A method for determining integration initial value of PID controller is applied to obtain an integration initial value for temperature control and to fast eliminate stability error. This method uses a set temperature value and temperature error setting to perform on-off switching with the range of temperature error setting after an automatic tune is activated. An amplitude for the highest and the lowest temperature curve is obtained. An integration is calculated based on the amplitude, the temperature value and the lowest temperature to obtain an estimated control initiation value for PID controller performing temperature. A stabilizing integration value is added when temperature is near a preset value to reduce temperature reaction time. Therefore, the dilemma of temperature overshoot caused by fast reaction and low reaction to prevent temperature overshoot can be solved.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for determining an integration initial value of a PID controller, especially to a method for determining an integration initial value of a PID controller, wherein the integration initial value is added to integrator of the PID controller when the temperature is approaching the set value, thus reducing steady state time and preventing temperature overshoot.
2. Description of Prior Art
The temperature control is extensively used for modern industry. The stable temperature control is essential in industry such as textile, dye, car lacquer in conventional industry, cool storage and cake making in food industry, optical disk manufacture and PCB manufacture in electronic industry.
The temperature control for a system is preferably performed to achieve set temperature rapidly without overshoot. However, actually dilemma is inevitable wherein overshoot occurs when the set temperature can be rapidly reached, the set temperature cannot be rapidly reached when the overshoot is to be suppressed.
The PID controller is often used for temperature control, wherein PID stands for proportion, integration and differentiation. The proportion control sets the output being proportional to error amount and the output is increased with larger error. The integration control is used to eliminate steady-state error and generates larger output when the error is large. The differentiation control can fast achieve steady state based on error variation. However, the prior art PID controller has difficulty to fast achieve set temperature without overshoot.
FIGS. 1 to 4 show the control principle, block diagram and curve for a prior art PID controller, wherein Kp (proportional constant), Ti (integration time) and Td (differentiation time) are parameters used for PID control and the error value is equal to set temperature subtracting actual temperature. The control output can be calculated based on formula (1) below:control output=[(1+1/TiS+TdS)×Kp]×error  (1)
The P parameter is proportional parameter and stands for a proportion relationship between output value and error value (set temperature subtracting actual temperature). The output is increased for large error value and the output value is decreased for smaller error value, as shown in FIG. 2. The output value can be calculated based on formula (2)y=100/PB×X+50
where Kp=100/PB, PB is proportion band, and Kp is proportional constant
50% indicates control output at error free condition.
The output value is 50% when the error amount is 0, it means the set temperature being equal to the actual temperature. The system does not have steady-state error when the temperature is stable in this value. In fact, the output value might be any value between 0% to 100% instead of 50% when the error value is 0. The output value might not be fixed value even for the same system and drifted with external environment. Therefore, the steady state condition cannot be achieved only by proportion control.
The D parameter is an adjustable parameter (Kp), wherein the temperature reaction is fast and the set temperature is liable to be exceeded when Kp is large; the temperature reaction is slow and the set temperature is not liable to be exceeded when Kp is small.
The I parameter is also referred to as integration parameter or integration control and is used to eliminate control error. The integration control is expressed as formula (3) when error is present in the temperature.y=Ki×∫Xdt+y0 ki=Kp×1/Ti,X is error value  (3)
In above formula, the error value for each second is added and then multiplied by a constant to obtain an output value y to eliminate temperature error. As shown in FIG. 3, the operation amount is increased due to integration when the error value is large. The integrator will not perform integration when error value is 0, namely, the measured temperature is equal to the set temperature.
In the I control of the prior art PID controller; the nitration is performed from 0 to the set temperature. Therefore, the I parameter control is a lengthy processing for obtaining stable temperature. As shown by the temperature verse integration time curve (Ti), the temperature may be dropped in the integration control process.

Method for determining integration initial value of PID controller


A method for driving a medium supplying apparatus which supplies medium by a pick-up roller, wherein an operation of stopping rotation of the pick-up roller is inserted at least one of before an operation of supplying medium to a separating position where, when a plurality of sheets of medium are fed together by the pick-up roller displaced to the supplying position, an uppermost sheet of the plurality of sheets of medium is separated from a lower sheet or sheets, and before an operation of returning the separated lower sheet or sheets after separating the uppermost sheet from the lower sheet or sheets.

1. Technical Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a driving supplying apparatus, a driving method for supplying a medium and a computer readable medium including drive-control program for a medium supplying apparatus, and a recording device and a liquid jetting device each provided with the medium supplying apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
An ink jet printer which is one of recording devices includes a type in which paper is supplied from a rear side and ejected to a front side, and another type in which paper is supplied/ejected on the front side. The type of the printer in which paper is supplied/ejected on the front side is provided with a paper supply tray arranged on the lower stage of the front of the apparatus and a paper eject stacker arranged on the upper stage thereof. When sheets of paper housed in the paper supply tray are pile-fed by a pick-up roller, only an uppermost sheet is separated and the remaining lower sheet(s) is returned to the paper supply tray. And the uppermost sheet is inverted by an inverting roller, transported by a paper feeding roller, and subjected to recording. The paper is eventually ejected onto the ejecting stacker by an ejecting roller (see, for example JP-A-2003-276890).
In the related art ink jet printer as described above, owing to the paper supplying speed based on a paper type and recording mode, number of set sheets of paper and changes in a paper setting manner, if the tips of sheets of paper are uneven, deterioration in the feeding performance such as paper tip buckling by a paper return lever, non-feeding and poor paper tip positioning occurs.

Medium supplying apparatus, method for driving medium supplying apparatus, computer readable medium including drive-control program and recording device


Individual chords and bar lines are extracted from an acquired chord chart described in text. Further, musical time information indicative of a musical time of music data to be generated is acquired, chord progression information is generated by allocating in-bar relative time positions to the extracted individual chords in accordance with the musical time indicated by the acquired musical time information and the extracted bar lines. A chord chart display can be provided based on the generated chord progression information. Further, accompaniment pattern data is acquired, and automatic accompaniment data can be generated by controlling the acquired accompaniment pattern data in accordance with the generated chord progression information.

The present invention relates to a music data generation apparatus and a music data generation method for generating chord progression information and generating music data based on the generated chord progression information, and a program for implementing the music data generation method.
There have heretofore been known music data generation apparatus for generating music data. Among examples of such music data generation apparatus is a performance data creation apparatus, in which a plurality of sets of accompaniment style data and sections designated by a user are connected and which, once a chord progression is designated for each of the sets, generates automatic accompaniment data automatically-performable (automatically-playable) automatic accompaniment data by changing as appropriate sound pitches of accompaniment patterns designated by the individual sets of accompaniment style data and sections in the order of the connection (see, for example, Japanese Patent No. 3166455).
Also known is a multimedia information reproduction apparatus, which identifies text code indicative of performance information and text code indicative of lyrics data with reference to event identifiers included in script data including the text code, which converts the text code identified as performance information into performance event information to output the converted performance event information to a MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) device, and which displays, as lyrics, the text code identified as lyrics data (see, for example, Japanese Patent No. 3918580 corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 7,447,986).
The aforementioned conventionally-known performance data creation apparatus, however, is not satisfactory for the following reasons. Namely, when a chord progression is to be designated for each of the sets, a user has to designate, one by one, individual cords constituting the chord progression through selection operations, editing operations, etc., which would therefore impose burdensome operations on the user and require the user to have a certain amount of knowledge of chords.
Further, with the aforementioned conventionally-known multimedia information reproduction apparatus, a chord progression satisfying a musical format cannot be acquired although the text code identified as performance information can be converted into performance event information. Namely, although the conventionally-known technique can identify chord names from text data, it cannot add appropriate beat positions to the identified chord names. Thus, in a case where a chord progression is necessary for generation of performance data, a user has to designate, one by one, individual cords constituting the chord progression through selection operations, editing operations, etc. as in the aforementioned performance data creation apparatus. Namely, the aforementioned conventionally-known multimedia information reproduction apparatus too can present the same problems as the data creation apparatus.
Normally, in a chord chart created in text data, a bar line is indicated by "|" (more specifically, text code of "|", and one or more chord names between "|" and "|" represents a chord progression of that bar (or measure). Essentially, there is an original music piece corresponding to such a chord chart created in text data, and a musical meter or time of the chord chart matches a musical time of the original music piece. However, in some cases, musical time information itself is not included in the chord chart.
In the aforementioned conventionally-known performance data creation apparatus, once a user designates accompaniment style data (and section) and inputs chords (chord progression), accompaniment pattern data of the designated accompaniment style data (and section) is deployed in accordance with the input chords, so that automatic accompaniment data is generated. A musical time is predetermined for each accompaniment style data and automatic accompaniment data is generated on the basis of the predetermined musical time. Thus, if a musical time of accompaniment style data and a musical time of a chord progression do not match each other, automatic accompaniment data presenting an unnatural chord change can be undesirably generated. With the conventionally-known performance data creation apparatus, however, such a problem can be avoided because the musical time of the accompaniment style data and the musical time of the input chord progression are set to match each other. However, if a chord chart created in text data is input and automatic accompaniment data is generated on the basis of a chord progression written in the chord chart, it is sometimes likely that the generated automatic accompaniment data and the chord chart do not match each other in musical time because no musical time information is included in the chord chart.
In generation of, for example, musical score data as well as in generation of automatic accompaniment data, the disagreement in musical time would create an inconvenience that a chord name is displayed at an inappropriate position if a musical time different from that of an input chord progression is set for the musical score data. The same can be said even when arrangement data is generated.

Music data generation based on text-format chord chart


Disclosed is a cover for use in automatically mounting electric connectors to a printed-circuit board with the aid of a vacuum-suction nozzle. The cover comprises a top plate to which the vacuum-suction nozzle can be applied, and opposite hooks integrally connected to the opposite ends of the top plate which catch the opposite side walls of the connector housing. The fitting cover may be easily attached to an electric connector having pin-like terminals projecting from its upper surface to cover the pin-like terminals of the electric connector. The attaching of the fitting cover to the electric connector will provide a smooth, flat surface to the connector-and-cover combination, thereby facilitating the use of the vacuum suction nozzle to hold electrical connectors regardless of the contour of their upper surface.

As is well known, a soldering reflow vessel is often used in automatically mounting electric connectors to printed-circuit boards. Specifically, an electric connector is secured by a vacuum-suction nozzle, and the electric connector is adjusted in position and brought to a selected position in a printed-circuit board by the vacuum-suction nozzle. The electric connector is then released from the vacuum-suction nozzle by stopping application of negative pressure thereto. Then, gas is released inside the soldering reflow vessel, or infrared rays are radiated therein until the solder applied to selected conductors in the printed-circuit board has been melted, thereby soldering the solder tails of the electric connector to the selected conductors in the printed-circuit board.
As for the electric connector, if it has a flat top surface, such top surface is convenient for securement by a vacuum-suction nozzle as described above. Many electric connectors, however, have pin-like terminals projecting from their top surface, thus preventing the direct use of vacuum-suction nozzles.


