The present invention provides a new method for making an improved flame-retardant additive comprising a brominated syndiotactic styrenic polymer. The method includes the steps of providing a source of syndiotactic styrenic polymer; providing a source of inert reaction medium that is not capable of dissolving to any appreciable degree the syndiotactic styrenic polymer at ambient temperature and pressure; providing a source of brominating agent; providing a source of Lewis acid catalyst; mixing the syndiotactic styrenic polymer with the inert reaction medium and the Lewis acid catalyst; and reacting the syndiotactic styrenic polymer with the brominating agent to produce a brominated syndiotactic styrenic polymer.

Flame-retardant additives and methods of making and using the same are well-known in the prior art. Flame-retardant additives are added to many polymers during processing so as to render the finished product made with such polymers resistant to ignition.
One class of flame retardants that is used extensively in industry comprises halogenated polymers of styrenic monomers. This class of materials is utilized to impart flame-retardant properties to a broad range of polymeric resins such as, for example, polyamides, polyesters such as PET and PBT, polyolefins and styrenic polymers such as HIPS, ABS, SAN, etc. An example of a commercially successful product of this class is a brominated polystyrene flame-retardant additive sold by the Ferro Corporation of Cleveland, Ohio, under the trademark PYRO-CHEK.RTM. 68PB.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,352,909 which is owned by Ferro Corporation discloses a method for producing a brominated polystyrene flame-retardant additive such as PYRO-CHEK 68PB. Additional examples of references that disclose methods for producing brominated styrenic polymers are Naarmann et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,143,221, Diebel et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,200,703 and Lindenschmidt et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,360,455. Prior art methods of brominating styrenic polymers to a useful degree, as taught in the above mentioned patents, all teach the step of putting the styrenic polymer into solution by use of a solvent during the bromination step.
One class of styrenic polymers that is beginning to attain some commercial interest is syndiotactic styrenic polymers. Nakano U.S. Pat. No. 5,200,454 concerns a flame-retardant resin composition wherein the host or base polymeric resin comprises syndiotactic styrenic polymer. Nakano '454 also talks briefly of adding halogenated syndiotactic polystyrene to syndiotactic polystyrene polymeric resin. However Nakano '454 does not provide any insight whatsoever into how to produce the halogenated syndiotactic polystyrene.
The present invention provides a novel method of producing brominated syndiotactic styrenic polymer additives that display unique and improved properties as compared to additives made using conventional methods.

Method for making brominated syndiotactic styrenic polymers


A dye-drug conjugate for preventing, treating, or imaging cancer having the following structure:

Cancer is one of the leading causes of death globally. In 2015, an estimated 1,658,370 new cases of cancer will be diagnosed in the United States and 589,430 people will die from the disease. In the U.S. alone, 1,500 deaths per day are attributed to cancer, which is approximately 1 in every 4 deaths daily. Cancer is also among the leading causes of death worldwide. In 2012, there were 14 million new cases diagnosed and 8.2 million cancer-related deaths worldwide and the number is expected to be 13 million by 2030. Most deaths from cancer are caused by metastasis, for which there is no effective molecular imaging method to detect the tumor and its metastases, nor is there therapy to effectively eradicate the growth of localized and disseminated tumors.
This invention relates to a class of near-infrared (NIR) cyanine-containing dyes. NIR-dyes chemically conjugated with therapeutic drugs (referred to below as NIR dye-drug conjugates), result in effective uptake and retention of NIR dye-drug conjugates in cancer but not normal cells. The specificity of this class of NIR dye-drug conjugates for cancer but not normal cells is based upon the overexpression of membrane carrier proteins, organic anion transporting peptides (OATPs), in cancer, as compared with normal cells. The OATPs-mediated transporting mechanism is further enhanced by tumor hypoxia.
Evidence supporting the role of OATPs in mediating the uptake and retention of NIR dye-drug conjugates in cancer cells is as follows: 1) OATPs are expressed at a higher level in cancer cells, as compared to normal cells; 2) The expression of OATPs is further enhanced by tumor hypoxia, due to the induction of transcription of OATP genes by the enhanced hypoxia-inducing factor 1 (HIF-1α) in cancer cells; 3) The uptake and retention of NIR dye-drug conjugates in tumor cells can be abolished by bromsulphthalein (BSP), a known competitive OATP inhibitor; 4) Because the function of OATPs in cells is energy-dependent as carriers for drugs, metabolites and hormones, the uptake and retention of the NIR dye-drug conjugates by OATPs in cancer cells are also energy-dependent and occur only in live cells; 5) Genetic knockdown of certain isoform of OATPs in cancer cells prevents the uptake and retention of NIR dye-drug conjugates in cancer cells, whereas the overexpression of OATPs in cancer cells enhances the uptake and retention of NIR dye-drug conjugates in cancer cells; and 6) NIR dye-drug conjugates are known to interact with nucleic acids and proteins noncovalently, and, therefore, once the NIR dye-drug conjugates enter into cancer cells, they are trapped in the mitochrondrial and lysosomal compartments of the cancer cells.
These results establish the basis for the OATP-based uptake and retention of this class of NIR dye-drug conjugates by tumor cells.

Organic anion transporting peptide-based cancer imaging and therapy

Abstract: wherein R1 and R2 are independently selected from the group consisting of —H, alkyl, alkyl-sulphonate, alkylcarboxylic, alkylamino, aryl, —SO3H, —PO3H, —OH, —NH2, and -halogen; wherein Y1 and Y2 is independently selected from the group consisting of alkyl, aryl, aralkyl, alkylsulphonate, alkylcarboxylic, alkylamino, ω-alkylaminium, ω-alkynyl, PEGyl, PEGylcarboxylate, ω-PEGylaminium, ω-acyl-NH, ω-acyl-lysinyl-, ω-acyl-triazole, ω-PEGylcarboxyl-NH—, ω-PEGylcarboxyl-lysinyl, and ω-PEGylcarboxyl-triazole; wherein X is selected from the group consisting of a hydrogen, halogen, CN, Me, NH2, SH and OH; and R3 and R4 are independently a hydrogen, a therapeutic agent, or an imaging moiety, wherein the therapeutic agent is selected from the group consisting of a platinum-based therapeutic agent, a small molecule therapeutic agent, a peptide, a protein, a polymer, an siRNA, a microRNA, and a nanoparticle, wherein the imaging is a radio-isotope selected from the group consisting of F18, I-125, I-124 I-123, I-131, and small molecule labeled with any of these isotopes, or wherein the imaging moiety is a chelator-complexed radioactive isotope, wherein the radioactive isotope is selected from the group consisting of Cu-64, In-111, Tc-99m, Ga-68, Lu-177, Zo-89, Th-227 and Gd-157.


A torque transfer device (1) for a drivetrain (2) of a motor vehicle, having a torsional vibration damping unit (3) and a decoupling clutch (6) having at least two clutch elements (4, 5) which can be joined to each other, wherein a first clutch element (4) is permanently connected non-rotatingly to a flange section (7) of the torsional vibration damping unit (3) and a second clutch element (5) is coupled with the flange section (7) via a freewheeling unit (8), wherein at least some sections of the freewheeling unit (8) are positioned in a radial receiving space (9) of the torsional vibration damping unit (3).

