This invention relates to the field of heterogeneous catalysis, and more particularly to catalysts including carbon supports having formed thereon compositions which comprise a transition metal in combination with nitrogen and/or carbon. The invention further relates to the fields of catalytic oxidation, including the preparation of secondary amines by the catalytic oxidation of tertiary amines.

Investigations to discover alternative materials for use in catalysis concerning various types of reactions have included evaluation of the suitability of carbide and nitride materials. Generally, carbide and nitride materials have been considered as possible alternatives for use in various types of catalysis since they exhibit "metal-like" properties (e.g., high melting points, hardness and strength). Levy & Boudart report that carbide and nitride materials exhibit catalytic properties similar to those of noble metals. See Platinum-Like Behavior of Tungsten Carbide in Surface Catalysis (Science, 181 (1973), 547-549).
Supported carbide and nitride catalysts have been described generally and reported as suitable for use in various types of reactions. Slaugh et al. describe a supported molybdenum carbide composition prepared by impregnating hexamolybdenum dodecachloride onto a porous aluminous (e.g., Al2O3), siliceous or carbonaceous (e.g., active carbon) support which is then heated in a carbiding atmosphere at a temperature of about 650° C. to about 750° C. See U.S. Pat. No. 4,325,842.
Leclercq et al. report a catalytic reforming process employing catalysts based on tungsten and molybdenum carbides supported on alumina and active carbon. See U.S. Pat. No. 4,522,708. These catalysts are prepared by successive impregnations of active carbon using ammonium molybdate and ammonium tungstate solutions which are evaporated to dryness in air, calcined in a nitrogen atmosphere which is followed by reduction of the tungsten and molybdenum oxides formed during calcination under a hydrogen atmosphere. These compounds are then heated under hydrogen to allow the active phase compounds to react with the carbon support to produce mixed carbides of tungsten and molybdenum.
Sherif et al. report carbon-supported Group VIB metal (e.g., Cr, Mo, W) carbide-containing catalysts formed by calcining a carbon support (e.g., activated carbon and acid washed activated carbon) which has been impregnated with a water-soluble precursor for the metal carbide. See International Publication No. WO 95/32150.
Oyama reports interstitial alloys formed by the incorporation of carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen into the lattices of early transition metals to produce a class of compounds with metallic character. See Preparation and Catalytic Properties of Transition Metal Carbides and Nitrides (Catalysis Today, 15, 179-200. 1992).
Iwai et al. report carbonitrides consisting of a carbide and nitride of the metals of Groups IV, V, and VI prepared by calcining a precursor obtained by reacting polyphenol with the reaction product of ammonia and the halide of a Group IV, V, or VI metal. The precursor may also be obtained by reacting the reaction product of polyphenol and the halide of a Group IV, V, or VI metal with ammonia. See U.S. Pat. No. 4,333,916.
Faubert et al. report on methods for preparing iron-containing catalysts containing iron carbide particles prepared by activation of a precursor consisting of Fe hydroxide adsorbed on carbon black by hydrogen reduction and pyrolysis in the presence of acetonitrile. See Activation and characterization of Fe-based catalysts for the reduction of oxygen in polymer electrolyte fuel cells (Electrochimica Acta, Vol. 43, Nos. 14-15, pp. 1969-1984, 1998).
Cote et al. report on methods for preparation of non-noble metal based catalysts prepared by pyrolysis of a transition metal hydroxide (e.g., vanadium, chromium, iron, cobalt hydroxide) on carbon black including reduction in the presence of hydrogen and heating in the presence of acetonitrile. See Non-noble metal-based catalysts for the reduction of oxygen in polymer electrolyte fuel cells (Journal of New Materials for Electrochemical Systems, 1, 7-16, 1998).
Catalysts containing carbides or nitrides may be advantageous in certain instances due to the absence of a costly noble metal. One such reaction in which an active catalyst which does not require the presence of a noble metal may be advantageous is the oxidation of a tertiary amine (e.g., N-(phosphonomethyl)iminodiacetic acid) to produce a secondary amine (e.g., N-(phosphonomethyl)glycine). N-(phosphonomethyl)glycine (known in the agricultural chemical industry as "glyphosate") is described in Franz, U.S. Pat. No. 3,799,758. N-(phosphonomethyl)glycine and its salts are conveniently applied as a post-emergent herbicide in an aqueous formulation. It is a highly effective and commercially important broad-spectrum herbicide useful in killing or controlling the growth of a wide variety of plants, including germinating seeds, emerging seedlings, maturing and established woody and herbaceous vegetation, and aquatic plants.
Various methods for making N-(phosphonomethyl)glycine are known in the art. Franz (U.S. Pat. No. 3,950,402) teaches that N-(phosphonomethyl)glycine may be prepared by the liquid phase oxidative cleavage of N-(phosphonomethyl)iminodiacetic acid (sometimes referred to as "PMIDA") with oxygen in the presence of a catalyst comprising a noble metal deposited on the surface of an activated carbon support:

Other by-products also may form, such as formic acid, which is formed by the oxidation of the formaldehyde by-product; and aminomethylphosphonic acid ("AMPA"), which is formed by the oxidation of N-(phosphonomethyl)glycine. Even though the Franz method produces an acceptable yield and purity of N-(phosphonomethyl)glycine, high losses of the costly noble metal into the reaction solution (i.e., "leaching") result because under the oxidation conditions of the reaction, some of the noble metal is oxidized into a more soluble form and both PMIDA and N-(phosphonomethyl)glycine act as ligands which solubilize the noble metal.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,969,398, Hershman teaches that activated carbon alone, without the presence of a noble metal, may be used to effect the oxidative cleavage of PMIDA to form N-(phosphonomethyl)glycine. In U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,624,937, Chou further teaches that the activity of the carbon catalyst taught by Hershman may be increased by removing the oxides from the surface of the carbon catalyst before using it in the oxidation reaction. See also, U.S. Pat. No. 4,696,772, which provides a separate discussion by Chou regarding increasing the activity of the carbon catalyst by removing oxides from the surface of the carbon catalyst. Although these processes obviously do not suffer from noble metal leaching, they do tend to produce greater concentrations of formaldehyde by-product when used to effect the oxidative cleavage of N-(phosphonomethyl)iminodiacetic acid. This formaldehyde by-product is undesirable because it reacts with N-(phosphonomethyl)glycine to produce unwanted by-products (mainly N-methyl-N-(phosphonomethyl)glycine, sometimes referred to as "NMG") which reduce the N-(phosphonomethyl)glycine yield. In addition, the formaldehyde by-product itself is undesirable because of its potential toxicity. See Smith, U.S. Pat. No. 5,606,107.
It has been suggested that the formaldehyde be simultaneously oxidized to carbon dioxide and water as the PMIDA is oxidized to N-(phosphonomethyl)glycine in a single reactor, thus giving the following reaction:

