A pre-treatment method for analyzing a specified portion in a specimen composed of a biological tissue includes the steps of preparing a specimen to be analyzed, determining a specified portion in the specimen; and applying an analysis inhibitor to a portion except the specified portion of the specimen using a droplet spray method.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for pre-treating a specimen and a method for analyzing a specimen.
2. Description of the Related Art
The importance of analysis of proteins which are gene products present in living organisms has come under close scrutiny with recent development in genome analysis.
The importance of expression and functional analysis of proteins has been pointed out, and development of an analysis method is being advanced.
Such a method basically includes a combination of (1) separation and purification by two-dimensional electrophoresis and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and (2) detection and analysis, such as radiometric analysis, optical analysis, mass spectrometry, and the like.
The basis of protein analysis techniques is called "proteome analysis" which aims at analyzing proteins derived from genes and actually functioning in living organisms and at investigating the functions of cells and the causes of diseases.
A typical analysis method includes the following:
(1) extraction of proteins from a biological tissue or cells to be examined;
(2) separation of the proteins by two-dimensional electrophoresis;
(3) analysis of the proteins or segments thereof by mass spectrometry such as a MALDI method (Matrix Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization-Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry: MALDI-TOFMS); and
(4) identification of the proteins using a database such as Genome Project.
For example, proteins involved in recurrence and metastasis of a cancer are being clarified by the proteome analysis, and the results thereof start to appear.
On the other hand, a technique relating to a pre-treatment step in the series of proteome analysis, for example, a pre-treatment technique for analyzing only target cells from a tissue sample containing normal cells and abnormal cells in a development stage of a cancer or the like, becomes very important.
Such a pre-treatment is generally performed by a technique of extracting target cells from a sample.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,184,973 discloses an apparatus using microdissection.
The target cells are collected from a tissue sample using this apparatus according to the following procedures:
First, a glass slide on which a tissue sample has been fixed is placed at a center of a stage, and a sampling cap is moved using a cap transfer portion.
The glass slide is moved by manually operating the stage while the tissue sample is observed through an observation optical system of an inverted optical microscope to find the target cells in the tissue sample.
Next, the glass slide is positioned so that the target cells are at the center of a field of view.
Then, a laser beam is applied through the sampling cap, and only the target cells in the tissue sample are bonded using a thermoplastic portion of the sampling cap.
The sampling cap is separated from the glass slide to collect the target cells together with the sampling cap. Another known microdissection apparatus is of a type in which a target portion is cut out with a laser beam.
Apart from this, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-098060 discloses a method of selectively collecting a target portion using a probe microscope.
The method disclosed in this document includes the following steps: coating a target sample with a coating material, forming an image of the coated sample using a probe microscope, curetting the target portion with a probe of the probe microscope, treating the target portion exposed by curettage, and selectively collecting a substance contained in the target portion.
Further, US 2004/0219588 discloses a method of analyzing only a target portion in a tissue sample by treating the target portion without physically taking out target cells from the tissue sample.
Specifically, in this method, an analytical reagent is adhered to a portion to be analyzed (the order of several 100 microns) by an ink jet method so that the portion is analyzed directly by a microscopic observation method or laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry.
In the apparatus disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,184,973, it is necessary to position a target cell at the center of the field of view while manually operating the stage for each of cells scattered at a plurality of points in the same tissue sample. In addition, it is necessary to apply a laser beam after the positioning operation, thereby requiring much labor and time for the work.
The technique using the probe microscope disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-098060 includes coating the target portion with the coating agent, exposing the target portion by curetting with the probe, and analyzing the target portion. Therefore, reproducibility and analysis accuracy may be decreased.
Further, the method disclosed in US 2004/0219588 includes applying an analysis reagent to a specified region of a biological sample using an ink jet method and analyzing the specified region, and thus has limitations on the analysis reagent and analysis method.

Method for pre-treating specimen and method for analyzing specimen


A shrink material is provided comprising a specific polymer and a solvent containing an anti-vanishing solvent. A pattern is formed by applying a resist composition comprising a base resin and an acid generator onto a substrate to form a resist film, exposing, developing in an organic solvent developer to form a negative resist pattern, applying the shrink material onto the pattern, and removing the excessive shrink material with an organic solvent for thereby shrinking the size of holes and/or slits in the pattern.

