A transfer device includes a nip forming member to contact a surface of an image bearing member to form a transfer nip therebetween, a pressing device, and a nip pressure changing device. The pressing device includes a plurality of elastic members, to produce a contact pressure between the nip forming member and the image bearing member according to a restoring force of at least one of the elastic members upon deformation of the elastic member. The nip pressure changing device changes an amount of elastic deformation of the elastic member between at least two stages to change a nip pressure of the transfer nip. While the contact pressure is produced by one of the elastic members, the nip pressure changing device changes the amount of elastic deformation of a different elastic member, different from the one that produces the contact pressure, to change the nip pressure of the transfer nip.

1. Technical Field
Exemplary aspects of the present disclosure generally relate to a transfer device and an image forming apparatus, such as a copier, a facsimile machine, a printer, or a multi-functional system including a combination thereof, and more particularly, to a transfer device that transfers a toner image borne on an image bearing member onto a recording material and an image forming apparatus including the transfer device.
2. Description of the Related Art
A known image forming apparatus such as disclosed in JP-4040611-B1 (JP-2006-39401-A) forms a charged latent image on a surface of an image bearing member such as a photosensitive drum by writing optically an image based on image information on the uniformly charged image bearing member. The latent image is developed with a developing device with toner to form a visible image, known as a toner image. Subsequently, the toner image is transferred onto a recording sheet (recording material), and is fixed thereon.
In the image forming apparatus of this kind, the toner image is formed on the photosensitive drum through a known electrophotographic process. In the known process, an n intermediate transfer belt formed into an endless loop serving also as an image bearing member contacts the photosensitive drum to form a so-called primary transfer nip therebetween. In the primary transfer nip, the toner image on the photosensitive drum is primarily transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt. A secondary transfer roller serving as a nip forming member contacts the intermediate transfer belt to form a so-called secondary transfer nip. A secondary-transfer opposing roller is disposed inside the looped intermediate transfer belt opposite the secondary transfer roller with the intermediate transfer belt interposed therebetween.
While the secondary-transfer opposed roller disposed inside the loop of the intermediate transfer belt is grounded, the secondary transfer roller disposed outside the loop is supplied with a secondary transfer bias (voltage). With this configuration, a secondary transfer electric field is formed between the secondary-transfer opposing roller and the secondary transfer roller so that the toner image moves electrostatically from the secondary-transfer opposing roller side to the secondary transfer roller side. A recording medium is fed to the secondary transfer nip in appropriate timing such that the recording medium is aligned with the toner image formed on the intermediate transfer belt. Due to the secondary transfer electric field and a nip pressure in the secondary transfer nip, the toner image on the intermediate transfer belt is secondarily transferred onto the recording medium.
In recent years, a variety of recording media such Japanese paper known as "Washi" have come on market. Such recording media have a coarse surface through embossing process. A pattern of light and dark patches according to the surface condition of the recording medium appears in an output image. Toner does not transfer well to such embossed surfaces, in particular, the recessed portions of the surface. This inadequate transfer of the toner appears as a pattern of light and dark patches in the resulting output image.
In the known image forming apparatus, the intermediate transfer belt employs an elastic intermediate transfer belt in which an elastic layer made of urethane rubber and silicone rubber is formed on the base layer of the intermediate transfer belt and fluororesin or the like is used for the surface layer thereof. Such an intermediate transfer belt allows the elastic layer thereof to deform in the belt thickness direction due to the pressure of the secondary transfer nip when transferring the toner image from the intermediate transfer belt onto the recording sheet having a rough surface. Accordingly, the surface of the intermediate transfer belt and the recording sheet, between which the toner is interposed, contact well, thereby transferring reliably the toner image onto the recording sheet.
JP-2012-128229-A also discloses an image forming apparatus including an elastic intermediate transfer belt having an elastic layer. The image forming apparatus includes a pressing mechanism which can change a pressing force of the secondary transfer roller relative to the intermediate transfer belt. The pressure of the secondary transfer nip is increased when forming an image on a recording material with high surface roughness such as fabric. The pressure of the secondary transfer nip is decreased when forming an image onto a recording sheet with low surface roughness such as a gloss resin sheet. With this configuration, for each of a wide variety of recording sheets, secondary transfer is performed at an optimum secondary transfer nip pressure to obtain satisfactory transfer efficiency.
As disclosed in JP-2012-128229-A, in a case in which the elastic intermediate transfer belt is used, it is desirable that the secondary transfer be performed at a suitable secondary transfer nip pressure depending on types of recording sheets with different surface unevenness to obtain satisfactory transferability. However, as the number of types of corresponding recording sheets is increased, a change width of the secondary transfer nip pressure is widened. Therefore, the range of the secondary transfer nip pressure changeable in the known pressing mechanism is difficult to accommodate the necessary change width of the secondary transfer nip pressure. For example, in the pressing mechanism such as in JP-2012-128229-A, the pressing force of the secondary transfer roller is changed from 50 [N] to 75 [N], but the change width is insufficient.
More specifically, in the known pressing mechanism capable of changing the secondary transfer nip pressure, generally, the pressing force of the secondary transfer roller against the intermediate transfer belt is changed by changing the compression amount and the tension of springs such as a compression spring and a tension spring. In this configuration, when the secondary transfer nip pressure is changed significantly, a significant change in the compression amount and the tension of the springs is necessary. Therefore, the springs which can change significantly the compression amount and the tension, in other words, springs (elastic members) having a wide elastically deformable range are necessary. However, manufacturing such spring members is not easy and increases the manufacturing cost. It is thus difficult to obtain the necessary change width of the secondary transfer nip pressure.
By contrast, when using a spring (elastic member) having a relatively high spring constant (modulus of elasticity), a spring having a relatively narrow, elastically deformable range may be used even when the secondary transfer nip pressure is changed significantly. However, in the spring having a high spring constant, the rate of change of the restoring force with respect to the unit compression amount or the unit tension amount is too high. Consequently, the sensitivity of the secondary transfer nip pressure with respect to the compression amount or the tension amount (elastic deformation amount) of the spring member is increased.
The secondary transfer nip pressure thus easily deviates from the target value due to the slight deviation and error of the compression amount and the tension amount of the spring so that it is difficult to reliably obtain the target secondary transfer nip pressure. The increase in the spring constant (modulus of elasticity) is thus limited. In the known configuration which requires the spring (elastic member) having a wide elastically deformable range, it is difficult to obtain the necessary change width of the secondary transfer nip pressure.
The similar difficulty may arise in an image forming apparatus in which a significant change in the transfer nip pressure is required.
In view of the above, there is demand for a transfer device capable of reliably obtaining a target transfer nip pressure using an elastic member with a relatively narrow elastic deformation range in the case of changing a transfer nip pressure, and an image forming apparatus including the transfer device.

Transfer device and image forming apparatus including same


An embodiment of this invention solves a problem about a precision drop of registration adjustment of a range detection method due to variations of a registration state depending on a position associated with a carriage scanning direction. In that embodiment, reference and adjustment patterns are formed to be juxtaposed in a nozzle array direction to detect a position shift between patterns in the main scanning direction. In this case, coarse registration adjustment is executed by the range detection method, and its adjustment result is applied to a printing apparatus. After that, fine registration adjustment is executed by a density method, and results of the two adjustment methods are finally reflected.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a printing apparatus and a registration adjustment method used in the apparatus, and particularly to, for example, a printing apparatus including a plurality of inkjet printheads and a registration adjustment method used in the apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
A printing apparatus including an inkjet printhead (to be referred to as a printhead hereinafter) forms dots on a print medium by discharging ink droplets from the printhead, and forms an image by the dots. A dot alignment technique between different conditions is called a registration correction technique, and alignment of dots is implemented by acquiring and applying a correction value.
A method of acquiring this correction value by visually observing a printed pattern by the user, and applying that correction value, a method of reading a printed pattern by a sensor included in a printing apparatus, and executing automatic adjustment, and the like are available.
As one automatic adjustment method, a method of directly detecting a position shift distance of patterns formed under a plurality of printing conditions using a sensor, and acquiring that distance as a correction amount is known. This method is called a range detection method.
For example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2009-56746 has proposed a conventional registration adjustment method.
In a printer which executes printing on a print medium of a large size such as an A0 or B0 print sheet by reciprocally scanning a carriage that mounts a printhead, it is difficult to maintain a stable state all over that scanning region.
External disturbances which influence stable printing include a variation of a distance between the printhead and print sheet, an attitude variation of the carriage, and the like. These external disturbances occur depending on a position in the carriage moving direction. For this reason, the apparatus state varies depending on a registration adjustment position, and a correction value cannot often be correctly calculated. Especially, in the range detection method, the influences caused by external disturbances occurred between a plurality of patterns used to compare position shifts often directly result in errors of the correction value.

