A method of forming a semiconductor-on-insulator device comprises the steps of forming a first alignment mark on a semiconductor substrate at a first reference position, forming a diffusion region in the semiconductor substrate at a position defined with respect to the first alignment mark according to a predetermined relationship, providing an insulator layer on the semiconductor substrate to expose a part of an upper major surface of the semiconductor substrate, providing a semiconductor layer on the insulator layer in contact with the exposed upper major surface of the semiconductor substrate, recrystallizing the semiconductor layer by heating up to a temperature above a melting point of the semiconductor layer and cooling down subsequently below the melting point, starting from a part of the semiconductor layer in contact with the exposed upper major surface of the semiconductor substrate and moving laterally along the semiconductor layer, to form a single crystal semiconductor layer having an upper major surface formed with a depression at a second, different reference position, patterning the single crystal semiconductor layer using the depression on the upper major surface of the semiconductor layer as a second alignment mark to form a semiconductor device in alignment with the device region in the semiconductor substrate, wherein the first alignment mark at the first reference position is formed with an offset from the second reference position for the second alignment mark, the offset being chosen to cancel out an expansion of the single crystal semiconductor layer upon the step of recrystallization.

The present invention generally relates to semiconductor devices, and in particular to a process for fabricating a semiconductor-on-insulator (SOI) device in alignment with a device region formed in a semiconductor substrate.
With the wide-spread use of electronic apparatuses, various semiconductor devices having various characteristics are required. In the display devices, for example, semiconductor devices having a high breakdown voltage are needed to drive the display driver with a high drive voltage. For this purpose, semiconductor-on-insulator (SOI) devices that are formed on an insulating substrate are well suited, as such a semiconductor device achieves a high breakdown voltage of 100-200 volts, without using a complex isolation structure.
In the SOI devices driven by high voltage, there arises a problem of backchannel effect wherein the channel region causes an inversion along the boundary thereof with the insulating substrate due to the large source or drain voltage. It should be noted that the surface of the substrate in contact with the channel region is maintained generally at the ground level. In order to eliminate the foregoing backchannel effect, a structure is proposed wherein the insulating substrate is provided on a semiconductor substrate, and a diffusion region is formed in the semiconductor substrate in correspondence to the SOI device. BY suitably biasing the diffusion region as a second gate, one can eliminate the formation of inversion layer and thus the backchannel effect.
In forming such an SOI device, it is necessary to provide a substrate structure wherein an insulator layer is provided on a semiconductor substrate as the insulating substrate, a diffusion region formed in correspondence to where the SOI device is to be formed as the second gate for eliminating the backchannel effect, and a single crystal semiconductor layer grown on the insulator layer as the active layer of the semiconductor device. In such a three-layer substrate, it will be understood that an alignment mark is necessary on the surface of the single crystal semiconductor layer in order to achieve the alignment of the SOI device that is formed in the upper, single crystal semiconductor layer with respect to the corresponding diffusion region formed in the lower semiconductor substrate.
FIGS. 1(A) and 1(B) show a conventional three-layer substrate body 10 respectively in a plan view and a cross sectional view.
Referring to the drawings, the three-layer substrate body 10 comprises a semiconductor substrate 11 doped, for example, to the p-type, an insulator layer 22 provided on the substrate 10 as the insulating substrate of SOI device, and a single crystal silicon layer 24 grown further on the insulator layer 22 as the active layer of the SOI device. In the substrate 11, a diffusion region 20 is formed as the second gate of the SOI device for eliminating the backchannel effect.
In order to establish a proper alignment between the SOI device and the underlying diffusion region, there is provided an alignment mark 16 on the surface of the substrate body 10 as shown in the plan view of FIG. 1(A). In the cross sectional view, the alignment mark 16 is formed with a predetermined relationship to the diffusion region 20 such that the SOI device can be formed on the single crystal silicon layer 24 exactly in correspondence to the diffusion region 20.
The three-layer semiconductor body 10 may be formed by the processes of: forming a thin oxide layer (not shown) on the surface of the semiconductor substrate 11; providing a photoresist layer (not shown) on the oxide layer; patterning the photoresist layer to form an opening exposing the surface of the oxide layer in correspondence to where the alignment mark 16 is to be formed; forming the alignment mark 16 by etching while using the photoresist layer as a mask such that the alignment mark penetrates through the oxide layer and invades into the substrate 11; removing the photoresist layer; providing a second photoresist layer; patterning the second photoresist layer using the alignment mark to expose a region where the diffusion region 20 is to be formed, applying an ion implantation process using the photoresist as the mask; removing the second photoresist layer; oxidizing the semiconductor body 10 to grow a thin oxide layer comprising the insulator layer 22; depositing a polysilicon layer (not shown) on the insulator layer 22, and annealing the polysilicon layer to form the single crystal layer 24. Thereby, the alignment mark 16 is transferred to the surface of the single crystal layer 24 as a depression. Using this depression as the alignment mark, the single crystal layer 24 is patterned and the SOI device is formed in correspondence to the diffusion region 20. By using the diffusion region 20 as the second mask, one can eliminate the problem of the backchannel effect as described previously.
Several processes are available for annealing the polysilicon layer to form the single crystal silicon layer 24. For example, one can employ the laser beam heating process to cause the polysilicon layer to melt and crystallize into the single crystal layer. This process, however, has a problem in the quality of the resulting single crystal silicon layer 24, as the silicon layer 24 thus formed tends to exhibit a deterioration in the drain breakdown voltage, an increase in the on-state resistance, variations in the device characteristics, and the like, due to the sub-grain boundaries included in the layer 24. In the laser beam melting, it will be understood that the formation of uniform, defect-free single crystal layer throughout the surface of the substrate body 10 is extremely difficult because of the lack of the epitaxial relationship.
In order to circumvent the foregoing problem, use of a process called zone-melting-recrystallization (ZMR) is proposed.
FIGS. 2(A) and 2(B) show a conventional ZMR process. Referring to the plan view of FIG. 2(A), the insulator layer 22 is formed to expose a marginal part of the semiconductor substrate 11 that may have a (001) oriented surface and a thickness of about 500 .mu.m. On the insulator layer 22, a polysilicon layer 24' is deposited in contact with the exposed (001) surface of the substrate 11 as shown in the cross sectional view of FIG. 2(B) with a thickness of about 5000 .ANG. and the substrate body 10 is passed through a heating fixture including carbon strip heaters 101 and 102 as shown by the arrow in FIG. 2(A). Upon passage through the heating fixture 101 and 102, the polysilicon layer 24' is caused to melt by heating to a temperature of about 1450.degree. C. and then is recrystallized to form the single crystal layer 24. As the melting and recrystallization starts at the marginal part where the polysilicon layer 24' is in contact with the exposed (001) surface, the layer 24 has the same crystal orientation throughout the substrate body 10 and the problem of the sub-grain boundary formed in the layer 24 is eliminated.
In such a ZMR process, it will be noted that the lower carbon strip heater 102 should be driven with a power that is lower than the power used to drive the carbon strip heater 101 such that the substrate 11 is not heated excessively and the migration of impurities out of the diffusion region 20 does not occur. For example, the temperature of the substrate 11 is held at 1300.degree. C. However, such a temperature difference causes a large thermal stress in the substrate body 10 between the recrystallized silicon layer 24 and the underlying silicon substrate 11.
Further, it was found that the position of the alignment mark 16 moves laterally after the ZMR process. More specifically, the applicant of the present invention has found that the alignment mark 16 moves laterally toward the marginal area of the substrate body 10 as shown by a mark 16' in FIG. 1(A) when the ZMR process is applied. In the case of a circular substrate body 10 having a diameter of 4 inches with a pair of alignment marks 16 formed on diametrically opposing positions with a separation of 6-7 cm, the amount of movement can reach as much as 1 .mu.m for each alignment mark 16. Thereby, one encounters a problem in the alignment of the mask used for patterning the single crystal layer 24 to form the SOI device with respect to the diffusion region 20 formed in the substrate 11.
Although the cause of this phenomenon is not completely explored, it is thought probable that the polysilicon layer 24' undergoes a lateral expansion upon melting, and the alignment mark 16, formed on the surface of the layer 24', moves to the position 16' accordingly. It should be noted that silicon increases the volume thereof upon melting. Upon cooling, the molten silicon layer solidifies at about 1415.degree. C. and the relative positional relationship between the new alignment mark 16' and the original alignment mark 16 is established thereby. It should be noted that, during this process, the substrate 11 is held at about 1300.degree. C. or less to avoid the diffusion of the impurities away from the diffusion region 20. Thus, even when a shrinkage occurs in the recrystallized silicon layer 24 upon the solidification to cancel out the expansion at the time of melting, the alignment mark 16' does not return to the original position 16 because of the temperature difference between the layer 24 and the substrate 11. Thereby, it is believed, though not confirmed yet, that the substrate body 10 thus formed by the ZMR process has a cross section as shown in FIG. 2(C) wherein the alignment mark 16' in the recrystallized single crystal layer is offset laterally to the alignment mark 16 formed in the substrate 11.
When one uses the alignment mark 16' at the time of patterning the single crystal silicon layer 24 to form an SOI device, it will be understood that no proper alignment is achieved between the SOI device thus formed and the diffusion region 20 formed in the substrate 11. Thus, there arises a difficulty in achieving the elimination of the backchannel effect described previously.