The invention relates to a torque transfer device, which is also known as a freewheeling decoupling clutch, for a drivetrain of a motor vehicle, such as a passenger car, truck, bus or agricultural utility vehicle, having a torsional vibration damping unit and a decoupling clutch having at least two clutch elements that are connectable to each other, wherein a first clutch element of the decoupling clutch is permanently connected non-rotatingly to a flange section of the torsional vibration damping unit and a second clutch element of the decoupling clutch is coupled to and works together with the flange section by means of a freewheeling mechanism. In particular, this torque transfer device is intended for use in a hybrid drivetrain of a motor vehicle.
Torque transfer devices of this design are known already from the existing art. DE 10 2011 087 334 A1 discloses in this connection, for example, a hybrid module for a drivetrain of a motor vehicle having an internal combustion engine and a transmission, where the hybrid module operates between the internal combustion engine and the transmission and has an electric drive, a decoupling clutch and a freewheeling mechanism. The decoupling clutch and the freewheeling mechanism are provided parallel to each other, each of them transmit torque from the internal combustion engine in the direction of the transmission. The freewheeling mechanism transmits torque coming from the internal combustion engine in the direction of the transmission, and disengages when there is torque in the opposite direction. A portion of the torque generated by the internal combustion engine, which is transmitted by the freewheeling mechanism, can be adjusted to set a torque transmissible by the decoupling clutch, so that the vehicle can optionally be propelled by the internal combustion engine or the electric drive or simultaneously by both of them combined.
In other words, hybrid systems are already known from the prior art in which the electric machine/electric motor is positioned behind the internal combustion engine and in front of the transmission. The separating element (decoupling clutch), which optionally connects the internal combustion engine to the power train/drivetrain, is supposed on the one hand to transmit the traction and drag torques of the internal combustion engine, on the other hand to enable compression-starting the internal combustion engine when starting the engine from electric driving mode.
Moreover, conventional friction clutches are also known which are designed for maximum engine torques. In most cases, these systems then have an additional starter for the internal combustion engine.

Dual-mass flywheel with integrated freewheeling mechanism


Useful signals in the baseband or else in an intermediate frequency band are impressed on a plurality of laser diodes or other suitable optical sources having different emission wavelengths, and the wavelength channels thus formed are brought together. An external modulator with a high cutoff frequency is inserted into this wavelength multiplex system and is driven at the desired microwave or millimetric wave subcarrier frequency or a subharmonic thereof, with the result that the modulation of all the wavelength channels is converted upward. The individual wavelength channels are decoupled in a wavelength-selective fashion to arbitrary photodiodes or other direct receivers that supply the selected useful signal modulated onto the subcarrier.

The invention relates to a method for converting the signal modulation of channels of an optical multiplex system to subcarrier frequencies.
Optical microwave and millimetric wave transmission (the latter is incorporated below in general into the term microwave transmission) is of great interest, inter alia, for supplying base stations in mobile telephone systems with high carrier frequencies. The aim in this case is to obtain the complete microwave signal, which contains the microwave subcarrier and a signal modulation, which is generally of a substantially lower frequency, directly from the photodiode. Various methods are known for optical microwave generation, which are represented, for example, in the overview by R.-P. Braun and co-authors in Nachrichtentechnik/Elektronik, Berlin, 45 (1995) pages 63-67, entitled xe2x80x9cOptische Mikrowellentechnik fxc3xcr zukxc3xcnftige zellulare Mobilfunknetzexe2x80x9d [xe2x80x9cOptical Microwave Engineering For Future Cellular Mobile Radio Networksxe2x80x9d].
In the heterodyne methods, the generation of the microwaves as differential frequency of two light-waves of which one is modulated and the other is a local or remote oscillator is performed in the photodiode. A disadvantage is the phase noise produced. This is avoided in the self-heterodyne method. Alternatives are, for example, the resonance modulation of mode-coupled semiconductor lasers, or the sideband-injection locking of two laser diodes.
Another solution is specified in the reference entitled xe2x80x9cMillimeter-Wave Electro-Optical Upconverter For Wireless Digital Communicationsxe2x80x9d by J. Park, M. S. Shakouri, and K. Y. Lau, Electronics Letters, 31 (1995), pages 1085 to 1086. Signal modulation is firstly carried out in the laser diode, followed by upward conversion by modulation with the subcarrier frequency.
Time-division multiplex, wavelength division multiplex, code division multiplex and polarization division multiplex are generally known for the transition from simplex transmission to an optical multiplex transmission system, with subcarrier division multiplex, in addition, being known for microwave transmission.
It is accordingly an object of the invention to provide a method for converting the signal modulation of channels of an optical multiplex system to subcarrier frequencies which overcomes the above-mentioned disadvantages of the prior art methods of this general type, in which different signals in the baseband or intermediate frequency band, which have been impressed on optical carriers of different wavelengths, are converted with the aid of a component onto a microwave or millimetric wave subcarrier. It is assumed that the useful signal frequencies are sufficiently lower than the subcarrier frequency.
With the foregoing and other objects in view there is provided, in accordance with the invention, a method for converting signal modulation of optical channels to one of microwave and millimetric wave subcarriers, which includes:
impressing in each case a signal modulation having a frequency lower than a subcarrier frequency on optical sources having different emission wavelengths;
bring together a plurality of optical wavelength channels thus formed into a fiber bus;
modulating the plurality of optical wavelength channels with a modulator controlled by one of the subcarrier frequency and a subharmonic thereof; and
separating the plurality of optical wavelength channels in a wavelength-selective fashion and leading them to direct receivers.
It is essential to the invention that all the wavelength channels brought together are converted, when modulated, to higher frequencies by a single external modulator having a high cutoff frequency. In this case, no distortions of the signal modulation already performed occur, but only harmonics of this modulation. They permit the external modulator to be operated in the case of subharmonics of the subcarrier frequency. If desired, all the wavelength channels can be amplified by a single fiber amplifier. Intensity-modulated signals are required for the purpose of direct reception, for example by photodiodes, for which reason consideration is firstly given to an intensity modulator for converting signals onto the microwave subcarrier.
By contrast, when use is made of a phase modulator and dispersion elements in accordance with the reference written by W. Nowak and M. Sauer entitled xe2x80x9cDynamikbereichserhxc3x6hung in optischen Mikrowellen-Subcarriersystemen durch Dispersionsmanagementxe2x80x9d [xe2x80x9cDynamic Range Expansion In Optical Microwave Subcarrier Systems By Dispersion Managementxe2x80x9d], MIOP ""97, Sindelfingen, April 1997, it is possible to achieve at the photodiode a power gain of 3 dB optical corresponding to 6 dB electrical. Since a phase modulator needs only half the drive power by contrast with a comparable intensity modulator, the result is a power gain of 9 dB when the ratio of photodiode power to drive power of the modulator is considered.
In using the method of the invention with a standard fiber as the dispersion element in the 1.55 xcexcm band in the case of a subcarrier frequency of 60 GHz, this requires a fiber length of approximately 1 km (or approximately 3 km, 5 km, . . . ) (the subcarrier power going sinusoidally with the fiber length). If the fiber lengths of all the wavelength channels differ from one another by no more than +/xe2x88x92200 m, it is then possible to make use in the bus of a single additional fiber length which supplements the existing mean fiber length to 1 km, additional losses for the maximum and minimum fiber lengths can then be  less than 0.5 dB electric. Additional lengths are to be provided in the individual connections in the case of large differences in length.
The occurrence of harmonics of the subcarrier modulation frequency owing to the nonlinear modulator characteristic can lead to crosstalk from one optical channel to other ones, when the optical channel spacings correspond to integral multiples of the subcarrier frequency. This can be countered by selecting the optical channel spacings suitably such that higher harmonics of other channels do not fall into the subcarrier band.
Other features which are considered as characteristic for the invention are set forth in the appended claims.
Although the invention is illustrated and described herein as embodied in a method for converting the signal modulation of channels of an optical multiplex system to subcarrier frequencies, it is nevertheless not intended to be limited to the details shown, since various modifications and structural changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention and within the scope and range of equivalents of the claims.
The construction and method of operation of the invention, however, together with additional objects and advantages thereof will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings.