While the effort to reduce the pattern rule is in rapid progress to meet the recent demand for higher integration level and operating speed of LSIs, the photolithography is on widespread use. The photolithography has the essential limit of resolution determined by the wavelength of a light source. One micropatterning approach to go beyond the limit of resolution is by combining ArF excimer laser immersion lithography with double patterning. One typical version of double patterning is litho-etch-litho-etch (LELE) process involving forming a pattern via exposure, transferring the pattern to a hard mask on a substrate by etching, effecting second exposure at a half-pitch shifted position, and etching the hard mask. This process has the problem of misalignment between two exposures or overlay error. Another version of double patterning is self-aligned double patterning (SADP) process involving the steps of transferring a resist pattern to a hard mask, growing a film on opposite sides of hard mask features, and leaving sidewalls of film for thereby doubling pattern size. The SADP process needs exposure only once and mitigates the problem of overlay error. To simplify the process, a modified version of the SADP process of forming a silicon oxide film on sidewalls of resist pattern features as developed rather than sidewalls of hard mask features for thereby doubling pattern size is also proposed. Since the SADP process is successful in reducing the pitch of line pattern to half, the pitch can be reduced to ¼ by repeating the SADP process twice.
Not only shrinking of line patterns, but also shrinking of hole patterns is necessary. Unless the hole pattern is shrunk, shrinkage over the entire chip is incomplete. One known method of shrinking a hole pattern is RELACS® method described in Patent Document 1. This method intends to reduce the size of a hole pattern by coating a resist pattern as developed with a water-soluble material containing a crosslinker, and baking the coating to form a crosslinked layer on the resist surface for causing the resist pattern to be thickened. Patent Document 2 describes a shrink material comprising an amino-containing polymer or polyamine, which bonds to the resist surface via neutralization reaction with carboxyl groups on the resist surface, for thereby thickening the resist film. It is also proposed in Non-Patent Document 1 to shrink a hole pattern by utilizing the direct self-assembly (DSA) of a block copolymer.
Shrinkage by the RELACS® method has the problem that since a crosslinker becomes active with an acid catalyst within resist, the size of holes is non-uniform after shrinkage if acid diffusion is non-uniform. In the shrink method based on neutralization and bonding of amino polymer, the pattern is thickened as direct reflection of irregularities on the resist surface so that dimensional variations of the resist pattern as developed and dimensional variations after shrinkage are identical. The shrink method utilizing the DSA function of a block copolymer has advantages including an increased amount of shrinkage and a minimal dimensional variation after shrinkage, but some problems. Namely, if the DSA is applied to holes of different size, shrinkage cannot be induced for those holes of the size that causes a contradictory assembly of block copolymer. If the DSA is applied to a trench pattern, shape deformation becomes a problem, for example, a plurality of hole patterns are formed.
There is a need for a shrink material which can shrink a hole pattern without changing the shape of the resist pattern, and improve the dimensional variation and edge roughness (LWR) of the resist pattern after development.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Shrink material and pattern forming process


Systems and methods for consistent data generation across an enterprise involves explosion of seed data received in at least one of two or more databases present across the enterprise based on an identified reference data field in the received seed data and a pre-defined pattern. A lightweight map of key-value pairs is created wherein the key is data in the reference data field of at least one data record and the value is a pointer to a transformed value of either the data in the reference data field or at least one data field other than the reference data field, the transformed value being based on the pre-defined pattern. Based on the exploded seed data, the map is continually appended for further data explosion such that consistent data is generated across the enterprise.

Enterprise-wide data management is a challenge that needs to be addressed at various levels. One of the critical scenarios is ensuring that an application works consistently across domains and geographies. Testing of an application deployed in various domains and geographies requires enterprise-wide consistent data generation to ensure consistent functioning of the deployed applications. It is a challenge to ensure data consistency during data generation across the enterprise. Also, it is imperative that the data consistency is ensured even when seed data across databases are not in sync.

Systems and methods for enterprise-wide consistent data generation


Embodiments of the present invention provide a downlink information processing method and a device. The method includes: determining, by UE, whether a communication link between a cell in an active set and the UE meets a preset communication quality requirement; and if the communication link between the cell in the active set and the UE does not meet the preset communication quality requirement, stopping, by the UE, processing downlink information that is sent from a base station by using the communication link; therefore, transmission performance of the UE is not affected.

A heterogeneous network (Hetnet) is a network formed by cells of different sizes and types, for example, a macro cell, a micro cell, a pico cell, a femto cell, and a cell in a form of a remote radio head (RRH).
In a scenario of intra-frequency deployment of the Hetnet, when user equipment (UE) moves from a micro cell to a macro cell or another micro cell, signal quality of a communication link between the UE and the micro cell decreases. The UE may report a quality up event (1A event) of the macro cell or another micro cell to a network side by using the communication link, and then the UE may receive an active set update (ASU) message that is sent from the network side by using the communication link and used for instructing the UE to add the macro cell or micro cell to an active set. However, because the signal quality of the communication link decreases quickly, the UE may fail to receive the ASU of the network side, thereby failing to add the macro cell or micro cell to the active set, and further causing a cell handover failure of the UE. Therefore, in the prior art, the network side increases a value of an event report evaluation parameter, such as a cell individual offset (CIO), of the macro cell or micro cell, so that the UE can report earlier the 1A event of the macro cell or micro cell and delay reporting a quality down event (1B event), and after reporting the 1B event, still retain the macro cell or micro cell in the active set; in this way, the macro cell or micro cell is added earlier to the active set and deletion of the macro cell or micro cell from the active set is delayed, thereby ensuring a cell handover success rate of the UE.
However, in a case in which the macro cell or micro cell is added to the active set, signal quality of a communication link between the UE and the macro cell or micro cell may be poor, and downlink information received by the UE by using the communication link affects transmission performance of the UE.

Downlink information processing method and device


A multi-band array antenna comprises m first antenna elements operating in p frequency bands; n second antenna elements operating in q frequency bands; a Wilkinson power distributor; one or more filters; and one or more matching circuits. Here, m and n are positive integers satisfying m+n≥3 and any of m=n+1, n=m+1 and m=n; and p and q are positive integers satisfying p≥1, q≥2 and q>p. The m first antenna elements and the n second antenna elements are alternately arranged. The matching circuit performs impedance matching between the filter and the Wilkinson power distributor in a frequency band attenuated by the filter. A series-connection circuit portion is configured so that a branch portion of the power distributor becomes an open end in the attenuation frequency band.

