A sense amplifier overdriving circuit includes a first voltage driver which supplies an internal voltage from an internal voltage terminal to a sense amplifier in response to a first enabling signal, a logic unit which logically operates a block select signal for selection of a cell block and a second enabling signal enabled for a predetermined time after enabling of the first enabling signal, and outputs the resultant signal, and a second voltage driver which supplies an external voltage to the internal voltage terminal in response to the signal output from the logic unit.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a sense amplifier overdriving circuit and a semiconductor device using the same, and, more particularly, to a sense amplifier overdriving circuit which overdrives sense amplifiers at the level of an external voltage for a predetermined period to prevent the internal voltage of the sense amplifiers from being abruptly dropped during operation of the sense amplifiers in such a manner that the overdriving operation is carried out only for sense amplifiers belonging to a currently-activated cell block, and a semiconductor device using the sense amplifier overdriving circuit.
2. Description of the Related Art
Semiconductor memory devices, which are used for storage of information, have advanced toward low cost, reduced size, and large capacity, in accordance with the technical advances in computer systems and electronic communication fields. Also, the developments of such semiconductor memory devices have advanced toward inhibition of unnecessary current consumption because of increased demand for enhanced energy efficiency.
Generally, the cell array of a dynamic random access memory (DRAM) device to store data includes a number of cells each of which includes one n-channel metal oxide semiconductor (NMOS) transistor and one capacitor that are connected to word lines and bit lines connected in the form of a net.
Hereinafter, operation of such a general DRAM device will be described in brief.
When a row address strobe (RAS) signal /RAS, which is a main signal to activate the DRAM device, transits to an active state (low-level state), address signals are inputted to a row address buffer. In this state, a row decoding operation is carried out to decode row address signals output from the row address buffer, and thus, to output a row address for selecting one of the word lines in the cell array.
When data of each cell connected to the selected word line is applied to a pair of bit lines, namely, a bit line BL and a complementary bit line /BL, connected to the cell, a sense amplifier enabling signal is enabled, thereby activating a sense amplifier driving circuit for a cell block selected by the row address. In accordance with operation of the activated sense amplifier driving circuit, respective bias potentials of a sense amplifier associated with the sense amplifier driving circuit are transitioned to a core potential Vcore and a ground potential Vss, so that the sense amplifier is activated. When the sense amplifier is activated, the potential difference between the bit lines BL and /BL, which has been kept minute, is amplified. Subsequently, a column decoder, which is selected by a column address, turns on a column transfer transistor which serves to transfer the data on the bit line BL and the data on the bit line /BL to data bus lines DB and /DB, respectively. Accordingly, the data transferred to the bit line BL and the data transferred to the bit line /BL are sent to the data bus lines DB and /DB, respectively. Thus, the data is outputted to the outside of the DRAM device.
That is, the bit lines BL and /BL of each bit line pair is in a state of being precharged to ½ Vcc before the semiconductor memory device operates, namely, in the standby mode. When the bit lines BL and /BL receive data from the associated cell in accordance with operation of the semiconductor memory device, the potentials of the bit lines BL and /BL are varied to have minute differences. When the sense amplifier connected to the bit lines BL and /BL begins to operate in the above state, the potentials of the bit lines BL and /BL are varied to a core potential Vcore and a ground potential Vss, respectively. Namely, amplification of the data on the bit lines BL and /BL is carried out. The amplified data from the bit line BL and the amplified data from the bit line /BL are sent to the data bus lines DB and /DB in accordance with a column decoder output signal yi, respectively.
In the above-mentioned conventional semiconductor memory device, however, a large amount of current is abruptly consumed at the point of time when the sense amplifier begins to operate in accordance with reception of the internal voltage, namely, a core voltage, VCORE. As a result, there is a problem in that the internal voltage VCORE is abruptly dropped. In order to solve this problem, a method, in which the external and internal voltage terminals of the semiconductor memory device are short-circuited at the point of time when the sense amplifier operates such that an external voltage is supplied to the internal voltage terminal, has been widely used. This method is referred to as "sense amplifier overdriving", and the circuit, which achieves such sense amplifier over driving, is referred to as a "sense amplifier overdriving circuit." In conventional sense amplifier overdriving methods, however, an external voltage is applied to each cell block of a cell array irrespective of whether or not the cell block is in operation. As a result, the current consumption in execution of the sense amplifier overdriving operation is unnecessarily excessive, thereby causing degradation in the energy efficiency of the semiconductor device (as seen in FIG. 4).

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Sense amplifier overdriving circuit and semiconductor device using the same


A water amount controlling switch structure of water injection gun, including a gun housing, a controlling pin, a water sealing gasket, a locating ring, an adjustment pin, a trigger, a push button, a pad member, a water sealing ring and three springs. The trigger is U-shaped and pivotally connected with an opening of a chamber of the gun housing. A lower portion of inner side of a middle board of the trigger is disposed with a projecting conic head pushing post. An upper section of the middle board is disposed with a push button notch. A lower edge of the notch is formed with a supporting slope face. The push button is received in the notch. An upper section of inner side of the push button is disposed with a hollow fitting post. A bottom edge of the push button is formed with a zig-zag micro-adjustment slope face leaning against and engaging with the supporting slope face of the notch of the trigger. An end of the zig-zag micro-adjustment slope face of the Push button is disposed with a short horizontal section and a vertical engaging edge connected with the horizontal section. By means of the engagement between the supporting slope face of the trigger and the zig-zag micro-adjustment slope face of the push button, the trigger can be freely pressed inward and located to micro-adjust the water amount.

The present invention relates to an improved water amount controlling switch structure of water injection gun, which is further provided with a zig-zag slope face at the bottom of a push button so as to make the micro-adjustment of water amount in a more sensitive manner by way of a trigger moving in abutment against the zig-zag slope face in operation. The trigger can resume its non-operation position by a spring force as long as the spring biased push button is pressed down.
In the conventional water injection gun, the water flow is controlled by a front trigger type controlling switch. Such controlling switch can only keep a maximum water amount or shut off the water, while failing to micro-adjust water amount as necessary. This often leads to inconvenience in use of the water injection gun.
The present inventor provides for an improved water injection gun having a water amount controlling switch, as disclosed in U.S. patent application of Ser. No. 09/07,389. Such a water amount controlling switch is operated by way of a trigger 60 in association with a push button 70 which is biased by a spring 85. The operation of the Push button 70 is not in such a stepwise manner that the micro control of water discharge becomes difficult. So, it is often for an operator to repeat pressing the push button 70 to rake it move into the chamber 11 of the gun housing 10, allowing the trigger 60 to move backwards by the spring 84 to cut off water supply. Then, the trigger 60 is pressed once again to discharge water. Such repeated operations make the micro adjustment unsatisfied.

Water amount controlling switch structure of water injection gun


A rolled material holder includes rotatable disks as base members with pivotable arms for holding opposing open ends of a cylinder having a roll of material. The rotatable disks allow an installer to mount the holder on any surface without limitation to being just horizontal or just vertical. Each of a pair of side frame members has a cavity, and the disks are positioned in the cavities and have a selectable orientation within the respective cavity of the side frame members. Each base member has a recess in which are mounted a pair of arms for holding the cylinder at the opposing open ends.

1. Field of the Invention
This disclosure relates generally to the field of dispensers of goods, and in particular to a holder for mounting and dispensing rolled materials.
2. Background
Holders are known in the art for holding rolls of materials; for example, paper towels, toilet paper, wax paper, sheets of aluminum foil, webs of plastic for wrapping food, and the like. A rolled material holder in the prior art typically includes a mounting plate with screw holes or other devices for mounting the holder to a surface; for example, a wall or the underside of a kitchen cabinet. Side frame members extend from the mounting plate and include respective arms which engage openings in a cylindrical core about which the material is rolled. The arms hold the roll between the side frame members and allow rotation of the roll and its material to dispense the material from the roll. Contacting surfaces of the arms may be smooth and/or curved to reduce friction in the rotation of the roll to facilitate the dispensing of the material off of the roll held by the arms.
In some prior art rolled material holders, the side frame members are pivotable to increase the separation of the side frame members for insertion of new rolls of material and replacement of spent rolls. In other prior art rolled material holders, the arms are positioned in cavities in the side frame members. The arms are pivotal so that each arm may be moved from an initial position to be recessed within its cavity in a pivoted position. By pivoting the arms, the spacing between the arms is increased to allow a new roll of material to be inserted and/or spent rolls to be replaced. The arms may then pivot back to the initial position to hold a new roll of material.
The construction of these rolled material holders in the prior art limits their orientation. For example, the holder is specifically oriented in a predetermined configuration to have the side frame members in a horizontal position, and especially with the contacting surfaces of the arms positioned upward so that a roll of material may be positioned upon the contacting surfaces with less resistance to rolling. One can install the holder in any other orientation, for example, horizontally but upside-down relative to the predetermined orientation or vertically with the mounting plate flush against the underside of, for example, a kitchen cabinet. These deviations from the predetermined orientation of the holder will have the contacting surfaces oriented differently, and the roll of material will not properly contact the contacting surfaces for ease of dispensing of the material. The prior art rolled material holders have limited orientation, and so installers and users are limited in their choice of the position and orientation of the holders for users to dispense and receive the rolled material.


