A method of forming, filling, and sealing a flexible pouch with a guide pocket includes the steps of forming the pouch, and forming a first crease and second crease in the pouch that each projects outwardly and extends longitudinally from the upper edge, tapering in the direction of the lower edge. The method further includes the steps of opening and filling the pouch with the product and closing the pouch by sealing the upper edge transversely through the guide pocket, such that the first and second crease is eliminated as the upper edge is sealed.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to flexible pouches for packaging a product and, more specifically, to a flexible pouch for packaging a product, and a method of manufacturing the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
Various types of disposable, portable containers are known in the art for storing a fluid or dry product, such as a liquid, granular material, powder or the like. One example of such a container is a flexible pouch. Consumers prefer the convenience of flexible pouches, due to their shape and size. Manufacturers recognize the packaging benefits of a flexible pouch, since the pouch can be formed and filled on the same manufacturing line. An example of a method and apparatus for filling a flexible pouch with a product is disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 6,199,601, which is incorporated herein by reference.
The flexible pouch is made from a flexible material, preferably a laminate composed of sheets of plastic or aluminum or the like. In this example, the material is available in sheet form, on a roll. An outer layer of the material may include preprinted information, such as a logo, or the like, to provide the consumer with information regarding the contents of the pouch. The pouch may be formed using conventionally known manufacturing techniques, such as a horizontal form-fill seal machine, a flat bed pre-made pouch machine, a vertical form fill machine, or the like. The pouch is generally formed by folding sheets of material over each other to achieve a predetermined shape. Edges, such as a side edge, are joined together using a joining technique such as bonding or welding. Alternatively, the pouch is formed by laying one layer of material over a second layer of material and forming a gusset along two parallel edges to form a pouch capable of standing unsupported. An upper edge of the front panel and back panel is generally not sealed, until after the pouch is filled. The empty pouch may be placed in a holder such as a cup or puck prior to the filling process. To fill the pouch, the upper edges of the pouch are spread apart. For example, a concentrated flow of gas is directed towards the upper edge of the pouch to separate the panels. Grippers may also be utilized at the same time to pull the panels apart. However, this is not a reliable method of separating the panels, since the degree of surface tension between the two panels may prevent the jet flow of gas from properly separating the panels. Thus, there is a need in the art force for a flexible pouch that can be reliably opened for filling purposes, and a method of making an easy open pouch.

Flexible pouch and method of forming a flexible pouch


A method and process for the treatment of liquids, including moving injection wands into a tank containing the liquid to be treated and injecting a treating solution through the injection wands to increase the reaction mixing between the injected treating solution and the liquid being treated.

The in situ treatment of liquids has been a long-standing problem. For example, the in situ neutralization of acidic and caustic liquids has been a long-standing problem in the chemical and oil processing industries. The present invention relates to a new method and apparatus for treating liquids, e.g. neutralizing acidic and caustic liquids, in a tank. More particularly, this invention pertains to the use of a unique and controlled injection method and apparatus to increase the reaction mixing between a treating solution, e.g. a neutralizing solution, and the liquid being treated, e.g. undergoing neutralization. In the preferred embodiment, radial and tangential injection wands are moved into a tank containing a liquid and a treating solution is injected through the injection wands into the tank. This method and apparatus permits one to take advantage of the increased mixing caused by the injection through the injection wands.
The present invention may be applied in a wide range of situations, e.g. chemical neutralization or other treatment of tank contents. One example is the treatment of sour liquid, i.e., liquid that is contaminated with hydrogen sulfide (H.sub.2 S). Hydrogen sulfide is generated in numerous areas, e.g. oil reservoirs, oil refineries, chemical plants, and waste treatment facilities, including landfills and sanitary waste facilities. The hydrogen sulfide makes liquid "sour" and highly toxic. Any suitable treating solution, e.g. sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl), can be used to treat the sour liquid in the present invention.
The present invention is not limited to the neutralization of sour liquid, and those of skill in the art will recognize many other applications of the present invention, e.g. acid can be injected to neutralize caustics, amines can be injected to treat other sulfide contaminated materials, etc.
It is believed that the present invention can be described as a way to create and take advantage of the Coriolis force, an effect created by high velocity injection through the injection wands. In simplistic terms, Coriolis forces arise when there is radial movement of mass from one point on a rotating plane to a second point. This movement results in a change of the peripheral velocity of the mass and increases the acceleration of the mass. The acceleration of mass generates a force in the plane of rotation and perpendicular to the instantaneous radial movement. The Coriolis phenomenon can be found in nature and is associated with the earth's rotation. For example, the Coriolis force is responsible for the spinning of liquid as it is drained from an ordinary bathroom sink. In the Northern Hemisphere, the Coriolis force causes fluids in motion to spin in a clockwise direction.
The present invention is an improvement over the prior art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,818,412 teaches an apparatus and process for feeding hypochlorite solution to a tank to treat sour water. However, this patent does not teach how the hypochlorite solution can be added to the sour water in a manner that creates and takes advantage of the increased reaction mixing between hydrogen sulfide (the contaminant) and the hypochlorite solution (the treating solution).
The preferred embodiment of the present invention teaches the use of a unique controlled injection method and apparatus using radial and tangential injection wands that are inserted into a tank containing a liquid requiring treatment, injecting treating solution through radial injection wands to stir the liquid within the tank in a clockwise manner, and injecting treating solution through tangential injection wands to increase the reaction mixing between the liquid being treated and the treating solution, and monitoring and controlling the reaction process, thereby providing benefits that have never been attained before.

