The present invention provides for a stabilized solution containing a halogen containing compound which is effective as a sterilizing or disinfecting agent, and a stabilizing agent which suppresses the chemical dissociation of the halogen compound such that the sterilizing capability of the solution is maintained for extended periods of time relative to the solution without the stabilizing agent. The halogen containing compound is selected from the group consisting of chlorine dioxide, bromine oxide, bromine chloride, monochloroamine, bromic acid, iodine monochloride, iodine trichloride and iodine monobromide. The stabilizing agent is a compound having at least one accessible sulphur containing group selected from the group consisting of cyclamic acid, dimethyl sulphoxide, glyoxyl sodium bisulphite, potassium sorbate, sodium cyclamate, sodium metabisulphite, sodium oxalate, sodium sulphite, sodium thiosulphate and thioacetamide. Processes and kits for sterilizing or disinfecting water and objects utilizing the stabilized solutions are also provided by the present invention.

In many household and other non-industrial situations, it is necessary or desirable to sterilize or disinfect water as well as certain objects. For example, with infants up to six months of age, it is generally recommended to disinfect or sterilize the formula fed to the infant as well as the bottles including the nipples which are used during feeding. As another example, when camping many sources of drinking water, e.g. lakes, streams, etc. may be contaminated with potentially harmful organisms. Similarly, international travellers may be susceptible to microorganisms found in water in various locations.
The term "sterilization" generally denotes the process of eliminating all viable microorganisms from a material, including the spores of the microorganism. In contrast, the term "disinfection" generally refers to the process of destroying, or sometimes merely reducing, the potential infectivity of the material and does not necessarily imply the removal of all viable microorganisms and their spores.
At the present time, the most commonly employed household or other non-industrial methods of disinfection or sterilization are the use of heat and of chemical agents. In the case of heat, the most commonly employed household or non-industrial application uses boiling water. In the case of chemical agents, the most commonly utilized techniques use chlorine gas generating solutions and tablets. Thus, for example in the case of drinking water when camping, potable water is produced either by boiling the water for up to twenty minutes or by adding a chlorine gas generating tablet to the water. In the case of baby bottles, they are generally disinfected by being maintained in a boiling water bath for from five minutes up to about twenty minutes.
The use of boiling water has numerous disadvantages as it can be a tedious or inconvenient procedure, because of the amount of time necessary to disinfect the water. The use of boiling water may also be somewhat dangerous because of the potential for scalds from boiling water baths. Additionally, the use of boiling water for disinfection of baby bottles may result in deterioration of the nipples and clouding of the plastic bottles caused by tiny cracks which may harbor microorganisms which may be difficult to remove.
It is often believed that the use of boiling water results in sterilized water. However, in fact the water may often be only disinfected and not sterilized. For instance, depending upon how long a period of time the water is boiled, some microorganisms may not be killed or inactivated. Boiling water will also generally not kill or inactivate all of the spores of such microorganisms which generally remain viable at about 100.degree. centigrade, the maximum temperature of boiling water under normal conditions. In some applications, there is the potential of the spores continuing to cause some health problems. The spores can germinate to form viable organisms, which if present in small numbers are generally not a major problem. However, if the disinfected solution, for example baby formula, is maintained for extended periods at certain temperatures even a small number of organisms can rapidly multiply and may result in potentially serious illnesses.
There have been attempts, such as the chlorine gas generating tablet described above, to develop cold sterilizing and disinfecting methods which can be used in household or other non-industrial applications. These methods rely on the use of various chemical agents, but still such methods suffer from a number of disadvantages. One such method, for example, requires the use of sodium hypochlorite and other chlorine gas generating solutions. These solutions result in the release of free chlorine gas into the water, which in certain applications can present problems. Chlorine gas is objectionable since in aqueous solution it forms hypochlorous acid, it has a very sharp odor in concentrations as low as 3.5 p.p.m., it is extremely corrosive and it forms toxic and possibly carcinogenic organohalogen compounds, while causing irritation of the pulmonary mucosa. In order to avoid most of these problems the water must be left for a sufficient period to allow the chlorine gas to dissipate. When using these methods with baby bottles, the bottles and nipples are generally rinsed afterward to remove any traces of chlorine and other by-products, with the result that the bottle can be reinfected, thereby defeating the disinfection process.
A number of halogen containing compounds, such as, for example, chlorine dioxide, bromine oxide, bromine chloride, monochloroamine, bromic acid, hypochlorous acid, chlorates, chlorites, hypochlorites, iodine monochloride, iodine trichloride and iodine monobromide among others, are known to be effective disinfecting and sterilizing agents if applied in the proper concentrations. In particular, chlorine dioxide has been used for many years in treatment of municipal water supplies and has recently been demonstrated to be effective as a medical and dental equipment sterilizer, as a disinfectant and deodorizer for beds, as a fungicide, as a toothpaste additive used to prevent dental caries, and as a mouthwash additive.
Chlorine dioxide has been demonstrated to result in the destruction of many microorganisms and their spores at strengths as low as 0.75 p.p.m., as little as 1 p.p.m. of chlorine dioxide in solution killing or inactivating 99,999 of 100,000 Escherichia coli bacteria upon contact for five minutes. Chlorine dioxide has also been shown to be effective in inactivating among others, bacteria such as, Bacillus anthracoides, B. subtilis, B. cereus, B. stearothermilus, B. mesentericus, B. megatherium, Clostridium perfringens, Erberthella typhosa, Haemophilus influenzae, Shigella dysenterie, Salmonella paratyphi B, Salmonella typhosa, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus; protozoa and algae such as Naegleria gruberi; and viruses such as HTLV-III, poliovirus, echovirus, Coxsackie virus, Herpes simplex virus, Newcastle disease virus, Sendaivirus, Vaccinia virus, bacteriophage f2, coliphage and phage .phi.X 174.
However, some of such halogen containing compounds, such as chlorine dioxide, bromine oxide, bromine chloride and monochloroamine, among others, are generally unstable and there have been a number of problems associated with such instability. In particular, the use of chlorine dioxide is somewhat problematic because at 25.degree. centigrade it exists as a yellow gas which is explosive and may detonate under certain conditions. Thus, chlorine dioxide, being readily soluble in water, is usually stored as an aqueous solution at a low temperature to reduce its instability. Such halogen containing compounds, (e.g. chlorine dioxide, bromine oxide, monochloroamine and bromine chloride, and in particular, chlorine dioxide), however, even in solution, remain generally unstable, in the sense that they have relatively high rates of chemical breakdown or dissociation, particularly in the presence of light. These high rates of chemical breakdown or dissociation render them inefficient and sometimes totally ineffective.
In order to reduce the dissociation of such compounds in solution and take advantage of their excellent sterilization properties, there have been attempts either to provide stable solutions of such compounds or to generate such compounds at their place and time of use. For industrial or commercial applications having the necessary equipment and other resources, the chlorine dioxide is generally produced and used immediately. With household or other non-industrial applications it is not cost effective, feasible or safe to do this. There have thus been attempts to provide stable chlorine dioxide solutions as evidenced by U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,123,521, 3,585,147 and 3,591,515 among others. In most of these situations, the chlorine dioxide is provided by releasing the gas by acidification of solutions in which the chlorine dioxide is made more stable by the addition of a peroxygen or boron compound. While this does result in an increase in the effective shelf life of such chlorine dioxide generating solutions, there is still significant spontaneous breakdown of the chlorine dioxide and, consequently, the sterilizing capacity of the solution is rapidly diminished.
In view of problems, such as noted above, satisfactory methods of storing and/or transporting such halogen containing compounds which allow them to retain their disinfecting or sterilizing properties have not been readily available. The result has been that it has thus not always been possible to utilize to its full potential the excellent disinfectant and sterilizing capability of chlorine dioxide and other such unstable halogen containing compounds, particularly in household and other non-industrial applications.


An exhaust manifold of an engine exhaust apparatus includes a plurality of exhaust branches and a straight pipe section. The exhaust branches extend toward a confluence portion, from respective upstream ends to be connected with cylinders of an engine. The straight pipe section extends from the confluence portion toward a downstream end adapted to be connected to an exhaust purifying catalyst.

The present invention relates to exhaust apparatus or system and more specifically to the structure of an exhaust manifold.
A Published Japanese Patent Application Publication No. H08(1996)-68316 shows an exhaust purifying catalyst unit disposed just below an exhaust manifold to promote the activation of the catalyst after a start of the engine.


Orally utilizable compositions which may be either chewing gum compositions, chewable medicinal tablets, chewing tobacco or toothpaste having an oral intake, a high flavor intensity release substantially evenly and uniformly, over an extended oral utilization time in the mouth cavity; the orally utilizable compositions containing a non-confined flavor oil, a flavor oil which is physically entrapped in solid particles and a suspending agent which is hydroxypropyl cellulose as specifically defined in U.S. Pat. No. 3,278,521, issued on Oct. 11, 1966; the non-confined flavor oil, the entrapped flavor oil and the suspension agent being premixed prior to addition to either of the chewing gum base, the chewing tobacco or the chewable medicinal tablet base, or to the toothpaste base.

