A medical device is coated with a thin coherent bond coat of acrylics, epoxies, acetals, ethylene copolymers, vinyl polymers, polymers containing hydroxyl, amine, carboxyl, amide, or other reactive groups, and copolymers thereof. Outer layers may be applied and remain adherent to the substrate in water for an extended period. The bond coat may comprise cross linkers such as urea resins, melamines, isocyanates, and phenolics. Preferred polymers include vinylpyrrolidone-vinyl acetate, styrene acrylic polymer, ethylene acrylic acid copolymer, carboxyl function acrylic polymer, hydroxyl function acrylic polymer, and acrylic dispersion polymer. The coatings may be applied to inert metal or plastic surfaces of medical devices such as needles, guide wires, catheters, surgical instruments, equipment for endoscopy, wires, stents, angioplasty balloons, wound drains, arteriovenous shunts, gastroenteric tubes, urethral inserts, laparoscopic equipment, pellets, and implants. Methods of coating and coating liquids are provided.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an adhesive coating for a medical instrument. More specifically, the invention relates to polymer compositions which, when applied to an insertable medical device, provide for improved adhesion of a coating to the surface of the device, and related methods.
2. Related Art
Medical devices such as catheters or guide wires are inserted through trachea, blood vessels, urethra or other celoms or tissues, or through catheters or drainage tubes etc. Such devices are required to have a high degree of smoothness to assure introduction of such devices without causing trauma to tissue encountered during placement. These surfaces may be further enhanced by having lubricity for preventing injury or inflammation of mucous membrane which would be caused when the devices remain in the tissue. Other requirements for medical device surfaces have also been recognized.
In some instances, it is advantageous for medical device surfaces to have the capability of serving as a depot for various physiologically active substances such as anti-thrombogenic substances, anti-microbial substances, anti-neoplastic substances, genetic materials, hormones, living cellular materials and others. Anti-thrombogenic materials, such as complexes of heparin with quaternary ammonium compounds, are used on medical device surfaces to prevent formation of blood clots on the surface, which can form rapidly on vascular prostheses in vitro. Antimicrobial agents including penicillins, cephalosporins, fluoroquinolones, aminoglycocides, silver, compounds, phenol compounds, biguanides and others have been proposed for use in surface coatings to control nosocomial infections that often occur on surfaces of implanted prostheses, U.S. Pat. No. 5, 069,899, U.S. Pat. No. 5,525,348, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,442,133.
The construction of devices such as guide wires and catheters presents special problems for insertion. Guide wires generally include coiled guide wires formed of stainless steel and monofilament guide which may have plastic materials such as polyurethanes, polyamides, plolyolefins, etc. extruded over them to provide a surface to which coatings can adhere, and to provide smoothness and uniformity of the surface.
Catheters typically consist of plastic tubes which may have a single lumen or multiple lumens. Catheters may have balloons fastened along the tube to obstruct a vessel or to fix the catheters in a desired position. Catheters may also have ports at the distal end, side ports along part of the length, or other mechanical features needed to accomplish the particular device mission. Catheters may consist of a continuous length of tubing, or may comprise two or more sections of tubing consisting of similar or dissimilar materials which are welded together in order to have different properties at different locations along the length of the device. Catheters may be tapered, both within a segment or by having segments of differing diameters. Typical material of which catheters are constructed include polyamides, polyurethanes, vinyls such as polyvinylchloride, polyesters, polyolefins, silicones, and others. Typical diameters range from less than one millimeter to more than 8 millimeters.
As typically encountered in inserting a catheter, at the predetermined site, the guide wire tip is inserted through a catheter up to its tip opening, the catheter with the guide wire is inserted into for example a blood vessel percutaneously, and the catheter is further inserted through the vessel by using the guide wire as a leading and supporting guide. These operations produce friction and abrasive forces that apply to the surfaces of the medical device. It is desirable for the frictional resistance between the catheter inner surface and the guide wire to be low. Relatively high friction between the catheter and the guide wire not only prevents the guide wire from being inserted through the catheter, but the guide wire from being easily moved through the catheter, making it difficult to carry out subtle indwelling operations at the destined vessel site. Sometimes the guide wire cannot be withdrawn from the catheter, rendering the catheter lumen unusable despite the completion of the indwelling operation.
To avoid such problems, attempts have been made in the prior art to apply low frictional resistance Teflon and silicone oil to the outer surface of guide wires. Application of silicone oil fails to retain lubricity because of immediate loss of silicone coatings. Frequent applications add to frictional resistance, also undesirably creating troubles as mentioned above.
There is thus the need for a catheter and guide wire having a lower frictional resistance surface which enables more subtle operation in a vessel and can be easily inserted and remain at the site where catheters are otherwise difficult to manage during placement.
Polyurethane coatings have been applied directly on metal surfaces. U.S. Pat. N0. 4,876,126. However, commercial versions of this technology require thick layers (60-80 microns thick) in order to perform adequately. In practice, the thick layer extends continuously around the coated metal substrate. These layers have good cohesive forces and thus appear to be tightly bound on the metal surface, even though these layers do not necessarily have good adhesion to the metal surface. A disadvantage of such coatings is that because the polyurethane and other plastic layers are so thick, the metal diameter of the underlying wire must be correspondingly diminished. This is especially troublesome on the very fine wires such as those used in coronary angioplasty or neurointerventional catheterization procedures. These wires have OD's of about 0.010" (about 250 microns) and may have the majority of the diameter (about 120 to 170 microns) composed of plastic materials instead of metals. An alternate method is the use of low frictional materials such as polytetrafluoroethylene coatings which have lower friction than metals and most other plastic materials and which can be applied directly onto metallic substrates. Other materials such as high density polyethylene have been tried, but the coefficients of friction are not low enough for such materials. Oils have been applied, and the coefficients of friction are low. However, such treatments are transient because they wear off during use.
Hydrogel coatings are known to provide a lubricious surface for insertable devices. However, metals and certain plastic materials such as polyolefins, polyamides, silicones, polyesters and some others have inert surfaces and it is often difficult to achieve acceptable adhesion when applying surface coatings, including hydrogel coatings, over such surfaces.
Hydrogels can absorb several times their weight in water when placed in an aqueous environment. Usually, hydrogel layers are attached to hydrophobic sublayer(s) and there may be a great deal of penetration of the hydrogel polymer molecules into the hydrophobic sublayer(s). The polymer molecules of both layers are left in a state of inter-molecular mingling, especially in the region of the interface between the two layers. As a result of the inter-molecular mingling, water that is taken up in the hydrogel may find its way to the intersection between the substrate and the hydrophobic coating layer. The adhesion between the hydrophobic layer and the substrate is usually jeopardized by the moisture, and adhesive failure usually results. This process of moisture-induced adhesive failure is greatly exacerbated when the coating layers are thin.
Thin hydrophobic layers containing cellulose esters and acrylic polymers may be coated directly on metal substrates, U.S. Pat. No. 5,001,009. Hydrogel coatings may be applied directly over such layers. Such systems perform well on coil type guide wires, because the coating is able to gain additional adhesion by penetrating between the coil wires. However, such layers tend to allow too much moisture penetration resulting in deterioration of adhesive bonds when applied onto mandril style metal substrates.

Bonding layers for medical device surface coatings


A method of producing a film containing an oxide having a plurality of tubular structures and a plurality of conjugated polymer chains includes preparing a solution by dissolving a precursor substance having a first site containing a precursor of the oxide and a second site containing a precursor of a component constituting the conjugated polymer chains; forming a film containing the oxide having the tubular structures on a substrate, the surface of which exhibits anisotropy, by applying the solution onto the substrate so that the tubular structures and the conjugated polymer chains are oriented; and forming the conjugated polymer chains in pores of the tubular structures by polymerizing the second site in the film formed on the substrate, wherein an inorganic component of the first site is connected to carbon of the second site through a covalent bond.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a film containing an oxide and conjugated polymer chains and a method of producing the film. In particular, application to electronic devices and optical devices is expected using conjugated polymer chains.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conjugated polymers have been widely studied because they have desirable characteristics required for electronic materials and luminescent materials. Since such conjugated polymers have a conjugated structure in the main chain direction, they exhibit high electrical conductivity in that direction. Accordingly, if the main chains of conjugated polymers are extended and oriented, it is possible to utilize the physical properties of conjugated polymer materials more effectively. However, at present, there are no satisfactory techniques for orienting the main chains of conjugated polymers, and thus conjugated polymers are often used in random orientations.
Accordingly, in general, when a plurality of electrodes are connected to a conjugated polymer material and electric charges are transferred, a direction in which the electric charges are transferred in the conjugated polymer material (i.e., direction between the electrodes) does not always coincide with an extension direction of the main chain of the conjugated polymer material.
Consequently, in the process of transferring electric charges between the plurality of electrodes, charge transfer between different polymers is required to occur a large number of times. Such a charge transfer between different polymers is carried out by hopping, and therefore, the speed of the charge transfer is lower than that in the case where electric charges are transferred within the same polymer. Accordingly, a film containing a conjugated polymer cannot achieve high electrical conductivity, and thus improvement has been desired.
To overcome this problem, U.S. Patent Application No. 2006/0147677 has proposed that the electrical conductivity is improved by orienting the main chain of a conjugated polymer.
U.S. Patent Application No. 2006/0147677 discloses a method of producing a structured material in which a tubular-structured oxide is arranged so as to be parallel to a boundary surface with a substrate, and an electrically conductive conjugated polymer is carried in pores in the tubular structure.
However, in the method of producing the structured material described in U.S. Patent Application No. 2006/0147677, a surfactant does not contain a precursor of the oxide but contains only a functional group for forming the conjugated polymer. Accordingly, the distance between the functional group to be polymerized and a wall portion of the oxide is not exclusively determined on the basis of the molecular structure of the surfactant. As a result, in conducting the polymerization between functional groups for forming the conjugated polymer, the positions of the functional groups are not always completely controlled. Consequently, conjugated polymer chains having a sufficient molecular weight are not always formed.

