A capacitor comprising an aluminum anode and a dielectric layer comprising phosphate doped aluminum oxide and process for making the capacitor. The capacitor has a CV Product of at least 9 μF-V/cm2 at 250 volts. Furthermore, the capacitor is formed by the process of: forming an aluminum plate; contacting the plate with an anodizing solution comprising glycerine, 0.1 to 1.0%, by weight, water and 0.01 to 0.5%, by weight, orthophosphate; applying a voltage to the aluminum plate and determining an initial current; maintaining the first voltage until a first measured current is no more than 50% of the initial current; increasing the voltage and redetermining the initial current; maintaining the increased voltage until a second measured current is no more than 50% of the redetermined initial current, and continuing the increasing of the voltage and maintaining the increased voltage until a final voltage is achieved.

The present invention is related to an electrolyte solution for anodizing aluminum anode foil for use in electrolytic capacitors and the capacitors containing this anode foil.
We have found that low water content variations of the glycerine and orthophosphate-containing electrolytes described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,409,905, which is incorporated herein by reference thereto, may be used for the anodization of aluminum foil to voltages sufficiently high to facilitate the use of the aforementioned foil in intermediate and high voltage electrolytic capacitors.
Previously, the maximum anodizing voltage obtainable from the aqueous phosphate solutions traditionally used to anodize aluminum capacitor foil for applications requiring extreme foil stability and oxide hydration resistance was about 220 volts, as stated in U.S. Pat. No. 3,733,291. The corrosion of the foil being anodized in aqueous phosphate solutions increases with the anodizing voltage and is sufficiently severe to result in dielectric failure above about 220 volts. The corrosion by-products formed during aluminum foil anodizing in aqueous phosphate solutions must be removed from the solution via filtering, etc., or they will deposit upon the foil and anodizing tank components in amounts sufficient to interfere with the anodizing process.
The difficulties encountered with aqueous phosphate anodizing of aluminum foil for use in relatively low voltage capacitors are such that, in spite of the superior electrical stability of foil anodized in phosphate solutions nearly all of the low voltage foil produced today is anodized in non-phosphate solutions with the exception of a relatively small amount of phosphate which may be present to help impart hydration resistance. Due to the voltage limitations of aqueous phosphate anodizing solutions mentioned above, intermediate and high voltage capacitor foils have not traditionally been anodized in aqueous phosphate solutions.
Aluminum electrolytic capacitors for use at intermediate voltages typically contain anode foil hydrated by passing the foil through a hot water bath prior to anodizing, as defined in U.S. Pat. No. 4,582,574. These capacitors are typically for use at voltages from 150 to 250 volts and contain anode foil anodized to about 200 to 350 volts. This pre-anodizing hydration step is carried out in order to reduce the amount of electric current required to form the anodic oxide dielectric layer and is normally applied to foils to be anodized to 200 volts and above, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,481,073. By carefully adjusting the parameters of the pre-anodizing hydration process, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,242,575, the hydration process may be successfully employed with foils which are anodized to voltages significantly less than 200 volts. The energy savings associated with the pre-anodizing hydration process is sufficiently great that the vast majority of aluminum foil manufactured today is processed in this manner.
The crystallinity of the anodic oxide present on aluminum anode foil is another factor directly determining the cost of the foil for a given rating of capacitor. Crystalline anodic aluminum oxide has a higher withstanding voltage per unit thickness than does amorphous anodic aluminum oxide. As a result of the higher withstanding voltage of crystalline oxide, only about 10 angstroms of crystalline oxide is required to support each volt of applied field during anodizing as compared with approximately 14 angstroms for each volt of applied field for amorphous oxide. As a result of the higher withstanding voltage of crystalline anodic aluminum oxide, the capacitance of anode foil coated with crystalline oxide may be as much as about 40% higher than anode foil anodized to the same voltage but coated with amorphous oxide.
Crystalline anodic aluminum oxide may be readily produced by anodizing aluminum anode foil in solutions containing salts of dicarboxylic acids as the primary ionogen, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,481,084. Anodic oxide formation in solutions of dicarboxylic acid salts (generally at 70–95° C.) may be combined with a pre-anodizing foil hydration step to achieve a very significant savings in both energy and foil consumed per unit capacitance at a given anodizing voltage.
Hydration resistance, which is an important consideration for foil used in electrolytic capacitors, may be enhanced by the inclusion of a small amount of an alpha-hydroxy carboxylic acid (such as tartaric acid or citric acid) in the anodizing electrolyte solution, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,481,084. The tendency of anodic aluminum oxide to absorb water, forming a variety of hydrated species having impaired dielectric properties appears to be, at least in part, a function of the hydration status of the outermost portion of the anodic oxide at the end of the anodizing process. Lilienfeld, in U.S. Pat. No. 2,826,724 states that "it is the hydration stratum of the oxide film, adjacent the film-electrolyte interface, which causes most of the power loss; and that the progressive development of hydration at the interface causes the aforesaid instability."
Alwitt, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,733,291, describes a method of removing the residual hydration layer from the outer surface of anodized aluminum capacitor foil which has been exposed to a pre-anodizing hydration step (Alwitt refers to this as a "preboil") prior to anodizing in order to conserve electrical energy during anodizing. Alwitt employs a dilute phosphoric acid solution, generally with a small chromate content (to inhibit corrosion), to dissolve the outer, hydration layer.
In addition to the problems associated with the residual hydration layer on anodized foil, which has been processed through a pre-anodizing hydration or preboil step prior to anodizing, there exists another potential problem with the stability of the anodic oxide grown on preboiled aluminum foil. The formation of the anodic oxide on preboiled foil takes place via a dehydration reaction in which the layer of pseudoboehmite (i.e. hydration product) is progressively dehydrated from the foil-oxide interface outward. Apparently, the dehydration does not take place through the ejection of water molecules but rather through the ejection of hydrogen ions and the liberation of oxygen gas within the body of the oxide. The liberated oxygen gas may become trapped within the anodic oxide, rendering the oxide susceptible to cracking and dielectric failure in service. This topic is treated well in the article, entitled: "Trapped Oxygen in Aluminum Oxide Films and Its Effect on Dielectric Stability", by Walter J. Bernard and Philip G. Russell (Journal of the Electrochemical Society, Volume 127, number 6, June 1980, pages 1256–1261).
Stevens and Shaffer describe a method of determining the concentration of oxide flaws as a function of distance from the metal-oxide interface for trapped-oxygen flaws which are exposed via thermal relaxation steps followed by re-anodizing under carefully controlled and monitored conditions ("Defects in Crystalline Anodic Aluminum", by J. L. Stevens and J. S. Shaffer, Journal of the Electrochemical Society, volume 133, number 6, June 1986, pages 1160–1162).
Stabilization processes have been developed which tend to expose and repair trapped oxygen flaws (in anodic oxide films on preboiled foils) as well as impart hydration resistance to the oxide film. Examples of these processes are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,113,579 and 4,437,946.
For maximum anodic oxide film stability on aluminum foil, it is desirable to form the anodic film in a phosphate solution and, again, for maximum stability (i.e., freedom from trapped oxygen flaws) the foil should not be preboiled prior to the anodizing process.
The skilled artisan has therefore been limited in the ability to form oxides on the anode at high voltage, particularly with phosphate incorporation into the oxide layer.

Capacitor containing aluminum anode foil anodized in low water content glycerine-phosphate electrolyte without a pre-anodizing hydration step


A ring network with dual homing connections to the network from one or more nodes via physically separated concentrators.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method and apparatus for increasing the effective bandwidth of certain networks, and more particularly to a dual homing method and apparatus for increasing the bandwidth of FDDI and FDDI-II networks.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Communication networks (such as Local Area Networks and LANs) are designed to operate at a specific bandwidth. For example, Ethernet operates at 10 Mbps (Mega bits per second), while Token Ring operates at 16 Mbps, and FDDI operates at 100 Mpbs. In multimedia networking, these bandwidths are insufficient to carry the required communication, especially when multi-way multi-party networking (such as video conferencing), or high capacity networking (such as HDTV or high resolution medical imaging) is to be conducted. In particular, once the bandwidth of the network is used up, no additional users can participate until someone else gives up their portion of the bandwidth.
As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, it would be desirable to extend the usage of the existing network bandwidth, particularly without changing the physical, signal layer specified and standardized by the national standards organizations (e.g. ANSI, IEEE, or CCITT). This means that the network remains compatible at a hardware level and at a low layer (OSI layer 1, 2, and 3) software layers.
Extending the usage of a network's bandwidth, would permit many more users to be active on the network, that is, in effect, increasing the capacity of a network. For example, if the effective bandwidth of a FDDI network was increased from 100 Mbps to 500 Mbps, then five times the information can be carried over the network; for example, five times the number of users could log onto the network.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/801,379 filed Feb. 19, 1997 concurrently with this application, entitled Multimedia Application Synchronization Over Isochronous Newworks, assigned to the assignee of this application, and incorporated herein by reference, discloses a novel method of bandwidth sharing in which spatial domains are defined in a client/server architecture by coupling the server to two or more spaced apart points on the network. This invention relates to a unique and innovative method for managing, controlling, and establishing spatial reuse domains on a ring network in order to increase the effective bandwidth of the network.

