A portable sports equipment rack is provided with two relatively foldable sections. Each section has a top wall and a bottom wall below the top wall. End walls and a rear wall hold the top and bottom walls vertically spaced. Along the front edge of at least one of the bottom walls are located a number of handle receiving structures. At least one hinge joins adjacent end edges of the bottom walls. When the portable sports equipment rack is suspended, chiefly by its ends, the weight of the rack will tend to keep it in an open deployed configuration. The sections can be folded against one another, and held together by a latch. A handle on one of the top walls facilitates carrying of the rack when it is folded. A further embodiment of the sports equipment rack is formed from an assembly of modules, each containing a top wall, bottom wall, sidewalls, rear wall, and handle receiving structures.

1. The Technical Field
The present invention is directed to racks and supports for sports equipment, and in particular, to racks for supporting and organizing baseball equipment, particularly for use in baseball dugouts and areas thereabouts. The rack may also be used for other equipment, such as hockey equipment.
2. The Prior Art
Racks for the support, display and/or storage of sports equipment, in particular baseball equipment, are known. Examples of such racks include the following references:
Benham, Jr., U.S. Pat. No. 3,650,407 discloses a fixed, single piece rack, for holding a small number of bats in notches that are immediately adjacent a back mounting wall. A shallow, dished upper area serves to hold balls.
Gordon et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,698,563 discloses an elongated equipment storage rack having an elongated trough, immediately in front of which are notches for holding bats. The vertically extending front wall of the trough is positioned close to the inner ends of the notches. Extending upwardly from the rear wall of the trough are angled flat fingers, for holding helmets or gloves.
Halverson, U.S. Pat. No. 4,049,126 discloses a foldable bat rack, that comprises a single level, in two sections connected by a horizontally extending hinge on a lower side of the joint. No storage space is provided behind the notches for receiving the bat ends.
Keeley, U.S. Pat. No. 4,193,495 discloses a bat and helmet rack, in two sections that are foldably connected about a vertically extending hinge. Spring clips are mounted to vertical planar members to form each section. When folded the clips face outwardly, to permit the rack to be carried with the equipment still in place. Handles emanate from the top edges of the two planar members, and align with one another when the rack is folded.
Laub, U.S. Pat. No. 4,227,710 discloses a rolling cart configured for holding bats (vertically), helmets, and a supply of baseballs.
Schinzing, U.S. Pat. No. 4,583,647 discloses a fixed, wall mounted, cantilevered single level bat rack.
Braaten, U.S. Pat. No. 4,629,065 discloses a baseball equipment holder, formed from a tubular housing having cutouts defining various hooks (for helmets or gloves) or notches (for bats).
Comeau, U.S. Pat. No. 4,693,402 discloses a baseball equipment holding backpack.
Jankovsky, U.S. Pat. No. 4,807,763 discloses a freestanding baseball bat stand.
Lee, U.S. Pat. No. 4,854,456 discloses a fixed rack having notches on opposite ends for holding bats, skis, etc., and racks in between formed by parallel extending rods, for holding balls of various diameters (basketballs vs. baseballs, etc.).
Mroz, U.S. Pat. No. 4,890,731 discloses a suitcase-shaped baseball equipment carrier in the form of a frame without sidewalls.
Lorie, U.S. Pat. No. 4,968,048 discloses a wheeled baseball equipment cart.
Mercer, Jr. et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,085,327 discloses a freestanding sports equipment organizer.
Shaw, U.S. Des. 335,416 discloses a design for an ornamental appearance for a hanging baseball equipment storage and organizer case, having six cells for holding helmets, in two rows of three, and a lower level of notches for holding bats.
McKenzie et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,337,907 discloses a fabric based holder for beverage bottles, configured to be hung on a chain link fence.
Young, U.S. Des. 373,498 discloses a board-based storage device with fork-shaped projections for holding bats, along the bottom edge thereof.
Martin, U.S. Des. 377,572 discloses a bat and helmet rack that is formed from a number parallel rods connected by flexible straps.
Matzen, U.S. Pat. No. 5,690,235 discloses a bat hanger in the form of a tube that has cutouts defining notches for holding the ends of bats. Indentations on the top of the tube can hold balls. Hooks are provided for hanging the tube on a fence.
Allen, U.S. Pat. No. 5,845,780 discloses a suitcase-style bag for holding athletic equipment.
Whitehead et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,871,105 discloses a frame-style rack for holding miscellaneous sports equipment having a lowermost solid transverse shelf, and other support areas formed by parallel bars.
Miller, Jr., U.S. Pat. No. 5,895,085 discloses a helmet carrying and hanger assembly in the form of a single transverse rod, having a number of upwardly extending pegs, and a central T-shaped handle.
Fowler, U.S. Pat. No. 5,975,293 discloses a suitcase-style bag for holding athletic equipment.
Greaney et al., U.S. Des. 417,113 discloses a design for an ornamental rack in the shape of a baseball diamond, configured to hold two hats or helmets, a bat and a ball.
Smith, U.S. Pat. No. 6,196,217 B1 discloses a solar powered bat warmer, in the shape of a box having a transparent front and openings in the top, into which bats are inserted.
Healy, U.S. Pat. No. 6,222,159 B1 discloses a bat warmer using a convection thermal heat source. The cabinet is in the form of an upright, wheeled, box having a heat source in the bottom.
Inge, U.S. Pat. No. 6,494,468 B1 discloses a wagon like sports equipment storage device, having a large open box area, and a rack for holding ball bats upright.
It would be desirable to provide a sports equipment rack, particularly one for baseball, which is capable of carrying a large quantity of different pieces of equipment, yet is highly portable and/or reducible to a compact form.
It would also be desirable to provide a sports equipment rack, particularly a baseball equipment rack, which is configured to be suspended from a vertical support, such as a chain-link backstop.
These and other desirable characteristics of the present invention will become apparent in view of the present specification, including claims, and drawings.


A germicidal lamp having amalgam for controlling mercury vapor pressure contained in a location facilitating efficient high output operation. A low pressure mercury vapor discharge lamp has an amalgam container containing an amalgam positioned behind an electrode out of the arc path or space. The amalgam position is retained during high wall loading of the lamp preventing the amalgam from moving out of position. Efficient operation with high current loads and resulting high wall loading and temperatures is possible. The germicidal lamp is particularly suited to being positioned vertically in a waste water treatment system.

Low pressure mercury vapor discharge lamps are commonly used to generate ultraviolet radiation and used to irradiate a fluid to kill potentially harmful organisms contained in the fluid. Often, relatively high doses of ultraviolet radiation are required. The necessary relatively high doses of ultraviolet radiation typically require the use of multiple germicidal lamps. The use of multiple germicidal lamps increases expenses, as well as maintenance. Therefore, it is desirable to use fewer higher output germicidal lamps. However, producing a high output germicidal lamp is not without difficulties. During operation of a low pressure mercury vapor discharge lamp, the vapor pressure of the mercury greatly affects lamp operation. A predetermined vapor pressure is desirable for efficient operation of the lamp. However, under heavy loads used to produce a high output, mercury vapor pressure may increase reducing the efficiency and operation of the lamp. Amalgam has often been used to control the mercury vapor pressure within the lamp, permitting the lamp to operate more efficiently. However, the higher temperatures occurring at high loading of the lamp often cause the amalgam to melt. If the amalgam melts, it will move out of position and could make contact with an electrode and cause possible shorting or ineffective operation of the lamp.
A germicidal lamp using an amalgam is disclosed in Patent Cooperation Treaty international application No. PCT/DE96/00647 having a publication number of WO96/31902 and published Oct. 10, 1996, entitled "Low Pressure Mercury Vapor Discharge Lamp". Therein disclosed is a low pressure mercury vapor discharge lamp having an amalgam placed along the inner wall between the electrodes. The lamp tube is in mechanical contact with a cooler on the outside of the lamp adjacent the location of the amalgam. While this lamp structure is helpful in keeping the amalgam cool and therefore permitting higher loading of the lamp to improve output, the amalgam could still melt causing the amalgam to move out of position. This is particularly problematic in applications where the lamp is held vertically rather than horizontally, which could result in the amalgam falling downward onto one of the electrodes.
Therefore, there is a need for a low pressure mercury vapor discharge germicidal lamp for producing a high output of ultraviolet radiation that reduces the possibility of an amalgam melting or moving out of a desired location during high loading.

Germicidal low pressure mercury vapor discharge lamp with amalgam location permitting high output


A touch screen panel includes a substrate having a touch area and a routing wiring area, a plurality of first electrode serials formed in a first direction in the touch area, a plurality of second electrode serials which are arranged in a second direction crossing the first direction in the touch area so that the first and second electrode serials do not contact, a plurality of first routing wires which are formed in the routing wiring area and are respectively connected to one ends of the first electrode serials, and a plurality of second routing wires which are formed in the routing wiring area and are respectively connected to one ends of the second electrode serials. Odd-numbered first routing wires and even-numbered first routing wires of the first routing wires are formed on different layers.