Apparatus and process for treatment of liquids


A damper device for rotary motion is disclosed which is small in size, has an excellent durability and can optionally change damping characteristics from the outside. Rotation of an input shaft is transmitted to a cylinder tube through a rotation transmitting device of loading cam type, thereby rotating an output shaft engaged with the cylinder tube through splines. When the rotational speed and torque of power to be transmitted is fluctuated, the cylinder tube is displaced against the resiliency of a conical plate spring and the volume of a pressure chamber is reduced. A viscous liquid in the pressure chamber is then discharged to the outside through a throttle hole. A relative displacement between the input and output shafts absorbs vibrations in terms of energy corresponding to the product of the mass and changes in the angular speed of members which are displaced in synch with the input shaft.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a damper device for rotary motion which is called a torsional damper and is, in one embodiment, assembled in series midway a power transmitting mechanism for automobiles. The damper device for rotary motion of the present invention prevents fluctuations in the rotational speed and torque occurred on the engine side from being transmitted to the transmission side, and also effectively damps vibrations caused by the swingback after those fluctuations.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Automatic transmissions for automobiles which include automatic clutches assembled therein instead of torque converters have been researched and practiced in several models. When an automobile equipped with such an automatic clutch starts up or shifts a gear, the speed and torque of rotary motion transmitted from an engine to a propeller shaft through a transmission are greatly fluctuated the moment the automatic clutch is connected (turned on) and disconnected (turned off). If those fluctuations in the speed and torque are directly transmitted to drive wheels, there would occur shocks, causing persons in the automobile to feel uncomfortable. To eliminate such an unpleasant feeling, it is required to assemble a damper device for rotary motion midway a power transmitting mechanism for absorbing torque fluctuations produced momentarily upon tuning-on and -off of the automatic clutch. Known damper devices for rotary motion useful to that purpose are described, e.g., in the following references (1) to (4).
(1) Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2-57743:
A damper device for rotary motion described in the reference (1) comprises an inner ring and an outer ring which are arranged concentrically with each other, and compression coil springs disposed between inner projections jutting on an outer peripheral surface of the inner ring and outer projections jutting on an inner peripheral surface of the outer ring. In this damper device for rotary motion, the inner and outer rings serve as, for example, input and output members, respectively. When the rotational speed and torque of the power to be transmitted are fluctuated, the compression coil springs are forced to expand and contract so that both the rings are relatively displaced in the rotating direction to absorb the fluctuations in the rotational speed and torque.
(2) Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 63-180725:
In a damper device for rotary motion described in the reference (2), rotating forces are transmitted from an input portion to an output portion through a cam unit comprised of projections and recesses arranged in the circumferential direction with balls fitted in the recesses. When the rotational speed and torque of the power to be transmitted are fluctuated, input- and output-side cam portions are relatively displaced in the circumferential and axial directions, whereupon a pair of diaphragm springs holding the cam unit between them are elastically deformed to absorb the fluctuations in the rotational speed and torque. The fluctuations in the rotational speed and torque are also damped through the rolling resistance of the balls and the friction resistance of friction members provided adjacent the cam unit.
(3) Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 4-236847:
A damper device for rotary motion described in the reference (3) includes a cam displaceable axially upon fluctuations in the rotational speed and torque of the power to be transmitted. The displacement of the cam elastically deforms diaphragm springs which partition a damping chamber, causing a viscous liquid to come into and out of the damping chamber. The fluctuations in the rotational speed and torque are damped with the elastic deformation of the diaphragm springs and the resistance occurred upon the viscous liquid coming into and out of the damping chamber.
(4) Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2-138241:
In a damper device for rotary motion described in the reference (4), an outer peripheral surface of a first rotary shaft and an inner peripheral surface of a splined tube are engaged with each other through helical splines. The splined tube is loosely fitted in an outer tube to be axially displaceable, the outer tube being fixed to the end of a second rotary shaft and filled with oil therein. With the rotation of the first rotary shaft, the splined tube is displaced axially in the outer tube while fluctuations in the rotational speed and torque of the power applied to the first rotary shaft are absorbed through the viscous resistance of the oil.
Any of the conventional damper devices for rotary motion described in the references (1) to (4) can absorb the fluctuations in the rotational speed and torque of the power applied to the rotary shaft on the input side, and can prevent the fluctuations from being directly transmitted to the rotary shaft on the output side. However, the following problems to be solved still remain with regard to, e.g., difficulties in achieving the small size and high damping performance.
First, in the damper device for rotary motion described in the reference (1), because of the structure bearing total torque of an engine by the plurality of compression coil springs, it is required to increase the wire diameter of each compression coil spring so that the torque can be borne by the compression coil springs. This results in difficulties in reducing the size and weight of the damper device for rotary motion. Particularly, in the case where the entire length of the compression coil spring is increased to enlarge the working angular range (i.e., the angular range where rotation variations can be absorbed by the damper device for rotary motion), the size of the damper device for rotary motion is increased remarkably. The reason is that the spring constant of the compression coil spring, which is reduced as a result from increasing the entire length of the compression coil spring to enlarge the working angular range, must be compensated for (prevented from lowering) by increasing the wire diameter. Here, in order to enable the compression coil springs to bear the large torque transmitted from the engine, the spring constant is required to be more than a certain value.
The damper device for rotary motion described in the reference (1) includes a damper in which a viscous liquid is interposed between planes extending perpendicularly to the axis and given with forces in the shearing direction, for the purpose of preventing the swingback of rotations after the fluctuations in the rotational speed and torque (i.e., damping reciprocal vibrations in the rotating direction). With such a structure, however, the surfaces facing each other with the viscous liquid between them must be finished into highly accurate planes free from any warps, etc., resulting in the increased machining cost. Further, the reference (1) describes that grease is employed as the viscous liquid to achieve higher damping performance. In the damper device for rotary motion which is assembled in an automatic transmission, however, it is difficult to seal off the grease from an automatic fluid (ATF). This raises the problem that a sealing device requires a large cost, or the grease may mix into the ATF and expedite deterioration of the ATF.
The above disadvantages are not limited to the damper device for rotary motion described in the reference (1), but common to all similar damper devices, i.e., damper devices for rotary motion including compression coil springs arranged in the radial direction (in point of increasing the size), and damper devices for rotary motion utilizing viscosity of grease to attain a vibration damping function (in points of difficulties in sealing-off and deterioration of the ATF).
In the damper device for rotary motion described in the reference (2), the use of the diaphragm springs increases a diameter of the entire device. Also, since the fluctuations in the rotational speed and torque are damped through the rolling resistance and the friction resistance, sufficient damping performance cannot be always achieved. Additionally, wears of the sliding friction surfaces and a reduction in the damping performance due to deterioration over time, etc. are not negligible. This makes it difficult to ensure a satisfactory durability.
In the damper device for rotary motion described in the reference (3), the use of the diaphragm springs increases a diameter of the entire device as with the damper device described in the reference (2). Also, since the hydraulic pressure near an outer periphery of the damping chamber is raised due to centrifugal forces, the damping performance is inevitably greatly affected by such a partial rise of the hydraulic pressure and achieving stable damping performance is difficult. Further, because of using a sliding cam, wears of the friction surfaces are not negligible and a satisfactory durability is not positively ensured. In addition, it is thought that the damping chamber must be made sufficiently oil tight to achieve the desired damping performance, but it is difficult to keep a cam portion, for example, to be sufficiently oil tight and to practically achieve the desired damping performance.
In the damper device for rotary motion described in the reference (4), since the portions engaging through the helical splines are frictionally engaged with each other, wear accumulated during long term use is not negligible. Also, because of the oil being sealed off in the outer tube, if the splined tube is abruptly and largely displaced in the axial direction due to abrupt and large torque fluctuations, cavitations may occur in the oil within the outer tube (on the lower pressure side), or the pressure may be excessively raised (oil pressure boost due to the pumping action). Air bubbles generated with the cavitations bring a reduction in damping performance, and the oil pressure boost due to the pumping action brings a reduction in durability of the outer tube.
Further, in any of the damper devices for rotary motion described in the references (1) to (4), the damping performance cannot be adjusted from the mechanical point of view and, therefore, a sufficient vibration damping effect cannot be always developed for the reasons (a) to (c) as follows:
(a) In the structure utilizing viscosity of a viscous liquid such as oil to dampen vibrations, the vibration damping effect is greatly varied with changes in viscosity depending on temperature changes, and stable performance cannot be achieved.
(b) Intelligent functions have recently been more and more incorporated in automobiles and, in the near future, operating conditions of an automatic transmission including an automatic clutch will be controlled depending on the engine rotational speed and the vehicle speed in many models. In this case, the damping performance of a damper device for rotary motion will be required to be finely adjusted depending on the engine rotational speed and the vehicle speed. However, the known damper devices for rotary motion described above cannot meet such a demand.
(c) There are difficulties in satisfying both damping characteristics which are required in the occurrence of low-frequency vibrations, and damping characteristics which are required in the occurrence of high-frequency vibrations. More specifically, low-frequency vibrations, which are caused by resonation between the vehicle weight and springs in a damper due to shocks generated upon turning-on and -off of the automatic clutch or shocks produced upon abrupt speed-up and slowdown, must be damped quickly. To this end, the damping effect with a viscous liquid such as oil must be increased. On the contrary, if the damping effect is increased too much, the torque transmission rate would be elevated in the range where high-frequency vibrations are applied. This would result in that high-frequency vibrations transmitted from the engine side to the damper device for rotary motion, such as torque fluctuations ascribed to lags in the engine ignition timing, are substantially directly transmitted to the downstream in the transmitting direction. Thus, the damping characteristics required for damper devices utilizing a viscous liquid, etc. may be reversed depending on the purposes. However, the conventional damper devices of the fixed structure unable to adjust the damping performance cannot sufficiently meet such requirements.


A magnetic structure defining a cavity includes a first member of high-permeability material having a flat surface defining a first wall of the cavity, and a member of permanent magnetic material spaced from the flat surface and producing a uniform magnetic field in the cavity. The permanent magnetic material member may have two or more layers, with the layers outward of the cavity being of a material having a remanence that is no greater than the adjacent inner layers.

NMR breast imaging, for example, can be performed with whole body scanners by positioning the region of interest on the chest wall near the center of the imaging region. In traditional scanners, the imaging region is usually defined as a quasi-spherical volume, concentric with the center of the scanner, where the field satisfies the uniformity levels dictated by the diagnostic requirements. If such a scanner is used for breast imaging, the off-center position of the body results in a very inefficient use of a scanning instrument whose cavity has been designed to be large enough to accommodate the whole body of a patient.
In principle, any magnet can be designed to generate a field whose center is arbitrarily chosen within its cavity. Usually a shift of the center of the field away from the geometrical center of the cavity results in a lower figure of merit, i.e. more energy is required to generate the same field. If the magnet cavity were closed, the shifting of the field center would not necessarily affect the uniformity of the field. In a practical situation, however, if the cavity must be open, the figure of merit and the uniformity of the field both deteriorate rapidly as the field center approaches the magnet opening. In order to maintain the same value of the field and the same dimension of the imaging region, the size of the magnet must consequently be increased.
An example of this phenomena is a flat bed superconductive magnet where the coil system is below a flat platform 3.9 meters in diameter and the imaging region is above the platform at about 15 cm from its surface. The stray field of such a magnet is quite large, with the 5 Gauss line at more than 10 meters from the center of the structure when the field within the imaging region is 0.2 T (See "New Magnet Designs for MR", D. Hawksworth. Magnetic Resonance in Medicine, Vol. 9, pp 27-32, 1991)


Techniques are disclosed for extending an amplifier's linear operating range by concatenating an amplifier exhibiting gain compression with a gain expansion stage. In an exemplary embodiment, a gain expansion stage incorporates a Class-B stage, a Class-AB stage, or a combination of the two. In an exemplary embodiment, both the gain compression stage and gain expansion stage are provided with a replica current biasing scheme to ensure stable biasing current over variations in temperature, process, and/or supply voltage. Further disclosed is an output voltage biasing scheme to set the DC output voltage to ensure maximum linear operating range.

Amplifiers are an important building block in integrated circuit (IC) devices such as communications transmitters and receivers. Amplifiers are typically designed to provide a relatively constant gain to an input signal over a predetermined signal range, known as the linear operating range. When the amplifier input signal falls outside the linear operating range, the amplifier gain may significantly deviate from the nominal gain, leading to unwanted non-linearity and distortion at the amplifier output.
For portable communications devices such as mobile phones, the trend toward lower voltage power supplies has made it increasingly difficult to design amplifiers with adequate linear operating range. When delivering high output power, the gain of the constituent transistors in such amplifiers may decrease, causing gain compression of the amplifier.
It would be desirable to provide novel techniques for designing amplifiers with enhanced linear operating range.


The ultraviolet sensor device comprises a semiconductor substrate, a dielectric layer above the substrate, a surface of the dielectric layer that is provided for the incidence of ultraviolet radiation, a floating gate electrode in the dielectric layer and an electrically conductive control gate electrode near the floating gate electrode. The control gate electrode is insulated from the floating gate electrode. A sensor layer is formed by an electrically conductive further layer that is electrically conductively connected to the floating gate electrode. The control gate electrode is arranged outside a region that is located between the sensor layer and the surface provided for the incidence of ultraviolet radiation. The sensor layer is discharged by incident UV radiation and can be charged or discharged electrically by charging or discharging the floating gate electrode.