Film containing conjugated polymer chains and method of producing the same


A pn-diode of SiC has a first emitter layer part doped with first dopants having a low ionization energy and a second part designed as a grid and having portions extending vertically from above and past the junction between the drift layer and the first part and being laterally separated from each other by drift layer regions for forming a pn-junction by the first part and the drift layer adjacent such portions at a vertical distance from a lower end of the grid portions. The different parameters of the device are selected to allow a depletion of the drift layer in the blocking state form a continuous depleted region between the grid portions, to thereby screen off the high electric field at the pn-junction so that it will not be exposed to high electrical fields.

SiC has some excellent physical properties, such as a high thermal stability, that devices fabricated from SiC are able to operate at high temperatures, namely up to 1,000.degree. K., a high thermal conductivity, so that SiC devices may be arranged at a high spatial density, and a high breakdown field being approximately ten times higher than for Si. These properties make SiC very suited as material for high power devices operating under conditions where high voltages may occur in the blocking state of the device. However, most dopants have a very low diffusivity in SiC, so that it will be desired to use the implantation technique for forming the p-type emitter layer in a pn-diode of SiC. This means in turn that the pn-junction of the diode will be located in a region of the device damaged by the implantation unless dopants having a comparatively high diffusivity in SiC are used for the implantation, so that the pn-junction may be spatially separated from implantation damage. A location of the pn-junction in the damaged region would result in a higher leakage current and thus bad reverse characteristics of the diode. However, it is also desired to dope the emitter layer with dopants having a low ionization energy so as to obtain a low forward voltage drop and by that good forward characteristics of the device. There are no acceptor candidates for SiC combining these two characteristics desired.

PN-diode of SiC and a method for production thereof


System for automatic fuelling of a vehicle and debiting for fuel obtained. A transponder is provide on the vehicle for the positioning of a fuelling robot and includes coded information to be utilized for the debiting function.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system for debiting therefore for costs of automatic fuelling, of a vehicle where the driver does not have to leave the vehicle for paying the filled fuel.
2. Decription of the Related Art
Automatic fuelling of vehicles is known, among others from the Swedish patents 8403564-1 and 9002493-6, that show solutions where the position of the filling point of the vehicle is automatically measured by means of microwave technology, in that a fuelling robot senses the position of a position giving transponder assembled for the purpose close to the filling point of the vehicle. In this way a comfortable, safe and fast filling of fuel is obtained, without the driver having to step out of the vehicle.
Since usually a payment/debiting is related to the filling of fuel, it is also desirable to find solutions allowing that the payment operation itself does not require leaving the vehicle, since otherwise a big part of the advantages with automatic fuelling would be lost.
Hereby information about account, fuel quality etc can be stored in a transponder on the vehicle, for example in the transponder unit that is used for measuring of the filling point position. Thereby the cost for a special data carrier and reader for the debiting is avoided, since common system components are used for the position measurement as well as for the debiting.
An aim with the present invention is to enable automatic debiting during automatic fuelling of vehicles and without the driver having to step out of the vehicle, and where the total cost of the system has been minimized.
A second aim with the invention is to solve the theft demand problems for a transponder on a vehicle that may occur when using debiting functions in the transponder.
A third aim of the invention is to provide a solution that allows an accurate measurement of the position of the transponder as well as that the transponder is communicated with data.
A fourth aim of the invention is to enable an off-line function, i.e. that the system shall not have to call data central to match the data code of the transponder with a personal code related to the driver of the vehicle and/or the fuelling place.
A fifth aim of the invention is to enable also the debiting in to be carried out off-line, i e without having to call a data central.
A sixth aim of the invention is to enable updating and reading of the transponder both at the fuelling robot and at other places in a way which is acceptable from a security point of view.

System at a vehicle for debiting at automatic fuelling


There is provided a flux-cored wire containing flux within a stainless steel or mild steel outer cover for use in stainless steel welding and gas-shielded arc welding using a shielding gas. The flux-cored wire contains, based on the total mass of the flux-cored wire, predetermined amounts of C, Si, Mn, P, S, Cr, Ti, and O. The remainder are Fe and incidental impurities. The shielding gas is pure Ar gas.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a flux-cored wire containing flux within a stainless steel or mild steel outer cover for use in gas-shielded arc welding and stainless steel welding and a gas-shielded arc welding method using the flux-cored wire.
2. Description of the Related Art
Intermediate Cr ferrite steels containing approximately 14% to 19% by mass Cr are widely used as ferritic stainless steels. In particular, SUS430 steel has various uses, such as for internal building materials and automotive decorative materials, and is manufactured in large quantities.
Because of their high corrosion resistance and heat resistance, ferritic stainless steels are also used in automotive exhaust components for high-temperature gas from engines, such as exhaust manifolds, front pipes, and main mufflers.
Ferritic stainless steels can be welded by a gas-shielded arc welding method. The gas-shielded arc welding method employs roughly two types of welding wires: solid wires and flux-cored wires.
Use of solid wires in gas-shielded arc welding can relatively easily reduce the generation of oxides and can realize excellent high-temperature oxidation resistance. However, solid wires generally contain a small number of non-metallic inclusions, which serve as sites for the formation of crystal grains. Welding using solid wires therefore often forms large crystal grains and causes corrosion in grain boundaries. Thus, gas-shielded arc welding using solid wires has low intergranular corrosion resistance.
In view of such situations, a gas-shielded arc welding method using a flux-cored wire has been proposed for welding of ferritic stainless steels.
For example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publications No. 2001-293596 and No. 2007-319910 propose a flux-cored wire having a specified chemical composition of the wire and use of an Ar—CO2 gas containing 20% CO2 gas as a shielding gas.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publications No. 2007-289965, No. 2007-296535, and No. 2009-255125 propose a flux-cored wire (or a welding method) having a specified chemical composition of the wire and use of pure Ar gas as a shielding gas.
In accordance with the techniques described in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publications No. 2001-293596, No. 2007-319910, No. 2007-289965, No. 2007-296535, and No. 2009-255125, use of flux-cored wires can reduce the crystal grain size as compared with solid wires and consequently reduce the occurrence of corrosion at grain boundaries, thereby realizing a certain degree of intergranular corrosion resistance.
However, in accordance with the techniques described in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publications No. 2001-293596 and No. 2007-319910, 20% CO2 gas in the Ar—CO2 gas used as a shielding gas limits the improvement in corrosion resistance (in particular, high-temperature oxidation resistance), burn through resistance, and welding performance.
In accordance with the techniques using pure Ar gas as a shielding gas described in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publications No. 2007-289965, No. 2007-296535, and No. 2009-255125, a wire contains C and O in order to stabilize an arc. The presence of C and O in the wire limits the improvement in corrosion resistance (in particular, high-temperature oxidation resistance).
CO2 in the shielding gas in the technique described in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publications No. 2001-293596 and No. 2007-319910 and C and O in the wire in the technique described in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publications No. 2007-289965, No. 2007-296535, and No. 2009-255125 make it difficult to decrease the oxygen content of weld metal, thus possibly causing corrosion in the weld metal at high temperature. In other words, there is room for improvement in corrosion resistance (in particular, high-temperature oxidation resistance) in the techniques described in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publications No. 2001-293596, No. 2007-319910, No. 2007-289965, No. 2007-296535, and No. 2009-255125.

Flux-cored wire and gas-shielded arc welding method using the same


A coaxial connector having excellent shielding performance. The coaxial connector 30 includes a coaxial cable 12, an outer conductor terminal 32 connected to a top end of the coaxial cable 12, an opening portion 34, stabilizers 36, and an engaging piece 44. The opening portion 34 locks a locking piece of a connector housing used to house the coaxial connector 30, the stabilizers 36 control an insertion orientation of the coaxial connector 30 into the housing, the engaging piece 44 engages with the locking piece, and they are provided on a peripheral surface at a main section of the outer conductor terminal 32. The opening portion 34 is closed by a main section of an outer conductor terminal of a counterpart coaxial connector when the connectors are mated. The engaging piece 44 functions as a guide plane when the stabilizers 36 are inserted into a slit of the housing.

