An adaptor for use with a light-communication device including a frame and a light guide on the frame. The light guide has a first light port assembly to receive a light signal from a light-communication device, a second light port assembly to output a light signal received by the first light port assembly, and a light transmission element for directing a light signal in a predetermined path between the first and second light port assemblies. The adaptor may be used in a system with two or more light-communication devices. Also provided is a method for communicating light signals between light-communication devices.

The present invention is directed to an adaptor and a method for use with a device communicating using light signals, and in particular an adaptor and a method for altering the path of propagation of a light signal transmitted by a device communicating using light signals.
The definition of the xe2x80x9cofficexe2x80x9d has changed dramatically over the last two decades. The office was once thought of as room in a building that a person went to communicate with customers, vendors, co-workers etc. and to prepare reports, proposals, correspondence, etc. This is no longer the case. At least two major advances in technology have helped redefine the way in which the public views the xe2x80x9cmodernxe2x80x9d office.
One of the advances in technology that has been instrumental in changing the traditional definition of the office is the advent of xe2x80x9cwirelessxe2x80x9d telephone technology. xe2x80x9cWirelessxe2x80x9d telephones allow the businessperson-on-the-go to communicate with his or her customers, vendors, etc. from literally almost anywhere on the planet. xe2x80x9cWirelessxe2x80x9d telephone technology has been instrumental in changing the definition of the office from a place that you go to, to any place that you go.
The other technology that has helped shape the definition of the modern office is the laptop computer. It is no longer necessary to go into the xe2x80x9cofficexe2x80x9d, because the laptop computer allows all of the necessary facts and figures to be condensed down into an easily manageable, highly portable format. As was the case with the wireless phone, the portable computer allows the business person to take his or her office with him or her on the road, eliminating the need to remain tied down to a fixed location.
It seems almost a logical and foregone conclusion to marry these two technologies together to produce a highly portable and adaptable office suite. However, computer technology has principally been a xe2x80x9cwiredxe2x80x9d technology. That is, for a peripheral to be associated with a portable laptop computer, it has been typically necessary to install a cable running from the peripheral to the computer. Thus, it has been necessary to use a cable to connect the cellular phone to the portable computer.
To achieve the desired goal of making the modern office fully xe2x80x9cwirelessxe2x80x9d, it has been proposed to use infrared signals to transmit data between the cellular phone and the portable computer. However, there has been little to no standardization of the position of the infrared transmitter/receivers in cellular phones and the position of the infrared transmitter/receivers in portable computers. As a consequence, the infrared transmitter/receiver in the cellular phone and in the portable computer may be assembled in such a way that the phone may have to have its display reversed to the user to establish a communication link between the phone and the computer. By having the display reversed to the user, it may be nearly impossible for the user to be aware of status messages which may be displayed on the display of the phone.
One suggestion to overcome this problem is to increase the power of the signals transmitted back and forth between the phone and the laptop. By doing so, it is thought that even after reflecting off of obstacles in the path of propagation of the signal, the signal may be sufficiently strong so as to be readable by the receiving device. This might allow the face of the phone with the display thereon to be at least inclined at an angle to the user during a communication link between the phone and the computer.
However, this solution is hardly suitable. For one thing, even with the increased power, if the transmitter/receiver of the first device is oriented relative to the transmitter/receiver of the second device such that the transmitter/receivers do not face each other, the chances that a viable link can be established will be greatly diminished. Furthermore, given that battery consumption has always been a concern in the wireless telephone industry, and that the trend has been to minimize battery consumption to decrease battery size, a system that increases battery consumption is generally considered to be undesirable.
According to an aspect of the present invention, an adaptor for use with a light-communication device includes a frame and a light guide on the frame. The light guide has a first light port assembly to receive a light signal from a light-communication device, a second light port assembly to output a light signal received by the first light port assembly, and a light transmission element for directing a light signal in a predetermined path between the first and second light port assemblies.
The light transmission element may be a light transmission element with a selectively adjustable path between the first and second light port assemblies.
Additionally, the frame may include a first housing and a second housing guidingly supported on the first housing to be moveable relative to the first housing. The first light port assembly may be housed in the second housing, and the second housing may have a seat for receiving a light-communication device therein disposed proximately to the first light port assembly. The second light port assembly may be housed in the first housing.
In this adaptor, the first housing may have a first housing interface surface, and the second housing may have a second housing interface surface proximate to the first housing interface surface. The light transmission element may have a first light transmission element segment housed in the first housing, coupled to the first light port assembly, and having a first light transmission element interface surface disposed at the first housing interface surface. The light transmission element may also have a second light transmission element segment housed in the second housing, coupled to the second light port assembly and having a second light transmission element interface surface disposed at the second housing interface surface parallel to and proximate to the first light transmission element interface surface.
Further, the first and second housings may be moveable relative to each other about a housing axis, and the first and second light transmission element interface surfaces each may be substantially circular, have a center axis, and have the center axis collinear with the housing axis.
The first light port assembly may be a unidirectional optical device and the second light port assembly may be a multidirectional optical device.
Further, an amplifier assembly may be coupled to the light transmission element between the first and second light port assemblies to increase the strength of the light signal directed between the first and second light port assemblies.
Also, the second light port assembly may include first and second optical devices, and the light transmission element may be a light transmission element for directing a light signal in a first predetermined path between the first light port assembly and the first optical device and a second predetermined path between the first light port assembly and the second optical device. In particular, the light transmission element may include a trunk segment, first and second leg segments, and a Y-connector coupled to the trunk segment and the first and second leg segments. The trunk segment is coupled to the first light port assembly, the first leg segment is coupled to the first optical device and the second leg segment is coupled to the second optical device. Moreover, the first and second leg segments may be optical path guides having different effective diameters.
In any of the above-mentioned adaptors, the first or second light port assembly may be a unidirectional optical device, for example, a flat lens or a mirror. The first or second light port assemblies may also be a multidirectional optical device, for example, a hemispherical lens or a conically-shaped mirror. The light transmission element may be a fiber optic cable.
According to another aspect of the present invention, a light-communication system may include first and second light-communication devices and an adaptor with a frame and a light guide on the frame. The light guide may include a first light port assembly to receive a light signal from one of the first and second light-communication devices, a second light port assembly to output a light signal received by the first light port assembly to the other of the first and second light-communication devices, and a light transmission element for directing a light signal in a predetermined path between the first and second light port assemblies.
According to a further aspect of the invention, a method is provided for communicating light signals between light-communication devices. The method includes the steps of providing a first light-communication device which transmits a light signal in a first path and at a first signal strength, providing a second light-communication device which is capable of receiving a light signal directed at the second light-communication device in a second path, and altering at least one of the path and signal strength of a light signal transmitted by the first light-communication device in the first path at the first signal strength to enhance communication between the first light-communication device and the second light-communication device.
Additionally, where the first and second paths are different with the first and second light-communication devices in a first relative orientation, the step of altering at least one of the path and signal strength may include altering the light signal from the first light-communication device in a predetermined manner from the first path into the second path with the first and second light-communication devices in the first relative orientation. Where the light signals directed along the first and second paths have different directions with the first and second light-communication devices in a first relative orientation, the step of altering at least one of the path and signal strength may include altering the light signal from the first light-communication device in a predetermined manner from the direction of the first path to the direction of the second path with the first and second light-communication devices in the first relative orientation. Further, an adaptor with a first light port assembly to receive the light signal from the first light-communication device and a second light port assembly coupled to the first light port assembly to receive light signals therefrom may also be provided. In this case, the step of altering at least one of the path and signal strength may include altering the second light port assembly from a first orientation relative to the first light port assembly to a second orientation relative to the first light port assembly.
Alternatively, where the first and second paths are different with the first and second light-communication devices in a first relative orientation, the step of altering at least one of the path and signal strength may include altering the light signal from the first light-communication device in a predetermined manner from along the first path to along the first and second paths with the first and second light-communication devices in the first relative orientation. Additionally, where light signals directed along the first and second paths have different directions with the first and second light-communication devices in a first relative orientation, the step of altering at least one of the path and signal strength may include altering the light signal from the first light-communication device in a predetermined manner from the direction of the first path to the direction of the first and second paths with the first and second light-communication devices in the first relative orientation. Moreover, the step of altering at least one of the path and signal strength may include increasing the signal strength of the light signal from the first signal strength to a second signal strength.

Adaptor and method for use with a light-communication device


A medical needle device includes a winged shield (4) having a substantially cylindrical shaped shield cylinder (4a) and wings (5, 6) connected to the front end side thereof, a needle base (2) inserted in the shield cylinder (4a), and a needle (1). The wings have wing projections (7, 8) and the shield cylinder has through holes (9, 10) on the wall thereof. By overlaying the wings along the side surface of the shield cylinder, each of the wing projections can be inserted into the inner cavity of the shield cylinder via the through hole. Thereby, without requiring a special operation in the sticking operation, each of the wing projections can prevent the needle base from moving in the axial direction and can hold the needle base in the shield cylinder reliably in a state in which the needle protrudes from the front end of the shield cylinder by a predetermined length.