A method and system for fast transporting real-time media stream data package is based on the Real-time Transport Protocol/Real-time Transport Control Protocol of User Datagram Protocol for network nodes such as media gateway, Integrated Access Device (IAD) and multimedia terminal. The improvement of the system lies in the adding of an IP data package fast filter module, a UDP fast sending module and a policy ARP table process module based on local UDP port. The method involves: fast receiving the real-time media stream data package transmitted on the basis of RTP/RTCP protocol; fast sending the real-time media stream data package transmitted on the basis of RTP/RTCP protocol; and a policy ARP table based on UDP port and its refurbishing system.

With the prevalence of Internet and employment of multimedia technique on Internet, the technique for transmitting real-time media stream such as real-time transmission video, audio etc. is now urgently needed. Currently, the real-time media stream data such as video and audio, is commonly transmitted by employing RTP/RTCP protocols (Real-time Transport Protocol/Real-time Transport Control Protocol).
The real-time transport protocol RTP provides time information and realizes stream synchronization; RTP itself can neither provide reliable transport system to transmit data package in order nor traffic control or congestion control service, it provides these services through real-time transport control protocol RTCP; the RTCP and RTP together provide traffic control and congestion control services; during RTP session, each participant transmits RTCP package periodically; the RTCP package comprises statistic information like the amount of data package already transmitted and the amount of lost data package, by which the transport rate can be changed dynamically, even the valid load type can also be changed. By coordinately using RTP and RTCP, effect feedback and least overhead can be achieved as to optimize transport efficiency, therefore, they are especially suitable for transporting real-time data on network. Commonly, RTP/RTCP algorithm is not realized as an independent network layer, rather it is realized as a part of application code. The RTP/RTCP commonly uses UDP (User Datagram Protocol) to transmit data; when the application starts a RTP/RTCP session, it will use two local ports: one is assigned to RTP, the other to RTCP.
FIG. 1 is the conventional sending flowchart of RTP/RTCP data package within a computing device. When said RTP/RTCP application program transports the real-time media stream data package, it will call "SendTo( )" function of SOCKET API and within the SOCKET layer through functions such as "sendit( )" and "sosend( )" perform the following operations: "sendit( )" function preparing data structure "msghdr" required for "sosend( )" system calling, initializing "uio" structure, constructing "MBUF," collecting the data in output buffer designated by process into the core buffer, copying the control and address information in process space into core, and finally transporting interface, destination address, "uio" structure, control information, flag and all the like to the function "sosend( )"; the function "sosend( )" is for checking error condition and waiting for idle space in transport buffer, when checking error condition, in order to prevent the buffer from changing, first hanging up protocol process, copying the data from process into the core, and transporting the data to interface-related UDP protocol layer by calling "udp_output( )". UDP layer is used for analysising the control information, data and their validity, connecting an unconnected interface temporarily, filling the field of "udpiphdr" structure, preparing fake head for check and calculation, calculating check sum, length of filling UDP, TTL (Time to Live) and TOS (Type of Service) etc., and finally calling "ip_output( )" to send the data package to IP layer. Within the IP layer, perform the following operations: initializing IP head, determining a route to destination and obtaining MAC (Media Access Control) address of next hop to ensure that the IP head has a effective address, copying data and calculating check sum, submitting the package to route-related interface "if_output( )" function to finish filling Ethernet head data, and finally calling the sending function of net interface driven layer. Said sending function of net interface driven layer copies the Ethernet package data in "MBUF" and drives the network interface hardware to transmit the data to physical layer.
FIG. 2 is the conventional receiving flowchart of RTP/RTCP data package in a computing device. Upon net interface reception function (i.e. Net interface driven Ethernet frame reception function) receiving one UDP based RTP/RTCP real-time media stream data package, a recalling function "ether_input( )" registered through TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) protocol stack uploads the data to the TCP/IP protocol stack; after the process of IP protocol stack layer, the data is further distributed to the UDP layer for processing, then a "udp_input( )" function in UDP layer finds corresponding reception SOCKET in order according to the destination port number in the UDP data package, and deposits the data into corresponding reception buffer, as such the process of layer-dividing package-breaking is performed. RTP/RTCP protocol layer application will call "recvfrom( )" function to read data from SOCKET reception buffer and put the data into the application task buffer every a certain interval of time.
From experiment and analysis, it is found that employing the method for transmitting RTP/RTCP data package in media gateway, IAD, IP multimedia terminal involves some unnecessary processes, resulting in low process efficiency, representing in the following three detailed aspects:
1. The real-time media stream data is carried on UDP through the RTP/RTCP data package, according to the characteristic of RTP/RTCP data package, the application of RTP/RTCP protocol layer has already determined the original IP, original PORT, destination IP, destination PORT etc., while the standard TCP/IP protocol stack and SOCKET layer also have many analysis and judgment processes for protocol and address, whose results are obviously known, redundant and unnecessary for the transmission of RTP/RTCP data package.
2. The standard TCP/IP protocol stack fills the related data package field in different layers, and processes different protocol layer data layer by layer, so the number of layers is large, resulting in many dynamic memory application operations, requiring for a lot of operations of data structure conversion, data copy and data judgment which are time-consuming and will occupy a large part of CPU (Central Processing Unit) resource. According to the characteristic of the real-time media stream RTP/RTCP data package in a session, the real-time media stream data package transmitting from application to network driver can be realized by a new process function, skipping over the SOCKET layer and standard protocol stack.
3. When sending data by the standard TCP/IP protocol stack, the operations of route and ARP (Address Resolution Protocol) lookup for each data package have to be performed, which are very time-consuming. According to the characteristic of the real-time media stream RTP/RTCP data package in a session, software can employ port based ARP policy to greatly decrease the time-consuming operations of route and ARP lookup.
There are also some unnecessary processes in using the method for receiving RTP/RTCP data package in media gateway, IAD, IP multimedia terminal etc., resulting in low process efficiency, representing in the following two detailed aspects:
1. The process of layer-dividing package-breaking involves many redundant and time-consuming operations, such as judging protocol type, address information and data validity for multiple times, conversing data structure for multiple times, and copying data for multiple times, which are unnecessary for the UDP data reception in the scope of known port.
2. The application of RTP/RTCP protocol layer receiving data by employing SOCKET programming timing inquiry form greatly increases time-delay, and wastes the CPU resource.
As described above, in the conventional RTP/RTCP data package processing, the RTP/RTCP application layer accomplishes interfacing through SOCKET API and TCP/IP protocol stack, and the TCP/IP protocol stack and network driver layer accomplish the reception and sending of data. In the direction of sending, the RTP/RTCP application layer program calls the SOCKET API sending function to send the data, with a low process efficiency; in the direction of receiving, the RTP/RTCP protocol application calls the SOCKET API receiving function to receive the data package in the form of time inquiry, and performs layer-dividing package-breaking process, also with a low process efficiency.

Method and system of promptly processing real-time media stream data packet


The object of the invention is an agent for coloring fibers, which contains at least one aromatic aldehyde compound, at least one compound of formula (I) or (II) and an alkanolamine,

