An apparatus for conveying a paper along a paper conveying path, the apparatus includes a pair of guide plates for guiding a paper in the paper conveying path, the guide plates being movable between a first position located in the paper conveying path and a second position located out of the paper conveying path and a roller located in the paper conveying path for conveying the paper. The roller is rotated in response to the moving of the guide plates from the first position to the second position so that the paper in the paper conveying path is fed from the guide plates.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a paper conveying apparatus located in a paper supply unit, an automatic document feeder, an automatic paper reversing unit and etc. in an image forming apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a conventional image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, if a paper jam occurs in a paper conveying path formed by a guide plate which guides paper conveying, the drive of the image forming apparatus is stopped and the jammed paper is removed by one of the following methods. If the leading or trailing edge of the paper is projecting from the leading or trailing edge of the guide plate, the paper is simply pulled out. Even if the leading or trailing edge of the paper is not projecting from the guide plate, conveyor rollers provided in the conveying path are manually rotated, the paper is conveyed by the conveyor rollers to make the paper project from the edge of the guide plate and then the paper is pulled out.
In the prior art, when a paper jam occured and the paper did not project from the leading edge or the trailing edge of the guide plate, the paper had to be made to project from the guide plate leading edge by manually rotating the conveyor rollers to feed the paper. Thus there was a problem of requiring time for removing jammed paper, so that operability was reduced.

Apparatus for conveying a paper along with a paper conveying path


In described examples, a storage cell ring includes circularly coupled storage cells. Each storage cell includes a respective capacitor for generating a respective integrated voltage responsive to a respective duration a respective storage cell is selected, a respective thresholding converter for generating a respective thresholded signal for indicating whether the respective integrated voltage has crossed a threshold, and respective selection circuitry configured to generate a respective select signal responsive to select signals generated by a respective adjacent storage cells. The ring is coupled to an analog quantifier for generating a conversion value responsive to the generated respective integrated voltage and a respective select signal. The ring is coupled to a loop counter for generating a loop count value responsive to changes of values of at least some of the respective thresholded signals. The conversion value and the loop count value can comprise a time measurement.

In some electronic systems, digital circuits are arranged to control and/or measure electrical quantities of various kinds of electronic circuits (e.g., analog circuits). In some such electronic circuits, timing information of electronic signals is measured and converted to a digital quantity. The measurements can be used to control and/or monitor the timing of the generation of the electronic signals being measured. The stability, resolution and speed of such measurements and conversions is limited by the size, speed, and power consumption of the various components employed in the conversions.

Storage cell ring-based time-to-digital converter


The invention discloses a method for setting a watching level to an audiovisual content which some frames are already annotated with watching levels. Upon the reception of the audiovisual content, frames annotated with watching levels are extracted and displayed in a single view. One of the displayed frames is selected by the user, the watching level of the selected frame being set as watching level to the audiovisual content.

In order to prevent children from watching inappropriate audiovisual contents, several technical solutions have been proposed in the past. One solution consists in adding a logo superimposed on the video so as to indicate to the viewer the possible offensive nature of the content he is going to watch. The logo can indicate a rating according to a rating system, such as the Motion Picture Association of America rating System (MPAA) for example. However, whatever the precision of the adopted rating system, as a normative system, not all people would give the same rating to the same audiovisual content, because people have different sensitivities. Moreover, the rating system is nothing more than a least common denominator. Ideally, the parent should watch the whole audiovisual content before to form an opinion on whether the audiovisual content is appropriate for his children. The problem is that it takes much time, which makes this solution not realistic. It shows however how much the audiovisual content itself is important to rate the audiovisual content. Based on the common saying "An image is worth a thousand words", another solution, described in the patent U.S. Pat. No. 6,684,240, consists in setting parental lock levels based on example content. An example extracted of the audiovisual content 102 is shown to the user, and, based on that example, the user decides to block the watching of the audiovisual content or not. When the audiovisual content contains in its metadata a rating, then this rating is retained for future use. When a further audiovisual content having a similar rating is broadcast, this audiovisual content is automatically blocked. This solution has the advantage that the parent does not need to know the signification of the ratings, which may be numerous and complicated, because the example content has shown him directly this signification. It may however happen that two audiovisual contents similarly rated by a rating system, for example on a violence scale, are perceived differently by the same person. It may also happen that the audiovisual content is not rated at all. In such cases, the parent has to come back to the old solution consisting in watching the whole audiovisual content, but again, the parent has no time for that. In the end, the parent has to choose between two solutions, either watching the whole audiovisual content to form an opinion, or relying on a relatively unreliable rating system.

Method for setting a watching level for an audiovisual content


A communication apparatus and a communication method capable of suppressing an increase of bits used for a request to send a reference signal and flexibly setting a resource used for sending a reference signal. In a base station, a transmission processing unit transmits, in one of a plurality of formats, control information containing a request to send a sounding reference signal (A-SRS), and a reception processing unit receives the transmitted A-SRS using the resource specified by the format of the transmitted control information. Then, the plurality of formats is associated with each different SRS resource by a setting unit.

Technical Field
The claimed invention relates to a communication apparatus and a communication method.
Description of the Related Art
The 3rd Generation Partnership Project Radio Access Network Long Term Evolution (hereinafter, referred to as LTE) (3GPP-LTE) employs orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) for the downlink communication scheme and single carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) for the uplink communication scheme (see, NPLs 1, 2 and 3, for example). Moreover, periodic sounding reference signals (P-SRS) are used in the uplink of LTE as reference signals for estimating the uplink reception quality.
In order to transmit P-SRS from a terminal to a base station, an SRS transmission subframe which is common to all terminals (hereinafter, referred to as common SRS subframe) is configured. This common SRS subframe is defined by a combination of a predetermined periodicity and a subframe offset on a per-cell basis. In addition, the information on the common SRS subframe is broadcasted to terminals within the cell. For example, when the periodicity is equal to 10 subframes and the offset is 3, the third subframe in a frame (consisting of 10 subframes) is configured as a common SRS subframe. In a common SRS subframe, all the terminals within the cell stop transmission of data signals in the last SC-FDMA symbol of the subframe and use the period as the resources for transmission of reference signals.
Meanwhile, subframes for SRS transmissions are individually configured for terminals by a higher layer (i.e., RRC layer higher than the physical layer) (hereinafter, referred to as individual SRS subframe). Each terminal transmits P-SRS in the configured individual SRS subframe. In addition, parameters for SRS resources (hereinafter, may be referred to as "SRS resource parameters") are configured and reported to each terminal. The parameters for the SRS resources include the bandwidth, bandwidth position (or SRS frequency domain starting position), cyclic shift and comb (corresponding to identification information on the subcarrier group) of the SRS, for example. The terminal transmits SRS using the resources specified by the reported parameters. Additionally, SRS frequency-hopping may be configured.
Meanwhile, the introduction of dynamic aperiodic SRS (hereinafter, referred to as A-SRS) into the uplink of LTE-Advanced, which is an advanced version of LTE (hereinafter, referred to as "LTE-A") has been discussed. The transmission timing of A-SRS is controlled by trigger information (e.g., 1-bit information). This trigger information is transmitted to a terminal from a base station on a physical layer control channel (i.e., PDCCH) (e.g., see NPL 4). To put it more specifically, the terminal transmits A-SRS only upon request for A-SRS transmission made by the trigger information (i.e., A-SRS transmission request). In addition, there has been discussion on defining, as the transmission timing of A-SRS, the first common SRS subframe located after the fourth subframe from the subframe in which the trigger information has been transmitted. As described above, while terminals transmit P-SRS, periodically, terminals are allowed to transmit A-SRS in a concentrated manner within a short period only when uplink data transmissions occur in bursts, for example.
Moreover, LTE-A has control information formats for various types of data assignment reporting. The control information formats in the downlink include: DCI format 1A for allocation of resource blocks consecutive in number (Virtual RBs or Physical RBs); DCI format 1, which allows allocation of RBs not consecutive in number (hereinafter, referred to as "non-contiguous bandwidth allocation"); DCI formats 2 and 2A for assigning a spatial-multiplexing MIMO transmission; a downlink assignment control information format for assigning a beam-forming transmission ("beam-forming assignment downlink format": DCI format 1B); and a downlink assignment control information format for assigning a multi-user MIMO transmission ("multi-user MIMO assignment downlink format": DCI format 1D). Meanwhile, the uplink assignment formats include DCI format 0 for assigning a single antenna port transmission and DCI format 4 for assigning an uplink spatial-multiplexing MIMO transmission. DCI format 4 is used for only terminals in which uplink spatial-multiplexing MIMO transmission is configured.
In addition, DCI format 0 and DCI format 1A are adjusted in size by padding so that each format consists of the same number of bits. DCI format 0 and DCI format 1A are also called DCI format 0/1A in some cases. DCI formats 1, 2, 2A, 1B and 1D are used in accordance with downlink transmission modes configured in each terminal (i.e., non-contiguous bandwidth allocation, spatial-multiplexing MIMO transmission, beam-forming transmission and multi-user MIMO transmission) and are formats to be configured in each terminal. Meanwhile, DCI format 0/1A can be used independently of the transmission modes and thus can be used for terminals in any transmission mode, i.e., DCI format 0/1A is a format commonly usable in all terminals. In addition, when DCI format 0/1A is used, single-antenna transmission or transmit diversity is used as the default transmission mode.
Terminals receive DCI format 0/1A and the DCI formats that are dependent on the downlink transmission modes. In addition, terminals in which uplink spatial-multiplexing MIMO transmission is configured receive DCI format 4 in addition to the DCI formats mentioned above.
In this respect, using DCI format 0 for reporting the trigger information for A-SRS has been discussed. DCI format 0 is a control information format used in reporting uplink data (PUSCH) assignment. The field for reporting the trigger for A-SRS is added to DCI format 0 in addition to RB reporting field, MCS reporting field, HARQ information reporting field, transmission power control command reporting field and terminal ID field. It should be noted that, A-SRS and P-SRS can be used together or singly. In addition, parameters for SRS resources (e.g., transmission bandwidth, cyclic shift and/or the like) are configured independently for A-SRS and P-SRS.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Communication apparatus and communication method