Generally, electric connection of coaxial cables to be routed through electric or other equipment to be mounted inside an automobile is obtained by attaching a coaxial connector at a top end of the coaxial wire, housing the coaxial connector in a connector housing, and coupling the connector housing to a counterpart coaxial connector.
The connector housing includes an attaching portion (cavity) for the coaxial connector, and a locking piece provided to the attaching portion (cavity). The locking piece enables the coaxial connector to be attached thereto removably. The coaxial connector is inserted into and slid in the connector housing so as to be attached to the connector housing.
In response to higher frequency and speed of electric signals which are transmitted to the electric or other equipment mounted inside the automobile in these years, a cross-sectional shape of the coaxial connector is arranged to be a circular shape the same as a cross-sectional shape of the coaxial cables so as not to vary a coaxial structure of the coaxial cables as much as possible.
In such a case, the coaxial connector can be turned in 360 degrees when inserted into the connector housing, therefore, required especially is a stabilizer arranged to determine an orientation to insert the coaxial connector into the connector housing (i.e., to control an insertion orientation).
FIGS. 11A and 11B show a structure of a conventional coaxial connector (see Japanese Patent Application Unexamined Publication No. 2000-188157). An outer conductor terminal 72 of a coaxial connector 70 is a member prepared by die-cutting a plate material or other materials and forming the die-cut material into a cylindrical shape or other shapes. The outer conductor terminal 72 is configured to include an opening portion 74 arranged to lock a locking piece of a connector housing, stabilizers 76 arranged to determine (control) an insertion orientation of the coaxial connector 70 into the connector housing, a juncture (fitting portion) 78 at butted edges of the material, spring pieces 80 arranged to apply contact load to the outer conductor terminal 72 and a counterpart outer conductor terminal during their connection so as to secure electric connection therebetween, and a protective portion 82 arranged to cover top edges of the spring pieces 80 so that the spring pieces 80 may not be broken by colliding against foreign substances. The stabilizers 76 are, for example, formed by cutting and erecting a peripheral surface at a main section of the outer conductor terminal 72.

Coaxial connector and a structure for attaching the coaxial connector to a connector housing


Provided is a personal fitness machine device using VR including: a driving unit collecting front location information of a user and front posture information of the user; a VR unit which collects rear location information, rear posture information, and distance information of the user; an exercise unit including a bottom frame, a footrest unit, a separation prevention unit, a back support frame, and a waist protector; and a control unit which controls the driving unit, the VR unit, and the exercise unit, compares the front posture information of the user and pre-stored posture information, and generates posture correction information.

In general, in order to exercise without injury, it is important to perform an exercise with correct movements. To do so, an exerciser, who performs an exercise, may learn how to exercise from a trainer in a fitness center or from watching videos online and performing exercise movements looking at a mirror.
However, employing a personal trainer to perform personal training (PT) has drawbacks. Employing a personal trainer is expensive. It requires the exerciser to coordinate time with a trainer, making it difficult for a busy modern person to exercise at a fixed time every time.
In addition, exercising alone through internet videos is boring. Also, to be effective, exercise must be made on a regular basis, e.g., at least three times a week. However, many exercisers give up because it is difficult to keep.
A Kinect sensor released by Microsoft allows a user to exercise watching himself or herself mirrored on a screen and following the movement of a trainer figure next to him. However, such an exercise only operates on a game machine called XBOX, limiting its users to people who enjoy games rather than exercise. In addition, the exercise using the Kinect sensor is unpopular because it needs to purchase a specific game machine.
On the other hand, in the Korean Patent No. 10-1829790, an exercise support apparatus using VR has been disclosed. In the patent, a smart device which an exerciser exercises with and a VR application provided in the smart device generate information about exercise amount, configure relevant information about exercise state, and display the information as VR through a VR head.
However, the prior art mentioned above only generates a user's exercise information using a smart device and displays the information through VR. Therefore, it still has various disadvantages found in the conventional method of exercising through online videos.


The present invention provides a device and method for propelling liquids to long distances. The invention is especially useful for marking animals such as sheep for identification purposes. The device itself comprises a container, liquid residing within said container, gas propellant residing within said container, means comprising an inlet and an outlet for controlling the discharge of said liquid from said container, said means being biased in a closed position and being movable to an open position in response to external pressure thereto, wherein the inlet of said means is in communication with said container, and a tube through which said liquid exits said device in communication with the outlet of said discharge means, said tube extending outwardly from said outlet, wherein the combination of said discharge means, said tube, and said propellant are adapted for discharging said liquid as a liquid stream to a distance of from about ten to about twenty-five feet when said discharge means is moved into the open position. The discharged liquid used in the device and method is also nonflammable according to CSMA and Consumer Product Safety Commission standards.

Animals, such as sheep and cattle, are now raised on farms and ranches world-wide. In order to identify their animals, certain ranchers, such as those residing in Europe, prefer to mark their animals with a dye as opposed to the traditional American system of branding.
Several considerations arise when using a marking system of identification. One such area involves toxicity. For example, any marking device or method should take into consideration its effect on the hide of the animals. Obviously, a device or method which does not cause a rash, ulcer or other type of blemish on the animal's hide is preferred.
Some animals are very sensitive to intrusion by humans, such as sheep. These type of animals tend to run away from humans who venture too close to them. In view of this, it would be advantageous to have a device which would propel a marking composition at long distances, e.g., from about ten to about twenty-five feet. This type of device would allow the animals to be easily marked, or identified, without disturbing the animals. In addition, animals which are potentially dangerous to humans, such as bulls, could be safely marked by use of such a device.
Many different types of systems are available for propelling liquid compositions from a container and onto a substrate. These systems may generally be divided into those which discharge liquids as aerosols and those which do not atomize the liquids but rather discharge the liquids as liquid streams.
The discharge of liquids as aerosols is most commonly utilized in the field of aerosolized paint systems. In these systems, an aerosol container is filled with a paint composition and a propellant wherein upon discharge the paint is atomized such that a smooth film is produced when the composition is applied onto a substrate. Generally, the container is held about twelve inches from the substrate, this being due to the relatively wide pattern of paint particle distribution experienced upon atomization. In addition, the relatively short "carry" or effective travel distance of the atomized paint particles from the container also acts to limit the distance the container should be held from the substrate.
One example of a device which purportedly assists in extending the length of aerosolized liquid travel is found in U.S. Pat. No. 2,908,446. This disclosure is directed toward a spray tube which is adapted for use in connection with pressurized dispensers of all types. The referenced tube is manufactured such that it may be inserted into the ejection orifice, or valve, of a dispenser which contains a gas propellant and a liquid. The length of this tube, which is not given in the reference, is such that the desired distance of travel of the ejected material is obtained. Further description relating to the specific distance of travel is similarly not present in the disclosure.
The presently known devices for the discharge of liquids as aerosols almost uniformly employ one or more liquid propellants, i.e., propellants which are gaseous at atmospheric pressure but which are in a liquid state when subjected to pressure such as that experienced in a typical aerosol container. Liquid propellants are primarily used due to the propellants' effect upon the liquid component in the container which is to be discharged. During discharge, the liquid propellant expands and thereby becomes gaseous due to its exposure to the lower (atmospheric) pressure. This expansion induces the aerosolization of the liquid component as it is discharged from the container.
Liquid propellants, however, suffer from a disadvantage in that they are extremely sensitive to changes in temperature. This sensitivity is exemplified in FIG. 3 wherein the pressure versus temperature of two liquid propellants, liquid propane and Freon 12 (E.I. DuPont de Nemours), is compared to that of a gaseous propellant, nitrogen. The results illustrate the relative stability of gaseous propellants over a variety of temperature ranges as opposed to the liquids relative instability.
A system of the second type, as categorized previously, which attempts to overcome these disadvantages is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,130,519. This reference is directed toward the injection feeding of plants wherein a liquid is dispensed from a pressurized container by way of a tube, this tube being appended to a valve. The propellant, which is a gas, serves to discharge the liquid from the container, through the tube, and into the vegetation in which the tube has been placed.
In view of the foregoing references, there exists a need for a device and method which are adapted for discharging a liquid component as a liquid stream at distances up to about twenty-five feet and which possesses the aforementioned desirable characteristics.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a device and method whereby a liquid may be discharged as a liquid stream at distances of up to about twenty-five feet.
A related object is to provide a device and method whereby at least about ninety weight percent of a liquid may be discharged as a liquid stream at a distance of at least about twenty feet.
A further object is to provide a device and method which are adapted for propelling a non-toxic, and non-irritating aqueous-based coating onto a substrate, such as an animal's hide, at the aforementioned distances.
A further related object is to provide a device and method which are adapted for propelling a liquid to the aforesaid distances while maintaining a relatively small dispersion pattern.
Another objective is to provide a device and method, the marking composition of which is less temperature-sensitive than conventional aerosol systems.
Yet another objective is to provide a device and method which allows relatively inaccessible areas to be marked by a marking composition which is propelled to distances of from about ten up to about twenty-five feet.
An additional objective is to provide a device and method which are adapted for propelling a non-flammable liquid to distances of from about ten to about twenty-five feet.
These and other objects and advantages of the present invention, as well as additional inventive features, will become apparent from the description which follows.