The object of the present invention is an agent for coloring fibers, particularly keratin fibers (such as human hair), the agent containing a combination of a 1-alkyl-methylquinolinium salt of formula (I) or (II) and carbonyl compounds, a method for coloring fibers especially keratin fibers, as well as a multi-component kit for coloring and, later on, decolorizing fibers.
Hair coloring agents are divided mainly into the field of oxidizing dyes or tints, depending on the initial color of the hair that is to be dyed and on the desired end result.
Oxidation dyes are outstandingly suitable for covering higher proportions of gray. As a rule, oxidation dyes, used for a proportion of gray up to 50%, are referred to as oxidative tints, whereas the oxidation dyes, used when the proportion of gray exceeds 50% or for xe2x80x9ccoloring to a brighter colorxe2x80x9d, usually are referred to as so-called oxidative dyes.
Direct dyes are contained mainly in non-oxidative coloring agents (so-called tinting agents). Because of their small size, some direct dyes, such as nitro dyes, can penetrate in the hair and dye it directly, at least in the outer regions. Such tints are very gentle of the hair and usually withstand 6 to 8 washings. Direct dyes, especially nitro dyes, are also frequently used in oxidative coloring agents for producing certain nuances or intensification of the color.
It is well known that colored polymers, oxidatively produced in the hair, generally are resistant to external influences, such as water, shampoo or light. Depending on the coloring technique, they are anchored so firmly, that they remain in the hair until it is cut the next time. However, the use of hydrogen peroxide, especially in an alkaline medium, has a disadvantageous effect on the structure of the hair.
From the German Offenlegungsschrift 197 45 292, the use of a combination of malonaldehyde derivatives, such as malonaldehyde bis-dialkylacetals, and amines or compounds containing an acidic CH group for coloring hair without the addition of oxidizing agent, is known. Likewise, from the state of the art, the use of a combination of certain aldehydes (German Offenlegungsschrift 197 17 280), of certain heterocyclic carbonyl compounds (German Offenlegungsschrift 197 17 223), of certain aminovinyl aldehydes (German Offenlegungsschrift 197 17 224), of certain unsaturated, non-aromatic aldehydes(German Offenlegungsschrift 197 45 356), of certain onium aldehydes or onium ketones) and amines or compounds with an acidic CH group is known for coloring hair without the addition of oxidizing agents. However, these dyes fulfill only partly the requirements that have been set.
Therefore, there continues to be a great need for a dye, which makes intensive as well as gentle colorings possible with a wide range of nuances under mild conditions.
Surprisingly, it has been found that this objective can be accomplished in an outstanding manner through the use of an agent containing a alkanolamine, at least one carbonyl compound, especially an aromatic (not heterocyclic) aldehyde compound, and at least one compound of formula (I) or (II),
in which R1 represents a C1 to C3 alkyl group, a to C1 to C3 alkoxyalkyl group or a C1 to C3 hydroxyalkyl group and R2 represents hydrogen, a hydroxy group, a methoxy group, a halogen atom, an amino group or a dimethylamino group and Axe2x88x92 represents an anion, such as chloride, bromide, sulfate, hydrogen sulfate, monomethyl sulfate, acetate, lactate or iodide, for coloring fibers, particularly keratin fibers, such as human hair.
The individual components of the inventive coloring agent are kept separate from one another until shortly before their use and mixed only shortly before their use into a ready-for-use coloring agent and then applied on the fibers, which are to be dyed. Several variations are possible here. For example, the compounds of formula (I) and/or (II) can be packaged together with the aldehyde compound and, optionally, direct dyes(=dye carrier composition) and mixed shortly before use with the alkanolamine. It is, however, also possible to produce the inventive coloring agent in the form of a 2-component agent, consisting of a dye carrier composition (a), which contains the compounds of formula (I) and/or (II), as well as the monoalkanolamine and optionally direct dyes, and of a further dye carrier composition (b), which contains the aldehyde compound and, optionally, direct dyes. A further possibility is a 2-component agent, consisting of a dye carrier composition (a), which contains the compounds of formula (I) and/or (II) and optionally direct dyes and of a further dye carrier composition (b), which contains the aldehyde compound, as well as the monoalkanolamine and optionally direct dyes. Of course, it is also possible to produce the three components in the form of a 3-component agent, which consists of a dye carrier composition (a), which contains the compounds of formula (I) and/or (II) and optionally direct dyes, and a further dye carrier composition (b), which contains the aldehyde compound and optionally direct dyes, and a component (c), which contains the alkanolamine.
Of the compounds of formulas (I) and (II), the following are particularly preferred: 1-ethyl-2-methyl-quinolinium iodide, 1-ethyl-2-methyl-quinolinium chloride, 1-ethyl-4-methyl-quinolinium iodide and 1-ethyl-4-methyl-quinolinium chloride.
Some of the compounds of formulas (I) and (II) can be obtained commercially. However, the compounds of formulas (I) and (II) can also be synthesized by conventional methods known from the literature. In this connection, reference is made particularly to the articles of R. Long and K. Schofield in J. Chem. Soc., 3161 (1953), E. Roberts and E. E. Turner in J. Chem. Soc., 1832 (1927), E. A. Fehnel in J. Org. Chem., 31, 2899 (1966) and C.-C. Cheng and S.-J. Yan, xe2x80x9cThe Friedlxc3xa4nder synthesis of quinolinesxe2x80x9d, in Org. React., 28, 37 (1982), in which the synthesis of quinolines, which are not N-alkylated, is described. A method for the alkylation of the quinoline nitrogen is described, for example, in Houben-Weyl, xe2x80x9cMethoden der organischen Chemie (Methods of Organic Chemistry), Hetarenes IIxe2x80x94Part 1xe2x80x9d, R. Kreher (editor) Georg Thieme-Verlag, vol. E 7a, page 553 (1991).
The following can be used as aldehyde compounds of component (b): vanillin (4-hydroxy-3-methoxy-benzaldehyde), isovanillin (3-hydroxy-4methoxy-benzaldehyde), 3,4-dihydroxy-benzaldehyde, 4-hydroxy-benzaldehyde, 3,5-dimethoxy-4-hydroxy-benzaldehyde, 4-dimethylamino-benzaldehyde, 4-dimethylamino-cinnamaldehyde, 4-hydroxy-2-methoxy-benzaldehyde, 3,5, -dimethyl-4-hydroxybenzaldehyde, 4-dimethylamino-2-methoxybenzaldehyde, 2-hydroxybenzaldehyde, 4-hydroxy-1-naphthaldehyde, 4-methoxy-1-naphthaldehyde, 4-dimethylamino-1-naphthaldehyde, 4xe2x80x2-hydroxy-biphenyl-1-carbaldehyde, 2-hydroxy-3-methoxybenzaldehyde, 2,4-dihydroxy-benzaldehyde, 3,4-dihydroxy-benzaldehyde, 2,5-dihydroxybenzaldehyde, 2,3,4-trihydroxybenzaldehyde, 3,4,5-trihydroxybenzaldehyde, 2,4,6-trihydroxybenzaldehyde, 2,4-dimethoxybenzaldehyde, 2,3-dimethoxy-benzaldehyde, 2,5-dimethoxybenzaldehyde, 3,5-dimethoxy-benzaldehyde, 3,4-dimethoxy-benzaldehyde, benzene-1,4-dicarbaldehyde, 4-ethoxy-benzaldehyde, 2-methyl-1,4-naphthoquinone, 4-carboxybenzaldehyde, 4-hydroxy-3-methoxy-cinnamaldehyde, 3,5-dimethoxy-4-hydroxy-cinnamaldehyde, 3-methoxy-4-(1-pyrrolidinyl)-benzaldehyde, 4-diethylamino-3-methoxy-benzaldehyde, 1,2-phthaldialdehyde, 4-dibutylamino-benzaldehyde, 4-diethylamino-2-hydroxybenzaldehyde, 3,4-dimethoxy-5-hydroxy-benzaldehyde, 5-(4-(diethylamino)phenyl)-2,4-pentadienal, 2-methoxy-1-naphthaldehyde, 3-ethoxy-4-hydroxybenzaldehyde, 2-nitrobenzaldehyde, 3-nitrobenzaldehyde and the 4-nitrobenzaldehyde.
As alkanolamine, monoethanolamine, isopropanolamine and diisopropanolamine come into consideration, isopropanolamine and especially monoethanolamine being preferred. The alkanolamine is added in an amount, which is sufficient in order to adjust the pH of the inventive agent to the desired value.
The compounds of formula (I) and/or (II) and the aldehyde compounds are contained in the respective dye carrier composition in a total amount of about 0.02 to 20 percent by weight and preferably of 0.2 to 10 percent by weight. In the ready-for-use coloring agent, obtained by mixing the individual components, the compounds of formula (I) and/or (II) and the aldehyde compound are contained in each case in a total amount of about 0.01 to 10 percent by weight and preferably of 0.1 to 5 percent by weight.
Furthermore, the inventive coloring agent optionally may contain further, conventional, physiologically safe, direct dyes from the group of nitro dyes, azo dyes, quinone dyes and triphenylmethane dyes, such as 1,4-bis[(2-hydroxy-ethyl)amino]-2-nitrobenzene, 1-(2-hydroxyethyl)amino-2-nitro-4-[di(2-hydroxyethyl)amino]-benzene (HC Blue No. 2), 1-amino-3-methyl-4-[(2-hydroxyethyl)amino]-6-nitrobenze (HC) Violet No. 1), 4-[ethyl-(2-hydroxy-ethyl)amino]-1-[(2-hydroxyethyl)amino]-2-nitrobenzene hydrochloride (HC Blue No. 12), 4-[di(2-hydroxyethyl)amino-]1-[(2-methoxyethyl)amino]-2-nitrobenzene (HC Blue No. 11), 1-[(2,3-dihydroxypropyl)amino]-4-[methyl-(2-hydroxyethyl)amino]-2-nitrobenzene (HC Blue No. 10), 1-[(2,3-dihydroxypropyl)amino]-4-[ethyl-(2-hydroxyethyl)amino]-2-nitrobenzene hydrochloride (HC Blue No. 9), 1-(3-hydroxypropylamino)-4-[di(2-hydroxyethyl)amino]-2-nitrobenzene (HC Violet No. 2), 1-methylamino-4-[methyl-(2,3-dihydroxypropyl)amino]-2-nitrobenzene (HC Blue No. 6), 2-((4-amino-2-nitrophenyl)amino)-5-dimethylaminobenzoic acid (HC Blue No. 13), 1-(2-aminoethylamino)-4-[di(2-hydroxyethyl)amino]-2-nitrobenzene, 1-amino-4-[(2-hydroxyethyl)-amino]-2-nitrobenzene (HC Red No. 7), 2-amino-4,6-dinitro-phenol, 4-amino-2-nitro-diphenylamine (HC Red No. 1), 1-amino-4-[di(2-hydroxyethyl)amino]-2-nitrobenzene hydrochloride (HC Red No. 13), 1-amino-5-chloro-4-[(2-hydroxyethyl)amino]-2-nitrobenzene, 4-amino-1-[(2-hydroxyethyl)amino]-2-nitrobenzene (HC Red No. 3), 4-((2-hydroxyethyl)methylamino)-1-(methylamino)-2-nitrobenzene, 1-amino-4-((2,3-dihydroxypropyl)amino)-5-methyl-2-nitrobenzene, 1-amino-4-(methylamino)-2-nitrobenzene, 4-amino-2-nitro-1-((prop-2-en-1-yl)amino)-benzene, 4-amino-3-nitrophenol, 4-[(2-hydroxyethyl)amino]-3-nitrophenol-1-[(2-aminoethyl)amino]-4-(2-hydroxyethoxy)-2-nitrobenzene (HC Orange No. 2), 4-(2,3-dihydroxypropoxy)-1-[(2-hydroxyethyl)amino]-2-nitrobenzene (HC Orange No. 3), 1-amino-5-chloro-4-[(2,3-dihydroxy-propyl)amino]-2-nitrobenzene (HC Red No. 10), 5-chloro-1,4-[di(2,3-dihydroxypropyl)amino]-2-nitrobenzene (HC Red No. 11), 2-[(2-hydroxy -ethyl)amino]-4,6-dinitrophenol, 4-ethylamino-3-nitrobenzoic acid, 2-[(4-amino-2nitrophenyl)amino]-benzoic acid, 2-chloro-6-ethylamino-4-nitrophenol, 2-amino-6-chloro-4-nitrophenol, 4-[(3-hydroxypropyl)amino]-3-nitrophenol, 2,5-diamino-6-nitropyridine, 6-amino-3-((2-hydroxyethyl)-amino-2-nitropyridine, 3-amino-6-((2-hydroxyethyl)amino)-2-nitropyridine, 3-amino-6-(ethylamino)-2-nitropyridine, 3-((2-hydroxyethyl)amino)-6-(methylamino)-2-nitropyridine, 3-amino-6-(methylamino)-2-nitropyridine, 6-(ethylamino)-3-((2-hydroxyethyl)amino)-2-nitropyridine, 1,2,3,4tetrahydro-6-nitroquinoxaline, 7-amino-3,4-dihydro-6-nitro-2H-1,4-benzoxazine (HC Red No. 14),1-amino-2-[(2-hydroxyethyl)amino]-5-nitrobenzene (HC Yellow No. 5), 1-(2-hydroxyethoxy)-2-[(2-hydroxyethyl)-amino]-5-nitrobenzene (HC Yellow No. 4), 1-[(2-hydroxyethyl)amino]-2-nitrobenzene (HC Yellow No. 2), 2-(di(2-hydroxyethyl)amino)-5-nitrophenol, 2-[(2-hydroxyethyl)amino]-1-methoxy-5-nitrobenzene, 2-amino-3-nitrophenol, 1-(2-hydroxyethoxy)-3-methylamino-4-nitrobenzene, 2,3-(dihydroxypropoxy)-3-methylamino-4-nitrobenzene, 2-[(2-hydroxyethyl)amino]-5-nitrophenol (HC Yellow No. 11), 3-[(2-aminoethyl)amino]-1-methoxy-4-nitrobenzene hydrochloride (HC Yellow No. 9), 1-[(2-ureidoethyl)-amino]-4-nitrobenzene, 4-[(2,3-dihydroxypropyl)-amino]-3-nitro-1-trifluoromethyl-benzene (HC Yellow No. 6), 1-chloro-2,4-bis[(2-hydroxyethyl)amino]-5-nitrobenzene (HC Yellow No. 10), 1-amino-4-((2-aminoethyl)-amino)-5-methyl-2-nitrobenzene, 4-[(2-hydroxyethyl)amino]-3-nitro-1-methylbenzene, 1-chloro-4-[(2-hydroxyethyl)amino]-3-nitrobenzene (HC Yellow No. 12), 4-[(2-hydroxyethyl)amino]-3-nitro-1-trifluoromethyl-benzene (HC Yellow No. 13), 4-[(2-hydroxyethyl)amino]-3-nitrobenzonitrile (HC Yellow No. 14), 4-[(2-hydroxyethyl)amino]-3-nitrobenzamide (HC Yellow No. 15), 3-((2-hydroxyethyl)amino)-4-methyl-1-nitrobenzene, 4-chloro-3-((2-hydroxyethyl)amino)-1-nitrobenzene, 1,4-di[(2,3-dihydroxy-propyl)amino]-9,10-anthraquinone, 1-[(2-hydroxyethyl)amino]-4-methyl-amino-9,10-anthraquinone (CI61505, Disperse Blue No. 3), 2-[(2-amino-ethyl)amino]-9,10-anthraquinone (HC Orange No. 5), 1-hydroxy-4-[(4-methyl-2-sulfophenyl)amino]-9,10-anthraquinone, 1-[(3-aminopropyl)-amino]-4-methylamino-9,10-anthraquinone (HC Blue No. 8), 1-[(3-amino-propyl)amino]9,10-anthraquinone (HC Red No. 8), 1,4-diamino-2-methoxy-9,10-anthraquinone (CI62015, Disperse Red No. 11, Solvent Violet No. 26), 1,4-dihydroxy-5,8-bis[(2-hydroxyethyl)amino]-9,10-anthraquinone (CI62500, Disperse Blue No. 7, Solvent Blue No. 69), 9-(dimethylamino)-benzo[a]phenoxazin-7-ium chloride (CI51175; Basic Blue No. 6), di[4-(diethylamino)phenyl][4-(ethylamino)naphthyl]carbenium chloride (CI42595; Basic Blue No. 7), di-(4-(dimethylamino)phenyl)-(4-(methyl-phenylamino)naphthalene-1-yl)carbenium chloride (CI42563; Basic Blue No. 8), 3,7-di(dimethylamino)phenothiazin-5-ium chloride (CI52015; Basic Blue No. 9), di[4-(dimethylamino)phenyl][4-(phenylamino)naphthyl]-carbenium chloride (CI44045; Basic Blue No. 26), 2-[(4-ethyl(2-hydroxy-ethyl)amino)phenyl)azo]-6-methoxy-3-methyl-benzothiazolium-methyl sulfate (CI11154; Basic Blue No. 41), 8-amino-2-bromo-5-hydroxy-4-imino-6-[(3-(trimethylammonio)phenyl)amino]-1(4H)-naphthalinone chloride (CI56059; Basic Blue No. 99), bis[4-(dimethylamino)phenyl][4-(methyl-amino)phenyl]carbenium chloride (CI42535; Basic Violet No. 1), tris[4-(dimethylamino)phenyl]carbenium chloride (CI42555; Basic Violet No. 3), 2-[3,6-(diethylamino)dibenzopyranium-9-yl]-benzyl chloride (CI45170; Basic Violet No. 10), di(4-aminophenyl)(4-amino-3-methyl-phenyl)carbenium chloride (CI42510; Basic Violet No. 14), 1,3-bis[(2,4-diamino-5-methylphenyl)azo]-3-methylbenzene (CI21010; Basic Brown No. 4), 1-[(4-aminophenyl)azo]-7-(trimethylammonio)-2-naphthol chloride (CI 12250; Basic Brown No. 16), 1-[(4-amino-2-nitrophenyl)azo]-7-(trimethylammonio)-2-naphthol chloride (Basic Brown No. 17), 1-[(4-amino-3-nitrophenyl)azo]-7-(trimethylamino)-2-naphthol chloride (CI12251; Basic Brown No. 17) 3,7-diamino-2,8dimethyl-5-phenyl-phenazinium chloride (CI50240; Basic