Printing apparatus and registration adjustment method


An air cooled turbine stator vane form a small gas turbine engine in which the vane has an airfoil of less than one inch in spanwise height, where the airfoil is a hollow airfoil having an insert that forms a sequential impingement cooling circuit for the pressure side wall and then the suction side wall. The insert includes a plurality of cooling air supply channels connected together by ribs where pressure side impingement holes are formed in the cooling air supply channels and suction side wall impingement cooling holes are formed in the ribs.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a small gas turbine engine and more specifically to a small turbine airfoil with impingement cooling and film cooling.
Description of the Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98
Since the invention of the gas turbine engine, much technological advancement have been introduced throughout the machine to increase the power, performance, and overall efficiency of the equipment. Many of these advancements have improved the efficiency of specific components, but the most significant improvements have been realized with the development of technologies that permit the temperature and pressure of the turbine working fluid to be increased. To this end, efficient turbine cooling represents an enabling technology that has put gas turbines in the forefront of a competitive means of producing power and propulsion in the modern marketplace.
Cooling of small turbine airfoils for small gas turbine engines pose additional challenges not seen in the larger engines. The primary challenges are manufacturing of the small features such as cooling holes and wall thicknesses needed for acceptable heat transfer performance. As cooling hole size decreases, discharge coefficient (Cd) decreases nonlinearly and thus require increased pressure drop which affects overall engine efficiency. In addition, acceptable film coverage becomes very difficult because the film holes approach a size where they cannot be shaped to provide adequate film protection.
A small gas turbine engine of the size used to power a UAV is typically formed with solid stator vanes that are cast as a single piece with the rotor disk. No cooling is used because the airfoils are too small for cooling passages. Stator vanes of this small size with cooling passages cannot be cast because the airfoil walls would be too thin.

Small turbine stator vane with impingement cooling insert


There is provided an apparatus and a method for preventing a loss of a portable terminal, the apparatus including: a luminous intensity sensor unit detecting a current luminous intensity; a main controller unit controlling to request for an input of a password and controlling to output a warning sound when a current luminous intensity is higher than a reference luminous intensity; a display unit outputting a screen for requesting for the password and other screens related to a process of loss prevention; a key input unit via which keys related to the process of loss prevention are inputted; a memory unit in which the current luminous intensity detected by the luminous intensity sensor unit and the reference luminous intensity are saved; and a warning device generating and outputting the warning sound in accordance with the controlling of the main controller unit.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for preventing the loss of a portable terminal such as a mobile phone, and more particularly, to an apparatus for preventing the loss of a portable terminal by outputting a warning sound notifying the loss of the portable terminal in accordance with a luminous intensity, which is a degree of exposure to light, before the actual loss occurs, thereby preventing the loss in advance, and to a method of preventing the loss of a portable terminal.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, with miniaturization of electronic devices and development in communication technology, the penetration rate of portable devices such as electronic dictionaries, mobile phones, and the like has been rapidly increasing. In addition, the portable devices have become more convenient in terms of portability.
Despite the convenience of portability, often times, user may lose a portable device, for example, when it accidentally slips out of his or her pocket, and so on.
To this end, a conventional apparatus for preventing the loss of a portable terminal according to the prior art will be described with reference to FIG. 1.
FIG. 1 is a configuration view illustrating the conventional apparatus for preventing the loss of a portable terminal.
The conventional apparatus for preventing the loss of a portable terminal shown in FIG. 1 includes a transmitter unit 21, a receiver unit 22, and an output unit 23. The transmitter unit 21 generates and transmits a predetermined magnitude of magnetic force. The receiver unit 22 measures a magnetic change of the magnetic force in accordance with a distance to the transmitter unit 21, and outputs a warning control signal CTL when the magnetic change is greater than a reference signal. The output unit 23 outputs a warning signal OUT-S in response to the warning control signal CTL.
The above-described construction is disclosed in Korea Patent Application Publication No. 2006-0029561.
However, the conventional apparatus for preventing the loss of a portable terminal utilizes magnetic force, which may cause malfunction in an environment with large surrounding magnetic changes such as in taxi, subway and structures of metal frames.

Apparatus and method for preventing loss of portable terminal


The invention provides immunosuppressive polypeptides and nucleic acids encoding such polypeptides. In one aspect, the invention provides mutant CTLA-4 polypeptides and nucleic acids encoding mutant CTLA-4 polypeptides. Compositions and methods for utilizing such polypeptides and nucleic acids are also provided.

T cells play a major role in the initiation and regulation of immune responses. For complete activation of T cells to occur, at least two distinct signaling events are required. A first signal is produced by the interaction of T cell receptors (TCR) expressed on T cells with specific antigens (Ag) presented in the context of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecules expressed on antigen-presenting cells (APCs). A second (co-stimulation) signal results from the interaction between co-stimulatory ligands expressed on APCs and their corresponding receptors expressed on T cells. A dominant co-stimulation pathway involves the interaction between the CD80 (B7-1 or B7.1) and CD86 (B7-2 or B7.2) ligands expressed on APCs with CD28 and CTLA-4 (also known as CD152) expressed mainly on T cells. CTLA-4 (cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen 4) and CD28 serve as receptors for the CD80 and CD86 ligands.
Positive signaling is mediated through the CD28 receptor. Binding of the CD80 and/or CD86 ligand(s) to CD28 lowers the threshold of T cell activation by promoting the formation of immunological synapses (Viola A. et al., Science 283:680-682 (1999)). Additionally, CD28 co-stimulation activates or enhances the production of factors central to T cell proliferation and survival, such as interleukin-2 (IL-2), NF-κB, and Bcl-XL (Norton S. D. et at., J. Immunol. 149:1556-1561 (1992); Vella A. T. et al., J. Immunol. 158: 4714-4720 (1997)). In vivo, CD28-deficient mice are severely immunocompromised and show poor antigen-specific T cell responses (Green, J. M. et al., Immunity 1:501-508 (1994)). T cell anergy or tolerance may result when T cells are activated in the absence of the costimulatory signal.
Negative signaling is mediated through the CTLA-4 receptor. The CD80 and CD86 ligands each bind with high avidity to CTLA-4 and counterbalance immunoproliferative responses derived from CD28 signaling. Potential mechanisms of CTLA-4 signaling include competitive binding of co-stimulatory molecules CD80/CD86 (Masteller, E. M. et al., J. Immunol. 164:5319 (2000)), inhibition of TCR signaling by induction of phosphatases to the immunosynapse (Lee K. M. et al., Science 282:2263 (1998)), and disruption of the immunological synapse (Pentcheva-Hoang T. et al., Immunity 21:401 (2004); Chikuma S. et al., J. Exp. Med. 197:129 (2003); Schneider H. et al., Science 313: 1972 (2006)). In vivo, CTLA-4 deficient mice show profound autoimmune phenotypes characterized by massive tissue infiltration and organ destruction (Waterhouse P. et al., Science 270:985 (1995)).
Therapeutic agents designed to antagonize the CD80/CD86 co-stimulation pathway, such as soluble human CTLA-4-Ig, hold promise for the treatment of autoimmune diseases and disorders. The present invention provides advantageous molecules having improved abilities to modulate or suppress signaling through the CD80/CD86 co-stimulation pathway and methods of using such molecules for selected and differential manipulation of T cell responses. Such molecules are of beneficial use in a variety of applications as discussed in detail below.

