An AM-EWOD device includes a plurality of array elements arranged in an array of rows and columns, each of the array elements including array element circuitry, an element electrode, and a reference electrode. The array element circuitry includes actuation circuitry configured to apply actuation voltages to the element and/or reference electrodes for actuating the array element, and impedance sensor circuitry configured to sense impedance at the array element electrode to determine a droplet or device property at the array element, the impedance sensor circuitry comprising a sensor capacitor and a sensor readout transistor that outputs an output current for sensing. The sensor capacitor is electrically connected to a gate of the sensor readout transistor such that during a sensing phase a voltage perturbation is coupled through the sensor capacitor (and possibly other circuit elements) to the gate of the sensor readout transistor. The impedance sensor circuitry further comprises a pre-charging element that operates to turn on the sensor readout transistor during the sensing phase in combination with coupling of the voltage perturbation, thereby increasing the effect of the voltage perturbation on the output current.

Electrowetting on dielectric (EWOD) is a well-known technique for manipulating droplets of fluid by application of an electric field. Active Matrix EWOD (AM-EWOD) refers to implementation of EWOD in an active matrix array incorporating transistors, for example by using thin film transistors (TFTs). It is thus a candidate technology for digital microfluidics for lab-on-a-chip technology. An introduction to the basic principles of the technology can be found in "Digital microfluidics: is a true lab-on-a-chip possible?", R. B. Fair, Microfluid Nanofluid (2007) 3:245-281).
FIG. 1 is a drawing depicting an exemplary EWOD based microfluidic system. In the example of FIG. 1, the microfluidic system includes a reader 32 and a cartridge 34. The cartridge 34 may contain a microfluidic device, such as an AM-EWOD device 36, as well as (not shown) fluid input ports into the device and an electrical connection as are conventional. The fluid input ports may perform the function of inputting fluid into the AM-EWOD device 36 and generating droplets within the device, for example by dispensing from input reservoirs as controlled by electrowetting. As further detailed below, the microfluidic device includes an electrode array configured to receive the inputted fluid droplets.
The microfluidic system further may include a control system configured to control actuation voltages applied to the electrode array of the microfluidic device to perform manipulation operations to the fluid droplets. For example, the reader 32 may contain such a control system configured as control electronics 38 and a storage device 40 that may store any application software and any data associated with the system. The control electronics 38 may include suitable circuitry and/or processing devices that are configured to carry out various control operations relating to control of the AM-EWOD device 36, such as a CPU, microcontroller or microprocessor.
In the example of FIG. 1, an external sensor module 35 is provided for sensor droplet properties. For example, optical sensors as are known in the art may be employed as external sensors for sensing droplet properties. Suitable optical sensors include camera devices, light sensors, charged coupled devices (CCD) and similar image sensors, and the like. A sensor additionally or alternatively may be configured as internal sensor circuitry incorporated as part of the drive circuitry in each array element. Such sensor circuitry may sense droplet properties by the detection of an electrical property at the array element, such as impedance or capacitance.
FIG. 2 is a drawing depicting additional details of the exemplary AM-EWOD device 36 in a perspective view. The AM-EWOD device 36 has a lower substrate assembly 44 with thin film electronics 46 disposed upon the lower substrate assembly 44. The thin film electronics 46 are arranged to drive array element electrodes 48. A plurality of array element electrodes 48 are arranged in an electrode or element two-dimensional array 50, having N rows by M columns of array elements where N and M may be any integer. A liquid droplet 52 which may include any polar liquid and which typically may be aqueous, is enclosed between the lower substrate 44 and a top substrate 54 separated by a spacer 56, although it will be appreciated that multiple liquid droplets 52 can be present.
FIG. 3 is a drawing depicting a cross section through some of the array elements of the exemplary AM-EWOD 36 device of FIG. 2. In the portion of the AM-EWOD device depicted in FIG. 3, the device includes a pair of the array element electrodes 48A and 48B that are shown in cross section that may be utilized in the electrode or element array 50 of the AM-EWOD device 36 of FIG. 3. The AM-EWOD device 36 further incorporates the thin-film electronics 46 disposed on the lower substrate 44, which is separated from the upper substrate 54 by the spacer 56. The uppermost layer of the lower substrate 44 (which may be considered a part of the thin film electronics layer 46) is patterned so that a plurality of the array element electrodes 48 (e.g. specific examples of array element electrodes are 48A and 48B in FIG. 3) are realized. The term element electrode 48 may be taken in what follows to refer both to the physical electrode structure 48 associated with a particular array element, and also to the node of an electrical circuit directly connected to this physical structure. A reference electrode 58 is shown in FIG. 3 disposed upon the top substrate 54, but the reference electrode alternatively may be disposed upon the lower substrate 44 to realize an in-plane reference electrode geometry. The term reference electrode 58 may also be taken in what follows to refer to both or either of the physical electrode structure and also to the node of an electrical circuit directly connected to this physical structure.
In the AM-EWOD device 36, a non-polar fluid 60 (e.g. oil) may be used to occupy the volume not occupied by the liquid droplet 52. An insulator layer 62 may be disposed upon the lower substrate 44 that separates the conductive element electrodes 48A and 48B from a first hydrophobic coating 64 upon which the liquid droplet 52 sits with a contact angle 66 represented by θ. The hydrophobic coating is formed from a hydrophobic material (commonly, but not necessarily, a fluoropolymer). On the top substrate 54 is a second hydrophobic coating 68 with which the liquid droplet 52 may come into contact. The reference electrode 58 is interposed between the top substrate 54 and the second hydrophobic coating 68.
The contact angle θ for the liquid droplet is defined as shown in FIG. 3, and is determined by the balancing of the surface tension components between the solid-liquid (γSL), liquid-gas (γLG) and non-ionic fluid (γSG) interfaces, and in the case where no voltages are applied satisfies Young's law, the equation being given by:
                              cos                                                              θ                =                                            γ              SG                        -                          γ              SL                                            γ            LG                                              (                  equation                                                              1                )
In operation, voltages termed the EW drive voltages, (e.g. VT, V0 and V00 in FIG. 3) may be externally applied to different electrodes (e.g. reference electrode 58, element electrodes 48A and 48A, respectively). The resulting electrical forces that are set up effectively control the hydrophobicity of the hydrophobic coating 64. By arranging for different EW drive voltages (e.g. V0 and V00) to be applied to different element electrodes (e.g. 48A and 48B), the liquid droplet 52 may be moved in the lateral plane between the two substrates.
FIG. 4A shows a circuit representation of the electrical load 70A between the element electrode 48 and the reference electrode 58 in the case when a liquid droplet 52 is present. The liquid droplet 52 can usually be modeled as a resistor and capacitor in parallel. Typically, the resistance of the droplet will be relatively low (e.g. if the droplet contains ions) and the capacitance of the droplet will be relatively high (e.g. because the relative permittivity of polar liquids is relatively high, e.g. ˜80 if the liquid droplet is aqueous). In many situations the droplet resistance is relatively small, such that at the frequencies of interest for electrowetting, the liquid droplet 52 may function effectively as an electrical short circuit. The hydrophobic coatings 64 and 68 have electrical characteristics that may be modelled as capacitors, and the insulator 62 may also be modelled as a capacitor. The overall impedance between the element electrode 48 and the reference electrode 58 may be approximated by a capacitor whose value is typically dominated by the contribution of the insulator 62 and hydrophobic coatings 64 and 68 contributions, and which for typical layer thicknesses and materials may be on the order of a pico-Farad in value.
FIG. 4B shows a circuit representation of the electrical load 70B between the element electrode 48 and the reference electrode 58 in the case when no liquid droplet is present. In this case the liquid droplet components are replaced by a capacitor representing the capacitance of the non-polar fluid 60 which occupies the space between the top and lower substrates. In this case the overall impedance between the element electrode 48 and the reference electrode 58 may be approximated by a capacitor whose value is dominated by the capacitance of the non-polar fluid and which is typically small, on the order of femto-Farads.
For the purposes of driving and sensing the array elements, the electrical load 70A/70B overall functions in effect as a capacitor, whose value depends on whether a liquid droplet 52 is present or not at a given element electrode 48. In the case where a droplet is present, the capacitance is relatively high (typically of order pico-Farads), whereas if there is no liquid droplet present the capacitance is low (typically of order femto-Farads). If a droplet partially covers a given electrode 48 then the capacitance may approximately represent the extent of coverage of the element electrode 48 by the liquid droplet 52.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,163,612 (Sterling et al., issued Jan. 16, 2007) describes how TFT based thin film electronics may be used to control the addressing of voltage pulses to an EWOD array by using circuit arrangements very similar to those employed in active matrix display technologies. The approach of U.S. Pat. No. 7,163,612 may be termed "Active Matrix Electrowetting on Dielectric" (AM-EWOD). There are several advantages in using TFT based thin film electronics to control an EWOD array, namely:    Electronic driver circuits can be integrated onto the lower substrate.    TFT-based thin film electronics are well suited to the AM-EWOD application. They are cheap to produce so that relatively large substrate areas can be produced at relatively low cost.    TFTs fabricated in standard processes can be designed to operate at much higher voltages than transistors fabricated in standard CMOS processes. This is significant since many EWOD technologies require electrowetting voltages in excess of 20V to be applied.
FIG. 5 is a drawing depicting an exemplary arrangement of thin film electronics 46 in the exemplary AM-EWOD device 36 of FIG. 2. The thin film electronics 46 is located upon the lower substrate 44. Each array element 51 of the array of elements 50 contains an array element circuit 72 for controlling the electrode potential of a corresponding element electrode 48. Integrated row driver 74 and column driver 76 circuits are also implemented in thin film electronics 46 to supply control signals to the array element circuit 72. The array element circuit 72 may also contain a sensor capability for detecting the presence or absence of a liquid droplet in the location of the array element. Integrated sensor row addressing 78 and column detection circuits 80 may further be implemented in thin film electronics for the addressing and readout of the sensor circuitry in each array element.
A serial interface 82 may also be provided to process a serial input data stream and facilitate the programming of the required voltages to the element electrodes 48 in the array 50. A voltage supply interface 84 provides the corresponding supply voltages, top substrate drive voltages, and other requisite voltage inputs as further described herein. A number of connecting wires 86 between the lower substrate 44 and external control electronics, power supplies and any other components can be made relatively few, even for large array sizes. Optionally, the serial data input may be partially parallelized. For example, if two data input lines are used the first may supply data for columns 1 to X/2, and the second for columns (1+X/2) to M with minor modifications to the column driver circuits 76. In this way the rate at which data can be programmed to the array is increased, which is a standard technique used in liquid crystal display driving circuitry.
Various methods of controlling an AM-EWOD device to sense droplets and perform desired droplet manipulations have been described. For example, US 2017/0056887 (Hadwen et al., published Mar. 2, 2017) describes the use of capacitance detection to sense dynamic properties of reagents as a way for determining the output of an assay.
FIG. 6 is a drawing depicting an array element including exemplary array element circuitry for an AM-EWOD device that embodies a previous design of Applicant. This basic circuit has three thin film transistors (TFTs T1, T2, and T3) and two capacitors (C1 and C2), and is associated with seven addressing lines. The Rdrop and Cdrop represent the resistance and capacitance across the device from the reference (top) electrode TP to the hydrophobic coating on which the droplet may sit, and any other insulator layers incorporated into the device are represented by the capacitance Cl. The values of Rdrop and Cdrop will vary based on the presence or absence of a droplet, as described above with respect to FIGS. 4A and 4B. Example AM-EWOD devices having this basis circuit design are described in Applicant's commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 8,653,832 (Hadwen et al., issued Feb. 18, 2014) and US 2018/0078934 (Hadwen et al., published Mar. 22, 2018).
The circuit of FIG. 6 generally is operated as follows. To program an array element by writing voltage data to said array element, the voltage to be programmed is loaded onto addressing line SL, and a pulse is applied to the gate line GL appropriate for the row being programmed. This turns on a drive transistor T1, and the circuit node connected to the electrode is charged to the programmed voltage. When GL is taken low, this voltage is preserved, stored on a storage capacitor C1. Typically, C1 is larger than the second or sensor capacitor C2 by at least about an order of magnitude. To perform sensing, in a reset step a reset transistor T2 is turned on by an RST signal, so the gate of a sensor readout transistor T3 charges to VCCA. In conventional configurations, VCCA is a reset potential chosen below the threshold voltage of T3 such that T3 remains off and any previous voltage is cleared. In a sensing step, the RST signal is set low so that the gate of sensor readout transistor T3 is not driven and an addressing line RWS is pulsed. For the duration of the RWS pulse, the electrode potential is perturbed to a higher voltage. The change in voltage achieved is principally a function of the ratio of capacitor C1 to the total capacitance at the electrode, which includes the load associated with whether the droplet is present or absent. The perturbation is coupled through the sensor capacitor C2 to the gate of T3, and transistor T3 is accordingly turned on to an extent determined by the amplitude of the pulse as coupled. A pixel voltage supply VPIX provides a voltage input so as to generate an output current through T3, which again will be dependent upon the voltage coupled to the gate of T3. The resultant current passes through T3 and is sunk down a sensor output column line COL, which may then be sensed by column detection circuitry at the bottom of the column (not shown).
The basic array element circuitry of FIG. 6 also can be modified as may be advantageous for certain applications or circumstances. FIG. 7 is a drawing depicting an array element including exemplary array element circuitry for an AM-EWOD device that embodies another previous design of Applicant. Comparable configurations are described in Applicant's commonly assigned US 2017/0076676 (Hadwen, published Mar. 16, 2017). In this implementation, the three transistor/two capacitor sensing circuitry of U.S. Pat. No. 8,653,832 can be combined with a two transistor/one capacitor array element actuation circuit. This implementation thus contains a total of five transistors, three capacitors, and nine addressing lines, with additional actuation circuitry being combined with impedance sensor circuitry as described. Addressing lines control access to an additional dynamic RAM memory circuit comprising the transistor T4 and a capacitor C3. The voltage programmed to this capacitor in turn controls whether or not the input signal from the actuation circuit is connected through to the array element electrode depending upon whether the voltage written to C3 is sufficient to turn on T5. The input signal SEL may further be used to isolate the element electrode from the actuation signal when the sensing function is being operated. In other respects, the sensing function may proceed comparably as described with respect to FIG. 6.
In a variation of the above sensing circuitry, the array element does not contain a row select line (the row addressing line named RWS in U.S. Pat. No. 8,653,832) or the capacitor C1 (named Cs in U.S. Pat. No. 8,653,832) which is connected between the RWS line and the element electrode in U.S. Pat. No. 8,653,832. In a similar sensing operation, however, the gate of the reset transistor T2 again is turned on by a signal RST, so the gate of a sensor readout transistor T3 likewise charges to VCCA. Again, in conventional configurations the reset potential VCCA is chosen below the threshold voltage of T3 such that T3 remains off and any previous voltage is cleared.
FIG. 8 is a drawing depicting an array element including exemplary array element circuitry for an AM-EWOD device that embodies another previous design of Applicant. Comparable configurations are described in Applicant's commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 8,173,000 (Hadwen et al., issued May 8, 2012). In this implementation, the three transistor/two capacitor impedance sensor circuitry of U.S. Pat. No. 8,653,832 can be combined with an actuation circuit and memory function incorporating an SRAM cell. The memory function includes an n-type switch transistor T4, a p-type switch transistor T5, a first inverter I1, and a second inverter I2. This implementation further includes an inversion circuit including two analogue switches S1 and S2. The capacitances Ch and Cl refer to capacitances of the device layers including the hydrophobic coatings and insulator layers. As described in U.S. Pat. No. 8,173,000, the memory function is written by applying a voltage pulse so as to turn on one of the switch transistors T4 or T5. The input voltage thus written is supplied to the inversion circuit. The operation of the inversion circuit provides an inverted memory node signal that can be obtained from connection to the node between the two inverters of the SRAM cell. In other respects, the sensing function may proceed comparably as described with respect to FIGS. 6 and 7.
Even with the advantages of TFT based AM-EWOD devices, analytical challenges remain. In particular, conventional configurations of array element circuits lack sufficient sensitivity to small capacitances for sensing under certain circumstances. This results in large part from the gate of the sensor readout transistor initially being at a low voltage, resulting in the sensor readout transistor being in the "off" state, during the reset operation. Accordingly, small capacitance variations that occur during the sensing operation do not result in a sufficiently large change to the output signal as any small changes to the gate voltage of T3 will not take the transistor out of the "off" state. Circumstances such as oil filling and the presence of air bubbles result in signal output current swings from the sensor readout transistor comparable to the system noise (of the order of about 20 mV of the final device output voltage), and thus such an output signal is difficult to detect for sensing purposes. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 8,872,527 (Sturmer et al., issued Oct. 18, 2014) attempts to detect microfluidic properties, including the presence of air bubbles, based on capacitance differences between air and the oil.

