Described herein are methods for the production of oligosaccharides, including functionalized oligosaccharides, from one or more sugars, such as one or more monosaccharides, using polymeric and solid-supported catalysts containing acidic and ionic groups. Also provided are the oligosaccharide compositions, including functionalized oligosaccharide compositions, obtained using the methods.

The condensation of sugars to soluble oligosaccharides is of great economic, nutritional, and therapeutic relevance. It is well known that the consumption of excess sugar by humans and animals has been linked to a variety of negative health indications, such as obesity and diabetes. It is further established that diets rich in fiber, such as indigestible oligosaccharides and polysaccharides, promote health and well being. Some dietary fibers interact favorably with the ecosystem of human and animal gut micro biota, stimulating the growth of advantageous gut bacteria, inhibiting the growth of undesirable gut bacteria, and inhibiting the ability of pathogenic bacteria to colonize the gut.
Oligosaccharides can be added to foods to empart favorable flavor, mouth feel, and consistency. Furthermore, oligosaccharides that are not digestible by humans contribute little or no caloric value to foods. There is significant commercial interest in replacing some portion of the raw sugar ingredients in foods with oligosaccharides to reduce the caloric content of those foods and improve their impact on the human microbiome. There is interest in incorporating oligosaccharide ingredients to reduce the sugar content and enhance the dietary fiber content of breakfast cereals, granola and other type of bars, yogurt, ice cream, breads, cake mixes, and nutritional shakes and supplements.
There is additional interest in incorporating oligosaccharide ingredients into animal feed to improve its nutritional quality. Oligosaccharides can be added to animal feed to improve gut health, increase weight gain, and promote feed efficiency. Furthermore, oligosaccharides that are not digestible by animals pass through the stomach and upper digestive system and can be fermented by gut micro-organisms. There is commercial interest in incorporating oligosaccharides into poultry, swine, aquaculture, and ruminant diets to improve the animal microbiome.
To achieve objectives pertaining to improved human and animal nutrition and health, oligosaccharides with a particular structure or range of structural properties are desired. At present, however, such oligosaccharides are limited to those obtained from sources such as corn meal, yeast bodies, dairy products, inulin, gums (such as guar gum or acacia gum), pectins, hemicellulose extracts, and other such agricultural and industrial food products. In other cases, oligosaccharides are produced by fermentation, roasting of starches and grains, and by polymerizing glucose in the presence of aqueous acids. The types of oligosaccharides obtained by biological production are limited in the variety of chemical structures that can be produced, the high cost of industrial fermentations, and the complex purification processes required to remove salts, buffers, and other fermentation byproducts to render the oligosaccharides suitable for human consumption.
Methods known in the art are limited in the variety of oligosaccharide structures that can be produced, and often have additional costly production steps. These can include neutralizing and/or removing aqueous acids or their salts, de-colorizing the product to a suitable level, and isolation and disposal of used catalyst that cannot be recycled.
As such, there is an ongoing need for improved methods of producing oligosaccharides on a commercially-viable scale.

Oligosaccharide compositions and methods for producing thereof


A method for seamless transfer of a communication link from a first radio telephone base station to a second radio telephone base station comprises the following steps performed at the first base station: (100) receiving a communication link request from a calling portable radio unit; (102) synchronizing with the calling portable radio unit; (104) determining whether the calling radio has handoff authorization; (108) connecting received data to a second base to allow for synchronization to the calling radio; (112) measuring a first RSSI level at the first base station for the calling radio; (114) determining whether the first RSSI level for the calling radio is below a first handoff threshold; (116) determining a second RSSI level for the calling radio, as measured at the second base station, is above a second handoff threshold, if the first RSSI level for the calling portable radio unit is below the first handoff threshold, (118) determining whether the second RSSI level for the calling portable radio unit is above a second handoff threshold, and (120) alerting the second base station to pick up the communication link. The method further comprises the following step performed at a second base station: (122) commencing to transmit in the frame immediately following the last transmit frame of the first base.

Present second generation cordless telephone (also known as CT2 or telepoint) systems in accordance with the CT2 Common Air Interface (CAI, the regulations governing the CT2 communication systems) do not provide the ability for the users of the handsets to roam away from the base station on which the communication link was established. One way to provide such roaming capability would be to re-establish the communication link with a second base station when the handset moves out of the range of a first base (on which the initial link was established). This approach, however, would probably not be transparent to the handset user because an audible "seam" would occur when the link is re-established. A need thus exists for a "seamless handoff" in CT2 systems and other similar radio telephone systems.

Seamless handoff for radio telephone systems


The present invention may provide a process for producing a water-absorbent resin by employing a reversed suspension polymerization method, by which a water-absorbent resin having a small particle size and a narrow particle size distribution can be produced. The process for producing a water-absorbent resin may include subjecting a water-soluble ethylenically unsaturated monomer to a reversed phase suspension polymerization in a petroleum hydrocarbon dispersion medium containing a surfactant and a polymeric dispersion agent, wherein the polymeric dispersion agent is a polymeric protective colloid having a weight average molecular weight (Mw) of 2,000 to 15,000 and a molecular weight distribution (Mw/number average molecular weight (Mn)) of 3 to 50.

Water-absorbent resin has been widely used in various fields, including hygienic articles, such as disposable diapers and sanitary napkins; agricultural and horticultural materials, such as water-retaining agents and soil conditioners; and industrial materials, such as water-blocking agents and agents for preventing dew condensation.
Known types of water-absorbent resin include, for example, hydrolysates of starch-acrylonitrile graft copolymers, neutralized products of starch-acrylate graft copolymers, saponified products of vinyl acetate-acrylic ester copolymers, and crosslinked polymers of partially neutralized acrylic acid compound.
Desired properties for water-absorbent resin include, for example, the absorption properties, such as the amount of water absorption and the water-absorption rate, and a particle size that is optimal for the use of the water-absorbent resin. In particular, for hygienic articles, such as disposable diapers and sanitary napkins, it is necessary to use a water-absorbent resin having a small particle size and a narrow particle size distribution in order to exhibit satisfactory absorption properties, such as the liquid permeation time, re-wet, and dispersibility.
Examples of known methods for producing a water-absorbent resin include an aqueous solution polymerization method and a reversed suspension polymerization method. In the reversed suspension polymerization method, the use of a surfactant is necessary. A method in which a fatty acid sorbitan ester, a fatty acid sorbitol ester, or the like is used as the surfactant is known as a technique that focuses on the surfactant (Patent Literature 1). However, this method has drawbacks; for example, a stable production of a water-absorbent resin having a small particle size is difficult and intense adhesion of resin to the wall surface of polymerization equipment during production is observed.
Another production method, in which a specific fatty acid sucrose ester is used as a surfactant, is also known (Patent Literature 2). This method shows some improvement in productivity since the adhesion of resin to the wall surface of the polymerization equipment during production is prevented; however, there is room for further improvement in this method since it has problems, such as a large particle size, a wide particle size distribution, etc., in the resulting water-absorbent resin.