This invention relates to improved orally utilizable compositions having a flavor with good initial strength and which flavor is controllably released (under the hydrolytic conditions of the human mouth cavity) at a consistently high level over an extended period of time; to processes for preparing such orally utilizable compositions; to flavor compositions useful in preparing same and to processes for preparing such specially useful flavoring compositions.
The term "orally utilizable compositions" includes such materials as chewing gum, chewable medicinal tablets such as chewable vitamin tablets, chewing tobacco and toothpaste.
There has been considerable work performed relating to orally utilizable substances such as chewing gum, chewable medicinal tablets, chewing tobacco and toothpaste whereby such orally utilizable substances have a flavor impact both initially and over an extended period of time. Problems have arisen in attempting to create such orally utilizable compositions wherein part of the flavor is available for immediate results whereas another part provides the effect of such flavor gradually over extended periods of time. Such problems include the continuous distribution of "initial impact" and "extended release" flavor over the entire mass of the orally utilizable composition as well as commercial manufacture of same.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,526,039, for example, teaches that if an essential oil or flavoring is combined with chewing gum base in a finely divided condition, and the particles of the flavoring or oil are encased in a suitable covering so as not to contact directly the gum during manufacture, the deleterious effect of the flavoring on the gum is prevented or largely reduced. It is further stated therein that:
"When the emulsion is added to the gum base, it is thoroughly mixed therewith by the usual means employed for mixing the flavoring material with such base.
The production of the emulsion serves to break up the essential oil into fine particles and to encase these particles in the emulsifying material, so that when the emulsion is added to the gum mass, the essential oil to a large degree is prevented from coming into direct contact with the base, and from having deleterious action thereon."
U.S. Pat. No. 2,886,440 teaches a method of preparing a chewing gum characterized by "extended flavor perception time, true flavor character, and high degree of flavor release comprising the steps of forming a spray-dried emulsion of a volatile, water-immiscible flavoring agent encapsulated within finely divided particles of gelatin, and substantially uniformly distributing said gelatin encapsulated flavoring agent within an all-enveloping mass of a chewable gum base." The use of separate "fixed" and "unfixed" flavor portions is also taught but there is no disclosure therein of the principal of this invention, to wit: mixing the fixed and unfixed flavor portions with a suspension agent prior to adding to the chewing gum base.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,886,446 teaches a chewing gum comprising (i) smaller particles of gelatin characterized by faster liberation of flavor and (ii) larger particles of gelatin characterized by slower liberation of flavor, each of the gelatin particles containing dispersed therewithin, in dried emulsion form, discrete micro-droplets of a volatile water-immiscible flavoring agent, and an all-enveloping mass of a chewable gum base within which the particles are substantially uniformly distributed whereby the flavor is released substantially evenly and uniformly over the extended chewing time.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,886,445 teaches that:
"It is possible to obtain a flavoring composition, particularly adapted for use in chewing gum which permits attainment of a product characterized by extended flavor preception time, true flavor character, and release of a large proportion of flavoring agent. This flavoring composition comprises finely divided particles of a dried hardened gelatin emulsion containing discrete micro-droplets of a volatile, water-immiscible flavoring agent. Preparation of the flavoring composition of this invention may be effected by encapsulating discrete micro-droplets of volatile, water-immiscible flavoring agent within finely divided particles of a dried emulsion of hardened gelatin."
U.S. Pat. No. 2,886,449 teaches:
"A chewing gum containing a flavoring composition characterized by an extended flavor perception time, true flavor character, controlled release of a large portion of flavoring agent, and reduction in amount of flavor oil required (which) may be prepared by the process comprising forming a gelatin-coacervated flavor, and substantially uniformly distributing said gelatin-coacervated flavor within an all-enveloping mass of a chewable gum base. The product chewing gum . . . comprises . . . finely divided particles of coacervated gelatin containing a water-immiscible flavoring agent therewithin and an all-enveloping mass of a chewing gum base within which the particles are substantially distributed."
The utilization of sustained released flavor containing capsules in such materials as chewing gum and mecidinal tablets is also taught in British Pat. No. 1,205,764.
The use of sustained release flavor capsules in conjunction with polyethylene glycols (which are taught to be employed to disolventize the capsules) is set forth in British Pat. No. 1,318,799.
Furthermore, described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,920,849 may be either chewing gum compositions, chewable medicinal tablets, chewing tobacco or toothpaste having an oral intake, a high flavor intensity release substantially evenly and uniformly, over an extended oral utilization time in the mouth cavity; the orally utilizable compositions containing a non-confined flavor oil, a flavor oil which is physically entrapped in solid particles and a suspending agent such as silica, xanthan gum and ethyl cellulose; the non-confined flavor oil, the entrapped oil and the suspension agent being premixed prior to addition to either of the chewing gum base, the chewing tobacco or the chewable medicinal tablet base or the toothpaste base.
Nothing in the prior art, however, indicates the use of hydroxypropyl cellulose as defined in U.S. Pat. No. 3,278,521 issued on Oct. 11, 1966 for taking the place of the suspension agents of U.S. Pat. No. 3,920,849.
Furthermore, German Offenlengungsschrift No. 2,826,042 published on Jan. 4, 1979 relying on Austrian priority document A4305-77 of June 17, 1977 discloses a condiment consisting of a salt admixed with (a) from 0.1 up to 0.5 weight percent of a terpene-free lemon oil bonded to a powdery character and (b) a terpene-free liquid lemon oil. In German Offenlengungsschrift No. 2,826,042 the condiment is prepared by mixing the dry salts with component (a), spraying the mixture with (b) and mixing through a mixer such as a mixing screw. Nothing in Offenlengungsschrift No. 2,826,042 implies that a hydroxypropyl cellulose material can be used as a suspending agent for the terpene-free liquid lemon oil.
The hydroxypropyl cellulose derivatives useful in the practice of our invention are particularly described in a paper entitled "Functional Helpmate To Development . . . Hydroxypropyl Cellulose/A New Water Soluble Cellulose Polymer", Klug, Vol. 24, 51, Food Technology, January, 1970 and a pamphlet entitled "Klucel.RTM./Hydroxypropyl Cellulose/Chemical and Physical Properties Published by Hercules Incorporated, 1976".

Chewing gum containing flavor composition and flavor composition therefor


A device is disclosed for collecting a sample body, employable either in functional connection with a "handling" unit or as a manual boring rod. The device has a probe with a cylindrical tubular jacket at the head end of which is provided a manipulating means closing off the head end of the probe, which means may Be provided with an impact pad or a means of connection to the "handling" unit. The tubular jacket bounds a receiving space for the sample body or for a receptacle to accommodate the sample body, said receiving space opening into the passage of a tip arranged at the foot end of the tubular jacket, and a non-return means consisting of at least two spring wires protrudes into the receiving space. To reduce the force required for driving in and extracting the tip, it may be of the form of a truncated double cone, with a peripheral segment projecting radially beyond the tubular jacket.

The invention relates to a device for taking soil samples, according to the generic clause of claim 1.
Overfertilizing of the soil of areas in agricultural use and the associated pollution of waters has increasingly been a subject of public concern recently. Agricultural operations are increasingly adopting the practice of regular soil testing. By analysis for nutrients and alternation of products of cultivation, fertilizing can be optimized and soil exhaustion prevented. It can be ascertained whether the texture of the soil is intact, whether the soil is well aerated, and whether the soil contains an adequate proportion of humus.
Hitherto, samples have been taken by means of probes driven into the ground and then removed, bringing along the section of soil enclosed by the probe.
Probes employed heretofore, as known for example from German Letters of Disclosure 2,545,851, have a tubular jacket bearing a replaceable tip at its foot end segment. The receiving space formed by the tubular jacket is closable towards the tip of the probe by a closure flap, whereby the body of the sample is automatically enclosable in the probe when the probe is extracted. With the use of such probes, however, it has been found that in the case of highly viscous soils, the closure flap must be prestressed with a very heavy spring load in order to hold the body of the sample dependably inside the probe. This heavy spring load, of course, involves the danger that the soil sample may be damaged or its structure affected by the closure flap. With the use of a receptacle arranged coaxially in the tubular jacket to accommodate the body of the sample, the bearing of the closure flap must be passed through the receptacle, substantially augmenting the outlay for the engineering and fabrication of a probe.


A miniature circuit breaker 10 having a handle assembly 100 formed of two separate pieces, namely a handle section 110 and a link section 150 with a first end 152 and a second end 154. The link section 150 is pivotally connected at the first end 152 to the handle section 110, and at the second end 154 to a movable blade 30 carrying the movable contact 32 of the circuit breaker. The handle section 110 can be formed of a plastic, and the link section 150 can be formed of a metallic material. A metallic link section can be thinner than an equivalent plastic part, and can provide a robust metal-to-metal interface with the blade 30 carrying the movable contact 32. The handle assembly 100 can also have one or more clearance gaps 132 and 134 designed between the handle section 110 and link section 150 to provide for a range of independent motion by the handle section 110 in relation to the link section 150.