1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the invention relate to a touch screen panel, and more particularly, to a touch screen panel having a routing wire structure capable of reducing a bezel size.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Recently, various input devices such as a keyboard, a mouse, a trackball, a joystick, and a digitizer have been used to configure an interface between users and home appliances or various kinds of information communication equipments. However, the above-described input devices cause inconveniences of learning how to use them and taking up space, thus making it difficult to improve the degree of completion of the product. Thus, demand for input devices with a simple and convenient interface and capable of reducing malfunction due to inaccurate input is growing daily. In response to this demand, a touch screen panel for enabling a user to input information by directly touching the screen with his or her hand or a pen was suggested.
Touch screen panels are classified into a resistive type, a capacitive type, an electromagnetic type, etc. based on a method for sensing a touched portion. The resistive touch screen panel determines a touched position by a voltage gradient based on changes of resistance in a state that a DC voltage is applied to metal electrodes formed on an upper plate or a lower plate. The capacitive touch screen panel senses a touched position based on changes in capacitance generated in an upper plate or a lower plate when the user touches an equipotential conductive film formed on the upper or lower plate. The electromagnetic touch screen panel senses a touched portion by reading an LC value induced when an electronic pen touches a conductive film. In addition, an optical touch screen panel, an ultrasonic touch screen panel, etc. are known.
In general, these types of touch screen panels include a touch area for touch recognition and a routing wiring area and a pad area which are formed outside the touch area so as to transmit and receive signals to and from touch electrodes formed in the touch area. In the disclosure, the routing wiring area and the pad area are defined as a bezel area. The size of the bezel area increases as the number of channels for connecting routing wires increases due to an increase in the size of the touch area and widths of the routing wires increase.
A related art touch screen panel is described below with reference to FIGS. 1A and 1B.
FIG. 1A is a plane view of a related art touch screen panel, in which touch electrodes are formed on one surface of a transparent substrate. FIG. 1B is a cross-sectional view taken along line I-I′ of FIG. 1A.
As shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, the related art touch screen panel includes a touch area A in which a touch operation is performed, a routing wiring area B in which routing wires and routing pads are formed so as to transmit and receive signals to and from the touch area A, and a pad area C.
The touch area A includes a plurality of first touch electrode serials TS arranged in parallel in a first direction (for example, x-axis direction) on a transparent substrate 10, and a plurality of second touch electrode serials RS which are arranged in parallel in a second direction (for example, y-axis direction) on the transparent substrate 10 with an insulating layer INS interposed between the first and second touch electrode serials TS and RS and cross the first touch electrode serials TS. In other words, the plurality of first touch electrode serials TS and the plurality of second touch electrode serials RS cross each other and are disposed with the insulating layer INS interposed between them so that they do not contact each other.
The routing wiring area B is formed outside the touch area A including the first and second touch electrode serials TS and RS. The routing wiring area B includes a plurality of first routing wires TW respectively connected to the plurality of first touch electrode serials TS and a plurality of second routing wires RW respectively connected to the plurality of second touch electrode serials RS.
The pad area C includes a plurality of first routing pads TP respectively connected to the plurality of first routing wires TW and a plurality of second routing pads RP respectively connected to the plurality of second routing wires RW.
Another related art touch screen panel is described below with reference to FIGS. 2A to 2C.
FIG. 2A is a plane view of a related art touch screen panel, in which bar-shaped touch electrodes are formed on both surfaces of a transparent substrate. FIG. 2B is a cross-sectional view taken along line I-I′ of FIG. 2A. FIG. 2C is a cross-sectional view taken along line II-II′ of FIG. 2A.
As shown in FIGS. 2A to 2C, the related art touch screen panel includes a touch area A in which a touch operation is performed, a routing wiring area B in which routing wires and routing pads are formed so as to transmit and receive signals to and from the touch area A, and a pad area C.
The touch area A includes a plurality of first touch electrode serials TS arranged in parallel in a first direction (for example, x-axis direction) on one surface of a transparent substrate 10, and a plurality of second touch electrode serials RS which are arranged in parallel in a second direction (for example, y-axis direction) on the other surface of the transparent substrate 10 and cross the first touch electrode serials TS.
The routing wiring area B is formed outside the touch area A including the first and second touch electrode serials TS and RS. The routing wiring area B includes a plurality of first routing wires TW respectively connected to the plurality of first touch electrode serials TS on the one surface of the transparent substrate 10 and a plurality of second routing wires RW respectively connected to the plurality of second touch electrode serials RS on the other surface of the transparent substrate 10.
The pad area C includes a plurality of first routing pads TP respectively connected to the plurality of first routing wires TW on the one surface of the transparent substrate 10 and a plurality of second routing pads RP respectively connected to the plurality of second routing wires RW on the other surface of the transparent substrate 10.
In the touch screen panel shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, because the first and second routing wires TW and RW and the first and second routing pads TP and RP are formed on the same layer, the size of a bezel area is determined by widths of the first and second routing wires TW and RW formed in the routing wiring area B, a distance between the first and second routing wires TW and RW, and the sizes of the first and second routing pads TP and RP formed in the pad area C. However, the first and second routing pads TP and RP occupy only a portion of the bezel area and thus scarcely affect the size of the bezel area. Therefore, the widths of the routing wires TW and RW are substantially important to the size of the bezel area.
Further, in the touch screen panel shown in FIGS. 2A to 2C, because the first routing wires TW and the first routing pads TP are formed on the same layer and the second routing wires RW and the second routing pads RP are formed on the same layer, the size of a bezel area is determined by widths of the first routing wires TW formed in the routing wiring area B, a distance between the first routing wires TW, and the sizes of the first routing pads TP formed in the pad area C, or widths of the second routing wires RW formed in the routing wiring area B, a distance between the second routing wires RW, and the sizes of the second routing pads RP formed in the pad area C. The first and second routing pads TP and RP occupy only a portion of the bezel area and thus scarcely affect the size of the bezel area. Therefore, the widths of the routing wires TW and RW are substantially important to the size of the bezel area.
However, when the widths of the routing wires decrease so as to reduce the size of the bezel area, resistances of the routing wires increase. Hence, a performance of the touch screen panel is reduced.


The present invention is directed to a process for the production of vanillin through the bioconversion of a vanillin precursor with a tissue culture of undifferentiated callus cells derived from a vanilla plant and/or enzymes obtained therefrom in the presence of a water soluble sulfhydryl compound and optionally, also in the presence of an assimilable carbon source.

Vanilla is extracted from the cured pods of the flowers of the vanilla vine, a member of the orchid family. During the curing process, a large number of flavor compounds are formed which impart to the extract the pleasing aroma and well balanced organoleptic properties characteristic of vanilla. While vanilla is highly prized for use in flavoring a broad array of foodstuffs, its use is restricted by high cost stemming from the complex, low yielding methods associated with its manufacture. Vanillin (3-methoxy-4-hydroxybenzaldehyde) is one of the principle components responsible for the characteristic aroma and flavor of vanilla extract. Synthetic vanillin, most often produced by the treatment of sulfite waste liquors from paper mills, is typically used as a low cost substitute for vanilla and indeed may even be present as an adulterant in vanilla extract. Because of its origin and method of manufacture, vanillin derived from sulfite waste liquor is not considered to be a natural food component nor may it be so labeled in the U.S. A process for the production of natural vanillin via the bioconversion of natural vanillin precursors by a low cost process would therefore have great value and utility.
It is well known that vanillin is formed in small quantities from aromatic compounds known to be precursors in the biosynthesis of lignin (see Rahouti, Mohammed, et al., Appln. Environ. Microbiol., 55:2391-8, Sep., 1989; Tadasa, K., Agric. Biol. Chem. 41:925-9, 1977; Sutherland, J. B. et al., Can. J. Microb., 29:1253-7, 1983). Trans-ferulic is a common precursor in the biosynthesis of lignin as well as a lignin degradation product. The metabolism of ferulic acid by soil microorganisms typically leads to the production of vanillin but the vanillin so formed is further converted to vanillic acid and/or vanillyl alcohol which in turn are typically transformed to other degradation products such as protocatechuic acid, guaiacol, hydroquinones, catechol, ring-cleavage products, etc. Thus, it is generally recognized that vanillin is an intermediate in the overall scheme for the biodegradation of ferulic acid and ferulic acid precursors so that only small amounts of vanillin accumulate when ferulic acid is biodegraded by soil microorganisms. There are a large number of references which report on the metabolism of aromatic compounds by soil microorganisms (e.g., Pullularia pullulans Fusarium sp., Aspergillus niger, Bacillus sp., Pseudomonas sp., Nocardia sp., see Borneman, W. S. et al., Appl. Microbiol. Biotechnol. 33:354-51, 1990; Eggeling, L. et al., Arch. Microbiol. 126:141-8, 1980) but none stress the potential for using such microorganisms for vanillin synthesis because vanillin accumulates only small quantities as an intermediate product.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,057,424 to Knuth and Sahai teaches callus cells which are independent of and unattached to differentiated plant tissue which are derived from plant tissue. The callus cells are capable of growth in cell culture without forming differentiated cell structures. The vanilla plant callus cells secrete vanillin and related vanillin flavor components into the culture medium in which they are cultured. The patent specification identifies three principal variables in the liquid culture medium which can be adjusted to improve the yield of vanillin and related components. These variables are (a) nutrient, (b) plant hormones, and (c) vanilla component precursors. The inventors report that experiments leading to the Knuth et al. invention suggest that phenylalanine and ferulic acid, two metabolic precursors of vanillin, produced little enhancement in vanillin production by the callus cell culture. The copending application to Knuth and Sahai which issued as U.S. Pat. No. 5,068,184 discloses a process to produce a vanilla flavor composition by suspending vanilla-plant callus cells in tissue culture under conditions that promote the secretion of vanilla flavor components by the cells into the culture medium. Both Knuth and Sahai patents identified above are herein incorporated by reference into the present application.

Bioconversion process for the production of vanillin


A method and system for monitoring events related to web browser extensions includes storing a set of events for which a browser extension integrated in a web browser application registers a listener. The browser extension integrated in the web browser application is executed. Upon the occurrence of an event related to the browser extension, an invisible event page associated with the browser extension is loaded if the event is one of the set of events. Using the invisible event page, a function related to a visible object of the browser extension is executed. The invisible event page is unloaded from the browser after receiving an acknowledgement from the browser extension.