Converters having a 1st power converter (1) on the mains systems side and a 2nd power converter (9) on the load side may have valve arms with insulated gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs) (T1, T2; T1', T2'). In order to be able to switch high currents, as are required in traction applications, a plurality of IGBTs (T1, T2) and (T1', T2') are operated electrically in parallel with one another. In order to avoid destruction or explosion of a module having IGBTs (T1, T2; T1', T2') of this type in the event of a short circuit, a fuse (Si1, Si2; Si1', Si2') is connected in series with each IGBT (T1, T2; T1', T2') on the cathode side thereof, which fuse blows when a predeterminable limit current intensity is exceeded, and thereby interrupts the short-circuit current. The current then flows only via the parallel-connected IGBT. The fuses (Si1, Si2; Si1', Si2') used are bonding wires whose cross section and number are dimensioned such that they interrupt a short-circuit current when the predeterminable limit current intensity is exceeded. In this case, the anode-side terminals of the IGBTs (T1, T2; T1', T2') must not melt, that is to say they must have a smaller electrical resistance than the cathode-side terminals. In the absence of a short-circuit current limiter (3), in power converters (1, 9) having a DC voltage intermediate circuit (2), very high short-circuit currents occur in the DC voltage intermediate circuit (2) and in the phase modules of the relevant power converter (1, 9) in the event of the short circuit of an intermediate circuit capacitor (C1, C2, C3), as a result of the low-impedance discharge of the latter. In order to limit the short-circuit current intensity to safe values, a reversible short-circuit current limiter (3, 8) is connected in series with at least one intermediate circuit capacitor (C2) or with a capacitor bank (C3) of the DC voltage intermediate circuit (2).

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a power converter circuit having at least two controllable semiconductor components connected in parallel in the anode and cathode sides and having at least one control signal terminal.
2. Discussion of the Background
A semiconductor module as disclosed in DE 3 420 535 A1 operates as a chopper and has a plurality of field-effect transistors, in particular MOS-FETs, which are connected in parallel with one another, for a switching frequency of 20 kHz with switching times of about 100 ns for currents of 120 A, in which module a diode is electrically connected in parallel, via a backup capacitor, with each field-effect transistor, in the immediate vicinity thereof. The close routing in parallel results in a total inductance of only approximately 20 nH. At the same time, switching off 100 A in 100 ns results in an overvoltage of just 20 V.
What is disadvantageous in that case is that very high capacitor discharge currents are established given a defective field-effect transistor in the event of a short circuit, which currents may lead, via an arc, to destruction of the component and to explosion of the module.
DE 4 330 381 A1 discloses a protective circuit for an electrical circuit with a capacitor circuit, in which, in the case of a converter with a DC voltage intermediate circuit, in the event of the short circuit of an intermediate circuit capacitor, a reversible short-circuit current limiter prevents impermissibly high short-circuit currents in the DC voltage intermediate circuit and in the phase modules of the relevant power converter. This short-circuit current limiter has a PTC thermistor, which is connected in series, in a low-inductance and cooled manner, with at least one capacitor or with a capacitor bank of the DC voltage intermediate circuit. The PTC thermistor can be arranged in the DC voltage intermediate circuit or in the power converter. In parallel with the PTC thermistor, it is possible to connect a varistor and/or a non-reactive resistor and/or a diode reverse-biased in the direction of a short-circuit path, it being possible to combine the PTC thermistor and varistor or PTC thermistor and non-reactive resistor to form one component.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,583,146 discloses connecting a PTC thermistor and a varistor in parallel with a mechanical interrupter contact.
DE-A 2 831 495 discloses an overcurrent protection arrangement for an intermediate circuit converter or self-commutated invertor, in which a transistor is connected in series with the intermediate circuit capacitor, which transistor is in the on state during normal operation and is turned off in the event of a disturbance. A diode is reverse-connected in parallel with this transistor.
The production of a fuse by bonding is disclosed in DE 38 37 458 A1.

Parallel connection of controllable semiconductor components

ABB Daimler-Benz Transportation (Technology) GmbH


The present invention provides a batting tee comprising a hollow tubular vertical stand having a first end through which at least one ball can be loaded inside said tubular vertical stand, and a second end, a means for pushing the ball upwardly just above the first end, the pushing means housed within said hollow tubular stand, and a horizontal base plate affixed to the second end portion.

Baseball is a favorite American pastime and training begins at a very young age. The most difficult aspect of the game is hitting the baseball so that it is projected to a desired distance and direction. To perfect this skill, people young and old will partake in batting practice. Batting practice is often conducted in large open fields or batting cages. People travel to these practice areas with all of their equipment including baseballs, bats, helmets, gloves and most importantly baseball tees. Carrying all of this equipment to a car, unloading it onto a field of play, setting it up, and then re-loading it back into the car after practice is tiring and cumbersome. To ease this burden, some of the equipment is placed into a large bags, and other pieces of equipment are carried or dragged onto the field. The bags are heavy and awkward to carry.
During the set up process the batting tee is assembled and placed into position. Once the batting tee is set up, people load one baseball at a time on top of the tee before taking a swing at it with their baseball bat. Afterwards, they must place another ball on top of the tee before taking another swing. This process is repeated throughout the practice session. This is very distracting and takes away time and energy from improving a person's batting skill.
Many batting tees are known including, for example, the tee disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,136,869. The tee comprises a base and an upstanding column carried by the base and having means for supporting a ball on such column. The column and base are made of a yieldable resilient material and are constructed to enable the column to be struck by a ball bat and easily knocked down with the column and bat remaining intact and once knocked down enabling the base and the major portion of the column to be easily flattened upon applying compressive forces thereagainst to thereby assure a person falling thereagainst will be free of injury.
Another such device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,176,838 which provides, for example, a batting baseball tee comprised of a self-righting, semi-spherical weighted bottom portion with an axially upstanding post removably fixed thereto, terminating at its upper end with an inverted conical helical spring attached thereto for the reception of a ball forming a batting target.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,227,691 provides, for example, a planar base adapted to rest on the ground, and having a plurality of holes therein and being a representation of a baseball home plate, an elongate, length-adjustable, telescoping member, such member including an elongate pipe being externally threaded at one end thereof, such one end of the pipe being extendable through any one of the holes in the base; and a disc having an internally threaded central hole for receipt of one end of the pipe for removably connecting the telescoping member to any one of the holes in the base, the member supporting a ball above the selected hole in the base.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,383,686 provides, for example, a batting tee comprising a base including an upper and lower base member held in substantially parallel spaced relation relative to each other by a first set of spacers disposed therebetween wherein the upper and lower base member each comprises a first and second base element normally disposed in coplanar relation relative to each other, a second set of spacers attached to the lower surface of the lower base member to support the batting tee above the ground, a substantially vertical adjustable tee member including an outer interconnecting element having an upper and lower tee element extending from opposite ends thereof, a flexible ball receiving element is coupled to the upper portion of the upper tee element, a plurality of corresponding apertures comprising a predetermined pattern are formed in the upper and lower base members to selectively receive the lower tee element thereinto vary the ball hitting position relative to the batting tee wherein the predetermined pattern comprises at least two pair of substantially parallel rows of apertures to permit the batter to select one of at least three batting positions relative to the batting tee.
Several other U.S. patents disclose a variety of batting tee designs. While they provide interesting designs there leaves much room for improvement. It is desirable to have a batting tee which requires no assembly. It is also desirable to have an easy way to transport equipment such as baseballs, bats etc. onto a playing field at one time. It is yet another desirable feature to have a baseball tee which does not require re-loading of a baseball or softball after every hit.


A volume identification system identifies a set of unlabeled spatio-temporal volumes within each of a set of videos, each volume representing a distinct object or action. The volume identification system further determines, for each of the videos, a set of volume-level features characterizing the volume as a whole. In one embodiment, the features are based on a codebook and describe the temporal and spatial relationships of different codebook entries of the volume. The volume identification system uses the volume-level features, in conjunction with existing labels assigned to the videos as a whole, to label with high confidence some subset of the identified volumes, e.g., by employing consistency learning or training and application of weak volume classifiers. The labeled volumes may be used for a number of applications, such as training strong volume classifiers, improving video search (including locating individual volumes), and creating composite videos based on identified volumes.

1. Field of Art
The present disclosure generally relates to the field of digital video, and more specifically, to determining temporal and/or spatial features associated with objects of a digital video.
2. Background of the Disclosure
A typical digital video depicts multiple semantic objects or actions, such as animals, vehicles, stationary objects, and the like. In order to represent one of these objects or actions in a useful way, so that it can be distinguished from other objects for purposes such as labeling the object based on its meaning, features are derived from the object or action based on its unique properties, such as its visual and/or audio data. Selection of the right types of features for representing the objects or actions permits the objects or actions to be more meaningfully represented and thus better distinguished from other objects.

Determining feature vectors for video volumes


A method of forming in-situ pilings in clay soil. An auger stirrer is rotatably and axially forced into the ground. Water, dry binder (cement/or lime), and air are injected to lubricate the tool, and liquify the mix of clay soil, binder and air to form a uniform structure, most of the air percolating from the mix before it hardens.