Method for fabricating an SOI device in alignment with a device region formed in a semiconductor substrate


A method for localizing a mobile station, which in one embodiment is characterized by logging one or more wireless channels which belong to one or more network providers other than the mobile station's home network provider and which substantially currently provide communication with one or more discernable base stations; and establishing a geographic position of the mobile station by use of the one or more wireless channels which belong to the one or more network providers other than the mobile station's home network provider. In one or more various embodiments, related systems include but are not limited to circuitry and/or programming for effecting the foregoing-referenced method embodiment, the circuitry and/or programming can be virtually any combination of hardware, software, and/or firmware configured to effect to foregoing-referenced method embodiment depending upon the design choices of the system designer.

1. Technical Field
The present application relates, in general, to wireless data communications systems.
2. Description of the Related Art
Data is information that is in any form suitable to manipulation and/or processing in a formalized manner, such as by one or more machines. Wireless data communications systems are systems wherein data communications stations transmit and/or receive data through at least one wireless data communications link (e.g., through the air or through a vacuum).
One type of wireless data communications system is a mobile wireless data communications system. In mobile wireless data communications systems at least one of the data communications stations is a mobile station. Typically, mobile wireless data communications systems are often comprised of one or more base stations and one or more mobile stations. A base station is a data communications station which is geographically fixed and which is typically made up of antennas, amplifiers, receivers, and transmitters, and similar hardware and software for sending and receiving signals and converting between radio frequency (RF) waves and audio signals. An example of a base station is a cellular base station that communicates with cell phones currently located in the geographic area (i.e., cell) within which the base station can intelligently send and receive signals.
A mobile station is a data and/or voice communications station intended to be used while in motion or during halts at unspecified points and which is typically made up of an antenna, amplifier, receiver, transmitter, and similar hardware and software for sending and receiving signals and converting between RF waves and audio signals. Examples of mobile stations are cellular devices such as global system for mobile communications (GSM) devices, frequency division multiple access (FDMA) devices, time division multiple access (TDMA) devices, code division multiple access (CDMA) devices, wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA) devices, and analog mobile phone system (AMPS) devices.
There are many uses for mobile wireless data communications systems. One such use is the determination of a previously unknown geographic localization of a mobile station based on information gleaned from one or more data communications stations whose geographic locations are either known or knowable (e.g., whose locations may not be presently known, but whose locations can be determined via defined techniques).
Those having ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that there is a continuing need to increase the accuracy of the geographic localizations of mobile stations. Accordingly, one aspect of the present disclosed subject matter is to increase the accuracy of the geographic localization of mobile stations.


A machine for filling cash boxes insertable into and extractable from the machine, including internally a portion for housing storage containers containing a cash reserve intended to fill the cash boxes, laterally to said inner storage containers a device for receiving and moving a cash box is arranged, the device for receiving and moving the cash box being equipped with at least means for vertical movement of the cash box between a raised position, adapted for inserting and extracting it into and from the machine, and a lowered position, at a lower height with respect to that of the inner storage containers present in the machine, the device also being equipped with means for horizontal movement of the cash box between the lowered position and a position distanced from it, arranged under the inner storage containers present in the machine.

More specifically, the machine forming the subject-matter of this disclosure is of the type normally used in banks, supermarkets and other commercial concerns to allow each authorized operator (for example the cashiers of the commercial concern) to insert, typically at the start of the shift, his own cash box (empty) so that it is filled by the machine with a predetermined quantity of coins and/or banknotes for performing the transactions with the customers (payments, giving change, etc.).
A depositing operation into the machine can of course be carried out by the operator even in case his relative cash box becomes completely full during the work shift.
The box, or container, for containing coins and/or banknotes to be filled is normally inserted into the machine by the operator, resting it inside a closable drawer, which can be partially extracted from the machine itself. After completing the filling operation, the drawer is again extracted and the filled box is withdrawn by the operator.
These machines are also advantageously equipped with an inlet for the introduction of coins and/or banknotes to be deposited into inner storage containers as a reserve to allow an appropriate filling of the cash boxes of the various operators and with a user interface, which can be used both for managing the introduction of money in the machine through said inlet and for managing the filling operations of the individual boxes by the cashiers.
The machines used in the prior art normally have an essentially vertical extension, wherein the inlet and the user interface are in the upper part, the storage containers are in the intermediate part and the extractable drawer designed to house the cash box to be filled is generally positioned in the lower part of the machine, under the inner storage containers, so as to allow the filling by gravity of the cash box with the coins present in the overlying storage containers.
This arrangement, whilst allowing a reasonable compactness of the machine and an appreciable constructional simplicity, is however extremely poor ergonomically as it forces the operator to bend down just to the ground every time he must insert and extract the cash box from the drawer of the machine. This drawback is particularly critical when the cash box is used mainly for containing coins, so that it can weigh, if full, even several kilograms. In fact, it is necessary to take into account that the operation for inserting/extracting the cash box into/from the machine may also have to be performed several times a day by the same operator.
Moreover, it should be considered that even the operations for opening and closing the drawer that houses the cash box must be carried out by the operator bending down.

Machine for filling cash boxes and device for receiving and moving a cash box for such a machine


The invention is directed to constructs and compositions containing multimeric forms of nucleic acid. Multimeric nucleic acids comprise single-stranded nucleic acids attached via biotin to streptavidin and bound with a functional group. These constructs can be utilized in vivo to treat or identify diseased tissue or cells. Repeated administrations of multimeric nucleic acid compositions produce a rapid and specific amplification of nucleic acid constructs and their attached functional groups. For treatment purposes, functional groups may be toxins, radioisotopes, genes or enzymes. Diagnostically, labeled multimeric constructs may be used to identify specific targets in vivo or in vitro. Multimeric nucleic acids may also be used in nanotechnology and to create self-assembling polymeric aggregates such as membranes of defined porosity, microcircuits and many other products.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to constructs, compositions and methods comprising multimeric forms of nucleic acid. One form of multimeric nucleic acid constructs comprise a streptavidin molecule bound with one or more single-stranded biotinylated nucleic acid molecules and an attached functional group. Constructs are used for the treatment or diagnosis of disorders both in vivo or in vitro, for the detection of target substances in samples and for construction purposes in nanotechnology and the creation of nucleic acid based polymeric aggregates.
2. Description of the Background
In recent years considerable interest has been generated in the use of anti-sense oligonucleotides and single-stranded DNA for in vivo therapeutic applications (G. Carter and N. R. Lemoine, Br. J. Cancer 67:869-76, 1993). Exciting examples include selective inhibition of viral DNA replication (C. K. Mirabelli et al., Anti-Cancer Drug Design 6:647-61, 1991) and gene expression (C. A. Stein and Y.-C. Cheng, Sci. 261:1004-11, 1993). The application of oligonucleotides into clinical medicine was encouraged by present advances with gene therapy such as the successful inhibition of viral gene expression in vivo by anti-sense DNA (M. Kulka et al., Antiviral Res. 20:115-30, 1991). Additional, in vivo applications have included oligonucleotide-antibody conjugates for tumor diagnosis and therapy (W. H. A Kuijpers et al., Bioconjugate Chem. 4:94-102, 1993).
Others have investigated, in animal models, the pharmacokinetics, biodistribution and stability of an array of oligonucleotides ranging in size from 12 bases (T.-L Chem et al., Drug Met Disp. 18:815-18, 1990), to as large as 38 bases (J. G. Zendegui et al., Nuc. Acids Res. 20:307-14, 1992), and labeled with radioisotopes such as .sup.125 I (D. R. Elmaleh et al., J. Nucl. Med. 34:232P, 1993), .sup.32 P (A. S. Boutorine et al., Bioconjugate Chem. 1:350-56, 1990), .sup.3 H (T.-L Chem et al., Drug Met. Disp. 18:815-18, 1990), .sup.35 S (S. Agrawal et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci USA 88:7595-99, 1991), and .sup.111 In (M. K. Dewanjee et al., J. Nuc. Med. 34:174P, 1993). In these and other in vivo applications the nucleotide backbone was modified to stabilize the molecule against nuclease digestion, typically with methylphosphonates (D. M. Tidd and H. M. Warenius, Br. J. Cancer 60:343-50, 1989) or phosphorothioates (G. Goodarzi et al., Biopharm. Drug Disp. 13:221-227, 1992). Terminal modification alone was shown to provide sufficient stability in vivo (R. J. Boado and W. M. Partridge, Bioconjugate Chem. 3:519-23, 1992).
Amplification techniques for nucleic acids are under active investigation for in vitro applications. These include PCR (K. B. Mullis et al., Cold Spring Harbor Symp. Quant. Biol. 51:263-73, 1986), the "Christmas tree" approach (P. D. Fahrlnder and A. Klausner, Bio/Technology 6:1165-68, 1988), and branching nucleic acid dendrimers (R. H. E. Hudson and M. J. Damha, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 89:585-91, 1993). Each of these methods rapidly amplifies nucleic acid molecules in vitro to a very great extent. However, using nucleic acids for amplification in vivo has not previously been considered.