As the above teachings suggest, such a process requires the presence of both carbon (which primarily effects the oxidation of PMIDA to form N-(phosphonomethyl)glycine and formaldehyde) and a noble metal (which primarily effects the oxidation of formaldehyde to formic acid, carbon dioxide and water). Previous attempts to develop a stable catalyst for such an oxidation process, however, have not been entirely satisfactory.
Like Franz, Ramon et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 5,179,228) teach using a noble metal deposited on the surface of a carbon support. To reduce the problem of leaching (which Ramon et al. report to be as great as 30% noble metal loss per cycle), however, Ramon et al. teach flushing the reaction mixture with nitrogen under pressure after the oxidation reaction is completed to cause re-deposition of the noble metal onto the surface of the carbon support. According to Ramon et al., nitrogen flushing reduces the noble metal loss to less than 1%. Still, the amount of noble metal loss incurred with this method is unacceptable. In addition, re-depositing the noble metal can lead to loss of noble metal surface area which, in turn, decreases the activity of the catalyst.
Using a different approach, Felthouse (U.S. Pat. No. 4,582,650) teaches using two catalysts: (i) an activated carbon to effect the oxidation of PMIDA into N-(phosphonomethyl) glycine, and (ii) a co-catalyst to concurrently effect the oxidation of formaldehyde into carbon dioxide and water. The co-catalyst consists of an aluminosilicate support having a noble metal located within its pores. The pores are sized to exclude N-(phosphonomethyl) glycine and thereby prevent the noble metal of the co-catalyst from being poisoned by N-(phosphonomethyl) glycine. According to Felthouse, use of these two catalysts together allows for the simultaneous oxidation of PMIDA to N-(phosphonomethyl)glycine and of formaldehyde to carbon dioxide and water. This approach, however, suffers from several disadvantages: (1) it is difficult to recover the costly noble metal from the aluminosilicate support for re-use; (2) it is difficult to design the two catalysts so that the rates between them are matched; and (3) the carbon support, which has no noble metal deposited on its surface, tends to deactivate at a rate which can exceed 10% per cycle.
Ebner et al., in U.S. Pat. No. 6,417,133, describe a deeply reduced noble metal on carbon catalyst which is characterized by a CO desorption of less than 1.2 mmole/g, preferably less than 0.5 mmole/g, when a dry sample of the catalyst, after being heated at a temperature of about 500° C. for about 1 hour in a hydrogen atmosphere and before being exposed to an oxidant following the heating in the hydrogen atmosphere, is heated in a helium atmosphere from about 20° to about 900° C. at a rate of about 10° C. per minute, and then at about 900° C. for about 30 minutes. The catalyst is additionally or alternatively characterized as having a ratio of carbon atoms to oxygen atoms of at least about 20:1, preferably at least about 30:1, at the surface as measured by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy after the catalyst is heated at a temperature of about 500° C. for about 1 hour in a hydrogen atmosphere and before the catalyst is exposed to an oxidant following the heating in the hydrogen atmosphere.
The catalysts of U.S. Pat. No. 6,417,133 have proven to be highly advantageous and effective catalysts for the oxidation of N-(phosphonomethyl) iminodiacetic acid to N-(phosphonomethyl) glycine, and for the further oxidation of by-product formaldehyde and formic acid, and without excessive leaching of noble metal from the carbon support. It has further been discovered that these catalysts are effective in the operation of a continuous process for the production of N-(phosphonomethyl)glycine by oxidation of N-(phosphonomethyl) iminodiacetic acid.
Carbon and noble metal sites on the catalysts of U.S. Pat. No. 6,417,133 are highly effective for transfer of electrons in the oxidation of N-(phosphonomethyl)iminodiacetic acid, and the noble metal sites are especially effective for this purpose in the oxidation of formaldehyde and formic acid. However, it would be advantageous to have a multi-reaction catalyst and reaction process which oxidizes PMIDA to N-(phosphonomethyl)glycine while simultaneously exhibiting desired oxidation of formaldehyde to carbon dioxide and water (i.e., increased formaldehyde activity), and which does not require the presence of a noble metal (e.g., a carbide, nitride, or carbide-nitride containing catalyst). Additionally or alternatively, it would likewise be advantageous to have such a multi-reaction catalyst and reaction process which does not require costly noble metal, or which functions effectively with a reduced noble metal content relative to catalysts currently available for commercial manufacture of N-(phosphonomethyl)glycine or other secondary amines.
Salts of iminodiacetic acid may be phosphonomethylated to form PMIDA which, in turn, may be oxidized to form N-(phosphonomethyl)glycine in accordance with the above description. See, e.g., Gentilcore, U.S. Pat. No. 4,775,498 (disclosing a method to phosphonomethylate a salt of iminodiacetic acid); Ebner, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,417,133 (disclosing methods for oxidizing PMIDA).
Salts of nitrilotriacetic acid, for example, are excellent chelating agents, and consequently may be used as detergent builders, water-softening agents, scouring aids, dyeing assistants, paper-coating agents, scale inhibitors, and agents for preventing soap degeneration. And many amino-carboxylic acid salts (e.g., salts of glycine, salts of iminodiacetic acid, etc.) may also be neutralized to their corresponding acids and then used, for example, as chelating agents; in food preparations; and as raw materials for making pharmaceuticals, agricultural chemicals, and pesticides. See, e.g., Franz, et al., Glyphosate: A Unique Global Herbicide (ACS Monograph 189, 1997) at pp. 234-41 (disclosing the use of glycine and iminodiacetic acid compounds as raw materials to form N-(phosphonomethyl)glycine).


A cyclone separator for separating a fluid into a gas phase and a liquid phase. The cyclone separator includes a vertically oriented vessel with a gas phase outlet at an upper end of the vessel and a liquid phase outlet at a lower end of the vessel; at least one tangentially oriented fluid inlet at the upper end below the gas phase outlet of the vessel; a liquid extractor extracting liquid through the liquid phase outlet at a rate which forms a bulk liquid phase at the lower end of the vessel; and a gas extractor extracting gas through the gas phase outlet. The cyclone separator has at least one flow velocity deflector located at a level in proximity to the bulk liquid-gas interphase which changes the vertical velocity component of a liquid film travelling down the internal wall of the vessel to a horizontally oriented velocity component.

1. Technical Field
This invention relates to a method for separating gas and liquid and cyclone separators therefore.
2. Description of the Related Art
Off-shore extraction of hydrocarbons from a subsea reservoir often involves transportation of a mixture of hydrocarbons, water and dissolved salts in subsea pipelines from the reservoir up to land based or floating top-side facilities for processing the mixture to recover the desired hydrocarbon products. Due to shifting physical conditions during the pipeline transit, there is a problem with formation of hydrates in the fluid mixture of the pipelines threatening to clog the lines.
One much applied solution to the problem of hydrate formation is to add, at subsea level, low water content glycol into the process fluid which usually is a mixture of hydrocarbons, water and dissolved salts and then extract the glycol as so-called rich glycol from the process fluid at the top-side facilities. From an operational costs and environmental point of view, the rich glycol should be regenerated to lean glycol and then reused as hydrate inhibiting agent in the subsea lines. Rich glycol usually contains remains of the hydrocarbons, high water levels, corrosion products (solid particulate corrosion produced remains such as rust flakes etc.) and a mixture of dissolved mineral salts.
From U.S. Pat. No. 6,340,373 it is known a method for the treatment and processing of solutions of an organic fluid, water and one or more compounds of alkaline earth metals, alkali metals and metal ions. The method comprises the following steps: a) conducting a stream consisting of organic fluid, water and one or more compounds of alkaline earth metals, alkali metals and metals ions to a salt reduction and crystallization unit, b) flash evaporating and optionally partially condensing the stream and providing thereby a steam of evaporated water and organic solvent and a steam of organic fluid and the compounds of alkaline earth metals, alkali metals and/or metal ions, c) conducting the steam consisting substantially of organic fluid and the compounds of alkaline earth metals, alkali metals and/or metals ions to a salt reduction means, d) nucleating crystals of the compounds of alkaline earth metals, alkali metals and/or metal ions by means of depressurization and temperature increase, and e) removing the portion of the precipitated crystals and/or particles from the organic fluid. The method is particularly well suited for processing of solution consisting of mono-, di, tri, or polyethyleneglycol or mixtures thereof.
A problem with the processes employing flash evaporation to concentrate and precipitate the salts is that the level of entrained gas bubbles in the liquid in the bottom of the flash evaporator may become unacceptably high, leading to cavitation problems in downstream pumps. The cavity problems may arise when the volume fraction of gas in the liquid extracted from the flash evaporator is from approx. 5 vol % or higher. This problem is especially relevant for liquids of high viscosity, such as is the case for i.e. reclamation of glycol, because entrained gas bubbles are less prone to rise up to the liquid-gas interphase in high viscous liquids and thus escape to the gas phase above the liquid.
Another factor affecting the gas entrainment problem is the gas pressure in the flash evaporator. At lower gas pressures, an entrained gas bubble will become compressed to a higher degree when dragged down into the liquid compared to a similarly sized gas bubble being entrained at a higher gas pressure and dragged down to the same depth in the liquid. For example, in monoethylene glycol, a gas bubble of 1 mm diameter with a gas pressure of 103 Pa just below the liquid-gas interphase will be compressed to a bubble of diameter 0.5 mm at 1 m depth in the liquid. However, if the gas bubble had a pressure of 105 Pa just below the liquid gas interphase, it will only be compressed to 0.9 mm diameter at 1 meter depth. Thus in vacuum flashing, there will be increased problems with small gas bubbles which have significantly smaller buoyancies and thus less capability of being separated from the liquid phase.
One solution of the problem of gas bubble entrainment is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,375,386 which employs a vacuum evaporator provided with an integral cyclonic-type entrainment separator at the top of the evaporator vapour body which comprises a helical spin plate for imparting a centrifugal action to the vapour and entrained liquid rising from the boiling liquid in the flash chamber. Liquid entrainment is deposited on the vertical wall of the evaporator and flows downward counter-current to vapour flow into a collecting trough, from which it is discharged into a pipe that returns it to the boiling liquid.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,669,948 discloses a cyclone, mainly for separating liquid from gas/vapour which is formed on pressure reduction of spent cooling liquor in connection with pulp production, which includes a casing, an inlet arrangement, a lower outlet line for liquid and an upper outlet line for vapour and gas. The inlet arrangement is connected to a supply line with a valve and the inlet arrangement consists of an exchangeable insertion pipe, the length of which exceeds one meter, preferably two meters and is most preferably between 2.5 and 3.5 meters long. The cyclone is equipped with an "anti-swirl plate" which is arranged on stays directly above the bottom inside the cyclone. The plate is divided up and consists of an external annular part, on top of and in front of which a homogeneous circular part is arranged. Due to the anti-swirl plate, the liquid which accumulates in the bottom of the cyclone cannot be carried away by the swirl which is formed in the central parts of the cyclone.
Another problem associated with cyclone separators is the transfer of the swirling motion into the bulk liquid which may result in a vortex flow into the liquid outlet, thereby resulting in gas leaving the cyclone together with the liquid.

Method for separating gas and liquid and cyclone separators therefore


The invention provides for the steam of a solvent to reach the space of an extractor following two possible routes thus exposing the sample to a continuous flow of fresh solvent, causing the extractant fluid to be fed through the sample by its upper and lower ends, which increases the extraction radius and as result a high percentage of the extracted component is obtained, reducing substantially the amount of solvent used and therefore reducing the processing time.