Red No. 2), 1,4-dimethyl-5-[(4-(dimethylamino)phenyl)azo]-1,2,4-triazolium chloride (CI1105 5; Basic Red No. 22), 2-hydroxy-1-[(2-methoxyphenyl)azo]-7-(trimethylammonio)-naphthalene chloride (CI12245; Basic Red No. 76), 2-[2-((2,4-dimethoxy-phenyl)amino)ethenyl]-1,3,3-trimethyl-3H-indol-1-ium chloride (C148055; Basic Yellow No. 11), 3-methyl-1-phenyl-4-[(3-(trimethylammonio)-phenyl)azo]-pyrazol-5-one chloride (CI12719; Basic Yellow No. 57), di(4-(dimethylamino)phenyl)iminomethane hydrochloride (C 141000; Basic Yellow No. 2), bis[4-(diethylamino)phenyl]phenylcarbenium hydrogen sulfate (1:1) (CI42040; Basic Green No. 1), di(4-(dimethylamino)-phenyl)-phenylmethanol (CI42000; Basic Green No. 4), 1-[di(2-hydroxy-ethyl)amino]-3-methyl-4-[(4-nitrophenyl)azo]-benzene (CI11210, Disperse Red No. 17), 4-[(4-aminophenyl)azo]-1-[di(2-hydroxyethyl)amino]-3-methylbenzene (HC Yellow No. 7), -2,6-diamino-3-[(pyridine-3-yl)azo]-pyridine, 2-((4-(acetylamino)phenyl)azo)-4-methylphenol (CI11855; Disperse Yellow No. 3), 6-hydroxy-5-[(4-sulfophenyl)azo]-2-naphthalene sulfonic acid disodium salt (CI15985; Food Yellow No. 3; FDandC Yellow No. 6), 2,4-dinitro-1-naphthol-7-sulfonic acid disodium salt (CI10316; Acid Yellow No. 1; Food Yellow No. 1), 2-(indane-1,3-dion-2-yl)quinoline-x,x-sulfonic acid (mixture of mono- and disulfonic acids) (CI47005; DandC Yellow No. 10; Food Yellow No. 13; Acid Yellow No. 3), 5-hydroxy-1-(4-sulfophenyl)-4-[(4-sulfophenyl)azo]pyrazol-3-carboxylic acid trisodium salt (CI19140; Food Yellow No. 4; Acid Yellow No. 23), 9-(2-carboxyphenyl)-6-hydroxy-3H-xanthene-3-one (CI45350; Acid Yellow No. 73; DandC Yellow No. 8),4-((4-amino-3-sulfophenyl)azo)benzene sulfonic acid disodium salt (CI13015, Acid Yellow No. 9), 5-[(2,4-dinitrophenyl)amino]-2-phenylamino-benzenesulfonic acid sodium salt (CI10385; Acid Orange No. 3), 4-[(2,4-dihydroxyphenyl)azo]-benzenesulfonic acid monosodium salt (CI14270; Acid Orange No. 6), 4-[(2-hydroxynaphth-1-yl)azo]-benzenesulfonic acid sodium salt (CI15510; Acid Orange No. 7), 4-[(2,4-dihydroxy -3-[(2,4-dimethylphenyl)azo]phenyl)azo]-benzenesulfonic acid sodium salt (CI20170; Acid Orange No. 24), 4-hydroxy-3-[(4-sulfonaphth-1-yl)azo]-1-naphthalene-sulfonic acid disodium salt (CI14720; Acid Red No. 14), 6-hydroxy-5-[(4-sulfonaphth-1-yl)azo]-2,4-naphthalene-disulfonic acid trisodium salt (CI16255; Ponceau 4R; Acid Red No. 18), 3-hydroxy-4-[(4-sulfonaphth-1-yl)azo]-2,7-naphthalene-disulfonic acid trisodium salt (CI16185; Acid Red No. 27), 8-amino-1-hydroxy-2-(phenylazo)-3,6-naphthalene-disulfonic acid disodium salt (CI17200; Acid Red No. 33), 5-(acetylamino)-4-hydroxy-3-[(2-methylphenyl)azo]-2,7-naphthalene-disulfonic acid disodium salt (CI18065; Acid Red No. 35), 2-(3-hydroxy-2,4,5,7-tetraiodo-dibenzopyrane-6-one-9-yl)-benzoic acid disodium salt (CI45430; Acid Red No. 51), N-[6-(diethylamino)-9-(2,4-disulfophenyl)-3H-xanthene-3-ylidene]-N-ethyl-ethane ammonium hydroxide, internal salt, sodium salt (CI45100; Acid Red No. 52), 8-[(4-(phenylazo)phenyl)azo]-7-naphthol-1,3-disulfonic acid disodium salt (CI27290; Acid Red No. 73), 2xe2x80x2,4xe2x80x2,5xe2x80x2,7xe2x80x2-tetrabromo-3xe2x80x2,6xe2x80x2-dihydroxyspiro[isobenzofuran-1(3H),9xe2x80x2-[9H]xanthene]-3-one-disodium salt (CI45380; Acid Red No. 87), 2xe2x80x2,4xe2x80x2,5xe2x80x2,7xe2x80x2,-tetrabromo-4,5,6,7-tetrachloro-3xe2x80x2,6xe2x80x2-dihydroxyspiro[isobenzofuran-1(3H),9xe2x80x2[9H]xanthene]-3-one-disodium salt CI145410; Acid Red No. 92), 3xe2x80x2,6xe2x80x2-dihydroxy-4xe2x80x2,5xe2x80x2diiodospiro-[isobenzofuran-1 (3H),9xe2x80x2(9H)-xanthene]-3-one-disodium salt (CI45425; Acid Red No. 95), 2-hydroxy-3-((2-hydroxynaphth-1-yl)azo)-5-nitrobenzene-sulfonic acid monosodium salt (CI15685; Acid Red No. 184), (2-sulfophenyl)di[4-(ethyl((4-sulfophenyl)methyl)amino)phenyl]-carbenium-disodium salt, betaine (CI42090; Acid Blue No. 9; FDandC Blue No. 1), 1,4-bis[(2-sulfo-4-methylphenyl)amino]-9,10-anthraquinone-disodium salt (CI61570; Acid Green No. 25), bis[4-(dimethylamino)-phenyl]-(3,7-disulfo-2-hydroxynaphth-1-yl)carbenium internal salt, monosodium salt (CI44090; Food Green No. 4; Acid Green No. 50), bis[4-(diethylamino)phenyl](2,4-disulfophenyl)carbenium internal salt, sodium salt (2:1) (CI42045; Food Blue No. 3; Acid Blue No. 1), bis[4-(diethylamino)phenyl](5-hydroxy-2,4-disulfophenyl)carbenium internal salt, calcium salt (2: 1) (CI42051; Acid Blue No. 3), 1-amino-4-(cyclohexylamino)-9,10-anthraquinone-2-sulfonic acid sodium salt (CI62045; Acid Blue No. 62), 2-(1,3-dihydro-3-oxo-5-sulfo-2H-indol-2-ylidene)-2,3-dihydro-3-oxo-1H-indol-5-sulfonic acid disodium salt (CI73015; Acid Blue No. 74), 9-(2-carboxyphenyl)-3-[(2-methylphenyl)amino]-6-[(2-methyl-4-sulfophenyl)amino]xanthylium internal salt monosodium salt (CI45190; Acid Violet No. 9), 1-hydroxy-4-[(4-methyl-2-sulfophenyl)-amino]-9,10-anthraquinone sodium salt (CI60730; DandC Violet No. 2; Acid Violet No. 43), bis[3-nitro-4-[(4-phenylamino)-3-sulfo-phenylamino]-phenyl]-sulfone (CI10410; Acid Brown No. 13), 5-amino-4-hydroxy-6-[(4-nitrophenyl)azo]-3-(phenylazo)-2,7-naphthalene-disulfonic acid disodium salt (CI20470; Acid Black No. 1), 3-hydroxy-4-[(2-hydroxynaphth-1-yl)azo]-7-nitro-1-naphthalene-sulfonic acid chromium complex (3:2) (CI15711; Acid Black No. 52), 3-[(2,4-dimethyl-5-sulfophenyl)azo]-4-hydroxy-1-naphthalene -sulfonic acid disodium salt (CI14700; Food Red No. 1; Ponceau SX; FDandC Red No. 4), 4-(acetylamino)-5-hydroxy-6-[(7-sulfo-4-[(4-sulfophenyl)azo[naphth-1-yl)azo]1,7-naphthalenedisulfonic acid tetrasodium salt (CI28440; Food Black No. 1), 3-hydroxy-4-(3-methyl-5-oxo-1-phenyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-pyrazol-4-ylazo)-naphthalene -1-sulfonic acid sodium salt, chromium complex (Acid Red No. 195), 4-((5-((2-hydroxy-ethyl)amino-1-methyl-1H-pyrazol-4-yl)imino)-4,5-dihydro-5-((2-hydroxy ethyl)imino)-1-methyl-1H-pyrazol monosulfate, 5-hydroxy-1,4-naphthoquinone (CI75500, Natural Brown No. 7), 2-hydroxy-1,4-naphthoquinone (CI75480, Natural Orange No. 6) and 1,2-dihydro-2-(1,3-dihydro-3-oxo-2H-indol-2-ylidene)-3H-indol-3-one (CI73000).
The direct dyes may be contained in the dye carrier composition in each case in a total amount of about 0.02 to 20 percent by weight and preferably of 0.2 to 10 percent by weight. The total amount of direct dyes in the ready-for-use coloring agent, obtained by mixing the individual components, is about 0.01 to 5 percent by weight and preferably 0.1 to 10 percent by weight.
The dye carrier compositions, like the ready-for-use coloring agents, independently of one another, are present in the form of a solution, especially of an aqueous or aqueous alcoholic solution, a cream, an emulsion or an aerosol foam.
The dye carrier compositions may contain all materials, customary and known for such preparations, such as solvents, like water, low molecular weight aliphatic alcohols, such as ethanol, n-propanol and isopropanol or glycols, such as glycerin and 1,2-dihydroxypropane, furthermore, wetting agents or emulsifiers from the classes of anionic, cationic, amphoteric or nonionic, surface active substances, such as fatty alcohol sulfates, ethoxylated fatty alcohol sulfates, alkyl sulfonates, alkyl benzene sulfonates, alkyltrimethylammonium salts, alkyl betaines, ethoxylated fatty alcohols, ethoxylated nonylphenols, fatty acid alkanolamides, ethoxylated fatty alcohols, ethoxylated nonylphenols, fatty acid alkanolamides, ethoxylated esters of fatty acids, furthermore thickeners, such as higher molecular weight fatty alcohols, starch or cellulose derivatives, perfumes, hair pre-treatment agents, conditioners, hair swelling agents, preservatives, furthermore Vaseline, paraffin oil and fatty acids, as well as care materials, such as cationic resins, lanolin derivatives, cholesterol, pantothenic acid and betaine. The aforementioned materials are used in amounts customary for such purposes. For example, the wetting agents and emulsifiers are used in concentrations of about 0.5 to 30 percent by weight (in each case based on the individual dye carrier composition), the thickeners in an amount of about 0.1 to 25 percent by weight (in each case based on the individual dye carrier compositions) and the care materials in a concentration of about 0.1 to 5.0 percent by weight (in each case based on the individual dye carrier compositions).
The pH of the ready-for-use coloring agent is adjusted by mixing the individual components and is about 3 to 11, preferably 8 to 11 and especially 9.5 to 11. A particularly good shelf life of the dye carrier compositions results when the dye carrier composition (a), containing the compounds of formula (I) and/or (II) and optionally direct dyes, has an acidic pH of about 1.5 to 6.8 and the dye carrier composition (b), containing the aldehyde compound as well as the monoalkanolamine and optionally direct dyes has an alkaline pH of about 9 to 13. If the inventive coloring agent is produced in the form of a 2-component agent consisting of a dye carrier composition (a), which contains the compounds of formula (I) and/or (II) as well as the monoalkonolamine and optionally direct dyes, and a further dye carrier composition (b), which contains the aldehyde compound and optionally direct dyes, the dye carrier composition (a) has an alkaline pH of about 9 to 13 and the dye carrier composition (b) has an acidic pH of about 1.5 to 6.8.
To adjust the pH to a value suitable for coloring, further alkalizing agents, such as alkylamines, alkali or alkaline earth hydroxides or ammonium hydroxide and alkali carbonates or ammonium carbonates, or acids such as lactic acid, acetic acid, tartaric acid, phosphoric acid, hydrochloric acid, citric acid, ascorbic acid and boric acid, can be used if necessary, in addition to the alkanolamine.
The individual components are mixed immediately before use and applied on the fibers, such as hair. Depending on the depth of color desired, the mixture is allowed to act for 5 to 60 minutes and preferably 15 to 30 minutes, at a temperature of 20xc2x0 to 50xc2x0 C. and especially at 30xc2x0 to 40xc2x0 C. Subsequently, the fibers are rinsed with water, optionally washed with a shampoo and then dried.
The compounds of formula (I) and/or (II) and the aldehyde compound are generally used in an equimolar ratio in the ready-for-use coloring agent. Depending on the shade of color desired, one or more of the compounds of formula (I) and/or (II) can be mixed with one or more aldehyde compounds, as a result of which a broad spectrum of different nuances can be produced.
The inventive coloring agents produce an excellent coloration of keratin fibers, especially of human hair, but also of wool or silk, in yellow to blue and green color shades.
Surprisingly, these colorations can be decolorized rapidly, gently and completely once again by reducing agents.
A further object of the present invention therefore is a multi-component kit for coloring and later on decolorizing fibers, such as wool, silk, cotton or hair and particularly human hair, wherein the kit contains the inventive coloring agent A and a decolorizing component B, component B, as decolorizing agent, containing at least a sulfite and/or hydrogen sulfite, such as ammonium hydrogen sulfite, ammonium sulfite, alkali sulfite or alkaline earth sulfite, particularly sodium sulfite or ammonium hydrogen sulfite, and/or thioglycolic acid or its salts and having a pH of 4 to 8, the use of thioglycolic acid or its salts at a pH of 7 to 8 being preferred.
The total amount of sulfite, hydrogen sulfite and thioglycolic acid in component B is about 0.1 to 10 percent by weight and preferably 2 to 5 percent by weight.
The agent for decolorizing the fibers, dyed with the coloring agent A (referred to in the following as xe2x80x9cdecolorizing agentxe2x80x9d) may be an aqueous or aqueous alcoholic solution, a gel, a cream, an emulsion or a foam. The decolorizing agent may be in the form of a one-component preparation as well as in the form of a multicomponent preparation. The decolorizing agent may also be produced in the form of a powder or (for protection against the formation of dust), of a tablet or effervescent tablet or of a granulate. From this, the decolorizing agent is produced before use with cold water or warm water, optionally with the addition of one or more of the following auxiliary agents. It is, however, also possible that these auxiliary agents (if they are present in solid form), are already contained in the decolorizing powder or granulate or the tablet. Dust formation can additionally be reduced by wetting the powder with oils or waxes.
The decolorizing agent may contain additional auxiliary agents, such as solvents like water, low molecular weight aliphatic alcohols, such as ethanol, n-propanol and isopropanol, glycol ethers or glycols, such as glycerin and particularly 1,2-dihydroxypropane, furthermore wetting agents or emulsifiers from the classes of anionic, cationic, amphoteric or nonionic surface active substances, such as fatty alcohol sulfates, ethoxylated fatty alcohol sulfates, alkyl sulfonates, alkylbenzenesulfonates, alkyltrimethylammonium salts, alkyl betaines, ethoxylated fatty alcohols, ethoxylated nonylphenols, fatty acid alkanolamides, ethoxylated fatty alcohols, ethoxylated nonylphenols, fatty acid alkanolamides, ethoxylated esters of fatty acids, furthermore thickeners, such as fatty alcohols, starch or cellulose derivatives, perfumes, hair pre-treatment agents, conditioners, hair swelling agents, preservatives, Vaseline, paraffin oil and fatty acids, as well as care materials, such as cationic resins, lanolin derivatives, cholesterol, pantothenic acid and betaine.
The pH of the decolorizing agent is about 4 to 8 and, in particular, about 3 to 7.5. If necessary, the pH can be adjusted to the desired value by the addition of suitable acids, such as a-hydroxycarboxylic acids, such as lactic acid, tartaric acid, citric acid or malic acid, phosphoric acid, acetic acid, glycolic acid, salicylic acid, glutathione or gluconic acid lactone, or by the addition of alkalizing agents, such as alkanolamines, alkylamines, alkali hydroxides, ammonium hydroxide, alkali carbonates, ammonium carbonates or alkali phosphates.
The period of action of the decolorizing agent depends on the coloring that is to be decolorized and on the temperature (about 20xc2x0 to 50xc2x0 C.) and is 5 to 60 minutes and, in particular 15 to 30 minutes. The decolorizing process can be accelerated by supplying heat. At the end of the period of action of the decolorizing agent, the hair is rinsed with water and optionally washed with a shampoo.
The following examples are intended to illustrate the object of the invention in greater detail without limiting it to these examples.

