A filter for filtering intravenous fluid includes a base member having one or more vent holes and a fluid inlet chamber; a cap member having an inlet, an outlet, and a fluid outlet chamber; hydrophilic filtration media captured between the base member and the cap member, separating the inlet chamber and the outlet chamber; the filter having a flow path such that fluid passing into the filter housing through the inlet passes through the hydrophilic filtration media before passing out the outlet; one piece of hydrophobic vent media positioned over the vent hole and secured to the base member; and the base member having a center section and side sections forming the inlet chamber, the side sections extending from the center section towards the perimeter of the base member and being formed with sloped walls so as to encourage any air in the inlet chamber to flow towards the vent.

This invention pertains to the field of membrane-type filter devices, particularly intravenous filter devices which employ both hydrophilic and hydrophobic membranes.
This invention relates broadly to membrane-type filter devices, and especially to filter devices used to remove impurities from liquids or fluids that are to be introduced intravenously to the human body. Some fluids useful with this invention include saline solutions and nutrient solutions, or other solutions that act as carriers for drugs. Other fluids useful with this invention are not listed but are well known to those having ordinary skill in the art.
One of the problems encountered with conventional membrane-type intravenous filter devices is the presence of gas. The fluid must be filtered before entering the patient in order to remove gas bubbles and contaminants. Gas in the housing or mixed with the liquid tends to prevent effective filtration of the liquid. When the filter is first attached to the patient and fluid flow is initiated, air frequently enters the lines or is already present in the filter device. A wetted hydrophilic membrane filter will generally not allow the air to pass. Thus, entrapped air tends to prevent fluid from entering the patient. It is therefore desirable to remove this entrapped air as quickly and continuously as possible. This is often referred to as priming the filter.
Several options are available to remove air from membrane-type filter devices. Many of these options make use of hydrophobic membranes which are capable of passing air out of the filter housing through vents, but liquids will not pass through the membranes. Conventional intravenous filters employ this principle but have some shortcomings. For example, several commercial devices are not altogether satisfactory because they do not remove air through the outlet port in the short time that is necessary, or they require the filter to be turned upside down, or in an orientation different than how the filter will be used, during priming. This can lead to confusion and a lack of proper priming, leaving gas entrapped in areas of the housing that are not contiguous to the hydrophobic membrane.
Various ideas have been used in an attempt to correct these shortcomings. Some manufactures utilize rectangular filters to assist self-priming, with an inlet at the bottom and an outlet at the top of the filter. Such devices must be tilted from a horizontal plane in order to be self-priming. Some do not utilize a hydrophobic-type filter medium. Still other filter units employ a combination of hydrophilic and hydrophobic filters arranged side-by-side in alternate sequence. A disadvantage, however, is that this configuration provides a hydrophobic zone on each end of the housing. Although these chambers appear to provide for the escape of entrapped air, they also create a zone where liquids can gather and be incapable of passing through either the hydrophilic membrane or the hydrophobic membrane. Further, drugs in intravenous fluids often have different densities than other fluids administered to the patient. This may mean that the drugs will be in a portion of the filter adjacent a hydrophobic membrane if the filter unit is in a vertical position. When this is the case, the drugs may not immediately be administered to the patient. This could conceivably cause problems, especially if drugs must be administered quickly to the patient.
One product, known as the Gelman IV-4 filter, has two vent holes on the back side so as to allow venting from two places in the inlet chamber. However, there are increased manufacturing costs from having to seal two hydrophobic membranes while constructing the filter, plus this design doubles the possibility of a defective filter due to a leak if the hydrophobic material is not correctly sealed.
Another problem is that support ribs, used to hold the filtration media away from the wall of the filter housing, create many small flow channels. Small bubbles can form in these channels during priming and, even though the filter is properly oriented, the bubbles may stay trapped in the narrow ends of the channels and not be flushed out the outlet port.
An additional problem is that many filters have tubing connections that orient the filter in such a manner that if the filter is suspended from an intravenous fluid source, with additional tubing suspended therefrom, the filter either does not hang so that the vent is properly positioned, or the weight of the filter, or tension on the tubing if the patient pulls on the tubing, causes the filter to tip to one side and kink the tubing.
The problems enumerated in the foregoing are not intended to be exhaustive but rather are among many which tend to impair the effectiveness of previously known filter devices. Other noteworthy problems may also exist; however, those presented above should be sufficient to demonstrate that filter devices appearing in the art are not altogether satisfactory.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,827,429 discloses an IV filter that overcomes many of the foregoing disadvantages. The commercial embodiment of the inventive filter of the '429 patent has one hydrophobic media with two air vent holes. Both of these holes exit on the front side of the filter under the inlet to the filter where hopefully they would not be blocked if someone taped the filter onto a surface. However, even this design has some room for improvement.

Bacterial retentive, air venting, intravenous filter


The present invention involves a tool changer for removal and installation of tools in a machining center having a machine tool with a spindle for holding a tool disposed within the machining center frame. The tool changer comprises a tool rack having a plurality of locations for holding tools, and an arm structured and arranged to be movable between the plurality of locations and a position which is capable of accessing a spindle of the machining center. Each tool holding location farther comprises a fork, which has a plurality of prongs. The movable arm has two grippers and one of the two grippers is disposed at an angle of about 90xc2x0 relative to the other of the two grippers. The movable arm also is associated with rotational, vertical, and horizontal movement mechanisms. The rotational mechanism includes a motor, a pulley associated with the motor, a belt attached to the motor and the pulley, and a gear wheel attached to the belt with a limit switch for sensing one of the locations on the gear wheel. The vertical mechanism includes a vertical shaft and a cylinder capable of moving the movable arm vertically. The horizontal mechanism includes a linear track and a cylinder capable of moving the movable arm laterally. The frame further includes an access door located proximate the tool holding locations and sized to allow for manual access to one of the tool holding locations. The access door also has at least one location for holding a tool. The tool changer further comprises a cylinder actuated door which allows for the arm to access the spindle.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to machine tool systems, such as machining centers, mills, and lathes. More particularly, the field of the invention involves mechanisms for replacing the tool head in the spindle of a machine tool system.
2. Background Art
A typical computer numerically controlled (CNC) machine tool system includes a machining center having a tool changing mechanism. The mechanism removes a particular tool from the machining spindle and replaces it with a different tool. With machining centers of this type, a plurality of machining operations is conducted, which can require a like number of different tools be positioned on the spindle head. Thus, prior machining systems have included a plurality of tools available for on-demand usage.
In the development of modern machining centers, considerable focus has been placed on the tool changing mechanism, i.e., the device that extracts a particular tool from the rack and places it within the operating spinal at the machining location. For instance, the automatic tool changer of Hague et al., is depicted in U.S. Pat. No. 3,844,028, is exemplary of the automatic tool changing mechanisms.
The tools may be provided in. a variety of forms. Typically, the tools are mounted on a movable component that is integrated into the numeral control system of the machining center. The tools can be controlled to move a desired tool to a predetermined location to be extracted by the automatic tool changing mechanism. One type of tool storage and retrieval mechanism is shown in FIG. 1. In particular, magazine 10 includes a plurality of tool pockets 12 that are configured to firmly grasp a tool holder. Magazine 10 depicted in FIG. 1 is a turret type mechanism in which tool pockets 12 are interconnected by drive chain 14 or similar pocket positioning mechanism. Drive chain 14 is wound around hub 15 and is driven by a motor (not shown) under direction of the numeric control system or a manual system. In operation, drive chain 14 can be incrementally driven to position specific tool pocket 12 at the tool changing location. Magazine 10 also includes housing 17 that surrounds and supports tool pockets 12, drive chain 14 and hub 15. FIG. 2 presents magazine 10 as it is connected and arranged with milling center 11.
The present invention is a tool changer with a movable arm that removes and inserts of a tool from a stationary tool rack into the spindle of a machining center.
According to the present invention, the tool changer comprises a tool rack having a plurality of locations for holding tools, and an arm structured and arranged to be movable between the plurality of locations including a position which is capable of accessing a spindle of the machining center. Each of the locations further comprises a fork that has a plurality of prongs. The movable arm has two grippers, wherein one of the two grippers is disposed at an angle of about 90xc2x0 relative to the other of the two grippers.
The tool changer has rotational, vertical, and horizontal mechanisms for moving the movable arm from an arm-waiting position to a tool-gripping position. The rotational mechanism comprises a motor, a pulley associated with the motor, a belt which is attached to the motor and the pulley, and a gear wheel which is attached to the pulley. The gear of the rotational mechanism has a plurality of locations, and a sensor associated with the tool changer for sensing one of the locations on the gear, with each of the locations on the gear corresponding to one of the tools on the tool rack. The sensor associated with the tool changer is located at bottom of the tool changer.
The vertical mechanism for moving the movable arm vertically comprises a vertical shaft associated with the movable arm, and a cylinder connected to the movable arm. The cylinder is capable of moving the movable arm vertically upon the shaft. The horizontal mechanism for moving the movable arm laterally comprises a linear track associated with the movable arm, and a cylinder connected to the movable arm.
An advantage of the present invention is that the tool changer is more reliable than prior tool changers because of fewer parts in its assembly.
An advantage of the present invention is that the tool changer is lightweight and compact for handling and easily adapt to machining center with limited space.
Another advantage of the present invention is the faster time to change a tool in the spindle.
Another advantage of the present invention is that more tool racks may be easily added to the tool changer, therefore providing more tool storage and a larger variet changing capability.
Other advantages and benefits of the invention can be readily discerned from the following written description and accompanying figures.

