be desirable to house counterbalancing mechanisms within the door itself, thereby providing a more user friendly installation and an aesthetically pleasing door assembly with internal components that are unexposed reducing the potential of injury to a user.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,505,381, teaches using pulleys and a cable in conjunction with a hinge system for deploying panels or other structures from a satellite or spacecraft. The hinge system is placed within a telescoping housing in the deployed position.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,560,658, teaches an overhead bi-fold door with the cable and pulley system within the frame of the door to unlatch the door.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,042,158, discloses a cable actuated locking system inside the body of an overhead door.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,774,341 and 4,248,016, teach cable and spring operating systems for overhead doors that are positioned in the frame around the door.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,530,762, teaches a dual race cable drum having an inner race that spools a cable connected to a tensioning member and a larger outer race with separate cables connected to the door bottom.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,134,835 teaches a worm-gear drive winding mechanism to effect the winding of torsion springs on an up-ward acting door. It is supported by brackets attached to the wall above the door, with cables that depend from the counterbalance system and connect to the lower side edges of the door.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,291,583; 5,404,927 5,495,640; 6,112,464; 6,263,948 and 6,588,482 teach cable attachment brackets on the bottom edge of an upward acting door to receive the counterbalance cable which lifts the door.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,561,256, teaches opposed independent extension springs and lift cables of an overhead door to synchronize by means of an interconnected drive tube mounted above the door.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,747,274 teaches a cable and spring actuated locking system mounted on a vertically disposed door.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,103,890 teaches an overhead door system to be counterweighted with cables that depend from differential cable drums on a shaft mounted above the door with separate cable drums and cables that depend for attachment on the bottom edge of the door.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,289,966 teaches a door with a counterweight unit mounted on the uppermost door leaf.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,568,454 teaches the counterbalance system mounted above an overhead door to be rotated by an operator motor assembly.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,724,995 teaches an overhead door to be counterbalanced by the resilient action of a torsion spring upon a shaft with flanged pulleys spooling steel tape attached to the bottom of the door.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,059,981 teaches a bi-fold warehouse door to lift by chains secured to the bottom of the door with separated lateral bearing studs.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,724,995 and 2,882,044, teach operating the torsion shaft of a counterbalance assembly above a door to be rotated by an operator motor.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,661,719 teaches an endless chain driven by a motor carry to a trolley or carriage which is movable to the front and rear of a T-irons runway above an overhead door with the carriage linked to the door, whereby the door may be pulled or pushed effecting the opening and closing of the door.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,253,170 teaches an electric motor to turn a drive screw which carries a nut affixed to a carriage that travels forward and backward on a channel above a garage door and opens and closes the door.
The above two patents do not teach a linear drive motor mechanism to be significantly shorter in length as the distance the extension spring extends or retracts is far less in proportion to the full length of travel of the door. The length of a typical chain or screw drive opener mounted above a door is 10′. The length of the extension of the spring on the same door would be 3.3′ or approximately ⅓ the distance of travel. Further mechanical control of speed and force will be recognized as well.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,015,402; 2,568,808 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,036,899 teach a lateral shaft mounted on the top section of an overhead door to rotate with tension applied to the shaft by torsion spring means and pinions outboard of the lateral edges of the door which engage racks along the door tracks effecting the counterbalance of the weight of the door with rotation of the lateral shaft by a motor carried on the door.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,676,294 teaches opposed independent extension springs and lift chains of an overhead door to synchronized by combining sprockets on a shaft, above the door, to unify the lift chains and further permit rotation of the shaft directly by a motor assembly.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,468,904 teaches functionally connected torsion springs to counterbalance a telescoping tower.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,577,544 teaches a cable reeling device to affect the extension of a spring parallel with the horizontal track of an overhead door. An extension spring containment tube which surrounds the entire periphery of an extension spring over its operational length is also disclosed.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,632,063 teaches a worm drive ring shaped gear winding mechanism to affect the winding of torsion springs above an overhead door.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,508,886 teaches providing garage door units which may be assembled, in part, at a factory and shipped to a garage to be easily and quickly installed, that affords a safe and durable closure for the garage.
None of the prior art teach or suggest a garage door having a novel or conventional counterbalance mechanism enclosed within a panel of the door nor cables and pulley systems within a panel of the door with the cable exiting the door to a fixed location outside of the door.