Long distance marking devices and related method


A blade used in a gas turbine engine in which the blade is formed of a blade portion made from a metallic material, and a tip portion made of a ceramic material, the tip portion forming at least 10% of the overall blade length such that the blade is lighter than a all-metallic blade. The ceramic tip of the blade allows the blade to withstand higher temperature environments without damaging the blade as would occur in an all-metallic blade.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a turbine rotary blade used in a gas turbine engine, where the tip of the blade is made of a ceramic material.
2. Description of the Related Art Including Information Disclosed under 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98
The future trend of advanced gas turbine engines for aircraft applications is to increase turbine rotor inlet temperature (RIT) to optimize turbine performance. Conventional modern turbine blades constructed of nickel-based super alloys must be substantially cooled to survive this high temperature environment. The root region of the blade must support the material above the root and is therefore subject to the highest levels of P/A stress. This region must be cooled to mitigate the effects of creep and potential stress rupture. However, the remainder of the blade, particularly the tip region, must be significantly cooled to prevent distress primarily in the form of oxidation and erosion.
Another trend of advanced gas turbines is to reduce weight by designing the turbine with the highest level of AN2 possible. This increases the weight of rotating turbine blades, posing new challenges for blade and disc structural systems. It is well known in the art of gas turbine engines that weight can be minimized by designing the turbine blades with thin walls, and airfoil taper can be utilized to provide further reductions of weight by controlling the P/A stress levels. As a result of these trends, VAATE applications require lightweight turbine structures that can withstand the rigors of extreme thermal environments.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,689,242 issued to Pike on Aug. 25, 1987 shows a turbine blade used in a gas turbine engine, the blade made of a metal with a tip member made of ceramic attached to the tip end of the blade. However, the ceramic tip of this Pike invention is of such small mass that the lightweight benefits to the rotating blade discussed above does not apply.
Other prior art airfoils like U.S. Pat. No. 4,884,820 issued to Jackson et al on Dec. 5, 1989 show an airfoil with a ceramic portion extending from the tip of the metal blade airfoil, but the ceramic tip portion does not form any part of the fluid reaction airfoil surface. The above cited Pike patent includes a very small edge portion of the ceramic tip, but this portion exposed to the fluid flow does not provide any significant surface area on which the fluid flow reacts to transfer power from the motive fluid to the rotating blade.
The composite, lightweight blade structure of the present invention addresses both concerns of increased temperature operation and lightweight structures. The present invention is based on construction of a turbine blade using a composite structure where a high temperature, lightweight material would be used in the low to moderate P/A stress field near the tip of the blade. Ceramics represent one of the possible materials for use in this region. These materials have very high temperature capability and are considerably lighter than modern super alloy materials. Use of these materials provides the potential to significantly reduce cooling requirements in the traditionally difficult-to-cool tip region. However, the properties of these materials are characteristically inferior in terms of strength and load-carrying capability, thus limiting their useful application to the relatively low-stress tip region of the turbine blade. Significant overall system weight reduction is possible with the use of lightweight materials, even if only near the tip, because weight reductions realized at the tip are propagated throughout the entire blade airfoil, attachment and rotor disc system. The root region of the airfoil would be constructed of an advanced super alloy material to provide the strength necessary in the high P/A stress region. Cooling of this region remains necessary to provide adequate life for creep and oxidation/erosion.


A method and system for searching for items is provided. The method includes receiving, from a user, description data describing search requirements associated with a requested physical object to be located. Locations of the user are monitored and a request to locate the physical object is transmitted to video data retrieval devices. In response, video data associated with associated physical objects and location data for associated locations are retrieved. Distances and relative velocities between current locations of the user and each location of each physical object are calculated. In response, recommendations associated with traveling to view each physical object are generated and presented to the user.

Locating items typically comprises an inaccurate process with little flexibility. Performing a search process may include a complicated process that may be time consuming and require a large amount of resources. Accordingly, there exists a need in the art to overcome at least some of the deficiencies and limitations described herein.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

International Business Machines Corporation


A drive system for a conveyor belt drive assembly including a motor rotatably connected to the input shaft of a fluid coupling with the output shaft of the fluid coupling being rotatably connectable to the drive assembly. A motor speed controller controls the speed of the motor, so as to cause the drive shaft to maintain a desired torque.

Conventionally, conveyor belt drive systems have been of three types.
A first type works on the basis of direct linkage between an electric motor and an output drive shaft, where there is no fluid coupling therebetween. The torque on the drive shaft is controlled directly by the electric motor and there is no means located along the linkage for further affecting the torque.
The disadvantage of this type of drive system is that it may be necessary to oversize the motor to accommodate the heating up of the motor during acceleration of the belt. An oversized motor adds to the cost.
Also, since most conventional conveyor systems use a plurality of motors spaced apart along the system (known as multimotor drive), a direct linkage or coupling to similarly spaced apart drive shafts means that the respective motor rotor inertias are coupled by the conveyor system itself. This can lead to vibration related problems and difficulty in load sharing in the conveyor system.
A second type of drive system works on the basis of a constant speed electric motor connected through a variable fluid coupling to an output drive shaft. The variable fluid coupling is controllable by means independent of the motor. For instance, the variable fluid coupling may be of the scoop coupling type where the volume of oil within the coupling is varied over time by a scoop means. Variation in the oil volume within the scoop coupling will affect the output torque from the coupling that, in turn, will affect the torque on the output drive shaft. Other examples of independently controllable variable fluid couplings include the scoop trim coupling and the drain and fill coupling. It is a disadvantage of this type of coupling that it is mechanically complex and therefore prone to breakdown.
A third type of drive system includes the Foettinger type fixed-fill fluid coupling. This is the most simple of the three types whereby the coupling is normally driven by a squirrel cage type induction motor at relatively constant speed and produces an output torque which is a function of the coupling design, the type and fixed amount of oil within the coupling and the absolute speeds and relative speeds of the driving and driven parts of the coupling. However, all these variables must be determined prior to operation of the drive system and they remain fixed throughout the operation. It is therefore not possible to alter the characteristic output torque arising from such a coupling during its operation. This is a disadvantage in instances where it is desirable to change output torque during operation of the drive system in response to varying load factors and the like. It is a further disadvantage because the output torque in such drive systems is often less consistent than would be desirable owing to random fluctuations in external variables such as load.
It is an object of the present invention to overcome or substantially ameliorate the disadvantages of the prior art.


A category classification method includes: calculating function values corresponding to a relationship between a classification target and support vectors that contribute to a classification boundary, calculating an addition value in which the function value for each support vector has been added, and classifying that the classification target does not pertain to a specific category in case that the addition value is smaller than a threshold, wherein calculation of the addition value is carried out by adding function values having positive values, then adding function values having negative values, and the classification target is classified as not pertaining to the specific category, without adding the remaining function values, in case that the addition value has become smaller than the threshold.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to category classification methods.
2. Related Art
Conventionally, classification methods that use support vector machines (for example, see JP-A-2005-134966) are known as classification methods for categories such as scenes or the like of images. With support vector machines, support vectors that contribute to classification boundaries are obtained through learning using samples for learning. And discriminants are calculated through computations based on relationships between classification targets and each support vector. By comparing values of the discriminants and threshold values, classification is carried out as to whether or not a classification target pertains to a specific category.
In classification processing using support vector machines, the accuracy of classification can be improved by using more learning samples, that is, by using a greater number of support vectors. In this regard, as is described later, the time for calculating discriminants according to support vector machines is proportional to the number of support vectors. That is, when the number of support vectors is increased to improve the accuracy of classification, the time required to calculate the discriminants increases, thereby reducing the speed of classification processing. Thus, conventionally, there is a problem in that it has been difficult to improve the speed of classification processing.


A system for delivering solute to a target location within a mammalian body, the system including a medical device, a thermosensitive cellulose gel structure over the medical device, and a biologically active solute within said gel structure. The gel structure deswells and expels the biologically active solute with an increase in gel temperature. The invention includes a method of delivering solute to a target location, where the method includes the steps of providing a thermosensitive cellulose gel structure, wherein the gel structure is loaded with a solute; positioning the loaded gel structure to the target location; and increasing the temperature of the loaded gel structure.