Progress in mobile communications is not limited to consumer usage fields using voice or data transmission, represented by smartphones and tablets, but extends to a telemetry field that has been constructed as a dedicated system. Recently, usage of M2M (Machine to Machine) using an inexpensive and small-size wireless module is progressing. Unlike consumer usage traffic, periodical traffic with a small amount of information occurs in M2M.
A wireless module for M2M (hereinafter also referred to simply as a wireless module) is configured with a wireless transceiver and an external antenna. For example, a wireless transceiver designed to properly operate in a 2 GHz band and an 800 MHz band and an externally installed loop antenna having both of the 2 GHz band and the 800 MHz band as operating frequency bands are known. The wireless transceiver is, for example, built into a handy terminal or a vending machine. The external antenna is connected to an antenna terminal of the wireless transceiver and is installed, for example, as an antenna of a handy terminal or on the top of a vending machine. In general, in the wireless module, it is not necessary to integrally install the wireless transceiver and the external antenna. Thus, unlike smartphones, tablets or mobile phones for consumers, the wireless module has an implementation form with a high degree of freedom.
As the external antenna, various products are provided (for example, see Non patent document 1). The above loop antenna having both of the 2 GHz band and the 800 MHz band as operating frequencies has the following specifications: outer diameter: 150 mm×40 mm×60 mm; 2 GHz band gain: −8 dBd or more; 800 MHz band gain: −7 dBd or more; and weight: 220 g. Further, such an antenna is also known that a printed-circuit board on which an antenna pattern is printed is built into a plastic housing, and its electrical characteristics are almost similar to those of a loop antenna.
As an example of a conventional wireless module for M2M, an example of operating in both of the 2 GHz band and the 800 MHz band as described above is known. Due to increase in the number of frequency bands for mobile phones, it is thought that the number of frequency bands that can be used in a wireless module also increases. From the viewpoint of characteristics of a wireless module, frequency bands used for wireless communication are not necessarily required to be frequency bands for mobile phones, and furthermore use of various frequency bands, such as frequency bands used by specified low-power equipment, frequency bands for RFID and the like and frequencies bands for wireless LAN, is conceivable though there are preconditions to meet certain technical standards.


A method for mass producing thin IC cards having beautiful surfaces using a non-polluting polyethylene telephthalate material in which a hot-melt type adhesive is applied and formed on a joint surface of a cover sheet formed from polyethylene telephthalate, and in which a hot-melt adhesive is used as a sealing adhesive at an opening of a core sheet that is held by the cover sheets. To improve the heat-resisting bonding strength of this hot-melt adhesive, a thermosetting resin may be mixed with the hot-melt adhesive.

Thin IC cards have been produced in such a procedure as follows. Electronic components are mounted, by using solder or the like, on lands of a wiring pattern formed on a first cover sheet which is made of vinyl chloride having good self-fusing characteristic. A core sheet made of vinyl chloride, having apertures at positions corresponding to the electronic components mounting positions, is placed over the electronic components. Space around the electronic components in the apertures is filled up with a sealing resin made of a thermosetting resin such as epoxy resin which is cured after filling. Then after placing a second cover sheet made of vinyl chloride on the sealing resin, the assembly of sheets is heated at about 120.degree. C. for 5 to 10 minutes while applying a pressure of 5 kgf/cm.sup.2 by means of a press, thereby completing the thin IC card.
The sealing resin is preferably applied so that the surface is at the same height as the core sheet surface, but the resin changes the volume thereof when curing, and therefore it is difficult to accurately control the amount of the resin to fill. Further, while portions other than the filling resin join with each other through thermal fusion of vinyl chloride, top surfaces of the filling resin are exposed through the cover sheet, resulting in a problem that clear image cannot be printed when printing a pattern on the cover sheet surface.
Thus, it is a first object of the present invention to provide a method for producing a thin IC card with beautiful finish of the cover sheet surface at positions corresponding to the apertures of the core sheet.
Vinyl chloride is capable of self-fusing at a low temperature and is suitable for mass production in a continuous production line. However, vinyl chloride emits a chloride gas when burned, thus polluting the environment. Recently, therefore, it has been proposed to switch the material from vinyl chloride to polyethylene terephthalate (PET). However, polyethylene terephthalate has a melting point above 250.degree. C. and is not self-fusing at a low temperature unlike vinyl chloride. Also in case a thermosetting resin is used as a filling resin of IC cards produced in the continuous production line, such a method cannot be employed as the apertures of the core sheet are filled with the thermosetting resin followed by a period of waiting for the thermosetting resin to cure during the production step. Instead, it is necessary to apply the thermosetting resin on the electronic components in advance. But this method has a problem of causing more impairment of the surface construction of the cover sheet than in the case of the former method.
Thus, it is a second object of the present invention to provide a method for mass producing a thin IC card by using PET which does not have adverse effect on the environment, in a similar way as that for vinyl chloride, while producing the thin IC card of beautiful surface finish.

Method for producing thin IC cards and construction thereof


According to the method of the invention two successive samples from each of two signal channels to be detected are alternately fed and not fed to the detection device. In consequence of this, fewer interference products are obtained, so that the processing time can remain relatively short. Moreover the two multi-frequency code samples (MFC-samples) of two channels can be processed simultaneously. A device (FIG. 3) examines on a time division basis the signalling time slots of two pulse code modulated frames of multi-channel signals (PCM-frames). Under the control of a microprocessor circuit (27) the pulse code modulated selected multi -frequency signal samples are processed in an input control circuit (28) when they are correlated with one another by being multiplied by sine and cosine reference series signals from a buffer (29). The correlation results are fed to accumulators (30, 33). Under the control of a second microprocessor circuit (40) the correlation results are compared in a processing circuit and transferred to the equipment that follows.