Conventionally, contamination and infections due to needle-stick injuries with injection needles or puncture needles have been a problem in medical facilities. In particular recently, as hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) have become widespread throughout the population, there is a strong demand for means that actively prevent accidental needle-stick injuries.
As a means for preventing needle-stick injuries, various injection needle devices have been proposed, in which the cannula is covered by a cover when collecting injection needles or puncture needles after use. Most of such means for reduction of needle-stick injuries have a cylindrical protection cover (referred to as "shield" in the following) for preventing needle-stick injuries after use, and this shield can slide with respect to the injection needle. That is to say, depending on the sliding state of the shield, the injection needle is either exposed or it is covered by the shield.
On the other hand, for measures such as the infusions or blood transfusions, or extracorporeal blood circulation, winged infusion needle devices are used widely. Winged infusion needle devices have a structure in which wings are mounted on a hub, in which the infusion needle is fixed at the front, and whose rear is connected to an infusion tube. Thus, the means for preventing needle-stick injuries with a winged injection needle device necessitates a special structure. That is to say, the structure has to be such that the wings do not obstruct the sliding of the shield. For this reason, conventional structures are classified into types in which the wings are attached to the infusion needle or the hub and types in which the wings are attached to the shield.
Examples of the latter structure are described for example in JP H06-7861B, WO 91/04761 or U.S. Pat. No. 5,088,982, In these conventional examples, the wings are attached to the outer peripheral surface of a slidable tubular shield, and the wings slide together with the shield on the outer side of the infusion needle. In order to prevent needle-stick injuries after use of the infusion needle, the tip of the infusion needle can be covered by sliding the shield.
In the course of using such an infusion needle device in which wings are attached to the shield, a mechanism is necessary for holding the infusion needle temporarily at a predetermined position with respect to the shield and fitting the two together. Furthermore, it is desirable that the effect of holding the needle with respect to the shield differs during the puncturing action and during the storage action of storing the injection needle in the shield for the sake of preventing needle-stick injuries, as described below.
When performing a puncturing action, the shield is grasped to perform the action, so that it is necessary that the needle is held securely by the shield. On the other hand, when performing the action of storing the needle away, the force for holding the shield should be rather weak in order to make easy the operation therefore. When the holding force is too strong, then the action of sliding the needle within the shield becomes difficult, and there is the risk that it may lead to unexpected accidents. On the other hand, when the needle is retained on the patient, the shield is fastened to the patient's skin near the punctured portion, so that if the needle is easily moved within the shield in this situation, there is the risk that the needle is easily pulled out from the patient. Consequently, it is inconvenient if the holding force is too weak during needle retention. In conclusion, it is preferable that after the puncturing action, a suitable holding force weaker than that at the time of the puncturing action acts on the injection needle or the hub.
However, in conventional injection needle devices having a winged shield, the holding of the injection needle at the time of the puncturing action and after the puncturing action (i.e. during retention and during removal of the needle) is performed by the same mechanism, and a suitable holding force could not be attained for both the puncturing action and the storing action.
Consequently, it is an object of the present invention to provide a medical needle device, in which both during the puncturing action and after the puncturing action, the medical needle can be held with optimum holding power with respect to a winged shield, and with which the action of storing the medical needle into the shield after use can be performed safely and easily.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Medical needle device with winged shield for erroneous piercing prevention


The invention relates to a system for detecting the presence of a user, in particular in relation to a motor vehicle door. The inventive system comprises: a handle (1) which is mounted on the door, and a presence sensing device comprising a control module, a sending electrode (7) and a reference electrode (6), each of said electrodes being connected to the control module and being disposed, at least in part, at the handle. The inventive system can be used to connect the aforementioned electrodes electromagnetically to one another in order to define a user presence detection zone. The detection of the user in said zone enables at least one given vehicle function to be controlled. According to the invention, the system also comprises means of creating at least one user presence non-detection zoned (10) through the local modification of the presence detection zone.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system for detecting the presence of a user especially at the level of a motor vehicle opening panel.
The invention relates more particularly to a user presence detection system incorporating a presence sensor having means for locally creating a zone of nondetection of presence.
The invention also pertains to a system for locking and/or unlocking at least one opening panel of a motor vehicle incorporating such a user presence detection system.
2. Description of Related Art
In the automobile sector, the opening panel handle which over time served only to transmit a mechanical movement by way of a linkage to a lock for opening the opening panel has evolved greatly.
Specifically, in particular in respect of so-called "hands free" access systems allowing the locking and the unlocking of a motor vehicle without mechanical key or remote control, the handle has become a privileged interface between the user carrying an identifier (for example in the form of a tag) and the system on board the vehicle.
With these hands-free access systems, it has become necessary to define novel access systems and in particular novel systems allowing the detection of a user wishing to access his vehicle, this detection of presence of the user making it possible thereafter to initiate his identification with a view to authorizing his access to the vehicle.
A handle used in a hands-free access system is represented in FIG. 1. Generally, such a handle 1 is carried by an opening panel O of a motor vehicle V and is composed of two parts, a gripping part 2 moveable with respect to the opening panel O and a part 3 fixed on the bodywork of the opening panel O. This fixed part is essentially decorative and incorporates, for example, an emergency lock.
Document DE-A-196 17 038 describes a presence detection system, positioned at the level of a motor vehicle opening panel equipped with a hands-free access system, for detecting the approach of a user at the level of the handle of the opening panel. The presence detection system comprises a presence sensor comprising an electronic monitoring module, a first electrode disposed in the gripping part of the handle and a second electrode disposed at the level of the opening panel.
The electromagnetic coupling which is established between the two electrodes generates a user presence detection zone at the level of the handle. Thus, when the user approaches the handle with his hand with a view to accessing his vehicle, his presence is detected and his identification, by communication between the vehicle and the identifier carried by the user, is initiated.
However, when the two electrodes of the user presence sensor are both positioned at least in part at the level of the handle, the presence detection zone may be very extensive and in particular encompass zones in which no detection is desired. For example and as represented in FIG. 1, for reasons of ergonomics of use, it is desirable to have maximum detection at the level of the gripping part 2 of the handle and minimum detection, or even zero detection, at the level of certain zones of the fixed part 3 of the handle positioned on the bodywork of the opening panel.
Moreover, in certain devices, the presence detection sensor is incorporated into a reduced space especially at the level of the handle, and the user presence detection zone associated therewith may be very extensive and in particular encompass the electronic module of the sensor. This arrangement generates, at the level of the electronic module, electromagnetic disturbances that may seriously impede the operation of the presence detection sensor.

System for detecting the presence of a user particularly for motor vehicle


A contact structure of a socket connector capable of shortening the arrangement pitch of socket contacts, and speeding up the processing cycle by simplifying the structure of a stamping die for the socket contacts. The socket contacts are formed by stamping an electrically conductive flat metal plate. Each socket contact is provided with a conductive section for taking on the contact with the other pin contact, a holding section to be press-fitted and fixed in an insulating housing, and a terminal section to be soldered on a circuit substrate. The conductive section is stamped out in the shape of a long strip having a smaller width than the holding section. A rectangular opening is formed at the center of the conductive section, and contact leaves are respectively formed at the inner side edges of a pair of planar spring sections which are opposed to each other through the opening. The contact leaves are positioned offset from each other in the lengthwise direction of the opening, and bent at an angle a little less than 90.degree. with respect to the planes of the spring sections.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a contact structure of a socket connector to be provided in a PC (Personal Computer) card or the like, and more particularly, to a contact structure of a socket connector which is suited to the shortening the arrangement pitch of socket contacts.
2. Description of the Related Art
Built into a PC card to be loaded into a notebook personal computer or the like are a socket connector including many socket contacts fixed on an insulating housing, a circuit substrate to be connected to the socket contacts, and the like. In attaching the PC card to a pin connector on the side of an external apparatus, contact pins of the pin connector are respectively inserted into the socket contacts from the leading end of the socket connector. In recent years, there has been a strong demand that the arrangement pitch of the socket contacts be shortened to, for example, 1.27 mm in such a socket connector of the PC card. Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 8-45592 has proposed a socket connector which is adapted for such pitch reduction.
FIG. 24 is a side view of a socket contact in the socket connector disclosed in the aforesaid publication. As shown in FIG. 24, one socket contact 1 is provided with a pair of contact leaves 2 and 3 for gripping a contact pin to be inserted, a connecting section 4 for connecting the contact leaves 2 and 3, a holding section 5 to be press-fitted and fixed in a housing, and a terminal section 6 extending backward from the holding section 5. The contact leaves 2 and 3 are perpendicularly bent at the diagonal positions on the long narrow connecting section 4, and the holding section 5 extends backward from one contact leaf 2.
FIG. 25 is a development view showing a state in which an electrically conductive flat metal plate as a raw material of the socket contact 1 is stamped. As shown in FIG. 25, one contact leaf 3 of one socket contact crosses the other contact leaf 2 of the adjoining socket contact, and comes between the contact leaf 2 and the connecting section 4 of the adjoining socket contact. The electrically conductive flat metal plate thus stamped is perpendicularly bent at the positions shown by the two-dot chained lines in FIG. 25, thereby obtaining many socket contacts 1 arranged with a predetermined pitch P.
In a development state of the aforesaid conventional socket contacts before they are bent into the final shape, one of the contact leaves formed in one socket contact comes inside the contact leaf of the adjoining socket contact. Therefore, the arrangement pitch P of the socket contacts in stamping can be reduced to the small pitch required for the socket connector, and a socket connector having socket contacts arranged with a small pitch, for example, 1.27 mm, can be realized. However, on the other hand, the structure of a die for use in stamping the socket contacts is extremely complicated, which increases the die cost and impedes the speeding-up of the processing cycle.


