The present invention relates to a method for treating bone pathologies comprising delivering a viral or non-viral delivery vehicle comprising genetic information (e.g. a transgene) encoding a therapeutic osteoinductive factor to target cells in vivo enabling the cells to produce the osteoinductive factor at the site of the bone pathology. The delivery is achieved by a simplified method which does not require cumbersome ex vivo techniques or additional matrix or scaffolding agents. Such viral and non-viral delivery vehicles of the present invention are derived from the following nonlimiting examples: adenoviruses, adeno-associated viruses, retroviruses, herpes simplex viruses, liposomes, and plasmids. The osteoinductive factors include, but are not limited to, growth factors, cytokines, growth factor inhibitors and cytokine inhibitors.

Bone is an active tissue, continually undergoing turnover, where there are interactive cycles of bone formation and resorption. Bone resorption is generally rapid and is mediated by osteoclast cells. Resorption is followed by the appearance of osteoblast cells which form bone slowly and act to replace the resorbed tissue. Factors which control bone turnover mediated by osteoclasts and osteoblasts include systemic factors (e.g. hormones, lymphokines, growth factors, vitamins) and local factors (e.g. cytokines, adhesion molecules, lymphokines, growth factors, cytokine inhibitors). These factors, as well as others, tightly control bone turnover and their inactivation may lead to defects in bone formation and turnover.
There are a number of bone disorders associated with defects in the bone turnover cycle. These include osteoporosis, osteoplasia, bone mass loss (osteopenia), Paget's disease, etc. In addition, defects in the bone turnover/repair system can also lead to complications in clinical orthopaedics, for example, fibrous non-union following bone fracture, implant interface failures and large allograft failures. Massive bony defects often occur following trauma involving bone injuries, particularly where the injury is associated with a sudden impact, such as those occurring in motor vehicle and sports accidents. A segmental defect fracture generally ends up in a non-union if it is not treated by extended and complicated surgical procedures.
Conventional bone grafting is currently considered to be the method of choice for the treatment of segmental defect fractures, although the procedure is often unsuccessful. See Albertson et al., Clin. Orthop. 269:113–119 (1991); Zaslav and Meinhard, Clin. Orthop. Rel. Res. 233:234–242 (1988). In addition, bone grafting is often associated with a number of complications, including infections, paresthesias and pain at the grafting site. See Bestrom et al., Clin. Orthop. Rel. Res. 327:272–282 (1996).
Alternative techniques, such as free vascularized fibular grafting, or the use of external fixator techniques have been used to improve the surgical success rate. See Minami et al, J. Recontr. Microsurg. 8:75–82 (1992). A vascularized fibular graft may be superior to a conventional bone graft, but it is technically difficult and occasionally impossible to accomplish. Unsatisfactory results after surgical treatment of posttraumatic segmental bone defects are described in up to 30% of cases. See Moroni et al, Injury 28:497–504 (1997); Südkamp et al, Akt Traumatol. 23:59–67 (1993).
Segmental defects after tumor surgery are even more challenging to surgeons. The area of bone resection is generally large, all osteoconductive and osteoinductive material has been completely removed, and often the only reasonable therapy is an amputation of an extremity because of the complete lack of bony substance.
More commonly, general bone fractures are treated by casting, allowing natural mechanisms to effect wound repair. The treatment of segmental defects and less traumatic bone fractures would be benefitted by new techniques and therapies designed to stimulate the bone regeneration processes and strengthen the fracture repair process.
The patient population suffering from diseases involving loss of bone mass, such as osteoporosis, would also benefit from new techniques and therapies designed to stimulate bone regeneration processes. Osteoporosis is segregated into type Is and type II. Type Is osteoporosis occurs predominantly in middle aged women and is associated with estrogen loss at menopause, while type II osteoporosis is associated with a general advancement of age in both women and men.
An estimated 20–25 million people are at an increased risk of bone fractures due to the loss of bone mass that occurs in osteoporosis. Currently, the major focus for the treatment of osteoporosis is fracture prevention rather than fracture repair. Fractures in the elderly often do not repair quickly and are responsible for morbidity. Therefore, it would be useful to have a treatment for subjects suffering from osteoporosis which focuses on the repair of fractures. In addition, sites of low bone mass in a subject could also be treated prior to a fracture occurring with bone regeneration therapy.
Different osteoinductive and osteoconductive methods are currently under investigation for developing adequate alternatives to bone grafting. One attractive approach makes use of powerful osteogenic properties of certain growth factors. Members of the transforming growth factor β family of growth factors, including the bone morphogenic proteins (such as BMP-2, BMP-4 and BMP-7), have diverse effects on the growth and differentiation of mesenchymal cells, as well as on their ability to synthesize matrix. See Gerhart, et al., Clin. Ortpo. Rel. Res. 293:3170326 (1993); Ripamonti et al., J. Bone Min. Res. 12:1584–1595 (1997); Yasko et al., J. Bone Joint Surg. 74-A:659–670 (1992). An interesting feature of some of these growth factors is their osteoinductivity, the competence to induce bone formation. This has been demonstrated in vivo by the ability of purified recombinant osteoinductive proteins to induce bone formation at heterotropic sites and in different bone defect models. See Lieberman et al., J. Orthop. Res. 16:330–339 (1998) (bone marrow cell line infected with an adenovirus expressing recombinant BMP-2 secreted biologically active BMP-2 and effected heterotropic bone formation in quadricep muscles of immune deficient mice when transplanted thereto); Ripamonti et al., J. Bone Min. Res. 12:1584–1595 (1997) (induction of bone formation shown by the administration of purified recombinant TGFβ1); Sampath et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 84:7109–7113 (1993) (induction of bone formation shown by the administration of recombinant drosophila proteins homologous to TGFβ).
In addition, the hedgehog family of proteins, described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,844,079, incorporated herein by reference, are also involved in bone formation. Members of the hedgehog gene family were initially characterized as patterning factors in embryonic development but have recently been shown to regulate skeletal formation in vertebrates. Sonic hedgehog, a member of the hedgehog family, regulates the localized production of bone morphogenic proteins and related molecules which initiate chondrocyte and osteoblast-specific differentiation. See Crit. Rev. Oral Bio. Med. 10:40–57 (1999). The amino-terminal fragment of Sonic hedgehog has the ability to induce ectopic cartilage and bone formation in vivo. In addition, ectopic expression of Indian hedgehog induces expression of the parathyroid hormone-related peptide, which together regulate the rate of chondrocyte maturation. Both Indian hedgehog and Sonic hedgehog stimulate osteoblast differentiation. In conclusion, members of the hedgehog family of proteins are osteoinductive proteins which are significantly involved in skeletal formation through multiple actions on chondrogenic mesenchymal cells, chondrocytes, and osteogenic cells. See Crit. Rev. Oral. Biol. Med. 10:477–486 (1999).
The clinical application of such osteoinductive factors may be limited by their short half-lives if administered as purified recombinant proteins to a subject. Gene transfer may be useful in overcoming this problem. The delivery of genes encoding growth factors can provide high, sustained concentrations of these factors locally and for extended periods of time. See Evans and Robbins, J. Bone Joint Surg. 77A:1103–1114 (1995). Moreover, endogenously synthesized proteins, in contrast to exogenously administered recombinant proteins, may have greater physiological effectiveness. See Niyibizi et al., Clin. Orthop. Rel. Res. 355S:148–153 (1998).
Lieberman et al., J. Orthop. Res. 16:330–339 (1998) have used adenoviral vectors comprising a DNA encoding BMP-2 to accelerate healing of a segmental defect. Healing was achieved by cumbersomely delivering the adenoviral vector ex vivo to a murine stromal cell line which was then introduced in vivo by xenografting which had to be performed in an immunocompromised animal. Clinical application of such an ex vivo approach is burdened with complications. Furthermore, the efficacy of such an approach has yet to be demonstrated in an immunocompetant animal using primary cell cultures.
Both U.S. Pat. No. 5,763,416 of Bonadio et al. (the "'416" patent) and U.S. Pat. No. 5,942,496 of Bonadio et al. (the "'496" patent) disclose methods for transferring nucleic acids encoding osteoinductive agents into bone cells in situ and for stimulating bone progenitor cells for the treatment of bone-related diseases and defects. The '416 and '496 patents are limited to a method for transferring a nucleic acid encoding an osteoinductive agent wherein the nucleic acid is part of a composition comprising a structural bone-compatible matrix. Appropriate matrices of the '416 and '496 patents are described as being able to both deliver the gene composition (nucleic acid) and also provide a surface for new bone growth, i.e., the matrix should act as an in situ scaffolding through which progenitor cells may migrate.
Therefore, an improved method for the delivery of a DNA encoding an osteoinductive agent to the site of bone disease or defect which does not require ex vivo transfection/infection followed by xenografting or in vivo co-administration of a bone-compatible matrix is desired.