Overhead door apparatus with enclosed counterbalance mechanism


This invention relates to methods and compositions for treating, controlling, preventing and protecting warm-blooded animals from infestation and infection by helminths, acarids and arthropod endo- and ectoparasites by administering or applying to the animals a substituted arylpyrrole compound.

It is an object of this invention to provide novel arylpyrrole compounds and a method for treating, controlling, preventing and protecting warm-blooded animals from infestation and infection by helminths, acarids and arthropod endo and ectoparasites by administering thereto a substituted arylpyrrole compound. It is also an object of this invention to provide a method for protecting meat-producing and companion animals from infestation by arthropod endo and ectoparasites by applying to said animals a substituted arylpyrrole compound.
These and other objects will become more apparent from the detailed description of the invention set forth below.


The present invention provides a tilt device for a marine propulsion unit comprising a hydraulic cylinder device filled with a hydraulic fluid, where a piston fixed to one end portion of a piston rod is provided slidably in an inner cylinder and an outer cylinder, a tank device for storing the hydraulic fluid, and a pump device for the telescopic operation of the hydraulic cylinder device by supplying and exhausting the hydraulic fluid in the tank device into the hydraulic cylinder device, wherein a valve block of the pump device is cast-molded, the inner cylinder and the outer cylinder of the hydraulic cylinder device are made of a pipe material, a cylinder fixing portion having a diameter larger than that of the outer cylinder is formed in the valve block, and the outer cylinder is fixed to the cylinder fixing portion by the diameter enlarging processing.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a tilt device for a marine propulsion unit and a method for assembling the tilt device.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Examples of tilt devices for marine propulsion devices include a tilt device of an outboard motor. The outboard motor includes a propulsion unit comprising a propeller and an engine, supported axially by a swivel bracket such that the horizontal swinging movement is allowed, with the swivel bracket supported by a clamp bracket such that the vertical tilting movement is allowed, with the clamp bracket gripping the hull. A tilt device is provided between the clamp bracket and the swivel bracket such that the motive power is generated by the telescopic motion of a hydraulic cylinder of the tilt device. The propulsion unit and the swivel bracket are tilted vertically with respect to the clamp bracket so as to allow the tilt operation or the trim operation of the propulsion unit.
In addition to the above-mentioned hydraulic cylinder device, the tilt device further comprises a tank device for storing a hydraulic fluid and a pump device for supplying and exhausting the hydraulic fluid in the tank device into the hydraulic cylinder device so as to operate the hydraulic cylinder device telescopically.
As an example of a tilt device, Japanese Utility Model Application Publication (JP-Y) No. 8-6715 discloses a cylinder of a cylinder device, a valve block, which stores various kinds of valves of a pump device, and a tank case of a tank device integrally cast-molded.
However, the above-mentioned tilt device having the cylinder, the valve block, and the tank case formed as one piece requires a large casting mold and leads to the cost increase. Besides, since the cylinder is cast-molded, it becomes thick so that the tilt device becomes larger. Furthermore, since the cylinder is cast-molded, the production time is increased, such as the mirror processing of the inside of the cylinder, and a long boring processing for forming a channel in the molded cylinder.

Tilt device for marine propulsion device and method for assembling the tilt device


A method of implanting a middle of line (MOL) implant layer of a flash memory device that does not require a descumming step is disclosed. In a first embodiment, the method includes depositing a negative tone resist over the MOL implant layer. Portions of the negative tone resist in and above a plurality of trenches are not exposed to optical radiation, while portions surrounding the plurality of trenches are exposed. The unexposed portions are developed out thereby leaving a bottom surface of each trench substantially free of a resist residue. Implants can be placed in the MOL implant layer without the need for a descumming step. In a second embodiment, a bi-layer resist is deposited on the MOL implant layer, wherein the bi-layer resist includes a silicon containing top layer and a bottom layer. The bi-layer resist is patterned to expose a portion of the bottom layer that resides in and above a plurality of trenches. The bottom layer is dry etch developed using oxygen plasma as the etchant, thereby leaving a bottom surface of each trench substantially free of a resist residue. Implants can be placed in the MOL implant layer without the need for a descumming step.