Hydrogels are crosslinked networks of biological, synthetic, or semi-synthetic polymers. Because hydrogel polymer chains are held together by crosslinks, hydrogels behave like solids rather than liquids, despite the fact that they contain at least 20% water by weight. A significant property of hydrogels is the equilibrium degree of swelling ("Q"), which is the amount of water absorbed by the gel expressed as the ratio of swollen gel volume (or mass) to dry gel volume (or mass). Many hydrogels are responsive to external stimuli in that they expel or absorb water in response to changes in pH, electric field, light intensity, pressure, indirect chemical stimuli, and temperature. The resulting change in hydrogel water content results in a corresponding reversible change in volume.
Hydrogels have many technological uses in both medical and non-medical fields. Owing to their often good biocompatibility and easily adjustable permeability, hydrogels have been used in a range of biomedical applications including contact lenses, diapers, soft and hard tissue prostheses and bioartificial organs.
One of the most interesting potential biomedical applications for hydrogels is the use of these gels as vehicles for the delivery of biologically active solutes. In such an application, the biologically active solute is absorbed into the gel as a solute and thereafter released from the gel over time. The localized delivery of biologically active materials is described, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,304,121, 5,674,192 and 5,588,962, and in A. Gutowska et al., "Heparin Release from Thermosensitive Polymer Coatings: In vivo Studies," 29 J. Biomed. Matls. Res. 811 (1995), each of which is incorporated herein by reference.
Hydrogels are attractive for the delivery of peptide or protein-drugs because they provide a hydrophilic environment for proteins and thus help preserve their activities. Most therapeutic proteins are vulnerable to the proteases in the digestive tract and also have difficulty crossing the skin and other barrier membranes. Implantable drug release systems are thus a viable alternative for delivering therapeutic proteins. Recently, pH-sensitive hydrogels based on poly (N-isopropylacrylamide) ("PNIPA") have been proposed for enteric drug delivery. In such a system, the gel is collapsed at gastric pH for the negligible release of protein, whereas the gel swells at enteric pH thus permitting sustained release within the intestines.
Hydrogels that undergo reversible volume changes in response to changes in temperature are known as thermosensitive gels. These gels shrink at a transition temperature that is related to the lower critical solution temperature ("LCST") of the linear polymer from which the gel is made. Specifically, typical thermosensitive gels have an affinity for water and thus swell at temperatures below the transition temperature, whereas they expel water and thus shrink or "deswell" at temperatures above the transition temperature. Thermosensitive hydrogels are potentially of significant utility in biomedical applications, particularly as a means for localized drug delivery. PNIPA is an example of a known thermosensitive hydrogel, as described in R. Dinarvand et al., "The Use of Thermosensitive Hydrogels for On-off Release of Molecules," 36 J. Controlled Release 221 (1995); A. Gutowska et al., "Thermosensitive Interpenetrating Polymer Networks: Synthesis, Characterization, and Macromolecular Release," 27 Macromolecules 4167 (1994); R. Yoshida et al., "Drug Release Profiles in the Shrinking Process of Thermoresponsive Poly(N-isopropylacrtlamide-co-alkyl methacrylate) Gels," 31 Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 2339 (1992); and Y. Han Bae et al., "Thermo-sensitive Polymers as On-off Switches for Drug Delivery," 8 Makromol. Chem., Rapid Commun. 481 (1987), each of which is incorporated herein by reference.
Known thermosensitive hydrogels such as PNIPA generally become impermeable to solute when these gels deswell. Consequently, such hydrogels are not applicable to drug delivery systems wherein drug release corresponds to an increase in temperature to above the hydrogel transition temperature. In addition, known thermosensitive hydrogels (e.g., PNIPA) are generally of questionable or uncertain biocompatibility to be safely used in desired drug delivery applications, and as such, FDA approval for the use of PNIPA as part of solute delivery systems remains questionable. Moreover, means for the use of thermosensitive hydrogels in specific localized drug delivery systems have not been detailed in the literature.

Temperature controlled solute delivery system


A variety of swing training devices that are arranged to support a ball to be struck are described. At least one moveable object is positioned within a chamber located adjacent the ball support. The moveable object is arranged such that it can be seen by a hitter after the ball is struck when the hitter is looking at a point of contact where the ball is struck. The moveable objects are arranged to move when the ball is stuck and a variety of challenge games can be played that require the batter to identify something that happened to the moveable objects—thereby providing motivation to encourage the batter to focus his or her eyes on the region of contact.

In the game of baseball, a common mistake that batters make is the tendency to "pull their head" while swinging at a pitch. That is, the tendency to turn their head during a swing in a way such that they aren't looking at the point of contact between the bat and the ball. Such rotation of the head tends to cause undesirable rotation of the body and interfere with swing mechanics thereby adversely impacting the hitter's ability to consistently strike the ball with power. (Similar problems are observed in a wide variety of other sports where a bat, club, racket, etc. is used to strike a ball). Over the years, a wide variety of drills and props have been developed to help teach players improved swing mechanics. Although existing drills and props work well, there are continuing efforts to develop additional techniques and devices that can help improve swing mechanics.
The present inventors have developed a variety of tee attachments that can be used in various drills to help hitters/players improve their swing mechanics in part by motivating the player to keep their eye focus in the area of the point of contact during a swing. Several representative embodiments are illustrated in the accompanying drawings and described in more detail below.


A solid polymer electrolyte, a lithium battery employing the same, and methods of forming the electrolyte and the lithium battery. The polymer electrolyte includes polyester (meth)acrylate having a polyester polyol moiety having three or more hydroxide (—OH) groups, at least one hydroxde group being substituted by a (meth)acrylic ester group and at least one hydroxide group being substituted by a radical non-reactive group, or its polymer, a peroxide having 6 to 40 carbon atoms, and an electrolytic solution including a lithium salt and an organic solvent.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a polymer electrolyte and a lithium battery employing the same, and more particularly, to a polymer electrolyte having good uniformity of an anode surface and an improved decomposition suppressing effect of an electrolytic solution at an anode surface by forming a lithium carbonate coating on the anode surface, and a lithium battery having good charging/discharging efficiency, an improved swelling suppressing effect and a good low-temperature characteristic by employing the polymer electrolyte.
2. Description of the Related Art
Lithium secondary batteries using liquid electrolytic solutions use an organic solvent having a low boiling point in order to enhance low-temperature performance. However, use of a low-boiling point organic solvent may give rise to swelling of an electrode assembly or case, if such a battery is allowed to stand at high temperature, resulting in deterioration of reliability and safety of a battery under a high temperature condition.
To overcome these problems, a method of using solid polymer electrolytes has been proposed. Using solid polymer electrolytes reduces danger of leakage of an electrolytic solution, thereby improving safety of a battery, unlike in the case of using liquid electrolytes.
However, using solid polymer electrolytic solutions decreases ionic conductivity compared to the case of using liquid electrolytes. Thus, in order to practically use solid polymer electrolytes in lithium secondary batteries, research must focus on solid polymer electrolytes having high ionic conductivity and good electrochemical stability.
Linear polymers or crosslinkable polymers of homopolymers or copolymers basically having ethylene oxide are mostly used as monomers of ionically conductive polymers for forming the solid polymer electrolytes.
However, the polymers formed from such monomers are susceptible to crystallization so that their characteristics at low temperature are poor. Also, since ethylene oxide has strong affinity to an electrolytic solution, the polymers may move with the electrolytic solution by interaction between the electrolytic solution and the polymer chains, deteriorating mobility of lithium ions.

Polymer electrolyte and lithium battery employing the same


An exemplary height-adjusting device (10) includes a base (12), a sliding block (14) and at least one fixing member (18). The base has a sliding slot (122) defined therein and a first sidewall (123), a second sidewall (124), a third sidewall (125), and a fourth sidewall (126) surrounding the sliding slot. At least one fixing hole (1232) defined in the first sidewall. The at least one fixing hole communicates with the sliding slot. The sliding block is slidably received in the sliding slot and partly protruding outwardly from the sliding slot. At least one fixing member cooperates with the at least one fixing hole to selectively fix the sliding block in the base.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to height-adjusting devices and, particularly to a height-adjusting device applied for adjusting a height of a component (e.g., a molded mechanicals) machining apparatus.
2. Description of Related Art
In machining process of molded articles, due to a rapid update of molds, auxiliary devices such as sine tables and sine bars are often needed to be used for machining slopes of molded articles in various processes, such as grinding process, linearly cutting process, electro-discharge machining process, and so on.
Referring to FIG. 4, in typical, an auxiliary device is a sine table 30. The sine table 30 includes a baseboard 32, a machining board 34 and a rotating axis 36. The baseboard 32 and the machining board 34 are rotatably connected by the rotating axis 36. The baseboard 32 includes an upper surface 322 with a placement area 324 provided therein. The machining board 34 includes a first surface 342 and a second surface 344. The first surface 342 is opposed to the second surface 344. The first surface 342 is an operating surface provided for depositing a machined article. A pressure lever 346 is formed on a distal end of the second surface 344 and paralleled to the rotating axis 36. The pressure lever 346 is provided for pressing the top of a typical height-adjusting device 40.
In use, the height-adjusting device 40 blocks up the pressure lever 346 in a distal end of the machining board 34, so that an angle between the baseboard 32 and the machining board 34 is formed. The angle is determined in accordance with a gradient of the slope needed be machined in a molded article. A needed height of the height-adjusting device 40 is calculated by calculating a sine value of the angle.
The typical height-adjusting device 40 is formed by stacking a plurality of precision set blocks. To meet different requirements of height, each precision set block is repeatedly used for constituting different combinations. However, because of being repeatedly used, the precision set blocks are prone to be abrased. Additionally, the precision set blocks are quite expensive, which increase the overall production cost. Furthermore, different heights require different combinations of set blocks. Every combination of set blocks requires a relatively complex and time-consuming combination process, which reduce the efficiency of production. Moreover, the combination of precision set blocks cannot achieve a precise height, thus may affect the precision of the product.
Therefore, a new height-adjusting device applied in a component (e.g., a molded mechanicals) machining apparatus is desired in order to overcome the above-described problems.