Immunosuppressive polypeptides and nucleic acids


Methods, apparatus and systems for wireless writing tracking are described. In one example, a described system comprises: a transmitter configured for transmitting a first wireless signal through a wireless multipath channel of a venue; a receiver configured for receiving a second wireless signal through the wireless multipath channel; and a processor. The second wireless signal comprises a reflection of the first wireless signal by a tip of a writing instrument in the venue. The processor is configured for: obtaining a time series of channel information (CI) of the wireless multipath channel based on the second wireless signal, wherein each CI comprises at least one of: a channel state information (CSI), channel impulse response (CIR), channel frequency response (CFR), or received signal strength index (RSSI); and tracking a movement of the tip of the writing instrument based on the time series of CI (TSCI).

In the era of pervasively connected and sensed Internet of Things, many human-machine interactions have been shifted from a conventional computer keyboard or mouse to hand gestures and writing in the air. While gesture recognition and handwriting recognition have been studied, most existing handwriting tracking systems require cameras, handheld sensors, or dedicated hardware limiting user experience, convenience and usage scaling. A high-precision passive handwriting tracking system is desirable.

Method, apparatus, and system for wireless writing tracking


The present invention relates to a discrete optical correlation system. One embodiment of the present invention includes a portable electrical illumination system and an optically opaque hollow module, configured to releasably couple to the portable electrical illumination system in a manner such that when the portable electrical illumination system is activated, the system produces a discrete correlated or focused illumination output. The portable electrical illumination system further includes a light emitting diode, a power source, a switch, and a coupling mechanism. The optically opaque hollow module further includes at least two openings, a hollow internal region, an optically opaque outer surface, and a coupling mechanism disposed on at least one of the at least two openings. A fourth embodiment relates creating an adjustable aperture between two optically opaque sleeves sliding over an optically transparent module coupled to the portable electrical illumination system.

Portable illumination systems may be used to provide illumination in both dispersed and focused light patterns. Dispersed illumination systems allow light to transmit in a variety of directions, while focused illumination systems contain or focus light in a particular direction. Depending on the application and light source, a user may require dispersed light, focused light, or a combination thereof.
Various electrical illumination systems mimic the dispersed illumination characteristics of chemical light sticks. These systems involve transmitting an electrically powered light source into a translucent member such that the illumination from the light source is transmitted through the translucent portions of the translucent member. These electrical systems provide users with the advantage of turning on and off the illumination and replacing the power source so as to extend the operating life of the system. However, in certain applications a user may prefer to utilize a focused or correlated light source. While it is possible to carry both a dispersed and focused light system, it is generally preferable to carry a single unit that is capable of both types of illumination. Existing illumination systems provide configurations capable of dispersed illumination and a combination of focused and dispersed illumination. Unfortunately, these systems do not enable a dispersed lighting system to be conveniently adjusted to provide discrete focused illumination.
Therefore, there is a need in the industry for a discrete optical correlation system that can conveniently be used on or in conjunction with an existing portable illumination system in order to provide discrete correlated or focused illumination.

Discrete optical correlation system with adjustable aperture


An improved endoscopic instrument suitable for performing internal procedures through a trocar in which the instrument handle is provided with a control mechanism for rotating the instrument thereby enabling a surgeon to manipulate and utilize the instrument with one hand.

The present invention relates to medical instruments particularly endoscopic instruments used for procedures such as internal surgery.
Conventional endoscopic instruments for internal surgery such as scissors, graspers, ligators, forceps, dissectors, endoloops, cautery, etc., are useable with a surgical trocar. The instruments comprise an operating handle, an elongate tube for projecting the instrument through a trocar, and working components such as scissor blades fitted to the operating end of the elongate tube. The tube encases a linkage interconnecting the handle and the working components so that by manipulating the handles the instrument is employed. In operation it is usually necessary to rotate the working components with respect to the longitudinal axis of the elongate tube in order to place the instrument in proper orientation for a medical procedure. Conventional instruments include a rotary wheel attached to the elongate tube for rotating the tube and working components as necessary to achieve proper orientation. This arrangement is simple and straightforward, however the arrangement does require the operator to use both hands, i.e., the right hand manipulates the instrument handle while the left manipulates the rotary wheel to orient the instrument working components to correct angle of attack. There is need for an endoscopic instrument enabling a surgeon to use only one hand for orienting and actuating the working components of the instrument.


The present invention provides a ball seat apparatus for actuating a downhole component. The ball drop apparatus comprises a plurality of ball seat bores and at least one passage extending therethrough.

The present invention relates to a ball drop apparatus and method. More specifically, the present invention relates to a ball drop apparatus and method for performing downhole operations.
In the downhole environment, ball drop activation devices are used in a variety of applications, including, but not limited to, disconnects, circulation valves, reversing valves, impacting or jarring tools, inflatable packers, etc. With a ball drop apparatus, a ball is dropped and/or pumped through a wellbore tubular to actuate a downhole tool or component. After the ball is seated on a landing seat, typically formed in a bore of a ball seat body, hydraulic pressure can be applied to operate the tool mechanism.
When a ball drop apparatus is utilized as a coiled tubing disconnect, for example, a ball drop disconnect is robust with few accidental disconnects and reliable when needed. A ball drop apparatus is not typically run with wireline disposed inside the coiled tubing. A large diameter ball, and resulting large diameter ball seat bore, is required to form an adequate passage for fluid flowing through the coiled tubing. A large diameter ball can become stuck in the bore of coiled tubing. If small diameter balls are used, as they are typically easier to circulate, the required small diameter ball landing seat can impede fluid flow, increasing the velocity of flow through the seat making it more susceptible to erosion of the ball seat.
There exists, therefore, a need for an improved ball drop tool-activation device.

Downhole tool actuation apparatus and method


Improved reflective pavement marker is disclosed having a unitary hollow structural body molded in situ about at least one pre-formed retro-reflective lens plate. The unitary structural body has a base surface partially sealed with a compatible sheet includes exterior surface with multiple protruded grooves.