In his U.S. Pat. No. 5,967,700, issued Oct. 19, 1999 the applicant herein discloses apparatus and method to form an in-situ piling in existing soil. This patent is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety for its showing of apparatus to inject water and binder (such as cement and/or lime) into a soil structure, and for related methods. The apparatus mixes these materials, and after a time the mixtures solidifies to form the pilings. One object of the apparatus and method was to provide a suitable mixture at appropriate depths. Much of its advantage was the assurance that the stoichiometric amount of water was provided to react with the binder to make a cured product of suitable strength.
This procedure works well in all soils, but in clay soils it becomes of interest that surprisingly improved results can be attained. With the instant invention, they have been. Increased structural properties, reduced cost of binder, decreased cost of labor and capital equipment, increased speed of installation, and reduction of power to prepare the piling have been extraordinary and were not predicted. These results are principally achieved in clay soils. They are less likely and important in sandy or aggregate soils, although still worth while.
A clay soil is a rather "tough" structure—neither hard nor fluid, but sticky and unwieldy. It is difficult to cut through or to knead. In a word, it lacks "fluidity". This property leads to the problem of providing a piling that is suitably uniform in its composition. Known in-situ pilings often result in structures with sinews of cement surrounded by parent material. This does not form an optimal supportive structure.
Another problem in the prior art is the fact that after water and binder are mixed in, the top of the piling ends up far below the surface. Then there is a hole to be filled in, at considerable cost and aggravation.
Applicant herein has found that a sufficiently fluid in-situ mixture of parent clay, binder, water, and to a fugatious extent, air, can provide the consistency for a very suitable in-situ piling. Surprisingly, when so provided, a wide range of binder concentrations and process water can be accommodated, and surprisingly rapid first and final strengths are attained, all with a nearly homogenous consistently lateral cross section.

Process to prepare in-situ pilings in clay soil


A system for tracking and dispensing medical items (830) includes one or more computers and associated data stores including information concerning authorized users, patients, medical items that have been prescribed for patients, medical items available, storage locations for medical items and events associated with receiving, dispensing and providing medical items to patients. The system also provides for tracking medications from time of receipt by a pharmacy, through storage and compounding therein, to the storage locations from which the medical items are taken to be administered, to dispensing to medical personnel for administration and finally to patients. Further, returning, restocking and other activities affecting the disposition of medications are also tracked to assure that reliable information is recorded concerning the disposition of medical items.

The treatment of patients in hospitals and clinics usually involves the receipt by the patient of medical items. These items may include consumable items such as medications. Medical treatment may also involve other disposable items such as dressings and bandages or other medical equipment. Items implanted into the patient or used in conjunction with surgical procedures may also be used and consumed during the course of a patient's medical treatment. Examples of such items include splints, catheters or guide wires which are normally used during cardiac catheterization or angioplasty. To serve the needs of its patients, a clinic or hospital must always maintain sufficient stocks of these items on hand. Further, as medical items are often expensive, the charges associated with their use must be accurately billed to the patient.
In the past systems for tracking inventory and use of medical equipment items in a hospital or clinic environment have been largely manual systems. The persons responsible for maintaining an inventory of particular items must monitor the use of the items in each storage location within the hospital and order additional supplies when it is noted that the available stocks are running low. Often personnel are only familiar with the stocks available in a particular storage location and as a result, additional stocks may be ordered even though ample supplies are available elsewhere in the same facility.
Certain drugs used in the course of medical treatment are regulated narcotics. The receipt, use and disposal of such items is required to be monitored and tracked. Supplies of such drugs must be kept in secure locations. Certain items may be dispensed from the secure storage only by two (2) authorized users accessing the material and certifying the manner in which it is used. The handling use of such narcotics also may require considerable paperwork which takes valuable time.
The recording of medical items so that the patient may be billed for their use in the course of treatment in the past has also been largely a manual operation. The fact of use by the patient must be recorded in the patient's chart. In some cases items have peel-off labels that include a bar code that can be scanned and used for billing purposes. However, this still requires that the nurse or medical technician transfer the correct coding to the proper location for later billing.
Complications in billing become even greater when items are removed from inventory to accomplish a planned procedure and then the items are not used. A patient may be charged for use of a particular item which is removed from inventory in anticipation of the procedure. If during the procedure the item is not needed, a corresponding credit must be issued when the item is returned to stock. All of these activities take time away from persons who could otherwise devote their time to the treatment of patients. Such tracking and billing practices are also prone to inaccuracies which may cause the hospital or clinic to lose money or which may result in overbilling of the patient.
Thus there exists a need for an apparatus and system for monitoring and dispensing medical items in hospital or clinic environments that can more accurately monitor inventories, dispense medical items and correlate the use of medical items with the patient whose treatment has included their use. There further exists a need for a method and system for the restocking of medical items in such a system that provides more accurate, convenient and secure movement of medical items from a pharmacy or other location where medical items are prepared, to the locations where the medical items are taken for use by patients. There further exists a need for tracking the location and/or use of medical items in a pharmacy.

Method of tracking and dispensing medical items


A reamer includes a housing, a first reamer block, and a second reamer block. The first reamer block includes a leading wall. A second reamer block includes a trailing wall, the trailing wall including a recess. The leading wall is inserted into or nested in the recess to increase the coverage-to-exposure ratio.

Wellbores may be drilled into a surface location or seabed for a variety of exploratory or extraction purposes. For example, a wellbore may be drilled to access fluids, such as liquid and gaseous hydrocarbons, stored in subterranean formations and to extract the fluids from the formations. Wellbores used to produce or extract fluids may be lined with casing around the walls of the wellbore. A variety of drilling methods may be utilized depending partly on the characteristics of the formation through which the wellbore is drilled.
A wellbore may be initially drilled with a first diameter. A portion of the wellbore may be expanded using a reamer. In some embodiments, the reamer may be located uphole of the bit in the same bottom hole assembly. In some embodiments, the reamer may increase the diameter of the wellbore after a pilot hole has been drilled. Some reamers may include reamer blocks that may be selectively expanded to increase the diameter of the wellbore.


An anticontamination cover prevents the biotic contamination of a gastrostomy catheter when the gastrostomy catheter is inserted through the mouth into the stomach for percutaneous, endoscopic gastrostomy. The anticontamination cover includes an elongate covering tube having a closed distal end and an open base end, and a loop attached to and projecting from the outside surface of the distal end of the covering tube. An opening is formed in a part of the distal end of the covering tube opposite a part of the distal end to which the loop is attached. A loop of the gastrostomy catheter inserted in the covering tube is passed through the opening of the distal end of the covering tube.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an anticontamination cover for covering a catheter for gastrostomy (hereinafter, referred to as "gastrostomy catheter") to protect the gastrostomy catheter from biotic contamination when the gastrostomy catheter is inserted through the oral cavity into the stomach for percutaneous, endoscopic gastrostomy.
2. Description of the Related Art
A gastric fistula is formed through the abdominal wall by percutaneous, endoscopic gastrostomy to give nourishment through the intestine to a patient incapable of oral ingestion. Surgical formation of a gastric fistula by percutaneous, endoscopic gastrostomy is carried out using local anesthetic. A surgical operation for percutaneous, endoscopic gastrostomy can be completed in a short time in the range of 5 to 10 min and the patient recovers in a short period.
Surgical formation of a gastric fistula by percutaneous, endoscopic gastrostomy needs an operation to pass a gastrostomy catheter by way of the mouth, the larynx and the pharynx into the stomach. While the gastrostomy catheter is being passed through the mouth into the stomach, the tube and the dome of the gastrostomy catheter touch the mouth, larynx and pharynx and are contaminated with bacteria.
If a gastric fistula is formed by passing a gastrostomy catheter having a tube and a dome contaminated with bacteria through fistulas formed in the abdominal wall and the gastric wall, the fistulas formed in the abdominal wall and the gastric wall will be contaminated with bacteria. Thus the wounded parts around the fistulas are infected with bacteria and the patient needs to take an antibiotic for a long term to heal the infected, wounded parts. Consequently, gastrostomy takes many days and starting giving nourishment through the intestine is delayed.
An anticontamination cover for protecting a gastrostomy catheter to prevent the infection of wounded parts around fistulas by a gastrostomy catheter is mentioned in JP-A No. 126302 (Patent document 1). This known anticontamination cover covers a gastrostomy catheter entirely to prevent the tube and the dome of the gastrostomy catheter from directly touching the mouth, the larynx and the pharynx to prevent the bacterial contamination of the wounded parts around the fistulas.
This known anticontamination cover includes an elongate tubular bag having opposite open ends, a ligature thread for ligating the open end of the tubular bag, and a cutting thread having strength higher than that of the ligature thread and connected to the ligature thread.
This known anticontamination cover receives a gastrostomy catheter therein with a catheter loop attached to the extremity of the gastrostomy catheter projecting from the open end. The open end from which the catheter loop is projecting is ligated by the ligature thread to prevent the direct contact of the tube and the dome of the gastrostomy catheter held in the tubular bag with the mouth, the larynx and the pharynx.
A knot is formed in the open end of the tubular bag tied by the ligature thread. The knot of the ligature thread is contaminated with bacteria while the gastrostomy catheter covered with the anticontamination cover is passed by way of the mouth, the larynx and the pharynx into the stomach. The tube and the dome of the gastrostomy catheter come into direct contact with bacteria adhering to the knot and are contaminated with bacteria when the knot of the ligature thread is untied and the anticontamination cover is removed from the gastrostomy catheter.
In passing the gastrostomy catheter covered with the known anticontamination cover through the mouth into the stomach, the open end of the anticontamination cover is closed by the ligature thread and a guide wire is connected to the catheter loop attached to the extremity of the gastrostomy catheter. If the knot of the ligature thread closing the open end of the tubular bag is loose, it is possible that the anticontamination cover separates from the gastrostomy catheter and cannot exercise its protective function. Consequently, the tube and the dome of the gastrostomy catheter are contaminated with bacteria.


