Arsenic or other dopant selected from Group III or Group V of the Periodic Table of Elements is diffused into a silicon substrate to form a semiconductor product having a buried region, such as a buried layer or channel, by providing the substrate with a layer of polycrystalline silicon doped with the selected dopant and heating the substrate and layer in an oxygen environment at a temperature and for a period of time sufficient to oxidize all or substantially all the polycrystalline silicon and simultaneously diffuse the dopant into the substrate. The substrate comprises single crystal silicon or other silicon form whose oxidation rate is comparable to or less than the polycrystalline silicon to permit complete oxidation of the polycrystalline silicon without excessive oxidation of the substrate.

One of the basic steps in the fabrication of a wide variety of semiconductor microelectronic devices involves doping of silicon with an impurity, commonly referred to as a dopant, to produce in the silicon a region, such as a buried layer or channel, of desired semiconductor type, i.e. n-type or p-type. An n-type silicon is one in which the majority charge carriers are electrons and is produced by doping with an n-type silicon dopant of the donor species selected from Group V of the Periodic Table of Elements. A p-type silicon is one in which the majority carriers are holes and is produced by doping with a p-type dopant of the acceptor species selected from Group III of the Periodic Table of Elements. By way of example, one type of semiconductor microelectronic device whose fabrication involves doping of silicon is an NPN transistor having a doped region of low resistivity silicon in a silicon substrate buried under a layer of epitaxial silicon. This buried region is called a buried layer and is produced by diffusing the dopant into the silicon substrate to form in the substrate a region, referred to herein as a buried region, which is diffused with the dopant and constitutes the buried layer. Other buried dopant diffused regions are called buried channels. In the context of this invention the expression "buried region" is intended to cover, in a generic sense, all diffused dopant regions in a silicon substrate produced by diffusing a dopant into the substrate.
At the present time, antimony is used as the dopant for the buried layers of NPN transistors. The reasons for selecting antimony as the dopant are twofold; namely, the low diffusion coefficient of antimony in silicon and the capability of diffusing antimony by a gaseous process to a relatively high (0.005.OMEGA.-CM) dopant level. The use of antimony as a dopant for buried layers, however, does present certain problems. For example, antimony for use as a dopant is derived from SbO.sub.3 by decomposing the latter in a source furnace at .about.900.degree. C. This source furnace requires substantial maintenance, is subject to failure, and necessitates the use of a special diffusion tube. Moreover, antimony diffusion requires a thick (.about.18,000 A) oxide layer to mask the diffusion. Growing this thick oxide layer creates more crystal defects than a thin oxide layer. The thick oxide layer also degrades photoresist etching resolution due to the long etch times required to remove the thick oxide. Another problem resides in the fact that the antimony diffusion junction depth and sheet resistance have poor repeatability run to run. Finally, gaseous antimony diffusion requires an oxide mask on the back of the substrate, thus complicating buried layer photoresist procedures.
Arsenic also has a high solubility limit and a low diffusion coefficient in silicon and does not present any of the antimony diffusion problems discussed above. Based on the foregoing factors, therefore, arsenic is an excellent buried layer dopant for silicon. Unfortunately, however, the vapor pressure of arsenic into silicon is too low to achieve a satisfactory dopant level on the order of 0.005.OMEGA.CM using an open tube diffusion procedure. While such a dopant level can be attained by use of a closed tube diffusion procedure, the existing closed tube procedures are very complicated and hence costly and time consuming to practice. It is also possible to employ a spin-on arsenic dopant source in an open tube diffusion procedure. Such spin-on sources, however, require special handling, involve operator exposure to arsenic, are sensitive to humidity, have limited shelf life even when stored under refrigeration, and produce non-uniform diffusions in oxide mask windows. Silicon doping has also been accomplished by providing a doped layer of polycrystalline silicon on a silicon substrate and heating the layer and substrate to diffuse the dopant into the substrate. In this procedure, no attempt was made to oxidize the polysilicon from the substrate during diffusion. In this regard, it is significant to note that total removal of the polysilicon is necessary if an epitaxial layer is to be grown over the buried region.

Dopant diffusion method of making semiconductor products


An apparatus, that is particularly advantageous for compensating for the earth's magnetic field at a fluxgate current sensor. The apparatus and method actively compensate for local anomalies and loop mismatch at local segments distributed around closed loops of ferromagnetic material in order to null out sources of error that arise in the presence of an external magnetic field. External flux nulling circuits null the external magnetic flux at each of a plurality of associated pairs of diagonally opposite segments of coaxial closed loop cores. Each flux nulling circuit has a pair of diagonally opposite segment sensing coils and a pair of diagonally opposite segment cancellation coils. A flux detecting circuit detects the net magnetic flux in associated, diagonally opposite segments. A negative feedback control circuit drives the segment cancellation coils with a current to drive the flux detected by the segment detecting circuit to a minimum.

