A method for producing a radiation image conversion panel containing the steps of: forming a stimulable phosphor layer on a substrate by a vapor deposition method to prepare a phosphor panel; hydrating the phosphor panel under a relative humidity of 30 to 60%; and sealing the phosphor panel with a moisture-proof protective film to prepare the radiation image conversion panel.

A radiation image such as an X-ray image has been widely applied in the medical field for diagnosing a disease. Specifically, a radiation image obtained in combination of an intensifying paper and a film has been improved to achieve a high sensitivity and a high image quality during a long period of history and as the result, it is still now being used in the medical field of the world as an imaging system having a high reliability and a high cost performance. Recently, a computed radiography (CR) employing a stimulable phosphor panel has been commercialized and the improvements in sensitivity and image quality have been further continued.
The above mentioned stimulable phosphor panel accumulates radiation passed through an object and then, with irradiating the phosphor panel with exciting light, the phosphor panel emits stimulated light of which strength is corresponding to the dosage of accumulated radiation. The stimulable phosphor panel contains a substrate having thereon a laminated stimurable phosphor. One of the examples of a production method of a stimurable phosphor panel is disclosed in Patent Document 1, in which a stimulable phosphor layer is formed on a substrate followed by a thermal treatment. (refer to paragraphs 0034 and 0035).
When a stimulable phosphor layer formed on a substrate is subjected to a thermal treatment as described in Patent Document 1, the moisture in the crystal of the stimulable phosphor is removed, resulting in an increase in the amount of light emitted from the stimulable phosphor. However, the emitting amount of the light is not fully increased only by conducting a heat treatment and it may be possible that the sharpness of the image is not fully enough or the luminance of the phosphor may be lowered.
Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Publication Open to Public Inspection (hereafter referred to as JP-A) No. 2003-279696

Production method of radiation image conversion panel


A cauliflower processing comprises pre-washing a cauliflower, including removing unwanted dust, residual, and debris from the cauliflower. Further, the method includes a step for washing the cauliflower with a wash solution containing at least one of sodium hypochlorite, calcium hypochlorite, organic acids, chlorine dioxide, silver ion, water treated with ozone, water treated with pulsed electric field, and water treated with ultraviolet radiation. Finally, the method includes a step for pulverizing the cauliflower, including at least one of the steps of sizing, grinding, sanding, cutting, dicing, chopping, and crushing the cauliflower.

Field of the Disclosure
The present disclosure describes processed cauliflower and methods of processing cauliflower.
Description of the Related Art
Raw prepared cauliflower packaged sales are currently estimated to be over $200 million dollars per year with a loss of 21% to the consumer due to cauliflower stem rejection, representing approximately $43 million in losses for consumers due to looks rather than due to function, nutrition or organoleptic properties. There is a need to improve upon the related art in the field of processing and packaging of raw vegetables, including cauliflower.

Processed cauliflower and cauliflower processing method


A magnetic reluctance device includes a casing, an inner pipe, a lead screw, a magnet, at least a protruding unit, and at least a metallic element. The magnetic reluctance device is advantageously characterized in that, at least a protruding unit protrudingly disposed on the inner wall surface of an inner pipe moves along a thread of a lead screw, and thus the lead screw slides and drives the inner pipe to rotate, such that it is convenient for a magnet to produce a magnetic drag between the metallic element and the metallic pipe of the casing. The magnetic reluctance device further includes an adjustment unit for altering the distance between the metallic element and the magnet to thereby conveniently alter the strength of the magnetic drag produced between the magnet, the metallic element, and the metallic pipe of the casing while the magnet is rotating.

In general, conventional fitness equipment increases and decreases the weight imposed on and perceived by users mostly by increasing and decreasing metallic weights, respectively. However, during the operation of the fitness equipment, frequent collision of the metallic weights and related components not only causes damage thereto and the related components but also adds to the maintenance costs of the fitness equipment.
In recent years, due to the development of magnetic reluctance devices, magnetic reluctance devices are applied to motors and fitness equipment. The fitness equipment equipped with magnetic reluctance devices not only enables users to perceive a weight by means of a magnetic drag, but also overcome the aforesaid drawback of the prior art, that is, frequent collision of conventional fitness equipment components. Nonetheless, conventional magnetic reluctance devices which produce a magnetic drag is not only structurally complicated but also disadvantaged by a drawback, that is, it is rather inconvenient to adjust the strength of the magnetic drag produced by the magnetic reluctance devices.


The invention proposes a terminal contact for electric conductors in an insulating housing (1) with electric contacts that are arranged in separate chambers (11), wherein a clamping sleeve (3) is in axial alignment with and connected to a slide element (2) that is also arranged in the chambers (11).

1. Field of the Invention
The invention pertains to a terminal contact for electric conductors in an insulating housing with electric contacts arranged in individual chambers.
A terminal contact of this type is required, in particular, for electric conductors that are realized in the form of stranded conductors.
2. Description of the Related Art
DE 101 45 324 C1 discloses an electric terminal element, the connecting end of which has a sawtooth-like structure, wherein a springable sleeve widened with the aid of a wedge can be pushed on this sawtooth-like structure.

Terminal contact for electric conductors

Abstract: A single-wire or multi-wire electric conductor that is inserted into a through-bore of the slide element and the clamping sleeve connected thereto is pushed over a stationary, rigid and barb-shaped terminal region of the conductor rail while the slide element is axially moved along the chamber, wherein the strands are clamped between the terminal region and the clamping sleeve.


The present invention provides methods for inhibiting cancerous growth of a cell using an antibody or an antigen-binding portion thereof which binds to an epitope of EphB4 polypeptide. Purified antibodies of EphB4 are also provided. The invention also provides methods for preventing or treating cancer. The invention also relates to methods of identifying agents that can inhibit cancerous growth of a cell.

Cancer describes a range of diseases, which result from dysregulated growth of cells of the body. Malignant cancers may develop from this dysregulated growth and subsequently spread around the body via the bloodstream or the lymphatic system, a process known as metastasis. Malignant tumours of epithelial tissues are the most common form of cancer and are responsible for the majority of cancer-related deaths in western industrialised countries. According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW), on average one in three men and one in four women will develop cancer before the age of 75 years (1). In men the most common cancers are prostate, bowel and lung and in women, breast, bowel and melanoma. Identification of genes expressed specifically in tumour tissues and not in normal tissues, and analysis of their functions are useful for identifying new targets for cancer therapy.
Several genes have been implicated in various cancers. For instance, oncogenes are known to code for receptors for cellular growth factor such as epidermal growth factor. The ras gene is an oncogene that is believed to be responsible for up to 90% of all human pancreatic cancer, 50% of human colon cancers, 40% of lung cancers, and 30% of leukemias. Mutated oncogenes can become cancer-causing genes. Such mutated oncogenes code for proteins such as protein kinases and protein phosphorylating enzymes that trigger uncontrolled cell growth. EphB4 is a recently identified member of the largest known family of receptor protein tyrosine kinases. Eph receptor family members have been identified to be involved in many cellular processes including neural development, angiogenesis and vascular network assembly (2-5). As a result of interactions with their ligands, the ephrins, they mediate contact-dependent cell interactions, which regulate cell functions such as contact inhibition, cytoskeletal organisation and cell migration (6, 7).
Although a number of anti-cancer agents including growth inhibitory molecules such as cytoxic compounds have been developed in an attempt to treat cancer, there still remains a need for providing effective methods for regulating cancer.

The Queen Elizabeth Hospital Research Foundation, Inc.


A dewatering aid for a slurry coating on a building product in which a coating formulation includes an hydraulic binder. A slurry is produced from said binder and dewatering aid and applied to the product to be coated. The resultant coating is then dewatered through said product. Dewatering can be accomplished with or without vacuum assistance.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to coatings and in particular coatings for building products and laminated building products.
2. Description of the Related Art
Any discussion of the prior art throughout the specification should in no way be considered as an admission that such prior art is widely known or forms part of common general knowledge in the field.
There are a huge variety of mechanisms for applying coatings to building products such as building boards.
The coatings can be divided into two main groups namely finishing coatings, which are intended primarily for aesthetic purposes, and functional coatings which provide some additional structural or other property/attribute to the resultant product.
The application technique depends to a large extent on the properties of the coating composition and base layer or product to be coated. Manual application and spraying etc are most popular but they restrict the types of coating to be applied and indeed the building product to be coated. For example, when using a spray technique, one must ensure the coating composition is of sufficient flowability to pass through the spray nozzle but at the same time, the base material to be coated must be sufficiently rigid to withstand the impact of the spray coating.
For certain building products, such as internal wall systems, a smooth surface finish is vital. Gypsum or plaster board is used almost exclusively as an internal wall board due to its excellent surface finish.
The use of fibre reinforced cement building board for instance as an internal wall board has significant advantages including cost and structural integrity as compared with gypsum board. However, some techniques for production of fibre reinforced cement sheets do not provide a gypsum like surface finish. In response to public demand, builders require an internal wall board with a near perfect surface finish. Even minute irregularities which arise from production of fibre reinforced cement sheets can be sufficient to reject the product. Sanding the surface of the FRC sheet has been used to improve its surface finish but in some instances such sanding can 'feather' or leave exposed the reinforcing fibres thereby exacerbating the problem.
It is an object of the present invention to overcome or ameliorate at least one of the disadvantages of the prior art, or to provide a useful alternative.