Browsers typically enable users to interact with and experience many different types of content, usually over a computer network, and often in a visual or graphical manner. For example, users may install one or more internet browsers on a local computing device, and may thereafter utilize the internet browser to access content and/or functionality provided by a remote computing device.
Current internet browsers process many events, some generated by a user, and some generated by the browser itself, other applications, or the operating system. Events can be handled by the browser or by components of the browser. Background pages may spend time idle, wasting memory. Accordingly, there exists a need for a page that is loaded only when needed.

Event pages for web applications and extensions


A coating device for use in coating circular cross-sectioned substrates has a semi-circular doctor blade. The coater may also have a plate for holding axially symmetric substrates which can be rotated about an axis. A groove in the plate centers the substrate on the plate for rotation. The doctor blade is located adjacent to the substrate such that when the plate and substrate are rotated, the doctor blade applies a uniform thickness of coating to one side of the substrate. After one side of the substrate has been coated, the other side is coated by placing the substrate coated side down on a plate with a larger groove to accommodate the increased size of the substrate due to coating.

Numerous methods are known in the prior art for applying a coating to a substrate, including dip coating, spray coating, spin coating, screen printing and tape casting. Each of these methods may result in a uniform coating thickness depending on the shape of the substrate and the type of coating material applied. In some instances these methods are not useful with various types of coating materials; for example, the desired coating thickness cannot be achieved or cannot be achieved with the desired uniformity. Similarly, the shape of a particular substrate may create coating problems when one of the above methods is used.
In order to overcome some of the problems with non-uniform thickness of coating, doctor blades have been used, where the blade is moved past the substrate or the substrate is moved past the blade after coating material has been applied to the substrate. The movement of the doctor blade with respect to the substrate creates a uniform thickness of coating material on the substrate. Heretofore doctor blades have been flat, like the edge of a razor blade and are therefore limited in usefulness to substrates having flat surfaces. In addition, the doctor blade and substrate are generally moved linearly with respect to each other. Linear movement, however, is not suitable for the shapes of many types of substrates, especially those substrates with curved surfaces. Thus, a device and method for uniformly coating devices having curved surfaces, such as rods or toroids, is still needed.


An improved paralleled multiple pole circuit breaker employs a conductive element of known resistance connected in series within each pole. A bridging conductor electrically connects together the poles and balances the current flow therethrough at a location between the sets of separable contacts and the conductive element of each pole. The conductive elements are mass-produced plate-like blades of a material having a resistance that is substantially fixed and is substantially independent of temperature. During operation, the voltage drop across one of the conductive elements can be determined by directly measuring the voltage drop between the ends of the conductive element without additionally interposing copper, solder, or other materials between the locations on the conductive element across which the voltage drop is determined.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to circuit breakers and, more particularly, to a paralleled circuit breaker and an associated method.
2. Description of the Related Art
Electrical switching apparatus for electric power distribution systems includes circuit breakers and network protectors which provide protection, and further includes electrical switches for isolating parts of the distribution system and for selecting from among alternate sources. While families of such switches are produced having a range of current ratings, some applications require higher current ratings than are available from the standard units. It is not practical to make a dedicated switch for such applications in view of the limited demand. It is therefore common to mount a pair of such switches side-by-side and to connect together the poles to share the current. It is similarly common to provide a multiple pole circuit breaker and to connect together in parallel the poles thereof to similarly share the current. Such a parallel construction technique is of particular value with molded case switches and breakers where the required investment in the molded case is quite large, and the need can be alleviated by joining together multiple circuit breakers or by combining together multiple poles of a multiple pole circuit breaker.
Such paralleled circuit breakers typically have an operating mechanism that seeks to simultaneously separate during certain specified conditions the separable contacts of each of the poles of the circuit breaker to interrupt current flowing through the poles. Such operating mechanisms typically are unable to separate all of the sets of separable contacts in a precisely simultaneously fashion. More particularly, it is usually the case that the separable contacts of one particular pole of a multiple pole circuit breaker are invariably the last contacts to be separated by the operating mechanism, and the time lag after which the separable contacts of the particular pole separate may be only a fraction of a second. Such a time lag can result from numerous factors, including manufacturing tolerances and imprecision, wear, and other factors. In all such situations, a time lag may exist between the separation of any of the sets of contacts and any of one or more other sets of contacts.
In a situation in which multiple poles of a circuit breaker are connected together in parallel, and during the time lag while cycling the operating mechanism in which fewer than all of the sets of separable contacts have been separated, all of the current that had been flowing through the multiple poles seeks to travel through those poles whose separable contacts are still connected together. When each successive set of separable contacts actually separate, an electrical arc larger than any of the preceding arcs are formed across the separating contact. Such successively larger arcs have the effect of degrading to a successively greater extent the contacts of the later-opening poles due to vaporization of the material of the contacts and other factors. Such degradation of the contacts of any given pole reduces the amount of current that can be carried to the pole, such that once the circuit breaker is returned to operation, the poles have an unequal current carrying capability, with the result that greater amounts of current travel through some of the poles than through others.
Such unevenness in current carrying capability complicates the measurement of the current flowing through the paralleled breaker at any given time. Various systems have been proposed to enable the determination of current flow in such a situation.
One such proposed system includes providing a plate of conductive material having a thermally stable resistance and soldering the plate between a pair of elongated copper bridging elements. The plate can be made of a material such as manganin, for example, which has a resistance that is substantially fixed and is substantially independent of temperature. One of the copper bridging elements is employed to electrically bridge together all of the poles at the load side of the sets of separable contacts. All of the current flowing through the breaker flows through the plate and is redistributed with the other copper bridging element to the various poles for transmission through trip units of the poles and the like, and ultimately to a load terminal.
During operation of such a circuit breaker, the current flow through the breaker can be roughly determined by measuring the voltage drop between the copper bridging elements. Based upon such voltage drop and the known resistance of the plate, the current flowing through the breaker can be roughly determined. Such systems have not, however, been without limitation.
While the aforementioned plate itself has a substantially fixed resistance that is substantially independent of temperature, the solder and the copper bridging elements are of a resistance that is not as thermally stable as that of the plate. Such systems therefore have been able to provide only a somewhat stable resistance, with consequent inaccuracy in the determination of current flow. Moreover, the use of a single plate between the copper bridging elements typically concentrates in the vicinity of the plate the generation of heat. Such heat concentration leads to additional variations in the temperature of the solder and the copper bridging elements. This leads to further inaccuracy in current flow determination, as well as a concentration of heat generation, both of which are undesirable. Such systems are additionally undesirable since the copper bridging elements, solder, and conductive plate often must be assembled together by hand and also be manually calibrated, all of which add substantial expense to such systems. Such systems are additionally undesirable since the soldered connections can fail during short circuit and other high current events.
It thus would be desired to provide an improved paralleled circuit breaker that alleviates the problems of concentrated heat generation, inaccurate current determinations, and limited ability to handle high current events. Such an improved circuit breaker might also advantageously be less expensive to manufacture than previously known breakers.

Paralleled circuit breaker with conductive elements having thermally stable resistance, and associated method


To treat an organotin compound in a liquid at low cost. Addition of iron oxide into a liquid containing an organotin compound allows trapping of the organotin compound in the liquid by the iron oxide, and reduction of the organotin compound concentration in the liquid. Various iron oxides such as FeO, Fe2O3(iron sesquioxide), and Fe3O4 (iron oxide black) may be used, but iron oxide black is preferred. Such the method of treating a liquid may be applied to polluted seawater at a harbor to allow reduction of the organotin compound concentration in the seawater and purification of the harbor.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a treatment, and more specifically to a treatment for treating an organotin compound in a liquid.
2. Description of the Related Art
An organotin compound, in particular, a tributyltin (TBT) compound or a triphenyltin (TPT) compound is useful as a molluscan eliminating agent component for an antifouling paint employed in fishnets or ships, a pesticide for pears or onions, a mouse repellant or an insecticide for wood products and the like, an industrial disinfectant for papermaking or leather processing, etc., and is conventionally used worldwide. In recent years, it has been revealed that the organotin compound has an endocrine disturbing action, and the organotin compound is recognized as a toxic substance providing adverse effects on human health and ecosystem. For example, "Report (proposal) regarding test results of endocrine disturbing action of tributyltin (TBT) to fish" (Environmental Health Department, Environmental Policy Bureau, Ministry of the Environment (August 2001)) and "Present status and temporal trends on imposex and organotin concentrations in tissue of the rock shell, Thais clavigera" (Japan Society of Endocrine Disrupters Research, Abstracts for The 4th Annual Meeting of JSEDR, p. 288 (2001)) each report that snails such as rock shells (Thais clavigera) living at harbors have developed imposex frequently. The imposex refers to a symptom featured in sex change of female snails, and is known to be developed by an effect of a tributyltin compound in an extremely low concentration of about 2 ng/l in seawater.
Thus, in Japan, pesticide registration of the tributyltin compound expired in 1977, and use of the tributyltin compound in household products has been prohibited since 1979. In 1989, tributyltin oxide was designated as a Class I Specified Chemical Substance under "Law Concerning the Evaluation of Chemical Substances and Regulation of Their Manufacture, etc. (Japanese Chemical Substances Control Law)", and its production, import, and use have been essentially prohibited. In 1990, tributyltin chloride was designated as a Class II Specified Chemical Substance under the same law, and its use and the like has been subjected to regulation. Thus, in Japan, the organotin compound is substantially not used in applications of antifouling paints for fishnets and ships.
However, environmental pollution studies in Japan have confirmed that a pollution level of dredged soil from harbor or seawater from shelf sea or harbor due to the organotin oxide still remains the same, and no significant improvements have been confirmed. Such results have been obtained probably because the organotin compound is hardly decomposed, and foreign ships still use antifouling paints containing organotin compounds. Thus, establishment of techniques for treating dredged soil or seawater polluted with an organotin oxide is desired.
As a method of treating dredged soil in view of the above, a method of decomposing or adsorbing an organotin compound in dredged soil has been known. As an example of the method of decomposing an organotin compound, "Degradation of the tributyltin compounds by the micro-organisms in the water and sediment collected from the harbor area of Osaka City, Japan" (Environmental Pollution 98(2), 163-167, 1997) proposes a method of decomposing an organotin compound by using microorganisms. As another example of the method of decomposing an organotin compound, JP 2001-352994 A proposes a method of decomposing an organotin compound by using active components produced by microorganisms. However, those methods each require a long period of time for decomposition of the organotin compound and each require separation of the microorganisms or extraction of the active components. Thus, those methods tend to be expensive and are probably not practical.
Meanwhile, as an example of the method of adsorbing an organotin compound, JP 2004-160355 A discloses a method involving: adding a flocculant to dredged soil to separate the dredged soil into a solid content (sand and flock settled deposit) and a water content; and adhering and adsorbing the organotin compound in the separated water content to a polyethylene sheet and active carbon, respectively. However, this method has many processing steps and involves complex operations. Further, this method requires use of an expensive polyethylene sheet and a process cost is hardly suppressed.
As examples of a method of treating water such as seawater in view of the above: JP 61-107989 A proposes a method of bringing water into contact with a polyamide substance to allow an organotin compound in water to be absorbed into the polyamide substance; and JP 2005-502457 A proposes a method of irradiating water supplied with ozone with UV light. However, those methods each require an expensive polyamide substance or a complex treatment apparatus, and a process cost is hardly suppressed.