Movable arm activated tool changer for machine tool system


A method for fabricating a cathode ray tube is described. The method comprises the steps of selectively forming a resist layer corresponding to a pattern of a fluorescent material on an inner surface of the panel of a cathode ray tube, and applying a slurry of a light-absorbing material on the entire inner surface of the panel including the resist layer to form a light-absorbing layer. An inorganic pigment slurry is applied over the entire inner surface of the panel to form an inorganic pigment layer on the light-absorbing layer and then subjected to reverse development to selectively remove the resist layer along with the light-absorbing layer and the white pigment layer, thereby forming a matrix pattern. Finally, a fluorescent material is applied to individual removed portions of the matrix pattern to form a fluorescent pattern. Monochromatic or color cathode ray tubes are obtained with an improved luminance and a colorimetric purity by a simple procedure.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method for fabricating a cathode ray tube having a high degree of fineness and, more particularly, to an improved method for obtaining a luminance and a colorimetric purity for a cathode ray tube panel.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In order to form images with a high fineness in cathode ray tubes, it is necessary to form a fluorescent layer having a very fine pattern of a distinctly striped or dotted form on a panel surface without any separation. For accurate landing of an electron beam on such a fine pattern, a beam spot has to be converged as small as possible. To supplement the shortage of the luminance, techniques of improving the luminance of the panel surface are essential.
In recent years, however, as the fineness of the panel surface is remarkably improved, it is becoming more difficult to deposit and keep fluorescent particles in an optimum amount in a desired position. This is because when the fluorescent layer containing fluorescent particles is formed in a fine pattern, its adhesion to the panel surface is lowered so that the fluorescent layer is liable to come off at the time of development. Such coming off or removal will cause the color balance to be lost and the luminance to be lowered. It may be considered that if the fluorescent layer is made thin, the layer is prevented from coming off, but it has a lower luminance. Accordingly, there is a strong demand for techniques of effectively preventing the fluorescent layer from coming off when the layer is formed with a relatively large thickness. However, no effective measure has yet been proposed.
On the other hand, several techniques have been proposed for improving the luminance of the panel surface irrespective of the prevention of the fluorescent layer from coming off or being removed.
One such typical example is a metal backing. This is a technique of forming an aluminum thin film having a high light reflectance and a high electron transmittance on the fluorescent layer, for example, according to a vacuum deposition method. Among fluorescence rays which the fluorescent material emits by energization with an electron beam, the component directed toward the back face is reflected in the forward direction to improve the brightness of the picture. Besides, the metal backing has functions of preventing an ion spot and stabilizing the potential of the fluorescent face.
In the metal backing step, prior to the vapor deposition of the aluminum film, a thermally decomposable intermediate film, such as of nitro cellulose, polymethacrylate, acrylic emulsions or the like, is smoothly formed. This intermediate film is removed by decomposition during a subsequent thermal treatment, leaving an aluminum film alone on the inner surface of the panel. In order to improve the luminance of the cathode ray tube, it is essential; to form the aluminum thin film in a state of a mirror surface. To this end, the intermediate layer is formed with a relatively large thickness to absorb the surface irregularities on the fluorescent layer. Alternatively, for the formation of the intermediate film, the inner surface of the panel has water applied thereto, after which a lacquer is developed thereon.
Another approach for improving the luminance of the panel surface is a technique wherein a light reflection layer having a high light reflectance is formed on the light-absorbing matrix, such as by a vacuum deposition, an application of slurry or the like. The present invention defines a light-absorbing matrix as a pattern of a striped or dotted form on a panel surface.
For instance, Japanese Patent Publication No. 63-29374 discloses a technique of depositing a nickel thin film by an electroless plating of nickel-phosphorus selectively on a carbon matrix. In a cathode ray tube Of the type where a fluorescent layer is formed to extend onto the carbon matrix according to a so-called inside exposure method, the nickel thin film can prevent light emitted from the fluorescent particles from being absorbed in the carbon matrix, thereby improving the luminance and the contrast ratio on the panel surface.
Further, similar results are obtained by a technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 63-40011, wherein a suspension containing both a light-absorbing material, such as graphite, and a light diffusion and reflection material, such as titanium oxide, is applied on the inner surface of the panel and developed to form a light diffusion and reflection layer on the carbon matrix.
3. Problems to be Solved by the Invention
However, in the prior art techniques, many problems are left to be solved.
First, although the prior techniques show effects to an extent with respect to the improvement in the luminance, the coming-off problem of the fluorescent layer is not solved by any existing technique. More particularly, the light reflection layer formed by plating, vacuum depositing or applying slurries has so smooth a surface that high adhesion to the fluorescent layer cannot be expected. In addition, the technique of forming the light reflection layer by electroless nickel-phosphorus plating is complicated in the formation step.
Second, the improvement of the luminance by the prior art techniques is limited and, especially, the problem of the lowering of the colorimetric purity in the color cathode ray tube has not been solved. This is a problem having a relation to the formation of the fluorescent layer.
The formation of the fluorescent layer can be broadly classified into an inside exposure method wherein light is exposed from the side of the inner surface of the panel and an outside exposure method wherein light is exposed from the outer side of the panel as proposed by the same applicants in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 60-119055.
In general, in the inside exposure method, the light exposure for forming the fluorescent layer is performed from the inside of the inner surface of a panel glass, so that, as shown in FIG. 5, part of a fluorescent layer 25 is partially extended over a carbon matrix 22. Accordingly, there is, for example, a luminous ray component which is emitted from the fluorescent particles and is directly absorbed in the carbon matrix 22, as shown by arrow l.sub.11 in FIG. 5, or another luminous ray component, as shown by arrow l.sub.12, which is reflected from a metal backing film 26 and is then absorbed in the carbon matrix 22. Thus, there exists a problem that the luminance is not improved even though the amount of the fluorescent particles is large.
According to the technique of the Japanese Patent Publication No. 63-29374, the lowering of the luminance can be suppressed to an extent when a thin nickel film is deposited on the carbon matrix. However, since the fluorescent layers are formed by the inside exposure method and the distance between adjacent fluorescent layers becomes small, a luminous ray emitted from a given fluorescent particle passes straightly, as shown by an arrow l.sub.13, in FIG. 5 or is reflected by the metal backing film 26, as shown by arrow l.sub.14, with the possibility of entering an adjacent fluorescent layer 25'. With color cathode ray tubes, adjacent fluorescent layers 25, 25' contain fluorescent particles of different colors from each other and, thus, the passing of rays between the layers 25 and 25' will cause the colorimetric purity to be lowered. The thin nickel film does not have such a height as to establish a partition wall between the fluorescent layers 25, 25', so that luminous rays, as shown by the arrows l.sub.13 and l.sub.14 cannot be effectively shielded or stopped.
To cope with the problem of the color mixing, there has been proposed a deposition of a thin nickel film only on marginal portions of the carbon matrix 22. In this arrangement, a light-absorbing effect at the central portion of the carbon matrix 22 is expected with the luminance-improving effect being reduced.
The outside exposure method is a technique of enabling one to form self-aligned fluorescent layers through a carbon matrix mask by exposing light from the outside of the panel. According to the outside exposure method, the fluorescent layer 24 is not extended over the carbon matrix 22, as shown in FIG. 4, but is selectively formed on non-formed portion or window portions of the carbon matrix 22. Thus, the uniformity and colorimetric purity can be remarkably improved when this method is applied to color cathode ray tubes.
However, the loss of the luminance cannot be avoided even with the use of the outside exposure method for the following reason. In the outside exposure method, sharp steps are formed between the regions where the thick fluorescent layer 24 has been formed and the regions where the thin carbon matrix 22 has been formed. If, for example, an acrylic emulsion is used to form an intermediate layer (not shown), the emulsion is liable to flow toward a recess (i.e. the carbon matrix). The resultant intermediate film is formed with an incline, which is inevitably provided on a metal backing layer 26 formed thereon. Accordingly, among luminous rays emitted from fluorescent particles, there is a component which is reflected at the inclined face 26a of the metal backing film 26, as shown by arrow l.sub.10, and this reflected component is finally absorbed in the carbon matrix 22 to lead to a loss of the luminance.
The common problem involved in the inside exposure method and the outside exposure method is that a so-called aluminum lifting, i.e., the separation of the metal backing, takes place. This is because, as stated above, the intermediate film is liable to be formed as a thick portion on the carbon matrix and an amount of the gases generated from the thick portion during the thermal decomposition step becomes so large that an additional pressure of the gases is exerted on the metal backing film. The separation results in a lowering of the luminance. In order to avoid the partial difference in the thickness of the intermediate film, the intermediate film may be formed entirely as a thick film. This will contribute to an increase in the degree of the mirror surface of the metal backing film, but will also increase an amount of the gases from the decomposition and unfavorably facilitate the aluminum lifting.
Thus, it is very difficult in the prior techniques to simultaneously achieve the prevention of both the fluorescent layer from coming off and the aluminum lifting and the improvements in the luminance and the colorimetric purity.

Method for fabricating a cathode ray tube


A pixel structure and a driving method thereof are disclosed. The driving method includes following steps. During a first displaying frame period, a threshold voltage of a transistor for driving a light-emitting diode is stored in a first capacitor, and a first data voltage is stored in a second capacitor. The threshold voltage stored in the first capacitor is utilized for compensation during the first displaying frame period. During a second displaying frame period, a second data voltage is stored in the second capacitor, and the threshold voltage stored in the first capacitor during the first frame displaying period is still utilized for compensation during the second displaying frame period.