A plant for the cold aseptic bottling of a liquid in bottles with a conveyor line on which bottles are moved by at least one bottle handling machine in a sterile space which is separated by a housing from at least one non-sterile space, whereby the housing is formed by at least one circulating part and one stationary part, and whereby at the transition between these parts, a siphon seal is provided which makes possible the relative motion of the parts, which siphon seal comprises at least one annular duct that concentrically surrounds an axis of the circulating part to hold a sealing or barrier fluid on a ring-shaped wall element on the other part of the housing that extends into the barrier fluid located there, with at least one inlet for the feeding of the barrier fluid into the at least one annular duct and with at least one outlet for the discharge of the barrier fluid out of the annular duct, wherein the at least one outlet is realized in the form of an overflow that sets the level of the barrier fluid, and that the at least one inlet is connected with a reservoir, from which barrier fluid is fed continuously to at least one annular duct. Further, a plant for cold aseptic bottling, where there are a plurality of siphon seals on different levels, each at transitions between a circulating or rotating part of the housing and a stationary part of the housing.

1. Technical Field
This application relates to a beverage bottling plant for filling bottles with a liquid beverage filling material.
2. Background Information
A beverage bottling plant for filling bottles with a liquid beverage filling material can possibly comprise a beverage filling machine, which is often a rotary filling machine, with a plurality of beverage filling positions, each beverage filling position having a beverage filling device for filling bottles with liquid beverage filling material. The filling devices may have an apparatus designed to introduce a predetermined volume of liquid beverage filling material into the interior of bottles to a substantially predetermined level of liquid beverage filling material.
Some beverage bottling plants may possibly comprise filling arrangements that receive a liquid beverage material from a toroidal or annular vessel, in which a supply of liquid beverage material is stored under pressure by a gas. The toroidal vessel may also be connected to at least one external reservoir or supply of liquid beverage material by a conduit or supply line. In some circumstances it may even be possible that a beverage bottling plant has two external supply reservoirs, each of which may be configured to store either the same liquid beverage product or different products. These reservoirs could possibly be connected to the toroidal or annular vessel by corresponding supply lines, conduits, or other arrangements. It is also possible that the external supply reservoirs could be in the form of simple storage tanks, or in the form of liquid beverage product mixers.
A wide variety of types of filling elements are used in filling machines in beverage bottling or container filling plants for dispensing a liquid product into bottles, cans or similar containers, including but not limited to filling processes that are carried out under counterpressure for the bottling of carbonated beverages. The apparatus designed to introduce a predetermined flow of liquid beverage filling material further comprises an apparatus that is designed to terminate the filling of the beverage bottles upon the liquid beverage filling material reaching the predetermined level in bottles. There may also be provided a conveyer arrangement that is designed to move bottles, for example, from an inspecting machine to the filling machine.
After a filling process has been completed, the filled beverage bottles are transported or conveyed to a closing machine, which is often a rotary closing machine. A revolving or rotary machine comprises a rotor, which revolves around a central, vertical machine axis. There may further be provided a conveyer arrangement configured to transfer filled bottles from the filling machine to the closing station. A transporting or conveying arrangement can utilize transport star wheels as well as linear conveyors. A closing machine closes bottles by applying a closure, such as a screw-top cap or a bottle cork, to a corresponding bottle mouth. Closed bottles are then usually conveyed to an information adding arrangement, wherein information, such as a product name or a manufacturer's information or logo, is applied to a bottle. A closing station and information adding arrangement may be connected by a corresponding conveyer arrangement. Bottles are then sorted and packaged for shipment out of the plant.
Many beverage bottling plants may also possibly comprise a rinsing arrangement or rinsing station to which new, non-return and/or even return bottles are fed, prior to being filled, by a conveyer arrangement, which can be a linear conveyor or a combination of a linear conveyor and a starwheel. Downstream of the rinsing arrangement or rinsing station, in the direction of travel, rinsed bottles are then transported to the beverage filling machine by a second conveyer arrangement that is formed, for example, by one or more starwheels that introduce bottles into the beverage filling machine.
It is a further possibility that a beverage bottling plant for filling bottles with a liquid beverage filling material can be controlled by a central control arrangement, which could be, for example, a computerized control system that monitors and controls the operation of the various stations and mechanisms of the beverage bottling plant.
Plants for the cold aseptic bottling of a liquid in bottles or similar containers, for example for the cold aseptic bottling of heat-sensitive beverages (e.g. fruit juices) are known in a number of different realizations. The individual machines that make up a plant of this type and are arranged one after another in the manufacturing or treatment line, such as, for example, a rinser, sterilizer, filling machine and capper, are provided with housings, and specifically so that inside the plant there is a conveyor line for the containers or bottles in a sterile space which is sealed by this housing with respect to adjacent non-sterile spaces or areas, for example the atmosphere, and also generally to prevent the penetration of germs and bacteria.
Among other things, when a machine with a rotary construction is used, as is conventional for rinsers, sterilizers, filling machines and/or capping machines, a housing of this type generally has a plurality of transitions between a rotating or circulating portion of the housing and a stationary part of this housing, so that special seals are necessary in these areas.
Seals of this type of the prior art (WO2004/065283) are realized in the form of labyrinth or siphon seals. Each siphon seal thereby essentially comprises at least one circular, encircling gutter-like duct or annular duct that encircles the axis of rotation or revolution of the revolution of the circulating part of the housing, into which duct a circular ring shaped wall segment on an element of the siphon seal that is provided on the other part of the housing extends. At least during the filling operation, the annular duct is filled with a barrier liquid so that the at least one annular wall segment of the siphon seal is immersed to a sufficient depth in the barrier liquid, so that the gap that remains between the two elements of the respective siphon seal is tightly sealed by the barrier liquid. The barrier liquid may contain a sterilizing medium and may comprise distilled sterile water and contains a specified percentage of hydrogen peroxide H2O2. As a rule, the element of the siphon seal that forms the at least one annular duct is provided on the non-circulating part and the element of the siphon seal that has the annular wall segment that extends into the annular duct is provided on the circulating part of the housing at the transition in question.
To achieve the desired sealing and barrier action, the surface of the barrier fluid in the respective annular duct must not fall below a specified level. For this purpose, on the machine of the prior art there is a separate buffer reservoir for the barrier fluid associated with each siphon seal, which buffer reservoir is connected via a line with the annular duct of the siphon seal in the manner of communicating pipes. By means of an electronic control circuit with a level sensor in the buffer reservoir and a control valve in a supply line, the level of the barrier fluid is maintained at a specified level, so that the liquid level of the barrier fluid in the annular duct of the associated siphon seal will be maintained at the specified level.
Because of design and construction requirements, such siphon seals are required at different levels in a plant for cold aseptic bottling, so that in the plant of the prior art, an independent buffer reservoir with a control circuit and the associated components (sensors, control valves etc.) is necessary at least for each level, which entails a significant construction effort and expense.

Beverage bottling plant for filling bottles with a liquid beverage filling material


A balloon catheter having improved flexibility in and about its distal end is provided. The flexibility of the catheter is determined in part by improving the properties of a wire or catheter located within the area where the balloon is mounted. In one aspect of the present invention, connecting wires extend through the balloon from the distal end of a catheter body to the proximal end of a core wire. The core wire extends distally away from the connecting wires and the catheter body. In another aspect of the present invention, a core wire is provided having a proximal end extending within the balloon into the catheter tubular body but is not mounted therein. This allows the proximal end of the core wire to xe2x80x9cfloatxe2x80x9d within the tubular body, such that when the catheter is advanced through the vasculature of a patient, the core wire may move longitudinally within the tubular body. In another aspect of the present invention, the balloon is mounted over a tubular body which is configured to give the catheter longitudinal flexibility.