A circuit breaker is an overcurrent protective device that is used for circuit protection and isolation. The circuit breaker provides electrical system protection when a designated electrical abnormality such as an overcurrent or overload event occurs in the system. One type of circuit breaker is a miniature circuit breaker (MCB), which is typically used for low voltage applications. An MCB typically includes a base and cover, and an electrical circuit between a line terminal and a load terminal. The electrical circuit includes a conductive stationary contact electrically connected to one of the terminals and a movable contact electrically connected to the other terminal. The movable contact is secured on a movable blade (also referred to as a contact carrier). A handle assembly, in the form of a single piece handle, interfaces with the blade and the trip lever of the trip mechanism as further explained below. The handle assembly can be operated by a user to move the blade, and thus the movable contact, between an open position and a closed position to open or close the electrical circuit. In the closed position, the movable contact is engaged with the stationary contact to allow current flow between the two contacts to a protected load. In the open position, the movable contact is disengaged from the stationary contact to prevent or interrupt current flow to the protected load.
The MCB also includes a trip mechanism. The trip mechanism controls a trip lever, which is connected to the blade via a tension spring (also known as a "toggle spring"). When an abnormal operating condition is detected (e.g., an over current or over temperature fault), the trip mechanism implements a trip operation to disengage the movable contact from the stationary contact by releasing or unlatching the trip lever, which in turn interrupts current flow to the protected load at another open position generally referred to as the tripped position. Thereafter, the circuit breaker can be reset to an intermediate or reset position, and then returned to an open position. Once in the open position, the user can move the breaker back to the closed position via the handle assembly.
A miniature circuit breaker is subject to size constraints. As a consequence, there is very little space to arrange and fit the numerous moving parts of the breaker in the cover and base, thereby creating design restrictions as to the size, shape, dimension and materials of the various parts of the breaker. For example, in one type of MCB, the single piece handle, which is directly interfaced to the movable blade, is constantly subjected to the force of the tension spring, and thus, is subject to greater wear from the operation of the circuit breaker (e.g., a circuit breaker is typically switched mechanically and electrically over 10,000 times to comply with testing requirements). The single piece handle is connected to the metallic movable blade, and thus, must have sufficient durability, strength and/or rigidity to provide a suitable plastic to metal interface between the handle and the blade. Therefore, the single piece handle must be constructed with a significant thickness using a rigid or strong non-conductive material, such as thermoset.
Furthermore, in certain types of MCBs, the top portion of the tension spring, which is connected to the trip lever, is designed without coils (e.g., a partially coiled tension spring) in order to avoid becoming entangled with a portion of the handle. The use of a partially coiled tension spring is inefficient and costly, since the coils must be designed to provide a greater force (to compensate for the non-coiled portion) than otherwise would be needed if a fully coiled tension spring is used. Furthermore, the thickness of the handle also impacts the design of the trip lever and other components such as the blade in an area in the MCB where potential interference between the parts may occur, e.g., an interference area.
Accordingly, there is a need for a practical and reliable solution for providing greater flexibility in the design and assembly of the various parts of a circuit breaker, particularly a MCB. There is also a need to improve upon the durability of the handle of an MCB.

Two piece handle for miniature circuit breakers


A method of determining the acoustic impedance of a fluid in a borehole, by gating a reflected acoustic signal into a plurality of time slots, and comparing received energies of the signal for the time slots to obtain a value indicative of the acoustic impedance of the fluid. The value may be normalized to yield the acoustic impedance of the fluid using the acoustic impedance of, e.g., water as a calibration point. The comparison is performed by comparing a ratio of an integration of a first ring down time slot and a second ring down time slot, to an integration of an internal reflection time slot. The acoustic pulse may be generated using a transducer immersed in an intermediate fluid contained within a chamber defined in part by a plate in contact with the borehole fluid and having a thickness such that a mechanical resonance frequency of the plate in a thickness mode is substantially equal to a resonance frequency of the transducer. The sonic velocity of the fluid is also measured and, when combined with the acoustic impedance, is used to determine the fluid density.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to devices for measuring fluid properties, and also generally relates to oil and gas well (borehole) logging tools. More particularly, the invention relates to an improved method and apparatus for determining the density of drilling fluid by measuring the acoustic impedance and the sonic velocity of the fluid in a borehole. The same method and apparatus can be used to locate and determine the quality of a downhole wet cement abandonment plug positioned in a borehole.
2. Description of Related Art
In various industrial processes that involve fluid material, it is useful to know the properties of the fluids involved. These fluid properties include, for example, density, compressibility, reflectance, acoustic impedance, viscosity and attenuation. Knowledge of the values of these various properties can be used to adjust process parameters or warn of impending calamity. In many applications, such as oil and gas well (borehole) drilling, fluid density is of particular interest. It is important to know the density of drilling fluid (also referred to as drilling mud) during a drilling operation, in order to prevent a blowout of the well.
In a drilling operation, drilling fluid is pumped down the drill string (essentially a very long pipe), exits at the drill bit, and then returns to the surface within an annulus formed between the outside of the pipe and the inside of the borehole. As the bit drills into the geologic formations, it passes through zones containing various fluids, including lightweight fluids such as saltwater, oil (hydrocarbons), and natural gas. If the pressure within the zone is greater than the pressure within the borehole, these fluids will enter the borehole and mix with the drilling fluid. When the aforementioned lightweight fluids mix with drilling fluid, its density decreases. If the total weight of fluid within the borehole decreases too much, it can lead to a blowout when a high-pressure zone is entered. It is therefore very important that the density of the drilling fluid be accurately monitored. In producing wells the fluid density, with other measurements, is used to infer the proportions of oil, water and natural gas that the well is producing at various depths in the well. Logging tools for measuring fluid density are well known.
One common prior-art technique for measuring drilling fluid density involves the use of acoustic transducers, particularly ultrasonic transducers, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,571,693. That device uses an ultrasonic transducer coupled to the body of a probe to transmit and receive a signal across a first solid/fluid interface and a second fluid/solid interface, in order to measure the sound velocity of the fluid. A second signal is a reference signal generated by reflection off a surface that is hermetically sealed from contact with the fluid. Measurement of the signals reflected off the two surfaces are used to calculate reflectance and acoustic impedance, from which density may be inferred.
One problem encountered with the foregoing approach is that an ultrasonic transducer can lose the acoustic coupling, that is, the ability to transfer the acoustic energy, when in poor contact with the body of the tool, which is typically built of a metal material such as steel. It only requires a very small gap (in the thousands of an inch) to lose nearly 100% of the transmitted energy, since a vacuum does not transmit any sound.
Another problem encountered in such prior art fluid density measurement techniques is that, during the measurement of the velocity of sound in the fluid, the signal must pass through two solid/fluid and fluid/solid interface-transmissions, plus one fluid/solid interface-reflection. Since the acoustic impedance difference between metals and fluids is on the order of 30 to 1, only about 2% of the transmitted signal is ever received back. This loss of signal does not take into consideration the further attenuation suffered during propagation of the signal in the fluid and the metal.
The foregoing prior-art method clearly cannot be used to measure the properties of heavy drill fluids, oil-based drill fluids, or wet cement abandonment plugs, where the signal attenuation at ultrasonic frequencies is very high, well above 20 dB/inch attenuation rate. In oil and gas producing areas, it is often necessary to permanently isolate different strata by placing cement plugs at selected locations along the borehole. A cement abandonment plug is placed in the open hole by pumping a special mixture of water and cement down the drill pipe, displacing the drilling mud within the pipe and the surrounding area of the borehole. The drill pipe is then raised until it is above the wet plug. After placement of the wet plug in the borehole, the location of the top of the plug must be determined to ensure that the plug has the required size. Prior art techniques for locating and determining the quality of downhole wet cement abandonment plugs, such as that described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,036,916, do not, however, locate both the top and bottom of the cement plug. That method in particular is invasive (taking a sample of the cement for further analysis at the surface), and very time-consuming in operating the sample chamber to draw cement into the chamber, costing rig time, and incurring the associated risk and expense.
Other prior-art methods and apparatuses for measuring the fluid density in boreholes, such as those described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,939,362 and 5,204,529, include the use of either chemical radio-active sources or electrically-activated radioactive sources, which present clear environmental and health hazards. It is therefore apparent that a need exists for an improved acoustic well logging tool and method to determine the density of fluid in boreholes. It would be further advantageous if the tool and method included the detection and the determination of the quality and location of wet cement abandonment plugs.

Method and apparatus for acoustic logging of fluid density and wet cement plugs in boreholes


An improved card holder or jacket of the kind adapted for supporting a hospital patient identification card on a printer anvil. The holder comprises a card supporting base panel having along one edge an upstanding flange for guiding the card against sliding displacement from the panel. The panel also has along said one edge a card hold-down and protector for said edge and located in spaced clearance protective adjacent relation to the guide flange. At least the base panel is made of ferromagnetic material for cooperation with magnetic hold-down such as a magnetic strip on the printer anvil.

The present invention relates to a new and improved card holder jacket, and is more particularly concerned with a device of the kind disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,356,646 (incorporated herein by reference), having particular utility for holding hospital patient identification cards carrying vital patient information which is adapted to be transferred to patient records, such as billing papers and other records, in an imprinter equipped to handle card holders of this type.
As discussed in the aforesaid patent, it is preferred that these card holders be made of metal rather than from plastic material as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,379,130.
The two patents referred to are fairly representative of the present state of the art. Whereas the metal card holder of U.S. Pat. No. 4,356,646 has substantial durability advantages over the plastic card holder of U.S. Pat. No. 3,379,130, widespread use of the metal card holder has revealed a need for safety protection against inexperienced or careless handling of the device in the imprinter or elsewhere.