Self-assembling multimeric nucleic acid constructs


An electric-cigarette comprises a heating element and a battery electrically connected to the heating element. The cigarette further comprises an annular, semi-annular or arc illuminant arranged on the housing between the butt and the mouth of the electric-cigarette, the illuminant electrically connects to the battery.

Electric-cigarette is a simulation cigarette electronic product comprising a battery, a switch, a heating element for atomizing tobacco tar which allows to achieve an effect of smoking, and an luminescent lamp for simulating flame. For now, the shape of electric-cigarettes on the market is mainly divided into cigarette, cigar and pipe. Based on the control mode of electric-cigarettes, they are divided into two types: touch-tone one and air-switch one. The touch-tone switch is commonly implemented for those electric-cigarettes with a shape of cigarette and cigar, including for those ones that are reusable or disposable. The outline structure of such electric-cigarette is illustrated in FIG. 1-1, FIG. 1-2 and FIG. 1-3, which comprises a cigarette body equipped with a button 12, a cartridge, an opaque metallic or plastic ring 11 arranged in the joint of the cigarette body and the cartridge as well as a luminescent lamp 15 and a light guide cap 16 arranged at the butt of the cigarette body. The inside of the electric-cigarette is equipped with a switch 13 corresponding to the button 12 and a battery 14 electrically connected to the switch. The luminescent lamp 15 is electrically connected to the switch 13 and the battery 14. The button 12 is configured to control the working hours of the electric-cigarette.
The air-switch is commonly implemented for electric-cigarettes with a shape of cigarette, cigar and pipe, including for those ones that are reusable or disposable. The outline structure of such electric-cigarette is illustrated in FIG. 2-1 and FIG. 2-2, of which a luminescent lamp 15 and a light guide cap 16 connected with a battery are also arranged at the butt of the cigarette body. During smoking, the air-switch in the cigarette body is enabled so that the electric-cigarette begins to work normally.
These luminescent lamps in the electric-cigarette are only for simulating the flame of the butt, and limited to be approximate to traditional cigarettes for visual appearance, thus being stagnated in design and insufficient to provide fresher and more beautiful visual impact so as to meet higher request of people.


A variable-geometry stabilizing foot, in particular for earth-moving vehicles, comprising a support member (1) able to rotate about a fulcrum (3) associated with the chassis of a vehicle to be stabilized and a extendable arm (5) slidably mounted on this support member (1). A control linkage (9) is also provided, being hinged with the chassis (2) of the vehicle and with the extendable arm (5) is provided at the bottom end with a support foot (8) able to perform vertical displacements when a hydraulic jack (13) moves the support member (1) between a recovery position (15) and an operative position (16). In the recovery position (15) the stabilizing foot is thus arranged so as to be retracted and take up little space on the chassis (2) of the vehicle, while in the operative position (16), the stabilizing foot is rotated through an angle (.alpha.) towards the ground with respect to the recovery position (15). The chassis (2) of the vehicle also comprises a shaped member (14) designed to receive in abutment the support foot (8) and rotate it towards the chassis (2) when the support member (1) is brought into the recovery position (15).

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a variable-geometry stablizing foot which can be mounted in particular on earth-moving vehicles.
2. Prior Art
As is known, stabilizing feet are mounted on special vehicles subject to intense destabilizing thrusting forces, in order to provide support bases which are much more stable than those provided by wheels alone.
At present, in accordance with the known art, substantially two types of stabilizing feet are used. A first type of stabilizing foot is mounted vertically on the chassis of said vehicles, being generally arranged in pairs on the rear part of the vehicles themselves. This type of stabilizing foot, already known in the art, consists of a support sleeve, integral with the vehicle body, and an extendable arm slidably mounted inside the support sleeve and having a bottom end provided with a support foot for ensuring a grip on the ground. By means of a (hydraulic) actuating system, the extendable arm is moved so as to extend from the support sleeve towards the ground until it comes into contact therewith by means of its support foot. Generally this type of stabilizer is provided with a hydraulic jack having a support foot connected to the free end of the internal stem. In practice, this type of stabilizer has proved to have drawbacks.
A first drawback arises from the fact that the earth-moving vehicles have the excavator arm mounted on a carriage movable horizontally on the rear side of the vehicles themselves. In this way, the position of the stabilizing feet, designed in accordance with the known art described, constitutes an obstacle for the carriage movement (which is in fact restricted horizontally), preventing the possibility of optimum operation of the excavator arms.
Moreover, since this type of stabilizing foot is able to perform only a vertical movement, it does not allow the support base of the vehicles to be modified in accordance with the operating needs which may arise.
In order to overcome these drawbacks, a second type of stabilizing foot (extending in an inclined manner) has thus become widespread, said foot being connected to the vehicle chassis by means of a hinge able to allow orientation thereof in accordance with operational requirements. In a similar manner to the first type, this stabilizing foot consists of an external support sleeve and an extendable arm sliding inside it. The extendable arm has passing through it along its longitudinal extension a series of through-holes able to match a selector hole formed on the support sleeve. By means of a fixing pin, which can be movably inserted into the selector hole and fitting into one of the holes of the extendable arm, it is possible to fix the support sleeve and the extendable arm with respect to one another. Operationally speaking, it is therefore possible to remove the pin from the selector hole, displace the extendable arm inside the support sleeve and re-insert the pin into a new hole of the extendable arm. Once the length of the stabilizing foot has been chosen by means of insertion of the pin into the selected hole, it is possible to operate the stabilizing foot hydraulically, causing it to rotate on the hinge until the support foot comes into contact with the ground. The use of stabilizing feet of this type which can be varied lengthwise makes it possible to modify the support base of the vehicle. This second type of stabilizing foot, however, during use has also proved to have some disadvantages.
First of all, such stabilizing feet transmit a notable thrusting force in an oblique direction on the ground, causing the deformation thereof in the zone where the foot rests. Since, in most cases, the ground consists of the road surface, a costly operation involving reconstruction of the damaged parts of the road is often necessary.
Another disadvantage arises from the fact that, in order to be able to vary the support base formed by the stabilizing feet, it is necessary to displace the position of the extendable arm inside the support sleeve by means of a manual or hydraulic operation, the first being difficult and awkward and the second costly.
The drawback of this second type of stabilizing foot consisting in damage to the road surface does not arise for the stabilizing feet of the first type which, acting in an exclusively vertical direction, do not damage the road surface. On the other hand, since the stabilizing feet of the second type are mounted below the chassis of the vehicle at the rear thereof, they do not obstruct at all sliding of the carriage on which the excavator arm is mounted.

Variable-geometry stabilizing foot, in particular for earth-moving vehicles


An image forming apparatus includes an image forming section to which a replaceable part is detachably attached and a switching section for switching an operation mode of the image forming section between an approved part mode corresponding to a case wherein an approved part is attached as the replaceable part and a unapproved part mode corresponding to a case wherein a part other than the approved part is attached.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus on which a replaceable part is detachably mounted, a device having a detachable part and an image forming apparatus main body.
2. Description of the Related Art
Many of today's image forming apparatuses such as copiers or printers are configured as apparatuses in which replaceable parts, such as a drum cartridge or a toner cartridge, are detachably connected to, or mounted on, the main body of the apparatus. A designer of a main apparatus body for such a device ordinarily assumes that any replacement parts attached to the main apparatus body will be parts whose use has been authorized by the manufacturer, such as original or recommended replacement parts, and designs and produces the main apparatus body so as to obtain desired image quality and a safety performance under such conditions.
However, when unauthorized replacement parts, including imitations, counterfeit parts, pirated parts, or the like, are attached to a main apparatus body designed and manufactured as described above, the operational conditions may fall outside the ranges assumed by the designer, and various disadvantages may result. For example, the likelihood of problems regarding the image quality, of malfunction, of failure of the main apparatus body, or of paper damage, such as tears or wrinkles, of printing sheets increases.
In order to avoid the above-described disadvantages, a technique is sometimes utilized in which whether or not amounted replaceable part is a genuine part is automatically detected, and, when it is detected that the mounted part is not a genuine part, an image forming operation is inhibited or an alarm is displayed. Such a technique is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Publication JP-A-2002-331686.
Publication JP-A-1-200272 discloses a technique in which the type of a cartridge including a photosensitive drum is identified, and, when a cartridge of a type other than specified is attached, a warning regarding the attachment of the different cartridge is displayed and a copying operation is inhibited. Further, JP-A-64-57272 also discloses a technique in which, when it is determined that an installed unit has reached the end of its service life, a warning is displayed and activation of the main body (the main body of the device) is stopped.
As described above, use of a replacement part such as an imitation product whose use is not authorized by the manufacturer is not preferable from the viewpoint of safety. However, some consumers desire to use such imitation products. Such a situation is not limited to the image forming apparatus and arises widely in devices to which replaceable parts are detachably attached.
As a method for switching an operation mode of an image forming apparatus such as a copier or printer, a method is known in which a service engineer having special knowledge switches the operation mode using specialized service tools, such as, for example, a control panel service mode, a specialized hand tool, proprietary software running on a PC, or the like. This method is employed when free switching by a user is not preferable from the viewpoint of safety.
However, in the above-described method, the user must very inconveniently contact the service engineer each time the user wishes the operation mode to be switched. Further, the manufacturer or a seller must dispatch the service engineer to the installed place of the image forming apparatus every time the operation mode is switched, which can greatly increase costs and reduce the profitability of service packages.