This invention is an improved form of active magnetic shielding and relates generally to electrical devices that utilize closed loop cores of a magnetic material and are affected in an undesirable manner by an external magnetic field, such as the earth's magnetic field. The invention is an apparatus and method for actively canceling components of the flux of an external magnetic field that affects the operation of such electrical devices, including electrical current measuring apparatus and current transformers. The invention is particularly an improvement in fluxgate current sensing apparatus because it not only increases their accuracy in the presence of external magnetic fields but also aids measurement of electrical currents that produce a magnetic field in the cores that is substantially less than the external magnetic field.
An external magnetic field is a magnetic field that is ambient in the environment of an electrical device. The external magnetic field that is usually of principal concern is the earth's magnetic field. For most purposes, the earth's magnetic field is considered to be a static field even though it varies in magnitude and orientation as a function of time and position on the earth. Furthermore, the effect of the external magnetic field also varies as a function of the orientation of the device with respect to the magnetic poles of the earth, nearby magnetic anomalies and ferromagnetic materials. The purpose of the invention is to actively cancel the external magnetic field, or at least the component of the external magnetic field that is adversely affecting the operation of an electrical device that utilizes closed loop cores. Embodiments of the invention actively respond to changes in the magnitude and relative direction of the external magnetic field through the closed loop cores in order to maintain the cancellation of the component of the external magnetic field that affects the operation of the device.
Various implementations of fluxgate current sensing apparatus are well known in the prior art. Fluxgate current sensing circuitry senses the current via the current's magnetic field through two closed loop ferromagnetic cores that have coils wound on them and also have external control, detecting and processing circuits connected to the coils. The opening through the closed loop is sometimes conveniently referred to as its window. Prior art fluxgate current sensing devices have typically had windows no larger than a few inches. However, if a fluxgate current sensing device has a window with a circumference on the order of several feet (for example with a circumference approximating 9 feet) an external field, such as the earth's magnetic field, can introduce significant measurement errors. Those errors prevent accurate current measurement if the current sought to be measured is less than the error introduced by the external magnetic field.
The purpose of this invention is to compensate for, null out or cancel the effects of the external magnetic field so that accurate measurements of the current through the window can be made. Although the invention is directed to canceling the effects of the earth's magnetic field, it is also applicable to canceling out the effects of other ambient or external magnetic fields.
Prior Art Fluxgate Current Sensing
Fluxgate current sensing apparatus has been known in the prior art for decades. The fluxgate was invented in the early 20th century and developed in the Second World War. Ring core fluxgate magnetometers models appeared in the 1930s but were further developed since 1962. This invention is an improvement in fluxgate current sensing apparatus. Some basic principles of their operation will be described before describing the invention because a device employing the invention also uses those basic principles in addition to its added innovations.
FIG. 1 illustrates the operational principles of a basic fluxgate current sensing apparatus but is simplified for purposes of explanation. It has a pair of closed loop cores 10 and 12 of magnetic material. Suitable materials are ferromagnetic materials in its broader sense of including materials with ferrimagnetic properties. The two cores 10 and 12 are ordinarily constructed to be physically and magnetically identical so they are matched cores. Although the cores 10 and 12 are illustrated as physically separate in order to facilitate a description of their electrical and magnetic operation, in an actual implementation they are physically positioned coaxially and side by side against each other after being assembled with various coil windings, tape and adhesive to secure them together. Preferably each of the cores is fabricated from a ribbon of ferromagnetic material that is wound into several turns like a roll of tape.
The purpose of the fluxgate current sensing apparatus of FIG. 1 is to measure the electrical current IMEASURE flowing through the opening, referred to as the window, through the closed loop cores 10 and 12. Two drive coils (not illustrated) are separately wound one around each of the cores and form helical coils with the closed loop core running along their circular central axes and preferably are wound all 360° around the entire loop. The two drive coils are series connected together so that a current IDRIVE through the drive coils creates circumferentially oppositely directed magnetic flux in the two cores, that is, one clockwise and the other counterclockwise. With two identical cores, that opposite magnetic flux results in a magnetic flux density B in each core that is identical in magnitude and opposite in direction from the flux density in the other core. However, in order to simplify the illustration, the drive current IDRIVE through the drive coils is illustrated in FIG. 1 as an axially directed current IDRIVE through the window of each core, but flowing in opposite axial directions through the two cores. This simplification is based upon the principle that a coil wound around a closed loop core creates a magnetic field in the core in the same direction as a single conductor through the core would create. The only difference is a scaling factor resulting from the number of turns of the coil. Those skilled in the art will recognize that application of the "right hand rule" to the illustrated IDRIVE would create the equal magnitude but circumferentially oppositely directed flux densities B in the cores 10 and 12.
The fluxgate current sensing apparatus of FIG. 1 also has a pair of current sensing coils 14 and 16 for sensing a signal that is processed to detect the current being measured, IMEASURE. Preferably each current sensing coil 14 and 16 is wound 360° all the way around a different one of the two cores 10 and 12. As will be subsequently described, the voltages induced on the sensing coils 14 and 16 by the flux changes dΦ/dt in the cores is algebraically, electrically summed by series connecting the two sensing coils 14 and 16. However, equivalently as known to those skilled in the art, one current sensing coil can be wound around the side-by-side coaxially contiguous cores to provide an algebraically but magnetically summed induced voltage across the coil as a function of the net flux change dΦ/dt in the cores.
In the operation of the fluxgate current sensing apparatus of FIG. 1, the drive current IDRIVE has an amplitude that drives the cores 10 and 12 into saturation as illustrated by the solid black line on the B-H curve in FIG. 2, oscillogram 2A. The directions of saturation of the two cores are simultaneously opposite in the circumferential direction, one clockwise while the other is counterclockwise, and those directions alternate periodically in time. To accomplish this, the drive coils can be driven with an IDRIVE that has a typical waveform of a sinusoid or square wave, for example, so long as the amplitude of the drive current IDRIVE is sufficient to saturate the magnetic cores. Preferably, the drive coils are driven by a sine wave to reduce measurement inaccuracy from harmonic noise and potential electromagnetic interference, though square wave generation is often used for cost savings or convenience. The drive waveform frequency must meet the Nyquist criterion to measure the desired bandwidth of the window current signal. Most conventional fluxgates operate around 10 kHz, though operation in the range of a few Hz to several kHz is possible and depends on design constraints (required measurement bandwidth, slew rate of IDRIVE generator, maximum amplitude of IDRIVE generator, available power, etc.).
If there is no window current IMEASURE, then the voltages induced in the current sensing coils 14 and 16 are of opposite polarity and in phase as illustrated in FIG. 2, oscillograms 2B and 2C. Consequently, they will sum to zero as illustrated in FIG. 2D. If there is an electrical current IMEASURE flowing through the window of the closed loop cores 10 and 12, that current produces a magnetic flux in both cores in the same circumferential direction. Consequently, in one core the magnitude of the magnetic flux resulting from the drive current IDRIVE adds to the magnitude of the magnetic flux resulting from the window current IMEASURE. Simultaneously in the other core, the magnitude of the magnetic flux resulting from the drive current IDRIVE is subtracted from the magnitude of the magnetic flux resulting from the window current IMEASURE. Because the drive current IDRIVE is periodically alternating, when the drive current changes polarity then the core in which the fluxes were adding become subtracting and the core in which the fluxes were subtracting become additive. At all times, the core in which the fluxes are additive reaches saturation earlier in time because the flux density B in that core is the arithmetic sum of two flux components. That advance of saturation is illustrated in oscillogram 2E by the movement to the left of the voltage pulse induced on one current sensing coil and in oscillogram 2A by the movement to the left of the B-H curve, shown as a dashed line. The core in which the fluxes are subtractive reaches saturation later because the flux density in the latter core is the resultant of the arithmetic difference of the two flux components. That delay of saturation is illustrated in oscillogram 2F by movement to the right of the voltage pulse induced on the other current sensing coil and in oscillogram 2A by the movement to the right of the B-H curve, shown as a dashed line.
The effect of the drive current IDRIVE is to apply a magnetic field bias in the circumferential direction to each of the two cores but in opposite circumferential directions in those cores. When the magnetic field bias is in the same circumferential direction as the magnetic field resulting from the measured current IMEASURE, those fields are additive and consequently saturation occurs earlier in time; i.e. is advanced. When the magnetic field bias is in the opposite direction as the magnetic field resulting from the measured current IMEASURE, those fields are subtractive and consequently saturation occurs later in time; i.e. is retarded.
The magnitude of the time advance and the time retarding of saturation and the resulting time shift of the pulses in oscillograms 2E and 2F is proportional to the flux around IMEASURE and therefore to IMEASURE itself. As illustrated in oscillogram 2G, the summation of the voltages on the two current sensing coils 14 and 16 gives a voltage that has its fundamental Fourier component at the second harmonic of IDRIVE and the duration of its pulses is proportional to the current IMEASURE. Therefore, detection of the amplitude of that second harmonic component gives a signal that is proportional to the measured current IMEASURE. The second harmonic amplitude, the fluxgate output, is generally measured using a lock-in amplifier.
As known to those skilled in the prior art, there are other structures and accompanying techniques that may be used with fluxgate current sensors to provide advantages and therefore also may be used with fluxgate current sensors that are improved by the present invention. One example is the use of the flux nulling or feedback technique to detect the window current. This technique improves the robustness of the system with respect to parameter changes and gains higher resolution and principally increased linearity. With this technique, an additional "nulling" coil is wound around the pair of cores and is connected to the output of a negative feedback control circuit. The feedback signal of that control circuit is the sensed window current IMEASURE that is detected as described above. The control input is zero so that the control circuit drives its output nulling coil with a current that drives the detected current to zero. With the detected window current driven to zero, the ampere-turns of the nulling coil is equal to the ampere turns from the window current. This technique offsets core flux from the current being measured, IMEASURE, with a core flux from the nulling coil current so that, when they are equal, the error signal goes to zero. Consequently IMEASURE is easily calculated from the null coil current, the proportionality constant between them being the number of turns of the nulling coil.
Problems with Prior Art Fluxgate Current Sensors
Fluxgate current sensors of the type described above have proven to be one of the most accurate types of current sensing apparatus that is available. To the best of our knowledge, they have only been constructed with closed loop cores having dimensions on the order of a few inches or less. However, we have found that significant errors and inaccuracies are encountered if the size of the closed loop core is substantially scaled upward and the magnitude of the current sought to be measured is substantially scaled downward. One example of an application of the present invention is to measure the electrical current passing through seawater flowing into or out of the ballast tanks of a ship through the ship's sea grates. Such an electrical current flow exists because the seawater contains electrically charged ions. In order to measure such an electrical current, the closed loop core assembly with its attached coils must have a circumference on the order of nine feet so that it entirely encircles the sea grate without obstructing water flow. Additionally, the core loop assembly must conform to the hull surface around the sea grate. Such a hull surface usually is not only non-planar, but also may have a complex curvature. We have found that, if a fluxgate current sensing apparatus is scaled upward to this size requirement and is applied in this environment to the measurement of electrical current through a sea grate, the amount of error present in the apparatus is greater than the current to be measured. Other examples of applications of the present invention include the measurement of electric current within a fluid contained in a pipeline, the measurement of electric current in water around an oil platform or bridge and generally the measurement of electric current in water or soil around a metal as a result of natural electrolysis or cathodic protection.
Therefore, it is an object and feature of the present invention to determine the source of the error and to provide a way to reduce that error sufficiently to permit acceptably accurate measurement of the electrical current through the window of the fluxgate current sensor so that it exhibits the required sensitivity and error tolerance.

Active compensation for ambient, external magnetic fields penetrating closed loop magnetic cores particularly for a fluxgate current sensor


A positive fastener-angling device for positioning an elongated fastener with respect to the face of a sheet metal connector and a wood member only at a preselected angle which is substantially less than 90.degree. by forming a slit-cut in the sheet metal connector by means of a die which progressively at the same station, forms a fastener guideway in the shape of a half cone. The fastener opening and the guideway are dimensioned so that the fastener can only penetrate the sheet metal connector at a preselected angle set at the factory.

The need for a positive angle fastener device for metal connectors used for connecting wood members exists in three separate areas; viz., (1) prevention of wood splitting due to wood shrinkage, (2) prevention of splitting of laminated wood members such as plywood glued laminated timbers (glulam and prefabricated wood joists (microlams), and (3) insertion of fasteners through a held member and a holding member which are joined by a special connector so that a plurality of fasteners will be in double shear.
The first two problem areas are fully discussed in Gilb U.S. Pat. No. 4,291,996 Sep. 29, 1981, and the third problem area is discussed in Gilb and Commins U.S. Pat. No. 4,480,941 granted Nov. 6, 1984.
Gilb U.S. Pat. No. 4,291,966, supra, taught the use of a slot-like opening in the face of the metal connector and then bending out a tab -like member formed from the displaced material. The Gilb tab-like device has been commercially very successful with thousands of hangers carrying the positive angle nailing device.
The Gilb tab-like device has several problems as set forth as follows: (1) the punching of a slot has a similar effect of punching a large opening in the metal which tends to weaken the metal; (2) the tab protruding from the metal tends to snag on other building materials prior to installation; (3) the protruding tab has invited installers who are not familiar with the purpose of the tab to forcibly bend the tab with a hammer or pair of pliers, thereby destroying the purpose of the tab; the tab is relatively easily bent during non-aligned hammering of the fastener during installation and (5) while the cost of forming the tab is minimal, yet it does require two stations; viz, a cutting station and a bending station thereby adding to the cost of manufacture.