Method for converting the signal modulation of channels of an optical multiplex system to subcarrier frequencies


Control information associated with a transmission layer of a downlink transmission for a co-scheduled UE may be included in a companion DCI message. The companion DCI message may be sent to a first UE in addition to a self DCI message that communicates information associated with a transmission layer of the downlink transmission for the first UE. For example, a base station may transmit a self DCI message associated with a first transmission layer for a first UE and a companion DCI message associated with a second transmission layer for a co-scheduled UE in a control channel. The first UE may identify the self DCI message and the companion DCI message, and may then receive the downlink transmission based on the self and companion DCI messages. The UE may decode the downlink transmission based on the information included in both the self DCI message and the companion DCI message.

Wireless communications systems are widely deployed to provide various types of communication content such as voice, video, packet data, messaging, broadcast, and so on. These systems may be capable of supporting communication with multiple users by sharing the available system resources (e.g., time, frequency, and power). Examples of such multiple-access systems include code division multiple access (CDMA) systems, time division multiple access (TDMA) systems, frequency division multiple access (FDMA) systems, and orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) systems, (e.g., a Long Term Evolution (LTE) system). A wireless multiple-access communications system may include a number of base stations, each simultaneously supporting communication for multiple communication devices, which may be otherwise known as user equipment (UE).
CDMA, TDMA, FDMA, and OFDMA systems may communicate with multiple UEs through the use of resource sharing and/or orthogonal transmissions. In some cases, separate communications to multiple UEs may be accomplished by strategically sharing resources or by orthogonally transmitting to the UEs over simultaneously-shared ("common") resources. For instance, a TDMA system may designate time intervals for transmissions during which a UE is scheduled to receive a transmission—e.g., the base station may transmit to a first UE in a first time interval, a second UE in a second time interval, etc. An FDMA system may simultaneously communicate with multiple UEs by sending UE-specific transmissions over corresponding frequency resources allocated to each of the UEs. The FDMA resources may include subcarriers that are separated in frequency in such a way that transmissions over one subcarrier are orthogonal with transmissions over another subcarrier. And OFDMA may utilize a combination of TDMA and FDMA techniques. CDMA systems may simultaneously transmit to each of the UEs using the same time and frequency resources, but may uniquely modulate transmissions to different UEs with an orthogonal code. The UEs may be assigned unique orthogonal codes, and may apply the orthogonal codes to received signals to identify the transmission intended for that UE.
In some cases a wireless communications system may utilize a non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) system that shares time and frequency resources without using orthogonal transmissions to support communications with multiple UEs. For example, a NOMA transmission may include multiple streams of data intended for multiple UEs using common resources—e.g., at least partially overlapping time, frequency, and/or spatial resources—but may transmit the streams of data without uniquely orthogonalizing the transmissions to the different UEs. NOMA transmissions may take advantage of the physical locations of the UEs in the wireless communication system to enhance the overall data throughput of the resources. For instance, the base station may transmit an enhancement layer (EL) to a first UE that has a relatively higher geometry (e.g., higher signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), which is typically associated with a UE that is closer to the base station) using overlapping resources with a base layer (BL) intended for a second UE that has relatively weaker geometry (e.g., lower SNR, which is typically associated with a UE that is farther from the base station). The NOMA transmission layers may be multiplexed in various ways including by using different transmit power levels (e.g., superposition), hierarchical modulation, or other multiplexing techniques.
For multi-layer transmissions, such as NOMA or MIMO transmission, a UE may use interference cancellation techniques while decoding a received signal. For instance, a UE may use interference cancelling techniques to cancel the effects of transmissions to co-scheduled UEs on one transmission layer, prior to decoding a signal received by the UE on another layer. It may be beneficial for a base station to provide, to a first UE, certain information describing aspects of a transmission layer associated with a co-scheduled UE. However, sending control information intended for the second UE directly to the first UE may be duplicative and significantly increase control overhead. Moreover, indicating to the first UE how to decode control information intended for the second UE may inhibit the ability to dynamically assign UEs to different transmission layers. Indicating to the UE information for decoding control information for the second UE may also introduce a significant increase in the amount of control information sent to the first UE and/or processing that the first UE may have to perform to locate control information associated with the other transmission layer, which may significantly impact battery life.

Downlink control information for multi-layer transmissions


An elastomeric tube for environmentally protecting and/or electrically insulating an object and a separate sleeve having low surface friction disposed in the tube to facilitate assembly of the tube to the object. Methods of assembling the tube to the object are also disclosed.

Connections of electrical cable, wherein two ends of different cables are joined by an electrically conductive connector or a cable end is terminated by connection to a device such as a lug for connection to a bus, must be protected from the environment and electrically insulated so that the connection is electrically isolated. One method of protecting the connection is to provide a resilient, elastomeric tube which has an inner diameter approximately that of the connection and force the tube over the connection.
The difficulty arises in forcing the tube along the cable and over the connection. The preferred material for the elastomeric tube is silicone rubber, although other elastomers may be used. Silicone and other elastomers have a relatively high surface friction, thus a tube made from these materials does not slide easily relative to the cable and powdered or other lubricants such as oil or grease must be used to achieve assembly of the tube to the connection. This method is extremely messy and requires considerable cleaning by the assembler of his or her person and the cable after the tube has been assembled to the cable.
To avoid the use of separate lubricants, manufacturers including Varflex Corporation of Rome, N.Y., U.S.A. and Markel Corporation of Norristown, Penna., provide flexible tubular products which are braided from cotton, rayon, nylon, glass or other fibers, and impregnated, coated, or impregnated and coated with an electrical insulating material such as the silicone rubber discussed above. Thus, in this construction, the tube comprises an inner core of braid which is permanently and intimately attached to a covering jacket of insulating material. The braided core permits the insulating material to be slid over an object such as an electrical wire because the braid acts as a solid lubricant for the higher friction insulating material.
While this construction is effective to permit the insulating material to be easily assembled to a small wire, there are drawbacks associated with the construction. Since the braided core and the jacket are integral, the braided core is always exposed at the ends of the tube. This permits fluids to be drawn into the tube by a wicking action unless the ends are sealed by some means such as tape. It is also noted that these products are only available in small sizes, i.e., less than approximately 10 mm in diameter, so the applicability of these products to large objects, such as large diameter electrical cable, is questionable.
It is therefore an object of this invention to provide means for facilitating the assembly of a resilient, elastomeric, protective tube to an electrical cable, or, more generally, an elongated object to be protected, without the use of powdered or fluid lubricants and to ensure that the protective tube seals the object from contaminants.