A system and computation method is disclosed that identifies radiation-induced lung injury after radiation therapy using 4D computed tomography (CT) scans. After deformable image registration, the method segments lung fields, extracts functional and textural features, and classifies lung tissues. The deformable registration locally aligns consecutive phases of the respiratory cycle using gradient descent minimization of the conventional dissimilarity metric. Then an adaptive shape prior, a first-order intensity model, and a second-order lung tissues homogeneity descriptor are integrated to segment the lung fields. In addition to common lung functionality features, such as ventilation and elasticity, specific regional textural features are estimated by modeling the segmented images as samples of a novel 7th-order contrast-offset-invariant Markov-Gibbs random field (MGRF). Finally, a tissue classifier is applied to distinguish between the injured and normal lung tissues.

Radiation-induced lung injury is a significant side effect of radiation therapy for many lung cancer patients. Although higher radiation doses increase the radiation therapy effectiveness for tumor control, such higher doses may lead to lung injury because, under such conditions, a greater quantity of normal lung tissue may be included in treated areas. In recent studies, nearly 40% of patients who underwent radiation therapy developed lung injuries following treatment. Lung injury may take the form of acute radiation pneumonitis occurring less than six months after treatment, or lung injury may take the form of lung fibrosis, happening after six months of treatment. Conventional approaches to the detection and characterization of radiation-induced lung injury are expensive and rely on slow machines that produce images that have insufficient resolution.
Early detection may help to improve management of the treatment of radiation-induced lung injury. Conventional approaches that rely only on the appearance of computed tomography (CT) scans (i.e., Hounsfield Units) do not enable early detection of radiation-induced lung injury, making treatment more difficult. Alternatively, detection of early radiation-induced lung injury development through monitoring of lung functionality and lung texture changes may substantially improve the disease management. Although global pulmonary function tests (PFT), such as spirometry, measure air flow obstruction/restriction, no regional lung function information is obtained. Alternatively, the lung functionality may be locally evaluated using nuclear imaging, e.g., by single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) ventilation and perfusion (V/Q) images. However, SPECT image acquisition is highly expensive and relies on relatively slow machines, which produce images having insufficient spatial resolution.
Recently, four-dimensional computed tomography (4D-CT) scans have gained attention for assessing lung functionality in that such sans provide high spatial resolution, faster acquisition, and relatively low cost. Moreover, in addition to texture, many functional features may be derived from 4D-CT scans. The lung ventilation may be derived from the 4D-CT scans and these results may be correlated with the SPECT (V/Q) scans, or the ventilation maps may be correlated directly with certain clinical findings.
Despite limited success, however, conventional methods for detecting radiation therapy effects have several significant limitations. Global PFTs measure total airflow but fail to provide information about regional functionality. Nuclear imaging based detection of defects in local pulmonary function, for example, suffers from low spatial resolution. Conventional voxel-wise descriptors of lung appearance are too sensitive to noise and fail to take account of dependences between adjacent voxels to suppress noise impacts. Further, common computational models for aligning the 4D-CT images do not guarantee proper voxel-to-voxel matches, often leading to inaccurate estimates of lung functionality parameters.

Accurate detection and assessment of radiation induced lung injury based on a computational model and computed tomography imaging

University of Louisville Research Foundation, Inc.


The marker may include a body, a cap, an end plug and an eraser. In one of the embodiments, the eraser is molded onto the end plug. The end plug may include an attachment portion and the eraser may have an attachment portion. The attachment portion on the end plug corresponds to the attachment portion on the eraser. The attachment portions may have different shapes and/or cross sections. In other embodiments the eraser may be attached to the end of the marker, to the barrel, or to the cap.

This invention relates generally to the field of writing instruments with erasers, and more particularly to markers with erasers.
Children and adults use markers to write and to make drawings. One of the difficulties with markers is that the mark cannot be erased from paper. If the user makes a mistake using the marker, the user is not able to remove the mark from the paper. Therefore, there is a need for a marker which can be erased from paper.
Furthermore, if the user was provided with an erasable marker, the user would also need an eraser to erase any unwanted markings from the paper. A separately provided eraser could become lost or misplaced when the user wishes to use the erasable marker. Consequently, the user would not be able to erase the unwanted marks on the paper. Therefore, there is a need for an erasable marker which includes an eraser.
The invention provides such a device. These and other advantages of the present invention, as well as other inventive features, will be apparent from the description of the invention provided herein.
The marker may include a body, a cap, an end plug and an eraser 108. In one of the embodiments, the eraser is molded onto the end plug. The end plug may include an attachment portion and the eraser may have an attachment portion. The attachment portion on the end plug corresponds to the attachment portion on the eraser. The attachment portions may have different shapes and/or cross sections. In other embodiments the eraser may be attached to the end of the marker, to the barrel, or to the cap.
Other advantages of the invention will become apparent upon reading the following detailed description and upon reference to the drawings.


A downhole annealing system includes a component to be annealed; a steam generating catalyst in proximity to the component; and a reactant fuel selectively communicative with the catalyst to produce an exothermic reaction and method.

In the hydrocarbon recovery arts, there is need for many different types of materials in the wellbore. This is due to particular applications, particular requirements of the materials, etc. In some cases, materials are introduced into the wellbore in a condition that facilitates their introduction but they suffer in the downhole environment because of that initial condition. While methods have been used to, for example, cure resinous materials in the downhole environment to change the operating properties thereof, such methods have been limited to various plastic materials or shape memory alloys. While these materials have great utility in some settings, they of course do not satisfy all needs.


In an electron gun for a cathode-ray tube according to this invention, a quadrupole lens having a small spherical aberration and an asymmetrical lens are combined to properly focus an electron beam, thereby greatly reducing the size of a beam spot formed on a target on a screen.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electron gun for a cathode-ray tube and, more particularly, to an electron gun, used for a cathode-ray tube, which can optimize a beam spot on a target.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a cathode-ray tube such as a monochrome picture tube, a color picture tube, and a projection tube, an electron beam emitted from an electron gun is deflected by a magnetic field generated by a deflection yoke mounted around an envelope so as to be horizontally and vertically scanned on a phosphor screen (target) formed on the inner surface of the envelope. With this operation, an image is reproduced on the phosphor screen.
Electron guns of various schemes have been used for such cathode-ray tubes. Every conventional electron gun includes an electron beam forming portion, constituted by a cathode and a plurality of grids (electrodes), for controlling electrons emitted from the cathode and focusing the electrons to form an electron beam, and a main electron lens portion, constituted by a plurality of grids, for focusing the electron beam emerging from the electron beam forming portion onto a phosphor screen.
FIG. 1 shows such an electron gun. This electron gun comprises a cathode K and first to fourth grids G1 to G4 sequentially arranged at predetermined intervals from the cathode K to a phosphor screen 1. The first and second grids G1 and G2 are constituted by plate-like electrodes having relatively small electron beam passage holes formed in their surfaces according to the cathode K. The third and fourth grids G3 and G4 are constituted by cylindrical electrodes having relatively large electron beam passage holes formed in their end faces. In the electron gun, when predetermined potentials are applied to the cathode K and the first to fourth grids G1 to G4, an electron beam forming portion GEA is formed by the cathode K and the first, second, and third grids G1, G2, and G3, and a main electron lens portion MLA is formed by the third and fourth grids G3 and G4.
FIG. 2 shows an optical model of electron lenses formed in the electron gun. Electrons emitted from the cathode K are focused to form a crossover point CO owing to the effect of the cathode K and the first and second grids G1 and G2. The electrons are then slightly focused by a prefocus lens PL formed by the second and third grids G2 and G3 to form an electron beam 2. The electron beam 2 diverges and enters the third grid G3. The electron beam 2 which enters the third grid G3 is subsequently focused onto the phosphor screen 1 by the main electron lens portion constituted by a cylindrical electron lens portion MLA formed by the third and fourth grids G3 and G4.
In order to optimize image characteristics, especially resolution, of an image formed on the phosphor screen upon horizontal and vertical scanning of the electron beam 2, it is required that the size of the beam spot of the electron beam 2 focused on the phosphor screen 1 be minimized. Since a decrease in beam spot size is closely associated with the lens performance of an electron lens, the lens performance must be improved.
Especially the main electron lens portion MLA has conventionally employed several types of electrode arrangements. In order to improve the lens performance, however, the following two types of lenses are basically effective: a large-aperture electron lens obtained by increasing the diameter of an electron beam passage hole in each grid; and a long-focus electron lens which is obtained by increasing the grid pitch to realize small potential changes.
In general, however, since an electron gun for a cathode-ray tube is sealed within a neck constituted by a narrow glass cylinder, the size of an electron beam passage hole formed in each grid is geometrically limited. With this limitation, a corresponding lens aperture is limited. In addition, it is required that a focusing electric field formed between grids be free from the influences of other undesired electric fields formed in the neck. For this purpose, the grid pitch is also restricted. As a result, it is very difficult to improve the lens performance of an electron gun for a cathode-ray tube.
An in-line gun assembly for emitting three electron beams in line, which consists of a center beam and a pair of side beams propagating in the same plane, is widely used especially for a color cathode-ray tube. Since this electron gun assembly for emitting three electron beams in line must be sealed within a neck constituted by a narrow glass cylinder, electron beam passage hole through which the respective electron beams pass are inevitably reduced in size. This makes it more difficult to improve the lens performance.
With regard to an improvement in the lens performance of an electron gun for a color cathode-ray tube, for example, Published Unexamined Japanese Patent Application No. 1-267639 discloses an electron gun having a large-aperture electron lens common to the three electron beams. However, since the large-aperture electron lens of an electron gun disclosed in such an official gazette is a cylindrical lens, the problem of aberration is posed. Since aberration with respect to a pair of side beams is especially large, it is difficult to simultasneously reduce the sizes of the beam spots of the center beam and the pair of side beams on a phosphor screen. In addition, since the structure of such an electron lens is very complicated, a problem is posed in terms of practical applications.
As described above, in order to improve the resolution of a cathode-ray tube, the size of the beam spot of an electron beam focused on a phosphor screen must be minimized. For this purpose, it is required that the lens performance of each electron lens of an electron gun be improved. Especially with regard to a main electron lens portion, it is known to improve lens performance by employing either of the two types of electron lenses: a large-aperture electron lens formed by increasing the diameter of an electron beam passage hole in a grid, and a long-focus electron lens formed by increasing the grid pitch so as to have small potential changes. However, in an electron gun which is sealed within a neck constituted by a narrow glass cylinder, geometrical limitations are inevitably imposed on the lens aperture of such a large-aperture electron lens or on the grid pitch of such a long-focus electron lens. For this reason, it is very difficult to improve the lens performance of an electron gun for a cathode-ray tube. In addition, with regard to an in-line gun assembly for emitting three electron beams in line, which consists of a center beam and a pair of side beams propagating in the same plane, since this gun assembly must be sealed within a neck constituted by a narrow glass cylinder, an electron beam passage hole in each electrode is inevitably reduced in size. This makes it more difficult to improve the lens performance. In some electron gun assembly for a color cathode-ray tube, a large-aperture electron lens common to the three electron beams is formed to improve the lens performance. However, since the large-aperture electron lens of this conventional electron gun assembly is a cylindrical lens, the problem of aberration is posed. Since aberration with respect to a pair of side beams is especially large, it is difficult to simultaneously reduce the sizes of the beam spots of the center beam and the pair of side beams on a phosphor screen. In addition, since the structure of such an electron lens is very complicated, a problem is posed in terms of practical applications.


