A maintenance and retrieval cart is provided for use with a push back storage rack having a plurality of nested trays riding on a pair of inclined rails. The maintenance and retrieval cart comprises a base with a safety rail secured thereto. The base is supported on an undercarriage which facilitates movement along the inclined rails. A drive mechanism is operatively connected to move the cart along the inclined rails.

A distribution center for a set of products is a warehouse or other specialized building, often with refrigeration or air conditioning, which is stocked with goods to be redistributed to retailers, to wholesalers, or directly to consumers. Distribution centers are the foundation of a supply network, as they allow a single location to stock a vast number of products. Some organizations operate both retail distribution and direct-to-consumer out of a single facility, sharing space, equipment, labor resources, and inventory as applicable. Distribution centres are typically very large installations, often providing upwards of one million square feet of storage space at a single location. In order to efficiently manage the placement, storage and retrieval of products, specially designed push back storage racking systems are constructed. Typically racking systems are constructed with capacity to hold (4) four to six (6) pallets deep and in tiers to hold multiple pallets in height. The racking systems typically have a multi-level steel beam framework which supports platforms upon which pallets of goods are stored. Individual pallets of goods are accessed using lift trucks. Access to particular pallets of goods can only be achieved from the exposed end of the rack. Different types of racking systems have been developed to optimize product selection and retrieval and/or to permit high density storage.
One such racking system is known as a "push back rack", shown in FIG. 1. Such systems combine high density storage with versatility. The system operates on the last in, first out (LIFO principle) and provides multiple lanes of pallet storage, each of which flow independently. As best seen in FIG. 2, in a push back rack system product pallets are placed by forklift on nested trays riding on inclined rails. Each pallet is then pushed back by subsequent pallet loading, exposing the next nested tray. When removing product, the forklift takes out the front pallet, allowing the pallets on trays behind it to roll gently (gravity fed) to the front of the rack. The nested trays make it easier to place and retrieve pallets. The operator of the forklift or lift truck does not have to enter the racking framework, instead accessing the pallets from the front of the rack. A push back rack system fills the storage area with product, not aisles. It is not necessary to maintain open aisles between each row of pallets. Instead, the nested racks in the push back rack system allow pallets to be stored up to 6 deep on the nested rack trays which roll on the inclined rails. The push back rack systems can be placed back to back thereby making it possible to store up to 12 pallets depth, with 6 pallets accessible from the front and the other 6 accessible from the back.
Typically the push back rack systems are constructed using "I" beam rails which are attached to the stacked support beams. A plurality of rack trays are mounted to the rails in nested fashion. A safety bar is provided for the last pallet stored on the rails in order to prevent a tray rolling forward off the rails and into the aisle below.
One difficulty which can occur with push back rack systems relates to rack jams. Occasionally the wrapping around goods on a pallet will become damaged and product will become dislodged from pallets. This phenomenon is illustrated in FIG. 3. With high density racking systems the dislodged products will spill into surrounding storage racks, and can become jammed in the rails or between rack trays, causing seizure of the rack trays.
At present the options for clearing jammed racks are very limited. It is extremely dangerous for an individual to attempt to climb into a racking system. Since pallets are stacked multiple rows high, the risk of a person falling while trying to access a jam is very grave. A bridge mounted to a forklift can be used to reach a short way into a racking structure to allow an individual to walk into a lane in a rocking system in order to clear jams which are close to the front. This approach cannot be used to clear jams which are located farther back in a storage lane.
Often existing jammed rack locations simply cannot be cleared safely. When jams cannot be cleared, a section of the rack must be taken out of service and cordoned off, with the result that storage capacity is lost and the profitability of the distribution centre is decreased. If storage rack locations are out of service for extended periods of time the products stored at or behind the site of the jams may expire and no longer be saleable. Product expiration results in lost revenue from the unsaleable products, and additional incurred costs to dispose of the expired product.
At present, there is no commercially available equipment that would enable operators to safely perform repair, maintenance or inspection operations of a pushback rack system or the surrounding rack structure at height
It is an object of the present invention to provide a safe and economical solution for clearing rack jams.
It is yet a further object to provide a device which can be utilized to permit the safe and efficient inspection, maintenance and repair of push back rack systems.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a shelter which can be adjusted in size to accommodate a variety of stored items and to adjust to cramped spaces.


Provided are curable fluoroelastomers. Further provided are methods of making the curable elastomers, curable fluoroelastomer compositions and methods of making them and shaped articles made from the curable fluoroelastomer compositions.

Fluoroelastomers are heat stable and resistant to a wide range of chemical reagents. For this reason fluoroelastomers are typically used for making O-rings, gaskets, oil seals, diaphragms, hoses, tubings, rolls and sheeting materials, in particular in the automotive industry and chemical industry.
Fluoroelastomers are typically obtained by curing (cross-linking) a generally amorphous fluoropolymer. To achieve sufficient cross-linking the amorphous fluoropolymers contain cure sites, which are reactive groups that can undergo cross-linking reactions in the presence of suitable cross-linking agents.
A commonly used cure system is based on a peroxide cure reaction using appropriate curing compounds having or creating peroxides, which in turn are believed to generate free radicals. The fluoroelastomers suitable for use in peroxide curing systems (peroxide curable fluoroelastomers) contain reactive sites which include halogens, such as bromine and/or iodine. It is generally believed that the bromine or iodine atoms are abstracted in the free radical peroxide cure reaction, thereby causing the fluoropolymer molecules to cross-link and to form a three dimensional network.
For example, the reactive cure sites may be introduced by copolymerizing comonomers containing cure sites or by using chain transfer agents containing cure sites. An example for this approach is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,717,036. Such methods, however, require the use of organic solvents in case of solvent based polymerisations. The use of solvents, however, is disadvantageous. Solvents have to be removed and recycled which increases the costs of the polymerisation. Alternatively, the polymerisation can be carried out in aqueous phase by aqueous emulsion polymerisation. These methods are known to require the use of emulsifiers or fluorinated additives. The emulsifiers are desirably removed from the product which leads to increased process steps and costs also.

Peroxide curable fluoroelastomers containing modifiers and iodine or bromine endgroups


A pharmaceutical composition for treatment of cancer in a mammal comprising:. (A) a therapeutically effective amount of at least one compound selected from the group consisting of compounds represented by the General Formulas (1) to (6) ##STR1## wherein X.sub.1 is O, S, Se, or >N--R.sub.14, ##STR2## X.sub.2 is O, S, Se, >N--R.sub.15, X.sub.3 is O, S, Se, ##STR3## X.sub.4 is >N--R.sub.19, or Y.sub.1 is O, S, Se, or >N--R.sub.18 ; PA1 (B) a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier or diluent; and a method for treatment of cancer comprising administering the above pharmaceutical composition to a host afflicted with cancer.. Z.sub.1 represents an atomic group necessary to form a saturated or unsaturated 5- or 6-membered ring which may be substituted or may have another ring fused therewith; PA2 Z.sub.2 is a naphthalene ring, an anthracene ring or a phenanthrene ring which may be substituted; in combination with

Cancer is a serious health problem throughout the world. As a result, an extensive amount of research has been conducted to develop therapies appropriate to the treatment and alleviation of cancer in humans.
In the chemotherapeutic area, research has been conducted to develop anti-tumor agents effective against various types of cancer. Often anti-tumor agents developed and found effective against cancerous cells, unfortunately, are toxic to normal cells. This toxicity gives rise to hair loss, nausea, weight loss, vomiting, hallucination, fatigue, itching, loss of appetite, etc., when administered to a patient needing cancer therapy.
Further, conventionally used chemotherapeutic agents do not have the effectiveness desired or are not as broadly effective against different types of cancers as is desired. As a result, chemotherapeutic agents which have greater effectiveness against cancers and which have a higher degree of selectivity for killing cancer cells with no or minimal effect on normal healthy cells is desired. Highly effective and selective anti-tumor agents, in particular, against cancers of the colon, bladder, prostate, stomach, pancreas, breast, lung, liver, brain, testis, ovary, cervix, skin, vulva, small intestine and like organs is desired. Anti-tumor agents against cancers such as colon cancer and melanomas are also particularly desired because of the lack of any particularly effective therapy at present.
Certain types of cyanine dyes have been disclosed as having anti-cancer activity (see, for example, Japanese Kokai 79/151,133, 80/31,024, 80/69,513, 80/100,318, Japanese Koho 89/54,325, E.P. No. 286252A2). However, these cyanine dyes cannot be used effectively for therapy in humans because of their high toxicity to healthy cells as well as to cancer cells. In addition, these cyanine dyes often are poorly soluble in diluents acceptable for human administration.

Composition and method for treating cancer


Disclosed herein is a lubrication system for an internal combustion engine including a lubricant reservoir, a lubricant dispersing device disposed in communication with the lubricant reservoir, and a lubrication apparatus including a recess integrally formed with an engine housing and an elongated trough disposed substantially within the recess and in fluid communication with a shaft bearing. The recess has an opening that extends radially outward relative to the shaft axis such that the lubricant dispersing device can disperse lubricant, during at least a portion of the engine cycle, along a direct and substantially unobstructed path into the recess. The trough is adapted to direct the lubricant received in the recess to the shaft bearing. The trough also extends radially outward and is inclined downwardly in a direction toward the shaft bearing. The recess further includes a back surface and a sidewall disposed substantially adjacent to the shaft bearing, which define a substantially unobstructed space between the recess opening and the back surface.