Protective sleeve and method of assembling the protective sleeve to an object to be protected

Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company


A negative electrode for a rechargeable lithium battery including a current collector and a negative active material layer positioned on the current collector, wherein the negative active material layer includes a first active material including a carbon-based material, a composite material including a second active material including a silicon-based material or a tin-based material, the second active material being coated with a combined binder and a fiber-shaped conductive material on the surface thereof, and a binder, a rechargeable lithium battery including the same and a method of preparing the same.

1. Field
Embodiments of the present invention relate to a negative electrode for a rechargeable lithium battery, a method of preparing the same, and a rechargeable lithium battery including the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
A silicon-based material has been suggested for use as a negative active material of a rechargeable lithium battery. The silicon-based material may improve the discharge capacity of a rechargeable lithium battery when the silicon-based material is used as a negative active material.
However, the silicon-based material may undergo violent expansion and shrinkage during charge and discharge. Specifically, the silicon-based active material expands when charging, and shrinks when discharging. Thus, the binding or conductive networks between silicon-based materials may be interrupted during shrinkage. Therefore, when a silicon-based active material is used as a negative active material, the cycle-life of a rechargeable lithium battery is not sufficient.

Negative electrode for rechargeable lithium battery, method of preparing the same and rechargeable lithium battery including the same


A conduit spacing and mounting system and method are provided for prefabricating multilayered assemblies of conduits and mounting them end-to-end in a building. The system includes a pair of spacer plates, each having a same pattern of conduit-receiving openings, and a plurality of clamping assemblies, each including a bracket which is discrete from and individually attached to the spacer plate adjacent to one of the conduit-receiving openings. The clamping assemblies are oriented at different angles relative at different rows of the conduit-receiving openings to provide access for a clamp-tightening tool in the spaces between different rows of conduits. The use of spacer plates largely prevents lateral misalignments between the conduits, and the use of a separate bracket formed from a harder, stronger or thicker metal than the spacer plate greatly increases the strength and reliability of the clamping force applied to the conduits.

In order to expedite the installation of electrical conduits in modern buildings, relatively short lengths of such conduits (for example 10 feet) are first arranged and bound into prefabricated assemblies of one or more layers of spaced-apart conduits. These prefabricated conduit assemblies are subsequently transported to and installed on the underside of the roof or ceiling in a building under construction. During such installation, the conduit assemblies are serially aligned end-to-end and the abutting ends of the conduits of two different assemblies are coupled together to form a multiplicity of parallel, room-traversing electrical conduits.
The method most often used throughout the electrical industry for prefabricating the conduits into multiple-conduit assemblies and mounting them in a building is generally referred to as the "trapeze" system. In this system, a pair of rail-like struts having a row of uniformly-spaced clamps is used to secure the opposite ends of a row of perhaps five or six 10 foot conduits. Each of the rail-like struts has a "U" shaped cross-section into which a plurality of pairs of clamping straps may be slidably positioned. The bottom ends of each pair of clamping straps include recesses that slidably receive the rail-like edges of the struts, while the top ends include a bolt hole through which a clamping bolt is inserted. After sliding the ends of a series of conduits between the clamping straps, the clamping bolts of each of the pairs of clamping straps are tightened. Such bolt tightening pulls the top ends of the straps against the sides of the conduit while forcing the bottom ends of the straps outwardly into frictional engagement with the rail-like edges of the struts. The resulting conduit assemblies may be serially installed on the underside of the building roof or ceiling with the ends of the conduits in adjacent assemblies in alignment. Conduit couplings are then used to interconnect the abutting ends of the conduits of two adjacent conduit assemblies.
Conduit spacing and mounting systems which use spacer plates are also known in the prior art. The spacer plates in such systems have one or more rows of conduit-receiving, circular holes for receiving a conduit and maintaining it in a desired lateral position with respect to adjacent conduits. The conduits are secured against longitudinal movement relative to the plate openings by either a bendable tab that radially extends into the conduit-receiving holes and frictionally engages the conduit, or by a set screw mounted in a cantilevered flange provided along an edge of the spacer plate adjacent to the row of conduit-receiving holes.

Conduit spacing and mounting system and method


The invention features a method of vaccinating a mammal against Staphylococcus aureus which includes the steps of: a) identifying a mammal at risk for the development of a Staphylococcus aureus skin or soft tissue infection; and b) administering to said mammal an immunogenic amount of a vaccine that includes a polypeptide including an isolated agglutinin-like sequence (Als) 3 protein (Als3p), or an immunogenic fragment thereof, in a pharmaceutically acceptable medium.

The invention relates to vaccines against Staphylococcus aureus.
Staphylococcus aureus is the leading cause of skin and skin structure infections including cellulitis and furunculosis, and is among the most common causes of bacteremia. Strains of S. aureus that exhibit the methicillin-resistant (MRSA) phenotype are predominant causes of healthcare- and community-acquired infections, including invasive disease in immune competent hosts, in immune suppression (e.g. neutropenia, solid-organ or bone marrow transplants), and in inherited immune dysfunctions manifesting recurring cutaneous infection (e.g. Job's Syndrome, Chronic Granulomatous Disease). The significant impact of MRSA on public health is of special concern in light of high rates of mortality associated with invasive S. aureus disease even with appropriate antimicrobial therapy (e.g. 15-40% in bacteremia and endocarditis). Increasing rates of life-threatening infections and decreasing susceptibility to antibiotics call for development of an effective vaccine targeting Staphylococcus aureus. This invention meets this need.

Methods and compositions for vaccinating against

Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center


A document support stand (1) may be located at a computer workstation (24) and positioned to one side of a monitor (30) to support a projected document or document holder. The stand (1) combines a first support apparatus, support stand (2) and a second support apparatus document holder (4). Support stand (2) can support articles at various spatial locations without the use of mechanical balancing devices and includes a main support body (6), an arm (8) and a bracket (10) which can be adapted to function alone or in combination with a second support apparatus document holder (4). The viewing side (730) of document holder (4) can position a mounted document or document holder in rotation and inclination about three axes of rotation. The viewing side (730) is fitted with rotatable first and second sections (904, 906). The rotatable sections provide for displacing the spring clip (936) and/or the support ledge (938) from the viewing side (730) to provide an unobstructed planar surface to allow a document holder engaging means (932) to cooperate in the mounting and positioning of a modified document holder (869).