Abstract: in which R1 represents a C1 to C3 alkyl group, a C1 to C3 alkoxyalkyl group or a C1 to C3 hydroxyalkyl group and R2 represents hydrogen or a hydroxy group, a methoxy group, a halogen atom, an amino group or a dimethylamino group and Axe2x88x92 represents an anion, such as chloride, bromide, sulfate, hydrogen sulfate, monomethyl sulfate, acetate, lactate or iodide; a method for coloring fibers using this agent, as well as a multicomponent kit for coloring and, later on, decolorizing fibers.


A cable connector assembly (100) includes a housing (2), a number of POGO-type contacts (31, 32, 33) received in the housing, a circuit board (4) assembled to the housing, a number of conductive elements (34) each including a connecting portion (340) soldered with corresponding contact and a tail portion (342) soldered with the circuit board, a cable (6) electrically connecting with the circuit board, a metal front cover (1) assembled to the housing and a rear cover (7) assembled to the housing to enclose the rear of the housing, the contacts, the circuit board and the front end of the cable.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a cable connector assembly, and more particularly to a cable connector assembly used for power transmission.
2. Description of Related Art
POGO-type contacts are widely used for chargeable batteries. Such contact as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,773,312, usually comprises a pin assembled with a spring, a sleeve receiving the pin and the spring, and a mounting portion exposed outside the sleeve for electrically connecting with a printed circuit board. With development of technology, different structures of such type contact are designed to meet different requirements. U.S. Pat. No. 6,814,626 discloses a compression contact having a U-shape mounting portion having tabs pressing against the spring and a bottom portion for surface-mounting to a Printed Circuit Board (PCB) perpendicular to the extending direction of the contact. However, such type mounting portion is relatively complex in structure and not suitable for a cable connector assembly.