Image forming apparatus, part detachable device and image forming apparatus main body that switches operation mode based part used


The present invention relates generally to a method for the treatment and/or prophylaxis of osteoarthritis (OA). In accordance with the present invention, an antagonist of GM-CSF can be effective in the treatment of osteoarthritis. An antagonist of GM-CSF includes, but is not limited to, an antibody that is specific for GM-CSF or the GM-CSF receptor. The present invention further provides transgenic animals, such as a GM-CSF knock-out mouse, useful for testing antagonists in certain disease models.

Osteoarthritis (OA), also known as degenerative arthritis, is a disease most prevalent in the old and obese. OA is a disease of the articular joints, but, unlike rheumatoid arthritis (RA), the disease is not systemic, usually affecting only one or a few joints. The disease leads to total destruction of the articular cartilage, sclerosis of the underlying bones, and osteophyte formation, resulting in loss of movement and pain. The ultimate result is often the need for a total joint replacement.
OA affects about ˜21 million people in the US, comprises 25% of all primary care physician visits and accounts for 50% of all NSAID (non steroidal anti inflammatory drugs) prescriptions. There is currently no treatment available which slows or halts disease progression; today's drugs merely treat the symptoms. The incidence and severity of the disease increase with age. By the age of 65, 80% of Americans show radiographic evidence of OA though only 60% of them will be symptomatic. 65% of all joint disease by the age of 65 are OA. In 2006, there were 735,000 OA-related US hospitalizations.
Current OA drugs treat the symptoms of OA rather than the disease itself. Commonly used drugs in the treatment of OA include Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as diacerin, voltaren. mobic and arthrotec (generic names: diclofenac, misoprostol, meloxicam). NSAIDs are mainly oral compounds which act by inhibiting prostaglandin synthesis in the central nervous system (CNS). Other commonly used drugs include non-narcotic analgesics, such as ultram (tramadol), COX-2 inhibitors, such as celebrax and arcoxia (celecoxib, etoricoxib), narcotic analgesiscs, such as duragesic (dextropropoxyphene fentanyl), hyaluraonic acids, such as suparts, hyalgan, orthovisc and synvisc (Hylan G-F20), and corticosteroids, such as predinisolone and methyl predinisolone. Present treatments for OA intend to obviate the need for surgery through tissue engineering, such as chondrocyte transplantation; however, these treatments are-only applicable for the treatment of last stage OA. Other approaches in the treatment of OA that are considered include prolotherapy, in which an irritant, such as dextrose, is injected into the affected joint, thereby causing an acute inflammatory reaction, but also strengthening and hopefully healing the tissues, ligaments, tendons, and cartilage. There is, thus, a high unmet medical need for the treatment of OA.
Some cytokines are known to be involved in osteoarthritis (Blom et al., Current Drug Targets (2008) 8:283). A few cytokines, such as IL-1, a 'destructive' cytokine, and the anabolic growth factor transforming growth factor β (TGF β) are considered as potential drug targets.
Granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) is a cytokine that functions as a white blood cell growth factor. GM-CSF stimulates stem cells to produce granulocytes (neutrophils, eosinophils, and basophils) and monocytes. Monocytes exit the circulation and migrate into tissue, whereupon they mature into macrophages. It is, thus, part of the natural immune/inflammatory cascade, by which activation of a small number of macrophages can rapidly lead to an increase in their numbers, a process crucial for fighting infection. The active form of GM-CSF is found extracellularly as a homodimer. In particular, GM-CSF has been identified as an inflammatory mediator in autoimmune disorders, like rheumatoid arthritis (RA), leading to an increased production of pro-inflammatory cytokines, chemokines and proteases and, thereby, ultimately to articular destruction.
WO 06/0234412 discloses numerous biomarkers for osteoarthritis, which were identified by protein microarrays. One of the biomarkers identified is GM-CSF, for which a four-fold up-regulation is reported in OA tissue. However, no indication or suggestion is provided that GM-CSF may also be a point for therapeutic intervention, and a mere four-fold up-regulation in OA tissue, as identified with the technology disclosed in WO 06/0234412 , also does not suggest the same. In a related vein, Devalaraja et al (US20020141994A1) cursorily mention OA among a long list of potentially suitable indications suitable for treatment with antagonists of colony stimulating factors. The list of indications includes atherosclerosis, sepsis, asthma, autoimmune disease, osteoporosis and rheumatoid arthritis. Besides other colony stimulating factors, such as M-CSF and G-CSF, GM-CSF is one of the colony stimulating factors mentioned in Devalaraja et al. Indeed, Devalaraja et al. include no data or other insights as to why antagonizing GM-CSF would be appropriate to treat a subject suffering from OA.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


Methods of using water-soluble hydrophobically modified polymers to treat intervals of a subterranean formation having variable permeabilities. An exemplary embodiment provides a method of treating an interval of a subterranean formation having a permeability that varies. The method comprises contacting the interval with a water-soluble hydrophobically modified polymer capable of selectively reducing the effective permeability of the interval to water without a comparable reduction of the effective permeability of the interval to hydrocarbons. The hydrophobically modified polymer modifies the interval to have a more uniform permeability without substantially preventing the flow of fluids through the interval. The method further comprises introducing a treatment fluid into the interval. The more uniform permeability of the interval allows for a more uniform treatment of the interval by the treatment fluid than would be allowed without treatment of the interval with the hydrophobically modified polymer.

The present invention relates to methods for treating a subterranean formation. More particularly, the present invention relates to methods of using water-soluble hydrophobically modified polymers to treat intervals of a subterranean formation having variable permeabilities.
In subterranean treatments, it is often desired to treat an interval of a subterranean formation having sections of non-uniform permeability. However, due to the interval's variable permeability, it may be difficult to obtain a uniform distribution of the treatment fluid throughout the entire interval. For instance, the treatment fluid may preferentially enter portions of the interval with high permeability at the expense of portions of the interval with lesser permeability. In some instances, these intervals with variable permeability may be water-producing intervals. In other instances, these intervals with variable permeability may be weakly consolidated intervals. As used in this disclosure, the phrase "weakly consolidated interval" includes one or more portions of a subterranean formation that contain loose particulates and particulates bonded with insufficient bond strength to withstand the forces created by the production (or injection) of fluids through the formation. These particulates may include, among other things, sand, gravel, fines and/or proppant in the subterranean formation, for example, proppant placed in the subterranean formation in the course of a fracturing or gravel-packing operation. A weakly consolidated interval may include fractures in the formation wherein weakly consolidated particulates reside within the open space of the fracture, e.g., a proppant pack.
In an attempt to facilitate the uniform distribution of treatment fluids throughout the entire interval, a variety of techniques have been used to divert treatment fluids to less permeable portions of the interval. Such techniques have involved, among other things, the injection of particulates, foams, or blocking polymers (e.g., crosslinked aqueous gels) into the interval so as to plug off the high-permeability portions of the subterranean formation, thereby diverting subsequently injected fluids to less permeable portions of the subterranean formation. While each of these diversion techniques has been used successfully, there may be disadvantages. In some instances, plugging off the high-permeability sections may not be suitable for a producing interval, for example, because the injected solution (or material) may reduce or stop the flow of hydrocarbons in addition to the achieving a desired diversion of the treatment fluid. Therefore, to return the interval to production, expensive and/or time-consuming remedial treatments may be required to remove the injected solutions (or materials). Furthermore, techniques geared toward injecting solutions (or materials) designed to plug off high-permeability intervals of the formation may require expensive zonal isolation, which may be inaccurate, leading to inadvertent plugging of and/or damage to the hydrocarbon-bearing sections.

Methods for treating intervals of a subterranean formation having variable permeability


This matching unit is used for a semiconductor plasma processing apparatus supplying high-frequency power via feeding line to an electrode provided in a chamber, and includes first and second variable capacitors, and a distributed constant circuit, which is structured by copper plates connected between an electrode of the second variable capacitor and an end of an internal conductor of the feeding line and the like. The distributed constant circuit and the feeding line delay the phase of a high-frequency voltage by ½ wavelength. Therefore, the same state as those when the electrode of the second variable capacitor and the electrode inside the chamber are directly connected can be realized, and matching is easily attained.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a matching unit, and specifically, to a matching unit used for a semiconductor plasma processing apparatus.
2. Description of the Background Art
A semiconductor plasma processing apparatus is an apparatus for processing a semiconductor substrate by plasma, which is generated by applying high-frequency power between a pair of electrodes provided in a chamber. In the semiconductor plasma processing apparatus, a matching unit is provided between a high-frequency power supply and the electrodes in order to suppress reflection of high-frequency power. Additionally, in order to facilitate impedance matching, the matching unit is directly fixed to the outer wall of the chamber, and the distance between the matching unit and the electrodes is designed to be minimum.
There is also a technique for matching impedance in a high-frequency heating apparatus including an antenna for receiving high-frequency power via a coaxial feeding line to be provided to plasma, and a stub provided at one point of the length of the coaxial feeding line. Here, the length of the coaxial feeding line is set to a length in which the length required for matching the impedance from the antenna to the stub is added to an integral multiple of a half wavelength of the high frequency, and the length of the stub up to the shorting end thereof is set to a length in which the length required for impedance matching is added to an integral multiple of a half wavelength of the high frequency. Thus, the frequency of high-frequency power is controlled to match the impedance of the coaxial feeding line and that of the antenna (for example, see Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 7-159562).
As above, in a semiconductor plasma processing apparatus, generally a matching unit is directly fixed to the outer wall of a chamber. However, the apparatus of some type may require arranging the matching unit distanced from the chamber. In such a case, it is difficult to attain matching since the wiring between the matching unit and the electrodes becomes longer and the inductance of the wiring becomes greater.