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to document support apparatus, and more particularly relates to a universal document support monitor stand for selectively and fixedly positioning a document holder for viewing at a computer monitor.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The term "document" hereinafter refers to a single page or a multiple number of pages.
The term "document holder" hereinafter refers to that type of device which is adapted to secure a document, such as in the form of a book, spiral bound manual, loose-leaf binder, conventional copyholder stands or the like, as well as those devices which have been modified by a present applicant (Hegarty) in a previously filed application, having issued to U.S. Pat. No. 4,925,146, which is herein incorporated by reference.
The term "multi-positionable" hereinafter refers to the ability to pivot about one or more axes of rotation.
The term "relocating side" hereinafter refers to a side of a main support body of the present invention which provides for the slidable engagement of a cooperating member to any one of a plurality of fixed supportive locations.
The term "relocatable" hereinafter refers to the ability to be engagably moved from one fixed supportive location to another.
The term "fixed supportive location" hereinafter refers to the placement of an engaging member of a stand of the present invention at a pre-determined, specific and fixed location on the relocating side of the main support body of the stand, with that location providing the structure necessary for fixedly supporting the engaging member.
The term "symmetrically functional" hereinafter refers to the ability of a device to support an article, such as an arm or document, in the same direction whenever the article is mounted on the device in one of a first or second support positions, with the second position being in mirror image to the first position.
Document support stands for supporting a document or document holder in space are well known in the art and are generally referred to as "suspended copyholder stands". Many conventional stands are designed to be supported by a bracket clamped to the edge of a desk and to suspend the document holder in space through the cooperation of various types of mechanical structures utilizing an assortment of joints, springs and/or adjusting knobs.
Such structures are attempting to "fixedly suspend" the copy holder in space and, at the same time, to allow its repositioning. Such a combination of purposes results in compromise. If the structure is easily repositionable, without any adjustment being required, it is either dedicated to light duty or, if it is capable of supporting heavy workloads, is mechanically complex. For the most part, if an apparatus does provide for fixedly supporting a suspended workload of significant weight the apparatus will be fitted with a variety of complex mechanical balancing devices such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,768,744 entitled "Apparatus For Supporting a Load in a Dynamically Balanced Position". Consequently, "heavy duty" suspended document holder stands are mechanically complicated and thus expensive to manufacture and purchase. Accordingly, one of the primary disadvantages of many conventional suspended document holder stands is that they are not capable, with few mechanical parts, of fixedly supporting heavy document holders in space.
Another significant disadvantage of conventional suspended document holder stands is that they are limited in their ability to adequately and accurately position a mounted document for viewing while suspended in space. Often, the conventional document holders offer a limited number of locations in space due to the need to balance the workload. For example, the parallelogram type of support device is limited in its spatial positioning ability by the restraints imposed by the very nature of the parallelogram structure itself. Very often the operator must reposition the entire device, swinging the arm assembly in a trial and error fashion in an attempt to locate the best balanced viewing position. If the structure does provide adjustments in order to fixedly position a suspended heavy workload, the positions are difficult to duplicate causing the user to use a "trial-and-error" method in an attempt to relocate a previously used viewing position.
A further disadvantage with conventional suspended document holders is that they require a considerable amount of desk and air space in order to position a document for viewing. Many suspended document holders require the edge of a desk in order to be supported. Additionally, these type of document holders require that the space throughout which the suspended arm moves be free of any obstructions such as walls, shelving or lighting fixtures. Consequently, not only must the desk surface be free of barriers but the arm, being boom-like in movement requires considerable open space, both vertically and horizontally, in order to freely move the boom-like arm when positioning a document for viewing.
When considering symmetrically formed and functional "heavy duty" document holder stands (those stands capable of being operationally positioned to the left or to the right of a support device such as a video display monitor) a fundamental disadvantage is noted. These "symmetrically functioning" stands are extremely limited in function. No prior art document holder stand discloses a symmetrically formed and functional base which cooperates with other members of the stand to selectively position and support heavy workloads: a) at varying eye levels, b) at the end of a multi-positionable and fixed projecting arm, c) without the use of springs, adjustment knobs or other similar types of mechanical balancing devices, d) and on both sides of a contributing support device such as a video display monitor.
Currently, however, there are stands which are fitted with an L-shaped base member which are symmetrically functional. Such a stand is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,582,285 (Bello). The stand includes an L-shaped base member and provides for the shorter leg of the L member to be inserted between the desk surface and a support device such as a typewriter or video display monitor. The Bello patent, like many others however, does not provide for fixedly projecting and positioning a variety of heavy workloads at varying eye levels. Another type of symmetrically functional device is designed to adhere to the top of a video display monitor and to support a one page document on either side of the monitor. Such a device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,902,078 (Judd) and is entitled "Document Holder Clip". Obviously this device, although useful for its intended purpose, is not capable of fixedly supporting a weighted document holder such as a loose-leaf binder.
Currently available suspended document holder stands do not maximize the potential supportive capabilities of vertically oriented structural support surfaces. The workplace environment is surrounded with vertically oriented structural members such as the sides of: walls, room dividers, desks, shelving, file cabinets and video display monitors. The possible contributive capabilities of these vertical surfaces for mounting, positioning and supporting documents has been poorly appreciated. Consequently, the prior art of video display monitors does not provide for the exterior casing of the monitor to be modified in a manner that will allow it to cooperate with other members for supporting and spatially repositioning heavy document holders. A recently published patent, however, having U.S. Pat. No. 5,020,763 (Hegarty), the disclosure of which is herein incorporated by reference, does present structure related to the mounting and positioning of a support arm at different fixed supportive locations on a vertical surface.
Another further disadvantage with currently available document holder stands of the "copyholder" type is that they are limited in purpose. The viewing sides disclosed in the copyholder art to date are quite limited in purpose and are usually dedicated to holding a document, or document holder, using a clip, line guide and/or ledge to provide support. A recent improvement in providing a multi-purpose capability to the viewing side of document holder stands has been disclosed in a previously filed U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/642,676 (Hegarty), filed Jan. 17, 1991, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,154,391, the disclosure of which is herein incorporated by reference.
An even further disadvantage in the copyholder art to date is that the positioning ability of these holders has been rather limited when considering the fact that the purpose of such devices should be to quickly and easily position the viewing side at the optimum location for viewing. Repositioning the viewing side of a copyholder is easier and more efficient if the first axis of rotation, which is mounted on the main support member of the copyholder (such as the base), pivots about a vertical axis. A copyholder so constructed uses gravity to its advantage in maintaining the position of the suspended pivoting member in its initial adjustment position about a vertical axis. Additionally, a copyholder is more easily positionable if the member, or members, which allow it to rotate about its axes are fitted very close to the viewing side, namely, to the back of the viewing side's support member. A copyholder so constructed does not require extending and pivoting arms to change the position of its viewing side. Many copyholders, however, such as the Workstation Plus (TM) copyholder, Model No. 21115 (manufactured by the Fellows Manufacturing Company of Itasca, Ill.), extending arm which pivots about a suspended horizontal axis thereby requiring frequent manipulation of its adjustment knobs in first requiring the fixating of the horizontal and then the vertical position of the copyholder's viewing side. Consequently, no present day copyholder is fitted with: a) a vertical axis pivoting support member which is mounted in the direct vicinity of the viewing side; and which further allows the viewing side to rotate about three axes of rotation with each axis being fixedly positionable with respect to its rotation.
As a result of the aforementioned disadvantages, the current state of the art in the modern, technologically advanced, office environment is for the computer operator to often lay a heavy document, such as a loose-leaf binder or a computer spreadsheet file, either on the desk surface or in the operator's lap when referring to it while working at a video display monitor. Consequently, the operator is continuously refocusing from one viewing plane to another thereby experiencing eye strain, fatigue and inadequate working conditions.

Universal document support monitor stand


A throttle body assembly (10) including a throttle plate (22) mounted in the main bore (16) of the throttle body. Either the throttle plate, the bore or both are pre-sludged around the throttle plate/bore interface, using a sealant (24) that is cured with Ultraviolet energy, in order to maintain better air flow control over the life of the throttle body.