Viral and non-viral vectors as vehicles for delivering transgenes for treating bone pathologies

University of Pittsburgh of the Commonwealth System of Higher Education


A rotor that rotates in synchronization with an engine is provided inside a housing and a cam ring is provided outside and around the rotor so that plungers are caused to move reciprocally in the direction of the radius by the cam ring as the rotor rotates. At both sides of the cam ring, support members (barrel 8, bearing support member 6) constituted of the same material as that of the cam ring are secured to the housing and to both sides of the cam ring, and these support members alone hold the cam ring from both sides rotatably. A connecting rod connecting the cam ring and the timer mechanism is formed as an integrated part of the cam ring. The clearance between the cam ring and the members holding it can be set small so that the vibration of the cam ring is reduced to minimize the impact noise made by the cam ring and wear of the cam ring. In addition, the connection strength between the cam ring and timer mechanism is increased.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a distributor type fuel injector employing a system whereby a cam ring with a cam surface (cam lobes) formed on its internal circumference is provided around a rotor to cause plungers provided at the rotor to move reciprocally in a radial direction to vary the volumetric capacity of a compression space.
2. Description of the Related Art
Inner cam system distributor type fuel injectors in the prior art employ a basic structure in which a cam ring with a cam surface (cam lobes) formed on its inner circumference is provided around a rotor, plungers are provided slidably in the direction of the radius of the rotor and the plungers are caused to move reciprocally in the direction of the radius by the cam surface (cam lobes) of the cam ring as the rotor rotates, as disclosed in, for instance, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. S 61-237840 and Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. H7-247932. In this basic structure, the cam ring, which is held by a housing, is caused to rotate in the circumferential direction by a timer mechanism provided below it.
While the housing comprising the fuel injector is constituted of an aluminum alloy or the like to achieve a reduction in weight, the cam ring itself is constituted of steel or the like in order to increase the hardness. Because of this, the cam ring may become seized in the housing due to different coefficients of thermal expansion of the various members in cold weather. Therefore, in the structure in the prior art described above, the housing and the cam ring are designed to have sufficient clearance between them to prevent this from happening.
However, in the structure described above, in which the clearance between the housing and cam ring must be set large in consideration of the varying coefficients of thermal expansion in different members, some axial misalignment tends to occur between the cam ring and the rotor, resulting in vibration in the cam ring during operation of the fuel injector. This, in turn, leads to problems such as increased impact noise caused by the cam ring coming in contact with the housing and wear on the contact surfaces of the cam ring and the housing.
In addition, in the prior art technology described above, the cam ring and the timer mechanism are linked together by a separate connecting rod. If the clearance is increased, however, the load on the connecting rod is increased, making it difficult to achieve sufficient connection strength.


A subject information acquiring device which has: an light absorbing member provided outside a subject; a light source radiating pulsed light on the subject and the light absorbing member; a detector detecting an acoustic wave produced from the subject and the light absorbing member by means of the pulsed light; and a signal processing unit acquiring subject information using a detection signal, and the signal processing unit calculates a second detection signal by specifying a signal resulting from an acoustic wave produced from the light absorbing member in a first detection signal, acquiring impulse response data using the specified signal, and deconvoluting the first detection signal using the impulse response data, and acquires the subject information using the second detection signal, can reduce image deterioration due to probe characteristics even when an impulse response of a probe is not measured in advance in a photoacoustic tomography.

A study on an optical imaging device which radiates light on a biological body from a light source such as a laser and converts information about an interior of the biological body obtained based on incident light into an image is actively advanced in a medical field. As one of optical imaging techniques, there is a photoacoustic tomography (PAT). The photoacoustic tomography refers to a technique of radiating pulsed light, produced from a light source, on a biological body, and detecting and analyzing an acoustic wave (typically, ultrasound) produced by biological tissues which absorbed energy of pulsed light having propagated and diffused in the biological body to visualize intra-subject information. More specifically, by utilizing the difference in the absorptance of optical energy between a subject site such as a tumor and tissues other than the subject site, an acoustic detector (referred to as "probe" or "transducer") receives an elastic wave which is produced when the subject site absorbs optical energy radiated on the subject site and instantaneously expands. By mathematically analyzing this detected signal, an initial acoustic pressure distribution or an optical characteristic distribution in the biological body, particularly, an absorption coefficient distribution, can be obtained. These pieces of information can be also utilized to quantitatively measure specific substances in the subject such as a hemoglobin concentration included in blood or oxygen saturation in blood by using lights of various wavelengths. In recent years, using this photoacoustic tomography, a pre-clinical study of imaging blood vessel images of small animals or clinical study of applying this principle to diagnosis of, for example, breast cancer, are actively advanced (NPL 1).
In an acoustic wave probe which is usually used in a photoacoustic tomography device, a frequency of an acoustic wave to be detected is limited (band limitation). Hence, there is a problem that an image to be obtained may deteriorate when a normal image reconstruction method which assumes the ideal acoustic wave probe characteristics is used. In response to this problem, a method is proposed for decreasing the influence of a probe on image deterioration, by measuring in advance an impulse response of an acoustic wave probe (response characteristic data unique to an element) and correcting (for example, deconvoluting) the detection signal according to this impulse response (NPL 2).

Subject information acquiring device and subject information acquiring method


An evaporation device is disclosed for evaporating volatile substances such as insecticides and aromatics of a type having a housing containing a heating block with a heating element, a container for a volatile substance to be evaporated, a wick having a wick end protruding out of the container into a wick opening in the heating block, a switching device for the activation and deactivation of the heating device, and an adjusting device for the adjustment of the degree of evaporation. Preferably, two heating elements with different heating capacity are carried by the heating block. The heating elements are operatively connected to the switching device to adjust the heat output of the heating device and the degree of evaporation of the volatile substance.

This application is a reissue of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/918,898 filed on Jul. 31, 2001, issued to U.S. Pat. No. 6,563,091. Other related applications are U.S. application Ser. No. 09/994,032, issued to U.S. Pat. No. 6,501,906, which is a CIP of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/918,898, and U.S. application Ser. No. 11/655,036 which is a continuation of this pending U.S. application Ser. No. 11/123,352.
The present invention relates to a device for evaporating volatile substances, in particular insecticides and/or aromatics.
Insecticide and aromatic evaporation devices are generally known. For example, evaporation devices are known where a small plate, introduced into an evaporation device and impregnated with an active ingredient, is heated in order to evaporate the active ingredient. Furthermore a method is also known by which a container containing a volatile substance is introduced into a housing of an evaporation device. This container comprises a wick that conveys the substance to be evaporated by means of capillary action out of the container, whereby the wick end protruding from the container is located next to a heating element such as a ceramic block. The substance is evaporated through the heat radiated by the ceramic block and can escape from the housing into the environment through aeration slits in the housing.
A disadvantage with prior evaporation devices is that it was not possible to adapt the degree of evaporation to the prevailing room conditions or to the different sensitivities of persons present in the room. Thus, for example, in smaller rooms with insufficient air ventilation, it is desirable to lower the degree of evaporation, which was not possible with prior evaporation devices. Furthermore, it is especially desirable to be able to adjust,the evaporation for insecticides, so that the degree of evaporation can be adjusted in accordance with the sensitivity of persons present in the room. This has also not been possible with the prior evaporation devices.
The ability to adjust the degree of evaporation for volatile substances is now known in the prior art. For example, EP 0 962 132 A1 discloses a device for the evaporation of volatile substances, in particular for insecticides and/or aromatics, by using a housing with a heating device located therein that comprises a ceramic heating block. The heating block uses a heating element to heat the heating block and evaporate a volatile substance. A container is carried in the housing and stores a volatile substance to be evaporated. A wick is inserted into the container with a wick end protruding from the container into a wick opening formed in the heating block. The invention discloses a switching device for activating and deactivating the heating element, as well as an adjusting device for adjusting the degree of evaporation. The housing of the evaporation device contains a large opening for receiving the container holder. On the outside of the container holder is a cylindrical extension with a helicoidal thread projection that extends in the form of spiral around the cylindrical extension. The thread projection interacts with a threaded bushing, already inside the housing, which has a receiving opening for the cylindrical extension of the container holder, and a corresponding counter-element to the thread projection on an inner side of this receiving opening. The bushing is moved by means of a pivoting lever to the outside of the housing. The container with a volatile substance to be evaporated is inserted into the container holder, with the wick extending into the wick opening in the form of a depression at the edge of the heating block above the container holder. To adjust the degree of evaporation, the bushing is rotated into a horizontal plane via the pivoting lever of the bushing. The interaction of counter-elements and thread projection make it possible for the container holder to be shifted in the longitudinal direction of the wick so that the wick end can be fixed in a different position relative to the heating block. This type of design, where the degree of evaporation is adjusted by changing the relative distance between the heating element and wick, is relatively expensive due to the number of complicated components required to effect the adjustments.
Another type of evaporation device is known from WO 98/19526, in which the heating output remains constant and the relative distance between the wick and the heating element is adjusted to control evaporation. The evaporation device comprises a housing into which a container with a wick can be screwed. The container is connected via a bushing to a swivel arm that moves in a guide slot, extending radially at an angle to the horizontal in the housing wall. Through the coupling of the swivel arm to the container, the container is lifted relative to the housing in the axial direction when the swivel arm is turned radially. As a result, the wick end protruding from the container may be shifted relative to the fixed heating element. On the whole, this is a relatively expensive and complicated construction with a great number of additional components, making the evaporation device expensive to manufacture.
It is also disclosed in EP 0 943 344 A1 that the relative distance between the heating element and wick can be changed to adjust the degree of evaporation while the heating output is maintained constant. The evaporation device includes a resistance heating element with a connecting plug that is threaded into a housing element where the container holding the substances to be evaporated is located. Pin openings are provided on the housing element into which locking pins are inserted in such manner that they mesh with the threads of the plug. The distance between the resistance-heating element and the wick end protruding from the container can be changed by twisting the plug element. The plug element can be mounted eccentrically in the housing element so that it too can be used to change the relative distance between the wick end and the resistance heating element to achieve the desired degree of evaporation. However, this method of adjusting the degree of evaporation is relatively complicated in construction and is also expensive to manufacture.
A similar design with the disadvantages discussed above is disclosed in WO 98/58692, wherein the tast of changing the evaporation capacity is accomplished by changing the position of the wick relative to the heating block.
Moreover, it is a common feature among all these known evaporation devices that they are relatively large in size and therefore less attractive aesthetically. The large size in design of the prior art is caused by the number of adjustment components needed to control the degree of evaporation. This large size turn affect the overall visual impressions of a room, and even an outdoor area.
The types of evaporation device disclosed above can only evaporate one substance at a time and requires a changing of the volatile substance container to evaporated different insecticides or aromatics. Especially when used for aromatherapy, it is often necessary to evaporate two or more aromatics together. This would normally require a corresponding number of evaporation devices, depending on the number of aromatics to be mixed and evaporated. As well, all these prior art devices would require the utilization of several evaporation devices to use multiple insecticides simultaneously.
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a single evaporation device for multiple volatile substances, in particular insecticides and/or aromatics, which is simple in structure and can be produced economically yet the degree of evaporation can be easily adjusted to meet current requirements