If there is a limitation imposed to the time period within which recording of certain content such as broadcast content is permitted, with the purpose of protection of copyrights of such content, a relationship between the accessible time and a current time is indicated so that a user can be informed of the remaining time before the deadline or the elapsed time since the deadline. In this way, the user can verify how a system is currently working to manage recording operation regarding the information having restricted or limited accessible time. In addition, automatic reproduction of digital material performed immediately before the deadline can help the user to avoid careless failure to access the provided content.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a content recording/reproducing apparatus, method, storage medium and computer program, and particularly to a content recording/reproducing apparatus, method, storage medium and computer program in which end users can record/reproduce content distributed via broadcast and the like.
More specifically, the invention is directed to a content recording/reproducing apparatus, method, storage medium and computer program for recording/reproducing content for which a record holding period or a reproducible period is restricted for protection of copyrights, etc., and particularly to a content recording/reproducing apparatus, method, storage medium and computer program which allow users to easily understand a mechanism of time limit for content access.
2. Description of Related Art
Progress in digital technology has made it possible to store a massive volume of audio/video data. Hard disk drives (HDD) having a storage capacity of, for example, several tens of gigabytes or even more are now available relatively inexpensively, and so are HDD-based recording apparatuses (for example, with reference to "A Line-Up of New Devices for Recording TV Programs in HDDs", in "Nikkei Electronics", No. 727, pp.27-28, 1998), "Digital Technology using HDDs Finally Available for Home Users", in "Nikkei Electronics", No. 727, pp.41-46, 1998) and the like).
In the United States for example, devices are marketed which allow a user to record received broadcast content in a large-capacity storage medium such as a hard disk so that the user can access the recorded content in some later time in the event that he or she were interrupted by a telephone call or an unexpected guest during watching, for example.
However, recording of digital material including broadcast content by end users, if left unrestricted, would be a threat to copyrights holders such as broadcasting companies as their rights are likely to be infringed, particularly in view of the fact that digital material is extremely vulnerable to copying and tampering. Thus, it would be preferable to impose some restriction on the access to content when and after the content is recorded and reproduced through a content recording/reproducing apparatus.
For example, a time limit may be imposed for the content so that a user can hold the content recorded or access the content within that time limit, whereby unauthorized access to the content can be prevented. In one specific example, a user can access content only within one hour after the content is broadcasted, i.e., the content becomes overdue in one hour, after which the user can no longer reproduce it. In one implementation, the content recording/reproducing apparatus does not hold any content for which a predetermined time has elapsed from a broadcasting time or a receiving time (i.e., the apparatus deletes the content from the hard disk), or does not reproduce any content to which accessible time has expired (i.e., the apparatus does not read the content from the hard disk).
Thus, a system for managing use of content in terms of a record holding period or a reproducible period may be technically effective in restricting unauthorized access to the content. However, a key to efficient running of this system would require that the system be intelligible to all users or that the users learn on how long they still can play their recorded content. Otherwise, when they are back from what have interrupted them and are now ready to reproduce the content, they would doubt whether anything is wrong with the apparatus as the apparatus does not accept their command or would feel distressed about what goes on with their recorded content.

Content recording/reproducing apparatus, storage medium and computer program


The present invention is a method of controlling a robotic mechanism comprising both active and passive joints, where the motion of one or more of the passive joints is constrained by one or more constraints imposed on the mechanism by the environment, the mechanical construction of the mechanism or the nature of the task. The method is capable of controlling mechanisms with multiple sets of passive joints with multiple environmental constraints restricting the motion of the mechanism. In a preferred embodiment the novel method is used to control a surgical robot holding a surgical instrument inserted into a patient through a natural or man-made orifice.

Robotic mechanisms comprising only active joints are used widely in a number of application domains and the control of such mechanism is well understood. We will refer to such mechanisms as active mechanisms. Active mechanisms are particularly well suited for situations where the working volume of the mechanism is free of obstacles and environmental constraints on the motion of the mechanism. This is typically the case for applications of active robot mechanisms to manufacturing tasks, where the robot work-cell is specifically designed to suit the requirements of the robot mechanism. There are situations, however, where access to the working volume of a robotic mechanism can not be made unimpeded. In such situations access to the working volume is restricted by environmental constraints, such as small openings, tight passages and obstacles. With active mechanisms these constraints must be accommodated with time-consuming off-line programming to allow the mechanism to accomplish a given task without undesired contact with the environment. The success of task execution depends on the accuracy with which the programmer has captured the geometry of the environmental constraints and the accuracy with which complex coordinated motions of multiple joints of the robot mechanism are carried out. This approach is inflexible and error-prone, often leading to unintended or overly forceful interaction between the robot mechanism and the environment, potentially damaging the environment, the mechanism itself, or both.
An alternative approach to controlling robotic mechanisms in the presence of environmental constraints is to use robot mechanisms which include one or more passive joints. We will refer to such robot mechanisms as hybrid mechanisms. By ensuring that each link of a hybrid mechanism, which is constrained by an environmental constraint, is attached to one or more passive joints at the proximal end of the constrained link, such a hybrid mechanism can comply freely with the environmental constraints acting on the mechanism. (Throughout this document we will use the terms `proximal` and `distal` to mean `closer to` and `further from` the base of the robot, respectively. The base of the robot refers to the point where the robot is rigidly attached to the environment.) This arrangement ensures that neither the environment nor the mechanism itself will be damaged during task execution, which makes hybrid mechanisms the preferred solution for applications where access to the workspace is restricted and avoiding incidental damage to the environment is critical. However the use of passive joints significantly complicates control of the mechanism and so hybrid mechanisms are rarely used in practice. The difficulties in controlling hybrid mechanisms arise because the environmental constraints on the motion of the constrained elements and attached passive joints must be characterized and used to accurately predict the motion of the mechanism in response to a given displacement of active joints. Further, the control is complicated by the fact that the location where a given environmental constraint is acting on the mechanism may change as the mechanism moves. This requires that the control method be able to update the characterization of the environmental constraints on the motion of the mechanism at run-time.
We will define a mechanism to comprise a serial chain of two or more rigid links, connected by one or more joints. Each of the joints can be either active or passive. An active joint is equipped with an actuator (motor), which is capable of moving the joint, and an encoding device (encoder), which provides information about the position of the joint at any time. A mechanism consisting of only active joints will be referred to as an active mechanism. A mechanism comprising both active and passive joints will be referred to as a hybrid mechanism. An element of the mechanism will refer to either a joint or a link of the mechanism. The element whose motion relative to the workspace is being controlled will be referred to as the target element. Normally the target element will correspond to a tool or an instrument attached to the distal end of the mechanism, but could be, in general, any element of the mechanism. We will use the term sub-mechanism to mean a subset of a larger mechanism, the sub-mechanism comprising at least one element of the larger mechanism. We will define the pose of an element to be the position and orientation of the element, expressed with respect to a given (e.g., Cartesian) coordinate frame. We will distinguish between a desired pose of an element and an actual pose of an element. The desired pose of an element is the pose that the element is expected to attain as a result of the control action of a control method. The desired pose of the target element is input to the control method. The actual pose of an element is the element's current pose with respect to a given Cartesian coordinate system. We will define a pose difference between pose A and pose B of an element to be a function of the two poses. Normally, the result of evaluating the pose difference function will be the Euclidean distance between the positional parts of the two poses and a unit vector and angle corresponding to the finite rotation separating the orientational components of the two poses. However, other functions can be defined to represent the pose difference between two given poses of an element.
FIGS. 1 and 2 introduce the notational conventions used throughout this document and provide a brief overview of the state of the art in control of active mechanisms. FIG. 1a shows a simple mechanism consisting of 4 links (101, 104, 107, 110), three mechanical joints (102, 105, 108), and three actuators corresponding to the three mechanical joints (103, 106, 109, respectively). Each of the actuators comprises a motor (111), which delivers mechanical force or torque to move the joint, and a means of determining the angular or linear position of the joint (112), which enables closed-loop control of each of the joints. FIG. 1b, 1c, 1d, and 1e detail the notational conventions for the four types of mechanical joints that will be used in this document. FIG. 1b shows a translational joint (121) and the corresponding symbolic representation (122) used in subsequent figures. FIG. 1c shows a rotary twist joint (141) and the corresponding symbolic representation (142). FIG. 1d shows an out-of-plane revolute joint (161) and the corresponding symbolic representation (162). Finally, FIG. 1e shows an in-plane revolute joint (181) and the corresponding symbolic representation (182).
FIG. 2 shows a flow diagram of a typical control method for Cartesian control of a target element of a robotic mechanism comprising only active joints. The method 200 begins by determining the positions of all joints of the mechanism (205). The position of a translational joint is expressed as a linear distance and the position of a rotary joint is expressed as an angular displacement. Standard mathematical techniques (known in the art as forward kinematic) are then used to compute the actual (current) pose of the target element (210). The actual pose of the target element is compared with the desired pose of the target element (215) and the control method is terminated (220) if the difference between the two poses is less than some predetermined amount, where the amount can be a vector quantity. The pose difference consists of a positional and an orientational component. If the pose difference is larger than the predetermined amount, the method continues by characterizing the effect of moving each of the joints on the resulting Cartesian displacement of the target element (225). This step is accomplished by analyzing the effect of moving each individual joint of the mechanism on the Cartesian displacement of the target element. For each joint j this mapping will be, in general, a nonlinear function of the joint positions of all joints appearing in the serial chain of the mechanism between the joint j and the target element. The combined nonlinear mapping, which includes the individual mappings for each of the joints, is referred to in the art as the Jacobian mapping. In general, the Jacobian mapping relates infinitesimal displacements of each of the joints of a mechanism to the resulting Cartesian displacement of an element of the mechanism. The Jacobian mapping is a nonlinear function of the joint positions of all joints of the mechanism and therefore takes on different numerical values for different configurations (joint position values) of the mechanism.
Referring again to FIG. 2, in step (230) of method 200 the desired motion of the target element is next characterized and expressed as a six-vector of positional and orientational change relative to the actual (current) pose of the mechanism. The incremental motion for each joint is then computed, such that the difference between the resulting actual pose of the target element and the desired pose of the target element is minimized (235). For most industrial and service robot mechanisms this step normally involves a straightforward evaluation of known equations, known in the art as inverse kinematic equations. For more complicated mechanisms, which do not admit closed-form inverse kinematic equations (such as robot mechanisms comprising more than six joints) this step may involve a nonlinear optimization. A number of techniques for carrying out nonlinear optimization computations are known in the art. A given iteration of the control method ends by moving each of the joints of the mechanism (240) by the incremental motions computed in step (235) above. The method then resumes at step (205) and continues until the pose difference in step (215) becomes less than the predetermined amount and the method terminates.
Very few examples of controlling hybrid passive/active mechanisms have been reported in the published literature. The prior art includes two examples of hybrid passive/active mechanisms which are being controlled in the presence of a single environmental constraint. Both examples arise in the context of laparoscopic surgery, where the constrained element is a laparoscope and the environmental constraint is the port of entry of the laparoscope into the patient. Due to the environmental constraint imposed by the port of entry into the patient, the motion of the laparoscope is limited to four degrees of freedom (d.o.f.) of motion: three orthogonal rotations about the port of entry and one translational d.o.f. along the long axis of the instrument.
Hurteau et. al. describe a robotic system for laparoscopic surgery where a robotic arm is connected to a laparoscope via a two-axis passive universal joint at the wrist of the robot. They use a manual teach pendant to independently control the translational motion of the robot's wrist, relying on the compliant passive linkage to position the laparoscope tip in azimuth, elevation and insertion depth. Each of the translational d.o.f. of the robot wrist is controlled manually by adjusting the corresponding knob or dial on the teach pendant.
Wang et. al. also use a robotic arm and a passive universal joint to position a laparoscope inside the patient, subject to the constraint imposed by the port of entry of the laparoscope into the patient. They add a driven instrument rotation stage to allow control of azimuth, elevation, rotation and insertion depth of the laparoscope. The details of their control method have not been made public, but several limitations of the method are apparent from the observed behavior of the system (as discussed later).
A less directly related reference on the subject of control of hybrid passive/active mechanisms has been disclosed by Jain et. al. in US Pat. No. 5,377,310. In this work a robot manipulator comprising both active and passive joints is being controlled by estimating passive joint friction forces on passive joints and using these estimates to predict the dynamic behavior of the passive joints during high-speed motion of the manipulator due to the motion of the active joints. Dynamic parameters of all links and all actuators comprising the mechanism are assumed known.