A method of manufacturing a light emitting diode (LED) substrate includes following steps: providing a nano-patterned substrate, which has a plurality of convex portions and a plurality of first concave portions that are spaced apart from each other, wherein each first concave portion has a depth (d1); forming a plurality of protection structures to cover each convex portion, and exposing a bottom surface of each first concave portion; performing an anisotropic etching processing to etch the bottom surface of each first concave portion which is not covered by the protection structure so as to form a plurality of second concave portions having a depth (d2), and d2 is greater than d1.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to light emitting diode (LED) substrate.
2. Description of Related Art
A conventional LED substrate is generally imprinted with a nano-patterned sapphire substrate technology to form a nano-pattern thereon, so as to increase light extraction efficiency. The nano-patterned sapphire substrate technology often uses a nanoimprint lithography process because such process is simple and quick and suitable for use in industrial production.
A concave portion of the nano-pattern formed by a conventional method for manufacturing a LED substrate does not have a sufficient depth, thus leading to unsatisfactory light extraction efficiency. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a light extraction effect within a conventional light emitting diode structure. A conventional light emitting diode structure has a conventional substrate 600 and a light emitting multi-layer structure 500. Depths of concave portions formed on the conventional substrate 600 may only reach to 300 nm, thus limiting the improvement of brightness. Because the depths of the concave portions formed on the conventional substrate 600 are not deep enough, after being generated by the multiple-layer-emitting structure 500, the light passes through the conventional substrate 600 along a direction 700 and resulting brightness reduction.


A prepackaged mounting assembly for securing a device, such as a ceiling fan, light fixture, or similar device to an overhead beam. The mounting assembly includes an L-shaped mounting box that includes a large side wiring cavity and an integral flange portion. A cover cooperates with the integral flange portion to provide a closure for the wiring cavity and a bottom flange for mounting a device-specific bracket thereon. The bracket includes slots therein and the integral flange portion includes downward extending alignment posts to enable easy centering of the manufacturer's bracket under the integral flange. The mounting assembly includes all hardware required to complete installation of the device including the cover, an initial fastener, and load bearing fasteners, which are all temporarily secured to the L-shaped box.

The present invention expands upon the concept of the prepackaged mounting assembly that is disclosed in and shares inventorship with U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,509,524, 6,632,998, 6,646,201, and 6,677,523. The prepackaged mounting assemblies disclosed in these patents provide all the hardware needed for attaching a mounting assembly to an overhead beam, including all required fasteners to complete the installation, without the need for an outer wrap or separate packaging to hold the separate components.
In particular, U.S. Pat. No. 6,646,201 provided an L-shaped mounting assembly that provided a large integral internal wiring cavity and also disclosed the use of an initial fastener for use in initially securing the mounting assembly to an overhead beam. By securing with the initial fastener, the installer's hands are advantageously freed to complete the remaining installation steps. Load bearing fasteners, which were held in temporary storage receptacles for shipment and storage, were then removed and driven into permanent receptacles and into the supporting beam to securely attach the L-shaped assembly thereto.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,646,201 included an alternate embodiment of the L-shaped mounting assembly, which was to be preferred when there was no provision in the mounting assembly for apertures for receipt of the load bearing fasteners or when the manufacturer's bracket included apertures extending beyond the side walls of the mounting assembly. This mounting assembly is installed initially with an initial mounting screw. The load bearing fasteners are then removed from their temporary storage receptacles and installed through the manufacturer's bracket and directly into the overhead beam to secure the assembly thereto. The load bearing fasteners are thereby installed outboard of the side walls of the lower junction box of the L-shaped mounting assembly and extend directly into the overhead beam. By moving the installation point of the load bearing fasteners outboard the side walls of the lower junction box, the alternate embodiment of the L-shaped mounting assembly could be used with virtually any oversized bracket provided separately by manufacturer's, including those for light fixtures, ceiling fans, or similar overhead electrical devices.
Although the alternate embodiment disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,646,201 provided enabled the L-shaped mounting assembly to accommodate an oversize manufacturer's bracket, it was difficult to align the bracket with the mounting assembly and the beam to which it was attached.
Accordingly, what is needed is an L-shaped mounting assembly that provides an arrangement for aligning a manufacturer's bracket for proper installation of load bearing fasteners into the supporting beam. The mounting assembly should also provide a large cavity for wiring connections. The mounting assembly should furthermore have the advantage of providing a mounting structure that is capable of being stored, shipped, and sold as a prepackaged unit with all covers and fasteners required for installation self-contained within the unit. The mounting assembly should further have the advantage of holding the cover and fasteners securely enough to permit storage, shipping, display and handling without the need for an outer wrap or separate packaging to retain the cover and fasteners with the assembly.