Evaporation device for multiple volatile substances


A filter cartridge for recovering halogenated hydrocarbons (HKW), such as those occurring in inhalation anesthetics in the medical field, contains a first gas inlet; a container which contains a filter insert; wherein the container is connected over a connection with a cover and with a gas release; wherein the container is united via two sealing rings and a filter plate with the cover; wherein the filter insert contains a zeolite; wherein the filter insert has openings; wherein the filter insert adapts with the base of the filter insert to recesses in the container.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a filter cartridge for recovery of low boiling point halogenated hydrocarbons, in particular, for recovering inhalation anesthetics from patient exhalent.
2. Discussion of the Background
Volatile anesthetic gases such as halothane, sevoflurane, enflurane, isoflurane and desflurane are frequently used in medical practice. These gases are chlorofluorocarbons (CFC) or hydrofluorocarbons (HFC). They will usually be entirely released into the environment during or after their use for anesthesia. This can be very harmful to patients and likely to medical personnel. In addition, such volatile anesthetic gases possess a potential to damage the environment, for example in the form of "ozone layer hole degradation" or "greenhouse effect". An estimation referring to the member states of the European Union showed that in 1995 alone, a load of the atmosphere of approximately 700 t arose from inhalation anesthetics. This quantity corresponds to 0.25% additional loading of the environment with carbon dioxide [Zeitschr. Anästhesiologie and Intensivmed. 6 (39), 301-306, 1998].
In the state of the art describing elimination of halogenated hydrocarbons from carrier gas, adsorption filters are used which function on the basis of micro-porous sorption material, such as activated charcoal and zeolites, for the purpose of temporary retention and storage of the gases. Reactive activated charcoal is already suitable for the cleaning of process of exhaust air (DE 37 13 346, DE 39 35 094 and DE 40 03 668). The conditions for a high sorption capacity of the sorption devices, connected with optimal regenerative power are already stated in the DD 239 947, DE 36 28 858 and DE 37 31 688. The recovery of halogenated hydrocarbons can take place economically with a high degree of recovery via desorption only under high temperatures and low pressures conditions. However, as a result of thermal treatment structural damages of the sorbent and also the formation of halogenated decomposition products of halogenated hydrocarbons arise.
In DE 37 13 346 and DE 195 49 271 the removing of halogenated hydrocarbons by means of zeolites is described. Zeolites are also particularly suitable for removing of pollutants from aqueous solutions (DE 44 06 766 and DE 195 31 933). The sorption of halogenated hydrocarbons is mentioned in DE 42 33 577. Recently, aluminum-poor and dealuminated zeolites have been used as sorbents (DE 195 32 500). Their alumina part (aluminium oxide) is substantially replaced by silicon dioxide. For example, dealumination of Na—Y-zeolites of the Wessalith DAY results in a favorable pore opening of 7.4 Å for the sorption of inhalation anesthetics. Zeolites exhibit a high thermal stability and a small catalytic activity for the formation of toxic products of halogenated hydrocarbons. The sorption of water to these so-called hydrophobic zeolites is noticeably reduced in favor of the sorption of halogenated hydrocarbons. A well-known procedure for the separation and recovery of inhalation anesthetics (DE 42 08 521) concerns their adsorption at activated charcoal or a zeolite filter with exception of the accompanying N2O (laughing gas), in which the remaining further carrier gases are afterwards supplied to a catalytic post combustion. The temperature of 550° C. that is required for this purpose is still uneconomically high. The recoverable active substances are irreversibly withdrawn from the device. A draw-back is that the narrow pores of the activated charcoal with a wide pore spectrum permanently adsorb halogenated hydrocarbons which can only be set free at high temperatures. Also, during the recovery of inhalation anesthetics (DE 43 08 940 and DE 195 49 271), the temperatures required for desorption in gas phase, 100° C. to 200° C., still lead to medically dangerous by-products.
One of the methods for recovering halogenated hydrocarbons from a gas stream (EP 0 284 227; CA 1 339 833) is using a hydrophobic zeolitic molecular sieve adsorbent with a narrow range pore distribution, which selectively separates the active substances of the group of halogenated ether from higher hydrocarbons. The desorption takes place in a container by means of a nitrogen purging gas stream at 30° C. to 150° C. The anesthetics are then condensed and recovered. However, a temperature range between 30° C. to 40° C. was not yet sufficient for an economically efficient degree of recovery. On the other hand, temperatures over approximately 140° C. lead to staining of the sorbent particles due to structural changes and development of coke deposition. Also, the spatial separation of the adsorption and the recovery cycles do not yet correspond to the economic requirements of a cycle of the exhalation gas.
In a method and device for the recovery of gases (DE 197 49 963; WO 99/22845), some anesthetics components are bound to the adsorbent, while others pass through it. In this method, dealuminated zeolites adapted to the process are already used favorably as sorbent material. Through thermal treatment, the adsorbed gas will be desorbed easily and condensed in a condenser and purified for reuse. Due to the high vapor pressure of the anesthetics, the condensation must take place within the temperature ranges of 2° C. to 8° C. The desorption of isoflurane takes place under vacuum (approx. 10 mbar) and under simultaneous heating at for instance 100° C. to 160° C. Thereby, the maximum desorption temperature is about 60° C. lower than that required for activated charcoal. Desflurane is desorbed between 90° C. and 130° C. Its low pressure, however, favors disadvantageously the deposit of coke-like materials due to the absence of oxidizable gas components.
In DE 101 18 768, a method is described concerning a gentle recovery of zeolites from a filter cartridge by a steam distillation of the sorbents. Modified and/or dealuminated zeolites with low water adsorption capacity below Ma-2% cause lowering of the desorption temperature which is favorable for the sorbents. Under normal pressure, a temperature limit is preferably 100° C. Additionally sorbed fractions of anesthetics are set free through the additional extraction. The dephlegmation of the rising gases leads to a partial condensation and to the return of the mixture into the evaporator with water as a main fraction. A further cooling of the gases leads to the development of a layer-like pre-separated mixture in a settling container. The specifically light-density water layer is recycled into the evaporation process, while the heavier-density layer from a post-purification is supplied for repeated use of the anesthetics. Other possible degradation products accumulate in the water layer. Thus, the developed harmful products remain in the water circulation and can be periodically removed.
Concerning adsorption and desorption of inhalation anesthetics, conventional filter cartridges with zeolites exhibit different characteristic parameters that depend substantially on flow and temperature conditions. In order to reach a standardization of the processing without a time delay, for example, a different energy supply from the outside into a cartridge is arranged, whereby the adsorbent anesthetics can be set free from the inside of the cartridge without time delay (EP 0 611 174, EP 1 222 940). Also, specially formed embodiments of filter cartridges for inhaled gases are usual in order to evenly use the fillings even at higher flow rates (DE 36 12 924) and to avoid local break-through of the adsorbents through the filter layer.
It is well-known from chemical engineering, that a cross-flow of gaseous phase and stationary sorbent is indicated when a sorptive is to be removed from the phase dispenser to a large extent. On the other hand, the loaded sorbent can be regenerated gradually with a changed regeneration fluid in the cross-flow cascade without a time delay.
Finally, domestic and commercial zeolites containing filter cartridges are neither suitable nor designed for a recovery of anesthetics by means of water vapor.

Filter cartridge for recuperating halogenated hydrocarbons


Biomedical devices are provided herein which are formed from a polymerization product of a mixture comprising (a) a copolymer which is the reaction product of one or more polymerizable polyhydric alcohols and one or more polymerizable fluorine-containing monomers; and (b) a biomedical device-forming comonomer.