Method of constrained Cartesian control of robotic mechanisms with active and passive joints

International Business Machines Corporation


A panel that can change its stiffness and/or surface roughness and thereby its sound quality is provided. The panel includes a layer having an outer surface and an inner surface oppositely disposed from the outer surface. The panel can also include an electroactive actuator that is operable to change its shape when a voltage is applied thereto. The change in shape of the electroactive actuator results in a change in stiffness and/or surface roughness of the panel and therefore a change in the panel's acoustic characteristics. In some instances, the electroactive actuator is at least partially within the panel and upon changing of its shape results in a change in the roughness of a surface that faces a sound source. In other instances, the activation of the electroactive actuator results in an increase in stiffness of the panel.

Sound quality can be defined as the physical pleasure or fatigue experienced by a listener and is typically characterized in a live setting by the skill of musicians, tonal quality of their musical instruments and the physical traits of the venue. Related to effecting sound quality, architectural acoustics is the science of controlling sound within buildings and can be broken into four general areas: (1) analysis of the exterior envelope of the building; (2) analysis of noise transmission from one building space to another; (3) analysis of the surfaces of interior spaces of the building; and (4) analysis of mechanical equipment noise generated within the building. Motor vehicles, military vehicles, aircraft and the like can use a similar approach by analyzing the exterior envelope of the vehicle, the noise transmitted from one space of the vehicle to another space, the characteristics of the surfaces of the interior spaces of the vehicle and noise generated by mechanical equipment of the vehicle. However, a motor vehicle, military vehicle, aircraft and the like has an additional complication of having a mobile interior space that is exposed to a wide range of noise scenarios, some changing within a given trip, mission and/or ride in the vehicle.
Looking particularly at the interior space within such vehicles, one method to control sound therein is to use fabric to cover interior surfaces in order to absorb the sound. However, fabric surfaces can be difficult to clean and it can be desirable for a surface to reflect sound rather than absorb it. Therefore, a panel or a surface on a panel that can change or alter its acoustic characteristics as a function of time, noise scenario and/or occupant instruction would be desirable.

Adjustable sound panel with electroactive actuators

Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc.


A roof apparatus includes a movable panel configured to open and close an opening formed at a roof of a vehicle, a pair of guide rails provided at respective edge portions of the opening in a vehicle width direction and being extended in a front-rear direction of the vehicle, a pair of support brackets provided at respective edge portions of the movable panel in the vehicle width direction and supported at the pair of guide rails to be movable and slidable relative to the guide rails, the movable panel being configured to be opened while maintaining a tilt-up state, and a wall portion provided at a front edge portion of each of the support brackets at an upper side of each of the guide rails.

Known roof apparatuses are disclosed, for example, in JP2011-194920A which will be hereinafter referred to as Reference 1 and in JP4109583B which will be hereinafter referred to as Reference 2. Each of the roof apparatuses disclosed in References 1 and 2 includes a movable panel that is configured to open and close an opening formed at a roof of a vehicle such as an automobile, for example. The movable panel is mounted to perform a tilt-up operation in which a rear portion of the movable panel is lifted up with reference to a front portion thereof and a slide operation in which the movable panel slides in a front-rear direction of the vehicle. The aforementioned sunroof apparatus is a so-called outer sliding sunroof so that the movable panel slides (performs the slide operation) while being maintained to be tilted-up (i.e., in a tilt-up state) during an opening and closing operation of the movable panel for opening and closing the opening.
According to the roof apparatus disclosed in Reference 1, a pair of guide rails is provided at respective edge portions of the opening to face each other in a vehicle width direction. The movable panel is configured to perform the aforementioned opening and closing operation in a state where front ends of a pair of support brackets which are attached to respective edge portions of the movable panel in the vehicle width direction are rotatably and slidably supported at the guide rails.
In addition, end portions of a deflector that is disposed at a front end portion of the opening, the end portions facing in the vehicle width direction, are rotatably supported at the guide rails. The deflector is tilted up in a state to be released from the movable panel in association with an opening operation of the movable panel so as to protrude upward relative to an upper surface of the roof in a height direction of the vehicle. That is, the deflector is brought to a deployed state. in addition, the deflector is retracted downward relative to the upper surface of the roof in the height direction of the vehicle in a state to be pressed by the movable panel in association with a closing operation of the movable panel. That is, the deflector is brought to a retracted state. The deflector is brought to the deployed state when the opening is opened to thereby inhibit air vibration caused by wind intrusion to an interior of the vehicle.
In the roof apparatus, the deflector is disposed and supported at a portion at an inner side of the guide rails in the vehicle width direction, Therefore, the deflector allows wind intrusion to portions at an outer side of the guide rails in the vehicle width direction relative to the deflector. In a fully open state of the movable panel, for example, wind intrusion to a gap formed among each of the guide rails, each of the support brackets, and the movable panel may result in wind noise.
In addition, according to the roof apparatus disclosed in Reference 2, a pair of side frames including a pair of guide rails is provided at respective edge portions of the opening to face each other in the vehicle width direction. The movable panel is configured to perform the opening and closing operation in a state where a pair of support brackets provided at respective edge portions of the movable panel in the vehicle width direction is guided and supported relative to the pair of guide rails via sliders.
In addition, front edges of the side frames are connected to each other via a front frame that extends in the vehicle width direction. Drain grooves are formed at the side frames and the front frames respectively. A front end portion of each of the guide rails protrudes in a front direction of the vehicle relative to the drain groove formed at the front frame so that the drain groove at the front frame extends by passing at a lower side of each of the guide rails to be connected to the respective drain grooves formed at the side frames. Accordingly, water flowing through the drain groove at the front frame is discharged to the outside by passing at the lower side of each of the guide rails.
In the roof apparatus disclosed in Reference 2, the guide rails are positioned at the upper side of the drain groove at the front frame. Thus, a portion of water falling from a front end portion of the movable panel may enter the guide rails to thereby cause functional members (the sliders, for example) disposed within the guide rails.
A need thus exists for a roof apparatus which is not susceptible to the drawback mentioned above.


A container element for a furniture item, including at least one thin-walled closeable support element being fillable with air or the like from a collapsed condition to an expanded condition, the element forming support structure and/or a cushion for a piece of furniture as an arm-chair, a sofa, a bed or the like.