The importance of providing adequate lubrication to each of the movable components inside the crankcase of an internal combustion engine is well known. Without proper lubrication, the engine cannot operate efficiently and will eventually fail. For example, without proper lubrication, the bearings that support the crankshaft will quickly reach very high temperatures resulting in premature bearing failure or at least a substantial reduction in the operating life of the bearing. Accordingly, the lubrication system is a major concern in the design of the engine.
Some lubrication systems include a plurality of devices that mechanically move oil from oil reservoirs to movable components inside the engine housing. These lubrication devices may provide oil to the components mounted to, or connected with, the crankshaft and cam shaft, the cylinder bores and the pistons that move therein, as well as the bearings that support the crankshaft and/or cam shaft.
In the splash and spray lubrication system disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 1,842,303, the connecting rods are provided with an extension or paddle on their crankshaft ends. Upon crankshaft rotation, the paddles dip into individual oil pits, thereby lubricating the connecting rod assembly, and then sling or spray the oil in the engine housing.
In the lubrication system disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 1,271,140, a large spur gear is disposed in the bottom portion of the engine housing and is partially immersed in an oil reservoir. Further, the spur gear is disposed below a pinion mounted onto the crankshaft and meshes with the pinion upon rotation of the crankshaft. The pinion drives the spur gear and the spur gear rotates within the oil reservoir, thereby throwing oil outward to lubricate the crankshaft and the cam shaft.
Since the crankshaft bearings are typically located adjacent to the walls of the engine housing, it is often difficult for lubrication devices such as the devices described in the above patents (i.e., the paddle or the spur gear) to throw, spray, or otherwise provide an adequate amount of lubricant to the crankshaft bearings. Consequently, the lubrication systems for these engines must typically be equipped with additional devices for dispersing lubricant specifically in the direction of the crankshaft bearings.
In U.S. Pat. No. 1,842,303, the engine is provided with additional oil reservoirs that are located above each of the crankshaft bearings. Small ports on the bottom of each oil reservoir drip or feed oil onto the top of the bearing. In U.S. Pat. No. 1,271,140, the engine is provided with a second gear to supplement the spur gear that is partially immersed in the oil reservoir. The second gear is above the crankshaft and is rotated on a rotational plane that is turned about 90.degree. from the spur gear. The second gear receives oil thrown by the spur gear and oil deflected by the other rotating components on the crankshaft. The second gear then flings the oil toward each of the crankshaft bearings.


A feed roller for a recording medium 1 includes a roller shaft 2 supplied with rotating force for feeding the recording medium, a roller body 3 made of an elastic material and provided with a center bore extending in a longitudinal direction through which the roller shaft 2 is inserted, and a pair of holding members 5a, 5b which rotate in association with the roller shaft 2 and hold the roller body 3 in a longitudinally compressed state by clamping opposite ends of the roller body 3.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a feed roller of a roller unit for a recording medium, and more particularly to the feed roller of the roller unit for feeding the recording medium to an apparatus for reading, outputting, and processing information which has been recorded in the recording medium such as a CD, DVD, or the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
One example of a conventional roller unit for a recording medium including feed rollers of the type as described above is shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B. The feed rollers for the recording medium include roller shafts 2 which are supplied with rotating force for feeding a recording medium 1 such as CD, DVD, and rollers 3 formed of an elastic material such as rubber and having center bores through which the roller shafts 2 are inserted in a longitudinal direction to receive the rotating force from the roller shafts 2, thereby conducting the feed of the recording medium 1.
The rubber rollers 3 are tapered from both ends toward the center symmetrically in a longitudinal direction in order to prevent the recorded information recorded in the center of the recording medium from breakdown. Accordingly, the rubber rollers 3 are constructed in such a manner that their opposite end portions only are brought into contact with the recording medium 1 during the feed of the recording medium 1.
Operation of the conventional feed rollers for the recording medium constructed as above will be described below. When the roller shafts 2 are rotated, the rubber rollers 3 rotate following the rotation of the roller shafts 2 by friction between the roller shafts 2 and the rubber rollers 3, and thus, the recording medium 1 can be fed by the rotation of the rubber rollers.
In the event that the recording medium 1 is blocked by a stopper during the feed, a slippage occurs between the roller shafts 2 and the rubber rollers 3. This slippage will prevent the rubber rollers 3 from going on the rotation keeping contact with the recording medium 1, and thus, scratches on surfaces of the recording medium 1 can be avoided.
However, in the above described conventional feed rollers for the recording medium, the recording medium 1 cannot be fed because of the slippage between the roller shafts 2 and the rubber rollers 3, in case where feeding force of the rubber rollers 3 is smaller than frictional resistance between the recording medium 1 and the rubber rollers 3.
Conventionally, the feeding force required in the rubber rollers 3 has been obtained by inserting the roller shafts 2 into the center bores of the rubber rollers 3 with low pressure. In short, a force in a direction toward the roller shafts 2 has been imparted to the rubber rollers 3 by the low pressure insertion. This force will create friction between the roller shafts 2 and the rubber rollers 3, and as the result, the feeding force required in the rubber rollers 3 can be obtained.
However, the above described conventional feed rollers for the recording medium have had a problem that a diameter of the center bores of the rubber rollers 3 remarkably varies with temperature, and the feeding force of the rubber rollers 3 may also vary accordingly. For example, in case where the rubber rollers 3 are formed of the elastic material such as silicone rubber, the diameter of the center bores is increased by 0.03 mm at high temperature, and decreased by 0.03 mm at low temperature. Therefore, the feeding force is too weak at the high temperature, and too strong at the low temperature.
Further, there has been known another type of a feed roller for a recording medium as shown in FIG. 4. A compression spring 4 is provided at an intermediate position between two sections of the rubber roller 3. Both ends of the rubber roller 3 are held by holding members 5 which rotate in association with the roller shaft 2. Pressure fitting force is created on the rubber roller 3 in a longitudinal direction by elasticity of the compression spring 4, and this pressure fitting force will create friction between the holding members 5 and the rubber roller 3. This friction will make the feeding force of the rubber roller 3. However, in order to create the pressure fitting force in the longitudinal direction, it has been necessary that the above described conventional feed roller for the recording medium is provided with the compression spring 4 besides the rubber roller 3. This will increase components in number and incur a high production cost.
In view of the above, it is an object of the present invention to provide a feed roller for a recording medium which can obtain the required driving force only by a roller body without employing a compression spring, thus reducing number of components and production cost.
In order to solve the above described problems, there is provided, according to the present invention, a feed roller for a recording medium comprising a roller shaft supplied with rotating force for feeding the recording medium, a roller body made of an elastic material and provided with a center bore extending in a longitudinal direction through which the roller shaft is inserted, the roller body being adapted to receive the rotating force of the roller shaft thereby to conduct the feed of the recording medium, and a pair of holding members which rotate in association with the roller shaft and hold the roller body in a longitudinally compressed state by clamping opposite ends of the roller body.
According to the invention, the roller shaft is supplied with rotating force for feeding the recording medium. The roller body is provided with the center bore extending in the longitudinal direction through which the roller shaft is inserted. The pair of the holding members hold the roller body in the longitudinally compressed state by clamping the opposite ends of the roller body. Therefore, elasticity of the roller body itself will create pressure fitting force in the longitudinal direction. Because the roller body can obtain necessary driving force from the pressure fitting force, the compression spring need not be employed.
According to a second aspect of the invention, the roller body is separated into at least two sections. Therefore, because the holding members clamp and hold the roller body in the longitudinally compressed state, the divided sections apply forces with respect to each other thereby creating pressure fitting force in the roller body in the longitudinal direction. Thus, the roller body can obtain necessary driving force from the pressure fitting force, and the compression spring need not be employed.
According to a third aspect of the invention, feeding force of the roller body is set in such a manner that when the feed of the recording medium is interrupted, the roller body slips with respect to the roller shaft.
According to the third aspect of the invention, because the feeding force of the roller body is determined by the pressure fitting force occurring in the roller body in the longitudinal direction, that is, compressibility of the roller body, such feeding force that will make the roller body reliably slip with respect to the roller shaft when the feed of the recording medium is interrupted can be set.


An operating system provides a number of window elements that the operating system itself or applications may use in displaying a window. The operating system includes a dialog box for enabling a user to adjust the individual sizes of the respective window elements independently of the size of the window. The bitmaps for the window elements are stored in a cache that is re-drawn each time the user changes the size of any of the window elements.