AM-EWOD array element circuitry with high sensitivity for small capacitance


Low-color ester compositions and methods of making low-color ester compositions are generally disclosed. In certain embodiments, methods of making low-color ester compositions from a biorefinery bottoms stream are disclosed. In some other embodiments, methods for recovering esters of 1,18-octadecanedioic acid are disclosed.

Natural oils can be refined, e.g., in a biorefinery, by cross-metathesizing the glyceride or a transesterified derivative thereof with a short-chain olefin. When the short-chain olefin is a C2-4 olefin, the refining process yields a predominant amount of C10-12 esters and olefins. The product stream contains a variety of other compounds, however. Many of these compounds are relatively non-volatile and cannot be easily separated by fractional distillation. In some instances, these materials can remain in the distillation pot. These materials can be referred to as the "pot bottoms" or "bottoms" from the fractionating process. The pot bottoms can also include other waste materials from the metathesis process, such as heavy metals and other compounds that may be present in the oil (e.g., colored impurities).
In many instances, this bottoms stream may contain certain compounds or combinations of compounds that have economic value because of their utility in certain applications. Therefore, it may be desirable to carry out various treatments on the bottoms stream to yield compounds or compositions that can be used in various applications.
In many instances, the bottoms stream can contain certain colored impurities, such as carotenes, which can interfere with the ultimate utility of the composition. It can be desirable to treat the composition chemically to decolorize the composition, e.g., be chemically transforming the colored species to compounds that are not colored. Some methods of decolorizing the composition may also react with the valuable materials in the composition and thereby decrease the value of the bottoms stream. In the context of refining a natural oil, the bottoms stream contains some mixture of olefins and esters (including both mono-esters and di-esters). Therefore, it may be desirable to decolorize the composition in a manner that does not react with these compounds in a way that substantially lowers their economic value. In some instances, a mixture of chromic and sulfuric acids can be used. But this has certain disadvantages, primarily related to the use and disposal of hexavalent chromium. Therefore, there is a need to develop additional ways of decolorizing a biorefinery bottoms stream, so as to reduce the color without substantially affecting the value of the olefins and/or esters in the stream.