Provided are an insulation diagnosis and defect positioning method, apparatus and device for an insulated bus pipe, and a storage medium. The method includes: applying a test voltage between a ground electrode and a conductor portion of the insulated bus pipe; identifying multiple grounded segments of the insulated bus pipe according to a ground shielded short wiring and a line ground wiring, measuring a length of each grounded segment and a ground current of each grounded segment at the test voltage, and calculating a ground current per unit length of each grounded segment; comparing ground currents per unit length of different grounded segments; measuring a capacitance current value of each grounded segment according to a quantity, a length and a number of intermediate couplings included in each grounded segment; comparing the ground current and the capacitance current value of each grounded segment; according to the comparison results, diagnosing an insulation status and implementing defect positioning of the insulated bus pipe.

The insulated bus pipe is a current-carrying equipment with copper or aluminum metal round tube as a conductor, and has an insulating casing and an outer grounding shield layer. The common voltage level is 6 kV-35 kV, and is mostly used as current-carrying equipment to connect a low-voltage side of the transformer and the switch cabinet. The unique structural characteristic enables the insulated bus pipe to have outstanding advantages of large current-carrying capacity, good mechanical properties, safety, space-saving, small maintenance and good weather resistance. With the development trend of large-capacity, compaction, high safety and high environmental compatibility requirement for power transmission, the insulated bus pipe has been widely used for being suitable for the above development requirements.
However, unlike semi-insulated buses and closed buses that are previously used in the large-current catchment part, operational reliability of the insulated bus pipe equipment is determined by a solid insulation status of the insulated bus pipe equipment. During the operation, maintenance, and repairing of this type of equipment, an examination and status diagnosis method highly targeted to the common insulation problem of this type of equipment is lacked, so that the equipment is in a uncontrolled state, many defects/hidden dangers could not be detected early, which eventually lead to equipment insulation damage, short-circuit failure, power failure, and serious damage to the equipment such as connected transformers, switch cabinets, causing major losses. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a method for diagnosing the insulation status of this type of equipment.

Insulation diagnosis and positioning method for insulated bus pipe


An antimicrobial composition containing an alcohol having 3 to 6 carbon atoms which effectively increases antimicrobial activity and particularly a mouthwash composition that is useful in the prevention and reduction of bad breath, plaque and related gum diseases having an antimicrobially effective amount of one or more active essential oils; from about 0.01% to about 30.0% v/v of an alcohol having 3 to 6 carbon atoms; optionally, ethanol; at least one surfactant; and water. The actives not only provide enhanced efficacy but are completely solubilized, thus providing an aesthetically appealing product.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to antimicrobial compositions containing a C.sub.3 -C.sub.6 alcohol and particularly oral compositions, such as but not limited to liquids, pastes and gels for the prevention and elimination of bad breath as well as for the reduction of oral microorganisms responsible for the development of dental plaque, gingivitis, and tooth decay. A preferred embodiment of the present invention relates to a C.sub.3 -C.sub.6 alcohol-containing, reduced ethanol or ethanol-free mouthwash that is effective in preventing those problems.
2. Description of Related Art
The effectiveness of an antimicrobial composition is dependent upon the ability of the composition to deliver the antimicrobial agent(s) contained therein to the desired microbial target(s). This is particularly so for antimicrobial oral compositions where the exposure time of the target microbes to the antimicrobial agent is generally of a short duration.
Oral compositions, such as mouthwashes, have been used by people for many years for the prevention of bad breath and for the elimination of bacteria and other oral microorganisms that are responsible not only for bad breath but also tooth decay, plaque and gum diseases such as gingivitis and periodontitis. To this end, antiseptic mouthwashes in the past have been designed to clean the oral cavity, provide fresh breath and kill these pathogenic microbes.
The leading antiseptic mouthwash has always contained ethanol at a level of 26.9% by volume, based on the total mouthwash volume (hereinafter referred to as "% v/v"). Ethanol is used both as a delivery vehicle and as a solvent in which the active ingredients, and additives such as astringents, color additives, flavor oils, and the like, can be dissolved and then dispersed into solution. Ethanol also enhances the flavor oil organoleptic cues.
However, the use of high levels of ethanol in consumer health products has been recently challenged from an overall health standpoint. Merely reducing the levels of ethanol in these mouthwash compositions has significant disadvantages. It has been found that lower ethanol levels result not only in a loss in the solubility of the actives and other ingredients in the composition, but there is also a noticeable decrease in the ability of the composition to kill the oral microorganisms responsible for bad breath, plaque and gum disease. This loss in antimicrobial activity is believed to be a result of less favorable antimicrobial agent kinetics due to the reduction of ethanol as a vehicle. Antimicrobial agent kinetics affects the rate at which an antimicrobial agent will diffuse from the delivery system and penetrate the dental plaque matrix. Thus, the delivery system of an antimicrobial composition should provide favorable antimicrobial agent kinetics to enhance efficacy, particularly when a composition, e.g. a mouthwash composition, is only applied for a short duration. Heretofore, fairly high levels of ethanol have been required to provide the desired antimicrobial kinetics, particularly for compositions containing antimicrobially effective amounts of essential oils.
There is a substantial need for the development of oral compositions, such as a mouthwash, having a reduced ethanol delivery system with favorable antimicrobial agent kinetics and in which the antimicrobial agents are completely dissolved so that the composition continues to be effective in the prevention of bad breath, the killing of oral microbes and the resultant penetration, reduction or elimination of plaque and gingivitis. Thymol is a well known antiseptic agent, also known as an essential oil, which is utilized for its antimicrobial activity in a variety of mouthwash preparations. In particular, thymol can be utilized in oral hygiene compositions such as mouth rinses in sufficient quantities to provide desired beneficial therapeutic effects. LISTERINE.RTM.-brand mouthwash is a well-known antiseptic mouthwash that has been used by millions of people for over one hundred years and has been proven effective in killing microbes in the oral cavity that are responsible for plaque, gingivitis and bad breath. Thymol and other essential oils, such as methyl salicylate, menthol and eucalyptol, are active ingredients (e., antimicrobial agents) in antiseptic mouth rinses such as LISTERINE.RTM.. These oils achieve their efficacy although present in small amounts. Without being restricted to any specific theory, it is now believed that the efficacy and taste of antiseptic mouthwashes such as Listerine.RTM. may be due to the dissolution and delivery kinetics of these four active ingredients. Dissolution is also important from an aesthetic point of view since a clear mouthwash solution is certainly preferred by consumers to one that is cloudy, turbid or heterogeneous.
Mouthwash compositions containing ethanol or isopropanol or a mixture of both are known. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,947,570 discloses a mouthwash composition having 0.01 to about 1% by weight, based on the total weight of the composition (hereinafter referred to as "% w/w"), of lemon oil flavoring, 0 to about 25, preferably 5 to 24% w/w of a nontoxic alcohol such as isopropanol and ethanol, about 0.1 to 5% w/w of a non-ionic surfactant and 60 to 95% w/w water. The alcohol may be denatured with flavoring agents, generally in an amount between about 1 and 2 percent of the total amount of alcohol in the composition. The disclosed flavoring agents include anethole, anise oil, bay oil, benzaldehyde, bergamot oil, bitter almond, camphor, cedar leaf oil, chlorothymol, cinnamic aldehyde, cinnamon oil, citronella oil, clove oil, coal tar, eucalyptol, eucalyptus oil, eugenol, guaiacol, lavender oil, menthol, mustard oil, peppermint oil, phenol, phenyl salicylate, pine oil, pine needle oil, rosemary oil, sassafras oil, spearmint oil, spike lavender oil, storax, thyme oil, thymol, tolu balsam, turpentine oil, wintergreen oil and boric acid.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,292,528 is directed to an oral composition containing 0.001% to 50% w/w of an organosilicone-type quaternary ammonium salt immobilized in a water insoluble solid cairier and at least one surfactant of either 0.01% to 15% w/w polyoxyethylene-polyoxypropylene block copolymer or 0.001% to 50% w/w of alkoxyamide. The composition may also contain 0.01% to 20% w/w of a thickening agent and preferably at least one alcohol selected fiom the group consisting of ethanol, propanol and isopropanol in an amount of about 0.01% to 60% w/w. This reference exemplifies a composition containing an immobilized quaternary ammonium salt, chlorohexidine gluconate and a mixture of ethanol and isopropanol. The reference also discloses that flavoring agents, such as various essential oils, may be used if desired.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,132,770 discloses a mouthwash composition containing about 3 to 9% w/w baking soda, 0 to about 20%, preferably about 5 to 15% w/w of a nontoxic cosmetic alcohol such as ethanol or isopropanol, about 0.5 to 4.0% w/w of a non-ionic surfactant and 60 to 95% w/w water. The alcohol preferably contains a flavor oil, such as those listed above, in an amount of about 0.05-0.4% w/w.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,302,373 describes a concentrated mouthwash formula having 5 to 50% w/w ethanol, 2 to 30% w/w alkali metal bicarbonate, 0.5 to 30% w/w humectant and 5 to 35% w/w water. The composition may also contain up to about 3% w/w hydrophilic polymer and up to about 5% w/w surfactant. This reference discloses that part or all of the ethanol can be substituted by a nontoxic cosmetic monohydric alcohol, such as isopropanol. Other optional components that may be present in the composition include, among others, thymol, as a bactericide, and flavorants such as oils of spearmint, peppermint, wintergreen, sassafras, clove, sage, eucalyptus, cinnamon, lemon, orange and methyl salicylate. These references do not exemplify or suggest the advantage of employing a C.sub.3 to C.sub.6 aliphatic alcohol with an antimicrobial effective amount of one or more essential oils.
Other prior art references have broadly disclosed, but not exemplified, substituting lower alkyl mono- or dihydric- alcohols for ethanol in various mouthwash formulations. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,256,401 describes a mouthwash composition having a water-alcohol mixture with a weight ratio in excess of 10:1 and about 0.01 to about 0.9% w/w of a noncationic antibacterial agent, such as triclosan. The alcohol may be a non-toxic alkyl mono- or dihydric alcohol, such as ethanol, n-propanol, isopropanol or propylene glycol, although only ethanol is exemplified. The prefelTed antimicrobial agents include triclosan, phenol, thymol, eugenol, 2,2-methylene bis (4-chloro-6-bromophenol), nerolidol and bisabolol. The use of the phenolic compounds, however, is not exemplified. It is also disclosed that surface active agents are desirable and that flavor oils may be employed, The antimicrobial is solubilized in a low amount of alcohol by using low concentrations of the antimicrobial in the composition.
Clearly, there is still a need for an antimicrobial composition having a delivery system capable of enhanced antimicrobial agent kinetics so as to provide effective antimicrobial treatment even when the duration of the treatment is short. Moreover, there is a particular need for a reduced ethanol or ethanol-free composition that is highly efficacious in the prevention of bad breath, plaque and gum disease. In addition, there is a need for such oral compositions that both kill the oral microflora responsible for these problems and clean the oral cavity leaving a finesh, lubricous mouthfeel.