The WINDOWS, Version 3.1, Operating System, sold by Microsoft Corporation of Redmond, Wash., provides resources to application programs for generating windows on a visual display. In particular, the operating system provides bitmaps for the window elements. As a result, every window that is generated by the application programs has a similar appearance. In order to understand what kind of bitmaps the operating system stores for window elements, it is helpful to first review what kind of elements are typically included in a window.
FIG. 1 shows an example of a typical window 10 generated by an application program. The window 10 includes a system menu box 12, which may be opened by a user to display a list of system commands available to the user. The window 10 also includes a caption or title bar 14 that displays a title or a caption for the application program that is executing. A menu bar 16 is included in the window 10 to display application commands that the user may perform in the current application. A minimize button 18 and a maximize button 20 are also provided in the window 10 to allow a user to minimize or maximize the size of the window. When maximized, the window 10 occupies most of the video display screen. When minimized, the window 10 appears as an icon. The window 10 also includes a sizing border 22 which may be dragged using a pointing device, such as a mouse, to adjust the size of the window 10. The window 10 additionally includes a client area 24 in which the application program may display output.
The window 10, likewise, includes scroll bars 26 for scrolling through the contents of a document that is displayed in the client area 24. A vertical scroll bar and a horizontal scroll bar are included in the window 10 of FIG. 1. Each of the scroll bars 26 includes a scroll box or a thumb 29 that travels the length of the scroll bar to indicate the current position of the displayed document that is shown in the client area 24 relative to the entire contents of the document being displayed. Scroll bar arrows 28 are provided at each end of the scroll bars 26. A user may click a mouse on the arrows at the respective ends to scroll the contents displayed on the screen in the direction of the arrow.
The operating system provides bitmaps for the system menu button 12, the minimize button 18, the maximize button 20, scroll bar arrows 28, and any check boxes, radio buttons, menu arrows or menu check marks that are included in the window. When the window 10 is resized, such as through dragging of sizing border 22 as described above, the window elements provided by the operating system do not change in size (except that in certain instances, the height of the vertical scroll bar 26 and the length of the horizontal scroll bar may change). Since these window elements provided by the operating system do not change when the window 10 is resized, the bitmaps for the window elements do not need to be updated after the window is resized.
FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating the steps that are performed by the operating system to allow application programs to use the bitmaps for the system-provided elements of a window. The bitmaps are initially stored in a display driver for the video display. The display driver is typically part of the operating system and must comply with standards that permit its use in the operating system. During initialization of the operating system, the display driver is loaded into memory (step 30). The bitmaps held in the display driver are then transferred using the BitBlt( ) function into a cache (step 32). Subsequently, when an application program wishes to draw a window on the video display, the application program retrieves the bitmaps from the cache and uses the bitmaps to draw the system-provided window elements (step 34).

System-provided window elements having adjustable dimensions


The present invention discloses an engaged type liquid crystal module. By engaging a first groove disposed in the middle of an outer surface of a backlight module with a first flange of a front frame structure, it can assemble a liquid crystal module, and can save a volume occupied by screw members. The engaged type liquid crystal module according to the present invention can simplify the frame design of the liquid crystal module, and match with a corresponding outer housing of display device to process an assembly operation without screw members, so that it is further advantageous for a development trend that liquid crystal display is designed toward narrow frame.

A liquid crystal display (LCD) is a kind of flat panel display (FPD) which displays images by the property of the liquid crystal material. In comparison with other display devices, the LCD has the advantages in lightweight, compactness, low driving voltage and low power consumption, and thus has already become the mainstream product in the whole consumer market. However, the liquid crystal material of the LCD cannot emit light by itself, and must depend upon an external light source. Thus, the LCD further has a backlight module to provide the needed light source.
Generally speaking, backlight modules have been developed based on size requirements into edge lighting type structures and bottom lighting type structures, which are categorized by locations of lamp tubes thereof. A light source of the edge lighting type structures is a single light source placed aside, and a light source of the bottom lighting type structures is placed right beneath. The lamp tubes of the backlight modules must be featured with high brightness and a long lifespan, etc., and include cold cathode fluorescent lamps (CCFL), hot cathode fluorescent lamps, light emitting diodes (LED) and electroluminescence (EL), etc. Nowadays, with the rise of environmental consciousness, because that using LEDs as backlight sources has an advantage of energy saving and environmental protection in comparison with the CCFL, it thus becomes a trend in backlight development to replace the CCFL by the LEDs. Besides, by using LEDs as a backlight source, an LCD or LCD TV is further developed toward a design direction of narrow frame.
Referring now to FIG. 1, a cross-sectional side view of a traditional liquid crystal module is illustrated in FIG. 1. Specially explaining, for conveniently describing, the contents of this figure are shown with a simple and schematic method. A traditional liquid crystal module 90 comprises a back plate 91, a light guide plate and optical film assembly 92, a plastic housing 93, a liquid crystal panel 94 and a front frame 95. The back plate 91 is used for loading light sources (not shown) and the light guide plate and optical film assembly 92; the plastic housing 93 is disposed on an outer side of the back plate 91 downward from top to bottom, and fix the light guide plate and optical film assembly 92 to form a backlight module; the liquid crystal panel 94 is loaded on the plastic housing 93; and the front frame 95 fixes the liquid crystal panel 94 on the backlight module. However, in the assembly of the liquid crystal module 90, it is necessary to use a method of screw-connection to assemble the liquid crystal module 90 or fix whole of the liquid crystal module 90 into an outer housing of an LCD. It will occupy an extra volume in the liquid crystal module 90 whether the screw members are disposed in a perpendicular or horizontal direction. Besides, it will increase the assembly steps, and is disadvantageous for a development trend that LCD is designed toward narrow frame.
As a result, it is necessary to provide an engaged type liquid crystal module to solve the problems existing in the conventional technologies.

SHENZHEN CHINA STAR OPTOELECTRONICS TECHNOLOGY CO. LTD.


Modular chimney components are arranged for interengaging relative to one another, wherein each component includes a base member having a support plate receiving four inner flanges at four corners of the support plate, with second outer flanges projecting upwardly of the inner flanges to mount a continuous mesh fence thereabout, wherein the mesh fence is arranged to receive a mortar layer thereon to an interior surface thereof, with the mortar layer projecting through the mesh fence securing a matrix of work plates continuously to an exterior surface of the fence. The modular components are arranged for interengagement relative to one another to provide for a chimney covering arrangement about a flue.

1. Field of the Invention
The field of invention relates to chimney structure, and more particularly pertains to a new and improved modular chimney arrangement wherein the same is arranged for mounting about a chimney flue.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Construction components used to surround a chimney flue are available in the prior art, wherein the U.S. Pat. No. 4,962,621 to Pura sets forth modular chimney components utilizing plural courses of bricks of an enclosed shape to receive a chimney therethrough.
Further examples of chimney cover structure is indicated in U.S. Pat. No. 4,672,782.
The instant invention attempts to overcome deficiencies of the prior art by providing for modular components arranged for interengagement relative to one another in surrounding relationship relative to a chimney flue to provide for a secure, readily assembled structure arranged for ease of use as well as effectiveness in construction and in this respect, the present invention substantially fulfills this need.


Aperture correction for a moving aperture shutter comprising a first aperture, a second larger aperture, and a mechanism for causing relative movement between the first and second apertures between an initial position where the first and second apertures are out of registry, through an intermediate position where the first aperture is partially within the second aperture and an exposure position where the first aperture is within the second aperture, and wherein the aperture correction is provided by altering a physical relationship between the first and second apertures so as to minimize the amount of exposure of the second aperture during movement through the intermediate position. The shape and/or size of the second aperture can be altered, the location of the first aperture within the second aperture in the exposure position can be altered, or there can be a combined alteration of aperture shape, size and location. As a result, the foregoing counters the blur circle elongation of the moving aperture shutter.

In a basic moving aperture or flying aperture shutter two apertures of different size initially are out of registry and during a film exposing operation are brought into registry. In particular, exposure at the smaller aperture is achieved by moving that aperture into the center of the larger aperture, holding the shutter in that position briefly and then moving the smaller aperture back out of position.
A problem with this type of shutter is that a portion of the larger aperture is exposed during the time that the smaller aperture is moved into and out of the position at the center of the larger aperture. The additional exposure from the portion of the larger aperture has the effect of increasing the size of the smaller aperture in the direction of movement thereof. This, in turn, increases the photographic blur circle at the film negative in the foregoing direction.

Aperture correction for moving aperture shutters


The present invention relates to hydroxy alkyl piperidine compounds and pharmaceutical compositions thereof which can be used to treat diabetes.