During the manufacture of electronic fuel injection throttle bodies, a precise interface is formed between the throttle plate and the main bore of the throttle housing. This interface is subject to variances imposed by small burrs and small dimensional tolerances. Prior to assembly into a vehicle, throttle body assemblies are set to a precise idle airflow to negate the effects of the plate/bore variance. As vehicles age, hydrocarbon deposits (sludge) form at the throttle plate/bore interface, causing a downward shift in the idle air flow. Current powertrain control systems (on-board computers) can correct for some shift in idle airflow, but excessive shift causes engine idle instability. To minimize the idle airflow shift, most manufacturers of throttle bodies pre-sludge (pre-condition) the throttle plate/bore interface, thereby minimizing the airflow effect of the naturally occurring hydrocarbon deposits (sludge). They do this by applying a sealant to the throttle plate or main bore during manufacture of the throttle body to simulate the effects of sludge build up.
The sealants currently in use for the pre-conditioning process use volatile organic solvents or water as their carrier mechanism. The sealer is applied and the solvent or water is then evaporated away to leave a durable sealant at the throttle plate/bore interface. In the case of sealants having volatile organic solvents, the evaporated solvent must be ventilated during application and curing, and precautions must be taken to prevent fire. In the case of water based sealants, the curing process can become very slow and is sensitive to temperature and humidity conditions, which must be accounted for to have a proper cure. The time for curing can be as much as eighteen minutes. This creates cost concerns associated with work in process inventory for the long cure time.
Thus, it is desirable to pre-sludge a throttle plate/bore interface with sealant having relatively fast cure times, substantially reduced ventilation requirements as compared to organic based solvents, and minimal concerns with changes in temperature and humidity on the curing process as compared to water based sealants.

Ultraviolet cured throttle bore pre-coating


A clamping device is used to push a test button on an exit sign or emergency light. The clamp can be attached without damaging various signs and lights. The clamp includes a channel (40), which guides an adjustable protruding object to push a test button located on the bottom of the exit sign or emergency light. The clamp can test exit signs and emergency lights that are wall mounted by modifying the base (10) with a flat back (130). The clamp can also be used in conjunction with an extension arm (90) to reach test buttons located at a distance from the bottom.

Not applicable.
1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to exit signs and emergency lights, a device specifically to push a test button located on most of these devices.
2. Description of Prior Art
Most buildings require exit signs and emergency lights to direct individuals out of the building in an emergency. These signs and lights are to be tested in order to check that they function properly in the event of an emergency. A test button is located on most of these devices in various locations. By pressing the test button, the sign or light switches to test mode.
There are currently no clamps or tools designed specifically for this application. One method available is to physically hold the button or to tape the button down. Many existing clamping devices are not designed to work with test buttons located on the bottom or sides of an exit sign or emergency light.
A conventional clamp comprises a generally c-shaped frame having first end provided with a threaded bore and a second, opposite end provided with a flat object engaging surface. An elongated threaded screw is threadably relievable within the threaded bore. C-shaped, u-shaped and l-shaped clamps lack specific protruding parts. These type of clamps damage the sign and light and are unable to reach the test button.
Our exit sign and emergency light testing-clamp can push the test button for any period of time.
In accordance with the present invention an exit sign and emergency light testing-clamp comprises of an u-shaped tool that can attach and press the testing button on an exit sign or emergency light.
Accordingly, besides the objects and advantages of the exit sign and emergency light testing-clamp described in my above patent, several objects and advantages of the present invention are:
(a) to provide a new tool to test emergency light and exit signs according to local building and safety codes.
(b) to provide a tool to hold a test button on the emergency light and exit signs for any length of time, thus eliminating the need to stand and wait.
(c) to provide a tool that will not damage the exterior of the exit sign and exit light.
(d) to provide a method so that many exit signs and emergency light can be tested at one location using multiple testing-clamps.
Further objects and advantages are to provide a method to meet the standard building codes requiring a 90-minute test of exit signs and emergency lights. This test can now be performed using this tool. The codes that govern testing of exit signs and emergency lights are listed in the following references: 1) Standard Fire Prevention Code 1999, 807.1.4 Exit Illumination and Signs; 2) Occupational Safety and Health Administrationxe2x80x94Department of Labor, section 1910.36; 3) National Fire Protection Agency 101-1997 edition, section 5-9.3; and many locals codes. Still further objects and advantages will become apparent from a consideration of the ensuing description.

Exit sign and emergency light testing-clamp


Starting on the surface of a foundation body (2) weld material is applied in runs to form layers by an equipment for profiling building-up welding and hence a workpiece (1) is manufactured, where the foundation body (2) may be a component of the workpiece (1). The course of runs to form layers as well as the approximate rate of application of weld material are calculated by a computer system (11), starting from a two- or three-dimensional data model of the workpiece (1) in the form of software, and given over to the system control (10) which positions the welding torch (7) by means of the robot (5) and the workpiece (1) located on a turntable (4) by a clamping mechanism (3) with respect to one another, and regulates the rate of application of weld material applied by the welding apparatus (8) in such a way that the liquid weld material adheres to the layer lying underneath without running down and irregularities in the runs to form layers are levelled out. Hence metal workpieces having manifold bodily shapes and theoretically of any size and having any thickness of wall, even consisting of different metallic materials, may be manufactured by profiling building-up welding without auxiliary cores or other devices supporting the liquid weld material.

The invention is concerned with the method of production of metal workpieces by a welding equipment, in particular workpieces of highly heat-treated materials and a mechanism for the performance of the method.
The practice is known of producing metal workpieces by welding methods, in particular by the profiling method of building-up welding. Such a method consists in the weld material, usually fed in as rods or endless wire, being deposited in runs layer by layer until the desired geometry of the workpiece is reached. For supporting the liquid molten welding material a metallic prefabricated supporting body is usually employed upon which the first layer of weld material is deposited. Thus, e.g., for a cylindrical workpiece a cylinder is employed as the supporting body. Hence the supporting body determines the general shape of the cross-section of a workpiece which is to be produced. What makes it disadvantageous is that for every workpiece a prefabricated supporting body must correspond geometrically to the workpiece. Since the supporting body is connected metallically to the applied layers of weld material, it must under certain circumstances be removed again.
For supporting the liquid weld material the U.S. Pat. No. 4,775,092 employs a cooled cylindrical roller which acts as a support only until the weld material has solidified. Hence a prefabricated supporting body is no longer necessary. But a decisive disadvantage of this method is that only axially symmetrical workpieces can be produced.
Known mechanisms for the profiling building-up welding of workpieces are capable of producing small and also large and correspondingly heavy workpieces which, however, as regards shape are of relatively simple design, predominently axially symmetrical, or are assembled from such shapes.
The problem of the present invention is therefore to deposit runs of weld material of any, even three-dimensional curved shapes and largely constant quality in a simple way so that workpieces arise of practically any shapes in such a way that no supporting body or special manipulator is necessary for supporting the molten weld material.

Method of production of workpieces by welding equipment


Systems and methods for providing improved navigation performance in which camera images are matched (using correlation) against reference images available from a geolocation-tagged database. An image-based navigation system partitions the camera image (corresponding to the area within the field-of-view of the camera) into a plurality of camera sub-images (corresponding to regions in that area), and then further partitions each camera sub-image into a multiplicity of tiles (corresponding to sub-regions within a region). The partitioning into camera sub-images seeks geometric diversity in the landscape. Each tile is checked for quality assurance, including feature richness, before correlation is attempted. The correlation results are further quality-checked/controlled before the results are used by the Kalman filter to generate corrections for use by the inertial navigation system. Respective lines-of-sight to multiple regions are measured using multiple tiles in each region to provide better observability and better performance.