Several known desings of glass equipments have been proposed in the past to extract chemical substances from a solid, liquid or gel state. In general terms, the chemical extraction is carried out by two possible processes: continuous and discontinuous. For example, the methods for extraction and concentration of substances from samples such as: water environmental contaminants, plants and biological sample related medicines, are carried out in two different apparatus, one for the extraction process and the other for the separation process or occasionally, using a combined extractor/separator apparatus.
Therefore, the chemical substances to be extracted from a sample are dissolved by means of steam or a solvent in a continuous extraction apparatus, within a confined extraction space containing the material having the extractable component. The extracted substance is dissolved with the solvent within this extraction space and can be directed as an extract/solvent mixture to a reaction flask in a cyclic process in which the extract will be exposed to a solvent boiling temperature for extended period of times. This extraction method has been implemented in the industry for the last 120 years using a Soxhlet extractor, which establishes an automatic cycle for returning the extract towards the reaction flask using a siphoning system as the German Institute of Standard 12602 that occurs when the same solvent level with the content within the extraction space is reached. Thus, steam from the solvent reaches the extraction space in the conventional Soxhlet extractor when the solvent reaches its boiling temperature. This causes the condensate to still be hot when it drips through the sample, wherein the extracted substance is then siphoned towards the reaction flask where the solvent will be boiling. This extraction method is well suited for processes where the sample density is greater than the solvent density, as well as in molecules with high molecular weight. However, it shows poor efficiency with respect to the quality and purity of the extracted product in samples having densities lower than solvent density or in samples susceptible to high temperatures, such as biological substances, proteins, enzymes, etc. . . .
A similar extraction method known as "enriched extraction" is implemented using a Gregar extractor, developed at the Argone National Laboratory, Chemical Engineering Division where the continuous extraction principles previously explained are evident in the instrument design and its related methods. However, one disadvantage found in the conventional continuous extraction apparatus lies on the difficulty to perform the extraction through the supply of a fluid in two directions at the same time and the lack of monitoring the fluid temperature before it reaches the sample inside the extractor. Therefore, when more than one solvent is needed for extracting a substance of interest, the ideal process to reduce the working time would be to supply a mixture of solvents in a single step considering that more than one fluid will condensate over the sample if the boiling point of the mixture components is too close so that, additional work would be necessary to separate the extract contained on the mixture.
Previous apparatus have been designed to equilibrate the density difference between the solvent and the sample, which requires additional work in order to maintain the level of each component avoiding a fluid in opposite direction within the apparatus and the extract/solvent pressure are leveled in a hydraulic pressure equilibrium between two phases. To achieve such equilibrium, some previous extracting apparatus have components and additional designs that allow an operator to equilibrate these differences with some degree of operational risk. Thus, such extracting apparatus are subjected to special operational care directly related to the design and the assembly of the equipment to reach an equilibrium between the extract and the solvent volume, through a component or a piece that balances the hydraulic pressure inside the extractor and that satisfy the proportional relationship:Sh×Sρ=solvh=solvρ  (1)Where S=sample, h=height, ρ=density, solv=solvent.
However, a technician operating an equipment designed to satisfy equation (1), will not always be mindful of reaching the ideal level of the relationship sample:solvent that satisfy the balance between them according to design parameters that operate over all the parts of the equipment.
Therefore, it is desirable to have a conventional extraction equipment and a related method that simplifies the process with a design that allows an operator to balance the level of liquids and the hydraulic pressure in a quick, simple and safe manner.
When a pure solvent or a mixture of solvents is heated in a reaction flask, steam generated creates a lineal or crossed flow inside a conducting cylinder or over an interfering sphere, exhibiting a complex pattern according to thermodynamics. Liquids and gases share two intensive properties (density, d, and viscosity, ρ) directly related to their fluidity and velocity inside a transporting system. However, a gas is more fluid than its original liquid in a transporting phenomenum and thus, its viscosity, which is defined as the resistance that a part of the fluid shows to the displacement of the other, controls the process. Viscosity is produced by a cutting effect of a layer of fluid when displacing over other and is completely different than the so called intermolecular attraction. Assuming that a liquid stratifies in molecular planes, a plane's area is defined as A, and the interplanar distance as dy. Also assuming that each plane moves to the right with velocities v1, v2, etc., where each value is greater than its predecessor by increment dy. The flow occurring according to this is called laminar, and is different than the turbulent where plane parallelism is not observed. In the laminar flow, the force required to maintain a stationary velocity difference dv between two parallel planes is directly proportional to A and dv, and is inversely proportional to dy. Therefore:
                    f        =                  η                                                              A                                              ⅆ              v                                      ⅆ              y                                                          (        2        )            where f=fluid force, η=fluid viscosity coefficient, or simply fluid viscosity, the amount dv/dy in equation (2) refers to the cut velocity, Vc, while the relationship f/A, force per unit of area is called the cutting force, F. Thus, in terms of Vc and F equation (2) transforms into:η=F/A  (3)In this way, both equations (2) and (3) could be taken as expressions that define η and the practical application of these properties depends on the validity of a series of experimental assumptions, especially when the flow is laminar.
When designing a fluid transportation system, the onset conditions for turbulent flow depends on the magnitude of a certain combinations of experimental variables pertaining to a pure number called the Reynolds, Re. For a flow through a large pipe, cylindrical and lineal this number is proportional to:
                              R          e                =                  r                                                              v                                                                          ρ            η                                              (        4        )            where ρ is the fluid density and r is the pipe radio. It has been found empirically, that a laminar flow is always obtained in the same pipe when Re is less than 103, by virtue of the magnitude of any individual variable, r, v, ρ, η. Also, the laminar flow of a fluid depends on the regularity of the wall surface and the entrance form of the pipe, as well as on the internal length L′ of the transition region, since it is very important that this transversal section be very small in comparison to the pipe length, in a relationship:
                              L          ′                =                              1            4                                          R            e                              r                                    (        5        )            where r is the pipe radio and Re is the Reynolds number. It is inferred from this relationship, that the pipe must be tight to obtain a laminar flow and the Reynolds number could be considerably reduced if the pipe is substantially curved.

Compact extractor/separator apparatus for solid/liquid/gel sample


An exposure calculation device for cameras is equipped with: a divisional photometry device having a plurality of photometer elements for performing photometry respectively on each of a plurality of divisional areas constituting a field; a photoelectric transfer element array for performing photometry on at least a part of the field; an edge detection device, which determines a boundary section defining on the photoelectric transfer element array a higher-photometry-output region and a lower-photometry-output region and which outputs edge information on this boundary section; a selection device, which selects at least one of the photometer elements of the divisional photometry device on the basis of the edge information, exposure calculation being enabled by the photometry output of the photometer element thus selected; and an exposure calculation device, which calculates a correct exposure for a principal object in the field on the basis of the photometry output of the selected photometer element.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an exposure calculation device for cameras.
2. Related Background Art
The present applicant has proposed an exposure calculation device for cameras, in which focus detection is carried out for a principal object in a photographic frame by a focus detecting device; the result of the focus detection is utilized to obtain the respective defocus amounts in the different photometric areas of a divisional photometer device, effecting weighting on the respective photometry outputs of the photometric areas; whereby a correct exposure for the principal object is calculated (see Japanese Patent Application No. 1-231041).
The above exposure calculation device, however, has the following problem: In the case of a sharply backlighted principal object, the photometry output is excessively low in that portion of the photoelectric transfer element array of the focus detecting device which corresponds to the principal object, so that defocus amount detection cannot be effected, making it impossible to calculate a correct exposure for the principal object.
If, on the other hand, the principal object is being spotlighted against a dark background, i.e., if it is in a sharply front-lighted condition, the photometry output is at an excessively high level in that portion of the photoelectric transfer element array of the focus detecting device which corresponds to the principal object, which means that the defocus amount of that portion cannot be detected, thus involving the same problem as in the above case.


An exemplary light emitting diode includes a main body, a red light emitting chip, a green light emitting chip, and a blue light emitting chip. The main body includes two inner side surfaces opposite to each other and a inner bottom surface connected with the side surfaces. The side surfaces and the bottom surface cooperatively define an accommodating space. The red light emitting chip, the green light emitting chip and the blue light emitting chip are positioned at the bottom surface and the side surfaces of the accommodating space, respectively.

A typical liquid crystal display has the advantages of portability, low power consumption, and low radiation, and has been widely used in various portable information products such as notebooks, personal digital assistants (PDAs), video cameras and the like. Furthermore, the liquid crystal display is considered by many to have the potential to completely replace cathode ray tube (CRT) monitors and televisions. A liquid crystal display typically includes a backlight module including a plurality of light emitting diodes.
Referring to FIG. 4, a typical light emitting diode 100 includes a main body 110, two electrodes 120, a blue light emitting chip 130, and some potting 140. The main body 110 defines an accommodating space 111. The accommodating space 111 is defined by a bottom surface 112, and a peripheral surface (not labeled) connected with the bottom surface 112. The blue light emitting chip 130 is fixed on the bottom surface 112 in the accommodating space 111, and is electrically connected with the electrodes 120 by conductive lines (not labeled). The electrodes 120 are placed on an outer surface of the main body 110, and are insulated from each other. The potting 140 fills the accommodating space 111, and includes yellow fluorescent powder 141. The blue light chip 130 emits blue light beams. The yellow fluorescent powder 141 is activated by the blue light beams, and thereby emits white light beams. However, the white light beams are usually not pure.
Referring to FIG. 5, another typical light emitting diode 200 is shown. The light emitting diode 200 is similar to the light emitting diode 100. However, the light emitting diode 200 includes a main body 210, a blue light emitting chip 231, a red light emitting chip 232, and a green light emitting chip 233. The main body 210 defines an elongate accommodating space 211. The blue light emitting chip 231, the red light emitting chip 232 and the green light emitting chip 233 are aligned on a bottom surface 212 in the accommodating space 211.
Usually, the light emitting diode 200 can be made with an elongate shape for easy assembly. However, because the blue light emitting chip 231, the red light emitting chip 232 and the green light emitting chip 233 are aligned in the accommodating space 211, a bulk of the light emitting diode 200 is increased.
What is needed, therefore, is a light emitting diode that can overcome the above-described problems. What is also needed is a backlight module employing the light emitting diode.