The wavelength of ultraviolet (UV) radiation is smaller than 400 nm. Semiconductor devices that are used for the detection of ultraviolet radiation require a voltage supply for the registration of received doses of ultraviolet radiation. An ultraviolet sensor device may also require a UV filter comprising a material that is not available in a standard CMOS process. An ultraviolet sensor device that is fully CMOS compatible is desired for an extended range of applications, especially in mobile computing devices, for instance.
JP S 57-40619 A discloses a light detection system comprising a MOSFET structure with a floating gate electrode. Charge is accumulated on the floating gate electrode by hot carrier injection generated by an application of a sufficiently high voltage between source and drain. UV irradiation causes the charge to dissipate, and this effect can be detected by an electronic circuit, because the working point of the MOSFET depends on the amount of charge stored on the gate electrode.
FR 2911191 A1 discloses a device for measuring a dose of ultraviolet radiation. The device comprises a MOSFET with a gate electrode and a floating gate electrode. A voltage is applied between the gate electrode and the drain in order to accumulate electrons on the floating gate electrode and thus increase the threshold voltage. UV irradiation causes a dissipation of the electrons, and the resulting change of the threshold voltage is detected by measuring the drain current before and after the UV irradiation.
US 2013/0020477 A1 discloses an ultraviolet radiation measurement sensor comprising an integrated circuit, a transparent window and a plurality of transistors with floating gates to be programmed by an injection of hot carriers. The transistors are arranged according to a non-volatile memory and provided with a device for programming, reading and/or erasing.
US 2008/0218755 A1 discloses semiconductor UV absorptive photometric cells comprising a floating-gate EPROM device. A central polysilicon floating gate electrode is laterally surrounded by a control gate, which has a subsurface electrode shared with an adjacent control transistor.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,504,706 A discloses a low voltage flash EEPROM memory array. The memory cells are fabricated from a single poly layer floating gate and are operated in accordance with Fowler-Nordheim tunneling.
US 2005/0213391 A1 discloses a block alterable EEPROM cell. A layer sequence comprising a tunnel oxide, a poly floating gate electrode, an oxide interlayer and a poly control gate electrode extending over the floating gate to an edge of a drain implant region are arranged on a substrate. Fowler-Nordheim tunneling is used to program and erase the cell.
WO 91/11026 A1 discloses a non-volatile electrically alterable semiconductor memory device with a re-crystallized floating gate electrode. A control gate electrode, which is insulated from the floating gate electrode, is arranged laterally, and partially overlies the floating gate electrode. The cell is programmed by channel hot electron injection and is erased by Fowler-Nordheim tunneling.
WO 00/59032 A1 discloses a non-volatile memory, which is implemented in a double polysilicon process. Channel hot electron injection onto a floating gate electrode is used for programming. The erasure of the memory cell is effected by Fowler-Nordheim tunneling of electrons from the floating gate electrode to the channel region and to the drain diffusion.
JP H01 307627 A discloses an ultraviolet-ray sensor comprising a source area, a drain area, a control gate area formed in a semiconductor substrate, and a floating gate electrode embedded in an insulator above the substrate. The floating gate electrode is exposed to ultraviolet rays.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,972,457 B1 discloses an imaging cell with an EPROM structure comprising a floating gate electrode formed from a layer of patterned polysilicon approximately 200 nm thick, which extends over an area of a control gate region formed in the substrate.
US 2008/0218755 A1 discloses semiconductor UV absorptive photometric cells comprising a floating-gate EPROM device. A central polysilicon floating gate electrode is laterally surrounded by a control gate, which has a subsurface electrode shared with an adjacent control transistor.
US 2005/0230271 A1 discloses floating gate field effect transistors for chemical and/or biological sensing. A floating gate electrode is arranged between a control gate electrode and the substrate.

CMOS compatible ultraviolet sensor device and method of producing a CMOS compatible ultraviolet sensor device


The present invention pertains to a system for electronic brachytherapy wherein a layer of target material can produce reflection and transmission X-rays when struck by electrons from a cathode. An alternative system can have a fixed-size containment structure around a miniature X-ray source, with X-ray attenuating coolant fluid between the source and containment structure. A balloon can be around the fixed-size containment structure and can be inflated with an X-ray inert gas.

Radiation treatment can involve the deposition of high-energy radiation in human tissue for the purpose of destroying malignant or unhealthy tissue. This treatment may be performed with an external radiation source. As a side effect, other tissue between or around the source and targeted treatment area may be irradiated and possibly damaged during this type of treatment.
Radiation treatment can also be performed intraoperatively or post-operatively; for example, brachytherapy can be performed following the surgical removal of a cancerous tissue. Conventional brachytherapy involves the placement of a radioactive material on or near the tissue intended for treatment. In some cases, this can include the insertion of the radioactive material, or radioactive seed, into a surgical cavity, for example following a mastectomy or lumpectomy. The radioactive seed or seeds can be left inside a patient for minutes up to days, or in some cases permanently.
Conventional brachytherapy can be cumbersome in an operating-room environment. For example, due to handling procedures of radioactive material involved, staff may need to leave the room during the treatment and the material delivered through an operator-controlled afterloading machine. Furthermore, it can be difficult to optimize treatment plans using radioactive seeds.
Electronic brachytherapy is an emergent field utilizing miniature X-ray sources for localized radiation treatment. While electronic brachytherapy can provide an alternative to radioactive handling, uniformly irradiating a treatment margin with existing miniature X-ray sources can require relatively complex treatment planning. Conversely, implementing non-uniform radiation patterns which selectively under-dose healthy or sensitive tissue can also be difficult with existing brachytherapy systems. What is needed is an advanced electronic brachytherapy system which can implement a predetermined uniform or non-uniform radiation pattern.

Method and apparatus for localized X-ray radiation treatment


Provided is an interlayer film for laminated glass which has high heat shielding properties, a high visible transmittance, and excellent light resistance which enables retention of the high visible transmittance for a long period of time. The interlayer film for laminated glass according to the present invention has an interlayer film for laminated glass with a single layer structure or a laminated structure of two or more layers, the interlayer film for laminated glass according to the present invention comprises a first layer, and the first layer contains a polyvinyl acetal resin; a plasticizer; a tungsten oxide particle; a magnesium salt of an organic acid having a branched structure; and a metal salt of a C2 to C8 organic acid, other than the magnesium salt of an organic acid having a branched structure.

Laminated glass is safety glass which, even when broken by impact from the outside, shatters into few flying glass fragments. For this reason, laminated glass is widely used for applications such aa cars, rail car, aircrafts, boats and ships, and buildings. Laminated glass is produced by sandwiching an interlayer film for laminated glass between a pair of glass plates. Such laminated glass used for openings of vehicles or buildings are required to have high heat shielding properties.
Infrared rays having a wavelength of 780 nm or longer, which is longer than a wavelength of visible light, have a small amount of energy compared to ultraviolet rays. Infrared rays, however, have a large thermal effect, and are emitted as heat when absorbed by a substance. For this reason, infrared rays are commonly referred to as heat rays. Therefore, infrared rays are required to be sufficiently shielded in order to give a laminated glass having better heat shielding properties.
The below-mentioned Patent Document 1 discloses an interlayer film containing a tin-doped indium oxide particle (a ITO particle) or an antimony-doped tin oxide particle (an ATO particle) as an interlayer film that effectively blocks infrared rays (heat rays). The below-mentioned Patent Document 2 discloses an interlayer film containing a tungsten oxide particle.

Interlayer for laminated glass, and laminated glass


A method and apparatus for transferring products from one conveyor to another. Guide rails direct products into substantial contact with a push bar. The push bar pushes the products from one conveyor belt to another conveyor belt in a smooth and efficient manner, thereby significantly reducing the possibility of damaging the products.

In a "conveyor belt" production lines, it is often impossible or impractical to run a single conveyor through each station in the production line. Accordingly, production lines typically include more than one conveyor, and thus, there is a need for a way to transfer objects from one conveyor to another.
In the past, objects have been transferred between separate conveyors by hand. Hand transfer, however, is extremely labor intensive and costly. In high volume production lines, hand transfer can slow down production speed significantly. Other alternatives include allowing objects on one conveyor to fall to the next conveyor, or mechanically "hitting" the objects to knock them to the next conveyor. With either of these methods it is difficult to control the flow path of the objects, and there is substantial potential for damage.
Thus, it is an object of this invention to provide an automatic, efficient and smooth method and apparatus for transferring items from one conveyor to another conveyor.
One embodiment of the invention features a push bar located adjacent one conveyor. Guide rails steer objects moving on the one conveyor along the push bar. The push bar then pushes or guides the objects across the one conveyor to an adjacent conveyor.
Thus, it is an advantage of the invention that objects are moved between conveyors by pushing, and thus, the transfer is smooth and efficient with little potential for damage.

Method and apparatus for transferring objects between conveyors


A network design method that determines a TDM transmission line for accommodating a given demand includes: extracting an available demand from among a plurality of provided demands; calculating a total bandwidth of the extracted available demand; sequentially selecting the plurality of demands; generating candidates for a combination of TDM transmission lines that accommodate the selected demand; and determining a combination of TDM transmission lines that accommodates the selected demand from among the candidates for the combination of TDM transmission lines. The generating process includes: extracting a TDM transmission line with a band utilization efficiency higher than a specified threshold from among TDM transmission lines including the selected demand as an available demand; and generating candidates for a combination of TDM transmission lines that accommodate the selected demand using the extracted TDM transmission line.