The present disclosure relates to systems and methods for image-based (also known as "vision-aided") navigation and more particularly relates to image-based navigation.
A global navigation satellite system (GNSS) can be used to provide navigation information, e.g., position and velocity measurements, for a mobile platform such as a vehicle. When the mobile platform is in a GNSS-denied environment, an inertial navigation system can be used to provide position, attitude and velocity measurements or estimates. However, in a typical inertial navigation system, the errors in estimated position increase with time.
In view of the challenges presented by GNSS-based and inertial navigation, some vehicles use methods of navigation that estimate spatial position based on visual indicators. Image-based navigation uses the angular measurements of reference points on the Earth's surface to determine vehicle attitude, vehicle position and time. Spatial position may be estimated, for example, by comparing captured images to images stored in a database.
A typical image-based navigation system includes a monocular camera and an image processor that is configured to match an acquired image to a reference image. Such image matching can be used, for example, to determine the position of a camera-equipped vehicle relative to the Earth-centered Earth-fixed (ECEF) coordinate system. The locations of matched images can be fed to a Kalman filter along with the position, velocity, and attitude calculated by the inertial navigation system. The Kalman filter fuses information from the inertial and image-based navigation systems to generate optimal estimates of the state of the vehicle.
One challenge posed by image-based navigation occurs when a vehicle travels over information-poor topography (e.g., water or desert). When part of the captured image contains insufficient information for matching, the quality of the overall measurement may be degraded.

Image-based navigation using quality-assured line-of-sight measurements


A hollow plastic article having a wall with an inside wall portion and an outside wall portion, wherein a part of the outside wall portion has a slip resistant, tactile surface relative to the remainder of the outside wall portion to provide an improved gripping surface on the article.

Hollow plastic articles are widely used commercially, and the handling of these articles is an important consideration in the use thereof. A hollow plastic article would be considerably enhanced if a portion thereof, as for example, in the handle area of an article with a handle, is provided with an improved tactile area, as a slip resistant surface.
It would be particularly desirable if the slip resistant surface was localized in an area to be handled by the user and if such an article could be prepared in a cost effective manner. Desirably, article performance characteristics should not be impacted by the slip resistant surface, and for bottles or containers the slip resistant surface should advantageously have a low impact on production and filling lines. Further, it would be desirable to be able to provide such an article while maintaining recyclability and to avoid high manufacturing costs in its preparation.
Thus, a conveniently prepared and inexpensive hollow plastic article with a portion thereof having an improved grip area with slip resistance would considerably enhance the commercial desirability of such an article and provide the user with a highly desirable no-slip feature.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a hollow plastic article wherein a part of the outside wall portion thereof has a slip resistant surface relative to the remainder of the outside wall.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an article as aforesaid which is a hollow plastic container which is an extruded, blow molded container.
Further objects and advantages of the present invention will appear hereinbelow.


A short circuit between a negative pole GND and a capacitive actuator in a circuit with a charging capacitor, a recharging capacitor, a recharging coil and a selector switch is determined by calculating a value corresponding to the quantity of charge QL flowing off from the recharging capacitor during a charging operation. The quantity of charge is compared with an integral of current i flowing during the charging operation via the selector switch assigned to the actuator. A short circuit of the actuator to the negative pole is diagnosed when the integral is smaller than k*QL (k<1).

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a method for diagnosing a short circuit of a capacitive actuator, in particular a piezoelectrically operated fuel injection valve of an internal combustion engine of a motor vehicle.
German Patent DE 196 52 801 C1 discloses a device for driving capacitive actuators, by which the actuators, of which each is connected in series with a selector switch constructed as a low-side switch, are charged one after another from the series circuit of a charging capacitor and a recharging capacitor.
It has emerged from the operation of such circuits that shorts of the negative--but also of the positive--actuator terminal to the frame can occur with such actuators. This fault (if not all actuators are short circuited in the case of a short circuit of a positive actuator terminal) has the effect that as every other actuator is driven the actuator short circuited to the frame is also always driven. These two actuators act relative to the drive circuit like one actuator with double the capacitance.
However, since the capacitance of an actuator can likewise vary by a factor of 2 in the permissible temperature range, this fault cannot be detected with the aid of simple voltage monitoring.

Method for diagnosing a short circuit at a capacitive actuator


A strapping machine for positioning a strapping material around an associated load and sealing the strapping material to itself around the load includes a frame, a chute mounted to the frame, a feed assembly mounted to the frame a guide mounted to the frame adjacent the feed assembly and a strapping head mounted to the frame independent of the feed assembly and the guide. The feed assembly is configured to feed the strapping material therethrough. The guide receives the strapping material from the feed assembly and provides a path for the strapping material toward the strapping head. The strapping head includes a body and provides a first conveyance path for the strapping material from the guide to the chute. The head includes a second conveyance path to receive a free end of the strapping material to seal the strapping material to itself. The strapping head has an anvil pivotally mounted to the body that forms a part of the second conveyance path. The anvil pivots between a first conveying position in which the anvil is pivoted away from the body to enlarge the second conveyance path and a second sealing position in which the anvil is pivoted toward the body to narrow the second conveyance path.