Spatial reuse by means of dual homing on a ring network


The synthesis of precipitated silica having improved chemical and physical properties of use as a reinforcing filler in polymeric matrices is described. Improvements in the properties result from the synthesis of the silica al a reduced ionic strength. In particular, the use of silicia acid during synthesis, provides a solution of reduced ionic strength, which favors the formation of improved colloidal structure via increased aggregation and reduced agglomeration. In addition, the surface of the silica precipitate formed may be modified by the addition of surface modifying agents, during synthesis to further enhance the desired reinforcing properties of the precipitated silica. The invention also embodies polymeric compositions of improved tensile and elongation strengths, with the compositions including precipitated silica, synthesized at reduced ionic strengths and having modified surfaces, in combination with a polymeric compound.

Colloidal fillers have been widely used in industry for almost a half a century as reinforcing agents for rubber and other polymers. Fillers such as silica and carbon provide useful reinforcing agents for rubber due to their colloidal structure. Colloidal structure is primarily a function of the colloidal interactions which define the morphology and strength of the colloidal structure. Colloidal interactions are interactive chemical and physical forces between individual particles, and between clusters of particles. Such chemical and physical forces typically include chemical bonds, and ionic associations such as hydrogen bonding, hydrophobic interactions, electrostatic interactions and Van der Waal's forces. The interrelationship of these forces ultimately defines the overall structural characteristics of the filler.
Silica, as compared with carbon black, the traditional reinforcing agent, offers not only improved mechanical properties as a reinforcing filler in polymer applications, but also the possibility of the polymer being translucent or neutral in color. Silica, therefore, has been the preferred filler for reinforcement in many rubber and polymeric materials. Commercially available silica is typically present as precipitated silica. Precipitated silica has a three-level structure, composed of primary particles, aggregates and agglomerates. Primary particles are the first to form during synthesis of silica and the smallest structural component, typically less than one micron in size. Primary particles tend to cluster together during synthesis to form aggregates which are also typically less than one micron in size. Generally, aggregates form from intermolecular chemical bonding between individual primary particles. Chemical bonds are robust making the aggregates "hard", in the sense that they do not easily break up under shear and pressure. Primary particles and aggregates play a crucial role in polymer reinforcement.
Silica precipitate also exists in an agglomerated state. Agglomerates are 100 μm clusters of aggregates. Generally, agglomerates form from physical bonding between aggregates during the synthetic process. Physical bonds are not as robust as chemical bonds and are easily broken down during shear. Agglomerates tend to be much larger and "softer" than the corresponding aggregates. Physically bound agglomerates in and of themselves are fairly ineffective as reinforcing fillers due to their softness and large size. However, formation of agglomerates provides convenience for packaging and transportation of the final silica product.
During the rubber reinforcement process, however, the colloidal structure of the precipitated silica filler is exposed to tremendous shear and disruptive forces. Shear causes "soft" agglomerates to be broken down into corresponding "hard" aggregates. This leads to improved dispersion of the silica reinforcing filler. Therefore, to improve the performance of a reinforced rubber, an ideal silica filler would be composed of both "hard" aggregates, to withstand the pressures of shear during rubber manufacture, and "soft" agglomerates, to allow for their breakdown during dispersion in the rubber matrix.
The synthesis and formation of the colloidal structure of precipitated silica may be systematically controlled using the tools of chemistry. While chemically bound aggregates are favorable, the size of the primary particles as well as the formation of aggregates and corresponding agglomerates are very important for dispersion of precipitated silica in rubber matrices. The prior art has also attempted to study the effects of varying reaction conditions on the structure of silica in order to obtain the desired structural composition and characteristics of primary particles, aggregates and agglomerates. References Chevallier U.S. Pat. No. 5,403,570, and Groel U.S. Pat. No. 5,705,137 disclose precipitated silica of varying colloidal structure as potential reinforcing agents. Chevallier discloses modified silica produced in an effort to improve dispersive properties. Groel discloses precipitated silica preparing from synthetic methods in which the pH and temperature conditions were varied. These references, however, fail to improve the colloidal structure of silica as related to reinforcement, and in particular, fail to effectively control the formation of aggregates and agglomerates of the silica precipitate.

Methods for synthesizing precipitated silica and use thereof


A method for producing a heat sink for cooling a semiconductor device including forming plural base members, the base member being each in plate or block-shape, the base member each having paths shaped on one or both sides of surfaces thereof, and the base member each having connecting regions on one or both sides of surfaces thereof, coating a coating layer of Au onto the base members, putting a solder of Sn or Au—Sn alloy onto connecting regions, the connecting region being coated with the coating layer of Au, assembling the base members together such that the base members are bonding to each other at the connecting region and the paths shaped on each of the surfaces of the base members form a communicating flow path for a cooling medium inside the bonded base members, and heating to diffuse Sn from the solder of Sn or Au—Sn alloy into the coating layer of Au, and to make a bond layer of alloy containing at least 91 wt % of Au and at most 9 wt % of Sn, the bond layer being interposed between connecting regions to which the base member each connects.

The semiconductor device, such as a semiconductor laser diode, which has been used in various fields, makes increased heat generation during operation, and thus heat sinks are generally used for cooling it.
The development of high performance semiconductor devices and the like in recent years, such as one with high brightness and/or high output power, requires higher cooling properties in a heat sink. The durability of such cooling properties are also requires in a heat sink, such that the heat sink stably performs its capability of dissipation of heat from heat-generating devices, such as a semiconductor device, during its long lifetime. To meet these demands, various types of heat sinks are developed.
While the capabilities of the heat sink being further improved, there is a tendency for it to increase in size, thickness, etc., and such heat sink cannot be suitable for some of recent semiconductor devices and the like that become further small in size.
Accordingly, to solve such problems, WO 00/11922 discloses a structure of heat sink 100 as illustrated with the cross-section view in FIG. 9.
This heat sink 100 comprises base members 110, 120 and 130 that are mainly made of copper in plate-like shapes as illustrated with the cross-section view in FIG. 9a. After the base members being assembled as illustrated with the cross-section view in FIG. 9b, and being bonded by means of adhesion or the like, interspace 150 is formed inside the assembled base members, in which the interspace 150 has boundary of the surfaces of the base members 110, 120 and 130. A through hole 160 is also formed, which communicates one part of interspace 150 created with the base members 110 and 120 to the other part of interspace 150 created with the base members 120 and 130. By allowing a coolant to flow into and to flow out of the thus formed interspace 150 and through hole 160, a semiconductor device 170, such as a semiconductor laser diode, which is mounted onto the outer surface of the base members 110, is cooled by the thus formed heat sink 100.
In the heat sink 100, during a long term circulation of coolant going through the interspace of the heat sink with inflow and outflow, a physical and/or chemical phenomenon such as corrosion or erosion-corrosion occurs on the inner surfaces of the base members 110, 120 and 130 that are in contact with the coolant.
Here, the erosion-corrosion means a mode of corrosion in which a chemical corrosion is accompanied by erosion with mechanical degradation. In the case of the heat sink 100, the chemical corrosion is caused by a chemical reaction between the coolant and the base members 110, 120 and 130, while the mechanical degradation is caused by a mechanical contact of the substances that are contained in the flowing coolant with the inner surfaces of the base members.
The corrosion or erosion-corrosion occurred as mentioned above, causes liquid leakage of the heat sink 100 or reduction of the flow amount of the coolant that is going through the heat sink. As the material for the base members 110, 120 and 130, Cu is generally used, which has excellent thermal conductivity and is relatively low in price. In such an instance, however, corrosion products such as verdigris are formed during a long time circulation of the coolant. The corrosion products cause clogging, and thus lower the flow amount of the coolant that is going through the coolant. Such reduction of the flow amount remarkably decreases the cooling performance of the heat sink.
Further, in a case where a semiconductor laser diode 170 is mounted onto the heat sink 100 to be cooled down, the semiconductor laser diode functions as an electrode (anode or cathode) while the heat sink 100 itself functions as another electrode (cathode or anode). In such case, because of the electric current flowing through the materials of the heat sink 100, as well as through the semiconductor laser diode, the inducement of electrolytic etching is tend to occur. The result from such electrolytic etching is the deformation or clogging of the flow path, further resulting in the reduction of the flow amount of the coolant that is going through the heat sink. In complementing of the reduction of the flow amount by raising the liquid pressure or the like, such pressure often damages the inner surfaces of the heat sink, causing liquid leakage, etc.
To prevent the above problem of the degradation in quality for cooling performance, a coating treatment of the interspace 150 formed inside the heat sink 100, may sometimes be made after bonding of the base members 110, 120 and 130. However, it has been difficult to make a precise coating in an appropriate thickness on the surfaces of the base members creating the interspace 150, in which the coolant flows, so that area of the cross section of the flow path would be in constant shape.