1. Field of the Invention
This application relates to medical catheters for use in intravascular procedures, and more particularly, to a catheter having improved flexibility at its distal end.
2. Description of the Related Art
Medical catheters such as balloon catheters have been proven efficacious in treating a wide variety of blood vessel disorders. Moreover, these types of catheters have permitted clinicians to treat disorders with minimally invasive procedures that, in the past, would have required complex and perhaps life-threatening surgeries. For example, balloon angioplasty is now a common procedure to alleviate stenotic lesions (i.e., clogged arteries) in blood vessels, thereby reducing the need for heart bypass operations.
Because medical catheters must be passed through a tortuous blood vessel network to reach the intended treatment site, it is desirable that the catheter be fairly flexible, especially at the distal end. However, the distal end must, not be so flexible that it tends to bend back upon itself when the clinician advances the catheter distal end through the patient.
One method of imparting desired flexibility characteristics: to a catheter has been to incorporate a xe2x80x9ccore wirexe2x80x9d into the distal end of the catheter. A core wire is a wire that extends from the distal end of the catheter body, providing structural support to the distal end to prevent prolapse, bend backs or kinks during catheter advancement. Furthermore, the core wire is also flexible, such that the catheter""s distal end may navigate tortuous blood vessel, networks or other body cavities.
However, conventional core wires often do not offer an ideal flexibility profile for the distal end of a catheter. For instance, when a core wire is mounted inside the distal end of a catheter body, because the catheter body is relatively rigid compared to the relatively flexible core wire, an abrupt transition in flexibility is produced between the core wire and the catheter body. This transition is undesirable because when the catheter is advanced through a tortuous pathway, the catheter may experience a sharp bend at the transition point. This makes it difficult for the catheter to navigate the vessel and increases the likelihood of damage to the vessel.
Moreover, a catheter carrying a balloon or other expandable member on its distal end experiences particular problems related to the flexibility profile of the device. For instance, with many balloon catheters, the transition in flexibility between the catheter portion carrying the balloon and the wire extending past the distal end of the balloon is often too abrupt, leading to the problem that when the catheter is advanced through a blood vessel, the flexible wire is capable of navigating blood vessel turns, but the stiffer portion where the balloon is located cannot. This causes stabbing of the balloon into the walls of the vessel during navigation of tight turns.
Problems also arise in these devices with regard to the dimensional range of the balloon. Balloons mounted on the distal end of the catheters have a tendency to expand not only radially but also longitudinally upon inflation. Depending on the balloon material used, the balloon length may expand minimally (e.g., polyethylene terephthalate) or extensively (e.g., latex or C-Flex). For example, an unmounted C-Flex balloon with a length of about 9 mm has been found to expand longitudinally anywhere from 2 to 20 mm upon inflation. Thus, when the catheters and/or core wires to which these balloons are mounted are too rigid, inflation of the balloon may cause bowing of the catheter and/or core wire and other undesired effects.
Furthermore, balloon centering and rupture are also affected by the flexibility profile of the catheter. In particular, when balloon expansion is limited by the rigidity of the catheter and/or core wire, the balloon cannot uniformly expand. This causes an uneven distribution of stresses within the balloon which causes the balloon to become poorly centered. Moreover, the uneven distribution of stresses can create stress concentration points leading to diminished fatigue life and ultimately quicker balloon failure.
Accordingly, what is needed is an improved balloon catheter offering desired flexibility characteristics around and within the balloon to improve balloon range, centering and rupture properties. What is also needed is a catheter having improved flexibility to exhibit a better transition from the proximal end to the distal end of the catheter.
The present invention solves the needs described above by providing a catheter having an improved flexibility profile in and about its distal end. In particular, for a catheter carrying a balloon on its distal end, the preferred embodiments of the present invention improve the transition and flexibility of the catheter in and around the area where the balloon is mounted. In one aspect of the present invention, a catheter is provided comprising an elongate body having a proximal end and a distal end. At least one connecting wire having a proximal end and a distal end is provided, the proximal end of the wire being mounted to the distal end of the elongate body and the distal end of the wire extending past the distal end of the elongate body. A core wire is provided having a proximal end connected to the distal end of the connecting wire and extending distally therefrom. In one embodiment, because the core wire is not directly attached to the catheter body, a transition region is provided between the catheter body and the core wire to give the catheter a gradually increasing flexibility.
In another aspect of the present invention, a medical device is provided comprising an elongate body having a proximal end and a distal end. An expandable member is mounted to the distal end of the elongate body. A core wire is provided lying along substantially the same longitudinal axis as the elongate body, the core wire having a proximal end and a distal end. The proximal end of the core wire is located within the expandable member and is spaced distally from the distal end of the elongate body. Means are provided for connecting the elongate body to the core wire.
In another aspect of the present invention, a balloon catheter is provided comprising an elongate tubular body having a proximal end and a distal end and a lumen extending therethrough. An inflatable balloon is mounted over the distal end of the tubular body. A core wire lies along substantially the same longitudinal axis as the tubular body, the core wire having a proximal end and a distal end. The proximal end of the core wire is distally spaced from the distal end of the tubular body outside of the lumen. A plurality of connecting wires connects the distal end of the tubular body to the core wire.
In another aspect of the present invention, a catheter is provided comprising an elongate tubular body having a proximal end and a distal end and a lumen extending therethrough. A core wire having a proximal end and a distal end is provided, wherein the proximal end of the core wire extends into the lumen of the tubular body and the distal end extends distally away from the tubular body. A portion of the core wire is positioned coaxially inside the lumen to create an annular space between the core wire and the tubular body. The annular space extends around the core wire over the entire length of that portion of the core wire inside the lumen. An expandable member is provided having a proximal end mounted over the distal end of the tubular body and a distal end mounted over the core wire distal to the tubular body.
This embodiment in effect allows the proximal end to xe2x80x9cfloatxe2x80x9d within the tubular body, such that when the catheter is advanced through the vasculature of a patient, the core wire may move longitudinally within the tubular body. This longitudinal movement creates the effect that the catheter is gradually increasing in flexibility between the tubular body and the core wire, because when the distal end of the catheter bends, the core wire moves distally out of the catheter to make the bend more gradual. Furthermore, when a balloon or other expandable device is mounted between the tubular body and the core wire, the longitudinal movement allowed by the floating core wire further accommodates any longitudinal expansion by the balloon or expandable device upon actuation.
In another aspect of the present invention, a catheter is provided comprising an elongate tubular body having a proximal end and a distal end and a lumen extending therethrough. A core wire having a proximal end and a distal end is provided, the proximal end of the core wire extending into the lumen at the distal end but remaining unattached thereto. A flexible member connects the tubular body to the core wire.
In another aspect of the present invention, a catheter is provided comprising an elongate tubular body having a proximal section and a distal section and a lumen extending therethrough. An expandable member is mounted to the distal section. The distal section is configured to axially expand in response to expansion of the expandable member.
In another aspect of the present invention, a catheter is provided comprising an elongate tubular body having a proximal end and a distal end and a lumen extending therethrough. An expandable member is mounted to the distal end of the tubular body. The tubular body has a coiled section that extends at least partially within the expandable member to provide the tubular body with longitudinal flexibility upon actuation of the expandable member.
In another aspect of the present invention, a catheter is provided comprising an elongate body having a proximal end and a distal end. An expandable member is mounted to the distal end. The elongate body receives cuts at least partially proximal to the expandable member.
In another aspect of the present invention, a catheter is provided comprising an elongate assembly having a distal portion. A balloon is mounted on the distal portion of the elongate assembly, the balloon being comprised of a sheet material attached to the elongate assembly at spaced locations such that the sheet material between the spaced locations expands outwardly in response to inflation pressure to inflate the balloon. The elongate assembly is axially expandable between the spaced locations to accommodate changes in the balloon shape as the balloon is inflated, whereby stresses in the balloon are reduced.
In another aspect of the present invention, a method is provided, comprising providing a catheter comprised of an elongate assembly having a balloon thereon. The balloon is inflated in a body lumen. A portion of the elongate assembly is axially elongated within the balloon during inflation of the balloon to reduce stresses on the balloon material.


An elastomeric bushing assembly includes an outer sleeve, a bar pin, an elastomeric bushing and a monolithic, one-piece bracket. The bar pin includes first and second opposing ends. The elastomeric bushing is disposed between the outer sleeve and the bar pin. The bracket includes a body defining a cavity and a flange. The flange radially extends from an end of the body and circumferentially extends substantially 360 degrees. One of the first and second ends of the bar pin is securely received in the cavity of the body.

This section provides background information related to the present disclosure and is not necessarily prior art.
Vehicles include front and rear suspension systems to connect the chassis of the vehicle (the unsprung portion) and the body of the vehicle (the sprung portion). The suspension systems normally include an upper control arm, a lower control arm and a hub or knuckle which supports the tire of the vehicle. Each control arm is attached to the frame or other structural component of the vehicle using one or more elastomeric bushing assemblies. Each elastomeric bushing assembly usually consists of an outer metal tube which is pressed into the control arm, a layer of elastomer positioned within the outer metal housing and an inner metal housing which extends through the center of the layer of elastomer. The inner metal housing is attached to a bracket on the frame, the supporting structure or the sprung portion of the vehicle or a bolt extends through the inner metal and secures the end of the control arm to the frame, the supporting structure or the sprung portion of the vehicle by mating with an appropriate bracket. As the vehicle travels, relative movement between the sprung and unsprung portions of the vehicle is accommodated by flexing of a coil spring, a torsion bar, an air spring or by another resilient device. The flexing of the resilient device causes the ends of the control arms to pivot on both of the pivot bushings which secure the control arms to the sprung portion of the vehicle.
The elastomeric bushing assemblies are used to facilitate this pivotal motion and to isolate the vehicle from shock. The layer of elastomer located between the inner and outer metal housings effectively isolates the sprung portion of the vehicle from the unsprung portion of the vehicle. In certain applications, the elastomeric bushing assemblies may include a bracket that is attached to an end of the inner metal and is configured to engage the elastomer during a loaded condition to limit relative movement between the inner metal and the outer metal tube. Some brackets attached to the inner metal are formed of a two-piece construction that requires welding, thus, complicating manufacturing of the elastomeric bushing assemblies and increasing manufacturing costs. Other brackets attached to the inner metal only contact half of the elastomer during the loaded condition which limits the load carry capacity of the elastomeric bushing assemblies.
Thus, the present disclosure provides an elastomeric bushing assembly including a monolithic, one-piece bracket that simplifies manufacturing and reduces manufacturing cost. Furthermore, the bracket engages the elastomer substantially 360 degrees around the elastomer which increases the load carry capacity of the elastomeric bushing assembly.