A pressure vessel for the storage of hydrogen in form of metal hydride is constructed to have an inner tube being relatively thin and made of material copper or aluminum having high thermal conductivity, but the strength of the inner vessel tube is insufficient by and in itself to take up operating pressure in the interior when hydrogen is either fed into the interior of the tube or developed therein; an outer cylindrical tubular vessel jacket is made of stainless steel and abuts against radially outwardly extending ribs of the inner vessel establishing flow channels the rib means are dimensioned not to undergo plastic deformation during operation at the gas storage facility; axial end cap means closes the vessels on both ends; sealed gas nipples means in one or both caps feeds gas into and/or out of the interior of the inner vessel tube.

The present invention relates to a pressurized vessel for storage of hydrogen in the form of metal hydride, and more particularly, the invention relates to a pressurized container with a cylindrical jacket, end caps, and a storage medium which, on charging, will produce hydride.
There have to be included suitable conduits for feeding and discharge of hydrogen, moreover, is is practical to provide the cylindrical part of the container in a two or twin-wall configuration, the two walls being separated by bars, separating individual flow channels, along which a heat exchange medium flows during hydration and dehydration.
Broadly speaking, a pressurized container of the type to which the invention pertains, is known through German printed patent application No. P 35 02 311. Herein, the outer surface of the container is essentially formed through a circular cylindrical jacket whose axial ends, or front ends, are closed, for example, through spherically shaped end caps. The hydride forming metal alloys store hydrogen in the interior of the vessel, in that during storage and gas feeding hydride is being formed. The bonding enthalpy releases heat which has to be discharged in some fashion in order to obtain, at a given load pressure, the largest possible gas storage. On the other hand, for unloading the storage facility it is necessary to feed heat to the metal hydride so that, indeed, hydrogen can be released which is an energy consuming process.
In order to obtain a high utilization factor of the storage facility it is desirable to load and/or unload the facility in as short as possible a period of time commensurate with a very high gas throughput. This in turn requires a fast heat exchange process between a medium charge which flows in heat relation with the interior of the vessel. In order to improve that heat flow and transfer, it is known to increase the effective surface through ribs, as is customary for heat exchanges to thereby increase the heat transfer in one direction or the other as between heat exchange medium, on one hand, and container wall, on the other hand.
Another kind of hydrogen storage facility is known to have a plurality of parallelly arranged and interconnected longitudinal containers of relatively small diameter, such as 30 mm, so as to obtain a bundle of individual containers, which are then, in turn, placed in a common housing. The heat exchange medium is, in this case, fed into the common housing and flows in the interspaces between the individual containers within that housing. These individual containers have a smooth surface.
This configuration has the advantage that upon dividing the facility into small individual storage facilities, one increases effectively the surface area available for heat exchange. Moreover, one has available, in fact, a heat exchange process that penetrates the vessel throughout, and is thus based only on comparatively short heat transfer paths. On the other hand, it was found that this arrangement was quite expensive and requires an extensive assembly procedure.
In order to increase the storage facility and capacity, it is often desirable to provide the hydride storage facility with a load and unload pressure that is quite high. This, of course, entails a container wall to be very strong. Usually stainless steel is used here because it is also necessary to protect the vessel against corrosion and agression of the hydrogen. On the other hand, stainless steel is a very poor heat conductor and, thus, opposes the process of a fast heat exchange.
The Japanese Patent No. 59-146,902A describes a twin wall hydride storage facility while the inner container is made of copper or aluminum which is a good heat conductor. In addition, ribs extend radially and axially parallel from that inner container towards the outer jacket, and thus constitute an intermediate flow space between the two jackets, or in-between the inner and outer vessel. The individual channels can be passed by a heat exchange medium. The ribs do indeed increase the area available for heat exchange between the container and the heat exchange medium, but this construction requires an unweakened wall of container material, and therefore, the wall has to be quite thick, and will simply take up large hydrogen pressure which then will impede the heat flow to and from the hydride jacket. On the other hand, if the walls are thin, the heat exchange is carried out fast but the operating pressure is too low.

Gesellschaft fuer Hybrid und Wasserstofftechnik mbH


An energy filter with reduced aberration. The energy filter has a first stage of filter for receiving an electron beam entering along the optical axis and for focusing the beam in one direction vertical to the optical axis and a second stage of filter positioned along the optical axis behind the first stage of filter. The beam once focused by the first stage of filter is made to enter the second stage of filter. In the second stage of filter, the orbit of the electron beam is inverted with respect to the focal point. The two stages of filters are identical in length taken along the optical axis. The first and second stages of filters have electric and magnetic quadrupole fields, respectively, along the optical axis. These quadrupole fields make an angle of 45 degrees to the optical axis to achieve astigmatic focusing.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an energy filter for selectively passing charged particles having certain energies and to an electron microscope using this filter.
2. Description of Related Art
In recent years, a transmission electron microscope has been developed which has an energy filter positioned within the electron optical system for magnifying and projecting an electron beam transmitted through a specimen onto a fluorescent screen. With this transmission electron microscope fitted with such an energy filter, an electron microscope image of a specimen can be formed based on charged particles having only certain energies.
In this electron microscope fitted with such an energy filter, the energy width of the electron beam directed at the specimen must be narrowed in order to enhance the energy resolution. For example, in an electron microscope using an accelerating voltage of hundreds of kilovolts, the energy width is preferably on the order of 0.1 eV. The electron beam passed through the energy filter in this way is required to be achromatic, i.e., free of energy dispersion.
Therefore, a method consisting of placing an energy filter in a position where an electron beam is not yet accelerated and assumes a low energy state, performing energy selection, and then accelerating the beam to give high energy to it has been developed. The energy filter that provides energy selection in this way is known as a monochromator.
Where an electron beam with low energy passes through an energy filter, the influences of the Boersch effect must be taken into account. The Boersch effect is a phenomenon in which the energies of electrons (generally, charged particles) traveling close to each other affect each other according to their respective speeds due to their mutual Coulomb interactions. Accordingly, where an electron beam of low energy passes through the energy filter, especially when electrons travel close to each other around the focal point within the filter, the electrons affect each other, varying their energies. This broadens their energies. Consequently, it is difficult to obtain an electron beam having a narrow energy width.
The sole method conventionally adopted such that the energy filter placed in a position where the electron beam is not yet accelerated is free from the Boersch effect is to prevent crossover of beam electrons by astigmatic focusing.
FIGS. 8(a)-8(d) show the structure of a first energy filter that forms an astigmatic image. This and other figures are not drawn to scale, for convenience of illustration of the first energy filter 110. As shown in FIG. 8(a), the first energy filter 110 has two stages of Wien filters 112 and 114 that extend in the direction of the optical axis L0, or the Z-direction. The filters 112 and 114 are located before and after the position of a slit 113 asymmetrically with respect to this position (see Patent Reference 1 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-23558), for example). In particular, the first energy filter 110 has a first electrostatic lens 111, the first stage of Wien filter 112, the slit 113, the second stage of Wien filter 114, and a second electrostatic lens 115 in this order as viewed along the direction of the electron beam that is emitted from an electron gun 201 and travels in the Z-direction.
In the first energy filter 110, the electron beam takes an orbit (FIG. 8(b)) along the X-axis that is the dispersive direction, an orbit (FIG. 8(c)) extending in the Y-direction perpendicularly to that orbit, and a dispersive orbit (FIG. 8(d)). As can be seen from these orbits, the X-direction electron beam is focused at the position of the slit 113 but the Y-direction beam is not.
FIG. 9 shows the profile portions of the electron beam focused on the slit 113 of the first energy filter. The beam focused on the slit 113 assumes an elliptical form extending in the Y-direction. Because the first energy filter 110 has a dispersive direction in the X-direction, beam electrons having different energies are focused at different positions in the X-direction. The profile portions 117 and 118 of the beam electrons having different energies and focused at different positions in the X-direction are shown in the figure.
In the first energy filter 110, the position at which the electron beam is focused can be adjusted in the Y-direction. Therefore, the ratio between the width W and height H of the profile of the electron beam on the slit 113 can be adjusted.
However, in the first energy filter 110, acceleration performed behind the second stage of Wien filter 114 makes it impossible to eliminate the effects of aberrations created by the first and second stages of Wien filters 112 and 114 at the focal point of the electron beam behind the accelerating electrode. The final profile of the electron beam contains aberration.
FIGS. 10(a) to 10(b) show the structure of a second energy filter. As shown in FIG. 10(a), the second energy filter, indicated by 120, has two stages of Wien filters 122 and 124 that extend in the direction of the optical axis L0, or the Z-direction. The filters 122 and 124 are located before and after the position of a slit 123 symmetrically with respect to this position. In particular, the second energy filter 120 has a first electrostatic lens 121, the first stage of Wien filter 122, the slit 123, the second stage of Wien filter 124, and a second electrostatic lens 125 in this order as viewed along the direction of the electron beam that is emitted from an electron gun 201 and travels in the Z-direction. The filters 122 and 124 are symmetrical in shape with respect to the slit 123.
In the second energy filter 120, the electron beam takes an orbit (FIG. 10(b)) in the X-direction that is the dispersive direction and an orbit (FIG. 10(c)) extending in the Y-direction perpendicularly to that orbit. As can be seen from these orbits, the orbits of the electron beam through the Wien filters 122 and 124 are symmetrical with respect to the position of the slit 123. Specifically, the orbit of the beam is inverted with respect to the focal position on the slit 123. Where the orbit has such symmetry, the aberrations in the first and second stages of Wien filters 122 and 124 cancel each other at the focal point of the electron beam behind the second stage of Wien filter 124, resulting in a beam with reduced aberration. FIG. 10(d) shows the dispersive orbit of the electron beam.
Also, in the second energy filter 120, the profile of the electron beam on the slit 123 is such that the height is greater than the width in the same way as in the case of the first energy filter 110. In the configuration of this second energy filter 120, however, the ratio of the width to the height of the profile of the electron beam on the slit 123 is determined only by the incident angle of the electron beam. To prevent this ratio from becoming excessive, a well-collimated beam must be entered through a small aperture.
Where the profile of the electron beam is elongated in the Y-direction by focusing the beam on the slit in the X-direction (along the width) by the aforementioned astigmatic focusing and unfocusing the beam in the Y-direction (along the height), the ratio of the width to the height becomes excessively large. Consequently, when energy selection is performed on the slit, the electron beam will produce greater loss or the energy width will not be reduced as expected.
The purpose of elongating the profile of the electron beam is to reduce Coulomb interactions, such as the Boersch effect. Therefore, the profile of the beam is not elongated too much. It is necessary to set the ratio to 1:2 or higher. However, a large ratio, such as 1:10, is not necessary. The ratio may be set to intermediate values between them.
In the case of an energy filter having Wien filters that are located ahead of and behind the slit 113 asymmetrically with respect to this slit as in the first energy filter 110 already described in connection with FIGS. 8(a)-8(d), the profile of the electron beam at the slit 113 can be set to a value within the range described above. However, the first energy filter 110 cannot cancel aberrations by the first and second stages of Wien filters 112 and 114 as mentioned previously. In consequence, the electron beam going out of the first energy filter 110 contains aberration.
Of course, the aberration in the energy filter can be reduced by well designing the first stage of filter, as well as by canceling out the aberrations in the first and second stages of Wien filters 122 and 124 that are symmetrical with respect to the slit 123 as shown in the second energy filter 120.
FIG. 11 shows a Wien filter with small aberration. This Wien filter, indicated by 130, is designed to reduce the aberration by bringing the electric field distribution in the fringing field into coincidence with the magnetic field distribution. This in turn is achieved by producing electric and magnetic fields using eight poles P1 to P8 (see, for example, Patent Reference 2 (Japanese Patent No. 3,040,245)). Also shown in the figure are coils C1 to C8. Aberration still remains, however, even if this Wien filter having the eight poles is used. Hence, there is a demand for a technique of reducing this aberration.


