The present invention relates to replaceable dental brush units useful in an electric toothbrush. In particular, the invention provides for a replaceable dental brush unit useful in an electric toothbrush that uses gear links for connecting and driving motions of bristle head by motors.

Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
The present invention relates to replaceable dental brush units useful in an electric toothbrush. In particular, the invention provides for a replaceable dental brush unit useful in an electric toothbrush that uses gear links for connecting and driving motions of bristle head by motors.
Electric toothbrushes are known and widely used (See e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,289,604 and 5,974,615). U.S. Pat. No. 5,289,604 discloses an electric toothbrush having a brush section which is demountable from a handle section that has a protruding brush drive shaft. Radial and axial securing of the brush section to the handle section is accomplished by structure separated by function, including radial securing structure at the base of the brush section that engages cooperating structure at the end of the handle section from which the drive shaft protrudes, and axial securing structure housed within the brush section that engages the protruding drive shaft of the handle section.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,974,615 discloses, referring FIG. 1 therein, an electric toothbrush (1) which incorporates a handle (2) and a brush attachment (3). The handle (2) houses an electric motor (8). Protruding from the handle (2) is a shaft (20), which is coupled to the electric motor (8). The brush attachment (3) can be mounted on the handle (2). The brush attachment (3) supports a bristle head (26) which can be coupled to the shaft (20), and from which protrude a multiplicity of bristles (4). In the operating mode, the bristle head (26) describes a rotary motion (49) and a stroke motion (50), with the frequency of the stroke movement (50) being higher, and preferably substantially higher, than the frequency of the rotary movement (49). The stroke movement (50) provides a poking action of the bristles (4), which serves to loosen plaque from dental surfaces. The rotary movement (49) serves to wipe away plaque loosened from the dental surfaces.
However, replaceable dental brush unit useful in an electric toothbrush that uses gear links for connecting and driving motions of bristle head by motors can be useful and/or desirable. For example, shift often has to be made of hard, expansive materials, e.g., metals. With proper design, e.g., groove thickness, gear links and components comprising such gear links can be made of relatively inexpensive materials, e.g., plastics, while still satisfying connecting and driving functions for dental brush unit useful in an electric toothbrush.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for dental brush unit useful in an electric toothbrush using at least some gear links for connecting and driving motions of bristle head by motors. The present invention addresses this and other related needs in the art.
Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as is commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. All patents, applications, published applications and other publications and sequences from GenBank and other databases referred to herein are incorporated by reference in their entirety. If a definition set forth in this section is contrary to or otherwise inconsistent with a definition set forth in applications, published applications and other publications and sequences from GenBank and other data bases that are herein incorporated by reference, the definition set forth in this section prevails over the definition that is incorporated herein by reference.
As used herein, xe2x80x9caxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9canxe2x80x9d means xe2x80x9cat least onexe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9cone or more.xe2x80x9d
In one aspect, the present invention provides for a replaceable dental brush unit useful in an electric toothbrush using at least some gear links for connecting and driving motions of bristle head by motors. The gear links and components comprising such gear links can be made of any suitable materials or composite materials. Preferably, the gear links and components comprising.such gear links are not made of metals. More preferably, the gear links and components comprising such gear links are made of plastics such as nylon, e.g., Ashlene nylons 6 and 66, toughened nylons, reinforced nylons, specialty-nylons and economy nylons or an acetal resin (e.g., Ashley Polymers, Inc., Brooklyn, N.Y.). Other resins such as polycarbonates, polyphenylene ethers, PBT and PET polyester can also be used.
In one specific embodiment, the present invention provides for a replaceable dental brush unit useful in an electric toothbrush, which replaceable dental brush unit comprises: a) a main body suitable for housing, form top to bottom, a gear unit connected to a bristle unit, a three-way exchange head, a moving rod and a base unit, said main body having a top opening transverse to the longitudinal axis of said main body for receiving said bristle unit and a bottom opening along the longitudinal axis of said main body for receiving said base unit, the wall opposing said top opening having a first protruding for receiving said gear unit; b) said bristle unit having a recess therein for connecting said bristle unit to said gear unit via a second protruding of said gear unit, said bristle unit also having attached bristles suitable for dental cleaning; c) said gear unit having a base plate, gear grooves attached to said base plate, a recess in said base plate at the side opposite to said gear grooves for securing said gear unit into said first protruding of main body, and a second protruding on said base plate at the side having attached gear grooves, said second protruding surrounded by and projecting beyond said gear grooves for securing said gear unit into said bristle unit; d) said three-way exchange head having a top portion and a bottom portion, said top portion having gear grooves that movably connected to said grooves of said gear unit, wherein the thickness of grooves of said three-way exchange head is less than or equal to the thickness of grooves of said gear unit, and said bottom portion having a recess for receiving and securing a third protruding of said moving rod; e) said moving rod having said top third protruding that fits into said bottom recess of said three-way exchange head, a middle opening, and preferably having a lug, for receiving and securing said moving rod to a corresponding linking element of an electric toothbrush, and a bottom portion having a recess for receiving a shaft connected to a motor unit of said electric toothbrush; and f) said base unit to secure said three-way exchange head and moving rod within said main body by providing an upward pressure, said base unit having a hollow space along the longitudinal axis of said main body allowing said shaft to pass by and connect to said moving rod, wherein, in operation, the linkages among said three-way exchange head, moving rod, base unit and shaft ensure that these units move as a single unit, said motor unit actuates said single unit, via said shift, to have an oscillating movement in a substantially singular plane that is parallel to said longitudinal axis of said main body, and said planar oscillating movement actuating said gear unit, via said gear connections between said three-way exchange head and said gear unit, to have a rotary movement, and said rotary movement, in turn, actuating said bristle unit to have a rotary movement.
The main body can be in any suitable shape, e.g., cylinder, rod, cubic, etc. The main body can be tapered or non-tapered, and can be enlarged at top, and/or bottom opening(s). The top and bottom openings can be in any suitable shape, e.g., cycle, square, rectangle or any other regular or irregular shapes. The top and bottom openings can have same or different shapes and/or sizes. The first protruding of the main body that is used for receiving the gear unit can be in any suitable shape and/or size, e.g., cylinder, rod, etc., provided that it is compatible with the recess in the base plate of the gear unit. The first protruding of the main body can be made as an integral part of the main body or can be made as a separate unit that can be attached to the main body after the main body is made.
As used herein, xe2x80x9ctop opening transverse to the longitudinal axis of said main bodyxe2x80x9d means that the direction of the top opening is substantially non-opposing or substantially nonlinear to the longitudinal axis of the main body. Ordinarily, the angle between the direction of the top opening and the longitudinal axis of the main body is from about 45 degrees to about 135 degrees. Preferably, the angle between the two directions is from about 80 degrees to about 100 degrees. More preferably, the angle between the two directions is from about 85 degrees to about 95 degrees. Most preferably, the angle between the two directions is about, or is, 90 degrees.
As used herein, xe2x80x9ca bottom opening along the longitudinal axis of said main bodyxe2x80x9d means that the direction of the bottom opening is substantially opposing or linear to the longitudinal axis of the main body. Ordinarily, the angle between the bottom opening and the longitudinal axis of the main body is about 0-45 degrees or 135-180 degrees. Preferably, the angle between the two directions is about 0-10 degrees or 170-180 degrees. More preferably, the angle between the two directions is 0-5 degrees or 175-180 degrees. Most preferably, the angle between the two directions is about, or is, 0 or 180 degrees.
As used herein, xe2x80x9cwall opposing said top openingxe2x80x9d means that the wall, which can be a flat surface or a curved surface, and the plane containing the top opening is substantially linear. Ordinarily, the angle between the wall and the plane containing the top opening is about 0-45 degrees or 135-180 degrees. Preferably, the angle between the two directions is about 0-10 degrees or 170-180 degrees. More preferably, the angle between the two directions is 0-5 degrees or 175-180 degrees. Most preferably, the angle between the two directions is about, or is, 0 or 180 degrees.
The main body can optionally have a barrier underneath its top surface to help secure the gear unit within the main body and keep the gear unit from falling out of the top opening. In this regard, the base plate of the gear unit can be split into two layers: a small layer distal to the grooves of the gear unit and a larger layer that is proximal to the grooves of the gear unit. The signature diameter of the larger layer should equal to or slightly smaller than the signature diameter of the top opening of the main body so that the gear unit can be fit into the top opening of the main body. The total of the height of the barrier along the longitudinal axis of the main body and the signature diameter of the smaller layer of the base plate of the gear unit should equal to or be slightly smaller than the signature diameter of the larger layer of the base plate of the gear unit. In this way, once the gear unit is placed within the top opening of the main body, the barrier exerts a downward pressure on the gear unit. This downward pressure, in combination with the upward pressure exerted by the base unit, through the moving rod and the three-way exchange head, secures the gear unit within top opening of the main body and prevent it from falling out of the top opening.
The main body can also comprise one or more opening(s) between the top and bottom openings, e.g., near or at the height where the grooves of the gear unit and the three-way exchange head intersect or connect, for releasing fluid from the main body.
The bristle unit can be in any suitable shape, e.g., cylinder, rod, cubic, etc. In a preferred embodiment, the bristle unit has a smaller plate and a larger plate, said smaller plate having a recess therein for connecting said bristle unit to said gear unit via a second protruding of said gear unit, said larger plate having attached bristles suitable for dental cleaning. The smaller and larger plates can be in any suitable shape, e.g., cycle, square, rectangle or any other regular or irregular shapes. The recess in the smaller plate that is used for receiving the gear unit can be in any suitable shape and/or size, e.g., cylinder, rod, etc., provided that it is compatible with the second protruding of the gear unit. Any bristles suitable for dental cleaning can be used. The bristles can occupy entire or partial surface of the larger plate and can be distributed evenly or unevenly on the surface. The width of the top opening of the main body, the gear unit and the smaller plate of the bristle unit, all in a direction transverse to the longitudinal axis of the main body, can be such that after the bristle unit is connected to the gear unit and the gear unit is secured in the top opening of the main body, there is a small distance or space between the edge of the top opening and the larger plate. For example, this distance can range from about 0.05 mm to about 0.15 mm. The existence of this distance makes the bristle unit rotate smoothly. On the other hand, this distance cannot be too long, e.g., longer than 0.15 mm; for once this distance becomes too long, the bristle unit tends to wiggle when it rotates.
The gear unit can be in any suitable shape, e.g., cylinder, rod, cubic, etc. Its base plate can be in any suitable shape, e.g., cycle, square, rectangle or any other regular or irregular shapes. The recess in the base plate that is used for receiving the first protruding of the main body can be in any suitable shape and/or size, e.g., cylinder, rod, etc., provided that it is compatible with the first protruding of the main body. The second protruding of the gear unit that is used for receiving the bristle unit can be in any suitable shape and/or size, e.g., cylinder, rod, etc., provided that it is compatible with the recess in the smaller plate of the bristle unit. The thickness of the grooves of the gear unit must equal to or be slightly larger than the thickness of the grooves of the three-way exchange head. Preferably, The thickness of the grooves of the gear unit is slightly larger than the thickness of the grooves of the three-way exchange head because such a design improves resilience of the groove-groove connection between the gear unit and the three-way exchange head and the bristle will not stop rotate when it encounters pressure from teeth or other oral or dental tissues during brushing.
The three-way exchange head can be in any suitable shape, e.g., cylinder, rod, cubic, etc. Its top an bottom portions can be in any suitable shape, e.g., cycle, square, rectangle or any other regular or irregular shapes. The recess in the bottom portion that is used for receiving the top third protruding of the moving rod can be in any suitable shape and/or size, e.g., cylinder, rod, etc., provided that it is compatible with the top third protruding of the moving rod.
The moving rod can be in any suitable shape, e.g., cylinder, rod, cubic, etc. Its bottom portion can be in any suitable shape, e.g., cycle, square, rectangle or any other regular or irregular shapes. The middle opening and, preferably the lug, that is used for receiving and securing said moving rod to a corresponding linking element of an electric toothbrush can be in any suitable shape and/or size, e.g., cylinder, rod, etc., provided that it is compatible with the corresponding linking element of the electric toothbrush. The recess in the bottom portion that is used for receiving the shaft can be in any suitable shape and/or size, e.g., cylinder, rod, etc., provided that it is compatible with the shaft that is connected, directly or indirectly, to a motor unit.
One unique feature of the present dental brush unit is that, two units, i.e., the three-way exchange head and the moving rod, are used for making the connection between the motor unit and the gear unit. This design is advantageous because it has the flexibility of adjusting the total length of the three-way exchange head and the moving rod, along the longitudinal axis of the main body, after the three-way exchange head, the moving rod and the main body are separately made and ensures that the three-way exchange head and the moving rod be fit perfectly within the main body.
The base unit can be in any suitable shape, e.g., cylinder, rod, cubic, etc. its hollow space can be in any suitable shape and/or size, e.g., cylinder, rod, etc., provided that it is compatible with the shaft, i.e., can let the shaft pass by and does not interfere with shaft""s movement.
In operation, the linkages among the three-way exchange head, moving rod, based unit and shaft ensure that these units move as a single unit, said motor, unit actuates said single unit, via said shaft, to have an oscillating movement in a substantially singular plane that is parallel to said longitudinal axis of said main body, and said planar oscillating movement actuating said gear unit, via said gear connections between said three-way exchange head and said gear unit, to have a rotary movement, and said rotary movement, in turn, actuating said bristle unit to have a rotary movement. Preferably, the single unit of the three-way exchange head, moving rod, based unit and shaft moves in a singular plane that coincides with the longitudinal axis of the main body.
The present replaceable dental brush unit can be used with any compatible electric toothbrush including any electric toothbrush disclosed in the U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,021,538, 5,974,615, 5,974,613, 5,943,723, 5,867,856, 5,862,558, 5,850,655, 5,842,244, 5,732,433, D388,958, 5,652,990, 5,577,285, 5,504,958, D353,490, 5,309,591, 5,289,604 and D266,117. Preferably, the present replaceable dental brush unit is used with Braun Oral-B electric toothbrush, e.g., Braun Oral-B 3D Plaque Remover and Braun Oral-B 3D Excel (Braun Aktiengesellschaft, Frankfurt, Germany).
In another specific embodiment, the present invention provides for a replaceable dental brush unit useful in an electric toothbrush, which replaceable dental brush unit consists essentially of, or consists of: a) a main body suitable for housing, form top to bottom, a gear unit connected to a bristle unit, a three-way exchange head, a moving rod and a base unit, said main body having a top opening transverse to the longitudinal axis of said main body for receiving said bristle unit and a bottom opening along the longitudinal axis of said main body for receiving said base unit, the wall opposing said top opening having a first protruding for receiving said gear unit; b) said bristle unit having a smaller plate and a larger plate, said smaller plate having a recess therein for connecting said bristle unit to said gear unit via a second protruding of said gear unit, said larger plate having attached bristles suitable for dental cleaning; c) said gear unit having a base plate, gear grooves attached to said base plate, a recess in said base plate at the side opposite to said gear grooves for securing said gear unit into said first protruding of main body, and a second protruding on said base plate at the side having attached gear grooves, said second protruding surrounded by and projecting beyond said gear grooves for securing said gear unit into said bristle unit; d) said three-way exchange head having a top portion and a bottom portion, said top portion having gear grooves that movably connected to said grooves of said gear unit, wherein the thickness of grooves of said three-way exchange head is less than or equal to the thickness of grooves of said gear unit, and said bottom portion having a recess for receiving and securing a third protruding of said moving rod; e) said moving rod having said top third protruding that fits into said bottom recess of said three-way exchange head, a middle opening, and preferably having a lug, for receiving and securing said moving rod to a corresponding linking element of an electric toothbrush, and a bottom portion having a recess for receiving a shaft connected to a motor unit of said electric toothbrush; and f) said base unit to secure said three-way exchange head and moving rod within said main body by providing an upward pressure, said base unit having a hollow space along the longitudinal axis of said main body allowing said shaft to pass by and connect to said moving rod, wherein, in operation, the linkages among said three-way exchange head, moving rod, base unit and shaft ensure that these units move as a single unit, said motor unit actuates said single unit, via said shift, to have an oscillating movement in a substantially singular plane that is parallel to said longitudinal axis of said main body, and said planar oscillating movement actuating said gear unit, via said gear connections between said three-way exchange head and said gear unit, to have a rotary movement, and said rotary movement, in turn, actuating said bristle unit to have a rotary movement.