1. Field of Invention
The embodiments of present invention relate to a pixel structure. More particularly, the embodiment relate to a pixel structure and the driving method thereof in a light emitting diode display panel.
2. Description of Related Art
With the development of the display technology in recent years, the flat-panel display is widely utilized in daily life. Because active matrix OLED (AMOLED) possesses the characteristics of high quality, high contrast, rapid response, it becomes popular for consumers.
For a conventional AMOLED, each of the pixels includes two transistors (writing transistor and driving transistor), a pixel capacitor and an organic light emitting diode. When the writing transistor of the pixel structure is conducted by the scanning signal, the data signal is read and temporally stored in the pixel capacitor. At this moment, the driving current of the light emitting diode from the driving transistor may be calculated by the formula as below:
  I  =            1      2                          β                          (                      Vgs            -            Vth                    )                    2
In the formula above, I represents the driving current; β represents a constant number; Vgs represents the differential potential of the source/drain electrode in the driving transistor; and Vth represents the threshold voltage of the driving transistor.
Owing to the manufacturing variation of different pixels, the transistors thereof may have different threshold voltages. Accordingly, the driving currents of different pixels may be varied so that the brightness of the organic light emitting diode is not uniform.
Besides, after an operation period of the organic light emitting diode, the electrical characteristics of the OLED may be changed easily. With different emitting status for every pixels on the panel (for example, high brightness, low brightness, long emitting period, alternative emitting and so on), the decay level of OLED's characteristics is not uniform so that it may result in non-uniform brightness.
Furthermore, with the size of the panel enlarging, it needs longer signal wires to transmit power signal (for example, system voltage OVDD) to the pixels. The longer the signal wire is, the higher the wire resistance is. Accordingly, the current transmitted to the pixels is decreased so that it may result in non-uniform brightness.

Pixel structure and driving method thereof


An LED having a predetermined direction of radiation is combined with a first and second reflector. The first reflector opposes the LED and has a predetermined direction of reflection. The direction of reflection of the first reflector opposes the direction of radiation of the LED. The second reflector has a predetermined azimuthal direction of reflection. The second reflector positioned relative to the first reflector to receive light from the first reflector and redirect the light into the azimuthal direction of reflection. The LED, first and second reflectors collectively comprise an illumination unit. A plurality of illumination units are axially stacked. In one embodiment of the stack, at least one illumination unit comprises an LED and second reflector of one illumination unit and a first reflector of an adjacent illumination unit in the stack of illumination units.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to the field of light emitting diodes (LED) used in a side-emitting device.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The invention collects substantially all the light or energy radiating from an LED source and redirects it into a 360 degree circular beam of light. The propagating beam is similar in its conical planar radiation pattern to that of the beam of a conventional lighthouse Fresnel lamp system. There are, however, several substantial differences between the invention and such prior art systems. In the prior art only a portion of the energy from the lamp is collected. With a traditional navigational lamp system, a lamp is placed at the axis of a surface of rotation Fresnel lens. The lamp's axis is substantially collinear with the Fresnel lens. Light is collected from about plus and minus 45 degrees of the lamp's output into the beam. The light radiating from the lamp above and below 45 degrees does not become part of the beam, thus becoming a factor of the systems inefficiency.
In prior art side-emitting LED systems, the light radiating from the LED is modified with multiple surfaces creating a beam comprised of several distinct beam portions. The invention, however, provides a uniform beam with all rays traceable to a single point source. This allows the luminare designer to modify the radiated beam with simple optical elements that further control the entire beam.

Apparatus and method for using emitting diodes (LED) in a side-emitting device


A system for the automatic measurement of radius of curvature of convex or concave optical surfaces such as those of lenses, molds, inserts, ball bearings or micro-optics. The system includes an 80286 based AT computer for control, operator interface and analysis along with an optical head for providing a signal from which radii can be calculated.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to methods and apparatus for testing optical systems and particularly to devices and techniques for the automated measurement of radii of curvature of a variety of optical surfaces including those of optical elements themselves as well as those used to form them.
2. Background of the Prior Art
Throughout the process for fabricating optical systems from simple to more complex, it is frequently necessary to determine if, and how well, a variety of optical surfaces conform to their designers stated expectations. Not only does the performance of optical systems in final form need to be verified but various parameters of their components need to undergo intermediate testing for conformance prior to their final assembly in the system. Indeed, even the tools of fabrication, especially molds for the formation of plastic or glass lens elements, need to be tested for compliance with design specifications.
One of the most frequently encountered measurements that needs to be made is that of the radius of curvature of a spherical surface in either convex or concave form. Classically, this measurement is made through the use of a hand-held instrument called a spherometer which measures the sagittal height (sag) of the surface over a known diameter and then displays the radius of curvature on a dial or other visual display after an internal calculation which relates radius to sag height and the known diameter. However, the accuracy of such devices are prone to relatively large errors because sag heights are usually small dimensions that are difficult to accurately measure mechanically.
A more accurate technique for radii measurement involves the use of an auto-collimating microscope in an arrangement referred to as a radiusscope. Here, one first focuses on the surface to be measured and then on the center of curvature of the surface where a reticle image has been formed back on itself by reflection from the test surface. The positions of the microscope are recorded, and the difference between them represents the radius of curvature to limits of accuracy which depend on the preciseness of the length measurements and the ability of the operator to accurately focus on the reference points.
Where the spherometer suffers from problems of precision, the use of the radiusscope, which can be accurate to microns if care is taken, is time consuming and dependent on operator skill and experience.
Consequently, there is a need for an instrument for the rapid and accurate measurement of radii of curvature, and it is a primary object of the present invention to provide such a device.
Another object of the present invention is to provide methods and associated devices for automatically measuring radii of curvature and other parameters of optical surfaces with minimal dependence on operator skill.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an automated instrument for providing statistical analysis of quality in high volume production settings.
Still another object of the present invention is to satisfy all of the foregoing objects with a user friendly device that is simple in its implementation and low in cost.
Other objects of the invention will in part be obvious and will in part appear hereinafter. A full understanding of the invention will best be had from reading the detailed description to follow in connection with the detailed drawings.


A thermal barrier coating having a reduced high temperature thermal conductivity includes group II germanate constructs. This thermal barrier coating may be applied directly to a substrate, applied to a bond-coated substrate, and/or incorporated into a protective coating including one or more other thermal barrier coating layers. The thermal barrier coating provides improved thermal protection properties over current industry standards and materials considered for thermal protection applications.

Thermal barrier coatings are highly-advanced materials applied to the surface of substrates, often metals, to protect the substrate from great and prolonged heat loads. Thermal barrier coatings have been shown to decrease the temperature at the surface of the metal substrate, thereby improving the thermal durability of the metal component and enhancing its performance.
The use of thermal barrier coatings has become increasingly popular in the area of advanced turbine engine applications. Gas turbine engines are more frequently required to operate at higher temperatures due to advancements in propulsion technologies, as well as the demand to increase engine efficiency and reduce fuel consumption. Increased operating temperatures necessitate an increase in the operating temperature of the metallic turbine engine components such as the turbine blades, vanes, diffusers, etc. Despite the success of current thermal barrier coatings, there is a continuing desire to develop thermal barrier coatings that exhibit superior thermal protection and durability.

Germanate-containing thermal barrier coating


A method and device for automatically increasing the spectral bandwidth of an audio signal including generating a “mapping” (or “prediction”) matrix based on the analysis of a reference wideband signal and a reference narrowband signal, the mapping matrix being a transformation matrix to predict high frequency energy from a low frequency energy envelope, generating an energy envelope analysis of an input narrowband audio signal, generating a resynthesized noise signal by processing a random noise signal with the mapping matrix and the envelope analysis, high-pass filtering the resynthesized noise signal, and summing the high-pass filtered resynthesized noise signal with the original an input narrowband audio signal. Other embodiments are disclosed.