Roadway markers are mounted on the surface of a roadway, along centerlines, edge lines, to delineate lanes for vehicular traffic.
Examples of commonly used retro-reflective pavement markers using a shell like housing filled with structural polymeric filler material are based on Heenan U.S. Pat. No. 3,332,327, Balint U.S. Pat. No. 3,409,344, or Hedgewick U.S. Pat. No. 5,002,424.
This type of markers are made of three to four steps or processes:
Firstly, injection molding a thermoplastic housing (shell), integrally molded with one or two reflective faces, the shell coated with a reflective metallic sealer by a process known as vacuum metalizing, the shell is then filled with a resinous filler material encapsulating the metalized cube corner reflective elements, thereby provide the marker the impact resistance structural body. This type of markers worked well for several months; however, due to sharp exterior geometric edge configuration and the incompatibility of the material composition for forming this type of markers with potted shell, often causes pealing and chipping of the reflective faces, thereby losing retro-reflectivity. Several method of applying abrasion resistant coating has been used to improve such pavement markers.
Other major development in the pavement marker art has been made; this was achieved by eliminating the use of the metalized sealer for the cube corner reflective elements. This applicant's U.S. Pat. No. 4,726,706, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, divide the inside surfaces of the reflective faces into reflective cells, each cell having multiple cube corner reflective elements, the cells isolated from each other by partition and load carrying walls. The inside surfaces of the reflective faces are sealed with a thin polymeric sheet. Other prior art pavement markers have been designed attempting to reduce oncoming tire impact, attain better daytime visibility by incorporating luminescence color dyes or pigmentations. U.S. Pat. No. 5,667,335 to Khieu discloses a pavement marker comprises of three distinct parts, a base part with structural walls defining hollow cavities, a fiber reinforced shell having two inclined faces with at least one face having raised energy directors within a recessed area and at least one reflective lens plate having cube corner reflective elements.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,102,612 to Pricone discloses a sun country pavement marker 105 comprises a body member 110, a top member 130, and one or two reflective lens plates 192 agglutinated within designated recesses. In order to form hollowed body member 110, the top surface is open defining the hollowed body, which is sonically sealed with the additional third member 130 to complete a unitary structural body.
Several prior arts attempted to utilize a unitary structural body for reflective pavement marker fabrication. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,392,728 to Spear et al discloses an extruded one piece body with constant cross section having abrupt vertical sides which can be strongly felt during tire impact.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,875,798 to May et al discloses a pavement marker having one piece rigid body supported with partitions walls forming multiple hollow cavities which are open at the base surface. These open cavities at the base eliminated considerable bonding base surface parameter, thereby reduced the bond to the roadway surface.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,109,821 to Montalbano discloses a pavement marker with one piece solid body made of a closed cell foam thermoplastic. This type of material has limited durability due to the air entrapment for creating a low density solid plastic body.
The use of monolithically formed one piece hollowed structural body integrally containing multiple load carrying walls with wedge shaped top ends was disclosed by this Applicant's U.S. Pat. No. 6,267,530, No. 6,334,734 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,579,036. Although the wedged shape top surfaces of the load carrying walls within the recessed area of the front and back faces of the structural body of '036 was deemed to be sufficient for directly welding the reflective lens plate. However, there was no recognition apparent from the '530, 734 or '036 patents that the energy directors at top of each partition wall defining the reflective cells within the lens plate need to land and subsequently welded to a flat region on top of each wedge shaped top regions of the partition walls within the recessed faces of the structural body.
Also, there was no recognition apparent from the '530, '734 or '036 patents that the base surface of the structural body can integrally incorporate two types of grooves, a recessed deep grooves (cavities) within the center portion of the base region to reduce the polymeric material used to form the marker body and multiple slightly protruded grooves beneath the front, sides and back faces of the marker body. It has been found that by integrally incorporating at least one recessed V-shaped channel within the base surface will improve agglutination by reducing air bubble entrapment during agglutination of the marker base to a substrate, acting as air bleeding channel. The present invention's raised pavement marker with tilted, multi angular sides attain better daytime visibility by exposing larger non-reflective exterior surfaces areas to the vehicular traffic. Such frontal non-reflective surfaces within the marker body of the present invention are especially effective when incorporating fluorescent colorant dyes such as (thioxanthene) compounds, phosphorescent pigments such as (Strontium) and other luminescent dyes manufactured by pigment and dye manufacturers such as BASF, Day Glo Inc, American Dye Source Inc. Ciba-Geigy Corporation and others. Such colorants are added to the polymeric matrix as a blend to provide luminance yellow, orange, red or other colorant appearance for improving day time appearance and night time fluorescent visibility.
An example of such readily available fluorescent dye blends are D-191 and D-098 (yellow), D-063 and D-315 (orange) which are manufactured by Day-Glo Inc.
There is a continuous development of new and improved fluorescent colorants by several dye and pigment manufacturers. Some have developed new proprietary phosphorescent pigment that can glows for hours. By incorporating (Strontium), an earth alkaline, a self-emitting light technology allows an after glow time to exceed 12 hours which make it to be ideal luminous pigment for traffic safety applications. Many of these proprietary dyes chemistry are based on compounds that include (Thioxanthene) dyes.
These types of dyes are readily available in the market place as proprietary owned by others. Incorporating luminescent materials within traffic marking objects is a well known art. Several prior arts have utilized fluorescent colorants for traffic and pavement marking devices. As an example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,592,777 assigned to Owens-Illinois; U.S. Pat. No. 3,830,682 to William Rowland; U.S. Pat. No. 3,908,055 to Susuki et al; U.S. Pat. No. 4,208,300 to Phillippe Gravisse and U.S. Pat. No. 5,213,711 to Fast et al.
This invention also provides an alternative method of monolithically injection molding the unitary structural body in situ about one or two lens plate structures.
The lens plate structures utilized to form a reflective pavement marker in accordance to the present invention may be either simultaneously formed within the same rotary mold used in a two color (or two materials) injection molding machine, in one or two rotational steps. Alternatively, the lens Plates are pre-formed and inserted within a defined portion of a mold used to form the unitary body in a one-color injection molding machine. Both, the pre-insertion process (using a one-color injection molding machine) or simultaneously forming the transparent lens plates and the unitary body in a two-color injection molding machine allows the molding of the unitary marker body in situ about one or two lens plate means. These processes can be used to provide cavity means within the unitary structural body for pre insertion of other devices, such as luminance tube with LED as power source that may be used for light emitting or flashing light control means. Some devices may be controlled via light control information or programs stored in device memory and/or transmitted or downloaded to the devices. Devices also may include sensors so that the generated light may change in response to various operating or a user input.
This invention's unitary marker body can also be provided with means to embed photovoltaic cells within the top planar surface and utilized as a rechargeable power source for LED.
The goal of this invention is to have a highly versatile process for making a durable raised reflective pavement marker with high daytime and nighttime visibility and reflectance, low cost and can incorporate fluorescent dyes for light glowing or flashing effects which is utilizing the monolithically formed one piece structural body.
It has been found that incorporating one row of hollow cavities with variable depth on each side of the lens plates and open within the base surface will act as a shock absorber when vehicular tire impact the outer side of these hollow cavities, thereby minimize deflection caused by the impact stresses which may lead to lens plates dislodgement from the recessed face regions of the body.

Unitary body for reflective pavement marker

Abstract: An alternative structural body can have a sealed base surface including multiple protruded and recessed grooves with at least one inclined face having a recessed area for receiving a pre-formed lens plate attachment.

Abstract: The planar base surface of said unitary structural body includes an impact absorbing hollow cavities extending along the sides of the inclined reflective faces and incorporate multiple of protruded rectangular grooves.

Abstract: The structural body can incorporate various pigmentations or luminescent colorant compounds such as compounds containing thioxanthene dyes or phosphorescent pigment such as strontium to provide fluorescent self emitting light after glow to improve day and night visual display when illuminated with light within the ultraviolet wavelength range.


There is provided inter alia a substrate with a surface having a hydrophilic coating comprising a cross-linked copolymer of components A and B, and optional components C and D; wherein    component A comprises one or more C2-C16 hydrophilic monomers each bearing one or more alkene and/or alkyne groups;    component B comprises one or more hydrophilic polymers each bearing two or more alkene and/or alkyne groups;    component C, if present, comprises one or more beneficial agents each bearing one or more alkene or alkyne groups; and    component D, if present, comprises one or more low molecular weight cross-linking agents each bearing two or more functional groups independently selected from thiol, alkene and alkyne groups;    wherein the cross-linked copolymer is formed by radical polymerization involving the alkene and/or alkyne groups of components A, B and C (if present) and involving the functional groups of component D (if present);    wherein the hydrophilic coating optionally comprises component E which comprises one or more beneficial agents, wherein component E does not form a copolymer with components A, B, C (if present) and D (if present);    and wherein the hydrophilic coating is covalently attached to the surface of the substrate.