1. Technical Field
The present invention generally relates to biomedical devices, and especially ophthalmic devices that are intended for direct placement on or in the eye such as contact lenses or intraocular lenses.
2. Description of Related Art
In the field of biomedical devices such as contact lenses, various physical and chemical properties such as, for example, oxygen permeability, wettability, material strength and stability, must be carefully balanced in order to provide a useable contact lens. For example, since the cornea receives its oxygen supply exclusively from contact with the atmosphere, good oxygen permeability is a critical characteristic for any contact lens material. Wettability also is important in that, if the lens is not sufficiently wettable, it does not remain lubricated and therefore cannot be worn comfortably in the eye. Accordingly, the optimum contact lens would have at least both excellent oxygen permeability and excellent tear fluid wettability.
Contact lenses made from fluorinated materials have been investigated for a number of years. Such materials can generally be subdivided into two major classes, namely hydrogels and non-hydrogels. Hydrogels can absorb and retain water in an equilibrium state whereas non-hydrogels do not absorb appreciable amounts of water. Regardless of their water content, both hydrogel and non-hydrogel fluorinated contact lenses tend to have relatively hydrophobic, non-wettable surfaces.
By introducing fluorine-containing groups into contact lens polymers, the oxygen permeability can be significantly increased. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,996,275 discloses using a mixture of comonomers including the fluorinated compound bis(1,1,1,3,3,3-hexafluoro-2-propyl)itaconate in combination with organosiloxane components. Fluorinating certain polysiloxane materials has been indicated to reduce the accumulation of deposits on contact lenses made from such materials. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,440,918; 4,954,587; 4,990,582; 5,010,141 and 5,079,319. However, fluorinated polymers can suffer from one or more of the following drawbacks: difficult and/or expensive synthetic routes, poor processability, low refractive index, poor wettability, poor optical clarity, poor miscibility with other monomers/reagents and toxicity.
Another example of introducing fluorine-containing groups into contact lens polymers is U.S. Pat. No. 4,650,843 which discloses a soft contact lens obtained by subjecting, to casting polymerization, a composition containing (a) 50 to 95% by weight of a monomethacrylate of an alkylene glycol, (b) 5 to 35% by weight of a fluorine containing monomer, and (c) 0.3 to 40% by weight of one or more compound selected from the group consisting of acrylic acid, methacrylic acid, itaconic acid, glyceryl methacrylate, monomethacrylate of pentaerythritol and an alkyl methacrylate.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,162,469 discloses a one pot synthesis for making contact lenses. The '469 patent further discloses that the contact lenses are obtained from a copolymer containing, by weight, from about 5 to about 85 percent of a polymerizable fluoromonomer, and from about 5 to about 75 percent of a polymerizable hydrolyzable silicone monomer. The copolymer can further include glyceryl methacrylate.
Glyceryl methacrylate is a hydrophilic monomer capable of absorbing a high amount of water and form high water content hydrogels when cured and hydrated. However, glyceryl methacrylate is not very compatible with monomers such as silicone-containing monomers when polymerizing glyceryl methacrylate with the silicone-containing monomer to form a silicone hydrogel. Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide improved biomedical devices using glyceryl methacrylate that exhibit suitable physical properties, e.g., modulus and tear strength, and chemical properties, e.g., oxygen permeability and wettability, for prolonged contact with the body while also being biocompatible.


A proportioning mechanism for controlling a gravitational discharge of flowable material through a passage formed of a sealing material. The mechanism includes a rotatable flap valve mounted in the passage for movement in a first range of movement while in contact with the sealing material, and a second range of movement while out of contact with the sealing material. In the second range, a free flow of material is established. The free flow is terminated when only a small amount of material is yet to be discharged in order to achieve the desired discharge weight. At that time, the flap valve is rotated to a position in contact with a flexible portion of the sealing material. Fluid pressure in a cavity situated adjacent that flexible portion is varied to oscillate the flexible portion into and out of contact with the flap valve. When the flexible portion is out of contact with the flap valve, a gap is formed which admits passage of a small amount of material.

The invention relates to a proportioning device with a proportioning pipe in which a flap valve is disposed that can be shifted from its off-position, in which it is arranged mainly transverse to the longitudinal center axis of the proportioning pipe, into an on-position, in which it is arranged mainly parallel to the longitudinal center axis of the proportioning pipe. The invention also relates to an apparatus and method of controlling the discharge of flowable material.
Devices that are designed according to the principle disclosed above are known, for example, from German Document 44 40 895-C1. They are used to create a coupling connection between two containers, wherein material contained in one of the containers is transferred into the other container. For this process, it is often necessary to meter the amount to be transferred more or less exactly.
Proportioning slides or proportioning screws are used for this purpose, which are supposed to set a gap for the material running off from the product container. These proportioning devices are additional components and thus susceptible to failure, which also require time-consuming cleaning.
An object of the invention is to provide a proportioning device of the above mentioned type that allows fine proportioning without extensive design requirements.

Methods and apparatus for controlling flow of material past a flap valve


Provided are a cholesteric liquid crystal composition which contains a compound having a high Δn value and shows an orientation in a thick layer, and a circular polarization separator sheet having a wide reflection bandwidth and capable of being produced simply and easily. A cholesteric liquid crystal composition containing a compound represented by a formula (1): R1-A1-B-A2-R2 (R1 and R2 represent alkyl, alkylene oxide, H, halogen, hydroxyl, carboxyl, (meth)acryl, epoxy, mercapto, isocyanate, amino or cyano; A1 and A2 represent 1,4-phenylene, 1,4-cyclohexylene, 1,4-cyclohexenyl, 4,4′-biphenylene, 4,4′-bicyclohexylene or 2,6-naphthylene; and B represents a single bond, —COO— or the like) and a rod-shaped liquid crystal compound having Δn of 0.18 or more and at least two or more reactive groups per one molecule.

It has been known that a circular polarization separator sheet which transmits a particular circularly polarized light and reflects other sort of light is provided in display devices such as liquid crystal display devices aiming at enhancement of the luminance of the device. As such a circular polarization separator sheet, there are known a sheet obtained by applying on a substrate a polymer having a cholesteric liquid crystallinity, and orienting and drying the polymer, and a sheet obtained by applying on a substrate a liquid crystal composition comprising a polymerizable monomer having a cholesteric liquid crystallinity, and orienting and polymerizing the monomer. As such a liquid crystal composition, many compositions are known in the prior art (e.g., US Patent Application Publication No. 2005/0045854, Japanese Patent No. 3677632 and JP Hei-8-3111-A).
It is preferable that the liquid crystal composition for preparing the circular polarization separator sheet contains a compound having a Δn value (intrinsic birefringence value) as high as 0.18 or more in order to obtain a high optical property. However, there is a problem that the layer of such a high Δn compound can only be thickened up to at most about 5 μm because otherwise a uniform orientation can not be obtained. In order to obtain a wider reflection bandwidth as the circular polarization separator sheet, those having a thicker thickness are required. Thus, in order to produce a circular polarization separator sheet having a wider reflection bandwidth, it is required to pile up a plurality of layers each having a thickness of about 3 μm with a uniform orientation, which brings about a problem of complicated steps.

Cholesteric liquid crystal composition, circular polarization separator sheet and use thereof


The plasma processing apparatus according to the present invention comprises a processing chamber in which an object to be processed is processed, a lower electrode provided at a lower portion in the processing chamber, having a mount surface where the object is mounted, and applied with a bias voltage, gas introduce tube for introducing a processing gas into the processing chamber, an upper electrode provided fixedly on a roof portion of the processing chamber and supplied with a high-frequency power, to form plasma from the processing gas in the processing chamber, and a magnetic field formation portion provided fixedly on the roof portion of the processing chamber, for forming a magnetic field in the processing chamber. The the upper electrode and the magnetic field formation portion are arranged such that a force for moving circularly electrons in the plasma is generated in the processing chamber and such that two or more circular flows of electrons which are coaxial with each other and have turning radii different from each other are generated by the force.

The present invention relates to a plasma processing apparatus, and particularly, to a high-frequency plasma processing apparatus of a magnetic-field assist type.
FIG. 10 shows a typical conventional plasma processing apparatus 1 of a magnetic-field assist type. The apparatus 1 comprises a processing chamber 10, an electrode 14 which serves as a mount base provided in the chamber 10, and a high-frequency power source 18 for applying a high-frequency voltage of a predetermined frequency to the electrode 14. In this structure, when a high-frequency voltage is applied to the electrode 14 by the high-frequency power source 18, a processing gas introduced into the processing chamber 10 is changed into plasma, thereby generating radicals and ions by which an etching processing (plasma processing) is performed on an object to be processed which is mounted on the electrode 14, for example. In this case, to achieve uniform etching, a permanent magnet 20 provided above the processing chamber 10 is rotated, to attempt to make uniform the plasma density over the entirety of a plasma formation region due to an effect of a magnetic field.
However, in the plasma processing apparatus shown in FIG. 10, the plasma density is the highest in the vicinity of inner walls of the processing chamber 10, due to so-called E.times.B drifting, so that it is difficult to obtain a uniform etching rate. In addition, a charge-up damage tends to easily occur due to deflection of plasma. This tendency is particularly outstanding under a low pressure. In the current situation in which high integration of integrated circuits has been promoted, a plasma source capable of generating high density plasma under a low pressure has been demanded and therefore, solution of the problem as described above has also been demanded. Further, it is difficult for the plasma processing apparatus shown in FIG. 10 to control the density distribution of plasma to be generated in compliance with processing conditions.


An easy-open, re-closable package for a plurality of disposable diapers includes a wrapping layer which substantially surrounds the plurality of disposable diapers and a re-closable fastening system. The re-closable fastening system may be joined with the wrapping layer. The re-closable fastening system may have a female fastening portion and a male fastening portion, wherein the female fastening portion and the male fastening portion being releasably engageable. In another exemplary embodiment, the male fastening portion is releasably engageable between the plurality of disposable diapers and the wrapping layer. The re-closable package may also include a removable portion. The removable portion being integrally formed within the re-closable fastening system. The removable portion may include a grip portion. The removable portion may be defined by a first perforation and a second perforation, wherein pulling upon the grip portion results in the tearing along of the perforations so as to open the package.

Conventional disposable diapers are often packaged and sold in a conventional flexible film material (e.g., low density polyethylene). While such conventional flexible film materials provide sufficient barrier properties to ensure proper hygiene of the enclosed disposable diaper prior to being opened, once a new package of conventional disposable diaper products are opened, the barrier properties of the conventional shrink wrap are significantly diminished. In addition to hygiene concerns, once individual diapers are removed from the firmly compacted stack of diapers, the opened disposable diaper product becomes organizationally unruly. In an attempt to overcome such problems, caregivers routinely carry diaper bags so as to contain these opened disposable diaper products. However, carrying a diaper bag is not necessarily convenient. Further, particularly at a changing station permanently located at the caregiver's home, the use of a bulky diaper bag is not necessary and is often less preferred as it creates additional clutter in an already crowded space.
What is needed is an inexpensive and convenient means for opening and re-closing disposable diaper products so as to provide sufficient hygiene protection and continued organization of the remaining diapers.

