A system for creating a plurality of client mailers for a plurality of clients of a communication service provider having an account database storing client account data related to one or more services provided by the communication service provider to each client during a billing cycle includes first and second assembly modules. The first assembly module is operable to receive common data and variable data. The common data comprises data to be included in each client mailer, and the variable data is used for selecting client account data specific to each client for inclusion into the client mailer. The first assembly module is further operable to generate advisement data based on the client account data specific to the client and the variable data and store the common data, the selected client account data, and the advisement data in a mailer template file. The second assembly module is operable to access the mailer template file and for each client and create corresponding client mailer data comprising the common data, the selected client account data specific to the client, and the advisement data and store the corresponding client mailer data for each client in a mailer file.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to systems and methods for generating client mailers, and more particularly to systems and methods for generating a plurality of client mailers for a plurality of clients of a communication service provider.
2. Description of the Related Art
Systems for providing direct mail to a plurality of recipients are known. Most of these systems, however, generate client mailers that do not include client specific information, or generate client mailers that do not include variable account data specific to the client recipients. Furthermore, none of these systems generate a plurality of client mailers for a plurality of clients of a communication service provider that include client account data specific to the client and advisement data based on the client account data.

Variable account data information system and method


Data of a columnar database is organized into extents. Each extent occupies contiguous storage on the disk. An extent stores database blocks of a column of a database table. The database system adds new database blocks of a column to the extents assigned to that column. When a request for adding a block to a table is received, the extent for the table and column combination is obtained and the block added to the extent. Prefetching strategies are used to retrieve database blocks in advance of an actual request. The rate of prefetching is determined per column. The rate of prefetching is adjusted based on the number of faults encountered for the column. Database blocks no longer needed in memory are pushed out. When a scan process is reading blocks, as soon as the block has been processed it is scheduled to be pushed out.

Databases store data on secondary storage devices, for example, disks. The access time for data stored in memory is typically less than the time taken to access data from secondary storage. Secondary storage devices may require mechanical movement of parts to access data, for example, a seek operation. In contrast, there is no mechanical movement of parts to access data stored in memory, thereby making access to in memory data fast. However the cost per unit storage of memory is much higher than the typical cost per unit of storage on secondary devices. Therefore database systems typically have much less memory to store data than the amount of secondary storage available.
Data is typically fetched from the secondary storage to memory in units called blocks or database blocks for processing. Inefficient strategies for managing database blocks can result in inefficiencies in the database system. For example, if a process needs data for processing a query and the data is not available in memory, the process causes a block fault, i.e., the database system has to read the data from the disk. Meanwhile the process has to wait for the requested data to be available thereby slowing down the processing of the query.
Another problem occurs when there is no room in the memory to store the new database block being read. In this situation, the database system evicts a database block from the memory to make room for the new database block being read. If the database block evicts a database block that has been read into the memory has not been processed yet, the entire effort of reading the evicted database block in memory is wasted.
Another problem occurs if data used for processing a query is fragmented into chunks of data stored in different portions of a disk. If data is fragmented and stored in different portions of a disk, loading the data requires multiple seek operations. This slows down the access to the data. One conventional mechanism to improve performance of data accessed from disk is to perform a defragmentation operation that copies the blocks from their current locations to new locations and arranges the blocks of data in contiguous locations on the disk. However, this operation is typically executed manually by an operator. This increases maintenance overhead of the database system. Also the defragmentation operation can take a long time to execute since a very large amount of data is being copied. During this time the database system may have to suppress processing of user queries in order avoid synchronization issues.


A shoe according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a novel and non-obvious sole having a rubber base and a fiber cushion. Patterned nodes are centered on the rubber base and a plurality of elongated rectangular nodes are arranged around the edge of the rubber base. An extra rim is disposed at the upper edge of the sole to attach the sole to the remaining portion of the shoe. There are ventilating holes along the outer edge of the sole. The heel is formed with a grid pattern defining chambers and is supported by internal reinforcing members. The fiber cushion of the sole's upper layer allows for ventilation between the interior of the shoe and the ventilating holes.

Applicant's inventive shoe provides a surprisingly positive effect on the health and fitness of the foot of the wearer. Numerous shoes have been designed and introduced into the market in an attempt to receive the results of the Applicant's shoe, without success. This lack of success is due to several reasons: unbecoming appearance, uncomfortableness and lack of durability. The Applicant applied for a patent for his original invention entitled "Perspiration and Odor Preventing Shoes" on Jul. 6, 1991 and obtained Patent No. 91210858.4 on Sep. 2, 1992. After several years of further research and gathering feedback from the market place, a great deal of experience in the selection of shoe material and in manufacturing techniques has been accumulated, which has spawned the particular structure and supporting means of the sole of the shoe of the present invention and a method for manufacturing the shoes.

Ventilating shoe and method of making same

No. 11, Nanshuncheng Road, Shenhe District


A method for treating a non-hemorrhoidal tendon injury in a performance animal in need thereof includes administering to the animal a composition comprising a pro-inflammatory cytokine inhibitor, an antioxidant or catechin, and an anti-inflammatory to thereby treat the non-hemorrhoidal tendon injury in the performance animal.

Athletes, both human and non-human, who present with a connective tissue disease or condition such as, a tendon injury, are particularly problematic to manage clinically. Varying factors such as, the age of the athlete and tendon load leads to idiosyncratic degrees of pain, irritability and capacity to function. The recovery is also variable.
Current treatments are primarily pharmacotherapy and load management. The most commonly used pharmacological agents are non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS). However, most cases do no have the classical features of inflammation. A polypill containing a NSAID, an antibiotic and an antioxidant has been proposed1.
Improved methods of monitoring connective tissue and treating connective tissue are required.

Connective tissue monitoring, compositions for connective tissue treatment and methods for treating connective tissue


A centrifugal fan includes a plurality of blades, a housing for receiving the blades therein and an air guiding mechanism. The housing includes a top wall and a sidewall around the top wall. The sidewall defines a first air outlet and a second air outlet adjacent and perpendicular to the first air outlet. The air guiding mechanism is located between the first air outlet and the second air outlet. The air guiding mechanism includes an air guiding wall parallel to the second air outlet and an air partition wall extending inwardly from the air guiding wall towards the blades. The first air outlet is defined between the air partition wall and the sidewall. The second air outlet is defined between the air guiding wall and the sidewall of the housing.

1. Technical Field
The disclosure relates to a centrifugal fan, and more particularly to a heat dissipation device incorporating the centrifugal fan for dissipating heat generated by electronic components of an electronic device.
2. Description of Related Art
With the fast development of the electronics industry, advanced electronic components such as CPUs (central processing units), or GPUs (graphics processing units) are being made with ever faster operating speeds. During operation of the advanced electronic components, a large amount of heat is generated. Greater emphasis is now being laid on increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of heat dissipation devices so as to keep operational temperature of the advanced electronic components within a suitable range.
Since most of the electronic devices, such as laptop computers do not have enough space therein for containing multiple heat dissipation devices, a heat dissipation device including one fin unit and one centrifugal fan is generally used for dissipating heat generated by multiple heat-generating electronic components of the laptop computer simultaneously, such as the CPU and the GPU. Generally, the CPU and the GPU are both thermally contacted with the fin unit, and the centrifugal fan having one air outlet for providing a forced airflow towards the fin unit to take heat therefrom.
However, the operating speeds of the two electronic components are generally different from each other, and therefore the amounts of heat generated by the two electronic components are also different. The CPU may generate much more heat than the GPU within a certain identical period. If the heat of the CPU transferred to the fin unit is not effectively and timely dissipated, a portion of heat of the CPU that is not timely dissipated may be transferred back to the GPU which has a lower temperature, thus inducing heat transfer between the two electronic components, since both of them are thermally connected to the fin unit.
It is thus desirable to provide a heat dissipation device which can overcome the described limitations.

Heat dissipation device and centrifugal fan thereof

Fu Zhun Precision Industry (Shen Zhen) Co., Ltd.


A comminuting device for breaking-up charge bodies of frangible material to free their value content and to reduce it to a desired size employs an upright enclosure into which charge bodies are fed so as to minimize in-air flow and to provide a steady stream of the bodies into the upper end of a centrally positioned downflow feed duct from which a series of horizontally, radially outwardly extending and vertically spaced-apart discs of a rotating assembly are suspended to define a central chamber selection passageway that is open at its upper end to the lower end of the duct, and at its bottom end through a grating to a motor drive compartment into which a fluid is introduced under positive pressure. The bodies are selectively introduced into vertically spaced and radially extending side chambers defined by the discs on the basis of their respective weights, with the lighter weight and usually smaller bodies being first introduced and those of greater weight being the last, all in a progressive manner as the bodies are fed downwardly from the duct into the passageway. On being introduced into the side chambers the bodies are subjected to implosion and then flung radially outwardly from within the chambers against outwardly offset abutment portions within the central chamber selection passageway portion of the enclosure and moved upwardly as finally broken up particles or particulates along the inside of the enclosure into an upper chamber that is disposed between its outer walls and the feed duct.