Sound isolating (SI) earphones and headsets are becoming increasingly popular for music listening and voice communication. SI earphones enable the user to hear an incoming audio content signal (be it speech or music audio) clearly in loud ambient noise environments, by attenuating the level of ambient sound in the user ear-canal.
SI earphones benefit from using an ear canal microphone (ECM) configured to detect user voice in the occluded ear canal for voice communication in high noise environments. In such a configuration, the ECM detects sound in the users ear canal between the ear drum and the sound isolating component of the SI earphone, where the sound isolating component is, for example, a foam plug or inflatable balloon. The ambient sound impinging on the ECM is attenuated by the sound isolating component (e.g., by approximately 30 dB averaged across frequencies 50 Hz to 10 kHz). The sound pressure in the ear canal in response to user-generated voice can be approximately 70-80 dB. As such, the effective signal to noise ratio measured at the ECM is increased when using an ear canal microphone and sound isolating component. This is clearly beneficial for two-way voice communication in high noise environments: where the SI earphone wearer with ECM can hear the incoming voice signal reproduced with an ear canal receiver (i.e., loudspeaker), with the incoming voice signal from a remote calling party. Secondly, the remote party can clearly hear the voice of the SI earphone wearer with the ECM even if the near-end caller is in a noisy environment, due to the increase in signal-to-noise ratio as previously described.
The output signal of the ECM with such an SI earphone in response to user voice activity is such that high-frequency fricatives produced by the earphone wearer, e.g., the phoneme /s/, are substantially attenuated due to the SI component of the earphone absorbing the air-borne energy of the fricative sound generated at the user's lips. As such, very little user voice sound energy is detected at the ECM above about 4.5 kHz and when the ECM signal is auditioned it can sound "muffled".
A number of related art discusses spectral expansion. Application US20070150269 describes spectral expansion of a narrowband speech signal. The application uses a "parameter detector" which for example can differentiate between a vowel and consonant in the narrowband input signal, and generates higher frequencies dependant on this analysis.
Application US20040138876 describes a system similar to US20070150269 in that a narrowband signal (300 Hz to 3.4 kHz) is analysis to determine in sibilants or non-sibilants, and high frequency sound is generated in the case of the former occurrence to generate a new signal with energy up to 7.7 kHz.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,200,499 describes a system to extend the high-frequency spectrum of a narrow-band signal. The system extends the harmonics of vowels by introducing a non-linearity. Consonants are spectrally expanded using a random noise generator.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,895,375 describes a system for extending the bandwidth of a narrowband signal such as a speech signal. The method comprises computing the narrowband linear predictive coefficients (LPCs) from a received narrowband speech signal and then processing these LPC coefficients into wideband LPCs, and then generating the wideband signal from these wideband LPCs

Method and device for spectral expansion for an audio signal


A copolyester resin having excellent physical properties and a low acetaldehyde content is produced by: polycondensing a mixture of terephthalic acid and isophthalic acid with a glycol in the presence of a phosphate compound to prepare a copolyester prepolymer having an intrinsic viscosity of more than 0.5 dl/g; subjecting the copolyester prepolymer to a first heat-treatment to obtain a pre-crystallized resin; and subjecting the pre-crystallized resin to a second heat-treatment, to obtain a copolyester resin having an intrinsic viscosity of 0.62 to 0.80 dl/g and a melting point of 190.degree. to 240.degree. C.

In general, polyesters such as polyethylene terephthalates (PET) possess good mechanical, thermal, chemical and physical properties. Therefore, they have been widely used in preparing fibers, films, food and beverage containers, industrial mold products and others. Polyester films have recently been employed in laminating the interior of metallic food containers and the laminating process is carried out using adhesives, avoiding the conventional processes which use environmentally harmful organic solvents.
However, such laminating process is expensive mainly because the use of an adhesive is required. Also the adhesive may sometimes induce sanitation problems. Further, a laminated polyester film has poor post-processing properties, i.e., the polyester film is brittle and tears easily.
In order to impart better thermal adhesion and post-processing properties to a laminating polyester film, the use of various copolyester resins have been attempted.
However, copolyester resins prepared by conventional methods generally contain acetaldehyde at a level of more than 2.5 ppm, and the acetaldehyde content increases to an unacceptably high level of about 5 ppm when the copolyester resins are extruded and stretched to form biaxially oriented copolyester films.
Acetaldehyde, a material which is harmful to human, must not be present in a laminated copolyester film of a metallic food container at a level exceeding 3.5 ppm.

Process for the preparation of copolyester resin having low acetaldehyde content


An edge-removing tool for sheet metal includes a head with a rotating cutting tool. The head has at least one guide for an edge. The head preferably includes a sleeve with the guide. The tool can be used to separate edges of an angled and/or welded sheet metal connection.

During repair work on vehicles, it is often necessary to remove the edge of a folded sheet metal or of a joined sheet metal packet in order to be able to remove a damaged sheet metal part such as a side wall of a body. Such folded or joined edges are in particular found in the fender area and on door, trunk, and bonnet edges.
With a saw, it is usually hardly possible to cut off a narrow edge in the millimeter range. Therefore, abrasive techniques are primarily employed in practice, in particular using an angle grinder. However, it is rather difficult to guide an angle grinder exactly along the edge of a sheet metal.
The separation of sheet metal edges is therefore cumbersome and implies the risk of unintentionally damaging body substance that is to be preserved.

WS Wieländer + Schill Professionelle Karosserie-Spezialwerkzeuge GmbH & Co. KG


A bi-directional adjustable energy dissipating near zero leakage head loss valve comprising a valve body including and actuation shaft housing and a guide shaft mount disposed in opposition along the transverse valve actuation axis; a fixed plate having downstream orifices parallel to the flow axis; a mobile plate having upstream orifices parallel to the flow axis adapted to move along the transverse valve actuation axis: from a fully open position, wherein the upstream and downstream orifices are aligned to allow flow communication to a fully closed position, wherein the orifices are blocked by the mobile plate; a self adjusting taper ring located about the upstream inner perimeter of the valve body, the self adjusting taper ring having an inner surface engagingly biased against and parallel to the upstream side of the mobile plate, and having an outer surface engagingly biased against an upstream pipe gasket flange.

The invention relates to valves for installation on liquid inflow pipelines known as adjustable energy dissipating or head loss valves with near zero leakage. The valves to which my invention relates include a fixed plate, an adjustable or mobile plate and a self adjusting taper ring, secured within the valve body between upstream and downstream flanges in the inflow pipeline of various fixed diameters. Further, the valves are suitable for horizontal and vertical mounting orientation in horizontal or vertical pipelines. An example of prior art head loss valve is shown by my related Canadian Patent No. 2,435,724. In this prior art, a simple annular valve body permits the clamping of the valve between opposed pipe flanges with axially extending bolts. The fixed plate is downstream of flow in the liquid inflow pipeline, and is perforated with a pattern of axial holes. The adjustable or mobile plate is upstream of flow in the liquid inflow pipeline, and is likewise perforated and retained within the annular valve body for transverse sliding motion, normal to flow, between a fully opened position where perforations in the fixed and mobile plates are aligned, and a fully closed position where the perforations within the fixed plate are blocked by solid portions of the mobile plate. A further example of prior art head loss valve is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,150,693 to Genevey et al. In this prior art valve, the mobile perforated plate is moved between the open and closed position with a manual hand wheel whose rotation meshes with a threaded rod that engages the mobile perforated plate to open and close the valve. The mobile perforated plate is guided in its movement by a housing opposite to the threaded rod, which slides in a slot.
A further example of prior art head loss valve is shown in U.S. Patent Application Publication 2006/0197047 to Batcher et al. This prior art describes a tensioning device capable of reducing fluid leakage between unaligned proximate valve plates. A disadvantage of the prior art valve illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 4,150,693 is that reverse flow or transient flow conditions acting on the mobile plate can dislodge it from its operating position causing damage, misalignment or disabling of the valve. In addition, the mobile plate shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,150,693 may vibrate creating noise and potential wear or damage over the long term during bi-directional flow conditions, and such valves without a lower guide or shaft, are not suitable for horizontal mounting in a pipeline. Additionally, the cited prior art does not provide for near zero leakage of the type achieved by those with a Class VI rating established by ANSI/FCI 70-2. Further U.S. Patent Application Publication 2006/0197047 does not provide for a self adjusting tensioning device. The tensioning device must be manually regulated with a tension member.
It is an object of the invention to provide improved sealing of the fixed and mobile plates in a self regulating manner during operation to prevent or substantially prevent leakage during normal flow, reversal of flow and bi-directional transient flow conditions.

Bi-directional adjustable energy dissipating near zero leakage head loss valve


An automatic postal teller machine capable of automatically performing the postal operation in an unmanned condition, the operation procedure thereof including auto-conveying, auto-weighing, auto-postage calculation, auto-fast postal stamp adjusting, auto-money identification, auto-money receiving, auto-money coin changing, auto-stamping, auto-mail classification, auto-ZIP code printing and auto-data recording, wherein by means of commands of a microcomputer, whole mail-processing operation of each mail can be completed in about several seconds.

The present invention relates to an automatic mail-processing machine, and more particularly to an intelligent automatic postal teller machine capable of automatically performing postal operations in an unmanned condition, such as mail conveying, weighing, postage calculation, postage stamp adjusting, money identification, money receiving, coin changing, stamping, mail classification, ZIP code printing, data recording and mail returning due to insufficiency of postage or change of mail plan.
When mailing an item of mail, the mailer must go through weighing, postage calculation, buying the stamp, attaching the stamp ot the item, and then dropping the item into the posting box, etc. The dispatched mail item must thereafter be checked for over-weight, postage due, and then stamped, sorted, etc, resulting in a large amount of work. However, the aforesaid procedures have been in use for a long time, and although the post administrations of various countries have tried to improve the defective operation, no innovations have been made.