A liquid xylitol composition that is non-crystallizing at low temperatures comprising, at between about 65 and about 90 weight percent dry solids, xylitol, in an amount between about 65 and about 90 weight percent of the dry solids, and sorbitol, in an amount between about 10 and about 35 weight percent of the dry solids. This liquid xylitol composition is preferably non-crystallizing at between about 0xc2x0 C. and about 10xc2x0 C. A process for producing liquid xylitol compositions, comprising co-hydrogenating a sugar syrup mixture comprising a sugar syrup having a dextrose equivalence (DE) of between about 20 DE and about 99 DE, in an amount between about 5 and about 35 weight percent of the mixture, and xylose, in an amount between about 65 and about 95 weight percent of the mixture. This process may be used to produce liquid xylitol compositions that are non-crystallizing at low temperatures.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to xylitol compositions, and in particular, to liquid xylitol compositions that are non-crystallizing at low temperatures. The invention also relates to a co-hydrogenation process for producing liquid xylitol compositions, and a co-hydrogenation process for producing liquid xylitol compositions that are non-crystallizing at low temperatures.
2. The Related Art
The confectionary industry has long made use of xylitol as an ingredient in popular consumer products, such as chewing gums and candies. Xylitol has a sweet taste, a cooling effect in its crystalline form, and is non-cariogenic. The latter property provides a beneficial advantage of using xylitol, instead of sugar, as a sweetening agent. In fact, in some European countries and Canada, it is believed that xylitol actually repairs tooth decay. More recently, oral care companies also have begun to include xylitol in product formulations for toothpastes, mouthwashes, rinses, and the like.
Xylitol has been shown in many studies in countries outside the United States to have positive health benefits from reducing ear infections to recalcification of teeth. Many oral care and food manufacturers are exploring means to incorporate xylitol into their products.
Developers and manufacturers want the xylitol that they have incorporated into their products to remain in solution form. Many food products are stored at refrigerated and frozen storage temperatures, intentionally and unintentionally.
Xylitol is a sweetner that is as-sweet as sucrose. Crystalline xylitol, though, has a large negative heat of solution of xe2x88x9236.7 cal/g. When xylitol crystallizes in a product, the flavor profile changes and the product becomes cooling in the mouth, an objectionable characteristic in many products, such as toothpaste and fruit filings.
In many of its current applications in the confectionary and oral care industries, xylitol is employed in its crystalline (or dry) form. However, there are several disadvantages to using crystalline xylitol. Crystalline xylitol, being hygroscopic, quickly absorbs moisture and hardens, thereby making it difficult to handle. Also, the use of crystalline xylitol to produce an end product provides an added cost to that end product, since crystalline xylitol itself and its manufacturing process is expensive.
Recently, liquid xylitol has been proposed as an alternative to crystalline xylitol. The benefits of liquid xylitol are primarily in ease of handling and also potentially in cost, if the use of crystalline xylitol is avoided. Unfortunately, liquid xylitol has a tendency to crystallize out of solution, particularly at high concentrations on a dry solids basis. This makes it difficult to store liquid xylitol. Furthermore, the quality of end products can be diminished significantly. In oral care applications, for example, a crystallizing liquid xylitol will crystallize out of toothpaste and plug up tube orifices or pumps, or crystallize in a bottle or around a bottle cap in the case of rinses or mouthwashes.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,144,024 (the ""024 patent) discloses a non-crystallizing liquid xylitol composition having a dry solids content of 60-80%, wherein the dry solids are comprised of 50-90% xylitol and 10-50% non-xylitol monomeric or dimeric polyols. The non-xylitol polyols are selected from maltitol, sorbitol, mannitol, glycerol and mixtures thereof. However, unlike the present invention, the ""024 patent does not teach or suggest liquid xylitol compositions that are non-crystallizing at low temperatures. In fact, the ""024 patent discloses that liquid xylitol/sorbitol formulations at 70% dry solids comprising 70% and 80% xylitol, and at 65% dry solids comprising 80% xylitol, will crystallize after only two weeks at both 5xc2x0 C. and 10xc2x0 C. Because products are often transported through and/or stored in cold environments, it is desirable to have a liquid xylitol that remains non-crystallizing at low temperatures.
The ""024 patent teaches using a by-product stream from a xylitol crystallization process that is rich in xylitol, to make a liquid xylitol composition. In addition, the ""024 patent discloses that liquid xylitol can be made by mixing a solution of pure xylitol with a solution containing other polyols. However, as discussed above, crystalline xylitol is expensive. It desired, therefore, to have process for making liquid xylitol that does not use crystalline xylitol or employ a xylitol crystallization step.
Heretofore, it has not been possible to achieve a liquid xylitol composition that is non-crystallizing at low temperatures preferably below about 10xc2x0 C. It has also not been possible to provide a process for producing a liquid xylitol composition that does not use crystalline xylitol or employ a xylitol crystallization step.
An object of the present invention is to provide a liquid xylitol composition that is non-crystallizing at low temperatures of preferably less than about 10xc2x0 C. for at least about 3 months and preferably at least about 4 months. In one aspect, a liquid xylitol composition that is non-crystallizing at low temperatures comprises, at between about 60 and about 95% and preferably between about 65 and about 90 weight percent dry solids, xylitol, in an amount between about 60 to about 90 weight percent and preferably about 65 and about 90 weight percent of the dry solids, and sorbitol, in an amount between about 10 and about 40 weight percent and preferably between about 10 and about 35 weight percent of the dry solids. This liquid xylitol composition is preferably non-crystallizing at temperatures below about 10xc2x0 C., and more preferably between about 0xc2x0 C. and about 10xc2x0 C.
Another object of this invention is to provide a co-hydrogenation process for producing liquid xylitol compositions. In one aspect, the process comprises co-hydrogenating a sugar syrup mixture comprising a sugar syrup having a dextrose equivalence (DE) of between about 20 DE and about 99 DE, in an amount between about 5 and about 35 weight percent of the mixture, and xylose, in an amount between about 65 and about 95 weight percent of the mixture. The co-hydrogenating step takes place preferably at a temperature of between about 120xc2x0 C. and about 170xc2x0 C., and a hydrogen pressure of between about 200 psi and about 2000 psi, for between about 90 and about 180 minutes.
A further object of this invention is to provide a co-hydrogenation process for producing liquid xylitol compositions that are non-crystallizing at low temperatures. In one aspect, the process comprises co-hydrogenating a sugar syrup mixture comprising a sugar syrup having a dextrose equivalence (DE) of between about 20 DE and about 99 DE, in an amount between about 5 and about 35 weight percent of the mixture, and xylose, in an amount between about 65 and about 95 weight prevent of the mixture, to produce a liquid xylitol composition that is non-crystallizing at low temperatures. The liquid xylitol composition produced by this co-hydrogenation process is preferably non-crystallizing at between about 0xc2x0 C. and about 10xc2x0 C., and preferably comprises, at between about 65 and about 90 weight percent dry solids, xylitol, in an amount between about 65 and about 90 weight percent of the dry solids, and sorbitol, in an amount between about 10 and about 35 weight percent of the dry solids. The co-hydrogenating step takes place preferably at a temperature between about 120xc2x0 C. and about 170xc2x0 C., and a hydrogen pressure between about 200 psi and about 2000 psi, for between about 90 and about 180 minutes.
I have found that co-hydrogenated xylitol/sorbitol produced with hydrogenation process creates a means of introducing xylitol into a product, without the difficulties of incorporating crystalline xylitol into the product. Xylitol (in crystalline form) is difficult to work with because of it""s hygroscopic nature. Xylitol lumps during storage in its dry form and during incorporation. Xylitol (in its dry form) will crystallize out of products at low temperatures, creating objectionable textures in an ingestible composition such as but not limited to oral care products such as, but not limited to, toothpaste, mouth wash and embedded in the coating of dental floss and food products, such as but not limited to a form of confection, chewing gum and fruit syrup. The crystals will dissolve in the mouth and create an objectionable mouth sensation. Other co-hydrogenated xylitol/sorbitol sources can also crystallize out at cool temperatures, also causing objectionable textures and a cooling mouth sensation.
Other aspects of the present invention will be better understood and advantages thereof more apparent in view of the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments.

Low temperature non-crystallizing liquid xylitol compositions and co-hydrogenation processes for making same


An engine lubrication system simulating device is provided, having a reservoir configured to contain engine oil. The simulating device may also include an agitation device configured to agitate oil in the reservoir. In addition, the simulating device may include a circulation system configured to circulate oil between the reservoir and a reserve tank of an oil consumption measuring device and maintain a constant level of oil in the reservoir. Further, the simulating device may include an output port configured to facilitate removal of oil from the reservoir at a known, controlled rate and transport it to a location separate from the reservoir and the oil consumption measuring device.

Oil consumption can occur in an internal combustion engine in multiple ways. Oil consumption can occur when oil from the crankcase migrates past the piston rings into the combustion chamber and is consequently burned off during combustion of the air/fuel mixture. The byproducts of combustion, including the burned oil, are mostly carried away from the engine with the exhaust. Oil consumption can also occur as oil mist is carried away with engine blowby flows (e.g., when pressure within the crankcase is released by ventilation of crankcase gases).
One way of measuring oil consumption for an internal combustion engine may include using what is known as an "oil scale cart." An oil scale cart includes a reserve oil tank separate from the engine. The oil scale cart may be configured to pump oil from the reserve tank into the engine during the course of an engine bench test. Pumping oil into the engine in this manner can maintain a predetermined amount of oil in the engine despite oil being consumed during operation of the engine. The oil scale cart may include a device for measuring the weight of the reserve tank (e.g., a force transducer, a.k.a. "load cell"). As the oil is pumped out of the reserve tank, the scale measures the reduction in the weight of the reserve tank. Because the oil pumped out of the reserve tank replenishes the oil consumed by the engine, the weight loss of the reserve tank, ideally, may be equivalent to the oil weight lost by the engine.
In practice, it can be difficult to determine whether an oil scale cart is working properly. Although the load cell may be calibrated, the combination of a running engine with an operating oil scale cart is a dynamic system. Such a dynamic system may have variables that can influence the accuracy of the load cell measurement. These variables may include oil temperature, pressure in the engine crankcase, pressure in the reserve tank, the agitation of the oil, flow rate between the engine and the reserve tank, and the rate of oil consumption.
Systems have been developed to verify the measurements made by oil-scale-cart-type oil consumption measuring devices. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,273,134, issued on Dec. 28, 1993, to Hegemier et al. ("the '134 patent"), discloses an oil consumption measuring device having two separate measuring systems. The '134 patent includes both a load cell and a metering pump to determine the amount of oil pumped from a reservoir into the engine to compensate for oil consumption.
While the '134 patent may provide a system for verifying the accuracy of the oil consumption measurement, this verification system has shortcomings of its own. For example, the verification system of the '134 patent does not account for certain variables that have been shown to have an effect on the accuracy of oil consumption measurements, such as, for example, oil temperature, oil pressure, oil agitation, oil transfer flow rates (e.g., between the reservoir and the engine), and the actual rate of oil consumption. In addition, the system of the '134 patent provides no engine lubrication system simulating functions to facilitate determination of the effects that these variables may have on the accuracy of oil consumption measurements. Further, the '134 patent provides no troubleshooting or calibrating capability for diagnosing and/or compensating for possible inaccuracies with its own measuring systems. Also, the '134 patent requires additional equipment, such as a separate reservoir used to determine the level of engine oil in the engine being tested. This reservoir may need to be positioned at a particular height with respect to the engine in order for an accurate oil level to be determined, thus adding complexity to the system and its use.
The disclosed engine lubrication system simulating device is directed toward overcoming one or more of the problems set forth above.


A laser micro/nano processing system (100, 200, 300, 400) comprises: a laser light source used to provide a first laser beam having a first wavelength and a second laser beam having a second wavelength different from the first wavelength, with the pulse width of the first laser beam being in the range from a nanosecond to a femtosecond; an optical focusing assembly used to focus the first laser beam and the second laser beam to the same focal point; and a micro mobile platform (21) controlled by a computer. Also disclosed are a method for micro/nano-processing photosensitive materials with a laser and a method for fabricating a device with a micro/nano structure using laser two-photon direct writing technology. In the system and methods, spatial and temporal overlapping of two laser beams is utilized, so as to obtain a micro/nano structure with a processing resolution higher than that of a single laser beam, using an average power lower than that of a single laser beam.