Upholstery including beds comprise about 40% of the total furniture production for the home market. While another remaining 40-50% of the furniture production has undergone radical change into highly industrialised production during the last three decades, manufacture of upholstery is still directed to handicraft.
Since the end of the 1960s, the cost effective, highly industrialized production of cabinets, cupboards, book shelves, drawers, tables etc. has produced flat packages for assembly in the homes. The volume of this business has increased from 0% at that time to about 33% in 1993. This has brought about correspondingly cost effective distribution. During that time there has been strictly no development in respect of the production of upholstery due to absence of technical solutions. Thus the conditions for manufacture and transport has remained unchanged during the years.
Environmental friendly products and processes is a challenge for all industry as indeed it is for the furniture industry. Traditional manufacture of conventional upholstery and beds is in rough terms a process for fixing together a number of different materials to each other. This principle makes separation of the products, one of the fundamentals in recycling, into different categories of material, after a finished life period, expensive and difficult. It is also clear that it is difficult for the manufacturer to find environment friendly materials with acceptable technical performance at reasonable prices. Due to the complexness of upholstery of today it is believed that recycling thereof will necessitate starting new specialised plants for recycling. This will further increase the costs for upholstery. As an example it can be mentioned that the cost for separating one single conventional spring mattress is calculated to be a very high amount in the order of around 60 US dollars (as of May, 1995) which of course will be added to the consumer price.
Another problem with upholstery is the substantial weight and volume of the products which makes storage and transport costly and energy consuming.
Other problems are related to beds. In order to buy a bed, a customer is expected to make a decisive choice of the bed firmness/softness after only a few minutes testing. It is well known that many customers regret their choice which, at best, leads to costly and laborious transports for replacement. Conventional mattresses are of course not possible to adapt to altered demands with respect to softness. Another problem connected to beds is allergy caused by dust, pollen and mite, because the difficulty of cleaning conventional beds.
Altogether conventional upholstery is subject to high costs for manufacture, transport and storage and will be subject to increasing costs in the near future due to the responsibility of the manufacturer to assure that the demands for recycling materials and energy, the environment friendliness of all materials in a product as well as energy saving distribution are fulfilled.
Furniture items with pneumatic support structures are well known. Such furniture items are advantageous, since they are transportable in a highly compressed state which facilitate export as well as distribution via mail order. Further features are low weight and low price.
SE-B-368 502 (Dranger and Huldt) describes a body support device with so called spare elements which are intended to be inflated with air, gas or to be filled with water prior to their insertion into a shape defining cover. The elements are intended to be manufactured from e.g. polyvinylchloride and preferably in a seam welding process. This know device, however, comprises several disadvantages mainly due to leakage and/or fractures, particularly in the seams, already after a relatively short period of use. Unfortunately there exists no effective method of repair of the leaking elements. Further, it is time consuming to inflate the elements and no realistic method of adjusting the coefficient of fullness of the elements.
DE-B-426 545 (Dranger) describes a furniture design with a cover which is filled with balloon type bodies. Also this known device however comprises disadvantages with respect to high permeability of the wall material of the bodies, problems with inflating the bodies and with repairing damages.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,533,113 and U.S. Pat. No. 3,829,918 suggest elements for the use as cushions, mattresses or the like, said elements being fillable with air by pulling apart stiff end surfaces, whereby the air enters into the bodies via wall openings. Also these devices suffer from problems in connection with leakage. Their bellowish design as well as the presence of stiff wall parts make them unsuitable as support elements for soft upholstery.
A common drawback of all known pneumatic furniture items is the problem with inflating the elements to a desired extent due to their air inlet openings being adapted to cooperate with the mouthpiece of a pump. Normally said openings are small in size, ranging from 7 to 10 mm. Since pneumatic elements generally are intended to be inflated to such a high extent that a substantial overpressure is created, the pump must be capable of producing the corresponding pressure
A very serious problem with previous pneumatic furniture items is related to leakage. In case of a fracture or a hole in the wall of a support structure element, the user must attempt to place a repair patch covering the damaged area from the outside. This solution is however almost never successful because of often poor adhesion and mechanical influences from external items tending to remove the patch. If the element is seam welded, the most likely place for leakage is in proximity to the seam, which makes an effective repair almost impossible because of the uneven surface in that area. Further, the enclosed air continuously presses the patch outwardly from the area to be patched.
With regard to the problems with known pneumatic furniture items, these items do not provide any realistic alternative to upholstery, since they are not comfortable and reliable enough because they are intended to be inflated to a maximum irrespective the product involving one whole container or being divided into elements. This leads to bad comfort. Further, the price has not been competitive enough, since no true rational production method is envisaged.

Elements for furniture items, furniture items including such elements and method of manufacturing of such elements


The present invention comprises a method for delivering pharmaceutical and/or imaging agents within and/or through the dermal, mucosal and other cellular membranes, and across the blood-brain barrier, utilizing a fusogenic protein. The fusogenic protein is associated with a phospholipid membrane, such as a liposome. The liposome may include dioleoylphosphatidylserine, a negatively charged long-chain lipid. Alternatively, the liposome is comprised of a mixture of negatively charged long-chain lipids, neutral long-chain lipids, and neutral short-chain lipids. Preferred fusogenic proteins include saposin C and other proteins, polypeptides and peptide analogs derived from saposin C. The active agent contained within the liposome may comprise biomolecules and/or organic molecules. This technology can be used for both cosmetic and medicinal applications in which the objective is delivery of the active agent within and/or beneath biological membranes or across the blood-brain barrier and neuronal membranes.