Diabetes is characterized by an impaired glucose metabolism manifesting itself among other things by an elevated blood glucose level in the diabetic patients. Underlying defects lead to a classification of diabetes into two major groups: type 1 diabetes, or insulin demanding diabetes mellitus (IDDM), which arises when patients lack .beta.-cells producing insulin in their pancreatic glands, and type 2 diabetes, or non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM), which occurs in patients with an impaired .beta.-cell function besides a range of other abnormalities.
Type 1 diabetic patients are currently treated with insulin, while the majority of type 2 diabetic patients are treated either with sulfonylureas that stimulate .beta.-cell function or with agents that enhance the tissue sensitivity of the patients towards insulin or with insulin. Among the agents applied to enhance tissue sensitivity towards insulin, metformin is a representative example.
Even though sulfonylureas are widely used in the treatment of NIDDM, this therapy is, in most instances, not satisfactory: In a large number of NIDDM patients, sulfonylureas do not suffice to normalize blood sugar levels and the patients are, therefore, at high risk for acquiring diabetic complications. Also, many patients gradually lose the ability to respond to treatment with sulfonylureas and are thus gradually forced into insulin treatment. This shift of patients from oral hypoglycaemic agents to insulin therapy is usually ascribed to exhaustion of the .beta.-cells in NIDDM patients.
In normals as well as in diabetics, the liver produces glucose in order to avoid hypoglycemia. This glucose production is derived either from the release of glucose from glycogen stores or from gluconeogenesis, which is a de novo intracellular synthesis of glucose. In type 2 diabetes, however, the regulation of hepatic glucose output is poorly controlled and is increased, and may be doubled after an overnight fast. Moreover, in these patients there exists a strong correlation between the increased fasting plasma glucose levels and the rate of hepatic glucose production (reviewed in R. A. De Fronzo: Diabetes 37 (1988), 667-687; A. Consoli: Diabetes Care 15 (1992), 430-441; and J. E. Gerich: Horm.Metab.Res. 26 (1992), 18-21). Similarly, hepatic glucose production will be increased in type 1 diabetes, if the disease is not properly controlled by insulin treatment.
Since existing forms of therapy of diabetes does not lead to sufficient glycaemic control and therefore are unsatisfying, there is a great demand for novel therapeutic approaches. Since the liver in diabetes is known to have an increased glucose production, compounds inhibiting this activity are highly desirable.
Recently, patents on inhibitors of the liver specific enzyme, glucose-6-phosphatase, which is necessary for the release of glucose from the liver, have been filed, for example German Offenlegungsschrift Nos. 4,202,183 and 4,202,184 and Japanese patent application No. 4-58565. All these known compounds are benzene derivatives.
International patent application having publication No. WO 92/16640 relates to di-, tri- and tetrasaccharides that are substrates or inhibitors of glycosyltransferase and glycosidase enzymes. Some specific compounds mentioned therein are 2,3,4,5-tetrahydroxypiperidine, 3,4,5-trihydroxy-6-methylpiperidin and 3,4-dihydroxy-5-methylpiperidine.
International Patent Application No. WO 92/21657 relates to certain .omega.-deoxyazapyranoses, e.g. 3,4-dihydroxy-5-methylpiperidine mentioned in claim 16 thereof. It is stated that these compounds have glucosidase inhibiting properties.
European patent application having publication No. 528,495 A1 relates to a class of azacyclic compounds, i.e. compounds comprising an azacyclic ring system substituted by arylmethyloxy or an arylmethylthio moiety. These compunds may be useful as tachykinin antagonists.
European patent application having publication No. 375,651 A1 relates to 1,4-dideoxy-1,4-imino-L-allitol and derivatives thereof having glycosidase inhibitory activity.
European patent No. 947 B2 relates to derivatives of 3,4,5-trihydroxypiperidine having .alpha.-glucosidase inhibitory activity which can be used for the treatment of diabetes.
European patent No. 22,192 B1 relates to 1-alkadien-2,4-yl-2-hydroxymethyl-3,4,5-trihydroxypiperidines having maximal action on .alpha.-glucosidase hydrolases and lipid absorption which can be used for the treatment of diabetes.
European patent application having publication No. 481,950 A2 relates to 3-fluoro analogs of 2-hydroxymethyl-4,5-dihydroxypiperidines having glycosidase inhibition activity.
In J.Am.Chem.Soc. 113 (1991), 6678, 3,4-dihydroxypiperidine, 3,4-dihydroxy-5-methylpiperidine and 3,4-dihydroxy-6-methylpiperidine are described as new compounds.
In J.Cell.Biochem., 1994, Suppl. 18D, 194 (published on Mar. 9, 1994) some catalytic antibodies, e.g. (3R,4R,5R)-3,4-di-hydroxy-5-hydroxymethylpiperidine hydrochloride and methyl 6,7-dideoxy-7-((3R,4R,5R)-3,4-dihydroxy-5-hydroxymethylpiperidinyl)-.alpha .-D-glucoheptopyranoside hydrochloride, are described.
In Dansk Kemi 74 (1993), 31, it is mentioned that Ms. Jespersen is making a report (dissertation) concerning synthesis of (3R,4R,5R)-3,4-dihydroxy-5-hydroxymethylpiperidine and it is stated therein that, possibly, this report is available. In this report, it is stated that this compound is a potential glycosidase inhibitor. Also in this report, 3-benzyloxy-4-hydroxy-5-hydroxymethylpiperidine is mentioned as an intermediate.
Moreover, scientifically it is well realized that inhibition of glycogen phosphorylase is a suitable target for the treatment of diabetes (Martin et al., 1991; Biochemistry 30: 10101-16; Oikonomakos et al., 1994; Eur. J. Drug Metab. Pharmakokin. 3: 185-92). These groups have used glucose analogs.
One object of the present invention is to furnish compounds which can be used as medicaments.
A further object of this invention is to furnish compounds which can effectively be used in the treatment of diabetes.
A still further object of this invention is to furnish compounds which can effectively be used as inhibitors of glucose production from the liver.

Use of hydroxy alkyl piperidine and pyrrolidine compounds to treat diabetes


A system and method may be provided to predict a value of a field of interest about a patient procedure. Data may be received from a health provider. A statistical model or machine learning model may be built based on the data in order to predict the value of the field of interest. In some embodiments, a plurality of models are used to predict different aspects of the procedure and are combined by a main model.

Artificial intelligence (AI) relates to the use of machines to perform tasks that previously were thought to require human intelligence. AI may be applicable in some fields where large amounts of data exits. The health field, with many providers and payers, often includes significant amounts of quantitative data collected from patient visits. However, to date, the use of AI in the health field has yet to take full advantage of the many potential possibilities.

Feature selection for artificial intelligence in healthcare management


A tissue-specific, suitably liver specific vector for gene therapy of a diseased host, wherein a therapeutic gene is coupled to a promoter chemically, enzymatically, or over an antibody, packaged in a polypeptide coat, and coupled to a component of a preselected virus of the tissue to be treated, and when the tissue is liver tissue, then the virus is hepatitis B virus.

Numerous methods and vectors for gene therapy have been developed in recent years. A survey is given by Mulligan in Science, 1993, pp. 260, 926. Many vectors are favored for gene therapy, particularly those, which are derived from retroviruses or adenoviruses. Both types of virus vectors are relatively broadly useful. Retroviral vectors are generally effective only in proliferating cells. Adenoviruses also infect nondividing cells. Although both types of vectors are suitable for gene transfer in vitro into liver cells (hepatocytes), but they can hardly be considered for use in in vivo gene therapy in humans. Although a partial liver resection is necessary to stimulate cell division (regeneration) in the application of retroviral vectors, the adenoviral gene transfer is not very stable, because no gene integration into the genome takes place.
Alternative vectors with potential applicability for gene transfer to liver cells are based on liposomes, or are also based on multicomponent particles with protein domains, which bind specifically to receptors of the live cell, such as the asialoglycoprotein receptor, and can be taken up in the cell due to receptor internalization. These were surveyed by Versland et al. in 1992 Seminars in Liver Disease 12, 332. An important disadvantage of these vectors is the endocytotic pathway, which leads to a degration of a large portion of the vectors and their DNA in the endosomes, so that only small amounts of functional DNA can reach the cell nucleus.
A solution to this problem was found for in vitro application, but that is not useful for in vivo use in patients. The principle is based on the simultaneous infection of the target cells with adenovirus, which leads to a disruption of the endosomes and a release of vector (DNA) as described by Curiel, D. T., Agrawal, S., Wagner, E. and Cotten, M. 1991, PNAS 88, 8850-8854.

Max-Planck Gesellschaft zur Forderung der Wissenschaften e.V.


One embodiment of the invention describes a method for producing a luminescence conversion substance layer on a substrate with a semiconductor element that emits a primary radiation during operation. A composition includes a luminescence conversion substance, a matrix material and a solvent. The composition is applied to a substrate. At least part of the solvent is removed, with the result that the luminescence conversion substance layer is formed on the substrate.

In radiation-emitting components, luminescence conversion substances are often used in order to partly convert the radiation emitted by a radiation source into a radiation having a changed wavelength. In a radiation-emitting component, a uniform color impression of the emitted radiation and a high efficiency are generally desirable, for which reason the introduction of the luminescence conversion substance into the component is accorded a particular importance.

Method for producing a luminescence conversion substance layer, a composition therefor and a component comprising such a luminescence conversion substance layer


A rear drive assembly for a snow bicycle includes a body adapted to be supported by an axle which rotatably supports a rear wheel of a bicycle. An upper arm is rigidly affixed to and extends upwardly from the body. A lower arm is rigidly affixed to and extends at an angle downwardly and rearwardly from the body. A track tensioning and guide assembly is positioned at the remote attachment end of the lower arm. An extendible and retractable attachment member is positioned at a remote attachment end of the upper arm and is, preferably, attached to a seat post of the bicycle. As the bicycle begins to ascend a slope the attachment member retracts to maintain the track in ground contact and as the bicycle begins to descend the slope the attachment member extends to maintain the track in ground contact.

Snow bicycles are well known. U.S. Pat. No. 1,261,204 (Barton 1918) and U.S. Pat. No. 1,281,980 (Kostewich 1918) are early examples of snow bicycles. Some more recent examples include U.S. patents: U.S. Pat. No. 5,423,559 (Rhode 1995); U.S. Pat. No. 5,738,361 (Landucci 1998); U.S. Pat. No. 6,511,079 U.S. Pat. No. 6,626,258 (Forbes 2003); and U.S. Pat. No. 6,663,117 (Cheney et al 2003). A rear drive assembly for a snow bicycle which is believed to represent the closest known prior art is Canadian Patent Application 2,154,729.


As described below, the present invention features methods and compositions for controlling a honey bee parasitic mite or for the treatment or prevention of a parasitic mite infestation in a honey bee hive. In particular embodiments, the invention provides a miticidal delivery device, wherein the device is a corrugated strip comprising a liquid composition comprising at least about 15% potassium salts of hop beta acids, solvent and an emulsifier.