Dental brush unit comprising gear connections

2F., 24, Lane 80, Section 1, Tung-Hwa South Rd.


An autonomous mobile body includes a laser range sensor and an electronic control device. The electronic control device includes a storage unit that stores a size D2 of the autonomous mobile body, a width identification unit that identifies a spatial size D1 in a width direction of a passage which is a region where the autonomous mobile body can move, a calculation unit that calculates a size D8 of an interfering obstacle in a direction which is substantially perpendicular to a moving target direction on a road surface based on obstacle information, an action selection unit that selects a stopping action or a retreat action based on the spatial size D1, the size D2 of the autonomous mobile body, and the size D8 of the interfering obstacle, and a mobile control unit that controls the autonomous mobile body to stop when the stopping action is selected and control the autonomous mobile body to retreat when the retreat action is selected.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an autonomous mobile body which moves autonomously.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, an autonomous mobile body which autonomously moves to a destination is known. For example, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2009-288930 describes an autonomous mobile body which detects an obstacle using a laser range finder, and autonomously moves while avoiding interference with the detected obstacle. Moreover, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. H9-185412 describes an autonomous mobile body which determines, when an obstacle is detected forward in the traveling direction by an ultrasonic sensor, that the obstacle is a person when there is an output from an infrared sensor. This autonomous mobile body stops when it is determined that the obstacle is a person, and stands by for a given period of time in anticipation of that person getting out of the way.
With the autonomous mobile body described in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. H9-185412, even in cases where it is determined that the obstacle is a person and the autonomous mobile body stops, that person will not be able to move around the autonomous mobile body unless the passage has enough clearance for the person and the autonomous mobile body to pass each other. Thus, with the autonomous mobile body described in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. H9-185412, when an obstacle is detected, a case may be considered in which the autonomous mobile body retreats backward and moves to a retreat path. Nevertheless, in the foregoing case, if the autonomous mobile body retreats even in cases where the autonomous mobile body and the obstacle can pass each other within the passage, it will take more time to reach the destination. Accordingly, the optimal action to be taken by the autonomous mobile body for avoiding interference with an obstacle will differ depending on the situation.