Low-color ester compositions and methods of making and using the same


A snap action container includes: a cover plate and a container body; wherein the cover plate is rotatably connected to the container body by a rotation shaft, and covered on the container body; an elastomer receiving chamber is arranged at a position, corresponding to the rotation shaft, on the container body, an elastomer being inclinedly disposed in the elastomer receiving chamber, and one end of the elastomer being abutted against the rotation shaft; and when the cover plate is covered on the container body, the cover plate drives the rotation shaft to rotate, such that the rotation shaft presses against the elastomer to cause the elastomer to be subjected to elastic deformation.

At present, snap action containers are commonly used, especially in the field of medicines, which are generally used to store medicines. The snap action containers are welcomed in the market due to its convenient use.
During study, the inventors of the present disclosure have found that the conventional snap action container has a complicated structure. Different parts of the container need to be assembled in a complicated process. Manufacture of the container is inconvenient. In addition, the conventional snap action container has a short life time. After use of a period of time, the elastic parts may be aged and thus the elasticity is poor.


A small-object perception system, for use in a vehicle, includes a stereo vision system that captures stereo images and outputs information identifying an object having a dimension in a range of ˜20 cm to about ˜100 cm in a perception range of ˜3 meters to ˜150 meters from the vehicle, and a system controller configured to receive output signals from the stereo vision system and to provide control signals to control a path of movement of the vehicle. The stereo vision system includes cameras separated by a baseline of ˜1 meter to ˜4 meters. The stereo vision system includes a stereo matching module configured to perform stereo matching on left and right initial images and to output a final disparity map based on a plurality of preliminary disparity maps generated from the left and right initial images, with the preliminary disparity maps having different resolutions from each other.

Conventional detection technologies for sensing distance or depth typically employ sensors that actively measure distance to objects in an environment sensed by the sensors. Such technologies include, for example, lidar (light detection and ranging), radar (radio detection and ranging), and stereo vision.
Stereo vision systems enable three-dimensional (3D) information of a scene to be obtained from two-dimensional (2D) images of the scene taken at different vantage points. Because of their capability to provide depth information (i.e., information on distances to objects in the scene), stereo vision systems have been applied to robotics and autonomous driving, where there may be little or no human involvement. Limited depth range, however, can pose a problem with conventional systems. Stereo vision systems typically use two cameras (e.g., left and right cameras) to estimate depth or distance by measuring a disparity or parallax between matching pixels in a digital image captured by the left camera and a digital image captured by the right camera. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 8,208,716B2 discloses a stereo vision system and method that outputs a disparity map, which is a 2D matrix that contains pixel-shift data corresponding to a rectified image captured by one of the cameras (often the left camera). An estimate of depth for each pixel of the image, corresponding to a distance from the camera to an object imaged in the pixel, may be easily computed from the disparity map because the depth of the pixel is inversely proportional to the disparity of the pixel. As such, the terms "depth map" and "disparity map" may be used interchangeably herein, because they provide nearly identical information about the scene of the image. It is known that, for each pixel of an image (e.g., the left image), depth may be computed from the disparity according to expression (1):D=f×b/d  (1).where D is the distance to the scene (e.g., the distance to an object in the pixel), f is the focal length of the camera (e.g., the left camera), b is the baseline or distance between the two cameras, and d is the disparity at the pixel between the two cameras.
A stereo vision system's baseline may strongly influence a depth-detection range for the stereo vision system, for a given disparity range and a given focal length. Typical stereo vision systems have short baselines (<0.2 meter) because of mechanical restrictions and/or calibration restrictions. As will be appreciated, mounting the two cameras on a rigid structural member may help to maintain a fixed or nearly fixed relative position of the cameras, which may minimize the need for position adjustments and/or calibration of the two cameras relative to each other. A long-baseline stereo vision system, such as one having a baseline on the order of 1 meter or greater, may significantly extend the upper bound of the depth-detection range to hundreds of meters. However, conventional stereo-matching algorithms typically search in a fixed disparity search-range to limit computing time. The computing time may be further limited if high-resolution images are used. Therefore, although a long-baseline stereo vision system may be used to detect objects at great distances from the cameras, practically speaking the amount of computing required to process data at nearby distances close to the cameras up to the great distances permitted by the long baseline may be too much to be practically feasible. That is, real-time detection of objects near to and far from a moving vehicle may be too computationally onerous to be achievable with conventional computer processors used in autonomous vehicles. Stated differently, a concern with the use of a long baseline for the cameras of a conventional stereo vision system is that as the maximum disparity to be searched is increased, a minimum depth the stereo vision system can detect may also increase. That is, it may not be possible to readily and reliably detect near-range objects that are at a relatively close distance to the cameras. A long-baseline stereo vision having a limited disparity search-range may have a minimum detectable depth that can be rather large. For example, for a stereo vision system with a baseline of 1 meter and a focal length of 4,000 pixels, a minimum detectable depth may be approximately 16 meter for a disparity search-range of 0 to 255 pixels, which may result in a depth map that would not have useful information for near-range objects.

Real-time perception system for small objects at long range for autonomous vehicles


Provided is an image recording method having high transfer efficiency. An image recording method includes an intermediate image-recording step of recording an intermediate image by applying ink to an intermediate transfer body and also includes a transfer step of transferring the intermediate image to a recording medium by heating the intermediate image to a transfer temperature. The ink contains polymer particles having a softening point not higher than the transfer temperature and at least one of a compound represented by Formula (1) and a compound represented by Formula (2).

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image recording method.
2. Description of the Related Art
There is a method (hereinafter also referred to as "intermediate transfer-type image recording method") in which an intermediate image is recorded by applying ink to an intermediate transfer body and an image is recorded by transferring the intermediate image to a recording medium. As the demand for high-speed recording has been growing in recent years, an intermediate transfer-type image recording method of obtaining a high-quality image at a high transfer rate is under investigation. In the intermediate transfer-type image recording method, the efficiency of transferring an intermediate image formed on an intermediate transfer body to a recording medium significantly affects the quality of an obtained image. In order to improve the efficiency of transfer, a method using an ink containing polymer particles has been investigated as described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-32721 (hereinafter referred to as "patent document"). The patent document discloses that the transfer efficiency is improved in such a manner that an ink containing polymer particles with a minimum film-forming temperature of 50° C. or higher is heated to a temperature not lower than the minimum film-forming temperature thereof before transfer.
However, according to investigations made by the inventors, no high-quality image has been obtained in the case of performing recording at high transfer rate using the polymer particle-containing ink described in the patent document.


The invention provides hydroxy-functional cyanoacrylate ultraviolet radiation absorbing compounds. The radiation absorbing compounds can be incorporated into step growth polymers such as polyurethanes, polyesters, and polycarbonates. The invention also provides such polymers having the radiation compound incorporated therein and articles prepared therefrom.

Many applications of plastic materials, especially transparent materials, involve prolonged exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation, which can damage or discolor the plastic. A large number of ultraviolet radiation absorbing additives are available, but it is well-known that such additives lose their effectiveness over time because of leaching or because of migration to the plastic surface.
To avoid this loss of effectiveness, UV radiation absorbers which are capable of being copolymerized into the polymer matrix have been developed. Such materials offer the obvious advantage of being incapable of either leaching or blooming, and, thus, maintain their protective function. Efforts to date to synthesize such copolymerizable UV absorbers have focused on ethylenically-unsaturated molecules, often acrylate-functional molecules, which are easily incorporated into acrylate or polyolefin polymers.
Common core molecules which have received wide-spread attention are esters of 2-cyano-3,3-diaryl acrylic acid, the so-called cyanoacrylates. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,218,392; 4,202,834; and 4,129,667; (assigned to GAF Corp.) describe acrylate-functional cyanoacrylates. The cyanoacrylates described in these patents feature acrylate groups at, the terminus of the acrylate ester chain which are easily copolymerized with ethylenically-unsaturated monomers such as methyl methacrylate, polyvinyl chloride and polyethylene. A common intermediate in the preparation of the GAF cyanoacrylates is 2-hydroxyethyl 2-cyano-3,3-diphenylacrylate, a monohydroxylate cyanoacrylate.
Patents granted to General Electric Co. (U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,366,207; 4,264,719; 4,260,680; and 4,247,475) describe cyanoacrylate-type UV radiation absorbers which are incorporated into polycarbonate polymers via aromatic phenolic hydroxyl groups. Similarly, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,555,559 and 4,555,545 (Toshiba Silicone Co.) describe phenolic-functional cyanoacrylates used as stabilizers for polycarbonate resins. U.S. Patent No. 4,576,870 (Rohm GmbH) describes a number of methods of stabilizing polycarbonate resins, including the use of acrylate-functional cyanoacrylates. None of the aforementioned references reveal a means of stabilizing polyurethane or polyester polymers produced by step-growth type polymerizations.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,378,194 (General Motors Corp.) describes urethane paints stabilized against UV radiation by copolymerization of hindered piperidinols into the urethane polymer chain. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,831,109 and 4,691,059, assigned to the assignee of the present application, both of which are incorporated by reference herein, describe 2-hydroxybenzophenone UV radiation stabilizers for polyurethanes, polyesters and polycarbonates in which two or more aliphatic hydroxyl groups are part of an aliphatic chain pendant from one of the aromatic nuclei. Cyanoacrylate UV radiation absorbers are not disclosed in any of these three patents. U.S. Pat. No. 5,096,781 (Ciba-Geigy Corp.) discloses unspecified cyanoacrylate-type UV radiation absorbers having at least one quaternary nitrogen moiety in the molecule to impart solubility in water and optionally having from 1 to 3 aliphatic hydroxyl groups in the acrylate ester side chain.