When a plurality of signals of subscriber lines are transmitted through the same optical fiber, the plurality of signals of subscriber lines are accommodated with, for example, Time Division Multiplexing (TDM). A signal of a subscriber line accommodated in a TDM transmission line is often referred to as a "traffic demand" or simply as a "demand", and therefore the subscriber line accommodated in the TDM transmission line is hereinafter referred to as a "demand".
For the TDM transmission line, the SDH (Synchronous Digital Hierarchy) and the OTN (Optical Transport Network), etc., are put into practical use, for example. Commonly, one TDM transmission line such as an SDH transmission line is set in one optical fiber, before Wavelength Division Multiplexing (WDM) is introduced. Therefore, before the WDM is introduced, an optical fiber is respectively laid between nodes (e.g., telephone exchanges), and a TDM transmission line is set between the nodes.
Assume, for example, that, in a transmission system including nodes A-E as illustrated in FIG. 1A, an optical fiber is respectively laid between A and B, B and C, C and D, and D and E. Further, assume that one TDM transmission line is set in one optical fiber. Namely, TDM transmission lines #1, #2, #3, and #4 are respectively set between A and B, B and C, C and D, and D and E. In this case, when a demand which transmits a signal between the node A and the node E is provided, this demand is accommodated in the TDM transmission lines #1, #2, #3, and #4. Namely, there is one method for accommodating this command (or, one accommodation pattern). Hereinafter, a demand which transmits a signal between a node i and a node j is sometimes referred to as a "demand i-j".
In recent years, WDM technology has been widely spread, and an Optical Add/Drop Multiplexer (OADM) is often provided in each node. As illustrated in FIG. 2, the OADM can branch an optical signal of a desired wavelength from a received WDM optical signal and guide it to a subscriber. In addition, the OADM can add a subscriber signal into a WDM optical signal. Further, the OADM can transmit an optical signal included in the received WDM signal to the next node without converting it into an electrical signal.
Here, assume that an OADM is provided in each of the nodes B, C, and D in the transmission system illustrated in FIG. 1A. Then, the transmission system can provide TDM transmission lines #5-#10 illustrated in FIG. 1B, in addition to the TDM transmission lines #1-#4 illustrated in FIG. 1A. In this case, demands A-E may be accommodated with a desired pattern from among seven patterns illustrated in FIG. 1C in addition to the accommodation pattern illustrated in FIG. 1A. Namely, the demands A-E may be accommodated in, for example, the TDM transmission lines #5, #3, and #4 or the TDM transmission lines #1, #2, and #6. As described above, by using the WDM technology, the flexibility in a design of TDM transmission lines which will accommodate a demand increases.
In, for example, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application Publication No. 5-290023 and Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application Publication No. 2012-73705, a technology relating to a network design is described.
In a transmission system in which a plurality of signals are transmitted with TDM, which demand is accommodated in which TDM transmission line is determined in advance. At this time, each demand is preferably accommodated in a TDM transmission line in order to efficiently utilize a communication resource (e.g., a bandwidth).
However, as described above, in the transmission system using the WDM technology, the number of patterns of a combination of TDM transmission lines which will accommodate a demand is large. For that reason, in a large-scale transmission system, in which there are many nodes, it takes a huge amount of time to determine an efficient accommodation pattern. In addition, when the efficient accommodation pattern is determined using a computer, a huge storage capacity is needed for executing the calculation.

Method and apparatus for designing network


Solid-state image-sensing device for acquisition of sensed-image data is described. A photoelectric converter disconnecting switch is turned on to make a forcible reset switch perform resetting. Then, the logarithmic conversion MOS transistor is reset according to the threshold voltage thereof. Then, an output commensurate with the amount of light incident on the photoelectric converter is delivered. The photoelectric converter disconnecting switch is turned on to perform resetting and then turned off. Then, the voltage at the end of the logarithmic conversion MOS transistor that is not connected to the photoelectric converter disconnecting switch is reset according to its threshold voltage. This provides an output unrelated to the incident light. With this sequence of operations, variations in sensitivity among individual pixels can be corrected for without irradiation with uniform light.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a solid-state image-sensing device in which variations in sensitivity among individual pixels are corrected for.
2. Description of Related Art
In recent years, in the field of solid-state image-sensing devices having photoelectric conversion elements such as photodiodes, there have been proposed solid-state image-sensing devices that output an electrical signal obtained by natural-logarithmically converting the amount of incident light (for example, see JP-A-H11-313257). In such logarithmic-conversion solid-state image-sensing devices, variations in threshold voltage among individual MOS transistors for logarithmic conversion produce variations in sensitivity among individual pixels, and eventually produce fixed-pattern noise components among pixels.
As an improvement, there have been proposed logarithmic-conversion solid-state image-sensing devices that use, as calibration noise data for correcting actually sensed images, sensed-image data obtained under irradiation with uniform light.
With these logarithmic-conversion solid-state image-sensing devices that use, as calibration noise data for correcting actually sensed images, sensed-image data obtained under irradiation with uniform light, however, the calibration noise data cannot be acquired by ordinary image sensing. Thus, to correct for variations in sensitivity among individual pixels on a real time basis, one frame worth of sensed-image data under irradiation with uniform light need to be acquired and stored in a frame memory. Moreover, variations in temperature and other conditions cause variations in sensitivity among individual pixels, and therefore, to correct for variations in sensitivity among individual pixels on a real time basis in the presence of variations in temperature and other conditions, sensed-image data obtained under irradiation with uniform light need to be previously acquired under different temperature and other conditions. Thus, to store sensed-image data obtained under different sets of conditions, the frame needs to be given a large capacity.


The present invention provides an apparatus for use in automated welding repairs, particularly those repairs intended for impellers, blisks, and similar structures. There is provided a welding shield which is shaped to fit securely within valleys of an impeller. An individual shield is sized to match with a particular impeller design. When in place, the shield covers exposed areas of the valley and thus protects that area from welding damage. The shield may include welding resistant materials on exposed surfaces. A plurality of shields can protect as many impeller valleys as needed. The shield fits securely so that it does not dislodge during automated welding operations. If desired shields can be moved and repositioned so as to expose previously protected areas thus allowing welding to take place in the newly exposed areas.

Gas turbine engines have a number of complex components that require periodic inspection. It has been found quite useful to conduct these inspections, when possible, without tearing apart the engine. For example those gas turbine engines installed on aircraft are periodically inspected using a technique known as a borescope inspection. Borescope inspections typically involve the insertion of a viewing apparatus, a borescope, from the engine exterior, through an access port to some interior portion of the engine. In a typical arrangement a borescope includes a flexible wand that carries a light source and a vision means, such as a video camera. The wand is usually flexible and can be manipulated such that the borescope tip can be directed toward a target, in a desired direction. The light and vision means then allow an operator, positioned at some point remote from the engine, to view the desired point of the engine interior on a video screen. Turbine blades are one such engine component that are inspected periodically through borescopes for signs of cracking or deterioration. However, this general method of inspecting gas turbine engines has not been expanded to other kinds of engine repair and service. There is a need to adapt such methods of engine access to other repairs.
The modern jet aircraft is a very high capital thing. Demurrage costs and lost revenue potential that arise when an aircraft is out of service add to its operating cost. Thus maintenance and repair strategies associated with aircraft, and turbine engines in general, seek methods that have a quick turn around. The goal is to return the vehicle to service as quickly as possible consistent with quality and safety demands. There is a continuing need for improved repair methods that allow quicker and faster repairs that minimize the time that any vehicle is out of service.
Gas turbine engines include many components with complex shapes. Impellers and blisks for example have airfoils with surface curvature that extends in three dimensions. Impellers and blisks are being increasingly specified in modern design as a method to achieve high compression in relatively short lateral spaces. Additionally gas turbine enegine components, and especially impellers and blisks, are often fabricated from expensive alloy materials. Typical alloys include the class of material known as superalloys, alloys having a high level of nickel and/or cobalt. The complex design, and expensive materials, that are used to fabricate impellers and blisks often means that they can be quite expensive.
As a consequence of these design and material criteria, it is desirable to repair damaged components when possible. Various welding operations, including laser welding, have been developed to treat damaged components. Welding operations may include repair of cracked materials as well as material deposition to restore worn parts.
Welding operations used with impellers, blisks, and other complex geometries often benefit from computerized control of the welding operation. Computer programs that contain the geometry of the device are able to perform a welding operation in an automated fashion, often in a manner superior to that of human controlled weldng. The uniformity and reproducibility in computer-controlled welding operations is additionally desired as a way to eliminate the variability that comes in iterative human processes. This automated welding is most efficient when human interaction with the welding operation is held at a minimum.
However, the removal of the human component from a welding operation can itself lead to difficulties. One problem encountered with automated welding of turbine blisks and impellers is damage to areas proximate to the target zone of the work piece. Whereas a human operator could observe when damage is occurring and take steps to minimize the damage, a machine may not be able to do this. Thus, it would be desired to develop methods for computer-assisted welding that minimize welding-related damage.
Welding, as often practiced in automated welding repair of gas turbine engine components, often follows certain procedures and uses materials that can contribute to work piece damage. For example, the temperatures that are required to successfully weld superalloy materials are relatively high welding temperatures. The heat that is transferred into the substrate material and to the filler material (powder or wire feed) can affect neighboring areas of the work piece. Splatter damage can also result from heated materials at the target area impinging on other areas of the work piece. Again, it would be desired to develop techniques and materials that minimize this damage.
Additionally, an inert gas such as argon is often used in welding operations. An inert gas, which does not react with welding materials and base materials, minimizes the presence of oxygen and thus minimizes oxidation reactions, which can potentially weaken the weld. The inert gas can itself be heated to very high temperatures during the operation. The heated gas can warp or otherwise damage non-target areas of the work piece with which it comes into contact. This particularly occurs when a relatively large volume of heated gas reaches neighboring area. Consequently it would be desired to develop materials and techniques that minimize weld related damage arising from large volumes of heated inert gas.
The geometry of turbine engine blisks and impellers makes them particularly vulnerable to welding-related damage. (Blisk is the term used in the aeronatutical field for a unitary piece with a rotor and airfoils.) A blisk, for example, contains a series of airfoils that radiate out from a central hub. The airfoils may be in close proximity to one another, across the blisk. This close positioning of airfoils subjects neighboring airfoils to damage when heated debris or gases impinge on them.
Accordingly there is a need for an apparatus and method to protect airfoils from welding damage. It is desired that the apparatus be able to shield or protect airfoils and blisks from harm when neighboring airfoils are being welded. Further, it is desired that the apparatus, and method of using the apparatus, be suitable for use with automated welding systems. It is thus desired that the efficiency of automated welding systems not be unduly compromised by the protective apparatus and method. The present invention addresses one or more of these needs.