Honey bees, Apis mellifera, are required for the effective pollination of crops and are therefore critical to world agriculture. Honey bees also produce economically important products, including honey and bees wax. Honey bees are susceptible to a number of parasites and pathogens, including the ectoparasitic mite, Varroa destructor. Varroa mites parasitize pupae and adult bees and reproduce in the pupal brood cells. The mites use their mouths to puncture the exoskeleton and feed on the bee's hemolymph. These wound sites in the exoskeleton harbor bacterial infections, such as Melissococcus pluton, which causes European foulbrood. In addition, to their parasitic effects, Varroa mites are suspected to act as vectors for a number of honey bee pathogens, including deformed wing virus (DWV), Kashmir bee virus (KBV), acute bee paralysis virus (ABPV) and black queen cell virus (BQCV), and may weaken the immune systems of their hosts, leaving them vulnerable to infections. If left untreated Varroa infestations typically result in colony-level mortality. Maintaining a supply of strong honey bee colonies available for pollination is essential for the sustained production of farm crops worth more than $14 billion to U.S. agriculture. During the winter of 2004-2005, an estimated 40% of the honey bee colonies in the U.S. were weakened or collapsed due to Varroa infestation. Current methods of treating Varroa infestations are proving to be ineffective as the mites develop resistance to existing miticides. In addition, the use of such miticides may introduce injurious chemicals into honey that is intended for human consumption. New compositions and methods for treating or preventing Varroa mite infestations are urgently required. Desirably, such compositions would include only natural ingredients that pose no risk to human health.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Compositions and methods for controlling a honey bee parasitic mite infestation


A high-side transistor driver including a driver circuit for generating a driving signal to drive a high-side transistor is provided. A floating supply terminal provides a supply voltage to the driver circuit. A floating ground terminal is connected to a source of the high-side transistor. A bootstrap diode is coupled between the floating supply terminal and a voltage source. A capacitor is connected to the bootstrap diode and is coupled between the floating supply terminal and the floating ground terminal. A high-voltage transistor is used for switching off the driving signal and the high-side transistor in response to an input signal. A speed-up capacitor is coupled to the driver circuit for speeding up the driving signal. Furthermore, the positive feedback circuits in the driver circuit further accelerate the driving signal and save power for the driver circuit.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a high-side switch driver, and more particularly to a driver circuit for driving the high-side transistor.
2. Description of the Related Art
A variety of power converters and motor drivers utilize bridge circuits for controlling a power source to a load. The bridge circuit generally has a high-side switch coupled to a power source and a low-side switch coupled to a ground reference. A common node between the high-side switch and the low-side switch is coupled to a load. High-side and low-side switches are generally embodied in transistors. As switches are controlled to alternately conduct, the level at the common node is swung between the power source and the ground reference. Therefore, the level at the common node is shifted to the power source when the high-side transistor is turned on. In order to fully turn on the high-side transistor for achieving lower impedance, a gate driving voltage must be higher than the power source. Therefore the gate-to-source of the high-side transistor must be floated with respect to the ground reference. FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional bridge circuit using a bootstrap capacitor 30 and a charge-pump diode 40 for creating a floating voltage VCC for driving a gate of the high-side transistor 10. When a control transistor 45 is turned on, the gate of the high-side transistor 10 is therefore connected to the ground reference via a diode 42. This turns off the high-side transistor 10. Once the high-side transistor 10 is turned off and a low-side transistor 20 is turned on, the bootstrap capacitor 30 is then charged up by a bias voltage VB via the charge-pump diode 40. The floating voltage VCC is propagated to the gate of the high-side transistor 10 by switching off a control transistor 45 via a transistor 41. The high-side transistor 10 is turned on as a result of the aforementioned switching off of a control transistor 45.
One drawback of the aforementioned bridge circuit is its high switching losses in high-voltage applications. The control transistor 45 requires a high voltage manufacturing process suitable for high-voltage applications (at 200 volts or more). The high-voltage transistors typically have a larger parasitic capacitor, which increases the rising-time and therefore slows down the switching signal. High switching losses from the high-side transistor is resulted from the aforementioned bridge circuit. Therefore, the aforementioned bridge circuit is inadequate for high-voltage and high-speed applications.
Many recently developed bridge circuit designs include methods of generating a suitable gate-voltage for the high-side transistor. Some well-known conventional bridge circuit designs include Zisa et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 5,381,044), Johnson (U.S. Pat. No. 5,638,025), and Nadd (U.S. Pat. No. 5,672,992). The aforementioned bridge circuits share the same drawbacks as the conventional circuit shown in FIG. 1. The control transistors of the conventional bridge circuit designs produce high switching losses in high-voltage applications.
To overcome some the aforementioned deficiencies, a conventional bridge circuit using a boost converter technique was introduced by Milazzo (U.S. Pat. No. 6,344,959). However, the aforementioned technique uses a voltage doubling circuit, which requires an additional switching element and other circuitries; therefore, costs and complexities of the driving circuit are increased. Other conventional high-side transistor drivers for high-speed applications are described in Yang (U.S. Pat. No. 6,781,422) and in Yang (U.S. Pat. No. 6,836,173). However, the higher power consumption remains to be a disadvantage.
The objective of the present invention is to overcome the drawbacks of the conventional bridge circuits and to provide a high-side transistor driver having high efficiency suitable for high-voltage and high-speed applications.

High-side transistor driver having positive feedback for improving speed and power saving


A method and system for offloading I/O processing from a first computer to a second computer, using RDMA-capable network interconnects, are disclosed. The method and system include a client on the first computer communicating over an RDMA connection to a server on the second computer by way of a lightweight input/output (LWIO) protocol. The protocol generally comprises a network discovery phase followed by an I/O processing phase. During the discovery phase, the client and server determine a minimal list of shared RDMA-capable providers. During the I/O processing phase, the client posts I/O requests for offloading to the second machine over a mutually-authenticated RDMA channel. The I/O model is asymmetric, with read operations being implemented using RDMA and write operations being implemented using normal sends. Read and write requests may be completed in polling mode and in interrupt mode. Buffers are managed by way of a credit mechanism.

In computing environments it is generally desirable to conserve scarce CPU resources. For some such environments, such as networks of application server nodes, such conservation is especially critical. As networks become faster, they make greater demands on CPUs to process packets and perform I/O operations, resulting in slower application performance. This is particularly detrimental for inherently I/O-intensive applications like databases.
One approach to remedying this problem is to offload excessive I/O and network processing from the CPU. In a networked environment, using distributed file systems and transport protocols like NFS or SMB/CIFS, it is possible to send I/O requests from a local machine to a remote machine. However, it is not necessarily the case that the local machine will achieve significant processing economies using such approaches.
In the single machine context, I/O processing burdens can be alleviated by offloading I/O tasks to a direct memory access (DMA) controller. Remote Direct Memory Access (RDMA) technology is a more recently-developed extension of DMA for multiple networked computers. RDMA allows data to be moved between memory buffers on two communicating machines equipped with RDMA-capable network interface cards (NICs) without having to involve the CPU and operating system of either the source or the destination machine. RDMA can be used to offload I/O processing to a remote machine, thereby enabling the local machine to reclaim CPU cycles for applications. RDMA has been exploited in high-speed, high-bandwidth interconnect technologies, such as the Virtual Interface Architecture (VIA), InfiniBand, and iWarp. These interconnects are particularly designed for high-reliability network connections between clusters of server nodes within a data center or other local file-sharing environment.
Protocols defining the communication between a local offloading node and a remote machine must be designed in order for the capabilities associated with RDMA technology to be fully utilized and their benefits effectively achieved. Therefore, there is a need for the lightweight input/output (LWIO) protocol of the present invention.


The present invention discloses a method for producing foods and/or beverage having improved taste and/or flavour, comprising reacting a microbial aminopeptidase on a protein material optionally under the co-existence of a protease, wherein said aminopeptidase has the properties of: (a) having an activity of catalyzing the reaction of specifically releasing a glutamic acid and an aspartic acid from the N-terminal of a peptide and/or a protein; (b) having 50% or more activity at pH6.0-9.0 as compared with the activity at the optimum pH; (c) having 40% or more activity after heating at 25-60° C., pH7.5 for 30 minutes as compared with the activity of the non-heated enzyme; (d) having a molecular weight of about 40-60 kD as measured by SDS-PAGE and about 300-480 kD as measured by native-PAGE; (e) having a hydrolyzing activity of the aminopeptidase toward Glu-Glu dipeptide is 5 U/mg or more, preferably 10 U/mg or more.