Easy-open, re-closable package for disposable diapers


A mobile communication device. The device comprises a cellular radio transceiver, a processor, and a memory integral with the device, wherein the memory is apportioned into a plurality of partitions. The device further comprises a first wireless communication identity stored in a first partition of the memory and a second wireless communication identity stored in a second partition of the memory, wherein the second wireless communication identity is different from the first wireless communication identity. The device further comprises an application stored in the memory that, when executed by the processor, detects a triggering event and in response to the triggering event selects one of the wireless communication identities to be an active communication identity of the device, wherein a wireless communication identity comprises a network access identity and a list of wireless communication systems to which the device is authorized to attach.

Mobile communication devices may be configured for operating in different ways or in different network conditions by storing settings or values or files in the device. Some of the stored settings may be one or more kinds of roaming lists, e.g., a priority ordered list of wireless systems to select and attempt to attach a wireless link to. Mobile communication devices may be used by a user as a business device, for example in support of his role as an employee of a corporation, as a personal communication device, for example in support of his role as a private individual. Mobile communication devices may be configured or provisioned to perform machine-to-machine communication transactions, for example by a radio communication session between the mobile communication device and a door scanner such as to gain access to an office building or to a hotel room.

Mobile communication device profound identity brokering framework


A micro-mechanical structure according to the present invention includes: a base 1; an elastic supporting member 5 having elasticity, the elastic supporting member 5 being formed on the base 1; and a movable section supported by the elastic supporting member 5 so as to be capable of making a relative move with respect to the base 1. This movable section includes a movable electrode 6 opposing the base 1 via a first gap, and a mirror 8 being affixed to the movable electrode 6 via a vertical rib 7.

Various micromirror devices have been devised as micro-mechanical structures to which micromachining technology is applied, and their applications to optical scanning apparatuses such as laser printers, scanners, and displays, and optical switching devices to/from which input/output of optical fibers is switched are under study.
Patent Document 1 discloses a reflection-type optical modulation device having an array of micromirrors. This device has been developed as an image displaying device of a video projector, and is known as a DMD (Digital Micromirror Device). Micromirrors of the DMD are formed on CMOS circuitry.
The DMD which is disclosed in Patent Document 1 includes: a bias bus and a pair (left-right) of address electrodes as metal members in a first layer (lowermost layer) upon an oxide film; a twist hinge, a pair of hinge support portions, a yoke, and a pair of elevated electrodes as metal members in a second layer (intermediate layer); and a mirror as a metal member in a third layer (uppermost layer). A positive type photoresist, which is stacked as spacers in between layers, is finally removed by plasma etching. As a result, the yoke and the mirror are pivotably supported by the twist hinge, and are driven so as to pivot in two directions due to an electrostatic attraction that is caused by a difference in potentials applied to the address electrodes and the yoke. A multitude of mirrors are disposed in a two-dimensional array, such that each mirror functions as a pixel and allows light from a light source to be projected toward a screen, whereby a video image is displayed.
The structural parts such as the mirror, the electrodes, the twist hinge, and the yoke are formed from thin films which are obtained by depositing aluminum or an aluminum alloy by sputtering technique. Since each such thin film has a stress gradient along the film thickness direction, there is a problem in that the mirror may be warped when the spacer layers are removed during the production steps.
Since the twist hinge is to be driven by a low voltage, it is thinly formed so as to lower its torsional rigidity. However, the yoke needs to have sufficient rigidity to ensure that the yoke will pivot integrally with the mirror when tilting under an electrostatic attraction, without deforming itself. Therefore, although the twist hinge and the yoke are formed so as to be at the same height from the substrate, they are formed with respectively different thicknesses. Therefore, a step is performed which involves forming a thin aluminum layer composing the twist hinge, and thereafter depositing a first oxide film and patterning it into a hinge shape. Then, using the first oxide film as an etch stop, a removal through plasma etching is performed to also remove a thick yoke layer that is formed thereon. Thus, the shapes of the twist hinge and the yoke are defined. The mirror which is formed on the yoke is linked via a mirror supporting post which is provided in the central portion. Since the mirror and the mirror supporting post are formed of the same aluminum alloy film, a dent of a shape corresponding to the mirror supporting post is formed in the mirror surface.
Non-Patent Document 1 discloses an optical-spatial modulator in which an array of low-inertia micromirrors that are bonded onto actuators are disposed. This construction adopts a method where a plurality of comb-type actuators are used in combination to tilt a central base, with separately-produced mirrors being bonded thereon. An optical modulation is performed by moving up/down or tilting each mirror in the micromirror array of such a construction, whereby wave aberration correction for reflected light, etc., can be performed. For such purposes, the aberration of the individual mirrors themselves may become a problem, and therefore high-precision mirrors having a high planarity are required. Hence, the mirrors and the actuators are fabricated by using an SOI (Silicon-On-Insulator) substrate. By nature, a single-crystalline silicon is free of internal stress, and can produce mirrors with a good planarity.
Furthermore, through a 3-level selective DRIE process, the mirrors are structured so as to have vertical ribs on their rear faces, thus obtaining light-weighted and highly rigid mirrors. Thus, not only rapid response is enabled, but also each mirror is prevented from being warped under the influence of a difference between the coefficients of thermal expansion of an aluminum reflective layer that is provided on the mirror surface and the main body of the mirror.
As for bonding between each actuator chip and each mirror chip, methods are possible such as: a eutectic bonding which involves forming gold bumps or gold-tin solder on the bonding surface; a polymer bonding which involves forming a polyimide film and heating it to about 350° C. while applying a voltage thereto; and so on.
[Patent Document 1] Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 8-334709
[Non-Patent Document 1] Tip-tilt-piston Actuators for High Fill Factor Micromirror Arrays (Solid-State Sensor, Actuator and Microsystems Workshop, 2004 Adriatic Research Institute)


Various exemplary embodiments relate to an electronic device for dispensing a medicament. The electronic device may include a medicament storage case or an electronic medicament device. The medicament storage case includes: a door moveable between an open position and a closed position; a lock moveable between a locked position where the lock maintains the door in the closed position and an unlocked position where the lock allows the door to move to the open position; a medicament dispensing device containing medication; an input device located on an external surface of the storage case activatable by a user; a communication unit configured to initiate a two-way communication between the user and a remote access control center upon activation of the input device and configured to receive an access signal from the remote access control center; and an actuator responsive to the access signal to move the lock to the open position upon receipt of the communication from the remote access control center. The electronic medicament device includes a reservoir configured to store an amount of medication, an administration component for administering the medication to a patient, and a processor communicatively connected to a memory.

Some people suffer from medical conditions such as severe allergies that may result in anaphylaxis. Anaphylaxis may be treated by administration of epinephrine. Patients may be prescribed an auto-injector of epinephrine to treat sudden anaphylaxis.
Anaphylaxis, however, often leads to an emergency situation wherein epinephrine or other medication should be administered as soon as possible to prevent loss of life or other complications. It cannot be guaranteed that in all such situations, a patient entering anaphylactic shock is currently in possession of their prescribed auto-injector or has been previously prescribed an auto-injector at all. Further, in some cases, such as when the patient is a child, administration should be supervised or otherwise guided to prevent misuse. Again, in an emergency situation, a supervisor knowledgeable in the administration of the medication may not be available.

Medicament storage, dispensing, and administration system and method


A stencil clamping portion which clamps a tip end of a stencil sheet on an outer peripheral wall of a drum is provided, and the stencil sheet clamped by the stencil clamping portion is wound and attached around the outer peripheral wall. The stencil clamping portion includes an insertion slit which is provided along an axial direction of the drum and open to a surface of the outer peripheral wall, and an elastic sheet which pinches the stencil sheet inserted into the insertion slit. The tip end of the stencil sheet is inserted into the insertion slit by an insertion blade, and pinched by the elastic sheet.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a stencil printing machine which conveys a print medium while pressing the print medium to a drum on which a stencil sheet is mounted, and transfers ink oozing from perforations of the stencil sheet onto the print medium, and more particularly, to a technology for clamping a tip end of the stencil sheet by the drum.
2. Description of the Related Art
Such a type of stencil printing machine includes a stencil making unit which forms a perforated image on a stencil sheet, a printing unit which rotates a drum on which the stencil sheet having the perforated image formed thereon is mounted, conveys a print sheet while pressing the print sheet to the rotating drum, and transfers an ink image onto the print sheet, a paper feed unit which feeds the print sheet to the printing unit at predetermined timing, a paper discharge unit which discharges the print sheet printed by the printing unit to a predetermined position, and a stencil disposal unit which peels off the stencil sheet from an outer peripheral wall of the drum, and conveys the peeled-off stencil sheet into a stencil disposal box. Moreover, in order to neatly attach the stencil sheet having the perforated image formed thereon onto the drum without any slack or wrinkle, a stencil clamping portion is provided on the outer peripheral wall of the drum.
As a conventional example of the stencil clamping portion, there is one shown in FIG. 1 (in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. Hei 8-48069 (published in 1996). As shown in FIG. 1, such a stencil clamping portion 100 includes a stencil base 102 provided on an outer peripheral wall 101 of a drum, a magnet portion 103 provided on an inner surface side of the stencil base 102, and a clamping plate 104 which is supported so as to be freely rotatable with respect to the stencil base 102, and is shifted between a clamping position where the clamping plate 104 is absorbed to the stencil base 102 and a clamping release position where the clamping plate 104 is apart from the stencil base 102. The clamping plate 104 is moved by clamp moving means (not shown) on a machine body side.
In the configuration described above, when a tip end of a made stencil sheet 110 is conveyed to an upper surface of the stencil base 102, the clamping plate 104 is shifted from the clamping release position to the clamping position. Then, the clamping plate 104 is absorbed to the stencil base 102 by magnetic force of the magnet portion 103, and the tip end of the stencil sheet 110 is pinched between the clamping plate 104 and the stencil base 102. Specifically, the tip end of the stencil sheet 110 is clamped on the drum by the magnetic force of the magnet portion 103. Then, the outer peripheral wall 101 of the drum is rotated in a state where the drum clamps the tip end of the stencil sheet 110 thereon, and by this rotation of the outer peripheral wall 101, the stencil sheet 110 is wound around the outer peripheral wall 101, thus being loaded thereon.
However, in the conventional stencil clamping portion 100, the tip end of the stencil sheet 110 is sent out from a stencil making unit (not shown) to a position above the stencil base 102, and the stencil sheet 110 is mounted on the stencil base 102 in a state where no tension is applied thereto. Then, the clamping plate 104 moves by the rotation to the upper surface of the stencil sheet 110 to which no tension is applied, and clamps the stencil sheet 110. Accordingly, there is a possibility that the slack or the wrinkle occurs on the clamped stencil sheet 110. If the slack or the wrinkle occurs on the clamped stencil sheet 110, the stencil sheet 110 cannot be neatly attached onto the outer peripheral wall 101 of the drum without any slack or wrinkle.