An adaptation of an inked ribbon cassette to printers of higher printing speed is achieved where a supply spool is used as inked ribbon storage. Furthermore, the problem of an environmentally proper disposal of used inked ribbon cassettes is solved. At least two rotary drivable spool axles (3, 4) are spaced apart from each other on a base plate (1), open toward the upper side and open on the bottom side, where the spool axles (3, 4) are rotary supported on the base plate (1). The inked ribbon reels (2, 5) can be individually attached onto the spool axles (3, 4). A first inked ribbon guide element (7) is coordinated to one spool axle (3, 4). The inked ribbon (6) is guided from a first inked ribbon reel (2) along the first inked ribbon guide element (7) and parallel to the print path (17) and back via a second inked ribbon guide element (8) onto the second inked ribbon reel (5). In each case, a controllable electrical drive motor (9 ) is disposed on each spool axle (3, 4) at the bottom side (1a) of the base plate (1).

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an inked ribbon cassette, in particular for line printers, including a base plate, at least one inked ribbon storage and a guide for the inked ribbon, wherein the inked ribbon storage is furnished by a supply reel.
2. Brief Description of the Background of the Invention Including Prior Art
Such inked ribbon cassettes serve for storing an as large as possible volume of inked ribbon, in order to achieve a production as large as possible of printed pages with a printer of a serial construction and of a line construction. The storing of a large volume of inked ribbon corresponds also to the desires of the user, namely to perform a change of the inked ribbon cassette as rarely as possible. In addition, the change of the inked ribbon cassette is not always associated with the expected knowledge that a person of ordinary skill endeavors to limit the change to the most necessary handling steps by the operating personnel.
On the other hand, the printing rate of the printers such as, for example, of the matrix printers increases continuously in the course of time such that in the course of the development of the printers, the inked ribbon cassette was originally transported together with the print head on the print head slider and, later, there was created a spatially fixed inked ribbon cassette, where the inked ribbon storage is correspondingly larger. However, the volume of the inked ribbon storage cannot be increased arbitrarily because the space required for such volume of inked ribbon is not available in the printing apparatus and, on the other hand, handling the contents of such inked ribbon cassettes becomes more and more difficult.
The discharging and sanitary disposition of the inked ribbon cassettes represents a particular problem. No functioning system exists at this time which allows to dispose of inked ribbon cassettes in an effective manner, as well as of their contents, i.e., the inked ribbon, where the inked ribbon cassettes have been produced with injection molding tools from plastic. It is to be considered in this context that individual inked-ribbon-cassette producers produce daily 500,000 inked ribbon cassettes of all kinds and all dimensions, which are delivered after filling with the inked ribbon to dealers or, respectively, end consumers. In general, it is assumed that the operator of a printer requires annually from about 6 to 7 inked ribbon cassettes. Thus, each printer uses 6 to 7 inked ribbon cassettes annually, which have to be disposed of in an environmentally sound manner. It has now been shown that such a waste disposal could only be performed to the effect that the used inked ribbon is removed from the respective inked ribbon cassette and that the casing of the inked ribbon cassette is melted down again and that inked ribbon cassettes are produced again by the manufacturer. However, it cannot be assumed that such a system would exist or would even properly function and operate. First, already the waste disposal of the inked ribbon from the inked ribbon cassette casing is an economic problem. Then, the return of the inked ribbon cassette casing would also be an economic problem and the reprocessing, i.e., the melting down and the comminution and the re-supply at the producer plant would present an economic and technical problem. Thus, one has to assume after comprehensive considerations that such a recycling system cannot be employed effectively.
Such inked ribbon cassettes are, for example, known from the German Petit Patent DE-GBM 84 08 998.0. This conventional item includes a tensioning device for an inked ribbon disposed in a cassette. The conventional construction is therefore coinciding with the above-recited kind because a supply reel is employed as an inked ribbon storage. It is known to employ a hollow cylinder, rotatable under tension in the cassette casing, as hub of a reel of the supply reel, where the hollow cylinder is slipped over a pin attached to the cassette. A drag spring is disposed between the pin and the hollow cylinder in order to exert a corresponding tension onto the inked ribbon or, respectively, in order to avoid a slacking of the inked ribbon. Such a construction is however not useful, neither with respect to the requirements for a high-power and high-performance printer nor with respect to the problems associated with the disposal of the used product.


Regarding a reflected light from any line portion, which is parallel to the longitudinal direction of the alignment mark 11, on the alignment mark 11, the cylindrical lens 33 functions merely as a glass plate, while the cylindrical lens 34 converges the light onto a pixel on the line sensor 35a, performing optical integration and simplifying image processing. Regarding a reflected light from any line portion, which is parallel to the lateral direction of the alignment mark 11, on the alignment mark 11, the cylindrical lens 34 functions merely as a glass plate, while the cylindrical lens 33 magnifies and forms a line image on the line sensor 35a along the pixel row of that. A toroidal lens can be used in place of the cylindrical lenses 33 and 34.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a mark position detecting method and device for an aligner, which align between a mask and a semiconductor wafer and expose patterns on the mask onto the wafer, the method and device detecting a position of a rectangular mark formed on the wafer or the mask, and an aligner having such a mark position detecting device.
2. Description of the Prior Art
FIG. 8 shows a portion of conventional proximity aligner. The aligner is designed to align an alignment mark 13 on a mask 12 relatively to an alignment mark 11 on a semiconductor wafer 10. The wafer 10 is placed on a wafer stage 14, while the mask 12 is, for example, electrostatically absorbed to a mask stage 16 through a mask ring 15 fixed to the peripheral portion of the mask 12. A metallurgical microscope barrel 18 is mounted on a base plate of the mask stage 16 through a microscope stage 17. A light emitting from a white light source 19 passes along an optical fiber 20, through a half-mirror 21 and an objective lens 23 which are disposed inside the metallurgical microscope barrel 18, and then irradiates the wafer 10 and the mask 12. A reflected light from either the wafer 10 or the mask 12 passes through the objective lens 23, is reflected by the half-mirror 21, and is then formed into an image on a CCD in a two-dimensional camera 25 through a relay lens 24.
A video signal and synchronizing signals, which are output from the two-dimensional camera 25, are supplied to an image input unit 26. The image input unit 26 converts the video signal into a digital signal as a luminance data and generates an address on the basis of the synchronizing signal so as to store the luminance data at that address in an image memory 27. An image processing unit 28 detects a relative position of the alignment mark 11 with respect to the alignment mark 13 by processing the image stored in the image memory 27, and supplies the detected relative position to a controller 29. The controller 29 controls moving of either the wafer stage 14 or the mask stage 16 such that the relative position becomes a preset value, for example, 0. The alignment mark 11 can accurately be aligned to the alignment mark 13 by repeating the above-described aligning process a few times.
According to the standard, it takes 1/30 second for the two-dimensional camera 25 to output image data of one frame. Therefore, if the above-described aligning process is repeated, for example, three times, the image taking-in operation alone requires 0.1 second, thus reducing the throughput of the exposure process.
On a two-dimensional image 27a, shown in FIG. 9, in the image memory 27, a window W is set at the central portion thereof. In this window W, luminance data are accumulated in a direction indicated by Y in FIG. 9A for the purpose of averaging out the image signals, and an X-axis projected luminance distribution shown in FIG. 9B is obtained. Positions X1 and X2 of the negative peaks corresponding to the two edges of the alignment mark 11 are obtained, and the mean value thereof, X0=(X1+X2)/2, is obtained as the X-directional representative position of an alignment mark 11. In this way, the representative position X0 of the alignment mark 11 having a width from several to several tens of .mu.m can be detected accurately.
However, in the above-described position detection method, it takes a long time for accumulation in the Y direction, reducing the throughput of the exposure process. The above-described problem also arises in a projection aligner.

Mark position detecting method and device for aligner and aligner having the device


The invention provides a resilient, moulded figure, intended for fun and/or decoration, which can be temporarily stuck, by means of a sucker, to flat surfaces such as window panes, refrigerator doors, bathroom tiles, children""s blackboards, etc., and aims to address particularly, with children""s safety in mind, the security with which the sucker is attached to the figure. Utilising moulding techniques requiring the sequential application of resilient plastics material to a mould, front and rear-facing surfaces of the figure are formed, and the rear-facing surface is attached adhesively to a tubular sleeve of resilient material which has a portion dimensioned to closely surround a relatively narrow neck portion disposed between the active area of a sucker and a bulbous end portion of the sucker, which end portion is accommodated by another portion of the sleeve.