Method for producing water-absorbent resin


A method and apparatus for fabricating upholstered furniture articles and components is disclosed. The method employs an assembly line with work stations. A selected beginning part such as a wooden frame or skeleton is transported along the assembly line using a specially configured fixture or jig to hold the frame or skeleton. At selected work stations, the fixture can be rotated or tilted depending upon the work to be performed. A locking arrangement secures the fixture to the track at each work station.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for assembling furniture components. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method and apparatus for assembling components that features a railway having a plurality of workstations spaced along the railway, a locking device that secures a traveling fixture or jig to a selected work station, wherein the jig or fixture securely holds a wooden frame or skeleton that is the beginning part of an upholstered article (or component) of furniture. At each workstation, a different operation can be performed or a different item added to the skeleton or frame, the added items including for example, foam padding, molded foam material, fabric, paper tacking strips, or cardboard.
2. General Background of the Invention
Furniture manufacturers frequently begin the construction of an upholstered furniture article with a wooden frame or skeleton. Additional materials are attached to this skeleton or frame using staplers, nails or like fasteners. These additional materials can include foam padding, fabric upholstery, paper tacking strips and the like. During the manufacture of upholstered furniture, the piece has typically been moved manually from one worker to the next in the prior art. Each worker in sequence performs different operations on the frame or skeleton until the upholstered furniture article is complete and ready for shipment to a furniture distributor, wholesaler, retailer, or the like.
Patents have issued that are directed generally to assembly line construction of various articles including furniture articles. The following table lists examples of such patents.
The following U.S. Publication and Patents are incorporated herein by reference:
TABLEU.S. Pat. No.TITLEISSUE DATE1,963,710Upholstery Making ApparatusJun. 19, 19343,439,397System of Making Fibrous-FilledApr. 22, 1969Furniture Seat and Back CushionElements3,727,903Furniture Truck FrameApr. 17, 19733,914,154Method and Device for the ProductionOct. 21, 1975of Layered Pressed Panels4,575,059Method and Jig for FurnitureMar. 11, 1986Construction4,765,122ConveyorAug. 23, 19884,914,873Work Environment SystemApr. 10, 19905,054,178Process and Apparatus for theOct. 8, 1991Production of Innersprings forMattresses and Upholstered Furniture5,608,956System for Automatically Assembling aMar. 11, 1997Seat6,763,573Assembly System for MonitoringJul. 20, 2004Proper Fastening of an Article ofAssembly at More than One Location2004/0098850Apparatus for Upholstering ComponentsMay 27, 2004of Chairs, Armchairs or the likeDE019813373Assembly jig for Furniture CarcassesOct. 7, 1999EP001046481Furniture Assembly LineOct. 25, 2000

Method and apparatus for assembling furniture components


A cloning device driver system includes a subsystem to configure a virtual local area network (VLAN) switch port configuration for tagged operation and a subsystem to configure a non-virtual local area network (non-VLAN) switch port configuration for tagged operation. In operation, the cloning device driver system allows modification of the non-VLAN switch port configuration independent of the VLAN port configuration, thereby allowing an information signal to pass to a physical layer (PHY) of an open system interconnection (OSI) device.

The present disclosure relates generally to information handling systems, and more particularly to parallel VLAN and non-VLAN device configurations.
As the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option is an information handling system (IHS). An IHS generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements may vary between different applications, IHSs may also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in IHSs allow for IHSs to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. In addition, IHSs may include a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems.
A local area network (LAN) is generally known as a network to link multiple IHSs across a small geographic area, such as an office or a home. A virtual local area network (VLAN) is similar to a LAN, except that IHSs coupled together via a VLAN may be located across a larger geographic area and communicate as if the multiple IHSs are connected to a common LAN communication cable.
A problem is that a VLAN system generally operates on an actual LAN system. Therefore, when a LAN system is modified, the changes also need to be made to the VLAN system. This can cause additional problems because the VLAN devices may be located far apart from one another and a technician would have to travel to each VLAN location to complete the changes.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide an improved parallel VLAN and non-VLAN device configuration absent the disadvantages discussed above.

Parallel VLAN and non-VLAN device configuration


A block type CVT belt having at least one endless load carrier. Each load carrier having tensile members. A plurality of blocks are transversely engaged with the load carrier in a lengthwise direction of the load carrier. The center of gravity of each block is asymmetrically located in each block. Each block having a thermoset or thermoplastic over-molding on a metallic reinforcing body. Each block having at least one slot for receiving the load carrier. Each slot having a complex radius between a central pillar and an upper arm and lower arm in order to avoid stress risers. Each load carrier is slightly compressed in each slot to reduce block skew.

This invention relates to belts used in continuously variable transmissions (xe2x80x9cCVTxe2x80x9d), and more particularly to CVT belts comprising blocks indexed on endless tensile members.
It is well known in the art that a gear type transmission may be used for running a motor vehicle, motorcycle or the like. For the purposes of improving fuel efficiency, a continuously variable transmission, CVT, is preferable. Various types of belts have been developed for use in continuously variable transmissions.
Generally, the CVT Belts have a silhouette similar to that of a conventional V-belt. In particular, they are broad at the top and narrow at the bottom and designed to fit between the sheaves of a pulley defining an angular groove. The pulley on which the belt is trained comprises a moveable sheave and a fixed sheave, both having a truncated cone shape. Generally, one of the sheaves moves while the other remains fixed.
Moving one sheave in relation to the other effectively varies the effective diameter xcfx86 of the pulley within which the belt operates. Consequently, belt speed is a function of the effective diameter of the pulley which is in turn a function of the axial position of the sheaves relative to each other.
Representative of the art is U.S. Pat. No. 4,813,920 to Inukai. The disclosed belt comprises a plurality of blocks which engage at least one endless load carrier in the lengthwise direction of the belt. The blocks are provided with means to hold each in a substantially perpendicular position on the load carrier.
It is also known in the art that in the case of a dry running CVT belt, the outer inclined surface of the block which contacts the surfaces of the pulley sheaves must be comprised of either thermal setting or thermal formed plastic. Using such plastics negates the need for lubrication between the belt and the sheave surface. Blocks may have such plastics only on the inclined surface designed to interface with the pulley sheave or be totally over molded with plastic.
Reference is made to U.S. Pat. No. 4,813,920 to Inukai which discloses an over-molded metal reinforced block type CVT Belt. The over molding is accomplished by chemical preparation of the surface of the reinforcing member. This may involve surface preparation by alkaline soaking process with an acid soaking process. An adhesive layer is then applied to the metal member block consisting of a silane coupling agent, which consists of an amino alkoxy silane. The phenol plastic is then over-molded on the prepared metal member. Of course, the chemical preparation of the metal block requires use of hazardous materials. This creates special handling requirements for the chemicals used to treat the metal blocks as well as for disposal of the chemicals once they have been used. Japanese laid open application JP11-82637-A teaches chemical preparation of a metal reinforced block body prior to application of the plastic over-molding.
Inukai ""920 further teaches locating the center of gravity of the blocks within a diameter of a tensile member. It is taught that placement of the center of gravity of the block in proximity to the centerline of the tensile member may reduce oscillation of the blocks during operation. This places requirements on the design of the blocks so the center of gravity is properly located. However, it is questionable whether such placement is advantageous.
Another aspect of the block type CVT belts in that the blocks comprise upper and lower arms connected by a central pillar. The transitions between the pillars and the arms are generally right angles. Such right angle connections create stress risers that decrease the life of the blocks due to failure of the upper arm connection to the central pillar, thereby decreasing the life of the belt.
What is needed is a block type CVT belt having a center of gravity of each block that is asymmetrically located relative to a geometric center of the block. What is needed is a block type CVT belt having a metal reinforced block. What is needed is a block type CVT belt having an over-molded metal reinforced block. What is needed is a block type CVT belt having an over-molded metal reinforced block wherein the surface preparation of the metal reinforcement is accomplished by mechanical means. What is needed is a block type CVT belt having a complex radius between a pillar and an upper and lower support arm. What is needed is a block type CVT Belt having a groove with a complex shape surface on a lower portion. The present invention meets these needs.
The primary aspect of the invention is to provide a block type CVT Belt having a center of gravity of each block that is asymmetrically located relative to a geometric center of the block.
Another aspect of the invention is to provide a block type CVT Belt having a metal reinforced block.
Another aspect of the invention is to provide a block type CVT Belt having an over-molded metal reinforced block.
Another aspect of the invention is to provide a block type CVT Belt wherein the surface preparation of the metal reinforcement is accomplished by mechanical means.
Another aspect of the invention is to provide a block type CVT Belt having a complex radius between a pillar and an upper and lower support arm.
Another aspect of the invention is to provide a block type CVT Belt having a groove with a complex shape surface on a lower portion.
Other aspects of the invention will be pointed out or made obvious by the following description of the invention and the accompanying drawings.
The block type CVT belt according to the present invention comprises at least one endless load carrier having tensile members. A plurality of blocks are transversely engaged with the load carrier in a lengthwise direction of the belt. The center of gravity of each block is asymmetrically located in each block. Each block has thermoset or thermoplastic over-molding. The over-molding is attached to the metal block by use of an adhesive or primer and adhesive. The preparation of the metal reinforcing member is accomplished by mechanical tumbling means, as opposed to chemical preparation. Each block also comprises at least one slot for receiving the load carrier. Each slot having an upper concave surface and a lower surface having a complex shape. The upper concave surface receives a corresponding convex surface or tooth on an upper surface of the tensile member. Each slot is provided with a complex radius between a central pillar and an upper and lower arm in order to avoid stress risers. The load carriers are slightly compressed in each groove to significantly reduce skew.