Cable connector assembly with improved contacts


A portable electronic device can receive and transmit lower-case letter codes while it displays only upper-case letters. The device stores data received from a superior model as they are in a RAM. When data display is performed, a CPU determines whether or not each of letter codes contained in the data read out from the RAM is a lower-case letter code. If a current letter code is a lower-case letter code, then the CPU selects an upper-case letter code corresponding to the lower-case letter code and then reads out a character code corresponding to the selected upper-case letter from a ROM for display of the upper-case letter on an LCD. If a current letter code is an upper-case letter code, a character code corresponding to the upper-case letter code is read out from the ROM for display of the upper-case letter. When received data are reversely transmitted to the superior model, the original data containing the lower-case letter codes are simply transmitted as they are.

The present invention generally relates to portable electronic devices with a communication function, such as electronic notebooks and electronic memo pads, that can display upper-case letters but not lower-case letters, and more particularly to a letter data processing for such a portable electronic device for the display of data received and the reverse transmission of received data.
With a line-up of compatible products, it is often possible to connect up portable electronic devices with a communication function (such as electronic notebooks and electronic memo pads) with superior kinds of portable electronic devices and information processing devices (such as personal computers and word processors) so as to effect two-way data transmission.
Of the inferior kinds of portable electronic devices, there are some that can display upper-case letters but not lower-case letters.
Thus when data transmission is effected between a portable electronic device or information processing device of a superior kind that can display both upper-case letters and lower-case letters (referred to as a first device below) and an inferior kind of portable electronic device that can only display the alphabet in upper-case letters (referred to as a second device below), lower-case letter codes contained in data received by the second device from the first device are converted into upper-case letter codes, the data being stored after conversion.
FIGS. 5(A), 5(B) and 5(C) show an example of data contents (left side) and display contents (right side) in data transmission between the first device and the second device. The problem that the present invention attempts to resolve is to be found in the second device of an inferior kind.
It is assumed here that data containing lower-case letters are transmitted from the first device to the second device, and then the data received by the second device are reversely transmitted to the first device.
In FIG. 5(A) shows contents of original data DATA1 stored in the first device and display contents based on DATA1 on a display of the first device. The data contents include both upper-case letters and lower-case letters, which are mixed together as follows: EQU DATA1: [A, b, C, d, E, f]
The display contents are identical to the data contents stored: EQU DISP1: {A, b, C, d, E, f}
The data DATA1 are transmitted from the first device to the second device.
In FIG. 5 (B) shows the data contents received by the second device and the display state thereof. As the second device cannot display lower-case letters, lower-case letter codes contained in the data DATA1 are all converted into upper-case letter codes, that is, capitalization is performed when the data DATA1 are received, and the converted data are stored as DATA2 as follows: EQU DATA2: [A, B, C, D, E, F]
Namely, as the above indicates, the lower-case letter codes [b], [d] and [f] are converted into the upper-case letter codes [B], [D] and [F] respectively, and stored.
Accordingly, with the conversion of the lower-case letters into the upper-case letters, the display state of the second device becomes: EQU DISP2: {A, B, C, D, E, F}
Next, capitalized data DATA2 stored in the second device are reversely transmitted to the first device.
In FIG. 5. (C) shows the data contents received by the first device and the display state thereof after reverse transmission from the second device. As data have already been capitalized in the second device as described above, data received by the first device by reverse transmission become: EQU DATA3: [A, B, C, D, E, F]
In accordance with this data, the display state of the first device becomes: EQU DISP3: {A, B, C, D, E, F}
As described above, the second device such as a portable electronic device of an inferior kind, which can only display the alphabet in upper-case letters, converts lower-case letter codes received from the first device of a superior kind such as a portable electronic device or information processing device into upper-case letter codes (i.e., capitalization of the lower-case letters). The resulting problem is that the original lower-case letter codes are changed into upper-case letter codes (letter mutation) when the received data are reversely transmitted to the first device of a superior kind. Namely, in the example above, the original lower-case letter codes [b], [d] and [f] undergo letter mutation, changing into the upper-case letter codes [B], [D] and [F] respectively.
This means that it is not possible to preserve original data, and is a major problem in data transmission. In order to return the data to their original state, it is first necessary to discover which letters have undergone letter mutation. Such an operation is extremely difficult, and considerable time and effort is required to return all subject upper-case letters to lower-case letters.

Portable electronic device capable of receiving and transmitting lower-case letter codes while displaying only upper-case letters


A call-back service is disclosed having reduced post-dial delay. When a caller (12) initiates dialing of an international number of a called party (14), a dialer (28) monitors the dialed digits. Upon detecting a code corresponding to an international number, the dialer immediately launches a call to a node (16) in the caller's local exchange (18) while retaining the digits dialed by the calling party. The node then signals a call-back service platform (24) in a call back-country via a frame relay link (22) to launch a call through an ISDN network (26) back to the dialer. Thereafter, the dialer sends the digits to the call-back service platform which then launches a second call to the called party. The first and second calls are then bridged. By launching the call from the dialer upon detecting an international code in the number dialed by the calling party, the post dial delay is reduced.

The revenue associated with international telecommunications traffic is divided between the originating and terminating telecommunications carriers or PTTs based on a settlement rate, representing the percentage of revenue allocated to the originating carrier or PTT. Some countries impose very high settlement rates to raise revenues for their PTTs. As a consequence, subscribers in such countries incur very high costs for international calls, prompting such subscribers to consider alternative mechanisms to enjoy lower telecommunications charges.
To the extent permitted by local law, many telecommunications subscribers utilize call-back services for their international calls to take advantage of lower settlement charges in the call-back country. For example, the settlement charges for a call originating in certain foreign countries and terminating in the United States may be far higher than a call originating in the United States and terminating in such countries. Thus, a subscriber gains a significant economic advantage by originating the call in the United States. To that end, some telecommunications carriers provide network facilities in low settlement rate countries that will call back a foreign caller upon receipt of an incoming international call from that caller. The foreign caller then enters the number of the called party, whereupon, the carrier in the low settlement rate country launches a second call to the called party. The two calls are the bridged. Because of the lower settlement charges, the "call back" to the foreign caller, and the call launched to the called party collectively cost less that if the caller made the call directly from the foreign country to the called party.
Presently, the call-back service offered by telecommunications carriers suffers from a significant post-dial delay, defined as the interval from dialing the number of the call back service until ringing of the called party. Often, the post dial delay may be as long as 25-30 second, causing some subscribers to believe that they were disconnected, so that the subscribers terminate their calls too early.
Thus, there is a need for a call back method that minimizes any post dial delay.

International call back technique with reduced post dialing delay


A module support for forming a unitary display preferably from containers having outwardly extending access panels. In particular, a common module support for creating an array from two or more container modules is provided. The module support may be advantageously utilized as a stand alone display for floor, shelf, and/or counter placement. The module support may also be hung on a wall or column using hanging elements, e.g., double-sided adhesives, hook and loop fastening elements, and hook and/or aperture elements.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a module support for containers having outwardly extending access panels. The invention provides, in particular, a common module support for creating an array from two or more container modules. The invention may be advantageously utilized as a stand alone display for floor, shelf, and/or counter placement. The invention may also be hung using hanging means, e.g., double-sided adhesives, hook and loop fastening means, and hook and aperture means.
2. Related Background Art
Product manufacturers and distributers, hereinafter "sellers", sell a majority of their products in retail and wholesale stores. Since product display space in these stores is often limited and densely occupied, sellers compete for space on store shelves, floors, walls, columns, and counters. Further, since high product visibility and ease of product accessibility are major factors in product sales, sellers also compete for certain areas on shelves, floors, and the like. As a result, consumer eye level and other high visibility areas in stores are highly sought after. Unfortunately, high visibility display space is even more limited than general display space.
The inability of a product seller to secure product placement in high visibility areas may lead to lack of consumer awareness of the sellers' product, reduced sales, and loss of sales revenue. Low product sales may lead to a product being "pulled" from store shelves in order to make space available for presumed better selling products. Limited store space leads to other problems as well, including reduced product carry away ease in the case of products placed in out-of-the-way or cramped areas.
Sellers have attempted to address product visibility problems by providing product containers with artwork that makes the containers more readily visible by the consumer. Now, however, since nearly all sellers utilize the same methods of making their products more visible, individual containers again become unobvious amidst a virtual sea of brightly decorated product cartons.
Aside from shelves, stores have several areas for display that are un- or underutilized, e.g., walls and columns. Most conventional shipping and display containers, however, can not make viable use of these display areas since the containers are not designed for upright use, do not have hanging means, or both. Enumerable advantages can be realized through the use of upright containers with access panels, with or without hanging means. Further, since store display space is limited, it would be even more advantageous if different products could be "bundled" together prior to receipt at the point of sale for display at the point of sale. This would provide customizable consumer displays for the bundling of various consumer products for point of sale distribution. For example, a maker of confectioneries could bundle one carton containing a plurality of one type of candy bar, another carton containing a plurality of a different type of candy bar, and yet another carton containing another consumer product in a common support having promotional and/or seasonal graphics printed thereon. The cartons within the support could have generic and/or product-related graphics printed thereon; so, when the promotion is over, the seller could easily remove the cartons from the support and continue to sell products from the individual generically-decorated cartons. Obviously, substantial savings could be realized by the product distributer since the distributer would no longer have to print cartons with seasonal an/or promotional graphics thereon. The distributor would print generic cartons and or cartons with product-related information. Seasonal and/or promotional graphics would be printed on the support reducing costs associated with ever-changing carton graphics. Also, assembly of the displays would not be labor intensive for the distributer even though sellers order custom displays with seller selected products contained therein. The seller would receive an assembled custom display that requires little or no labor prior to being displayed and a display that is easy to disassemble into individual product cartons when the seller desires or after a promotion is over.
Sellers have designed cartons with access panels, dispensation areas, and hanging means. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,121,511; 3,207,380; 3,265,246; 3,278,080; 3,528,597; 3,593,908; 3,747,833; 3,944,128; 4,186,866; 4,646,937; 5,458,272; 5,857,586; 6,189,778; 6,216,944; and, European Patent No. 0 295 503. Unfortunately, none of these prior art references disclose a singular, customizable common module support to be shared by more than one carton, each having a radially-openable access panel, and/or assembly of various sizes of carton modules in a module support that allows for easy assembly and disassembly.
Accordingly, the need remains for a way to customizably "bundle" more than one multi-unit product container in a manner that makes use of underutilized store display areas, allows the products to be more obvious to consumers, and is easy to assemble, ship, display, and disassemble, while maintaining or increasing consumer accessibility of the products housed within the product carton.