Light emitting diode with light emitting chips at inner side surfaces thereof and backlight module using same


There is disclosed in an IOI system which predicts surface potentials of a photosensitive drum positioned in developing positions of individual developing devices from detection results of the surface potentials by two surface potential sensors per developing device, disposed before/after the developing device of each of the plurality of image forming units before/after expose and which controls a charging device in such a manner that a predicted value of the surface potential before the expose indicates a defined developing reference value and which controls an exposing device in such a manner that the predicted value of the surface potential after the expose indicates a defined expose reference value. The image forming units of second and subsequent colors, a charging amount by the charging device is controlled in consideration of charging histories by the charging devices of previous colors.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a color image forming apparatus in which a plurality of image forming units are arranged around a photosensitive member and in which a plurality of colors of toner images are superimposed on the photosensitive member to obtain a color image.
2. Description of the Related Art
In color image forming apparatuses, various systems have been adopted in order to achieve miniaturization, speeding-up of processes, and enhancement of position accuracy in superimposing images of color components. For example, there is an image forming apparatus of electronic photography, in which toner images developed by toners formed of four coloring materials of yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (BK) are superimposed on one photosensitive member to obtain a full-color image.
As one example of a full-color image forming apparatus, there is a process (Image On Image process, hereinafter referred to as IOI process) in which charging, exposing, and developing are successively repeated on one photosensitive member for each color of toner, and monochromatic toner images are superimposed on the photosensitive member, and thereafter collectively transferred onto a transfer member. A color image forming apparatus which performs the IOI process is utilized in a color printer, or a color copying machine, and in on-demand printing or color proof in a printing field.
For example, in Jpn. Pat. No. 3208670 (pages 8, 9, FIGS. 1 and 9), an apparatus has been described in which a charging potential of the photosensitive member, or an image density is detected to control a charging device, an exposing device, or a developing device. When the surface potential on a photosensitive drum is detected by a single charging electrometer, the charging device or the exposing device is controlled in such a manner that the surface potentials of unexposed and exposed portions indicate present reference values. When the density of the toner image on the photosensitive drum is detected, a developing bias is controlled in such a manner as to set the toner image density to the reference value.
For example, in Jpn. Pat. No. 2769704 (pages 3, 4, FIGS. 1 and 2), an apparatus is described in which a plurality of surface potential sensors are used in order to calculate the surface potential in a developing device position of the photosensitive member. Potentials in a plurality of developing unit positions are calculated from potential differences on the photosensitive member, detected by first and second surface potential sensors, a charging amount of the charging unit is controlled in such a manner as to adjust the surface potentials in a plurality of developing unit positions into set values, and a color image is obtained.
However, it is difficult to apply the technique described in the Jpn. Pat. Nos. 3208670 or 2769704 to the IOI process, because it is necessary to control image formation in consideration of fluctuations or differences of characteristics in a plurality of elements such as charging and exposing devices.
Especially in the IOI process, a charging step of the next stage has to be performed before influences of the charging by the charging device of the previous stages are reduced. Additionally, the next image forming process is performed in such a manner as to superimpose an image upon a toner image formed in the previous stage. Therefore, if the influences on charging characteristics by the image forming process in the previous stage are not considered, correct image forming control cannot be performed, and there is a problem that an image quality drops.
In the color image forming apparatus which performs the IOI process, a potential on the surface of the photosensitive member changes even in the use on the same conditions by changes of environments such as ambient temperature, humidity, and temperature in the apparatus, a drop of capability of a charging device and a change of a characteristic such as a resistance value of the surface of the photosensitive member after the use for a long time. Further, because of changes of characteristics of a developer with time, it is difficult to maintain image qualities in broad senses, such as density and color of a toner image, constantly in certain states.


According to this invention, in a stepping motor in which bearings are disposed at two end portions of a motor shaft which is coaxially fixed to a magnet rotor, one bearing of the motor shaft arranged in a motor case, a bobbin serving as a coil frame, and the positioning portion of the motor holder are integrally formed of a resin. In addition, two projecting pieces that protrude outward are formed on the bearing on the motor holder side of the stepping motor. A projecting portion is formed on each projecting piece. A positioning rotation regulating hole which is fitted on the projecting portion to regulate rotation and an opening for passing the projecting piece are provided to the bearing support portion of the motor holder.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a stepping motor suitable for driving the photographing lens of a single-lens reflex camera or a video camera and a method of manufacturing the motor.
2. Related Background Art
Conventionally, a two-phase PM type stepping motor as shown in FIG. 1 is used as a stepping motor for driving the photographing lens of a single-lens reflex camera or a video camera. Referring to FIG. 1, a motor shaft 1 is rotatably positioned by an intermediate bearing (normally, a sintered oil-impregnated alloy bearing) 3 and a distal end bearing 4 both of which are pressed into a motor holder 2. A thrust spring 5 suppresses any play of the motor shaft along the thrust direction and applies an appropriate pilot pressure to the motor shaft. A cylindrical magnet rotor 6 is fixed to the motor shaft 1 by bonding, and the outer surface of the magnet rotor 6 is magnetized to have multiple poles.
A stator 7 comprises two electromagnets each of which has pole teeth corresponding to the number of poles of the magnet rotor and is constituted by coils 11 as solenoids wound on a bobbin 10 to form a magnetic path together with a motor case 9 which is coupled to the motor holder with screws 8. The pole teeth of the electromagnets are shifted by a 1/2 pitch. More specifically, when rectangular waves or sine waves that are 90.degree. out of phase are supplied to the coils, the magnet rotor 6 rotates. A nut or rack (not shown) meshed with a screw portion 1a of the motor shaft 1 can be used to move a lens.
In this conventional stepping motor, when the motor shaft 1 is to be inserted in the intermediate bearing 3 of the holder 2, the screw portion 1a of the motor shaft 1 may be damaged, and the resultant motor characteristics may be degraded. In addition, a post-process is required to match the screw diameter of the screw portion 1a of each of the mass-produced motor shafts 1 with the diameter of the intermediate bearing 3. Furthermore, a large number of parts are used to result in an increase in cost.

Stepping motor having bobbin structure materially integrally formed with a bearing and a positioning portion


A device for applying a fastening tab to an open edge of a folder mailing brochure to hold the brochure in a folded state including a feed mechanism, a drive assembly, and an application mechanism. The feed mechanism removes fastening tabs from a supply of fastening tabs and positions the fastening tabs relative to the application mechanism. The drive assembly is coupled to the feed mechanism and drives the feed mechanism. The application mechanism includes a pair of rotatable cylinders biased against each other. The supply of fastening tabs passes over the cylinders and when the open end of a folding mailing brochure is inserted into a gap between the cylinders, the cylinders act to apply a fastening tab over the open edge of the mailing brochure to secure the mailing brochure in a folded state.

The present invention relates generally to apparatus for applying adhesive elements to objects. In particular, the present invention is a device for dispensing and applying an adhesive fastening tab to the open edge of folded mailing brochure to secure the brochure in a folded state for mailing.
Small clubs and organizations (often having less than 100 members) are frequent users of mailing brochures. Often, a newsletter (i.e., mailing brochure) usually composed of only a few sheets of paper containing information on upcoming events or other items of interest is periodically sent to group members. Typically, an envelope is not used. Instead, the newsletter is simply folded and secured in the folded state, and the address and stamp are applied directly to the folded newsletter. The predominant method of securing the newsletter in a folded state has been to staple the open end of the folded newsletter. Staples adequately secure the newsletter, but the sharp, raised edges of the staple may catch on automated postal machines, such as automatic canceling machines, and cause the machines to become obstructed. The use of an adhesive tab, instead of a staple, to secure the newsletter in a folded state avoids the problems caused by staples, but when compared to stapling, the application of the tab by hand is slow and cumbersome.
Devices for applying a strip of material over an edge of an object are generally known. U.S. Pat. No. 4,160,687 to Spear discloses one such device for applying a label across the open end of a magazine as the magazines are being conveyed across the apparatus at high speeds. A label is initially dispensed to stick to the rear edge of one cover of the magazine and extend outward beyond the edge of the magazine. A brush sweeps down to deflect the label across the pages of the magazine, and an air jet blows the label forward toward the opposite cover of the magazine. Finally, a second brush firmly applies the label to the opposite cover of the magazine thus completely securing the label from one cover across the loose pages to the other cover of the magazine. The device of Spear is primarily intended for large circulation mailings of relatively thick multi-page magazines.
The U.S. Pat. No. 4,596,620 to Karoyli discloses an apparatus for covering a cut edge of a cardboard blank. The apparatus employs a folding and strip handling device having an upper part and a moveable bottom part which together form a slit. The moveable bottom part is biased towards the upper part by a spring. A cover strip is held by the folding device with the use of a negative pressure source. As a cardboard blank enters the slit, the cover strip is bent outwardly causing upper and lower ends of the strip to approach the blank. As the cardboard blank further enters the slit, surfaces of the upper and bottom parts push the upper and lower ends of the cover strip against upper and lower faces of the blank. The device of Karolyi is primarily intended to protect the cut edges of cardboard with a coating so materials do not penetrate the cardboard.
There is a need for an apparatus that can secure a mailing brochure in a folded state. Specifically, there is a need for an apparatus for use with small scale mailings of brochures of the type typically sent out by small clubs and organizations. This apparatus would allow the mailing brochures to be quickly readied (secured in a folded state) for mailing.