A blade vibration monitor backpressure limiting system (BVMBLS), that in addition to direct blade vibration and condenser backpressure monitoring utilizes other plural types of other parallel, real time monitored power plant operation state (OS) information that influences blade vibration. The system references previously stored information in an information storage device that associates respective types of monitored OS information with blade vibration. The BVMBLS determines in real time a likelihood of whether any of the monitored operation states, alone or in combination with other types of monitored operation states, is indicative of a turbine blade vibration safe operation (SO). The BVMBLS determination is utilized to increase or reduce power generation load incrementally so that power efficiency and maximum load is enhanced while turbine blade vibration is maintained in a safe operation state. The previously stored information is updated to new association information.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to steam power plant turbine blade vibration monitoring and control systems and methods. More particularly, the present invention is a blade vibration monitor backpressure limiting system (BVMBLS) that in addition to direct blade vibration and condenser backpressure monitoring utilizes other plural types of other parallel, real time monitored power plant operation state (OS) information that influence blade vibration. The BVMBLS references a base of stored knowledge that associates OS information with turbine blade vibration, and determines in real time a likelihood of whether any of the monitored OS, alone or in combination with other types of monitored OS, is indicative of a turbine blade vibration safe operation (SO) state. The BVMBLS determination is utilized to increase or reduce incrementally the monitored turbine's power generation load, so that power output and efficiency is enhanced while turbine blade vibration is in a safe operation (SO) state.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The last row of rotating blading in low pressure steam turbines contains the longest rotating blades in the turbine train. For this reason they are the most susceptible to aero elastic induced vibration. These last row blades are also subject to a vacuum back pressure on the downstream side, due to the condenser altering pressure characteristics as steam changes phase back to liquid. Generally, condenser backpressure increases with the condenser liquid phase temperature, and that temperature increases with power plant operational output load. For these reasons the backpressure critically influences the vibration characteristics of last row LP blading. If the backpressure is allowed to get too high the rotating blading can enter into a high vibration condition due to a variety of aero elastic events such as buffeting, stall flutter, and unstall flutter. The exact point of excessive blade vibration initiation cannot be predicted with certainty and can change rapidly, but its general probability can be forecasted within a band confidence within known backpressure/load operation states. The confidence of a safe operation state is determined by a combination of engineering calculations, monitored OS data, and historical data for the monitored turbine and other turbines.
Excessive blade vibration and its resulting high cycle fatigue of the LP blading can result in cracked blades. Routine inspections are typical and expensive repairs are required if cracked blading is discovered. If a crack propagates until the blade is liberated during operation, sometimes referred to as "throwing a blade", there is a significant chance that the thrown blade will cause damage to the LP turbine, possibly resulting in a rotor vibration induced failure of the whole turbine train, and damage to other plant equipment. Traditionally excessive operational turbine blade vibration has been avoided by conservative establishment of condenser backpressure thresholds. As backpressure approached a threshold limit power plant load was reduced, which also reduced power production capability and operating efficiency. If the backpressure exceeded the threshold the power plant control system would shut or reduce steam volume and/or pressure to the turbine, resulting in a "turbine trip" that essentially takes the turbine off line for further power generation until the backpressure event was remedied.
Traditional threshold limits on backpressure are calculated based on manufacturer and power plant operator operational experience and the design of the turbine, and are intended to minimize the chance of LP blade vibration and the resulting damage. These calculations are very conservative because the exact point of initiation of vibration is impossible to determine and the negative consequences of running a turbine excessive high vibration are great. At any given moment during power plant operation the operation safety (OS) margin based on any particular set of power plant operating conditions is not presently known. In addition to condenser gross backpressure operational monitoring steam turbines have been outfitted with a Blade Vibration Monitors (BVMs) for real time measurement of vibration. When the BVM determines that turbine blade vibration exceeded a defined threshold it caused the plant control system to trip the steam turbine. Typically BVM systems have been utilized in reaction to a prior blade cracking incident or for operational qualification of new turbine designs. The BVMs have also been used to verify that there is not excessive blade vibration during operation within recommended condenser backpressure limits.
Known blade vibration operational controls relying on rigid backpressure threshold rules, with or without supplementary BVM, are essentially "binary" in operation or alarming: for example, the turbine operational control system only alarms when the backpressure or BVM measured blade vibration exceeds first or default threshold settings, but trips the steam turbine when a second set of higher threshold settings is exceeded. The BVM and backpressure monitoring systems are essentially passive until the predefined thresholds are exceeded, and do nothing to optimize turbine power generation load. A rigid, threshold rule base detection system relying on a single digital adequate/excessive condenser backpressure or blade vibration input does not optimize power plant load and efficiency. Rather, backpressure detection alone, or with an actual BVM system only avoids operation state vibration triggering events that are sufficiently grave to warrant load reduction alarming or automatic steam turbine tripping.
Thus, a need exists in the art for a steam power plant turbine blade vibration monitoring and backpressure limiting system that can in real time monitor plural types of power plant operating state (OS) inputs, in addition to blade vibration and condenser backpressure, to evaluate whether the inputs separately or in combination are indicative of a safe operation (SO) condition by referencing stored information resources. If a SO state is determined, to then incrementally increase the plant power generation load to increase plant operation efficiency. This increase is subject to other limiting conditions to load, steam quality or other parameters in the power plant. Conversely, if a safe SO condition is not indicated, incrementally decrease the load to avoid an increased potential for turbine blade damage. In this manner power generation would be optimized through dynamic monitoring and control rather than relying on rigid binary blade vibration decision making that causes the power plant to operate at less than maximum or optimal potential power generation load and efficiency. Dynamic control also would reduce risk of power disruption attributable to turbine tripping.

Steam turbine blade vibration monitor backpressure limiting system and method


A method of quantitative measurement of fat in a liquid sample by an infrared attenuated technique is disclosed. The fat is present in the form of an emulsion of particles causing Christiansen's effect, i.e. the combined effect of light-scattering and anomalous dispersion. The method comprises transmitting infrared radiation through the sample, determining the infrared absorption of the sample in at least one measurement waveband exhibiting the Christiansen's effect, and with reference to a reference waveband. The wavebands are selected such that the fat determination is essentially independent of the Christiansen's effect. The wavebands are preferably selected such that the fat absorbance, i.e. the difference between the absorbances of the measurement and the reference wavebands, is equal for samples having the same concentration of fat, irrespective of the mean fat particle size in the samples

It is well known that different constituents can be measured in solutions, particularly in milk, by infrared transmission spectroscopy apparatus. In liquids, where particle sizes are of the same magnitude or larger then about ⅓ of the electromagnetic wavelength, light scattering attenuates the transmission. The milkfat in milk is comprised of fat globules with an average diameter of app. 3–4 μm and with largest globules of about 10 μm. The triglycerides have four major absorbance wavebands in the mid infrared regions between 2.5–10 μm, namely at about 3.5, 5.7, 6.8 and 8.6 μm, which are caused by C—H stretching vibrations, C═O stretching vibrations, C—H bending vibrations and C—H rocking/C—C stretching vibrations, respectively. The two first wavebands are exclusively used for the determination of fat in milk, due to their intense absorbance as well as high accuracy (as compared to standard chemical determination e.g. Rose-Gottlieb) in determining the fat content in milk. However, these two wavebands have shown to be afflicted by anomalous dispersion phenomena, giving a large variation in the refractive index across the wavebands. The combination of light-scattering and anomalous dispersion give an increasing distortion in the shape of the fat absorbance peaks as the fat globules size increases. This effect, the so called Christiansen effect, has lead to that all the presently preferred apparatuses are provided with built-in homogenizers. Also known apparatus for infrared determinations are using double wavelength single cuvette system as mentioned in U.S. Pat. No. 4,247,773. In practice, even apparatus having the ability to use full-spectrum, are using traditional wavebands with at least one reference waveband for determination of the major component in milk (fat, protein, lactose), and the milk to be analyzed is homogenized with a built-in homogenizer prior to the determination. As long as the homogenizer is working properly the accuracy of the fat determinations is very good. The absorbance bands above 6 μm are mainly influenced by light scattering and the effect is decreasing as the wavelength increases. Many attempts have been proposed in order to enable determination without homogenization. In the patent application WO 92/17767 a method by using a waveband of approx. 1160–1190 cm−1 (8.64 μm) is proposed as a method for measuring the fat content in e.g. milk. However, at this waveband the fat has a weak absorbance and the accuracy (as compared to standard chemical determination) is not nearly as good as what is obtained with the wavebands below 6 μm, in the region of 3.5 and 5.7 μm, The effect of light-scattering can be minimized by using a reference near the fat peak in the region of 8.6–8.7 μm as the scattering is nearly of the same magnitude in both the sample waveband and the reference waveband region. The main reason for using the proposed waveband as in WO 92/17767, was to minimize the interference from other constituents of the emulsion. The proposed waveband has also been disclosed as a total solid or moisture waveband in another patent application (EP 0 404 207 A2, U.S. Pat. No. 4,825,076), which also indicate that the proposed waveband also have high correlation to dry-matter in the milk. In WO 93/06460 an infrared attenuation measuring system is disclosed, and among other things a fat determination method, which is substantially independent on the degree of homogenization.
The need for efficient built-in homogenizers for the infrared determinations causes problems of maintaining the efficiency of the homogenization. The homogenizers are built up with moving parts and are relatively large in size, and therefore it is difficult to develop small in-line infrared sensors. A recent patent application (WO 01/04612) discloses a method and apparatus for measuring the fat content in unhomogenized milk and the variation of light-scattering is compensated by means of at least two statistical parameters. The proposed method is using a single waveband for each constituent and the measurement is repeated for a number of aliquots of a sample. A method that can perform determinations without any homogenization (reduction in the fat globule size) and still having a high accuracy means considerable simplification and improvements in development of apparatus. The possibility of making small, simple and robust apparatus with high accuracy, implies that cow-side and in-line apparatus can be produced. This is also an urgent need for developing countries since existing apparatus is expensive and/or developed for large-scale laboratories.


Silicone hydrogel contact lenses are formed from the reaction product of a polymerizable composition comprising at least one acrylate-containing siloxane monomer, at least one hydrophilic vinyl-containing monomer, and at least one vinyl-containing cross-linking agent, wherein the polymerizable composition has a molar ratio of total amount of hydrophilic vinyl-containing monomer to total amount of acrylate-containing siloxane monomer of from 5:1 to 30:1, respectively. The silicone hydrogel contact lenses have good manufacturing processability, can be manufactured without the use of alcohol solvents, and have excellent surface wettability.