Weld shielding device for automated welding of impellers and blisks


According to one aspect of the technique of the present disclosure, there is provided a substrate processing apparatus including: a reaction tube; a substrate retainer; a cylindrical portion provided inside the reaction tube and concentric with the reaction tube and comprising a process chamber; a gas supply part in an annular gap between the reaction tube and the cylindrical portion; a gas supply port through which the gas supply part communicates with the process chamber; a first gas exhaust port provided at the cylindrical portion, through which the gap communicates with the process chamber; an outlet connected to the reaction tube at a location lower than the first gas exhaust port and opposite to the gas supply port; and a second gas exhaust port provided at the cylindrical portion at a location lower than the first gas exhaust port and aligned with a same orientation as the outlet.

As an example of a substrate processing apparatus or a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, a vertical type apparatus may be used. The vertical type apparatus includes a boat serving as a substrate retainer capable of accommodating (supporting) a plurality of substrates (hereinafter, also referred to as "a plurality of wafers") in multiple stages. According to related arts, the plurality of the substrates is batch-processed in a process chamber provided in a reaction tube of the vertical type apparatus while the plurality of the substrates is supported by the boat.
However, in the vertical type apparatus, a velocity distribution of a process gas may not be uniform among the plurality of the wafers since a pressure loss on an exhaust side (downstream side of the plurality of the wafers) in the reaction tube may be large. As a result, decomposition of the process gas may be accelerated to different degrees among the plurality of the wafers. Therefore, due to a difference in the decomposition degree of the process gas while passing through the plurality of the wafers, a difference in film thickness formed on the plurality of the wafers may occur, for example, between an uppermost wafer and a lowermost wafer of the plurality of the wafers.

Substrate processing apparatus, reaction tube and method of manufacturing semiconductor device


In a method of manufacturing a semiconductor laser according to the present invention, an n-type (Al.sub.y Ga.sub.1-y).sub.0.5 In.sub.0.5 P (0.5.ltoreq.y.ltoreq.1) cladding layer, an (Al.sub.z Ga.sub.1-z).sub.0.5 In.sub.0.5 P (0.ltoreq.z.ltoreq.0.3) active layer, a p-type (Al.sub.y Ga.sub.1-y).sub.0.5 In.sub.0.5 P cladding layer, and a p-type Ga.sub.0.5 In.sub.0.5 P layer are sequentially crystal-grown on a semiconductor substrate by metal organic-vapor phase epitaxy at a crystal growth rate of not less than 2.5 .mu.m/h to form a multi-layered structure. A stripe structure is formed on the multi-layered structure, and the stripe structure is sandwiched by an n-type GaAs current blocking layer on both sides. A p-type GaAs contact layer is flatly grown on the stripe structure and the n-type GaAs current blocking layer.

The present invention relates to a semiconductor laser used as a light source for a laser printer, a bar cord reader, or the like and, more particularly, to a method of manufacturing a visible-light semiconductor laser having an oscillation wavelength of 680 nm or less.
A conventional method of manufacturing a semiconductor laser will be described below. The structure of a semiconductor laser is shown in FIG. 4. According to the conventional method of manufacturing a semiconductor laser, as the first crystal growth, a GA.sub.0.5 In.sub.0.5 P active layer 4 serving as a luminescent region is formed on a GaAs substrate 1 at a growth temperature of 700 to 730.degree. C. by metal organic-vapor phase epitaxy (to be referred to as MO-VPE hereinafter) to be interposed between (Al.sub.0.7 Ga.sub.0.3).sub.0.5 In.sub.0.5 P cladding layers 3 and 5 each of which has a forbidden band larger than that of the GA.sub.0.5 In.sub.0.5 P active layer 4, thereby forming a double-hetero structure.
An oxide film serving as an etching mask for a ridge stripe and a mask for selective growth is formed, and an oxide film stripe is formed in a [0-11] direction by a photoresist method. The resultant structure is etched up to the middle of the p-type cladding layer 5.
Subsequently, the second crystal growth is performed, i.e., selective growth is performed using an oxide film as a mask to form a current blocking layer 7. After the oxide film is removed, a p-type GaAs contact layer 8 is grown on the entire surface of the resultant structure, and electrodes 9 and 10 are arranged, thereby obtaining a conventional semiconductor laser.
A threshold current value of the characteristics of the conventional semiconductor laser considerably depends on the Zn carrier concentration in the p-type cladding layer 5. For example, it is reported that the threshold current value is 38 mA at a carrier concentration of 3.5.times.10.sup.17 cm.sup.-3. At this time, the cavity length is 300 .mu.m, and the maximum continuous wave oscillation temperature is 100.degree. C., but the reliability of the conventional laser is not reported. The conventional laser is described in the Extended Abstracts of the 36th Spring Meeting Japanese Society Applied Physics, 1989 p. 886 1p-ZC-4.
In a GA.sub.0.5 In.sub.0.5 P layer used in an AlGaInP semiconductor laser according to the present invention, as reported in Jpn. J. Appl Phys Vol. 27, No. 11, November, 1988, pp. 2089-2106, a band-gap Eg is changed in accordance with a crystal growth temperature Tg in MO-VPE. When the growth temperature is increased, a semiconductor laser having a short emission wavelength. However, when the growth temperature is increased, Zn doping in the p-type cladding layer 5 is generally difficult. Furthermore, Zn doped in an (Al.sub.y Ga.sub.1-y).sub.0.5 In.sub.0.5 P layer is easily diffused. As the growth temperature is increased, the diffusion further progresses. More specifically, when the Zn is doped in an active layer, the reliability of the semiconductor laser is degraded. For this reason, a semiconductor laser having practical characteristics cannot be easily obtained.

Method of manufacturing semiconductor laser


The present disclosure relates to automation technology. A first gateway is connected via a first communication network to a field device—and a second gateway is connected to the field device via a second communication network. The first and the second gateway are connected to a control unit. The first communication network and the second communication network are connected to a control room. The control room switches over to the other communication network and establishes a communication connection therewith if a problem is detected in the previous communication connection. Communication access to the first gateway is implemented in the control unit, and communication access to the second gateway is implemented in the control unit via a second driver. The control unit continuously analyses the first communication network and the second communication network and in the event of a control room switchover, switches over to the gateway of that network.

Field devices that are used in industrial facilities are already known from the prior art. Field devices are often used in automation technology, as well as in manufacturing automation. Field devices, in general, refer to all devices which are process-oriented and which supply or process process-relevant information. Field devices are thus used for detecting and/or influencing process variables. Sensor systems serve to detect process variables. For example, these are used for pressure and temperature measurement, conductivity measurement, flow measurement, pH measurement, fill level measurement etc., and detect the corresponding process variables of pressure, temperature, conductivity, pH value, fill level, flow etc. Actuator systems are used to influence process variables. These are, for example, pumps or valves that can influence the flow of a fluid in a pipe or the fill-level in a tank. In addition to the aforementioned measuring devices and actuators, field devices are also understood to include remote I/O's, radio adapters, or, generally, devices that are arranged at the field level.
A variety of such field devices is produced and marketed by the Endress+Hauser group.
In modern industrial facilities, field devices are usually connected to higher-level units via communication networks such as fieldbuses (Profibus®, Foundation® Fieldbus, HART® etc.), for example. Higher-level units are control units, such as an SPS (storage programmable controller) or a PLC (programmable logic controller). The superordinate units are used for process control as well as for commissioning the field devices, among other things. The measured values detected by the field devices, especially, by sensors, are transmitted via the respective bus system to a (or possibly several) superordinate unit(s) that further process the measured values, as appropriate, and relay them to the control station of the installation. The control station serves for process visualization, process monitoring, and process control via the superordinate units. In addition, data transmission from the higher-level unit via the bus system to the field devices is also required, in particular for configuration and parameterization of field devices and for controlling actuators.
What are known as plant asset management systems often access the communication network of the facility in parallel with the facility control. Applications can be implemented on the plant asset management system. For example, these applications allow an overview of the status of the field devices or a configuration capability of the field devices. Such a plant asset management system is typically implemented in an operating unit, for example in a PC, in a laptop, in a mobile operating device, for example a mobile terminal, etc.
To increase security, the communication networks are often designed redundantly. Such a network typically consists of two branches: the main branch and the redundant auxiliary branch. In the event of a fault, the control room switches from the main branch to the redundant auxiliary branch so that reliable communication with the field devices is ensured even in the event of a failure of the main branch.
Such a switching from the main branch to the auxiliary branch is not detected by the asset management system accessing the communication network in parallel with the facility control, which leads to connection termination. In the event that the control room switches to a different communication network, no telegrams are transmitted between the control room and the field device on the previous communication network, whereby the plant asset management system no longer receives any information.
Starting from this problem, the invention is based on the object of providing a method which allows reliable access from an operating unit to a field device via a redundantly designed communication network.