The invention relates to a method and a device for detecting the presence or absence of one or more of a fixed number of certain frequencies within a pulse code modulated (PCM) signal, the signal to be investigated being multiplied by each of two reference series for each of the said certain frequencies.
A method and device of this kind are known from Proudfoot U.S. Pat. No. 3882283 issued May 6, 1975.
The method and device are applied in telecommunication exchanges in detecting voice-frequency signalling signals, such as different frequencies corresponding to digits on pushbuttons or on a dial of a telephone set contained in a telecommunication channel itself or in a separate signalling channel.
As detection devices for signalling purposes are widely used in telecommunication exchanges, it is clearly desirable that each detection device is used as efficiently as possible, so that space can be saved in the construction of the exchange and an economically more attractice solution is found. On the other hand, the standards to be met by the detection devices have been laid down in CCITT-recommendations Q440-Q458, which show that detection has to take place within a rather short time even if the frequencies received are somewhat different from the ones expected.
Although the device described in the above-mentioned patent is reasonably insensitive to inaccuracies in the frequency of the signals received, the components of the device are not used very efficiently. An improvement has been realized with the method and device described in applicants' asignees Drukarch U.S. Pat. No. 4068309 issued Jan. 10, 1978, but the latter has the drawback of being sensitive to frequency deviations and level variations of the signal. Both devices have the disadvantage that they cannot properly handle the occurring sum and difference frequencies.
The object of the invention is to provide a method and device which, starting from those described in the Proudfoot U.S. Pat. No. 3882283, yield a more efficient use of the equipment and more reliable detection.

Method and device for detecting the presence of one or more pulse code modulated multi-frequency code signals

Staat der Nederlanden (Staatsbedrijf der Posterijen, Telegrafie en Telefonie)


A stage lighting lamp unit includes a processor for receiving control data from a remote console. Beam orientation data for the lamp unit is passed to the lamp in the form of the x, y and z co-ordinates of a point in space through which the beam is to pass. The processor divides the required lamp travel into a number of stages dependent on execution duration data sent with the position data, and calculates, for each stage, a new value for pan and tilt angles for the lamp. These values are passed to pan and tilt controlling co-processors which control servo-motors for pan and tilt operation. The lamp unit also incorporates a rotatable shutter for interrupting the lamp beam when required. The shutters of all the lamps in a system can be instructed from the remote console to open and close in synchronism, thereby providing a stroboscopic effect.

This invention relates to stage lighting and is particularly concerned with the control of multiple functions of a lamp.
It has already been proposed to incorporate in a lamp unit a plurality of different functions, such as colour changers, focusing lenses, iris diaphragms, gobo selectors and pan and tilt mechanisms which are controlled from a remote console. Stage lighting systems have as a result reached very high levels of complexity requiring a very complicated main control console and lamp unit constructions. The use of microprocessors, both in the console and the lamps has become conventional as increasing complexity makes it more difficult to produce and subsequently maintain a system which uses hard wired logic or analog controls. In such systems the microprocessor in the console is used to allow the user to set up lighting cues and to control the sending of appropriate data to the lamp microprocessors. The lamp microprocessors are also involved in controlling communication between the console and the lamps, and also have to control a plurality of servomotors which drive the various functions of the lamps.
It is one object of the present invention to provide a lamp microprocessor and servo-control arrangement which allows complex functions to be carried out.
It is another object of the invention to provide a lamp control system in which control of pan and tilt movements of each lamp can be carried out in rapid and efficient manner, enabling large groups of lamps to make co-ordinated movements.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide each lamp in a stage lighting system with a means for quickly interrupting its light beam and quickly re-establishing the beam so that a group of lamps can be made, when required to flash in synchronism.
In accordance with one aspect of the invention there is provided a lamp unit for connection to a remote control console for the control of a plurality of different functions of the lamp, said unit comprising a main processor circuit, associated with a communication controller for accepting message data from the console, a plurality of servo-controls for operating said functions of the lamp, and a plurality of co-processors which are connected to the main processor circuit so as to be supplied thereby with desired value data for the various lamp functions, said servo-controls being controlled by said co-processors.
In the case of pan and tilt controls where close control is required throughout the movement of the lamp from an initial position to a new position, one of the co-processors is assigned solely to the control of movement about each axis. Other functions can share a co-processor.
The main processor circuit of the lamp is preferably programmed to accept data from the control console defining not only a target position for any function, but also a duration over which the function is to be executed. In this case the main processor circuit divides the xe2x80x9cjourneyxe2x80x9d into segments and updates the target position data passed to the associated co-processor at intervals.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, there is provided a lighting control apparatus comprising the combination of a main control console for accepting user input relating to required beam movements, a plurality of independently operable lamp units situated remotely from the console, each of the lamp units incorporating a servomechanism for automatically moving the lamp beam about two mutually transverse axes to a desired angular position and data communication means connecting the console to the lamp units for the transmission of desired position data to the lamp units, the desired position data being transmitted in the form of a set of three dimensional linear co-ordinates defining a point in space through which the lamp beam is required to pass, and each lamp unit including a calculating device for calculating the desired angular position from the desired position data and supplying the servo-mechanism with such desired angular position.
In addition to the xe2x80x9cpoint atxe2x80x9d mode of operation mentioned above, additional modes may be specified in which the lamps point away from the specified point or in which they all point in the same direction parallel to a line between a fixed position in the co-ordinate system and the specified point.
Conveniently, all the data concerning the positions and orientations of the individual lamp units within the co-ordinate system is stored in a set-up file kept on a hard disk drive in the console. When the same lighting set-up is used at different venues, where it is impossible to set the frame which carries all the lamp units at exactly the same position as that for which the set-up was designed, offset data can be input at the console and either used within the console microcomputer to correct the position data stored during set-up as it is sent out, or such data can be sent to all or the lamp units over the network and stored there, to enable the corrections to be made in the individual lamp processor units.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, a stage lighting unit comprises a housing, a light source within said housing, an optical system for forming light from said light source into a beam, a rotary shutter device having a plurality of blades, said shutter device being rotatably mounted in the housing so as to cause said blades to pass through and obstruct said beam as the shutter device rotates, a motor for rotating said shutter device and a servo-control for controlling said motor in accordance with data received in use from a remote control console.
The invention also resides in a stage lighting system incorporating a plurality of lighting units as defined above controlled by a common remote control console via data communication means, whereby the rotary shutter devices of all the units can operate in synchronism.