Floating gate flash memory architecture includes several critical implant layers, which are referred to as middle of line (MOL) implant layers. Referring to FIG. 1, an exemplary middle-of-line (MOL) implant layer 100 of a flash memory device is shown. As is known in the art, MOL implant layers can include numerous trenches 102, which can create a severe topography in a surface of the MOL implant layer. Implantation of the MOL implant layer 100 is performed through openings 106 formed in a resist layer 108, which is deposited over the MOL implant layer 100. Conventionally, positive tone resists are used to protect a top surface 104 of the MOL implant layer, while trench regions are exposed for implantation.
With further reference to FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B, conventional processing steps for forming the resist layer 108 on the MOL implant layer are shown. The trenches 102 are formed initially using conventional techniques. Next, the resist layer 108 is deposited generally over the MOL layer 100, covering the MOL implant layer 100 and filling the trenches 102. Using conventional photolithographic techniques, the resist layer 108 is selectively exposed using optical radiation 110 and a mask 112. The exposed resist subsequently is developed to remove a portion of the resist, e.g., the exposed portion for a positive tone resist. With respect to the MOL implant layer, the desired result is to remove the resist 108 from each trench 102, while retaining the resist along the top surface 104 of the MOL implant layer.
A pervasive trend in modern integrated circuit manufacture is to produce semiconductor devices, such as flash memory devices, that are as small as possible. The reduction in size of the flash memory device results in a surface of the wafer having a severe topography, particularly at the MOL implant layers 100. Additionally, the MOL implant layers tend to be highly reflective, creating problems with CD control. Due in part to the severe topography of the MOL implant layer, some resist residue 114 inevitably remains in the trenches 102 after the resist has been exposed and developed. The residue or "scumming" as it is referred to in the art is difficult to remove from the trenches and can lead to problems during subsequent implantation steps. For example, the residue can block implants and/or cause implant non-uniformity, which can increase the potential for defective memory devices and thus lower yields.
Accordingly, it is desirable that a bottom portion 116 of each trench 102 be free of resist residue prior to implantation. A conventional method of removing resist residue from the trench regions is through an oxygen plasma descumming step, which is performed after the resist has been exposed and developed. In oxygen plasma descumming, the wafer is placed in a chamber having an oxygen plasma atmosphere. The oxygen plasma causes a chemical reaction with surface contaminants on the wafer, e.g., the residue in the trenches, resulting in their volatilization and subsequent removal from the plasma chamber.
A drawback to oxygen plasma descumming is that the resist image on the wafer can be affected by the descum step. For example, during the oxygen plasma descumming step, the resist sidewalls can be partially removed by the oxygen plasma, thereby altering or enlarging openings in the resist layer. Since the resist pattern is altered from its intended image, overlay margin, for example, can be affected.
Accordingly, there exists a need in the art for a method of fabricating MOL implant layers in flash memory devices that minimizes the amount of resist residue left in the trenches of the MOL implant layers. Additionally, it would be advantageous if the descumming step could be eliminated altogether.

Negative resist or dry develop process for forming middle of line implant layer


In one embodiment, a method includes puncturing, with a piercing element of a hollow connector, an opening of a membrane that encloses the hollow connector in a gas that is essentially sterile. The puncturing of the opening of the membrane generates a laminar flow of the gas along sides of the opening. The method also includes transferring the fluids, through the opening with the piercing element of the hollow connector.