Antimicrobial composition containing a C.sub.3 -C.sub.6 alcohol


Methods and systems are disclosed to optimize punching instructions. An example method disclosed herein obtains a tool bed layout, the tool bed including a description of a plurality of tool punch parts, each tool punch part further including tool definition information; obtains a component layout, the component including a description of a component having at least one feature requiring a punching operation; validates the component layout; advances the component to a position of optimum depth; determines a hit score at the position of optimum depth; and repeats the component advancing and the hit score determination until all of the at least one feature of the component is assigned to a tool punch part.

Hydraulic punching and shearing systems have typically been used to manufacture components. The punching and shearing may proceed as raw materials (e.g., steel) are fed into the system and one or more tools punch and/or cut sections of raw material at predetermined locations. Each tool may have a designated operation, such as a specific punch-shape and punch-size to create various features on the component (e.g., punch holes, notches, cuts, sheared sections, etc.). Typically, raw materials for such components feed into the system on a large roll (e.g., steel) and unwind as punching and shearing operations proceed from one component to the next. The component dimensions, number of needed punches on the component, and availability of various tool types in the system dictate the number of punching processes for a given component as it propagates through the system.
The moving material may be, for example, a metallic strip material that is unwound from coiled strip stock and moved through the punching and shearing system. As the material moves through the punching and shearing system, the material may momentarily stop while various punches and cuts are made to one section of the material. If necessary, after the punching or shearing operation is complete, the material may advance and may momentarily stop again for subsequent operations (e.g., additional punches and/or cuts). If the material momentarily stops while punching and shearing operations are performed, the coiled strip stock typically continues to advance, thereby creating slack. To prevent such slack from growing to a point in which it reaches the floor and becomes scratched or otherwise damaged, a slack basin is typically constructed to accommodate large amounts of slack. At the completion of all punches and/or shearing operations of a section of material, a final cut may be made before the process begins again with another section of material from the coiled strip stock.
Components may undergo additional forming processes before and/or after the punching and shearing operations. The punching and shearing operations provide features on the components including, but not limited to, screw/bolting holes, weight reduction cuts, strengthening ribs, and interconnection locators. The complexity of each component may vary from a simple one or two punch operation, to a component requiring several punches with several different types of tools. More complex components typically require a higher number of momentary stops for various punching and shearing operations, thereby generating slack in the coil strip feeding the system.
Production stamping tools typically use hardened tool steel insert components to perform cutting, perforating, punching, and blanking operations. The cutting edges of these components (tools) require routine maintenance to keep them sharp. As these components wear, holes may get smaller than component design specifications will allow, trim dimensions change, and burrs become larger. To reduce wear and related problems, a user will perform preventative maintenance procedures on the tools. Despite a tool bed having unused and fully functional tools at adjacent index locations to the tool requiring maintenance, the operator often times must stop the system to service the broken or worn tool, thereby forcing expensive downtime for the system.
Additional processing inefficiencies may develop when the system ends one production run of a particular component design, and begins a new production run of an alternate component design. Frequently, a batch of components will be processed before the system is stopped and configured for another component of a different design. Alternate configurations may require installation of new and/or alternate tools. Typically, even if the tool bed contains all required tools for the alternate component, the alternate configuration requires new or alternate system programming including a new set of punching instructions. In some instances, an operator manually performs configuration and optimization operations to determine punching and shearing operations on a component with as few momentary stops as possible. Moreover, the operator typically attempts to determine an optimum punching and shearing process that maximizes the number of simultaneous punches and/or shearing operations at each momentary stop. While the operator may determine one such configuration that allows the component to be processed with a select few number of tools, the operator often times lacks the time necessary to attempt additional configuration permutations with remaining tools in the tool bed to find one that is optimum. An optimum configuration includes maximizing the number of punching and/or shearing operations at a minimum number of momentary stops through the system as raw material is fed therein. Such manual configuration operations, which may not be optimized, as well as a system fabricating parts with more steps than are necessary, may consume valuable productivity time that could otherwise be used for fabricating additional components.

Methods and systems for optimizing punch instructions in a material forming press system


A heating device for controllably heating an article defines a processing chamber to hold the article and includes a housing and an EMF generator. The housing includes a susceptor portion surrounding at least a portion of the processing chamber, and a conductor portion interposed between the susceptor portion and the processing chamber. The EMF generator is operable to induce eddy currents within the susceptor portion such that substantially no eddy currents are induced in the conductor portion. The conductor portion is operative to conduct heat from the susceptor portion to the processing chamber. The heating device may further include a platter and an opening defined in the conductor portion, wherein the opening is interposed between the susceptor portion and the platter.

Silicon carbide (SiC) is increasingly recognized as an effective semiconductor material for electronic devices. SiC possesses a number of properties that make it particularly attractive for applications requiring devices to operate at high temperature, power and/or frequency. SiC exhibits highly efficient heat transfer and is capable of withstanding high electric fields.
It has been demonstrated that hot-wall chemical vapor deposition (CVD) reactors can provide epitaxial layers of SiC with morphology and doping superior to cold-wall systems. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,695,567 to Kordina et al., the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference. In certain processes, such as epitaxial growth processes, management of the thermal profile in the vicinity of the substrate may be of great importance. Temperature gradients may dramatically influence many growth parameters and the qualities of the resulting layers. Where the substrate is disposed on a platter (e.g., for rotation) separate from a surrounding susceptor and induction heating is employed, the platter may be significantly cooler than the internal surfaces of the susceptor. More particularly, the susceptor may be directly heated by an RF field while the platter is only or predominantly heated by thermal conduction and radiation from the susceptor. The substrate may be cooler even than the platter. As a result, a substantial thermal gradient may be manifested between the substrate growth surface and the internal surfaces of the susceptor. The thermal gradient may be further exacerbated by the cooling effect of a process gas flow through the susceptor.
The aforementioned temperature gradient may present a number of problems. Such problems may include the formation of loose deposits (e.g., SiC) on the hot susceptor wall. Such deposits may fall onto the substrate and be incorporated into the epilayers. Moreover, temperature gradients may cause difficulty in controlling material properties as a result of non-controllable variations in the temperature gradient and the narrowing of process windows.
The foregoing problems may also be presented in other types of processes such as other types of deposition processes and annealing processes.