This invention relates to decorative figures, by which is meant moulded figures, such as representations of comic characters, intended for fun and/or decoration, and in particular to such figures intended to be capable of at least temporary adherence to flat surfaces such as window panes, refrigerator doors, bathroom tiles, children""s blackboards, etc. The invention also encompasses a method of making such figures.
Figures for the kind referred to above are typically (though not necessarily) intended for use by children and may, for example, be regarded as small and inexpensive toys. Typically, therefore, they may be distributed in ways associated with such toys, such as by inclusion in packets of cereal, Christmas or celebration crackers and the like, and thus safety is a principal consideration in the construction of such figures.
It is known for such figures to be moulded of plastics material which sets to rigid form, and to be decorated to present a brightly-coloured front surface that depicts the character or design in question. The rear surface typically bears an outstanding pillar, integrally formed with the figure as a whole, that is designed to receive, as an interference fit thereover, the hollow shaft of a resilient suction device intended to constitute the means of securing the figure, temporarily at least, to a desired flat surface. The extent of such figures in each of their two major dimensions is typically (though of course not necessarily) between two and five centimeters, and they can thus exhibit significant drawbacks from the safety standpoint, in that their size coupled with their rigidity leads to the possibility of unsupervised children putting such figures in their mouths and swallowing or semi-swallowing them, with the potential of causing choking and/or physical damage to the mouth, throat or oesophageal tract. Moreover, the separability of the suction device from the figure itself increases the risk of swallowing, and also gives rise to the possibility of the suction device being swallowed as a separate entity.
Moulding techniques are now known by means of which it is possible to mould such figures in resilient material and, by the sequential application to a mould of material forming respectively front and rear-facing surfaces of the figures, to create figures having the advantage not only of exhibiting resilience as a structure, but also considerable improvement in relation to their three-dimensional topography, detail and colour. Resilient figures moulded by such techniques, therefore, are more attractive than the rigid figures referred to above, and are generally safer because of their resilience. However, the figures produced to date by means of this process have incorporated metallic devices, such as the spike components of butterfly-type tie pins, for mounting or attachment of the figures to desired media, such as clothing, and such fixtures would be entirely inappropriate for the purposes envisaged herein.
It is an object of this invention to address at least one of the problems and difficulties outlined above and exhibited by existing mouldings and/or by the techniques used for making them.
According to the invention from one aspect, there is provided a moulded, resilient decorative figure (as herein defined), the figure having a first major surface, intended to be viewed, moulded to a desired shape and configuration by the application of resilient material to a mould shaped to define respective features of the figure, and a second major surface facing away from the first surface and comprising a backing layer of similarly resilient material; the figure including a suction device having a bulbous base portion connected to a sucker member by way of a relatively narrow neck portion and a tubular sleeve member of resilient material dimensioned to closely surround the neck portion of said suction device and having a cavity accommodating the bulbous portion of said suction device; the suction device and the sleeve being adhesively secured to the second major surface of said figure, such that the sucker device faces away from the figure.
By this means, the advantages of high resolution moulding techniques are combined with safe and secure fixing of the suction device to the figure as a whole.
Preferably the bulbous portion of the suction device, when fitted into its sleeve member, lies somewhat above the plane defined by the circular end of the sleeve member which defines the open end of said cavity so as to permit excess adhesive to well up within the sleeve, thereby to contact the bulbous portion itself and to create a direct and powerful adhesive bond between the suction device and the figure, in addition to the indirect bonding of the suction device to the figure that occurs by virtue of the adhesive bonding of the sleeve to the figure and the firm entrapment of the bulbous portion of the suction device within the sleeve cavity. In any event, the suction device as a whole is formed separately, and of itself as an integral component, for adhesive fixing, with its sleeve, to the decorative figure. The colouration of the suction device and/or its sleeve, is preferably such as to blend with, or provide a desired amount of contrast to, part at least of the figure itself and, in particular, to the backing member.
According to the invention from another aspect there is provided a method of making a resilient decorative figure comprising the steps of applying material to a mould defining a desired outline shape for the figure and also the shape and configuration of respective features intended to be displayed by a first major surface of the figure; forming a backing component, by the application of further material to the mould, to create a second major surface of the figure; providing a suction member intended for the mounting of the figure to a flat surface, said suction member comprising a sucker component and a bulbous component integrally formed therewith; providing a sleeve dimensioned to encircle and entrap the bulbous component, and adhesively securing at least the sleeve to the second major surface of said figure.
Preferably the said sucker component and bulbous component are separated by a relatively narrow neck; the sleeve closely surrounding the neck and having a part dimensioned to accommodate the bulbous component. By this means, the sucker member effectively becomes powerfully secured to the figure. Moreover, if, as is advantageous, the bulbous component is so dimensioned as to not quite reach the plane formed by that end of the sleeve surrounding the bulbous component and intended to be adhesively secured to the figure, excess adhesive applied between the sleeve and the figure can well up inside the sleeve to contact the base of the bulbous component, thereby ensuring that the suction member itself is directly adherent to the figure, as well as being indirectly adherent thereto by virtue of the entrapment of said bulbous portion within the sleeve, which sleeve is firmly adherent to the figure, thus creating, to all intents and purposes, an integral unit.


A transfer material colored to a predetermined color is used when images are formed on a transfer material for use in thermal transfer comprising a substrate and a dye receiving layer by a thermal transfer process.. When images are formed by an optional image forming method such as silver salt photographic process, ink jet process or thermal transfer process, a transfer material having sepia tone is used in each of the image forming processes thereby forming sepia tone images. Images having unique appearance can be formed easily upon forming images by a thermal transfer process. Images of sepia tone can be formed safely and conveniently.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention concerns a transfer material for use in thermal transfer which is useful for forming transfer images of a desired tone, as well as a method of forming thermal transfer images of a desired tone by using the transfer material.
The present invention further relates to a method of forming images of sepia tone by laminating a laminate film colored to the sepia tone over images formed on a hard copy by an optional method, thereby obtaining a hard copy of the sepia tone.
2. Description of Related Art
An image forming method by thermal transfer process of heating an ink ribbon by a thermal head of the like in accordance with image information, transferring a dye from the ink ribbon to a material undergoing image transfer material such as a sheet of photographic paper (hereinafter referred to as a transfer material) by means of heat melting or thermal diffusion and forming images on the transferred material has been adopted generally. In particular, an image forming method by a subliming thermal transfer process for forming thermal transfer images by using an ink ribbon having an ink layer comprising a subliming or heat diffusing dye has been noted in recent years as a method of preparing a hard copy of video images since full color photographic images of a continuous gradation can be formed.
By the way, transfer materials used for forming images in the thermal transfer process have been formed so as to exhibit a white color. This is because better color reproducibility can be provided to images as an output sheet of a hard copy. If the transfer material exhibits a color other than white, full color or black and white photographic-images can not be formed at a good color reproducibility.
On the other hand, it has also been desired to provide images with various refined appearance in recent years. For example, since photographs discolored to a sepia tone provides a feeling of elapse of long years, sepia tone photographs have been prepared artificially by applying a special treatment to silver salt photographic paper and displayed and sold then in theme parks such as Western village. Further, in a case of forming sepia tone images by the thermal transfer process, the tones of images outputted to a printer are adjusted to the sepia tone by using soft wares in the printer or soft wares of a host computer to a digital printer. That is, in a video printer, since input signals are usually video signals such as NTSC composite, S-Video or RGB composite signals, it is difficult to convert image data into those of the sepia tone. Then, the outputted images are converted into the sepia tone by changing the soft wares in the printer and providing a print density curve used exclusively for the sepia tone. Further, in a digital printer, images on the connected host computer are previously converted into the sepia tone by the soft wares of the host computer and then the data are transferred to the printer.
However, among the existent methods for forming sepia tone images, a method of preparing the sepia tone photographs by applying a special treatment to a silver salt photographic paper involves a problem with respect to the toxicity of a solution for the treatment or the post-treating method.
Further, a method of forming sepia tone images by the thermal transfer or ink jet process, by softwares in the printer or soft wares of the host computer for the digital printer involves a problem that replacement of soft wares is difficult between a case of forming images of usual tones and a case of forming images of the sepia tone.

Transfer material for use in forming images of a sepia tone


A double mask raster method for application of a number of different slurries in a discrete pattern, to produce a raster such as can be used in color television picture tubes, has a first mask having a plurality of apertures therein which remains immovably on the substrate throughout the application of all slurries. A separate second mask having a smaller number of aligned apertures therein is utilized with each successive application of a different slurry, allowing the slurry to penetrate the two masks to the substrate only where apertures in the two masks are aligned. The method may be used to apply slurries to flat or curved substrates in a vertical or horizontal position adapted for conventional spraying, or by means of electrostatic spraying.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to methods for applying slurry or the like to a substrate in a discrete pattern, and particularly to a method for application of a phosphorescent slurry to a glass substrate for use as a color television raster.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The production of a color raster for a color television picture tube requires the application of primary phosphors or fluorescent substances such as red, green and blue to a substrate which is the inside portion of the screen area of a color picture tube. The method presently practiced in the art requires a sequence of repeated steps associated with the application of each phosphor, which is time-consuming and does not allow the reclamation of unused phosphor slurry for subsequent reuse in the method.
The currently practiced method involves coating the total surface of the substrate with a slurry of a first phosphor to be applied. The phosphor layer contains photosensitive material, such as photo-resist. Light is shown through a mask and the photosensitive phosphor layer is removed where not struck by the light, leaving a pattern of dots or stripes of the first phosphor to be applied. This process is repeated two more times in the case of color picture tubes in order to deposit a raster of primary color phosphors such as red, green and blue on the glass substrate.
The above method is known from German Pat. No. 1,447,791 and from German Auslegeschrift No. 1,462,653.
The above method possesses several disadvantages. Because of the repeated superimposed coating of the different phosphorescent slurries on the substrate, purity of the individual of the discrete slurry deposits on the substrate is diluted, and mixing of the slurries occurs to some degree, thereby resulting in inaccurate reproduction during use. Color impurities may be formed on the substrate glass directly, if residues remain after the rinsing of the non-exposed coated areas, as the rinsing pressure must not be too great so that the remaining fluorescent slurry deposits are not removed also.