In the past 50 years, lithography has been dominated the micro/nano processing technology. Since the conventional single-photon lithography is achieved on basis of its planar nature, the processing resolution is restricted by the optical diffraction limit. In order to achieve a higher resolution, the lithography uses the wavelength of the laser output from the light source from infrared laser to DUV KrF laser (248 nm) and ArF laser (193 nm), with processing method from the traditional laser lithography, to X-ray lithography, electron-beam lithography, ion-beam lithography, nanopattern transfer, and so on. These technologies may prepare two-dimensional or quasi-three-dimensional structures by plane method, probe method or modeling method. In order to obtain a higher accuracy and finer feature size, the costs for manufacturing and maintaining the apparatus are very high. Meanwhile it is difficult for the conventional technologies to obtain a micro/nano device with complicated structures. Therefore, there is a need for a flexible, efficient, and low cost method for fabricating a micro/nano device with high resolution and high accuracy.
Direct femtosecond laser writing is a new super-fine processing technology developed in these years. Femtosecond laser lithography confines the area of the reaction between the laser and the substance to a small scope near the focal point by the non-linear optical effect and two-photon absorption effect, and thus may achieve the three-dimensional fabrication with the resolution exceeding the diffraction limit and obtain the micro/nano device with the nano-scaled feature size. Femtosecond laser lithography has the beneficial effects of high accuracy, truly three-dimension and low cost. In 2011, Professor Satoshi Kawata et al. achieved a processing resolution of 120 nm with the negative photoresist SCR500 on the glass substrate by pulsed femtosecond laser at wavelength λ of 780 nm, and prepared a three-dimensional nano-bull structure, see Satoshi Kawata et al., "Finer features for functional microdevices", Nature 2001, 412 (6848), 697-698. In 2008, Xian-Zi Dong et al. at Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry, CAS, achieved a resolution of 50 nm on the glass substrate with the negative photoresist SCR500 using a pulsed femtosecond laser at wavelength of 780 nm by controlling the parameter of the laser, see Xian-Zi Dong et al., "Improving spatial resolution and reducing aspect ratio in multiphoton polymerization nanofabrication", Appl. Phys. Lett., 2008, 92: 091113. In addition, in 2007, Dengfeng Tan et al. at Beijing University achieved a suspended polymer nanolines with line width of 15 nm between the pre-formed cuboids by polymerization shrinkage effect, see Dengfeng Tan et al. "Reduction in feature size of two-photon polymerization using SCR500", Appl. Phys. Lett., 2007, 90: 071106. For the positive photoresist, in 2005, B. N. Chichkov, et al. achieved a processing resolution of 140 nm by using a diluted photoresist (g-line 51813, Shipley Company LLC), and prepared a three-dimensional hollow wood-pile structure, see Claude Phipps, "Laser ablation and its applications", Springer. 2007, 141-142.
Some scientists proposed to use two laser beams to further improve the resolution, one for inducing the photopolymerization reaction and another for confining the reaction with the material only at the center of the focal point of the excitation laser for initiating, which significantly breaks through the diffraction limit. Timothy F. Scott et al. achieved to confine the reaction area to a very small area of the focal point of the exciting light and obtained a processing resolution smaller than the diffraction limit by using one laser beam from all-solid-state laser at a wavelength of 473 nm to excite the free radical to induce photopolymerization, and using another laser beam from Ar ion laser at a wavelength of 365 nm to dissipate the free radicals around the focal point of the excitation laser, see Timothy F. Scott et al. Science, 2009, 324 (5929), 913. Linjie Li et al. achieved a longitudinal resolution of 40 nm by using near infrared laser at a wavelength of 800 nm, pulse width of 200 fs from the femtosecond laser to induce the material polymerization through a two-photon absorption, and using another pulsed laser at the same wavelength, pulse width of 50 ps to depleting the free radicals so as to control the degree and extent of the polymerization near the focal point of the exciting light, see Linjie Li, et al. Science, 2009, 324 (5929), 910. Trisha L. Andrew et al. tried to cover on the photoresist a photochromic film, which passes through a laser at wavelength of 325 nm and absorbs the laser at wavelength of 325 nm at the reaction area under the laser at wavelength of 633 nm from He—Ne laser, and use Lloyd's-mirror interferometer to interfere the two lasers and have alternate bright and dark interfere stripes, such that the laser at wavelength of 325 nm passed through the photochromic film in extremely small area reacts with the photoresist to achieve a lateral processing resolution of 36 nm, see Trisha L. Andrew et al., Science, 2009, 324 (5929), 917. However, the above mentioned methods are only be applicable to the materials that can be excited by laser and their excited state may be depleted, and are not applicable to other materials.
Furthermore, some scientists started to use femtosecond laser to induce the multiphoton reduction of metal ions to achieve micro/nano structures. In 2000, Pu-Wei Wu et al., focused the femtosecond laser into the metal ion doped transparent silica gel to reduce the metal ion to metal atom by charge transfer procedure from the excited state of silica gel having absorbed multiphotons to the noble metal ion, and thus prepared a three-dimensional micron helix, see Pu-Wei Wu et al., Two-Photon photographic production of three-dimensional metallic structures within a dielectric matrix, Advanced Materials, 2000, 12 (19): 1438-1441. In 2006, Takuo Tanaka et al. at RIKEN, Japan, prepared a tilt column and a bowl by directly reducing the silver ion in the AgNO3 aqueous solution with femtosecond laser and obtained a silver line of 400 nm with the resistivity as 3.3 times as the resistivity of the bulk silver, see Takuo Tanaka et al., Two-photo-induced reduction of metal ions for fabricating three-dimensional electrically conductive metallic microstructure, Applied Physics Letters, 2006, 88: 081107. In 2008, Shoji Maruo et al. prepared a silver line in the polymer by reducing the silver ion in polyvinylpyrrolidone with the femtosecond laser. By adjusting the concentration of the silver ion in the polymer, the resistivity of the silver line can be lowered down to as about 2 times as that of the bulk silver, see Shoji Maruo et al., Femtosecond laser direct writing of metallic microstructures by photoreduction of silver nitrate in a polymer matrix, Optics Express, 2008, 16(2): 1174-1179. In 2009, Yao-Yu Cao et al. at Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry, CAS achieved a silver line with the smoother surface topography by adding surfactant NDSS into ammoniacal silver solution and controlling the size of silver nanoparticles during the femtosecond laser reduction, the tomography and resolution of the silver line are significantly improved, see Yao-Yu Cao et al., 3D metallic Nanostructure Fabrication by surfactant-assisted multiphoton-induced reduction, Small, 2009, 5(10): 1144-1148. In 2010, Bin-Bin Xu at Jilin University prepared a silver line by adding Sodium Citrate into ammoniacal silver solution, which achieved a silver line of 125 nm with its resistivity as about 10 times as that of the bulk silver, see Bin-Bin Xu et al., Flexibly metal nanowiring on nonplanar substrates by femtosecond laser induced electroless plating, Small, 2010, 6(16): 1762-1766. However, currently fabrication of the metal micro/nano structure with femtosecond laser may achieve the resolution more than one hundred nanos, it is difficult to achieve a metal structure of nano-scale.
Therefore, there is a need to provide a laser micro/nano processing system and processing method which scans the material to be processed with the laser at wavelength matching the optical absorptive characteristics of the material so as to precisely control the resolution and the accuracy.
Normally, the glass sheet applied with the photoresist is placed on the micromovement stage of the femtosecond laser fabrication apparatus. The incident laser beam passes through the oil immersion objective and irradiates the photoresist from the bottom of the glass so as to achieve a small focal spot and the improved resolution due to the matching refractive indexes of the oil and the glass, and to protect the objective lens from damaging. Therefore, the conventional femtosecond laser technology is limited to process the photosensitive material formed on the glass substrate. Therefore, there is a need to provide a laser two-photon direct-writing technology which may process the photoresist formed on various types of substrates and may be applied in various application fields.

Laser micro/nano processing system and method

Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry of the Chinese Academy of Sciences


The present invention relates to polymeric articles that are colored using an unformulated heat stable black, blue or violet dye during melt processing, for example a melt spinning process. The process eliminates the need for acid bath dyeing of high melt polymeric materials. The polymeric articles are for example polyester or polyamide.