Methods for controllably induction heating an article


Phosphazenium-based ionomers and methods of making them are disclosed. The ionomers are useful in making membranes for fuel cells and other devices that benefit from extremely base-stable membranes. The polymers (ionomers) contain repeating units of formula:

As a crucial element for separation of reactants and anion transport, anion-exchange membranes are widely used in various industrial fields, including water treatment, hydrometallurgy, chemical industry, chemical separation, and electrochemical conversion devices, including fuel cells and electrolysis cells.
Fuel cells are devices that convert the chemical energy stored in a fuel directly into electricity and could potentially serve as a highly efficient and environmentally sustainable power generation technology for stationary and mobile applications. Fuel cells are promising energy conversion devices; however, improving their performance and enhancing durability remain significant challenges. Increasing the ionic conductivity and mechanical stability of solid polymer electrolyte membranes to achieve higher operating efficiencies are important goals. Within a fuel cell, the polymer electrolyte membrane acts as a barrier between the fuel and oxidant streams and simultaneously serves as the ion conducting medium between the anode and cathode. As a result, the membrane is a central, and often performance-limiting component of the fuel cell. Many low temperature (e.g., less than 100° C.) fuel cells employ a proton exchange membrane (PEM) as the electrolyte. The most common polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells operate under acidic conditions and are therefore proton conducting. Nafion®, a PEM, has dominated the field due its processability, chemical and thermal stability, and proton conductivity (when properly hydrated). However, the use of these membranes is limited to acidic conditions and requires substantial dilution of carbon-based fuels (e.g., methanol) along with thicker (less efficient and more costly) membranes to prevent uncontrollable membrane swelling and fuel crossover. Additionally, PEM fuel cells rely almost exclusively on platinum, a very expensive and scarce noble metal.
A significant advantage of alkaline fuel cells (AFCs) over their acidic counterparts is greatly improved oxygen reduction kinetics as well as better fuel oxidation kinetics. These improvements can lead to higher efficiencies and enable the use of non-precious metal catalysts, greatly reducing the cost of the device. Indeed, hydrogen fueled AFCs can outperform all known low temperature (e.g., less than 200° C.) fuel cells. However, AFCs have traditionally employed liquid alkaline electrolytes containing metal hydroxides (e.g., potassium hydroxide) that react with CO2 (present in oxidant stream or fuel oxidation product when using carbon-based fuels) to form metal bicarbonates and subsequently carbonate salts. If sufficiently high levels of these salts are formed, they can precipitate out of solution, decreasing electrolyte conductivity and eventually obstructing electrode pores, both of which compromise power output.
There exists an ongoing and unmet need for conductive and solvent processable ionomers, which can be used as alkaline anion exchange membranes (AAEMs).

Ionomers and methods of making same and uses thereof

Abstract: in which all of R1, R2, W, Y and Z are hydrocarbon.


The invention relates to a vascular prosthesis capable of being anastomosed onto a tubular pipe with a side opening or an end opening. The prothesis having, at at least one of its ends, an annular sheet delimited by a free edge designed to be positioned in the immediate vicinity of opening in the pipe. The sheet is shaped so that it can be applied around the opening in the pipe against the inside or outside wall of the latter, while preserving its free edge in the immediate vicinity of the periphery of the opening in the pipe.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a vascular prosthesis.
2. Description of Related Art
The vascular prostheses used in vascular surgery for treating diseased blood vessels, particularly artery segments, by bypass or by replacement, are essentially cylindrical tubes which, in certain cases, may have branches.
The prostheses in common use today are obtained by weaving or knitting polyester fibers, for example those known as Dacron, the fabric or knit then being coated with a layer of impermeable material. Vascular prostheses made of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) are also used.
An anastomosis of a vascular prosthesis, i.e. placing it in communication with a blood vessel, is traditionally effected by a butt junction of the prosthesis and the vessel, namely by placing their respective openings opposite each other and then edge-suturing these openings. FIG. 1 shows such an anastomosis schematically.
When the diseased portion of a vessel is replaced, an end-to-end anastomosis is made, i.e. the prosthesis is placed in the axial extension of the healthy part of the vessel in place of the diseased portion, which is removed.
In the case of a bypass, an end-to-side anastomosis is made, meaning that the opening in the prosthesis is connected laterally to the vessel, in which a lateral opening has previously been created for the purpose.
In both cases, the prosthesis is sutured to the vessel by a thread.
This surgical technique, which today is well mastered, gives good results.
However, the making of the many suture stitches necessary to create the anastomosis of a prosthesis on a vessel is a skilled operation that must be executed in a small working space, as is the case in particular when the endoscopic technique is used to operate on a vessel through a small opening.
In this case, the time taken by surgery is greatly prolonged, which certain patients may tolerate with difficulty.
It may also be the case that the suturing of a prosthesis onto a diseased artery is very difficult to accomplish, for example when the artery wall is calcified.
The goal of the present invention is to overcome these drawbacks by providing a vascular prosthesis that can be anastomosed onto a vessel without suturing in a particularly simple, rapid, and reliable manner.


A liquid crystal panel positioning device by which a liquid crystal panel and a light emitting panel are positioned in a liquid crystal panel holding frame. Stoppers with which the liquid crystal panel is engaged are formed at both ends of each of the side walls of the holding frame. Stoppers with which the light emitting panel is engaged are formed near the liquid crystal panel stoppers, and slightly outside of the liquid crystal panel stoppers. The liquid crystal panel and the light emitting panel are positioned by these stoppers.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a liquid crystal indicating device for indicating various kinds of information, and more particularly relates to a construction by which a light emitting part of a light emitting panel and an indicating part of a liquid crystal panel are aligned with each other.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, cameras having a liquid crystal panel on the camera body to indicate various kinds of photographic information or a photographic operation have been developed. The liquid crystal panel is housed in a holding frame, and a light emitting panel for supplying a back light to the liquid crystal panel, a shield plate, a liquid crystal panel driving IC, a flexible printed substrate and other elements are provided under the liquid crystal panel in the holding frame. A light emitting part of the light emitting panel is covered with a moisture-proof film. The periphery of the moisture-proof film is sealed, and electrical pole terminals are attached to an end portion of the light emitting panel.
If the light emitting part of the light emitting panel and an indicating part of the liquid crystal panel are offset from each other, the sealed portion of the moisture-proof film which is not a light emitting part is exposed in the indicating part. Therefore, in such a case, the appearance of the liquid crystal indicating device deteriorates and further, the indicating performance is degraded.
Accordingly, conventionally, the accuracy of the size of the sealed portion of the light emitting panel is strictly determined, and the light emitting panel is housed in the liquid crystal panel holding frame in such a manner that the sealed portion of the light emitting panel is not exposed in the indicating part. In this construction, however, control of the accuracy of the size of the light emitting panel sealed portion is troublesome, and sometimes, a fine adjustment of the size, such as cutting of the sealed portion, is needed, and therefore, assembly of the liquid crystal indicating device becomes complicated.


Fiber fleeces made entirely of pure artificial (polymeric) fibers or mixed with natural fibers have to be solidified after formation by carding, or laying only in the case of filament fleeces. In the fleece according to the invention, which is particularly bulky and thus needs to be solidified, neither lower-melting binding fibers nor chemical binding agents are used. Also, the mechanical needling process which uses needles is eliminated because this reduces the bulk too severely. The desired bulk is retained by producing solidification by a single water needling process (when performed on one side), with the desired water pressure being no higher than 60 bars, preferably 20-30 bars.

Card fiber fleeces are made from an extremely wide variety of fibers. In general, such fleeces have the advantage that the short fibers are randomly distributed in the finished fleece so that the fleece has better stability in all pulling directions. There are also fleeces made of spun filaments which, once the filaments are made, the filaments are immediately laid down to make a fleece, for example, on an endless belt. The loosely laid fibers or filaments in the fleece produced by the carding machine and those of a spun fleece, however, have to be connected with each other to produce a level of strength that is satisfactory in practice. For this purpose, needling of the fleece mechanically with needles is known. With this fundamentally discontinuous and hence slow solidification process the volume of the fleece is considerably decreased however, so that such a mechanically solidified or needled fleece is useless for many applications. In addition, thin fleeces cannot be needled mechanically at all.
The addition of binding agents to the fibers is also known. For example, these agents are sprayed on in liquid form or by foam impregnation. The disadvantage of such fleece is not only the additional and necessarily expensive chemicals, whose production is somewhat detrimental to the environment, but also the poorer recyclability.
The addition to the fleeces of fibers made with lower-melting chemical fibers as well as bicomponent fibers is also known, and these additive fibers an be at least initially melted by the action of heat so that they stick to the adjacent fibers in the fleece. In this process, the expensive binding fibers and the additionally necessary energy for heating the binding fibers to the melting point is disadvantageous.
Needling the fleeces of the aforementioned type using water is also known. Water needling has the basic advantage of being continuous and hence allowing higher production rates. However, the stiff, paper-like products usually arising from water needling are disadvantageous.