A method for reducing cavitation around underwater acoustic projectors is described. The projector is cleaned with a surfactant and then encapsulated with an aqueous gel containing a polysaccharide polymer such as a chitosan derivative, a hydrophilic stabilizer and a biocide.

When underwater acoustic projectors are driven at levels at which peak acoustic pressures exceed the ambient hydrostatic pressure, a phenomenom known as cavitation can occur. This is manifested by bubbles appearing on or near the surface of the projector and by a sudden reduction in the acoustic loading of the device. Acoustic energy cannot be transferred through the gas bubbles created and consequently the projector ceases to radiate the desired acoustic signal. When the acoustic loading of the projector is reduced, catastrophically high vibrations of the projector can occur with resultant damage to the projector. Further, insidious low level cavitation can cause rapid erosion of the projector face. It is, therefore, highly desirable to avoid cavitation whenever possible. Traditionally this has been achieved by operating the projector at depths where the hydrostatic pressure is high enough to prevent cavitation or by enclosing the projector in an acoustically transparent pressurized container. Unfortunately, there are many instances where the operating depth of a projector is dictated by considerations other than cavitation prevention. For example full power operation at shallow depths may be an operational requirement in order to achieve long distance sound propogation. In the case of hull mounted projectors, such as sonar domes and echo sounders, deep operation obviously is not possible. Enclosing the projector is usually impractical or expensive. Containers capable of withstanding the pressure at, say, 100 m (approx. 1000 k Pa) would have to be made from enormously strong materials. Acoustically transparent materials are not generally strong structural materials. There is, therefore, a need for an alternative method to prevent cavitation around an acoustic projector.

Her Majesty the Queen in right of Canada, as represented by the Minister of National Defence of Her Majesty's Canadian Government


Systems, methods, and non-transitory computer-readable media can acquire a set of labels associated with a set of content items. Each label in the set of labels can be associated with at least one content item in the set of content items. It can be determined that at least two labels, out of the set of labels, are related. The at least two labels can be determined to be related based on at least one of a co-occurrence metric associated with the at least two labels or a topic similarity metric associated with the at least two labels. One label can be selected, out of the at least two labels, as being representative of the at least two labels.

Today, people often utilize computing devices (or systems) for a wide variety of purposes. Users can use their computing devices, for example, to interact with one another, access content, share content, and create content. In some cases, users can utilize their computing devices to capture, upload, or otherwise provide content. In one example, a user of a social networking system (or service) can utilize his or her computing device to record, produce, and post content, such as text, links, images, video, or audio. In this example, the user can further provide one or more labels, such as hashtags, for the content.
Under conventional approaches to utilizing hashtags, content items can be tagged or otherwise associated with various hashtags. Often times, under conventional approaches, such hashtags can be undesirably repetitive or redundant. For instance, the user may post a particular content item with a plurality of substantially similar or related hashtag labels. In this instance, another user who views or accesses the particular content item will see the plurality of substantially similar or related hashtag labels, which can be unnecessarily repetitive or redundant for the other user. Furthermore, in some cases, conventional approaches can provide a list of trending or popular labels. However, in accordance with conventional approaches, the list can include a number of substantially similar or related labels, which can be uninteresting to users who view the list. As such, conventional approaches can create challenges for or reduce the overall user experience associated with utilizing labels such as hashtags.

Systems and methods for identifying and grouping related content labels


A non-mechanical manual combination treadmill/step deck exercise device comprises a treadmill having a strut beam frame with multiple spaced rods with equally dimensioned pipe rollers threaded thereon creating manually operated foot rotatably surface. A step deck conversion simulating a stair climbing workout comprises positioning a deck platform between opposite strut beams over said rollers. The step deck conversion unit is selectively in an operative location with treadmill in a storage location. Swing handles operative in handle assembly mounted to front exterior sides of strut beams of the treadmill foot contact surface pivoting the handles back and forth and thereby provide an arm movement simultaneously with the use of the leg exercise.

The design and creation of this device was to fulfill a need and desire for individuals to exercise inside protected from the elements and safe from danger; however, not restricted to an indoor application as it is portable. Developed for small space application (RV) with an adherence and restriction to size of the unit became the main concern in its design. It had to be small and compact in size, lightweight for mobility and storage but more importantly, sturdy, durable and able to withstand a rigorous workout from different types of individuals with varying weight and size.
The secondary goal of the product was to be inexpensive, to be an economical device that despite its small frame and appearance would actually work and last. Incorporating common everyday construction materials; wood and PVC pipe completed the intent design.
The final decree of the product was that it must deliver a heart healthy leg exercise with aerobic design to entice all; retired individuals with a fixed income that may even have limited mobility and the average income consumer who cannot and will not purchase the electrical, gear driven, computer monitored metallic giants readily advertised.
The device must offer a leg exercising supplemental simulation of walking, jogging, running and aerobic workout. An easy accessible, compact, convenient, portable device with no maintenance that's virtually indestructible. A treadmill device with the added benefit of a step deck conversion simulating stair climbing with optional riser blocks to increase the results or resistance of the stair step application. All components promoting a heart healthy aerobics leg exercising workout with an adherence and concern for safety with the inclusion of swing handles and handrail provide balance and safety. The swing handles also allow user arm movement similar to actual walking swing simultaneously with the use of the leg exercise treadmill device along with handrail stability for security while in step deck conversion application. Handles and handrail function as means of balance and stability for the user while performing multiple leg exercises available and utilized in this device by user.
Commonly seen and advertised are the huge monstrous, cumbersome, electrical, mechanical, and manual belt driven, gear driven, control resisted regulated efficient bearing mechanisms, computer monitored, and relatively stationary treadmill exercising workout devices. Unfortunately, these products are normally very expensive and, even though advertised as portable, they are primarily stationary due to size and weight, allotted space, and materials comprising the construction.
This product fulfills a mandatory need and desire by all, from the high dollar corporate executive to the average income consumer and retired fixed income individual's guarantying access and affordability to a commercially manufactured two in one device: treadmill with step deck conversion. A professional device that delivers supplemental simulation of walking, jogging, running and aerobics workout device activated by a manual step and drag leg exercise with added benefit of a step deck conversion simulate stair step climbing aerobics while in the security of a home, office, apartment, RV, hotel, enjoying a climate controlled atmosphere. In short, such a space saving non-obtrusive device that's lightweight, compact and affordable accomplishing the same desired results for pennies on the dollar delivering all of the above mentioned criteria is either non-existent or simply not available on the market today.
Another asset of this device is virtually no maintenance or replacement parts: motors, computers, resistors, metal rollers, belts, tension springs, etc. The "Toteable Treadstep" has no belts or motor to repair or parts to replace. In fact there are NO mechanical or electrical parts incorporated in the design of this device.
Some of the very expensive, demonstrative models advertised include computer monitors, programs with scenery of distant lands, heart monitors, device calculating speed and distance with resistance controls to "increase" the intensity of the workout. This is all wonderful, but inconvenient when exercising outdoors.
When user is engaged in an outdoor walk/jog they simply adjust the speed and/or distance of their walk/run for a more intense workout. The "Toteable Treadstep" device offers the same flexibility. There is no need for resistors, belts, tension springs. In a step and drag foot action, a user initiates motion regulating the intensity of their workout by speed and time utilized as with an outdoor event. For outside endeavors, small monitoring devices easily and conveniently attach to the individual's wrist or belt which is also applicable with this device whether the workout is at a home, office, RV, apartment, hotel, dorm, etc. As for monitors broadcasting faraway lands and goal assisted instructors, the unit can easily be set up and removed for a temporary application in front of a television with readily available instructional video's to complete the transition. There are very few, if any limitations as to where the user can engage in an exercising workout with this device.
There are so many patents of products each offering their own twist to their creative apparatus or to a pre-existing device that were discovered thru the archives of the United States Patent and Trademark Office dating back to the late 1800's and early 1900's. However, none of these devices duplicated the design, materials or matched completely the design, construction and/or intent of this device sometimes greatly differentiating in several aspects. Examples: U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,110,117, 5,407,408-A, 5,711,745-A or 6,132,343-A, and 4,757,987-A.
The intent of this product is to provide the exercising enthusiast a compact lightweight small sized portable movable structurally sound two in one treadmill/step deck conversion device that fits conveniently into small spaces (such as an RV, apartment, dorm room, hotel, office etc.) and easily transported by car, bus, boat for accessibility anytime, anywhere wherever and whenever user feels the incentive to exercise. This allows the user the flexibility of use anytime and virtually anywhere to conveniently walk, jog, run, step in shape, and stay healthy while in a safe and secure environment. The main intent of this product is to not be a big, invasive, cumbersome, gear driven, mechanical, electrical monster that costs hundreds if not thousands of dollars, but, instead, an inexpensive product of convenience that's lightweight, compact, long lasting, durable, workable, efficient, portable and affordable to all, a much needed product in today's market place.