Due to unusually good mechanical properties, such as toughness, pliability, elasticity, and mechanical strength, polyamides belong to a class of high performance polymers with significant technical importance.
Polyamides are polar polymers with a high melting point of generally above 250° C. Only high performance pigments with outstanding heat stability can be used for coloring polyamides in a melt process. Since few organic pigments possess the properties needed to color polyamide, the availability of shades is limited. For this reason, large quantities of polyamide fibers are still bath dyed using special dyes like for example the acid dyes.
Many patents describe the dyeing of polyamide materials with dyes, in particular with acid dyes. For example U.S. Pat. No. 3,619,123 describes a process for dyeing synthetic polyamide fibers in the presence of one or more aromatic sulfonic acids to produce uniform dyed fibers. U.S. Pat. No. 4,438,140 describes salts of acid colorants and specified copolymers containing tertiary amino groups for its use in cosmetics. U.S. Pat. No. 6,136,433 describes melt-spinning a nylon fiber from a host polymer formed from a mixture of amide monomers and at least one hindered piperidine compound. A colorant is dispersed throughout the host polymer.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,374,641 describes a polymeric color concentrate for thermoplastic polymeric materials and solution dyeing of a nylon fiber. The color concentrate is prepared from a blend of a water or organic solvent-dispersible polymer and a soluble dye or pigment. The preferred polymer is a polyamide blend with a polyamide component having improved basic dye affinity, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,846,507.
Japanese Patent No. 60/162,881 describes shaped goods comprising of a polyamide and melamine derivative by immersing the shaped goods in an aqueous solution containing 0.1 to 1.5 wt. % of acetic or formic acid or ammonium sulfate at 40 to 45° C. and adding 0.1 to 1.0 wt. % of an acid dyestuff, elevating the temperature of the dyeing solution to 80 to 100° C. in 30 to 60 minutes and maintaining that temperature for 30 to 60 minutes then washing and drying the goods.
Japanese Patent No. 09-067781 describes black metal complex dyes and compounds having an absorption maximum at 650-800 nm for dying leather and fibers.
Polish Patent Nos. PL 147,938, PL 153,173 and PL 153,174 describe the manufacture of black 1:2 chromium-azo compound complexes for dyeing wool, polyamide fibers and leather, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,553,976 describes 1:2 chromium or cobalt complexes of azo dyes for dyeing natural or synthetic polyamide fibers.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,328,159 and 4,309,180 describe anthraquinone acid and/or fiber reactive dyes for dyeing wool and polyamide fibers or leather.
German Patent Nos. 4,408,526 and 19,518,849 and U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,033,445 and 4,309,180 describe anthraquinone compounds for dying synthetic polyamide(s), wool, leather and as printing inks.
Commercially available dyes that are used to dye polyamide articles in a bath dyeing process, are commonly formulated. That is, they contain additives and salts to increase the speed and color yield of the dyeing process. The dye concentration of such formulations is only about 40 to 80%. The resulting dyed polyamide articles, in particular the fibers need to be washed with plenty of water.
Due to the incompatibility of such additives found in dye formulations, commercially available dyes cannot be used directly in a melt spinning process to color polyamide fibers. Additionally, such formulations frequently manifest insufficient heat and light stability when applied by the melt spinning process.
None of the above literature describes the use of the claimed dyes for coloring polyamide in an extrusion, molding or melt spinning process. Surprisingly, it was found that selected dyes when used in their unformulated form can be advantageously employed for coloring polyamide articles, such as flocks, granules, wires, ribbons, foils, sheets, molded parts or fibers, in particular textile fibers like nylon-6 fibers in a melt process.
Thus, the present invention relates to a process for the preparation of colored polymeric articles having high processing temperatures, such as greater than 220° C., preferably greater than 240° C. and molded articles made therefrom by employing specific heat stable unformulated dyes in the melt process, for example the melt spinning process. Processing temperatures are the temperature ranges commonly provided by the polymer suppliers and generally do not exceed 340° C., more preferably 320° C. Thus, the selected dyes allow for the coloring of for example polyamide fibers in various shades very economically using the melt spinning process instead of bath dyeing.

Colored polymeric articles having high melt temperatures


Disclosed is a tape which comprises a non-tacky, free-standing, 90 to 100% imidized polyimide film containing 0.1 to 30 wt % of a solvent having a releasable film adhering to at least one side. The film is used to form coatings on substrate or as an adhesive to bond substrates together.

This invention relates to a tape that comprises a polyimide film having at least one releasable film adhering to it. In particular, it relates to a solvent-containing non-tacky, free-standing fully imidized film in the tape. Polyimide films are used in the electronic industry as coatings and as adhesives. For these purposes it is desirable to have films contain as little solvent as possible because the solvent tends to pick up moisture, which can cause the films to peel off.

Tape comprising solvent-containing non-tacky, free-standing, fully imidized polyimide film


Systems and methods for analyzing speech containing at least one lexical item, said analysis to determine an attitude of a speaker towards an entity, comprising determining at least one actual valence for the at least one lexical item by analyzing the at least one lexical item in context; determining the attitude based on the at least one actual valence; associating the speaker, the entity and the attitude; and wherein the at least one lexical item encodes attitude information about the entity.

It is sometimes desirable to ascertain the attitude of a speaker towards entities or events described in the speaker's speech. Some methods of attitude evaluation involve merely summing the number of spoken terms having positive versus negative connotations to derive a summary score. For example, positive words can be assigned a positive value while negative words are assigned a negative value. In this approach, the sum of the values would represent the (positive or negative) attitude of the speaker. This approach is too simplistic, however, since it does not discriminate between entities and/or events, some of which the speaker may view in a positive light and others the speaker may view negatively. Another limitation of this approach is that it fails to take into account the influence that context can have on nominally positive or negative terms.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Systems and methods for dynamically determining the attitude of a natural language speaker


A temperature controlled cryogenic package system for efficiently and precisely monitoring and controlling the operating temperature of a high temperature superconductor circuit placed on a substrate. The cryogenic package system comprises a heating element formed on the same substrate as the high temperature superconductor circuit, a control circuit capable of activating and deactivating the heating element, and a temperature sensor placed in thermal proximity to the high temperature superconductor circuit. The temperature sensor monitors the operating temperature of the high temperature superconductor circuit, and conveys temperature information to the control circuit. The control circuit activates or deactivates the heating element according to the warming or cooling effect that is necessary in order to maintain the high temperature superconductor circuit within a predetermined temperature range, where the range of temperature fluctuation is within plus or minus 0.1 K of a predetermined temperature.

The concept of maintaining a cryogenic environment within a predetermined temperature range through the use of a heating or cooling element is known in the art. In U.S. Pat. No. 3,667,246, a cryogenic load is maintained at a predetermined temperature range by regulating the temperature of a coolant. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,306,425, a biological object is maintained at a predetermined temperature range by regulating the temperature of a metal receptacle. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,712,607, biological material is maintained at a predetermined temperature range by regulating the temperature of a space for receiving such materials. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,848,093, the temperature in a cryogenic test chamber is maintained at a predetermined temperature range by regulating the temperature of a fluid supplied to the test chamber by a capillary tube. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,101,638, a magnetic field generator is maintained at a predetermined temperature range by regulating the temperature of a thermal shield surrounding the generator.
As disclosed by the prior art mentioned above, objects are typically maintained within a predetermined temperature range by using a heating or cooling element to regulate the temperature of the cryogenic environment or materials surrounding the object. While this approach is sufficient for maintaining the object within a relatively wide temperature range, there are certain applications that cannot tolerate such a wide temperature range, because these certain applications depend on high performance circuits that are very temperature sensitive.
An example of such a high performance circuit is a high temperature superconductor circuit. These high temperature superconductor circuits are very temperature sensitive, although they do exhibit desirable properties when cooled to cryogenic temperatures. The term "high temperature" is used as a relative term, and generally refers to temperatures above 30 Kelvin (K), and more particularly, refers to temperatures above the boiling point of liquid nitrogen, which is approximately 77 K. To put Kelvins into a proper frame of reference, 77 K is approximately -320.degree. Fahrenheit (F.). Thus, even these so called "high temperature" superconductor circuits operate at extremely cold temperatures that require highly specialized equipment and control techniques for optimum performance.
Cryogenic operating temperatures are typically achieved by using cryogenic coolants stored in dewars to cool the environment surrounding the object. For high temperature superconductor circuits, the use of liquid nitrogen as a cryogenic coolant provides an acceptable operating temperature of approximately 77 K, or -320.degree. F.
One highly advantageous benefit of high temperature superconductor circuits is their low resistance. This property results in extremely selective and precise frequency responses in resonant circuits. A result of this beneficial feature is that very narrow frequency bandpass, or bandstop, filters can be formed from high temperature superconductor materials. In application, bandpass filters are desirable because they provide more channels in a narrow frequency spectrum, and bandstop filters are desirable because they reject interfering signals in a narrow frequency spectrum. High temperature superconductor technology is used in various types of circuits from narrow band filters to systems such as down converters.
Along with the benefits of high temperature superconductor circuits, there are also drawbacks. For example, minor variations, fluctuations, or deviations in the operating temperature have a direct impact on the performance of high temperature superconductor circuits.
The reason that high temperature superconductor circuits are highly sensitive to temperature fluctuations is due in part to the temperature dependence of the critical current density, which defines the maximum current density that can be carried before the superconductor material becomes resistive. Another factor is the temperature dependence of the magnetic penetration depth.
The frequency response of high temperature superconductor circuits are sensitive to temperature fluctuations far below their transition temperature. Furthermore, high temperature superconductor circuits are especially sensitive to fluctuations in their operating temperature when they are operating near their transition temperature, which is the temperature at which a high temperature superconductor circuit switches between a state of normal resistivity and a state of superconductivity.
Moreover, minor fluctuations in the operating temperature can shift the operating frequencies of certain high temperature superconductor circuits, such as filters and resonators, by several megahertz (MHz), adversely affecting the performance of such high temperature superconductor circuits.
Thus, it is desirable to operate circuits implementing high temperature superconductor materials within a predetermined temperature range, wherein the range of tolerance is plus or minus 0.1 K, a range that is currently very difficult to maintain using prior art cryogenic temperature control systems that control the temperature of the cryogenic environment or materials surrounding the circuit. With many of the prior art cryogenic temperature control systems, the relatively wide temperature range that is precisely maintainable is intolerably high for the proper operation of high temperature superconductor circuits in certain high performance applications.
Therefore, a better solution is needed for providing a system and method for maintaining the object within a predetermined temperature range in a cryogenic environment, wherein the range of temperature fluctuations is preferably less than .+-.0.1 K, thereby allowing certain high performance temperature sensitive circuits to perform within operational specifications.

Temperature controlling cryogenic package system


A gas mask and breathing equipment with a breathing mask with a respiration gas outlet and a respiration gas inlet, to which a breathing bag as well as a filter and a fan are connected. The fan is designed to deliver ambient air through the filter and into the breathing mask. A volume sensor is arranged on the breathing bag and is connected to a fan control to reduce the delivery output of the fan with increasing volume of the breathing bag. So that only the absolutely necessary amount of ambient air will have to be delivered through the filter, an air distributing valve (12), is controlled via a valve control means (17) and an actuator (14) as a function of the signal of a carbon dioxide sensor connected to the respiration gas inlet (2). The exhaled air is directed from the respiration gas outlet (3) predominantly into the environment when the carbon dioxide content is above a predeterminable limit value, and predominantly into the breathing bag (7) when the carbon dioxide content is below the limit value.