Support for modular containers with outwardly-extending access panels


Anti-CLDN18.2 antibodies and antigen-binding fragments thereof are described. Also described are nucleic acids encoding the antibodies, compositions comprising the antibodies, and methods of producing the antibodies and using the antibodies for treating or preventing diseases such as cancer and/or an inflammatory disease.

Claudin 18.2 (CLDN18.2), also known as claudin-18a2.1, belongs to the claudin (CLDN) family transmembrane proteins of at least 27 isoforms in humans. Claudins are the major structural components of tight junction between epithelial cells and function as ion pores to regulate the paracellular permeability of cations and anions (Sahin et al., Physiol Rev. 2013; 93:525-569). The expression of CLDN18 is normally limited to lung and stomach tissues. CLDN18 has two splicing variants. CLDN18.1 is the lung-specific variant whereas CLDN18.2 is the stomach-specific variant. The splicing variants differ at their N-terminal 69 amino acid residues due to alternative splicing of the first exon (Niimi et al., Mol Cell Biol. 2001; 21:7380-7390). Studies with CLDN18.2 knockout mice suggest that CLDN18.2 plays a critical role in preventing gastric acid leakage into the stomach lumen (Hayash et al., Gastroenterology 2012; 142:292-304).
Dysregulated expression of claudins are detected in many cancers and may contribute to tumorigenesis and cancer invasiveness (Singh et al., J Oncology 2010; 2010: 541957). The expression of CLDN18.2 is elevated in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas (PDAC) (Tanaka et al., J Histochem Cytochem. 2011; 59:942-952), esophageal tumors, non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLC), ovarian cancers (Sahin et al., Hu Cancer Biol. 2008; 14:7624-7634), bile duct adenocarcinomas (Keira et al., Virchows Arch. 2015; 466:265-277), and cholangiocarcinomas (Shinozaki et al., Virchows Arch. 2011; 459:73-80). CLDN18.2 is an ideal target for precision-guided, anti-cancer biologics to CLDN18.2-positive tumors, as CLDN18.2 is not expressed in any normal tissue other than the differentiated gastric epithelial cells, which are unreachable by large molecule compounds administrated intravenously.

Anti-claudin 18.2 antibodies and uses thereof


A thyristor-based semiconductor device includes a thyristor body that has at least one region in the substrate and a thyristor control port in a trenched region of the device substrate. According to an example embodiment of the present invention, the trench is at least partially filled with a dielectric material and a control port adapted to capacitively couple to the at least one thyristor body region in the substrate. In a more specific implementation, the dielectric material includes deposited dielectric material that is adapted to exhibit resistance to voltage-induced stress that thermally-grown dielectric materials generally exhibit. In another implementation, the dielectric material includes thermally-grown dielectric material, and when used in connection with highly-doped material in the trench, grows faster on the highly-doped material than on a sidewall of the trench that faces the at least on thyristor body region in the substrate. In still another implementation, the dielectric material includes both a thermally-grown dielectric material and a deposited dielectric material. These approaches are particularly useful, for example, in high-density and other applications where thermally-stable dielectric materials are desirable and/or where dielectric material growth at different rates is desirable.

Recent technological advances in the semiconductor industry have permitted dramatic increases in integrated circuit density and complexity, and equally dramatic decreases in power consumption and package sizes. Presently, single-die microprocessors are being manufactured with many millions of transistors, operating at speeds of hundreds of millions of instructions per second and being packaged in relatively small, air-cooled semiconductor device packages. The improvements in such devices have led to a dramatic increase in their use in a variety of applications. As the use of these devices has become more prevalent, the demand for reliable and affordable semiconductor devices has also increased. Accordingly, the need to manufacture such devices in an efficient and reliable manner has become increasingly important.
An important part in the circuit design, construction, and manufacture of semiconductor devices concerns semiconductor memory and other circuitry used to store information. Conventional random access memory devices include a variety of circuits, such as SRAM and DRAM circuits. The construction and formation of such memory circuitry typically involves forming at least one storage element and circuitry designed to access the stored information. DRAM is very common due to its high density (e.g., high density has benefits including low price). DRAM cell size is typically between 6 F2 and 8 F2, where F is the minimum feature size. However, with typical DRAM access times of approximately 50 nSec, DRAM is relatively slow compared to typical microprocessor speeds and requires refresh. SRAM is another common semiconductor memory that is much faster than DRAM and, in some instances, is of an order or magnitude faster than DRAM. Also, unlike DRAM, SRAM does not require refresh. SRAM cells are typically constructed using 4 transistors and 2 resistors or 6 transistors, which result in much lower density and exhibits a feature size that is typically between about 60 F2 and 100 F2.
Various SRAM cell designs based on a NDR (Negative Differential Resistance) construction have been introduced, ranging from a simple bipolar transistor to complicated quantum-effect devices. These cell designs usually consist of at least two active elements, including an NDR device. In view of size considerations, the construction of the NDR device is important to the overall performance of this type of SRAM cell. One advantage of the NDR-based cell is the potential of having a cell area smaller than four-transistor and six-transistor SRAM cells because of the smaller number of active devices and interconnections.
Conventional NDR-based SRAM cells, however, have many problems that have prohibited their use in commercial SRAM products. These problems include, among others: high standby power consumption due to the large current needed in one or both of the stable states of the cell; excessively high or excessively low voltage levels needed for cell operation; stable states that are too sensitive to manufacturing variations and provide poor noise-margins; limitations in access speed due to slow switching from one state to the other; limitations in operability due to temperature, noise, voltage and/or light stability; and manufacturability and yield issues due to complicated fabrication processing.
Thin capacitively-coupled thyristor-type NDR device can be used to overcome a variety of limitations, including those discussed above, in memory cells and other devices. However, an important consideration in semiconductor device design, including the design of memory cells employing thin capacitively-coupled thyristors, is forming the device in a highly dense array. In order to achieve a dense array, dielectric and/or insulative material is often located near to conductors carrying a voltage that can induce stress on thermally-grown oxide and other similar materials. In addition, it is sometimes difficult to thermally grow a high quality oxide dielectric on a silicon substrate having a high concentration of defects therein.
These and other design considerations have presented challenges to the implementation of such a thin capacitively-coupled thyristor to bulk substrate applications, and in particular to applications where highly-dense arrays of thyristors are desirable.

Thyristor-based device with trench dielectric material


A roll of contaminant removal tape defining opposing longitudinal ends, opposing side edges, and opposing major surfaces. The tape is wound into a roll and includes a backing layer, an adhesive layer, a plurality of lines of perforations, and a set of discrete non-adhesive zones. The adhesive layer is applied to a first side of the backing layer to define a portion of the first major surface. The lines of perforations extend across at least most of the width of the tape between the first and second side edges to separate the tape into sheets. The non-adhesive zones are provided along the first major surface of the tape, with each non-adhesive zone extending from the first side edge. In one embodiment, the lines of perforations are progressively longitudinally spaced from one another, and respective ones of the non-adhesive zones correspond with respective ones of the lines of perforations.

The present invention relates to a contaminant removal tape roll, a contaminant removal tape roll assembly, and methods of manufacturing a contaminant removal tape roll. More particularly, it relates to contaminant removal tape rolls adapted to facilitate removal of a used sheet, assemblies for using the tape rolls, and methods of manufacturing the tape rolls.
A variety of contaminant or lint removal devices are known. Lint removal devices remove lint and other small particles or contaminants, such as hair or threads (collectively referred to as "contaminants"), from a surface, such as clothing. One known form of a lint removal device includes contaminant removal tape that wound into a roll with an adhesive side of the tape facing outwardly. With this orientation, the contaminant removal tape roll is rolled against the surface in question to remove lint and other small particles therefrom. In particular, the contaminants adhere to the adhesive side of the tape. A roll of contaminant removal tape is typically used in conjunction with an applicator.
When the outer wrap of the above-described roll of contaminant removal tape is saturated with lint, small particles, and other contaminants, the outer wrap is removed from the roll and discarded. To this end, rolls of contaminant removal tape are often perforated, such as with lines of perforations, to facilitate this removal process. In particular, lines of perforations divide the tape into sheets, with each sheet being generally equivalent to a singular wrap about the tape roll circumference. In some instances, the lines of perforations are uniformly spaced, such that each sheet of the roll has an identical length. Alternatively, and as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,763,038 (Wood) entitled "Progressively Perforated Tape Roll", a longitudinal spacing between the lines of perforations progressively increases from an inside of the roll, such that the wound sheets have progressively increasing lengths. With this technique, the outermost sheet covers all of the lines of perforations to reduce instances of the tape tearing in a downweb direction. Alternatively, U.S. Pat. No. 6,127,014 (McKay, Jr.) "Adhesive Roller Construction" describes varying the longitudinal spacing between the lines of perforations such that each sheet is semi-randomly longer than, shorter than, or the same size as its underlying sheet.
Regardless of exact construction, removal of the used, outermost sheet from the roll of tape requires a user to locate a leading end of the outermost sheet and peel the leading end away from a remainder of the roll. This task can at times be difficult, due at least in part to the somewhat "hidden" nature of the leading end following a lint-removing operation, as well as adhering of the leading end to an immediately underlying wrap. By way of background, a roll of contaminant removal tape can be described as having sheets and wraps. A "sheet" is defined as a length of tape between two consecutive lines of perforations, whereas a "wrap" is defined as one complete revolution about a circumference of the roll. Thus, as the roll diameter decreases, the longitudinal length of a "wrap" also decreases. Conversely, the longitudinal length of a "sheet" is dictated solely by the spacing between lines of perforations. With this in mind, in many instances, the outermost sheet forms an entirety of the outermost wrap and further overlaps on to itself, such that an immediately underlying wrap will include a trailing portion of the outermost sheet. Alternatively, the immediately underlying wrap can be comprised of a sheet(s) separate from the outermost sheet. In any event, following a contaminant-removing operation, all exposed adhesive of the outermost sheet will retain lint, particles, etc., essentially uniformly covering the leading end and the tape adjacent thereto with dark material. This tends to obscure visual recognition of the leading end location. Further, in regions where the leading end contacts adhesive provided by the immediately underlying wrap, effort is required to lift the leading end away from the roll. For example, a user may find it necessary to pick at the leading end with her/his fingernail in order to initiate peeling of the outermost sheet's leading end.
The generally accepted technique employed to address the above concerns is to provide a continuous, non-adhesive strip along both side edges of the tape. For example, where the adhesive is coated onto a backing layer, a zone-coating methodology can be utilized whereby no adhesive is applied along the opposing edges (e.g., each continuous, non-adhesive strip has a width on the order of 0.25 inch (6.35 mm)). Alternatively, the adhesive can be applied across an entire width of the backing layer; subsequently, a detackifying material is applied over the adhesive along the opposing side edges of the tape. With either approach, the side edges of the tape (on the adhesive side thereof) are continuously non-adhesive. As a result, lint, particles, etc. will not adhere to the continuous, non-adhesive side edges, thus improving visual recognition of the leading end of the outermost sheet at the non-adhesive edge. Further, the leading end can more easily be gasped by the user at the non-adhesive side edge, and can more easily be peeled from the immediately underlying wrap because, relative to the non-adhesive side edge of the immediately underlying wrap, the outermost sheet is not adhered to the immediately underlying wrap.
Even with the above-described improvements, users may still find it difficult to locate the leading edge of a soiled, outermost sheet of a roll of contaminant removal tape and/or initiate removal of the outermost sheet from the roll. Also, consumers may perceive the continuous, non-adhesive edges as constituting wasted cleaning surface area. Additionally, the continuous, non-adhesive side edges may negatively impact a user's ability to access and clean all desired surfaces. One such instance is a surface at or near a wall or other corner. Because the side edges of the outermost sheet are not available for removing contaminants, the user must attempt to position the center, adhesive-providing portion of the outermost sheet in the corner. Unfortunately, depending upon the diameter of the roll of contaminant removing tape and/or the corner configuration, it may not be possible to do so.
Efforts have been made with a product sold under the tradename "Scotchbrite® Rolo Adhesivo", available from 3M Brazil to apply printed, dashed lines adjacent the lines of perforations, in a color different from a remainder of the roll, thereby giving a general, visual indication of the leading end location following a contaminant-removing operation. Unfortunately, this approach repeats the previous technique of providing continuous, non-adhesive strips along the tape side edges. Further, the Scotchbrite® Rolo Adhesivo entails uniformly spaced lines of perforations, and thus fixed sheet lengths, possibly leading to wasted sheet surface area on the inner roll sheets. Thus, this approach may be less viable with longer sheet-type contaminant removal tape roll products, such as products marketed for cleaning floors. Also, U.S. Publication No. 2003/1054569A1 (McKay) entitled "Lint Removal Apparatus With Pull Tab For Adhesive Coated Sheets" appears to describe a contaminant removal tape roll in which the lines of perforations define a central, pull tab-like structure, and non-adhesive portions are formed that encompass each pull tab-like structure and areas adjacent thereto.
Contaminant removal tape rolls continue to be highly popular with consumers. Any efforts to improve use of these products, such as identification and removal of used sheets as well as enhanced available adhesive surface area, would be beneficial.