Stage lighting lamp unit and stage lighting system including such unit


An electric vehicle with fuel cells mounted thereon has a fuel tank that stores a fuel therein, and a connector receptor that is connected to the fuel tank and is open to the surface of the vehicle body. A connector of a predetermined hydrogen supply device is fitted in and attached to the connector receptor, so that a supply of fuel is fed from the hydrogen supply device to the electric vehicle. The connector receptor is provided with a fuel lid for covering over the connector receptor. When it is determined that the fuel cells are in a working state, the fuel lid is not opened in response to input of an opening instruction of the fuel lid in the course of fuel supply. When it is determined that the fuel lid is open, on the other hand, operation of the fuel cells is not started in response to input of a starting instruction of the fuel cells in the electric vehicle. Such an arrangement enhances the safety of fuel supply to any system with fuel cells.

A diversity of electric vehicles have been proposed, which utilize electrical energy output from fuel cells for the driving energy. Supply of a fuel, such as hydrogen, to the fuel cells is naturally required for power generation in the fuel cells. The electric vehicle of one known construction has hydrogen mounted thereon as the fuel for the fuel cells. The electric vehicle of another known construction has a source material, such as a hydrocarbon or a hydrocarbon compound, mounted thereon and reforms the source material to generate hydrogen gas and supply the hydrogen gas to the fuel cells.
One proposed arrangement to make hydrogen mounted on a vehicle as the fuel for fuel cells uses a storage tank including a hydrogen absorbing alloy on the vehicle and makes hydrogen absorbed by the hydrogen absorbing alloy as the fuel for fuel cells (for example, PATENT LAID-OPEN GAZETTE No. 2000-88196). This structure ensures the safety in storage of hydrogen on the vehicle as the movable body.
In the structure of utilizing the hydrogen absorbing alloy for storage of hydrogen on the vehicle, supply of hydrogen to the storage tank including the hydrogen absorbing alloy is required for a continuous drive of the vehicle. Sufficient safety is naturally an important factor in the course of supplying hydrogen under such conditions. The safety of fuel supply to a system with fuel cells has, however, not been discussed fully.
A fuel supply system for fuel cells and a movable body of the present invention are provided to solve the problems of the prior art technique and to enhance the safety of supply of a fuel, such as hydrogen, or its source material to any system with fuel cells.

Fuel cell fuel supply system and mobile body


A device for processing a continuously running material web includes a machine frame with an ultrasonic generator unit with a sonotrode. A counter tool lies opposite the sonotrode, affixed on the machine frame. The material web is passed through the gap between the sonotrode and the counter tool; as a drive activated by a fluid pressure medium, to press the sonotrode that is movably mounted on the machine frame against the counter tool. A damper for damping vibrations of the sonotrode in the contact pressure direction is provided. This damper is connected at one end with the sonotrode, and at its other end to the machine frame so that vibrations excited by the web or by the counter tool are damped to such an extent that they are no longer noticeable in the processing effect.

The invention relates to a device for processing a continuously running web material. Typically, the device has a machine frame, an ultrasonic generator unit that has a sonotrode which is movably mounted to the machine frame, a counter tool that lies opposite the sonotrode and which is supported on the machine frame, some means for passing the web material through the gap between the sonotrode and the counter tool, and a drive, activated by a fluid pressure medium, for pressing the sonotrode against the counter tool.
The processing tasks to which such hardware is directed include, for example, reinforcement of a nonwoven made up of thermoplastic fibers, by melting the fibers in certain spots. In this connection, the sonotrode rests on the nonwoven with a certain force, in order to ensure that the ultrasound energy is effectively introduced into the nonwoven. On the back, the nonwoven rests on the counter tool, which is structured as a counter roller, for example.
In order to achieve an optimum processing effect that remains uniform over the surface of the material web, very precise control over the distance and thus the force between the sonotrode and the counter tool (or the sheath surface of the relief affixed to it, if present) is required.
It is usual to press sonotrodes, i.e. the material web that is located between them, against the counter tool with a constant force, using pneumatic cylinders. However, the sonotrode is not supported in rigid manner in this connection, but rather via a force cushion that acts like a spring. To a certain extent, a hydraulic contact pressure system is also resilient.
Due to irregularities in the position of the nonwoven, and possibly also due to the relief pattern applied to the counter tool, i.e. the counter roller, the sonotrode may vibrate perpendicularly to the counter tool. This vibration movement has the result that the processing effect varies due to the rhythm of the vibration frequency. In other words, the nonwoven web is periodically reinforced less at one point of its length, and more at another, or might even be cut. Such irregularities are, of course, very undesirable.
The present invention is directed to the task of further developing a device of this type such that it has a more uniform processing effect. A damping device is provided to ensure that the vibrations excited by the web or the counter tool are damped to such an extent that they are no longer noticeable in the processing effect.
One such damping device is a piston/cylinder combination, attached to the sonotrode through one of the elements and to the machine frame at the other of the elements. The fluid located between the surfaces of the elements mentioned undergoes strong shear when the surfaces move relative to one another, and exerts its damping effect by internal fluid friction. For example, an arrangement of plates that are parallel to one another and lie opposite one another at a slight distance, similar to an electrical plate capacitor, is possible.
In the preferred embodiment, however, the damping device is structured as a piston/cylinder unit, where the fluid is located between the outside circumference of the piston and the inside circumference of the cylinder.
Damping devices as such are discussed in the book xe2x80x9cGerxc3xa4tekonstruktionxe2x80x9d(Device Design), edited by W. Krause, Dr. is Alfred Hxc3xcthig Verlag, Heidelberg (1987), pages 326-328. The book xe2x80x9cxc3x96lhydraulikxe2x80x9d (Oil Hydraulics) by G. Bauer Verlag B. G. Teubner, Stuttgart (1992), pages 150/151, particularly FIG. 86, shows a spindle valve that has a damping piston to prevent fluttering of the valve body, but here the damping effect comes about primarily by an overflow process resulting from a reduced cross-section.
The primary fluid that can be used is an oil, the viscosity of which is suitably selected.
The distance between the surfaces, i.e. the radial distance between the outside circumference of the piston and the inside circumference of the cylinder also depends on the viscosity. This distance can vary approximately within a range of 2 to 50 xcexcm, where the selection depends on the size of the damping device, the desired damping effect, and, of course, on the viscosity of the oil being used, in an individual case.
According to one embodiment the damping device and the drive which is used to set the sonotrode against the counter tool or to lift it from the latter are combined in a module.
This can be accomplished, for example, by a dual-action piston/cylinder unit.
When oil is used as a fluid pressure medium, the piston can be cylindrical, without a piston ring where the piston has sufficiently small play in its cylinder so that the contact pressure movement is possible when force is exerted, but at the same time, sufficiently great play so that the fluid damping effect is possible. If, however, air is used as the fluid pressure medium for the contact pressure movement, the piston should have piston rings. Air is not suitable for achieving a sufficiently great damping effect at low vibration amplitudes. Therefore a liquid is provided as the damping medium in the space between the piston rings, which can be supplied to the interstitial space via a special feed line.