Coatings for building products and dewatering aid for use with same


A method for automatically calibrating the control system of a device for providing domestic animals with a feed. The feed or the constituents thereof are discharged from supply containers (2.1-2.5) into a mixing container (1) which is connected to an area (3) from which the animals can take the feed. The time at which the feed or at least one of its constituents is added is predetermined in the control system and the time required for a certain quantity (volume and/or weight) of the feed or of a certain constituent of the feed to reach the mixing container (1) is determined automatically at intervals. In the event that the desired quantity is modified, the time which is predetermined in the control system is also modified.

The invention relates to a method of automatically calibrating a control means of an apparatus for providing domestic animals with a feed which, or the constituent parts of which, passes/pass from supply containers into a mixing container which is in connection with a removal location.
The operation of providing domestic animals with feed nowadays mostly takes place automatically. This applies, in particular, to the rearing of young animals (calves, piglets, lambs inter alia) for which so-called automatic drinkers are used. In these automatic drinkers, constituent parts of the feed are mixed in a mixing container and supplied to a sucking location. The constituent parts of the feed may pass into the mixing container from supply containers or from corresponding supply lines. This term supply containers is intended to cover all possible means of supply to the mixing container.
It is precisely for the purpose of rearing, however, that the addition of feed has to take place very precisely in order to achieve a favorable fattening result. This means that the mixing ratio in which the individual constituent parts of the feed are mixed with one another in the mixing container, and supplied to the sucking location, has to be determined precisely.
Up until now, the total quantity and a fair number of individual portion quantities have merely been determined manually. This takes place at well-spaced apart time intervals and without any great precision. Irregularities which occur between said intervals cannot be detected and corrected. For example it is possible, with the addition of milk powder, for an outlet on the milk-powder-supply container to become gummed up at short time intervals since there may be high air humidity in the region of the automatic drinker. The milk powder is hygroscopic and narrows the outlet opening of the supply container by the gumming-up action, with the result that, over a certain time over which the outlet opening of the supply container is open, with a narrowed outlet, a relatively small quantity of milk powder passes into the mixing container. This means that the mixing ratio is no longer correct. If this is detected, then the corresponding outlet has to be cleaned.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,677,503 describes a calibrating method for volume measurement and an apparatus for implementing the method, in which, via a plurality of independent containers, different ingredients are supplied to common scales, weighed there and, following the weighing operation, supplied to a mixing container.
The object of the present invention is automatically to monitor the addition of a feed and, in particular, the mixing ratio of the individual constituent parts of the feed, and to adapt the supply of constituent parts of the feed to changed values.

Method for automatically calibrating a device for providing domestic animals with a feed


A progressively curved lumbar support located within the back of an office or home chair to enable a user to be seated close to a work surface (e.g., a desk or a table). The chair back tilts backwards and forwards when the user shifts his weight back and forth. The lumbar support includes a cushion back support manufactured from a resilient material that is responsive to a compressive force applied thereto when the user reclines against the chair back. In particular, a tilt pressure-responsive rod rides up and down over a pair of inclined guide blocks to cause the cushion back support to change its shape from a convex configuration at which to support the user's lower back and maintain a proper posture when the user sits erect and the chair back stands upright to a relatively flattened configuration when the chair back tilts backwards.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a lumbar support located inside the back of a chair of the kind which rocks back and forth, such as that commonly found in an office or home so that a user can be seated close to a work surface (e.g., a desk or a table). The lumbar support is adapted to progressively change its shape from an arced, convex configuration to a substantially flat configuration in response to a pressure applied to the chair back so as to provide support and maintain a proper posture of the user's back when the chair back stands upright and the user's back is erect and close to the work surface and when the chair back rocks backwards and the user reclines away from the work surface.
2. Background Art
A wide variety of chairs have been used in an office or at home to enable a user to be seated adjacent a work surface. In this case, the user can access a computer, a book, a writing pad, etc. which lays upon the work surface so that the user can work while seated. Some chairs are adapted to rock back and forth in response to the user shifting his weight backwards and forwards. With the chair rocked forwards, the user's back is located close to the work surface during which work can be accomplished. When the chair rocks backwards, the user's back is correspondingly reclined and tilted away from the work surface to enable the user to relax.
A common problem with such conventional office and home chairs occurs when the chair rocks forward and the user tries to hold his back erect and close to the work surface. In particular, even when the back of the chair stands upright, the back of the user is usually spaced forwardly from the chair back. Therefore, the chair back offers little or no support for the user's lower back throughout those times when the user is working. Consequently, the user's back posture may suffer and, especially during long periods of work, the user may experience lower back pain and discomfort. What is even more, when the chair rocks back, the back of the chair typically retains its initial shape and is therefore unable to adjust for an increased compressive force generated by the user leaning against the chair back.
What would be desirable is a chair which overcomes these problems to enable the user's back to be adequately supported by the chair back so that a proper posture is maintained and comfort is enhanced when the chair rocks forward and back. Reference may be made to my pending patent application Ser. No. 14/051,251 filed Oct. 10, 2013 for an example of a dynamic lumbar support located in the back of a chair to improve posture and comfort.

Progressively curved lumbar support for the back of a chair


An introducing device serves to introduce instruments into a living body. A trocar pipe is fastened to a housing. The housing contains two axially aligned channels between which a sealing slide is arranged. The slide has a passage opening that may be aligned with the channels in order to pass an instrument of corresponding diameter therethrough. In the slide, an auxiliary slide is provided that has a passage opening of smaller diameter. When the auxiliary slide is advanced in the slide, its passage opening gets into the area of the passage opening of the slide and reduces the same. Thus, the diameter of the passage opening can be adapted to that of the instrument used so that the location of passage is sealed.

The invention refers to an introducing device for inserting instruments, for example, laparascopic and laparatomic instruments, into a living body.
From German Patent 40 02 235, an introducing device is known for the percutaneous introduction of an endoscope. A housing includes a slide having an opening adapted to be made flush with a channel through which a trocar is passed. The body is punctured with the trocar projecting from the trocar pipe, whereafter the introduction device is pushed up to the housing. Then, the trocar is removed and gas is simultaneously introduced into the body through the trocar pipe. After the withdrawal of the trocar, a spring means pushes the slide is pushed into the closed position in which it closes the channel. Thereby, the channel is sealed from the environment. For a later insertion of an instrument through the housing and the trocar pipe into the body, the closing slide is manually moved into the opened position.
Instruments for insertion into the body via a trocar pipe may differ in diameter. In order to maintain the sealing, it is presently required to set reducing sleeves into the trocar pipe, which is troublesome and time consuming.
From U.S. Pat. No. 4,112,932, an introducing device with a trocar pipe is known, having two discs as a housing that are rotatable relative to each other about a common axis. The disc adjacent the trocar pipe has an opening and the other disc is provided with a ring of passage openings of equal size. Nozzles of equal diameter that are closed by rubber caps, respectively, branch from the passage openings. Each rubber cap is formed with a hole. For the adaptation to the size of an instrument to be used, a rubber cap with a matching hole size has to be selected. This device is complicated to handle. Since there is no closed housing, problems with sterility arise.
Patent Application WO 92/14414 describes an introducing device wherein an adjusting member is rotatably or slidably arranged within a housing and has a plurality of passage openings of different diameters that are selectively adjustable with respect to the openings of the housing for the sealed passage of an instrument. Thus, a passage opening of fitting size may be selected for every trocar or instrument, yet a larger number of passage openings of different sizes require very complex slide structures that are hard to realize.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an introducing device that is simple to handle and allows for a fast adaptation to instruments of different cross-sectional size.


A semiconductor memory device, having a test mode and a normal mode, includes a frequency multiplier and a test command sequence generator. The frequency multiplier receives a test clock signal in the test mode and generates multiple internal test clock signals, each of which has a frequency equal to a frequency of an operation clock signal in the normal mode. The test clock signal has a frequency lower than the frequency of the operation clock signal. The test command sequence generator generates at least one command signal in response to the internal test clock signals in the test mode. The at least one command signal corresponds to at least one operation timing parameter of the semiconductor memory device that is to be measured. The frequency multiplier may include a Phase Locked Loop (PLL) or a Delay Locked Loop (DLL).

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor memory device, and more particularly, to a testing method for the semiconductor memory device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, semiconductor memory devices are tested at a wafer level after being manufactured. When memory cells are identified as being of poor quality from the wafer level test, the memory cells are repaired. Then, the semiconductor memory devices pass through a packaging process to be tested at the package level, and semiconductor memory devices of good quality are the end product.
During the package level test, an interface distance for communication between the semiconductor testing equipment and the semiconductor memory device being tested is short. A high-frequency operation test is therefore possible. However, this is not the case during the wafer level test and thus a high-frequency clock signal for a high-frequency operation test is not properly provided. In addition, due to limitations of the testing equipment for the wafer level test, a high-frequency test cannot be performed at an actual operation frequency of the semiconductor memory device.
Therefore, from among various operation timing parameters of a semiconductor memory device, the wafer level test is performed only for limited parameters. Due to these limitations, defects may not be found in the wafer level test, and there is a possibility that defects not found in the wafer level test may also not be found during the package level test.