Method for operating an automation technology facility


A microsensor fabricated with a ferroelectric material and a fabrication method therefor are provided. The microsensor includes a support, an insulating layer on the support, a first electrode on the insulating layer, a ferroelectric layer having at least a metal on the insulating layer and the first electrode, and at least a second electrode on the ferroelectric layer.

With the requirements of improving integration, miniaturization, high frequency and fast response for the electronic device as well as the demand for IR (infrared rays) image arrays, it is imperative for the sensor device to be fabricated as a micro-system. Therefore, techniques for the nano/micro-electro-mechanical system (NEMS/MEMS) are increasingly improved on the mentioned purpose.
Regarding the conventional micro-thermistor (thermal resistor), such a thermal resistance device is advantageous for its low cost and its ability for being available at a room temperature and for being fabricated as a non-contact device. In comparison with the capacitance thermaistor, the thermal resistance device is also superior in the response speed. Therefore, people not only in the academia but also in the industrial have done a great effect on the fabrication of micro-thermistor arrays.
The most principal factor for dominating a thermistor is the temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR). The definition of TCR is given as TCR=dR/(dT×R), wherein R represents the resistance of the thermistor, and dR and dT represent the differential of the resistance and the time period, respectively.
Depending on the magnitude of TCR, there are two types of typical thermal resistance materials which are commonly used in the thermistor, including a PTCR (positive TCR) material and an NTCR (negative TCR) material. The PTCR material always has a TCR value of only about +2%, while the TCR value of the NTCR material is always larger. However, the NTCR material may damage the thermistor due to the effect of thermal runaway, and hence a complicated feedback circuit for compensation is always an essential portion therein which is disadvantageous for the thermistor to be miniaturized and integrated. Besides, it is also necessary for the thermistor to possess a larger TCR value while it is miniaturized. Therefore, it has become a serious issue for the skilled person that how to obtain a PTCR material with a high TCR value.
Please refer to FIG. 1, which is a side view schematically illustrating a conventional micro-thermistor device according to the prior art, in which the micro-thermistor device is fabricated by means of a typical surface micromachining technique. The micro-thermistor device 1 includes a thermistor 10 which is fabricated from a suspended flake and is so-called a sensing pixel. Each sensing pixel may detect infrared rays from a heat source and be further heated thereby, and the resistance of the sensing pixel is varied therewith, accordingly. While the resistance variation resulting from the heat is detected, the temperature or the heating state of the heat source is derivable from a pre-constructed database. The thermistor 10 is fabricated as a suspended structure to prevent the gathered heat from being affected by the heat conduction and from dissipating in a short time. Furthermore, the specific detectivity and the responsibility are also critical factors for the thermistor 10 and can be optimized by means of the improved fabrication
Ferroelectric materials with a perovskite structure, such as LiTaO3, BaTiO3 and (Ba, Sr)TiO3, are commonly used in the bolometer application, while the thin film microsensor mainly adopts a pyroelectric element or a thermal capacitor. Such a thin film micro thermistor is disadvantageous for its slow response, large interference and poor signal detectivity.
By contrast, the mentioned drawbacks might be overcome by the micro-thermistor array fabricated from a high PTCR material. For example, the polycrystalline strontium-barium titanate (Ba, Sr)TiO3, i.e. the BST material, exhibits an extremely high PTCR at the curie temperature TC. More specifically, the PTCR is almost higher than 20% which is extremely higher than that of the conventional metallic PTCR materials, so that the polycrystalline BST material performs as an excellent material for the themistor. Furthermore, BST is a semi-insulating material with a band gap ranged in 2.5˜3.5 eV, which is convertible into a semiconducting material exhibiting a high electric conductivity by the dopant implementation, and thus the BST material is suitable for the thermistor application.
Nowadays, relevant techniques and efforts are developed on bulks or powders of the perovskite-type material and the PTCR mechanism thereof is known as the Heywang model. At the TC temperature, the perovskite-type material would transform from the ferroelectric phase to the paraelectric phase, which results in a rapid variation of the polarization thereof. While the temperature is increased, the depletion region on the grain boundary in the perovskite-type material may enlarge rapidly, so as to equalize the trapping charges thereon, and the resistivity of the perovskite-type material is increased due to the increment of the boundary potential resulted therefrom.
As for the thin film of the perovskite-type material, however, the TCR value thereof may be dramatically reduced by the inevitable interface stress even to a range of NTCR. Therefore, it is an important issue for the thin film BST-thermistor that how the interface stress could be reduced and how the TCR value could be enhanced.
On the other hand, a common scheme for enhancing the PTCR of the BST material is by doping some hetero-elements such as chromium Cr and manganese Mn therein and followed by a step of being sintered at a temperature higher than 1000° C. Such a scheme is disadvantageous because the thermal stress resulting from the high temperature would seriously damage the film property and makes it impossible to drive-in the dopants into the film material. Moreover, with respect to the physical coating techniques, it is also difficult to perform Cr or Mn pre-doping in the BST target since the melting point as well as the molecule bonding of the metal Cr or Mn is hugely different from that of the ceramic BST.
In order to overcome the above drawbacks in the prior art, the present invention provides a novel microsensor with a ferroelectric material and a novel fabrication method. The provided microsensor is processed by means of the micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) in which the dopant Cr or Mn is driven in the BST film via a microwave post-treatment or an excimer laser annealing treatment so as to fabricate a Cr-doped or an Mn-doped BST film for enhancing the TCR thereof.

Microsensor with ferroelectric material and method for fabricating the same

Instrument Technology Research Center, National Applied Research Laboratories


The invention relates to a self-oscillating circuit comprising comparator means (CM) comprising at least one input means (IM) and at least one output means (OM), at least one of said at least one output means (OM) is coupled to at least one of said at least one input means (IM) via at least one filtering means (FM), said at least one filtering means (FM) at least partly comprising demodulation means (DM), wherein said filtering means (FM) is of at least fifth order.

For several years, PWM amplifiers have been used for power amplification in audio applications as they provide power amplification with a minimum of power loss. The PWM modulation and amplification means however introduces a relatively large amount of noise, errors and distortion making the use of PWM amplifiers only suitable for low-quality applications as e.g. PC-speakers, etc. Furthermore, the PWM modulation requires a very accurate saw-tooth or ramp signal to be present. Imperfections in that reference signal are directly projected as errors on the modulated audio signal.
An additional conventional PWM amplifier has been improved by establishing negative feedback from the output of the power stage back to the input of the modulator. Thereby, most of the errors and noise introduced by the modulation and power stages are suppressed. However, to obtain a usable utility bandwidth the switch frequency of the power stage has to be relatively high, which increases the noise and error introduced by the modulator and power switches. Also the loop filters have to be designed with care to avoid instability. This seriously limits the possible uses of the loop filters.
A further improved PWM amplifier utilizes controlled instability in the feedback loop to omit the reference signal and thereby causing a self-oscillating PWM amplifier. Thus, the possible errors of the reference signal have been avoided. Such self-oscillating PWM amplifier however still present several requirements to the design of the loop filters as the instability is often desired to arise at a certain frequency. Thus, only simple loop filters with limited open loop gain and thus limited noise suppression and relatively narrow utility bands have been provided with PWM amplifiers. Furthermore, subsequent demodulation means also introduces noise and distortion which is not suppressed.
One of several objects of the present invention is to provide a self-oscillating PWM amplifier with improved suppression of noise, distortion and error.
One of several objects is to provide a self-oscillating PWM amplifier with broadened utility bandwidth.


An alarm system circuit comprises a logic array comprising a piezoelectric transducer driven by one or more Schmitt triggers. The logic array operates at substantially resonant frequency, and the circuit provides a feedback loop to sustain the oscillations of the logic array to drive the transducer. In one preferred embodiment, the array includes an additional Schmitt trigger causing the circuit to toggle on and off, thus making a pulsating tone.