A statistical on-chip variation approach to timing analysis permits the automated or semi-automated selection of design-specific margins without requiring complex statistical libraries. By separately addressing the impact of random and systematic variations on timing, a design-specific margin can be obtained and used in downstream OCV analysis. In addition, where statistical libraries are available for some portions of a design, these can be incrementally included in the timing analysis to obtain more accurate results.

1. Field of the Invention
This application relates to electronic design automation, and more particularly to on-chip variation using statistical timing analysis.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, timing analysis for semiconductor chip designs follows one of two modes. Full statistical libraries can be deployed for cells in a design; however, this approach is computationally expensive and requires that each cell be very well characterized before analysis can be performed. On the other hand, on-chip variation ("OCV") techniques rely on a global timing margin for a design. While this latter approach is simple and familiar to many designers, the empirically-based margins for a design may fail to correctly capture and benefit from design-specific characteristics that might otherwise conserve layout space, power, and so forth.
There remains a need for timing analysis techniques that provide design-specific results without requiring the overhead of full statistical libraries.

Timing analysis using statistical on-chip variation


A cell-penetrating peptide characterized in that it comprises an amino acid sequence consisting of XWXRLXXXXXX (SEQ ID No: 5), wherein X in position 1 is beta-A or S; X in positions 3, 9 and 10 are, independently from each other, W or F; X in position 6 is R if X in position 8 is S, and X in position 6 is S if X in position 8 is R; X in position 7 is L or none; X in position 11 is R or none, and wherein X in position 7 is L if X in position 11 is none.

Although small molecules remain the major drugs used in clinic, in numerous cases, their therapeutic impact has reached limitations such as insufficient capability to reach targets, lack of specificity, requirement for high doses leading to toxicity and major side effects. Over the past ten years, in order to circumvent limitations of small molecules and of gene-based therapies, we have witnessed a dramatic acceleration in the discovery of larger therapeutic molecules such as proteins, peptides and nucleic acids which present a high specificity for their target but do not follow Lipinski's rules. Pharmaceutical potency of these molecules remains restricted by their poor stability in vivo and by their low uptake in cells. Therefore, "delivery" has become a central piece of the therapeutic puzzle and new milestones have been established to validate delivery strategies: (a) lack of toxicity, (b) efficiency at low doses in vivo, (c) easy to handle for therapeutic applications (d) rapid endosomal release and (e) ability to reach the target. Although viral delivery strategies had given much hope for gene and cellular therapies, their clinical application has suffered from side- and toxicity-effects [1,2]. Researches were mainly focused on the development of non-viral strategies, and different methods have been proposed including lipid, polycationic nanoparticles and peptide-based formulations, but only few of these technologies have been efficient in vivo and have reached the clinic. Cell Penetrating Peptides (CPP) are one of the most promising non-viral strategies. Although definition of CPPs is constantly evolving, they are generally described as short peptides of less than 30 amino acids either derived from proteins or from chimeric sequences. They are usually amphipathic and possess a net positive charge [3-5]. CPPs are able to penetrate biological membranes, to trigger the movement of various biomolecules across cell membranes into the cytoplasm and to improve their intracellular routing, thereby facilitating interactions with the target. CPPs can be subdivided into two main classes, the first requiring chemical linkage with the cargo and the second involving the formation of stable, non-covalent complexes. CPPs from both strategies have been reported to favour the delivery of a large panel of cargos (plasmid DNA, oligonucleotide, siRNA, PNA, protein, peptide, liposome, nanoparticle . . . ) into a wide variety of cell types and in vivo models [3-7].
Twenty years ago, the concept of protein transduction domain (PTD) was proposed based on the observation that some proteins, mainly transcription factors, could shuttle within cells and from one cell to another [for review see ref 3,4]. The first observation was made in 1988, by Frankel and Pabo. They showed that the transcription-transactivating (Tat) protein of HIV-1 could enter cells and translocate into the nucleus. In 1991, the group of Prochiantz reached the same conclusions with the Drosophila Antennapedia homeodomain and demonstrated that this domain was internalized by neuronal cells. These works were at the origin of the discovery in 1994 of the first Protein Transduction Domain: a 16 mer-peptide derived from the third helix of the homeodomain of Antennapedia named Penetratin. In 1997, the group of Lebleu identified the minimal sequence of Tat required for cellular uptake and the first proofs-of-concept of the application of PTD in vivo, were reported by the group of Dowdy, for the delivery of small peptides and large proteins. Historically, the notion of Cell Penetrating Peptide (CPP) was introduced by the group of Langel, in 1998, with the design of the first chimeric peptide carrier, the Transportan, which derived from the N-terminal fragment of the neuropeptide galanin, linked to mastoparan, a wasp venom peptide. Transportan has been originally reported to improve the delivery of PNAs both in cultured cells and in vivo. In 1997, the group of Heitz and Divita proposed a new strategy involving CPP in the formation of stable but non-covalent complexes with their cargo [7]. The strategy was first based on the short peptide carrier (MPG) consisting of two domains: a hydrophilic (polar) domain and a hydrophobic (apolar) domain. MPG was designed for the delivery of nucleic acids [7]. The primary amphipathic peptide Pep-1 was then proposed for non-covalent delivery of proteins and peptides [8]. Then the groups of Wender and of Futaki demonstrated that polyarginine sequences (Arg8) are sufficient to drive small and large molecules into cells and in vivo. Ever since, many CPPs derived from natural or unnatural sequences have been identified and the list is constantly increasing. Peptides have been derived from VP22 protein of Herpes Simplex Virus, from calcitonin, from antimicrobial or toxin peptides, from proteins involved in cell cycle regulation, as well as from polyproline-rich peptides [reviews 4-6].

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Cell penetrating peptides for intracellular delivery of molecules


A side impact supplemental inflation restraint system for an automotive vehicle is provided including a vehicle seat positioned within the vehicle and having a generally rigid frame; cushion material surrounding the frame forming a seating surface; a cover enclosing the frame and cushion material; an inflatable air bag positioned within the cushion material for penetrating through the cover and outward extension upon a side impact of the vehicle; and a blocking panel with a first end anchored to the seat frame and a second end anchored to the cover to prevent the travel of the air bag upon deployment between the cushion and cover along an undesired portion of the vehicle seat.