The invention relates to a non-invasive method to diagnose the changes of molecular structures of organism tissues from body surface and a dedicated apparatus. The apparatus is comprised of a Fourier Transform infrared spectrometer and a set of additional accessories. Said additional accessories include a mid-IR fiber optics sampling attachment, a fiber coupling part, and an infrared detector part. The detection method is comprised of placing the ATR probe of the dedicated apparatus on the skin surface of a region to be tested, and scanning more than one time in which the resolution of the apparatus is 1-32 cm−1 and the range of the spectrum is 800-4000 cm−1. It is possible to detect changes in molecular structures of living biological tissues in the early stages of cancer, and testees will not feel uncomfortable during testing. The method is easy to operate, quick, accurate, and it doesn't harm the body.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a method of body surface non-invasive detection of changes in molecular structures of organism tissues, and also relates to a dedicated apparatus for detecting changes in molecular structures of organism tissues.
2. Description of Prior Art
Survival for cancer patients depends largely on early detection. Thus, an important goal in cancer research is to develop accurate, quick, convenient and inexpensive methods to detect cancer early. Iconography methods, e.g. CT and MRI etc, to detect pathologic changes inside the human body via the "space-occupying effect" are now commonly used in clinics. A restriction of these methods is that a lesion cannot be detected before it has attained a large enough size (>1 cm in diameter). Concerning endoscopic and biopsy methods, a disadvantage is that patients may suffer from the long, invasive sampling process. Therefore, alternative approaches for early diagnosis of cancer are needed.
Infrared spectroscopy is a sensitive probe to reflect molecular structure. It is known that every substance has its own characteristic infrared spectrum, i.e. only absorbing infrared rays of some wavelengths but not other wavelengths, so the characteristic infrared absorption spectrum can be used for qualitative analysis of the substance. Moreover, the concentration of one component is proportion to the absorbance, so the characteristic infrared absorption spectrum can also be used for quantitative analysis of the substance. At present, infrared spectrometers are often used to measure absorbance (or transmittance) of substances to infrared radiations to study changes of molecular structure. Organism tissues comprise nucleic acid, poly-saccharide, protein, lipid and some other bio-molecules, and the compositions and structures of these biological molecules are different between normal cases and pathologic conditions. Based on this principle, someone has already used infrared spectrums to detect cancer cells, for example, first disclosed in Benedetti, Applied Spectroscopy, 1986, 40, 39. However, such detection also requires complex sample preparation techniques, and is time-consuming and invasive. Therefore, there is an urgent need for developing a non-invasive method capable of detecting pathologic changes of organism tissues at early stage.
Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (abbreviated as FT-IR) is a most widespread method. At present, Fourier transform infrared spectrometers are mainly made up of light source, optical measuring system, computer data processing system, computer interface and electronic circuit system, etc. Among those, the optical measuring system is used for transmitting optical information and detecting and collecting data; the computer is used for processing data and controlling operation of the apparatus. Fourier transform infrared spectrometers can simultaneously transmit lights of all wavelengths to the detector, where the received signal is an interference pattern. After capturing the interference pattern, the computer converts it into a spectrogram by fast Fourier transform method. That is, the different absorption at every wavelength in the interference pattern is discriminated one by one (so-called Fourier transform is that sine or cosine functions in time domain and those in frequency domain are transformed to each other). (see Wu Jinguang, et al., "Modern Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopic Technologies And Applications", Science and Technology Press, 1994).
FT-IR spectrometers at present exhibit various types and models, such as research type, analytical type, general type and purpose-specific type, and the like. When whichever type of spectrometer is used to detect a sample, a certain amount of the sample to be tested needs to be taken out and then placed onto related attachments inside the sample chamber of the infrared spectrometer to be measured. Sometimes the sample needs to be processed in advance in order to be suitable for measurements, for example, the biological sample is subject to homogenization process and the like. Such method is not only time-consuming, but also incapable of detecting organisms directly. Moreover, it will be an invasive way for the biologic sample measurement. Therefore, it is necessary to improve the Fourier transform infrared spectrometer to have, for example, a dedicated detection apparatus capable of sampling on the surface of organisms and then directly performing measurements, so that it can be directly applied to detect organisms such as human bodies. To do this, since 1995, we have measured and studied various in vitro tumors, in vivo tumors during operations and human body surfaces of tumor regions using the technology of FTIR in connection with mid-infrared fiber optics (Spectroscopy and Spectral Analysis, Vol. 16, No. 5, pp 22-25, October 1996, and ibid, Vol. 24, No. 5, pp 628-630, May 2004). It is found in researches that it is impossible to diagnose states of tumors only by one spectrum detection; also found that fibers of chalcogenide is too fragile and damageable, and fibers of silver halide have short lifetime, all of which are not suitable for clinic usage; and particularly found that infrared spectra of pathologic changes in some gland tumors (in vitro tumor tissues) have same variation regularities as those of corresponding regions non-invasively detected in vivo. Therefore, there exist needs for a method and apparatus and means thereof suitable for clinic usage, which can diagnose the property and the pathologic change degree of a tumor in a region by quickly and non-invasively detecting the infrared spectrum of the corresponding human body surface.

Non-evasive method and apparatus of detection of organism tissues

Beijing Second Optical InstrumentFacotry


In some embodiments, a method includes detecting a tone in each data frame of a sequence of telephony signal data frames. A first data frame of the sequence of telephony signal data frames may be transmitted immediately after detecting the tone therein. Transmission of a last one or last ones of the sequence of telephony signal data frames may be deferred. It may then be determined whether the tone is present in a next data frame that immediately follows the sequence of telephony signal data frames. If it is determined that the tone is not present in the next data frame, the last one or ones of the sequence of data frames and the next data frame may be transmitted. If it is determined that the tone is present in the next data frame, a respective replacement data frame may be transmitted in place of each one of the last one or last ones of the sequence of data frames and in place of the next data frame.

Processing of telephone signals typically requires inclusion in the telephone signals of standard signaling tones such as DTMF (dual tone multi-frequency) tones or call progress tones. However, when telephone signals are transmitted according to certain techniques, such as VOIP (voice over internet protocol), it may be desirable to suppress signaling tones within the voice band and to replace those tones with out of band signaling, or with standardized special signaling data frames, as proposed in RFC (Request for Comments) 2833, published by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF).
Suppression or "clamping" of frames that include a signaling tone may entail trade-offs. A tone having a duration of less than 30 to 40 milliseconds (e.g., 3 to 4 10-millisecond data frames) may not be considered to be a valid tone, and a typical clamping regime may not call for clamping such relatively short tones. A longer tone (30 to 40 milliseconds or more) may typically be clamped, at least in part. Since delay in frame transmission may be undesirable in real-time communication sessions, it has been proposed to transmit the first three frames of a tone signal, and then to clamp the fourth and succeeding frames. A possible drawback to this proposal may be that the tone duration in the first three transmitted frames may be sufficiently long to trigger tone detection at a destination for the signal, which may interfere with proper reception of the signal.