A process for polymerizing a vinyl chloride monomer wherein the vinyl chloride monomer is subjected to homopolymerization or (co)polymerization with a monomer copolymerizable with the vinyl chloride monomer in an aqueous solvent, comprising applying in advance a coating liquid containing a cocondensation product obtained by reacting either a phenothiazine derivative and an aldehyde or a phenothiazine derivative, a naphthol derivative and an aldehyde to give an initial condensation product and then reacting the initial product with a polyphenol, to an inner wall of a polymerization tank and parts of an apparatus in contact with the monomers during the polymerization process. The process makes it possible to apply the cocondensation product as an aqueous solution to, e.g., an inner wall of a polymerization tank; to quite effectively prevent polymer adhesion in, e.g., a polymerization tank, without affecting a polymerization rate or physical properties of the product; and thus to eliminate the need for removing adhered polymer after every polymerization process and to realize closed polymerization in which a manhole should not be opened for every polymerization process.

1) Field of the invention
This invention relates to a process for improved homopolymerization or copolymerization of vinyl chloride; in particular, to a process for preventing adhesion of polymer to an inner wall of a polymerization apparatus such as a polymerization tank and to a polymer adhesion inhibitor therefor.
2) Prior Art
When vinyl chloride is subjected to homopolymerization or copolymerization with a monomer copolymerizable with vinyl chloride, or graft polymerization (hereinafter, collectively referred to as "polymerization"), polymer may adhere to parts of an apparatus such as an inner wall of a polymerization tank, a reflux condenser, a stirring blade, a baffle and various types of pipe connections, in contact with monomer(s) during a polymerization process, causing problems such as reduction of coolability of the polymerization tank and degradation in quality of the homopolymer or copolymer of vinyl chloride (hereinafter, referred to as "the product") due to contamination with peeled polymer which has been adhered to some surface.
It is therefore usual that after every polymerization process, the inside of the polymerization tank is cleaned prior to a next polymerization process, which requires an enormous amount of labor and time, leading to reduction in productivity rate of the polymerization tank or increase in the cost for the product.
To solve the problem, there have been proposed processes for preventing a polymer adhesion to an inner wall of a polymerization tank and/or other parts by applying some agent; for example, JP-B 61-843 (U.S. Pat. No. 4,355,141) has disclosed a process comprising application of a cocondensation product of resol with a nitrogen-containing compound such as nitrophenols, nitrobenzoic acids, aminophenols and aminobenzoic acids, and JP-A(KOHYO) 2-500845 (PCT-US-88-02462, WO-89-00993) and JP-A (KOHYO) 5-501892 (PCT-US-90-05829, WO-91-06576) have proposed processes comprising application of a condensation product of phenothiazine with an aldehyde.
However, the process according to JP-B 61-843 does not sufficiently prevent scale adhesion, and a more effective method is desired. For the processes described in JP-A 2-500845 and JP-A 5-501892, since the adhesion inhibitor used can be dissolved only in an organic solvent, a particular type of organic solvent should be used as a solvent for a coating liquid, making the apparatus and/or the operation more complex in the light of safety in handling and due to need for recovery of the solvent from the polymerization system. Furthermore, there are practical problems; for example, inadequate recovery of the solvent adversely affects the quality of the product.
3) Object of the Invention
Thus we have investigated for making it possible to quite effectively prevent polymer adhesion in, e.g., a polymerization tank, in polymerization of a vinyl chloride monomer, without affecting a polymerization rate or physical properties of the product; to apply an adhesion inhibitor as a coating liquid containing no or a very small amount of organic solvents; to eliminate the need for removing adhered polymer after every polymerization process; and to realize closed polymerization in which a manhole should not be opened for every polymerization process.


A tricycle comprises an upright handlebar, a front wheel frame, two expandable footboard support rods, and two braking devices. The front wheel frame is fastened with the bottom end of the upright handlebar and is provided with an elongated hole for locating a front wheel axle. The two expandable footboard support rods are jointly fastened with the upright handlebar by a lashing member. The braking devices comprise a rotary support rod, and a braking rod which is fastened at one end with a brake cable and is provided at other end with a braking portion capable of being forced against a rear wheel at the time when the braking rod is activated by the brake cable.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to an amusement light vehicle, and more particularly to a light three-wheeled amusement vehicle which is provided with means to operate by torsional force of the vehicle.
2. Description of Related Art
As shown in FIGS. 1-3, a prior art tricycle is operated by torsion thereof such that the prior art tricycle is capable of moving in a zigzag manner. The prior art tricycle is used for amusement and exercise.
An shown in FIG. 1, the prior art tricycle comprises two footboard support rods 10, which are joined with an upright handlebar 11 by a plurality of fastening rods 12. Located between the front end of the footboard support rod 10 and the fastening rod 12 is a curved assembly portion 13 having threads. In order words, the footboard support rod 10 and the fastening rod 12 are fastened together by means of threads and grooves. Such a fastening method can not hold the tricycle frame together securely in light of the tricycle being subjected to torsion. In addition, a front wheel 14 is mounted on an axle 15 which is fixedly fastened with the tricycle frame such that the axial distance between the front wheel 14 and the rear wheels 16 can not be adjusted to allow variation in the twisting effect.
The prior art tricycle is provided with two braking devices 17, as shown in FIG. 3. The braking devices 17 are used to press against the rear wheel 16 in motion, so as to slow down or stop the tricycle. The braking devices 17 are defective in design in that they are apt to jam the rear wheel 16, thereby resulting in the safety hazard.
The primary objective of the present invention is to provide a tricycle which is free of the shortcomings of the prior art tricycle described above.
In keeping with the principle of the present invention, the foregoing objective of the present invention is attained by a tricycle comprising an upright handlebar, a front wheel frame, two footboard support rods, and two braking devices. The front wheel frame is fastened with the bottom end of the handlebar and is provided with an elongated hole for fastening a front wheel axle. The two footboard support rods are jointly fastened with the handlebar by a lashing member in conjunction with a plurality of fastening bolts. The braking devices comprise a rotary support rod and a braking rod which is provided at one end with a braking portion capable of being forced against the rear wheel in motion at the time when the braking rod is turned, thereby preventing the rear wheel from being jammed.


A flow restriction part (10) which provides a resistance to high speed oil is provided in a reservoir (R), and an air chamber (A2) which contracts according to an oil pressure is disposed underneath this flow restriction part (10). Providing such flow restriction part and air chamber in addition to an air chamber (A1), a repulsive force when the front fork contracts at high speed, such as during sudden braking, increases larger than during normal contraction while mechanical vibration caused by road unevenness during normal running is absorbed.

The present invention relates to a front fork for a motorcycle.
Jikkai Hei 2-24140 published by the Japanese Patent Office in 1988 discloses a front fork which absorbs mechanical vibration caused by road unevenness, and thereby improves a ride comfort.
The repulsive force of the front fork is increased by the degree of contraction amount of the front fork by providing an air chamber in the upper part of a reservoir which contracts according to an oil pressure.
When the front fork contracts at high speed, for example when the motorcycle is suddenly braked, the repulsive force must be greatly increased compared to a usual contraction so as to maintain the motorcycle body in a correct orientation. However, with a front fork discussed above, the same repulsive force as during normal contraction could only be obtained in such situations.
It is therefore an object of this invention to suitably increase the repulsive force of the front fork when the front fork contracts at high speed during sudden braking, etc., while at the same time absorbing the mechanical vibration caused by road unevenness during normal running.
In order to achieve the above object, this invention provides a front fork for a motorcycle, comprising a first tube and second tube which are fitted together, a damper including a cylinder fixed to the second tube, a rod fixed to the first tube and inserted in the cylinder and a piston fixed to one end of the rod and housed inside the cylinder, and a reservoir connected to the cylinder. The reservoir includes a flow restriction part midway along its length, a first air chamber above the flow restriction part which is compressed according to an oil pressure, and a second air chamber below the flow restriction part which is compressed according to an oil pressure.
The details as well as other features and advantages of this invention are set forth in the remainder of the specification and are shown in the accompanying drawings.