Copolymerizable ultraviolet radiation absorbing compounds and polymers made therewith

Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company


A buoyancy system to buoy a riser of an offshore oil platform includes buoyancy compartments coupled around an elongated internal beam. The internal beam can withstand loads between the oil platform and the buoyancy system, while the buoyancy compartments provide buoyancy. The internal beam includes an elongated stem, a plurality of webs extending radially outwardly from the stem, and a plurality of transverse flanges attached to the outer edges of the webs.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to buoyancy systems for offshore oil platforms. More particularly, the present invention relates to a buoyancy system with an internal beam.
2. Related Art
As the cost of oil increases and/or the supply of readily accessible oil reserves are depleted, less productive or more distant oil reserves are targeted, and oil producers are pushed to greater extremes to extract oil from less productive oil reserves, or to reach more distant oil reserves. Such distant oil reserves may be located below the oceans, and oil producers have developed offshore drilling platforms in an effort to extend their reach to these oil reserves. In addition, some oil reserves are located farther offshore, and thousands of feet below the surface of the oceans.
For example, vast oil reservoirs have recently been discovered in very deep waters around the world, principally in the Gulf of Mexico, Brazil and West Africa. Water depths for these discoveries range from 1500 to nearly 10,000 ft. Conventional offshore oil production methods using a fixed truss type platform are not suitable for these water depths. These platforms become dynamically active (flexible) in these water depths. Stiffening them to avoid excessive and damaging dynamic responses to wave forces is prohibitively expensive.
Deep-water oil and gas production has thus turned to new technologies based on floating production systems. These systems come in several forms, but all of them rely on buoyancy for support and some form of a mooring system for lateral restraint against the environmental forces of wind, waves and current.
These floating production systems (FPS) sometimes are used for drilling as well as production. They are also sometimes used for storing oil for offloading to a tanker. This is most common in Brazil and West Africa, but not in Gulf of Mexico as of yet. In the Gulf of Mexico, oil and gas are exported through pipelines to shore.
Certain floating oil platforms, known as spars or Deep Draft Caisson Vessels (DDCV) have been developed to reach these oil reserves. Steel tubes or pipes, known as risers, are suspended from these floating platforms, and extend thousands of feet to reach the ocean floor, and the oil reserves beyond.
Typical risers are either vertical (or nearly vertical) pipes held up at the surface by tensioning devices (called Top Tensioned riser); or flexible pipes which are supported at the top and formed in a modified catenary shape to the sea bed; or steel pipe which is also supported at the top and configured in a catenary to the sea bed (Steel Catenary Risers—commonly known as SCRs).
The flexible and SCR type risers may in most cases be directly attached to the floating vessel. Their catenary shapes allow them to comply with the motions of the FPS caused by environmental forces. These motions can be as much as 10–20% of the water depth horizontally, and 10s of feet vertically, depending on the type of vessel, mooring and location.
Top Tensioned risers (TTRs) typically need to have higher tensions than the flexible risers, and the vertical motions of the vessel need to be isolated from the risers. TTRs have significant advantages for production over the other forms of risers, however, because they allow the wells to be drilled directly from the FPS, avoiding an expensive separate floating drilling rig. Also, wellhead control valves placed on board the FPS allow for the wells to be maintained from the FPS. Flexible and SCR type production risers require the wellhead control valves to be placed on the seabed where access is difficult and maintenance is expensive. These surface wellhead and subsurface wellhead systems are commonly referred to as "Dry tree" and "Wet Tree" types of production systems, respectively. Drilling risers must be of the TTR type to allow for drill pipe rotation within the riser. Export risers may be of either type.
TTR tensioning systems are a technical challenge, especially in very deep water where the required top tensions can be 1,000,000 lbs (1000 kips) or more. Some types of FPS vessels, e.g. ship shaped hulls, have extreme motions which are too large for TTRs. These types of vessels are only suitable for flexible risers. Other, low heave (vertical motion), FPS designs are suitable for TTRs. This includes Tension Leg Platforms (TLP), Semi-submersibles and Spars, all of which are in service today.
Of these, only the TLP and Spar platforms use TTR production risers. Semi-submersibles use TTRs for drilling risers, but these must be disconnected in extreme weather. Production risers need to be designed to remain connected to the seabed in extreme events, typically the 100-year return period storm. Only very stable vessels, such as TLPs and Spars are suitable for this.
Early TTR designs employed on semi-submersibles and TLPs used active hydraulic tensioners to support the risers by keeping the tension relatively constant during wave motions. As tensions and stroke requirements grow, these active tensioners become prohibitively expensive. They also require a large deck area, and the loads have to be carried by the FPS structure.
Spar type platforms recently used in the Gulf of Mexico use a passive means for tensioning the risers. These type platforms have a very deep draft with a central shaft, or centerwell, through which the risers pass. Types of spars include the Caisson Spar (cylindrical), the "Truss" spar and "Tube" spar. There may be as many as 40 production risers passing through a single centerwell.
It will be appreciated that these risers, formed of thousands of feet of steel pipe, have a substantial weight, which are supported by buoyant elements at the top of the risers. Steel buoyancy cans (i.e. air cans) have been developed which are coupled to the risers and disposed in the water to help buoy the risers, and eliminate the strain on the floating platform, or associated rigging. The steel buoyancy cans are typically cylindrical, and they are separated from each other by a rectangular grid structure referred to as riser "guides".
These guides are attached to the hull. As the hull moves, the tops of the risers are deflected horizontally with the guides. However, the risers are tied to the sea floor and have a fixed length; hence as the vessel moves horizontally the risers slide up and down (from the viewpoint of a person on the vessel the risers are moving vertically within the guides).
A wellhead at the sea floor connects the well casing (buried below the sea floor) to the riser with a special Tieback Connector. The riser, typically 9–14 inch diameter pipe, passes from the tieback connector through thousands of feet of seawater to the bottom of the spar and into the centerwell. Inside the centerwell the riser passes through a stem pipe, or conduit, which goes through the center of the buoyancy cans. This stem extends above the buoyancy cans themselves and supports the platform to which the riser and the surface wellhead are attached. The stem can be centered in the buoyancy cans by a "wagon wheel" type frame or spacer to hold or centralize the stem within the can. The riser can be centered in the stem by a "wagon wheel" type frame or spacer to hold or centralize the riser within the stem.
Since the surface wellhead ("dry tree") move up and down relative to the vessel, flexible jumper lines connect the wellhead to a manifold which carries the oil to a processing facility to separate water, oil and gas from the well stream.
The underlying principal of the buoyancy cans is to remove a load-bearing connection between the floating vessel and the risers. The buoyancy cans need to provide enough buoyancy to support the required top tension in the risers, the weight of the cans and stem, and the weight of the surface wellhead. One disadvantage with the air cans is that they are formed of metal, and thus add considerable weight themselves. Thus, the metal air cans must support the weight of the risers and themselves. In addition, the air cans are often built to pressure vessel specifications, and are thus costly and time consuming to manufacture.
In addition, as risers have become longer by going into deeper water, their weight has increased substantially. One solution to this problem has been to simply add additional air cans to the riser so that several air cans are attached in series. It will be appreciated that the diameter of the air cans is limited to the available width and length of the well bays within the platform structure. Thus, when additional buoyancy has been required, the natural solution has been to extend the length or number of the air cans. One disadvantage with more and/or larger air cans is that the additional length air cans adds more and more weight which also must be supported by the air cans, decreasing the air can s ability to support the risers. Another disadvantage of simply stringing more air cans together is that their weight and length make it very expensive, technically difficult and dangerous to install the buoyancy cans into the vessel's centerwell. Some of these steel air cans are up to 400 feet long and weigh 160,000 lbs. Another disadvantage with merely stringing a number air cans is that long strings of air cans may present structural problems themselves. For example, a number of air cans pushing upwards on one another, or on a stem pipe, may cause the cans or stem pipe to buckle.
In addition to providing buoyancy, the air cans also are subjected to loads or forces between the air can and the vessel. For example, the air cans are also subjected to side loads and bending loads caused by hydrodynamic loads acting on the air cans during vessel movement. Thus, air cans usually must be designed to address both buoyancy and dynamic loading.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Internal beam buoyancy system for offshore platforms