There have been many reports on methods of improving taste and/or flavour using enzymes. For example, as a method for enhancing umami a process of increasing free amino acids by the use of a combination of proteases and peptidases has been known. Such a process may be used for not only producing seasoning mix but also improving the quality and taste of meat (Japanese publication of non-examined patent application (JP-Kokai) No. 05-276899). There is also a method which uses an enzyme that specifically functions on proline as described in JP Kokai No. 11-075765 or No. 07-115969. A method of enhancing umami is also known where glutamate is increased by using a γ-GTP (gamma glutamyl transpeptidase) during protease reaction or by converting glutamine to glutamate by a glutaminase. The peptidases of the present invention were also reported to have an umami-enhancing activity because they specifically release glutamate or aspartate (JP Kokai No. 2000-325090).
For example koji molds have been used to produce natural seasonings including soy sauce, miso and other protein hydrolysates. For example soy sauce is produce through two steps, koji-making and fermentation. The raw materials are mainly hydrolized by enzymes produced by koji molds (Aspergillus fungi) during the koji-making step. During the step, it is important to increase the content of free amino acids in the resulting koji (moromi), particularly the content of free glutamate to improve the taste of soy sauce.
In general, amino acids are generated through two steps from raw material proteins. The first step is the release of peptides from the proteins by proteases, and the second step is the generation of amino acids by hydrolysis of the peptides, which is catalyzed by peptidases.
Asano et al. noticed that soybeans hydrolyze the storage proteins in the seeds in a very short period during the germinating process and found a peptidase (a peptidase which efficiently hydrolyzes peptides containing acidic amino acid residues and leucine aminopeptidases) and succeeded in the efficient hydrolysis of soybean proteins (JP Kokai No. 9-294583).
The soybean aminopeptidase is an enzyme which has been proved to be a novel enzyme, which has not been reported previously, as defined by its enzymatic profile. The existence of the enzyme has not been known except in germinating soybeans. The soybean aminopeptidase has the activity of releasing N-terminal acidic amino acids efficiently from peptides having acidic amino acids such as glutamic acid at the N-terminal. It is known that a di-peptide consisting of two glutamic acid residues exists as a hydrolysis-resistant peptide in seasonings including protein hydrolysates, such as soy sauce. Accordingly, it is possible to hydrolyze such hydrolysis-resistant di-peptides by using the action of the soybean aminopeptidase to produce a seasoning liquid which has a high content of free glutamate and improved taste.
Ninomiya et al. succeeded in the mass production of the soybean aminopeptidase by using genetic recombination techniques (JP Kokai No. 2000-325090), but the soybean aminopeptidase GX produced by this method can be hardly used for producing seasoning liquid, because peptidases from soybean are not approved as enzymes for foods. Additionally, there remain several problems in their applicability because the recombinant soybean is poor in the heat-stability and is not suitable for the reaction at 50° C. or more.
For peptidases from koji molds which include many microorganism species for foods, peptidases from Aspergillus oryzae and Aspergillus sojae have been reported (JP Kokai No. 11-346777, DE95-1952648, WO 98/51163, WO 96/28542, WO 96/15504, WO 98/51803, WO 98/14599). Among them, there are many reports on leucine aminopeptidases, but there is no report on a peptidase that has an activity to efficiently release glutamate, such as the soybean aminopeptidase GX. For example, Koibuchi et al. screened a Aspergillus nidulans genomic DNA library using Aspergillus nidulans ESTs having a homology to the soybean aminopeptidase GX and obtained a DNA encoding a novel aminopeptidase of Aspergillus nidulans (WO 02/077223). However, the obtained novel aminopeptidase was the enzyme having leucine aminopeptidase (LAP) activity, which requires cobalt or zinc ion for its activation, although it had a homology of close to 40% to the soybean GX. Thus, an enzyme having the soybean aminopeptidase-like properties has not been obtained from other sources than soybean. Furthermore, it was shown that the existence of the soybean aminopeptidase-like properties could not be determined from the sequence homology alone.
In this connection, an EST database of a koji mold (Aspergillus oryzae RIB40) was opened on Mar. 31, 2003 at the Web site of National Research Institute of Brewing and the search for the sequences has been possible.
On the other hand, methods for improving sweetness and flavour are known where hydrolyzing enzymes or microorganisms containing the enzymes are used, or a combination of the enzymes and other processes are used for improving sweetness. For example, in JP Kokai No. 09-299094 after reacting the enzymes or the microorganisms on carbohydrates, alcohol fermentation was conducted to improve the flavour. In JP Kokai No. 09-299094, the improvement in sweetness was also succeeded by functions of sugar hydrolyzing enzymes together with sugar transfer reactions and condensation reactions. Particularly, in JP Kokai No. 2003-153651 sweetness and umami were increased by reacting enzymes which decompose tannin, polysaccharides and proteins on tea leafages material or dried tea leafages to reduce astringency. However, a method for enhancing sweetness by the action of peptidases alone has not been reported.
As methods for reducing saltiness edge, treatment with various essences (JP Kokai No. 2002-034496) or yeast (JP Kokai No. 11-276113) or the addition of soybean mineral concentrates (JP Kokai No. 05-049439) have been reported. However no successful examples have been known where saltiness edge taste was reduced by a peptidase treatment.
The following processes have been reported as general methods for improving flavour and taste by enzymes. For improving the taste of egg yolk, phospholipases has been used and JP Kokai No. 2002-325559 clearly describes the effects of phospholipase A1. In JP Kokai No. 2002-253171, bitter amino acids were γ-glutamylated by a γ-glutamyl transpeptidase and the reduction of bitterness, the increase of sourness and the improvement of taste were successful. Additionally, in JP Kokai No. 2000-327692 the taste and the solubility of isoflavones were improved by the function of glycosyltransferases. Besides these reports, many methods are known including a method for producing taste-improving food materials by glutamate decarboxylases (JP Kokai No. 2000-166502), a method for providing flavour improving composition by synthesizing adenine using glutaminases (JP Kokai No. 09-313129), a method for improving flavour of foods using beta-primevelosidases (JP Kokai No. 08-140675), a method for improving the flavour of oils and fats using lipases (JP Kokai No. 07-135972) and a method for improving the taste of bread by a combination of lactic acid bacteria, lipases and proteases. However, a method for improving taste and/or flavour by peptidases alone has not been known.

Method of improving taste and/or flavour of foods and beverages


An agricultural machine includes a body, a connecting mechanism, an operating device for pivoting the connecting mechanism into at least two working positions, transmission elements which include at least one gearbox, and a control mechanism intended to pivot the gearbox into operating positions corresponding to the working positions of the connecting mechanism. In accordance with the invention, the control mechanism is installed, among others, between the gearbox and the operating device. This control mechanism can also include a first control cylinder installed between the connecting mechanism and the body and connected in series to a second control cylinder installed between the body and the gearbox.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention regards an agricultural machine comprising:
a body equipped with at least one working component; PA1 a connecting mechanism allowing connection of said agricultural machine to a tractor, said connecting mechanism being connected to said body by a first joint with an upwardly directed axis; PA1 an operating device for pivoting the connecting mechanism with respect to said body around the axis of said first joint, said connecting mechanism being positionable in at least two working positions; PA1 transmission elements for powering said at least one working component, said transmission elements comprising at least one gearbox connected to the body by a second joint with an upwardly directed axis; and PA1 a control mechanism for pivoting said gearbox with respect to the body around the axis of said second joint wherein the gearbox is positionable in operating positions that correspond to said working positions of the connecting mechanism. PA1 a first control cylinder installed between the connecting mechanism and the body, and PA1 a second control cylinder installed between the body and the gearbox and connected in series to the first control cylinder. PA1 the operating cylinder is a dual-action cylinder; PA1 the transmission elements comprise at least one telescopic transmission shaft with universal joints connected to the input shaft of the gearbox; PA1 said at least one transmission shaft or at least one of said transmission shafts is supported by the connecting mechanism; PA1 the transmission elements receive the movement of the power take-off shaft of the tractor vehicle to which the agricultural machine is intended to be connected; PA1 the body rests on the ground by means of at least one wheel, and the connecting mechanism consists of a drawbar connected to the midsection of said body; PA1 the body comprises a chassis to which the connecting mechanism is connected and in which is (are) suspended the working component(s) by means of a suspension device that makes it possible for it (them) to move with respect to the chassis in order to adapt to the ground terrain.
2. Discussion of the Background
An agricultural machine is described in document EP 0 277 343 A1 and comprises a mower-conditioner. First, this known machine comprises a body that consists of a chassis that moves over the ground via two wheels, and a harvesting device suspended in the chassis by means of a drawn deformable quadrilateral suspension device. This known machine also includes a drawbar allowing it to be connected to a tractor. This drawbar is connected to the midsection of the chassis by means of a joint whose axis is roughly vertical so that it can occupy at least two working positions by pivoting around said axis. The harvesting device itself comprises a carrying structure carrying cutting drums and a conditioning rotor installed behind them.
This known machine additionally comprises transmission elements designed to power the cutting drums and the conditioning rotor. These transmission elements consist primarily of a transmission device installed in the front part of the drawbar that is designed to receive the movement from the power take-off shaft of the tractor via a first telescopic transmission shaft with universal joints. These transmission elements also consist of a gearbox connected to the carrying structure of the harvesting mechanism by means of a joint whose axis is roughly parallel to the axis of the joint connecting the drawbar to the chassis. This gearbox receives the movement of the transmission device output shaft via a second telescopic transmission shaft with universal joints. The output shaft of the gearbox transmits the movement to the drive components of the harvesting device.
The axis of the joint connecting the gearbox to the carrying structure of the harvesting mechanism is located in the vertical plane pointing in the direction of displacement and enclosing the axis of the joint connecting the drawbar to the chassis, and is located in front of this latter axis. As a result, it is possible to swivel said gearbox around the axis of its joint when the drawbar is pivoted into its various positions so that the input shaft of the gearbox is always pointing towards the front of the drawbar. To this end, this known machine comprises a control mechanism that consists of a coupling. This coupling comprises a first forked coupling that is guided in rotation between the two universal joints of the second telescopic transmission shaft and a second forked coupling mounted on the gearbox and inside which the input shaft of said gearbox is guided in rotation. These two forked couplings are connected to each other by a joint with an approximately horizontal axis that passes through the center of the universal joint of the second telescopic transmission shaft located beside the input shaft of the gearbox.
In this known machine, the position of the gearbox is controlled via the second telescopic transmission shaft in response of the swiveling of the drawbar. Additionally, the joint connecting the two forked couplings enables the harvesting mechanism to move with respect to the chassis in order to adjust to the ground terrain.
The control mechanism used on this known machine has several disadvantages. It first requires a special telescopic transmission shaft with universal joints since the first forked coupling is guided in rotation thereon by means of two bearings. Assembly then requires that relatively strict machining tolerances be observed since the axis of the joint connecting the two forked couplings together must pass precisely through the center of the universal joint of the second telescopic transmission shaft located beside the input shaft of the gearbox.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,272,859 presents another mower-conditioner comparable to the one described in EP 0 277 343 A1. The control mechanism, which is designed to pivot the gearbox to position it properly according to the position of the drawbar, is made up of a telescopic control rod located between the drawbar and the gearbox. This telescopic control rod comprises an inner section connected to the drawbar by means of a ball and socket joint and capable of sliding inside an outer section connected indirectly to the gearbox. At its end beside the gearbox, the outer section of the telescopic control rod has two lugs between which extends a rigid tubular housing that is part of the gearbox. Said lugs are connected to the said housing by means of a joint with a roughly horizontal axis that passes through the center of the universal joint of the second telescopic transmission shaft located next to the gearbox.
In this known machine, the position of the gearbox is controlled via the telescopic control rod in response of pivoting of the drawbar. Moreover, the fact that the telescopic control rod can lengthen and shorten combined with the pivoting enabled by the joint connecting said rod to the gearbox allows the harvesting mechanism to move with respect to the chassis in order to adapt itself to the ground.
In order to allow the inner section to slide easily inside the outer section, it is necessary to provide sufficient play between these two sections. Under these conditions, absorption of the driving torque applied to the gearbox causes the telescopic control rod to bend. This can slow the shortening of the telescopic control rod during the harvesting mechanism's adjustment to the ground contours. Additionally, the lengthening and shortening of the telescopic control rod under a large load risks causing relatively rapid wear of said rod.
EP 0 678 237 A1 describes a mower that primarily comprises a body consisting of a chassis that moves over the ground via two wheels and a cutting mechanism suspended from the chassis by means of a suspension device that allows the cutting mechanism to move with respect to said chassis in order to adapt itself to the ground contours. This mower also has a drawbar making it possible to connect it to a tractor. This drawbar is connected to the mid-section of the chassis by means of a joint with an approximately vertical axis so that it can occupy at least two working positions by swiveling around said axis.
This known mower also comprises transmission elements designed to power the cutting tools. These transmission elements consist first of all of an upper gearbox mounted on the drawbar and whose input shaft receives the motion of the output shaft of a transmission device installed in the front part of the drawbar via a telescopic transmission shaft with universal joints. The output shaft of this upper gearbox extends in a roughly parallel fashion to the axis of the joint connecting the drawbar to the chassis. This output shaft is coaxial with the input shaft of the lower gearbox, whose output shaft is connected to the drive components of the cutting mechanism via another telescopic transmission shaft with universal joints.
The lower gearbox is thus borne by the upper gearbox so that it is capable of swiveling around the common axis of the output shaft of the upper gearbox and the input shaft of the lower gearbox. During pivoting of the drawbar, the position of the lower gearbox is controlled by a guiding mechanism. In a first embodiment, this guiding mechanism consists of a rod installed between the lower gearbox and the cutting mechanism, roughly parallel to the transmission shaft connecting the output shaft of said lower gearbox to the drive components of the cutting mechanism. In a second embodiment, the guiding mechanism consists of a deformable parallelogram connected to the chassis.
In this known mower, the position of the lower gearbox is controlled via the upper gearbox during the swiveling of the drawbar. This solution is relatively expensive since it requires two gearboxes capable of pivoting with respect to each other.