Contact lenses made from silicone hydrogels are rapidly gaining popularity over contact lenses made from conventional hydrogel materials because, like conventional hydrogel lenses, they are comfortable to wear, but they have the added advantage of having higher oxygen permeability, which is believed to be healthier for the eye. However, contact lenses made from silicone hydrogels often have physical properties that make them more difficult to process during manufacturing. Furthermore, contact lenses made from silicone hydrogels will generally have hydrophobic surfaces. Methods of rendering the lens surfaces wettable, and hence ophthalmically-acceptable, have included post polymerization surface modification techniques and/or the inclusion of high molecular weight hydrophilic polymers into the lens formulation. New formulations of silicone hydrogel contact lenses that are easier to manufacture and that have ophthalmically-acceptable surface wettabilities are desired.
Some patent documents describing silicone hydrogel contact lenses include U.S. Publ. No. 2007/0296914, U.S. Publ. No. 2007/0066706, U.S. Publ. No. 2007/0231292, U.S. Pat. No. 5,965,631, WO 2011/041523, U.S. Pat. No. 5,358,995, European Publ. No. 1870736A1, U.S. Publ. No. 2006/063852, U.S. Publ. No. 2011/0009587, and U.S. Publ. No. 2009/0234087.

Wettable silicone hydrogel contact lenses

CooperVision International Holding Company, LP


Embodiments of this disclosure relate to tissue digestion and, more particularly, to methods and apparatuses for varying the number, size, and/or location of one or more tissue compartments within a digestive fluid vessel. Some examples include partitions that may be selectively positioned within a vessel (and may be selectively removable from the vessel) to create one or more tissue compartments. The partitions may be positioned, repositioned and rearranged within the vessel to form one or more tissue compartments. The partitions may be solid or include apertures, and may be oriented in horizontally and/or vertically. Alternate embodiments include one or more selectively closeable apertures that permit digestive fluid to circulate along alternate pathways, which can permit tissue digestion with reduced digestive fluid levels. Still further embodiments include baskets that are selectively positionable within the tissue digester. The baskets may also include one or more selectively positionable and/or repositionable partitions.

Many institutions generate organic waste that requires proper disposal. For example, veterinary offices frequently require disposal of dead, and possibly diseased, animal carcasses. For many years burial and incineration (cremation) were the primary manners in which such tissue was disposed. In recent years tissue digesters have been increasingly used as an alternative to burial or incineration for the orderly disposition of tissue. Alkaline hydrolysis, which exposes the tissue to a strong alkaline (or base) solution, is a process used in many tissue digesters. Most, if not all, of the tissue is digested (dissolved) in the tissue digesters, and the dissolved tissue is then considered safe to discharge into the environment. The mineral ash of bones and teeth typically remain at the end of the process (approximately only five percent of the original weight and volume of a carcass or body), but is sterile and easily crushed into a powder that may be used as a soil additive or presented to the family in an urn in much the same way as ash from a crematory. Since most tissue disposal systems are large and expensive, veterinary offices and others in need of disposing of smaller animal bodies, such as typical household pets, would have to use outside disposal services for disposing of dead animals such as hiring an animal crematory.

Methods and apparatuses for digesting tissue


The invention is directed to preparing optical elements having a thin, smooth, dense coating or film thereon, and a method for making such coating or film. The coated element has a surface roughness of <1.0 nm rms. The coating materials include hafnium oxide or a mixture of hafnium oxide and another oxide material, for example silicon dioxide. The method includes the use of a reverse mask to deposit the coating or film on a rotating substrate.

The deposition of thin optical thin films is known in the art and several different methods or technologies have been used to deposit such films. Among the employed that have been applied, all of which are carried out in vacuum, are (1) Conventional Deposition ("CD"), (2) Ion Assisted Deposition ("IAD"), (3) Ion Beam Sputtering ("or IBS"), and (4) Plasma Ion Assisted Deposition ("PIAD").
In Conventional Deposition (CD) method, materials are heated, in the presence of a substrate upon which a film to be deposited, to the molten state by either a resistance heating method or by electron bombardment. When molten, evaporation of the material occurs and a film is condensed on the surface of a substrate. At the molten material temperatures that are used by this method some disassociation of the evaporant takes place. While this dissociation is not a problem when an elemental material is being deposited (for example, elemental aluminum, silver, nickel, etc.), it does present a problem when the material to be deposited is a compound (for example, SiO2, HfO2). In the case of oxide materials, small amounts of oxygen are bled into the chamber during deposition in an attempt to re-store stoichiometry, a so-called reactive deposition. The films that are by the CD method are generally porous and lack sufficient kinetic energy (surface mobility) upon deposition to overcome surface energy (adhesion). Film growth is typically columnar (K. Gunther, Applied Optics, Vol. 23 (1984), pp. 3806-3816) with growth in the direction to the source and having a porosity that increases with increasing film thickness. In addition to high film porosity, other problems encountered with CD deposited films include index of refraction inhomogeneity, excessive top surface roughness, and weak absorption. Some improvements, though slight, are possible by adjusting the depositions rate and by increasing the substrate temperature during deposition. However, overall considerations of the final product dictate that CD techniques are not suitable for high quality optical components, for example, telecommunications elements, filters, laser components, and sensors.
Ion Assisted Deposition (IAD) is similar to the CD method described above, with the added feature that the film being deposited is bombarded with energetic ions of an inert gas (for example, argon) during the deposition process, plus some ionized oxygen (which in the case of oxide films is generally necessary to improve film stoichiometry). While ion energies are typically in the range 300 ev to 1000 ev, ion current at the substrate is low, typically a few micro-amps/cm2. (IAD is thus a high voltage, low current density process.) The bombardment serves to transfer momentum to the depositing film and to provide sufficient surface mobility so that surface energies are overcome and dense, smooth films are produced. The index inhomogeneity and transparency of the deposited films are also improved and little or no substrate heating is required for the IAD method.
Ion Beam Sputtering (IBS) is a method in which an energetic ion beam (for example, argon ions in the range 500 ev-1500 ev) is directed to a target material, typically an oxide material. The momentum transferred upon impact is sufficient to sputter-off target material to a substrate where it is deposited as a smooth, dense film. Sputtered material arrives at the substrate with high energy, perhaps several hundred electron volts leading to high packing density and smooth surface, but high absorption of the deposited films is a common by-product of the IAB process. As a result, an IBS process might also include an IAD source to both improve stoichiometry and absorption. While the IBS process is an improvement over CD and IAD, there are nonetheless problems with IBS. Such problems with the IBS deposition process include: (1) the deposition process is very slow; (2) it is more of a laboratory technique than a production process; (3) there are few IBS installations in existence, typically remnants from the telecom bubble and having one or two machines operated by a small staff; (4) substrate capacity is quite limited; (5) deposition uniformity over the substrate can become a limitation thus affect product quality and resulting in a high discard rate; (6) as the target is eroded the uniformity of the film being deposited changes, thus resulting in further quality problems and frequent target change-outs with associated down-time and costs; and (7) the bombardment energy is quite high, leading to disassociation of the deposited materials and hence absorption.
Plasma Ion Assisted Deposition (PIAD) is similar to the IAD process above, except momentum is transferred to the depositing film via a low voltage, but high current density plasma. Typical bias voltages are in the range 90-160 v and current densities in the range of milli-amps/cm2. While PIAD instruments are common in the precision optics industry and have been used to deposit films, there are some problems with the PIAD method, particularly in regard to the homogeneity of the deposited film.
While the above method for depositing films have all been used in the optics industry, all of them currently present problems. Consequently, there is a need for either a new process or improvements in the existing processes. In particular, there is a need for a process than can produce smooth and dense films.

Method for producing smooth, dense optical films


A method of mapping ontologies between languages may include receiving a first ontology in a first language, where the first ontology includes a first plurality of lemmas and a plurality of relationships between the plurality of lemmas. The method may also include receiving a second plurality of lemmas in a second language, and mapping each of the second plurality of lemmas in the second language to a respective lemma in the first plurality of lemmas in the first language. The method may additionally include generating a second ontology in the second language by using the plurality of relationships in the first ontology to create relationships between the second plurality of lemmas in the second language.

In a general sense, an ontology is the philosophical study of basic concepts and their relations to each other. Ontology's deal with questions concerning what entities can be said to exist, how such entities can be logically grouped together in a hierarchy, and what similarities and/or differences can be used to segregate ontological concept groups from each other. In computer and information science, the general ontology translates into a naming and definition of types, properties, and relationships that fundamentally exist in a particular computing domain. For example, an ontology can compartmentalize variables needed for a set of computations and establish relationships between those variables.

Lemma mapping to universal ontologies in computer natural language processing


Methods for transmission mode X-ray diffraction analysis of a sample by means of apparatuses comprising an X-ray radiation source that provides X-ray radiation for irradiating the sample and a detector for detecting X-ray radiation transmitted through and diffracted by the sample. The methods include: (a) placing a sample to be analyzed on a substrate, (b) generating X-ray radiation by means of an X-ray radiation source, (c) positioning the substrate and the sample in an initial position, (d) rotating the substrate and the sample with respect to the initial position around a rotation axis over a predetermined rotation angle, (e) tilting the substrate and the sample with respect to the initial position around a tilting axis over a tilting angle, (f) detecting with a detector the X-ray radiation transmitted through and diffracted by the sample during a time interval, and (g) analyzing the X-ray radiation that is detected.