The sterile transfer of various substances is important across a number of different industries in order to provide freedom from contaminants in the ambient environment. A number of different techniques have been developed to keep the transferring fluid free of such contaminants. A typical approach is to transfer fluid through male and female connectors. Such connectors include exposed surfaces that are wiped with an antiseptic prior to the connection and transfer of fluid from the male connector to the female connector. Another approach is to include covers on the connectors that are removed prior to the connection and transfer of fluid.
However, these conventional approaches may not preclude the introduction of contaminants into the fluid. In particular, an individual is involved in the cleaning or removal of the protective covers. Even using protective surgical gloves, the individual may make incidental contact with the exposed connectors during the cleaning of the surfaces or removal of the protective covers on such surfaces, thereby transferring contaminants on the surgical gloves onto the surfaces.
Moreover, once the surfaces are cleaned or the protective covers are removed, such surfaces are exposed to the ambient environment. In particular, despite a quick coupling of the two different connectors subsequent to the cleaning/removal, a number of different contaminants may come into contact with the surface. Accordingly, such contaminants may infiltrate the fluids during the transfer between the connectors.

Connection having laminar flow for the delivery of a substance


A magic trick apparatus and methods of use is described. The magic trick apparatus may include a half ball having a rounded side and a flat surface and a coin attached to the flat surface of the half ball. The magic trick apparatus may further include a magnet within a recession on the flat surface of the half ball. The magic trick apparatus may be used to “transform” a coin into a ball.

Magicians have devised magic tricks to make audiences perceive intended illusions for amusement and wonder. To implement magic tricks in close proximity, the magicians use various articles and devices that may include everyday items, such as coins and cards. However, magicians are constantly looking for new, simple, and quick tricks that may be easily learned and portable.
As presented herein, a magic trick apparatus has been developed to help magicians easily perform a transformation of a coin to a ball, or vice versa.

Magic trick apparatus and methods thereof


The present invention relates to a turning type charcoal roast board, and more particularly, to a turning type charcoal roast board, wherein if exchange of a used roast board is required during roast of meat using a charcoal fire, new roast rods are placed at an opening of a main body of the roast board in such a manner that the roast rods stored in a roast rod-supplying box are fed via a moving means through users simple operation of a control device for controlling the feeding of the roast rods installed on a main body of the charcoal roast board, and roast rods used at the opening of the main board are transferred to and received in a roast rod-receiving box by means of rotation of the moving means. According to the present invention, the roast board can be rapidly exchanged to prevent meat from being burned, and it is possible to eliminate inconvenience in use due to frequent exchange of roast boards. Further, roast rods that have been used for roast of meat can be easily discharged and washed, thereby ensuring convenience of use and always maintaining the roast board in a clean and hygienic state.

As well known, charcoal roast boards currently used in restaurants and the like simply comprise circular or rectangular grills. When such a conventional grill is used as a charcoal roast board, exchange of roast boards should be performed typically about 3 or 4 times to prevent meat from being burned. Thus, there is inconvenience in use due to the frequent exchange of conventional charcoal roast boards, and there is also a risk of the occurrence of a safety accident upon exchange of roast boards by a service worker. Further, there are many problems of customers dissatisfaction caused due to delayed exchange of charcoal roast boards, and increased personnel expenses due to an increase in the number of service workers, and the like.
Moreover, when the charcoal roast boards are washed, additional service workers manually wash them one by one. This causes a problem of increased management costs that result from increased personnel expenses, increased working time due to difficulty in washing the charcoal roast boards, and the like.