An apparatus and method of filling a tank with a fluid are provided. The method includes providing the tank including a porous media positioned therein, the tank having a length dimension and a width dimension; providing a plurality of needles, each needle having a first end connectable in fluid communication with a fluid source and a second end including a fluid outlet port, the fluid outlet port having an axis; orienting each needle such that the axis of the fluid outlet port is substantially parallel with a preferred direction, the preferred direction being along one of the length dimension and the width dimension of the tank; inserting each needle into the porous media positioned within the tank; and filling the tank with fluid from the fluid source.

Ink tank filling processes are known. For a given filling process, several considerations are evaluated and balanced. Generally, it is desirable to maximize the amount of ink available for printing over the lifetime of the ink tank while at the same time minimizing the cost and time associated with filling the tank with ink.
Additionally, it is advantageous during printing to reduce the amount of required printhead over travel. As printhead over travel is related to the width of the printhead, it is advantageous to use narrow (length greater than width) ink tanks. However, as ink tanks become narrower, ink volume requirements cause ink tank lengths to be significantly increased creating the need to minimize the potential of trapping ink in the ink tank that is unavailable for use during printing. This is especially true for ink tanks containing a porous media that provides pressure regulation because capillary forces in the media play a dominant role in the long-term distribution of ink in these tanks.
As such, there is a need to be able to fill narrow ink tanks while reducing the likelihood of trapping ink in the ink tank and minimizing the cost and time associated with filling the tank with ink.