Combinatorial chemistry refers to techniques to fabricate, test, and store the resulting data of a material library containing tens, hundreds or even thousands of different materials or compounds. Combinatorial investigations require rapid screening techniques to test and evaluate variations of composition, structure and property within a material library. X-ray diffraction analysis is one of the most suitable screening techniques of solid state properties because abundant information can be revealed from the diffraction pattern, and X-ray diffraction analysis is fast and non-destructive.
Diffraction pattern analysis plays an important role in such diverse applications as solving molecular structures, identifying compounds, and fabricating materials. If a compound can be crystallized into sizeable crystals, diffraction patterns from single crystals can provide information about the crystal structure of the compound. Many compounds, however, can only be obtained as powders. Although a powder diffraction pattern yields much less information than that generated by a single crystal, it is unique to each substance with a particular crystal structure, and is therefore highly useful for purposes of identification.
Scattering of incident X-ray radiation from a sample of material can yield information about the atomic structure of the material. When such a beam of radiation strikes a sample, a pattern of diffracted radiation is created, which has a spatial intensity distribution that depends on the wavelength of the incident radiation and the atomic structure of the material. The spatial intensity distribution can be recorded on a suitable detector such as a point detector, a 1D detector or a 2D detector. Diffraction analysis is a method of studying crystalline materials, crystallization behavior, and liquid, gel or solid phase, or phase transitions of materials.
In certain circumstances, it is desirable to perform a sample analysis using transmission mode X-ray diffraction analysis for various reasons, including the need for low angle diffraction, and advantages when testing thin samples or samples in liquid environments.
A problem that is encountered with known powder diffraction analysis equipment using a 2D detector is that during detection of the diffraction radiation, single diffraction spots and arcs are often observed instead of rings, especially when organic crystalline material (such as pharmaceuticals) is irradiated. This may result from the fact that not all lattice planes of the crystalline powder material have or have not been exposed to X-ray radiation for the same time or the same amount, because the crystals were not random oriented or only a few crystals were present. As a result, the peak intensities of the powder diffraction patterns recorded with a point or a 1D detector (one-dimensional detector) are not correct, and no representative 1D-powder diffraction pattern (intensity vs. diffraction angle 2θ.) is created. This causes problems during comparison of diffraction patterns for identification.

Methods of transmission mode X-ray diffraction analysis and apparatuses therefor


A capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducer having a wide reception band is provided.

Micro mechanical members produced using micro machining technology can perform a micrometer-scale machining operation, and a variety of micro functional elements have been developed using such micro mechanical members. Capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducers (hereinafter also simply referred to as "CMUTs") using such technology have been researched to replace piezoelectric elements. Such capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducer can send and receive an ultrasonic wave using vibration of a vibrating membrane and provide wide frequency characteristics in, in particular, liquid.
As one of such technologies, a capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducer that provides wideband characteristics is described in PTL 1. The capacitive micro-machined ultrasonic transducer includes a plurality of cells each having a vibrating membrane with a high spring constant and a plurality of cells each having a vibrating membrane with a low spring constant.

Capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducer and information acquisition apparatus including capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducer

Abstract: The capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducer includes an element including a first sub-element and a second sub-element each including a cell. The cell includes a vibrating membrane that includes one of two electrodes formed with a spacing therebetween and that is vibratably supported. The capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducer further includes a first detection circuit, a second detection circuit, and a combining circuit that combines a signal from the first detection circuit and a signal from the second detection circuit. The first sub-element is electrically connected to the first detection circuit, and the second sub-element is electrically connected to the second detection circuit. The first detection circuit and the second detection circuit have different cut-off frequencies.


The present invention relates to a kit for conducting a method of measuring binding interactions using multiple sets of microparticles, wherein said set has the same identifiable characteristic and wherein one of more sets comprise subsets of microparticles and said subset presents at least one unique probe that acts as a binding partner for a target molecule in a biological sample. In particular, the invention provides for a kit for conducting a method of DNA-based tissue-typing antigens in donor tissue or recipient tissue using these multiple sets of microparticles.

One such tissue-typing antigen is human leukocyte antigen (HLA). Individuals may be sensitized to HLA antigens during pregnancy, or by blood transfusion or previous organ grafts. Testing to determine sensitivity to HLA alleles is relevant to tissue and organ transplantation where the presence in the recipient of antibodies against HLA antigens of the donor (donor specific crossmatch) is predictive of a high risk of graft rejection. It is a standard practice in the transplant field to test all potential recipients against a panel of HLA antigens selected to represent a human population and the percentage of HLA alleles against which the serum is reactive is determined. In this panel reactive antibody (PRA) testing reaction of a patient's serum against a high percentage of HLA alleles present in a normal human population is predictive of a high risk of graft rejection.
The HLA locus is highly polymorphic in nature. As disclosed in the Nomenclature for Factors of the HLA System 2000 (Hum. Immunol.; 62(4):419-68), 2001) there are 124 HLA-A alleles, 258 HLA-B alleles, 74 HLA-C alleles, 221 HLA-DRB1 alleles, 19 DRB3 alleles, 89 DRB4 alleles, 14 DRB5 alleles, 19 DQA1 alleles and 39 DQB1 alleles, with new alleles being discovered continuously. As testament to this rapid progress, a April 2007 update by the WHO nomenclature Committee for Factors of the HLA System (www.anthonynolan.com/HIG/) showed there are 545 HLA-A alleles, 895 HLA-B alleles, 307 HLA-C alleles, 8 HLA-E alleles, 12 HLA-H alleles, 9 HLA-J alleles, 6 HLA-K alleles, 4 HLA-L alleles, 4 HLA-P alleles, 3 HLA-V alleles, 3 DRA alleles, 494 DRB1 alleles, 1 DRB2 alleles, 44 DRB3 alleles, 13 DRB4 alleles, 18 DRB5 alleles, 3 DRB6 alleles, 2 DRB7 alleles, 10 DRB8 alleles, 1 DRB9 alleles, 34 DQA1 alleles, 83 DQB1 alleles, 23 DPA1, 126 DPB1 alleles, 4 DMA alleles, 7 DMB alleles, 12 DOA alleles and 9 DOB alleles.
All HLA-A, -B, and -C alleles have similar sequences. The same holds for DRB1, DRB3, DRB4 and DRB5 sequences. Because of these similarities, very often when a primer pair is used in the practice of polymerase chain reaction sequence-specific priming (PCR-SSP), two or more alleles will be amplified, or in a diagnostic sequence-specific oligonucleotide-probe detection (SSO) system, two or more alleles will hybridize. Therefore, for each allele to have a unique PCR-SSP or detection-SSO pattern, many pairs of primers or probes must be used. Further, the use of diagnostic hybridization SSO probes in HLA typing is confounded by the high levels of homology shared by the HLA alleles. Thus, many prior art typing methods such as those of Bugawan et al., Tissue Antigens 44:137-147 (1994), lack the accuracy desired for HLA typing and other applications.
PCR can be used to characterize the sequence on the target DNA template. If amplification occurs, the template DNA contains the same sequences as the primers used. If no amplification occurs, the sequences on the template DNA are different from the primer sequences. Newton et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,595,890 discloses PCR diagnostic methods for typing, including molecular typing of HLA using PCR-SSP. According to this method, an unknown allele is assigned based on the pattern of positive or negative reactions from multiple rounds of PCR. The methods disclosed by Newton are limited in their effectiveness for HLA typing, however, due to the high degree of polymorphism in HLA as described above. As a consequence two primers, each with specific sequences, frequently amplify many HLA alleles, thus increasing the number of PCR amplifications required in order to assign an unknown allele. For similar reasons, multiple diagnostic probes are required for correct typing of HLA in non-PCR contexts. PCR requires a pair of primers flanking the region on the DNA template for that region to be amplified. The ability of a primer to anneal to the desired sequence depends on the length of the primer and the annealing temperature set in the PCR thermocycling program. The longer the primer, the higher the annealing temperature it needs to achieve specific amplification of a DNA sequence. PCR-SSP uses a balance between primer length and annealing temperature to achieve the specificity of the primer-directed sequence amplification.
In the clinical use of PCR-SSP systems for HLA typing, there had existed a need to use a limited number of PCR reactions to achieve as much resolution as possible whereby the number of alleles amplified by a pair of primers would be reduced (i.e., the specificity of the primers or probes would be increased). Of interest to the present invention is the disclosure of co-owned U.S. Pat. No. 6,207,379, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference, which teaches the use of diagnostic PCR primers that are characterized by non-contiguous (gap) sequences for obtaining greater discrimination between related alleles in HLA typing. In an alternative embodiment, U.S. Pat. No. 6,207,379 teaches use of diagnostic primers that hybridize to non-contiguous sequences in a target nucleic acid and amplify that target by polymerase-mediated primer extension. Despite the success of the methods of U.S. Pat. No. 6,207,379 in carrying out more specific amplification of the target HLA sequences there still remains a desire for improved methods for detection of HLA sequences in both PCR and non-PCR contexts.
The PCR invention described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,207,379 addressed the need in the art for improved methods of PCR-SSP-based molecular typing whereby the specificity of the typing can be increased so as to reduce the number of PCR reactions required for each typing. However, there still exists a need in the art for methods to probe for specific sequences in non-PCR contexts. For reasons of basic thermodynamics, probes and templates, including those with a perfect match, are in state of equilibrium between the hybridized and non-hybridized state. A probe that is at one moment attached to its target template, at another moment may not be. The polymerase in PCR plays a critical role by locking a primer in place through elongation (primer extension). In non-PCR contexts, the critical factor—the polymerase (and the subsequent elongation)—is lacking, and long-term stability of the hybridized duplex of a short probe to a target would not necessarily be expected. For these reasons it is generally considered necessary for hybridization probes to be longer than corresponding extension primers in order to assure stable duplex formation.
The U.S. Patent Publication No. US 2003-0165925 A1 incorporated by reference in its entirety, provides improved methods for detecting HLA nucleic acids and T-cell receptor nucleic acid sequences whereby the specificity of diagnostic probes is increased. The specificity is increase in these methods because at least one probe is capable of recognizing two or more regions on the target and is capable of doing so without increasing the annealing temperature of the probe to the target nucleic acid sequence. The increased specificity of the probe set reduces the number of alleles detected, thus increasing the resolution of the method, and does so at lower cost.
Currently, the methods of DNA-base tissue-typing are expensive and time consuming because these methods require detection of many different labels to distinguish different SSO probes such as by flow cytometry or visual images from a camera or microscope, such as Bioarrays. While, an unlimited number of uniquely labeled microparticles presenting different oligonucleotide probes can theoretically be prepared there exist practical limitations on the number of labels that can be distinguished and measured during a single assay using methods such as fluorescent labeled flow cytometry. Accordingly, there exists a desire in the art to maximize the number of oligonucleotide probes that can be tested in a single assay using a limited number of uniquely labeled microparticles.