Device for processing a web material using ultrasound

Eduard Kusters Maschinenfabrik GmbH and Co., KG


An upright vacuum cleaner having a filter bag housing assembly comprised of a fabric or otherwise flexible and air permeable bag housing resiliently supported at its bottom end relative to the operator handle such that the bag housing is always in tension and is prevented from twisting about the axis of the operator handle. The bag housing assembly includes rigid upper and lower frame members thereby maintaining the assembly in a prescribed geometric shape. The lower frame member which defines the bottom of the bag housing includes a pair of laterally disposed elongated track members telescopically disposed within respective guide track members fixed to the handle and resiliently biased relative to the respective guide track member to thereby maintain the bag housing in tension and provide lateral stability to the bag housing at the same time.

Upright vacuum cleaners are a particularly popular type of vacuum cleaner for household and light industrial vacuum cleaning of floors and floor carpeting. Typically, the unit includes a cleaner head assembly mounted on wheels and having a suction generator driven by a motor, with the motor also providing a belt drive for the roller-type agitator or roller brush mounted on the chassis. The unit also includes an operating handle pivoted to the chassis which can be placed in a lower inclined position to assist the operator in moving the vacuum cleaner over the carpet and in an upright position whereby the vacuum cleaner can be conveniently stored in a closet or the like thereby occupying minimal space. A filter bag is generally mounted on the handle within a hard case or a flexible fabric bag with the filter bag communicating with a passageway at the positive pressure end of the suction generator or fan assembly to collect the dirt-laden air brought up from the floor or carpet. The handle may also carry a storage rack for the electric cord providing power from a wall outlet to the suction generating motor means.
In upright vacuum cleaners utilizing a flexible fabric bag housing for enclosing the filter bag, it is most common to fix the bottom of the fabric housing to the lower end of the handle or chassis and suspend the top of the bag from a coil spring which will maintain tension on the bag and hold it in the upright position. The bag includes a zipper running its length to provide access within the bag housing for installing and withdrawing a filter bag. The filter bag is arranged with the inlet port secured to the chassis at the discharge end of the suction generator or fan such that the opposite end of the bag is elevated and the dirt-laden air. As a result, the dirt-laden air being discharged into the bag will fill the bag from the bottom up and require passing the discharge air through the dirt collected at the bottom of the bag. This can create a fair amount of back pressure in the vacuum cleaner and result in frequently having to replace the filter bag in order to maintain the vacuum cleaning efficiency of the vacuum cleaner.
More recently, upright vacuum cleaners have been designed to provide an air discharge duct extending lengthwise up the handle from the discharge end of the suction generating fan within the chassis and discharging the air at the upper end of the handle. With such an arrangement, the bag is suspended from a filter bag holding bracket positioned at the discharge end of the duct so that the bag hangs with its inlet port at the top of the bag and the dirt-laden air is blown from the top to the bottom of the bag where the dirt collects as the discharge air passes through the air permeable filter bag. This type of vacuum cleaning unit has been available with a soft bag housing, as described above, and, alternatively, with a "hard case", namely an all plastic housing of generally rigid construction in the shape of an elongate box.
With the hard case design, a front cover plate is provided, also of plastic construction, which may be hinged at the bottom and provided with a retainer clip for closing the top end of the front panel. The overall appearance is quite streamlined, thus being aesthetically pleasing to the user. Also, due to its rigidity, the filter bag within its closure remains virtually undisturbed.
Nevertheless, the flexible fabric bag housing offers certain advantageous design features over that of the hard case, including light weight, ease of use, savings in material cost, and aesthetic design alternatives.