The therapeutic efficacy of pharmaceutical or therapeutic agents relies on the delivery of adequate doses of a pharmaceutical agent to the site of action. Many modes of delivery have been developed, including, for example, enteral (oral), parenteral (intramuscular, intravenous, subcutaneous), and topical administration. In most instances the administration system is chosen for reliable dosage delivery and convenience.
Typically, parenteral administration is the most reliable means of delivering a pharmaceutical to a patient. See, Goodman et al., Goodman and Gilman's Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics, Pergamon Press, Elmsford, N.Y. (1990) and Pratt et al. Principles of Drug Action: The Basis of Pharmacology, Churchill Livingstone, New York, N.Y. (1990). Each parenteral mechanism insures that a prescribed dosage of the pharmaceutical agent is inserted into the fluid compartment of the body where it can be transported. The disadvantage of these modes of delivery is that they require an invasive procedure. The invasive nature of administration is inconvenient, painful and subject to infectious contamination.
Enteral and topical administration are more convenient, generally non-painful, and do not predispose to infection, however both have limited utility. The gastrointestinal and dermal surfaces present formidable barriers to transport and therefore, some pharmaceutical agents are not absorbed across these surfaces. Another drawback to patient directed modes of administration (enteral, topical and subcutaneous) is compliance. Pharmaceutical agents that have a short half-life require multiple daily doses. As the number of doses increases, patient compliance and therapeutic efficacy decrease. Simplified and/or less frequent administration schedules can aid in optimizing patient compliance. Wilson et al. (1991) Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine, 12th Ed., McGraw-Hill, Inc., New York, N.Y.
The skin is an efficient barrier to the penetration of water soluble substances, and the rate of transdermal pharmaceutical agent absorption is primarily determined by the agent's lipid solubility, water solubility, and polarity. Highly polar or water soluble pharmaceutical agents are effectively blocked by the skin. Even very lipophilic pharmaceutical agents penetrate the dermis very slowly compared with the rate of penetration across cell membranes. See Pratt et al. supra.
Efforts to develop more effective and convenient modes of pharmaceutical administration have led to the development of transdermal delivery systems. Many current transdermal pharmaceutical agent delivery systems rely upon pharmaceutical agents that are absorbed when admixed with inert carriers. See Cooper et al. (1987) "Penetration Enhancers", in Transdermal Delivery of Drugs, Vol. II, Kyodonieus et al., Eds., CRC Press, Boca Raton, Fla. Few pharmaceutical agents fit this profile and those which do are not always predictably absorbed. Various forms of chemical enhancers, such as those enhancing lipophilicity, have been developed to improve transdermal transport when physically mixed with certain therapeutic agents and provide more predictable absorption. See for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,645,502; 4,788,062; 4,816,258; 4,900,555; 3,472,931; 4,006,218; and 5,053,227. Carriers have also been coupled to pharmaceutical agents to enhance intracellular transport. See Ames et al. (1973) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 70:456-458 and (1988) Proc. Int. Symp. Cont. Rel. Bioact. Mater., 15:142.
Similar to the problems inherent in trans-dermal delivery of pharmaceuticals, the blood-brain barrier is an obstacle to CNS drug delivery. In fact, the blood-brain barrier is considered to be a "bottleneck" in brain drug development, and is perhaps the single most important limitation on the future growth of neurotherapeutics. (Pardridge, W. M., The Blood-Brain Barrier: Bottleneck in Brain Drug Development, The Journal of the American Society for Experimental NeuroTherapeutics, Vol 2, 3-14, January 2005; Pardridge, W. M. Brain drug targeting: the future of brain drug development. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2001.) The BBB is formed by the brain capillary endothelium and prevents transport of approximately 100% of large-molecules (such as monoclonal antibodies, recombinant proteins, antisense or gene therapeutics) and more than 98% of all small-molecule drugs into the brain. Although the average molecular mass of a CNS-active drug is 357 daltons, even a small, 100 dalton molecule such as histamine does not pass through the BBB when infused into a mouse and allowed to distribute over thirty minutes time. In fact, a review of the Comprehensive Medicinal Chemistry database shows that, of more than 7000 small molecule drugs, only 5% treat the CNS, and this 5% treats only depression, schizophrenia, and insomnia.
Thus, most drugs do not cross the BBB. Unfortunately, many disorders of the central nervous system (CNS) could benefit from improved drug therapy directed towards the CNS. While there is relatively little research with respect to agents known to cross the BBB, there are characteristics that are predictive of a likelihood of success of delivery into the CNS. These are: 1) molecular mass under a 400-500 Dalton threshold, and 2) high lipid solubility. Presently, only four categories of CNS disorders respond to such molecules, including affective disorders, chronic pain, and epilepsy. Migraine headache may be considered a CNS disorder, and could also be included in this category. In contrast, patients with diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease, A.L.S., multiple sclerosis, neuro-AIDS, brain cancer, stroke, brain or spinal cord trauma, autism, lysosomal storage disorders, fragile X syndrome, inherited ataxias, and blindness have very limited options with respect to pharmaceutical treatments. (There has been some success with L-DOPA treatment in Parkinson's patients, and multiple sclerosis can be treated with cytokines acting on the peripheral immune system.) (See generally, Partridge, supra).
In many of the above listed disorders, delivery across the BBB is the rate limiting problem in gene therapy or enzyme replacement therapy. Many of these disorders could be treated with drugs, enzymes or genes already discovered. However, these drugs do not cross the BBB and cannot be considered for therapeutic use for that reason. Because of the impermeability of the BBB, other approaches to drug delivery into the CNS must be used. These include the use of small molecules, trans-cranial brain drug delivery, and BBB disruption. However, none of these approaches provide solutions to the BBB problem that can be practically implemented in a large number of patients. (Pardridge, W. M., "The Blood-Brain Barrier")
Saposins, a family of small (˜80 amino acids) heat stable glycoproteins, are essential for the in vivo hydrolytic activity of several lysosomal enzymes in the catabolic pathway of glycosphingolipids (see Grabowski, G. A., Gatt, S., and Horowitz, M. (1990) Crit. Rev. Biochem. Mol. Biol. 25, 385-414; Furst, W., and Sandhoff, K., (1992) Biochim. Biophys. Acta 1126, 1-16; Kishimoto, Y., Kiraiwa, M., and O'Brien, J. S. (1992) J. Lipid. Res. 33, 1255-1267). Four members of the saposin family, A, B, C, and D, are proteolytically hydrolyzed from a single precursor protein, prosaposin (see Fujibayashi, S., Kao, F. T., Hones, C., Morse, H., Law, M., and Wenger, D. A. (1985) Am. J. Hum. Genet. 37, 741-748; O'Brien, J. S., Kretz, K. A., Dewji, N., Wenger, D. A., Esch, F., and Fluharty, A. L. (1988) Science 241, 1098-1101; Rorman, E. G., and Grabowski, G. A. (1989) Genomics 5, 486-492; Nakano, T., Sandhoff, K., Stumper, J., Christomanou, H., and Suzuki, K. (1989) J. Biochem. (Tokyo) 105, 152-154; Reiner, O., Dagan, O., and Horowitz, M. (1989) J. Mol. Neurosci. 1, 225-233). The complete amino acid sequences for saposins A, B, C and D have been reported as well as the genomic organization and cDNA sequence of prosaposin (see Fujibayashi, S., Kao, F. T., Jones, C., Morse, H., Law, M., and Wenger, D. A. (1985) Am. J. Hum. Genet. 37, 741-748; O'Brien, J. S., Kretz, K. A., Dewji, N., Wenger, D. A., Esch, F., and Fluharty, A. L. (1988) Science 241, 1098-1101; Rorman, E. G., and Grabowski, G. A. (1989) Genomics 5, 486-492). A complete deficiency of prosaposin with mutation in the initiation codon causes the storage of multiple glycosphingolipid substrates resembling a combined lysosomal hydrolase deficiency (see Schnabel, D., Schroder, M., Furst, W., Klien, A., Hurwitz, R., Zenk, T., Weber, J., Harzer, K., Paton, B. C., Poulos, A., Suzuki, K., and Sandhoff, K. (1992) J. Biol. Chem. 267, 3312-3315).
Saposins are defined as sphingolipid activator proteins or coenzymes. Structurally, saposins A, B, C, and D have approximately 50-60% similarity including six strictly conserved cysteine residues (see Furst, W., and Sandhoff, K., (1992) Biochim. Biophys. Acta 1126, 1-16) that form three intradomain disulfide bridges whose placements are identical (see Vaccaro, A. M., Salvioli, R., Barca, A., Tatti, M., Ciaffoni, F., Maras, B., Siciliano, R., Zappacosta, F., Amoresano, A., and Pucci, P. (1995) J. Biol. Chem. 270, 9953-9960). All saposins contain one glycosylation site with conserved placement in the N-terminal sequence half, but glycosylation is not essential to their activities (see Qi. X., and Grabowski, G. A. (1998) Biochemistry 37, 11544-11554; Vaccaro, A. M., Ciaffoni, F., Tatti, M., Salvioli, R., Barca, A., Tognozzi, D., and Scerch, C. (1995) J. Biol. Chem. 270, 30576-30580). In addition, saposin A has a second glycosylation site in C-terminal half.
All saposins and saposin-like proteins and domains contain a "saposin fold" when in solution. This fold is a multiple α-helical bundle motif, characterized by a three conserved disulfide structure and several amphipathic polypeptides. Despite this shared saposin-fold structure in solution, saposins and saposin-like proteins have diverse in vivo biological functions in the enhancement of lysosomal sphingolipid (SL) and glycosphingolipid (GSL) degradation by specific hydrolases. Because of these roles, the saposins occupy a central position in the control of lysosomal sphingolipid and glycosphingolipid metabolisms (see Kishimoto, Y., Kiraiwa, M., and O'Brien, J. S. (1992) J. Lipid. Res. 33, 1255-1267; Fujibayashi, S., Kao, F. T., Hones, C., Morse, H., Law, M., and Wenger, D. A. (1985) Am. J. Hum. Genet. 37, 741-748; O'Brien, J. S., Kretz, K. A., Dewji, N., Wenger, D. A., Esch, F., and Fluharty, A. L. (1988) Science 241, 1098-1101).
The structural characteristic of these saposins is of great importance to the diverse mechanisms of activation. Since all of these proteins have high sequence similarity, but different mechanisms of action with lipid membranes, one can speculate that the specific biological functions of saposins and saposin-like proteins are the result of the differential interactions with the biological membrane environments. In vitro, saposin A enhances acid β-glucosidase activity at μM concentration, but saposin C deficiency leads to glucosylceramide storage and a "Gaucher disease-like" phenotype (see Schnable, D., Schroder, M., and Sandhoff, K. (1991) FEBS Lett. 284, 57-59; Rafi. M. A., deGala, G., Zhang, X. L., and Wenger, D. A. (1993) Somat. Cell Mol. Genet. 19, 1-7). Activation of saposin B takes place through solubilizing and presenting glycosphingolipid substrates to lysosomal enzymes (see Furst, W., and Sandhoff, K., (1992) Biochim. Biophys. Acta 1126, 1-16).