Stencil printing machine with stencil clamping portion


An electrical connector for receiving a daughter card having a plurality of conductive surfaces is described. The electrical connector has a socket with an elongated slot for receiving the daughter card. The slot has electrical terminals for engaging the plurality of conductive surfaces on the daughter card and for electrically connecting the daughter card to the connector. A latch at each end of the elongated slot secures the daughter card to the connector. The latch includes a pair of inwardly directed opposing securing hooks and a pair of unlocking members.

The invention has application to the electrical interconnection of modules, such as Single In-line Memory Modules Memory Modules (SIMM) to a motherboard. The sockets used for interconnecting are typically formed to include an elongated slot and a plurality of electrical terminals coupled to the socket housing. When a daughter card is inserted into the slot the terminals engage conductive surfaces on the daughter card so that the daughter card and motherboard are electrically connected. In order to prevent the daughter card from dislodging from the socket it is known to provide a retention mechanism.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,573,706 to Haberlen describes a connector having an H-shaped detent spring daughter card retaining device at each end of an elongated slot. The retaining device has two pairs of legs. Each air of legs has retaining hooks, one pair of the retaining hooks retains the spring to the motherboard. The daughter card is slotted into the elongated slot and the two hooks of the other pair of legs engage in a hole or notch in the daughter card. To disengage the card from the connector the hooks retaining the spring to the motherboard are disengaged requiring access below the motherboard. Further the hooks and legs retaining the daughter card to the connector are exposed and may inadvertently be knocked thus allowing the daughter card to disengage from the socket.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,932,016 to Ammenheuser describes a connector having a pair of opposed slotted card retainers. Each retainer includes a channel aligned with the elongated slot of the connector so that the daughter card is slotted into the channel and the elongated slot. A locking tab in each channel retains the daughter card by catching a notch of the card. To remove the daughter card the locking tab is flexed to release the tab from the notch allowing easy removal of the daughter card.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,364,282 to Tondreault describes a connector socket 3 seen in FIGS. 1 and 3 having a cam type retaining and ejector mechanism 5. The rotatable mechanism 5 includes a locking head to engage a notch 7 in a daughter card 2. Because it is exposed the rotatable mechanism may inadvertently be knocked thus disengaging the daughter card from the socket. Further the rotatable feature requires more space than the socket would otherwise need.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,017,246 to Hisazumi et al describes a connector in which the daughter card is retained by the force of the terminals acting on the daughter card.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,045,386 to Boe describes a separate frame for securing a daughter card to a connector. The frame surrounds the socket and includes engaging members movable to secure a daughter card in the connector. The engaging members because they are exposed are easily knocked and because of the use of a separate frame increases the overall amount of space required.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,126,471 to Yu et al teaches the use of a retention mechanism having detachable locking mechanisms.

Electrical connector socket with latch mechanism


A communication unit comprises a power DAC. The DAC comprises: a switched mode power amplifier (SMPA); and a digital band-pass sigma-delta modulator operably coupled to the SMPA. The sigma-delta modulator comprises an input to receive an input baseband signal; a delay; an adder module arranged to add a feedback signal with an output from the delay; and at least two feedback branches. The sigma-delta modulator is arranged to digitally oversample the input baseband signal such that a ratio of a sampling frequency employed by the sigma-delta modulator to a radio frequency (RF) output from the DAC is fixed and the sampling frequency tuned or wherein the sampling frequency is fixed and the ratio is adjusted, such that a first feedback branch in the sigma-delta modulator is formed using at least one from a group of: a zero gain, an additive inverse of a second feedback branch.

Until recently, laterally diffused Metal-Oxide-Semiconductors (LDMOS) were the preferred technology for amplifying large powers up to around 3 GHz, generally in a quasi-linear operating mode (class AB). LDMOS is typically used due to satisfactory cost/performance trade-offs.
However, these types of devices suffer from efficiency issues, and are not compatible with very fast switching signals, due to a limited transition frequency.
Recently, technological improvements within the semiconductor industry have resulted in increased use of switched mode power amplifiers with increased functionality, allowing them to operate at high power and switching frequencies for use with cellular telecommunications.
Referring to FIG. 1, a known transmitter 100, as illustrated in WO2005120001, utilises a digital band-pass sigma—delta (ΣΔ) modulator 40 to up-convert the baseband signal to an intermediate frequency, apply a digital finite impulse response filter, and drive an array of MOS switches. Digital baseband (DBB) input signals are received by a cellular digital signal processing function 35, which performs serial-to-parallel conversion, digital filtering, splitting of the signals into in-phase and quadrature-phase components and sample rate conversion. The in-phase component of the signal is forwarded to in-phase digital up-converter function 36I, and the quadrature-phase component of the signal is forwarded to quadrature-phase up-converter function 36Q. The outputs of in-phase and quadrature-phase digital up-converter functions 36I, 36Q are applied to inputs of adder 38, which combines the up-converted components and applies the result to digital band-pass sigma-delta modulator 40. The modulated output signals from digital band-pass sigma-delta modulator 40 are filtered by finite impulse response (FIR) digital filter 42, and are the input signals applied to MOS power switch array 44.
Digital band-pass sigma-delta modulator 40 converts the relatively wide input data into a fewer number of bits per sample, having a frequency spectrum that is centred at a desired transmit frequency. Further, digital band-pass sigma-delta modulator 40 is constructed to have notches, or 'zeroes', on either side of the desired transmit frequency, with at least one of the notches corresponding to the centre of the receive band.
Class D power amplifiers, in theory, can achieve very high power efficiencies, due in part to these types of amplifiers utilising a square wave, resulting in a unity peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR). However, generally, these types of power amplifiers have typically been used to amplify base-band signals, for example as used in audio amplifiers. The application of switched mode (e.g. Class D′) amplifiers for cellular communications, such as orthogonal frequency division multiplex (OFDM) and wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA) communication systems, has been problematic, not least because the signals to be amplified are at the desired radio frequency (RF). Furthermore, the data rates to be supported approach the channel capacity and the modulations employed to achieve such performances typically require a large crest factor (namely the ratio between the peak-power at a given occurrence and the root mean square (RMS) power). Even with a help of an efficient crest factor reduction algorithm, the typically modulation schemes require significant back-off of the power amplifier from the optimum operating point, which greatly reduces the efficiency and level of average power transmitted.
The switch mode power amplifier may, in theory, achieve very high power efficiencies, since the input signal is a square wave with an unity peak to average power ratio (PAPR). Thus, no back-off of the power amplifier from the optimum operating point is required. However, for cellular operation at the desired RF frequency, these types of class D power amplifiers can suffer from very high sampling frequencies and lower output efficiencies when utilised for RF power amplification. As such, their use has, thus far, been limited.

Communication unit, digital band-pass sigma-delta modulator and method therefor


An apparatus and method for enhanced gravity casting wherein a portion of the mold is maintained in pressure contact with molten metal as it solidifies to allow the mold surface to follow the contraction of the solidifying metal. A further feature of the invention is the use of an air clearance between mold parts that is sufficient to allow air to escape but insufficient to allow molten metal to flow therepast.