Apparatuses and methods of using and making apparatuses that may clean concave and convex surfaces are discussed. The apparatus may be capable of substantially contacting and cleaning concave, convex, planar, and non-planar surfaces.

Longitudinally-oriented (e.g., monoaxial) toothbrushes may present difficulties in employing certain brushing methods. At least one of these methods includes positioning bristle tips of a brush at a particular angle to a surface to be cleaned, pressing the bristle tips against the gingiva, vibrating the bristles, and moving the bristles in small circular motions. This method, and similar methods, may present obstacles for individuals with lesser manual dexterity, such as the young, the elderly, or the physically challenged. Many users consequently resort to using a side-to-side scrubbing action, in which the bristle tips of the toothbrush do not penetrate in-between the teeth effectively or under the gumline. Such brushing techniques can cause loss of tooth enamel and damage to the gingiva or palatal tissues.
Although transversal toothbrushes can offer one or more advantages over monoaxial toothbrushes, cleaning the anterior lingual dental surfaces with some transversal toothbrushes may be difficult because the curve of the dental arch may cause the ends of the cleaning head to contact teeth adjacent to those to be cleaned. Previous remedies include providing a concave bristle profile, which renders the cleaning head unsuitable for cleaning concave dental surfaces; providing a double-ended transversal toothbrush with a convex-shaped cleaning head at one end and a concave-shaped head at the other, which may entail interrupting the brushing process to reverse the orientation of the toothbrush during brushing; and reducing the width of the cleaning head to a degree that may substantially reduce other advantages sought in the transversal configuration. The transversal toothbrush of EP0900033B, to Grivon and Hugon, has a curved handle and a brush head that can be manually adjusted between transversal and coaxial orientations to the longitudinal axis of the apparatus. The longitudinal toothbrush of U.S. Pat. No. 2,266,195, to Hallock, has a central head portion that is resilient and can move relative to the surrounding portion of the cleaning head to enable the entirety of the bristles to contact both convex and concave surfaces. The toothbrush of U.S. Pat. No. 2,232,269, to Reuben, has a pair of parallel necks one of which can be manually rotated so that its brush head is perpendicular to the other brush head. Cleaning apparatuses having a cleaning head longitudinal axis oriented substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the apparatus may have a cleaning head that is substantially rigid.


Provided is a construction machine capable of suppressing deformation of a boom in a simple configuration and at low costs. The construction machine includes a pair of backstops having respective hydraulic cylinders; a supply device which supplies the hydraulic cylinders with hydraulic fluid; a deformation sensing device which senses deformation of the boom; and a control device which controls the supply device so as to make a thrust of the hydraulic cylinder of one backstop having a larger pressing force, out of the pair of backstops, be larger than a thrust of the hydraulic cylinder of the other backstop, the pressing force being applied due to the deformation of the boom.

Known is a construction machine including a boom, for example, a travelling-type crane, the construction machine including a slewing body supporting the boom so as to allow the boom to be raised and lowered. Slewing the slewing body and the boom supported on the slewing body enables omnidirectional craning work in an entire periphery around an own machine to be performed, and raising and lowering the boom allows a crane operation at a high position or a position far from the slewing body to be done. These enable a load operation to be done in a three dimensional space.
Raising the boom causes a force in the boom to compress the boom itself. Furthermore, application of lateral force such as wind power or slewing inertial force to the boom generates large lateral bending moment to bend the boom laterally, thereby causing the boom to be laterally deflected. Besides, the boom may have not only the lateral deflection but also torsion. Such lateral deflection or torsion involves change of the boom in its shape, namely, deformation thereof.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2012-51713 discloses a technique to suppress such deformation of a boom. The technique includes attaching a lateral mast crossing a longitudinal direction of a main boom to extend in a lateral direction, and extending a tension rope between both ends of the lateral mast and a sheave provided at a front end of the main boom.
The technique, however, requires attachment of various members including the lateral mast, the sheave, and the tension rope to the main boom, and adjustment thereof, thus involving an increase in scale of facilities and an increase in costs.

KOBELCO CONSTRUCTION MACHINERY CO., LTD.


An apparatus for cutting a steel profile, profile bar, and the like comprises a roller conveyor, at least one driven feed roller, a cutting torch mounted behind the driven feed roller in a positive feed direction, and a burr removal device. A workpiece lying on a roller press is movable in both the positive and the negative feed direction. The cutting torch is movable transverse to the feed direction. The burr removal device comprises a burr-removal shaft with a milling member, which is mounted behind the driven feed roller in the positive feed direction. The burr-removal shaft extends over the entire width of the roller conveyor.

An apparatus for cutting a steel plate profile, profile bar, or the like can comprise a roller conveyor, at least one driven feed roller, a cutting torch mounted behind (downstream of) the driven feed roller in the positive or forward feed direction, and a burr or torch-flashing removal device.
A workpiece lying on the rolling-conveyor bed is movable both in the positive feed direction and the negative (rearward) feed direction, while the cutting torch is movable transversely to both feed directions.
Furthermore the burr removal device is mounted under the workpiece to be cut. A workpiece to be cut is held sufficiently rigidly on the roller bed, for example with the usual devices. By the positive feed direction is meant the principal direction in which the workpiece moves through the apparatus. The negative feed direction is the opposite direction and corresponds to comparatively small backwards motions required during operation.
Motion in the positive feed direction, the negative feed direction, and a transverse adjustability in the position of the burner torch are required for the cutting work. Any of the guiding motions required for cutting and cutting shapes can be made or generated with these degrees of freedom available.
Thus pieces can be cut out of the workpiece, for example rectangular pieces. However during cutting a so-called burr "beard" or torch flashing arises on the underside of the workpiece. This irregular formation is sufficiently large so that upon negative feed motion of the workpiece it encounters the driven feed roller and in many ways disturbs and impairs the precision of the feed.
An apparatus for cutting a steel section, profile bar and the like is described in German utility model DE-GM No. 83 30 463. Here the burr removal mechanism is equipped with nozzles, which direct a pressurized fluid or gaseous medium on the place where the burrs occur. The burrs are acted upon by the pressurized medium in the fluid state and so to speak are blasted away. This technique leads to troubling contamination of the entire apparatus; chiefly much spattering occurs. It is especially disturbing that no smooth surface is formed where the burrs are blasted away by the pressurized medium.