Strapping machines are in widespread use for securing straps around loads. There are two principle types of strappers. One type is a manually operated hand tool that can be used, for example, around a job site. Another type of strapper is a stationary arrangement in which the strapper is fabricated as part of an overall apparatus. In such a strapper, the strapping head and drive mechanisms are typically mounted within a frame. A chute is likewise mounted to the frame, through which the strapping material is fed.
In a typical, stationary strapper, the strapping head is mounted at about a work surface, and the chute is positioned above the work surface and above the strapping head. Strap material is fed to the strapping head by a set of feed and take-up wheels. The strapping material is fed, by the feed wheels past the strapping head, around the chute and back to the strapping head. The free end of the strapping material is then grasped, such as by a first part of a gripping arrangement. The strap is then retracted by the take-up wheels and tensioned around the load. The tensioned strap is then gripped by a second part of the gripping arrangement. A cutter in the strapping head then cuts the tensioned strap (from the source or supply) and the strapping head forms a seal in the strapping material, sealing the strapping material to itself around the bundled load.
Strapping operations are typically secondary operations in that these operations are used for bundling or securing individual items into a single, large load. The straps themselves are not of commercial concern to the end user; rather, it is the bundled items that are of concern. As such, it is important to be able to strap and move the items quickly and in a cost effective manner.
To this end, improvements have been made to strapping machines. One such improvement includes an auto re-feed arrangement, such as that disclosed in Bell, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,640,899, commonly assigned herewith. In such an arrangement, in the event of a misfeed of strapping material, the misfed strap is cut and ejected from the machine. Fresh strapping material is then automatically re-fed by the feed wheels through the strapping head and around the load. It has been found that such an arrangement saves considerable time and labor vis-à-vis removing the misfed or snapped strap and refeeding strap material into the strapper.
One drawback to the known re-feed arrangements is that they require separate feed and take-up wheels. That is, a pair of wheels (generally one driven and one idle) is required to feed the strapping material through the strapping head and the chute. A second, separate set of wheels (again, one driven and one idle) is required to take-up or retract the strap in order to tension the strap around the load. While these automatic re-feed arrangements have been found to save considerable time and labor, the requisite two pairs of wheels introduce additional maintenance concerns as well as timing arrangements with respect to the overall operation of the machine.
It has also been found that typically, these stationary types of strappers are designed and constructed such that the feed and take-up mechanism is located near to the strapping head. Because of the proximity of the feed and take-up arrangement to the strapping head, two sets of feed and take-up wheels are required in order to meet the overall operating requirements, given the physical constraints of the equipment.
Present designs of stationary strappers, which include a closely located feed and take-up mechanism to the strapping head, also include guide paths to, from and between components that are all fixedly mounted to the machine. In the event of maintenance or repair, the machine must be taken out of service for the duration of that work. In addition, skilled technicians are generally required to tend to the machine during the entirety of the maintenance or repair procedure.
It has further been observed that the guides of known strappers, that is those portions of the strapper along which the strap material is guided while it is fed around the strap path tend to clog with debris from the strapping material. This debris can either be residue from the plastic strapping material itself, or debris that is carried by the strapping material into the machine. Typically, these guides have very small clearances between the guides themselves and between the guides and the active (driven or idle, rotating) machine components. As a result, it is necessary, at times, to shut down the machine, open the guide paths and clear these guide paths of debris. Known machines typically require disassembly of those portions of the machine which, again, requires significant labor and time. In addition, strappers are known to occasionally jam, in which strap material may get caught at about the active machine components or between the active and stationary machine components. In order to clear or remove these jams, again, the guide paths require disassembly necessitating time and labor.
Another concern with known strapping machines is that at times, the strap is not aligned with itself prior to forming the seal or xe2x80x9cweldxe2x80x9d. In order to achieve maximum tension strength in the strap joint the strap should be fully aligned with an adjacent layer of strap prior to welding. This maximizes the area over which the weld is performed. Known strappers rely upon an alignment of stationary strap guides or paths in order to properly position the strap material in this aligned, adjacent arrangement. However, at times, the strap shifts as it is aligned or prior to welding, resulting in misaligned straps and less than optimal joint strength.
Accordingly, there exists a need for a strapping machine that utilizes modular components, specifically for the drive and sealing functions. Desirably, such modular components are readily removed and installed in machines to minimize the xe2x80x9cdown timexe2x80x9d of such machines. Most desirably, such modular components are readily installed and removed, with minimal or no tools. Further, a need exists for a strapper that minimizes clogging and provides easy access to the guide areas. Again, most desirably, access is provided to these areas with minimal or no tools. Still more desirably, the guide pathway and covering therefor are formed as integral units further minimizing disassembly to clear these paths. In such a strapper, an auto re-feed arrangement is desirable without the use of separate feed and take-up wheels. A need further exist for a strapper in which strap alignment, prior to welding, is actively provided.
A strapping machine positioning a strapping material around an associated load and seals the strapping material to itself around the load. The strapping machine includes a frame, a chute defining a strap path mounted to the frame, a modular feed assembly mounted to the frame, a guide mounted to the frame adjacent the feed assembly, and a modular strapping head mounted to the frame independent of the feed assembly and the guide.
The feed assembly is configured to feed the strapping material from a source to the guide. The guide is mounted to the frame independent of the feed assembly and the strapping head. The guide is configured to receive the strapping material from the feed assembly and to provide a path for the strapping material toward the strapping head.
The strapping head includes a body and provides a conveyance path for the strapping material to the chute. In one embodiment, the strapping head defines a first conveyance path for the strapping material from the guide to the chute, and a second conveyance path to receive a free end of the strapping material to seal the strapping material to itself
Preferably, the strapping head includes an anvil movably mounted to the body and forming a part of the second conveyance path. The anvil is movable between a first conveying position in which the anvil is pivoted away from the body to enlarge the second conveyance path and a second sealing position in which the anvil is pivoted toward the body to narrow the second conveyance path.
The anvil can be pivotally movable toward and away from the body. Preferably, the anvil is biased toward the body. In this arrangement, strapping head includes a side plate pivotally mounted to the body. The anvil is fixedly mounted to the side plate. The strapping head can include a cam for moving the anvil between the first conveying position and the second sealing position. The cam cooperates with the side plate to pivot the anvil.
The present strapping machine further contemplates an embodiment in which a controller controls the operation of the strapping machine. The controller is operably connected to the feed assembly.
A sensor is disposed to sense the presence and absence of strapping material at the strapping head. The sensor includes first and second movable elements, preferably paddles, that cooperate with one another. The paddles are movable between a first position in which the sensor senses the presence of strapping material and a second position in which the sensor senses the absence of strapping material. The sensor is operably connected to the controller and when the sensor senses the absence of strapping material at the strapping head, a control signal is generated to initiate operation of the feed assembly in a refeed mode.
In a current embodiment, the sensor is mounted to the strapping head at about a strap exit path of the strapping material from the strapping head. Preferably, the paddles pivot about a common pivot pin. The strapping material engages the first paddle to pivot the paddles between the first and second positions.
The sensor can include a proximity sensor cooperating with the first and second paddles. The second paddle is positioned between the proximity sensor and the first paddle being. The first paddle is biased toward the proximity sensor and the second paddle is biased away from the first paddle. First and second biasing elements bias the first paddle toward the proximity sensor and the second paddle away from the first paddle, respectively.
A hinge stop limits travel of the first and second paddles away from one another. The second paddle operably contacts the proximity sensor during the feed mode and the take-up mode, and the second paddle is operably separated from the proximity sensor during a refeed mode.
A preferred strapping head includes a second conveyance path to receive a free end of the strapping material to seal the strapping material to itself. The second conveyance path is defined by a plurality of surfaces within the body. The surfaces define a substantially constant width path through the second conveyance path.
An entryway precedes the second conveyance path. The entryway has a larger path width than the conveyance path width. A gripper is disposed at a terminal end of the conveyance path.
The strapping machine further contemplates an easy access transfer guide mounted to the frame between the feed assembly and the strapping head. The transfer guide includes a fixed portion and a cover portion. The fixed portion is fixedly mounted to the frame independent of the feed assembly and the strapping head. The transfer guide is configured to receive the strapping material from the feed assembly and to provide a path for the strapping material toward the strapping head. The cover portion overlies the fixed portion along a plane that is substantially parallel to the a plane defined by a longitudinal axis and a width of the strapping material.
In a preferred arrangement, the cover portion is pivotally mounted to the fixed portion by hinges and is retained in place covering the fixed portion by at least one, and preferably multiple mechanical fasteners. Most preferably, the mechanical fasteners are knurled to permit tool-less loosening. In a current embodiment, fasteners include a hinge-supported portion, so that when the fasteners are loosened from the cover portion (e.g., pivoted away from the cover portion) the hinge-supported portions retain the fasteners mounted to the fixed portion.
The strapping machine can further include an easy access feed guide for covering at least a portion of the feed assembly. The feed guide includes a cover for covering at least a portion of the feed assembly and an arcuate guide wall transverse to the cover. The guide portion is generally parallel to the strapping material as is traverses through the guide. The guide wall is spaced from a periphery of one of the feed wheels at about an entry of the strapping material into the feed guide and converges toward a periphery of the one of the feed wheels as the guide wall approaches the nip of the feed wheels.
The cover portion is removably mounted to the fixed portion by mechanical fasteners. Preferably, the fasteners are knurled to permit tool-less loosening. Most preferably, hinge-supported fasteners are used to mount the cover to the feed guide. This permits the cover portion to be readily removed for quick cleaning.
These and other features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description, in conjunction with the appended claims.

Strapping machine strapping head with pivoting anvil