Semiconductor memory device and testing method of the same


A device to measure a phase shift of a step in a reticle is disclosed. The phase shift measuring device has a common path interferometer for receiving light from a light source and providing two point images separated from each other by an adjustable distance. A microscope having an objective focuses two point images to form two focused points along a reticle surface of the reticle. The reticle is moved between first and second positions, wherein at the first position, light beams from the two focused points enter the reticle surface, and wherein at the second position, the light beams from the two focused points enter a step surface of the step A detector receives light from the reticle for detection of the step phase shift.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to a point interferometer to measure phase shifts in reticles, and more particularly, to a common path image shearing interferometer that provides two point images with adjustable separation therebetween.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
FIG. 1 shows a reticle 10 which is used during the manufacture of integrated circuits. For example, reticles are used to pattern semiconductor material, which is later etched and processed to form various regions therein. Various types of lithography are used to pattern and etch semiconductor material, such as photo-lithography and phase shift lithography. During phase shift lithography, a reticle is used as a mask over the semiconductor material.
The reticle causes a phase shift of light passing therethrough. In particular, incident light 12 enters an entrance surface 14 of the reticle 10, passes therethrough, and emerges from an exit surface 16 as an exit light 18. Due to the thickness 20 of the reticle 10, i.e., the distance traveled by the light within the reticle 10, the phase of the incident light 12 is different from the phase of the exit light 18.
For use in lithography, the entrance surface 14 of the reticle 10 is patterned to have depressions or steps, referred to as phase steps 22. The reduced thickness 24 of the reticle 10 below the phase step 22 provides a phase shift of the incident light which is different from the phase shift caused by the thicker portion 20 of the reticle 10.
In particular, light 26 incident on the phase step 22 emerges from the reticle as a step exit light 28. The light 26 incident on the phase step 22 has the same phase as the light 12 incident on the reticule's main or entrance surface 14. However, due to the difference in the distances traveled within the reticle 10, the two exit lights 18, 28 have different phases. Thus, different portions of the exit light have different phase shifts, depending on the distance traveled in the reticle; light 26 entering the phase step 22 travels a shorter distance 24 in the reticle 10, than the distance 20 traveled by light 12 entering the upper or main entrance surface 14 of the reticle 10.
Manufacturing smaller semiconductor devices, requires a decrease in the areas of different phase steps of a reticle. The decreased areas and increased density of adjacent phase steps present difficulties in measuring the phase steps on the reticle. For example, an area of interest on the reticle may be less than a micron. To spatially resolve such small areas requires an optical interferometer operating at a high numerical aperture (NA).
Further, the wavelengths at which the measurement must be made are also decreasing, such as 190 nm. The small phase step areas and short wavelengths limit the choice of lenses and interferometers. This is because the lenses and interferometers must simultaneously allow deep ultra-violet (DUV) transmission and have a high numerical aperture (NA). Conventional interferometers cannot properly measure phase shifts when the phase shift areas or steps of a reticle are small and close together. Rather, conventional interferometers are used to measure the phase on the reticle using relatively large areas.

Point interferometer to measure phase shift in reticles


The invention relates to pharmaceutically important variants of the major allergen Phl p 1 from timothy grass, characterized in that a preparation, hitherto not possible, of monomeric molecules which are soluble and stable in physiological media can be carried out with the aid of prokaryotic expression systems and subsequent purification thereof.

Type 1 allergies are of worldwide importance. Up to 25% of the population of industrialised countries suffer from complaints such as allergic rhinitis, conjunctivitis or bronchial asthma which are caused by allergens of various origin present in the air (aeroallergens), such as plant pollen, mites, cats or dogs. Up to 40% of these type 1 allergy sufferers in turn exhibit specific IgE (immunoglobulin E) reactivity in the case of grass pollen (Freidhoff et al., 1986, J. Allergy. Clin. Immunol. 78, 1190-201).
The substances which initiate type 1 allergy are proteins, glycoproteins or polypeptides. After uptake via the mucous membranes, these allergens react with the IgE molecules bonded to the surface of mast cells in sensitised people. If two IgE molecules are crosslinked to one another by an allergen, this results in the release of mediators (for example histamine, prostaglandins) and cytokines by the effector cell and thus in the corresponding clinical symptoms.
Depending on the relative frequency of the allergy sufferers having IgE antibodies against certain allergens, a distinction is made between major and minor allergens. In the case of timothy grass (Phleum pratense), Phl p 1 (Petersen et al., 1993, J. Allergy Clin. Immunol. 92, 789-796), Phl p 5 (Matthiesen and Löwenstein, 1991, Clin. Exp. Allergy 21, 297-307), Phl p 6 (Petersen et al., 1995, Int. Arch. Allergy Immunol. 108, 49-54) and Phl p 2/3 (Dolecek et al., 1993) have hitherto been characterised as major allergens and Phl p 4 (Löwenstein, 1978, Prog. Allergy 25, 1-62) and group 10 and 11 from Lolium perenne (Ansari et. al., 1987, J. Allergy Clin. Immunol. 80, 229-235) as minor allergens.
Group 1, which includes Phi p 1 from timothy grass, is classified as one of the most relevant allergen groups of grass pollen (Tamborini, E. et al., Eur. J. Biochem. 1997, 249:886-894). The other representatives of group 1 from other grasses have homologies of in some cases more than 95% to Phl p 1 (Petersen, A., et al., J. Allergy Clin. Immunol. 1995, 95: 987-994). Owing to the high homologies, reactions to the allergens of other cross-reactive species also occur in the case of sensitisation with a grass. For this reason, these molecules are of overriding importance for corresponding diagnostic and therapeutic approaches.
On therapeutic use of these allergens, use is made of the reaction with T helper cells, where reorientation of the pathological TH2 cells into the TH1 type occurs. This causes a change in the cytokine profile so that B cells are stimulated to form IgG instead of IgE.
A classical approach to effective therapeutic treatment of allergies is specific immunotherapy or hyposensitisation (Fiebig, 1995, Allergo J. 4 (6), 336-339, Bousquet et al., 1998, J. Allergy Clin Immunol. 102(4), 558-562), in which the patient is injected subcutaneously with natural allergen extracts in increasing doses.
However, there is a risk in this method of allergic reactions or even anaphylactic shock. In order to minimise these risks, innovative preparations in the form of allergoids are being employed. These are chemically modified allergen extracts which have significantly reduced IgE reactivity, but identical T-cell reactivity compared with the untreated extract (Fiebig, 1995, Allergo J. 4 (7), 377-382).
Even more substantial therapy optimisation would be possible with allergens prepared by recombinant methods. Defined cocktails, optionally matched to individual patients, of highly pure allergens prepared by recombinant methods could release extracts from natural allergen sources since these, in addition to the various allergens, contain a relatively large number of immunogenic, but non-allergenic accompanying proteins. Realistic perspectives which may result in reliable hyposensitisation with expression products are offered by specifically mutated recombinant allergens in which IgE epitopes are specifically deleted without impairing the T-cell epitopes which are essential for therapy (Schramm et al., 1999, J. Immunol. 162, 2406-2414).
A further possibility for therapeutic influencing of the disturbed Th-cell equilibrium in allergy sufferers is treatment with expressible DNA which encodes for the relevant allergens. Initial experimental evidence of allergen-specific influencing of the immune response has been furnished in rodents by ejection of allergen-encoding DNA (Hsu et al., 1996, Nature Medicine 2 (5), 540-544).
Phl p 1 is a protein comprising 240 amino acids and an n-glycosylation site. The glycosylation fraction is 5% of the molecular weight, which, in the natural protein, is about 30-35 kDa (Petersen et al., Allergy Clin. Immunol. 1995, 95: 987-994; Suck et al., J. Immunol. Meth. 1999, 229:73-80). The nucleic acid sequence of Phl p 1 is known (Laffer et al., J. Allergy Clin Immunol. 1994, 94: 689-698; Petersen et. al., J. Allergy Clin. Immunol., 1995, 95: 987-94) and can thus be utilised for the recombinant preparation of the molecule.
Previous attempts to prepare the molecule by recombinant methods in bacterial or eukaryotic systems, such as, for example, yeast, in such a way that a stable monomeric form was obtained were, however, unsuccessful owing to its poor solubility:
In the case of bacterial expression, Phl p 1 is deposited as inclusion bodies (Vrtala et al., J. Allergy Clin. Immunol, 1996; 97: 781-7) and firstly has to be denatured before purification. The denaturing agent is subsesequently removed. However, complete re-folding of the protein into the natural soluble conformation has hitherto not been achieved (Andersson, Lidholm, Int. Arch. Allergy Immunol. 2003; 130:87-107).
One possible reason preventing the formation of a stable conformation could have been the absence of glycosylation. However, a stable Phl p 1 has not been obtained even in eukaryotic systems in which glycosylation is possible (K. Grobe, Dissertation, 1998, University of Hamburg).
Instead, a cause of the lack of solubility is assumed to be proteolytic activity, which results in self-degradation of the molecule (Grobe et al., Eur. J. Biochem. 1999; 263: 3340; Kirsten Gehlhar, Dissertation, 1998, Medical University of Lübeck, Germany). In addition, hydrophobic interactions between the molecules are also possible as a cause of the aggregation.
The object on which the present invention is based thus consisted in the provision of variants of the major allergen Phl p 1 from timothy grass which are distinguished by improved solubility at the same time as full retention of the therapeutically and diagnostically important immunological properties and which can thus be purified in pharmaceutically suitable form.