There have been many prior art approaches to the comminuting of hard materials with the most common approach being the use of the hammer mill, ball grinding, jet milling, etc. They tend to involve a high degree of wear and tear on the apparatus, have high energy requirements, and lack means for enabling a flexible and accurate control as to the desired size and uniformity of size of the resulting product attained.
The need for a higher speed, lower energy consumption, low wear comminuting apparatus continues to be a priority for industry. Fossil fuel electric power generating stations must pulverize coal before it can be injected into their boilers. Currently available pulverizing methods (typically ball mills) pulverize at a slow rate, require recycling of oversize product, and require replacement of the balls as they wear out.
Similarly, mineral ores usually require that they be pulverized before processing to separate the mineral from its gangue. Roller mills, ball mills, and the like present problems for the processing company with their inherent slow speeds, size classification and subsequent recycling of oversize product, high energy consumption per ton of feed, equipment and media wear, etc.
Numerous other industrial bulk material processed experience similar problems in their size reduction requirements. This invention proposes to solve some of these problems with its extremely high speed, very low energy requirements per ton of feed, low wear on interior surface of the equipment, automatic internal air classification of the product, compact size of the equipment, ability to receive relatively large size feed while reducing to very fine size product, and easily performed maintenance when needed.


Ceiling fan motors which include forced air ventilation and heat dissipation systems to provide significantly reduced motor operating temperatures, improved motor component tolerances, lower manufacturing costs, and ease of assembly. The ceiling fan motor is of the inside-out type and includes an impeller mechanism associated with at least one of the upper or lower portions of the motor casing for drawing substantial volumes of air into the casing, across the stator, and through the opposite portion of the motor casing. The motor casing components may be formed from cast aluminum. Alternatively, the entire casing and rotor is of unitary integrally cast aluminum. One of the end faces of the motor casing may include integrally cast blade ramps.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to ceiling fans and ceiling fan motors. More particularly, the present invention relates to ceiling fan motors which operate under significantly reduced temperatures through the use of forced air ventilation arrangements that enable air to be forced through the motor casing, and through the use of conductive and convective heat dissipation arrangements to enable improved heat transfer through the motor components. The present invention also relates to an integrally cast ceiling fan motor preferably of cast aluminum, enabling tighter motor component tolerances, lower manufacturing costs, and easier assembly.
2. Description of Related Art
Electric motors are widely used in a variety of consumer products. One common type of electric motor includes a rotor which is attached to a shaft mounted within the end covers of a motor casing. The rotor typically is made of a stack of electrical steel lamination and may be die cast or wound, depending upon the type of motor. Bearings, such as ball bearings or sleeve bearings located at opposite ends of the shaft, are held in place within the end covers by stationary bearing retainers which are fixed to the end covers to enable the rotor and rotor shaft to rotate with respect to the casing of the motor. Surrounding the rotor is a stator where the windings of the motor are located. The stator is normally a stack of electrical steel lamination. As is well known, the rotor is oriented centrally within the stator and rotates with respect to the stator.
In another type of motor, generally known as an inside-out motor, the location of the rotor and stator are reversed. That is, the rotor is positioned outside of the stator and is sandwiched between, and attached to, two end covers that define the motor casing. Bearing retainers also are provided for the inside-out motor and are secured to the top and bottom end covers to rotate therewith.
A problem common to electric motors in general is the heat build-up that takes place during routine motor operation. High temperature heat build-up is a well-known undesirable resultant in electric motor operation and considerable efforts have been undertaken over the years to try to reduce the motor operating temperatures by cooling the motor during motor operation.
In electric motors of the type where the rotor lies within the stator, internal fan or impeller arrangements have been provided in an attempt to cool the stator windings and to pump the heat out of the motor. The fan may include blades mounted on the shaft of the rotor itself, within the motor casing. The fan may include fin-like blades molded directly to the rotor end rings whereby rotor shaft rotation rotates the blades to provide a fan-like effect during motor operation.
In the case of an inside-out motor, providing a cooling fan of the types described above for conventional motors has not been practical. Because the shaft of the motor, which is mounted to the stator, does not rotate, obviously any fan blades mounted on the shaft will not rotate and the cooling effect will be unavailable. Providing fins or blades on the surrounding rotor has proven to be of little help in increasing air circulation inside the motor, i.e., to the motor windings on the stator, because the rotor is outside of the stator.
Electric motors of the inside-out type are commonly used in electric ceiling fans. Most modern ceiling fans include an inside-out electric motor suspended from the ceiling through the stator shaft. The motor casing, which typically is formed from upper and lower end covers, or end bells, to which the rotor is affixed, rotates about the stator. A plurality of ceiling fan blades are mounted to either the top or bottom surface of the motor casing by means of blade irons, as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,462,412, or through the use of separate blade ramp components such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,222,864. Conventional ceiling fans also generally are provided with one or more electrical switches for controlling both the speed and the rotational direction of the motor. The electrical switches are typically located within a switch housing that is disposed beneath the motor. Additionally, many ceiling fans include light fixtures mounted to the underside of the switch housing. The overall motor casing is typically covered by a motor housing or cover for aesthetic purposes.
Electric motor heat build-up poses a particular problem within ceiling fans. Prior attempts to cool the stator windings and the rotor in inside-out motors within ceiling fans include providing ventilation holes within the motor casing end covers to improve the circulation of air within the motor casing. However, in reality, very little air circulation takes place because the presence of the stator itself forms an obstruction in the air flow paths. Ventilation holes also have been provided in the stator to provide a path for the cross-flow of air between the ventilation holes within the motor casing end covers, but the air flow is generally inadequate due to a number of factors that are unique to the ceiling fan motor environment.
For example, a ceiling fan motor and motor casing are typically surrounded by an outer motor housing. The motor housing forms a shield around the motor which obstructs the flow of air into the ventilation holes provided in the motor casing and around and through the motor itself. In addition, inadequate air flow results from the very nature of the ceiling fan blade design. The circulation of air in a room is caused by rotation of the fan blades. Since the circulation of air takes place at the tips of the blades, a void is created in the center of the fan which restricts the flow of air in the center region precisely where the motor housing is mounted.
The high heat build-up within the electric motors used in ceiling fans may significantly reduce the life of the motor and undesirably affect motor performance. Thus, there is a clear need for an electric motor of the inside-out type for use with ceiling fans which has substantially reduced operating temperatures to extend the operating life of the motor and enable a more powerful motor design.
Another problem typically encountered in ceiling fan motors is the imperfect alignment among the various motor components which results not only in increased wear but in undesirable noise and vibration levels. Electric motors of the type used in ceiling fans include several separate and distinct motor components that are assembled together through conventional screws or bolt and nut arrangements. These motor components include a separate rotor which is secured to the separate upper and lower motor casing end covers. Each of these components must precisely fit together, and with respect to the stator, at relatively close tolerances. However, manufacture of these components typically requires separate machining operations on separate components which then need to be assembled together. The separate machining operations limit the ability to achieve the desirable tight tolerances. Moreover, the manufacturing and assembly costs may be substantial. Thus, there is a need for an electric motor for a ceiling fan, particularly an inside-out electric motor for a ceiling fan, that may be easily and economically manufactured to tight tolerances to provide reduced vibrations and noise and a longer motor life.
Another problem in conventional ceiling fan designs is the assembly of the ceiling fan blades to the motor casing. Because the fan blades are relatively large in size, and because ceiling fans are adapted for use with several different types of fan blade arrangements, the mounting of the blades to the ceiling fan motor is typically accomplished by the retailer or sometimes even the consumer. This blade mounting requires the assembly of either blade irons or separate blade ramps to the ceiling fan motor casing. These steps in mounting the blade irons and/or the blade ramps to the motor casing are time consuming and expensive. Thus, a need has arisen to enable the mounting of fan blades to ceiling fan motor casings without the use of separate blade ramp and/or blade iron attachment components.


A vibrating member attachment structure includes: a sound insulation layer made of elastomer and including an accommodating portion that defines an accommodating space in which a vibrating member is accommodated, and a folded-back portion having a hem portion connecting to the accommodating portion, a contact portion placed so as to face the hem portion and contacting a mating member, a joint portion connecting the hem portion and the contact portion, and an insertion space defined by the hem portion, the contact portion, and the joint portion; a support member having higher rigidity than the sound insulation layer and including a sealing portion that seals an opening of the accommodating space, and an insertion portion that connects to the sealing portion and that is inserted in the insertion space; and an attachment member and including a shaft portion and a deformation suppressing portion.

Patent Document 1 discloses a damping device having a floating structure. As shown in paragraph [0039] and [FIG. 2] in Patent Document 1, the damping device elastically supports an electronic device with respect to a case body in a non-contact state. The damping device includes damper members and shock absorbing member washers. The damper members and the shock absorbing member washers are made of an elastomer (e.g., a gel-like resin).
Patent Document 2 discloses a soundproof cover for exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) valves. As shown in paragraph [0030] and [FIG. 8] of Patent Document 2, the soundproof cover includes a sound insulation layer made of a urethane elastomer and a sound absorption layer made of polyurethane foam.


In a method for operating an internal combustion engine of a motor vehicle having an automatic transmission, a torque generated by the internal combustion engine is reduced as a function of an operating state of a drive train of the motor vehicle. As a function of an excess of combustion air occurring when the torque is reduced and supplied to the internal combustion engine by an exhaust gas turbocharger, fuel combustion efficiency in at least one combustion chamber of the internal combustion engine, which is related to the torque generated by the combustion chamber, is reduced. The combustion efficiency is reduced by at least one late post-injection of fuel into the at least one combustion chamber of the internal combustion engine.