Method for manufacturing a solidified fiber fleece, the resulting solidified fiber fleece, and use of this fleece


A damper assembly for a vehicle which includes a damper body, a first ring element, and a spring coupler. The damper body includes a threaded portion which extends between a first end and a second end of the damper body. The first ring element is disposed within a first groove in the threaded portion. The spring coupler having a passage to concentrically receive the damper body such that the spring coupler is configured to slide over the first ring element. The first ring element is disposed within the first groove of the threaded portion such that a sliding clearance is provided between an inner portion of the spring coupler and the threaded portion.

Currently, vehicle suspensions utilize damper assemblies for damping vibrations which may be caused by road/terrain irregularities. These damper assemblies typically are designed with a single coil spring circumferentially disposed around a damper body. In certain conventional solutions, for example all-terrain vehicles (ATV), the damper assemblies may employ dual coil springs which are circumferentially disposed above one another in series around the damper body and are coupled with each other using a spring coupler. Such damper assemblies are known as a dual rate damper assembly because each of the dual coil springs may have different spring rates, number of coils and lengths.
Conventionally, the spring coupler is designed to withstand the forces and adequately support the dual coil springs in different terrains. However, in certain situations, the terrain forces may be of high magnitude due to which the spring coupler may deform or may come in contact with the damper body. This may lead to damage of the damper body material which further may lead to loss of damper fluid and overall strength of the damper assembly. In certain other situations, due to dirty, muddy, or sandy conditions, debris may occur between the spring coupler and the damper body, which may also wear or damage the body of the damper body. Such damages may require replacement of the damper body which may be cost in-effective or time-consuming. Therefore, an improved wear mitigation arrangement for the damper assembly may be required.
Further limitations and disadvantages of conventional and traditional approaches will become apparent to one of skill in the art, through comparison of described systems with some aspects of the present disclosure, as set forth in the remainder of the present application and with reference to the drawings.

Wear mitigated damper assembly for a vehicle


Prodrugs of COX-2 inhibitors are described as being useful in treating inflammation and inflammation-related disorders.

The use of non-steroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) in treating pain and the swelling associated with inflammation also produce severe side effects, including life threatening ulcers. The recent discovery of an inducible enzyme associated with inflammation ("prostaglandin G/H synthase II" or "cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2)") provides a viable target of inhibition which more effectively reduces inflammation and produces fewer and less drastic side effects.
Compounds which selectively inhibit cyclooxygenase-2 have been described. U.S. Pat. No. 5,380,738 describes oxazoles which selectively inhibit cyclooxygenase-2. U.S. Pat. No. 5,344,991 describes cyclopentenes which selectively inhibit cyclooxygenase-2. U.S. Pat. No. 5,393,790 describes spiro compounds which selectively inhibit cyclooxygenase-2. WO94/15932 describes thiophene and furan derivatives which selectively inhibit cyclooxygenase-2. WO94/27980 describes oxazoles which selectively inhibit cyclooxygenase-2. WO94/13635 describes compounds which selectively inhibit cyclooxygenase-2. WO94/20480 describes compounds which selectively inhibit cyclooxygenase-2. WO95/15316 describes pyrazolyl sulfonamide derivatives which selectively inhibit cyclooxygenase-2. However, in some circumstances, prodrugs of antiinflammatory compounds are advantageous, especially where the prodrugs have increased water solubility or delayed onset of action.
Substituted sulfonamides have been described. Pyrazolyl-sulfonylureas have been described as having possible hypoglycemic activity [H. Faid-Allah and H. Mokhtar, Ind. J. Chem, 27, 245 (1988)]. JP 1,045,374 describes water soluble tetrazolium compounds useful in assays for determining reducing substances. D. Mukerjee et al [Acta. Pharma. Jugosl., 31, 151 (1981)] describe tetrazolium sulfonamides as antiviral agents. JP 4,277,724 describes triphenyl pyrazolines as nonlinear optical material. JP 5,323,522 describes the use of heterocyclic compounds in black and white photographic material. U.S. Pat. No. 5,389,635 describes substituted imidazoles as angiotensin II antagonists. U.S. Pat. No. 5,387,592 describes substituted benzimidazole derivatives as angiotensin II antagonists. G. Dorofeenko et al [Khim. Farm. Zh., 16, 920 (1982)] describe pyridinium salts as antiviral agents. U.S. Pat. No. 5,338,749 describes diaryl-substituted heterocyclyl compounds as antiarthritis agents. WO94/26731 describes thiophene compounds which selectively inhibit cyclooxygenase-2. WO95/00501 describes compounds which selectively inhibit cyclooxygenase-2, and specifically, 3-(4-(trifluoroacetylaminosulfonyl)phenyl)-2-(4-fluorophenyl)thiophene is described. T. Ivanov [Mh. Chem., 97, 1499 (1966)] describes the preparation of diarylindone derivatives as possible indicators, and 2-(4-(N-methylaminosulfonyl)phenyl)-3-phenylindone is specifically described.
J. Larsen and H. Bundgaard [Int. J. Pharmaceutics, 37, 87 (1987)] describe the evaluation of N-acylsulfonamides as potential prodrug derivatives. J. Larsen et al [Int. J. Pharmaceutics, 47, 103 (1988)] describe the evaluation of N-methylsulfonamides as potential prodrug derivatives.
There currently exists a need for compounds suitable for injectable antiinflammatory compositions. The compounds of the present invention are found to show usefulness as prodrugs.

Process for preparing prodrugs of benzenesulfonamide-containing COX-2 inhibitors


Techniques are disclosed for determining the likelihood that a known feature in an integrated circuit design will cause a defect during the manufacturing process. According to some of these techniques, various logical units that incorporate an identified design feature are identified, and the amount that the design feature occurs in each of a plurality of these logical units is determined. The failure rate of integrated circuit portions corresponding to at least these logical units are then obtained. A feature failure coefficient indicating the likelihood that the feature will cause a defect then is determined by correlating the failure rates with the amount of occurrences of the feature.

Microcircuit devices, commonly referred to as "integrated circuits," are used in a variety of products, from automobiles to microwaves to personal computers. Designing and fabricating integrated circuits involves many steps; which has become known as a 'design flow,' the particular steps of which are highly dependent on the type of microcircuit, the complexity, the design team, and the integrated circuit fabricator or foundry. Several steps are common to all design flows: first a design specification is modeled logically, typically in a hardware design language (HDL). Software and hardware "tools" then verify the design at various stages of the design flow by running software simulators and/or hardware emulators, and errors are corrected in the design are corrected.
After the accuracy of the logical design is confirmed, the logical design is converted into design data by synthesis software. The design data, often called a "netlist", represents the specific electronic devices that will achieve the desired logical result, such as transistors, resistors, and capacitors, and their interconnections. Preliminary estimates of timing may also be made at this stage, using an assumed characteristic speed for each device. This "netlist" can be viewed as corresponding to the level of representation displayed in typical circuit diagrams.
Once the relationships between circuit elements have been established, the design is again transformed into physical design data describing specific geometric elements. These geometric elements define the shapes that will be created in various materials to form the circuit elements. Custom layout editors, such as Mentor Graphics' IC Station or Cadence's Virtuoso are commonly used for this task. Automated place and route tools can also be used to define the physical layouts, especially of wires that will be used to interconnect logical elements.
Thus, the physical design data represents the patterns that will be written onto the masks used to fabricate the desired microcircuit device, typically by photolithographic processes. Each layer of the integrated circuit has a corresponding layer representation in the physical database, and the geometric shapes described by the data in that layer representation define the relative locations of the circuit elements. For example, the shapes for the layer representation of an implant layer define the regions where doping will occur; the line shapes in the layer representation of an interconnect layer define the locations of the metal wires to connect elements, etc. A manufacturing facility or "fab" will then manufacture the integrated circuits using the masks. Each fab specifies its own physical design parameters for compliance with their process, equipment, and techniques.
As the importance of microcircuit devices grow, designers and manufacturers continue to improve these devices. Each year, for example, microcircuit device manufacturers develop new techniques that allow microcircuit devices, such as programmable microprocessors, to be more complex and smaller in size. Microprocessors are now manufactured with over 50 million transistors, many with dimensions of only 90 nm. As microcircuit devices become more complex and their circuit elements smaller, they also become more difficult to correctly manufacture. For example, a conventional microcircuit device may have millions of different connections, and even a single broken or shorted connection may cause the operation of the microcircuit to fail.
Increasing the manufacturing yield of an integrated circuit by reducing the number of defects created during the manufacturing process traditionally has been the responsibility of the fabs that manufacture the integrated circuits. Typically, a fab will identify defects after an initial manufacturing run, and then make changes in the manufacturing process or equipment for subsequent manufacturing runs in the hope of avoiding the identified defects and improving the manufacturing yield of the integrated circuit. The complexity of the design and manufacturing process for modern integrated circuits constructed at nanometer geometries has led to a dramatic rise in the number of defects that occur only as a result of the interaction between the design and the process, however. As a result, it has become increasingly difficult for a fab to identify changes in the process or equipment that will reduce these new types of defects. In many cases these new defect types are too difficult or costly to even detect during the manufacturing process.