A hinge assembly for a refrigerator door improves productivity and reduces a manufacturing cost by improving a structure of a hinge assembly installed between a refrigerator main body and a door, and improves an appearance by using one hinge assembly for one door so as to coincide moving axes and thus positioning an opened door to be horizontal to the main body. To this end, the hinge assembly includes a shaft having both ends fixed to one side of a door that can be opened and closed, the door being installed at a refrigerator main body; a pair of fixed cams integrally formed at the shaft and transmitting a rotary force when the door is opened and closed; a pair of moving cams linearly reciprocating by contacting with surfaces of the fixed cams in a cam type to allow the door to remain in an opened state when the door is opened to at least a predetermined angle and to return the door to a closed state when the door is at an angle less than the predetermined angle; a housing coupled to the moving cam and fixed to the refrigerator main body; and a spring installed between the moving cams and providing an elastic force.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a refrigerator, and particularly, to a hinge assembly for a refrigerator door capable of improving an appearance and productivity by maintaining a horizontal state when a door is opened and of improving reliability of a product by smoothly supplying a lubricant.
2. Description of the Background Art
In general, there are various kinds of refrigerators according to structures and functions. Particularly, according to structures and positions of a door for opening and closing a storage space for food items, the refrigerators can be classified into as follows:
An one door type refrigerator in which a cooling chamber and a freezing chamber can be simultaneously opened and closed by using one door installed at a front of a main body; a two door type refrigerator in which the cooling chamber and the freezing chamber can be separately opened and closed by using two doors installed at the front of the main body in a longitudinal direction; a side by side type refrigerator in which the cooling chamber and the freezing chamber can be separately opened and closed by using two doors installed side by side at the front of the main body; a drawer type refrigerator in which a food storage space is slidingly drawn out of the front of the main body; a lift off type refrigerator in which a lid that can be opened and closed is installed at an upper surface of the main body; a refrigerator where the above-mentioned types are mixed; and the like.
Of those types, the drawer type and lift type are commonly employed for a refrigerator for ripening and storing Kimchi, which is called Kimchi-refrigerator. As for the Kimchi-refrigerator, when a newly made Kimchi is put in, a heater is operated to maintain a proper temperature and Kimchi is fermented at the proper temperature through successive ripening processes. Then, when the ripening processes for Kimchi are completed, components (compressor, condenser, expansion valve and evaporator) of a refrigerating cycle are operated to thereby circulate a refrigerant. In such a manner, the Kimchi refrigerator is maintained at a low temperature so as to be prevented from going bad.
FIG. 1 shows a general lift off type refrigerator.
As shown, in the general lift off type refrigerator, an inner case 13 is installed inside a main body 10 having an opened upper side, forming a freezing chamber (F) and/or a cooling chamber (C) for storing food items therein. A separate heater (not shown) and components of a refrigerating cycle are installed at a space between the main body 100 and the inner case 13 to thereby maintain the freezing chamber (F) and/or the cooling chamber (C) at a proper temperature.
A top cover 15 provided with two entrance/exit parts through which food items are brought in or taken out is installed at an upper surface of the main body 10, and two doors 20 that can be opened and closed are installed side by side to cover the entrance/exit parts of the top cover 15. Here, the door 20 that can be opened and closed has a rear end which is fixed to the main body 10 and the top cover 15 by a hinge assembly 30. The hinge assembly 30 operates to close the door 20 when the door 20 is at an angle less than a set angle, and stops to allow the door 20 to remain in an opened state when the door is opened to at least a set angle.
As shown in FIG. 2, hinge fixing portions 25 protrude rearward from both sides of a rear end of the door, and hinge fixing grooves 26 are formed on surfaces facing each other, of the hinge fixing portions 25, respectively. One end of each hinge assembly 30 is inserted in the hinge fixing groove 26, and then the hinge assembly 30 is screw-coupled to the main body through a coupling hole 37. Thereafter, a separate bracket (not shown) for decoration is installed to cover the hinge assembly 30 and the hinge fixing portion 25.
Particularly, as shown in FIG. 3, the hinge assembly 30 includes a shaft 31 having one end inserted in the hinge fixing groove 26, wherein a fixed cam 32 is integrally formed at the shaft 31; a moving cam 33 penetratingly installed at the shaft 31 and contacting with the fixed cam 32 formed at the shaft 31 in a cam type; a spring 35 penetratingly installed at the shaft 31, for elastically supporting the moving cam 33; and a housing 36 installed to enclose the shaft 31, the fixed cam 32, the moving cam 33 and the spring 35. A washer 34 is provided between the moving cam 33 and the spring 35, so that the spring 35 can be supported at the moving cam 33 through the washer 34.
Here, the shaft 31 is installed with its one end being inserted in the hinge fixing groove 26 to thereby rotate together with the door 20.
As for the moving cam 33, its outer circumferential surface is formed indented as a teeth shape, and stopping protrusions (not shown) are formed at the outer circumferential surface so as to be engaged with an inner circumferential surface of the housing 30.
The housing 36 is connected to a refrigerator main body. Namely, the moving cam 33 and the housing 36 are connected to each other, and the housing 36 is coupled to the refrigerator main body. For this reason, the moving cam 33 can move in an axial direction but cannot rotate.
At this time, the fixed cam 32 and the moving cam 33 make a relative motion by contacting with lines of each other in a cam type. Therefore, when the door 20 is opened or closed, a rotary motion of the shaft 31 and the fixed cam 32 is changed into a linearly reciprocating motion at the moving cam 33 by an interaction with the spring 35, to thereby control an opening/closing operation of the door 20. An extent to which the door is opened/closed can be controlled with a compressive force of the spring 35 and a gradient of curved surface of the fixed cam 32 and the moving cam 33.
However, the hinge structure for the conventional lift off type refrigerator door as described above is disadvantageous in that because two hinge assemblies are respectively installed at both sides of the door, it is difficult to coincide moving axes of the two hinge assembly with each other. If the moving axes of the hinge assemblies do not coincide with each other, both sides of the door are not horizontal but inclined when viewed from the front, thereby degrading the appearance.
In addition, in the conventional hinge structure for a door, a lubricant such as grease or the like is used so that a contact between the fixed cam and the moving cam in a cam type is smoothly made. Here, if the lubricant is solidified or leaked due to frictional heat or the like in operation, repetitive friction and abrasion undesirably occur between the fixed cam and the moving cam, and degradation of hinge operation performance such as noise generation occurs.
Also, because one end of the spring is installed and supported at a closed portion of the housing, the spring is compressed in operation, being supported at the housing. Accordingly, a residual stress is undesirably generated because of the accumulated fatigue of the spring, thereby weakening the strength.