Variants of the major allergen Phl p 1 from timothy grass


A low-cost and practically useful method for preventing global warming by decomposing N2O wherein N2O contained in an N2O-containing gas to be treated can be decomposed at a relatively low temperature; and an apparatus therefor. That is, a method for preventing global warming comprising, in a process of thermally or catalytically decomposing N2O in an N2O-containing gas to be treated, dividing the N2O-containing gas stream to be treated in portions, preheating a portion thereof so as to exothermally decompose N2O in said gas stream to form a hot gas stream, and supplying the remainder of the divided gas stream to be treated into said hot gas stream to thereby continuously decompose N2O, so that global warming is prevented; and an apparatus therefor.

This invention relates to a method for treating a gas causing global warming and an apparatus therefor. More particularly, it relates to a method for preventing global warming by exothermally decomposing nitrous oxide (N2O), which causes global warming, into nitrogen (N2), oxygen (O2) and optionally nitrogen oxides (NO, NO2, etc.) and an apparatus therefor.
In the process of producing adipic acid, nitric acid is used as an oxidizing agent. It has been an accepted practice to release into the atmosphere nitrous oxide formed as a by-product in the formation of adipic acid from the oxidation of cyclohexanone and/or cyclohexanol with nitric acid.
However, nitrous oxide has recently attracted public attention as one of the gases causing global warming, though it is not as well known as carbon dioxide which is a typical gas causing global warming.
Nitrous oxide evolves mostly from natural soil or farmlands. Thus, the chemical industry causes only a small part of the nitrous oxide evolving on the earth. However, it is considered that the amount of nitrous oxide formed by chemical processes such as the adipic acid production process, which are artificial N2O sources, can be controlled. Therefore, attempts have been made in recent years to reduce, first of all, nitrous oxide generated from these chemical processes.
There have been proposed various methods for reducing nitrous oxide generated from chemical processes. Many of these proposals relate to methods for decomposing nitrous oxide (N2O) into nitrogen (N2) and oxygen (O2) and optionally nitrogen oxides (NO, NO2). These methods involve two main types for decomposing N2O, namely, thermal decomposition methods wherein decomposition is carried out by heating without using any catalyst and catalytic decomposition methods wherein decomposition is carried out by using a catalyst. Now, each type of these methods will be described.
Known examples of the thermal decomposition methods without using any catalyst include those proposed in, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,974,019, JP-A-61-257940, JP-A-5-339003 and JP-W-A-9-508346 (the term xe2x80x9cJP-Axe2x80x9d as used herein means an xe2x80x9cunexamined published Japanese patent applicationxe2x80x9d and the term xe2x80x9cJP-W-Axe2x80x9d as used herein means an xe2x80x9cinternational patent application published in the Japanese national proceedingxe2x80x9d). However, these proposals each suffers from unsolved problems as will be described hereinafter. That is, no satisfactory method for thermally decomposing nitrous oxide has been proposed hitherto.
That is, U.S. Pat. No. 2,974,019 proposes an apparatus by which N2O is thermally decomposed at a high temperature under elevated pressure (to 1692xc2x0 C., to 25.5 atm) to give NO2. However, a highly reliable material for this apparatus used to resist the high temperature and elevated pressure is not readily available and makes the apparatus highly expensive. Therefore, this method is used very little in practice.
JP-A-61-257940, which has been applied by the same applicant as in the present invention, discloses that when a discharged gas containing N2O is preheated and then heated, the thermal decomposition of N2O starts at about 900xc2x0 C. and N2O can be thermally decomposed at 1000xc2x0 C. or above. In the method of the thermal decomposition of N2O proposed in this document, it is necessary to control the total content of NO and NO2to be 10% or less in the N2O-containing gas to be treated. Thus, there arises a problem that an additional step is needed for controlling the discharged gas composition.
JP-A-5-339003 proposes an improved method over the above-mentioned JP-A-61-257940 for thermochemically decomposing N2O with a flame treatment in the thermal decomposition method. In this method, N2O is thermochemically decomposed in the presence of flame by the combustion heat of the flame. Therefore, it is feared that the thermochemical reaction in this method should be performed at a considerably higher temperature due to the combustion heat of the flame coupled with the decomposition heat of N2O. In this method wherein the flame is continuously employed in the thermochemical decomposition of N2O, it is unavoidable to use a considerably large amount of fuel for the generation of the flame. As a result, a large amount of a combustion gas is formed and, therefore, the NO and NO2 concentrations in the thermochemically decomposed gas are lowered, which brings about another fear that a large-scaled device (for example, an absorption tower) should be used to recover the NO and NO2.
JP-W-A-9-508346 proposes a method wherein the method of the thermal decomposition of N2O as disclosed in the above-described JP-A-61-257940 is improved in the preheating portion to thereby produce NO from N2O. That is, this document proposes a method for producing NO from N2O by heating an N2O-containing gas to about 400 to 700xc2x0 C. by using a heat exchanger, then heating the gas to about 850xc2x0 C. without a heat exchanger and using the combustion heat of a combustible gas, etc., thermally decomposing N2O in the gas at 1000xc2x0 C. or above, and then quickly cooling the gas thus formed to thereby recover NO. In the case of this method, however, it is needed to heat the whole N2O-containing gas to be treated to 850xc2x0 C. by using the combustion of a combustible gas, etc. It is therefore unavoidable to use a large amount of the combustible gas. Accordingly, this method suffers from the same problem as in the method proposed by JP-A-5-339003 described above. In this method, furthermore, it is feared that the temperature in the reaction chamber is elevated to a considerably high level, since a large amount of decomposition heat is generated in the reaction chamber from the N2O holding the combustion heat as described above. Regarding this point, it is described in the specification of this application that the temperature in the reaction chamber might be elevated to 1500xc2x0 C.
In the thermal decomposition reaction of N2O, the reaction by which N2O is decomposed into N2and O2 is an exothermic reaction. Accordingly, there arises a problem that the temperature in the reaction system, where N2O is thermally decomposed, is remarkably elevated due to the decomposition heat generated in a large amount. As the temperature in the reaction system is elevated, more expensive heat-resistant materials should be employed in the reactor and various devices for treating the gas discharged from the reactor (for example, a heat exchanger, a device for absorbing the thus formed gas, pipes connecting these devices, etc.). In addition, it is also feared that the maintenance of the equipment becomes more difficult thereby. In the conventional proposals as described above, however, no consideration has been given with respect to these problems accompanying the decomposition heat of N2O.
That is to say, no satisfactory method for thermally decomposing nitrous oxide has been proposed hitherto.
As examples of the catalytic decomposition methods with the use of a catalyst, proposals have been made by JPA-5-4027, JP-A-6-277453, etc. However, these proposals each suffer from unsolved problems as will be described hereinafter. That is, no satisfactory method for catalytically decomposing nitrous oxide has been proposed hitherto similar to the case of the thermal decomposition methods.
For example, JP-A-5-4027, which has been applied by the same applicant as in the present invention, proposes a method for catalytically decomposing an N2O-containing discharged gas into N2 and O2 in the presence of a copper(II) oxide catalyst. This document discloses that the reaction temperature preferably ranges from 400 to 600xc2x0 C.; that it is desirable in case of an adiabatic reaction to supply the gas while diluted with air, etc. into the reactor, since the temperature in the outlet side of the reactor is elevated due to the large reaction heat of the catalytic decomposition; and that the reaction heat of the catalytic decomposition is recovered from the gas as steam after the completion of the catalytic decomposition by using a heat exchanger or the heat is eliminated by diluting the gas with air, etc. after the completion of the catalytic decomposition. However, the treatment of the reaction heat with the use of a heat exchanger or a diluent gas, as proposed by this document, is accompanied by a problem, since the catalytic decomposition heat of N2O amounts to 19.5 kcal/mol. In case of, for example, catalytically decomposing an N2O-containing gas with an N2O concentration of 34%, a large amount of decomposition heat is generated so that the temperature is elevated by about 600xc2x0 C. after the completion of the catalytic decomposition reaction. To eliminate this heat by the method as proposed above, it is necessary to use a large amount of a diluent gas or a large-scaled heat exchanger, which brings about a fear of a greater cost for the heat elimination.
JP-A-6-277453 proposes an improved process for the catalytic decomposition of N2O. It is disclosed in this document that the outflow gas at the outlet of the decomposition zone is cooled and a portion of the thus cooled gas stream is refluxed into the decomposition zone so as to maintain the whole N2O decomposition zone at a temperature not higher than the maximum allowable temperature Tmax. However, this proposal also suffers from the problem caused by the reaction heat generated in a large amount in association with the decomposition N2O, similar to the case of JP-A-5-4027 as described above.
That is to say, no satisfactory method for catalytically decomposing nitrous oxide has been proposed hitherto.
The invention provides a method for decomposing N2O by which the unsolved problems encountering in the conventionally proposed methods for decomposing N2O, which have been discussed above in detail, can be solved to thereby prevent global warming through the decomposition of
Accordingly, the object of the invention is to provide a practically useful method and an apparatus for preventing global warming by decomposing N2O, by which N2O contained in an N2O-containing gas to be treated can be efficiently decomposed at a low temperature while efficiently controlling the N2O decomposition heat thus generated, and NO and NO2 can be recovered, if necessary, and which apply only a small heat load to a device for decomposing N2O and to other instruments, and need only an extremely small amount of heat energy supplied externally, and require only a low equipment cost and a low driving cost.
The inventors have conducted intensive studies on a method for decomposing N2O, in particular, a method by which the above-described problems in association with the N2O decomposition heat can be solved. As a result, the inventors have found out a method for exothermally decomposing N2O which is completely different from the conventional methods for decomposing N2O as described above and made it possible to solve the above-mentioned object of the invention, thereby completing the invention.
Accordingly, the present invention provides:
1. A method for preventing global warming comprising, a process of thermally or catalytically decomposing N2O in an N2O-containing gas to be treated, by dividing the N2O-containing gas stream to be treated in portions, preheating a portion thereof so as to exothermally decompose N2O in said gas stream to form a hot gas stream, and supplying the remainder of the divided gas stream to be treated into said hot gas stream to thereby continuously decompose N2O, so that global warming is prevented.
2. The method for preventing global warming according to the above item 1, wherein said exothermic decomposition of N2O is performed by thermal decomposition without using any catalyst.
3. The method for preventing global warming according to the above item 2, wherein the remainder of said divided gas to be treated is supplied into plural positions in the flow direction of said hot gas stream.
4. The method for preventing global warming according to the above item 2 or 3, wherein said decomposition of N2O in the gas to be treated is performed in a state of a substantially plug flow.
5. The method for preventing global warming according to the above item 2 or 3, wherein said preheating is performed by a direct heating system utilizing an oxidative exothermic reaction of a fuel.
6. The method for preventing global warming according to the above item 5, wherein said fuel is hydrogen or methanol.
7. The method for preventing global warming according to the above item 1, wherein said exothermic decomposition of N2O is performed by catalytic decomposition.
8. The method for preventing global warming according to the above item 7, wherein the remainder of said divided gas to be treated is supplied into plural positions in the flow direction of said hot gas stream and each brought into contact with a catalytic bed respectively.
9. The method for preventing global warming according to the above item 7 or 8, wherein the gas stream, immediately before contacting the catalytic bed, is a mixture with a diluent gas.
10. The method for preventing global warming according to the above item 9, wherein said diluent gas is air and/or the gas, which has been subjected to the catalytic decomposition of N2O in the gas to be treated.
11. The method for preventing global warming according to the above item 9, wherein the gas having been subjected to the catalytic decomposition of N2O in the gas to be treated is cooled and then used as the diluent gas.
12. The method for preventing global warming according to the above item 7, 8, 10 or 11, wherein said preheating is performed by mixing the gas to be treated and/or the diluent gas with steam formed by reacting hydrogen and oxygen using a noble metal catalyst.
13. An apparatus for preventing global warming by thermally decomposing N2O in an N2O-containing gas, comprising:
(a) an introduction portion for the N2O-containing gas to be treated;
(b) a preheating portion for the thus introduced gas to be treated;
(c) a thermal decomposition portion adjacent to the preheating portion, said thermal decomposition portion having means for supplying the gas to be treated, said supplying means being provided at one or more positions in the flow direction of a gas stream; and
(d) a discharging portion for the thermally decomposed gas.
14. The apparatus for preventing global warming according to the above item 13, wherein said preheating portion is having means of fuel combustion.
15. The apparatus for preventing global warming according to the above item 14, wherein the temperature of the gas stream at the outlet of said discharging portion is controlled to a constant level by controlling the amount of the fuel fed into said fuel-combustion means.
16. The apparatus for preventing global warming according to the above item 13, 14 or 15, wherein said thermal decomposition portion has a porous plate and/or a multi-pipe nozzle in front of and/or at the back of at least one means for supplying the gas to be treated.
17. The apparatus for preventing global warming according to the above item 13, 14 or 15, wherein said porous plate, multi-pipe nozzle and/or inlet of the gas to be treated are located in such a manner that the gas stream flowing towards the means for supplying the gas to be treated flows as a rotary stream.
18. An apparatus for preventing global warming by Bringing N2O in an N2O-containing gas into contact with a catalytic bed to thereby catalytically decompose N2O, comprising:
(a) an introduction portion for the gas to be treated and/or a diluent gas;
(b) a mixing portion for the gas to be treated and/or the diluent gas;
(c) a mixing portion having one or more means for supplying the gas to be treated and/or the diluent gas at different positions in the longitudinal direction of the apparatus;
(d) a catalytic decomposition portion having the catalytic bed; and
(e) a discharging portion for the catalytically decomposed gas.
19. An apparatus for preventing global warming by catalytic decomposition of N2O in an N2O-containing gas, comprising:
a device which comprises:
(a) an introduction portion for the gas to be treated and/or a diluent gas;
(b) a mixing portion for the gas to be treated and/or the diluent gas;
(c) a catalytic decomposition portion having a catalytic bed; and
(d) a discharging portion for the catalytically decomposed gas; and
one or more devices each of which comprises:
(e) an introduction portion for the discharged gas having been catalytically decomposed, the gas to be treated and/or a diluent gas;
(f) a mixing portion for the discharged gas having been catalytically decomposed, the gas to be treated and/or the diluent gas;
(g) a catalytic decomposition portion having a catalytic bed; and
(h) a discharging portion for the catalytically decomposed gas.
20. The apparatus for preventing global warming according to the above item 18 or 19, wherein said mixing portion for the gas to be treated and/or the diluent gas involves a preheating portion for the gas to be treated and/or the diluent gas.
21. A process for producing adipic acid with reduced release of N2O that causes global warming, comprising:
(1) a nitric acid-oxidation step in which cyclohexanol land/or cyclohexanone are oxidized with nitric acid to form adipic acid;
(2) a nitric acid recovery step in which HNO3 is recovered from an N2O-containing gas caused in the nitric acid-oxidation step;
(3) a N2O decomposition step in which the remaining N2O-containing gas stream to be treated, from which HNO3 has been recovered, is divided, a portion thereof is preheated to exothermally decompose N2O in the gas stream to form a hot gas stream, and the remainder of the divided gas stream to be treated is supplied into said hot gas stream to thereby continuously decompose N2O; and
(4) a N2O decomposition heat recovery step in which the N2O decomposition heat emitted from the N2O decomposition step is recovered.