The reinforcement of a pneumatic tire comprises, proceeding in a direction from the inside towards the outside of the tire, a carcass reinforcement continuous from bead to bead and three superimposed plies of cords limited to the region of the tread. In the sidewalls of the tire, the cords of the carcass reinforcement form a substantially constant angle with the circumferential direction of the tire of between 70.degree. and 90.degree.. In the tread region of the tire, the cords of the carcass reinforcement form an angle with the circumferential direction of the tire which is smaller than the angle made by those cords in the sidewalls. The cords of the three tread plies form acute angles .alpha., .beta., and .gamma., respectively, with the circumferential direction, and the cord angle .alpha. of the one of the three tread plies nearest the carcass reinforcement and the cord angles .beta. and .gamma. of the second and third of the three plies, respectively, are related as set forth below in mathematical expressions.

This invention relates to pneumatic tires and, more particularly, to a novel and highly-effective improvement of the tires which are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,327,753, assigned to the assignee of the present invention.
The reinforcement of such tires comprises a carcass ply of cords, cables or threads that are continuous from bead to bead and that are radial in the sidewalls and oblique in the region of the tread. In the region of the tread the reinforcement comprises, in addition to the oblique portion of the carcass ply, another ply of oblique cords or threads, the latter cords or threads being crossed with respect to the oblique cords or threads of the carcass ply and limited to the region of the tread.
Such a reinforcement is easy to manufacture and offers the advantage of ensuring a continuous connection of the reinforcement of the sidewalls to that of the tread. Furthermore, the sidewalls have the same flexibility as tires with a completely radial carcass--that is, a carcass that is radial from bead to bead. Under certain conditions, the tread of such tires needs additional reinforcement. This is why the patent provides for the reinforcement thereof by the addition of at least one other ply of oblique cords or threads limited to the region of the tread. This addition is possible, however, only after the shaping of the basic reinforcement defined above. On the other hand, the fundamental structure of these tires is extended without difficulty to the use of at least one ply which is continuous from bead to bead but the orientation of the cords or threads of which may differ by as much as 20.degree. from the radial orientation in the sidewalls, while retaining a definitely oblique portion in the region of the tread.

Pneumatic tire with reinforced carcass and tread

Compagnie Generale des Etablissements Michelin


A biological therapeutic delivery device is provided. In one preferred embodiment, the invention includes a device for effectuating localized tissue injury comprised of a resorbable body having at least one therapeutic agent and a retention device to anchor the agent within a tissue, the therapeutic agent being released into the tissue as the body resorbs. In an additional preferred embodiment, the invention includes a device for effectuating localized tissue injury comprised of a resorbable body having a cavity containing a therapeutic agent and a series of projections extending from the body to anchor the body in a tissue, the therapeutic agent being released into the tissue as the body resorbs.

Ischemic heart disease is a leading cause of death in the United States. Ischemic heart disease is a term given to heart-related conditions caused by decreased blood flow to the heart. This disease is most commonly caused by blockages in the coronary arteries, the blood vessels that provide blood to the heart. The coronary arteries most often become narrowed or blocked by a gradual build-up of atherosclerotic plaque. If the plaque significantly narrows the lumen or channel of the artery, blood flow is significantly reduced and the heart muscle does not receive the amount of blood flow necessary to meet its needs. Severe symptoms of cardiac ischemia include chest pain, heart attack, or arrhythmias.
One approach used to treat ischemic heart disease is therapeutic angiogenesis, the ability to pharmacologically induce new blood vessel growth. In therapeutic angiogenesis, new blood supplies are established for the heart to increase tissue survival and function, as well as relieve patient symptoms, such as angina. Angiogenic activity is supplied by introducing one or more of a variety of different angiogenic stimulating therapeutic agents, such as growth factors, to the heart.
The angiogenic stimulating therapeutic agents may be administered either alone or as a combination therapy with surgery or transmyocardial revascularization (TMR). In TMR, one or more small wounds are created in an ischemic heart in order to stimulate angiogenesis as part of the healing process. Delivery of angiogenic stimulating therapeutic agents to the wound sites allows for enhanced angiogenesis. Conventionally, a laser is used to create the small wounds in the heart tissue. Once the wounds are created, the therapeutic agents are introduced using a syringe.
While current therapeutic angiogenesis and TMR techniques are adequate, they are subject to improvement. Specifically, there is a need for an improved device and method for creating small wounds in the heart. Further, there is a need for an improved device and method for delivering therapeutic agents to the wounds.


To increase convenience and safety in vehicles, sensor systems for environmental sensing which feature an intelligent scene interpretation are increasingly gaining importance. To determine the position of a motor vehicle with respect to the traffic lane, the data from a digital road map coupled with a navigation system is fused with the data delivered by a distance-resolving sensor. In this context, the signature and the distance-related variation of the received signal of the distance-resolving sensor are evaluated for determining the distance from the road edge. The advantage of the present invention ensues from the possibility for a vehicle to autonomously determine its instantaneous position with respect to the traffic lane, without falling back on a stationary traffic infrastructure (marking lines reflectors).