Methods and apparatus for suppressing signaling tones in telephony signal


An electrical card connector (1) stacking on a bracket (2) for receiving a hard disk drive comprises an insulating body (3) having a transverse wall (31) far from a front edge (22) of the bracket (2) and relatively adjacent to a rear edge (23) of the bracket (2), a shielding shell (7) covering on the insulating body (3), and a plurality of terminals (5) retained in the insulating body (3). Each terminal (5) has a securing portion secured in the transverse wall (31), an engaging portion (50) extending ahead from the transverse wall (31) for electrically connecting with the electronic card, and an extended portion (51) extending backwardly from the transverse wall (31) and towards and further beyond the rear edge (23) of the bracket (2).

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to an electrical card connector, and in particular to an electrical card connector having extended terminals.
2. Description of Related Art
With the trend of reducing the size of a computer device, demand has arisen for increasing its data storage capacity at low cost. Generally, electrical cards, such as memory cards, are functional as data storage devices which are electrically connected to the computer device. The electrical cards are portable instruments that are readily inserted and extracted from electrical card connectors of the computer device. Early in the development of a Notebook Personal Computer (Notebook-PC), an electrical card connector and a hard disk drive (HDD) bracket are individually mounted on a printed circuit board (PCB) of the Notebook-PC. This not only increases the number of components in the Notebook-PC, but also requires a great amount of space for accommodating the individual electrical card connector and HDD bracket.
Subsequently, more electrical card connectors are arranged in "dual port" or stacked configurations. Examples of this electrical connector assembly are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,551,131 and 6,540,552. This electrical connector assembly commonly depends on a flexible printed circuit (FPC) connecting two electrical connectors to a PCB. However, the FPC is much expensive so that the manufacturing cost of the way is high.


A bi-directional fluid safety valve for preventing spillage when filling tanks, vessels, fill lines, and or hoses for transportation of fluids in pipelines or tubulars with a tubular body with an external body and an internal bore having a fluid flow path from a first end to a second end, the first and second members concentrically disposed and moveable along a longitudinal axis within the tubular body; with means such as springs to longitudinally bias the first member toward the second member and means to longitudinally bias said second member toward said first member. Also provided are embodiments for connection of the tubular body to alternative connection systems.

In the world that we live in today, safety and environmental issues are of paramount importance. During filling operations of tanks, vessels, fill lines, hoses, pipelines or tubulars for transportation of fluids that are harmful to personnel or the environment, it is necessary to use a valve which precludes spillage when the hose or transportation device is disconnected from the structure being filled. These valves must also allow fluid to flow in the reverse direction to prevent over pressuring. For these reasons, these types of valves are generally referred to as fluid safety valves or pressure relieving valves.
In one application the filling and or circulation operations of tubulars (OCTG) used primarily for the drilling and completing of oil and gas or geothermal wells, where it is necessary to run or pull tubulars (OCTG) into or out of a wellbore. When running tubulars into or out of the wellbore, it is common to fill each joint with drilling or wellbore fluid (also known as drilling mud). The drilling or wellbore fluid is a mixture of various chemicals required to support varying operations or conditions which often contain elements of a high viscous nature. When introduced to valves or restrictions, the drilling or wellbore fluid can be highly corrosive or abrasive especially when transported or delivered under pressure. A valve is normally installed below the Kelly or top drive to prevent the discharge of the drilling or wellbore fluid from spilling onto the rig floor where it is a hazard to personnel and the environment. These valves allow drilling or wellbore fluid to flow into the tubular (OCTG) while pumping but will automatically close when pumping is discontinued. These types of valves are known as "Standing or Mud Saver Valves". There are numerous prior art patents for these types of valves. These prior art designs generally include a closure member, an abutting seat member, and a means for urging the closure member toward the seat. The prior art also tended to have no matched flow capability in opposing directions, bi-directional reverse flow capability, and a restricted or reduced flow through bore and could only be used in a vertical application.
Each of the prior art valves disclose many advantages and enhancements in safety and or valve designs. However, each of the valves has certain shortcomings. The main shortcoming being the lack of a matched full flow through the valve cavity, pressure balancing, bi-directional capability and no restrictions on plane of operation.
A second shortcoming is the lack of wear resistance. Many drilling or wellbore fluids, especially those used in drilling applications, contain elements of a high viscous nature and high solids content. These solids can be sand, barite, and a variety of other chemical materials used to create higher density fluids. These types of fluids can be very abrasive and therefore erosive. Prior art designs contain sharp edges, irregular or nonlinear flow paths, small cross sectional flow areas, or all of the aforementioned, causing turbulence within the valve. The combination of these factors leads to premature wear and ultimately failure.
A third disadvantage to prior art designs is that the seat is held rigid as it is encountered by the closure member when the valve closes. This rigidity can cause a violent impact between the closure member and the seat. These impacts cause severe wear to the sealing surfaces leading to a possible catastrophic failure of the valve.
A fourth disadvantage to prior art designs is the closure member does not have a mechanical means to limit its axial movement. This creates two problems. First, the spring urging the closure member towards the abutting seat can be compressed further than the spring manufacturer's recommended deflection, overstressing the spring, causing it to fail. Secondly, the lack of a limiting means causes chattering of the closure member against the seat, thereby causing premature failure wear. This is due to the pump pressure forces being constantly resisted by the spring. As the pump pressure fluctuates, the closure member correspondingly moves closer to and away from the seat. When the pump pressures and or flow rates are such that these fluctuations occur while the closure member is very close to the seat, chattering occurs. This chattering effect is detrimental to the sealing surfaces and can lead to catastrophic failure of the valve.
A fifth disadvantage to prior art designs is the lack of ability to have a full flow capability in reverse flow or the cross sectional area for reverse flow is very small. These restricted fluid flow passages increase the amount of time necessary to relieve the pressure built up or trapped and again lead to catastrophic failure of the valve, tank or containment vessel.
A sixth disadvantage to prior art designs is the absence of a means to adjust to pressures or flow rates at which the valve opens in both directions. Many valves use a ball type check for reverse flow that relies on gravity to hold it firmly against its seat. This provides no means of adjusting the pressure at which the check opens. It also will not function in orientation other than vertical.
A seventh disadvantage to prior art designs is the chamber or cross sectional space housing the closure member spring is not sealed from the fluids being circulated. The circulation of fluids laden with sand or other solids can cause build up of these solids around the coils of the spring. This can reduce the deflection of the spring causing the flow area between the closure element and the seat to become restricted. This build up can also completely eliminate the spring deflection blocking all flow through the valve and can lead to potential catastrophic failure of the valve or associated equipment.


A total reflection measuring cell for the spectroscopic examination of a sample in an IR spectrometer comprising an ATR crystal (1) having a plane surface (2) and a diaphragm clamped in a clamping frame (13) is characterized in that, additionally a tensioning device is provided for parallel displacement of the diaphragm on an inner partial area of its surface clamped between the legs of the clamping frame (13) in the direction of the plane surface (2) of the ATR crystal (1) that the displaced inner partial area of the diaphragm surface has a higher tension than the clamped diaphragm surface merely clamped in the clamping frame (13) before, and that a stop is provided towards which the tensioning device is forced and fixed in that position such that the inner partial area of the diaphragm surface has always the same defined separation from the plane surface (2) of the ATR crystal (1). In this fashion, it is possible to exactly keep the separation from the plane surface (2) of the ATR crystal (1) despite the tendency of the diaphragm to form waves or sag. The otherwise caused quantitative measuring errors due to waviness or displacement of the diaphragm in the IR spectrum can be prevented and thus a considerably higher measurement accuracy can be guaranteed and the quality of the measurement results can be reliably ensured.