Apparatus for securing a mailing brochure in a folded state


An auxiliary bicycle transmission for a bicycle has a crossbar formed by a telescoping bar slidably mounted in an outer channel member. One end of a half chain or half V-belt is connected to the telescoping bar, the other end is connected by means of a spring to the upper end of a down tube, and the chain or V-belt that engages a freewheeling sprocket or pulley so that when the telescoping bar extends out of the outer channel member against the spring force, the freewheeling sprocket rotates and provides additional motive force to the standard transmission of the bicycle.

With a conventional bicycle, torque is transmitted from pedals, cranks, and attached sprocket through a drive chain to a freewheeling sprocket mounted to the rear wheel of the bicycle. All of the motive force for the bicycle is generated by the rider pushing and/or pulling the pedals with the rider's legs. Consequently, when a person uses conventional bicycle riding as an exercise option, the rider does not gain any substantial exercise for the rider's arms and upper body.
The prior art discloses bicycles that have essentially handles, cranks, and attached sprocket mounted on the handlebars of the bicycle. Consequently, the rider uses both the rider's arms and legs to propel the bicycle. While such an arrangement provides additional exercise for the rider's arms and upper body and additional motive force to propel the bicycle, using such a rotating handle and crank arrangement can interfere with the rider safely steering the bicycle.


Aspects of the present disclosure involve an attachment system that combines a fitness mat to another fitness related accessory. The accessory attachment attaches to a fitness mat but is not limited to such attachment. The fitness accessory attachment may include an apparatus with internal weights. The fitness accessory may have detachable and adjustable handles with a removably adjustable and slidable attachment mechanism. The provided handle caps can be removed for various reasons such as using connecting pieces or adding weight to the interior of the handles. Fitness bands or any training tools available can run through the fitness accessory apparatus' core and connect to the attachment mechanism provided on the handles for training use. This system also provides compaction for travel and ease of portability.

The health and fitness industry has taken off in a number of ways. With the help of research and the guidance of social media, people are becoming more aware of the overall health benefits of staying in shape.
Fitness mats are a must, for a lot of health and fitness conscious people at home or at the gym. These mats can be made of PVC, TPE, cork, eco-conscious rubbers, and other materials. The mat helps create a cushion for a user's hands and feet. It can also help with traction while performing exercises.
There are many at home training accessories that go well with fitness mats but they are traditionally sold separately. These items may include small weights, stretching rollers, stretching bars, elastic resistance bands, etc. A drawback of having several accessories that go with your fitness mat can be traveling with them and storing them in confined spaces. Consumers want to be able to travel with their products and mat without the hassle of bulky accessories.
Accordingly, a need exists for attaching training accessories and a fitness mat to provide ease of transportation, storage and use.
Additionally, a need exists in the fitness industry that allows for weight, resistance and plyometric training accessories to be attached to a fitness mat for convenience, portability and storability.


Pedestrian and motorist warning system that is powered from vehicle generated movement where there is little or no access to a power grid. Pedals maybe disposed on the road such that when a vehicle passes over it, it informs a controller system to activate a warning board or light to notify people of the oncoming vehicle, the signs or lights maybe placed besides a pedestrian crossing to alert pedestrians of the risk of an oncoming vehicle. Illuminating road corner LEDs, roadside lights and road arrows disposed in various sections of the road are also powered from vehicle generated movement operate on a set of programmed criteria's. Variables such as time of day, the speed of the vehicle, the weather, the temperature or fog all determine the way all the connected devices operate. Warning signals with built-in messaging systems can be disposed in strategic locations for motorists to see, the signals are self-powered and have the ability to store messages either by directly recording them onto the warning signal or by transferring a recorded message through a wired or wireless network.

1. Grant of Non-Exclusive Right
This application was prepared with financial support from the Saudi Arabian Cultural Mission, and in consideration therefore the present inventor has granted The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia a non-exclusive right to practice the present invention.
2. Field of the Disclosure
This disclosure relates to local electrical power generation from vehicle movement, and more specifically, to local electrical power generation from vehicle movement to provide roadside information on the road ahead of a vehicle.
3. Description of the Related Art
The "background" description provided herein is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. Work of the presently named inventor, to the extent it is described in this background section, as well as aspects of the description which may not otherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neither expressly nor impliedly admitted as prior art against the present invention.
Generating electrical power from vehicle movement has been the subject of ongoing efforts. Moving automobile traffic generates wind currents which can be harnessed to drive a turbine and generate electricity. Alternatively or additionally, the weight of moving vehicles can be used in a pressing mechanism, and this pressing mechanism can be translated into a rotational mechanism to drive a turbine and generate electricity.
Often in remote areas there are wide roadways with limited visibility along the breadth of the road, especially along ones that bend around such large objects as mountains or building structures. Also very often cross-road entrances and exits are difficult to see in hazardous weather conditions. Therefore it can be beneficial to have visual aids such as imbedded lights in the road indicating their locations to help the driver coordinate to their desired route.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Warning application systems for vehicle movement activated electrical power generator, and method for providing electrical power


A method for enhancing signal integrity in an interface between a source device and at least one destination device includes: analyzing two or more consecutive data patterns intended to be conveyed by the interface to determine whether data transitions corresponding to the data patterns are likely to introduce coupling noise and/or simultaneous switching output (SSO) effects on the interface; generating a modified data pattern for transmission by the interface, the modified data pattern reducing coupling noise and/or SSO effects on the interface compared to an original data pattern intended to be conveyed by the interface; and transmitting the modified data pattern and information regarding a manner in which the original data pattern was modified to the destination device to thereby reduce coupling noise and/or SSO effects on the interface.

Electronic interfaces are used ubiquitously to transfer information, generally in the form of analog and digital signals, between two or more functional blocks. Two common interface architectures are serial interfaces and parallel interfaces. In a digital application, a parallel interface generally refers to a multiline channel, each line capable of transmitting several bits of data simultaneously. Most commonly, personal computers have traditionally incorporated at least one parallel interface employing a parallel communications port (e.g., IEEE 1294, or similar). In contrast, a serial interface generally refers to a single channel capable of only transmitting one bit of data at a time.
The capabilities of a parallel interface, although having a higher bandwidth for transmission of signals, are often limited by signal integrity (SI) effects. Two factors which contribute to SI effects include, but are not limited to, coupling of signals (e.g., crosstalk), and simultaneous switching output (SSO) effects on power. Coupling of signals is generally an electromagnetic phenomenon (e.g., relating to spurious signals or signal components induced on a signal line by electromagnetic field interactions from another signal line). SSO noise, also known as ground bounce or power bounce, is typically a result of large instantaneous changes in current across the power/ground inductance of an integrated circuit. This potential problem becomes more serious as the number of active high-drive (e.g., low-voltage complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (LVCMOS)) outputs on an integrated circuit device increases. In large field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), for example, with several synchronous parallel interfaces this phenomenon can result in poor system performance and/or intermittent data errors.

Parallel interface pattern modification for addressing signal integrity concerns

Avago Technologies General IP (Singapore) PTE. LTD.


A process variable transmitter connects a serial bus to an accessory load. A supply limiter circuit provides a first supply current limit and provides a stored energy output. A recessive driver circuit draws a drive current from the stored energy output and couples the drive current to the serial bus. The recessive driver circuit provides a drive current limit. A dominant driver circuit has a dominant state in which it conducts the drive current, and an inactive state in which the drive current is available to the accessory load.

Industrial process variable transmitters can be modular. Modular transmitters can be assembled with different feature modules to provide a desired process variable output protocol, field wiring housing, local display or other modular features. The feature modules are either mounted directly on the transmitter or, in the case of a display, within about 30 meters of the industrial transmitter.
Industrial process variable transmitters are frequently installed in areas of an industrial plant where incendive atmospheres may be present. Process variable output protocols are energy limited to avoid igniting the incendive atmospheres under fault conditions. Typically, an energy limited two wire 4–20 mA loop is used, and the loop provides all of the transmitter's energization.
Circuitry inside the transmitter that senses a process variable and that provides the process variable output uses most of the minimal amount of power available to the transmitter when the loop is operating at 4 mA. Very little power, typically 1–2 milliwatts, is available for energizing accessory loads and for digitally communicating with feature modules.
An extremely low power circuit is needed for energizing and communicating with feature modules without exceeding the available power limits in a transmitter.

Low power physical layer for a bus in an industrial transmitter


A high purity cyclopeptide crystal has a structure shown by Formula I. R represents H or a cation forming a pharmaceutically acceptable salt. Also disclosed are a preparation method and a use of the high-purity cyclopeptide crystal.

Fungal infection has become the leading cause for high morbidity and mortality in immunodeficient patients. During the past 20 years, the incidence of fungal infection increased significantly. People at high-risk of fungal infections includes critical patients, surgical patients and those patients suffering from HIV infection, leukemia and other tumors. Patients with organ transplant are also at high risk of fungal infection.
Echinocandins, as a new class of antifungal agents, exhibit good effects in the treatment of infections caused by Candida or Aspergillus. Caspofungin and Micafungin are the representatives of such medicaments. Echinocandins inhibit fungus by suppressing the formation of 1,3-β glycosidic bond, so as to reduce the harm to human body, and reduce the side effects while remaining high efficiency. Therefore, they are safer in use than traditional antifungal agents.
FK463 (sodium Micafungin) is the compound of formula II (R is a sodium ion), which is developed by Japan Fujisawa Toyama Co., Ltd, Takaoka Plant under the trade name Mycamine, and currently sold in several countries as antifungal agent for intravenous administration. It is obtained by cutting the side-chain of FR901379 as precursor (compound of Formula III, R is a sodium ion or a hydrogen ion) by enzyme, thus forming FR179642 (compound of Formula I, R is a hydrogen or a sodium ion) (see U.S. Pat. No. 5,376,634, EP0431350 and Chinese patent CN1161462C for specific methods), and then chemically modifying FR179642 (see Patent Publication WO9611210, WO9857923, WO2004014879 for specific preparation and purification methods).