Shenzhen Futaihong Precision Industry Co., Ltd.


An improved rechargeable zinc cell is described comprising a zinc electrode and another electrode such as, for example, a nickel-containing electrode, and having an electrolyte containing KOH and a combination of KF and K.sub.2 CO.sub.3 salts which inhibits shape change in the zinc electrode, i.e., the zinc electrode exhibits low shape change, resulting in an improved capacity retention of the cell over an number of charge-discharge cycles, while still maintaining high discharge rate characteristics.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a rechargeable zinc cell containing an improved electrolyte which inhibits shape change in the zinc electrode while maintaining high discharge rates.
2. Description of the Related Art
Rechargeable cells containing zinc electrodes such as, for example, nickel/zinc, silver/zinc, and zinc/air cells, are of significant interest due to the abundance and, therefore, low cost of zinc, as well as low equivalent weight, high coulombic efficiency, resistance to corrosion, reversible electrochemical behavior, and reduced environmental disposal problems (e.g., in comparison to lead or cadmium).
When combined with a nickel positive electrode (NiOOH/Ni(OH).sub.2), the zinc cell also exhibits a high cell voltage of about 1.65 volts, which may be compared to 1.5-1.9 for a silver-zinc cell and 1.2-1.3 volts for a zinc-air cell.
However, while the above characteristics make such rechargeable zinc cells excellent candidates for applications such as electric vehicles and other portable power applications, the zinc electrode is not without problems. When used, for example, with electrolytes such as KOH (or a combination of KOH and LiOH, with the LiOH added to improve the performance of the nickel-containing electrode), to provide high ionic conductivity in the cell and, therefore, a high discharge rate, the zinc electrode tends to change its shape on its electrode support, apparently due to the high solubility of intermediate products formed as the zinc electrode discharges.
When the zinc electrode discharges, metallic zinc oxidizes to form zinc oxide. However, intermediate products such as zinc hydroxides or zincates, e.g., (Zn(OH).sub.4.sup.-2), form during the oxidation reaction which are very soluble in the KOH electrolyte. Furthermore, while the ionic conductivity of the electrolyte increases with increases in the concentration of the KOH electrolyte, the solubility of such zinc products in KOH also increases with the concentration of KOH.
The result is that when the cell is recharged, the reduced zinc may not occupy the same space as it did before it went through the discharge cycle. In particular, as shown in prior art FIG. 1 the edges of the original electrode gradually lose zinc electrode material, i.e., the total active area of the zinc deposit tends to decrease, resulting in a gradual loss in capacity of the cell. In fact, it is not unusual for a such a cell, after about 100-150 charge and discharge cycles to operate at less than 80% of its initial capacity
A number of possible solutions have been proposed, including the use of calcium in the zinc electrode to form an insoluble calcium zinc hydroxide such as CaZn.sub.2 (OH).sub.6 rather than the more-soluble zincates.
It has also been previously proposed to add other salts to the KOH electrolyte which would permit the use of a lower concentration of KOH while still providing the desired high ionic conductivity, to thereby inhibit shape change in the zinc electrode.
The use of alkaline-fluoride (KOH/KF) and alkaline-borate (KOH/K.sub.3 BO.sub.3) electrolytes to reduce the solubility of the zinc species was reported by Nichols and two of the inventors in this application, in an article entitled "Zinc Electrode Cycle-Life Performance in Alkaline Electrolytes having Reduced Zinc Species Solubility", which was published in Chem. Eng. Commun., Volume 37, pp. 355-379 in 1985. Although improvement in shape change or zinc electrode area retained was reported with the use of an alkaline-fluoride electrolyte, it was noted by the authors that in cells using such electrolytes the cell capacity is more sensitive to zinc area loss than in cells using standard electrolyte.
Thornton U.S. Pat. No. 4,247,610 disclosed a zinc battery aqueous electrolyte which contains 18-30% KF and 2-15% KOH with a KF plus KOH total concentration of 20-45%.
It has also been proposed to use potassium carbonate (K.sub.2 CO.sub.3) as an additive in a KOH electrolyte to reduce the shape change of the zinc electrode. McLarnon and Cairns, two of the three inventors of this invention, reported on the use of potassium carbonate, as well as a number of other additives to KOH electrolytes, to reduce shape change in zinc electrodes, in an article entitled "The Secondary Alkaline Zinc Electrode", published in the Journal of the Electrochemical Society Volume 138, No. 2, at pages 645-664, in February, 1991.
Jost U.S. Pat. No. 3,485,673 described and claimed a battery system comprising a positive electrode consisting of electrochemically active nickel material, a negative electrode consisting of electrochemically active zinc material, and an electrolyte consisting of an aqueous solution of potassium hydroxide and potassium carbonate.
However, while the use of KOH/KF or KOH/K.sub.2 CO.sub.3 electrolytes in a cell containing a zinc electrode does reduce the shape change in the zinc electrode, the amount of shape change and resulting charge capacity loss in such cell after 300 charge/discharge cycles is still unacceptable. Prior art FIGS. 2 and 3 show significant reduction in zinc electrode area in cells respectively using KOH/KF or KOH/K.sub.2 CO.sub.3 electrolytes after, respectively, 383 and 373 charge/discharge cycles.
There is, therefore, still a need for providing a rechargeable zinc cell which would exhibit low shape change in the zinc electrode, i.e., the capability of retaining greater than 80% of the initial capacity of the cell after 350 or more cycles of use, while still exhibiting a high electrolyte conductivity, i.e., a high charge and discharge rate.

Rechargeable zinc cell with alkaline electrolyte which inhibits shape change in zinc electrode

The Regents of the University of California


Disclosed is a spiral inductor formed on a semiconductor substrate. The spiral inductor comprises: a metal line forming a spiral pattern on a substrate using conductors having different widths and having open or short-type stubs at one side of each of the conductors; and switching means connection-controlled in accordance with a selection signal for adjusting an inductance and selectively connecting the conductors of the different widths of the metal line. According to the invention, the open or short-type stubs may be formed at one sides of each of the conductors, thereby inducing a parasitic capacitance or parasitic inductance. Based on the inducement of the parasitic capacitance or inductance and selectively connection of the conductors to one another through switching means, it is possible to accurately control a whole inductance value of the spiral inductor, depending on use purposes.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a spiral inductor, and more particularly, to a spiral inductor provided to an integrated circuit (IC) of a variety of communication devices using a high frequency band, wherein a metal line of the spiral conductor is embodied as conductors having different widths and open or short-type stubs are formed at one side of each of the conductors to induce parasitic capacitances or inductances. A whole inductance value of the spiral inductor can be controlled accurately depending on use purpose by selectively connecting conductors having different widths through switching means.
2. Description of the Prior Art
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of a conventional spiral inductor. As shown, the inductor comprises a first port 10, a second port 11 and a Via contact 12.
The first and second ports 10, 11 are terminals through which a signal is inputted and outputted and are arranged to be spaced perpendicularly to an insulating film, which is a silicone substrate, thereby forming a structure connected to each other by the via contact 12 passing through the insulating film. In the structure, the second port 11 is spirally turned toward a center thereof from an outer periphery.
In case of the spiral conductor as described above, since there is no mutual inductance between the first and second ports 10, 11, it is required to change number, shape and size of the second port 11, thereby varying turns of the spiral, an inner diameter, a width of the metal line, a distance between the metal lines and the like, so as to increase a whole inductance.
However, in this case, the whole inductance is also increased, thereby decreasing a degree of integration in an entire circuit. In addition, when an area of the inductor is increased to a predetermined size or more, a parasitic capacitance, which occurs between the respective ports 10, 11 and the substrate, is also increased, so that a quality factor (Q-factor) of the inductor is rapidly decreased and the whole inductance is not increased any more.
Further, the maximum Q-factor of the inductor is generated in only a specific frequency, so that it is impossible to generate the maximum Q-factor in a frequency band that a circuit designer desires.

Spiral inductor having variable inductance


Provided is a microcapsule patterning method for patterning electrophoretic microcapsules on a substrate, the method including the steps of: preparing a microcapsule slurry in which microcapsules and a water-soluble binder are mixed; putting the microcapsule slurry into a liquid ejector having injection and ejection ports formed therein; and applying the microcapsule slurry contained in the liquid ejector onto the substrate so as to pattern pixels using the microcapsules. Accordingly, specific patterns are formed without physical and chemical damage to the microcapsules. Therefore, the patterns can be used as pixels of flat panel displays. Further, through the patterning, it is possible to implement a color display device which does not exhibit performance degradation.