A color image-forming material capable of drawing an image by infrared laser exposure and excellent in image visibility, storage stability and white light stability, and an on-press development or non-processing (non-development) type lithographic printing plate precursor ensuring high sensitivity and high press life and being excellent in image visibility, on-press developability and the like, are provided, which are a color image-forming material comprising an image recording layer capable of drawing an image by infrared laser exposure, the color image-forming material forming a color image without passing through a development processing step after image recording, wherein the image recording layer comprises (A) an infrared absorbent, (B) a cyclic color-forming compound having a cyclic structure within the molecule and forming a dye by a ring opening, and (C) a dye stabilizer which is a compound interacting with the cyclic color-forming compound to stabilize the ring-opened dye body and cause color formation and which is released from the interaction upon laser exposure to decrease in the color formation; and a lithographic printing plate precursor using this color image-forming material.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a color image-forming material and a lithographic printing plate precursor. More specifically, the present invention relates to a color image-forming material and a lithographic printing plate precursor, from which plate-making can be directly made by scanning an infrared laser based on digital signals of a computer or the like and which are usable for printing without passing through a development processing step after exposure.
2. Background Art
The lithographic printing plate in general consists of a lipophilic image area of receiving an ink in the printing process and a hydrophilic non-image area of receiving a fountain solution The lithographic printing is a printing method utilizing the repulsion between water and oily ink from each other, where the lipophilic image area of the lithographic printing plate and the hydrophilic non-image area are formed as an ink-receiving part and a fountain solution-receiving part (ink non-receiving part), respectively, to cause difference in the ink adhesion on the surface of the lithographic printing plate, an ink is attached only to the image area and thereafter, the ink is transferred to a material on which the image is printed, such as paper, thereby performing printing.
For producing this lithographic printing plate, a lithographic printing plate precursor (PS plate) comprising a hydrophilic support having provided thereon a lipophilic photosensitive resin layer (image recording layer) has been heretofore widely used. Usually, a lithographic printing plate is obtained by a plate-making method where the lithographic printing plate precursor is exposed through an original image such as lith film and while leaving the image recording layer in the image area, the image recording layer in the non-image area is dissolved and removed with an alkaline developer or an organic solvent to reveal the hydrophilic support surface.
In the plate-making process using a conventional lithographic printing plate precursor, a step of dissolving and removing the non-image area with a developer or the like according to the image recording layer must be provided after exposure but as one of the problems to be solve, it is demanded to dispense with or simplify such an additional wet processing. Particularly, the treatment of waste solution discharged accompanying the wet processing is recently a great concern to the entire industry in view of consideration for global environment, and the demand for solving the above-described problem is becoming stronger.
As for the non-processing (non-development) type dispensable with the wet processing, a lithographic printing plate precursor having an image recording layer of which affinity for fountain solution or ink changes on the surface upon exposure, and being capable of printing without removing the image recording layer has been proposed.
Also, as one simple and easy plate-making method, a method called on-press development has been proposed, where an image recording layer allowing for removal of the non-image area of a lithographic printing plate precursor during a normal printing process is used and after exposure, the non-image area is removed on a printing press to obtain a lithographic printing plate.
Specifically, the on-press development method includes, for example, a method using a lithographic printing plate precursor having an image recording layer dissolvable or dispersible in a fountain solution, an ink solvent or an emulsified product of fountain solution and ink, a method of mechanically removing the image recording layer by the contact with rollers or a blanket cylinder of a printing press, and a method of weakening the cohesion of the image recording layer or adhesion between the image recording layer and the support by the impregnation of a fountain solution, an ink solvent or the like and then mechanically removing the image recording layer by the contact with rollers or a blanket cylinder.
In the present invention, unless otherwise indicated, the "development processing step" indicates a step where, by using an apparatus (usually an automatic developing machine) except for a printing press, the infrared laser unexposed portion of the lithographic printing plate precursor is removed through contact with a liquid (usually an alkaline developer) to reveal the hydrophilic support surface, and the "on-press development" indicates a method or step where, by using a printing press, the infrared laser unexposed portion of the lithographic printing plate precursor is removed through contact with a liquid (usually a printing ink and/or a fountain solution) to reveal the hydrophilic support surface.
However, when an image recording layer in a conventional image recording system utilizing ultraviolet ray or visible light is used, the image recording layer is not fixed even after exposure and therefore, the lithographic printing plate precursor after exposure must be stored in a completely light-shielded state or constant-temperature condition until loading it on a printing press but this is cumbersome and takes time.
On the other hand, a digitization technique of electronically processing, storing and outputting image information by using a computer has been recently widespread and various new image-output systems coping with such a digitization technique have been put into practical use. Along with this, a computer-to-plate technique is attracting attention, where digitized image information is carried on a highly converging radiant ray such as laser light, and a lithographic printing plate precursor is scan-exposed by this light to directly produce a lithographic printing plate with no intervention of a lith film. Accordingly, one of important technical problems to be solved is to obtain a lithographic printing plate precursor suitable for such a technique.
In this way, the demand for simplification, dry processing or non-processing of the plate-making work is recently ever-stronger in view of both consideration for global environment and adaptation to digitization.
Recently, high output lasers such as semiconductor laser of emitting an infrared ray at a wavelength of 760 to 1,200 nm and YAG laser are inexpensively available, and a method using such a high output laser as the image recording means is a promising method for producing a lithographic printing plate by scan-exposure which is easy to integrate into the digitization technique.
In conventional plate-making methods, a photosensitive lithographic printing plate precursor is imagewise exposed with light at low to medium intensity, as a result, a photochemical reaction occurs in the image recording layer to cause imagewise physical change, whereby an image is recorded.
On the other hand, in the method using the high output laser, a large quantity of light energy is irradiated on the exposure region in a very short time to efficiently convert the light energy into heat energy, as a result, by the effect of heat generated, thermal change such as chemical change, phase change and change in morphology or structure is caused and such change is used for the image recording. Accordingly, although the image information is input by the effect of light energy of laser light or the like, the image recording is performed in the state that not only the light energy but also a reaction by the heat energy are utilized. The recording system using the heat generation by such high power density exposure is usually called "heat-mode recording", and the conversion of from light energy to heat energy is called "light-to-heat conversion". In the present invention, such an image recording layer is also called an image recording layer.
The plate-making method using the heat-mode recording is greatly advantageous in that the image recording layer is not photosensitized with light of normal intensity level, such as room lighting, and fixing of the image recorded by high intensity exposure is not essential. In other words, the lithographic printing plate precursor used for heat-mode recording is free from fear that the image recording layer is photosensitized with room light before exposure, and fixing of the image after exposure is not essential. Therefore, for example, when an image recording layer which is insolubilized or solubilized upon exposure by a high output laser is used and the plate-making process of imagewise processing the exposed image recording layer to produce a lithographic printing plate is performed by on-press development, a printing system where even if the image recording layer after exposure is exposed to ambient light in a room, the image is not affected can be established. Accordingly, it is expected that when the heat-mode recording is utilized, a lithographic printing plate precursor suitably used for on-press development can be obtained.
With respect to this technique, for example, Patent Document 1 (Japanese Patent No. 2,938,397) describes a lithographic printing plate precursor comprising a hydrophilic support having provided thereon an image-forming layer obtained by dispersing hydrophobic thermoplastic polymer particles in a hydrophilic binder. In Patent Document 1, it is stated that the lithographic printing plate precursor can be exposed to an infrared laser to cause coalescent of hydrophobic thermoplastic polymer particles by the effect of heat and thereby form an image, loaded on a cylinder of a printing press, and then on-press developed with a fountain solution and/or an ink.
However, the method of forming an image by the coalescence through mere heat fusion of fine particles is found to have a problem that the image strength is weak and the press life is insufficient, despite good on-press developability.
To solve this problem, it is proposed to improve the press life by utilizing a polymerization reaction. For example, Patent Document 2 (JP-A-2001-277740 (the term "JP-A" as used herein means an "unexamined published Japanese patent application")) describes a lithographic printing plate precursor comprising a hydrophilic support having thereon an image recording layer (heat-sensitive layer) containing polymerizable compound-enclosing microcapsules. Furthermore, Patent Document 3 (JP-A-2002-287334) describes a lithographic printing plate precursor comprising a support having provided thereon an image recording layer (photosensitive layer) containing an infrared absorbent, a radial polymerization initiator and a polymerizable compound.
On the other hand, as for the non-processing type lithographic printing plate precursor, a technique of enhancing the visibility between the exposed area and the unexposed area is demanded and, for example, Patent Document 4 (JP-A-11-277927) describes a non-processing type lithographic printing plate precursor capable of color image recording by the color formation due to acid, base or radical upon infrared laser exposure. However, in the light of restriction from the work environment where the non-processing type lithographic printing plate precursor is used, it is not sufficient that the exposed area merely causes color change with respect to the unexposed area. The technical problem to be solved is to satisfy at least the following conditions: (a) the color change gives lightness difference ΔL≧4, (b) the color change does not occur under white light such as fluorescent light (good white light stability), (c) the color change does not occur during storage of an unexposed plate (good storage stability), and (d) particularly, in application to an on-press development type lithographic printing plate precursor, the color is changed to be colorless or thin-colored at the on-press development and even if only a part is mingled into the printed matter, this causes no evil effect, for example, color change. A technique for color image formation satisfying these various conditions is being demanded.

Color image-forming material and lithographic printing plate precursor


A fluid dispenser is provided including a reservoir for a fluid material, at least one sealable chamber capable of receiving material from the reservoir, a closure valve device between the chamber and a fluid outlet from the dispenser and a pumping device for pressurizing any fluid material in the chamber, the chamber including at least one resilient wall portion arranged to be deformed by pressurizing of the fluid material.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to dispensers for fluid materials. It is particularly concerned with pumping acting dispensers from which the material is ejected as a spray.
2. The Related Art
Aerosols are commonly used to spray a fluid material under pressure from a dispenser but suffer from a number of disadvantages, including the adverse environmental effect of the propellant gases used, the high proportion of the total capacity of the dispenser that is sometimes needed for the propellant, and the difficulty of maintaining the spray pressure as the contents of the dispenser are used up. The disposal of the partly empty dispensers can also be a hazard because of the pressurized gases they contain. The present invention is concerned with a novel form of dispenser in which at least some of these disadvantages can be avoided.

Pump dispenser having a resilient reservoir and pumping chambers


A device for stabilizing fuel in a fuel tank comprises activated carbon. The activated carbon is configured to be inserted into or installed inside a fuel tank, so that it is in contact with the fuel. The device allows the activated carbon to be in contact with the fuel, but does not allow it to be dispersed in the fuel. A method for stabilizing fuel in a fuel tank comprises adding the device to the fuel tank so that it is in contact with the fuel.

Current fuel formulations, such as for diesel and gasoline, age quickly causing problems with engines. During storage, the hydrocarbons in the fuel react with dissolved oxygen and air, promoting changes to their physical and chemical characteristics. Oxidation products continue to react to form non-volatile high molecular mass agglomerates commonly called gum. In the carburetor, gum clogs critical circuits, which impede proper engine functions. Today's carburetors have tight tolerances and act as emission control devices. Over time the gum deposits cause problems like: 1) engine stalling, 2) power loss, and 3) increased exhaust emissions. A similar problem occurs with fuel injection and valves in electronically controlled engines. The stability of stored fuel depends on how and where it's stored. As the temperature rises, the amount of gums formed increases to shorten the fuel's useful life.
Liquid fuel additives do a good job at stabilizing fuel, the major problem is that consumers are adverse to adding it to gas and diesel. Consumers are also not aware of the stability problems with today's fuels so they do not do anything to stabilize their fuel.


Embodiments are disclosed for improved systems and methods for encoding and decoding information transmitted using multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) communication devices. Structurally sparse codes are implemented based on principles of compressive sampling. Improved detectors are also disclosed for implementing basis pursuit and basis pursuit with runner-up detection techniques.