Contaminant removal tape roll with sheet removal feature and method of manufacturing the same


This invention relates to improved plexifilamentary sheet material useful in protective apparel and filtration media, which material is comprised of substantially continuous polyethylene plexifilamentary fiber strands and has a Frazier Permeability, normalized to 1.0 oz/yd2 basis weight, of at least 2 cfm/ft2.

Protective apparel includes coveralls, gowns, smocks and other garments whose purpose is either to protect a wearer against exposure to something in the wearer's surroundings, or to protect the wearer's surroundings against being contaminated by the wearer. Examples of protective apparel include suits worn in microelectronics manufacturing cleanrooms, medical suits and gowns, dirty job coveralls, and suits worn for protection against liquids or particulates. The particular applications for which a protective garment is suitable depends upon the composition of the fabric or sheet material used to make the garment and the way that the pieces of fabric or sheet material are held together in the garment. For example, one type of fabric or sheet material may be excellent for use in hazardous chemical protection garments, while being too expensive or uncomfortable for use in medical garments. Another material may be lightweight and breathable enough for use in clean room suits, but not be durable enough for dirty job applications.
The physical properties of a fabric or sheet material determine the protective apparel applications for which the material is suited. It has been found desirable for a wide variety of protective garment applications that the material used in making the protective garment provide good barrier protection against liquids such as body fluids, paints or sprays. It is also desirable that the material used in making protective apparel block the passage of fine dirt, dust and fiber particles. Another group of desirable properties for fabrics or sheet materials used in protective apparel is that the material have enough strength and tear resistance that apparel made using the sheet material not lose its integrity under anticipated working conditions. It is also important that fabrics and sheet materials used in protective garments transmit and dissipate both moisture and heat so as to permit a wearer to perform physical work while dressed in the garment without becoming excessively hot and sweaty. Finally, most protective garment materials must have a manufacturing cost that is low enough to make the use of the material practical in low cost protective garments.
A number of standardized tests have been devised to characterize materials used in protective garments so as to allow others to compare properties and make decisions as to which materials are best suited to meet the various anticipated conditions or circumstances under which a garment will be required to serve. The strength and durability of sheet materials for apparel have been quantified in terms of tensile strength, tear strength and elongation. The primary test used for characterizing liquid barrier properties is a test of resistance to passage of water at various pressures known as the hydrostatic head resistance test. Particulate barrier properties are measured by bacterial barrier tests and particle penetration tests.
Thermal comfort of fabrics and sheet materials has traditionally been presumed to correspond to the tested moisture vapor transmission rate (MVTR) of the material. However, MVTR is determined under static laboratory conditions, which measure vapor transported by molecular diffusion only. MVTR test results have not proved to be an entirely reliable means of predicting an apparel sheet material's comfort under actual dynamic workplace conditions. In a study of various apparel sheet materials conducted for DuPont by an independent testing laboratory, it was learned that a material's air permeability was the most reliable predictor of the relative comfort afforded by various fabric and sheet materials worn in protective garments. The significant contribution that air permeability makes to the thermal comfort of a garment appears to be due to motion induced pumping of air and moisture through the fabric or material. Because molecular diffusion of water vapor (measured by MVTR) is a relatively slow process, it appears that even small flows of moisture-laden air through a fabric or sheet material can have significantly more impact on moisture vapor transport through a material. Accordingly, it is important that sheet materials used in protective apparel have a high degree of air permeability without unduly sacrificing other important properties such as strength or barrier.
Porous sheet materials are also used in the filtration of gases where the filtration materials are used to remove dirt, dust and particulates from a gas stream. For example, air filters and vacuum cleaner bags are designed to capture dirt, dust and fine particulates while at the same time allowing air to pass through the filter. Porous sheet materials are also used in applications where it is necessary to filter out microbes such as spores and bacteria. For example, porous sheet materials are used in the packaging of sterile medical items, such as surgical instruments. In sterile packaging, the porous packaging material must be porous to gases such as ethylene oxide that are used to kill bacteria on items being sterilized, but the packaging materials must be impervious to bacteria that might contaminate sterilized items. Another application for porous sheet materials with good barrier properties is for making pouches that hold moisture absorbing desiccant substances. Such desiccant pouches are frequently used in packaged materials to absorb unwanted moisture.
The physical properties of a fabric or sheet material determine the filtration applications for which the material is suited. It has been found desirable for sheet materials used in a variety of filtration applications to provide good barrier to the passage of fine particles but also have good permeability to gases. Another set of desirable properties for fabrics or sheet materials used in certain filtration applications is that the material have enough strength and tear resistance that filters made using the sheet material will not lose their integrity under anticipated working conditions. Finally, most filter materials must have a manufacturing cost that is low enough to make the use of the material practical in low cost filters.
A number of standardized tests have been devised to characterize materials used in filtration and in sterile packaging so as to allow others to compare properties and make decisions as to which materials are best suited to meet the various anticipated conditions or circumstances under which a material will be required to serve. The strength and durability of sheet materials has been quantified in terms of tensile strength, tear strength and elongation. The primary tests used for characterizing filtration efficacy are tests that measure filter efficiency (% of particulates retained by a filter); the air permeability for air filters; the resistance to water flow through a filter at a given flow rate for liquid filters (also known as clean permeability); and life of a filter material under a given loading and operation condition (also known as capacity). Barrier properties can be measured by both bacterial or particulate barrier tests.
Tyvek® spunbonded olefin is a flash-spun plexifilamentary sheet material that has been in use for a number of years as a material for protective apparel. E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company (DuPont) makes and sells Tyvek® spunbonded olefin nonwoven fabric. Tyvek® is a trademark owned by DuPont. Tyvek® nonwoven fabric has been a good choice for protective apparel because of its excellent strength properties, its good barrier properties, its light weight, its reasonable level of thermal comfort, and its single layer structure that gives rise to a low manufacturing cost relative to most competitive materials. DuPont has worked to further improve the comfort of Tyvek® fabrics for garments. For example, DuPont markets a Tyvek® Type 16 fabric style that includes apertures to improve breathability. DuPont has also produced water jet softened Tyvek® fabric (e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 5,023,130 to Simpson) that is softer and more opened up to enhance comfort and breathability. While both of these materials are indeed more comfortable, the barrier properties of these materials are significantly reduced as a consequence of their increased breathability.
In the early 1990's DuPont made a sheet from polyethylene fiber pulp which sheet was designed for use as a filtration media . This sheet was sold under the Hysurf™ mark and was made by a multiple step process disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,047,121 and 5,242,546. According to the process, flash-spun polyethylene scrap material was first chopped up and refined to form a pulp. The pulp was mixed with water and surfactants to form a slurry which was then made into a sheet by a wet lay papermaking process. This sheet material was used in vacuum cleaner bags.
International Patent Publication Nos. WO 98/07905 and WO 98/07908 (both assigned to DuPont) disclose flash-spun plexifilamentary sheet material that demonstrates good barrier properties and improved breathability. A number of point bonded and softened plexifilamentary sheet materials disclosed in International Patent Publication No. WO 98/07908 exhibited a Gurley Hill Porosity of about 9 seconds in a sheet that also demonstrated a hydrostatic head of about 120 cm. A whole surface bonded plexifilamentary sheet disclosed in International Patent Publication No. WO 98/07905 had a Gurley Hill Porosity of about 3.6 seconds and a hydrostatic head of about 55 cm. However, a greater degree of breathability is desirable for apparel fabrics and a far greater degree of air permeability is required of sheets to be used as air filter media.
Gurley Hill Porosity is a measure of the number of seconds that it takes to pass a fixed quantity, of air maintained at a certain pressure, through a sheet. The lower the Gurley Hill Porosity (measured in seconds), the greater the air permeability of the material. The Gurley Hill Porosity scale is generally used to quantify the porosity of materials with relatively low air permeabilities. The air permeability of more porous materials is generally measured in terms of Frazier permeability, which measures the volume of air at a given pressure that will pass through a given area sheet material. For plexifilamentary sheet materials of less than 3 oz/yd2, a Frazier Permeability of 2 ft3/min/ft2 corresponds to a Gurley Hill Porosity of about 3.1 seconds.
In order to provide more comfortable apparel fabrics and more breathable filters made from plexifilamentary sheet materials, there is a need for a plexifilamentary sheet material that demonstrates a Gurley Hill Porosity of less than 2 seconds while maintaining good liquid barrier properties. There is a need for a sheet material suitable for use in protective apparel that, at a given basis weight, has strength and barrier properties at least equivalent to that of the Tyvek® spunbonded olefin nonwoven fabric currently used for protective garments, but that also has significantly improved breathability to enhance the thermal comfort of protective apparel made of the material.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.