An assembly includes at least one first microstrip network having at least one first transmission line disposed on a first surface of a first dielectric layer including a first ground plane disposed on a second surface of the dielectric layer. At least one second microstrip network includes at least one second transmission line disposed on a first surface of a second dielectric layer, the second dielectric layer including a second ground plane disposed on a second surface of the second dielectric layer. The at least one second microstrip network is inverted relative to the at least one first microstrip network. At least one integrated support and shielding (ISS) structure is disposed between the second and the first microstrip network. The ISS structure includes a first cavity accommodating the first microstrip network and a second cavity accommodating the second microstrip network. The cavities are configured in accordance with RF performance criterions.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to RF circuits, and particularly to RF circuits and shielding structures.
2. Technical Background
Referring to FIG. 1, a cross-sectional view of a stylized conventional microstrip circuit 10 is depicted. The microstrip circuit 10 includes a dielectric layer 14 having microstrip layer 16 disposed on the top of the dielectric layer 14. A metallized ground layer 12 is disposed on the underside of the dielectric layer 14. As those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate, the microstrip circuit 10 may be employed to implement distributed element filters. Stated differently, as the operating frequency increases, lumped elements become impractical and filter components are realized with transmission line components (i.e., distributed elements). The metallized layers (12, 16) may be implemented using any suitable materials such as copper, gold, silver, etc. The dielectric layer 14 may also be implemented using any suitable material such as FR-4, alumina, etc.
One drawback associated with the microstrip network 10 relates to its ability to propagate electromagnetic signals into the surrounding RF environment. The electromagnetic signals emanating from the microstrip network 10, for example, can be unintentionally received and conducted by other networks operating in the same environment and thus interfere with these networks. Thus, the signals generated by the microstrip lines would be interpreted as noise or interference signals. Moreover, in a system that employs multiple microstrip circuits in close proximity to each other, cross-coupling of the electromagnetic signal may occur, resulting in cross-talk between adjacent microstrip transmission lines.
In reference to FIG. 2, a cross-sectional view of the circuit depicted in FIG. 1 with a conventional shielding structure 18 is shown. Thus, in one approach that has been considered, multiple microstrip filters may be disposed adjacent to each other in an array on the same plane with some type of shielding structure disposed therebetween. (For clarity and simplicity of illustration, only one microstrip network 10 is shown in FIG. 2). One drawback to this approach is that it is not spatially efficient in terms of the overall footprint because it requires multiple microstrip networks 10 disposed side-by-side and adjacent to each other (As implied by FIG. 2). Stated differently, this approach often requires a large surface area and is thus not suitable for miniaturized applications. This approach is also often unpractical for highly integrated applications for the same reasons.
In another approach that has been considered, stripline filters have been employed in multi-layered structures to reduce the footprint and achieve a higher degree of integration. One drawback to this approach is that often, an entire set of filters has to be designed and manufactured at the same time and lack modularity. Moreover, stripline technology often has a limited pool of material choices and may present increased manufacturing uncertainties relative to simpler technologies due to the characteristics of the specific bonding processes used in stripline technology. For example, comparable microstrip circuits do not have such limitations and are thus relatively inexpensive when compared to stripline circuits.
What is needed, therefore, is an integrated support and shielding structure that can be used in conjunction with a plurality of microstrip circuits without interference, cross-talk or any of the other drawbacks described above.

First and second microstrip networks stacked in an inverted arrangement to each other using an integrated support and shielding structure


In a marine propulsion control system for controlling a set of propulsion units carried by a hull of a vessel, cavitation typically occurs on the propulsion unit with reverse gear engaged, and in a triple propulsion unit installation the normally idle center propulsion unit can be used to increase the reverse thrust and thereby limit the RPM of propulsion units in reverse, so that the cavitation effect is limited, and simultaneously allow for higher forward thrust on the third propulsion unit, thus increasing the total thrust for the vessel.

The present invention relates to a control system for docking a marine vessel.
Today's marine vessels are often equipped with a plurality of propulsion units, for example three, for driving the vessel. If every propulsion unit is associated to a separate control lever the handling of the vessel can be unnecessarily complicated. As many users of marine vessels are not experienced helmspersons, a simplified control system is desirable.
WO 2007/105995 describes a control system for a set of propulsion units where a centrally arranged propulsion unit of the set is controlled as a slave based on control signals provided by at least one of the remaining propulsion units of the set. Thereby, the number of control levers are decreased, for example from three to two, thus the control system for the vessel is simplified.
However, there is always a desire to even further simplify the handling of a marine vessel, for example by means of introducing further improvements to the control system for controlling a set of marine propulsion units.
It is desirable to achieve a control system for a set of marine propulsion units and a marine vessel with such a control system that is further simplified.
The inventor has realized that the thrust that can be applied from each propulsion unit is limited due to the propeller cavitation effect, resulting in reduction of the total thrust generated on the vessel. The invention is based on the inventor's realization that the cavitation typically occurs on the propulsion unit with reverse gear engaged, and that in a triple propulsion unit installation the normally idle center propulsion unit can be used to increase the reverse thrust and thereby limit the RPM of propulsion units in reverse, so that the cavitation effect is limited, and simultaneously allow for higher forward thrust on the third propulsion unit, thus increasing the total thrust for the vessel.
According to a first aspect of the inventive concept, a marine propulsion control system for controlling a set of propulsion units carried by a hull of a vessel, wherein the set of propulsion units comprise a first propulsion unit, a second propulsion unit and a third propulsion unit, wherein the second propulsion unit is provided as a center propulsion unit between the first and third propulsion unit, the marine propulsion control system comprising a control unit configured to receive an input command from a steering control instrument for operating the vessel, determine a desired delivered thrust, gear selection and steering angle for the first, second and third propulsion unit respectively, based on the input command, and provide a set of control commands for controlling the desired delivered thrust, gear selection and steering angle for the first, second and third propulsion unit, wherein if the input command indicates a sway command the first propulsion unit is set to have a forward gear selection and the third propulsion unit is set to have a reverse gear selection, each with a selected thrust level, and if the thrust level for at least one of the first and the third propulsion unit exceeds a predetermined thrust level the second propulsion unit is set to have a reverse gear selection with a thrust level depending on the selected thrust level of at least one of the first and the third propulsion unit.
In the context of this application a vessel should interpreted as any type of vessel, such as larger commercial ships, smaller vessel such as leisure boats and other types of water vehicles or vessels.
Furthermore, in the context of this application "gear selection" should be interpreted as selection of rotation direction of the propeller, i.e. forwards or rearwards rotation direction.
Through the system described, the propulsion units can be controlled individually. Thereby the propulsion units may for example be switched independently between a forward propulsion state and a reverse propulsion state and steered independently of one another.
By allowing the second propulsion unit to assist the first or third propulsion unit in creating a reverse thrust on the vessel, the total thrust of the vessel can be increased with 80-100 percent. Thereby, an operator of the vessel has more thrust to control the vessel, thus allowing the operator to act later and with more effect which means facilitated handling of the vessel.
Many inexperienced operators compare operating a marine vessel to operating a land vehicle, e.g. a car, and one of the hardest things to learn is how the marine vessel drifts due to inertial effects, wind and currents, which require the operators to plan their movements long in advance. When increased thrust to control the vessel is provided, the operator can reduce the time-span of the vessel's planned movements. This is a great advantage for an inexperienced operator.
In one embodiment the steering angle of the second propulsion unit is substantially the same as the steering angle of the third propulsion unit.
The first propulsion unit can be either a starboard or a port propulsion unit. Consequently, the third propulsion unit can be either a port or a starboard propulsion unit. The vessel will sway in the same direction as the position of the propulsion unit that is set with a reverse gear selection relative a thought center line. Thus, if the first propulsion unit is a port propulsion unit and the first propulsion unit is set in a reverse gear selection, the vessel will sway in a port direction.
Preferably, the first and third propulsion units' steering angles are substantially inverted relative a longitudinal axis. In the context of this application a longitudinal axis should be interpreted as an axis extending from the vessel's bow to the vessel's stern.
In one embodiment of the invention the first and third propulsion unit angles are set to an outwards angle. Thereby a component force in the lateral axis achieving a sway movement of the vessel is provided.
In another embodiment the first and third propulsion unit angles are set to a substantially maximum outwards angle. Thereby, the component force in the lateral axis achieving a sway movement of the vessel may be substantially maximized.
Further, if the first and third propulsion units are substantially inverted relative the longitudinal axis, and their thrust level are substantially equal, the force component in a forward/reverse direction will be zero, thus only a sway movement of the vessel will be achieved.
According to another embodiment, the marine propulsion control system further comprises three independent Engine Control Unit for providing an interface between the control unit and the first, second and third propulsion unit respectively. Thereby, the control unit does not have to comprise an interface for communicating with each of the first, second and third propulsion unit. Moreover, existing ECUs in a marine vessel can be utilized. According to yet another embodiment of the inventive concept, the three independent ECUs are electrically connected to the control unit.
According to another embodiment, the predefined level of the thrust level for one of the first or third propulsion unit corresponds to a level less than where a reverse propulsion direction of the first or third propulsion unit causes cavitation. Thereby, the cavitation effect typically occurring in the propulsion unit with a reverse gear selection can be alleviated through that the second propulsion unit assists the propulsion unit with a reverse gear selection by also creating a reversely directed thrust. By avoiding cavitation effects the total thrust of the vessel can be increased further.
According to yet another embodiment, the marine propulsion control system further comprises a steering control instrument for providing the control unit with an input command. Thereby, the operator can easily provide input commands to the control unit, so that the control unit can control the propulsion units in a direction desired by the operator.
Preferably, the inventive control system forms part of a marine vessel, further comprising a first propulsion unit, a second propulsion unit, a third propulsion unit, wherein the second propulsion unit is provided as a center propulsion unit between the first and second propulsion unit, each propulsion unit are carried by a hull.
By providing a vessel with a marine propulsion control system allowing the second propulsion unit to assist the first or third propulsion unit in creating a reverse thrust on the vessel, the total thrust of the vessel can be increased. Thereby, an operator of the vessel has more thrust to control the vessel, thus allowing the operator to act later and with more effect which implies facilitated handling of the vessel.
According to a second aspect of the present inventive concept, there is provided a method for controlling a set of propulsion units carried by a hull of a vessel, wherein the set of propulsion units comprise a first propulsion unit, a second propulsion unit and a third propulsion unit, wherein the second propulsion unit is provided as a center propulsion unit between the first and second propulsion unit, the method comprising receiving an input command from a steering control instrument operating the vessel, determining a desired delivered thrust, gear selection and steering angle for the first, second and third propulsion unit respectively, based on the input command, and providing a set of control commands for controlling the desired delivered thrust, gear selection and steering angle for the first, second and third propulsion unit, and setting the second propulsion unit to have a reverse gear selection with a thrust level if the input command indicates a sway command and the first propulsion unit is set to have a forward gear selection and the third propulsion unit is set to have a reverse gear selection, each with a thrust level, and if the thrust level for one of the first or the third propulsion unit exceeds a predetermined thrust level.
The effects of a method as described above are largely analogous to the effects of a marine propulsion control system and a vessel as described above. By providing a method for allowing the second propulsion unit to assist the first or third propulsion unit in creating a reverse thrust on the vessel, the total thrust of the vessel can be increased substantially. Thereby, an operator of the vessel has more thrust to control the vessel, thus allowing the operator to act later and with more effect which implies facilitated handling of the vessel.
According to another embodiment, the method further comprises providing the predefined thrust level for one of the first or the third propulsion unit so that it corresponds to a level less than where a reverse propulsion direction of the first or third propulsion unit causes cavitation. Thereby, the cavitation effect typically occurring in the propulsion unit with a reverse gear selection can be alleviated through that the second propulsion unit assists the propulsion unit with a reverse gear selection by also creating a reversely directed thrust. By avoiding cavitation effects the total thrust of the vessel can be increased further, which in turn means facilitated handling.
According to a third aspect of the present invention there is provided a computer program product comprising a computer readable medium having stored thereon computer program means for causing a control unit to control a set of propulsion units carried by a hull of a vessel, wherein said set of propulsion units comprise a first propulsion unit, a second propulsion unit and a third propulsion unit, wherein said second propulsion unit is provided as a center propulsion unit between said first and second propulsion unit, wherein the computer program product comprises code for receiving an input command from a steering control instrument operating the vessel, code for determining a desired delivered thrust, gear selection and steering angle for said first, second and third propulsion unit respectively, based on the input command, code for providing a set of control commands for controlling the desired delivered thrust, gear selection and steering angle for said first, second and third propulsion unit, and code for setting said second propulsion unit to have a reverse gear selection with a thrust level if said input command indicates a sway command and the first propulsion unit is set to have a forward gear selection and the third propulsion unit is set to have a reverse gear selection, each with a thrust level, and if the thrust level for one of said first or said third propulsion unit exceeds a predetermined thrust level.
The control unit is preferably a micro processor or similar device, and the computer readable medium may be one of a removable nonvolatile random access memory, a hard disk drive, a floppy disk, a CD-ROM, a DVD-ROM, a USB memory, an SD memory card, or a similar computer readable medium known in the art. The effects of a the computer product implementation of the invention for controlling a set of propulsion units by a control unit as described above are largely analogous to the effects of a marine propulsion control system, vessel and method as described above.
Furthermore, a code for controlling a set of marine propulsion units allows a user to upgrade an existing marine propulsion control system that allows separate individual control of the steering angle, thrust level and gear selection of the set or propulsion units. With abovementioned code, the upgrade could be done carried out with merely software alterations, vastly reducing the costs for a vessel owner to upgrade the marine propulsion control system.