The present invention relates to a method for operating an internal combustion engine of a motor vehicle with an automatic transmission. A torque generated by the internal combustion engine is hereby reduced depending on an operating state of a drive train of the motor vehicle.
By way of example, in the case of a motor vehicle with an automatic transmission, the torque generated by the internal combustion engine during an upshift at full-load is limited. In particular, a transmission control device, for example, requires the engine control device to limit or reduce the torque. In the case of a full load acceleration, this request leads to a reduction in the engine torque, i.e. the torque generated by the internal combustion engine. After the shifting process has been completed, the torque limitation is cancelled again.
In the case of an internal combustion engine designed as a diesel engine, for example, the injection quantity, i.e. the quantity of fuel injected into a respective combustion chamber of cylinders of the internal combustion engine, is reduced by means of the engine control unit. However, the lower amount of fuel injected reduces the enthalpy of the exhaust gases. In addition, the boost pressure provided by an exhaust gas turbocharger in the motor vehicle decreases even if a bypass or a so-called wastegate is completely closed. The bypass allows gas is to be routed past a turbine of the exhaust gas turbocharger, such that this exhaust gas flow does not contribute to increasing the boost pressure by means of a compressor of the exhaust gas turbocharger.
The torque limitation is therefore noticeable due to a sharp drop in boost pressure during an upshift. This is associated with a worse or less harmonious connection in the next higher gear, namely when a torque release is transmitted from the transmission control unit to the engine control unit. This is due to the fact that, because of the lack of boost pressure, only a lower torque can be transmitted from the internal combustion engine than is possible at higher boost pressure.
German document DE 10 2009 000 933 A1 describes a fuel injection control device of a direct injection combustion engine having a charger. An additional injection is carried out in a time span from a medium stage to a late stage of a compression stroke. Consequently, combustible gas components containing unburned hydrocarbons are released into an exhaust pipe. The combustible exhaust components burn in the exhaust pipe and thus increase the charging pressure of the charger. In this way, acceleration response behavior should be improved.
The object of the present invention is to improve a method of the type mentioned above in such a way that the disadvantages associated with reducing the torque are at least mitigated.
This object is achieved by a method with features of claimed. Advantageous embodiments with appropriate developments of the invention are reflected in the dependent claims.
In the case of the method according to the invention for operating an internal combustion engine of a motor vehicle with an automatic transmission, a torque generated by the internal combustion engine depending on an operating state of a drive train of the motor vehicle is reduced. This reduces the efficiency of combustion of fuel in at least one combustion chamber of the internal combustion engine depending on the excess combustion air occurring when the torque is reduced. The combustion air is supplied to the internal combustion engine by means of an exhaust gas turbocharger. The efficiency is based on the torque generated by the internal combustion engine. In other words, the efficiency in the case of combustion of fuel is reduced to such an extent that part of the fuel introduced into the combustion chamber is not or at most hardly effective with respect to the torque generated by the internal combustion engine.
A substantially torque-neutral combustion of fuel thus takes place in the at least one combustion chamber of a respective cylinder of the internal combustion engine. However, the torque-neutral combustion of the fuel leads to a significant increase in the enthalpy of the exhaust gases. This in turn means that the boost pressure applied by the exhaust gas turbo pressure can be maintained to a particularly large extent.
The decline of the boost pressure, known from the prior art, due to the reduction of the torque generated by the internal combustion engine therefore does not occur or occurs to a very greatly reduced extent. Accordingly, the disadvantages associated with the reduction in torque are at least mitigated. This is because, for example, a gear change results in an improved connection in the next gear, i.e. after the gear change. In addition, the torque progression over the gear change is particularly harmonious. For a user of the motor vehicle, this is noticeable as a subjectively shorter shifting time.
After a gear change, the desired boost pressure can also be readjusted very quickly. This is because the boost pressure can be better maintained during shifting by deliberately worsening the efficiency. The torque release following the gear change is therefore particularly fast and particularly harmonious, such that a noticeably better connection or vehicle acceleration is achieved for the vehicle user.
Due to the stabilization of the boost pressure applied by the exhaust gas turbocharger, overshoots of the boost pressure and the turbo charger speed are also reduced. Measures to protect the exhaust gas turbocharger can therefore be particularly aggressive even during transient operation of the exhaust gas turbocharger. This is because the danger of damage to the exhaust gas turbocharger is also reduced, for example due to lower overshoots of the boost pressure, in particular after a gear change. In addition, the design of set points of the boost pressure and the control of the boost pressure are improved.
Also with regard to exhaust gas recirculation, it is advantageous to quickly reach the desired charge pressure after the torque limitation has been removed, i.e. after the reduction of the torque generated by the internal combustion engine has been removed. The exhaust gas recirculation rate depends on the combustion air ratio. If the combustion air ratio drops, the exhaust gas recirculation rate is usually reduced. This is because efforts are made not to fall below a minimal value of the combustion air ratio. Due to these restrictions, non-stationary, i.e. transient driving manoeuvres, in which the torque generated by the internal combustion engine changes rapidly, frequently result in limitation of the exhaust gas recirculation rate. Such restrictions are not as common in the method described here. This is advantageous with regard to particulate emissions and nitrogen oxide emissions from the internal combustion engine. It is thus possible for the internal combustion engine to generate a high output while at the same time achieving low nitrogen oxide emissions and particulate emissions from the motor vehicle.
In the case of a full load acceleration from 0 km/h to 100 km/h, the method described above can be used to achieve an improvement of 0.2 seconds to 0.4 seconds. By introducing fuel into the at least one combustion chamber of the internal combustion engine, with no effect on the torque, as a function of the excess combustion air, the enthalpy of the exhaust gases in a turbine of the exhaust gas turbocharger can be increased and thus the boost pressure drop can be counteracted.
Due to the excess of combustion air, complete combustion of the fuel introduced non-torque effectively takes place in the at least one combustion chamber. Consequently, the introduction of the fuel does not lead to a deterioration of the emissions with regard to carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons.
Maintaining the excess air during torque reduction, however, leads to a higher boost pressure when the torque limitation or the torque reduction is removed again. Furthermore, following the torque reduction, i.e. after the torque limitation has been removed, there is a particularly low air shortage. Delaying an injection quantity release to limit smoke, i.e. to prevent the adjustment of a mixture that is too heavy, is therefore less pronounced and active for less time, in particular in transient or dynamic, i.e. non-stationary operating states of the internal combustion engine. Accordingly, more torque is available particularly quickly.
The reduction in the exhaust gas recirculation rate, which is dependent on the combustion air ratio and occurs in particular in transient operating conditions of the internal combustion engine, is also less active. Accordingly, a higher exhaust gas recirculation rate is possible. Consequently, fewer nitrogen oxides are released than would be the case with a lower exhaust gas recirculation rate.
The automatic transmission can be an automated manual transmission, an automatic torque-converter transmission or a dual clutch transmission. Furthermore, the internal combustion engine can be designed as a petrol engine or as a diesel engine.
The operating status of the drive train, depending on which the torque generated is reduced, can be a gear change. Accordingly, the torque generated by the internal combustion engine can be reduced by changing to a higher gear or a lower gear. By way of example, a torque reduction requirement, i.e. a reduction in the torque generated by the internal combustion engine, can occur when shifting up to a higher gear, in particular at high load or full load. Furthermore, a torque withdrawal requirement can occur when shifting back to the lower gear at high load, for example when shifting back or down from third gear to second gear when driving up an incline. In such situations, the drop in boost pressure can thus be prevented or reduced to a particularly large extent.
Additionally or alternatively, the torque reduction can be caused by the intervention of an electronic stability program. In particular, the torque generated by the internal combustion engine can therefore be reduced by an intervention caused by the electronic stability program. Here too, avoiding or reducing the boost pressure drop is advantageous.
Furthermore, there may be a requirement for a torque withdrawal or a reduction of the torque generated by the internal combustion engine in the case of the motor vehicle creeping. During this creeping, the power flow in the transmission is not interrupted, but rather the automatic transmission, especially the dual clutch transmission, remains engaged. Here, the torque withdrawal provides protection for the clutch. Even if the torque generated by the internal combustion engine is reduced when the vehicle creeps, it is still advantageous to reduce the efficiency as a function of the excess combustion air.
Preferably, a predetermined combustion air ratio is taken into account when determining the excess combustion air. In particular, the predetermined combustion air ratio is a thin mixture because it ensures efficient operation of the internal combustion engine with regard to fuel consumption. The excess combustion air can then be determined in relation to this predetermined combustion air ratio.
Preferably, a plurality of parameters describing an operating state of the internal combustion engine will be considered to determine the excess of combustion air. By way of example, the speed of the internal combustion engine, the effective injection quantity, the temperature of the air in an intake manifold of the internal combustion engine and the boost pressure in the intake manifold can be used to determine the excess. However, such additional or alternative parameters such as air mass and the filling and ambient pressures can also be used to determine the excess combustion air.
Preferably, the efficiency of the combustion shall be reduced due to at least one later post-injection of fuel into the at least one combustion chamber of the internal combustion engine. A quantity and/or time of at least one later post-injection can be adjusted depending on the excess of combustion air.
Further advantages, features and details of the invention are apparent from the following description of preferred exemplary embodiments as well as from the drawings. The features and combinations of features mentioned above in the description as well as the features and combinations of features mentioned below in the figure description and/or shown in the figures alone can be used not only in the combination specified in each case, but also in other combinations or in a unique position without departing from the scope of the invention.