The casting of molten metal and particularly molten metals such as molten lead for battery parts is done under different casting conditions. One of the casting methods is high pressure intensification which involves increasing the pressure of molten lead in the cavity by driving a piston into the molten metal to substantially increase the pressure. This process of intensification is described more fully in Ratte U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,202,733; 6,363,996; 6,405,786; 6,499,530; 6513,570; 6,598,658 and 6,564,853 and uses pressures that compress the metal to reduce the volume of air bubbles in the metal.
Another method of casting battery parts is gravity casting. Gravity casting is preferred for casting larger parts that cool slowly because the gravity casting allows the molten metal to slowly flow under the pressure of gravity to fill any voids in mold cavity as the molten metal solidifies. This results in a part that is substantially free of cracks and voids. Gravity casting uses the head pressure generated by the molten metal to fill out the mold cavity. Thus gravity casting is done at a low fluid pressure within the molten metal. In certain applications, such as larger parts that are immersed in an acid, a gravity cast battery part is highly desirable since the molten metal flows and fills during the solidification process thus virtually eliminating solidification cracks and stresses in the battery part. Since cracks and stresses in a battery part, which is immersed in an acid, can cause rapid deterioration of the battery part it is generally preferred to gravity cast large articles if the article is located in an acid such as found in a battery. However, one of the disadvantages of gravity cast articles is that the articles generally lack the surface definition of high pressure injection molded parts.
The present invention provides an enhanced gravity casting process wherein the molten metal is allowed to solidify under gravity casting conditions while at the same time a follower, which is a portion of the mold surface, is maintained under a following pressure to follow the volume contraction of the molten metal as the molten metal solidifies. That is, as the metal shrinks during solidification the pressure on the molten metal is maintained so that the mold surface or follower moves toward the mold cavity in response to the shrinkage due to solidification. A further feature of the invention is that at the same time air is allowed to escape from the molten metal through a passage which is sufficiently small that molten lead does not flow therepast.


An adjustable steering column assembly having an outer jacket and an inner jacket slidably disposed in the outer jacket for telescoping movement is disclosed. The assembly includes a locking device having a pivot pin coupled to the outer jacket and defining a pin axis. A pawl is coupled to the pivot pin and a lever having a cam surface is coupled to the pawl. The pawl rotates about the pin axis between an engaged position engaging the inner jacket and a disengaged position disengaging the inner jacket for preventing and allowing the telescoping movement, respectively. An extension is movable between a first position engaging a first portion of the cam surface and a second position engaging a second portion of the cam surface for moving the lever away from the inner jacket and causing the pawl to rotate about the pin axis to disengage the pawl from the inner jacket.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an adjustable steering column assembly for a vehicle, more specifically to an adjustable steering column assembly having a locking device.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Vehicles can be equipped with a steering column that adjusts the position of a steering wheel to enhance the comfort and safety of a user. For example, the steering column can provide telescoping movement for moving the steering wheel closer to and away from the user. Also, the steering column can provide raking movement to move the steering wheel up and down relative to the user. These features cooperate to enable the user to adjust the steering wheel to a desired, convenient position for operating the vehicle and for enabling the steering wheel to be moved out of the way to provide greater access to getting into and out of the driver's seat of the vehicle. Adjustable steering columns may include a handle coupled to a locking device for selectively allowing and preventing both the raking movement and the telescoping movement of the steering column simultaneously once the desired position of the steering wheel has been selected. However, the force required to move the handle to allow both the raking movement and the telescoping movement is large due to the simultaneous disengagement of the locking devices. In addition, when a vehicle is in a collision, typically the force applied to the inner jacket in the collision causes the inner jacket to slide a predetermined distance in the outer jacket.
Therefore, there remains a need to develop an adjustable steering column having a locking device that reduces the force to rotate a handle and prevents an inner jacket from sliding within an outer jacket during a collision.

Adjustable steering column assembly for a vehicle


An apparatus for measuring winding resistances of windings in a delta-connected transformer includes at least a first and a second DC current source connected each between the phase ends of a first and a second leg respectively of the primary side of the transformer and at least a third DC current source connected between two nodes of the secondary side of the transformer. Furthermore, a method for measuring a winding resistance of windings in delta-connected transformers includes the steps of applying a first and a second measuring current to each one of two corresponding legs, applying a third measuring current between two nodes of a pair of windings on the secondary side and measuring at least a winding resistance of the winding between said nodes on the secondary side of the transformer and/or the winding resistance of a leg of the primary side as soon as an inductive voltage drop in the windings substantially equals zero.

The phenomenon of ferromagnetic saturation plays an important role in the prior art high current transformer resistance meters. The main inductance L of the transformer drastically drops when the magnetic core is saturated. This effect facilitates it to measure the ohmic resistance after the inductive voltage drop has decayed to zero.
The resistance of Delta-connected windings in transformers is difficult to measure and it can be very time consuming. The reason for this is an exponential decreasing balancing process in the Delta-winding. This balancing process has a time constant of τ=L/R. The smaller the DC-resistance R of the winding, the longer is the duration of this process. On large generator transformers, this balancing process may for example take several minutes up to one hour. The vector group of generator transformers is usually 'YNd' with any phase shift (YNd1, YNd3, YNd5, YNd7, YNd9 and YNd11). The identifier 'Y' means that the primary-side topology of the transformer is a star topology, the identifier 'N' means that the transformer has a neutral point, the identifier 'd' means that the secondary-side topology of the transformer is a Delta-topology and the subsequent number indicates the factor for the calculation of the phase shift between the phases of the transformer legs by multiplying the number with an angle of 30°. For example, in an 'YNd3'-configuration the phase shift is of 90°.
In existing solutions like high current testers, the measurement time is reduced by using measuring currents which are higher than the core saturation level. This is done because the main inductance L becomes smaller and thus the time constant τ becomes shorter, as the winding resistance R is constant at a given temperature.
These high current testers of the prior art are large and heavy devices utilizing massive conductors and connectors to supply 50 A or more to saturate the core. Moreover, on large power transformers, the saturation current can easily reach 100 A or more. Therefore, even such high current measurement devices cannot saturate the core in case they cannot supply the required current.
Thus, a common practice is to drive the measuring current simultaneously through the secondary-side and the primary side winding of the transformer to be tested using a series connection of them. The current in the primary side winding assists in saturating the transformer core, when measuring the secondary side winding. Because the turns ratio γ (γ=N1/N2) is usually greater or equal to 10 on generator transformers, wherein N1 denotes the primary side number of turns and N2 the secondary side number of turns, the current necessary to saturate the core is ten times or more smaller on the primary side than on the secondary side. The result of this practice is a decreased measuring time.

Apparatus and method for testing winding resistances of transformers based on an inductive voltage drop


A sterilized medical device assembly comprises a medical device having a hydrophilic surface on at least a part thereof, such as a hydrophilic urinary catheter, and a package forming a closed compartment accommodating the medical device. The medical device is arranged in an activated state in the package, with the hydrophilic surface being wetted with a wetting fluid. In addition, a small amount of wetting liquid is freely arranged in the closed compartment of the package, and in direct contact with the hydrophilic surface of the medical device. The volume of the wetting liquid corresponds to between 0.01% and 10% of a volume of the closed compartment. The medical device assembly is steam sterilized, and it has been found that the extra small amount of free liquid is very efficient in ensuring a reliable and efficient steam sterilization.

The present disclosure relates to a medical device assembly, and in particular for urinary hydrophilic catheters. Catheters are commonly used for draining bodily fluids, e.g. from the bladder. Urinary catheters can be of an indwelling type, for long term use, such as days or even weeks, or for intermittent use, whereby the catheters are used for a single draining procedure, typically lasting a few minutes. Intermittent urinary catheters are e.g. used by a large group of persons for self-catheterization, which is a daily-life procedure, taking place several times a day. Typically, catheters for intermittent catheterization are used by patients suffering from urinary retention, due to e. g. spinal cord injury, Multiple Sclerosis or Prosthatic Hyperplasia. Using an intermittent catheter, the bladder may be drained through a natural or artificial urinary canal. Many catheters, such as those for intermittent catheterization, are provided with a hydrophilic coating or the like, providing a smooth and slippery surface when wetted, for safe and comfortable insertion in the urinary canal.
Many hydrophilic catheter assemblies include a supply of wetting fluid, either in direct contact with the catheter or in a separate compartment, for clean and convenient activation of the hydrophilic surface before use.
It is important that the packaging used for catheters having friction-reducing surface coatings have properties and features that provide the catheter with a long shelf-life because the time that a urinary catheter is held in storage prior to use can be rather lengthy. To this end, the catheter packaging needs to ensure that the friction-reducing coating on the catheter is protected, for instance against the environment. The catheter assembly also, typically, needs to be sterilized soon after assembly, and needs to maintain the sterile state of the catheter during storage. A typical sterilizing process for hydrophilic urinary catheters involves exposing the catheter to ethylene oxide gas or radiation.
Ethylene oxide sterilization is a relatively cost-efficient sterilization method. For catheter assemblies where the catheter is maintained in a dry state during storage, ethylene oxide sterilization may be used. However, in order to work properly, the package then needs to be gas permeable. This lowers the shelf life of the product, and may inter alia lead to ingress of moisture into the package, which may deteriorate the hydrophilic surface of the catheter. Further, there is also a risk of ethylene oxide residue being left in the package. Further, in assemblies where the catheter is maintained in wetted state, ethylene oxide is generally not useable, since ethylene oxide will then leave unwanted residues in the wetting liquid.
Radiation sterilization requires complex and costly radiation sterilization equipment, which makes production costly and complex. Further, the radiation often affects the properties of the catheter material, and leads to cross-linking and other effects which may deteriorate the product.
Further, it has been proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,848,574 to use steam sterilization for sterilization of hydrophilic urinary catheter assemblies which are maintained in a wetted, ready-to-use state. However, for steam sterilization to work, the package needs to be completely filled with wetting liquid, such as water. This makes the product relatively heavy, and complex to produce. It also leads to a great risk of spilling the wetting liquid upon opening of the package.
Thus, there is still a need for improved medical device assemblies for hydrophilic medical devices, such as hydrophilic urinary catheters, and in particular for assemblies where the medical device is maintained in an activated, wetted state. In particular, there is a need for such assemblies which can be produced more cost-efficiently, and in which the problems related to sterilization can be alleviated. The assembly/package should also preferably be rather small, so that it can easily be carried around by the user in his/her daily life.