Apparatus and method of filling ink tank


This invention concerns a (meth)acrylic acid type polymer, wherein the value S representing the quantity of an sulfur element introduced which is defined by the formula, S=(quantity of S contained in polymer)/(total quantity of S)×100, is not less than 35. This (meth) acrylic acid type polymer is a water-soluble polymer of a low molecular weight which has only a small impurity content, entails no precipitation of an impurity during the preservation at a low temperature, and excels in dispersibility, chelating ability, and an anti-gelling property.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to (meth)acrylic acid type polymers used advantageously for such applications as water type dispersants, descaling agents, and detergent builders, a method for the production thereof, and a detergent using thereof.
This invention also relates to unsaturated polyalkylene glycol type copolymers used advantageously for such applications as water type dispersants, descaling agents, cement additives, and detergent builders, a method for the production thereof, and detergents using thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
<Prior Art Concerning (Meth)acrylic Acid Type Polymer>
Of such water-soluble polymers as polyacrylic acid and polymaleic acid, those which have low molecular weights have been heretofore used advantageously for dispersants directed toward inorganic pigments and metal ions, descaling agents, and detergent builders. As a means for obtaining such water-soluble polymers of low molecular weights, the methods which are disclosed, for example, in JP-A-64-38403 and JP-A-05-86125 have been known.
The method disclosed in JP-A-64-38403, in radically polymerizing one or more water-soluble vinyl monomer (ethylenic monomer) with the use of a water-soluble azo type radical polymerization initiator, contemplates the presence in the reaction system of 0.1–30 mol % of sulfurous ion based on the quantity of the monomer. The monomer used in this case does not need to be particularly restricted but is only required to be a water-soluble vinyl monomer. The use of this method allows production of water-soluble polymers of low molecular weights not less than several tens of thousand with satisfactory reproducibility.
JP-A-05-86125 obtains a water-soluble polymer formed of not less than 95 mol % of acrylic acid or an acrylate by subjecting acrylic acid or an acrylate to aqueous solution polymerization while retaining the pH of the solution in the range of 6–9 (under the neutral condition). At this time, the number average molecular weight of the polymer is in the range of 300–10000 and the degree of dispersion is in the range of 1.3–2.3. Since the water-soluble polymer obtained by this method has a low molecular weight and has a degree of dispersion in a narrow range (having a narrow molecular weight distribution), it exhibits a high degree of dispersibility and is used advantageously for various dispersants and detergent builders.
JP-B-60-24806 discloses a method for producing an acrylate type low molecular weight polymer. The method of JP-B-60-24806 consists in subjecting (A) an alkali metal salt of acrylic acid, (B) acrylamide or 2-hydroxyethyl (meth)acrylate, and (C) a hydrophilic monomer capable of copolymerizing with the (A) and (B) components mentioned above in a prescribed ratio to aqueous solution polymerization. The polymerization conditions are not less than 10 liters of air per mol of the (A) component and a polymerization temperature of not higher than 80° C.
The acrylate type water-soluble polymer obtained by this method has a molecular weight in the range of 500–100000 and a narrow molecular weight distribution. Further, the water-soluble polymer entrains no impurity and incurs coloration only slightly. Moreover, the terminal of the straight chain or the side chain of this water-soluble polymer is capable of introducing 0.5–1.5 sulfonic groups per molecule. The water-soluble polymer, therefore, excels in dispersibility and the chelating property and can be advantageously used for dispersants directed to inorganic pigments, detergent builders, cleaning agents, and descaling agents.
As a technique for producing a low molecular polymer which is not such a water-soluble polymer as mentioned above, the method disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,646,099 may be cited. The low molecular weight polymer which is disclosed in this publication is intended for use in electroconductive coating materials. It is formed by polymerizing (meth)acrylonitrile and a hydrophobic monomer and has to fulfill the essential requirement that the hydrophobic monomer be in a proportion of not less then 40mol %. By this method, it is made possible to produce a polymer having a molecular weight of not more than 25000.
By the techniques disclosed in JP-A-64-38403 and JP-A-05-86125, however, it is difficult to introduce a sulfonic group quantitatively into the terminal or the main chain of the relevant polymer. The water-soluble polymers obtained by these techniques, therefore, hardly deserve to be rated fully excellent in the dispersibility and the anti-gelling property and are not optimum for dispersants, detergent builders, cleaning agents, and descaling agents.
By the technique which is disclosed in JP-B-60-24806, it is made possible to obtain a water-soluble polymer having a sulfonic group introduced to a certain degree therein. Since the monomer used in this technique is an acrylate (alkali metal salt), the system of polymerization reaction is substantially completely neutralized.
In the polymerization performed in such a neutral state as uses an acrylate, when the concentration of a solid component in the reaction system is heightened, the viscosity of the reaction solution tends to increase conspicuously in accordance as the polymerization proceeds and the molecular weight of the produced polymer tends to increase to a copious degree. Thus, the technique taught in JP-B-60-24806, when used in the polymerization of a monomer, is at a disadvantage in failing to produce a polymer of a low molecular weight under the condition of a high concentration and incurring a decline in the efficiency of production.
Further, by the technique disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,646,099, it is made possible to produce a polymer of a low molecular weight advantageously. The technique disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,646,099, however, is directed toward producing a polymer using a hydrophobic monomer in a proportion of not less than 40 mol %. The low molecular weight polymer consequently obtained is not soluble in water. Specifically, the technique disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,646,099 is directed toward producing a low molecular weight polymer for use in electroconductive coating materials. By simply substituting the monomer for a water-soluble monomer, it is not possible to produce satisfactorily a water-soluble polymer.
In order for the water-soluble polymer of a low molecular weight mentioned above to be used advantageously for dispersants, descaling agents, and detergent builders, the water-soluble polymer is preferred to excel in the anti-gelling property, i.e. quality of rejecting gelation, besides the dispersibility and the Ca-binding capacity which are inherent in the water-soluble polymer. The techniques disclosed in the publications mentioned above, however, are incapable of producing a water-soluble polymer excelling in the anti-gelling property. They are, therefore, incapable of obtaining a water-soluble polymer possessing properties which fully befit dispersants, descaling agents, and detergent builders.
Thus, the methods described above are not fully satisfactory for the water-soluble polymer of a low molecular weight which excels in the dispersibility and the anti-chelating property and excels in the anti-gelling property as well and for the purpose of effecting efficient production of the water-soluble polymer.
The present inventors have discovered that a (meth)acrylic acid type polymer of a low molecular weight excelling in the dispersibility and the chelating property and in the anti-gelling property as well can be efficiently produced by polymerizing a monomer having a sulfonic group quantitatively introduced into the terminal and containing (meth)acrylic acid under an acidic condition. The (meth) acrylic acid type polymer mentioned above is a polymer which is formed by polymerizing 50–100 mol % of (meth)acrylic acid and 0–50 mol % of a water-soluble monoethylenically unsaturated monomer capable of copolymerizing with the (meth)acrylic acid in an aqueous solution and which has a sulfonic group linked to the terminal thereof. This (meth) acrylic acid type polymer is characterized by the fact that the value Q representing the anti-gelling ability defined by the formula, Q=Degree of gelation×105/weight average molecular weight, is less than 2.0. The (meth)acrylic acid type polymer is a water-soluble polymer of a low molecular weight which excels in the anti-gelling property and in the dispersibility and the chelating ability as well. In the method for the production of this polymer, the hydrophilic monomer containing not less than 50 mol % of (meth)acrylic acid is used in a proportion of not less than 60 mol %, the pH of the system used for polymerizing the monomer is less than 5, and the degree of neutralization is less than 40 mol %. The monomer mentioned above is polymerized by using as an initiator the combination of one or more species respectively of persulfate and bisulfite. More preferably, a hydrophilic monomer containing at least 50 mol % of (meth)acrylic acid is used in a proportion of not less than 60 mol % and, while this monomer is added dropwise to be polymerized under such acidic conditions as a pH of less than 5 and a degree of neutralization of less than 40 mol %, the solid concentration of the system of polymerization at the time that the dropwise addition of the monomer is completed is set at a level of not less than 40 mass % and the weight average molecular weight is set at a level in the range of 3000–15000. The present inventors have found that in consequence of the polymerization, a water-soluble polymer of a low molecular weight excelling in the anti-gelling property and in the dispersibility and the chelating ability can be produced with high efficiency. This knowledge has been proposed in JP-A-11-315115.
The water-soluble polymer of JP-A-11-315115 has been finding extensive utility because it is possessed of properties befitting dispersants, descaling agent, and detergent builders.
<Prior Art Concerning Unsaturated Polyalkylene Glycol Type Copolymer>
It has been known that copolymers formed by using an unsaturated polyalkylene glycol type monomer are useful as builders for liquid detergents. For example, the copolymers of such unsaturated polyalkylene glycol type monomers as ethylene oxide adducts of 3-methy-3-buten-1-ol and such unsaturated monocarboxylic acid type monomers as (meth) acrylic acid are useful as liquid detergent builders. As a means to obtain such a copolymer, the method disclosed in JP-A-2002-60785, for example, has been known.
The method disclosed in the publication mentioned above, in copolymerizing a monomer component essentially containing either an unsaturated monocarboxylic acid type monomer or an unsaturated dicarboxylic acid type monomer and an unsaturated polyalkylene glycol type monomer, effects the necessary polymerization by using a persulfate or hydrogen peroxide as an initiator. When this method is used, a copolymer having a molecular weight up to several tens of thousand can be obtained with high reproducibility.
The polymer which is obtained by this method excels in the compatibility with a liquid detergent and in the dispersibility and can be advantageously used for detergent builders, particularly liquid detergent builders.
As a technique for producing a (meth) acrylic acid type polymer of a low molecular weight, which is not a polymer containing an unsaturated polyalkylene glycol type monomer, the method disclosed in JP-A-11-315115 may be cited.
By the method disclosed in the publication mentioned above, when a monomer component essentially containing a (meth)acrylic acid type monomer is polymerized, the polymerization is effected at a high concentration of not less than 40 mass % by using a persulfate or a bisulfite as an initiator. By using this method, it is made possible to obtain a low molecular weight polymer having a molecular weight of not more than several tens of thousand with high reproducibility.
The polymer which is obtained by this method has a narrow molecular weight distribution and incurs coloration only slightly. Further, this polymer has sulfur oxygen acid quantitatively introduced into the terminal of the straight chain or to the side chain thereof. Thus, this polymer excels in the dispersibility and the anti-gelling property and can be advantageously used for dispersants directed toward inorganic pigments, detergent builders, cleaning agents, and descaling agents.
When a copolymer of a (meth)acrylic acid monomer and an unsaturated polyalkylene glycol type monomer is produced by using the technique disclosed in JP-A-2002-60785, however, the polymer has the molecular weight thereof increase unless the polymerization concentration is lowered to the order of 20 mass %. The polymerization solution possibly succumbs to gelation. Thus, the polymerization concentration must be lowered at a sacrifice of productivity. Further, the aqueous solution of polymer consequently obtained has an inferior hue. In the light of these factors, the polymer does not deserve to be rated as optimum for detergent builders.
Further, by using the technique disclosed in JP-A-11-315115, it is made possible to produce a polymer of a low molecular weight in a high concentration. Since this technique is directed toward producing a polymer by mainly using a (meth) acrylic acid type monomer, the polymer obtained by the technique has low compatibility with liquid detergents. By the technique disclosed in JP-A-11-315115, therefore, it is difficult to produce a polymer suitable for liquid detergent builders.
By such conventional techniques as these, it has never been made possible to produce a polymer of a low molecular weight excelling in hue, compatibility with liquid detergents, dispersibility, and anti-gelling property at a high concentration with satisfactory efficiency.
<Problems Concerning (Meth)acrylic Acid Type Polymer>
The present inventors, not satisfied with the development of this novel technique, have further continued a study concerning the (meth)acrylic acid type polymer and the method for production thereof disclosed in JP-A-11-315115. It has been consequently ascertained {circle around (1)} that the bisulfite used as an initiator emits sulfur dioxide in a large quantity during the course of the production, the generated sulfur dioxide dissolves in the liquid phase and forms an impurity, the sulfur dioxide which has escaped solution in the liquid phase is discharged from the system in a large quantity, and the discharged sulfur dioxide gives rise to a new problem of necessitating a costly treatment which comprises recovering this harmful gas with a proper adsorbent and discarding the spent adsorbent and {circle around (2)} that since the bisulfite as an initiator escapes in the form of sulfur dioxide and incurs loss of effect, the molecular weight of the polymer is not lowered, the total quantity of the initiator required is increased, the production is suffered to form a large quantity of an impurity, the high performance owned inherently by the produced (meth)acrylic acid type polymer is not manifested fully satisfactorily, and a new problem of degrading quality and inducing precipitation of an impurity during the preservation at a low temperature is encountered.
An object of this invention, therefore, is to provide a (meth)acrylic acid type polymer which is a water-soluble polymer of a low molecular weight excelling in dispersibility, chelating ability, and anti-gelling property. The (meth)acrylic acid type polymer of this invention has a prominently allayed impurity content and a further enhanced performance. Further, the (meth)acrylic acid type polymer of this invention possesses an outstanding ability to preserve constantly stably the high performance endowed during the course of production without being affected by the environment of preservation and suffers neither from degradation of quality nor precipitation of an impurity during the preservation at a low temperature.
Another object of this invention is to provide a method for producing a (meth)acrylic acid type polymer which is a water-soluble polymer of a low molecular weight excelling in dispersibility, chelating ability, and anti-gelling property. By the method of this invention for the production of a (meth)acrylic acid type polymer, it is made possible to produce a (meth)acrylic acid type polymer which allays generation of a large quantity of sulfur dioxide and generation of an impurity and acquires a further enhanced performance.
Still another object of this invention is to provide a detergent formed by using (as a high performance detergent builder) a (meth)acrylic acid type polymer which is a water-soluble polymer of a low molecular weight excelling in dispersibility, chelating ability, and anti-gelling property. The detergent of this invention acquires a further enhancement of performance and quality. Further, the detergent of this invention is possessed of a high ability of effecting stable preservation incapable of being effected by the environment of preservation.
<Problems Concerning Unsaturated Polyalkylene Glycol Type Copolymer>
The unsaturated polyalkylene glycol type copolymer disclosed in JP-A-2002-60785 indeed excels in compatibility with liquid detergents and dispersibility and nevertheless betrays deficiency in hue and in productivity as well. Meanwhile, the polymer disclosed in JP-A-11-315115 is deficient in compatibility with liquid detergents. The problem to be fulfilled by this invention, therefore, resides in providing a liquid detergent grade builder, a cement additive, and a detergent containing the liquid detergent grade builder which excels in compatibility with liquid detergents, dispersibility, and hue.
Further, the object to be fulfilled by this invention consists in providing a method for polymerizing an unsaturated polyalkylene glycol type copolymer excelling in compatibility with liquid detergents, dispersibility, and hue in a high concentration with high productivity.

(Meth) acrylic acid type polymer and unsaturated polyalkylene glycol type copolymer, and methods for production thereof