A semiconductor fabrication apparatus and methods for processing materials on a semiconductor wafer are disclosed. The fabrication apparatus is a processing chamber comprising: an ultraviolet radiation source and an infrared radiation source, the radiation sources symmetrically arranged such that radiation is substantially uniform throughout the chamber and the radiation sources being capable of being used as a film deposition radiation source or a film annealing radiation source or both; an ultraviolet radiation sensor and an infrared radiation sensor to provide a feedback loop to the ultraviolet radiation source and to the infrared radiation source, respectively, so that a desired level of ultraviolet radiation and infrared radiation is maintained inside the chamber. An exemplary method to utilize the semiconductor fabrication apparatus comprises processing a material on a semiconductor assembly during semiconductor fabrication, by the steps of: precleaning a semiconductor assembly in ultraviolet radiation, the step of precleaning performed prior to the step of forming; forming a film in ultraviolet radiation and infrared radiation; annealing the film ultraviolet light radiation and infrared radiation; wherein the ultraviolet radiation and the infrared radiation are supplied by independently operable ultraviolet and infrared radiation sources within the same processing chamber.

Photochemistry has become an important area to consider in the semiconductor fabrication process. The role of Photochemistry is expanding from diverse areas of biology and medicine to semiconductor processing. Due to chemical reactions involved in several semiconductor fabrication steps, the quality of the reactions can be controlled by selective use of photochemistry in general and photons in particular. The raw materials in Ultra Large Scale Integration (USLI) electronics involve thermal processing which can provide defect free engineering of a desired thin film.
As an example, for the deposition of superconducting thin films, rapid thermal processing (RTP) assisted metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) has provided encouraging process results using lower deposition temperatures. Although the decomposition pathways of most of the reactions are not accurately known, in general, most of the organometallics used in MOCVD have higher adsorption coefficients in ultraviolet (UV) and vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) regions. High energy photons, from the UV and VUV regions, provide excited but not dissociated complexes. Thus, in concert with the low energy photons (responsible for the thermal or pyrolysis deposition), the high energy photons can provide the ideal MOCVD approach for the growth of many materials.
A photochemical reaction is a chemical reaction which takes place only under the influence of light. For the purposes of Photochemistry, light is considered as being made up of individual photons of energy E=hv, where h is Planck's constant and v is the frequency of light. Only light that is absorbed can result in a photochemical effect. On the molecular scale the photochemical reaction starts with the adsorption of a photon by a molecule. The molecule is thereby promoted to an excited state. The excited molecule is a new chemical species which has its own distinct chemical and physical properties.
Any photochemical event starts with the absorption of a photon by a molecule M, with production of an excited molecule M*, where M+hv=M* (adsorption). The excited molecule M* may now react chemically, either by rearrangement or, for instance, by reaction with another species N: M*+N=P. This step which involves, chemically, the excited molecule M*, is the primary photochemical process.
Another type of molecular excitation is rotational excitation which requires the smallest amount of energy. Rotational excitation results in a spinning of the molecule around a preferred axis. The molecule is however chemically unchanged. With higher energies the molecule can be promoted to a vibrationally excited state. Here again the molecule is chemically unchanged as the energy is in the form of vibrations of various parts of the molecule. With even higher energies, the molecule will be electronically excited as one or several electrons are promoted to higher energy orbitals. Photochemical reactions occur from such electronically excited state of molecules.
The ground state of the atom is the state in which all the electrons fill the available orbitals in the order of increasing energy. An electronically excited state is a state in which one or several electrons occupy higher energy orbitals, having left one or several vacancies in the lower orbitals. A ground state can only adsorb light, it cannot emit light. An excited state can either emit light (thus moving downwards in energy to the ground state or to a lower excited state) or absorb light (thus moving upwards in energy to a higher excited state).
In literature it is also known that an VUV lamp greatly improves the quality of dielectric films, such as Y.sub.2 O.sub.3 films and superconducting films (YBCO complexes) due to the use of higher energy photons in the deposition process. The heating source configuration plays an important role in film deposition, which is very useful in the optimization of lamp energy source design. The leakage current density of dielectric films is good enough to replace conventional oxides as the insulator in the devices processing. Quality films can be grown at low substrate temperature by using VUV lamps as the source of optical energy.
The present invention provides an apparatus and method for commercial semiconductor fabrication that uses the combination of UV lamps and infrared radiation sources to form and condition films, such as dielectric films.