Method for operating an internal combustion engine of a motor vehicle with an automatic transmission


A medical tube-connector device that enables easy connection and disconnection without allowing channel ends to be touched by fingers. The first connector body includes a channel that can communicate with a tube, and is removably attached to the first connector body. The second connector body includes a channel and a concave part into which the protective cap can be inserted. A displaceable guide cap is attached to the second connector body. In a preparatory state, the concave part into which the protective cap can be inserted is open and the end of the channel is sealed. In the connected state, the end of the channel is open. The protective cap is maintained in the concave part so as to be detached from the first connector body and at the same time the channels of the first and second connector bodies communicate.

The present invention relates to a medical tube-connector device for connecting tubes forming a channel for a medical liquid, which is used for medical applications, particularly for peritoneal dialysis. Particularly, the present invention relates to a medical tube-connector device in which channel ends are not contaminated or damaged by fingers in connecting or disconnecting connectors and the connectors are connected and disconnected easily.
When peritoneal dialysis is operated, the inside of peritonea is filled with a dialysate having a concentration gradient with respect to a body fluid of a patient through a catheter introduced into the abdominal cavity passing through a abdominal wall of the patient. The peritonea of the patient function as a diaphragm, and toxin, a waste product, or the like inside the body of the patient is moved into the abdominal cavity. Then, the toxin, waste product, or the like inside the abdominal cavity is discharged to the outside of the body.
Concretely, extension tubes or the like that are connected to a dialysate bag, a drainage bag, and a catheter are connected to infuse a dialysate into the abdominal cavity and the dialysate is retained for a predetermined time (three to five hours). After that, a pooled liquid of toxin, waste products, or the like is discharged into the drainage bag. The dialysate is infused into the abdominal cavity of the patient through the tubes and the liquid of toxin, waste products, or the like also is discharged into the drainage bag through the tubes.
Thus, a twin bag system has been contrived, in which a dialysate bag and a drainage bag are connected with a Y-shaped connector or the like beforehand so that the patient can infuse the dialysate easily into the abdominal cavity or can discharge the pooled liquid easily.
However, while the dialysate is retained inside the abdominal cavity, it is more comfortable and preferable for a patient that the connected bags are disconnected from connectors for extension tubes compared to the case where the patient must carry such a dialysate bag and a drainage bag with him. In this case, when the connectors for the extension tubes are exposed to the air without having any protection, there is a fear that the connectors may be contaminated by bacteria or the like in the air. Therefore, it is desirable to cover the connectors with caps or the like. In the conventional twin bag system, caps mainly have been used for protecting the connectors from contamination.
However, in the case where liquids are replaced by a patient, the channel also is contaminated when the patient touches the connectors, the caps, or the like with his hands carelessly in attaching the caps to or detaching the caps from the connectors. As a result, the possibility that the inside of the abdominal cavity of the patient might be contaminated remains.
As a method for solving the above-mentioned problem, a structure having double walls formed at the connection ends of connectors to prevent fingers from touching the connector ends easily has been proposed as described in JP 5-31178 A. JP 8-000725 A discloses an automatic connection device for attaching and detaching a cap and connecting and disconnecting connectors automatically so that a patient can connect and disconnect the connectors without touching them directly with his hands.
However, even if such a double-wall structure as described in JP 5-31178 A was employed, it was not enough as a countermeasure against contamination. First, when connectors, or a connector and a cap are attached to or detached from each other, channel ends provided in the connectors are exposed to the outside air. Therefore, there was a possibility that the channel might be contaminated by floating fungus. Second, since the connectors are attached or detached by hands, it cannot be said that the open ends of the connectors are prevented perfectly from being touched by fingers. In other words, one of the connectors inevitably has a large external-wall diameter and therefore the possibility that the connectors might be touched by fingers still remains.
On the other hand, as described in JP8-000725 A, an apparatus of automating the attachment and detachment of a cap and the connection and disconnection of connectors is used in limited situations, since the apparatus has a complicated configuration and is expensive, and it is inconvenient for a patient to carry the apparatus with him all the time.
In the peritoneal dialysis, besides the contamination problem that might occur in attaching or detaching a cap or connectors as described above, there has been a problem of switching channels for infusing a fluid into and discharging a fluid from the abdominal cavity of a patient. That is to say, a switching device is required for switching channels easily without confusing the infusion of a dialysate and the discharge of a pooled fluid. Conventionally, the switching has been performed generally by a patient himself with his hands using a clamp. In view of the prevention of wrong operations, safety, or the like, however, various devices for controlling the switching have been contrived. For instance, JP 8-224300 A discloses a rotary controller as a device for controlling the flow of fluids. Further, JP 2-502882 A discloses a flow controller using a special three-way valve.
However, in the conventional method in which a patient controls the flow by himself using a clamp, there has been a possibility that switching failure causes the back flow of a fluid into his body or wasteful discharge of a dialysate into a drainage bag.
In addition, in a conventional channel-switching device, channels can be switched, but a patient is required to attach or detach a connector of a tube and a connector of a dialysate bag, or a connector and a cap to or from each other by himself with his hands. In this case, therefore, the possibility that the connectors or the cap might be contaminated by careless operations or mistakes by a patient himself still remains. Furthermore, since the cap also is replaced by a patient himself with his hands, there also has been a possibility that an unused cap might be contaminated at the time of the replacement.
The present invention aims to solve the aforementioned disadvantages in conventional techniques and to provide a medical tube-connector device having a configuration in which in order to prevent the contamination by fingers or wrong operations, which might occur in disconnecting or connecting connectors, caps are detached from or attached to the connectors without exposing channel ends provided in the connectors when the connectors are connected to or disconnected from each other.
Further, the present invention aims to provide a medical tube-connector device that enables the connection or disconnection of connectors accompanied with the detachment or attachment of caps to be operated easily without using special devices or tools, while keeping the channels of the connectors from being contaminated.
In addition, the present invention aims to provide a medical tube-connector device that can facilitate channel switching, can prevent possible contamination or wrong operations in connecting or disconnecting connectors, and enables a patient to replace caps in connecting and disconnecting the connectors without touching connection parts directly with his hands.
In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a medical tube-connector device of the present invention includes two connectors for connecting tubes and the two connectors can be connected to or disconnected from each other. The medical tube-connector device is provided with a first connector including a first connector body and a protective cap and a second connector including a second connector body and a guide cap. The first connector body has a channel extending through its inside and can be connected to a tube at one end of the channel. The protective cap can be attached to or detached from the first connector body for covering and sealing the other end of the channel in the state in which the protective cap has been attached to the first connector body. The second connector body has a channel extending through its inside and a concave part into which the protective cap of the first connector can be inserted. The second connector body can be connected to a tube at one end of the channel. The guide cap can be displaced with respect to the second connector body and is provided with a cover portion formed for covering and sealing the other end of the channel in the second connector body. The second connector body and the guide cap can be brought into a preparatory state or a connected state by their relative displacement. In the preparatory state, the concave part of the second connector body is open and the other end of the channel is sealed by the cover portion. In the connected state, the other end of the channel is open. By inserting the first connector with the protective cap attached into the concave part in the preparatory state and then bringing the second connector body and the guide cap into the connected state, the protective cap is moved while being retained in the concave part so as to be detached from the first connector body and at the same time the first connector body and the second connector body are connected, thus allowing their channels to communicate.
According to the aforementioned configuration, the detachment and attachment of the protective cap and the sealing and opening of the channel end of the second connector body can be carried out inside the connector device upon the operations for connecting and disconnecting the connectors. Therefore, the channels are not exposed to the outside air. Consequently, the channel ends of the connectors can be prevented from being contaminated by outside floating bacteria. Further, since the connectors are not connected and disconnected by hands, the fear that fingers might touch the channel ends can be solved. In addition, the connecting and disconnecting operations can be carried out merely by inserting the first connector into the second connector and rotating the second connector body without using special tools, which is very easy.
In the above-mentioned configuration, the second connector may have the following configuration. The second connector may include a casing having an annular shape and functioning as a guide cap and a rotor that is formed of a substantially cylindrical body mounted rotatably inside the casing and that functions as the second connector body. The casing includes, at its periphery: at least one inflow/outflow port for liquids, which can be connected to a tube; and an insertion opening into which the first connector can be inserted. The rotor includes: a fluid channel extending through the inside of the cylindrical body and forming inflow/outflow ports on the peripheral surface of the cylindrical body; and at least one cap receiving recess that is formed on the peripheral surface of the cylindrical body and that can receive a protective cap attached to the first connector. The rotor and the casing can be brought into a preparatory state or a connected state depending on their relative rotational positions. In the preparatory state, the insertion opening of the casing opposes the cap receiving recess in the rotor and thus the inflow/outflow ports of the rotor are sealed by the casing. In the connected state, the insertion opening of the casing opposes one of the inflow/outflow ports of the rotor, and an inflow/outflow port of the casing and the other inflow/outflow port of the rotor communicate with each other.
The medical tube-connector device with this configuration can be formed so that in the connected state, the first connector body is maintained by being fitted at a periphery of the rotor. This enables the first connector body to be maintained by the rotor reliably, thus preventing the tube from being detached or the like during a dialysis operation.
It is preferable that the protective cap can be detached from or attached to the first connector body by its sliding movement in the direction substantially orthogonal to the direction of the channel. This enables the operation for detaching and attaching the protective cap by the rotation of the rotor to be carried out easily.