An electromagnetic valve actuator system for controlling the operation of a valve in an internal combustion engine comprising a valve having a valve stem with a valve head at one end. The valve is reciprocable along the longitudinal central axis of the valve stem to alternatingly move the valve head between a first position and a second position. A first coil is positioned on a first laminated core having a gap and a thickness. A second coil is positioned on a second laminated core having a gap and a thickness. The gaps of the first and second cores are aligned. An armature on the valve stem passes through the gaps of the first and second laminated cores, such that when the armature is centered in either of the gaps at least a portion of the armature extends slightly passed the thickness of the other laminated core.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to electromagnetic valve actuator systems. More particularly, the invention pertains to an electromagnetic valve actuator system that opens and closes the poppet valves of an internal combustion engine.
2. Description of Related Art
Conventionally, valve trains of internal combustion engines include poppet valves that are spring loaded toward a valve-closed position. The poppet valves are biased open either by an overhead camshaft mechanism or by a cam and push rod mechanism. In either case, the camshaft is connected to and rotates in synchronization with an engine crankshaft to open and close each valve at predetermined intervals as defined by the position of lobes on the camshaft. Therefore, the sequence and lift distance of each valve is fixed by the position and size of the lobes on the camshaft, and the frequency of the operation of each valve is proportional to engine crankshaft speed.
Such direct-drive arrangements fix valve train operation and thereby limits engine performance because ideal valve timing varies, and is not fixed, over the full range of engine speed. Therefore, it would be desirable to incorporate an indirect drive arrangement in which the valve train is not fixed, but is independently variable with respect to each valve. Such factors as lift distance, lift speed, and seating velocity could be varied independently for each valve. These factors can be varied to improve breathing of the engine to increase performance, fuel economy, or to reduce emissions. The variable cam timing (VCT) devices of the prior art allow for variable phasing of the valve train with respect to engine crankshaft speed, but do not allow for independent variability of the valves.
Because of the above-described limitation of VCT devices, many inventors have abandoned the direct drive and VCT architectures in favor of electromagnetic valve actuator systems. Such systems have the potential to increase overall engine efficiency by reducing frictional losses associated with the conventional valve train, and by reducing heavy components such as the camshaft, chain, sprockets, and VCT devices. Such systems are also capable of closing certain valves to permit the engine to operate as a "smaller", more efficient, engine under high speed/low torque conditions. Unfortunately, however, these electromagnetic valve trains have not gained widespread acceptance in the marketplace, primarily due to a substantial increase in part count, poor valve seating reliability, and increased noise, vibration, and harshness (NVH) during operation.
These actuator systems use flat disk-like armatures that are positively secured to the valve and are axially trapped between ring-like tractive electromagnets. The electromagnets have poles at one end that attract the armature to either an open or closed position against the respective poles of the electromagnets. Unfortunately, as the valve heats up under normal operating conditions, the valve expands in length and does not have a chance to seat before the armature stops against the respective pole. Additionally, increased NVH (noise, vibration, and hardness) results from the valve and armature colliding against their respective mating surfaces. This results because the force on the armature increases cubically as the distance between the armature and the pole decreases. Therefore, the armature is accelerating as it approaches the pole, and the force on the armature is at a maximum just as the armature makes contact with the pole.
A review of the prior art yields scores of electromagnetically actuator valve devices directed at remedying valve seating problems and NVH during operation. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,455,543 (Pischinger et al.) and U.S. Pat. No. 4,749,167 (Gottschall) use spring systems attached to electromagnet armatures to decelerate a valve to the full open or closed position. U.S. Pat. No. 4,515,343 (Pischinger et al.) uses a bellows device mounted coaxially within an electromagnetic actuator to adjust the distance between the valve seat and the electromagnet pole so that it corresponds to the distance between the valve head and the electromagnet armature, so that a desired amount of dampening is consistently achieved. U.S. Pat. No. 5,878,704 (Schebrtz et al.) uses a sound muffling layer sandwiched between the electromagnets of the electromagnetic actuator to absorb vibration from the armature slapping against the poles of the electromagnets. U.S. Pat. No. 5,592,905 (Bam) replaces heavy iron armatures with a lightweight conductive armature that is finely controlled by varying current supplied to the armature. U.S. Pat. No. 5,647,311 (Liang et al.) and U.S. Pat. No. 6,003,481 (Pischinger et al.) each use at least one auxiliary electromagnet and armature to provide additional control of the closing force of the valve. Finally, U.S. Pat. No. 5,636,601 (Moriya et al.), U.S. Pat. No. 5,671,705 (Natsumoto et al.), and U.S. Pat. No. 6,016,778 (Koch) use control circuits to vary the current supplied to the electromagnets in accordance with varying operational temperatures to gain a more controlled seating of the valve.
All of the above-listed references have significant disadvantages that render their use unlikely in the marketplace. First, some are limited to a single valve lift distance, and thus do not fully take advantage of potential engine efficiencies and operate on a fixed disk-like armature that may seat against the electromagnet pole before the valve head seats with the valve seat. Others involve expensive additional components such as bellows, current carrying armatures, muffling devices, and additional electromagnets and armatures. Finally, others incorporate complex control circuits to bandage the inherent hardware problems of the prior art. Such control schemes face the difficult task in reducing current to the electromagnet fast enough to slow the accelerating armature.