Method and apparatus for decomposing N2O


A transponder located for example in a contactless smart card receives energy via an antenna (L2) from a high-frequency alternating field. A voltage (Udd) formed with a rectifier (12) is fed as a control quantity to a clock generator (14) with a clock frequency adjusting device. At high field strength on the antenna, the voltage (Udd) is adjusted downwards by increasing the clock frequency for a digital circuit (10). If no further increase of clock frequency of the clock signal (CLK) is possible, a charge pump (16) is connected for an EPROM (18) in order to increase the writing speed thereof. Optionally, a conventional shunt regulator can be connected as well. An interface circuit (20) is not affected by the adjusted clock frequency, but works at fixed frequency during communication with a reader.

This invention relates to a transponder, in particular a transponder for a contactless smart card. The term "transponder" refers here to an assembly comprising an antenna and an electronic circuit, in particular in the form of a chip, the energy required for operating the chip as well as data being received via the antenna formed as a coil. Such transponders are used in contactless smart cards, in labels provided on goods, in keys, particularly auto keys as immobilizers, and—usually incorporated in glass or porcelain capsules—in animal bodies for identification.
Said transponders are designed for unidirectional or bidirectional data exchange with an external device, referred to here as a reader. The reader radiates a high-frequency magnetic field via an antenna, the transponder taking energy from the magnetic field via a large-surface coil in fairly close proximity to the reader. At the same time as it absorbs energy, the transponder derives a clock signal. The structure and operation of such transponders is described extensively in the prior art, reference being made for example to US-C 5 841 123, the article "Kontaktlose Chipkarten" by Klaus Finkenzeller, Funkschau 19/98, pp. 40–43, and Klaus Finkenzeller, RFID-Handbuch, Carl Hanser Verlag, Munich/Vienna, 1999.
In order to facilitate the understanding of the invention, the basic features of a transponder will be explained in the following, being set forth later in more detail with reference to the description of the figures.
A reader radiates a high-frequency magnetic field of e.g. 13.56 MHz via an antenna. If the antenna of a transponder is located in said magnetic field, energy is coupled into the transponder due to the negative feedback between the two antennas. Electric power available to the transponder is proportional to magnetic field strength on the antenna. Field strength on the transponder is in inverse proportion to distance (1/x3) from the reader and thus varies very greatly in the working condition.
The microchip requires a constant supply voltage, operation being effected at a constant clock frequency. At very short distances between reader and transponder, the voltage induced in the transponder would exceed the required supply voltage if no countermeasures were taken. A shunt regulator is therefore switched in parallel with the load for converting excess power into heat to keep the supply voltage constant in the case of increased induced voltage in the transponder.