The present invention is directed toward an apparatus for a loud audible signal using a minimum of space and power. More specifically, the present invention is directed toward a system comprising a piezoelectric transducer and an integrated circuit which contains a number of Schmitt triggers.
A variety of products from automobiles to household appliances rely upon effective alarms to notify the user of a wide variety of operational messages, including safety concerns. However, currently available alarms are unacceptable or, at best, inefficient in terms of cost, energy requirements, and complexity. Thus, a simple, inexpensive alarm utilizing a low power source is desired.
Piezoelectric transducers are sound producing electronic devices that are preferred by industry because they are by and large extremely inexpensive, reliable, durable, and versatile. This transducer has the unique property that it undergoes a reversible mechanical deformation on the application of an electrical potential across it. Conversely, it also generates an electrical potential upon mechanical deformation. These characteristics make it highly desirable for sound producing applications. When an oscillating potential is placed across the transducer, it vibrates at roughly the same frequency as the oscillations. These vibrations are transmitted to the ambient medium, such as air, to become sound waves. Piezoelectric transducers can also be coupled to a simple circuit in what is known as a feedback mode, well known in the art, in which there is an additional feedback terminal located on the element. In this mode, the crystal will oscillate at a natural, resonant frequency without the need for an external source for applying continuous driving oscillations. As long as the oscillations are in the range of audible sound, i.e., 20 to 20,000 Hertz, such oscillations can produce an audible signal for use as an alarm or an indicator.
Any periodic oscillation can be characterized by at least one amplitude and frequency. Ordinarily, the amplitude of oscillations of interest in a piezoelectric transducer application will be dictated by the voltage swing applied across the element. By the principles explained above, it is evident that there will be a greater mechanical deformation in the crystal with greater applied voltage. The effect is roughly linear within limits, those limits based in general on crystal composition and geometry. Thus, in the linear region, doubling the voltage swing doubles the mechanical deformation. Doubling the mechanical deformation significantly increases the amplitude of vibrations transmitted into the ambient medium. Increased amplitude of vibrations in the medium causes an increased sound level, the relationship determinable by well known physical equations.
More specifically, when a piezoelectric element possesses two terminals and a driving oscillation is placed across one while the other is clamped to a common potential such as ground, the voltage swing will be at most the amplitude of the oscillations. Thus, if an oscillation of amplitude of 5 volts is placed across one terminal, while the other is maintained at 0 volts, the maximum voltage swing will be 5 volts. This effectively caps the achievable decibel level of any sound to a value corresponding to the supply voltage. One could double the supply voltage to achieve double the voltage swing, but this has the disadvantage of added cost, and further is impractical when a piezoelectric audio circuit is to be placed in a unit having a standardized voltage supply such as an automobile. Alternatively, one could use a second supply disposed to provide the same oscillations but in a reversed polarity to double the effective voltage swing. But this approach possesses at least the same disadvantages.
As shown by the present invention, when a piezoelectric element possesses two terminals and a driving oscillation is placed across one, and the identical driving oscillation is placed across the other but shifted 180 degrees out of phase, the voltage swing will be about two times the amplitude of the oscillations. By "180 degrees out of phase" it is meant that each terminal generates a signal having a substantially square wave form, wherein one wave form is high and the other is low at any given time. Thus, if an oscillation having an amplitude of 5 volts is placed across one terminal while the other experiences the same oscillation but separated by 180 degrees of phase (half the period of the cycle), then the maximum voltage swing will be 10 volts. Higher sound pressures and louder tones result with a voltage swing of 10 volts than with a voltage swing of 5 volts.
As shown by the present invention, the phase shift needed to effectively double the voltage swing across the transducer can be accomplished by use of one or more Schmitt triggers. It is believed that Schmitt triggers are particularly useful to the present invention because of the fast switching time and because they require minimal addition of components. Schmitt triggers are a special type of bistable amplifier circuit known in the art which can sustain two different voltages, each being equal in amplitude but 180 degrees out of phase. Schmitt triggers further have regenerative capability through the use of a feedback loop. In other words, Schmitt triggers can be started or triggered by an initial pulse of only a short duration and can be maintained indefinitely (for all practical purposes) in one of their bistable states through its own feedback, without the need for an external source to supply continuing driving oscillations. Furthermore, Schmitt triggers have the added benefit of producing either a high or low output in response to a trigger signal, depending upon the state that the circuit is already in. In other words, where the input voltage is between the low and high threshold voltages of each of the stable states of a Schmitt trigger, the output of the Schmitt trigger is inverted from high to low, or vice versa. This feature can be used to place alternating voltage drops of equal magnitude across opposing terminals of a transducer, thus increasing the mechanical deformation in the transducer.
Particularly in alarm applications, what is needed is a loud sound that does not depend on the added circuit complexity of a doubled supply voltage or an additional reversed polarity supply. Loud sounds require relatively high voltages to produce relatively large amplitude vibrations in the transducer. In a special analog circuit, this might not be an obstacle. However, in a circuit containing elements that are safely and reliably operable only in a limited range of potentials, accommodations must be made to insure that those elements do not receive an electrical potential that is too high. Thus, in particular when a loud alarm sound is needed, care must be taken to separate the potentials driving the transducer from the potentials driving the more sensitive circuit elements. For example, integrated circuits often have specifications limiting the recommended power supply to 5 volts DC. If one desires to power a transducer using a supply voltage of 16 volts DC, care must be taken to regulate the power supplied to the integrated circuit.
Accordingly, one object of the present invention is inexpensively to enable loud sounds to be generated by an audio circuit that overcomes the foregoing disadvantages.
Still another object of the invention is to enable the use of voltage-sensitive components in the same circuit that contains an audio transducer that is disposed to receive large voltage swings.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a simple, inexpensive, low power device that creates a loud alarm for users.
Another object of the present invention is to utilize feedback from the audible alarm to facilitate the continued operation of the alarm.
Yet another object of the present invention is to utilize an array of Schmitt triggers to increase the voltage across a piezoelectric transducer so as to maximize the resonance of the resulting alarm signal.
Still another object of the present invention is to utilize another Schmitt trigger to toggle the oscillation of the circuit on and off, thus creating a distinct, intermittent audible alarm.

Schmitt trigger loud alarm with feedback


Disclosed are compounds having the structure:

Peptides and their derivatives are becoming an increasingly important class of pharmaceuticals, both as drugs [Lien, S.; Lowman, H. B. Trends in Biotech. 2003, 21, 556-562.] and as drug delivery vehicles. [Gariepy, J.; Kawamura, K. Trends in Biotech. 2001, 19, 21-28.] Pharmacokinetics, defined as the in vivo absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion (ADME) profile of a drug, [Undevia, S. D.; Gomez-Abuin, G.; Ratain, M. J. Nat. Rev. Cancer 2005, 5, 447-458.] can be a factor in determining the efficacy and toxicity of peptide-based pharmaceuticals.
However, conventional peptide chemistry often fail to effectively provide avenues for the tailoring of pharmacokinetic characteristics of peptide-based pharmaceuticals. More specifically, conventional peptide synthesis methods typically fail to effectively provide routes to highly fluorinated β-amino acids. Further, delivery of drugs cross the blood-brain barrier (BBB) can be a very challenging issue. While fluorination has been used to enhance membrane permeability of other types of molecules, conventional peptide-based pharmaceuticals typically fail to effectively employ fluorinated moieties to enhance trans-BBB delivery. Moreover, conventional peptide-based pharmaceutical protocols typically lack effective non-invasive monitoring of drug pharmacokinetics, despite the much wider chemical shift range and much greater sensitivity of 19F magnetic resonance spectroscopy (19F MRS). Thus, despite conventional peptide synthetic methodology, there remains a need for methods and compositions that overcome these deficiencies.
In contrast to conventional methods, the incorporation of fluorinated moieties can alter the pharmacokinetic characteristics, and thus the efficacy and toxicity, of peptide-based pharmaceuticals. Further, incorporation of fluorinated moieties can enhance trans-BBB delivery of peptide-based pharmaceuticals. Moreover, incorporation of fluorinated moieties can also provide functional groups that can serve as reporters of peptide pharmacokinetics via 19F MRS.

Highly fluorinated β-amino acids and methods of making and using same

Abstract: wherein R1a and R1b are independently H, alkyl, F, or fluoroalkyl; wherein R2a, R2b, R2a′, and R2b′ are independently H, alkyl, F, fluoroalkyl, aryl, or alkenyl; wherein R3 is OH, alkoxyl, NH2, alkylamino, or dialkylamino; wherein R4a and R4b are independently H, alkyl, acyl, or alkyloxycarbonyl; wherein R11, R12, R13, R21, R22, and R23 are independently H, alkyl, F, or fluoroalkyl; and wherein C0, C1, C2 and C2′ are independently chiral or achiral. Also disclosed are processes for making a fluorinated β-amino acid comprising the steps of: providing a diol; treating the diol with a thionyl halide with oxidative workup; reacting the product with an azide salt to yield an azido group; oxidizing the product to yield a carboxyl group; and reducing the azido group to yield an amino group.


A free aggregate usable in forming wood concrete products is formed by a process including the encasing of a free aggregate of individual chips with an inorganic mineralizing coating to a degree sufficient to seal in water-soluble organic matter held in pores of the chips, while maintaining the individual chips in a free aggregate form. The encased chips are then seasoned for 15 to 25 days and again coated with a second mineralizing coating.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to a stable free aggregate of mineralized wood chips usable in wood concrete products, and a method of making the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
In wood concrete technology (WCT) fibrous organic materials such as wood chips (and hereinafter simply referred to as chips) are used as an aggregate in concrete. This technology is advantageous for sound and heat insulation since the wood chips have a low density. However, until recently, WCT has not been used in the U.S. because most of the industrial timber is grown in the southern and southeastern part of the U.S., and is not suitable for WTC. This is due in part to the fact that such woods, such as Southern Pine, contain substantial amounts of "cement poisons" which leach from the organic fibers aggregate into the cement mixture, and retard the hardening of the cement such that hardening times are unacceptable.
Applicants have previously developed a process known as K-X treatment for treating organic products WTC. The K-X treatment process includes forming a free aggregate of chips of fibrous organic products and encasing the individual chips with an inorganic mineralizing coating to a degree sufficient to seal in water-soluble organic matter, i.e., the cement poisons, held in the pores of the chips. This prevents the leaching of the cement poisons the individual chips when they are subsequently incorporated into a cement mixture. The resulting stable free aggregate can be stored without decaying and permits a relatively fast hardening time for the concrete (as little as 10 to 14 hours). The K-X treatment is disclosed in Applicants' U.S. Pat. No. 5,109,170, which is herein incorporated by reference.
However, while the K-X treatment represents a substantial improvement over the conventional WCT, its 10 to 14 hour hardening time is not entirely satisfactory. It would be desirable to instead produce an aggregate for WCT which can be used in concrete products having an even shorter hardening time.