1. Field of the Disclosure
The present disclosure is directed in general to communication systems and methods for operating same. More particularly, embodiments of the disclosure provide improved systems and methods for encoding and decoding information transmitted using multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) communication devices.
2. Description of the Related Art
Orthogonal space-time block codes (OSTBC) have traditionally been used to achieve a full diversity gain in MIMO communication channels. Maximum likelihood decoding for OSTBC requires linear processing of the received signals. As is known to those of skill in the art, the Alamouti code is an effective OSTBC for channel with two transmit antennas. Alamouti codes can transmit two independent symbols from two antennas in two symbol durations using the code structure shown below in Matrix 1.
                    (                                                            a                1                                                                    -                                  a                  2                  *                                                                                a                2                                                                    a                1                *                                                    )                            Matrix                                                  1
In the above symbol structure symbols a1 and a2 are transmitted from transmit antenna Tx1 and Tx2, respectively, during the first symbol time, and symbols −a*2 and a*1 transmitted from transmit antennas Tx1 and Tx2, respectively, during the second symbol time. The information rate of Alamouti code is log2|A| A bits per transmission when symbols i and belong to constellation sets A and |A| is the number of elements in set A. The detection decision is made only after processing signals received over two symbol times, resulting in a two symbol time decoding delay.
For a large number of transmit antennas, OSTBC code structures are complex and are not able to achieve a full information rate. One well known OSTBC for four (referred to herein as OSTBC-4) transmit antennas has the code structure shown below in Matrix 2.
                    (                                                            a                1                                                                    -                                  a                  2                  *                                                                                -                                  a                  3                  *                                                                    0                                                                          a                2                                                                    a                1                *                                                    0                                                      -                                  a                  3                  *                                                                                a                3                                                    0                                                      a                1                *                                                                    a                2                *                                                                        0                                                      a                3                                                                    -                                  a                  2                                                                                a                1                                                    )                            Matrix                                                  2
In the above code, four symbol periods are required to transmit three symbols, thus requiring an information rate of
      3    4          log    2              A      bits per transmission. Another drawback of the code shown in Matrix 2 is that the channel should remain constant for four symbol blocks and, therefore, the code may have limited applicability in high Doppler channels. Furthermore, the decoding delay for the code structure shown in Matrix 2 is also of four symbol periods.
Current encoders and detectors for implementing the coding discussed above in Matrix1 and Matrix 2 is comparatively processor intensive and result in significant decoding delay. It would be desirable, therefore, to implement a code structure that provides a high degree of accuracy while minimizing the use of processor resources and also minimizing decoding delay. Improved systems and methods for encoding and decoding information transmitted using multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) communication devices to meet the aforementioned needs are disclosed herein.

Sparse codes for MIMO channel and detector alternatives for sparse code


An electrolytic process for producing copper foil having a low profile surface exhibiting a high peel strength when bonded to a polymeric substrate, which process comprises: (a) preparing an electrolyte comprising a copper sulfate-sulfuric acid solution, containing as addition agents, a low molecular weight water-soluble cellulose ether, a low molecular weight water-soluble polyalkylene glycol ether, a low molecular weight water-soluble polyethylene imine and a water-soluble sulfonated organic sulfur compound; (b) passing an electric current through the electrolyte from a primary anode to a cathode spaced from the primary anode in a first electrodeposition zone under first mass transfer conditions including a first current density to electrodeposit on the cathode a base copper foil having a fine-grained microstructure and a matte surface having micropeaks with a height not greater than about 150 microinches; (c) passing the base foil and electrolyte from the first electrodeposition zone to a second electrodeposition zone; and (d) passing an electric current through the electrolyte from a secondary anode to the cathode spaced from the secondary electrode in the second electrodeposition zone under second mass transfer conditions including a second current density greater than the first current density and which provide a mass transfer poorer than that in the first electrodeposition zone, while introducing into the second electrodeposition zone a supplemental stream of the electrolyte, to electrodeposit on the matte surface micronodules of copper, so as to produce a copper foil having a total matte height not greater than about 200 microinches. The produced foil can be passed directly to a station for applying a barrier layer, a station for applying a stain-proofing layer and a station for applying an adhesion promoter to the foil.