Electromagnetic actuator having inherently decelerating actuation between limits


A pressure gas container includes a liner to store a gas, a reinforcing layer provided on an outer side of the liner, a boss attached to the liner, and an attachment attached to an outer surface of the liner. The boss has an opening through which the gas is introduced into the liner and through which the gas inside the liner is released. The attachment is to support the liner rotatably when the reinforcing layer is provided. At least one of the boss and the attachment has a gas release channel that allows communication between a gap formed between the outer side and an inner side of the reinforcing layer and a space outside the pressure gas container to release the gas having permeated through the liner and present in the gap between the liner and the reinforcing layer to the space.

1. Field
The present disclosure relates to a pressure gas container and a vehicle including the pressure gas container.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 11 is a longitudinal sectional view of the structure of a related-art high-pressure gas tank.
A high-pressure gas tank 101 for containing a high-pressure gas such as hydrogen includes, for example, a liner 102 and a reinforcing layer 103. The tank-shaped liner 102, which is a part where a high-pressure gas is contained, is formed of resin. The reinforcing layer 103 is formed of, for example, a carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic (CFRP) and covers the liner 102 so as to reinforce the liner 102. Here, the liner 102 provides gas barrier properties for the high-pressure gas tank 101 and the reinforcing layer 103 provides pressure resistance for the high-pressure gas tank 101.
A flange-shaped metal boss 104 having an insertion hole 104a at its center is provided in the high-pressure gas tank 101. A plug 105 is inserted into the insertion hole 104a of the metal boss 104 so as to close the insertion hole 104a.
In the high-pressure gas tank 101, which is used in a fuel-cell vehicle or the like, a high-pressure fuel gas permeates through the resin liner 102. Thus, when the pressure inside the liner 102 of the high-pressure gas tank 101 is reduced, a pressure difference occurs between the pressure inside the resin liner 102 and the pressure of the high-pressure fuel gas accumulated in a gap between the liner 102 and the reinforcing layer 103.
Because of this pressure difference, the high-pressure fuel that accumulates in the gap between the liner 102 and the reinforcing layer 103 presses the liner 102, thereby causing deformation of the liner 102 such as buckling 102h as illustrated in FIG. 12.
In order to prevent the buckling 102h from occurring, a certain residual pressure needs to be maintained inside the liner 102. Thus, in the high-pressure gas tank 101, the effective amount of the fuel gas (the effective amount of hydrogen) that can be used is reduced.
Furthermore, during the maintenance of the high-pressure gas tank 101, the pressure in the high-pressure gas tank 101, that is, the pressure inside the liner 102, needs to be reduced to the atmospheric pressure. In this case, the occurrence of the buckling 102h of the liner 102 may be unavoidable.
In addition, when discarding the high-pressure gas tank 101, it is desirable that there be no accumulation of the gas in the gap between the liner 102 and the reinforcing layer 103.
Thus, technologies for addressing the above-described problem are disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publications No. 2009-216133, No. 2009-257355, and No. 2011-231900 as follows.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2009-216133 describes a structure, in which a plurality of vent holes that extend to an outer space are provided in the reinforcing layer 103, thereby dispersing the gas that accumulates in the gap between the liner 102 and the reinforcing layer 103. See, for example, FIG. 2 of Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2009-216133.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2009-257355 describes a structure, in which the liner 102 has grooves formed in the outer surface thereof so as to facilitate dispersion of the gas, thereby preventing the gas from accumulating in the gap between the liner 102 and the reinforcing layer 103. See, for example, FIGS. 1A, 1B, 2A, 2B, and 5 of Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2009-257355.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2011-231900 describes a structure, in which a gas dispersion facilitating layer, which is an intermediate layer including fine balls formed on the liner 102, is provided between the liner 102 and the reinforcing layer 103 so as to prevent the gas from accumulating. See, for example, FIG. 4 of Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2011-231900.

Pressure gas container and vehicle including the same