It is preferable that the protective cap is attached to the first connector body through the fitting between a convex part with a T-shaped cross section provided in the protective cap and a concave part with a T-shaped cross section provided in the first connector body, and a convex part with the same T-shaped cross section as in the protective cap is provided at the periphery of the rotor except for the insertion opening. In this case, the protective cap can slide in the sideways direction easily and the protective cap and the first connector body are not detached easily in the channel direction. As the cross sectional shape of the cap, any cross sectional shapes can be used as long as the shapes have the same characteristics. For instance, the cross section of the cap may have a trapezoidal shape, a round shape, or an inverse triangular shape.
The second connector establishes an invention by itself, which is one of two connectors constituting a medical tube-connector device according to the present invention. A connector according to the present invention includes a casing and a rotor. The casing has an annular shape and includes, at its periphery, at least one inflow/outflow port for liquids, which can be connected to a tube, and an insertion opening into which the other connector can be inserted together with a protective cap for sealing an opening of the other connector. The rotor is formed of a substantially cylindrical body mounted rotatably inside the casing. The rotor includes: a fluid channel extending through the inside of the cylindrical body and forming inflow/outflow ports on the peripheral surface of the cylindrical body; and at least one cap receiving recess that is formed on the peripheral surface of the cylindrical body and that can receive the protective cap for sealing the opening of the other connector. The rotor and the casing can be brought into a preparatory state or a connected state depending on their relative rotational positions. In the preparatory state, the insertion opening of the casing opposes the cap receiving recess in the rotor and thus the inflow/outflow ports in the rotor are sealed by the casing. In the connected state, the insertion opening of the casing opposes one of the inflow/outflow ports of the rotor, and the inflow/outflow port of the casing and the other inflow/outflow port of the rotor communicate with each other.
Preferably, this connector is formed so that the rotor includes at least two cap receiving recesses and the insertion opening of the casing can oppose any of the cap receiving recesses by the relative rotational movement between the rotor and the casing. According to this, a configuration for replacing the protective cap automatically by rotation can be obtained. In this case, any configuration may be employed as long as an unused cap can be supplied. Therefore, the connector may have a configuration in which an unused cap may have been supplied from the beginning or an unused cap can be replenished later.
Further, the following configuration also may be employed. Unused protective caps are supplied to the cap receiving recesses while at least one cap receiving recess is kept empty and the rotor is rotated from the state in which the rotor is connected with the other connector, to have the positional relationship in which the insertion opening of the casing opposes any one of the cap receiving recesses in which the unused protective caps have been supplied, thus attaching an unused protective cap to the other connector. In this case, a patient can replace caps without touching connection parts directly with his hands in detaching and attaching the caps, thus eliminating the possibility that the patient touches the connectors, the caps, or the like carelessly with his hands to cause the contamination of the channel.
The following configuration also can be employed. The casing has at least two of the inflow/outflow ports for liquids, one of the inflow/outflow ports communicates selectively with one of the inflow/outflow ports of the rotor by the rotational movement of the rotor, and at the same time, the other inflow/outflow port of the rotor opposes the insertion opening of the casing. According to this configuration, a connector in which channels can be switched easily can be obtained.
In this configuration, it is preferable that the casing has two of the inflow/outflow ports for liquids, and the inflow/outflow ports and the insertion opening are spaced substantially at 120 degrees at the periphery of the casing. This enables channels to be switched easily in three directions without having a complicated mechanism such as a three-way valve.
The first connector as one of connectors constituting a medical tube-connector device according to the present invention establishes an invention by itself. That is, a connector according to the present invention includes: a connector body that is attached to an end of a tube and has a through hole that communicates with the tube and a protective cap that is attached to the connector body and seals an opening of the connector body. The connector has a configuration in which the protective cap is detached from or attached to the connector body by being slid in the direction substantially orthogonal to the axial direction of the through hole. This configuration can prevent the channel end from being contaminated and can facilitate the connection operation.
It is preferred to employ the configuration in which the protective cap has a convex part with a T-shaped cross section, the connector body has a concave part with a T-shaped cross section, and the protective cap and the connector body are coupled by the fitting between the convex part and the concave part. According to this configuration, the protective cap can slide in the sideways direction easily and a form in which the protective cap and the connector body are not separated easily in the direction of the channel can be achieved. In this case, any shapes can be used as the cross sectional shape of the cap as long as the shapes have the same characteristics. For instance, a trapezoidal shape, a round shape, or an inverse triangular shape can be applied.
The medical tube-connector device with the configuration described first can be formed so that the protective cap is attached to the first connector body and at the same time the channel end of the second connector body is sealed by the cover portion by relatively displacing the second connector body and the guide cap from the connected state and thus restoring them into the preparatory state.
Preferably, the medical tube-connector device with the configuration described first is formed so that in the connected state, the guide cap can be detached from the second connector body in a state where the first connector body and the second connector body are maintained in a coupled state.
In this configuration, preferably a receiving part capable of receiving the protective cap is formed in the guide cap adjacent to the place where the first connector is inserted, and in the connected state, the protective cap that has been moved while having been maintained in the concave part is received and maintained in the receiving part. This configuration is useful particularly when the guide cap is detached from the second connector body in employing the route in which the preparatory state is restored directly from the connected state (i.e. the preparatory statexe2x86x92the connected statexe2x86x92the preparatory state). When it is not necessary to detach the guide cap after both the connectors have been connected, a means for maintaining the protective cap is not particularly necessary to be provided.
The first connector and the second connector can be formed so as to maintain the connected state against a pulling force in the direction of the channel and so as to be disconnectable by their sliding movements with respect to each other in the direction orthogonal to the direction of the channel.
Preferably, the medical tube-connector device with the configuration described first is constructed so that: the protective cap can be attached to or detached from the first connector body by its sliding movement along a circular arc; the second connector body and the guide cap can be displaced relatively by their sliding movements along a circular arc; the circular arc corresponding to the sliding face for the sliding movement between the first connector body and the protective cap has the same radius as that of the circular arc corresponding to the sliding face for the sliding movements between the second connector body and the guide cap; and the sliding face between the first connector body and the protective cap and the sliding face between the second connector body and the guide cap are arranged on the same circular arc when the first connector is inserted into the concave part from the protective cap side in the preparatory state. Further preferably, the medical tube-connector device is formed so that the center of the circular arc corresponding to the sliding face between the second connector body and the guide cap is positioned inside the second connector body. According to these configurations, since the attachment and detachment are carried out by the rotation, a force can be applied easily, thus facilitating the operation.
Moreover, in the above-mentioned configuration, it is preferable that: the first connector body has any one of a concave engagement part and a convex engagement part, each of which has a T-shaped cross section orthogonal to a direction of its sliding movement; the protective cap has the other one of the concave engagement part and the convex engagement part; the concave engagement part and the convex engagement part are fitted to each other to lead the sliding movements of the first connector body and the protective cap; and by the fitting, the protective cap is maintained in the first connector body. This configuration ensures the engagement of the protective cap with the first connector body and also facilitates the detachment and attachment of the protective cap.
Further, preferably, the second connector body has the convex engagement part with the T-shaped cross section when the first connector body has the concave engagement part with the T-shaped cross section, and the second connector body has the concave engagement part with the T-shaped cross section when the first connector body has the convex engagement, the convex and concave engagement parts of the protective cap and the second connector body being arranged on the same circular arc when the protective cap is inserted into the concave engagement part in the preparatory state, and the convex and concave engagement parts of the first connector body and the second connector body are fitted in the connected state, thus coupling the first connector body and the second connector body. According to this configuration, in connecting the connectors, the second connector body is fitted to the first connector body instead of the detached protective cap, and therefore the engagement structure of the both is very simple.
Furthermore, it is preferable that the guide gap has a wall for covering the protective cap in the connected state. According to this configuration, the protective cap can be protected excellently when the connectors are connected.
Preferably, the guide cap has a handle extending along the inserted first connector body. When the second connector body is rotated with the first connector body being held together with the handle, the connection between the first connector body and the second connector body can be operated stably and easily.
Next, another type of invention of the second connector constituting the medical tube-connector device according to the present invention will be described. A connector according to the present invention includes a connector body and a guide cap. The connector body includes a channel extending through its inside and a concave part into which a protective cap for sealing an opening of the other connector can be inserted. The connector body can be connected to a tube at one end of the channel. The guide cap can be displaced with respect to the connector body and is provided with a cover portion for covering and sealing the other end of the channel of the connector body. The connector body and the guide cap can be brought into a preparatory state or a connected state by their relative displacement. In the preparatory state, the concave part of the connector body is open and the other end of the channel is sealed by the cover portion. In the connected state, the other end of the channel is open.
In addition, a cap for replacement according to the present invention is formed by the combination of the guide cap and the protective cap that are included in a medical tube-connector device according to the present invention. The cap for replacement of the present invention includes: the guide cap provided with a cover portion that can cover and seal the other end of the channel of the second connector body, an opening adjacent to the cover portion, and a receiving part that is adjacent to the opening and that can receive the protective cap; and the protective cap received in the receiving part of the guide cap.