Methods of screening for binding interaction using sets of microparticles and unique probes


In order to make a recording mode in case of recording a broadcast program to be a mode which is easily used when reproducing, guide information of the broadcast program of the recorded channel is obtained in a case when a received broadcast program is recorded and a pointer is set according to the obtained guide information at a recording position of the time from which each program is started in a case when a plurality of programs exist during a period from the recording start time to the ending time thereof.

Heretofore, a hard disk recording and reproducing apparatus which uses a hard disk as a recording medium has been be in practical use in the field of an apparatus for recording (video recording) a television broadcast. In case of this hard disk recording and reproducing apparatus, it is possible to record a television broadcast signal, for example, by a recording capacity of several ten giga-bytes for several ten hours. With respect to the recordable hours, they are assumed to increase depending upon the improvement in the recording density of the recording medium such as a hard disk and/or upon the improvement in the compression technology of the broadcast data.
In this hard disk recording and reproducing apparatus, there is an apparatus which receives electric program guide data called an EPG (Electric Program Guide) in order to perform video-recording of television programs easily. EPG data are to be added to broadcast data in case of a broadcast system such as a digital satellite broadcast and also to be sent by adding them in a specific time zone such as a blanking period of a video signal in a specific channel in case of a ground wave such as an analog broadcast. Further, there is also another system where they are signal-distributed to a user-side recording and reproducing apparatus through a transmitting means such as an internet without any connection with the transmission of the broadcast data.
An effect is obtained for users such that a video-record reservation of a desired program can be performed relatively easily by receiving the EPG data transmitted in this manner, by displaying a program table of a television broadcast on a receiver screen according to the received EPG data and by performing an operation of selecting a program which is desired to be video-recorded in the program table.
Also, it is possible to make a serial program reservation in a lump such as of serial dramas which are broadcasted, for example, at a predetermined time everyday by utilizing the program table according to the EPG data. Further, it is also possible to search a program by a preset keyword and to automatically reserve of a program which was found by that search.
In a publication of an unexamined application No. 2000-28747 published by the Japanese Patent Office, there is a description of one example of a television receiver where a video-record reservation is made by utilizing such electronic program data.
And now, in a case when recording is carried out by a broadcast program recording apparatus such as a hard disk recording and reproducing apparatus and when a picture recording reservation is carried out by utilizing electronic program data, the picture recording reservation is carried out per one program shown by the electronic program data, so that in the recorded data, recording data of one unit comes to correspond to one program. However, there is also a case as for the picture recording process using this kind of recording apparatus in which a picture recording reservation is carried out not only by the reservation picture recording process according to these kinds of EPG data but also, for example, by appointing a channel number, a picture recording start time and an ending time according to a user's preference. In addition, there is also a case in which a program on air is picture-recorded by pushing down a picture-recording start button. In such cases, a picture recording is to be carried out until a predetermined picture-recording ending time or until a user pushes down picture-recording stop button and even if a plurality of programs are broadcasted during a period from that recording start to the recording end, the recording at that time is to be recorded as a program of one unit.
Consequently, in a case when, for example, a program broadcast which a user wants to watch begins after 30 minutes from the recording start and when the program recorded at that time is to be reproduced, it is necessary to carry out a fast forward reproduction for the recording interval of approximately 30 minutes from the beginning of the program or the like so as to perform a so-called index-search operation, so that it could not be said that it was sufficiently easy-to-use.
The present invention was invented in view of such an aspect and has an object to make a recording mode in case of recording a broadcast program to be a mode in which it is easily used on an occasion of a reproducing.

Program data recording method and apparatus


The pulling grip includes an elongated, flexible pulling grip housing for use in installing fiber optic cable and, more particularly, for installing a fiber optic cable which contains a number of pre-connectorized optical fibers. The pulling grip housing includes first and second portions which mate to form the pulling grip housing and which open to provide access to an internal cavity for placement of the pre-connectorized optical fibers of the fiber optic cable. The pulling grip housing can secure the connectors within the internal cavity to prevent undesirable tangling of the optical fibers during installation. For example, the pulling grip housing can include an adhesive surface or a number of slots for retaining respective ones of the connectors. The pulling grip is also connected to an end portion of the fiber optic cable and, more particularly, a strength element of the fiber optic cable such that forces imparted during the advancement of the pulling grip housing through a conduit are transferred to the strength element of the fiber optic cable and do not place undesirable strain on the optical fibers. The pulling grip housing therefore protects the optical fibers and the respective connectors from damage during installation while permitting pre-connectorized fiber optic cables to be installed regardless of the leg lengths of the optical fibers.

Optical fibers are widely used in a variety of data transmission applications including, primarily at the present, the telecommunications industry. Because optical fibers transmit voice and other data far more rapidly and efficiently Lhan copper wire, the demand for optical fibers is continuing to increase. For example, optical fibers no longer serve merely as the medium for long distance signal transmission, but are increasingly routed directly to the home or, in some instances, directly to a desk or other work location to network computers.
In order to route and install fiber optic cable in builings or other structures, the fiber optic cable must generally be routed or pulled through a protective conduit or duct having a diameter of as little as 2 inches. Generally, a pulling grip consisting essentially of a tubular mesh with a loop at one end, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,368,910, is attached to the lead end of the fiber optic cable. A rope is then attached to the pulling grip for pulling the cable through the conduit.
Fiber optic cable of various diameters and wall thicknesses is now being manufactured to meet the requirements of various applications. Many fiber optic cables include one or more buffer tubes, each of which can carry a plurality of optical fibers. The optical fibers may be in a loose bundle or a ribbon form. Fiber optic cables also generally include a protective jacket which surrounds the buffer tube(s) in order to further protect the optical fibers. For added convenience, pre-connectorized fiber optic cable is also available. With pre-connectorized fiber optic cables, each of the optical fibers include a respective factory-installed connector which has been mounted on an end portion of the optical fiber prior to installation of the fiber optic cable. By mounting the connectors in the factory, the time required in the field to install and connect the fiber optic cable is reduced. In addition, the quality of the resulting connection may be enhanced by mounting the connectors in the factory since the factory conditions can be more readily controlled than the field conditions.
Presently, installing pre-connectorized fiber optic cable is fairly difficult due to the mass of connectors mounted on the ends of the optical fibers at the lead end of the fiber optic cable. For installation, the cable jacket and strength members are generally cut back a certain distance from the pre-connectorized end portions of the optical fibers. As a result, a leg length is defined for each optical fiber as the distance between the end of the cable jacket and the respective connector. The mass of connectors at the end of the optical fibers has required that the leg lengths of the fibers be staggered so that the connectors can fit within the relatively small diameter conduit or duct through which the fiber optic cable is routed. Depending upon the particular installation requirements, these staggered leg lengths may be undesirable. For example, the layout of a particular installation may require that the leg lengths be uniform in length. Additionally, other installations may require the leg lengths to vary significantly which also makes installation of the fiber optic cable difficult using present techniques and tools.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,133,583 discloses an advantageous method for using a contractile mesh pulling grip to pull a fiber optic cable through a conduit. According to this method, a portion of the cable jacket is removed to expose an end portion of the strength members which may thereafter be attached to the pulling grip. The mesh type pulling grip of U.S. Pat. No. 5,133,583 is not, however, suitable for installing pre-connectorized fiber optic cables because it does not provide suitable protection for the connectors or the optical fibers which must be protected from excessive bending during installation.
Therefore, while pulling grips and methods are presently available for installing pre-connectorized fiber optic cable, these present pulling grips and methods do not allow the installation of pre-connectorized optic fibers with uniform leg lengths or significantly varying leg lengths. Furthermore, present pulling grips do not fully protect the optical fibers or their connectorized end portions from the mechanical stress and strain to which they are subjected during installation.

Pulling grip for pre-connectorized fiber optic cable