Medical devices such as catheters, guide wires, retractable sheaths and stents commonly have surface coatings that are intended to increase the physical performance of the device and enhance longevity. Of particular interest are hydrophilic coatings which may also impart lubricity to the coated device.
Lubricity describes the property of "slipperiness" or "smoothness". Lubricious coatings are particularly useful for intracorporeal devices where their lubricity results in reduced frictional forces once a device is introduced and moved within the body, thereby enhancing patient comfort and reducing inflammation and tissue trauma. Lubricious coatings vary in composition but for use in an aqueous environment in vivo, such coatings are typically hydrophilic and wettable. As well as reducing friction, hydrophilic coatings also tend to be resistant to protein adhesion, therefore they have the potential to reduce or eliminate thrombosis. Examples of hydrophilic coating materials include coatings based on polyvinylpyrrolidone, poly(ethylene oxide) and polyurethane, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,642,267 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,461,311.
The manufacture of hydrophilic, lubricious coatings for use in vivo can present various difficulties. Such coatings are often prepared using organic solvents where residual traces of which must be removed to be below toxic limits according to current guidance and practice. Coated medical devices must also be able to withstand sterilisation procedures without the coating being chemically and/or physically altered or delaminated from the device.
One approach to forming a hydrophilic coating is to physically entrap functional hydrophilic polymers within a network of a supporting polymer that provides the necessary adherence to the surface of a substrate. These coatings are often referred to as interpenetrating networks (IPNs) and generally consist of a first functional polymer that imparts the desired properties to the coating (in this case hydrophilicity) and a supporting polymer that is chemically cross-linked in order to form a cross-linked polymer network. WO2008/130604 discloses an IPN formed by interspersing a hydrophilic polymer network such as polyethylene glycol with ionisable monomers such as acrylic acid, then polymerising the ionisable monomer to form the IPN, which when swollen with water is said to form coatings of high compressive strength and lubricity.
However, a disadvantage of having the hydrophilic polymer entrapped within an IPN rather than being chemically bonded to the coating is that the hydrophilic polymer may migrate out of the IPN over time. As such, the coating will gradually lose hydrophilicity. More significantly, however, the release of such particulates from the coatings of intracorporeal devices may pose a health risk for patients. Therefore, minimizing particulation is of importance for many medical devices. It should be noted that particulation is not just a concern for IPNs—all polymer coatings can potentially form particulates on the surface which can be released in vivo.
While the release in vivo of particulates/aggregates (known as particulation) from the surface of a coating may pose difficulties in the design and manufacture of the coating, removal of the coating itself via delamination or detachment from the substrate is also potentially a problem, both in terms of the health risks mentioned above and of the durability of the coating.
Considering durability, a coating can be removed from a substrate either by gradual erosion of the substance of the coating and/or by the coating being detached from surface of the substrate. Thus, one way to enhance the durability of a coating is to strengthen the binding between the coating and the surface of the substrate. This can be achieved, inter alia, by treating the surface to be coated with a primer in order to achieve better adhesion between the coating and the surface.
An ideal primer is one that can be universally applied to any substrate. In this regard, the use of polydopamine as a primer has attracted great interest since the discovery that simple immersion of a substrate in a dilute aqueous solution of dopamine, buffered to alkaline pH, results in the spontaneous deposition of a polydopamine film on the substrate. Messersmith et al. (Science, 2007, 318, 426-430) demonstrated that a polydopamine coating is able to form on virtually any type of substrate surface, including metals, metal oxides, ceramics, synthetic polymers and a wide range of other hydrophilic and hydrophobic materials. Polydopamine coatings have been used as a platform for the conjugation of synthetic polymers or biomolecules to a surface, as illustrated in WO2011/005258 which discloses the attachment of amine-functionalised polyethylene glycol ("PEG-NH2") to a polydopamine coating, to provide a hydrophilic outer layer for the prevention of biofilm formation.
Coatings which are hydrophilic and preferably lubricious can be advantageously modified to include an agent having pharmacological activity, such as an anticoagulant, to impart further beneficial properties to the coating. US 2003/0135195 teaches a medical device such as a catheter with a highly lubricious hydrophilic coating formed from a mixture of colloidal aliphatic polyurethane polymer, an aqueous dilution of poly(1-vinylpyrrolidone-co-2-dimethylaminoethylmethacrylate)-PVP and dendrimers. The document teaches that the coating can be applied to the device by dipping the device in a colloidal dispersion of the aliphatic polyurethane polymer in a solution of poly(1-vinylpyrrolidone-co-2-dimethylaminoethylmethacrylate)-PVP and an active agent (e.g. heparin) in a mixture of dendrimer, water, N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone and triethylamine. The document also teaches that heparin can be contained in the voids within the dendrimers, and that the loaded heparin will elute from the hydrophilic polymer matrix at a predetermined rate.
In summary, there remains a need for improved hydrophilic coatings for surfaces, particularly for the surfaces of devices that are inserted into the body. Preferably, such coatings are lubricious, durable, non-toxic, low particulating, sterilizable, biocompatible and readily applied to a surface.


Resins which are the copolymers of an alpha-olefin, a cyclic olefin, and an aromatic-group-containing monomer are provided. The cyclic olefins retain their cyclic structures and the aromatic-group-containing monomers retain their aromatic structures after copolymerization into the resin product. Methods for production of the new resins in the presence of a metallocene catalyst system are also provided. New adhesive compositions containing the resin and articles using the new adhesive compositions are also part of the invention.

Tackifier resins typically have a low number average molecular weight (M.sub.n) for compatibility and a high glass transition temperature (T.sub.g) for strength. Blending a tackifier resin with a higher molecular weight elastomer or base polymer, generally results in a blend that is particularly desirable in adhesive and sealant applications. The tack and adhesion properties of various base polymers can be significantly improved by combining the base polymer with a tackifier resin to produce a blend having a lower number average molecular weight and a higher glass transition temperature (T.sub.g) than the unblended base polymer. Tackifiers can be synthesized to contain only carbon and hydrogen, as in petroleum resins and polyterpenes, or can also contain oxygen such as coumarone-indenes or can be recovered from naturally occurring substances such as rosin esters.
Tackifiers are typically low molecular weight hydrocarbon resins produced by the polymerization of various feedstocks, typically olefin, diolefin, aliphatic, aromatic, or mixtures thereof. Typical polymerization systems include carbocationic and thermal polymerization.
Carbocationic polymerization of tackifier resins typically uses a Friedel-Crafts catalyst to polymerize aliphatic and/or aromatic monomers, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,966,690. Typical aliphatic monomers are C.sub.5 to C.sub.6 paraffins, olefins, and diolefins. Typical aromatic monomers are alkylated benzenes or higher aromatics containing at least one vinylic unsaturation. However, because of the low catalyst activity levels combined with high catalyst to monomer ratios attributable to a Friedel-Crafts process, this process requires additional processing steps to purify the resin. These additional process steps result in aluminous waste water and chlorinated organic by-products which must be accounted for in the overall production costs. Furthermore, Friedel-Crafts produced resins typically result in relatively high Gardner color values of greater than 2. A lower color is desirable for many commercial applications. Thus, in order to reduce the color of the resins, further costly processing such as hydrogenation is required prior to use.
Thermal polymerization of tackifiers is typically a Diels-Alder reaction of cyclopentadiene and/or dicyclopentadiene derivatives, and optionally C.sub.4 -C.sub.5 acyclic conjugated dienes and/or alkyl aromatic monomers containing at least one polymerizable group. Thermal polymerization takes place without a catalyst, therefore eliminating the costs associated with aluminous water and chlorinated by-products. However, tackifier resins produced by thermal polymerization have a high degree of unsaturation resulting in a Gardner color typically greater than 5. Therefore, to meet many commercial requirements, additional costly processing steps are required to reduce the color of the resins. For additional background on traditional hydrocarbon resins useful as tackifiers, see Kirk-Othmer Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology, 4th ed., 1995, vol. 13, pp. 717-743.
Until now useful tackifiers have not typically been produced using coordination catalysis. Coordination catalysis, such as traditional Ziegler-Natta polymerization systems, have not been used to produce polymers having both a low M.sub.n and a high T.sub.g generally needed in tackifier applications. Titanium-based catalyst systems using organoaluminum cocatalysts are known to copolymerize ethylene and cyclic-olefins. However, these titanium-based processes suffer from inefficiencies in comonomer incorporation and the presence of side reactions, such as ring opening polymerization of the cyclic-olefin, resulting in copolymers having a broad molecular weight distribution. Vanadium-based catalyst systems using organoaluminum cocatalysts offer improved comonomer incorporation relative to titanium, but because the polymerization activity is generally very low, these types of catalyst are not typically used commercially.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,059,487 discloses a hot melt adhesive comprising a vinyl-aromatic compound/conjugated diene copolymer, an alicyclic hydrocarbon resin tackifier, and a random cyclic copolymer of ethylene and a cyclic olefin. The cyclic copolymer is not a tackifier as it is added to improve high temperature performance and can only be added to the adhesive in limited quantities since it increases the viscosity of the adhesive.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,003,019 discloses the use of a metallocene catalyst system using an alumoxane activator to produce copolymers of cyclic-olefins and alpha-olefins, but demonstrate only high M.sub.n thermoplastics. EPA 0 504 418 A1 discloses a metallocene coordination catalyst system to produce homopolymers and copolymers of cyclic-olefins with either very high or very low T.sub.g 's, but demonstrate only homopolymers or high M.sub.n copolymers either of which have little value for typical tackifier applications.
Thus, the need exists for novel tackifiers having a desirably low M.sub.n and high T.sub.g while offering the further advantage of possessing good color. Furthermore, a need exists to produce low color tackifier resins without the need for additional costly processing steps. A production process minimizing aluminous waste water and chlorinated organic by-products would also be desirable.