An athletic apparatus includes two rotary wheels installed on a frame, a pair of tracks disposed on the frame and tilted relative to the frame, a pair of pedal mechanisms slidably attached to the tracks and each having a pedal, a pair of rocker arm mechanisms having upper ends attached to the axle rod and lower ends coupled to the pedal mechanisms, a pulley attached to the frame and a steel rope engaged with the pulley and coupled to the pedal mechanisms, two linking belts coupling the lower ends of the rocker arms to an elastic belt which is engaged with the rotary wheels, a belt wheel and two gear wheels installed on a shaft rod of the frame, and the tracks are curved and tilted or inclined relative to the frame.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an athletic apparatus, and more particularly to an athletic apparatus including a pair of non-linear sliding tracks movable relative to the supporting base and having a pair of foot pedals slidably attached or mounted on the tracks for supporting the user's legs or feet and for allowing the user to conduct an elliptical moving exercise or operation.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Typical athletic apparatuses or exercise devices comprise a pair of rotatably positionable tracks each having a stirrup movable back and forth thereon for supporting the user's legs or feet and for allowing the user to conduct sliding or skiing or skating or other types of exercise operations.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,781,372 to McCormack discloses one of the typical ice-skating exercise devices comprising a pair of rotatably positionable and angularly adjustable tracks, and a pair of foot pedals slidably attached or mounted on the tracks for supporting the user's legs or feet.
However, the tracks are supported horizontally relative to the supporting base and the foot pedals may not be moved along an elliptical moving stroke.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,741,205 to Doll et al. discloses another typical exercise apparatus comprising a pair of pedal members rotatably attached or mounted to a supporting base, and a pair of foot pedals rotatably attached or mounted to the pedal members and coupled to the supporting base with pulleys and cables for keeping the vertical motion of the foot pedals.
However, the foot pedals and the pedal members may only be moved or stepped up and down relative to the supporting base, but may not be moved along an elliptical moving stroke.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,014,595 to Bruno discloses a further typical exercise apparatus or ice-skating apparatus comprising a pair of movable pedal members slidably attached or mounted along stride paths for simulating ice-skating exercises.
However, the pedal members may only be moved along the stride paths as an ice-skating exercise, but may not be moved along an elliptical moving stroke.
The present invention has arisen to mitigate and/or obviate the afore-described disadvantages of the conventional athletic apparatuses.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Athletic apparatus with non-linear sliding track