The production of copper foil for electronic application, i.e., copper-clad laminates for printed circuit boards, consists essentially of two steps; first, electrodeposition or plating, of a "base" or "raw" foil on a rotating drum-cathode and, second, passing the "base" foil through a "treater" machine, in order to provide the matte side of the foil with a bondable surface suitable for bonding to a polymeric substrate. The latter step is sometimes called the bonding treatment. Traditionally, these two operations are separated by the foil manufacturers, since they seem to be mutually exclusive; formation of base foil calls for a concentrated, hot copper sulfate/sulfuric acid electrolyte, in order to yield strong, ductile and compact deposits which form the body of the foil, while the bonding treatment usually requires a more dilute and colder electrolyte which yields fragile, powdery deposits whose role is to enhance the true surface area of the matte side of the foil and thus enhance the bonding ability of the foil.
In a typical process, the first step, fabrication of the base foil, or "core," a primary objective is to impart to the bulk of the foil the combination of physical, metallurgical and electrical properties desired in the printed circuit industry, and obviously, those properties are determined by the microstructure, which in turn is determined by purity and conditions of the plating process. Typical properties of the core of the foil sought by printed circuit board manufacturers are suitable tensile strength, yield strength, elongation, ductility and resistance to fatigue. Many of the desired properties relate to the maximum load the material may withstand before failure, and are usually derived from stress-strain curves. Similarly, electrical conductivity is considered an important property of copper foil. All these properties of copper foil depend on the foil's microstructure, but particularly on the microstructure of the core of the foil. This microstructure, responsible for foil's properties, is in turn determined by the electrodeposition conditions.
Similar to other materials used in high technology applications, copper foil is a composite; i.e., it has a near-surface region with properties differing from those of the bulk material. Thus, the bulk of the copper foil (core) serves in printed circuit boards as the conductor of electricity. The matte side of the foil is responsible for promoting a permanent bond to the polymeric dielectric (insulating) substrate or prepreg, e.g., glass fabric impregnated with epoxy resin.
As shown in FIG. 1, the first manufacturing step utilizes a large cylindrical drum-cathode 20 which rotates, partially immersed in a copper sulfate-sulfuric acid electrolyte 21. The drum cathode is adjacent to and facing toward a pair of curved anodes 22, which may be formed of lead, lead-antimony, platinized titanium, iridium or ruthenium oxides. Both the drum and the anodes are connected electrically by heavy buss-bars 23 to a D.C. power source 24, and currents of up to 50,000 amps or more are commonly used. As the drum rotates in the electrolyte, an electrodeposit of copper forms on the drum surface, and as the latter leaves the electrolyte, the electrodeposited copper is continuously stripped from the rotating drum in the form of thin foil 25, which is slit to size and wrapped around a take-up roll 26. The top or outer surface of the drum is usually formed of titanium.
Foil produced in such a process, prior to being treated, is usually referred to as raw foil. The raw foil is pale pink in color and has two distinctly different looking sides--a "shiny side", the side which was plated onto the drum surface and then stripped is quite smooth while the other side, the side which was facing toward the electrolyte and the anodes, is referred to as the "matte" side, since it has a velvety finish, due to the difference in the growth rate of differing crystal faces during electrodeposition of the "base" foil. The matte side surface, at this stage has a very fine scale micro-roughness and a very specific micro-topography, as shown in FIG. 2. Viewed under high magnification of a scanning electron microscope, it is composed of peaks and valleys. The peaks are closely packed cones or pyramids. The cones' height, slant, packing and shape depend, as is well known, upon closely controlled independent variables of foil thickness, current density, electrolyte solution composition and temperature and the type and concentration of the addition agents in the electrolyte and the like.
In turn, the surface quality (profile) of the matte side of the base foil determines its suitability for the application as a cladding for the laminates destined for fine line circuitry and multi-layer printed circuit boards. The criteria of suitability depends upon the quantitative evaluation of the matte side's surface roughness. A variation which gives useful information about the surface is called "Rz," which is the average deviation from the mean line of the five highest peaks and the five lowest valleys within the roughness sampling length.
The matte side of the base foil provides the basic shape of the foil surface for embedding in the resin of a substrate to promote adhesion in the copper clad laminates used in the manufacture of printed circuit boards (PCB's).
While the matte side of the foil has a certain micro-roughness it is not nearly good enough to satisfy industry need for foil's bondability. This is why copper foil manufacturers have a second manufacturing step in which a surface bonding treatment is applied to the matte side of the base foil. The term "bonding treatment" is universally used to describe the changing of the morphology of the matte side of the base foil to make it suitable for bonding to laminate resins.
The bonding treatment operation is conducted in machines called "treaters" wherein rolls of raw foil are unrolled in a continuous manner and fed into the treater by means of driven rollers (similar to the way in which a web of paper is handled in a printing machine), rendered cathodic by means of contact rollers and passed in a serpentine fashion through plurality of plating tanks, facing, in each tank, a rectangular anode. Each tank has its own supply of appropriate electrolyte and its D.C power source. Between the tanks the foil is thoroughly rinsed on both sides. The purpose of this operation is to electrodeposit on at least one side of the foil, usually the matte side, microprojections of complex shape which ensure that the foil will be firmly anchored to the base polymeric materials used in fabricating the copper clad laminates.
High peel strength (the force necessary to pull apart the copper foil and the supporting insulating substrate material) is a characteristic of the highest importance, since the mechanical support of the circuit elements, as well as the current carrying capability of PCB's, is provided by the copper foil--polymer joint. It is essential that the foil is bonded very tightly and securely to the substrate and also that such an adhesive joint can withstand all the manufacturing steps in PCB's fabrication without the decrease of the initial adhesion, which, moreover should remain constant throughout the service life of the PCB.
This bonding operation is carried out in laminating plants and involves heating and cooling cycles. Sheets of copper foil are laid upon sheets of "prepreg" (e.g., glass fabric impregnated with epoxy resin). Both materials are placed in a hydraulic press having heated pressing plates, and the two materials are pressed together under high pressure. At elevated temperatures in the resin liquefies and is forced, by the pressure, to flow into the micro-irregularities of the foil surface. This is followed with a second cycle, when both materials are cooled, while the pressure is being maintained, the resin solidifies in the irregularities of the foil surface, and both materials are firmly bonded together and very difficult to pull apart. It is the responsibility of the matte side of the foil to ensure high peel strength.
The matte side of the finished foil, i.e., the base foil plus treatment, refers to the combined effect of the micro-topography of the matte surface of the base foil (electrodeposited at the drum machine) and the bonding treatment plated upon that surface at the treater machine. Both are equally important.
The preferred bonding treatment is effected by subjecting the matte side of the base or "raw" foil to four consecutive electrodeposition steps. The first consists of the deposition of a microdendritic copper layer which enhances, to a very large degree, the real surface area of the matte side, and thus enhances the foil's bonding ability. It is followed by electrodeposition of an encapsulating, or gilding, layer the function of which is to mechanically reinforce the dendritic layer, and thus render it immune to the lateral shear forces of liquid resins in the laminating stage of the PCB's fabrication. Then, a so-called barrier layer is deposited on the dual-layer copper treatment, after which a stainproofing layer is applied.
The purpose of the dendritic deposit is to increase the "true" surface area of the matte side since that property is ultimately responsible for the bonding characteristics of the foil. The shape, height, mechanical strength and the number of dendritic microprojections per surface area which constitute dendritic deposit are the factors instrumental in achieving adequate bond strength of the foil, after all stages of the treatment are completed. The dendritic deposit, the first stage of the treatment, is relatively weak mechanically and given to unacceptable treatment transfer characteristics.
The encapsulating step of the treatment is very important, since it eliminates the foil's tendency toward "treatment transfer" and the resulting "laminate staining" which can cause the decrease of the laminate's dielectric properties. The role of this second treatment stage, is to mechanically reinforce the fragile dendritic layer, by overplating it with a thin layer of sound and strong metallic copper, which locks the dendrites to the base foil. Such a dendrites-encapsulation composite structure is characterized by high bond strength and the absence of treatment transfer. The treating parameters which assure just that are relatively narrow. If the amount of the gilding deposit is too low, the foil will be given to treatment transfer. If, on the other hand, the gilding layer is too thick, a partial loss of peel strength may be expected. These first two layers of the treatment are composed of pure copper, in the form of microscopic, spherical micro-projections.
The dual-layer copper bonding treatment may have electrodeposited thereon a very thin layer of zinc or zinc alloy, a so-called barrier layer. During the fabrication of copper clad laminates destined for PCB's, the zinc-containing layer alloys with the underlying all-copper bonding treatment by the process of heat-accelerated diffusion of metals in the solid state. As a result, a layer of chemically stable alpha brass is thus formed over the surface of the all-copper treatment. Its purpose is to prevent direct copper-epoxy resin contact, and this is why the zinc-containing layer (which during lamination is converted to alpha brass), is referred to as a barrier layer. If the bonding treatment were composed of copper only and subjected to lamination with epoxy resin systems, it tends to react with amino groups of the resin, at the high laminating temperatures. This, in turn, may create moisture at the foil-resin interface, causing the harmful effect of "measling", and possibly delamination. The barrier layer plated over the all-copper bonding treatment prevents these harmful effects.
All three stages of the treatment mentioned above, as is well-known in the art, are effected by means of electrodeposition for the purpose of changing the geometry and morphology of the matte side of the foil and assure the mechanical strength of the surface region. (U.S. Pat. No. 3,857,681, Yates et al.)
The foil treated as described above may then be subjected to an electrochemical stainproofing which changes the surface chemistry. As a result of this step, the bonding surface is rendered chemically stable. This stainproofing operation removes weak surface films, which can greatly decrease the adhesion of the foil to the substrate, and provides a stable film of controlled thickness, responsible for imparting on the treated surface "durability" of its properties.
FIG. 9 illustrates a typical bonding treatment (deposited over the matte side of the base foil shown on FIG. 2) and shows clearly that the disideratum of high bondability of the foil is achieved through the increased micro-roughness of the foil and the complex shape of the particles of the bonding treatment.
Typically, the Rz of e.g. 280 micro inches of the base foil increases to the value of e.g. 420 microinches after the application of the bonding treatment, because the micro-peaks of the foil offer a favorable geometry for the rapid supply of the ions, by diffusion, in the course of the treating process. This effect is illustrated in FIGS. 3(A) and 3(B).
Since the bonding treatment is plated over the matte side of the base foil, with its micro-profile of peaks and valleys, the treatment is plated preferentially over the peaks. The diffusion layer in the electrolytes employed in the treatment process cannot follow the contour (profile) of peaks and valleys. Thus, mass transfer to the peaks is easier and the current density distribution follows suit according to the rules of mass transfer.
Peaks are thus "overcrowded" with the bonding treatment at the expense of the valleys. This is an undesirable condition of so-called poor micro-throwing power.
Treatment with overly high micro-projections concentrated on the peaks of base foil is a poor raw material for fabrication of printed circuits. The cross-section of the foil is chain-saw like, with "teeth" that penetrate very deeply into polymeric substrates. Consequently, it increases the time necessary to etch away unwanted copper, the particles of copper tend to remain deeply embedded in the resin, affecting unfavorably dielectric properties of printed circuit boards and diminishing layer to layer dielectric thickness in the fabrication of multi-layer printed circuit boards. Obviously, a reverse of described condition, a good micro-throwing power, is desirable, in the electrodeposition of bonding treatment. It is achieved, if the treatment's microprojections, instead of overcrowding micropeaks, descend deeper toward the micro-valleys.
Good bonding ability is achieved not by excessive height of the treatment at the peak, but by better distribution of the individual treatment particles (microprojections). If the height of microprojections is decreased, but their number increases, the bonding ability of the foil will remain the same, but foil will be endowed with more desirable characteristics, namely low profile.
Metallographic cross-sectioning of the copper foil clearly illustrates the reference to the foil's profile. Obviously, a foil's two opposing surfaces are not the same. While the surface formed next to the drum, the shiny side of the foil, even when viewed under great magnification, is relatively flat and smooth, the matte side of the foil comprises the micro-peaks and micro-valleys of the base foil with the bonding treatment, in the form of spherical microprojections, plated over micro-peaks and micro-valleys and concentrated especially over the micro-peaks. Thus, it can be clearly seen that copper foil has a "core" (a solid body of dense metal) and a "tooth", a chain-saw like dense coating of microprojections composed of micro-peaks of base foil and the bonding treatment. According to this convention, typical copper foils offered by the manufacturers of electrodeposited copper foil can be classified as (a) very low profile (Rz of bonding surface of 1 ounce foil e.g., combined roughness of the matte side of the base foil and the bonding treatment must not exceed 200 microinches), (b) low profile foils, when Rz should not exceed 300 microinches, and (c) so called "regular" foils, when the foil's profile can be higher.
Only the first two categories are generally used for the fabrication of multilayer boards. Naturally, that raises the question how to determine the gauge of copper foil destined for electronic application--the weight per unit of surface area versus the actual thickness. The former is most often used, and foil weighing one ounce per one square foot is called one ounce foil (1 oz.).
Such designation is now considered not adequate by the designers of electronic circuits and equipment, since the mass or the thickness of the "core" is pertinent in assessing the gauge (from the electrical viewpoint) of the foil, while the "tooth" is not.
Thus, it is now believed that the foil is better characterized by its thickness, measured by micrometer, since it takes into account the profile (cross-section) of the foil and the ratio between thickness of the core and the matte height, or the "tooth" (combined matte height of the foil and the treatment).
Since micrometer measurement includes peaks of the base foil and the peaks of the treatment upon them, a foil with a pronounced matte side of the base foil and with a large amount of treatment will be thicker than a foil with a less pronounced base foil matte structure and a lesser amount of the treatment, even if the weight areas of both foils are the same. The thickness of 1 oz. foil can be as different as 1.8 mil and 1.4 mil. The industry trend is toward "thinner" foils in these terms. Such foils are referred to as "low profile". Foil with a rectangular cross-section would be considered ideal, theoretically, if the foil's bonding ability were not an important consideration. However, it is widely agreed that the matte height of the foil should not exceed 15% of the total thickness of the foil. Only such foils are desirable for use in fabrication of multi-layer boards, the most advanced and fastest growing segment of printed circuits industry.
Matte height is routinely measured by copper foil manufacturers and users, with a stylus type instrument which measures peak to valley amplitude. The trend toward the use of low profile foil in electronic applications represents a very serious dilemma to the foil manufacturers, since the users of copper foil are unwilling to lower their requirements in regard to peel-strength (bondability) of the foil, while insisting on the necessity of lower profile foil.
It is self evident that both the micro-roughness of the base foil (Rz of peak and valleys) and the bonding treatment contribute toward the profile (roughness) of the finished foil.
Traditionally, it has been understood that the rough matte side of the base foil (high Rz) followed with the high amount of the bonding treatment delivers the highest possible peel-strength, while the foil made in such manner is also characterized by high roughness (high profile, high Rz).
Clearly, the two of the printed circuit industry's most important requirements in regard to the characteristics of copper foil: good peel-strength, and low profile, are in conflict in terms of traditional foil fabrication concepts and practice. Therefore, it would be highly desirable to have commercially available an economical process for producing high quality copper foil having both a very low profile surface and a high peel strength.
A primary object of the present invention is to provide an improved process for high quality copper foil having a very low profile treated surface which has a high bond strength when laminated to a polymeric substrate, as well as a copper foil produced by such process and a copper clad laminate made with such foil. Other objects may become apparent from the following description of the invention and from the practice of the invention.

Process for the manufacture of high quality very low profile copper foil and copper foil produced thereby