Currently, there is much development work being undertaken in the utilization of SIRs, sometimes referred to as air bags, to protect vehicle occupants during side collisions. One of the important factors in maximizing occupant protection is having the correct relationship between the position of the occupant and the air bag upon inflation.
Experimentally, air bags have been placed in vehicle doors. However, when utilized for side impact, due to the fore and aft adjustment of the vehicle seat, the exact position of the vehicle occupant with respect to the air bag is a variable. To minimize the aforementioned variable, the utilization of SIRs which are actually mounted to the vehicle seat have been proposed, thereby keeping constant the positional relationship of the air bag to the seat occupant.

Side impact supplemental inflation restraint


A shaving unit that comprises at least one blade and a skin engaging member that has a surface for engaging the user""s skin adjacent the blade edge is described herein. The shaving unit may be of a disposable cartridge type adapted for coupling to and uncoupling from a razor handle or may be integral with a handle so that the complete razor is discarded as a unit when the blade or blades become dulled. The blade edge (or edges) cooperate with skin engaging surfaces to define a shaving geometry. The skin engaging member is comprised of an elongated sheath (or skin engaging layer) made of a mixture of water insoluble matrix and an effective amount of shaving aid and a rigid core (or non-skin engaging layer) extending axially through out said sheath. The axial position of the core need not be through the central axis.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an improved skin engaging member for use in razor blade cartridge assemblies and shaving systems of the wet shave type. The present invention resides broadly in providing the skin engaging cap and/or guard surfaces with configurations which reduce frictional drag of the razor across the skin. This invention also relates to a novel method of manufacturing the skin engaging member of the present invention.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In shaving systems of the wet shave type, factors such as the frictional drag of the razor across the skin, the force needed to sever hairs, and irritation of pre-existing skin damage can create a degree of shaving discomfort. Discomfort, and other problems accompanying wet shaving systems, can be alleviated by the application of shaving aids to the skin. Shaving aids may be applied prior to, during, or after shaving. A number of problems accompany the use of pre- and post-applied shaving aids. Pre-applied-shaving aids can evaporate or can be carried away from the site of application by repeated strokes of the razor. Post-applied-shaving aids are not present on the skin during shaving and thus their application may be too late to prevent an unwanted affect. Both pre-applied and post-applied shaving aids add additional steps to the shaving process.
Proposals have been made to incorporate a shaving aid e.g., lubricant, whisker softener, razor cleanser, medicinal agent, cosmetic agent or combination thereof, into a razor, e.g., by depositing a shaving aid in a recess on the razor, by incorporating a shaving aid directly into one or more molded polymeric components of the razor, by adhesively securing a shaving aid composite to the razor, and by use of a mechanical connection between a shaving aid composite and the razor. A water-soluble shaving aid, e.g. polyethylene oxide, has been mixed with non-water-soluble material, e.g., a polystyrene polymer, to form an insoluble polymer/soluble shaving aid composite. The composite has been mounted on razor and shaving cartridge structures, adjacent the shaving edge or edges, of single or multiple blade shaving systems. Upon exposure to water, the water-soluble shaving aid leaches from the composite onto the skin.
Extruded composites with relatively large amounts of shaving agent material (up to 80% by weight) and relatively low amounts of water insoluble matrix material (as little as 20% by weight) are relatively weak and have a tendency towards mechanical failure, both in assembly and in use. Increase in mechanical strength can be obtained with increased amounts of the matrix material. However, such increase reduces the releasability of the shaving agent material.
In accordance with one aspect of the invention, there is provided a shaving unit that comprises at least one blade and a skin engaging member that has a surface for engaging the user""s skin adjacent the blade edge. The shaving unit may be of a disposable cartridge type adapted for coupling to and uncoupling from a razor handle or may be integral with a handle so that the complete razor is discarded as a unit when the blade or blades become dulled. The blade edge (or edges) cooperate with skin engaging surfaces to defines a shaving geometry. The skin engaging member is comprised of an elongated sheath (or skin engaging layer) made of a mixture of water insoluble matrix and an effective amount of shaving aid and a rigid core (or non-skin engaging layer) extending axially through out the sheath. The axial position of the core need not be through the central axis.
An object of the present invention is to provide a skin engaging member with improved mechanical strength.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a skin engaging member with improved shaving aid release characteristics.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a wear indicating skin engaging member.
These and other objects should be evident from the following:


A method for enhancing stability of a three wheel vehicle having a pair of front wheels and a single rear wheel, each of the wheels having a tire with a tire grip threshold. The method including deploying an electronic stability system (ESS) on the vehicle, providing the ESS with input from various vehicle sensors related to the longitudinal and lateral acceleration of the vehicle, causing the ESS to determine whether (i) a precursory condition indicative of a wheel lift exists and (ii) the tire grip threshold of any of the tires has been exceeded; and when a precursory condition indicative of a wheel lift exists and the tire grip threshold of none of the tires has been exceeded, causing the ESS to reduce the longitudinal acceleration of the vehicle by a first amount less than that which would cause the tire grip threshold of any of the tires to be exceeded.

Recently, there has come to be known a new class of road vehicle, namely, the three wheeled road vehicle having two wheels in the front and one wheel in the rear. Because of its novelty, there is as of yet no generic name for this class of vehicle. One example of a vehicle of this type may be found in U.S. Pat. No. 6,948,581 assigned to Bombardier Recreational Products Inc. (BRP Inc.), the assignee of the present application. A commercial example of such a vehicle is the CAN-AM™ SPYDER™ vehicle sold by BRP Inc., details of which may be found at the internet web address: spyder.brp.com/en-US/.
As would be recognized by one skilled in the art, and as has been described in some of the patent documents incorporated by reference into this application, the stability of these three wheel road vehicles is inherently less than that of four wheel automobiles. Although the stability of such three wheel vehicles is both safe and adequate for the vehicles' intended purpose, i.e. road use, it is nonetheless desirable for manufacturers of such vehicles to further control their stability as much as possible. This is true particularly in view of the fact that these vehicles are new on the market and operating them is somewhat different than operating an automobile or a motorcycle, vehicles with which riders will be more familiar.
One means for increasing a vehicle's stability is through the use of an Electronic Stability System (ESS). In basic terms an ESS uses an on-board computer processor and associated memory that have programming to manage various vehicle systems (e.g. engine, braking, steering, etc.) to a degree to which the human operator of the vehicle cannot. ESS's for four-wheel automotive vehicles and the benefits thereof have been known for some time. Given their benefits, such systems are now found, in one form or another, on many automobiles currently on the market.
In view of the desirability of enhancing the stability of a three wheel vehicle and in view of the benefits of an ESS on a four-wheeler, one of the first attempts (if not the first attempt) was made to incorporate a then existing ESS for an automobile into such a three wheel vehicle. As a result of that attempt, as is described in U.S. Patent Publication No. 2006/0180372 (incorporated by reference hereinabove), it was realized that the lack of a fourth wheel and the geometry of the vehicle (and particularly the geometry of the remaining wheels) prohibited the direct usage of such an automotive ESS system on a three wheeled vehicle. Modifications (also as described in that patent publication) were necessary.
While the system described in the '372 publication functioned as intended, it was merely a first attempt. The efforts described in the '372 publication were mainly focused on modifying the then existing automotive ESS to cause it to simulate its behaviour on a four-wheel vehicle. In words, the inventors of those inventions focused their attention making the three wheel ESS perform (to the extent possible) as if it were a four-wheel ESS.
After experimentation with a vehicle equipped with the system described in the '372 publication and theoretical calculations, the present inventors realized that while the first generation system adapted an ESS to a three wheel vehicle to overcome the disadvantages of a three wheel vehicle with respect to an ESS and four wheel vehicles, it did not take into account all of the characteristics of a three wheeled vehicle. Specifically, while it was known that it was easier to roll three wheel vehicles over, previous efforts were not focused on why this was the case, they were simply focused on stabilizing the vehicle when a situation indicative of an imminent rollover occurred.
Therefore, while the first generation ESS for three wheeled vehicles was adequate for its intended purpose, improvement was still possible and further enhancing the stability of the vehicle was desirable.

Three-wheel vehicle electronic stability system and control strategy therefor


A radio television and frequency modulation monitor transmitting receiving control apparatus is constructed to include at least one receiving module respectively installed in a respective monitor controlled by a remote controller, and a radio television and frequency modulation transmitting control module connected to an audio video signal source, which can be a digital video disk player, cathode ray tube television, digital video disk game machine, digital video disk internet game machine, organic light emitting diode display, or notebook computer, and adapted for transmitting signal data from the remote controller through an infrared transceiver of each receiving module to the audio video signal source and transmitting audio video output signal from the audio video signal source to each receiving module for output through each monitor in which one of the at least one receiving module is installed.