A variable spaced flat wire conveyor belt system includes a plurality of spaced tractive rods; a plurality of rows of flat wire wickets defining a plurality of drive links and a plurality of support links, the drive links including at least a plurality of first drive links, a plurality of second drive links, and a plurality of third drive links; and at least one drive sprocket configured to engage the plurality of drive links; wherein the first drive links have a first height and a first transverse spacing defining a first drive opening, the second drive links have a second height and a second transverse spacing defining a second drive opening, and the third drive links have a third height and a third transverse spacing defining a third drive opening; wherein the second drive opening and the third drive opening are progressively greater, respectively, than the first drive opening.

Flat wire conveyor belts have been in the market for many years. Flat wire conveyor belts are generally low maintenance and when positively driven with sprockets have little to no lateral shifting.
A known flat wire conveyor belt is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 7,975,840, assigned to Cambridge International, Inc., the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference. The conveyor belt therein includes a plurality of spaced tractive rods disposed in succession and transversely with respect to a direction of travel and a plurality of rows of pickets transversely disposed with respect to the direction of travel, and interconnecting the succession of rods. Each row of pickets is comprised of a plurality of links, each link connecting a rod with a following rod in the succession.
The pickets comprise a plurality of links; however, not all the links within a single picket are identical. More particularly, in order to strengthen the outer edges of the conveyor belt, the edges of the picket are provided with links having a first spacing or mesh size and the middle portion of the belt therebetween is provided with links having a second spacing or mesh size. Hence, the pattern of openings in belt provides both narrow openings for sprocket engagement and wider openings for product support that results in reduced material usage and belt weight, yet still provides sufficient strength for product support.
When such a flat-wire conveyor belt is subjected to large temperature changes, however, expansion/contraction of the overall belt width relative to that of the sprockets and shaft may result in potential binding and belt/sprocket disengagement due to the differential expansion/contraction between the belt and the sprockets and shaft.
Accordingly, there exists a need in the marketplace for a flat wire conveyor belt having a lighter weight and reduced quantity of required material, while still retaining its strength, and which provides for fixed sprocket placement on the conveyor shaft when the belt is subjected to large temperature changes.

Variable width drive openings for conveyor belt


An engine control system that monitors flow restriction through an exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) system of an engine includes a first module that calculates a test EGR mass flow rate based on a first average EGR mass flow rate when the EGR system is in an EGR OFF mode and a second average EGR mass flow rate when the EGR system is in an EGR ON mode. A second module selectively generates a fault signal based on the test EGR mass flow rate.

Internal combustion engines combust an air and fuel mixture within cylinders to reciprocally drive pistons within the cylinders. The pistons rotatably drive a crankshaft to provide drive torque to a powertrain. Exhaust generated by the combustion process is exhausted from the engine through an exhaust manifold, is treated in an exhaust system and is released to atmosphere.
Engine systems often include an exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) system to reduce engine emissions. EGR involves re-circulating exhaust gases back into the cylinders, which limits the amount of oxygen available for combustion and lowers cylinder temperatures. EGR enables ignition timing to remain at an optimum point, which improves fuel economy and/or performance. However, debris build-up within the EGR system restricts exhaust flow therethrough and minimizes the effectiveness of the EGR system.
A traditional method of monitoring the flow restriction through the EGR system is to determine a peak manifold absolute pressure (MAP) difference between MAP levels when the EGR is ON and when the EGR is OFF. This method provides distinct disadvantages in that the MAP difference can have high variation under different engine operating conditions and it is difficult to calibrate compensation factors for the various engine operating conditions. Further, the MAP difference can be contributed to other factors that are independent of the EGR system.

Quick EGR flow restriction test based on compensated mass flow differential


The present invention relates to novel sequences for use in diagnosis and treatment of carcinomas, especially breast cancers. In addition, the present invention describes the use of novel compositions for use in screening methods.

Oncogenes are genes that can cause cancer. Carcinogenesis can occur by a wide variety of mechanisms, including infection of cells by viruses containing oncogenes, activation of protooncogenes in the host genome, and mutations of protooncogenes and tumor suppressor genes.
There are a number of viruses known to be involved in human cancer as well as in animal cancer. Of particular interest here are viruses that do not contain oncogenes themselves; these are slow-transforming retroviruses. They induce tumors by integrating into the host genome and affecting neighboring protooncogenes in a variety of ways, including promoter insertion, enhancer insertion, and/or truncation of a protooncogene or tumor suppressor gene. The analysis of sequences at or near the insertion sites led to the identification of a number of new protooncogenes.
With respect to lymphoma and leukemia, murine leukemia retrovirus (MuLV), such as SL3-3 or Akv, is a potent inducer of tumors when inoculated into susceptible newborn mice, or when carried in the germline. A number of sequences have been identified as relevant in the induction of lymphoma and leukemia by analyzing the insertion sites; see Sorensen et al., J. of Virology 74:2161 (2000); Hansen et al., Genome Res. 10(2):237-43 (2000); Sorensen et al., J. Virology 70:4063 (1996); Sorensen et al., J. Virology 67:7118 (1993); Joosten et al., Virology 268:308 (2000); and Li et al., Nature Genetics 23:348 (1999); all of which are expressly incorporated by reference herein.
In addition, breast cancer is one of the most significant diseases that affects women. At the current rate, American women have a 1 in 8 risk of developing breast cancer by age 95 (American Cancer Society, 1992). Treatment of breast cancer at later stages is often futile and disfiguring, making early detection a high priority in medical management of the disease.
KCNJ9 (Kir 3.3, GIRK3) is a member of the G-protein-activated inwardly rectifying potassium (GIRK) channel family. Vaughn J. et al., Biochem Biophys Res Commun (2000) Aug. 2; 274(2):302-9. In particular, the KCNJ9 gene encodes a G-protein-coupled inwardly rectifying potassium channel. Wolford J. K. et al., Mol Genet Metab (2001) May; 73(1):97-103.
The gene spans approximately 7.6 kb and contains one noncoding and two coding exons separated by approximately 2.2 and approximately 2.6 kb introns, respectively. Fourteen single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), including one that predicts a Val366Ala substitution, and an 8 base-pair (bp) insertion/deletion have been identified, and earlier expression studies have revealed the presence of the transcript in various human tissues including pancreas, and two major insulin-responsive tissues: fat and skeletal muscle.
The comparative gene content and order are identical between mouse and human, indicating a high degree of conservation between the two species in the KCNJ9 region. Doudney K. et al., Genomics (2001) Mar. 1; 72(2):180-92. The genomic organization of the KCNJ9 locus on chromosome 1q21-23=makes it a candidate gene for Type II diabetes mellitus in the Pima Indian population. KCNJ9, however, has not before been associated with or implicated in cancer. All references cited herein are expressly incorporated in their entirety.
As demonstrated below, mutations that interrupt the KCNJ9 coding sequence result in cancer. Moreover, altered expression of KCNJ9 correlate with cancer, in particular with breast cancer.
Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide sequences involved in cancer and in particular in oncogenesis and breast cancer.

Compositions and methods in cancer associated with altered expression of KCNJ9


A numerically controlled machining data for controlling a numerically controlled machine tool on the basis of a shape model representing a product to be machined by the numerically controlled machine tool is produced by the steps of storing in a memory position data of each machined portion on the shape model and machining attribute data on contents of machining to be carried out for the machined portion, reading out from the memory the machining attribute data for a specified machined portion, obtaining data on the order in which tools are used and data on the machining condition from a machining information file according to the machining attribute data read out, and converting the data on the order in which tools are used, the data on the machining condition and the position data of each machined portion into numerically controlled machining data conforming to the numerically controlled machine tool.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method of and a system for producing NC machining data for machining a product by a numerically controlled machine tool on the basis of, for instance, a three-dimensional shape model produced by a CAD (computer aided design).
2. Description of the Prior Art
Recently there has come into wide use an automatic programming system for controlling a numerically controlled machine tool by the use of a computer.
As such an automatic programming system, there have been known an APT, EXAPT, AUTOSPOT, FAFT and the like. The APT calculates geometric tool paths and can calculates the tool paths of a simultaneous multiple spindle control machine tool. The EXAPT can calculate the working condition of a drilling machine, a lathe or the like in addition to the tool path thereof. When controlling the numerically controlled machine tool by the automatic programming system, a numerical control tape must be produced, and in order to produce the numerical control tape, a part program must first be prepared. The part program is a program in which how the tool is moved is written in the language of the system. The prepared part program is input into a main processor and is used in a geometric operation, whereby CL (Cutter Location) data, in which the tool paths are expressed using a generalized coordinate system, are obtained. Thereafter, the CL data are input into a postprocessor and are converted into a machine coordinate system, thereby corrected to values which conform to the tape format of the numerically controlled machine tool. Then predetermined NC (numerical control) codes such as G, F, T, M and the like are inserted.
However the part program cannot be directly obtained from a three-dimensional design data of a product shape model produced by a CAD. This is because though such a three-dimensional design data includes therein data on the position of each machined portion and, for example, when the machined portion is a hole, the position of the center of the hole can be read from the three-dimensional design data, the three-dimensional design data includes no data on the attribute of the machining to be carried out, such as those from which whether the hole is a reamed hole, or a threaded hole can be known. Accordingly, the operator must determine the attribute of the machining to be carried out for each portion and the part program is prepared by combining the attribute of the machining determined by the operator with the data on the position of each machined portion. Therefore, in the conventional system, it takes a very long time to prepare the part program, and further the part program must be converted into CL data and the CL data further must be converted into NC codes.
Further since the part program includes the data on the position of each machined portion, the part program must be prepared for each kind of product.

Method of and system for producing data for numerically controlled machining