Such a gas mask and breathing equipment has become known from European Patent Office Publication EP-PS 66,451.
In the prior-art gas mask and breathing equipment, the delivery output of the fan is limited to the extent necessary for breathing in order to save energy and to protect the filter by not delivering a needlessly large amount of air through it. The disadvantage of this prior-art gas mask and breathing equipment is the fact that not all the possibilities available for saving energy and protecting the filter are utilized.

Gas mask and breathing equipment with respiration air recirculation


A reference voltage generator has a first N type depletion MOS transistor configured to cause a constant current to flow, and a second N type depletion MOS transistor diode-connected to the first N type depletion MOS transistor and configured to generate a reference voltage based on the constant current. The first and second N type depletion MOS transistors have the same temperature coefficient of a threshold voltage. The first N type depletion MOS transistor has a buried channel into which arsenic impurities are diffused. The second N type depletion MOS transistor has a buried channel into which phosphorous impurities are diffused.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a reference voltage generator for generating a reference voltage within a semiconductor integrated circuit.
2. Description of the Related Art
A circuit used in a reference voltage generator in the related art is described with reference to FIG. 4. FIG. 4 is a circuit diagram of the reference voltage generator in the related art. A depletion NMOS transistor (hereinafter referred to as a D type NMOS transistor) 9 which is connected so as to function as a current source causes a constant current to flow into a diode-connected enhancement NMOS transistor (hereinafter referred to as an E type NMOS transistor) 10. By causing this constant current to flow into the E type NMOS transistor 10, a reference voltage corresponding to threshold voltages and sizes of the respective transistors is generated in the E type NMOS transistor 10.
First of all, a basic structure of the reference voltage generator is now described with reference to a schematic cross-sectional view of FIG. 5. The reference voltage generator includes a D type NMOS transistor) 9 and an E type NMOS transistor 10.
The D type NMOS transistor 9 which is connected so as to function as a current source includes a buried channel 12 so that the D type NMOS transistor 9 operates with a threshold value in a depletion region. In addition, a drain 17 is used as a power source terminal, and a gate electrode 13 and a source 16 are each connected to a reference voltage generation terminal. By adopting such a connection form, the D type NMOS transistor 9 described above functions as a constant current source. On the other hand, the E type NMOS transistor 10 which is diode-connected to the D type NMOS transistor 9 described above includes a surface channel 11 so that the E type NMOS transistor 10 operates with a threshold value in an enhancement region. In addition, a gate electrode 13 and a drain 15 are each connected to the reference voltage generation terminal, and a source 14 is connected to a ground terminal. That is, the D type NMOS transistor 9 and the E type NMOS transistor 10 are connected in series with each other. Therefore, when the D type NMOS transistor 9 and the E type NMOS transistor 10 are expressed in the form of an equivalent circuit, a circuit diagram illustrated in FIG. 4 is obtained.
Next, an operation of this reference voltage generator is described with reference to FIG. 3.
The D type NMOS transistor 9 described above operates as the constant current source. Therefore, for example, a drain current when a gate voltage with a grounded source is applied at regular intervals exhibits D type NMOS transistor characteristics 8 of FIG. 3 as transistor characteristics in this case. In FIG. 3, a threshold value of the D type NMOS transistor 9 is denoted by B, and the drain current is obtained at the gate voltage of 0 V. On the other hand, with respect to the E type NMOS transistor 10 described above, for example, a drain current when a gate voltage with the grounded source is applied at regular intervals similarly exhibits E type NMOS transistor characteristics 7 as the transistor characteristics. In FIG. 3, a threshold value of the E type NMOS transistor 10 is denoted by A. Here, the E type NMOS transistor 10 described above is diode-connected to the D type NMOS transistor 9 as the constant current source. Therefore, a gate voltage is required for causing a current to flow having the D type NMOS transistor characteristics 8 at the gate voltage of 0 V. This gate voltage is expressed by an output voltage C of FIG. 3 which becomes in turn an output from the reference voltage generator.
In the related art, as shown in Japanese Published Patent Application JP56-108258, the reference voltage generator is constructed in such a way that the D type NMOS transistor as the constant current source is operated in the depletion region by the buried channel, and the E type NMOS transistor diode-connected to the D type NMOS transistor is operated in the enhancement region by the surface channel. Here, the drain current characteristics for the gate voltage with the grounded source shown in FIG. 3 are especially important in the transistor characteristics. The drain current characteristics are electrical characteristics which are changed even by the change in temperature of the transistor. Because the temperature characteristics of the individual transistors constructing the reference voltage generator are different from one another, the temperature characteristics of the reference voltage generator are difficult to flatten over a wide temperature range.
In recent years, the improvement of the precision of an electronic apparatus has progressed, and the increased precision of an IC for controlling the electronic apparatus has been required. For example, in the IC, especially, a power management IC represented by a voltage detector or a voltage regulator, along with the miniaturization and the versatility of a portable apparatus to be loaded with the IC, it is required that even when a temperature is changed especially in the inside of the IC due to a change in ambient temperature environment, a reference voltage generator can generate a reference voltage with high precision, that is, temperature characteristics of the reference voltage become flatter.

Reference voltage generator having diode-connected depletion MOS transistors with same temperature coefficient


This invention relates to a nonwoven web and fibers comprising a water soluble polyamide and articles constructed therefrom. The water soluble polyamide may be used alone or in combination with conventional thermoplastic web and fiber forming materials such as water insoluble polyethylene, polypropylene, polyester and polyamide. The water soluble polyamide may also be combined with biodegradable or selectively dispersible material to form nonwoven webs and fibers having various combinations of properties. Such water soluble webs and fibers have utility in the manufacture of disposable absorbent articles such as disposable diapers, feminine napkins, incontinent products and cellulosic articles such as tissues and towels, as well as for water soluble heat fusible webs for the textile industry.

Melt blown and spunbond webs typically comprise insoluble and nondegradable polymer fibers such as water insoluble polyethylene, polypropylene, polyester and polyamide. Such webs are used in the manufacture of a variety of disposable products such as disposable diapers, feminine napkins, surgical gowns, laundry bags, bed pads, and the like. Such articles are designed to absorb and contain bodily fluids and/or provide a physical barrier to such fluids. Water soluble and biodegradable nonwoven webs may provide some solutions to environmental concerns regarding the disposal of such items.
Heat fusible webs are used for a variety of uses. In the textile industry, heat fusible webs are used to hold pieces of fabric, such as a patch pocket, in place prior to being sewn. These heat fusible webs are also used to create hems on pants or for a variety of ornamental craft appliques. Webs currently available for such uses are typically low viscosity at application temperature and insoluble in water. Upon activation with heat these materials often soak into the fabric workpiece causing the fabric to become stiff. Often the melted web soaks in to the extent that it fails to form the intended bond and reapplication is necessary.
A water soluble nonwoven comprising polyvinyl alcohol (PVOH) is taught in Dever et al., JP 59041260. Modifying the rate of water solubility of a PVOH based melt blown material using two different chemical treatments is described in the Development and Evaluation of Water Soluble Melt Blown Nonwovens, Dever, Benson, and Pair, INDA JNR, Vol. 5, No. 2, published 1993.
PVOH as a base polymer for the formation of a water soluble web suffers from several disadvantages. Due to its high melt point and poor thermal stability, it is very difficult to thermally process. An extruder, rather than merely a melt tank, is required to process the PVOH into a web. Additionally, once the web is formed, it has poor heat seal properties such that it would need to be heat sealed at temperatures that adversely affect the integrity of the substrate.
Water soluble polyamides prepared from an aliphatic dicarboxylic acid, a modifying acid, and an aliphatic diamine are reported by Fagerberg et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,882,090. The polyamides are useful as textile sizing agents, coatings, and adhesives. Column 4, lines 28-33 states, "The various methods of preparing polyamides are well known in the art as well as a number of polymers which contain ether linkages in the polymer chain. These however, are basically fiber forming polyamides and therefore not contemplated by the present invention."
Speranza et al., U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,053,484; 5,086,162; 5,324,812 and 5,118,785 are directed to certain polyamides having good water absorbency for use as fibers. Collectively, the polyamides taught therein either exhibit a high melt point, much like the PVOH, requiring an extruder for processing into a nonwoven web, or in the case of those polyamides having lower melt points, are disadvantageous in that the polyamides, once formed into a fiber or nonwoven web, tend to block. At column 1, lines 21-16 the 5,324,812 patent discusses that several nylon manufacturers incorporate polyoxyalkyleneamines into their products to modify the final properties. The polyether backbone of these components improves the comfort feel, wickability and dyeability of textile grades. However, no such compositions have been used to form a water soluble nonwoven web.
The Applicants have found that certain water soluble polyamides exhibit improved melting characteristics for manufacturing fibers as well as spunbond and melt blown nonwoven webs. Further, the resulting fibers and webs are water soluble, humidity resistant and nonblocking, meaning the web can be rolled upon itself and subsequently unwound without adjacent layers adhering to each other.

Fibers comprising water soluble polyamides and articles constructed therefrom

H. B. Fuller Licensing & Financing, Inc.


In one embodiment, a method is provided. The method of this embodiment provides determining if a management queue can be created, and if a management queue can be created, allocating virtually contiguous memory to a management queue associated with a device, registering the management queue, and creating a management queue context.

A system memory resident device management queue is a queue that may reside on a device for managing messages, and that may be managed by system memory. For example, a system memory resident device management queue may comprise a system memory resident device management queue to manage management queue elements. Alternatively, a system memory resident device management queue may comprise a system memory resident device completion queue to manage completion elements. Current implementations of system memory resident device management queues may not scale well to system memory resources.

Managing system memory resident device management queues