Specific scheme is shown as follows:

As well-known in the art, crystals are generally more stable than the amorphous state. Therefore, the present inventors want to find a suitable crystal of compound of formula I as drug intermediate, so that the compound of formula I is more stable during the storage.
Compound of formula I is difficult to be crystallized, and usually amorphous state. With respect to the final use in the treatment or as an intermediate of compound of formula II, it is desirable to obtain crystals with good stability and high purity.
Several crystals with good stability and suitable for transportation and storage are obtained by the method of the present invention, and the yield during the preparation is high.

High-purity cyclopeptide crystal as well as preparation method and use thereof

Shanghai Techwell Biopharmaceutical Co., LTD.


The invention features a method which includes the following steps: (a) introducing a transgene into a zygote of a dwarf goat, (b) transplanting the zygote into a pseudopregnant non-dwarf goat, and (c) allowing the zygote to develop to term. In another aspect the invention features a method which includes the following steps: (a) introducing a transgene into an embryo of a dwarf goat, (b) transplanting the embryo into a pseudopregnant non-dwarf goat, and (c) allowing the embryo to develop to term.

Selective breeding of domesticated animals, based on phenotypic traits, has led to significant genetic improvement in a variety of breeds. For example, selective breeding techniques have resulted the production of diary cows which produce more milk and produce milk having improved fat and protein profiles. Reproductive technologies including artificial insemination and embryo transfer (i.e., transferring an embryo to an animal that did not produce it) have contributed to this genetic improvement. Advanced reproductive and molecular technologies, e.g., embryo cloning, and marker assisted selection (genetic screening), allow even greater control over the selection of desirable traits. However, these practices only allow selection and propagation of traits which are already in the gene pool of the species. In order to replace or modify existing genes or insert genes for traits which are not present in the gene pool of the species, a transgene must be introduced into the animal. Transgenes can be used to introduce disease resistance, alter the composition of animal derived products (milk, serum, etc.), produce pharmaceutical or nutriceuticals, or for other purposes.
A number of techniques can be used to create transgenic animals. Among the techniques which have been successfully used are: pronuclear injection of the transgene, nuclear transplantation, and injection of genetically altered stem cells into host embryos (chimera production).
Pronuclear injection is a commonly used procedure for germ line insertion of genes. While this technique is attractive because it can be used successfully with a range of animals, the inability to control integration of the transgene and the large number of ova which must be injected to obtain even a single transgenic offspring combine to make the technique rather inefficient, at least for animals other than mice. Moreover, animals which are deemed transgenic, e.g., by Southern analysis, may be mosaic, may contain the transgene but not express it, may express it in an undesirable manner, or may express correctly but fail to transmit it to offspring. Despite these difficulties, transgenic mice, sheep, goats, cattle and pigs have been produced using pronuclear injection.
Transgenic mice have been created by genetically manipulating murine embryonic stem cells (ESC), e.g., by injecting a transgene into the ESC, and then injecting the altered embryonic stem cells into a host embryo. The resulting mice are mosaics in which genetically altered cells contribute to a greater or lesser extent to the somatic and germ cells.
Nuclear transfer is a third approach to the generation of transgenic animals. In this technique the nucleus of a donor cell is introduced into a recipient oocyte. Offspring have also been reported in the bovine and sheep from cultured inner cell mass (ICM) cells and embryonic disks, respectively, using the technique of nuclear transfer.
Embryo transfer is a technique in which an embryo taken from a donor animal is transferred to a recipient animal who brings the embryo to term. Embryo transfer has successfully produced offspring when embryos from dwarf goats were transferred into standard goats Sugie et al., 1970.

Method for development of transgenic dwarf goats


An integrated circuit (IC) chip design for symmetric power delivery includes an integrated circuit (IC) chip package with I/O connections exposed on a first surface and power connections exposed on a second opposite surface. At least one voltage regulation module (VRM) is positioned on the second opposite surface and electrically coupled to the power connections on the second opposite surface.

An integrated circuit (IC) chip, such as a system on chip (SoC) or application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), may support several different load-drawing on-chip electrical components such as one or more memory, computer processing units (CPUs), and graphics processing components (GPUs). When load-drawing on-chip components experience large load transients, impedance along a current path may cause a voltage received at a load-drawing component to "droop" relative to an expected value. This droop may increase in proportion to the physical separation between the voltage regulation module (VRM) and the load-drawing component.
Droop can be corrected for by detecting a reference voltage at a VRM controller and ramping up a voltage setpoint value until the reference voltage matches the load. However, this ramp-up takes time proportional to current path length, and device performance may be impacted if power rail voltage for a particular load-drawing component drops outside of the component's defined tolerance range. For this reason, decoupling capacitors are often utilized to temporarily boost power rail voltage responsive to line transients. However, decoupling capacitors are expensive and may be insufficient to guarantee line voltage within the tolerance ranges of some modern on-chip electrical components.

Integrated circuit chip design for symmetric power delivery


An appliance including at least two surface burners and a burner control system configured to selectively allow individual control of each of the at least two burners or simultaneous control of the at least two burners as a unit.

The exemplary embodiments of the present invention generally relate to cooking appliances. More particularly, the exemplary embodiments relate to simultaneous control of two or more heating elements of a cooking appliance.
Griddles for cooking appliances such as stoves and cooktops may be placed over multiple heating elements of the cooking appliance. Generally, a user independently adjusts each of the multiple heating elements in an attempt to balance out the heat applied to the griddle by the heating elements. Detection of the heat distribution across the griddle is generally performed through some sensory feedback, such as visual heat indications (e.g., charring, boiling, smoking, etc. of the items being cooked). Adjustments to the individual heating elements may be made continually based on the user's sensory feedback. Achieving a uniform heat distribution across the griddle is generally difficult to achieve and/or detect through the independent adjustment of the heating elements.

Burner control system for a cooking appliance


Methods and systems authenticate a user of a sub-location of a network location by using a first cookie for authentication within the network location, such as a domain of the world wide web, and also use a second cookie for authentication within a sub-location of the network location. When the user attempts to visit a network location or sub-location within the network location, the server of the network location authenticates the user by obtaining a previously stored cookie from the user's computer and validating it for the network location. Upon being authenticated by the validation, a cookie for a sub-location within the network location is generated for the user and provided to the user's computer. When the user attempts to access the sub-location within the network location, the cookie provided to the user's computer for the sub-location is obtained and validated to authenticate the user for the sub-location.

Computer networks allow resources to be shared among different computers. For example, the Internet allows computers around the world to exchange information such as electronic mail. The world wide web provides for the exchange of audio-visual information between computers connected to the Internet. Furthermore, centralized computer servers may store information posted by one computer user for access by others.
Server computers allow computer users to access information stored within various sub-locations of a network location such as an Internet domain. Sub-locations of a network location may include individual directories of one or more servers or individual servers of a server farm. A particular sub-location may be allocated to a particular computer user or group of users who post information to the sub-location for access by other computer users also connected to the network location. Although such information sharing through the network is beneficial to computer users, care must be exercised in the administration of the network to prevent unauthorized access to the various network locations and sub-locations of the network locations.
To prevent unauthorized access, the user is authenticated for the network location. Authentication of a user can be performed in various ways. One method is to require the user to enter a user name and password before access to the network location and corresponding sub-locations is permitted. However, as the number of network locations a user may wish to access increases, requiring the user to enter a user name and password for every location becomes cumbersome.
To address this issue, a cookie is issued to the user upon the user entering a user name and password once so that the cookie can be used to authenticate the identity of the user at the network location, such as a domain within the world wide web, for all of the sub-locations within the network location. The cookie is a data file that serves to identify the user by including one or more lengthy numbers that are an identification of the user and that typically expires at a certain future time. The initial login with a user name and password is typically done through a trusted central network location maintaining the reference username and password, such as .NET™ Passport™ for example. When the user attempts to visit a network location, the user's computer is directed to the trusted network location which issues an encrypted cookie to the user's computer for the network location. Then, the user's computer is directed back to the server of the network location, and this server then check the cookie that has just been issued to the user's computer.
The server requests the cookie from the user's computer and then attempts to validate the cookie by decrypting the cookie with a secret key and determining that the decrypted cookie has not expired. Upon the server of the visited network location successfully validating the cookie, the visited network location has authenticated the user attempting access because the validated cookie confirms that the user attempting to access the network location is a user of a known and trusted identity. The identity may be specified by information contained within the decrypted cookie.
For sub-locations of network locations where users can post information, a security risk still exists where cookies are being used to authenticate the user for the visited network location. A user having access to a sub-location within the visited network location may post scripting information for various reasons such as to provide audio-visual information to others accessing the sub-location. However, a malicious user may post scripts that perform malicious activities such as stealing cookies that are uploaded from other users' computers when they are visiting the network location.
Upon obtaining the cookies of the other users visiting the network location, the malicious user who stole these cookies can then impersonate these other users to gain access to sub-locations within the network location for which the impersonated user has access. Thus, the malicious user who stole the cookies can now be given access to sub-locations and activities that this malicious user might not otherwise be able to access, such as activities and/or sub-locations that involve personal, financial, or other sensitive information about the users being impersonated.