This application claims Paris Convention priority of DE 199 49 953.5 filed Oct. 16, 1999 the complete disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference.
The invention concerns a total reflection measuring cell for the spectroscopic examination of an, in particular, fluid sample in an infrared (=IR) spectrometer comprising an ATR (=attenuated total reflectance) crystal having a plane surface and a diaphragm clamped on several sides in a clamping frame, wherein the clamping frame is disposed such that the diaphragm extends at a small separation from the plane surface of the ATR crystal.
ATR measuring cells of this type are known from U.S. Pat. No. 5,362,445 A1 or DE 196 12 877 C1.
To study the interactions between biomolecules by means of FTIR-ATR spectroscopy, it is important to introduce ligands in the evanescent field without causing mechanical disturbances of the sensitive layer on the ATR crystal or changing the concentrations of the dissolved substances which interact with the immobilized molecules. This is realized by a diaphragm, generally a dialysis diaphragm which is disposed above the sensitive crystal surface and separates a sample chamber below the diaphragm from a dialysis chamber above the diaphragm. Compounds having a low molecular weight can be dialyzed into and out of the sample chamber according to the MW Cut-Off of the diaphragm without lessening macromolecules in the evanescent field or destroying the immobilized thin layers on the crystal surfaces. Introduction of the ligands into the evanescent field can be accelerated beyond the thermal diffusion rate. Through the use of electrophoretical currents, charged ligands can be specifically transported into and out of the sample chamber through the diffusion barrier and the mechanical obstacle formed by the dialysis diaphragm.
The construction and use of such total reflection measuring cells through the initially mentioned features is described in detail in the above cited DE 196 12 877 C1, the complete disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference. The use of a diaphragm in an ATR cell includes, however, the problem of keeping an exact distance from the plane surface of the ATR crystal. Unfortunately, the diaphragms clamped in a clamping frame have generally the tendency to form waves or sag through. The filling or emptying of the hollow space above the diaphragm can cause pressure transfer to the hollow space below the diaphragm such that the sensitive sample layer on the crystal is damaged and the IR measurement becomes impossible. In the extreme case, the diaphragm will sag that much that during filling/removing processes it comes even in direct contact to the crystal surface thus removing the immobilized sample from the crystal.
It is therefore the object of the present invention to present a total reflection measuring cell of the initially mentioned type which does not have the above-mentioned disadvantages, guarantees a considerably increased measuring accuracy and thus reliably ensures the quality of the measuring results.
In accordance with the invention, this is achieved by additionally providing a tensioning device for displacing the diaphragm on an inner partial area of its surface clamped between the legs of the clamping frame in the direction of the plane surface of the ATR crystal such that the displaced inner partial area of the diaphragm surface has a higher tension than before the diaphragm surface merely clamped in the clamping frame, and providing a stop to which the tensioning device is forced and fixed in this position such that the inner partial area of the diaphragm surface has an identical defined distance from the plane surface of the ATR crystal.
The tensioning device reliably prevents sagging of the diaphragm in the tensioned inner partial area such that the natural waviness of the diaphragm material does not present any problems any more. The mechanical stop achieves an extremely exact positioning of the tensioned diaphragm surface in the inner partial area relative to the plane surface of the ATR crystal, in particular an exact parallelism with simple means and without great production effort.
Particularly preferred is an embodiment of the inventive ATR measuring cell wherein the tensioning device comprises a continuous wedge whose continuous closed edge line tensions the inner partial area of the diaphragm and forces same towards the ATR crystal. A continuous wedge of this type can be produced in a mechanically simple manner and with high accuracy.
In an advantageous further development of this embodiment, the angle of the wedge sides of the continuous wedge towards the plane surface of the ATR crystal in the fixed position of the tensioning device is between 30xc2x0 and 60xc2x0, preferably approximately 45xc2x0. In general, one will choose a symmetrical wedge shape, i.e. both wedge sides having the same angle. Variants are also feasible wherein the two wedge sides have different angles.
Due to the longitudinal shape of the common ATR crystals, a further development is preferred wherein the continuous enclosed edge line of the continuous wedge forms a longitudinal oval comprising two parallel longitudinal sides forming a semi-circle at each of their ends.
One embodiment is particularly preferred, wherein the stop towards which the tensioning device can be forced and fixed in this position comprises a continuous inclined surface of an inclination corresponding to the wedge angle. This guarantees positioning of the diaphragm tensioned in the inner partial area plane-parallel to the sensitive surface of the ATR crystal with high precision whereby the production effort is very small.
A further advantageous embodiment of the inventive ATR measuring cell is characterized in that between the inner partial area of the tensioned diaphragm surface within the continuous enclosed edge line of the continuous wedge and a cover part of the tensioning device facing away from the diaphragm in the unfolded state, a hollow volume is formed which can be filled or emptied via an inlet and an outlet in the cover part. The sample fluid can flow through this hollow space when fluid samples are measured.
A further development is advantageous, wherein the cover part is produced from transparent material, preferably plexiglass. This allows in particular observation of the flow behaviour of the sample fluid but also discovery of possible contamination in the hollow space and removal thereof through rinsing.
Also preferred is one embodiment wherein a hollow volume is formed between the plane surface of the ATR crystal and the tensioned inner partial area of the diaphragm surface which can be filled or emptied via an inlet and an outlet. In this manner, the molecules diffused through the diaphragm can contact the sensitive surface of the ATR crystal. Moreover, the inlet and outlet allow rinsing of the sensitive area of the ATR crystal for cleaning which may serve i.a. to prepare subsequent measurements.
One embodiment of the inventive ATR cell is particularly preferred wherein the tensioning device can be detachably and rigidly connected, preferably screwed to a base plate onto which the ATR crystal is fixed. This considerably facilitates the relative positioning and fixing of the achieved optimum position between diaphragm and ATR crystal.
One further development of this embodiment is particularly preferred for geometrical reasons, wherein the inlet and outlet lead, through the base plate, to the hollow space between the plane surface of the ATR crystal and the tensioned inner partial area of the diaphragm surface.
In a further development, the optimum relative position can be achieved and fixed in that the clamping frame comprising the clamped diaphragm is disposed between the base plate and the tensioning device and comprises through-bores for receiving and guiding the screws for screwing the tensioning device to the base plate.
In a particularly simple further development of these embodiments, the stop for the tensioning device is integrated in the base plate.
One further development is particularly advantageous with respect to handling of the respective individual parts of the inventive ATR measuring cell, wherein the continuous inclined surface of the stop is disposed on the base plate side facing the diaphragm in the mounted state and surrounds an inside width through the base plate wherein on the other side of the base plate, the ATR crystal is fixed with its plane surface facing the inside width.
The diaphragm used in the inventive ATR measuring cell is usually formed as dialysis diaphragm. In embodiments, the ATR measuring cell itself can be formed as dialysis cell.
Alternatively, the ATR measuring cell can also be formed as electrophoresis cell.
To allow a simple possibility for both measuring methods, the inventive ATR measuring cell can be constructed such that two exchangeable cover parts can be mounted onto a fixed base plate part comprising the ATR crystal fixed thereon or thereto, wherein the cover parts contain the respectively used diaphragms with the inventive tensioning devices and are especially designed either for dialysis or electrophoresis measurements. Such an ATR measuring cell meets the most important requirements for infrared studies on a large plurality of macromolecular interactions. The unit generally contains a trapezoidal internal reflection element in the form of the ATR crystal which is disposed in a rinsable casing with regulated temperature and completely encapsulated. The base plate onto which the ATR crystal is fixed is generally advantageously coated with teflon.
In an advantageous embodiment of the inventive ATR measuring cell, a further clamping frame with clamped diaphragm and a further tensioning device are disposed on the side of the first diaphragm facing away from the ATR crystal in the mounted state, parallel and at a defined separation from same. This embodiment is suited in particular for electrophoresis examinations.
A further development of this embodiment is characterized in that both tensioning devices comprise two continuous wedges arranged next to one another and extending parallel to the ray guidance axis of the ATR crystal. Their continuous enclosed edge lines tension the respective inner partial area of the diaphragms disposed in parallel and force same towards the ATR crystal wherein the tensioning device located closer to the ATR crystal comprises on its side facing away from the ATR crystal a stop for the tensioning device further away from the ATR crystal which comprises two continuous inclined surfaces whose inclination corresponds with the wedge angle of the two continuous edge lines of the tensioning device further away from the ATR crystal.
This further development can be improved in that the two tensioning devices disposed on top of one another are formed such that when mutual fixing, the diaphragm tensioned between them is forced between the two continuous wedges of the tensioning device further away from the ATR crystal such that it represents a large Ohmic resistance in this area. This prevents undesired xe2x80x9ccross flowsxe2x80x9d via the tensioned diaphragm.
One further development is also preferred wherein the tensioning device less remote from the ATR crystal comprises recesses within the two continuous wedges such that two hollow spaces are generated between the two unfolded diaphragms which can be separately filled via a separate inlet and a separate outlet within the tensioning device closer to the ATR crystal.
Moreover, it is favourable to generate a hollow space between the unfolded diaphragm less remote from the ATR crystal and the ATR crystal which can be filled and emptied via an inlet and an outlet within the base plate to which at least one of the two tensioning devices is mounted.
Finally, a further improvement can be achieved in that the tensioning device further away from the ATR crystal comprises recesses within the two continuous wedges which are connected in a direction opposite to the two tensioned diaphragms separately with two separate hollow spaces such that after filling all hollow spaces of the mounted ATR cell with an electrically conducting liquid and after applying an electric voltage to the hollow spaces, which are connected with the recesses of the tensioning device further away from the ATR crystal, a current flux can be generated which flows from the hollow space connected with a cathode to the hollow space connected with an anode passing both diaphragms twice.
Further advantages of the invention can be gathered from the description and the drawing. The features mentioned above and below can be used in accordance with the invention either individually or collectively in any arbitrary combination. The embodiments shown and described are not to be understood as exhaustive enumeration but have exemplary character for describing the invention.
The invention is shown in the drawing and is explained in more detail with reference to an embodiment:

ATR measuring cell for FTIR spectroscopy


A sensor that measures angular velocity about an axis that is normal to a sensing plane of the sensor. The sensor comprises a sensing subassembly that includes a planar frame parallel to the sensing plane, a first proof mass disposed in the sensing plane, a second proof mass disposed in the sensing plane laterally to the first proof mass, and a linkage within the frame and connected to the frame. The linkage is connected to the first proof mass and to the second proof mass. The sensor further includes actuator for driving the first proof mass and the second proof mass into oscillation along a drive axis in the sensing plane. The sensor further includes a first transducer to sense motion of the frame in response to a Coriolis force acting on the oscillating first proof mass and the oscillating second proof mass.

Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) technology has been under steady development for some time, and as a result various MEMS devices (including gyroscopes) have been implemented within several applications. MEMS gyroscopes generally belong to a vibratory mass class of gyroscopes. The vibratory MEMS gyroscopes are the devices used to measure rate of rotation. In general, there are two sub-classes of vibratory mass gyroscopes: (1) in-plane rotation sensors (also referred to as "X/Y rate sensors"), and (2) perpendicular-to-the-plane rate sensors (also referred to as "Z-axis (angular) rate sensors"). Although X/Y rate sensors and Z-axis rate sensors operate in accordance with the same principals, there are fundamental design differences between the two classes of gyroscopes—e.g., structural designs associated with one class cannot be easily extended to the other class.
A fundamental challenge with design of MEMS Z-axis rate sensors is to develop dual mass vibrating masses that vibrate 180 degrees out of phase, and develop ability to capacitively sense a Coriolis force exerted on the vibrating masses through sensing a motion of a rotating frame around the Z-axis. When sensing the Coriolis force it is desirable to minimize any quadrature effects—e.g., the coupling of the drive vibration to the sense frame—in order to have a good signal to noise ratio. Another challenge of designing MEMS Z-axis rate sensors is achieving a design that permits such sensors to be fabricated in high volumes and with low costs to address consumer market needs and address high volume applications (e.g., gaming applications, GPS assist applications, and mobile handset applications, and so on). Yet other desired design objectives are to provide for a reduced (e.g., minimal to none) sensitivity to linear vibrations, and also a robust design that can with stand high level of shock, e.g., due to a product being dropped.
Today, the costs associated with conventional Z-axis rate sensors are generally prohibitive for any use in the consumer market, and conventional Z-axis rate sensors also are not the most efficient in terms of size and power consumption. A main factor associated with the cost of a MEMS Z-axis rate sensor is the packaging associated with the MEMS Z-axis rate sensor. Conventional MEMS gyroscope solutions typically rely on hermetic ceramic packages having a controlled ambient in vacuum to deliver a required performance. It is virtually impossible to deliver to the consumer market a MEMS Z-axis rate sensor that meets cost/performance requirements without addressing packaging cost issues.

Integrated microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) vibrating mass Z-axis rate sensor


An optical communication network includes a fiber-optic terminal system (FOTS) coupled to internal optical waveguides (or fibers) situated within a central office or terminal. These waveguides connect to external optical fibers. A new component is provided for optically coupling the FOTS to the waveguides. This component includes planar waveguides, referred to as "main waveguides" formed on a substrate. Each main waveguide is coupled at one end to the FOTS and at the other end to an internal waveguide. Monitor waveguides, also formed on the substrate, are used to transmit OTDR signals to the main waveguides. Wavelength-division multiplexers formed on the substrate are used to couple monitor waveguides to corresponding main waveguides with respect to monitor wavelengths but not with respect to signal wavelengths.

Optical fiber networks are increasingly important for the distribution of telephonic signals. One architecture of current interest for an optical fiber communication system is conveniently described with reference to FIG. 1. That architecture includes a fiber-optic terminal system (FOTS) 10 located at a central office (CO) 25. The FOTS includes receivers 20 for intercepting optical fiber transmissions coming into the CO, and transmitters 30 for initiating optical fiber transmissions which exit the CO. The optical fibers 40 which communicate directly with the FOTS are typically fibers internal to the CO. These fibers need to be interconnected with fibers 50,55 which exit the CO; i.e., with fibers in the outside plant. The interconnections are performed through a lightguide cross-connect frame (LGX) 60. A typical LGX is a sheet-metal frame which houses many fibers having ends which are adapted, by appropriate connectors, to be manually interconnected. Typically, those fibers 50 that carry outbound transmissions from the CO to the outside plant are distinct from those fibers 55 that carry inbound transmissions from the outside plant to receivers at the CO. Several thousand outside-plant fibers may enter and exit a CO which serves a metropolitan area.
Turning now to FIG. 2, an active star architecture may be used to distribute transmissions between a group of fibers 70 extending over typical lengths of 1-50 km from the CO to respective remote terminals (RTs) 80 and a much larger group of fibers 90 extending from the RTs to distant terminals (DTs) 100. The DTs may, for example, be located at individual residences, or they may be situated at curbside enclosures each of which feeds several residences. Each RT may include a FOTS for relaying optical fiber transmissions between fibers that carry signals into the FOTS and fibers that carry signals out of the FOTS. Each RT may also include an LGX for performing interconnections between the FOTS input and output fibers and the outside plant fibers which communicate with the RT.
In order to assure that the network is operating properly, it is necessary to perform tests on the network and to monitor transmissions in the fibers of the network. In particular, it is important to provide access points for testing and monitoring the fibers that emerge from the CO of FIGS. 1 and 2, and the downstream fibers emerging from the RTs of FIG. 2. The fibers at each location that are to be monitored may number in the hundreds, or even in the thousands. Monitoring of such a large number of fibers by active techniques may be prohibitively expensive. Moreover, active monitoring generally involves undesirable service interruptions. Consequently, it is desirable to provide one or more passive components which include access points for monitoring which can be used during ordinary service. However, space is likely to be limited at the CO, and even more limited at the RTs. Limitations on space may limit the number of fibers that can be monitored by conventional, passive components. Therefore, where it is necessary to monitor a very large number of fibers, it may be necessary to use miniaturized passive components for testing and monitoring of the network fibers. Miniaturizable, passive components which can be incorporated in an optical communication system, and which provide access to the fibers for testing and monitoring, are described below.