Tackifiers and a process to obtain tackifiers


A method of measuring concentrations of gas mixtures is disclosed in which an ionic liquid and/or low vapor-pressure organic solvent is exposed to a gas mixture being tested to form a solution of the gas components in the liquid. The vapor pressure of the solution is then measured at one or more other temperatures and compared to predicted vapor pressures based on known individual vapor pressure profiles of the gas components in the liquid in order to determine the actual proportions of the components in the gas sample.

The subject matter disclosed herein generally relates to methods and apparatus for determining concentrations of gas mixtures.
With modern sophisticated chemical analytical techniques such as gas chromatography—mass spectrometry, it is generally possible to determine the composition of gas mixtures with a relatively high degree of precision. However, such sophisticated techniques can be time consuming and expensive, and simpler, faster, and/or less expensive techniques are often desired. In some situations, the identity of the components in a gas mixture may already be known with reasonable certainty, and it is only necessary to determine the concentrations of the already-identified components of the mixture.
One example of this is with a refrigeration system such as a chiller or air conditioning system having a heat transfer loop with a refrigerant flowing through it. In the past, refrigerants used in heat transfer loops often consisted of a single compound such as R-12, R-22, or R-134a. However, increasing demands for refrigerants that can meet demanding specifications across a number of parameters, such as heat transfer performance, ozone depletion potential (ODP), global warming potential (GWP), toxicity, and/or flammability, have necessitated that blends of different compounds for use as refrigerants in order to provide desired performance. The use of refrigerant blends, however, can lead to problems in monitoring and maintaining refrigeration system performance. For example, refrigeration systems can be prone to developing leaks in the refrigerant loop. With a single-compound refrigerant, a small leak may not have a significant adverse impact on system performance until a substantial quantity of refrigerant has leaked out of the system. With a blended refrigerant, however, a leak can cause fractionation, which alters the composition of the refrigerant blend remaining in the system and can adversely impact refrigerant properties or performance. Therefore, it is desirable to be able to determine the concentration of components in a refrigerant blend.
Attempts have been made to determine refrigerant blend compositions by monitoring the refrigerant state (e.g., temperature and pressure) at different locations in the refrigerant loop. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,079,217 discloses a refrigeration system that attempts to determine the composition of a ternary blend of four refrigerants by measuring the refrigerant states (e.g., pressure and temperature) at the inlet and outlet of expansion device, such that the composition of blend can be determined based on the isenthalpic assumption and the vapor-liquid-equilibrium diagram. Such attempts, however, are subject to a number of disadvantages, such as only being useful for non-azeotropic blends, lack of portability, and they require the permanent installation of costly temperature and pressure sensors and control subsystems in each refrigeration system.

Method of measuring concentrations of gas mixtures


In a liquid-type developing apparatus of this invention, a developing head has a hollow portion having a slit-shaped opening having as a longitudinal direction a direction perpendicular to the convey direction of a recording sheet, and a partitioning wall for dividing the hollow portion into developing liquid flow-in and flow-out chambers and having a top portion located at the slit-shaped opening. A plurality of projecting portions and a plurality of recessed portions for constituting a developing portion are formed on the top portion of the partitioning wall. The plurality of projecting portions and recessed portions are alternately disposed at a predetermined pitch to form stripes in the longitudinal direction of the slit-shaped opening. The direction of the stripes is set to be oblique to the convey direction of the recording sheet. The height of each projecting portion is set to be equal to that of the slit-shaped opening, and the height of each recessed portion is set to be lower than that of the slit-shaped opening.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for developing, e.g., an electrostatic latent image on a recording sheet by using a developing liquid and, more particularly, to a liquid-type developing apparatus including a developing head having a hermetic structure.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, a liquid-type developing apparatus of this type has an arrangement as follows. FIG. 19 is a schematic diagram showing the arrangement of an apparatus of this type disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 4,289,092. This apparatus has a developing head 1, a developing liquid container 3, and a suction pump 5. The developing liquid container 3 is coupled to a developing liquid inlet port 1i of the developing head 1 through a pipe 2. The suction pump 5 is coupled to a developing liquid outlet port 1j of the developing head 1 through a pipe 4.
The developing head 1 is constituted by lower and upper base bodies 1a and 1b, as shown in the enlarged view of FIG. 20. The lower and upper base bodies 1a and 1b respectively form rod-like shapes. The lower and upper base bodies 1a and 1b are integrated by being bonded to each other. Buffer chambers 1c and 1d are formed in the developing head 1. The buffer chamber 1c communicates with the developing liquid inlet port 1i. The buffer chamber 1d communicates with the developing liquid outlet port 1j. A plurality of partitioning walls 1e and 1f are alternately formed in the lower and upper base bodies 1a and 1b, respectively. These partitioning walls 1e and 1f constitute slit-shaped opening portions 1h. The length of the slit-shaped opening portions 1h is set to be smaller than the width of a recording sheet on which development is performed. The top portions of the partitioning walls 1e and 1f, serve as support surfaces of the recording sheet. The height of the top portion of each partitioning wall 1e is set to be slightly smaller than that of the top portion of each partitioning wall 1f. Gaps formed by the differences between the heights of these top portions serve as the developing liquid feed paths. Reference numeral 1g denotes a slit for suction drying.
With the arrangement as described above, an electrostatic latent image formed on the recording sheet is developed in the following manner. That is, the recording sheet having the electrostatic latent image formed thereon is conveyed to the developing head 1 with its surface having the latent image facing downward, and is set at a position to oppose the slit-shaped opening portions 1h. In this state, the suction pump 5 is operated. Then, air in the buffer chambers 1d and 1c of the developing head 1 is discharged by suction through the pipe 4, and the recording sheet is sucked to the slit-shaped opening portions 1h. Upon suction of the recording sheet, the entire developing head 1 is set at a negative pressure, and hence the developing liquid is drawn by suction from the developing liquid container 3 through the pipe 2. The buffer chamber 1c connected to the developing liquid inlet port 1i fills with the developing liquid. The developing liquid flows to the buffer chamber 1d connected to the developing liquid outlet port 1j through a curved path formed by the partitioning walls 1e and 1f, and is circulated to the developing liquid container 3 through the pipe 4 and the suction pump 5. In the developing head 1, the developing liquid flows through a gap formed by the difference between the heights of the partitioning walls 1e and 1f, thereby performing development of the recording sheet. If the partitioning walls 1e are formed by a metal, their top portions serve as a developing electrode.
In this conventional developing head, however, the slit-shaped opening portions 1h for development form a long member in the widthwise direction of the recording sheet. Thus, when the interior of the developing head is set at the negative pressure, the slit-shaped opening portions 1h tend to bend the recording sheet by drawing it into the slits. Then, the recording sheet is flexed, and it becomes difficult to precisely maintain the gap defined between the recording sheet and the top portions of the partitioning walls 1e. When the type of the recording sheet is changed, the stiffness of the sheet is changed, and thus the gap described above is changed to vary the developing performance.
In order to prevent this drawback, the difference between the heights of the partitioning walls 1e and 1f may be decreased to maintain the gap at a small value, or the width of the top portion of each partitioning wall 1e may be increased. With this arrangement, however, the in the recording sheet caused by the negative pressure eliminates the gap to disable flow of the developing liquid, and a variation occurs in the flow of the developing liquid to disable normal development. In order to prevent this, a large tension may be applied to the recording sheet, thus preventing the recording sheet from being bent. In this case, however, the convey mechanism for the recording sheet becomes complicated and increased in size. In addition, the recording sheet is unpreferably distorted or damaged.
Published Examined Japanese Patent Application No. 1-39109 discloses another developing head. The structure of this developing head is shown in FIG. 21. A large number of small barriers 22F are disposed in the slit-shaped opening portions in the checker manner. These barriers 22F support the recording sheet and decrease a bend in the recording sheet. Accordingly, the size of the gap is maintained at a substantially constant value, and thus a degradation in developing performance is prevented. With this developing head, however, the large number of complicated barriers 22F or the like must be formed. Thus, the structure of the head becomes very complicated, and its manufacture becomes difficult. In addition, the head becomes considerably expensive.