Double coated free aggregate usable in wood concrete technology and method of making the same


A head assembly for a rotary tool, comprising a body arranged for connection to a drive means, the drive means rotatable about a first axis of rotation; a rotatable element arranged for connection to a pad assembly, the rotatable element rotatable about a second axis of rotation disposed substantially parallel to the first axis of rotation; and, a locking assembly arranged to lock the rotatable element to the body to prevent rotation of the rotatable element relative to the body about the second axis of rotation.

Orbital abrading tools are well-known and generally comprise a portable, manually manipulatable housing, a motor supported by the housing and having or being coupled to a drive shaft driven for rotation about a first axis, and an assembly for mounting a pad for abrading or polishing a work surface for orbital movement about the first axis. In a random orbital abrading tool, the assembly serves to additionally mount the pad for free rotational movement about a second axis, which is disposed parallel to the first axis.
The assembly typically includes a head portion coupled for driven rotation with the drive shaft about the first axis and defining a mounting recess having an axis arranged coincident with the second axis, a bearing supported within the mounting recess, and means for connecting the pad to the bearing for rotation about the second axis.
Locking mechanisms for orbital abrading tools are known in the art and described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,749,493 (Wuensch); U.S. Pat. No. 6,974,370 (Hutchins); U.S. Pat. No. 6,485,360 (Hutchins); and, U.S. Pat. No. 5,823,862 (Heidelberger. The locking mechanisms are also known as spindle-locks in the art.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,749,493 (Wuensch) discloses a spindle-lock using a circumferential slider to engage at least one pin to lock the mechanism. By moving the slider circumferentially, a spring retained pin will be forced to vertically engage a hole in a gear wheel, locking the spindle. Wuensch shows a one-piece design for both the motor assembly and the head assembly. Thus, a new tool would be necessary for use with a different head assembly (such as a non-orbital head or a grinder wheel). Furthermore, the circumferential slider comprises many components, increasing the cost of manufacturing and overall weight of the tool.
The same deficiency is present in both U.S. Pat. No. 6,485,360 (Hutchins), and U.S. Pat. No. 5,823,862 (Heidelberger). Although they have different forms of locking mechanisms, the locking mechanism, head assembly, and rotatable means about a second axis are permanently affixed to the abrading tool housing. This broad incorporation restricts the capabilities of the tool. Thus, a new tool would be necessary for use with a different head assembly (such as a non-orbital head or a grinder wheel).
U.S. Pat. No. 6,974,370 (Hutchins '370) presents a similar deficiency. Hutchins '370 shows a spindle lock for an orbital abrading or polishing tool. The head assembly is removable from the abrading tool, but the locking mechanism and means for orbital motion are structural components of the abrading tool housing. Thus, a new tool would still be necessary for a non-orbital head or a grinder wheel.
Furthermore, the locking mechanisms, or spindle-locks, described in the references above can be awkward to manipulate by a user wearing work gloves. Also, the locking mechanisms can be engaged accidentally by the user while the tool is in operation, resulting in excessive wear of the locking mechanism components and reducing the lifetime of the rotary tool and its components.
What is needed then is a locking random orbital dual-action head assembly wherein the rotatable means about an orbital axis and locking mechanism are structural components of the head assembly so that the head assembly can be used with a standard rotary tool. Thus, a single rotary tool can be used and different head assemblies can be attached for various uses. Also, costs can be reduced as individual head assemblies or rotary tools can be repaired or replaced independent of an entire head-assembly/rotary tool combination as in the prior art.
What is also needed is a head assembly comprising a locking mechanism that can not easily be accidentally locked while the tool is in operation, reducing unnecessary wear on the head assembly's or rotary tool's components.

Locking random orbital dual-action head assembly


Provision is made for a defect to be restored, by securely turning a luminescent-point defect of a display device to a dark point. In a display device including a scanning line (1), a video signal line (4) intersecting with the scanning line, a semiconductor film (3) and a restoration conductor (10) composed a semiconductor film that are formed, with an insulating film intervening, on a gate electrode (2) and on a portion, of the scanning line, that is apart from the gate electrode, respectively, a source electrode (5) that is formed on the semiconductor film and connected to the video signal line, a drain electrode (6) formed, opposing the source electrode, on the semiconductor film, a pixel electrode (9) connected to the drain electrode, and an extended portion (7) that is connected to the drain electrode and formed so as to cover an edge portion, of the pixel electrode, that is in the vicinity of the scanning line, the restoration strip conductor is connected to the extended portion.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to display devices in which pixel defects can be restored, and is suitably applicable to liquid crystal display devices, in particular.
2. Description of the Related Art
An active-matrix-driving liquid crystal display device is configured in such a way that switching devices such as TFTs (Thin Film Transistor) are connected to pixel electrodes arranged in a matrix on one of a pair of insulating substrates to be bonded with each other, and selection or non-selection of each pixel electrode is implemented through switching operation by the switching device, thereby carrying out display operation. In general, a TFT has a multi-layer structure in which a semiconductor layer, an insulating layer, and various kinds of electrodes for driving a liquid crystal are stacked up; therefore, in order to produce a TFT, deposition of each layer on an insulating substrate and patterning is repeatedly carried out. As a result, in the case where a switching device is produced, a defect may occur in which normal switching operation is not implemented due to breaking of wires or short-circuiting. In this case, a pixel consisting of a pixel electrode connected to a defective switching device becomes a defective pixel to which no voltage is applied. There has been a problem in that, especially in a liquid crystal display device in a normally-white-mode in which, when the power supply is OFF, a display screen is set to be white, the defective pixel makes a luminescent-point defect through which light is always transmitted.
In this regard, in order to make luminescent-point defects in a liquid crystal display device inconspicuous, a method has been disclosed (e.g., refer to Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 1997-179143) in which, by irradiating a laser beam onto a portion, corresponding to a pixel having a luminescent-point defect, where the drain electrode and the gate wiring overlap each other and creating a short-circuit between the drain electrode and the gate wiring that have been separated by an insulating film, and by making the voltage supplied to the gate wiring always be supplied to the drain electrode and making the pixel be always in a power-on state, the luminescent-point defect is turned to a dark-point defect, thereby being made inconspicuous.

Display device and defect-restoration method therefor


The present invention is a method for depolymerizing or "cracking" polymeric materials. The method of the present invention may be used in the disposal and/or recycling of such materials. Products of the degradation of polymeric materials using the present method may be recycled or more easily treated for disposal.. The present invention is a process for degrading, depolymerizing or "cracking" a polymeric material, otherwise amenable to cracking by alkali fusion, comprising the steps of:. (a) preparing a molten reaction mixture comprising: PA0 (b) maintaining said molten mixture at a temperature sufficient to reflux said molten mixture for sufficient time to depolymerize said polymeric material.. (i) a basic material; PA1 (ii) a source of copper; and PA1 (iii) said polymeric material; and

In recent years there has been increased interest in both environmental protection and the conservation of both natural resources and synthetic materials through recycling.
One of the general classes of materials known to pose some of the greatest challenges to recyclers is synthetic polymers, such as plastics. This is largely due to the fact that their chemical nature materials makes them difficult to effectively and efficiently degrade to their constituent monomers, lower molecular weight oligomers, or other breakdown products, for reuse or safe disposal. The chemical nature of polymeric materials also make them difficult to handle, dispose of and/or recycle as their degradation products are often toxic or otherwise insulting to the environment.
Another factor making synthetic polymers difficult to recycle is their variety. Many degradation techniques may target depolymerization of only a limited number or type of polymeric materials, leaving others intact. Also, polymeric materials in the waste stream are often comingled with a wide variety of solid and liquid wastes which can foul recycling/disposal treatment processes. This factor can complicate attempts at large scale recycling of polymeric materials by requiring multiple process and/or separation steps.
In addition, synthetic polymeric materials, including polyethylene, polyvinylchloride, polystyrene, polypropylene and the like, make up a substantial portion of the waste generated by industry and municipalities. Accordingly, another aspect of the challenge to recycling or disposal of polymeric materials is the need to design recycling/disposal systems capable of functioning effectively on a scale sufficient to accommodate the volume and variety of polymeric materials in an industrial or municipal waste stream.
Beyond being able to render polymeric waste to disposable form, it is of course most desirable to be able to convert polymeric waste to reusable materials. In addition to being valuable as fuel, breakdown compounds of this type provide a ready feedstock for the preparation of detergents, lubricants and other, more valuable commodities Likewise, depolymerization products can also be used in the preparation of new polymers, such as plastics.
Accordingly, it is desirable to be able to chemically degrade a wide variety of polymeric materials, particularly those classes of materials that constitute the greatest portion of waste polymeric materials generated in industrial or domestic settings.
It is also desirable to be able to render waste polymeric materials to a form amenable to reuse. This may mean producing degradation products which are both capable of being used as starting materials in the production of new materials and which are also in suitable form for such reuse, considering ease and safety of handling, demands of relative purity, etc.
Another beneficial characteristic in recycling/disposal processes is the ability to carry out the process in the presence of solid and liquid waste contaminants. Also, it is advantageous to be able to carry out recycling/disposal processes without the use of higher temperatures in the vapor phase (less than thos needed for combustion), and without having to provide specialized atmospheres (e.g. absent oxygen), pressurized atmospheres, atmospheres using constant gas streams or specific pure gases or gas mixtures.
The many embodiments of the present invention make progress toward the accomplishment of the above objectives. In light of the present disclosure and/or the practice of the present invention, other advantages and/or the solution to additional problems, may become apparent to one skilled in the relative arts.

Method of cracking polymeric materials catalyzed by copper