Apparatus for the torch cutting of a steel structural shape


In a transmission device used in a wireless video transmission system in which a medical image is transmitted and received by radio communication, a transmission unit is capable of performing radio communication with a plurality of receiving devices connected to a plurality of display apparatuses. A control unit acquires an identifier for identifying a receiving device connected to a selected single display apparatus when an instruction is received to select one display apparatus on which the medical image is to be displayed from among the display apparatuses, and controls the transmission unit such that the identifier will be used when the medical image is transmitted.

Conventionally, a method is generally used where medical images such as endoscopic images are displayed on a monitor via video cables and a practitioner performs endoscopic surgery while viewing the image on the monitor.
In endoscopic surgery, it is usually the situation that, when the position where a practitioner stands changes depending on the medical case or the manipulation progresses, the optimal position of a monitor on which medical images such as endoscopic Images are displayed also changes accordingly. As a way of iealing with changes in an optimal position of a monitor, the number of operating rooms where two or more monitors are installed has been increasing.
Conventionally, when an endoscopic image is to be displayed on a monitor that a practitioner wishes to display it on in an operating room where two or more monitors are installed, generally a person other than the practitioner, for example, a surrounding nurse or the like being instructed by the practitioner, switches monitors. This is because the practitioner is unable to touch equipment in a non-sterilized area (unclean area) while he/she remains in a sterilized area of the operating room.
When monitors are to be switched, a surrounding nurse for example unplugs the video cable from a monitor that is difficult for the practitioner to see, and plugs the video cable into a monitor at a more convenient position to see. In this case, it is necessary to unplug and plug back in a video cable, and this is troublesome.
Alternatively, the same number of video cables as the number of monitors may be connected in advance, and a surrounding nurse performs an input selecting operation or the like of the monitors as instructed by a practitioner.
For example, Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2002-125219 discloses a technique in which observation images of an endoscope are displayed on two or more, monitors in a synchronized manner.
Moreover, Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2005-342400 discloses a technique in which a radio transmission circuit provided in a processor transmits by radio the subject images acquired by an image pickup device to an external monitor as a video signal.

Wireless video transmission system and transmission device


A fabric for an airbag includes a synthetic fiber woven fabric in which at least one side thereof is coated with a synthetic resin. A range of 0.1 to 10 g/m2 of the synthetic resin is adhered to the synthetic fiber woven fabric having a cover factor of less than 2000 and a FR value of 55% or more. Air permeability of the fabric under a pressure difference of 100 kPa after adhesion is 0.01 to 1.00 L/cm2/min. The synthetic resin can be a polyamide-based resin having a soft segment comprising a polyol with a number average molecular weight of 100 to 5000.

An airbag, a wearing rate of which has been rapidly increased in recent years as one of automobile safety parts, is such that upon an automobile collision accident, a sensor senses impact, an inflator generates a gas at a high temperature and a high pressure, this gas rapidly develops an airbag, thereby, upon flying of a driver and a passenger in a collision direction, particularly a head is prevented or protected from colliding against a handle, a front glass or a door glass. Previously, in the airbag, a coated woven fabric covered with a synthetic rubber such as chloroprene, chlorosulfonated olefin and silicone has been used because of high heat resistance, high air insulating property (low air permeability), and high flame-retardancy and, currently, a silicone-coated woven fabric has become the mainstream.
However, since a woven fabric coated with these synthetic rubbers is increased in a mass of a woven fabric, is not satisfactory in flexibility, and is of the high manufacturing cost, it has many disadvantages for use in a woven fabric for an airbag.
It has been previously known that a woven fabric is improved by a coating amount of a woven fabric (see Patent Literature 1). However, there is no description
in connection with airbag development performance in Patent Literature 1. Further, air permeability is not at a satisfactory level, and improvement is sought.
In addition, for the purpose of reduction in a weight, and cost saving, an invention of coating a woven fabric with a crosslinking elastomer is provided (see e.g., Patent Literature 2). However, an adhesion amount is high in embodiments in Patent Literature 2, and further reduction in a weight is sought.
On the other hand, in an airbag for head-on collision, an airbag using a non-coated woven fabric which is light, is excellent in accommodability, and is not coated has become the mainstream (see e.g., Patent Literature 3). However, in an airbag which is of a small distance from a passenger, such as an airbag for a side collision, higher speed development performance is necessary and, for this reason, a woven fabric for an airbag withstanding a high pressure inflator is sought.
Currently, as a woven fabric for an airbag which can maintain lightness, and better accommodability, being properties of a non-coated woven fabric, impregnation treatment with a synthetic resin diluent is proposed (see e.g., Patent Literature 4). However, air permeability of the woven fabric for an airbag obtained by this method is not sufficiently satisfactory.    Patent Literature 1: JP-A 5-016753    Patent Literature 2: JP-A 2001-524624    Patent Literature 3: JP-A 4-281062    Patent Literature 4: JP-A 11-222776