A hair retaining clip includes a first claw portion, and a second claw portion pivotally connected to the first claw portion. A primary hinge may provide the pivotal connection between the first claw portion and the second claw portion, aligned along a primary hinge axis. At least one deployable handle extends from one of the first claw portion and the second claw portion, and may be movable between a deployed configuration and a stowed configuration.

Claw clips have been developed for hair styling that grip the hair using a spring force. However, if the spring force is increased, the clip can become difficult to open. Accordingly, it is desirable to have relatively long lever arms provided by long handles, so that the clip can be easily opened by a user. One problem posed by such long handles is that they can be unsightly and therefore detract from the appearance of the clip. Another problem is that the lever arms can extend out far enough to cause the clip to bump up against objects such as, for example, a car headrest.

Hair retaining clip with deployable handles


A flameholder for an augmentor rotates about an axis radially positioned with a turbine engine. The flameholder is in a streamlined position when the augmentor is not operating to minimize pressure loss and radar cross-section and a turbulent position when the augmentor is operating. A linkage connects the flameholder to an actuator to control the rotational position of the flameholder on the axis. Bypass airflow from the fan cools the flameholders and linkages. The length of the linkages can be varied from one flameholder to another to create asymmetric heat release within the augmentor to avoid screech.

The invention generally relates to an improved arrangement to provide a variable geometry flameholder in a turbine engine. More particularly, an inventive flameholder provides a streamlined geometry when a turbine engine augmentor is not operating and a "turbulent" geometry when the augmentor is operating.
Turbine engines may have afterburners, or augmentors, located at the rear of the engine upstream of an exhaust nozzle. Augmentors utilize unused oxygen from the turbine engine to obtain a second combustion. The second combustion provides additional thrust from the turbine engine. An augmentor includes flameholders to create low velocity wakes to stabilize combustion in the high velocity turbine engine exhaust.
Flameholders have the disadvantage of creating pressure loss in the airflow of the turbine engine even when the augmentor is not operating. The pressure loss when the augmentor is not operating decreases the thrust of the turbine engine.
Prior turbine engine augmentors have attempted to utilize flameholders of varying geometry such that the flameholder is arranged to provide a more streamlined airflow when the augmentor is not operating. In one known turbine engine, the spraybars and flameholders were arranged in concentric rings about the inner case of the turbine engine. Actuators for moving the flameholders were located within the inner case in order to reach the flameholders. However, due to the excessive heat within the turbine engine the components required for varying the flameholder position have had limited lifespan. Therefore, variable geometry flameholders have provided limited use in application.
An arrangement to provide a variable geometry flameholder which has increased durability is needed.

Augmentor variable vane flame stabilization


There is provided a method of detecting a pathogenic microorganism in real-time, using a modified flow-type surface plasmon resonance (SPR) biosensor, comprising the steps of: i) performing, in a batch-type, an immune reaction of a pathogenic microorganism and an antibody thereto; ii) selectively separating the pathogenic microorganism bound with the antibody; and iii) binding the pathogenic microorganism bound with the antibody on a surface of a chip of a flow-type SPR sensor system in real-time.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a method of detecting a pathogenic microorganism in real-time, using a modified flow-type surface plasmon resonance (SPR) biosensor and, more particularly, to a method of detecting a pathogenic microorganism in real-time, using a modified flow-type SPR biosensor, which separates an immune reaction from surface binding reaction in a conventional flow-type SPR sensor, thereby increasing the limit of real-time detection of a pathogenic microorganism by the SPR sensor.
2. Discussion of Related Art
As industry has been developed, people have been exposed to a lot of environmental pollutions and have faced serious problems of health and sanitation. Among various environmental pollutions, the drink water pollution frequently causes infection accidents by pathogenic microorganisms.
Compared to those in the past, the infection accidents of waterborne epidemic have been significantly reduced. However, it is true that no country in the world eradicates the waterborne epidemic. The waterborne epidemic by the water pollution causes very serious troubles because it has harmful effects for a short period of time. While the water pollution by chemical materials causes a chronic disease which is long-lasting and recurrent, the water pollution by waterborne pathogen causes an acute disease to develop symptoms and results for a short period and to be likely to be spread by secondary infection. So, prevention is very important in the infection caused by waterborne pathogen. In this regard, if the presence of pathogenic microorganism in water is detected, waterborne diseases are expected to be prevented in advance.
Many methods of detecting and monitoring a pathogenic microorganism have been developed based on diverse application principles, such as the immunofluorescence assay, specifically, the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and the gene detection assay by amplifying the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Some of products by the aforementioned methods have been commercialized. However, among the methods of detecting a pathogenic microorganism, the aforementioned assays have a relatively high detecting ability but have drawbacks in that a sample needs to be pretreated and it takes a long time for an immune reaction. Accordingly, a new sensor for detecting a pathogenic microorganism needs to be developed.
To solve the drawbacks of conventional sensors for detecting a pathogenic microorganism, many researchers have been actively developing sensors for detecting pathogenic microorganisms, using a surface plasmon resonance (SPR) system which is capable of detecting a pathogenic microorganism in real-time and has the function of a label-free sensor.
Specifically, the technique of an SPR sensor is widely used as a biosensor and/or biochip measurement method, by signal changes occurring when biological materials, such as proteins, are bound with the surface of the sensor (Literature: Nice, E. C. and Catimel, B., BioEssay, 1999, 21, 339-352). The surface plasmon is a quantized oscillation of a free electron which is propagated along a conductive surface, such as a metal surface. The surface plasmon is excited by light which passes a dielectric medium, such as a prism, and then which is incident upon a metal thin film at an angle being same as or greater than a critical angle of the dielectric medium. Then, the surface plasmon generates resonance at a predetermined angle. An angle of incidence at which the SPR is generated, that is, an angle of resonance, is sensitive to a change in the index of refraction of a material being close to the metal thin film. The SPR sensor with the above-described feature is used for quantitative analysis, qualitative analysis and measurement of the thickness of a sample, by the change in the index of refraction of a material (that is, the sample) being close to the metal thin film. Compared to conventional immunoassays, the SPR sensor has several merits as follows:
First, in terms of specificity, a conventional immunoassay needs to use a specific label material (a luminous substance or a fluorescent substance) or a secondary antibody for measurement, thereby changing the activity or original properties of the sample to be measured. However, since an SPR sensor does not require for any label of a specific material or any pretreatment of the sample, it measures the sample while maintaining the original properties of the sample.
Second, in terms of sensitivity, a conventional immunoassay has the limit of detection which is generally from several tens of ng unit to several ug unit as for proteins. However, a SPR sensor is capable of detection to several pg unit, thereby having high sensitivity.
Third, in terms of time for measurement, a conventional immunoassay obtains a measurement result after several hours starting from the pretreatment of the sample, if short, or several days, if long. However, a SPR sensor does not need any special pretreatment of the sample, so that it has the promptness to obtain a measurement result within several minutes to several tens of minutes.
Last, in terms of simplicity of analysis procedure, a general immunoassay needs highly skilled personnel and includes a complicated pretreatment process of the sample for experimental procedure reasons. However, a SPR sensor obtains a measurement result by only injecting the sample on the surface of a sensor chip, so that it has the simplified analysis procedure, compared to the conventional immunoassay.
However, unlike an inter-immune reaction between proteins, an immune reaction to detect a pathogenic microorganism is slow in an immune reaction speed. In the immune reaction, detection signals are weakly measured due to the signal amplification characteristics of the SPR. Accordingly, it is difficult to use the SPR sensor to detect a pathogenic microorganism as a sensor for detecting a pathogenic microorganism, by applying a flow-type method like a conventional SPR sensor for detecting proteins.
Most of the conventional SPR sensors for detecting a pathogenic microorganism apply a batch-type method not a flow-type method. When using the batch-type sensors, it is difficult to realize the promptness of detection, which is one of the merits of the aforementioned SPR sensor.
Accordingly, a method of detecting a pathogenic microorganism in real-time, using a modified flow-type SPR sensor system is provided, in order that the conventional SPR sensor for detecting a pathogenic microorganism is used, with the promptness of detection, as a SPR sensor for detecting a pathogenic microorganism in real-time.