Saposin C promotes acid β-glucosidase activity by inducing in the enzyme conformational change at acidic pH (see Berent, S. L., and Radin, N. S. (1981) Biochim. Biophys. Acta 664, 572-582; Greenberg, P., Merrill, A. H., Liotta, D. C., and Grabowski, G. A. (1990) Biochim. Biophys. Acta 1039, 12-20; Qi. X., and Grabowski, G. A. (1998) Biochemistry 37, 11544-11554). This interaction of saposin C with the enzyme occurs on negatively charged phospholipid surfaces. In vitro and ex vivo saposins A and D function to enhance the degradation of galactosylceramide and ceramide/sphingomyelin, respectively (see Harzer, K., Paton, B. C., Christomanou, H., Chatelut, M., Levade, T., Hiraiwa, M. and O'Brien, J. S. (1997) FEBS Lett. 417, 270-274; Klien, A., Henseler, M., Klein, C., Suzuki, K., Harzer, K., and Sandhoff, K. (1994) Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun, 200, 1440-1448). Patients lacking the individual saposins B and C showed a variant form of metachromatic leukodystrophy and Gaucher disease, respectively. (see Wenger, D. A., DeGala, G., Williams, C., Taylor, H. A., Stevenson, R. E., Pruitt, J. R., Miller, J., Garen, P. D., and Balentine, J. D. (1989) Am. J. Med. Genet. 33, 255-265) (see Christomanou, H., Aignesberger, A., and Linke, R. P. (1986) Biol. Chem. Hoppe-Seyler 367, 879-890).
The primary physiological function of saposin C has been defined by a glycosphingolipid (GSL) storage disease similar to neuronopathic "Gaucher's disease" in patients with a deficiency of the protein. Saposin C is a critical physiologic activator for the lysosomal enzyme, acid β-glucosidase. In addition to stimulating the glucosylceramide degradation by acid β-glucosidase, saposin C has several other potential roles. These include inter-membrane transport of gangliosides and GSLs, reorganization and destabilization of phospholipids-containing membranes, and fusion of acid phospholipids vesicles (see Hiraiwa, M., and Soeda, S. et al. (1992) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 89, 11254-11258; You, H. X., and Yu, L. et al., (2001) FEBS Lett. 503, 97-102; You, H. X. and Qi, X. et al. (2003) Biophys. J. 84, 2043-2057; Vaccaro, A. M., and Tatti, M. et al., (1994) FEBS Lett. 349, 181-186; Wang, Y., and Grabowski, G. et al., Biochem. Biophys., 415: 43-53; Qi, X. and Chu, Z., (2004) Arch. Biochem. Biophys., 424: 210-218). Saposin C associates with phophatidyserine (PS) membranes by embedding its amino- and carboxyl-end helices into the outer leaflet of membranes (see Qi, X. and Grabowski, G. A., (2001) J. Biol. Chem., 276, 27010-27017). Increasing evidence indicates that intereactions of saposins with appropriate membranes are crucial for their specificity and activity.
Moreover, PSAP, the precursor of saposins, is a neurotropic factor with in vitro neuritogenic, in vivo nerve growth promoting, and apoptosis protection properties (see Qi, X. and Qin, W. et al. (1996) J. Biol. Chem., 217, 6874-6880; O'Brien, J. S. and Carson, G. S. et al. (1994) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 91, 9593-9596; Qi, X. and Kondoh, K. et al. (1999) Biochemistry 38, 6284-6291; Kotani, Y. S, and Matsuda, S. et al. (1996) J. Neurochem. 66, 2019-2025; Koani, Y. and Matsuda, S. et al. (1996) J. Neurochem. 66, 2197-2200; Tsuboi, K. and Hiraiwa, M. et al. (1998) Brain Res. Dev. Brain Res. 110, 249-255). Such neuritogenic functions are mediated through sequences in the NH2-terminal half of saposin C (see Qi, X. and Qin, W. et al. (1996) J. Biol. Chem. 271, 6874-6880; O'Brien, J. S, and Carson, G. S. et al. (1995) FASEB J. 9, 681-685). The minimum sequence required for in vitro neuritogenic activity spans amino acid residues 22-31 of saposin C in humans and mice. Neurological functions of PSAP and saposin C are mediated by activation of the enzymes in the MAPK pathway through a G-protein-associated cell membrane receptor in a number of neuralgia-derived cells (see Campana, W. M. and Hiraiwa, M. et al. (1996) Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 229, 706-712; Hiraiwa, M. and Campana, W. M. et al. (1997) Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 240, 415-418).
Human and mouse PSAP genetic defects result in total saposin deficiency (see Harzer, K. and Paton, B. C. et al. (1989) Eur. J. Pediatr. 149, 31-39; Hulkova, H., and Cervenkova, M. et al. (2001) Hum. Mol. Genet. 10, 927-940; Fujita, N. and Suzuki, K. et al., Hum. Mol. Genet. 5, 711-725). This deficiency can lead to aberrant accumulation of multivesicular bodies (MVBs), as observed in the skin fibroblasts from PSAP-deficient patients (see Harzer, K. and Paton, B. C. et al. (1989) Eur. J. Pediatri. 149, 31-39; Burkhardt, J. K. and Huttler, S. et al. (1997) Eur. J. Cell Biol. 73, 10-18). Further, the sinusoidal cells in liver from a PSAP-deficient patient has been observed to be crowded with multivesicular inclusions (see Sandhoff, K. and Kolter, T. et al. (2000) The Metabolic and Molecular Bases of Inherited Disease, 3371-3388; Harzer, K. and Paton, B. C. et al. (1989) Eur. J. Pediatr. 149, 31-39). Similar MVB structures also were found in fibroblasts from a saposin C-deficient patient (see Pampols, T. and Pineda, M. et al. (1999) Acta Neuropathol. 97, 91-97). In PSAP −/− (double-knock out) mice, inclusions consisting of numerous concentric lamellar bodies and dense granular structures were noted in a variety of tissues and cells (see Oya, Y., and Nakayasu, H. et al. (1998) Acta Neuropathol 96, 29-40). Thin sections of mouse PSAP −/− cells revealed a selective accumulation of MVBs by electron microscopy (see Morales, C. R. and Zhao, Q. et al. (1999) Biocell 23, 149-160).
MVBs, a subset of the late endosomes, have a crucial role in communications by vesicular transport between the trans-Golgi network, the plasma membrane, and lysosomal/vacuolar organelles (see Katzman, D. J. and Odorizzi, G. et al. (2002) Nat. Rev. Mol. Cell. Biol. 3, 893-905). One function of MVBs is to maintain the cellular homeostasis required for neuronal development and growth. The hypothetical "signaling endosome" model explains that the ligand-receptor complex on an endosomal signaling platform is transported retrogradely from the distal axon to the cell body to promote gene expression and neuron survival (see Ginty, D. D. and Segal, R. A. (2002) Curr. Opin. Neurobiol. 12, 268-274). The abnormalities in MVB structures in neurons of PSAP−/− mice may disrupt the retrograde movement of neurotrophins via vesicular signaling transports and may impair the development of neuronal cells in the CNS.
Introducing exogenous PSAP or saposin C into the medium of cultured fibroblasts from the PSAP-deficient patient reverses the aberrant accumulation of MVBs, suggesting that saposin C is a key regulatory molecule in MVB formation (see Burkhardt, J. K. and Huttler, S. et al. (1997) Eur. J. Cell Biol. 73 10-18; Chu, Z., and Witte, D. P. et al. (2004) Exp. Cell Res.).
In addition to mediating MVB formation, saposin plays a role in membrane fusion. Membrane fusion is a major event in biological systems driving secretion, endocytosis, exocytosis, intracellular transport, fertilization, and muscle development (see Christomanou, H., Chabas, A., Pampols, T., and Guardiola, A. (1989) Klin, Wochenschr. 67, 999-1003). Recent experimental evidence generated by this inventor has indicated that saposin-lipid membrane interactions play a critical role in saposin-mediated membrane fusion of lipids thereby facilitating transport of active agents across these biological membranes.
The present invention also relates to a method of administering imaging agents across cellular membranes including the blood-brain barrier using saposin C containing liposomes. Non-invasive imaging techniques can be used to monitor the distribution and efficacy of liposomal delivery systems, thereby facilitating the evaluation and clinical application of gene therapy or therapeutic treatment using liposomes. Imaging agents may use magnetic resonance, fluorescence, or CT/PET as a means of detection. However, key obstacles to successful use of imaging agents to monitor liposome delivery are ease of detection, availability of pertinent technology and ease and efficiency of delivery.
With respect to using liposomes to deliver imaging agents, lipophilic molecules are generally appropriate, though the present invention is not limited to use with such molecules. Without intending to be limited by theory, lipophilic dyes or dyes containing a lipophilic moiety may intercalate into the liposomal membrane or reconstitute into the lipid core of liposomal structures. Examples of such dyes known in the art are the indocarbocyanine dye, DiI. DiI is a fluorescent carbocyanine dye that is routinely used to label lipid membranes. Other similar dyes are DiA or DiaO as described in Honig, M. G. et al, DiI and DiO: versatile fluorescent dyes for neuronal labeling and pathway tracing. Trends Neurosci. 12:333-335, 340-331, 1989. Other lipophilic dyes that may be used with the present invention include PKH2, NeuroVue Green, PKH 26, NeuroVue Red, and NeuroVue Maroon, as described by Fritzsch, et al. Diffusion and Imaging properties of Three New Lipophilic Tracers, Neuro Vue Maroon, Neuro Vue and Neurovue Green and their use for Double and Triple Labeling of Neuronal Profile, manuscript. Any of these dyes may be used with the present invention described herein, either alone or in combination.
Also used in the art and appropriate to the present invention are imaging agents having two or more imaging properties. Such agents allow the researcher or clinician the ability to use multiple methods of imaging to detect administered imaging agents. An example of such agents are the so-called PTIR dyes as described by Li, H., et al., MR and Fluorescent Imaging of Low-Density Lipoprotein Receptors, Acad Radiol. 2004; 11:1251-1259, incorporated herein by reference. These dyes contain both a fluorophore and a Gd(III) moiety that allow for detection via magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or confocal fluorescence microscopy. The lipophilic side chain facilitates the intercalation of the dye into phospholipid monolayers. Thus, these dyes are appropriate for use with liposomal delivery systems such as the one described herein.
Proton MR imaging offers the advantages of being noninvasive, tomographic, and of high resolution. In recent years, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has emerged as a powerful tool in clinical settings because it is noninvasive and yields an accurate volume rendering of the subject. See generally, U.S. Pat. No. 6,962,686 Kayyem, et al. entitled Cell-specific gene delivery vehicles. These advantages make MRI the technique of choice in both medical imaging and as an imaging tool for use in biological experiments. Unlike light-microscope imaging techniques based upon the use of dyes or fluorochromes, MRI does not produce toxic photobleaching by-products. Furthermore, unlike light-microscopy, MRI is not limited by light scattering or other optical aberrations to cells within approximately only one hundred microns of the surface. Agents having MRI properties such as those described above may be used with the present invention.
Accordingly, there exists a significant need for nontoxic agents which can improve the delivery or transport of pharmaceutical or imaging agents across or through biological membranes, including the blood-brain barrier. The present invention fulfills these needs.