The present invention relates to a radio television and frequency modulation monitor transmitting receiving control apparatus, which enables multiple monitors to be worked with a digital video disk player by radio for audio and video output.
Following fast development of the society, television and digital video disk player have become requisite home electric appliances. A family may have multiple televisions in different rooms or floors. It is expensive to install a digital video disk player in each room or floor where a television is available. Further, when several digital video disk players are used with respective televisions, the connecting cables must be properly arranged. A home video renter may encounter the same problem.
The present invention has been accomplished under the circumstances in view. It is the main object of the present invention to provide a radio television and frequency modulation monitor transmitting receiving control apparatus, which controls an audio video signal source (for example, a digital video disk player, video tape recorder, video camera, or the like) to output audio video signals to multiple monitors (that can be television and frequency modulation monitors, liquid crystal display, plasma television, cathode ray tube television, organic light emitting diode display, or the like) at different locations by radio. It is another object of the present invention to provide a radio television and frequency modulation monitor transmitting receiving control apparatus, which eliminates the installation of an external cable to each monitor for signal transmission. It is still another object of the present invention to provide a radio television and frequency modulation monitor transmitting receiving control apparatus, which eliminates the installation of a television tuner in each monitor for channel selection. According to the present invention, the radio television and frequency modulation monitor transmitting receiving control apparatus comprises at least one receiving module respectively installed in a respective monitor controlled by a remote controller, and a radio television and frequency modulation transmitting control module connected to an audio video signal source, which can be a digital video disk player, cathode ray tube television, digital video disk game machine, digital video disk Internet game machine, organic light emitting diode display, or notebook computer, and adapted for transmitting output signal from the audio video signal source to each receiving module for output through each monitor in which one of the at least one receiving module is installed. Each receiving module comprises an infrared receiver unit controlled by the remote controller to transmit signal data by infrared, and a radio television and frequency modulation receiver unit adapted for receiving audio video signals from the audio video signal source for output through the respective monitor. The radio television and frequency modulation transmitting control module comprises a circuit control panel having installed therein a television and frequency modulation modulator, a radio television and frequency modulation transmitter unit, and an infrared transceiver unit. The radio television and frequency modulation transmitter unit is connected to the audio video signal source by an audio/video connecting cord for audio video signal input, and controlled to transmit television and frequency modulation signal at the frequency of 1.8G˜6.0G to the radio television and frequency modulation receiver unit of each of receiving module for output through the respective monitor. The infrared transceiver unit is adapted to receive signal data from the infrared transceiver of each receiving module, and to transmit received signal data to the audio video signal source for driving the video signal source to operate.

Radio television and frequency modulation monitor transmitting receiving control apparatus


Systems and methods are provided for automatically setting up an initial configuration of a wireless client (i.e., for a first wireless client and subsequent wireless clients added to a network), including keyboard-less and (graphical user interface) GUI-less clients, and an access point without using confusing manual configuration utilities.

In a conventional wireless local area network (WLAN), an access point (AP) is a station that transmits and receives data (sometimes referred to as a transceiver). A conventional AP connects users to other users within the network and also can serve as the point of interconnection between the WLAN and a fixed wire network. Each AP can serve multiple users within a defined network area. As users move beyond the range of one AP, they can be automatically handed over to the next one. A small WLAN may only require a single AP. Conventionally, the number of APs required increases as a function of the number of network users and the physical size of the network.
APs are typically shipped with a default configuration to allow connection of wireless clients, but most require an elaborate and confusing manual configuration procedure to set up a new AP or new client (e.g., a wireless card, embedded wireless local area network on motherboard (WLAM), etc.). with security features enabled. For example, the following instructions describe how to manually configure a particular wireless connection.
A user opens a client configuration program for a wireless client. A new wireless network configuration can be generated or a default configuration edited. To connect to an AP, the AP is activated. The user must enter a network name or Secure Set ID (SSID) name for the network. Alternately, the user can scan for an available network. To specify a name, the user looks for a network name or SSID option in the configuration utility. The user must ensure that their network card's name or SSID setting is identical to the network name or SSID assigned to the AP. The user enables a security selection, for example enabling wired equivalent privacy (WEP) encryption and enters one or more keys. The keys on the user device and AP must be identical and the same key type (encryption level and hexadecimal or ASCI format) must be used on every device. The user then saves the configuration and attempts to connect the user device to the AP.


A flow control assembly for an automatic transmission includes a valve for opening and closing communication with a source of pressurized fluid and a rotatable cam secured to a member, contact between the cam and a plunger of the valve causing said communication to open, absence of contact between the cam and the plunger causing said communication to close.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to controlling hydraulic fluid flow that lubricates a rotating clutch and discontinues the flow when the clutch is not rotating.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In an automatic transmission certain control elements, such as hydraulically-actuated clutches, are engaged and rotating only during operation in a few speed ratios and are non-rotating in the other speed ratios. When rotating they must be supplied with hydraulic lubricant at a flow rate of approximately 0.7 liters/minute. But if the flow rate is continuous during period of their non-rotation, energy is wasted and required pumping capacity is unnecessarily higher. Reducing pump flow demand improves fuel economy.
Furthermore, supplying oil flow to the clutch when it is stationary causes oil puddling, which can cause stick-slip performance problems.
A need exists in the industry for a technique that provides lubricant flow to such clutches only during periods of non-rotation without requiring computer-control or a need for an electronic solenoid for actuation.

Control of fluid flow in an automatic transmission


An opacified latex paint comprising small particle film-forming latex binders in combination with minor amounts of opacifying pigment, and substantial amounts of non-film-forming polymeric particles (plastic pigment) provides a semi-gloss latex paint composition having excellent hard enamel surfaces along with desirable film integrity properties. The plastic pigment particles are between about 0.1 and 0.5 microns and contain 0.2 to 2% copolymerized monomers containing carboxylic acid groups. The semi-gloss plastic pigment latex paint is compounded at pigment-volume-content (PVC) between about 30% and 45% and considerably higher than conventional high quality enamel latex paints. The opacified semi-gloss paint films exhibit excellent physical properties such as hard enamel surfaces, scrub resistance, burnish resistance, mar resistance, stain resistance, and other desirable paint film integrity properties.

This application pertains to plastic pigment semi-gloss enamel latex paint and relates to the commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 4,069,186 pertaining to latex paint containing solid plastic pigment particles.
Prior to plastic pigment latex paints as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,069,186, conventional high quality latex paint compositions contained opacifying pigments such as TiO.sub.2 and non-opacifying pigments such as inerts or extenders to produced high quality paint films which can be easily washed or scrubbed without ruining the paint film surface. Semi-gloss and hard surface enamel latex paints have been compounded at a very low pigment-volume-content (PVC) in the range of about 20% PVC. The hard surface enamel finish is obtained by the high level of film-forming binder which necessarily is at an 80% level on a dry solids volume basis to correspond with a 20% PVC. The high binder content is far beyond that required to fully encapsulate the dry pigments and hence the excess binder appears to gravitate to the film surface and provide a hard semi-gloss enamel surface. Providing a semi-gloss latex paint is in itself a recent advancement since latex paints are normally flat.
Commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 4,069,186 discloses an improved latex paint composition utilizing solid non-film-forming plastic particles in combination with opacifying pigments to provide a latex paint composition having a pigment-volume-content (PVC) greater than the critical-PVC to provide substantially improved opacified paint films at a wide range of PVC levels above the critical-PVC. The dried paint films have excellent high opacity coincident with high enamel holdout and low surface porosity to produce dry paint films which maintain excellent film integrity and remain resistant to surface deterioration as well as being easy to scrub. A low-gloss latex paint film can be achieved at high PVCs by utilizing plastic pigment non-film-forming polymeric particles at very high PVCs of about 70% PVC.
It now has been found that excellent semi-gloss paint film havig good wet adhesion and exhibiting hard enamel surfaces can be produced with plastic pigment at PVC levels below critical-PVC but at surprisingly high PVCs in the range of about 35% to 40% PVC by utilizing small size plastic pigment particles containing minor amounts of copolymerized acrylic or methacrylic acid. High PVC paints compounded closer to the critical PVC can be obtained providing a substantial improvement over conventional latex enamels compounded at low PVC levels of about 20% PVC. The certain carboxyl containing plastic pigment is utilized in combination with opacifying pigment and small particle size film forming latex binder to produce an excellent, high quality, hard enamel surface paint film. A further advantage of this invention is that wet adhesion is surprisingly obtained with vinyl copolymer binders which ordinarily do not exhibit good wet adhesion in conventional latex paints. These and other advantages will become more apparent by referring to the detailed description and illustrative examples.


A method is provided for automatically modifying the cutting paths for parts to be cut out from a flexible material by automatically moving a cutter tool along predetermined cutting paths. The cutting paths are associated with each part being defined by a succession of cutting segments forming a polygon. Two cutting segments are identified and belonging to two different parts for cutting out in the material and for which a maximum distance condition between these cutting segments is satisfied. Two cutting segments are verified for being situated facing each other, and that no other cutting segments lie between the two cutting segments. A common cutting path for the two cutting segments is computed, and a common cutting path is connected to the cutting paths of the two parts for cutting out to obtain modified cutting paths for the two parts for cutting out.

The present invention relates to the general field of cutting parts out from a flexible material.
A particular but non-limiting field of application for the invention is that of cutting parts out from a piece of non-textile flexible material such as leather, in particular in the clothing, furnishing, or automotive upholstery industries.
In known manner, the process of cutting parts out from a piece of flexible material, e.g. such as a skin, takes place as follows. The skin for cutting up is initially prepared, i.e. an operator looks for any defects in the skin and identifies them directly on the skin by means of marks. The skin with its marks is then digitally scanned. Using the digital representation of the skin and appropriate software means, the operator obtains an optimized layout of the various parts that are to be cut out from the skin. The layout is converted into a program for cutting out parts. The skin is then placed on a cutting table where it is cut up, generally by means of a blade forming part of a cutter tool and moving through the skin along cutting paths that are defined by the pre-established program for cutting out the parts.
Nevertheless, cutting out parts with such a process can raise certain problems, in particular when two parts for cutting out in the skin are too close to each other (typically less than 1 millimeter (mm) apart from each other). Specifically, in this situation, after the first part has been cut out, the blade of the cutter tool that is cutting out the second part runs the risk of being "attracted" by the cutout left by the first part because of its proximity. As a result, the second part can present cutting out defects that degrade the quality of the resulting part.