Double mask raster method for applying slurry in a discrete pattern


The present invention pertains to an optical shutter comprising an organic free compound, preferably a radical cation or a radical anion, wherein the organic free radical compound forms an oxidized or a reduced product having a change in absorption in a near-infrared or a visible wavelength region as a result of a photo-induced electron transfer reaction of the free radical compound. Preferably, the photo-induced electron transfer reaction occurs in less than 0.1 nanoseconds after absorption of photons by the free radical compound. Also, preferably, the change in absorption is reversible and occurs in less than 10 milliseconds. Also provided is an optical shutter for use as an optical switch in fiber optic communications, and, alternatively, for use in a laser protection device, a security protection system, and an eyewear device.

The present invention relates to the field of optical shutters and, particularly, pertains to optical shutters which operate in the near-infrared and/or visible wavelength regions. More specifically, this invention pertains to optical shutters comprising an organic free radical compound, wherein the organic free radical compound forms an oxidized or a reduced product having a change in absorption in a near-infrared or a visible wavelength region as a result of a photo-induced electron transfer reaction of the free radical compound.
Throughout this application, various publications, patents, and published patent applications are referred to by an identifying citation. The disclosures of the publications, patents, and published patent specifications referenced in this application are hereby incorporated by reference into the present disclosure to more fully describe the state of the art to which this invention pertains.
As the quantity and speed of data communications over fiber optics systems rapidly increases due to the growing demand from Internet usage and other communications, all-optical switching systems are of increased interest to overcome the high cost and slow switching speeds of conventional switches. These conventional switches include, for example, various mechanical switches, electro-optic switches, and thermo-optic switches, such as, for example, described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,732,168 and 5,828,799, both to Donald. In particular, the increased complexity and cost of switching systems which involve switching from an optical signal to an electrical signal and then back to an optical signal have increased the level of interest in all-optical switches.
An all-optical switch typically switches an optical signal from one output port to another. This is typically accomplished by applying an input pump signal from a pump laser source to cause the optical signal to be selectively switched. The switch is responsive to the laser pump signal to selectively switch the light of the optical signal to one or the other of the output ports.
A variety of approaches are known for making all-optical or hybrid optical switches, such as, for example, described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,905,587 to Maeno et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,923,798 to Aksyuk et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,970,185 to Baker et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,841,912 to Mueller-Fiedler et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,757,525 to Rao et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,872,648 to Sanchez et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,091,984 to Kobayashi et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,406,407 to Wolff; U.S. Pat. No. 5,740,287 to Scalora et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,960,133 to Tomlinson; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,539,100 to Waslielewski et al. For example, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,943,453 to Hodgson, one basic configuration for an all-optical switch is a Mach-Zehnder interferometer which includes a first fiber optic input arm for receiving an input optical signal and a second fiber optic input arm for receiving a switching pump signal. The input arms are fused together to form a first coupler which subsequently branches out into two intermediate arms. The first coupler splits the input light signal into equal portions which then enter the two intermediate arms. The two intermediate arms are once again fused to form a second coupler which branches into two output arms. After traveling through the two intermediate arms, the two signals are recombined by the second coupler. If the two signals are in phase at the second coupler, then all the light is coupled into a first one of the two output ports. If the two signals are completely out of phase, then the light is coupled into the other of the two output ports. The reliability of the Mach-Zehnder interferometer for optical switching is typically sensitive to temperature-dependent effects.
The need for improved optical switches is increased by the use of wavelength add/drop multiplexing (WADM) which converts the optical signal in the optical fiber into, for example, 16 signals at 16 different wavelengths in a near-infrared range of about 1540 to 1560 nm, as, for example, described in Bell Labs Technical Journal, January-March 1999, pages 207 to 229, and references therein, by Giles et al.; and in U.S. Pat. No. 5,959,749 to Danagher et al. There is about 1 nm between the wavelength channels. The primary function of the optical switch is to add and/or drop optical signals from the multiple wavelengths traveling through the optical fiber. It would be highly desirable to have arrays of optical switches to handle the optical signals from multiple wavelengths per optical fiber and from multiple optical fibers, such as up to 100xc3x97100 or greater optical switch arrays. Also, it would be highly desirable if the response time for the optical switch is ultrafast, such as I nanosecond or less.
It would be advantageous if an all-optical switching system were available which avoided the complexity and cost of hybrid electro-optic and other systems while increasing the speed of the switching times from the millisecond range to the nanosecond or picosecond ranges.
An organic free radical compound where the excited state is an excited state from the free radical ground state may have a rapid internal conversion from this excited state back to the ground state with a concomitant production of heat in a time scale of as low as 1 picosecond or less. In one example of this, an organic radical cation compound absorbs photons in the presence of a thermochromic compound, converts the absorbed photons to heat in less than 1 nanosecond, and causes a change in absorption due to heat-induced changes in the thermochromic compound, as described in PCT International Publication No. WO 98/54615, titled xe2x80x9cOptical Shutter Devicexe2x80x9d and published Dec. 3, 1998, to Carlson. The present invention utilizes an organic free radical compound which undergoes a photo-induced electron transfer reaction which causes changes in absorption due to the oxidation or the reduction of the free radical compound. This photo-induced electron transfer reaction may occur faster and with higher efficiency than internal conversion of the absorbed photons to heat or, alternatively, may have a similar or slightly lower speed and efficiency than this internal conversion to heat so that both electron transfer and heat formation processes occur.
One aspect of the present invention pertains to an optical shutter comprising an organic free radical compound in which the free radical compound is characterized by forming an oxidized or reduced product having a change in absorption in a near-infrared wavelength region as a result of a photo-induced electron transfer reaction of the free radical compound. In one embodiment, the free radical compound is a radical cation, preferably an aminium radical cation, and most preferably, the radical cation is tris (p-dibutylaminophenyl) aminium hexafluoroantimonate. In one embodiment, the free radical compound is a radical anion, preferably an anthrasemiquinone radical anion.
In one embodiment of the optical shutter of this invention, the free radical compound is a radical cation, and the optical shutter further comprises a radical anion. In one embodiment, the free radical compound is a radical anion, and the optical shutter further comprises a radical cation. In one embodiment, the free radical compound comprises one or more radical cations and one or more radical anions, and the change in absorption results from a photo-induced electron transfer reaction of at least one of the one or more radical cations and of at least one of the one or more radical anions. In one embodiment, the free radical compound comprises a salt of a radical cation and a radical anion.
In one embodiment of the optical shutter of the present invention, the change in absorption is greater than 0.1, preferably greater than 0.5, and more preferably greater than 1.5. In one embodiment, the near-infrared wavelength region of the change in absorption is from 700 to 1000 nm. In one embodiment, the near-infrared wavelength region of the change in absorption is from 1000 to 1400 nm, preferably from 1400 to 1600 nm, more preferably from 1520 to 1580 nm, and most preferably from 1500 nm to 1700 nm.
In one embodiment of the optical shutter of this invention, the photo-induced electron transfer reaction occurs in less than 1 nanosecond after absorption of photons by the free radical compound, preferably occurs in less than 0.1 nanoseconds, more preferably occurs in less than 0.01 nanoseconds, and most preferably occurs in less than 0.001 nanoseconds or less than 1 picosecond after absorption of photons by the free radical compound.
In one embodiment of the optical shutter of the present invention, the photo-induced electron transfer reaction is an oxidation of the free radical compound. Suitable electron transfer reactions include, but are not limited to, an one-electron oxidation of the free radical compound, a two-electron oxidation of the free radical compound, an one-electron reduction of the free radical compound, and a two-electron reduction of the free radical compound.
In a preferred embodiment of the optical shutter of this invention, the change in absorption is reversible. In one embodiment, the reversible change in absorption is induced by heat. In one embodiment, the reversible change in absorption is induced by radiation selected from the group consisting of: ultraviolet radiation, visible radiation, and infrared radiation; and, preferably, the reversible change in absorption is further induced by the presence of oxygen. In one embodiment, the reversible change in absorption occurs at less than 50xc2x0 C. in the absence of radiation. In one embodiment, the reversible change in absorption occurs in less than 1 second, preferably occurs in less than 10 milliseconds, more preferably occurs in less than 1 millisecond, and most preferably occurs in less than 0.1 milliseconds.
In one embodiment of the optical shutter of the present invention, the photo-induced electron transfer reaction is induced by ultraviolet radiation. In one embodiment, the photo-induced electron transfer reaction is induced by visible radiation, and preferably is induced by near-infrared radiation. In one embodiment, the photo-induced electron transfer reaction is induced by absorption of photons by a free radical ground state of the free radical compound.
In one embodiment of the optical shutter of this invention, the optical shutter further comprises a metallized layer on at least one side of a layer comprising the free radical compound of the optical shutter. In one embodiment, the metallized layer comprises aluminum.
One aspect of the present invention pertains to an optical shutter comprising an organic radical cation compound in which the radical cation compound is characterized by forming an oxidized or a reduced product having a change in absorption in a near-infrared wavelength region as a result of a photo-induced electron transfer reaction of the radical cation compound. In one embodiment, the optical shutter further comprises a radical anion.
Another aspect of this invention pertains to an optical shutter comprising an organic radical anion compound in which the radical anion compound is characterized by forming an oxidized or a reduced product having a change in absorption in a near-infrared wavelength region as a result of a photo-induced electron transfer reaction of the radical anion compound. In one embodiment, the optical shutter further comprises a radical cation.
Still another aspect of the present invention pertains to an optical shutter comprising one or more radical cations and one or more radical anions, wherein at least one of the radical cations and at least one of the radical anions is characterized by forming an oxidized or a reduced product having a change in absorption in a near-infrared wavelength region as a result of a photo-induced electron transfer reaction of at least one of the one or more radical cations and at least one of the one or more radical anions.
Another aspect of the present invention pertains to an optical shutter comprising an organic free radical compound, preferably a radical cation compound or a radical anion compound, in which the free radical compound is characterized by forming an oxidized or a reduced product having a change in absorption in a visible and/or a near-infrared region as a result of a photo-induced electron transfer reaction of the free radical compound, wherein the change in absorption is reversible. In one embodiment, the optical shutter is utilized in an optical switch for a fiber optics communications channel.
Yet another aspect of this invention pertains to an optical shutter comprising an organic free radical compound in which the free radical compound is characterized by forming an oxidized or a reduced product having a change in absorption in a visible wavelength region as a result of a photo-induced electron transfer reaction of the free radical compound. In one embodiment, the change in absorption is reversible. In one embodiment, the change in absorption is reversible, and the optical shutter is utilized in a viewing lens of an eyewear device.
Another aspect of the present invention pertains to an optical shutter comprising an organic free radical compound in which the free radical compound is characterized by forming an oxidized or a reduced product having a change in absorption in a visible or a near-infrared wavelength region as a result of a photo-induced electron transfer reaction of the free radical compound. In one embodiment, the optical shutter is utilized in a laser protection device for protection of eyes or sensors from a source of laser radiation. In one embodiment, the optical shutter is utilized in a security protection system based on detecting the change in absorption upon exposure of the optical shutter in the security protection system to high intensity radiation selected from the group consisting of: ultraviolet radiation, visible radiation, and infrared radiation.
As will be appreciated by one of skill in the art, features of one aspect or embodiment of the invention are also applicable to other aspects or embodiments of the invention.
The optical shutters of the present invention provide superior speed of response, such as a response time of 1000 picoseconds or less, to the incident radiation, and are particularly useful in systems where an all-optical shutter mechanism is desirable.
The term xe2x80x9corganic free radical compounds,xe2x80x9d as used herein, pertains to organic compounds which comprise at least one free unpaired electron on a neutral atom, such as, for example, a carbon atom, a nitrogen atom, or an oxygen atom, in the ground state of the organic compound. Suitable organic free radical compounds for the optical shutters of the present invention include neutral organic free radicals, organic free radical cations, and organic free radical anions. For purposes of brevity, the terms xe2x80x9corganic free radical cationxe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9corganic radical cationxe2x80x9d, and xe2x80x9cradical cationxe2x80x9d are used interchangeably herein. The word xe2x80x9ccation,xe2x80x9d as used herein, pertains to a positively charged atom in a molecule, such as, for example, a positively charged nitrogen atom. Similarly, the terms xe2x80x9corganic free radical anionxe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9corganic radical anionxe2x80x9d, and xe2x80x9cradical anionxe2x80x9d are used interchangeably herein. The word xe2x80x9canion,xe2x80x9d as used herein, pertains to a negatively charged atom in a molecule, such as, for example, a negatively charged oxygen atom. It should be noted that the free unpaired electron and the positive and negative charges of the organic free radical compounds may be localized on a single atom or shared among more than one atom.