Liquid-type developing apparatus including developing head having hermetic structure


A level of liquid of pulverent solids in a container (or volume of a liquid in the absence of gravity) is detected by using radio frequency identification (RFID) tags or similar transponders located inside or outside the container. The interrogation signal and/or the return signal is attenuated by the material and the signal strength of the return signal, if any, is evaluated either directed or in a binary fashion by imposing a threshold to determine whether or not material in contained in a portion of the container corresponding to the location of a particular RFID tag or transponder. Volume, pressure and container orientation can also be derived in accordance with one or more return signals.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to remote measurement and telemetry and, more particularly, to rapid and automated measurement of material levels in containers or vessels and reporting of the results thereof.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Commercial and industrial environments present numerous circumstances and environments in which rapid measurement and reporting of material levels is required. Many require continuous or rapidly repeated (e.g. several times per second or more to support analysis of level variance) monitoring and/or measurement of many levels of many different materials in many containers substantially simultaneously.
While many sensors for measurement of material level are known, many are restricted to particular materials or materials having particular properties such as float sensors or optical reflection sensors for liquids while such sensors are inapplicable to solids. For example, a float of a float sensor may be buried by granular solid materials or fouled by viscous or adhesive materials while granular materials will not make intimate contact with the detection surface of an optical liquid level sensor which viscous or adhesive materials may also foul. Mechanical and optical sensors also tend to be expensive and generally introduce non-linearities (e.g. by a pivoting mechanism or discrete optical surfaces) into the measurement. Further, while these devices may provide effective measurement, they do not generally provide communication of the measurement results and complex additional wired and/or wireless communication systems must be employed in order to do so; often of substantial geographical extent. Such communication systems and hardware elements thereof as well as level sensors may have substantial sensitivity to the measured material which may, for example, present conductive, explosive or corrosive environments or otherwise constitute a potential source of damage to the communication system or present a potential safety hazard.
Moreover, level sensor systems can be quite expensive, especially when a large number of such sensors are required. Additionally, different types of level sensors adapted for different materials may produce outputs in a wide variety of forms and are not inherently calibrated, particularly among the different known types of level sensors. Therefore, substantial processing of the sensor outputs is generally required when material level sensors of different types are employed in a single system.
Radio frequency identification (RFID) systems are also known, principally for article placement and removal detection systems and systems intended to deter theft. In most such systems in current use, a transponder, often referred to as a tag (or RFID tag), is attached to an article of interest and produces a detectable radio frequency signal when interrogated. RFID tags may be either active (e.g. having a power supply associated therewith) or passive (e.g. deriving power from the interrogation signal to charge a capacitor) and may be extremely simple and inexpensive to produce. Perhaps the simplest form of an RFID tag involves an antenna and a very few circuit elements which receive a radio frequency (RF) signal of one frequency which is converted to another frequency and re-radiated. The necessary circuit elements and antenna of the RFID tags can be inexpensively produced together as a single unit in very large numbers by simple printing and laminating processes.
Such tags are often employed for theft deterrence where many articles must be protected by placing a transmitter/receiver unit near a point of egress from the protected premises. If a tag attached to a protected article is brought within range of such a detection unit, the tag will receive a signal, effectively interrogating the transponder, and the returned signal will be detected and the movement of the object reported by an alarm or the like. With only a small increase in complexity and cost, a substantial number of transponders of either the active or passive type can be made uniquely identifiable such as by providing detectably different frequencies as the return frequency. Transponders may also be uniquely identified by providing unique codes to be returned such as for use in automatic toll collection. However, at the present state of the art, the principal application of RFID systems has generally exploited the ability to use inexpensive tags to monitor large numbers of objects at particular locations rather for identification of individual objects.
Further, since transponder tags must be attached to or otherwise integrated with the monitored objects, RFID systems have not been useable for loose solid materials or liquids. In other words, known RFID systems may be readily applied to containers of liquids and packages of materials such as sacks of grain, sand, concrete and the like but not to the material itself such as when a fungible material (e.g. metal scrap, sand, concrete, etc.) is placed in or removed from a container.

Method for measuring material level in a container using RFID tags

International Business Machines Corporation


A connection between a building component in the form of a pipe, a mounting part, a housing or the like and a pipe-shaped line element of metal. The building component has an essentially radially extending, ring-shaped contact surface, against which a ring-shaped collar arranged on the line element is tensioned by fastening means that grip behind the collar. In the region between its inside and outside diameter, the collar has at least one axial thickening that extends ring-shaped around the axis for the line element, and that the thickening is produced by axially compressing at least one radially outward extending and at least one radially inward extending annular undulation, arranged adjacent in axial direction, of the wall that forms the collar.

The present invention relates to a connection between a building component in the form of a pipe, a mounting part, a housing or the like and a pipe-shaped line element of metal, wherein the building component has an essentially radially extending, ring-shaped contact surface in the region of its end facing the line element, against which there is clamped a ring-shaped collar that extends essentially parallel to the contact surface, the collar being arranged on the end of the line element and being clamped with the aid of fastening means that grip behind the collar and thereby fit against it.
In such arrangements, the line element can be a plain ended pipe, in particular a thin-walled pipe. However, the line element may be corrugated pipe, be a corrugated hose or a corrugated sheathing hose with spiral or ring-shaped undulations. As a rule, the line element has a circular cylindrical cross section, but other cross sections for the connection, in particular oval shapes, may be provided.
The building component may, for example, be a pipe, a mounting part, a housing or the like. More specifically, one can point to the valve housing of an arrangement for recycling exhaust gases, where a hot and aggressive exhaust gas flows through the line element and thus also the connection. Not only must the line element be temperature and corrosion resistant in this case, but the connection must also be absolutely leakproof to prevent the escape of exhaust gases.
For a connection of the type as described above, the collar is clamped against the contact surface of the building component. If the building component is provided with a flange at the end, this can be done by permitting a flange ring to grip behind the collar, which is then braced with the aforementioned flange, for example through screws. Alternatively the building component may have a ring-shaped thickening at the end or in the end region with essentially trapezoid axial cross section. The correspondingly slanted collar is placed beside the slanted surface of this thickening that faces the line element, wherein the total unit is then gripped, for example, by a clamp with a V-shaped cross section. By tightening the clamp, the thickening and the collar are pressed together axially. Another alternative is the provision of a screw connection between the housing and a nut, which tensions the collar against the contact surface.
In one example of such a connection, a ring-shaped seal ring is inserted between seating surface and collar to produce the necessary seal. However, this raises the costs for the connection and requires particular attention and additional measures when producing the connection because this component is easily lost.
Attempts have also been made to counter this by stamping a circular, axially projecting crimp into the collar. Even with this, however, a complete seal cannot be achieved with certainty because the crimp is again flattened by the tension forces generated when the connection is made, wherein dislocations or a folding of the material that forms the collar occur, which in particular stand in the way of a hermetic seal. This is especially true if the line element, and thus as a rule also the collar, have particularly thin walls for reasons of flexibility, where such a crimp hardly provides a significant internal stiffness.
It is, therefore, the object of the present invention to improve a connection of the above described type in such a way that it meets the requirements of a complete seal, without requiring an additional seal, but which at the same time has a simple, cost-effective and stable design.