An ink-jet printing method for obtaining higher quality printed Images by utilizing an ink-jet recording technology using a pigment ink and a treatment liquid. A treatment liquid for unstabilizing the dispersed condition of the pigment in the aqueous medium is applied onto the printing medium, and subsequently either an ink containing a self-dispersion type pigment and a pigment dispersed by a polymeric dispersant or an ink containing a self-dispersion type pigment and an ink containing a pigment dispersed by a polymeric dispersant are applied together to the printing medium in such a way that the treatment liquid and the inks are mixed in a liquid state on the printing medium to make the pigments indissoluble.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an ink-jet printing method and, more particularly, it relates to an ink-jet printing method for printing characters and images on a sheet of printing paper, OHP paper or the like, using an ink containing a coloring material and a liquid for insolubilizing the coloring material contained in the ink (to be referred to as treatment liquid hereinafter).
2. Related Background Art
The ink-jet printing system has various advantages including a low noise emission level, low running cost, the potential for high speed printing and down-sizing, the ease of color printing and so on and hence It is currently widely used in various printers and copying machines. With a printer using an ink-jet printing system, ink is generally selected from the viewpoint of ink ejection performance, printing characteristics including fixability and printing quality including blurring of printed images, optical reflection density and color development properties. Meanwhile, it is well known that there are two types of ink in terms of the coloring material contained therein. They are dye ink and pigment ink.
Pigment ink is advantageous to dye ink from the viewpoint of water-resistance and light-resistance and can print characters clearly to achieve high quality printing. On the other hand, pigment ink takes more time than dye ink for fixation on a printing medium and is not satisfactory in terms of abrasion resistance of the image after fixation if compared with dye ink. Additionally, each ink dot of pigment ink formed on a printing medium by a single ink-ejecting operation of a nozzle is relatively small when compared with that of dye ink. The pigment contained in the pigment ink can be reliably and stably dispersed in the ink by means of the electric repulsion of a polymeric dispersant so as to overcome the intermolecular force which acts between the pigment particles to cause aggregation. Therefore, it is preferable to add a polymeric dispersant to pigment ink depends on the pigment content of pigment ink.
When a sheet of plain paper is printed with pigment ink by means of an ink-jet recording method, the pigment particles contained in the ink aggregate as the solvent of ink, such as water, penetrates into the paper and evaporates into the air. Then, in terms of the behavior of the ink on the sheet of paper, the aggregational force of the ink becomes stronger when the polymeric dispersant is contained in the ink in a higher content. As a result, each ink dot formed on the printing medium by an ink having a predetermined volume ejected from an ink-jet head tends to minimize its diameter and keep a distorted profile produced as a result of the collision of the ink with the surf ace of the sheet of paper. Therefore, in order to obtain ink dots having a recording density necessary for forming an image on the sheet of paper and having a dot diameter necessary for forming an image without generating white stripes, some regulating measures should be taken to have a rather large volume of ink ejected from the ink-jet head. However, even with such regulating measures, the fixation of ink to the printing medium can take a long time and the scratch resistance of the recorded image can be reduced, because of the strong aggregational force of the pigment particles adsorbed by the polymeric dispersant and the resultant poor permeation of ink into the sheet of paper.
The use of a penetrant may be conceivable to improve the ink permeability of the printing medium in order to increase the ink dot diameter and improve the fixation of ink to the printing medium. However, the use of a penetrant can be accompanied by a problem of a degraded ink dot profile (a degraded circumferential profile of each ink dot such as feathering) and that of permeation of ink to the rear surface of the sheet of paper (so-called back-through) that are undesirable for producing high quality recorded images. Additionally, if the ink dot diameter is relatively large, the OD (optical density) of the ink dot may not be raised because the coloring material of the ink can penetrate into the printing medium. Still additionally, there is a problem that a higher printing speed will be required to ink-jet printers in business applications where the demand for ink-jet printers is expected to rise dramatically. If fixation of ink to the recording medium is not enough in a process of successively discharging printed sheets of paper from an ink-jet printer and sequentially laying them one on the other, a second sheet of paper discharged from the ink-jet printer may be laid on the first sheet of paper while the ink on the surface of the first sheet of paper is not fixed enough, so that there may arise a problem that the image on the first sheet of paper becomes blurred and/or the ink on the first sheet of paper sticks to the rear surface of the second sheet of paper.
Meanwhile, an ink containing a self-dispersion type pigment has been proposed. With such ink, the ink dots formed on a sheet of paper give an increased dot diameter probably because the pigment contained in the ink has an aggregational force weaker than that of ordinary ink pigment that is dispersed by a polymeric dispersant, when applied onto the surface of paper. However, the increased dot diameter is still not satisfactory.
As pointed out above, the currently available ink-jet printing methods still have much room for improvement in various aspects relating to the quality of the recorded image that include fixation of ink, enlargement of ink dot diameter, uniformity of density of each ink dot and high optical density of ink dots.
On the other hand, in the field of ink-jet printing technology, methods of applying ink and treatment liquid that reacts with the applied ink have been proposed In order to improve the quality of printed characters and images (e.g., in terms of water resistance and optical density of the image formed on a printing medium) by causing the applied ink and the treatment liquid to favorably react each other on the printing medium. Some of such methods have found practical applications.
Under the above identified circumstances, the inventors of the present invention have paid intensive research efforts for developing the ink-jet recording technology of using in combination a pigment ink and a treatment liquid that destroys the dispersibility of the pigment ink at the time of recording. In the course of the researches, the inventors experimented a recording process of applying a treatment liquid onto the surface of a printing medium and subsequently applying a pigment ink in such a way that the latter is mixed with the treatment liquid in a liquid state on the printing medium. As a result, it was found that some of the obtained images showed an image quality that is far from satisfactory and is sometimes even worse than the quality of images formed by using only pigment ink. More specifically, in the case of a combination of a pigment ink containing a pigment dispersed in an aqueous medium by means of a polymeric dispersant and a treatment liquid capable of reacting with such ink, the produced ink dots had a low optical density (OD) probably because of a small area factor of the ink dots. Although why such a phenomenon occurred is not clear, the inventors presume that the aggregation of pigment in the ink was greatly accelerated by the treatment liquid on the printing medium.
The area factor may be raised to enhance the OD by increasing the shot-in quantity of the pigment ink. Then, however, the fixation of ink can sometimes be worsened. In the case of a combination of a pigment ink containing a self-dispersion type pigment and a treatment liquid capable of reacting with such pigment ink, the dots formed on the printing medium showed the phenomenon of so-called exudation or haze along the circumferences thereof to blur the profiles of the dots. FIG. 1 of the accompanying drawings schematically illustrates a dot showing such exudation or haze As shown in FIG. 1, the phenomenon of exudation or haze can be observed along the reaction zone of a pigment ink 8 that is located at the center and a surrounding treatment liquid 6. FIGS. 2A through 2C of the accompanying drawings schematically illustrate the presumed mechanism of appearance of the phenomenon.
After a treatment liquid S is applied onto a printing medium P (a sheet of plain paper in particular), a pigment ink Ip containing a self-dispersion type pigment but not containing any polymeric dispersant is applied onto the treatment liquid S. Then, the treatment liquid S and the pigment ink Ip react each other to start producing a reaction product 9 (see FIG. 2B). As the reaction proceeds, exudation of the reaction product appears radially from the circular dot of the ink as shown in FIG. 2C to make the entire dot appear as if it were surrounded by haze. Such exudation or haze is apparently recognized as feathering that is a known phenomenon to consequently degrade the quality of printing.
The Inventors of the present invention assume that such exudation or haze is a phenomenon that can be explained in a manner as described below in chemical or micro-dimensional terms. The pigment ink containing no dispersant reacts with the treatment liquid at a relatively high reaction rate so that some of the dispersed pigment particles are instantaneously subjected to dispersive destruction to produce clusters of the reaction product together with micro-particles of the reaction product. Then, the particles of the reaction product start flowing out as the permeation front SP in the printing medium expands, and thereby the exudation or haze appears.
As described above, a situation unpredictable to the inventors of the present occurred when a pigment ink and a treatment liquid were simply combined, so that it was difficult to obtain a high quality image by ink-jet recording. As a result, the inventors recognized that further efforts were required for technological development in order to achieve the initial object of eliminating the drawbacks of pigment ink, while utilizing the ink-jet recording process using a treatment liquid and exploiting the advantages of a pigment ink.
Furthermore, as pointed out above, a higher printing speed will be required to ink-jet printers in business applications where the demand for ink-jet printers is expected to rise dramatically. One of the major problems of high speed printers is the fixation of ink on a recording medium. If fixation of ink to the recording medium is not satisfactory in a process of successively discharging printed sheets of paper from an ink-jet printer and sequentially laying them one on the other, a second sheet of paper discharged from the ink-jet printer may be laid on the first sheet of paper while the ink on the surface of the first sheet of paper is not fixed enough, so that there may arise a problem that the image on the first sheet of paper becomes blurred and/or the ink on the first sheet of paper sticks to the rear surface of the second sheet of paper to consequently damage the appearance of the printed sheets of paper.
Thus, the present invention is based on the technological findings of the inventors of the present invention. It is an object of the present invention to provide an ink-jet printing method to produce higher quality printed images by utilizing the ink-jet recording technology using a pigment ink and a treatment liquid.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an ink-jet printing method which can achieve high speed fixation of ink to the recording medium without sacrificing the quality of the printed image.
In an aspect of the invention, the above objects are achieved by providing an ink-jet printing method to be used for a process of recording an image on a printing medium, comprising:
a first step of applying an ink onto the printing medium by an ink-jet recording method; and
a second step of applying a treatment liquid containing at least one of a polyvalent metal ion and a salt thereof;
said first step being conducted subsequent to said second step so as to cause the ink and the treatment liquid to come into contact with each other in a liquid state on the printing medium;
said ink containing a first pigment, a second pigment and a polymeric dispersant for dispersing said second pigment in an aqueous medium, said first pigment and said second pigment being contained in said ink in a dispersed state;
said first pigment being a self-dispersing pigment having at least one anionic group bound to the surface of said first pigment directly or by way of another atomic group, said second pigment being capable of dispersing-in said aqueous medium by means of said polymeric dispersant;
said polymeric dispersant containing at least one of a polymeric dispersant having the same polarity as that of the group bound to the surface of said first pigment and a nonionic polymeric dispersant;
said treatment liquid containing at least one of a polyvalent metal ion and a salt thereof, and destabilizing dispersion stability of at least one of said pigments contained in said ink when the treatment liquid and the ink are applied onto the printing medium so as to come into contact with each other in a liquid state.
In another aspect of the invention, there is also provided an ink-jet printing method comprising a step of applying a first ink, a second ink and a treatment liquid so as to come into contact with each other in a liquid state on the surface of a printing medium;
said first ink containing as a first pigment a self-dipersing pigment having at least one anionic group coupled to the surface thereof directly or by way of another atomic group;
said second ink containing a second pigment and a polymeric dispersant for dispersing said second pigment in an aqueous medium, said second pigment being capable of dispersing in said aqueous medium by means of said polymeric dispersant, said polymeric dispersant containing at least one of a polymeric dispersant having the same polarity as that of the group coupled to the surface of said first pigment and a nonionic polymeric dispersant;
said treatment liquid containing at least one of a polyvalent metal ion and a salt thereof and destabilizing dispersion stability of at least one of said pigments contained in said inks when the treatment liquid and either of the inks are applied onto the printing medium so as to come into contact with each other in a liquid state, said treatment liquid being applied onto said printing medium prior to the application of said first ink and said second ink.
The above methods can provide a high quality image having a large area factor and a high OD value and being significantly free from haze. Additionally, the obtained image is excellent in terms of scratch resistance, fixation and various other respects.
While the reasons of the above advantages of the methods according to the invention are not clear, the inventors have confirmed the following facts as a result of a series of experiments carried out for the purpose of the present invention.
Firstly, when an ink containing a first pigment and a second pigment is applied to an area of a printing medium where a treatment liquid containing a polyvalent metal ion or a salt thereof has been applied, in such a way that the ink is overlapped the treatment liquid in a liquid state or come into contact with the latter, the ink dot in the area where the treatment liquid has been applied, expand considerably to produce an ink dot having a large diameter.
A technique of suppressing the phenomenon of mixed colors (bleeding) along the boundary lines of different colors of an image by applying a pigment ink of a polymeric dispersion type and an ink containing a polyvalent metal salt so as to bring them into contact with each other on a printing medium to destabilize the dispersion stability of the pigment is disclosed in a number of patent documents including U.S. Pat. No. 5,518,534. However, as a result of a number of experiments conducted by the inventors of the present invention, it was impossible for any combinations of inks described in the disclosed patent documents to produce ink dots having a large diameter that can be obtained by the above described methods of the invention.
On the basis of the above findings, the inventors believe that the effect of aggregation of a polyvalent metal ion and each of the pigments is alleviated as a result of the coexistence of the first pigment, the second pigment and the treatment liquid containing ions of the polyvalent metal or a salt thereof, although each of the pigments and ions of the polyvalent metal react with each other to produce an aggregated product.
More specifically, the aggregation caused by the reaction of the first pigment and the polyvalent metal ion and the reaction caused by the second pigment (including the polymeric dispersant) and the polyvalent metal ion differ from each other in terms of strength, so that the effect of aggregation of the stronger reaction is alleviated by that of the weaker reaction and additionally that the strong intermolecular force of the second pigment in the reactive solution Is alleviated by the presence of the first pigment As a result, the ink tends to spread horizontally on a sheet of paper.
In the case that the treatment liquid containing a polyvalent metal ion or a salt thereof reacts with the first pigment, haze can scarcely be observed. Thus, in spite of the increase of the dot diameter, the produced image shows sharp edges without haze or the like.
In addition, the ink shows excellent fixing properties since a large dot diameter can be obtained with a small amount of ink, as Pointed out above. Furthermore since the use of the first pigment makes it possible to reduce the amount of the polymeric dispersant in the ink, fixing properties are far more improved.
The fixing properties and the dot diameter are further improved when using a treatment liquid which can penetrate into the printing medium at an enhanced rate. This is because the treatment liquid that can penetrate into the printing medium is diffused quickly into the printing medium, and a sort of an ink receiving layer is foamed on the surface of the printing medium. Consequently the ink can easily permeate and spread along the surface of the printing medium, and forms dots while reacting with the treatment liquid, to form a large dot quickly on the surface of the printing medium.
Furthermore, in order to further improve the image quality, it is preferable to optimize the concentration of the polyvalent metal ion or a salt thereof in the treatment liquid and the amount of the treatment liquid applied on the printing medium.
The OD of the image formed on the printing medium is satisfactorily high when the concentration of a polyvalent metal ion or a salt thereof is about ⅓ of that of the pigment in the ink. It is not necessary to make the concentration excessively high.
The fixation of the ink is improved when the concentration of a polyvalent metal ion or a salt thereof is lower than the concentration of the pigment. Additionally, the treatment liquid may preferably be applied in an amount of xe2x85x9 to xc2xd of the amount of application of the ink since the OD and the edge sharpness of the formed image are improved.
With the above arrangement, it is possible to form a high quality image with a high OD value and excellent fixing properties with a short fixing time on a printing medium without giving rise to any haze.