The present invention is a magnetic disk drive head suspension of the type having a load beam and a flexure, including an alignment measurement pattern on either the load beam or the flexure. The flexure is mounted to a distal end of the load beam, and the alignment measurement pattern is used to evaluate and quantify the position of the flexure relative to the load beam. The alignment measurement pattern includes a plurality of openings adjacent a tooling reference hole that are sized and positioned to expose the outer perimeter of a corresponding tooling reference hole. In this manner, the alignment measurement pattern provides an accurate assessment of the alignment between the load beam and the flexure by indicating the offset of the flexure tooling hole relative to the load beam tooling hole.

In a dynamic rigid disk storage device, a rotating disk is typically employed to store information. Rigid disk storage devices typically include a frame to provide attachment points and orientation for other components, and a spindle motor mounted to the frame for rotating the disk. A read/write head is usually provided as part of a "head slider" to be positioned in close proximity to the rotating disk and to enable the writing and reading of data to and from the disk surface. In the case of a magnetic storage device, a magnetic read/write head is employed to create and read magnetic domains to and from the disk surface.
The head slider is supported and properly oriented in relationship to the disk by a head suspension that provides forces and compliances necessary for proper head slider operation. As the disk in the storage device rotates beneath the head slider and head suspension, the air above the disk also rotates, thus creating an air bearing which acts with an aerodynamic design of the head slider to create a lift force on the head slider. The lift force is counteracted by a spring force of the head suspension, thus positioning the head slider at a desired height and alignment above the disk which is referred to as the "fly height."
Typical head suspensions for rigid disk drives include a load beam and a flexure. The load beam normally includes a mounting region at a proximal end of the load beam for mounting the head suspension to an actuator of the disk drive, a rigid region, and a spring region between the mounting region and the rigid region for providing a spring force to counteract the aerodynamic lift force generated on the head slider during the drive operation as described above. The flexure typically includes a gimbal region having a slider mounting surface where the head slider is mounted and thereby supported in read/write orientation with respect to the rotating disk. The gimbal region is resiliently moveable with respect to the remainder of the flexure in response to the aerodynamic forces generated by the air bearing and to permit the head slider to follow disk surface fluctuations.
In one type of head suspension the flexure is formed as a separate piece having a load beam mounting region which is rigidly mounted to the distal end of the load beam using conventional means such as spot welds. Such head suspensions typically include a load point dimple formed in either the load beam or the gimbal region of the flexure. The load point dimple transfers a predetermined load generated by the spring region of the load beam to the flexure and the head slider to counteract the aerodynamic force generated by the action of the air bearing against the head slider and to define the desired fly height. Such a load point dimple also provides clearance between the flexure and the load beam, and serves as a point about which the head slider can gimbal in pitch and roll directions so as to follow fluctuations in the disk surface.
Due to the close proximity of the head slider and the rotating disk at the fly height of the head slider, it is important that the head slider be properly positioned over the disk at the desired fly height. The position of the head suspension and head slider, also known as the static attitude, is calibrated so that when the disk drive is in operation the head slider assumes an optimal orientation at the fly height. It is therefore important that the static attitude of the head suspension be properly established. Toward this end, the flexure must be mounted to the load beam so that misalignments between the flexure and the load beam are minimized since misalignments between the load beam and flexure may introduce a bias in the static attitude of the head suspension and the head slider. Misalignments in the head suspension components also affect the alignment of the load point dimple in relation to the head slider when the head slider is mounted to the head suspension. Misalignments between the load point dimple and the head slider may cause a static attitude torque to be exerted on the head slider, and thus affect the orientation of the head slider at the fly height.
To assist in the proper alignment of the flexure to the load beam and the proper alignment of the head slider to the head suspension, the load beam and the flexure of a head suspension each typically include a circular tooling hole having a pre-determined diameter. These tooling holes facilitate alignment of the flexure on the load beam through the insertion of a tooling pin in both of these holes prior to mounting the flexure to the load beam, thus concentrically aligning the tooling holes. The flexure can then be spot welded or otherwise attached to the load beam, and the resultant head suspension will be aligned based on the accuracy of the positioning and sizing of both tooling holes. Thus, to obtain accurate alignment, strict tolerances for the tooling holes must be maintained.
The tooling holes in the flexure and the load beam are also used to facilitate the mounting of the head slider to the head suspension. A tooling pin is inserted in the flexure and load beam holes later in the assembly process to hold the head suspension in place during the head slider mounting procedure. The location of the load point dimple on the head suspension is determined, and the slider is aligned and mounted to the head suspension at a desired location. Thus, to obtain accurate alignment of the head slider, it is important that the flexure be accurately aligned and mounted to the load beam of the head suspension so that the load point dimple is correctly oriented on the head suspension.
The mounting of an individual flexure on an individual load beam using an alignment pin is very time intensive. Thus, carrier strip assemblies have recently been employed to more efficiently manufacture head suspensions. In a carrier strip manufacturing process, multiple flexures are formed while attached to a first carrier strip assembly, and multiple load beams are similarly formed while attached to a second carrier strip assembly. Reference holes in the carrier strip assemblies are then used to align the plurality of individual load beams over a corresponding number of flexures, and the flexures are conventionally mounted on the load beams. In this manner, head suspensions can be more efficiently manufactured. Because a pin is not used to align the tooling holes in the individual flexures and load beams, however, it sometimes occurs that even with the individual flexures and the individual load beams aligned by this method, the flexure tooling hole and the load beam tooling hole might slightly overlap. Any overlap in the tooling holes, however, will create an undersized hole that may prevent a tooling pin from later being inserted through the holes, for example, during the mounting of the head slider to the head suspension.
It is important to be able to accurately and efficiently determine any misalignments between the flexure and the load beam of a head suspension. A determination of the misalignment will indicate whether the head suspension is within predetermined manufacturing tolerances. In addition, a determination of the misalignments allows for such misalignments to be compensated for during the mounting of the head slider to the head suspension.

Head suspension with alignment measurement pattern


A technique for interconnecting monolithic microwave integrated circuits (MMICS) on a substrate, and a method for fabricating substrate sections that facilitate such interconnection. A MMIC is positioned in a gap in the substrate, on which are formed conventional microwave transmission lines for purposes of MMIC interconnection. On each side of the gap, the substrate is tapered in thickness between the normal substrate thickness and the much smaller thickness of the MMIC. The transmission lines in this transition region are tapered in width as the substrate is tapered in thickness, thereby maintaining uniform transmission line characteristics, particularly the characteristic impedance of the transmission line. Small connector ribbons provide electrical connection between the tapered transmission lines and the MMIC. A method is also disclosed for fabricating multiple substrate sections for use in the structure of the invention.

This invention relates generally to radio frequency (RF) circuitry and, more particularly to interconnection and packaging of monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) chips. There are certain applications of MMICs that are required to handle RF signals having a very wide bandwidth. For example, electronic circuits that interface with photonic communications systems can advantageously employ MMICs for amplifiers, data buffers and similar devices. Some MMICs have a thickness in the range of 2-4 mil (approximately 50-100 μm). Interconnection between MMICs or from MMICs to external components is typically handled by transmission lines formed on substrates that are approximately 10-25 mil (250-625 μm) in thickness, since thinner substrates would be much too brittle to be of practical value.
Therefore, a common packaging problem in many MMIC applications is to provide interconnecting RF transmission lines between MMICs that are 50-100 μm thick and substrates of a much greater thickness, such as 250-625 μm. One solution of the prior art is to employ ribbon interconnects that are up to 30 mil (750 μm) long, but this type of interconnect has a significant effect on bandwidth, output power and noise generated in an interconnected MMIC system. Accordingly, there is a need for an alternative solution for interconnecting MMICs with other MMICs and with external components installed on a common substrate. The present invention is directed to this need.


Provided is a process and apparatus for applying a liquid binder to fibers. The process involves introducing heat curable liquid binder onto moving fibers by atomizing the liquid binder and applying the atomized binder from a point within the moving column of fibers. Better binder efficiency and a more efficient overall process is realized.