The present invention relates to a method for determining the position of a motor vehicle with respect to a traffic lane, as well as to a device which is suitable for carrying out the method.
To increase convenience and safety in vehicles, sensor systems for environmental sensing which feature an intelligent scene interpretation are increasingly gaining importance.
German patent document DE 19749086 C1 describes a system for acquiring data which are indicative of the course of a traffic lane, containing a traffic lane detection sensor system in the form of a video camera and an object position sensor system. In this context, the traffic lane detection sensor system is composed of a video camera and the object position sensor system is composed of a radar sensor which measures at least the distance from an object located ahead of the vehicle and its heading angle with respect to the vehicle""s moving direction. Within a vehicle motion model, this sensor data is fused for deriving a position estimate of the vehicle therefrom.
Important additional information on the vehicle""s surroundings can be acquired with the aid of navigation systems. In this context, the positional resolution is generally precise enough to correlate the vehicle to the existing digital road map. However, if the vehicle enters a transition or branch region where, for example, a side road branches from a major road, then it is difficult to determine whether the vehicle continues to move forward on the major road or whether it moves toward the branching road or side road. For improved scene interpretation, it is therefore required for the navigation data to be usefully supplemented by additional sensor data.
The method described in German Patent Application DE 19906614 A1 therefore compares the data of a video-based traffic lane detection sensor system which detects the marking lines at the road edge to the data of a digital road map which is in communication with a navigation device. This makes it possible to determine the position of the vehicle with respect to the marking lines.
On the other hand, Japanese publication JP10325869 introduces a system in which the traffic lane detection sensor system connected to a digital road map is composed of a radar sensor. First of all, this makes the system suitable in all weather conditions (with no significant restriction by fog) and, secondly, independent of the existence of boundary lines at the road edge. However, this method has the disadvantage that radar-reflection bodies must be installed at equal intervals at the road edge.
An object of the present invention is to find a method for determining the position of a motor vehicle with respect to the traffic lane in which the data from a digital road map coupled with a navigation system is used with data delivered by a distance-resolving sensor.
The present invention provides a method for determining the position of a motor vehicle with respect to a traffic lane, in which a first correlation of the motor vehicle to a road is carried out via a road map which is coupled with a navigation system. This first correlation is made more precise by subsequently determining the distance of the motor vehicle from the road edge via a distance-resolving sensor. The signature of the received signal of the distance-resolving sensor is evaluated for determining the distance from the road edge.
In this context, the signature of the distance-resolving sensor is evaluated for determining the distance from the road edge.
The advantage of the present invention ensues from the possibility for a vehicle to autonomously determine its instantaneous position with respect to the traffic lane without falling back on a stationary traffic infrastructure (marking lines, reflectors).
Within the scope of the method according to the present invention, a distance-resolving sensor, preferably a millimeter wave sensor (however, a radar sensor or a distance-resolving sensor on the basis of a laser, for example, LIDAR, is also conceivable) for determining the vehicle distance from the road edge is combined with a digital road map coupled with a navigation system for position determination. Suitable as navigation system is, in particular, a DGPS (global positioning) system as is already frequently used in modern motor vehicles. The method according to the present invention advantageously eliminates this lack of clarity by correlating the map data with the distance estimate of a distance-resolving sensor. In this manner, the lateral vehicle coordinates and the vehicle orientation can be clearly determined. This is also important, in particular, if the intention is to detect whether a vehicle driving ahead is traveling on one""s own or on the adjacent lane or whether stationary obstacles are located on one""s own traffic lane.
Advantageously, the method according to the present invention additionally may use the data of a gyroscopic system integrated in the vehicle to be able to better determine the orientation of the vehicle on the road. In lieu of a gyroscopic system, it is, of course, also conceivable to use the position data of other systems and sensor technology contained in the motor vehicle.
Used as estimate of the distance of the motor vehicle from the road edge is, in an inventive manner, the distance of the range window within the received signal of the distance-resolving sensor in which the signature of the received signal begins to change significantly. In this context, it is conceivable for a significant change to be identified when the intensity of the received signal increases monotonously. This is a reliable procedure since a road surface appears to be smooth to the electromagnetic waves emitted by the radar sensor and, therefore, reflects back relatively little energy to the sensor while the reflections at the generally inhomogeneous road edge (gravel, grass, road pavement/curb edge transition) are significantly stronger. To prevent errors in the interpretation of the received signals resulting, for example, from signal interference, it is also conceivable for a monotonous increase in the signal to be rated as significant only if the increase in the signal energy takes place over at least two range windows. A useful selection of the number of range windows ensues in connection with the instantaneous distance resolution of the sensor system. Correspondingly, it is also conceivable in an advantageous manner to compute a distance estimate with respect to the monotonous transition of the road pavement to the road edge using suitable estimation methods known from image processing, the distance estimate then being considerably more accurate in its distance resolution than the resolution of the distance-resolving sensor. Using such an edge estimate whose resolution lies in the subpixel range, it is possible to achieve an increase in resolution by a factor 5 to 10.
However, it is in particular also possible for the received signal of the distance-resolving sensor to be examined for the presence of signatures which are typical of a road edge. In this context, it is particularly advantageous for the sensor to be configured to be sensitive to polarization so that the polarization of the received signal can be examined within the scope of the signature analysis. Investigations have shown that the polarization signatures of road surfaces and of textures typically found at the road edge (grass, crushed stone) differ significantly.
Advantageously, the course of the road can be determined from the chronological sequence of the distance information. In this context, it is conceivable for the course of the road to be determined with the aid of the method of least error squares or to use a Kalman filter which is optimized for this task. In this context, it is particularly beneficial for the Kalman filter to be adapted to data as, for example, curve parameters which is obtained from the road map. In the event that the sensor is temporarily not able to detect a road edge, for example in the region of road junctions, it is advantageously also conceivable to temporarily extrapolate the course of the road using the preceding distance measurements.
The method according to the present invention can be used in a particularly beneficial manner in that the knowledge of the position of the vehicle with respect to the traffic lane is made available to technical systems as a control parameter. In this context, systems would be conceivable which mask the detection space of beam-based sensors (for example, radar, LIDAR or active infrared sensor technology). In this manner, it is made possible to discriminate all relevant objects on the road from those outside of the road, which results in a considerably more reliable detection performance of an overall system. Such a procedure makes it possible for a beam alignment with respect to the course of the roadway to be accurately determined and for the resulting advantages to be accurately implemented, for example, in the correlation of objects. In addition to this advantage, such a map-assisted sensor system is able to advantageously increase the capabilities of a sensory scene interpretation. A system can, for example, prevent a false recognition such as an object which is erroneously classified as a xe2x80x9cstationary objectxe2x80x9d if, for example, an object xe2x80x9cbridgexe2x80x9d from the map data corresponds with the position of the sensor recognition. In a correspondingly advantageous manner, the signals of the distance-resolving sensor can be better interpreted through map data based knowledge of curve radii of the driveway or special infrastructural conditions of the vehicle""s surroundings so that the probability of misinterpretation can be minimized.
For implementing the method according to the present invention, it is conceivable for a separate sensor system which is specifically designed for this application to be mounted on the vehicle. However, a particular advantage of the method according to the present lies in its quality of advantageously combining partial data of individual sensors. This makes it possible to use sensor technology which already exists in the vehicle (such as ART, Distronic, navigation system, short-range and environment sensor technology) with only small modifications. Thus, for example, it is conceivable for the radiation pattern of a ranging radar to be extended in such a manner that an additional, individually evaluable radiation lobe is directed toward the road edge.
The present invention also provide a device for carrying out a method for determining the position of a motor vehicle with respect to a traffic lane, comprising an on-board navigation system, in which a first correlation of the motor vehicle to a road is carried out via road map data coupled to the navigation system, and a distance-resolving sensor coupled to the on-board navigation system, the distance-resolving sensor receiving a received signal for determining a distance to a road edge, the first correlation and the distance to the road edge being used to determine position of the motor vehicle.
The device thus can carry out the method of the present invention in that sensors which already exist in the vehicle and which are used there, for example, for navigation and ranging tasks, can be connected together, so that one of the sensors is suitable for acquiring the signature which represents the transition between the road surface and the road edge.

Multisensory correlation of traffic lanes


A disposable diaper having a pair of cuffs longitudinally extending on the inner surface of the diaper along transversely opposite sides thereof across front and rear sections as well as a crotch section longitudinally interdisposed between these two sections, wherein each cuff has a substantially crescent-shaped elastic sheet bonded in its longitudinally stretched state to the inner surface along its longitudinally opposite ends and an outer arc defined between these ends.

The present invention relates to a disposable diaper.
Disposable diapers are well known, in which a pair of cuffs longitudinally extend on the inner surface of the diaper along transversely opposite sides thereof and across front and rear sections as well as a crotch section. The pair of cuffs normally tend to rise above said inner surface to prevent body fluids from leaking laterally from the diaper.
FIG. 4 in the attached drawings is a plan view showing such a known disposable diaper as partially broken away. The diaper 100 has a basic body 105 comprising a liquid-permeable topsheet 102, a liquid-impermeable backsheet 103 and a liquid-absorbent core 104 sandwiched between these two sheets 102, 103 so as to form a front section 106, a rear section 107 and a crotch section 108 interposed between these two sections 106, 107 longitudinally of the diaper 100. A pair of water-repellent or liquid-impermeable cuffs 110 extend longitudinally along transversely opposite sides of the basic body 105 across the front and rear sections 106, 107 as well as the crotch section 108 so that these cuffs 110 may bear against the wearer's crotch as the diaper 100 is worn. Additionally, the basic body 105 is provided with elastic members (first elastic members) 116 extending along transversely opposite side edges thereof and bonded in their stretched states to the inner surface of the backsheet 103 for fitness around the respective legs of the wearer. A pair of tape fasteners 113 outwardly extend from transversely opposite side edges of the rear section 107. Each of the cuffs 110 comprises a rectangular strip of sheet having a width W. The cuff 110 has an inner side edge 115 which is a free edge and to which an elastic member (second elastic member) 114 is bonded in its longitudinally stretched state, and an outer side edge 117 extending parallel to the inner side edge 115. The outer side edge 117 and longitudinally opposite ends 118 of the cuff 110 are bonded, as indicated by oblique lines 120, to the inner surface of the diaper's basic body 105. When such diaper 100 is worn, the cuff 110 is biased under the contraction of the second elastic member 114 to rise above the topsheet 102 and to form together with the topsheet 102 a pocket (not shown) opening inwardly of the diaper 100. The cuff 110 forms a barrier of the height W against excretion as the cuff 110 rises substantially in the vertical direction in the crotch section 108. Such diaper 100 is disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,695,278.
When worn, the diaper may slip down and cause a gap to be formed between the diaper and the wearer's crotch, possibly leading to excretion leakage. It is possible to avoid such excretion leakage if the cuffs form sufficiently high barriers when they rise. To achieve this with the above-mentioned known diaper 100, the width W may be dimensioned to be correspondingly large. However, such dimensioning would inevitably result in the longitudinally opposite ends 118 of the cuffs 110 bonded to the inner surface of the diaper 100 along the waist line becoming so bulky such that comfort deteriorates and, in the proximity of the waist line, the relatively wide cuffs 110 disadvantageously cover the topsheet 102 even when the cuffs 110 properly stand up in the crotch section 108. Consequently, the effective area of the topsheet 102 for liquid permeation is unacceptably reduced and thus desired rapid liquid permeation becomes difficult.
A accordingly, it is a principal object of the invention to solve the above-mentioned problems by providing substantially crescent-shaped cuffs made of a elastic sheets.


A remote control apparatus is constituted by a command encoding device and a command decoding device. In the command encoding device, a timing pulse generator indicates the beginning and end of a time interval of a length which is a function of a command to be encoded, a pulse of the first duration shorter than said time interval is initiated in response to said beginning of the time interval, a pulse of a second duration different from said first duration and shorter than said time interval is initiated in response to said end of the time interval, and said pulses of said first and second duration respectively, are sequentially transmitted in the command decoding device, upon the receipt of a pulse of said first duration followed by a pulse of said second duration, a first indication is produced in response to the receipt of said pulse of the first duration and a second indication is produced in response to the receipt of said pulse of the second duration, and a device provides a value which varies as a function of the length of time between each said second indication which immediately precedes it, whereupon, a command signal is produced as a function of said value.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to remote control apparatus, and is directed more particularly to remote control apparatus in which both the likelihood of errors caused by noise and the power required for transmission are reduced.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Remote control apparatus is well known in the prior art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,678,392 discloses a pulse width modulation (PWM) remote control system in which the duration of pulse signals are varied in accordance with the particular command which is to be communicated. It is also disclosed, for example, in U.S. application Ser. No. 846,445 filed on Oct. 28, 1977 that not only the duration of the pulse (T.sub.m in FIG. 1), but also the duration of time between pulses (T.sub.n in FIG. 1) can be varied in accordance with the particular command to be communicated.
In these prior art remote control systems, an ultrasonic, infra-red or similar carrier signal is continuously transmitted for the duration (T.sub.m) of each pulse. This continuous transmission increases the energy required to transmit a command and it increases the likelihood that receipt of the carrier signal will be interrupted by an interferring signal capable of causing the command to be misread.