Transponder, especially for a contactless chip card


The invention relates to a semiconductor wafer (1) having a plurality of first sawing regions (201-211) running parallel to one another in a first direction (X) and a plurality of second sawing regions (301-311) running parallel to one another in a second direction (Y), having useful regions (10) which in each case contain an integrated circuit (100) and which are in each case arranged between respective adjacent first sawing regions (201-211) and respective adjacent second sawing regions (301-311), and at least one test structure region arranged in the first sawing regions (201-211) and the second sawing regions (301-311) with test structures formed therein for checking electrical parameters of semiconductor elements. Connection contacts (51-54) connected to the test structures are provided in the test structure region, which connection contacts form a first row (R1) and a second row (R2), which in each case run in a longitudinal direction (L) and are offset relative to one another in the longitudinal direction (L) and transversely with respect to the longitudinal direction (L).

A semiconductor wafer, also referred to as wafer, is usually used for fabricating semiconductor circuits. The wafer is subjected to a number of processing steps in order to form the semiconductor circuits.
After all the processing steps have been carried out, the wafer contains a large number of semiconductor circuits of identical type. These semiconductor circuits are arranged in rows and columns. The rows run in a first direction and the columns run in a second direction running transversely with respect to the first direction. The semiconductor circuits of a row are arranged at regular intervals along the first direction. The semiconductor circuits of a column are arranged at regular intervals along the second direction. The wafer contains a two-dimensional array of semiconductor circuits.
As illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 5,838,163, which is incorporated herein by reference, by way of example, a wafer additionally comprises first sawing regions, which extend over the wafer in the first direction, and second sawing regions, which extend over the wafer in the second direction and cross the first sawing regions. A respective one of the semiconductor circuits is arranged between respective adjacent first sawing regions and respective adjacent second sawing regions. The first sawing regions and the second sawing regions together form the sawing frame or scribing frame, which is also referred to as kerf.
For singulating the semiconductor circuits, the wafer is sawn up along separating regions, which in each case run within a first sawing region or within a second sawing region through the wafer. A large part of the sawing frame is thus destroyed during the singulation of the semiconductor circuits.
Test structures are often formed within the sawing frame, for example additional semiconductor components or semiconductor circuits. Measurements are carried out on the test structures during the fabrication of the wafer. For making contact with the test structures, connection contacts that are conductively connected to the test structures are formed in the sawing frame. By way of example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,059,899, which is incorporated herein by reference, describes test circuits arranged in the sawing frame and connection contacts connected to the test circuits.
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2003/0034558 A1, which is incorporated herein by reference, describes an arrangement of test structures for identifying latent defects of a multilayer wiring structure that is formed on a semiconductor wafer. The test structures are arranged within sawing regions running along a first direction. One portion of the test structures is arranged in a first row, and a further portion of the test structures is arranged in a second row, the first row and the second row being offset along a second direction running transversely with respect to the first direction. First connection elements and second connection elements of individual test structures are arranged offset.
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2003/0006795 A1, which is incorporated herein by reference, describes test element groups (TEG) arranged in sawing regions of a semiconductor substrate. The TEGs are arranged between guard bands (GB). Each individual TEG comprises a respective source, drain and gate contact. The source, drain and gate contacts are arranged in a respective row running along the GBs, the row in which the gate contacts are arranged being offset along a second direction, which runs transversely with respect to the direction prescribed by the GBs, relative to the rows in which the source and drain contacts are arranged.
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2001/0035762 A1, which is incorporated herein by reference, discloses an arrangement of MIS transistors arranged in sawing regions of a semiconductor wafer. Each MIS transistor comprises source, drain and gate contacts, the source and drain contacts being arranged in a first row running along a first direction, and the gate contacts being arranged in a second row running along the first row, and the second row being offset along a second direction running transversely with respect to the first direction.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,124,143, which is incorporated herein by reference, describes an arrangement of a process monitoring construction, in which bonding pads are arranged at the periphery of an integrated circuit. Sawing regions are arranged between the bonding pads of adjacent integrated circuits, supplementary metal lines that are used for test purposes running between the bonding pads and the sawing regions. The supplementary metal lines are connected to a process monitor situated on the integrated circuit.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,177,733 B1, which is incorporated herein by reference, describes a test arrangement in which five electrode pads are arranged in such a way that four of the electrode pads form a rectangle and the fifth electrode pad is situated in the center of the rectangle. A multiplicity of semiconductor elements are arranged between the electrode pads and connected to each of the five electrode pads.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,923,047, which is incorporated herein by reference, describes an arrangement of test pads arranged in sawing regions of a semiconductor wafer. A first portion of the test pads is arranged in a row running along a sawing region. A further portion of the test pads is arranged in a row likewise running along the sawing region, the second row being offset along a direction running transversely with respect to the direction of the sawing region. Each test pad is connected to a respective pad situated on a chip.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,627,101, which is incorporated herein by reference, describes test structures arranged in sawing regions of a wafer. The test structures in each case have two first pads—arranged in a first row running along a first direction—for applying a current to the test structure. Furthermore, the test structure comprises two second pads for measuring a voltage, which are arranged in a second row, which runs along the first direction, and in the case of which a connection contact of the first row and a connection contact of the second row have edges that overlap as seen in the first direction.
Contact is made with the test structures by placing test needles of a needle card onto the connection contacts. The test needles are usually arranged in a row on the needle card. The tips of two adjacent test needles in each case have a standard spacing of 80 μm. The connection contacts in the sawing frame are likewise arranged in a row. In this case, a longitudinal direction of the row runs along the first direction or along the second direction of the sawing regions. The front edges—relative to the longitudinal direction—of adjacent connection contacts in each case have the same spacing as the tips of adjacent test needles.
The area of the sawing region is always chosen to be as small as possible in order to make as much area of the wafer as possible available for the semiconductor circuits of the chips. Nevertheless, as many test structures and connection contacts for making contact with the test structures as possible are to be arranged in the sawing region. In this case, the area requirement for the connection contacts is usually higher than the area requirement for the test structures.
During the measurement of an electrical parameter, a predetermined current flows through the cross-sectional area of a test needle. A heating of the test needle is dependent on the current density relative to the cross-sectional area. A test needle with a smaller cross-sectional area is, therefore, heated to a greater extent by the same current than a test needle with a larger cross-sectional area. This means that the cross-sectional area of the test needle cannot be reduced all that much if excessively great heating of the test needle is to be avoided.
The connection contacts are compressed into their width somewhat upon placement of the test needles. This means that the distance between mutually facing edges of adjacent connection contacts cannot be reduced all that much if a short circuit of the adjacent connection contacts upon placement of the test needles is to be avoided.


A telephone comprises a housing with a plurality of coverable control keys at the front and a cover that can be moved between a closed position in which said control keys are covered and an open position in which the control keys are accessible for operation. If desired, the cover and the housing can include an angle of approximately 90.degree. in this position, so that the telephone can be put on a table or on another flat surface in an upright position. In addition to being pivotable, the cover is movable parallel to the housing between the closed position and a moved intermediate position, from which intermediate position the cover can be pivoted to the open position.

The invention relates to a telephone with a housing that comprises a plurality of coverable control keys at the front and a cover movable between a closed position in which said control keys are covered and an open position in which the cover is flapped down around a pivot axis near to an edge of the housing, in which open position said control keys are accessible for operation.
Telephones of this type are known in various embodiments (EP 0 492 748 A2; Japanese published patent application 3-244182). The microphone of the telephone is known to be accommodated in the flap-down flap. The flap has for its object to minimize the dimensions of the telephone during the time the telephone is not used. It further has for its object to provide a protection of the control keys which cannot be depressed inadvertently due to the presence of the flap and in closed position of the flap.
A drawback of telephones of above type is that the flap is relatively vulnerable also in closed position. The flap is pivoted exclusively along an edge of the housing. The length of the flap in said known telephones is larger than the width of the flap, so that a relatively large lever arm is present for forces exerted near to the free end of the flap. Another drawback is that minor forces are already sufficient to open the flap, that is, partly, so that the flap is easily caught on an object, for example when the telephone is put away in the inside pocket of a piece of garment or in a bag.


A socket to be received in the opening in the head of a low profile ratchet wrench. The ratchet wrench has an annular lip formed partially circumferentially about the opening in the head. The socket has a first axial portion and an integral second axial portion. An opening which has surfaces to engage a fastener is formed in the first axial portion. An opening is formed in the second axial portion which communicates with the opening in the first axial portion. A ratchet gear is formed externally on the second axial portion. The socket is resiliently retained in the opening and is manually insertable and removable from the ratchet wrench. A set of sockets is provided, each having a ratchet gear of the same cross section and each having an opening in the first axial portion which is of a different size to engage a fastener of a predetermined size. An adapter is provided to permit the use of ratchet wrench with conventional sockets and accessories.