Method of detecting pathogenic microorganism in real-time, using modified flow-type surface plasmon resonance biosensor


The invention relates to a method of managing parking braking in a braking system for a vehicle fitted with at least one electric brake including at least one electric actuator having a pusher actuated by an electric motor for selectively applying a force against friction elements of the brake, the method comprising the steps of:                establishing a series of direct adjustment tables for parking braking, corresponding to braking situations at different energy levels;        when applying parking braking, selecting a direct adjustment table corresponding to a braking situation preceding the application of parking braking; and        directly adjusting a parking braking force in application with the selected direct adjustment table.

Electric brakes for a vehicle, in particular an aircraft, generally comprise at least one electric actuator having a pusher actuated by an electric motor for selectively applying a force against friction elements of the brake.
In order to block the vehicle, e.g. when it is stationary on a parking space, the pusher of the actuator is put into a position in which it exerts a controlled force on the friction element, and then the pusher is blocked in this position so that it continues to exert a parking force on the friction elements, thereby allowing the power supply to the motor to be switched off and thus reducing the electrical power consumption of the brake.
Nevertheless, given the dimensional variations of the components of a brake as a function of temperature, the parking force varies over time, and it is therefore necessary to provide for adjusting the position of the pusher.
In particular from documents U.S. Pat. No. 6,959,794 and FR 2 880 603, it is known to adjust the applied parking force at given instants, either by using a force sensor mounted in one of the components of the braking system and ensuring that the force is maintained at a constant value by means of a closed loop acting on the position of the pusher as a function of the value of the force, or else by implementing a so-called "return-to-zero" method including the steps of unblocking the pusher, retracting the pusher to zero force, and then advancing it once more until it exerts the required force as measured from one of the operating parameters of the actuator, e.g. the power supply current drawn by the electric motor of the actuator.
Those two means consume electricity, and that can pose a problem insofar as when parked, the braking system is powered solely from the vehicle battery.
Above-mentioned document U.S. Pat. No. 6,959,794 also discloses adjusting the position of the pusher in compliance with a so-called "direct adjustment" table that causes the position of the pusher to be varied as a function solely of the length of time that has elapsed since the parking brake was applied. In order to ensure that the parking brake remains effective regardless of circumstances, it is then necessary for the adjustment table to correspond to compensating for the effects of emergency braking, i.e. a situation in which the components are subjected to a large amount of expansion shortly after applying the parking brake. This expansion gives rise in particular to very considerable lengthening of the torsion tube that carries the disks. With the pusher locked in a position that is stationary relative to the torsion tube, a lengthening of the torsion tube gives rise to a reduction in the braking force. In order to compensate for this reduction, it is therefore necessary to provide a direct adjustment table that causes the pusher to be moved considerably in the tightening direction.
Since the adjustment is the same regardless of the circumstances preceding application of the parking brake, there is a risk in certain circumstances of performing adjustments too frequently or at too high a level, such that the adjustments are of no use, particularly after braking at very low energy levels in which the thermal expansion of the torsion tube is small. These useless adjustments contribute to prematurely aging the actuators.

Method of managing parking braking in a braking system for a vehicle fitted with electric brakes


An apparatus is disclosed having a controller at each of several network es, each controller monitoring cooling fan output, ambient temperature and electrical load. Each controller includes a network interface and microcontroller for responding to requests for the values of monitored parameters. In response to such a request, the controller processes a procedure that retrieves a requested monitored parameter value and that transfers that value onto the network.

(1) Field of the Invention
This invention is generally directed to determining the status of a network and more particularly to an apparatus for enabling the determination of various environmental and operating parameters at different nodes on a network.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
Networks incorporate personal computers, workstations and other electronic systems that form network nodes. These systems typically utilize internal power supplies to deliver power to components and peripherals disposed within the systems. In a computer environment, peripheral devices are added using expansion slots. As more peripheral devices or other components are added, the internal power supply must deliver more current with a concomitant increase in heat being dissipated. Consequently the cooling requirements increase.
Forced convection cooling is the most widely used method for dissipating heat in such electronic systems. With forced convection cooling, fans direct air across the surface of electronic components typically inside a chassis. Some forced convection cooling system fans operate on alternating current (AC). Generally, rotational speed of AC fans cannot be easily changed. Consequently, AC fans rotate at a fixed speed that is determined by the maximum power requirement. If the power requirement reduces, the fan speed remains constant and therefore is excessive for these less demanding conditions. This excessive speed results in unnecessarily high levels of airborne noise caused by airflow through filters and over components, and structureborne noise caused by mechanical vibrations of the fans during operation. Excessive noise, as is known, can be disadvantageous in a number of applications.
Brushless direct current (DC) fans are becoming popular. They are reliable and are as capable as standard AC fans in cooling electronic components. The speed and resulting airflow of DC fans is proportional to the DC voltage applied. The ability to match fan speed to cooling requirements at any given time would lead to the possibility of reducing fan speed if the power supply were not operating at its maximum. Reducing fan speed by 20% produces a 5 db sound level decrease; a 40% reduction in fan speed produces a 10 db reduction in noise due to airflow and structureborne noise. There are several examples of control systems that control fan speed in response to operating parameters.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,230,293 (1966) to Turgeon a current transformer monitors the load on a phase conductor in a multiphase electrical system. The output from the current transformer then serves to control an air foil fan that directs a cooling medium over the conductor. Thus in this reference, fan speed is dependent only upon the electrical load.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,436,827 (1995) to Gunn et al. discloses an alternative approach whereby the control boards in a power mixing circuit sense the speed of a fan and select one or the other of control boards for energizing the system. This provides parallel energizing circuits for the fan and prevents the inadvertent deenergization of the fan. The control in this patent is dependent upon fan speed as the loss of fan speed while powered by one control board will cause a shift to the other control board.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,484,012 (1996) to Hiratsuka discloses an electronic system with two fans. The electronic apparatus to be cooled is located in a housing and includes at least one heat source. The housing has an intake port and an exhaust port. The electronic apparatus comprises a cooling fan mounted in the exhaust port and an auxiliary cooling fan placed near the heat source. A first control portion controls fan speed in accordance with the temperature of intake air. A second control portion determines fan speed for the auxiliary cooling fan in a first mode when the fan speed of the cooling fan is less than a reference speed and in a second mode when the fan speed of the cooling fan is greater than the reference speed. Thus this patent discloses a control system in which fan speed is dependent upon the ambient temperature as represented by the temperature of the incoming air. This system does not provide for electrical load monitoring.
Still other patents disclose other systems for maintaining operating temperatures for electronic circuits. U.S. Pat. No. 4,685,303 (1987) to Branc et al. discloses a disk drive isolation system in which a thermo-electric heat pump maintains conditions within a disk drive in response to humidity. U.S. Pat. No. 5,121,291 (1992) to Cope et al. discloses a system in which internal temperature controls fan speed. U.S. Pat. No. 5,249,741 (1993) to Bistline describes a system that establishes fan speed based upon a particular configuration of equipment monitored during a computer operation start-up or "boot" operation. This system does not automatically adjust fan speed when an unknown device is installed.
Each of the foregoing references disclose systems for controlling fan speed. However, none of them disclose a system that is readily adapted for enabling a network manager to monitor status, such as the level of electronic load, ambient temperature and fan operation at each network node from another network node, particularly where that node might be remote from network nodes of interest. In some situations it might even be desirable to obtain such status by establishing a modem link between the network and a remote site.
More specifically, in recent years, as digital computers and the associated system have become more sophisticated, an individual at each node has less interest in monitoring environmentally related parameters. The responsibility for such monitoring parameters and responding to various malfunctions is becoming the responsibility of the network manager. Moreover, as networks become more complex and widespread, it becomes important from an operational standpoint to enhance network power and environmental management from any node on a network. Yet no such capability exists particularly in the form of a network addressable unit.