Conventional microcapsules have been developed in the USA. There is no standard for the size of microcapsules, and the microcapsules are manufactured by injecting liquid, solid or gas molecules into minute capsules (cells) and then sealing the capsules. Depending on manufacturing methods, the microcapsules may have a diameter of several nm to mm. Further, the microcapsules can be applied to various fields, such as medicine, food, energy, agriculture and so on.
Recently, the microcapsules have also been applied to flat panel displays. In particular, a microcapsule-type electrophoretic display is considered to be a leading technical field for implementing e-paper. In the microcapsule-type electrophoretic display, several million white and black particles are injected into a microcapsule having a size corresponding to the diameter of a human hair, and microcapsules having the white-and-black particle suspensions injected therein are injected between a transparent electrode and a driving electrode.
When a negative electric field is applied to the electrophoretic display constructed in such a manner, white particles, among the suspended white-and-black particles injected into the microcapsule, are charged with positive electricity to move to the upper portion of the microcapsule. That is, the white particles crowd to one direction of the microcapsule. As such, when the white particles move to the upper portion of the microcapsule, this portion represents a 'white color' on the e-paper. Simultaneously, black particles crowd to the opposite side of the microcapsule such that a 'black color' is not represented on the surface of the microcapsule. On the contrary, in order to display a block character or picture, the opposite electric field is applied. When the opposite electric field is applied, the black particles come to the surface of the microcapsule, and the white particles are hidden from the surface.
In the above-described microcapsule-type electrophoretic display, even when power is turned off, particles do not disappear but remain on the screen. Unlike other displays, a backlight is not needed so that operating voltage is considerably reduced. Further, the contrast between white and black particles is so strong that a clear image can be seen from any angle. However, despite the above-described advantages, only black-and-white e-paper is commonly used, and the utilization range thereof is considerably limited.
To overcome such a disadvantage, attempts are being made to develop color e-paper. A method used for the development of color e-paper is where a color filter is adopted and attached to a display unit of the black-and-white e-paper so as to implement color e-paper through the same method as an LCD display. It is known that the method is being attempted by E-Ink, Inc. Further, a method of directly patterning microcapsules is being attempted. In this method, hydrophile treatment and hydrophobic treatment are performed on an electrode surface by using a hydrophilic binder surrounding microcapsules such that the microcapsules crowd to the hydrophilic surface. Attempts to form desired capsule patterns are being made. Meanwhile, methods of directly depositing microcapsules onto an electrode through electro deposition are also being attempted.
In general, binary-system materials such as microcapsules are applied in a bulk state, without attempting to form patterns in a predetermined shape. This is because inner materials should be protected or the discharge of the inner materials with functionality should be adjusted. However, when pixels are desired to be represented by capsules as in a display, respective color pixels should be arranged. When such pixels are represented by microcapsules, the microcapsules may be directly patterned and implemented as pixels. Alternately, after the microcapsules are applied in a bulk state, a color filter may then be attached. When the color filter is attached to the microcapsule layer, the electrophoretic microcapsule-type e-paper is a reflective display which does not have a backlight, unlike an LCD display. In the microcapsule-type electrophoretic e-paper, while incident light is reflected so as to pass through a microcapsule layer, a loss occurs. After that, the light passes through the color filter. Therefore, it is difficult to obtain clear color.

Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute


Chipless RFID tags and a tag system are provided, wherein the stepped impedance higher-order mode resonator includes two sets of composite transmission lines each set having an equal line length and including a plurality of transmission lines each having a plurality of specific levels to which the transmission line characteristic impedance is assigned, the two sets of composite transmission lines each connected in series, the sets being connected at the center to form an electrically symmetrical configuration and wherein the chipless RFID tags and the tag system allow each of the codes to be assigned to each of the structures of the stepped impedance higher-order mode resonator, and allow each of those codes to be identified by detecting each of the combinations of the higher-order mode resonance frequencies that may be produced from each the structures of the resonator that corresponds to each of the codes that have been assigned.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a multimode resonator using the transmission lines and proposes to provide any of the techniques whereby the higher-order mode resonance frequencies can be varied by changing the structure of the resonator mentioned above. The present invention also relates to any of the methods for providing the structures of RFID tags and a tag system whereby the code information can be assigned to the structure of the multimode resonator and each of the codes is made to correspond to each of the combinations of the higher-order mode resonance frequencies that are produced in response to each corresponding structure of the resonator so that the code can be associated with each corresponding combination of the higher-order mode resonance frequencies.
Description of the Relevant Art
Bar codes are used widely in the inventory management, the goods distribution management and other similar managements, and may have some distinguished features because ID tags can be printed out and are very inexpensive. The bar codes have several problems associated with the tag reliability because it is poor, however. Specifically, the tag reliability problems may includes the problems in that the tags cannot be kept confidential or secret (that is, they are completely exposed), the tags are easy to be recognized incorrectly if when they are contaminated or dirty, and are easy to be exposed to any act of altering the tags improperly. Other problems may include the problems in that the area over which the tags can be read is restricted and the presence of some obstacles or obstructions, if any, might prevent the tags from being read correctly.
The conventional version of the RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) which is implemented on any semiconductor chip has been used more widely and is primarily intended to eliminate the problems mentioned above. In this respect, the conventional RFID has some distinguished features in that the tags can be both read and written easily.
It should be noted, however, that the tags that have been composed of the semiconductor chips implemented on printed circuit board may become high costly and have several problems in that the tags cannot be used under the high temperature environment that may cause the semiconductor chip to operated improperly or under the environment in which the tags are exposed to the strong radiation rays.
The present invention concerns the chipless RFID tags which are provided to replace the conventional bar code function.
In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, the chipless RFID tags are provided so that they can essentially take advantage of the resonance characteristics of the transmission line resonator. This allows the internal circuit not to be exposed to the outside, that is, not to be seen from the outside. In this respect, the tag information can be kept more confidential or secret and the resistance to any act of altering the tags can become much stronger than that for the conventional bar codes. As other features, the tag information can be read out regardless of the presence of any type of obstacles or obstructions such as paper, cloth, wood and the like other than metal and the tags can be embedded in any type of objects such as the living body when they are miniaturized so that they can operate with the millimeter wave band. In addition, those tags can be implemented on the passive circuit, and they can be operated in the wider temperature range or under the environment in which the tags may be exposed to the radiation rays without being operated improperly.
In accordance with the present invention, the RFID tags are not so cost competitive as the bar code tags and the RFID does not require so many functions as the conventional version of the RFID that was implemented on the semiconductor chip. The tags can be used in those applications or environments in which the tags cannot be used or are difficult to be used.
There are various technologies for the chipless RFID that are disclosed in the documents cited below and have been used in the practical applications.

Multimode resonator and RFID tags using the same


A dummy gate is removed together with an SiO.sub.2 film thereon by lift-off to form a reverse dummy-gate pattern with the SiO.sub.2 film. A photoresist pattern is formed to cover the reverse dummy-gate pattern and an SiN protection film therebetween, and a mesa pattern is formed by mesa etching. The photoresist pattern is etched so that the edge of the photoresist pattern is located between the edge of the mesa pattern and the edge of the reverse dummy-gate pattern and the exposed part of the SiN protection film is etched. The edge of the SiN protection film is thus located inside the edge of the mesa pattern.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor device formed by mesa etching and a manufacturing method thereof.
2. Description of the Background Art
For field-effect transistors such as MESFETs (Metal Semiconductor Field-Effect Transistors) using compound semiconductors such as GaAs, various kinds of self-aligned processes are developed to reduce the effect of the surface depletion layer to reduce the source resistance. When manufacturing such a field-effect transistor, certain layers are formed on a GaAs substrate by MBE (Molecular-Beam Epitaxy), for example. Then a mesa etching process is applied to the epitaxial growth substrate for the purpose of device isolation.
FIG. 7 is a plan roughly showing an MESFET and FIGS. 8A to 8G are process sections showing a conventional MESFET manufacturing method. FIG. 9A is a plan mainly showing the photoresist pattern in mesa etching, and FIG. 9B is a plan showing the mesa pattern after the mesa etching.
As shown in FIG. 7, a gate electrode 11 is formed on an n-type doped layer 2 and a source electrode 9 and a drain electrode 10 are disposed on either side of the gate electrode 11. In FIG. 7, the direction parallel to the elongate direction (the gate width direction) of the gate electrode 11 is represented as a direction A and the direction perpendicular to the elongate direction of the gate electrode 11 is represented as a direction B.
In FIGS. 8A-8G, process sections seen in the direction A are shown on the left side and process sections seen in the direction B are shown on the right side. In this manufacturing method, a self-aligned process utilizing a reverse dummy-gate pattern is conducted by using a GaAs epitaxial growth substrate.
As shown in FIG. 8A, an n-type doped layer 2 is formed in the surface of a semi-insulating GaAs substrate 1. A 50-nm-thick SiN protection film 3 is formed by ECR-plasma-CVD (Electron Cyclotron Resonance Plasma Chemical Vapor Deposition) on the n-type doped layer 2, and a dummy gate 4 is formed on the SiN protection film 3 with photoresist. Then n.sup.+ -type doped layers (high-concentration doped regions) 5a, 5b for obtaining ohmic contact are formed in the surface of the GaAs substrate 1 by a self-aligned ion implantation by using the dummy gate 4 as a mask.
Next, as shown in FIG. 8B, the dummy gate 4 is etched by oxygen plasma to reduce the dummy gate length. Thus the dummy gate length is reduced from W1 to W2.
Next, as shown in FIG. 8C, an SiO.sub.2 film 6 is formed all over the SiN protection film 3 and the dummy gate 4 by ECR-plasma-CVD. Subsequently, the SiO.sub.2 film 6 is selectively etched only in the part attached on the sidewall of the dummy gate 4 with buffered hydrofluoric acid composed of a mixed solution containing HF and NH.sub.4 F in a ratio of 1:100.
Further, as shown in FIG. 8D, the dummy gate 4 is removed together with the SiO.sub.2 film 6 thereon by lift-off to reverse the pattern of the dummy gate 4. A reverse dummy-gate pattern 60 composed of the SiO.sub.2 film 6 is thus formed. Then, to activate the n.sup.+ -type doped layers 5a, 5b, annealing is applied for a short time with a halogen lamp.
Next, as shown in FIG. 8E, a photoresist pattern 7 is formed on the reverse dummy-gate pattern 60 and the SiN protection film 3 therebetween (refer to FIG. 9A), and the exposed part of the SiN protection film 3 is etched by using the reverse dummy-gate pattern 60 and the photoresist pattern 7 as masks. Then mesa etching is applied for device isolation with a mixed solution of tartaric acid and hydrogen peroxide. The mesa pattern 8 is thus formed (refer to FIG. 9B).
Next, as shown in FIG. 8F, the photoresist pattern 7 for mesa etching is removed and then a source electrode 9 and a drain electrode 10 of AuGe/Ni/Au are formed respectively on the n.sup.+ -type doped layers 5a, 5b by using patterning technology, and a gate electrode 11 of Ti/Pd/Au is formed on the n-type doped layer 2.
Finally, as shown in FIG. 8G, a protection film 12 for moisture resistance is formed all over the surface and contact holes are formed in the protection film 12 above the source electrode 9 and the drain electrode 10, and then electrodes 13, 14 for connection with an external bias power-supply are formed by patterning technology.
As shown in FIG. 9B, the length W3 of the side of the mesa pattern 8 in the gate width direction (the direction A) corresponds to the gate width of the MESFET. The length in the gate width direction of the n.sup.+ -type doped layers 5a, 5b located under the reverse dummy-gate pattern 60 is equal to or longer than the gate width.
In the above-described conventional MESFET manufacturing method, in the mesa etching step shown in FIG. 8E, the SiN protection film 3 forms a protrusion like an awning over the periphery of the mesa pattern 8.
When the protection film 12 is formed for moisture resistance in the process step shown in FIG. 8G, this protrusion forms a small gap D in the protection film 12 on the stepped part between the mesa pattern 8 and the SiN protection film 3 (the mesa-step portion), as shown in FIG. 10A. Moisture resistance tests show that water penetrates through the gap D to the contact between the gate electrode 11 and the GaAs substrate 1, as shown by the arrows X, Y in FIG. 10B, to deteriorate characteristics of the MESFET.