Fusogenic properties of saposin C and related proteins and peptides for application to transmembrane drug delivery systems


An attack communication detection device that is robust against a deviation from the design value of a communication interval is provided. The attack communication detection device is an attack communication detection device that detects an attack communication from a communication of each electronic control unit in a communication network and includes: a receiving unit that receives communication data for detection which may or may not include an attack communication; a sum-of-communication-intervals calculation unit that calculates the sum of communication intervals, which is the sum of two adjacent communication intervals, of the communication data for detection; an estimated distribution model storage that stores in advance an estimated distribution model of a communication interval and the sum of communication intervals of communication data for learning which does not include an attack communication; and a detection unit that detects whether or not the communication data for detection includes an attack communication based on the estimated distribution model and the sum of communication intervals of the communication data for detection.

A plurality of electronic control units (ECUs) are incorporated into some machinery such as vehicles (for example, automobiles, special-purpose vehicles, motorcycles, and bicycles), machine tools, construction equipment, and agricultural machinery, and Controller Area Network (CAN) is a representative example that is used in a communication network between these ECUs. The network configuration of CAN is what is called a bus-type configuration in which a communication line of each ECU is shared. As a communication procedure on the bus of the ECUs, carrier sense multiple access/collision resolution (CSMA/CR), that is, a procedure by which, when a communication collision occurs, a communication of higher priority is not affected by the collision and a communication of lower priority is resent is used. A communication of each ECU on CAN includes an ID, and the ID is used for identification of, for example, the priority of communication arbitration, data contents, and a transmission node.
The risk of cyberattacks on these machine control information communication networks is suggested. It is known that attack transmission with an ID related to a function to be attacked is inserted by means such as connecting an unauthorized ECU to the network or unauthorized alteration of operation of the existing ECU, which can cause unauthorized operation of the function to be attacked.
As a method of detecting these attack communications, there is a method of detecting an abnormality in the communication interval between communications with the same ID (for example, Non-patent Literature 1). In CAN, a communication about an important function is designed so as to be sent periodically and the interval between communications with an ID related to the function is almost constant in accordance with the design value. When an attack communication targeted at a certain important function is inserted, the interval between communications with an ID related to the function to be attacked becomes shorter than the design value, which makes attack communication detection possible by detecting the interval abnormality. However, due to, for example, the communication procedure of CSMA/CR, the communication interval often deviates from the design value within a certain tolerance range, which makes it necessary to detect a communication interval abnormality with consideration given to a deviation tolerance.

Attack communication detection device, attack communication detection method, and program

NIPPON TELEGRAPH AND TELEPHONE CORPORATION


The present invention relates to a charged-particle detecting apparatus having a structure which enables adjustment of a potential distribution so as to stably maintain flight loci of charged particles without depending on a change in a voltage-applied state. The charged-particle detecting apparatus comprises a first electrode, an MCP, a second electrode, a third electrode that functions as an anode, and a rear cover arranged in order along a predetermined reference axis. The third electrode is arranged on the opposite side of the MCP with respect to the second electrode, and is electrically connected to an output signal part via a capacitor. In particular, the first electrode is arranged so as to become a part of the outer surface of the charged-particle detecting apparatus, and components positioned between the first electrode and the rear cover have contours with section sizes equal to or smaller than that of the contour of the first electrode when viewed from the first electrode side toward the rear cover.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a charged-particle detecting apparatus which detects charged particles such as electrons and ions as a detector to be applied to time-of-flight mass spectrometry or the like.
2. Related Background Art
As a method for detecting a molecular weight of a polymer, time-of-flight mass spectrometry (TOF-MS) is known. FIG. 1 is a drawing for explaining this TOF-MS.
As shown in FIG. 1, in the TOF-MS, a detector 100 is set on one end in a vacuum vessel 110, and a sample 120 is arranged on the other end in the vacuum vessel 110. Between these, an electrode 130 having an opening is arranged. The electrode 130 is grounded, and when a predetermined voltage is applied to the sample 120, ions emitted from the sample 120 are accelerated by an electric field formed between the sample 120 and the electrode 130, and collide with the detector 100. The acceleration energy to be given to the ions between the sample 120 and the electrode 130 is determined according to ion charge. Therefore, when the ion charge is the same, the speed when passing the electrode 130 depends on the weight of ions. Between the electrode 130 and the detector 100, ions fly at a constant speed, so that the flight time of the ions from the electrode 130 to the detector 100 is in inverse proportion to the speed. That is, by calculating the flight time from the electrode 130 to the detector 100, the weight of ions can be judged.
As such a detector, for example, the detector disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 06-28997 (Document 1) is applicable. FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing an example of a detector applicable to TOP-SM. In the detector 100a shown in FIG. 2, two micro channel plates (MCP) 20 and 21 (hereinafter, referred to as a MCP group 2) are sandwiched between an IN electrode 1 and an OUT electrode 3 which have openings in their central portions. In front of the IN electrode 1, a wire-mesh grid electrode 106 retained by a frame 105 is arranged, and on the other hand, behind the OUT electrode 3, an anode electrode 4 is arranged. To the shielding side of a signal reading BNC terminal (Bayonet Neil-Concelman connector) 60, a casing 5x comprised of a conductive material is connected, and on the other hand, to the core 601 side, an electrode 47 is connected. Between the casing 5x and the OUT electrode 3, and between the electrode 47 and the anode electrode 4, dielectric bodies 22 and 46 are arranged, respectively, to form a capacitor.
In the detector 100a structured as described above, when charged particles are made incident on the MCP group 2, many electrons (secondary electrons multiplied by each MCP) are responsively emitted from the MCP group 2. The secondary electrons thus emitted arrive at the anode electrode 4 and are converted into an electric signal as a voltage or current change (signal is outputted from the core 601). At this time, a capacitor is formed between the anode electrode 4 and the core 601, so that the detection signal is outputted to the outside at a ground potential, and the capacitor formed between the casing 5x and the OUT electrode 3 suppresses waveform distortion or ringing of the output signal.


Emergence of fretting worn powder is to be suppressed, and intrusion of the worn powder that has emerged into an internal area of the bearing. A ring spacer is interposed between an end face of an inner ring of the bearing to be mounted on a wheel axle, and an end face of a rear cover (ring member) to be mounted on the wheel axle for axial positioning of the inner race with respect to the wheel axle. An elastic seal ring is integrally fixed to an outer periphery of the ring spacer. The elastic seal ring is elastically fitted to an outer circumference of a recessed stepped portion formed on the end face of the rear cover. The elastic seal ring is thus pressed against the opposing end faces of the inner race and the rear cover. Inside the elastic seal ring, a storage space for the worn powder is provided.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a bearing unit for supporting a wheel axle of a railway carriage via a roller bearing.
2. Description of the Related Art
A bearing unit for a railway carriage wheel axle is generally provided with a roller bearing to be mounted on the wheel axle, and a pair (front and rear) of ring members mounted on the wheel axle for axial positioning of an inner race of the roller bearing. One of the ring members serves as a rear cover butted to rear end face of the inner race, and the other as an oil thrower butted to a front end face thereof, or as a rear cover and a front cover butted to the respective end faces thereof, and both are constituted of a heat-treated carbon steel.
FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of an ordinary bearing unit for a railway carriage wheel axle. The bearing unit includes a pair of ring members, namely a rear cover 11 and an oil thrower 12 at the respective end portions of an inner race 3 of a roller bearing 2 mounted on a wheel axle 1. The roller bearing 2 is for example a double-race tapered roller bearing, and includes a split type inner race 3, a one-piece outer race 4, rollers 5 aligned in two rows between the inner race 3 and the outer race 4, and a retainer 6 for the rollers. The rear cover 11 is first insert-fitted to the wheel axle 1, then the roller bearing 2 is mounted and finally the oil thrower 12 is insert-fitted. The oil thrower 12 is pressed against the front end face of the inner race 3, and thereby pressing the rear end face against the front end face of the rear cover 11, thus delimiting an axial position of the inner race 3 with respect to the wheel axle 1. On the respective outer circumferential surface of the rear cover 11 and the oil thrower 12 an oil seal 14, 14 is disposed in sliding-contact therewith, and each oil seal 14, 14 is attached to a seal case 15, 15 extended from a front and rear end portions of the outer race 4.
With respect to such a bearing unit, an excessive radial load, which is characteristic to railway carriages, imposed on the wheel axle 1 applies an excessive bending moment thereto, thus repeatedly applying a stress to a contact interface X between the inner race 3 and the rear cover 11, as well as to a contact interface Y between the inner race 3 and the oil thrower 12. As a result, fretting (wear) is incurred on the contact interfaces X, Y, which produces minute worn powder of the carbon steel. Such fretting wear is inevitable to railway carriages since the wheel axle 1 suffers an excessive radial load, and when the fretting progresses further the positioning accuracy of the bearing unit 2 is degraded, which incurs intrusion of the worn powder into an internal area of the bearing unit 2, and hence deterioration of a lubricant provided therein, thus resulting in shortening a life span of the bearing unit 2.
As an example of a remedy to prevent emergence of such worn powder from fretting, JP-A Laid Open No.2001-027254 discloses a bearing unit provided with a spacer (plate) of a soft material, interposed between the inner race and the ring member such as the rear cover. FIG. 6 depicts a spacer 32 constituted of a soft metal plate or a resin plate interposed at the contact interface X between the inner race 3 and the rear cover 11, so as to keep the inner race 3 and the rear cover 11 from directly colliding with each other, thus to prevent the fretting wear. The spacer is to be replaced when worn out, to thereby prolong a life span of the bearing unit.
Another solution is proposed by JP-A Laid Open No.2001-354136, which provides a bearing unit that prevents intrusion of the worn powder produced by wear due to the direct contact of the inner race and the ring member, into an internal area of the bearing. FIG. 7 depicts an elastic member 33 such as a rubber ring elastically pressed to an outer circumferential surface of the contact interface X between the inner race 3 and the rear cover 11, to prevent leakage of the worn powder from the contact interface X. In this case, the outer circumferential surface of the contact interface is constituted of those of the inner race 3 and the rear cover 11 processed to have a same outer diameter, and butted to each other. The elastic member 33 is firmly pressed against such outer circumferential surface, so as to seal the contact interface X both liquid-tightly and air-tightly, thus to prevent leakage of the worn powder to the bearing unit 2.
The bearing unit for a railway carriage wheel axle shown in FIG. 6 is effective in that the spacer 32 prevents the wear of the inner race 3 and the rear cover 11 and hence reduces the emergence of worn powder, however when a trace amount of worn powder is accumulated, it is inevitable that the worn powder intrudes into an internal area of the bearing, which leads to deterioration of the lubricant. Therefore, this method does not completely solve the problem.
With respect to the bearing unit shown in FIG. 7, though the elastic member 33 can prevent leakage of the worn powder out of the contact interface X between the inner race 3 and the rear cover 11, the original problem of the emergence of the worn powder and the accumulation thereof remain unsettled.
It could be an option to apply the spacer of FIG. 6 and the elastic member of FIG. 7 in combination to a bearing unit, however in this case an increase in the number of components as well as in the number of assembly steps is inevitable, and manufacturing process of the bearing unit becomes more complicated.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a bearing unit for a railway carriage wheel axle that suppresses emergence of the fretting worn powder, and inhibits intrusion of the worn powder into an internal area of the bearing, to thereby simplify the assembly process thereof.