An interchangeable modular furniture system is disclosed as including an underlying supporting structure having at least spaced side walls and a top wall with panels independently and removably mounted to at least one of the walls of the underlying supporting structure. Preferably, independently and removably mounted panels cover at least the spaced side walls and top wall of the underlying supporting structure. Cooperative releasable fasteners are attached to each panel and associated wall for releasable attachment to each other. The underlying supporting structure further includes a base having an underlying ledge adjacent each of the spaced side walls for also supporting the removable panels relative to the spaced side walls. Within the underlying supporting structure, shelves, drawers and/or doors may be employed in order to produce various types of furniture units including credenzas, dressers and dressers/cabinets. In addition, the aforementioned structure can be usefully employed for bars, desks, nightstands and other furniture pieces. The present invention also includes a modular bed system including an underlying mattress supporting structure and a headboard removably mounted relative to the underlying mattress supporting structure or to an adjacent wall, as may be desired.

The present invention relates to modular furniture systems, and more particularly, to an interchangeable modular furniture system including an underlying supporting structure having at least spaced side walls and a top wall with panel means independently and removably mounted to at least one of the walls of the underlying supporting structure, and preferably to at least the spaced side walls and top wall thereof, in order to provide an interchangeable modular furniture design system.
Most hotels and motels are constantly plagued with costly repair and/or replacement of laminated and/or wood furniture due to guest and employee abuse. Normal abuse is caused by guest and employee mishandling or mistreatment of the furniture. In this regard, it is well known that people do not take as good as care of property belonging to others, as they do with property belonging to themselves. Thus, in hotel and motel suites, furniture can be quickly and easily damaged by careless or intentional damage to laminated and/or wood furniture units.
Other less obvious abuse, which can be even more serious in some cases, is caused by water damage to such furniture. This results from two different causes. One type of water damage results from guests leaving ice containers on the furniture, which condenses and exposes the wood finishes and the laminated and wood furniture to extended dampness. Guests can cause less serious damage by water spilled from water glasses and the like. The second type of water damage, which can result in serious furniture abuse, is caused by water being directly thrown onto the furniture during carpet cleaning by employees or by simply allowing the furniture to remain on water cleaned carpets. In all of the aforementioned water damage cases, water can cause the laminated or wood furniture to expand and separate. In addition, laminated furniture uses particle board which can crack and break off, whereas with wood furniture, cracks, splitting and other unsightly conditions can occur.
There are other conditions which can cause damage to laminated and wood furniture. Changes in temperature, pressure and humidity, when shipping furniture to different geographical areas, can also cause swelling and expansion of furniture parts or components, resulting in extensive damage.
Repair of laminated or wood furniture typically takes several weeks or more, with consequent loss of use of the room during the repair period. Of course, the damaged furniture could be replaced, but replacement costs can be prohibitive.
As can be seen from the foregoing, a serious long term and unsolved problem has plagued the furniture industry, particularly the hotel and motel industry, but also in other commercial and industrial environments, as well as in residential use.
From the discussion that follows, it will be seen that the present invention answers this long standing problem of the prior art in a novel and unique solution for a variety of different types of furniture pieces including credenzas, triple dressers, triple dressers/cabinets, desks, nightstands, bars, beds and a variety of other furniture pieces, all of which will be explained in detail below.

Interchangeable modular furniture system


A mobile communications system includes a plurality of cell segments each allocated primary carriers to carry circuit-switched traffic and packet data carriers for carrying packet-switched traffic. The packet data carriers include two sets of carriers, a main set of carriers and a secondary set of carriers. The main packet data carriers are allocated to corresponding cell segments. The secondary carriers are allocated to high capacity segments, which may be segments having high bursty traffic or segments in which a hierarchical cell structure is implemented. For high bursty cell segments, the main carriers are used to carry control signaling for performing selection or reselection. However, in such high bursty cell segments, the secondary carriers are not used for performing cell segment selection or reselection.

The invention relates to expanded carrier capacity in a mobile communications system.
Mobile communications systems, such as cellular or personal communications services (PCS) systems, are made up of a plurality of cells. Each cell provides a radio communications center in which a mobile unit establishes a call with another mobile unit or a wireline unit connected to a public switched telephone network (PSTN). Each cell includes a radio base station, with each base station connected to a mobile switching center that controls processing of calls between or among mobile units or mobile units and PSTN units.
From the original advanced mobile phone system (AMPS) standard, additional wireless protocols have been developed and implemented. One such protocol is the time-division multiple access (TDMA) protocol, originally implemented as the IS-54 standard (EIA/TIA/IS-54) and later followed by the TIA/EIA-136 protocol from the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA). With TIA/EIA-136 TDMA, each channel carries a frame that is divided into six time slots to support up to three mobile units per channel. If half-rate voice coders are used, then each channel may be time shared among up to six mobile units. Other TDMA-based systems include Global System for Mobile (GSM) communications systems, which use a TDMA frame divided into eight time slots (or burst periods).
Traditional speech-oriented wireless systems, such as the TIA/EIA-136 and GSM TDMA systems, utilize circuit-switched connection paths in which a line is occupied for the duration of the connection between a mobile unit and the mobile switching center. Such a connection is optimum for communications that are relatively continuous, such as speech. However, data networks such as local area networks (LANs), wide area networks (WANs), and the Internet use packet-switched connections, in which communication between nodes on a communications link is by data packets. Each node occupies the communications link only for as long as the node needs to send or receive data packets. With the rapid increase in the number of cellular subscribers in conjunction with the rising popularity of communications over data networks, a packet-switched wireless data connection that provides access to the data networks, electronic mail, files in databases, and other types of data has become increasingly desirable.
Several packet-based wireless connection protocols have been proposed to provide more efficient connections between a mobile unit and a data network. One such protocol is the General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) protocol, which complements existing GSM systems. Another technology that builds upon GPRS that has been proposed is the Enhanced GPRS (EGPRS) technology, which offers higher data rates and complements GSM and TIA/EIA-136 TDMA systems.
Because of frequency spectrum limitations, the number of carriers that may be allocated for such packet-based data services in a mobile communications system may be limited. The limited number of carriers may pose a problem in regions having relatively high bursty traffic. A high bursty traffic environment is one in which a relatively high number of call setups and terminations occur during a given time period. This may occur in areas having relatively large amounts of business activity (such as in a metropolitan area) in which many users may be accessing packet-based services with their mobile telephones or other mobile units. High bursty traffic regions are contrasted with normal or low bursty traffic regions, in which relatively low numbers of call setups and terminations occur. An example of such a region is a suburban area, in which fewer calls tend to be made and in which users tend to stay connected for longer periods of time (such as to browse the Internet).
In a high bursty traffic area, the number of control bursts on each carrier may have to be increased compared to the case for normal or low bursty traffic regions to handle the increased volume of control signaling due to call setups and terminations. However, if the number of carriers used for packet-based services are limited, allocating a large number of control bursts to each carrier may reduce the amount of traffic signaling that can be carried by the carrier. This may reduce the bandwidth that is available to users for communicating packet-based traffic, which may result in slower response times.
The limited spectrum allocated for packet-based services also limits the capacity available to users. During peak usage periods, users may experience problems in gaining access to packet-based services in a given cell or cell sector.
Thus, a need exists for increasing the capacity for carrying control and traffic signaling over a packet-based wireless network.
In general, according to one embodiment, a method of communicating in a mobile communications system having a plurality of cell segments includes providing a first carrier and at least one other carrier in a first cell segment. A plurality of time slots are defined, and at least one of the time slots is allocated during which control signaling is communicated over the first carrier and the at least one other carrier.
In general, according to another embodiment, a method of providing expanded capacity in a first cell segment of a mobile communications system includes providing a first carrier for carrying control signaling in the first cell segment, the control signaling including control signaling for performing cell segment selection. A second carrier is provided for carrying signaling, the signaling not including control signaling for performing cell segment selection.
Some embodiments of the invention may have one or more of the following advantages. In regions in which extra capacity is needed in cell segments, additional carriers may be added to the cell segments within that region, which may be a region having high bursty traffic conditions or a region in which a hierarchical cell structure is desired. Increased capacity allows greater accessibility to a mobile communications system and also improves services provided to users. If extra control signaling is needed, the additional capacity is able to handle such extra control signaling without taking up bandwidth for communicating traffic.
Other features and advantages will become apparent from the following description, from the drawings, and from the claims.