Apparatus for monitoring environmental parameters at network sites

The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy


The invention provides specific binding members, for example in the form of antibody variable domains, based on the CDR3 sequences of the antibody VH regions of SL15 (SEQ ID NO:4) and JT182 (SEQ ID NO:10). The antibodies have strong neutralizing activity for TGFxcex21 and are useful in treating conditions associated with excess TGFxcex21 activity, such as fibrosis, immune responses and tumor progression.

The present invention relates to specific binding members, particularly antibodies and fragments thereof, which bind to transforming growth factor 1 (TGFxcex21). More particularly, the invention is concerned with specific binding members which include the VH CDR3 of the antibody SL15 (the antibody formerly known as Kylie), especially the SL15 VH domain, which may be in combination with the SL15A or SL15S VL domains. Furthermore, the invention relates to use of such specific binding members in pharmaceutical preparations, particularly for the treatment of fibrotic disease, the modulation of wound healing and the treatment of cancer.
PCT/GB96/02450 published as WO97/13844 discloses the isolation of human antibodies specific for human TGFxcex21 and human antibodies specific for human TGFxcex22. It describes antibodies with the 31G9 VH domain and variants of the domain. More specifically the application described the antibody CS37 that comprises the 31G9 VH domain together with the CS37 VL and variants of this domain, including antibodies which:
(i) compete in ELISA with CS37 for binding to TGFxcex21,
(ii) bind TGFxcex21 preferentially with respect to TGFxcex23, and
(iii) neutralise TGFxcex21.
The present invention is based on identification of antibodies which are related to CS37, but which have unexpectedly advantageous properties with respect to binding and neutralisation of TGFxcex21. They do not bind to, or neutralise, TGFxcex22 or TGFxcex23.
Antibodies of the present invention strongly neutralise active TGFxcex21 . The epitope for these antibodies lies in the C-terminal region of TGFxcex21, (residues 83-112) and includes the loop consisting of residues 92-98 of TGFxcex21, also known as finger 2, a region which has been identified as interacting with the receptor for TGFxcex2. The antibodies bind preferentially to active TGFxcex21 with respect to latent TGFxcex21.
Variants of SL15S that strongly neutralise TGFxcex21 are also disclosed herein. These vary mainly by amino acid substitutions in the CDR3 of VH or VL domains. There are, however, other sites where substitutions may be made, e.g. at residue 25 in the light chain an alanine may be substituted, generating the IgG4 antibody, SL15A IgG4, CAT-192. Several substitutions may be made that are compatible with the retention of strong neutralising activity. The antibodies of this invention will be particularly useful for treatment of fibrotic diseases, e.g. lung fibrosis, modulation of the scarring response, e.g. in wound healing and corneal scarring, and in other contexts discussed further below such as the treatment of tumors.
Specific binding proteins such as antibodies which are based on the complementarity-determining regions (CDRs) of the advantageous antibody VH and VL domains identified herein, particularly the CDR 3 regions, will be useful for the purposes discussed, and represent aspects of the present invention.
The most preferred embodiments of the present invention in its various aspects are based on the VH CDR3 of the SL15 VH domain identified herein, VH domains including the SL15 VH CDR3, especially the SL15 VH domain itself, and pairings of such VH domains with VL domains, especially the SL15A or SL15S VL domains, or other VL domain comprising the SL15 VL CDR3. The antibody antigen-binding domain SL15 (in whichever format, e.g. scFv or IgG4) consists of the SL15 VH and, in two variants, either the SL15A VL (CS37) or SL15S VL (CS37 with A25S). In either variant, SL15 is the antibody formerly known as Kylie. SL15S scFv is also known as CAT 191; SL15A IgG4 is also known as CAT-192, and SL15S IgG4 is also known as CAT-193.
Further embodiments of the invention in its various aspects are based on the JT182 VH CDR3, VH domains including the JT182 VH CDR3, especially the JT182 VH domain, and pairings of such VH domains with VL domains, especially the CS37 VL domain. JT182 is not as effective as SL15, but still has unexpectedly improved properties over CS37.
In a first aspect the present invention provides an isolated specific binding member capable of binding TGFxcex21, wherein said specific binding member comprises an antigen binding domain comprising a VH CDR3 with an amino acid sequence substantially as set out as VH CDR3 of SL15 or JT182 in Table 1 or Table 2.
Residues that differ between the scFv fragments are underlined.
The invention further provides said isolated specific binding member which further comprises a VH CDR1 or VH CDR2 with amino acid sequences substantially as set out as one or both of the VH CDR1 and VH CDR2 of the CS37 VH, preferably both (Table 2).
In a preferred embodiment, the binding domains are carried by a human antibody framework. One preferred example of such an embodiment is a VH domain with an amino acid sequence substantially as set out as the JT182 VH domain of which the sequence is set out in SEQ ID NO:10. A further preferred embodiment is a VH domain with an amino acid sequence substantially as set out as the SL15 VH domain, of which the sequence is set out in SEQ ID NO:4.
In a second aspect, the invention provides an isolated specific binding member capable of binding TGFxcex21, wherein said specific binding member comprises an antigen binding domain comprising a VL domain with an amino acid sequence substantially as set out as the SL15S VL domain, of which the sequence is set out in SEQ ID NO:8.
In a further aspect, the invention provides a specific binding member capable of binding TGFxcex21, comprising a VH domain as set out above with respect to the first aspect, and a VL domain, preferably wherein the VL domain has an amino acid sequence substantially as set out as the CS37 VL (SL15A), of which the sequence is set out in SEQ ID NO:6, or the SL15S VL, of which the sequence is set out in SEQ ID NO:8.
In a particularly preferred embodiment, the invention provides a specific binding member comprising the CS37 VL domain and a VH domain selected from JT182 VH and SL15 VH, most preferably SL15 VH. In a further particularly preferred embodiment, the invention provides a specific binding member comprising SL15 VH and SL15A VL (CS37 VL) or SL15S VL.
Preferred embodiments of the present invention provide specific binding members comprising the JT182 VH or SL15 VH domain in which 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 amino acid substitutions have been made in a CDR, e.g. CDR3, and/or FR, which specific binding members retain ability to bind TGFxcex21. Further preferred embodiments provide specific binding members comprising the SL15A (CS37) VL or SL15S VL, or SL15A or SL15S VL domain in which 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 amino acid substitutions have been made in a CDR, e.g. CDR3, and/or FR which specific binding members retain ability to bind TGFxcex21. Such amino acid substitutions are generally xe2x80x9cconservativexe2x80x9d, for instance substitution of one hydrophobic residue such as isoleucine, valine, leucine or methionine for another, or the substitution of one polar residue for another, such as arginine for lysine, glutamic for aspartic acid, or glutamine for asparagine. At certain positions non-conservative substitutions are allowable.
Such specific binding members are able to bind TGFxcex21. Preferred embodiments lack significant cross-reactivity with TGFxcex22 and/or TGFxcex23, preferably TGFxcex22 and TGFxcex23.
Preferred embodiments strongly neutralise TGFxcex21, having a potency of at least 5 times better than does CS37, more preferably about 10 times, 15 times, 20 times, 50 times, 75 times, 100 times or 150 times better, in a radioreceptor assay (Lucas C et al (1991)Meth in Enzymology 198, 303-16). Potency is measured with the antibody under study and CS37 in equivalent molecular formats, e.g. as monovalent antibodies (scFv or Fab) or as bivalent antibodies (IgG1 or IgG4).
Preferred embodiments bind active TGFxcex21 preferentially to latent TGFxcex21.
Variants of the VH and VL domains and CDRs of which the sequences are set out herein and which can be employed in specific binding members for TGFxcex21 can be obtained by means of methods of sequence alteration or mutation and screening. Such methods are also provided by the present invention.
In addition to antibody sequences, the specific binding member may comprise other amino acids, e.g. forming a peptide or polypeptide, such as a folded domain, or to impart to the molecule another functional characteristic in addition to ability to bind antigen. Specific binding members of the invention may carry a detectable label, or may be conjugated to a toxin or enzyme (e.g. via a peptidyl bond or linker).
In further aspects, the invention provides an isolated nucleic acid which comprises a sequence encoding a specific binding member as defined above, and methods of preparing specific binding members of the invention which comprise expressing said nucleic acids under conditions to bring about expression of said binding member, and recovering the binding member.
Specific binding members according to the invention may be used in a method of treatment or diagnosis of the human or animal body, such as a method of treatment (which may include prophylactic treatment) of a disease or disorder in a human patient which comprises administering to said patient an effective amount of a specific binding member of the invention. Conditions treatable in accordance with the present invention are described below.
These and other aspects of the invention are described in further detail below.
All documents mentioned herein are incorporated by reference. Sequences described herein are shown and referred to in the conventional 5xe2x80x2 to 3xe2x80x2 and N to C terminal notation for nucleic acid and amino acids sequences respectively, unless specifically indicated otherwise.


Systems and methods for multispectral imaging.