A method of depositing a film of a metal chalcogenide including the steps of: contacting an isolated hydrazinium-based precursor of a metal chalcogenide and a solvent having therein a solubilizing additive to form a solution of a complex thereof; applying the solution of the complex onto a substrate to produce a coating of the solution on the substrate; removing the solvent from the coating to produce a film of the complex on the substrate; and thereafter annealing the film of the complex to produce a metal chalcogenide film on the substrate. Also provided is a process for preparing an isolated hydrazinium-based precursor of a metal chalcogenide as well as a thin-film field-effect transistor device using the metal chalcogenides as the channel layer.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to methods of depositing a film of a metal chalcogenide from hydrazine-free solutions and a method of preparing a field-effect transistor including a film of a metal chalcogenide deposited from hydrazine-free solutions. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method of preparing a field-effect transistor including as the channel layer a film of a metal chalcogenide deposited from hydrazine-free solutions.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The ability to deposit high quality semiconducting, metallic and insulating thin films forms one of the important pillars of present-day solid-state electronics. A solar cell may include, for example, a thin n-type semiconductor layer (˜0.25 μm) deposited on a p-type substrate, with electrical contacts attached to each layer to collect the photocurrent. Light-emitting diodes (LED's) are typically comprised of a p-n bilayer, which under proper forward bias conditions emits light.
Thin-film field-effect transistors, denoted here as TFT's, include thin p- or n-type semiconducting channel layers, in which the conductivity is modulated by application of a bias voltage to a conducting gate layer that is separated from the channel by a thin insulating barrier. The electronic materials that include modern semiconducting devices have typically been silicon based, but can equally be considered from other families of materials, in some cases potentially offering advantages over the silicon-based technologies.
Thin-film field-effect transistors (TFT's), are widely used as switching elements in electronic applications, most notably for logic and driver circuitry within processor and display applications. Presently, TFT's for many lower-end applications, including those employed in active matrix liquid crystal displays, are made using amorphous silicon as the semiconductor. Amorphous silicon provides a cheaper alternative to crystalline silicon—a necessary condition for reducing the cost of transistors for large area applications. Application of amorphous silicon is limited, however, to slower speed devices, since the mobility (˜10−1 cm2/V-sec) is approximately 15,000 times smaller than that of crystalline silicon.
In addition, although amorphous silicon is cheaper to deposit than crystalline silicon, deposition of amorphous silicon still requires costly processes such as plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition. The search for alternative semiconductors (i.e., not silicon), for use in TFT's and other electronic devices is therefore being vigorously pursued.
If a semiconducting material could be identified which simultaneously provides higher mobility and low-cost processing at moderate/low temperatures, many new applications can be envisioned for these materials, including light, flexible, very large-area displays or electronics constructed entirely on plastic.
Recently, organic semiconductors have received considerable attention as potential replacements for inorganic counterparts in TFT's (see, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,347,144 assigned to Gamier et. al., entitled "Thin-Layer Field Effect Transistor With MIS Structure Whose Insulator and Semiconductor Are Made of Organic Materials") and LED's [S. E. Shaheen et al., "Organic Light-Emitting Diode with 20 Im/W Efficiency Using a Triphenyldiamine Side-Group Polymer as the Hole Transport Layer," Appl. Phys. Lett. 74, 3212 (1999)].
Organic materials have the advantage of simple and low-temperature thin-film processing through inexpensive techniques such as spin coating, ink jet printing, thermal evaporation, or stamping. Over the last few years, the carrier mobilities of the organic channel layers in OTFTs (organic TFTs) have increased dramatically from <10−4 to ˜1 cm2/V-sec (comparable to amorphous silicon) [see, for example, C. D. Dimitrakopoulos and D. J. Mascaro, "Organic thin-film transistors: A review of recent advances," IBM J. Res. & Dev. 45, 11–27 (2001)].
While very promising with regard to processing, cost, and weight considerations, organic compounds generally have a number of disadvantages, including poor thermal and mechanical stability. In addition, while the electrical transport in organic materials has improved substantially over the last 15 years, the mobility is fundamentally limited by the weak van der Waals interactions between organic molecules (as opposed to the stronger covalent and ionic forces found in extended inorganic systems).
The inherent upper bound on electrical mobility translates to a cap on switching speeds and therefore on the types of applications that might employ the low-cost organic devices. Organic semiconductors are therefore primarily being considered for lower-end applications.
One approach to improving mobility/durability involves combining the processibility of organic materials with the desirable electrical transport and thermal/mechanical properties of inorganic semiconductors within hybrid systems [D. B. Mitzi et al., "Organic-Inorganic Electronics," IBM J. Res. & Dev. 45, 29–45 (2001)]. Organic-inorganic hybrid films have recently been employed as the semiconductive element in electronic devices, including TFTs (see, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,180,956, assigned to Chondroudis et al., entitled "Thin-Film Transistors with Organic-inorganic Hybrid Materials as Semiconducting Channels") and LEDs (see, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,420,056, assigned to Chondroudis et al., entitled "Electroluminescent Device With Dye-Containing Organic-Inorganic Hybrid Materials as an Emitting Layer").
Several simple techniques have been described for depositing crystalline organic-inorganic hybrid films, including multiple-source thermal evaporation, single source thermal ablation, and melt processing.
Solution-deposition techniques (e.g., spin coating, stamping, printing) have also received recent attention and are particularly attractive since they enable the quick and inexpensive deposition of the hybrids on a diverse array of substrates. TFT's based on a spin-coated semiconducting tin(II)-iodide-based hybrid have yielded mobilities as high as 1 cm2/V-sec (similar to the best organic-based devices prepared using vapor-phase deposition and amorphous silicon).
Melt-processing of the hybrid systems has improved the grain structure of the semiconducting films, thereby leading to higher mobilities of 2–3 cm2/V-sec [D. B. Mitzi et. al., "Hybrid Field-Effect Transistors Based on a Low-Temperature Melt-Processed Channel Layer," Adv. Mater. 14, 1772–1776 (2002)].
While very promising, current examples of hybrid semiconductors are based on an extended metal halide frameworks (e.g., metal chlorides, metal bromides, metal iodides, most commonly tin(II) iodide). Metal halides are relatively ionic in nature, thereby limiting the selection of possible semiconducting systems with potential for high mobility. In addition, the tin(II)-iodide-based systems in particular are highly air sensitive and all processing must by done under inert-amosphere conditions. Furthermore, while the tin(II)-iodide-based systems are p-type semiconductors, it is also desirable to find examples of n-type systems, to enable applications facilitated by complementary logic. So far none have been identified.
Another alternative to silicon-based, organic, and metal-halide-based hybrid semiconductors involves the use of metal chalcogenides (e.g., metal sulfides, metal selenides, metal tellurides) as semiconductive elements for use within TFT's and other electronic devices. Some of the earliest solar cells [D. C. Raynolds et al. "Photovoltaic Effect in Cadmium Sulfide," Phy. Rev. 96, 533 (1954)] and TFTs [P. K. Weimer, "The TFT—A New Thin-Film Transistor," Proc. IRE 50, 1462–1469 (1964)] were in fact based on metal chalcogenide active layers. There are numerous examples of metal chalcogenide systems that are potentially useful as semiconductive materials. Tin(IV) sulfide, SnS2, is one candidate that has generated substantial interest as a semiconducting material for solar cells, with n-type conductivity, an optical band gap of ˜2.1 eV and a reported mobility of 18 cm2/V-sec [G. Domingo et al., "Fundamental Optical Absorption in SnS2 and SnSe2," Phys. Rev. 143, 536–541 (1966)].
These systems might be expected to yield higher mobility than the organic and metal-halide-based hybrids, as a result of the more covalent nature of the chalcogenides, and also provide additional opportunities for identifying n-type semiconductors.
Reported mobilities of metal chalcogenides, for example, include SnSe2 (27 cm2/V-sec/n-type) [G. Domingo et al., "Fundamental Optical Absorption in SnS2 and SnSe2," Phys. Rev. 143, 536–541 (1966)], SnS2 (18 cm2/V-sec/n-type) [T. Shibata et al., "Electrical Characterization of 2H-SnS2 Single Crystals Synthesized by the Low Temperature Chemical Vapor Transport Method," J. Phys. Chem. Solids 52, 551–553 (1991)], CdS (340 cm2N-sec/n-type), CdSe (800 cm2N-sec/n-type) [S. M. Sze, "Physics of Semiconductor Devices," John Wiley & Sons, New York, 1981, p. 849], ZnSe (600 cm2N-sec/n-type), and ZnTe (100 cm2N-sec/p-type) [B. G. Streetman, "Solid State Electronic Devices," Prentice-Hall, Inc., New Jersey, 1980, p.443].
While the potential for higher mobility exists, the increased covalency of the extended metal chalcogenide systems also reduces their solubility and increases the melting temperature, rendering simple and low-cost thin-film deposition techniques for these systems a significant challenge.
A number of techniques have been proposed and employed for the deposition of chalcogenide-based films, including thermal evaporation [A. Van Calster et.al., "Polycrystalline cadmium selenide films for thin film transistors," J. Crystal Growth 86, 924–928 (1988)], chemical vapor deposition (CVD) [L. S. Price et al., "Atmospheric Pressure CVD of SnS and SnS2 on Glass," Adv. Mater. 10, 222–225 (1998)], galvanic deposition [B. E. McCandless et al., "Galvanic Deposition of Cadmium Sulfide Thin Films," Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells 36, 369–379 (1995)], chemical bath deposition [F. Y. Gan et al., "Preparation of Thin-Film Transistors With Chemical Bath Deposited CdSe and CdS Thin Films," IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices 49, 15–18 (2002)], and successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) [B. R. Sankapal et al., "Successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) method for the deposition of large area (˜10 cm2) tin disulfide (SnS2) thin films," Mater. Res. Bull. 35, 2027–2035 (2001)].
However, these techniques are generally not amenable to low-cost, high-thoughput (fast) solution-based deposition techniques such as spin-coating, printing and stamping. What is required for application of the high-thoughput techniques is a truly soluble precursor for the chalcogenide and a suitable solvent. Given the potential for high electrical mobility in the metal chalcogenide systems and both n- and p-channel devices, if a convenient and rapid solution-based technique could be identified for their deposition, the field of low-cost solution-based electronics, currently primarily being pursued within the context of organic electronics, might be extended to higher-end applications, such as logic circuitry and very large area displays.
Spray pyrolysis is one technique employing the rapid decomposition of a soluble precursor [M. Krunks et al., "Composition of CuInS2 thin films prepared by spray pyrolysis," Thin Solid Films 403–404, 71–75 (2002)]. The technique involves spraying a solution, which contains the chloride salts of the metal along with a source of the chalcogen (e.g., SC(NH2)2), onto a heated substrate (generally in the range 250–450° C.).
While metal chalcogenide films are formed using this technique, the films generally have substantial impurities of halogen, carbon or nitrogen. Annealing in reducing atmospheres of H2 or H2S at temperatures up to 450° C. can be used to reduce the level of impurities in the film, but these relatively aggressive treatments are not compatible with a wide range of substrate materials and/or require specialized equipment.
Ridley et al. [B. A. Ridley et al., "All-inorganic Field Effect Transistors Frabricated by Printing," Science 286, 746–749 (1999)] describes CdSe semiconducting films that are printed using a soluble metal chalcogenide precursor formed using organic derivatized CdSe nanocrystals. This technique, however, requires the formation of nanocrystals with tight control on particle size distribution in order to enable effective sintering during a postdeposition thermal treatment. The particle size control requires repeated dissolution and centrifugation steps in order to isolate a suitably uniform collection of nanocrystals.
Further, reported TFT devices prepared using this technique exhibited unusual features, including substantial device hysteresis and a negative resistance in the saturation regime, perhaps as a result of trap or interface states either within the semiconducting film or at the interface between the semiconductor and the insulator.
Dhingra et al. have also demonstrated a soluble precursor for metal chalcogenides that can be used to spin coat films of the corresponding metal chalcogenide after thermal treatment to decompose the precursor (see S. Dhingra et al., "The use of soluble metal-polyselenide complexes as precursors to binary and ternary solid metal selenides," Mat. Res. Soc. Symp. Proc. 180, 825–830 (1990).
However, in this process, the species used to solublize the chalcogenide framework (i.e., quaternary ammonium or phosphonium polyselenides), which ultimately decompose from the sample during the heat treatment, are very bulky and most of the film disappears during the annealing sequence (e.g., 70–87%). The resulting films consequently exhibit inferior connectivity and quality.
The large percentage of the sample that is lost during the thermal treatment implies that only relatively thick films can be deposited using this technique, since thin films would be rendered discontinuous (the above mentioned study considered films with thickness ˜25–35 μm). Additionally, relatively high temperatures are required for the thermal decomposition of the polyselenides (˜530° C.), making this process incompatible with even the most thermally robust plastic substrates (e.g., Kapton sheet can withstand temperatures as high as 400° C.).
A study has also concluded that films of crystalline MoS2 can be spin coated from a solution of (NH4)2MoS4 in an organic diamine [J. Pütz and M. A. Aegerter, "Spin-Coating of MoS2 Thin Films," Proc. of International Congress on Glass, vol. 18, San Francisco, Calif., Jul. 5–10, 1998, 1675–1680]. However, high-temperature post-deposition anneals are required to achieve crystalline films (600–800° C.), rendering the process incompatible with organic-based flexible substrate materials.
A similar procedure has led to the formation of amorphous As2S3 and As2Se3 films [G. C. Chern and I. Lauks, "Spin-Coated Amorphous Chalcogenide Films," J. Applied Phys. 53, 6979–6982 (1982)], but attempts to deposit other main-group metal chalcogenides, such as Sb2S3 and GeSx have not been successful, due to the low solubility of the precursors in the diamine solvents [J. Pütz and M. A. Aegerter, "Spin-Coating of MoS2 Thin Films," Proc. of International Congress on Glass, vol. 18, San Francisco, Calif., Jul. 5–10, 1998, 1675–1680].
Improvement in the above-described solution-based processes are therefore required for practical applications, especially for the fabrication of crystalline films of main-group metal chalcogenides, such as those derived from Ge, Sn, Pb, Sb, Bi, Ga, In, Tl, which can potentially provide high mobility in a semiconductor with reasonable band gap for a transistor.
If semiconducting materials and processing techniques could be identified which simultaneously provide high carrier mobility and low-cost processing at moderate/low temperatures, many new applications could be envisioned for these technologies, including light, flexible, very large-area displays or electronics constructed entirely on plastic.
The commonly owned co-pending U.S. application Ser. No. 10/617,118, Filed on Jul. 10, 2003, entitled "Solution Deposition of Chalcogenide Films" (Attorney Docket No.: YOR920030231US1), the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference, describes a novel solution-deposition process for preparing semiconducting chalcogenide films by a process that employs a metal chalcogenide in a hydrazine compound to deposit the chalcogenide films.
While this process enables the deposition of high quality ultrathin spin-coated films with field-effect mobilities as high as 10 cm2/V-sec, approximately an order of magnitude higher than previous examples of spin-coated semiconductors, the process has the disadvantage that it requires spinning the film from a solution containing hydrazine, which is a highly toxic and reactive substance.
In view of this disadvantage, it is highly desirable to provide a process, which avoids the use of hydrazine as the solvent altogether in the process of depositing high quality ultrathin spin-coated films.
Accordingly, it is highly desirable to provide a process for preparation of semiconducting chalcogenide films without the use of hydrazine as the solvent to overcome the high toxicity and reactivity concerns and, simultaneously, reduce the environmental impact and manufacturing cost of the fabricated films, without the need for additional specialized equipment which otherwise would be required to handle a toxic solvent such as hydrazine.

Hydrazine-free solution deposition of chalcogenide films

International Business Machines Corporation


A cutting including a saw blade protruding from an upper surface of the table can include a splitter positioned on the front side with respect to a cutting direction of the saw blade and in alignment with the saw blade. A guard device is provided for covering the saw blade. A kickback preventing claw member prevents the workpiece from being forced upward by the saw blade after the workpiece has been cut by the saw blade. A mount frame is detachably mounted to an upper portion of the splitter. The guard device and the kickback preventing claw member are supported on the mount frame, so that the guard device and the kickback preventing claw can be removed separately or together from the splitter.