Expanded carrier capacity in a mobile communications system


A stainless steel exhibiting an excellent brazeability includes in mass %: C: from 0.001% to 0.1%; Si: from more than 1.5% to 4.0%; Mn: from 0.05% to 4.0%; Cr: from 10.5% to 30%; Ni: 35% or less; N: from 0.001% to 0.4%; one or both of Ti: 0.002% to 0.030% and Al: 0.002% to 0.10%; and a balance being Fe and inevitable impurities, in which an Si content, a Ti content and an Al content satisfy Formula 1, and an oxide film with a composition satisfying Formula 2 is formed on a surface of the stainless steel,Sim/(Tim+Alm)≥40  Formula 11.2×SimFem≤Sif/Fef≤5×Sim/Fem  Formula 2in Formula 1 and Formula 2, a suffix “f” expresses the oxide film in a unit of atom %, and a suffix “m” expresses a base material in a unit of mass %.

In recent years, in the automobile industry, due to growing awareness of environmental issues, exhaust gas regulations have been further tightened and measures for decreasing carbon dioxide emission have been taken. In addition to the measures from a fuel standpoint such as bioethanol and biodiesel fuels, measures for further decreasing a vehicle weight and installing an exhaust gas treatment device such as EGR, DPF (Diesel Particulate Filter) and a urea SCR (Selective Catalytic Reduction) system have been taken. Further, in order to improve a fuel efficiency, exhaust heat recovery equipment to recover exhaust heat has begun to be installed.
Among these, an object of the EGR cooler is to lower a combustion temperature and decrease NOx, which is a poisonous gas, by cooling engine exhaust gas with an engine cooling water and subsequently returning the exhaust gas to an intake side for recombustion. The exhaust heat recovery equipment is a system to heat the engine cooling water with the exhaust gas to use for warm-up of a heater and the engine. The exhaust heat recovery equipment is also called an exhaust heat recirculation system. This arrangement shortens a time between a cold start to an engine stop in a hybrid car, and contributes to an improvement in a fuel efficiency especially in winter.
Further, also in the field of the hot water supplier, application of the heat exchanger has been increased according to a widespread use of an environment-responsive device. In a gas hot-water supplier, a latent heat recovery-type gas hot-water supplier added with a secondary heat exchanger made of a stainless steel has been widespread in order to recover a latent heat from an exhaust gas having a high temperature approximately from 150 degrees C. to 200 degrees C., the exhaust gas having been usually discharged without any treatment. Moreover, a typical electric hot water supplier including a built-in heater has been increasingly switched to a CO2 refrigerant heat pump-type hot water supplier (trading as EcoCute (registered trademark) which can decrease electric energy to ⅓ or less. A heat exchanger is also used in the CO2 refrigerant heat pump-type hot water supplier.
Such a heat exchanger is required to have a favorable heat conductivity for a favorable heat efficiency, and an excellent corrosion resistance against exhaust gas condensate water since the heat exchanger is in contact with an exhaust gas. In automobile components, the EGR cooler and the exhaust heat recovery equipment are required to have much higher safety and more excellent corrosion resistance since leakage of a cooling water is likely to cause a critical breakage in the EGR cooler and the exhaust heat recovery equipment.
An austenitic stainless steel (e.g., SUS304 and SUS316L) with corrosion resistance and strength is generally used as a material for the heat exchanger.
Some heat exchangers are assembled by welding and others are assembled by brazing because of a complicated structure of the heat exchanger. A material for a heat exchanging portion to be assembled by brazing is required to have a favorable brazeability.
Patent Literature 1 discloses a brazing process of coating a phosphorus-containing nickel alloy by electroless plating onto a surface of a component of a heat exchanger made of a stainless steel material, and subsequently melting the phosphorus-containing nickel alloy in high temperature vacuum to use the molten substance as a brazing material. The usable stainless steel is exemplified by SUS304.
Patent Literature 2 discloses a cylindrical structural body usable as a brazed member made of an austenitic stainless steel, the cylindrical structural body being a part of an engine exhaust gas purifying device and housing a metal support supporting an exhaust gas purifying catalyst thereon. Patent Literature 3 discloses a common rail used for a low pressure fuel. Neither Patent Literature 2 nor Patent Literature 3 discloses a type of steels. Similarly, Patent Literature 4 discloses a heat exchanger pipe for a heat exchanger of an EGR gas cooler. Examples of an austenitic stainless steel used for a wavy fin structural body of the heat exchanger pipe include SUS304, SUS304L, SUS316 and SUS316L.
Patent Literature 5 discloses a composite material used for brazing, which is obtained by forming a brazing material layer having a multi-layer structure, in which a layer of Fe or Fe alloy, a layer of Ti or Ti alloy, and a layer of Ni or Ni alloy are layered, on a surface of a base material made of an alloy containing Ni. Herein, the base material made of an alloy containing Ni is exemplified by an austenitic stainless steel (e.g., SUS304) and a dual phase stainless steel.
Patent Literature 6 discloses an austenitic stainless steel having excellent corrosion resistance and brazeability and containing C: 0.080% or less, Si: from 1.2% to 3.0%, Mn: from 0.4% to 2.0%, P: 0.03% or less, S: 0.003% or less, Ni: from 6.0% to 12.0%, Cr: from 16.0% to 20.0%, Cu: from 0.2% to 3.0%, Mo: from 0.1% to 1.0%, Al: from 0.002% to 0.10%, and N: from 0.030% to 0.150%, so as to satisfy a relationship of 1.6≤Cu×Si≤4.4 and a relationship of 0.16≤2N+Mo≤1.0.
Patent Literature 7 discloses an austenitic stainless steel usable as member for an exhaust gas flow path, the austenitic stainless steel containing C: from 0.001% to 0.03%, Si: from 0.10% to 0.70%, Mn: from 0.10% to 1.00%, P: from 0.005% to 0.045%, S: 0.003% or less, Ni: from 18.00% to 40.00%, Cr: from 20.00% to 30.00%, Cu: 2.00% or less, Mo: from 3.00% to 8.00%, Al: 0.13% or less, and N: from 0.05% to 0.30% so as to satisfy a relationship of Cr+2Mo+0.5Ni≥40.
Patent Literature 8 discloses a ferritic stainless steel suitable for a heat exchanger member with Ni-braze or Cu-braze, the ferritic stainless steel containing C: 0.03% or less, Si: 3% or less, Mn: 2% or less, P: 0.005% or less, S: 0.03% or less, Cr: from 11% to 30%, Nb: from 0.15% to 0.8%, N: 0.03% or less so as to satisfy a relationship of Nb−(C×92.9/12+N×92.9/14)≥0.10.
Patent Literature 9 discloses a ferritic stainless steel material used for brazing, the ferritic stainless steel material containing C: 0.03% or less, Si: from more than 0.1% to 3%, Mn: from 0.1% to 2%, Cr: from 10% to 35%, Nb: from 0.2% to 0.8%, and N: 0.03% or less, and having a partially recrystallization structure with from 10% to 80% of an area ratio of recrystallization particles generated by heating after cold working.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Stainless steel having excellent brazeability

NIPPON STEEL & SUMIKIN STAINLESS STEEL CORPORATION


A light-emitting apparatus having a 16:9 geometry includes light-emitting elements disposed on a first substrate or a second substrate, light flux control members respectively disposed on the light-emitting elements and on the first or second substrate, and a film stack disposed above the light flux control members. Each light flux control member includes a bottom surface section disposed on the first or second substrate, a non-rotationally symmetric input surface section having an inward recess disposed in the bottom surface section at a position directly above one of the light-emitting elements, and a non-rotationally symmetric output surface configured to refract light passing through the input surface section, and to transmit light outside. The light flux control members disposed on the first substrate are spaced 100 mm apart from each other in a first direction, and the light-emitting elements are spaced 23 mm away from the film stack.