Method for modifying the cutting trajectory for parts intended to be cut from a flexible material


The present disclosure describes a capped syringe-like device for storing and dispensing liquid, with a movable plunger actuated by a rod inside a fluid dispensing container. The face sharing contact between the fluid dispensing container and the actuated plunger results in leak-proof dispensing of a controlled amount of liquid through a dispensing tip. The device may be used for refilling liquid containing vessels, for example.

Dispensing syringes and syringe-like devices may be used for storing, mixing, transporting, and dispensing a wide variety of liquids. These devices come in many forms and configurations, including assemblies comprising a barrel having a fluid discharge end, a plunger disposed within said barrel and having a threaded rod extending therefrom for engaging the plunger for advancement relative to the barrel, and a control portion for engaging said threaded rod.
One example of the aforementioned type of dispenser is illustrated in Bergman, U.S. Pat. No. 4,144,988. The patent discloses a device with a piston and lead screw dispenser with a twistable projection. The device includes a dispenser spout at one end and is filled through the opposite end. In one embodiment, the tube and dispensing unit are made of plastic materials and the securement is by ultrasonic welding. When the dispenser tip is opened, rotating the lead screw projection will advance (determine the piston position) and discharge the tube's filling.
Likewise, U.S. Pat. No. 1,447,712 by Darley discloses a dispensing device with a screw that operates the piston via turning the operating cap. The device is filled using the nozzle in the upper shaft and operated by unscrewing the conical cap and turning the operating clockwise motion. When a sufficient quantity of paste has been ejected, the operator then reverses the direction of the operating cap, moving the piston slightly towards the bottom and preventing the paste from leaking.
The inventor herein has recognized problems with syringe-like dispensers of this kind, including issues related to their tendencies to leak, lack of portability, increased assembly complexity, and reduced ability to dispense small and accurate amounts of viscous liquids.
As one example, Bergman's plunger assembly may be prone to leakage of liquids, as compared with more paste-like fillings. Similarly, leakage from the spout during transportation and non-dispensing conditions can be significant. Further still, simple manual assembly without addition tools, such as welders, is unachievable with the described configuration. Further still, the force necessary to rotate the base and generate accurate control of the amount of dispensed liquid can be either too high or too low depending on the degree of compression required to maintain a water-tight seal between the plunger and the wall.
In one example, at least some of the above issues are addressed by a fluid dispensing device including a cylindrical housing including a dispensing tip, a movable plunger disposable in the cylindrical housing, the plunger including at least one protrusion configured to be in face-sharing contact with an inner surface of the cylindrical housing along an entirety of a dispensing path of the plunger, and a displacement element configured to at least partially extend into the dispensing tip.
In this way, the cylindrical housing forms a liquid reservoir for containing a fluid. To dispense the fluid, the plunger is advanced via a suitable actuation mechanism, such as twisting of a twistable base coupled to the plunger. In an example, the plunger includes a silicone cap to form a watertight seal with the inner surface of the housing defining the liquid reservoir. Further, the displacement element may extend and project into an interior space of the dispensing tip of the housing to create an additional flow restriction for dispensing fluid, thus enabling precise control of small liquid amounts while also reducing waste liquid retained in the device at maximum plunger displacement.
In another embodiment, the fluid dispensing device may comprise a housing body with a liquid reservoir and a slidable plunger rod with a plunger top that may be actuated into the housing body such that the plunger top acts as an displacement element and inserts into a dispensing tip of the housing body to dispense fluid from the device. A removable cap may be coupled to the housing body to plug the dispensing tip when fluid is not being dispensed.
It should be understood that the summary above is provided to introduce in simplified form a selection of concepts that are further described in the detailed description. It is not meant to identify key or essential features of the claimed subject matter, the scope of which is defined uniquely by the claims that follow the detailed description. Furthermore, the claimed subject matter is not limited to implementations that solve any disadvantages noted above or in any part of this disclosure.

Watertight liquid dispenser with syringe-like functions


An UBM electrode structure body for a radiation detector and a radiation detector arranged with the UBM electrode structure body are provided for suppressing peeling and having high electrode adhesion. In addition, a manufacturing method of an UBM electrode structure body for a radiation detector and a manufacturing method of a radiation detector using the UBM electrode structure body are provided in which peeling does not occur during UBM structure formation, a solder bonding process or bonding of a signal line to a Pt layer. The UBM electrode structure body for a radiation detector of the present invention is arranged with a CdTe substrate or CdZnTe substrate and a Pt electrode layer arranged on the CdTe substrate or CdZnTe substrate, adhesion of the Pt electrode layer with respect to the CdTe substrate or the CdZnTe substrate being 0.5 N/cm or more.

Conventionally, the development of a high efficiency, high resolution and small scale direct conversion type compound semiconductor for use in a radiation detector element is progressing. Among these semiconductors, attention in recent years is paid to cadmium telluride (CdTe), cadmium selenium telluride (CdSeTe), cadmium zinc telluride (CdZnTe), and cadmium zinc selenium telluride (CdZnSeTe), which are II-VI compound semiconductors as powerful materials. These are referred to below as CdTe-based semiconductors. Compared to semiconductors such as silicon (Si) or germanium (Ge), these semiconductors have the advantage of (1) a high detection efficiency of radiation due to a relatively large atomic number, and (2) a cooling device is not necessary since the effect of a thermal noise current is small because the band gap is large. When radiation incidents while applying an electric field to a semiconductor attached with electrodes, electrons and holes are generated in the semiconductor and proceed in mutually opposite directions along the applied electric field. In this way, radiation is detected by extracting the induced current as a signal.
Conventionally, vacuum deposition or plating and the like are known as methods of forming a metal electrode for connecting a circuit to the surface of a CdTe substrate or CdZnTe substrate. Recently, electroless plating is often used to form a gold electrode or a platinum electrode by immersing a CdZnTe substrate in a plating solution containing chloroauric acid or chloroplatinic acid, and depositing gold or platinum or alloys thereof to certain sections of the substrate surface (see Japanese Laid Open Patent Publication No. 2003-142673, Japanese Laid Open Patent Publication No. 2001-177141, Japanese Laid Open Patent Publication No. H08-125203, Japanese Laid Open Patent Publication No. H07-038132, Japanese Laid Open Patent Publication No. H03-248578 and Japanese Laid Open Patent Publication No. H03-201487).
Pt is suitably used in the case of forming a radiation detector using this type of CdTe-based semiconductor. Furthermore, although a solder is used depending on the process when a signal line for extracting a signal from an electrode is bonded, so as not to degrade characteristics by permeating the solder through the Pt layer as far as the CdTe-based semiconductor part and does not, a means is adopted for controlling the permeation of the solder by forming a thick Ni layer above a Pt electrode and forming a thin Au layer above the Ni layer (Under Bump Metal: UBM). A means such as plating or sputtering is used in the formation of a Pt layer and UBM structure.
However, when forming an UBM structure above a Pt layer, peeling occurs when forming the UBM structure in the case where adhesion between a CdTe-based semiconductor and the Pt layer is insufficient, and even when formed, peeling of the electrode sometimes occurs during the solder jointing process. In addition, although direct bonding of a signal line to a Pt layer using a metal with a low melting point such as In or by Au wire bonding is performed without using the UBM structure, peeling at the time of bonding the signal line sometimes occurs since adhesion between a CdTe-based semiconductor and Pt layer is weak.

UBM (under bump metal) electrode structure for radiation detector, radiation detector and production method thereof


Adsorbents comprising amorphous silicas with effective average pore diameters of up to about 5000 Angstroms are useful in processes for the removal of soaps and phospholipids (along with associated metal ions) from caustic treated, primary centrifuged, water-wash centrifuged or caustic refined glyceride oils.