These teachings relate to compact snapshot multispectral imaging systems.
A multispectral or hyperspectral imaging system (the terms multispectral and hyperspectral are used interchangeably here) is commonly used to observe objects or scenes, whereby light emitted or reflected by a given object or scene is imaged by some means onto a detecting element or array of detecting elements, where multiple images with different spectral content can readily be observed or recorded.
Due to the short temporal duration of many events, it is necessary to capture multispectral data in a short amount of time. A snapshot multispectral imaging system is a multispectral imaging system that captures all desired spectral images at a single moment, rather than relying on either spatial or spectral scanning of the object or scene.
In many designs incorporating snapshot multispectral imaging systems, there is a need for the overall system to be compact. Such needs stem from weight and space constraints in the application in which the system is used. Conventional snapshot multispectral imaging systems are typically large in size due to their large single aperture optics or optical relay subsystems.
Recent advances in snapshot multispectral or hyperspectral imaging systems have been made using Computed Tomography Imaging Spectrometer (CTIS) devices. In these devices, the image is dispersed across multiple dispersive orders using a computer generated hologram and onto a single detector or detector array, analogous to integrated slices through the 3D data cube at various angles across the two spatial dimensions. Using reconstructive techniques similar to those used in CT scans in the medical field, they used computed tomography to build up the 3D data cube from the two dimensional detector. In this manner, spatial and spectral information is captured in a single integration time. Unfortunately, this technique has limitations on the spatial and spectral resolutions that can be captured due to the limited number of dispersive orders that can be generated. Furthermore, these systems tend to be fairly large.
There is therefore a need for a snapshot multispectral imaging system that is more compact in physical size than current multispectral imaging systems.
Furthermore, there is also a need for a snapshot multispectral imaging system that has greater spatial and spectral resolution than current imaging systems.
Furthermore, there is also a need for a snapshot multispectral imaging system that has a greater degree of image co-registration than current imaging systems.
Still further, there is a need for an imaging system that provides a combination of the characteristics described above with superior trade-offs than have been previously attainable.

Compact snapshot multispectral imaging system


A sliding member includes convex portions are formed by directly quenching a sliding surface of a sliding member in a line shape or a dot shape, and concave portions are formed in indirectly quenched portions adjacent to the directly quenched portions. An irregular surface is formed on the sliding surface by the directly quenched portions and the indirectly quenched portions. The directly quenched portions are formed in a lattice shape, a parallel straight line shape, a concentric circle shape or a spiral shape. With the irregular surface on the sliding surface by the directly quenched portions and the indirectly quenched portions, the seizure resistance can be improved.

Conventionally, various types of sliding members have been known, and a semispherical shoe used for a swash plate compressor has been known as a sliding member used under severe conditions.
The semispherical shoe has a semispherical surface having a semispherical shape and a smooth end surface. The semispherical surface comes into a slidable contact with a semispherical concave portion of a piston forming the swash plate compressor, and the end surface comes into a slidable contact with a swash plate provided on a rotating shaft. Thus, the semispherical shoe is configured so that the semispherical surface serves as the sliding surface with respect to the piston, and the end surface serves as the sliding surface with respect to the swash plate.
The sliding surface of the semispherical shoe is usually manufactured so as to be smooth with a roughness not higher than the required value disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-153039.


A multi-aperture high-fill-factor telescope is provided. Specifically a multi-aperture high-fill-factor telescope is provided that includes a plurality of sub-aperture telescopes, each sub-aperture telescope being configured to collect electromagnetic radiation from a scene and including first, second, third, and fourth powered mirrors; a set of combiner optics configured to combine electromagnetic radiation collected by the sub-aperture telescopes to form an image of the scene; and a plurality of sets of relay optics, the sets of relay optics are respectively associated with the sub-aperture telescopes and each set of relay optics includes a first flat fold mirror, a trombone mirror pair, and a last flat fold mirror, wherein the last flat fold mirrors are disposed within about a beam diameter of respective exit pupils of the sub-aperture telescopes.

The present invention relates generally to telescopes. More particularly, the present invention relates to a multi aperture telescope having a high fill factor.
Traditional telescopes often include a single collecting element (configured to collect electromagnetic radiation from a scene) and one or more secondary reflectors (configured to focus the collected electromagnetic radiation on an image plane). The first collecting element of a traditional telescope is typically disposed at the telescope's entrance pupil. An example of a typical refractor telescope 5 is shown in FIG. 1. Refractor telescope 5 includes a primary lens 10 disposed near an entrance pupil 12 and includes two smaller relay lenses 14 and 16. Primary lens 10 is configured to form an intermediate image of a scene at an intermediate image plane 18. Relay lens 14 is configured to collimate the collected electromagnetic radiation and transmit the electromagnetic radiation to relay lens 16. Relay lens 16 is configured to focus the collected electromagnetic radiation on an image plane 22. A real exit pupil 20 (an image of the entrance pupil) is positioned optically upstream of image plane 22. Refractor telescopes are typically relatively heavy due in part to the large amounts of glass used to form the refractive optical elements of such telescopes. Accordingly, refractor telescopes are generally not used for space-based applications, as the cost of launching such heavy telescopes is excessive. Moreover, refractive elements tend to become fogged in space deployment due to the cosmic particles that strike the refractive elements. Fogging tends to limit the amount of time refractive telescopes are useful in space applications.
As telescope systems are made larger, to achieve high resolution and to collect more light, a point is eventually reached where the size of the telescope elements, especially the primary mirror, exceeds the current state of the art in fabrication and mechanical support. One solution for overcoming this shortcoming, is to segment the primary mirrors into manageable pieces. For example, segmented elements forming a primary mirror can be made collectively lighter than a monolithic primary mirror. Another solution for overcoming the shortcomings of large traditional telescopes, is to form the telescope from a number of sub-aperture telescopes. Such telescope arrays are often referred to as multi-aperture telescope arrays.
FIG. 2 shows a cross-sectional view of an exemplary multi-aperture telescope 23. Multi-aperture telescope 23 includes first and second sub-aperture telescopes 25 and 29, respectively, which are disposed near an entrance pupil 26. First sub-aperture telescope 25 includes a primary element 24 and a secondary element 28, and second sub-aperture telescope 29 similarly includes a primary element 30 and a secondary element 32. Light collected by the sub-aperture telescopes is coherently combined at an image plane 36 (disposed behind an exit pupil 40) by a combiner lens 38. A set of flat fold mirrors 34 is configured to direct collected electromagnetic radiation to a combiner lens 38. Multi-aperture telescope 23 is an example of a sparse array telescope. That is, the fill factor of multi-aperture telescope 29 is less than about 50%. Fill factor may be defined as the percentage of electromagnetic radiation collected by the array of sub-aperture telescopes that enters an encircling entrance pupil of a multi-aperture telescope. Typical sparse array telescope designs, such as multi-aperture telescope 23, have relatively large spacings between sub-aperture telescopes to provide light beam clearance at the telescopes' combiner planes to prevent vignetting and optical element interference.
A need exists for a multi-aperture telescope having a high fill factor (e.g., larger than about 50%) so that relatively large amounts of electromagnetic radiation from scenes may be collected to form images of the scenes.

Multi-aperture high-fill factor telescope


This invention relates to a writing tool for correction of misspelled words or a writing utensil such as a ball-point pen, in which air in a cap is pressurized in a process of pushing the cap onto and mounting the cap on an extremity end and the compressed air is forced into a liquid tank through an end of a tip to provide pressurization within the liquid tank. A distance from an opening end surface of a cap to an inner bottom portion of the cap is defined with respect to a distance from an end of a tip to near a cap loading base end of an extremity end. A resilient member is mounted on an outer periphery of the extremity end or in the cap for pushing back the cap to a normal mount position relative to the extremity end by releasing a pushing operation after the cap is pushed near the cap mounting base end. The cap can be automatically pushed back from the cap mounting base end to the normal mount position of the extremity end by means of the elastic member.

In general, this kind of writing tool, for example, a coating tool for correcting wrong letters by coating correction liquid, is constructed such that e.g., a rotary member held within the extremity end of the tip is biased by a spring and closely contacts the inward extremity edge of the tool tip closing the extremity end of the tip and preventing correction liquid from being discharged. In turn, the rotary member projecting from the extremity end of the tool tip maybe retracted and spaced apart from the inward extremity edge of the tip, against the spring to open the extremity end of the tip, whereupon the correction liquid in the liquid tank is discharged from the extremity end.
In the prior art, this kind of writing tool, as shown in FIG. 16, an inner cylinder 32 for pressurizing and compressing air is arranged within a cap 30 to closely contact an outer periphery of an extremity end 31, The cap 30 is pushed and loaded against the extremity end 31, air is pressurized and compressed in the inner cylinder 32, and the rotary member 34 held in the extremity end of the tip 33 is retracted inwardly toward the tip. The rotary member 34 is thereby moved away from the inward extremity edge of the tip 33, and the compressed air in the inner cylinder 32 is fed into the liquid tank 35 so as to increase an inner pressure in the liquid tank 35 (e.g., Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open publication No. Hei 6-39169).
Thus, as described in the paragraphs 13 through the 15 of page 7 of the laid-open specification, the prior art writing tool is constructed such that when the cap 30 is loaded in respect to the extremity end 31, the inner cylinder 32 of the cap 30 closely contacts the outer periphery of the extremity end 31 to make a sealed space preventing air leakage within the inner cylinder 32, and the air in the inner cylinder 32 is pressurized and compressed under the reduced volume of the sealed and closed space. Then, when the air in the inner cylinder 32 is pressurized and compressed, the rotary member 34 projecting from the tip 33 abuts a tongue 37 of a resilient valve opening member 36 arranged in The cap, the rotary member is then is retracted against the spring by the force of the tongue 37, in such a manner that the rotary member 34 is moved away from the inward extremity edge of the contacted tip 33, thereby feeding the compressed air in the inner cylinder 32 from the clearance formed between the rotary member 34 and the inward extremity edge into the liquid tank 35, pressurizing the liquid tank 35.
However, the tongue 37 of the valve opening member in the cap is cantilevered, this structure achieved by cutting and raising the cylindrical part of the valve opening member 36 inwardly. Accordingly, when the cap is loaded in respect to the extremity end, the rotary member projecting from the tip extremity end is retracted by means of the pushing force of the tongue against the spring. Accordingly, the pushing force of the tongue becomes attenuated within a short period of time when the cap is repeatedly fixed and removed and eventually, the rotary member is not retracted inwardly toward the tip against a the spring under the attenuated pushing force of the weakened tongue. Disadvantages of poor positive operation and poor stability result.
In order to cut and raise the tongue from the valve opening member, machining is required. Further when air in the inner cylinder is pressurized and compressed, the valve opening member must be assembled and arranged within the cap in a positional relation where the rotary member abuts the tongue. The assembling operation is there troublesome and expensive.