Semiconductor device and field effect transistor


A cleaning liquid used for cleaning an ink flow channel in an inkjet recorder includes water; a hydrosoluble organic solvent; a compound having the following formula (1):

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a cleaning liquid for cleaning an ink flow channel of an inkjet head, a cartridge containing the cleaning liquid and a method of cleaning the ink flow channel using the cleaning liquid.
2. Description of the Related Art
An inkjet head is composed of a nozzle with orifice, having a diameter not more than 50 μm, a pressure generator, a liquid container, a filter, and so on. Each component is processed precisely and therefore each inkjet head has multiple inkjet nozzles. Therefore, before shipping, the inkjet head is tested with test ink to ensure that all the components work normally and not result in a jetting failure. The ink flow channel needs cleaning in order that an ink filled therein does not leak out to contaminate the surroundings.
Conventionally, water or an aqueous solution of surfactant has been used.
However, the ink is not sufficiently cleaned, the ink does not have sufficient filling ability, and the ink does not have sufficient defoamability.
Japanese published unexamined application No. JP-2013-141783-A discloses a cleaning and filling liquid for a liquid flow channel in an inkjet recorder and an ink cartridge used therein. The cleaning and filling liquid includes at least one compound having the following formula (1) in an amount of from 0.01 to 1.0% by weight, a fluorine surfactant in an amount of from 0.01 to 1.0% by weight, a hydrosoluble organic solvent and water.

Inkjet recorder ink flow channel cleaning liquid

Abstract: wherein n represents an integer of from 1 to 40; and a compound having the following formula (2):

Abstract: wherein R1 and R2 independently represent an alkyl group having 3 to 6 carbon atoms; R3 and R4 independently represent a methyl group or an ethyl group; and n represents an integer of from 1 to 6.


A cordless telephone arranged for operation in a frequency hopping system automatically modifies a frequency hopping sequence in the presence of interference detected on its in-use communication channels. Substitute alternative communication channels are identified and then substituted for those communication channels experiencing the interference without disruption of communications between a handset unit in the cordless telephone and its associated base unit.

1. Technical Field
This invention relates to cordless telephones and more particularly to an apparatus and method employed in a cordless telephone for automatically modifying a frequency hopping sequence in the presence of interference.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Recent rulings promulgated by the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) in the utilization of spread spectrum systems, including a frequency hopping system, now allow for increased spectral utilization for cordless telephones. Frequency hopping systems spread their energy by changing, or hopping the center frequency of the transmission many times a second in accordance with a pseudo randomly generated list of communication channels. The result is a significantly higher signal to noise ratio than may be achieved by conventional techniques such as amplitude modulation that uses no bandwidth spreading.
These recent FCC rulings provide general guidance for how cordless telephones may operate in a spread spectrum system. They do not, however, provide specific guidance as to standards required for the compatible operation of these cordless telephones. Because such standards have not yet been adopted for determining the configuration of cordless telephones intended for spread spectrum operation, there is a possibility of interference between cordless telephones operating in different spread spectrum configurations within a frequency band designated for such operation. By way of example, two frequency hopping telephones may be configured to frequency hop at different rates. In fact, in view of the guidance presently available covering the configuration of these telephones, one telephone may hop at twice the rate of the other. Thus, if two frequency hopping cordless telephones that are hopping at different rates and operating within reception range of each other happen to appear on the same channel at the same time, there is a likelihood of interference occurring between these two telephones. This interference could minimally cause a distortion of information and, at worst, a loss of synchronization between a handset or remote unit and an associated base unit of one and possibly both of these cordless telephones. This interference could continue as both cordless telephones continue to hop to and appear on this channel and possibly other common channels at the same time.
Another source of interference for a cordless telephone operating in a frequency hopping system is noise or other signal appearing continually on the channel hopped to by the cordless telephone. This type of interference will continue to interfere with the cordless telephone each time it hops to this channel.
As cordless telephones configured for frequency hopping operation increase in use, the likelihood of interference for such a telephone due to other telephones within its reception range being on the same channel at the same time will increase. And the interference from noise or other signal appearing on a channel in use by the frequency hopping telephone also will have an adverse effect on the operation of these telephones. It is therefore desirable to minimize the interference encountered by a cordless telephone from other cordless telephones and also noise and other signals while operating in a frequency hopping system.

Apparatus and method for modifying a frequency hopping sequence of a cordless telephone operating in a frequency hopping system


Chemical entities that are kinase inhibitors, pharmaceutical compositions and methods of treatment of cancer are described. Specifically quinoxaline derivatives of Formula I:

There are at least 400 enzymes identified as protein kinases. These enzymes catalyze the phosphorylation of target protein substrates. The phosphorylation is usually a transfer reaction of a phosphate group from ATP to the protein substrate. The specific structure in the target substrate to which the phosphate is transferred is a tyrosine, serine or threonine residue. Since these amino acid residues are the target structures for the phosphoryl transfer, these protein kinase enzymes are commonly referred to as tyrosine kinases or serine/threonine kinases.
The phosphorylation reactions, and counteracting phosphatase reactions, at the tyrosine, serine and threonine residues are involved in countless cellular processes that underlie responses to diverse intracellular signals (typically mediated through cellular receptors), regulation of cellular functions, and activation or deactivation of cellular processes. A cascade of protein kinases often participate in intracellular signal transduction and are necessary for the realization of these cellular processes. Because of their ubiquity in these processes, the protein kinases can be found as an integral part of the plasma membrane or as cytoplasmic enzymes or localized in the nucleus, often as components of enzyme complexes. In many instances, these protein kinases are an essential element of enzyme and structural protein complexes that determine where and when a cellular process occurs within a cell.
The identification of effective small compounds which specifically inhibit signal transduction and cellular proliferation by modulating the activity of tyrosine and serine/threonine kinases to regulate and modulate abnormal or inappropriate cell proliferation, differentiation, or metabolism is therefore desirable. In particular, the identification of compounds that specifically inhibit the function of a kinase which is essential for processes leading to cancer would be beneficial.

Substituted quinoxalines as B-RAF kinase inhibitors

Abstract: and their use in modulating the activity of B-raf and/or mutant B-raf kinase to regulate and modulate abnormal or inappropriate cell proliferation, differentiation, or metabolism are disclosed. Also disclosed are methods of treating cancer associated with B-raf and/or mutant B-raf kinase activity in a subject, comprising administering the compounds of Formula I.