The present invention relates to a ratchet wrench and, more particularly, to a socket having a gear formed on an external portion thereof for use in a low profile wrench.
It is highly desirable to have a ratchet wrench to rapidly tighten and loosen fasteners and to do so without removing the wrench from the fastener. It is particularly advantageous for the ratchet wrench to have a low profile wherein the wrench is more easily used in confined spaces where the height of the combined wrench head and attached socket are factors in being able to tighten and/or loosen a fastener.
Low profile ratcheting wrenches are disclosed in the following:
______________________________________ U.S. Pat. No. Inventor(s) ______________________________________ 747,500 Murch 896,607 Zeller Re 19,341 McNaught et al 2,570,779 Dodge et al 2,708,855 Fish 3,349,653 Kaufman et al 3,742,788 Priest ______________________________________
These wrenches further include a drive member having teeth around an outer periphery, the drive member engaging the fastener. In this manner, these wrenches differ from the more conventional ratchet wrench which have a gear formed with an external tang and a socket fitted to the tang so that the socket engages the fastener. However, a major disadvantage of these devices in that there are no interchangeable sockets or means to use the wrench with fasteners of differing sizes. The wrenches are useful with only one size fastener and a separate wrench must be used for a fastener of a different size.
The following disclose a wrench having teeth on the exterior of the drive gear with replaceable sockets or means to use the wrench with fasteners of different sizes.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,300,479 to Wilson, discloses interchangeable heads. The heads are replaced by removal of a spring actuated pin from a bore. The lower end of the head is provided with an annular ring of ratchet teeth adapted to engage and cooperate with ratchet teeth formed on the circular lip of a bore in the body member.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,515,044 to Harstad discloses a ratchet wrench sized to fit in an opening in the head. Ratchet teeth are located in a groove around the periphery of the cylinder and a pawl engages the ratchet teeth. A selected socket is inserted in the head opposite to a lip and the pawl lever is cleared from the cylindrical opening. When the pawl lever is released, the pawl engages the ratchet and retains the cylinder in the head.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,561,329 to Lock discloses a ratchet wrench having a drum with multiple drum teeth on an outer periphery and a tang drive recessed in the drum. The drum is retained with a ratchet drum ring. Conventional sockets are fitted to the drive tang.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,562,757 to Furey discloses a high torque socket open-ended ratchet wrench with a split ring-like socket head and expandable yoke. Secured to each socket member is a curved ratchet which, in combination, define a continuous ratchet wheel. Each curved ratchet includes a series of teeth for engaging a pawl carried on the fixed yoke member.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,991,468 to Lee discloses a drive wheel having peripheral teeth on the outer surface which are engaged by a pawl and inner axial teeth about an opening in the drive wheel. A plurality of sockets are provided, each having peripheral teeth cooperating with the inner axial teeth of the drive wheel and retained in the wrench by a pair of ring detents. The replaceable sockets have teeth internally and externally.
The following disclose wrenches which have teeth around the periphery of a socket.
Cummings et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,111,077 disclose a sprocket formed with teeth on the outer periphery which is rotatably held in apertures between head portions.
Shiel, U.S. Pat. No. 4,328,720 discloses a socket wrench and set wherein a hollow drive ring is retained in the annular head with a through opening and is rotatable in both directions. It has a ratcheted outer peripheral portion with teeth and an interior female drive ring portion with a prismatic driving inner periphery at one end and a circular cylindrical inner periphery at the other end joined by a flat shelf. A ratcheted pawl is pivotly mounted on the handle for engagement with the ratcheted outer peripheral portion. A series of removable sockets is provided. Each removable socket has corner edges crossed by recesses to permit engagement by a retention ring which is received in an annular recess within the drive ring.
Anderson et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,993,288 disclose a power driven replacement socket ratchet wrench. The sockets have a splined tooth exterior of the same cross-sectional dimension to be received in a socket retainer ring in the head. A groove is formed on the exterior of the socket, the groove aligning with retainer lugs on the retainer ring. The retainer lugs and groove permit retention and removal of the socket of various bores to be used with a corresponding size nut. The socket has a center opening so that the socket can be slid down along an elongated stud to engage a nut. A driven pawl member engages the teeth on the outer surface of the socket.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,140,875 to Kim discloses a socket wrench having a main socket member in the handle. Within the main socket member, is a main outer socket, a plurality of main socket units and auxiliary socket units, which are concentric with one another. Each socket has teeth portions on the inner and outer circumferential surfaces.
However, none of the references suggest nor disclose a ratchet wrench which combines a drive socket with gear teeth in an integral unit to provide a low profile wrench.
Patent application Ser. No. 08/760,734 to Arnold filed Dec. 5, 1996, discloses a pawl module to be used in a ratchet wrench with sockets having gear teeth on an external portion of the socket. Patent application Ser. No. 08/888/314 to be assigned to Arnold filed Jul. 14, 1997, discloses a plastic identification insert on sockets having external gear teeth.
Thus, there exists a need for a low profile ratchet wrench which has replaceable sockets to fit a plurality of fasteners, and which has gear teeth integral with the socket.


According to an embodiment, an image processing device includes a first obtaining unit, a specifying unit, a first calculator, a second obtaining unit, and a selector. The first obtaining unit obtains a first parallax number representing a parallax image that is actually observed. The specifying unit specifies a panel parameter candidate. The first calculator calculates a second parallax number which represents a parallax image to be observed from the viewpoint position when the panel parameter is changed from the first panel parameter to the panel parameter candidate. The second obtaining unit obtains a third parallax number calculated when a first panel parameter candidate is specified, and the third parallax number is smaller than an error between the second parallax number calculated when a second panel parameter candidate is specified, and the third parallax number, the selector selects the first panel parameter candidate as the panel parameter.

In a glasses-free 3D panel (a glasses-free three-dimensional display device), in which a light beam control element having linear optical apertures, such as cylindrical lenses or barriers (slits), arranged in a cyclic manner in the horizontal direction is disposed at the front of a display element, such as a liquid crystal panel, for enabling stereoscopic viewing with the unaided eye; the positional relationship between the display element and the light beam control element is of considerable significance. This positional relationship can be expressed using a panel parameter (a panel parameter related to the correspondence relationship between the display element and the light beam control element) that includes, for example, at least one of the following: the tilt of the light beam control element with respect to the display element; the pitch of an image corresponding to a single optical aperture; and the phase that indicates the amount of shift between the display element and the light beam control element. Then, based on the panel parameter, multi-view 3D images (called parallax images) is placed on the display element to thereby perform an appropriate stereoscopic display. However, it is rare that the parallax images are placed according to the design value, and more than a little error is present. In this regard, a technology called calibration is known in which the error is assessed and the correct panel parameter is estimated.
As a conventional calibration technology, a technology is known in which a parallel line group is displayed on, for example, a 3D panel and is observed from a predetermined position, and the following operations are repeated in a cyclic manner until the display reaches an optimal state: changing the panel parameter→performing display that reflects the change in the panel parameter→observation.
However, in the conventional technology, since the operations of changing the panel parameter→performing display that reflects the change in the panel parameter→observation need to be repeated in a cyclic manner; it requires a long period of time to perform calibration.

Image processing device, image processing method, computer program product, and stereoscopic display apparatus for calibration


A CT scanning system provides the ability to scan a patient's lower extremities while the patent is upright, i.e. either standing on the foot, or at least putting some load on the foot, or with the ankle at a given angle. The CT scanning system provides a generally horizontal upper support surface on which the patient's foot is supported. A gantry supporting an x-ray source and x-ray detector are rotated about a z-axis through the support surface. With the CT scanning system, the patient's lower extremities can be scanned while under load.

Diagnosing foot and ankle injuries and problems can be difficult. A large number of small, overlapping bones in the foot and ankle sometimes obscure the visualization of fractures or other problems from traditional X-rays. As a result, doctors often order CT scans of the foot and ankle. However, current CT scanners are too large, expensive and complicated to be located in the doctor's office. Therefore, the patient must go to a different location for the CT scan and then return to the doctor for analysis. Immediate diagnosis and treatment are often delayed by days.
Additionally, the current CT scanners require the patient to lie down, since they are designed to scan the whole body. The current CT scanner cannot take a CT scan of the foot and ankle under load (i.e., while the patient is standing). For patients that only experience foot or ankle pain when standing, or for whom walking or standing aggravates their foot or ankle pain, it may be desirable to be able to visualize the foot and ankle under load, since many of the bones and tissue in the foot and ankle may shift and move to a different position under load.


A parameter of interest being measured by a sensor is estimated from output response data from the sensor and the known transfer function of the sensor, allowing fast and accurate sensor data from sensors having a dynamic characteristic otherwise precluding assessment of the sensor input. A parameter of breathing gas from a ventilator is determined based upon the known transfer function and a plurality of the sensor output signals at predetermined intervals of time, to provide an estimation of the parameter of interest.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to enhancement of accuracy of sensor devices with known transfer functions and the use of information about the response of a sensor to an input parameter to closely estimate the input parameter, and more particularly concerns a system and method for determining a parameter of breathing gas in a patient ventilator from a sensor for the parameter, based upon a known transfer function of the sensor.
2. Description of Related Art
When a sensor is used to obtain data about a particular characteristic of the environment such as temperature, or the oxygen content of a given gas mixture, for example, the dynamic characteristics of the sensor, as well as the dynamic nature of such a parameter or variable, generally interfere with the accurate assessment of the parameter or variable of interest, unless and until a stable condition of equilibrium is reached by both the parameter or variable of interest to be sensed and the sensor.
The mathematical relationship between the output of a control system and its input is known as the transfer function. For a linear system, the transfer function is the Laplace transform of the output divided by the Laplace transform of the input under conditions of zero initial-energy storage. The dynamic characteristics exhibited by a particular sensor can usually be analyzed and described by the particular transfer function of the sensor. The transfer functions of many sensing elements are already known or easily ascertained, so that the response of the sensor to a given input can readily be determined.
For example, a thermistor typically has a dynamic characteristic such that a period of time elapses following initiation of temperature measurement by the thermistor before the voltage output from the thermistor represents an acceptably accurate reading of the temperature being measured. The graph shown in FIG. 1 illustrates the response of a typical thermistor to a step change in temperature, indicating that at least 0.4 seconds pass before the sensor reading substantially approximates the true value for the temperature.
Similarly, in measurement of flow of a gas with hot film anemometers, knowledge of the temperature of the gas being measured is essential to the estimation of flow. Conventional techniques for measurement of gas flow with hot film anemometers have not been able to eliminate the error introduced by the transient performance of the sensor when the gas temperature changes, and consequently involve waiting until transients in a temperature sensor's output are substantially gone and a steady state has been reached before relying upon a temperature reading. For applications where fast and accurate measurement of the temperature is required, enhancement of the speed and accuracy of an otherwise normally slow and unstable sensor response is desirable.
Other types of sensors also frequently have a time constant (.tau.) for adjustment to a step change of a variable parameter being measured that can be unacceptable where fast and accurate measurements are needed. Typical oxygen sensors, for example, have a time constant in the range of 10 to 15 seconds. Clearly, an oxygen concentration measurement from such a sensor will not be accurate until at least 50 to 75 seconds have elapsed, and then the accuracy typically is not better than 2%. It would be desirable to provide a system and method that allows the use of such otherwise slow sensors to obtain accurate information (accuracy depends on the sensor's estimate of .tau.) about the oxygen content of a gas mixture within a shorter period of time from the onset of the measurement. The present invention meets these needs.