Matching unit for semiconductor plasma processing apparatus


A fiber optic plug assembly for a fiber optic cable includes a plug body and cable attachment element. The plug body has a main portion with a front end and back end and at least one latching arm extending from the main portion. The cable attachment element has a front portion received in the back end of the main portion of the plug body, a rear portion located outside of the plug body, and a passage configured to allow at least one optical fiber to extend through the cable attachment element and into the main portion of the plug body. The rear portion of the cable attachment element receives at least a portion of the at least one latching arm. An optical connector system with a fiber optic plug assembly is also provided.

Fiber optic cables include one or more optical fibers that transmit signals in the form of light. The optical fibers provide extremely wide bandwidth, low noise operation, and other well-known benefits.
In a system that uses fiber optic cables, there are typically several locations where the fiber optic cables connect to equipment or other fiber optic cables. The transfer of light at these locations is typically accomplished by optical connector systems that mate one component with another. At least one of the mating components in an optical connector system is often referred to as a "fiber optic connector" (or simply "connector"). For example, connectors are often used in cable management systems to provide service connections to rack-mounted equipment and to provide inter-rack connections.
Many different types of connectors have been developed. As one example of a connector, a MPO-style connector is a multi-fiber connector suitable for high-density backplane and printed circuit board (PCB) applications in data and telecom systems. MPO-style connectors generally utilize adapters, which align the MPO-style connectors with other multi-fiber connectors for forming a connection therebetween.
Connectors are typically designed to not only mate, but also unmate with another component. In other words, the connection is not necessarily intended to be permanent. The parts of a connector may therefore require handling and be exposed to the surrounding environment, including other nearby structures, at some point during the life of the connector. Ensuring that the parts of the connector do not become damaged can be a challenge.

Fiber optic plug assembly and optical connector system


A combination switch includes a combination switch body 1 fixed to a steering column of a vehicle, an operating lever 2 swingably mounted on the combination switch body 1, and a wiper switch for operating a wiper of the vehicle in accordance with a swing movement of the operating lever 2 relative to the combination switch body 1. An A/C switch 4, a fan switch 5 and a temperature control dial 6 for operating an air-conditioner are mounted on the operating lever 2.

1. Technical Field
This invention relates to a combination switch mounted on a steering column of a vehicle.
2. Related Art
In a related art, a combination switch is fixed to a steering column of an automobile, and when an operating lever, extending from a body of the combination switch is swung in one direction (that is, a direction substantially parallel to a plane of angular movement of a steering handle), wipers are operated. When the operating lever is swung in another direction (that is, a direction substantially perpendicular to the one direction), a washer liquid is injected to a front glass.
Further, an operating thumb piece for operating a wiper provided on a rear glass of the car, an operating button for injecting washer liquid to the rear glass, etc., are formed on the operating lever. Thus, the switches, associated with the wiper operation, can be provided on the single operating lever, and this has enhanced the efficiency of manipulation for operating the wipers.
Incidentally, the operation of an air-conditioner in a car is effected, using an A/C switch for operating and stopping the air-conditioner, a fan switch for operating and stopping a fan, a temperature control device for controlling a temperature, etc., and these switches have usually been mounted on an instrument panel or its vicinity. With respect to air-conditioners, a manual air-conditioner, an automatic air-conditioner and a semi-automatic air-conditioner have come into wide use.
However, the operating switches for operating the air-conditioner are provided on the instrument panel or its vicinity, and when operating the air-conditioner during the travel of the car, the eyes must be directed much downward, which has invited a problem that it difficult to operate the air-conditioner during the travel of the car.
On the other hand, the operating switches for the rear wiper are provided on the combination switch, and therefore can be operated during the travel of the car without directing the eyes much downward. However, during the travel of the car, the operating switches for the rear wiper are lower in frequency of use than the operating switches for the air-conditioner, and therefore could not fully performed the effect of good manipulatability during the travel.
Moreover, some kinds of automobiles are not provided with a rear wiper, and two types of combination switches (that is, the type having a rear wiper-operating portion formed on an operating lever and the type having no such rear wiper-operating portion on an operating lever) need to be prepared at a production side. Therefore, there has been a disadvantage that the kinds of the combination switches increased. On the other hands, an air-conditioner has now been provided at almost all kinds of automobiles.


Techniques are provided for providing mappings between logical time values and real time values in a multinode system. The techniques include, if a first event occurs, then writing an LTV-to-RTV mapping to a non-volatile data structure. If a second event occurs, then a check is performed to determine whether any of the LTV-to-RTV mappings in the volatile data structure are newer than all LTV-to-RTV mappings in a non-volatile data structure. If there are newer mappings in the volatile data structure, then one or more LTV-to-RTV mappings are written to the non-volatile data structure based on those “newer” LTV-to-RTV mappings from the volatile data structure. Upon receiving a request an LTV for a particular RTV, the particular RTV is determined based on information from an information source such as the volatile data structure or the non-volatile data structure.

The approaches described in this section could be pursued, but are not necessarily approaches that have been previously conceived or pursued. Therefore, unless otherwise indicated herein, the approaches described in this section are not prior art to the claims in this application and are not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.
A query performed on a database allows the retrieval of specific information based on the data currently in the database. Some database systems provide data to a query based on a particular "snapshot" of the database, where the snapshot corresponds to a particular time value of the logical clock used by the database server. That is, one may be able to query a database and receive results "as of" a particular logical time, thereby receiving data that reflects only those changes that were committed as of the logical time.
In one approach, implemented as part of Oracle 9i, which was released on DAY MONTH of 200X, each of multiple database servers has access to a database. LTV-to-RTV mappings are stored for each of the multiple database servers, and those mappings are tagged with the database server's identification number. When a particular database server receives a request for information as of a particular RTV, then the particular database server attempts to determine an LTV for the particular RTV based on the mappings that are tagged with the server's instance identification number. A first problem with this approach is that the results are non-deterministic. The resulting LTV value is likely to be different depending on at which database server the query arrives. A second problem with this approach is that, if the database server that receives the request for the LTV for the particular RTV had not yet been started at the time of the particular RTV, then there will be no appropriate LTV-to-RTV mapping information stored for the particular database server, and therefore, the request could not be satisfied.
Based on the foregoing, there is a clear need for techniques that provide mappings between logical time values and real time values in a manner that overcomes the problems described herein.

Providing mappings between logical time values and real time values in a multinode system


There is provided a method for determining material properties in an active acoustic spectroscopy system, the method comprising: acquiring a multidimensional acoustic spectrum from a material in a container using acoustic spectroscopy; reducing the dimensionality of the acoustic spectrum using a mathematical dimensionality reduction method, thereby forming a reduced acoustic spectrum describing a material state; and determining if the material state belongs to a predetermined material state cluster. There is also provided a system for performing the described method.

In the process industry it is many times of outmost importance to monitor and control the properties of various materials involved in a process. For fluid processes, control measurements can be performed where individual instruments are employed for determining different properties of the fluid, or laboratory samples can be gathered for further analysis to determine properties of the analyzed material.
However, such analysis gives a limited description and not an integral description of the entire fluid. Furthermore, these analysis tools can be both costly and time consuming and it is desirable to simplify material characterization and process control in various processes.
Moreover, there are stages where a process may be semi-continuous and parameters need to be changed to achieve a specific quality of the processed material, i.e. the "right quality". The definition of "right quality" is often a description given by a combination of single or multiple properties related to specific quality parameters. In such a process, it is desired to save energy and raw materials by changing the quality parameters in an optimized fashion, i.e. to switch between different predetermined material properties in the fastest possible way. Moreover, in some processes it is more important to be able to repeatedly identify a specific process state than to know the specific properties of the process.
Active acoustic spectroscopy is a measurement technique used to analyze fluids inside of a container or containment such as a pipe or a vat. The technique is currently mainly used in the process industry. The technique requires small sensors with high precision in order achieve measurements with sufficient quality in the process industry. Moreover, by using active acoustic spectroscopy and range of properties of a material can be determined in only one measurement.
Accordingly, active acoustic spectroscopy addresses some of the issues mentioned above. However, active acoustic spectroscopy provides measurement results which are multi dimensional and includes complex data. In many cases, data processing and manual handling of the measurement results is required for deriving useful information describing material and process properties.
In view of the above, it is desirable to increase the accessibility to active acoustic spectroscopy as a measurement tool usable in a wide range of processes.