1. Field of the Invention
This is a Divisional of application Ser. No. 11/519,942, filed Sep. 13, 2006. This application claims priority to Japanese patent application serial number 2005-268614, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
The present invention relates to cutting devices, and in particular to table saws having a table for placing workpieces thereon and a saw blade partially protruding upward from the upper surface of the table.
2. Description of the Related Art
Table saws have a table for placing workpieces thereon and a circular saw blade that partially protrudes upward from the upper surface of the table, so that workpieces may be cut by moving workpieces along the upper surface of the table toward the saw blade in a direction parallel to the surface of the saw blade. It has been known to provide a guard device in order to prevent potential interference of the other articles with the upper portion of the saw blade protruding from the table surface. The known guard device has a guard plate that is configured to cover the saw blade primarily from right and left sides and the upper side. The guard device is configured such that the guard plate is moved upward or opened by the workpiece as the workpiece moves toward the saw blade. Typically, the guard plate is vertically pivotally mounted to a splitter.
For the convenience of change of the saw blade, there has been proposed to configure the guard device such that the guard plate can not only vertically pivot but also can be completely removed. Japanese Laid-Open Utility Model Publication No. 646901, U.S. Pat. No. 6,405,624 and EP 1491.304 A2 teach known guard devices.
In general, a saw blade of the table saw rotates in such a direction that the saw blade moves downward on the side of the position of the workpiece before it is cut (hereinafter called "front side with respect to cutting direction"), while the saw blade moves upward on the side of the position of the workpiece after it has been cut (hereinafter called "rear side with respect to cutting direction"). Therefore, if the cut surfaces of the workpiece contact the rear side of the rotating saw blade immediately after the workpiece has been cut, the workpiece may be forced upward by the rotating saw blade in some occasion. This phenomenon is called "kickback phenomenon." When this phenomenon occurs, it is difficult to smoothly perform the cutting operation. Therefore, there has been proposed to position a splitter (also called "riving knife") having substantially the same thickness as the saw blade on the rear side of the saw blade and within the same plane as the saw blade. The splitter may enter the cut of the workpiece and maintain the cut width of the workpiece in order to avoid contact of the rotating saw blade with the cut surfaces. In addition, in order to prevent the potential kickback phenomenon, there has been proposed to provide kickback preventing claw members on opposite sides of the splitter within a region where the kickback preventing claw members may not interfere with the movement of the workpiece in the cutting direction. Japanese Laid-Open Utility Model Publication No. 3-42602 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,405,624 teach known kickback preventing claw members.
Also there has been proposed to provide a splitter and kickback preventing claw members for preventing the kickback phenomenon in addition to a guard device for preventing interference of other articles with the saw blade. In this structure, a guard plate of the guard device and kickback preventing claw members are respectively vertically pivotally supported on the upper portion of the splitter.
However, for example, in the case of the cutting operation of a decorative laminated sheet, it would be preferable that the kickback preventing claw members will not contact the sheet during the cutting operation. Therefore, by configuring the kickback preventing claw members to be able to be removed from the splitter, the operability for this kind of cutting operation can be improved. In addition, the operation for changing the saw blade can be conveniently performed if the kickback preventing claw members are removed from the splitter in order to keep the kickback preventing claw members as far away from the saw blade as possible.
In this structure, the guard plate of the guard device and each of the kickback preventing claw members are individually supported on the splitter. In this configuration, a problem occurs such that the mounting and removing operations of the guard plate and the kickback preventing claw members are very difficult when such operations are necessary for changing the saw blade.


A process for the production of 4,6-dialkoxypyrimidines of the general formula: ##STR1## A propanediimidate of the general formula: ##STR2## is converted with an anhydride of the general formula: ##STR3## to provide the product.

1.Field Of The Invention
The invention relates to a new process for the production of 4,6-dialkoxypyrimidines of the general formula: ##STR4## wherein R.sub.1 and R.sub.2 each means a C.sub.1 -C.sub.4 alkyl group and R.sub.3 means a hydrogen atom or a C.sub.1 -C.sub.4 alkyl group, starting from a propanediimidate and an anhydride.
2. Background Art
The production of unsubstituted 4,6-dimethoxypyrimidine in the 2-position [Sheoherd et al., J. Org. Chem., 26, (1961), pp. 2764 to 2769] and the production of 2-methyl-4,6-dimethoxypyrimidine [M. Prvstas, Coll, Czech. Chem. Comm., 32, (1967), p. 4241] are known. In both of these processes, the corresponding 4,6-dialkoxypyrimidines, starting from 4,6-dichloropyrimidines, are produced by substitution with methylate. A great drawback of both of these processes lies in the fact that first the 4,6-dichloropyrimidines starting from the corresponding dihydroxypyrimidines have to be synthesized with chlorinated phosphate compounds, and large amounts of phosphate wastes result.

Process for the production of 4,6-dialkoxypyrimidines


A water bike using a floating bodies and a driving housing is provided. Some implementations of the disclosed technology provide the water bike including a plurality of floating bodies each of which has a spherical shape or a sphere-like shape and disposed at front and rear sides of the water bike, connection rods that are attached to or detached from the floating bodies at positions toward centers of the floating bodies, a body frame for connecting the plurality of floating bodies to one another, a driver chair disposed over the body frame, handles configured to manipulate a moving direction and connected to a rudder that is disposed at a rear side of the water bike, and pedals disposed on the body frame adjacent to the floating body that is disposed at the front side to provide a driving force.

The improvements in standards of living and desire for cultural needs have been motivated to various leisure and sports. Most of all, land sports definitely catch popularity. For example, there are various popularized athletic sports, fitness, cycling, and hiking because the land sports have good accessibility and safety, as well as, equipment for the land sports may be easily equipped. Also, water sports are in the limelight. However, the water sports are limited in accessibility and safety, and equipment for the water sports is expensive and difficult in handling, and thus the water sports have not been widely enjoyed in comparison to the land sports.
For example, in case of rafting that uses an inflatable rubber boat to shoot down a rapid stream, since there are few valleys, only some enthusiasts enjoy the rafting. Also, in case of water-ski or yacht, equipment for the water-ski or yacht is expensive, and thus it has low accessibility. Also, ordinary people may not enjoy the water-ski or yacht with their families due to safety problem.

Water bicycle and water bicycle drive housing


A laminated terminal is provided for an electrical connector and includes a plurality of flat metal layers juxtaposed to form a laminated structure. Each metal layer includes a joining section, a contact section and a terminating section. A plurality of projections on the joining sections of the layers are interengaged within a respective plurality of recesses in adjacent layers to align the layers and provide a strong mechanical and good electrical joint between the layers. Solder tails extend linearly along the bottom edge of each joining section to form a plurality of rows of solder tails, and the terminating portions of the metal layers are bent outwardly to separate the rows of solder tails from each other. The contact section of one metal layer may include a generally planar finger which is coplanar with a planar finger of another of the metal layers.

Generally, an electrical connector typically includes some form of insulative or dielectric housing which mounts one or more conductive terminals. The housing is configured for mating with a complementary mating connector or other connecting device which, itself, has one or more conductive terminals. A connector assembly typically includes a pair of mating connectors, such as plug and receptacle connectors sometimes called male and female connectors. The terminals typically have terminating ends exposed at a terminating face of the housing for connection to various conductors, such as discrete conductors of a plurality of electrical cables or the circuit traces on a printed circuit board. The terminals have contact ends located at a mating face of the housing for engaging the terminals of the complementary mating connector or other connecting device.
The terminals of some electrical connectors include a plurality of flat metal layers juxtaposed to form a laminated structure. This might be done to increase the current carrying capability of the terminal. Terminals typically are stamped and formed of sheet metal material and folded together to form two adjacent layers at the contact end of the terminal, for instance. Laminations increase the strength of the terminal by increasing the thickness thereof, whereas thick metal layers are difficult and expensive to stamp and form of sheet metal of a relatively thick material.
Unfortunately, the plurality of metal layers of laminated terminals are difficult to align during manufacturing processes wherein the layers typically are welded together. Other problems involve delamination of the layers during fabrication of the terminals, manufacture of the connectors and repeated usage thereof. The welds have a tendency to break over time and repeated usage. The present invention is directed to solving these problems.
In addition, the invention provides for better electrical distribution between the metal layers of the laminated terminal. Still further, the various layers of the terminal are bent apart at their bottom edges to provide spaced multiple rows of solder tails.


A projecting apparatus is provided, and includes a frame, a light source module, and a microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) module. The frame includes two lateral boards respectively arranged on two opposite sides thereof, and a transverse beam that connects the two lateral boards. Each of the two lateral boards has a guiding slot recessed in a portion thereof. The MEMS module is configured to transmit light emitted from the light source module, and includes a flexible circuit board, a first MEMS unit, and a second MEMS unit, the latter two of which are connected to the flexible circuit board. The first MEMS unit is inserted into the guiding slots of the two lateral boards. The second MEMS unit abuts against the two lateral boards and/or the transverse beam. The first MEMS unit and the second MEMS unit have a predetermined angle there-between by the second frame portion.

A conventional projecting apparatus having a microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) module includes two MEMS units having an angle there-between that is required to be precisely maintained at a predetermined value. In the conventional projecting apparatus, the angle is determined by bending a metal plate carrying the two MEMS units. However, the angles defined by bending the metal plate are prone to large deviations.