A device for recording audio data including a housing and means positioned on the housing for recording audible data, means for repositioning to a prerecorded audio message. The device further includes means positioned on the housing for playing back the recorded audible. The device is connected to a measurement apparatus via a connecting means. A user is able to record, rewind and playback the audio data while operating the measurement apparatus.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to audio recording systems and, more specifically, to an audio recording system in the form of an attachable cover. The attachable cover may be releasably fastened to measuring devices for recording a plurality of audible measurements in detailed projects. The audio recording device includes recording, rewinding and playback mechanisms which will allow the user of the measuring device to record all pertinent data obtained during the measuring process.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There are other data and audio recording device designed for tape measures and such. Typical of these is U.S. Pat. No. 349,146 issued to Jennings et al on Mar. 1, 1930.
Another was issued to Stephans et al on Apr. 27, 1993 as U.S. Pat. No. 5,206,486 and still yet another patent issued to Dawson on Jan. 10, 1995 as U.S. Pat. No. 5,379,524. Yet another U.S. Pat. No. 5,396,578, was issued to Howes on Mar. 7, 1995 and still yet another was issued on Feb. 24, 1998 to Protas as U.S. Pat. No. 5,721,537.
Another patent was issued to Malone on Sep. 8, 1998 as U.S. Pat. No. 5,802,732. Yet another U.S. Pat. No. 5,826,235, was issued to Harman on Oct. 20, 1998. Another was issued to Lindsey on Nov. 16, 1999 as U.S. Pat. No. 5,983,514 and still yet another was issued on Dec. 9, 2003 to Arlinsky as U.S. Pat. No. 6,658,755.
Another patent was issued to Campbell on Mar. 21, 2002 as International Publication No. WO 02/22405.

Tape measure mountable digital recorder device


An image forming apparatus includes, an image bearing member, a charger which may be a main charger and auxiliary charger for charging the image bearing member, a developing unit for forming a toner image by developing an electrostatic latent image formed on the image bearing member using a toner having the same polarity as that of the charger, a transfer electrode, having a width different from that of the charger and contacting a transfer material, for applying a bias voltage having a polarity opposite to that of the charger to the transfer material, the cleaning blade contacting the image bearing member in a counter direction relative to a moving direction of the image bearing member in order to scrape and remove toner particles remaining on the image bearing member after the image transfer due to the potential of the image bearing member, and a member for reducing a charging potential difference between the charger and the transfer electrode generated on the image bearing member. A lubricant may be applied between the image bearing member and the cleaning blade member. By making the width of the charger and the width of the transfer electrode substantially the same, the charging potential difference between the charger and the transfer electrode generated on the image bearing member is reduced.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus which utilizes an electrophotographic process, such as an electrophotographic copier, an electrophotographic printer or the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
A conventional image forming appartus is configured, for example, as shown in FIG. 6. That is, a cylindrical electrophotographic photosensitive member (hereinafter termed a "photosensitive drum") 1, serving as an image bearing member, is provided within a main body 8 of the image forming apparatus, and rotates in the direction shown by arrow R1 around its shaft. The surface of the photosensitive drum 1 is uniformly charged by a charging roller 2, serving as a charging member, and then an electrostatic latent image is formed by an exposure device 3. A developing device 4 includes a hopper 4b for storing a toner 4a, and a developing roller 4c, serving as a developer carrying member. The developing roller 4c forms a visual image by supplying the electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 1 with the toner 4a while regulating the toner 4a carried on the developing roller 4c by a developing blade 4d, serving as a developer regulating member, contacting the developing roller 4c.
The toner image on the photosensitive drum 1 visualized by the toner 4a in the developing device 4 in the above-described manner is transferred onto a transfer material 9 by a transfer roller 5, serving as a transfer member. The transfer material 9 is fed from a sheet feeding cassette 11 by a sheet feeding roller 10, and is sent to the transfer roller 5 while being synchronized with the toner image on the photosensitive drum 1 by registration rollers (not shown). The transfer material 9 having the toner image transferred thereto is then conveyed to a fixing device 6 so that the toner image is fixed by heat or pressure to form a recorded image. On the other hand, particles of the toner 4a remaining on the photosensitive drum 1 which have not been transferred by the transfer roller 5 are removed by an elastic cleaning blade 7a of a cleaning device 7 and are stored in a waste-toner receptacle 7b. Then, the surface of the photosensitive drum 1 is again charged by the charging device 2, and another image formation operation may be performed by repeating the above-described process.
Next, the configuration of the cleaning device 7 will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. 7.
In FIG. 7, the cleaning blade 7a comprises, for example, a chip-like rubber member 7a.sub.1 supported on a supporting plate 7a.sub.2, and removes toner particles remaining on the photosensitive drum 1 while being pressed against the photosensitive drum 1, which rotates in the direction shown by an arrow R1, with a predetermined pressure. A member 7c for preventing leakage of toner particles (hereinafter termed a "scraping sheet") is provided in contact with the photosensitive drum 1 at a portion upstream from the cleaning blade 7a in the direction of the rotation of the photosensitive drum 1, in order to prevent removed toner particles from dropping downward.
In the cleaning device 7 having the above-described configuration, when small-size collected substances, such as scraped powder by the cleaning blade 7a, toner particles and the like, are present at a portion where the edge portion of the cleaning blade 7a contacts the surface of the photosensitive drum 1, the effect of lubrication for the photosensitive layer of the photosensitive drum 1 by the collected substances is not experienced. Hence, the frictional force tends to be highest when starting use of the cleaning device 7. As a result, there arise the problems that, for example, the rotation torque increases, noise is generated, and the cleaning blade 7a is, in some cases, bent toward the downstream side in the direction of the rotation of the photosensitive drum 1. Conventionally, in order to prevent such a problem, a powder lubricant 7d is coated in advance on an edge portion of the cleaning blade 7a to reduce the frictional force when starting use of the cleaning device 7.
However, in the above-described conventional image forming apparatus, in general, as shown in FIG. 8, the contact region of the charging roller 2 (a region between A and A') is formed in the longitudinal direction of the photosensitive drum 1, the contact region of the transfer roller 5 (a region between B and B') is formed within the contact region of the charging roller 2, and the contact region of the cleaning blade 7a is formed so as to cover the entire region including the contact region of the charging roller 2.
By thus regulating the lengths of the charging roller 2, the transfer roller 5 and the cleaning blade 7a with respect to the photosensitive drum 1, the surface potential of the photosensitive drum 1 at the contact position of the cleaning blade 7a is distributed as shown in FIG. 8. That is, the region between A and A' where the charging roller 2 contacts the photosensitive drum 1 is uniformly charged to a negative potential by the charging roller 2, and a positive bias voltage is applied to the region between B and B' where the transfer roller 5 contacts the photosensitive drum 1.
Thus, in the distribution of the surface potential of the photosensitive drum 1 at the contact position of the cleaning blade 7a, regions between A and B and between B' and A' assume a negative potential because these regions are negatively charged by the charging roller 2 but are not positively charged by the transfer roller 5. On the other hand, the region between B and B' assumes a potential of substantially 0 V because this region is negatively charged by the charging roller 2 and also is positively charged by the transfer roller 5.
The surface potential of the photosensitive drum 1 at the contact position of the cleaning blade 7a also is substantially 0 V, although somewhat more so than the potential in the region between B and B'.
That is, in the regions between A and B and between B' and A', an electric field is generated between the cleaning blade 7a and the surface of the photosensitive drum 1. By the Coulomb force due to the electric field, the lubricant 7d on the cleaning blade 7a is peeled and moves toward the photosensitive drum 1. Accordingly, the frictional force with respect to the surface of the photosensitive drum 1 increases at portions of the cleaning blade 7a where the lubricant 7d is stripped off, and the cleaning blade 7a is bent at these portions.

Image forming apparatus having a mechanism for preventing stripping off of a lubricant from a cleaning blade