1. Field of the Invention
The subject invention pertains to the production of fibrous products using a binder. More particularly, the present invention relates to an improved method of applying liquid binder to the fibrous products.
2. Description of the Related Art
The rotary process for producing glass fibers is well established. A stream of molten glass is delivered to an open spinning disc containing multiple orifices that causes fibers to extrude from the disc sidewall. The extruded fibers are directed downwardly toward a moving chain by pressurized air from nozzles in an annular ring positioned above the disc or by the jet blast of a gaseous combustion system. As the fibers fall from the spinning disc a rotating column of glass fiber is formed, which is sprayed with binder that is later cured, after sizing, in an oven. Typically the binder is sprayed onto the fibers from a number of inwardly directed nozzles mounted circumferentially around the fiber column just below the disc.
The tendency of the small orifices in the spray nozzles to become clogged or plugged however, causes uneven binder distribution in the finished product. In addition, the spray nozzles and associated headers and piping collect and trap fibers laden with binder which can accumulate into clumps that eventually become dislodged and deposited in the fiber blanket causing uneven density and product color. Changes in binder viscosity or flow rate necessitate further changes in spray orifice size or increasing/reducing the number of spray nozzles to maintain a constant binder droplet size. Furthermore, it is difficult for an inwardly directed binder spray to uniformly penetrate the dense fiber column, thus leaving some fibers without binder. In attempting to provide continuous coverage of the fiber column the spray nozzles are often configured in an overlapping spray pattern that often results in binder collecting on the collection chamber walls. Non-uniform coating of the glass fibers with binder results in variable physical properties from one section of the product to another. Therefore, it is highly desirable to have an improved method of binder application.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,123,949 describes a process for introducing additive particles to extruded fibers during the production of the fibers. The additive particles are delivered from the inside of the column of fibers. Liquid binder can also be sprayed concurrently with the additive particles from the inside of the column. As discussed in the patent, some of the binder is intercepted by the additive particles. Additional liquid binder can be sprayed onto the fibers using nozzles external to the fiber column, if desired.
Still, better binder efficiency is desired and important to rendering the overall process more efficient. A process for applying binder more effectively and efficiently would greatly enhance the commercial viability of a fiberglass product such as insulation.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide one with a more efficient process of applying binder to glass fibers.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a more efficient and effective process for applying binder to glass fibers prepared by a rotary process.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a novel process with improved binder efficiency which avoids the problems of plugging or clogging, and which is independent of the binder solution viscosity.
These and other objects of the present invention will become apparent to the skilled artisan upon a reading of the following specification and the Figures of the drawing, and the claims appended hereto.

Process of applying atomized binder to fiberous product using a rotary member


The invention relates to a case for coins or plastic cards or documents or similar items with                a first and a second hard shell,        a joint, pivotally connecting the first and the second hard shell to each other at the edges thereof,        a center part pivotally connected to the first and the second hard shell by means of the joint,        means for selectively locking the center part to the first hard shell and to the second hard shell.

The present invention relates to a case for coins and/or plastic cards or similar items.
Wallets are mostly made of leather or plastics. Today, there are different shapes according to requirements. Most widespread are wallets for men in horizontal or vertical formats, which are collapsible and have a size of about 12.5×10 cm in the closed condition. When opened, they provide space for banknotes across their overall length and contain other compartments for credit cards and other plastic cards, visiting cards and identity cards, which can be optionally swung out. In Europe, a compartment for coins is also a part of the usual configuration. Men often wear their billfold in a backside pocket of their trouser, and therefore the backside pockets are adapted to the above-mentioned size. A large diversity of shapes and colours exists amongst wallets for women. Many models are similar in shape to the above-described wallets for men. However, there are also considerably larger exemplars which offer significantly more space.
Billfolds are flat containers for identity cards, paper money, folded documents and other items, having front pocket size and mostly being foldable together. Billfolds are made of leather, sometimes also of textile cloth, and are often worn in the inner front pockets of men's jackets. The dimensions of the jacket's inner pockets and those of the billfolds are mostly adapted to each other and amount to somewhat more than a doubly folded DIN A4- or one DIN A6 format respectively, thus, about 17×12 cm in length and width.
Document DE 33 14 535 A1 describes a case with two flat half-shells, pivoting about an axis and designed essentially uniformly. The half-shells are movable along an axis and can be clicked together by means of a locking device. In this, the half-shells can be shifted and closed against the force of a spring arranged around the pivot pin. According to an embodiment, an insert is attached in one half-shell, which has bridges with T-shaped cross section which function for retaining coins of different size. The coins can be thrust in and out via openings which are provided in the front side of the half-shell. The bridges have a portion running parallel to the bottom of the half-shell, which is provided with interrupted, parallel slits on both sides of that portion which runs vertical to the former portion. The slits enable to bend out the vertically running portion in the region of the largest diameter of a thrust-in coin, and thus its captive lateral retaining.
The other half-shell has an insert with an elastically designed clamp with fingers, by which e.g. an identity card or a credit card is held.
In this case, insertion and take-out of single coins is laborious. The retainer of the credit card is unsafe, and insertion and take-out of a credit card can result in that other items that are held by the clamp will fall out.
Document DE 41 19 792 C2 describes a portable, expandable container made of plastics, a multi-purpose portfolio in billfold format in particular, for accommodating coins, cheque cards, visiting cards and identity cards in particular. The container has two half-shells, connected to each other by means of an elastic back joint. The elastic back joint is designed as a roll back joint consisting of a one-piece sequence of a plurality of film joint single joints. The roll back joint consists of plastics and has alternating grooves and longitudinal bridges, the grooves causing the elastic bending property on the grooves, and the stability and rigidity on the longitudinal bridges. The container is preferably a two-materials piece, the half-shells consisting of a correspondingly hard material, whereas a second, softer plastics is used for the back joint. But however, the container can be made from one single material or substance, so that one may arrive at a compromise solution which provides a too soft material for the half-shells, and a too hard material for the roll back joint.


There is disclosed a silver halide color photographic light-sensitive material that contains, in photographic constitutional layers on a support, a hydrazine-series reducing agent for color formation, and a phenol-series magenta coupler having an acylamino group at the 5-position, and/or a naphthol-series cyan coupler having an amido group at the 5-position. The light-sensitive material makes low-replenishment and low-discharge processing possible, and exhibits good color reproducibility and good color-forming property.

In a general color photographic light-sensitive material, when the said light-sensitive material is exposed to light image-wise and then color-developed, the oxidized p-phenylenediamine derivative reacts with couplers to form an image. In this system, color reproduction by the subtractive color technique is used, and, to reproduce blue, green, and red colors, couplers that form dye images of yellow, magenta, and cyan in color, respectively complementary to blue, green, and red, are used.
Conventional color development is achieved by immersing a light-exposed color photographic light-sensitive material in an aqueous alkali solution having a p-phenylenediamine derivative dissolved therein (a color developer). However, there is a problem that the p-phenylenediamine derivative in an aqueous alkali solution is unstable and is apt to deteriorate over time, and in order to retain stable development performance, the color developer must be replenished frequently. Further, the disposal of used color developers containing a p-phenylenediamine derivative is burdensome, and together with the above frequent replenishment, the treatment of used color developers discharged in large quantities gives rise to a serious problem. Thus, there is a strong demand for the attainment of low replenishment and reduced discharge of color developers.
One effective measure proposed for attaining low replenishment and reduced discharge of color developers is a method wherein an aromatic primary amine developing agent or its precursor is built in a hydrophilic colloid layer of a light-sensitive material, and examples of the aromatic primary amine developing agents or their precursors that can be built in include compounds described, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,507,114, 3,764,328, and 4,060,418, and JP-A ("JP-A" means unexamined published Japanese patent application) Nos. 6235/1981 and 192031/1983. However, since these aromatic primary amines and their precursors are unstable, there is the defect that, when the unprocessed light-sensitive material is stored for a long period of time or is color-developed, stain occurs. Another effective measure proposed is a method wherein a sulfonylhydrazine-type compound, as described, for example, in European Patent Nos. 0,545,491A1 and 0,565,165A1, is built in a hydrophilic colloid layer of a light-sensitive material. When a conventional phenol coupler is used, however, there is a problem that the color formability is low, and therefore the development of a technique to improve the color-forming property is desired. On the other hand, when a conventional naphthol coupler is used, although a good color-forming property is exhibited, there is a problem that the absorption wavelength of the resulting cyan dye is too short and satisfactory color reproduction cannot be obtained. To solve this problem, the development of a technique to shift the absorption wavelength of the formed cyan dyes to a longer wavelength region is desired.

Silver halide color photographic light-sensitive material


According to one embodiment, a memory interface module is configured to read one of instructions stored in a memory in accordance with a memory address designated by a fetch request issued from a processor. An error detection module is configured to detect an error in the read instruction. An instruction transmission module is configured to send to the processor, upon detection of an error in the read instruction, a first instruction to hold on a stack the same memory address as the one designated by the fetch request and a second instruction to jump to an error correction routine for correcting an error of the read instruction.

1. Field
One embodiment of the invention relates to an information processing apparatus and an error correction method for correcting a memory error.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, various information processing apparatuses such as the personal computer, the personal digital assistants (PDA) and the embedded system have been developed.
In these information processing apparatuses, the instructions executed by the processor are normally stored in a memory such as the dynamic RAM. In a case where an error such as an ECC error is detected in the instruction fetched from the memory, the delivery of the particular instruction to the processor has to be prohibited.
Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 2000-99406 discloses a system for recovering an error using an interrupt. In this system, the occurrence of an error is reported using a special interrupt called "the data storage interrupt".
The technique disclosed in Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 2000-99406, however, is applicable only to the processor of a specified type which supports the special interrupt called the data storage interrupt. A new function is required to be realized, therefore, in which a memory error can be corrected without using the special method like the interrupt.

Information processing apparatus and error correction method