Method and system for determining process properties using active acoustic spectroscopy


The locations of flowers on a plant, rather than the locations of agricultural products produced from such flowers, are used to facilitate the performance of harvesting and other agricultural operations in robotic agricultural applications. In some implementations, the identified location of a fruit-producing flower may be used by a robotic device to apply an indicator tag to a flowering plant proximate the flower for later identification when performing various types of directed and automated agricultural operations. In other implementations, the identified location of a fruit-producing flower may be used by a robotic device to anchor a stem of a flowering plant to a predetermined location such that the location of the flower, and of any fruit(s) later produced by such flower, are controlled and/or known when performing subsequent agricultural operations.

Robotic and/or automated systems are increasingly being contemplated for the agricultural industry to improve productivity in planting, growing and/or harvesting crops. One particular application for which such systems may be of use is that of selective harvesting, where agricultural products are harvested from plants without entirely destroying the plants. Proposed robotic and/or automated approaches to selective harvesting, however, have generally relied on complex machine perception systems and hardware end-effectors that are customized for particular types of crops, and that are generally unsuitable for use with other types of crops. As an example, a machine perception system optimized to identify a green bell pepper is generally unsuitable for identifying other types of agricultural products, such as strawberries, as the agricultural products generally share little commonality across different types of crops. Moreover, for many crops, identification of an agricultural product for harvest may be complicated by the fact that the agricultural product itself is difficult to distinguish from its surrounding foliage. A green bell pepper, for example, is often nearly the same color as the leaves of a pepper plant, so color is generally not a distinguishing characteristic that can be relied upon to identify a green bell pepper for harvest.

Tagging of fruit-producing flowers for robotic selective harvesting


The seam welding machine with welding arrangement 10 has a lower part (1) and an upper (2). Load-bearing components are upper and lower longitudinal girders (20, 21) with a rigid connection (3, 4) between them. For clamping sheet blanks (7, 8) for welding, two clamping blocks are provided, each with upper and lower pressure beams (24, 25); at least the upper pressure beams (24) can be raised and lowered by means of jacks. For longitudinal transport of workpieces (7, 8) along the weld axis (Z), each beam has a feed unit (40, 41). Each feed unit comprises a longitudinal guide extending in the direction of the axis (Z), a slide, with clamping devices, guided on this longitudinal guide, and a reversible linear drive connected to the slide.

The invention relates to a seam welding machine for joining together with a seam weld sheet blanks clamped side by side, comprising
a welding arrangement defining a weld axis, PA1 two clamping blocks arranged on either side of the weld axis for the sheet blanks, each with upper and lower pressure beams and upper and lower clamping devices defining a receiving gap for the sheet blanks and, PA1 a longitudinal transport system for advancing the clamped sheet blanks in the direction of the weld axis.
Seam welding machines of this kind are used in particular for the production of body blanks, often involving the joining together of sheet blanks of different grade and/or thickness. Before the sheet blanks are clamped in the clamping blocks of the machine, the sheet edges which are to be welded must be precisely aligned in relation to one another and to the weld axis, and this alignment must be sustained during the longitudinal feed, i.e. during the welding process, in order not to impair the quality of the welded seam. Account has to be taken of the fact that the workpieces may be subjected to considerable transverse forces in the course of welding, particularly in the case of mash seam welding between electrode wheels. Furthermore, in the case of seam welding by laser beam, the butting edges which are to be welded have to be held together with high transverse forces.
In a known welding machine of the aforesaid kind, a carriage, guided on the machine bed and capable of being longitudinally traversed as a complete unit, is provided for clamping and advancing the sheet blanks U.S. Pat. No. 5,081,331 . The carriage essentially has four (two lower and two upper) pressure beams provided with the clamping devices, with hydraulic clamping cylinders fitted in each of the upper beams. With this type of construction the pressure beams can only be joined together at their ends. The beams themselves must therefore be rigid enough in their construction not to be subject to unacceptable deformations due to the (both vertical and horizontal) forces exerted on them during clamping and welding. In practice, therefore, the overall length of the clamping blocks -- and hence the length of the welded seams which can be produced -- is somewhat limited, since to increase the length still further a carriage of disproportionately large dimensions, and corresponding weight, would be required. In addition the hydraulic clamping cylinders fitted to the traversing carriage must be connected via flexible pressure hoses, involving additional expense and possible complications.

Seam welding machine for joining sheet blanks together


The invention relates to a continuous method of producing a thick, thermoformable, from a thermoplastic material and reinforcing fibers. The inventive method comprises the following steps: A) blending thermoplastic fibers and reinforcing fibers to give a dry-laid blended web, B) consolidating the blended web by needle felting, C) heating the consolidated blended web, and D) compacting it to give a semi-finished product.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a method for producing a thick, thermoplastically deformable fiber-reinforced semifinished product from a mixed non-woven in which thermoplastic fibers and reinforcing fibers are present.
2. Description of the Related Art
Thermoplastically deformable semifinished products which comprise reinforcing fibers, in particular glass fibers, are increasingly used for producing moldings, in particular for motor vehicle parts. These "plastic panels" have high toughness and strength. The semifinished GMT products are produced on a large industrial scale by uniting continuous glass mats and webs of thermoplastic melt on a twin-belt press. However, this mode of operation is energy-intensive, because the high-viscosity melt has to be pressed into the mat. Fiber contents of more than 50% by weight are rarely achievable by this method. Since the glass mats are generally composed of fiber bundles, the saturation process is never entirely complete and uniform, the result being the occurrence of regions of microscopic inhomogeneity, leading to high standard deviations of mechanical properties.
Another process used in industry is similar to paper-making. Thermoplastic fibers and reinforcing fibers are mixed with one another in the form of an aqueous slurry, the slurry is squeezed, and the resultant mixed non-woven is dried and hot-pressed. This involves large amounts of water, and the purification of waste water contaminated with auxiliaries.
DE-A 36 14 533 describes a process for producing moldings from thermoplastics which comprise an inserted reinforcement. This is similar to textile fiber technology in that a mixed non-woven composed of thermoplastic fibers and reinforcing fibers is produced by the carding or airlay process and, for example, consolidated by needling. Cut-to-size pieces from this mixed non-woven are heated and are directly, with no prior consolidation, pressed to give three-dimensional moldings. However, complete and thorough saturation is rarely achieved here, especially in the case of components of complicated shape, and the mechanical properties of the moldings are therefore unsatisfactory.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,948,661 describes the production of a consolidated semifinished product whose thickness is from 1.25 to 2.5 mm. First, a dry process produces a mixed non-woven from thermoplastic fibers and reinforcing fibers. However, this mixed non-woven is not needled, but is folded together in the manner of corrugations, and is consolidated directly through hot-pressing to give the semifinished product. Because there is no consolidation of the mixed non-woven, the only practical problem-free consolidation method is batchwise consolidation. Although mention is also made of continuous consolidation on a twin-belt press, this would be associated with the disadvantages described above—if indeed it is feasible in practice.
Finally, EP-A 555 345 describes an air-permeable fiber structure made from a mixed non-woven produced by a wet or dry method and composed of thermoplastic fibers and reinforcing fibers. This mixed non-woven, which has not been needled, is partially consolidated by careful incipient melting of the thermoplastic fibers, by bonding these to the reinforcing fibers at the intersections. Continuous production of the fiber structure is not described. Another disadvantage of the process is that the non-wetted reinforcing fibers can corrode during storage, and here again it is difficult to obtain complete and thorough saturation during the production of moldings.
The German patent application P 101 05 813.6 describes a process for producing a thermoplastically deformable, fiber-reinforced semifinished product with a thickness of from 0.2 to 3.0 mm, by needling a mixed non-woven composed of thermoplastic fibers and of reinforcing fibers of length from 30 to 300 mm, and heating the mixed non-woven, and pressing it on a calender or in a polishing stack. If the intention is to press this relatively thin semifinished product to produce finished parts with a complicated three-dimensional shape, in particular those having filigree ribs, the ribs are found not to have a satisfactory filling of fibers. In the case of a thicker semifinished product, improved flowability should be assumed.

Method of producing a thick, thermoformable, fiber-reinforced semi-finished product


Provided is an image forming apparatus including: an acquisition unit that acquires size information regarding a sheet on which an image is to be formed and print data; an image forming unit that forms the image on the sheet on the basis of the print data acquired by the acquisition unit; and a control unit that, if the size information acquired by the acquisition unit indicates a first size of which an aspect ratio of the sheet is 1:substantially 1.41, exchanges vertical and horizontal directions of the image formed on the sheet with respect to the print data by controlling the image forming unit so as to execute a first split print mode of enlarging the image to be printed on two sheets.

Image forming apparatuses having a "poster printing function" of enlarging print data to be printed on a plurality of sheets are known. In this kind of image forming apparatus, the suppression of the generation of blanks on the upper, lower, left, and right sides of a sheet during printing is required.