Methods and systems for authentication of a user for sub-locations of a network location


A retaining wall block and wall construction are disclosed. The retaining wall block is characterized in that it includes a removable flange having pin apertures which pass through the flange and into the body of the block. Such blocks allow the construction of walls having flange connections between adjacent courses of blocks or, when the flange is removed, pin connections between adjacent courses of blocks. The latter connection system is particularly well-suited for constructing walls that require soil reinforcement systems such as geogrids.

Numerous methods and materials exist for the construction of retaining walls. Such methods include the use of natural stone, poured in place concrete, masonry, and landscape timbers or railroad ties. In recent years, segmental concrete retaining wall units which are dry stacked (i.e., built without the use of mortar) have become a widely accepted product for the construction of retaining walls. Examples of such units are described in U.S. Pat. No. RE 34,314 (Forsberg) and in U.S. Pat. No. 5,294,216 (Sievert).
Segmental concrete retaining wall units have gained popularity because they can be mass produced, and thus, are relatively inexpensive. In addition, they are structurally sound, easy and relatively inexpensive to install, and combine the durability of concrete with the attractiveness of various architectural finishes.
The retaining wall system described in U.S. Pat. No. RE 34,314 includes a block design that incorporates, among other elements, a system of pins that interlocks and aligns the retaining wall units, allowing structural strength and relatively quick installation. The system may be adapted for the construction of large walls by employing geogrids which can be hooked over the pins. Such a system is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,914,876 (Forsberg).
Numerous block designs have used a shear connector embodied in the block's shape to align the blocks with a setback, or batter. A common form of such shear connectors is a rear, downwardly projecting lip or flange. In forming a multi-course wall, the blocks are placed such that the flanges contact the upper back edge of the blocks located in the course below. As such, blocks having flanges are caused to become aligned with the blocks positioned below, while at the same time providing a degree of resistance against displacement of individual blocks by earth pressures. In walls formed using blocks of this type, the rear flanges of the blocks cause the wall to slope backward at an angle which is predetermined by the width of the flanges.
Retaining walls using blocks having a rear flange are well known in the art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,323,363 (Schmitt) describes an early use of a retaining wall block with a rear flange. More recently, U.S. Pat. No. 5,294,216 (Sievert) describes a geogrid reinforced retaining wall constructed with retaining wall blocks having rear flanges. Such blocks function adequately for small walls where soil reinforcement is not necessary because they are relatively simple to install and require no special pieces for capping the top course of the wall.
Modular retaining walls are designed to function either as gravity walls or reinforced earth structures. A gravity wall relies only on the mass of the retaining wall units to resist the earth pressures that act on the wall to cause it to bulge, slide out, or overturn. Modular retaining wall blocks are suitable for construction of gravity walls up to certain heights, typically in the range of about three to six feet, depending on the particular block design employed.
For taller walls or walls subjected to additional loads due to other factors, reinforced soil methods are available to construct the wall. Such methods include the use of (1) geogrids (synthetic mats or matrices that are connected to the retaining wall units and laid out horizontally into the backfill area as the wall is built), (2) synthetic fabrics that are used in a similar fashion to geogrids, and (3) steel matrices, strips, or mats. Using soil reinforcement techniques, walls having heights in excess 50 feet can be built.
The use of soil reinforcing matrices or geogrids with modular retaining wall products is well known in the art. Previously referenced U.S. Pat. No. 4,914,876 (Forsberg) describes a wall construction having a geogrid connected to the blocks forming the wall in which apertures in the geogrid are hooked over pins extending from the blocks. The pins also serve to connect and vertically align adjacent blocks. Thus, in such a system, the geogrid is mechanically connected to the wall face. Although blocks having rear flanges may be used to build soil-reinforced walls, such systems suffer from several disadvantages. Previously referenced U.S. Pat. No. 5,294,216 (Sievert) describes a wall structure in which a geogrid is used with a rear flanged retaining wall block. In this system, the geogrid layer is passed below the flange. As a result, the geogrid is distorted out of a single plane as it passes under the flange, between the flange and the back face of the block in the course below, and then between the layers of block.
The use of a pin connection to the geogrid creates a stronger structure than does the rear flange-friction connection described above. First, for the geogrid to function properly, it must positioned between two courses of blocks and then placed under tension. The geogrid is tensioned by pulling it rearwardly and staking it down. Backfill is then placed over the geogrid. Because the geogrid connection described in the Sievert patent relies solely on friction and the weight of the block on the upper course, putting the geogrids into sufficient tension is difficult to accomplish because the geogrids tend to slip through the frictional connection. Second, the connection strength of the geogrid to the wall face is, in part, a function of the extent to which the geogrid extends between the block layers. If the geogrid is not placed sufficiently close to the front face of the wall, the frictional connection is severely compromised. This problem is compounded by the tendency of the geogrids to slip back during tensioning. Third, when placed under load, the geogrids abrade against the rough texture of the concrete flange, compromising the strength of the geogrid. Finally, when placed under load through earth pressures after construction or through tensioning during construction, the geogrids place an upward pressure on the blocks where they press against the flange. This results in a tendency to rotate the back of the block upward, thereby placing the wall out of batter and compromising the wall structure.
A basic deficiency of the rear flanged retaining wall blocks of the prior art is that they do not provide the structural soundness of a pin or other mechanical connection to the geogrid used in reinforced walls. Thus, a need exists for a system employing flanged retaining wall units that can combine the advantages of a rear-flanged unit, (i.e. simplicity and ease of construction for smaller walls), with the structural advantages of a pinned retaining wall unit in situations requiring the use of a geogrid. This need is significant because many retaining walls are constructed in height ranges that require the use of geogrid layers.
Additionally, many walls may be constructed to have a variable height along their length, and as such, geogrid reinforcement may be required only along certain portions of the wall, rather than along its entire length. Thus, it would be highly desirable to have a retaining wall that can be built using a rear flanged block in some wall sections and a pin connection between courses only in portions of the wall requiring geogrid. Such a unit would also be desirable from a production and distribution view point, because the same block design could be used in multiple wall applications, thus reducing the need to produce specialty units, as well as the need to maintain separate inventories of pinned and rear flanged products.
In view of the above, a need exists for a retaining wall block that may be constructed using a rear flange connection for walls not requiring geogrid reinforcement, but which can also be constructed using pins, instead of the flange, to provide an effective connection to geogrids for walls or wall sections where soil reinforcement is required for structural soundness.

Retaining wall block and wall construction


A method of laying conduit at sea from a reel vessel includes the steps of laying conduit, for example pipeline or umbilical, from a first reel which rotates about a first substantially vertical axis. Conduit is laid from a second reel of conduit rotating about a second substantially vertical axis spaced apart from the first axis. A portion of the route travelled by the conduit during the step of laying conduit from the first reel of conduit is substantially the same as a portion of the route travelled by the conduit during the step of laying conduit from the second reel of conduit, for example, the conduit from the second reel may pass around a part of the periphery of the first reel and then follow substantially the same path as previously travelled by the conduit laid from the first reel.

The present invention concerns a method of laying of conduit at sea using one or more horizontal reels, each reel thus having a substantially vertical axis, and a vessel for performing such a method. The present invention is particularly, but not exclusively, concerned with laying of pipeline with reel vessels.
A reel vessel is a ship or barge specially designed to handle a pipeline that is wound onto a large and massive reel. Reel vessels are therefore relative large and massive and are used predominantly for laying flexible pipeline, rigid pipeline, and risers, and sometimes umbilical. Pipe-laying from a reel vessel has the great benefit of allowing the bulk of the welding, coating and inspecting of the pipeline to be carried out in factory conditions ashore to form a continuous length of pipe, which is then spooled onto a storage reel on the vessel, prior to being unspooled during pipe-lay operations. Unspooling pipe from a reel at sea requires a complex, specialized lay vessel, particularly when laying relatively long or larger diameter pipelines. An alternative method of pipeline laying is referred to as stove-piping, in which pipeline is formed by means of welding separate sections of pipe together on the vessel and welding such sections to the end of a pipeline leading to the ocean floor. Reel pipe-laying using existing arrangements is generally preferable to stove-piping, on economic grounds, for rigid pipelines having an outer diameter of 16″ (about 400 mm) or less.
In the case of laying pipeline from a reel vessel with a permanently fitted reel, when the reel is empty, the reel vessel has to move to an onshore facility to receive a new length of pipeline onto the reel. The onshore facility typically comprises an assembly line with at least one working station to join pipe sections end to end. After assembly of the pipeline to be laid, said pipeline is spooled (wound), onto the permanent reel of the pipelaying vessel. After completely filling the reel, the pipelaying vessel can return to continue the pipelaying process.
A drawback of the current reel pipelaying systems is that spooling is a time-consuming and inefficient process. Solutions offered in the prior art include providing a vessel with a vertical reel that is removably mounted on the vessel (see WO 2011/105894—Itrec) and having a vessel with multiple vertical reels (WO 00/66922—Coflexip). Vertical reel vessels (i.e. vessels arranged to support a reel with the axis of the reel being general horizontal) have the advantage of the reel having a relatively small footprint on the vessel and therefore offering the possibility of making relatively efficient use of space on deck. However, mounting a reel with the axis of rotation vertical (i.e. a so-called horizontal reel) has the advantage of stability, lowering the centre of gravity and potentially allowing for a simpler support structure for the reel, in view of the loads that the vessel needs to withstand as compared between a vertical reel and a horizontal reel.
The present invention seeks to mitigate one or more of the above-mentioned problems. Alternatively or additionally, the present invention seeks to provide an improved reel vessel. Alternatively or additionally, the present invention seeks to provide a more efficient and/or less time consuming method of laying pipeline from a reel vessel.