Optical communication system with multiple fiber monitoring


Waste water from a laundry (1) is collected in a storage container (3), fluffs and textile sheddings are separated through filtering sieves (2). The volume of the container is set so that it may store the amount of waste water produced for example during two days. The waste water is supplied with a bio-reactor (4) that works in aerobic conditions. Air is lead into the bio-reactor (4) at its lower end (5), establishing aerobic conditions therein. The biologically considered water leaves the bio-reactor (4) at the top end (6) of the column-shaped bio-reactor (4) and is supplied to an active coal column that acts as an adsorber (7). The adsorptively purified water leaves the adsorber (7) packed with active coal through the duct (8), is collected in a storage container (9) and if required is returned through duct (10) to the laundry, if required after 5 to 20% fresh water are added.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention concerns a process for purifying and reusing surfactant-containing waste waters from washing processes.
2. Description of the Related Art
The purification and reuse of surfactant-containing waste waters, in particular those such as produced by laundry facilities and car washes, as well as surfactant-containing waste waters from private households, represented technological challenge, since surfactants by nature present an extremely disruptive environment for organisms of all types, in particular the microorganisms of a mixed bioecology.
Above and beyond this, the industrial waste waters from a laundering process, in particular laundry waste waters or waste waters from car washes, comprise chemically relatively complex mixtures, which are extremely difficult to purify or to render reusable.
In particular, the waste waters from laundries are obviously strongly dependent in their quantitative and qualitative composition upon the detergents employed for the washing or as the case may be cleaning processes. Since universal detergents are primarily employed in the laundry facilities, the composition of the effluent is determined primarily, besides the textiles to be cleaned and the specific impurities contained therein, essentially by the composition of these universal detergents.
This type of universal detergent is comprised as a rule of an abundance of chemically varied substances, in particular anionic and non-ionic surfactants, fillers, compatibilizers, bleach agents, bleach activators, color preservers, corrosion inhibitors, stabilizers, anti-foaming agents, enzymes, optical brighteners as well as carriers and additive agents.
As anionic and non-ionic surfactants there can be mentioned for example alkylbenzolsulfonate, alcohol sulfate as well as alcohol ethoxylate.
As carriers generally zoelite A, sodium triphosphate and sodium carbonate are used. There is however an increasing modern trend for ecological reasons to avoid the use of phosphates and to replace these with ziolite and/or other silicates.
This type of carrier or filler is necessary, in order to enhance by a multiple the cleansing effect of the surfactant. In particular, the fat removing properties of the detergent or cleansing materials are strongly enhanced by the use of the fillers.
As co-fillers frequently a polycarboxylate is primarily used.
As bleaching agent, perborate, in particular sodium perborate as well as tetra acetyl ethylene diamine are used as bleach activators.
As fade inhibitors one employs mainly carboxymethylcellulose or, as the case may be, cellulose ether.
As corrosion inhibitors primarily alkaline silicate is employed.
Phosphonates serve as stabilizers and soaps, silicon oil and/or paraffin serve as foam inhibitors.
As enzymes primarily proteases and amylaces and sometimes however also lipases can be employed.
Above and beyond this, frequently optical brighteners comprised of stilbene or biphenyl distyryl types are employed.
Besides color materials, aromatic materials which can be added as a further ingredient frequently include sodium sulfate as a filler material or as the case may be as a production facilitating material.
The use of powder type universal laundry detergent in laundry facilities is experiencing increasing resistance to phosphates as ingredients and these phosphates are being replaced substantially with ziolites, soaps, citrates and amines, in particular tri- and monoethanolamine.
In particular, practically only phosphate-free laundry materials are being employed at this time in the United States and Japan as well as in the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Italy and therewith in the effluent foam from laundry facilities.
In car wash facilities however a series of other substances end up in the effluent, for example, those which can be selected from: care substances for automobiles in particular waxes such as natural waxes or polyethylene based waxes, polishing substances; fatty substances; creams, in particular silicon fats, silicon oils, motor oil, transmission fluid, fuel, in particular gasoline and diesel fuel; antifreeze materials, in particular glycol; aminoxide; quaternary ammonium compounds; betaine; dialkyldimethyl ammonium salts, in particular chloride; rock salt; as well as mixtures thereof.
As a result of the above described complex composition of surface active agent (surfactant) laundry and cleansing solutions it follows that the chemistry of the respective effluent is extremely complex. As a result of legal requirements and ecological prohibitions the disposal of surfactant containing cleansing solutions in canals or sewage systems is in general to be avoided as a method of disposal. The manner of the treatment process and required investment are directly related to the respective type of treatment and the local regulations or as the case may be the discharge water laws. Acids or alkali cleansing materials must be neutralized. When treating emulsified oils a separation of the emulsion is necessary. Usually the result of an emulsion separation is that the oil content is not reduced to the prescribed legal limits, so that a subsequent flocking with aluminum or iron salts, frequently with supplementation of flocking assistants, must occur. With silicon-containing detergent solutions the salicylic acid which precipitates as a result of the neutralization causes an adsorption of oils and other organic substances.
In a waste water pre-treatment the surfactants found in the solutions are in large part removed along with the separation of the oils and fats insofar as they are oil soluble.
During the precipitation or as the case may be flocking of aluminum or iron phosphates or as the case may be hydroxides the chemical oxygen demand (COD-value) of the waste water, which is the most important factor in the determination of the waste water release, can be strongly reduced, insofar as the surfactants or also other adsorbable organic substances are brought out.
A further treatment possibility for the surfactant containing detergent solutions is the expensive and labor intensive ultrafiltration.
In the ultra-filtration there occurs, besides the effort and costs for the ultra-filtration membrane, the problem that though oil soluble non-ionic surfactants and anti-foaming materials are almost completely retained, water soluble non-ionic surfactants however almost completely pass through the membrane. With anionic surfactants there is established in comparison an equilibrium between membrane transmissive and retained surfactants (Kosswig/Stache, "The Surfactant" Carl Hanser Publishers Munich; Vienna (1993)).
The treatment of laundry waste water by ultra-filtration is extolled for example in DE-A 35 13 940, in particular for reclaiming of water and unspent wash active substances. This type of ultra-filtration system incurs however a high investment and maintenance cost. Above and beyond this the surfactants frequently lead, particularly after long use, to a disruption or damaging of the ultra-filtration membrane.
Beside the investment and maintenance expense for ultra-filtration systems, the above described effect results in only an incomplete retention of the surfactant and thus to a high surfactant containing effluent, which may not be disposed of in the canals.
A likewise quite expensive process for treatment and reuse of laundry and rinse waters is disclosed in DE-A 41 24 915. This laid open patent application teaches that a portion of the surfactant containing effluent water should be filtered and a part of the effluent should be treated by floatation for reclamation of rinse water.
This process is represented on the one hand as avoiding the problem of salting of the water. On the other hand, a demineralized-thus expensive, desalinated fresh water reclaimed through ionic exchangers out of the effluent water is added back as cleansing water, so that a moderate salt concentration results.
Preferably metal salts are employed as the floatation assistants in this technique representative of the state of the art.
Therewith this state of the art process has the disadvantage that the floating sludge resulting from the floatation process must be taken care of.
Beyond this the waste water is treated by pressure tension floatation, which again is associated on the one hand with a technical investment and on the other hand with a relatively high financial investment and maintenance cost.
A further possibility for carrying out the floatation according to the teaching of DE-A 41 24 915, lies in the carrying out of a so called electro-floatation in place of the metal salt treatment. This however is burdened with the disadvantage that an electro-floatation facility is relatively expensive and in addition does not solve the problem of how to take care of the resulting surfactant containing floatation sludge.
A further approach for the treatment of waste water, as occurs after the washing of clothing articles in large laundry facilities, is disclosed in DE-A 40 35 433. According to the therein disclosed process, the oil-in-water emulsion produced by large laundry facilities is separated out with the organic solvent perchloroethylene, in order to separate the waste water into a first, essentially aqueous fraction containing a small amount of oil fluid, which by ultra-filtration is separated out into water and disposable oil, and a second solution fraction, which is the phase containing the surfactants and oil, which by distillation is resolved into a disposable oil-impurity mixture and the solvent.
This process according to the state of the art exhibits however the substantial disadvantage, that it is associated with the utilization of an eco-toxicologically disadvantageous organic solvent, which ultimately enters into the environment certainly at least in trace amounts. On the other hand there is at least a necessity for carrying out an ultra-filtration step, which as discussed above is associated with disadvantages.
Further there is described in DE-A 33 05 238 a process for biological cleansing of water following a preliminary clarification with a pre-filter, wherein the water to be cleansed circulates in its own filter cycle. Beyond this there is accomplished by the filter circulation also the aeration or, as the case may be, the oxygenation by means of an air driven mammoth pump. The objective of DE-A 33 05 238 is comprised therein of providing a capable filter, which no longer needs to be cleaned under normal operating conditions, and with which an automatic separation of the accumulating sludge, dirt, and the like is possible. On the basis of the design of the filter described in this document as well as on the basis of the oxygen enrichment of the water in the filter, such a filter type is typically proposed for use as an aquarium filter.
It is further noteworthy that this kind of filter can be employed in intensive fish breeding. This is due to the fact, that the filter is comprised of a combination of biological filter and large dirt particle filter, since lava gravel is employed as the filter material.
This aquarium filter according to the state of the art of DE-A 33 05 238 can be associated with a downstream active charcoal filter for absorption of non-decomposable substances.
Although according to DE-A 33 05 238 the aquarium filter described therein should be capable of treatment of effluent waters from laundry facilities and other wet works as well as for treatment of industrial waste waters, there are however no references with respect to the type of waste water, in particular the relationship of surfactant containing waste water in respect to the bio-ecology mixture.
According to Kosswig and Stache, "The Surfactant", Carl Hanser Publishers, Munich Vienna, 1993, among the synthetic compounds the surfactants represent a special case for the transforming organisms--which as a rule are bacteria. Surfactants are namely substances which are active upon the interface surface. In comparison to other organic compounds which are dissolved in water, these are especially active upon the interface or surface. This applies also for cellular membranes. This fact is what facilities the purely physical substrate--organism (enzyme)--contact. It intensives however at the same time the effect of these compounds which in other context are desirable, namely the dispersion of lipids. The cytoplasmic membrane of the bacteria and other microorganisms are comprised of phospholipids, which are bound to a protein complex. The lipid layer is comprised of an asymmetric biomolecular film of triglyceride and phospholipids, of which the hydrophobic ends are oriented inwardly and which hydrophilic ends are directed outwardly facing the protein layer. From biochemical research it has become conventionally understood, that surfactants have a solublizing effect upon the membrane lipids when they reach a necessary minimum concentration on the cellular outer surface. In this way openings result in the membrane, which make possible an exodus of cytoplasm. This phenomena is exploited for example for the isolation of DNA from prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells.
The problem of the biological purification process for surfactant containing waste waters can also be recognized by the fact that the methods prescribed by the European Community for determination of the primary degradation of surfactants, the so called OECD-Screening-Test or, as the case may be, the OECD-Confirmatory-Test is based upon a test duration or period of 19 days in the Screening-Test and with a test duration of 21 days in the Confirmatory-Test.
According to the OECD-Screening-Test, surfactants, which after 19 days are at least 80% degraded, qualify for being classified as biologically degradable.
For this reason there has until now been no biological process for purification and reuse of surfactant containing waste waters.