Image forming apparatus, printing system, print setting apparatus, and image forming method


The present invention relates to a pneumatic tire having a component comprising at least one elastomer containing olefinic unsaturation; a radioactive source of radiation; and a phosphorescent agent capable of emitting visible light upon exposure to said radiation.

The use of phosphorescent materials in pneumatic tires has been proposed, for example, to increase visibility of tires at night and to provide for customized tires with desirable colorful, bright markings. However, prior methods to provide such tires have required illumination of the tires with external light sources, such as sunlight. Such resort to external light sources results in depletion of the phosphorescent effect once the tire is removed from the light source. It would, therefore, be useful to have a phosphorescent pneumatic tire wherein the phosphorescent effect is self-generating within the tire, with no need for an external light or energy source.


A transuterine cannula through which an endoscope can be advanced into the peritoneal space to provide visualization of tissue cutting in the peritoneal space pursuant to a vaginal hysterectomy.

Less invasive surgical procedure for undertaking hysterectomies have become popular, owing to the faster recovery times, improved cosmesis, and lower risks they afford compared to conventional hysterectomies. Least invasive hysterectomy procedures typically involve one of three primary approaches—vaginal hysterectomy, total laparoscopic hysterectomy (TLH), and laparoscopically assisted vaginal hysterectomy (LAVH) with TLH being the least invasive approach. TLH is less invasive than LAVH because it avoids the trauma normally caused by the expansion induced to the vaginal area to permit access of the surgeon's hands to the cervical area.
Difficulty, however, is encountered when employing vaginal, TLH and LAVH techniques due to inherent limitations on visibility, anatomical identification, and the ability to manipulate organs (especially the uterus). In the case of TLH, these limitations are particularly pronounced because of a higher degree of difficulty in securing the uterine arteries and ligaments associated with this approach.
Other limitations associated with vaginal, TLH and LAVH surgical approaches include limited exploratory ability and surgical control. Vaginal, TLH and LAVH approaches can also result in the unnecessary shortening of the vagina due to the limitations discussed above. These difficulties and limitations have slowed the move by surgeons to use the least invasive surgical approach for hysterectomies.
Accordingly, the present invention critically recognizes that it would be advantageous to provide improved methods and apparatus for less invasive hysterectomies, particularly in visualizing interior body structures.

Methods and apparatus for natural orifice vaginal hysterectomy


The present invention is directed to a method of processing color photographic film that has been imagewise exposed in a camera, said film having at least three light-sensitive units which have their individual sensitivities in different wavelength regions, each of the units comprising at least one light-sensitive silver-halide emulsion, binder, and dye-providing coupler, which method in order comprises: (a) thermally developing the film step without any externally applied developing agent, comprising heating said film to a temperature greater than 80xc2x0 C. in an essentially dry process, such that an internally located blocked developing agent in reactive association with each of said three light-sensitive units becomes unblocked to form a developing agent, whereby the unblocked developing agent forms dyes by reacting with the dye-providing couplers to form a color negative image; (b) processing the developed film of step(a) by contacting it with a non-blocked developing agent, under agitation at a temperature of 30 to 50xc2x0 C. under aqueous alkaline conditions, without forming a color negative image in the film by reaction of the non-blocked developing agent with the dye-providing couplers inside the silver-halide emulsions, and (c) desilvering said film in one or more desilvering solutions to remove unwanted silver and/or silver halide, thereby forming a color negative image; and (d) thereafter forming a positive-image color print from the desilvered film.

This invention relates to a method of processing a color photothermographic elements capable of dry thermal development that is sequentially compatible with traditional wet-chemical processing.
In conventional color photography, films containing light-sensitive silver halide are employed in hand-held cameras. Upon exposure, the film carries a latent image that is only revealed after suitable processing. These elements have historically been processed by treating the camera-exposed film with at least a developing solution having a developing agent that acts to form an image in cooperation with components in the film.
It is always desirable to limit the amount of solvent or processing chemicals used in the processing of silver-halide films. A traditional photographic processing scheme for color film involves development, fixing and bleaching, and washing, each step typically involving immersion in a tank holding the necessary chemical solution. By scanning the film following development, the subsequent processing solutions could be eliminated for the purposes of obtaining a color positive print. Instead the scanned image could be used to directly provide the color positive print.
By the use of photothermographic film, it would be possible to eliminate processing solutions altogether, or alternatively, to minimize the amount of processing solutions and the complex chemicals contained therein. A photothermographic (PTG) film by definition is a film that requires energy, typically heat, to effectuate development. A dry photothermographic film requires only heat. A solution-minimized photothermographic film may require small amounts of aqueous alkaline solution to effectuate development, which amounts may be only that required to swell the film without excess solution. Development is the process whereby silver ion is reduced to metallic silver and in a color system, a dye is created in an image-wise fashion. In all photothermographic films, the silver is retained in the coating after the heat development.
It can be difficult, however, to scan through imagewise exposed and photo processed silver halide films when the undeveloped silver halide is not removed from the film during processing. The retained silver halide is reflective and this reflectivity appears as density in a scanner. The retained silver halide scatters light, decreasing sharpness and raising the overall density of the film, to the point in high silver films of making the film unsuitable for scanning. High densities result in the introduction of Poisson noise into the electronic form of the scanned image and this in turn results in decreased image quality. Furthermore, the retained silver halide can printout to ambient/viewing/scanning light, rendering non-imagewise density, degrading signal-to noise of the original scene, and raising density even higher.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to improve the processing of dry-developed photothermographic film in which the film can be optionally processed by a traditional wet-chemical process in order to obtain a completely desilvered film for a higher quality print, archival film, and/or optical printing.
The present invention is directed to a method of processing color photographic film that has been imagewise exposed in a camera, said film having at least three light-sensitive units which have their individual sensitivities in different wavelength regions, each of the units comprising at least one light-sensitive silver-halide emulsion, binder, and dye-providing coupler, which method in order comprises: (a) thermally developing the film without any externally applied developing agent, comprising heating said film to a temperature greater than 80xc2x0 C. in an essentially dry process, such that an internally located blocked developing agent in reactive association with each of said three light-sensitive units becomes unblocked to form a developing agent, whereby the unblocked developing agent forms dyes by reacting with the dye-providing couplers to form a color negative image; (b) processing the developed film of step(a) by contacting it with a non-blocked developing agent, under agitation at a temperature of 30 to 50xc2x0 C. under aqueous alkaline conditions, without forming a color negative image in the film by reaction of the non-blocked developing agent with the dye-providing couplers inside the silver-halide emulsions, and (c) desilvering said film in one or more desilvering solutions to remove unwanted silver and/or silver halide, thereby forming a color negative image; and (d) thereafter forming a positive-image color print from the desilvered film;
In one embodiment of the present invention, the film comprises at least one blocked inhibitor that is released upon thermal development which inhibitor has substantially no effect in dry thermal development such that development proceeds in the usual manner, and wherein when the thermal development and concomitant release of the inhibitor precedes the wet-chemical process, the effect in the wet-chemical process is such that no development occurs. However, the use of the blocked inhibitor may improve image discrimination, but is not essential, to the practice of the present invention. According to the present invention, the photothermographic film can be thermally developed, even exposed to light, and then re-developed through a C-41 type of process, including bleaching and fixing, resulting in an acceptable and stable image in the film for scanning or optical printing.
In one preferred embodiment, the film is backwards compatible with respect to thermal development and wet-chemical processing and comprises at least one blocked inhibitor that is released upon thermal development which inhibitor has substantially no effect in dry thermal development such that development proceeds in the usual manner, and wherein the wet-chemical process does not have the capability to release the inhibitor, so development also can proceed in the usual manner, but wherein when thermal development and concomitant release of the inhibitor precedes the wet-chemical process, the effect in the wet-chemical process is such that no development occurs.
Thermal activation preferably occurs at temperatures ranging from about 80 to 180xc2x0 C., preferably 100 to 160xc2x0 C. In one preferred embodiment of the invention, the photothermographic element comprises an effective amount of a thermal solvent. In another preferred embodiment of the invention, the photothermographic element comprises a mixture of organic silver salts (inclusive of complexes) at least one of which is a silver donor.

Dual process compatible color photothermographic element comprising dry thermal development


A waterproof felted material (10) has a thermoplastic polyolefin sheet (20) to which a thermoplastic fibrous polyolefin matting (30) is bonded with a portion of the fibers of the matting (40) embedded in and fused to the thermoplastic polyolefin sheet. A solidifying coating (50) may be applied to the matting.