System and method for transient response and accuracy enhancement for sensors with known transfer characteristics


A handle structure for a flexible fan includes two corresponding holding brackets and two corresponding handle members. The holding brackets are provided at their inner sides with a plurality of receiving means and stop means so as to firmly clamp a segment of a steel wire frame of the flexible fan between the receiving and the stop means. The handle members are separately pivotally connected at one end to two ends of the holding brackets and respectively define a space for receiving two sides of the twisted and folded flexible fan therein when the fan is not in use and the handle members are pushed apart to abut against the frame of the fan. The handle members are formed with curved recesses for a comfortable grip by a the user's fingers. When the handle members are pushed to abut one another and become perpendicular to the fan, the user may stably grip the handle members to wave the fan easily.

A flexible fan includes a frame made of flexible steel wire and a fabric surface spread over the flexible frame. When the fan is not subjected to any outcoming force, the steel wire frame naturally extends to a full circle. When the fan is not in use, the flexible steel wire frame can be twisted into a figure "8" and then the figure -8- shaped frame is folded into a circle with reduced volume for convenient storage and carry. Such a flexible fan can be conveniently used in watching a sports game or on a bus at any time a user feels suffers from the heat.
A drawback of this type of flexible fan is that the fan is not provided with a handle. Both the steel wire frame and the fabric surface of the fan are not rigid enough for a user to grip and wave the fan to make a somewhat strong current of air. The fabric surface is subject to slack when it is frequently gripped to wave the fan. Moreover, there is not any convenient means to effectively tie or bind the twisted and folded flexible fan when it is positioned in a pocket or handbag. Therefore, the twisted and folded flexible fan tends to fully or partially spread under a natural spring force thereof so as to undesirably expand the pocket or handbag in which it is located. This makes the pocket and/or handbag looking ugly and prevents convenient storage or access to other articles in the pocket or handbag.


An improved combined ear and eye protector is disclosed which provides optimum flexibility by permitting the use of both eye and ear protection, or alternatively eye protection only or ear protection only. Maximum flexibility is achieved by providing an ear protection system which includes a head support independent of the eye protector.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an improved combined ear and eye protection device for use wherever ear and sight protection are necessary. More specifically, the invention relates to an improved ear and eye protector which permits the user to employ either eye protection or ear protection or both. Further, the eye protector may be removed and alternate designs used depending on the needs of the user.
1. Description of the Prior Art
The need exists for an improved ear and eye protection device which is comfortable, functional and aesthetically pleasing. It is not uncommon in many industries, such as ground aviation maintenance, for employees to use ear and eye protection. In some cases, federal and/or state regulations, or company policies, require the use of ear and eye protection. If such devices could be combined into a single functional assembly, the advantages are apparent.
Heretofore, however, efforts to combine an ear and eye protection device has been met with limited success primarily because of the difficulties associated with the user trying to discontinue the use of eye protection temporarily but maintaining ear protection or vice versa.
While there are devices which can function both for hearing and sight protection, such devices are uncomfortable, or have failed to provide adequate flexibility in selecting either eye or ear protection temporarily. See for example, Horton, U.S. Pat. No. 4,856,059; and Leight, U.S. Pat. No. 3,943,925.
Further, the need exists for a combined ear and eye protection device which provides the added flexibility of enabling the user to substitute alternate eye protection depending on the user's needs.


There is disclosed a composition which comprises an aqueous emulsion selected from (A-1) aqueous emulsion comprising a dispersoid which comprises a vinyl ester polymer (1) and a copolymer a (meth)acrylic ester and a primary hydroxyl group-containing ethylenically unsaturated monomer (2), the polymer (1) being present principally in the central part of the dispersoid, the copolymer (2) having a glass transition temperature of lower than 50.degree. C. an being present principally in the peripheral part thereof; and a dispersant comprising a vinyl alcohol polymer and (A-2) aqueous emulsion comprising a dispersoid which comprises a copolymer of a hydrophobic unsaturated monomer such as (meth)acrylic ester and a primary hydroxyl group-containing ethylenically unsaturated monomer; and a dispersant comprising a vinyl alcohol polymer having a mercapto group at an end thereof and a (B) polyvalent isocyanate compound. Disclosed also are an adhesive comprising the aforementioned composition and a wooden product which is joined by the use of the adhesive. The above-disclosed adhesive is excellent in initial adhesivity, adhesive strength, water resistance and so forth.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a composition, an adhesive and an aqueous emulsion. More particularly, it pertains to a composition useful for a variety of use especially as an adhesive. An adhesive excellent in initial adhesivity, adhesive strength and water resistance which comprises said composition, and an aqueous emulsion as the material for said adhesive and the like.
2. Description of the Related Arts
Differing from the conventional aminoplast adhesive, an adhesive which comprises as principal ingredients, a water-soluble high molecular compound, an aqueous emulsion and an isocyanate compound is free from the generation of formalin and develops an extremely high adhesive strength and water resistance only by press bonding at ordinary temperature for a relatively short time and therefore, is admirably used as an adhesive for wood (refer to, for example Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. 94739/1973 and 69139/1975). There have been proposed also as the similar adhesives, an aqueous adhesive composition which comprises the emulsion of a copolymer of a hydroxyl group-containing monomer such as allyl alcohol, 2-hydroxyethyl acrylate, N-methylolacrylamide or the like and vinyl acetate or the like; and a divalent isocyanate compound (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 26346/1974) and water-resistant adhesive composition comprising a polyvinyl acetate emulsion using a polyvinyl alcohol as a dispersant (protective colloid) and a polyvalent isocyanate compound (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 33178/1991). There is reported an adhesive comprising a polymer emulsion stabilized by polyvinyl alcohol, said polymer emulsion being produced by two-stage polymerization process wherein in the first stage is produced a vinyl acetate copolymer having a glass transition temperature of 10.degree. to 40.degree. C. and in the second stage is produced a methyl methacrylate copolymer having a glass transition temperature of 50.degree. to 120.degree. C. at a ratio of the vinyl acetate copolymer to the methyl methacrylate copolymer being 10:1 to 10:6 (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 302485/1990).
Moreover, there is disclosed an aqueous emulsion usable for an adhesive comprising as the dispersoid, polystyrene, polymethyl methacrylate, polymethyl acrylate, methyl methacrylate/butadiene copolymer, polyvinyl chloride or polyvinyl acetate and as the suspending agent, polyvinyl alcohol having a mercapto group at an end thereof (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 197229/1985).
Under such circumstances, there has recently been established Japanese Industrial Standard (JIS) regarding adhesives for wood comprising an aqueous high molecular compound and an isocyanate compound.
With increase in the objects to be bonded, however, there has arisen the necessity for further enhancing the present adhesivity level as the case may be. Specifically, an adhesive is sometimes required to have higher durability as the structural adhesive or further enhanced initial adhesivity as ordinary adhesive for individual use. In the case of the latter, the versatile application of an aqueous emulsion of a vinyl acetate resin using polyvinyl alcohol (hereinafter sometimes abbreviated to "PVA") as the dispersant has enhanced initial adhesivity but has caused the problem of water resistance being insufficient.
For the requirement of high durability and/or high water resistance there have heretofore been admirably employed an aqueous emulsion of acrylic series and that of styrene/butadiene rubber (SBR). However, since in the above-mentioned aqueous emulsions has been used an anionic surfactant or a nonionc surfactant alone or in combination with each other as the dispersant at the time of emulsion polymerization, the aqueous emulsions have involved the problem that they could not develop such initial adhesivity like the aqueous emulsion of vinyl acetate resin obtained by using PVA as the dispersant and the problem of inferior operation efficiency.
It is the present state of the aforementioned conventional adhesives that in spite of their performance being recognized to some extent, an adhesive having satisfactory performance in all respects of initial adhesivity, adhesive strength and water resistance still remains undeveloped.

Composition, adhesive and aqueous emulsion