Process for purifying and reusing surfactant-containing waste waters


A method of forming MOS devices is provided. The method includes providing a semiconductor substrate, forming a gate dielectric over the semiconductor substrate, forming a gate electrode over the gate dielectric, forming a source/drain region in the semiconductor substrate, forming an additional layer, preferably by epitaxial growth, on the source/drain region, and siliciding at least a top portion of the additional layer. The additional layer compensates for at least a portion of the semiconductor material lost during manufacturing processes and increases the distance between the source/drain silicide and the substrate. As a result, the leakage current is reduced. A transistor formed using the preferred embodiment preferably includes a silicide over the gate electrode wherein the silicide extends beyond a sidewall boundary of the gate electrode.

Deep-submicron scaling required for VLSI systems dominates design considerations in the microelectronics industry. As the gate electrode length is scaled down, source and drain junctions must be scaled down accordingly to suppress the so-called short channel effects (SCE) that degrade the performance of miniaturized devices. A major problem related to complementary metal oxide silicon (CMOS) scaling is the undesirable increase in parasitic resistance. As the source/drain junction depth and polycrystalline silicon line width are scaled down into the deep-submicron range, parasitic series resistances of the source/drain diffusion layers and polysilicon gate electrodes increase. A conventional approach to counteract the increase in parasitic series resistances of the source/drain diffusion layers and the polysilicon gate electrodes involves salicide technology which comprises forming a layer of metal silicide on the source/drain regions and the gate electrode.
Conventional salicide technology for reducing parasitic series resistance has proven problematic, particularly as design rules plunge into the deep-submicron range, i.e., about 0.18 microns and smaller. For example, agglomeration causes silicide to have high sheet resistance. Due to the scaling, the silicide integrity becomes worse when the line width is narrowed. Silicide is prone to agglomeration. With a wide line width, if a portion of the silicide agglomerates, more alternative paths still exist for currents. However, with a narrow line width, an agglomerated portion may occupy a greater portion of a cross sectional area on the current path, thus the sheet resistance will increase significantly with an agglomeration. Therefore sheet resistance tailing occurs, which means that there is a higher probability that a silicide has high sheet resistance.
It can be appreciated from the geometry of a MOS device that smaller device sizes, in particular a shorter distance between the source and drain, will allow the conducting channel between the source and drain to form more rapidly and allow the device to operate at higher switching speeds. As the device dimensions are reduced to achieve higher packing densities and improved performance, the junction depth needs to be scaled in proportion to the junction length. However, the formation of silicide consumes crystalline silicon from the underlying semiconductor substrate. When the junction depth is significantly smaller than the thickness of the silicide, the thickness variation of the silicide caused by process variations may be greater than the junction depth, making the junction depth very hard to control.
Another significant problem is leakage current. FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional transistor. The source/drain region includes a lightly doped source/drain region (LDD) 104 and a deep source/drain region 106. Silicide 102 typically consumes a portion of the deep source/drain region 106, thus lowering the top surface of the deep source/drain region 106. As a result, the silicide 102 is closer to a corner point 108, which is located at an interface of the LDD region 104 and the deep source/drain region 106. When the transistor is scaled down, the distance D decreases, and a leakage current between the silicide 102 and the substrate 2, as is symbolized by arrow 110, increases. With continued scaling of the MOS devices, the distance D will continue to decrease, causing an increase in the leakage current. If processes are not well controlled, silicide 102 may become very close to, or even reach, point 108, causing a significant leakage current.
Accordingly, there exists a need for a simplified methodology for forming low resistance contacts in semiconductor devices with increased reliability and reduced junction leakage.

Method of forming a MOS device with an additional layer

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.