Field
Exemplary embodiments of the present invention relate to a light emitting apparatus, a planar surface light source apparatus, and the luminous flux control or a deterministic light deviating member more commonly known as an optical lens.
Discussion of the Background
In the past decade, flat-screen televisions have gone from luxury-status to market domination that is so complete that cathode-ray tube (CRT) televisions have ceased production and old CRT sets cannot be given away. While plasma flat-screens are like CRTs in having emissive pixels, the pixels of LCDs are passive, merely acting to rotate the polarization of light passing through them, so that they must be put between two orthogonal polarizers in order for the pixels to act as intensity modulators. Originally, flat-screen LCDs provided this intensity by utilizing waveguide-based backlights that were edge-illuminated by fluorescent tubes. As LEDs rapidly increased in brightness and efficacy, they replaced the fluorescent tubes while retaining the edge-illuminated waveguide. However, waveguides may be thick and heavy for large screen sizes, so that direct-view area backlights comprising hollow light boxes may be desirable because their lights are distributed all across the back of the light box. Direct-view area backlights may have to spread the light out uniformly to eliminate hot spots on the screen just over each LED light source, which is what LEDs without dedicated local lenses may not accomplish.
As LEDs have matured, their increasing power output means that fewer and fewer LEDs may be needed to do any particular illumination task. When area backlights try to use fewer LEDs, especially with the 16:9 proportions of typical high-definition televisions, their illumination geometry may become increasingly difficult to achieve uniform illumination in several ways.
First, locations intermediate between the LEDs are subject to a cosine to the third-power drop-off, which even at 60° off-axis is an 8:1 ratio. This may be over and above the lesser lateral intensity typical of LEDs. Second, an illumination lens may be subject to inevitable scattering, due to imperfections inherent to the injection-molded lens material, that becomes more important as LED luminosity increases. This may superimpose hot spots upon the direct-light pattern which the lens produces, requiring compensation of that pattern with a central dark zone.
In some applications, these adverse factors may be dealt with by increasing the relative size of the illumination lens compared to that of the LED. LCD backlights, however, may be an inch or less in thickness, severely limiting lens size. Also, this thin geometry increases the strength of light scattering by the lens.
LED backlights are used for myriad applications including LCDs, reach-in refrigeration lighting, and general illumination (light fixtures). All of these applications have a throw distance (panel thickness) much less than the spacing between the LED sources. Since LEDs emit in a quasi-Lambertian manner, a diverging lens is used to spread the emitted light out across a large lateral area. This results in the need for a lens that can modify the forward emitting angular distribution of the LED source into a mostly side-emitting angular distribution. The conventional art has focused almost exclusively on solutions with rotational symmetry. While some of these solutions predict near ideal uniformity in one dimension, they are fundamentally limited by étendue, specifically its skewness, from achieving near ideal uniformity in two dimensions.
In LED backlights, the circuit boards holding the LEDs may be separated by a span greater than the pitch of the LEDs on the board. This may require the illumination lens to produce an asymmetric or rectangular pattern, which adds further difficulties due to the topological incompatibility of the nearly round pattern of the LED versus how light must be horizontally deflected towards the long end of the rectangle.
The array of illumination lenses may superimpose their patterns for intermediate locations, but may create a potential deficit of illumination around the edge of the backlight. The light box may include a specular mirror or 45° beveling around its edges, but for cost reasons this may be impractical. Backlights may employ the 45° beveling around the perimeter, which will dictate how few LEDs can be used and still attain illuminance uniformity.
The conventional art discloses how to construct a surface light source device using a plurality of LEDs as the lighting means for backlighting an LCD monitor for use in personal computers, LCD television sets, tablet displays, as well as for smart phones. U.S. Pat. No. 7,798,679 discloses an example of this architecture. The surface light source device taught therein uses a plurality of LEDs with lenses designed to deviate the light emitted from the LEDs in a deterministic manner; moreover, these lighting elements are situated in a planar array having substantially the same shape as the LCD panel that it is to illuminate. This surface light source device then illuminates the LCD device from the LCD's back surface side.
The '679 patent goes on to disclose that when one deviates the light emitted from the LEDs in the 50°-70° range in order to achieve good uniformity on the LCD screen, one may be confronted by unwanted Fresnel reflections at the base of and interior to the lens outer perimeter. This may lead to secondary bright sources that cause non-uniformity in the LCD backlight display and can be compensated to a certain extent by incorporating a faceted structure to randomly scatter this unwanted light from bottom surface of the lens.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,227,969 considers integrating various types of light scattering bottom surface features and how to construct the faceted bottom surface of flux controlling and light diverting lenses. Convex and concave facets of linear and diagonal geometries are modeled as well as pyramidal scattering facets, including rough etched surfaces on these various facet types. The '969 patent discloses that without an effective diffusing bottom of the lens feature, refractive lenses cannot yield good LCD screen uniformity.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,328,395 discloses the importance of the size and placement of lens leg attachments to a printed circuit board (PCB) along with the facet treatment to defeat strong Fresnel reflections. The '395 patent discloses strategically placing leg attachments to very specific spatial positions and employing those legs as optical conductors to remove some of the unwanted Fresnel reflections, while even including blackening these legs to increase unwanted light absorption, for axial-symmetric lens shapes.


A gas filtration apparatus for filtering large volumes of air. The apparatus has a plenum chamber which features a V-shaped housing having a main portion located inside the plenum chamber, and an upper portion extending outside and above the top plenum chamber. The V-shaped housing has two vertical legs extending from a vertically oriented apex end which forms an acute angle between the vertical legs, and a vertically oriented prong end opposite the apex end. The apex end is near the outlet of the plenum chamber and the prong end is near the inlet of the plenum chamber. Each vertical leg has an inward vertical wall and an outward vertical wall. The distance between the walls defining a first length. A second length is defined by the distance that the upper portion of the V-shaped housing extends above the top surface of the plenum chamber. The second length is at least as great as the first length. The apparatus has a plurality of small apertures in the inward and outward vertical walls in the main portion of the V-shaped housing for gas flow; a sealing device for sealing the V-shaped housing in the plenum chamber; a cover for opening and closing the upper portion of the V-shaped housing; and a cover for opening and closing the lower portion of the V-shaped housing.

Filter equipment for removing particulate and undesirable gaseous components from gas streams have been in existence for many years. Odors, organic gases and particulate removal are frequently the primary concern when the gas stream to be cleaned is an air stream and especially when the air is intended to be vented to the environment.
An example of such equipment for use over a hospital bed for a recuperating patient is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,935,803. In this invention hospital room air is filtered in a canopy-like apparatus and the filter air is showered down over the hospital bed. In the apparatus air is prefiltered and passed through replaceable activated charcoal filters.
A larger filter for use in a commercial food cooking operation disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,350,504. This patent discloses several designs with charcoal bed elements arranged in a series of permanently installed V-shaped configurations. The charcoal is reactivated in place with a built-in heater and damper assembly. Since the filter system is designed mainly for a hood over a stove in a restaurant, the reactivation cycle can take place after normal restaurant business hours without interruption to food preparation operations.
A multistage pollution control system with an inverted conical shaped lower bed-first stage and an upright conical shaped upper bed-second stage is disclosed in NTIS report, PB-221 138 entitled Package Sorption Device System Study. A pelletized carbon is added to the upper bed and spent pellets removed through a valve in the lower bed.
A housing containing a combination evaporative cooler and carbon filter is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,086,342 which has a pair of carbon filters pivotally mounted in the housing. Other filtering systems which may contain shaped filters are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,824,770 for removing bacteria from air, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,344,778 for adsorbing moisture from air.
The principal disadvantages of these and many other similar prior art filter systems are that they are either poorly suited for use in filtering large volumes of gases, or, if they are useful for filtering large volumes of air, either the space such systems require or the ease of replacement of spent filter media particles is difficult and time consuming.
Replaceable cartridges or filter elements containing a adsorbent particle media usually require a relatively long period of time for replacing and resealing in filtration systems. The principal advantage of replaceable cartridges resides in the ability to reactivated them by heating or other means.
Systems which reactivate the spent adsorbent particle media without removal from the system during a separate regeneration cycle, require the system to be inoperative during the regeneration cycle.
What is needed therefore is a filtering system which can handle a large volume of gas, including a gas such as air, when such gases have objectionable gaseous contaminates by adsorbing such gaseous contaminates with a adsorbent. What is also needed is a system in which spent adsorbent particles can be quickly removed and replaced with fresh adsorbent media. Therefore what is needed is a large filtration system wherein the adsorbent particles can be quickly discharged and recharged without substantial loss of on-stream time. The arrangement of the containment housing for the adsorbent particles should be such that the adsorbent particles will not form bridges during charging of the adsorbent into its housing and also such that uniform filter bed densities can be quickly achieved and duplicated from one adsorbent charging to the next. There is also needed a system in which spent particle filter or adsorbent media can be quickly removed without appreciable time spent in breaking up bridged material and scraping of the walls of the container or housing to dislodge and remove filter particles or adsorbent.