This invention relates to a method for refining glyceride oils by contacting the oils with an adsorbent capable of removing certain impurities. More specifically, it has been found that amorphous silicas are quite effective in adsorbing both soaps and phospholipids from caustic treated or caustic refined glyceride oils, to produce oil products with substantially lowered concentrations of these impurities. For purposes of this specification, the term "impurities" refers to soaps and phospholipids. The phospholipids are associated with metal ions and together they will be referred to as "trace contaminants." The term "glyceride oils" as used herein is intended to encompass both vegetable and animal oils. The term is primarily intended to describe the so-called edible oils, i.e., oils derived from fruits or seeds of plants and used chiefly in foodstuffs, but it is understood that oils whose end use is as non-edibles are to be included as well. The invention is applicable to oils which have been subjected to caustic treatment, which is the refining step in which soaps are formed in the oil.
The terms "glyceride oil," "crude glyceride oil," "degummed oil," "caustic refined oil," "oil" and the like as used herein refer to the oil itself, including impurities and contaminants such as those discussed in this specification. These are substantially pure oils at about 99.8% or higher oil content (Handbook of Soy Oil Processing and Utilization, pp. 55-56 (1980)). This contrasts to solvent/oil solutions, or miscella as referred to by the industry. The initial oil extraction process in which oils are removed from seeds typically is done by solvent extraction (e.g., with hexane). The result is a solvent/oil solution which may be 70-75% solvent. Refining methods which utilize this solution commonly are referred to as miscella refining. This invention does not cover miscella refining. The glyceride oils utilized in the process described below are substantially pure oils, in the complete absence or substantially complete absence of solvents such as hexane. Thus, the method of this invention can be categorized as non-miscella refining.
Crude glyceride oils, particularly vegetable oils, are refined by a multi-stage process, the first step of which typically is "degumming" or "desliming" by treatment with water or with a chemical such as phosphoric acid, citric acid or acetic anhydride. This treatment removes some but not all gums and certain other contaminants. Some of the phosphorus content of the oil is removed with the gums. Either crude or degummed oil may be treated in a chemical, or caustic, refining process. The addition of an alkali solution, caustic soda for example, to a crude or degummed oil causes neutralization of free fatty acids to form soaps. This step in the refining process will be referred to herein as "caustic treatment" and oils treated in this manner will be referred to as "caustic treated oils. Soaps generated during caustic treatment are an impurity which must be removed from the oil because they have a detrimental effect on the flavor and stability of the finished oil. Moreover, the presence of soaps is harmful to the catalysts used in the oil hydrogenation process.
Current industrial practice is to first remove soaps by centrifugal separation (referred to as "primary centrifugation"). In this specification, oils which have been subjected to caustic treatment and primary centrifugation will be referred to as "primary centrifuged" oil. Conventionally, the primary centrifuged oil, which still has significant soap content, is subjected to a water wash, which dissolves the soaps from the oil phase into the aqueous phase. The two phases are separated by centrifugation, although complete separation of the phases is not possible, even under the best of conditions. The light phase discharge is water-washed oil which now has reduced soap content and may be referred to as "water-wash centrifuged" oil. The heavy phase is a dilute soapy water solution. Frequently, the water wash and centrifugation steps must be repeated in order to reduce the soap content of the oil below about 50 ppm. This fully water-wash centrifuged oil will be referred to herein as "caustic refined" oil. The water-washed oil then must be dried to remove residual moisture to below about 0.1 weight percent. The dried oil is then either transferred to the bleaching process or is shipped or stored as once-refined oil.
A significant part of the waste discharge from the caustic refining of vegetable oil results from the water wash process used to remove soaps. In fact, a primary reason for refiners' use of the physical refining process is to avoid the wastestream production associated with removal of soaps generated in the caustic refining process: since no caustic is used in physical refining, no soaps are generated. In addition, in the caustic refining process, some oil is lost in the water wash process. In the caustic refining process to which this invention relates, moreover, the dilute soapstock must be treated before disposal, typically with an inorganic acid such as sulfuric acid in a process termed acidulation. Sulfuric acid is frequently used. It can be seen that quite a number of separate unit operations make up the soap removal process, each of which results in some degree of oil loss. The removal and disposal of soaps and aqueous soapstock is one of the most considerable problems associated with the caustic refining of glyceride oils.
In addition to removal of soaps created in the caustic refining process, phosphorus-containing trace contaminants must be removed from the oil. The presence of these trace contaminants can lend off colors, odors and flavors to the finished oil product. These compounds are phospholipids, with which are associated ionic forms of the metals calcium, magnesium, iron and copper. For purposes of this invention, references to the removal or adsorption of phospholipids is intended also to refer to removal or adsorption of the associated metal ions. Adsorption of phosphorus on various adsorbents (for example, bleaching earth) has been practiced but only with respect to oils undergoing physical refining (in which no soaps are generated) or in caustic refining subsequent to water wash steps (in which the soaps are removed). No adsorption process has accomplished the removal of both soaps and phospholipids at an early stage of caustic refining where large quantities of soaps are present.

Modified caustic refining of glyceride oils for removal of soaps and phospholipids


A method of facilitating marking of a document, and reading the markings on the marked document, utilizes conventional magnetic reading equipment. First indicia inviting marking of a first face of a document substrate is imaged on that face, while on the second, opposite face, in alignment with the first indicia, dense magnetic electronic imaging toner spaced elements are imaged. The toner is not heat fused. A second substrate portion is disposed in contact with the second face of the first substrate portion, and by rubbing on the first face (as with a pen or pencil) magnetic toner is transferred to the second substrate. The transferred magnetic toner is then sensed, through the paper forming the substrate, automatically. A business form is constructed typically by C-folding a single sheet of paper, imaged as described, about a fold line disposed between the first and second substrate portions. Machine readable magnetic addressee indicia is also preferably imaged on the second substrate, while human readable addressee indicia is imaged on the first face of the first substrate and is readable through a cutout in a fold-over portion of the business form.

There are many circumstances in which it is desirable to send out questionnaires or ballots, and then to be able to quickly and effectively compile the responses from the questionnaires or ballots that are received. It is desirable to accomplish this function in a simple low-tech manner that offers reliability. According to the present invention, a method and a business form are provided which facilitate achievement of these desired results.
The method according to the invention, in a simple, low-tech manner, facilitates marking of a document and reading markings on the marked document, the document including a substrate with first and second faces. The method according to the invention comprises the following steps: (a) Imaging on a first face of a first substrate portion first indicia inviting marking of the substrate at that indicia. (b) Imaging on a second face of the first substrate, in alignment with the first indicia on the first face, dense magnetic electronic imaging toner spaced elements. (c) Refraining from post heat fusing the magnetic electronic imaging toner. (d) Providing a second substrate portion first face in contact with the second face of the first substrate portion. (e) Rubbing on the first face of the first substrate at the indicia in order to transfer magnetic toner from the second face of the first substrate portion to the first face of the second substrate portion. And, (f) automatically sensing the transferred magnetic toner on the first face of the second substrate portion.
Typically, the substrate is paper and step (b) is practiced directly on the paper of the substrate (that is, without any precoating with release material). Step (e) is typically practiced by marking the first face of the first substrate portion with a pen or pencil so as to simultaneously mark the first face and transfer toner to the second substrate portion, as by completely filling a closed indicia area (e.g., box or circle). The first and second substrate portions are preferably on the same sheet of paper, which is mechanically folded to provide the second portion specifically below the first portion. Step (b) is typically practiced to provide toner which completely covers--to the naked eye--the substrate second face at the spaced elements. Steps (a) through (d) are practiced on the sheet of paper in the production of business forms, and the folding step is preferably practiced to C-fold to provide the sheet as a C-folded form to provide the first face of the first substrate portion on top of the first face of the second substrate portion.
The method also comprises the further steps of imaging an outgoing address on the first face of the first substrate portion, and forming a cutout in the sheet so that when the sheet is C-folded the cutout overlies the outgoing address. Selectively activatable adhesive is also applied on the first face of the second portion of the substrate adjacent the second face of the first substrate portion to allow sealing of the marked questionnaire or ballot to return to the original mailing operation, and in order to facilitate this a line of weakness is formed between the first and second substrate portions. Also, preferably, magnetic indicia is imaged on the second substrate portion first face indicating identifying indicia of the person practicing step (e), and step (f) is practiced also to automatically sense that identifying indicia at the same time the questionnaire or ballot marking is sensed.
The invention also relates to a business form, preferably a mailer type business form in the configuration of a ballot or questionnaire. The business form comprises: A first substrate portion having first and second faces. A second substrate portion having a first face. First indicia imaged on the first substrate portion first face inviting marking of the substrate at that indicia. Transferable magnetic media disposed on the second face of the first substrate portion essentially only at the first indicia. And, the second substrate portion first face in removable contact with the second face of the first portion.
The transferable magnetic media preferably comprises non-heat fused dense magnetic electronic imaging toner (such as conventional MIDAX.RTM. toner), and the first and second substrate portions are preferably provided by an integral sheet of paper separated by a fold line (which may be a line of weakness such as a perforation). Other indicia, particularly magnetic material, may be imaged on the second substrate portion first faced in alignment with the transferable magnetic media, to facilitate reading of the transferred magnetic media. Also, machine readable magnetic addressing-identifying indicia is provided on the first face of the second substrate portion. Human readable address-identifying indicia is also provided on the first face of the first substrate portion. Typically, the sheet is C-folded, having a third substrate portion on the opposite side of the first portion from the second portion, and having a cutout aligned with the human readable addressee-identifying indicia. Selectively activatable adhesive (such as rewettable adhesive) is disposed on the first face of the second substrate portion adjacent the fold line, and repositional adhesive is preferably disposed on the second face of the first substrate portion remote from the fold line, and on the third substrate portion on a part thereof remote from the second substrate portion.
The transferable magnetic media is preferably disposed directly on the second substrate face of the first substrate portion, with no intervening coating.
It is the primary object of the present invention to provide a simple yet effective low-tech approach to marking and reading business forms such as questionnaires and ballots. This and other objects of the invention will become clear from an inspection of the detailed description of the invention and from the appended claims.