Fibers obtained by opening waste plastics of different kinds and fibers obtained by opening wastepaper are mutually woven, and molded under heat and pressure. As a result, different kinds of waste plastics can be recycled without requiring separation or classification.

The invention relates to a method of manufacturing a molded product of multiple-component mainly composed of waste plastics or wastepaper, and presents a method of recycling materials without having to classify waste plastics. For example, by processing into a material board, a panel usable as substitute for building material or civil engineering material is presented.
Industrial waste and domestic waste were once products made of various materials such as plastics, and for recycling of resources, it is required to separate and classify the materials, and single materials being separated and classified are collected as recycled resources. In particular, plastic materials have problems of specificity as high molecular binders, and it has been considered impossible to mix different materials, and fuse and mold again according to the theory of compatibility, and if fused and molded, the required strength as product could not be obtained sufficiently.
For example, in the case of recycling of PET bottles, the main body resin is integrally molded of polyethylene terephthalate resin (PET resin), but the label area is made of polystyrene resin (PS) in consideration of printability. The cap is made of polypropylene resin (PP) in consideration of moldability, and the PET bottles made of three materials are separated and classified, and the PET resin of the main body is processed into fibers, and used in weaving of carpets, working clothes, etc. at the present.
Waste plastics from automotive parts are treated for oiliness, and recycled as the liner of automobile carpets or undercoating agent for the bottom of the car body in the factories of, the major automakers at the present, but it is not intended to recycle waste plastics discharged in the general market, and examples of recycling into building materials in a different market are not known yet.
Moreover, building plywoods were mainly wood bonds using tropical woods, and products were mainly composed of wood materials and wood pieces such as veneer, plywood, particle board, fiberboard, wood piece cement board, and gypsum particle board, and conifer woods are pressed and adhered by using adhesive as in particle board and fiberboard at the present. For example, as disclosed in Japanese Laid-open Patent No. 8-93217, resin plywoods made of rigid urethane resin are also developed, but they are also integrally molded by extrusion by laminate fusing method of injection molding method by adhering resin sheets, and the resin materials used therein are only single resins which are used by fusing and molding.
Although effective utilization of resources is requested, the recycling rate of waste plastics is only 2.9%, or 260,000 tons a year (1996). The rest is processed by methods causing to produce carbon dioxide such as use as fuel or incineration. The recycling rate of wastepaper is 53.5% (15 million tons), and this rate is not improved for several years.
The problem is that recycling requires separation and classification of waste matter composed of various materials, and the present processing method is limited for recycling as single materials. Concerning waste plastics, 300 to 1000 kinds of plastic resins are distributed in market, and once released into the market, it is nearly impossible to identify the materials in most resins.
Plastics are also called high molecular binders, and high polymers of different kinds are not miscible in the molecular order like water and oil. For example, polystyrene and polypropylene are similar in structural formula, but are not compatible. Thus being composed of multiple different molecular bonds, it is impossible to disperse different materials in the monomer units, and fuse mutually and mold again according to the theory of compatibility. If fused and molded, it is extremely difficult to satisfy the physical strength required in the product.
It is hence an object of the invention to present a method of manufacturing molded products by using waste plastics, wastepaper, wood pieces and others commonly, without sorting out from the refuse, by solving the problems mentioned above, and to present molded products of light weight for volume and having a sufficient strength at low cost by such method.
Plastic materials composed of noncompatible different polymers are formed into cellulose in sledge form to obtain cotton-like polymers, and mutually woven cellulose fibers are fused under heat and pressure, so that noncompatible different polymers can be integrally kneaded and molded. Herein, this molding method is called the cellulose molding method.
As different fibers in sledge form are woven together, high molecular meshes of different kinds are formed, and noncompatible different resins are used and molded again, and if aggregation begins due to temperature changes, since plastic fibers in compatible relation are woven together, peeling phenomenon can be avoided.
Further, by opening wastepaper, wood pieces and others, fibers having molecular skeleton containing cellulose, hemicellulose, lignin and others can be obtained.
Such fine fibers and plastic fibers are mutually woven and fused, and lignin is eluted to permeate into gaps of microphase separation of plastic fibers, so that an integral molded product is composed. Further, the cellulose failing to elute is mixed into the molded product as cellulose fibers, so that the physical strength may be satisfied.
Considering recycling of waste plastics, hitherto, it was general to grind plastics into fine pieces and fuse. High molecules of different kinds are not mutually fused in he molecular order like water and oil. For example, polystyrene and polypropylene are similar in structural formula, but are not compatible. Such fusible relation of plastics is generally understood as compatible relation or noncompatible relation. If fused, however, it is extremely difficult to satisfy the strength and other physical properties required in the product. FIG. 4A and/or FIG. 4B shows a sample of fusing and molding different resins. In this case, using a biaxial extruder, polystyrene (outside) and polypropylene (inside) are extruded and spun, and the fusing temperature was 220 deg. C. in polystyrene and 180 deg. C. in polypropylene. The discharge was 2.4 cc/cycle, and interface tension was 5.1 mN/m. In the diagram, the polystyrene phase and polypropylene phase form an independent layer individually without being fused together. independent layer individually without being fused together.
On the other hand, known as polymer alloy, plastic materials are widely modified as new materials by mixing various components. Many practical examples are known. For example, the ABS resin widely used in automotive parts is known as a representative polymer alloy by copolymerization of polystyrene with butadiene or styrene. However, the forming method of polymer alloy is generally a chemical bond processing in a chemical plant, such as graft copolymerization or block copolymerization, and it is possible only by specifying the raw materials in both quality and quantity, and further using a solvent, and therefore in the case of waste plastics, if the quality and quantity of raw materials cannot be specified, it is difficult to obtain a product (molded product) satisfying the required quality, strength and other properties.
As other method, when different materials are fused and kneaded mechanically and by force, using an extruder or the like, a two-phase sea-island structure in emulsion form (see FIG. 5a, FIG. 5b, FIG. 5C and/or FIG. 5d.) is obtained, and it can be cooled and solidified, but since the surface tension between high molecules is small, as the noncompatible plastic resin aggregates by temperature change, phase separation begins, and peeling phenomenon may occur (note also page 10).
By such method, a fused product may be obtained by mixing different materials, but since the quality, quantity and properties of waste plastics cannot be determined, and hence the solvent cannot be specified, so that a perfect polymer alloy cannot be formed, and it was difficult to recycle the refuse.
According to the cellulose forming method of the invention, by forming plastic materials composed of noncompatible different polymers into cellulose in thread form, linear polymers are obtained, and by kneading fibers made of different materials, different types of high molecular meshes are formed, and the mutually woven cellulose fibers are fused under heat and pressure, so that noncompatible different polymers are integrally kneaded to form into a desired shape (see FIG. 3). By mutually weaving different fibers in thread form, different types of high molecular meshes are formed, and microphase separation phenomenon recurs, but by maintaining the physical composition and forming multi-phase material constitution, it was found that the rigidity superior to that of single material can be obtained.
Moreover, by physically opening wastepaper, wood pieces and others, fibers having molecular skeleton containing cellulose, hemicellulose, lignin and others can be obtained. When such fine fibers and plastic fibers are mutually woven and fused, and lignin is eluted to permeate into gaps of microphase separation of plastic fibers, so that an integral molded product is composed. Further, the cellulose failing to elute is mixed into the molded product as cellulose fibers, so that the physical strength may be satisfied.
When plastic fibers formed by fusing and spinning plastics in sledge form and fibers obtained by opening wastepaper, wood pieces and others are fused under heat and pressure, a crosslinking effect is brought about in the microphase separation situation of waste plastics in noncompatible relation, so that a material board having properties similar to those of wood can be obtained from the refuse.
Since the molded product of the invention is mainly composed of waste matter such as waste plastics and wastepaper, it is low in cost and excellent in processability. In particular, by mixing wastepaper, aside from waste plastics, the molded product is light in weight for its volume. Having the characteristics of thermoplastic resin, peeling performance from concrete is excellent, and the water resisting effect is sufficient. Moreover, as required, coloring pigment, antistatic agent, foaming agent (for reducing weight), magnetic powder (for shielding effect of electromagnetic waves), and others may be fused together, so that it can be used as substitute for building plywood or the like.
According to the invention, as refuse processing and recycling method, using waste plastics and wastepaper as principal materials, a molding method of low cost, specific strength and excellent processability may be presented, and by effectively utilizing waste plastics and waste paper, it also contributes to the industrial waste problem and environmental problem.
Further, by using the molded product of the invention as a substitute for plywood for building or civil engineering, since wood is not used in the material as in the conventional plywood, the present problem of forest protection may be partly solved. It is preferable, for example, as the substitute for plywood for concrete forms. By employing the cellulose forming technology of the invention, wastepaper can be mixed and fused into waste plastics, and a material board similar to plywood can be recycled from the refuse.

Manufacturing method of fused molded product mainly composed of various plastics