A headwear piece having a crown defining an opening to accept the head of a wearer, with the crown having a top and bottom, front and back, and a peripheral wall having an annular configuration. An opening is provided through the peripheral crown wall to allow passage therethrough of an accumulation of hair on the head of a wearer with the headwear piece in place on the wearer's head.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to headwear, and, more particularly, to a headwear piece having a crown with an opening to allow passage therethrough of an accumulation of hair on the head of a wearer.
2. Background Art
Typically, headwear pieces have a crown with a peripheral wall configured to accept and embrace the head of a wearer. The crown may be closed, as with a baseball-style cap, or open, as with a visor.
Baseball-style caps and visors are commonly worn on a casual basis and during the performance of athletics. When users of the headwear have long hair, it is common for them to accumulate the hair, as in a ponytail, to prevent uncontrolled movement of the hair.
When wearing a visor, this accumulation of hair does not present a problem as it can be directed conveniently through the visor opening and draped down the back of the wearer's head and neck. However, with a baseball-style cap, or with other styles of headwear having a closed crown, the accumulated hair interferes with the placement of the headwear on the wearer's head. The accumulated hair may be bunched up on the top of the wearer's head, in which event it prevents the headwear from fully seating on the wearer's head. Alternatively, it may be pulled downwardly to project outwardly from the bottom edge of the crown. However, since the base of the accumulation of the hair at the wearer's head is a significant distance above the bottom edge of the crown, a significant amount of accumulated hair resides between the back of the wearer's head and the back of the crown. This precludes proper fitting of the headwear and may cause considerable discomfort to the wearer.
Certain conventional baseball-style caps have an inverted U-shaped opening at the back of the crown and selectively joinable adjusting straps which can be used to vary the effective crown diameter. The U-shaped opening allows the laterally spaced edges bounding the U-shaped opening to be drawn towards each other through the straps without bunching up of the crown. While the U-shaped opening allows the projection therethrough of an accumulation of hair above the bottom edge of the crown, the U-shaped opening is lower than the base of the accumulation of hair where it departs from the wearer's head so that the accumulated hair must extend downwardly a substantial distance before coinciding with the U-shaped opening. This accumulated hair thus resides between the wearer's head and the crown, as occurs without the U-shaped opening. Although the amount of accumulated hair between the wearer's head and the crown with the U-shaped opening is less than with a headwear piece absent the U-shaped opening, the problems associated therewith still exist.
Aside from creating problems associated with fit, the accumulated hair between the wearer's head distorts the crown and thus detracts from the appearance of the headwear.

Headwear piece with opening to accommodate wearer's hair


Disclosed are a method and arrangement for accessing interactive audiovisual programs stored on a remote server (1) by a multimedia station (2). The audiovisual program is stored in the same format as it is stored on a CDi disc, i.e. in the form of sectors. Although based on the same data compression technology, the CDi video coding standard does not comply with the MPEG coding specification. Moreover, MPEG does not cover the handling of specific CDi features. In order to allow conventional CDi decoders to access remotely stored CDi applications via interactive networks (3,4), the interactive audiovisual program is transmitted as a private MPEG2 data stream, using the concept of MPEG's transport stream. The multimedia station comprises a network interface (7) having a circuit (72) which assembles the transport packets and applies the signal sectorwise to a "stripped" CDi player (5,6).

A known device for accessing interactive audiovisual programs is the Compact Disc Interactive (CDi) player. A large amount of multimedia applications have been developed for this device. A CDi disc comprises an audiovisual program and application software. The application software allows a user to access the program material in an interactive manner. For example, after displaying a particular program item, the player stops and the user is given the opportunity to indicate whether he wants the program item to be repeated or to proceed to a different program item. User commands are given by moving a cursor in a graphic menu. Upon activating the cursor, the application software determines from which location on disc the recorded program is to be continued.
The audiovisual program, application software and graphic images are collectively referred to as "real-time" file. The real-time file is stored on a plurality of sectors of the CDi disc. The CDi system ensures that related assets within a real-time file are kept together and that all assets needed for a given application are delivered in real-time with proper synchronization of video, audio, and graphics overlays augmenting the audiovisual program.
A CDi player is a stand-alone system. The real-time file is stored on tracks of the CDi disc. The storage format is specified in "CDi Full Functional Specification", Philips Consumer Electronics B.V., March 1993, usually referred to as the Green Book. As far as relevant to the invention, the storage format will now be summarized. The CDi disc has a lead-in track, up to 99 information tracks, and a lead-out track. Information tracks can carry either CDi data or digital audio (DA). They are referred to as CDi tracks and DA tracks, respectively. With each track, eight subcode channels are associated, usually denoted PQRSTUVW subcode channels. The subcode channels contain control and display information. CDi tracks are divided into sectors of 2352 bytes. With each sector, 98 bytes of subcode data are associated. DA tracks are divided into audio blocks of 2352 bytes. With each audio block, 98 bytes of subcode data are associated. The format of DA tracks complies with the well-known compact disc digital audio specification as defined in "CD-DA System description", Sony Corp. and N.V. Philips, November 1991, also referred to as the Red Book. Further, the Q subcode channel associated with the lead-in track contains the table of contents (TOC) of the disc.

Method and arrangement for transmitting an interactive audiovisual program


A dental floss article is provided comprising a fiber having a predetermined length and defined by at least one substantially rigid portion and at least one flexible portion.

It is well understood that the use of dental floss is an important part of a total oral hygiene program. Flossing teeth helps to prevent periodontal disease, such as gingivitis for example. The use of floss helps to dislodge food particles and plaque from interstitial surfaces of teeth. Caries will develop on tooth surfaces where there is an accumulation of plaque. Although the use of a toothbrush reduces plaque on the occlusal areas of teeth, a tooth brush offers only a minimal reduction in plaque within the interstitial regions of the teeth. Dental floss is the only effective means to disrupt the accumulation of plaque in such interstitial regions, thereby reducing the likelihood for the carie development.
Unfortunately, persons requiring fixed orthodontic appliances, commonly referred to in the United States as braces, and persons wearing dental bridges, such as a Maryland style bridge for example, can not benefit from the cleaning capabilities associated with normal dental flossing techniques without the aid of cumbersome apparatus. More particularly, standard flossing techniques are not appropriate for users of these appliances and devices because they prevent the dental floss from freely entering into the interstitial regions when performing the normal up and down motion of flossing.
In the past, a floss threader or needle has been employed to thread dental floss between a gum line and an orthodontic appliance or Maryland bridge. One such floss threader is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,011,658. A shortcoming of such a floss threader is that it is often very cumbersome to use, especially for a person lacking average dexterity. A user of such a floss threader must thread the device prior to application in the mouth for the purposes of flossing, much like a sewing needle.
Another shortcoming associated with the use of a floss threader is the potential for the device to be swallowed during use if the threader becomes separated from the floss. Children may lack the motor skills to remove the separated pieces from their mouth, which, of course, is hazardous.
Attempts have been made to bond a rigid floss leader to a flexible section of dental floss. Such an article is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,832,063. However, the bond between the two units often fails in use. Additionally, an enlarged cross-sectional diameter at the transition point between the leader and the floss may cause pain when passing the article through the space between the teeth and gums.
As disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,744,499, a plastic coating may be applied to a dental floss to render a portion of the dental floss rigid. Although this method may be satisfactorily employed with dental floss materials consisting of thermoplastics, such as nylon or polyethylene, and natural fibers such as cotton, such a method is not useful with dental floss comprised at least in part of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE). When such a method is practiced on non-modified monofilaments of polytetrafluoroethylene, expanded polytetrafluoroethylene, or full density expanded polytetrafluoroethylene, the molten thermoplastic beads on the surface of the dental floss material and does not provide a rigid continuous network of the thermoplastic. The beading of the thermoplastic is due to the inherent low surface energy and high hydrophobicity of the polytetrafluoroethylene.
The use of polytetrafluoroethylene as a dental floss is taught in such United States Patents as U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,033,488 and 5,220,932. It is well accepted that dental flosses made of polytetrafluoroethylene and forms of expanded porous polytetrafluoroethylene are superior to nylon and natural fiber materials. Flosses consisting of PTFE benefit from the low coefficient of friction inherent to PTFE thereby allowing the floss material to easily maneuver between tight oral contacts without excessive force or severe abrading of gum tissue. Notwithstanding the laudable benefits associated with dental flosses comprised at least in part of PTFE, to date, secondary floss threader devices are needed by persons having orthodontic appliances or dental bridges, and who wish to use such PTFE dental floss.
The foregoing illustrates limitations known to exist in present dental floss materials. Thus, it is apparent that it would be advantageous to provide an improved dental floss article directed to overcoming one or more of the limitations set forth above. Accordingly, a suitable alternative is provided including features more fully disclosed hereinafter.