Laying of conduit at sea using horizontal reels


A system and method for conditioning a beam of light comprised of several wavelengths by means of selecting from among the plurality of available wavelengths, a desired set of wavelengths simultaneously. A small number of multi-wavelength lasers or continuous spectra light sources, or both, may be the source for the plurality of light wavelengths, and a configuration of beam splitters/combiners, mirrors and wavelength selectable pass- and stop-filters provide a combined beam of light wavelengths selected from among the available wavelengths.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to light beams and in particular to multi-wavelength lasers and continuous spectra light sources.
2. Related Art
A number of optical techniques may be used to obtain information about materials. One such technique is Raman spectroscopy. In Raman spectroscopy, laser light is incident on a surface of a material to be analyzed. Most of the light scatters elastically from the surface (which is referred to as Rayleigh scattering). However, some of the light interacts with the material at and near the surface and is scattered inelastically due to excitation of vibrational, rotational, and/or other low-frequency modes of the material. Detecting the frequencies of such vibrational states yields information about the molecular structure and quality of the material. The inelastically scattered light is shifted in wavelength with respect to the incident laser light, either down in frequency (corresponding to the excitation of a material mode by the incident photons, also referred to as Raman Stokes) or up in frequency (corresponding to the interaction of the incident photons with an already-excited material mode, also referred to as an anti-Stokes Raman). The amount of the shift is independent of the excitation wavelength, and the Stokes and anti-Stokes lines are displaced from the excitation signal by amounts of equal magnitude.
Many laser and other optical sources that are used to analyze materials using spectroscopy are known to generate a plurality of spectral lines. This can be used advantageously. For example, many semiconductor electronic devices consist of numerous layers of semiconductor materials with varying compositions and constituents. Often, these layers are Raman active, and the magnitude of the wavelength shift of the Stokes and anti-Stokes lines relative to the excitation wavelength are dependent on the stoichiometry of the chemical composition and crystalline properties of each layer.
As is well known in optics, because the index of refraction of semiconductor materials is dispersive, different probe wavelengths have different penetration depths into the bulk of the material. It is often the case that such penetration depths are comparable to the depths to which various layers of materials are prepared. Thus, use of laser light of different excitation wavelengths will probe the Raman scattering properties of materials at different depths. It is therefore advantageous to have a system capable of simultaneously providing laser excitation lines to obtain, via Raman spectroscopy, information about the quality and stoichiometry of layers at various depths of material, within the limits of penetration of the laser lines.
Other applications can also be envisioned. For example, in liquid samples containing biological specimens, choice of excitation wavelength affects the generation of fluorescence, which is another means for investigation of biological materials.
One problem that arises in this connection is the means for selecting the preferred set of wavelengths, deleting or excluding others, and combining them into a single beam for optical characterization of material properties. For example, an argon ion laser has more than thirteen laser lines, all of widely varying relative output.
FIG. 1 shows a simplified view of a conventional means for selecting and combining different wavelengths originating from several different sources, such as lasers, multi-wavelength lasers, or continuous spectra sources. These sources can be identical, and therefore produce the same laser lines, or they may be different, and thus provide a spectrum of wavelengths. In this approach, a bank of light sources provides multiple light beams 105, each at multiple wavelengths of laser output or continuous spectra, to a bank of bandpass filters 115, referred to collectively as a stack. Beams of single wavelengths pass through each filter 115, which limits the wavelength or wavelengths that transmit. The several beams then pass to a stack of beam splitters 110 or partial mirrors that behave in a manner reciprocal to beam splitting, i.e., they combine the beams into a single beam 125 that exits the system at the bottom of the figure. Mirrors 120 are strategically placed to recoup some fraction of the laser beams that would otherwise be lost. However, this is a highly inefficient system from the point of view of wasted beam energy, power consumption and duplication of costly laser hardware. Furthermore, optical alignment to combine beams from a plurality of separate lasers or other light sources requires costly precision alignment.
Therefore, there is a need for forming light beams by means of using least a multi-wavelength source in which the desired output wavelengths can be chosen with minimum loss of energy and ease of selection.


The invention is related to compounds, being useful in treating psychosis, of the formula: ##STR1## wherein: R.sup.1 is hydrogen, lower-alkyl, phenyl-lower-alkyl, C.sub.3 -C.sub.7 -monocyclic cycloalkyl-lower-alkyl, or hydroxy-C.sub.3 -C.sub.7 -monocycliccycloalkyl-lower-alkyl;. R.sup.2 is lower-alkyl; PA0 R.sup.3 is hydrogen or lower-alkyl; PA0 R.sup.4 is lower-alkyl; PA0 n is an integer from zero to three; and PA0 R.sup.5 is hydroxy, lower-alkoxy, lower-alkyl, C.sub.3 -C.sub.7 -monocyclic cycloalkyl, phenyl, or a 5-membered heterocycle selected from furanyl, thienyl and isoxazolyl;. with the proviso that when n is zero, R.sup.5 is other than hydroxy or a pharmaceutically acceptable acid-addition salt thereof.

(a) Field of the Invention
The invention relates to novel substituted 3-piperidinealkanoates and alkanones, to compositions containing the same, to the method of use thereof in the treatment of central nervous system disorders, and to processes for their preparation.
A number of know antipsychotic drugs are disclosed in the art which have been shown to share a selective, high affinity for sigma receptors, which are sites where psychotomimetic opiates, such as (+)-pentazocine and N-allylnormetazocine, act. It has been suggested that the antipsychotic behavioral profile of these antipsychotic drugs can be attributed to their role as competitive antagonists of sigma receptor binding and that a systematic screen for drugs that block sigma receptors may provide a valuable strategy for identifying novel antipsychotic agents. Additionally, it has been shown that the relative potencies of these agents studied in vivo correspond well with their relative binding affinities obtained in vitro. See, for example, Synder and Largent, J. Neuropsychiatry 1989, 1(1), 7.15; Largent, et al., Eur. J. Pharmacol. 1988, 155, 345-347; Deutsch, et al., Clinical Neuropharmacology 1988, 11(2), 105-119; Tayler, et al., Drug Development Research 1987, 11, 65-70; Ferris, et al., Life Sciences 1986, 38(25), 2329-2337; and Su, et al., Neuroscience Letters 1986, 71, 224-228.
(b) Information Disclosure Statement
Welcher, U.S. Pat. No. 3,431,267, issued Mar. 4, 1969, discloses 2,3-dimethyl-3-piperidinepropanamine ##STR2## as a fungicide and pesticide.
Loew, et al., Endog. Exog. Opiate Agonists and Antagonists, E. L. Way editor, Pergamon: Elmsford, New York 1980, pp 39-42, disclose 1-R.sub.1 -2,3,4,4-tetramethylpiperidines of general formula ##STR3## wherein R.sub.1 is 3-furanylmethyl, 2-furanylmethyl, 2-propenyl, cyclopropylmethyl, phenylethyl, methyl and hydrogen, without an indication of utility.
Langer, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,023,266, issued Jun. 11, 1991, disclose compounds of the formula: ##STR4## wherein:
R.sup.1 denotes a halogen atom or a hydroxy group;
R.sup.2 denotes a hydrogen atom or a methyl group; and
R.sup.3 denotes a hydrogen or halogen atom.
The compounds are said to be useful in the treatment of psychotic disorders.
Gray and Cheng, European Patent Application 445195, published Nov. 6, 1991, disclose a series of ethanobicyclic amine derivatives which are said to be useful in the treatment of CNS disorders such as psychotic disorders, convulsions, dystonia and cerebral ischemia.
Cain, et al., European Patent Application 449187, published Oct. 2, 1991, disclose a series of disubstituted piperidine ether derivatives which are said to be useful in treating physiological or drug induced psychosis or dyskinesia in mammals or fungal disease in plants.
Glennon, et al., J. Med. Chem. 1991, 34, 3360-3365, disclose a series of novel 4-phenylpiperidine derivatives which are stated to bind with high affinity to sigma receptors.

Substituted 3-piperidinealkanoates and alkanones and compositions and method of use thereof


A part to be mounted into force or pressure sensors includes an annular measuring element made of piezoelectric material. First and second electrodes rest against respective opposite sides of the measuring element and are provided with wires. An electrically insulating transmission member laterally adjoins the first electrode, across from the measuring element. Another electrically insulating insulation member laterally adjoins the second electrode, across from the measuring element. All components are mounted within the part in such a way as to be centered relative to each other. The external face of the transmission member and the external face of the insulation member which face away from and run parallel to the electrodes are designed in a very planar manner, having a levelness of less than 10 μm.

For example, sensors comprising such parts are used for the measurement in combustion chambers, for example in glow plugs.
From WO 2006/089446, a part of the type described above is known. It is particularly suitable for the use in glow plugs. However, said part has to be provided with insulated wires to the electrodes, or the insulation thereof with respect to each other has to be achieved with a complex part which engages with said part. These measures are very expensive.
WO 2007/096205 describes a glow plug which for example may use a part of the type described in WO 2006/089446. It comprises a centering element with a centering portion which has to center the part in the glow plug. In order to accomplish the centering, however, the difficulty is to manufacture said centering portion and the surface to which the part adjoins in the required levelness.

Part for measuring forces or pressures, and sensor comprising such a part