Waterproof felted materials presently exist for a variety of product applications. For instance, it is common for boat decks to have waterproof felted surfaces on their external decks which allow for traction of crew members' shoes while providing watertight surfaces. This material is useful to boat owners since it provides a surface which can be cleaned easily, maintains a dry boat interior, and which improves traction. Shortcomings with present-day felted boat decks are their lack of longevity and inability to conform to curved shapes.
Another example of waterproof felted materials currently in use is that of putting surfaces of miniature golf courses. This surface, or artificial grass, simulates the feel and resistance of grass on a golf course, and yet provides a waterproof surface for low maintenance and continuous player use. A shortcoming with these artificial grass surfaces is that they often separate or peel from underlying concrete substrates over the course of time. Also, they too cannot be applied to contoured shapes as unitary strips of material. For example, a putting surface straddled by two upright short walls would require three independent strips of felted material where total coverage of the surface and walls is desired. If a continuous strip of felted material is used, the felted material would lift up from the corners over time.
Various other materials have been made which provide waterproof barriers having sufficient structural integrity to withstand weathering and continuous use. These materials have typically been used to line construction surfaces such as roadways and rooftops, and the surfaces of recreational vehicle compartments such as boat decks and sports utility vehicle trunks. However, these materials often experience structural failure due to the aging of adhesive used to bind the layers. This adhesive often disintegrates over time causing a layer of a multilayered barrier to separate from an underlying substrate. Additionally, the manufacture of many of these materials requires costly production steps, which are, in many instances, labor intensive and time consuming. For instance, much of the prior art teaches rolling and pressure techniques to apply layers to a substrate. Such techniques require a large space to accommodate rollers and often several workers to operate such machinery. Examples of such structures are manufactured by the Westlake Plastic Company of the United States, the Agru Company of Belgium, the Simona Company of Germany and the Gunnie Sanyo Company of Japan. These companies manufacture fabric backed materials consisting of a woven fabric or fabric blend such as cotton, polyester or fiberglass, which is pressed into a polymeric sheet backing. Such "fabric backed" materials, often fray. In some instances the fabric can peel from their backings completely.
Waterproof barriers have been devised with multiple layers using adhesive to bind them together into an integral structure. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,319,854 describes a moisture control method and means for pavements and bridge deck constructions comprising layers of glass fiber mesh embedded in layers of asphalt. This moisture control method is not readily adapted for use as a moisture barrier in a recreational vehicle. U.S. Pat. No. 4,464,215 describes a process of applying a unitary construction barrier by applying to a preformed barrier structure an adhesive bituminous sheet material.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,787,780 describes a method of waterproofing with a self-sealing bentonite sheet material composite article. The method includes a layer of a flexible sheet material adhered to a layer of a composition comprising a non-hydrated water-swellable clay intimately contacted with a polypropylene, polybutene or mixtures thereof. The clay mixture is sufficiently tacky to adhere to the flexible sheet. While this method creates a waterproof barrier, it does not provide for the permanent addition of a second solidifying coating material. Neither is the connection between the clay mixture and the underlying sheet permanent.
Furthermore, the manufacture of multilayered adhesive bonded barriers often exposes workers to volatile organic compounds which are released during application of the adhesives.
Accordingly, it is seen that a need remains for a waterproof felted material which can be molded and permanently bonded to an underlying substrate. Additionally, a need remains for a waterproof felted material which can be used as a permanent substrate for a solidifying coating. A need further remains for a waterproof felted material which is not dependent on adhesive or pressure in order to maintain the bond between layers. It is to the provision of such therefore that the present invention is primarily directed.

Methods of producing waterproof felted material


A modular chromatography column heating and temperature control system includes a heater base module with a compartment for the chromatography column that includes a heater plate. A set of heater blocks is provided in pairs, each heater block having opposite main faces in which are formed channels that match chromatography columns of different diameters. The heater blocks are mounted in pairs on the heater plate with the chromatography column held between them in matching channels on the two adjacent main faces of the heater blocks. An appropriate number of pairs of heater blocks are mounted to the heater plate so that the pairs of heater blocks cover as much of the length of the chromatography column as desired. The set of available pairs of heater blocks may include heater blocks of different lengths, so that appropriate selections of pairs of heater blocks can be made to best match the length of the chromatography column. The heater blocks are formed of a good heat conductor, such as aluminum, to efficiently conduct heat from the heater plate to the chromatography column or away from the chromatography column to maintain the column at a desired temperature.

Chromatography is a process used in chemical and biochemical research and process control wherein mixtures of chemical compounds are separated into the components of the mixture so that the existence and quantity of each component can be determined. Chromatography is used, for example, in the pharmaceutical industries in basic research, product development, manufacturing, and quality control. In the high pressure (or performance) liquid chromatography (HPLC) process, a stainless steel tube, called a "column," is used to carry out the separation. Various materials can be used to fill the column, with a common filler bed material being SiO.sub.2 (silicon dioxide or silica). A mobile phase liquid is then pushed through the column under pressure. Because the bed of material (e.g., silica) within the column is very dense, the liquid must be pressurized to a relatively high-pressure (e.g., 2,000-5,000 pounds per square inch) to force the liquid through the column at an acceptable rate. A sample constituting a mixture of chemical compounds to be analyzed is then introduced into the fluid stream and enters the column. As the chemical mixture passes through the bed within the column, the different chemicals in the mixture separate from one another depending on the partition coefficients of the various constituents.
The close control of the temperature of the column is essential to detector baseline stability and retention time reproducability. Without close control of the temperature of the column, typical daily ambient air temperature fluctuations of 3.degree. to 4.degree. C. are sufficient to cause erroneous quantitation or peak misidentification, particularly in automated systems or where temperature-sensitive detectors are used. In addition, it is often desirable to heat the column above ambient temperature. Elevated column temperatures can have the benefits of shorter analysis time, more reproducible results, greater sensitivity, co-eluting peak resolution, reduced mobile phase viscosity, less system wear and improved sample solubility. Thus, temperature controlled heaters for HPLC columns are in common use. Commonly, in such heaters the HPLC column is contained in an enclosure or "oven," the temperature of which is raised to a set temperature above ambient by an electrical heating element within the enclosure. Such column heater systems may also include a preheater to preheat the mobile phase before it reaches the column. Examples of designs for such preheaters include thin walled tubes carrying the mobile phase liquid which pass through heated metal blocks or which are wound around heated posts.
In some situations, the actual temperature within the column may not be adequately regulated by controlling the temperature of the ambient air around the column within the heater enclosure. To provide more precise direct control of the temperature of the column, the column may be mounted in contact with a block of good heat conducting metal (typically aluminium) which is itself in good thermal contact with the heating element of the column heather. The column may be mounted in a groove, typically V-shaped, in the conducting block to increase the heat transfer contact area between the outside surface of the column and the heat conducting block. The block of metal acts to transfer heat to or from portions of the column to rapidly equalize the temperature of all parts of the column in addition to transfer heat to or from the column as a whole to maintain the column at the desired temperature.
One limitation of conventional heaters using heat conducting blocks is that HPLC columns come in different lengths and in different outside diameters, ranging from relatively short columns of a few centimeters (cm) in length up to 60 cm and sometimes more. A heat conducting block of a length sufficient to be in contact with a long HPLC column over substantially its entire length cannot be used with a shorter column. Thus, several heat transfer blocks, each sized to fit a particular length of HPLC column, have been required. Such prior heat conducting blocks also generally only contact a portion of the outside periphery of the HPLC columns, so that the actual heat transfer area is much less than the full available surface of the column. Further, in conventional column heaters in which the preheaters are formed on posts mounted within the temperature controlled compartment, the space allocated in the compartment for the preheater structures can limit the maximum length of the HPLC column that can be used in conjunction with preheaters.

Modular chromatography column heating system


Embodiments of the present invention provide a load compensation method, a measuring method for load estimation, a base station and user equipment. The load compensation method includes: obtaining, by a base station of compensation cell, an estimated value of a resource needed by user equipment of energy-saving cell in the compensation cell according to signal quality of the compensation cell measured by the user equipment of the energy-saving cell; determining whether to compensate for the energy-saving cell according to the estimated value of the resource needed by user equipment of the energy-saving cell in the compensation cell; and increasing power of related resources to compensate for the energy-saving cell after it is determined to compensate for the energy-saving cell. With the embodiments of the present invention, the resources of the compensation cell occupied by the user equipment of the energy-saving cell may be reflected, thereby improving accuracy of load compensation.

Energy-saving in networks is an important research subject for an existing long-term evolution-advanced (LTE-A) system, wherein, one research scenario is to divide cells in the network into energy-saving cells and compensation cells, these compensation cells and energy-saving cells operating in identical frequencies. When a load of the network is relatively light, part or all of the energy-saving cells may be switched off, and the compensation cells may cover serving areas of these energy-saving cells by increasing transmission power. In such a scenario, such mutual information as a load, and capacity, etc., may be negotiated between the energy-saving cells and the compensation cells by using some pieces of signaling, so that the compensation cells decide how to provide compensation to the energy-saving cells.
However, in the implementation of the present invention, the inventors found that the defect of the relevant art resides in: some pieces of load information are interacted between base stations of the compensation cells and the energy-saving cells by using signaling, but these pieces of load information are loads seen by the energy-saving cells, and may not reflect how many bandwidths of the compensation cells will be occupied, and hence, it cannot be decided to provide compensation to the coverage areas by the compensation cells or to proceed to serve by the energy-saving cells.
It should be noted that the above description of the background art is merely provided for clear and complete explanation of the present invention and for easy understanding by those skilled in the art. And it should not be understood that the above technical solution is known to those skilled in the art as it is described in the background art of the present invention.

Load compensation method, measuring method for load estimation, base station and user equipment