Connection between a building component and a pipe-shaped line element

Witzenmann GmbH Metallschlauch-Fabrik Pforzheim


In a stealth dicing process for a semiconductor device with a low dielectric constant layer, the occurrence of poor appearance such as a defective shape or discoloration in the layer is reduced or prevented as follows. A low dielectric constant layer is formed in an interlayer insulating layer formed on the main surface of a semiconductor wafer. A laser beam is focused on the inside of the wafer from the reverse side of the wafer in order to form modified regions selectively. Each modified region is formed in a way to contact, or partially get into, the low dielectric constant layer. In this formation process, the semiconductor wafer is cooled by a cooling element. This reduces or prevents discoloration of the low dielectric constant layer which might occur due to the heat of a laser beam.

The present invention relates to semiconductor device manufacturing technology and more particularly to technology which is useful for the Stealth Dicing technology.
The Stealth Dicing technology is a technology whereby the inside of a semiconductor wafer is irradiated with a laser beam to create a modified layer selectively and the semiconductor wafer is cut with the modified layer as the splitting start point. According to this technology, even a very thin semiconductor wafer with a thickness of about 30 micrometers is directly cut without causing physical stress, chipping is reduced and the deflecting strength of each semiconductor chip is increased, resulting in improvement in semiconductor device yield and reliability. In addition, since high speed dicing at a rate of 300 mm/s or more can be done regardless of the semiconductor wafer thickness, throughput is improved.
This stealth dicing technology is referred to, for example, in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2004-235626. Disclosed in paragraphs 0048 to 0053 and FIGS. 19 and 20 of the document is a laser dicing technique whereby the reverse side of a wafer is irradiated with a laser beam to create a modified layer for dicing. In this method, the front side of the wafer is held in a cooling bath or on a cooling chuck which uses a Peltier device, in order to prevent rise in the temperature of the wafer.
Furthermore, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2005-57257 (paragraph 0087 and FIGS. 13 and 14), Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2005-47290 (paragraph 0040 and FIG. 16), and Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2004-1076 (paragraphs 0075 and 0076 and FIG. 23) disclose a technique whereby the reverse side of a wafer is irradiated with laser light focused on several points in the wafer thickness direction.
Moreover, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2005-28438 (paragraph 0022 and FIG. 3) discloses a technique whereby plural modified layers are formed inside a wafer in its depth direction and a laser beam is split by a splitter to make laser irradiation with laser light focused on points of different depths at a time. Also, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2003-173988 (paragraph 0011 and FIGS. 1 and 3) and Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2004-186635 (paragraph 0057 and FIG. 5) disclose a technique whereby, when the front side of a wafer is irradiated with a laser beam to melt the wafer for dicing, the laser beam passes through a water jet to guide the beam and cool cutting regions to prevent thermal deterioration.
Furthermore, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2004-282037 (paragraphs 0035, 0036 and 0049 and FIG. 2) discloses a technique whereby after half-dicing the upper surface of a wafer, a laser beam is cast on the diced regions to fuse or evaporate cut streaks. In this laser irradiation process, the wafer is placed in a processing bath under water to prevent rise in the temperature of the wafer.
Also, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. Hei 7 (1995)-256479 (paragraphs 0031 to 0034 and FIG. 1) discloses a dicing technique whereby a substrate is irradiated with a laser beam while it is placed in a processing bath under water, so that rise in the temperature of the substrate is prevented.
Furthermore, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2004-25187 (paragraphs 0010 and 0011 and FIG. 1) discloses a technique whereby one side of a wafer is cooled by a Peltier device and the other side is irradiated with a laser beam for dicing.
Also, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. Hei 9 (1997)-29472 (paragraphs 0027 to 0031 and FIGS. 1 and 2) discloses a technique whereby a splitting start point of a substrate is cooled by a Peltier device and a laser beam is irradiated from the other side to form an initial crack for splitting. In paragraphs 0022 to 0025 and FIG. 1 of the same document, a technique for improving the finish of the chip is disclosed whereby a wiring layer is formed to absorb the laser light in diced regions of a wafer with a low-k film formed thereon.
Furthermore, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2003-320466 (paragraphs 0007 and 0008) discloses a technique whereby a low dielectric constant film on a silicon wafer is removed with a laser beam before the wafer is diced. Also, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2003-151924 (paragraphs 0027 to 0029 and FIGS. 1 to 3) discloses a technique whereby while a slit is being made in one side of a wafer with a blade, at the same time a laser beam passed through the water reaches the other side of the wafer to dice the wafer.


A composition includes bone and collagen, wherein the collagen has been acid treated, and cross-linked via dehydrothermal treatment or by a cross-linking agent (e.g., a citric acid derivative) under a compressive force of at least approximately 40 MPa.

Bone is a composite material composed of impure hydroxyapatite, collagen, and a variety of non-collagenous proteins, as well as embedded and adherent cells. Bone can be processed into an implantable biomaterial, such as an allograft, for example, by removing the cells, leaving behind the extracellular matrix. The processed bone material can have a variety of properties, depending upon the specific processes and treatments applied to it, and may incorporate characteristics of other biomaterials with which it is combined. For example, bone-derived biomaterials may be processed into load-bearing mineralized grafts that support and integrate with the patient's bone or may alternatively be processed into soft, moldable, or flowable demineralized bone materials that have the ability to induce a cellular healing response.
The use of bone grafts and bone substitute materials in orthopedic medicine is well known. While bone wounds can regenerate without the formation of scar tissue, fractures and other orthopedic injuries take a long time to heal, during which the bone is unable to support physiologic loading. Metal pins, screws, and meshes are frequently required to replace the mechanical function of injured bone. However, metal is significantly stiffer than bone. Use of metal implants may result in decreased bone density around the implant site due to stress shielding. Furthermore, most metal implants are permanent and unable to participate in physiological remodeling.
Bone's cellular healing processes, using bone tissue formation by osteoblast cells coordinated with bone and graft resorption by osteoclast cells, permit bone grafts and certain bone substitute materials to remodel into endogenous bone that is almost indistinguishable from the original. However, the use of bone grafts is limited by the available shape and size of grafts and the desire to optimize both mechanical strength and degradation rate. Variations in bone size and shape among patients (and donors) also make bone grafts a less optimal substitute material. Bone substitute materials and bone chips are quickly remodeled but cannot immediately provide mechanical support.

Bone/collagen composites and uses thereof


A stereo camera has an automatic collimation correcting function and excellent operability of observing right and left pictures by one finder. Right and left photographing lenses 4R and 4L are linearly obliquely moved by an inter-optical axis distance/focus adjusting mechanism, and corrected to an inter-optical distance adapted to a focal distance. A composite prism 5 for synthesizing one picture by inverting the outer one-half portions of the photographing fields of the right and left photographing lenses is interlocked to the focal adjustment by a prism moving cam 16 to be moved back and forth, and the focal distance point on the central extension line of the stereo camera is disposed at the center between the right and left finder pictures irrespective of the inter-optical axes distance. The lateral width of the subject image is changed in response to a focal adjustment, and an accurate focus can be adjusted by varying the shape of the image.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a stereo camera and, particularly, to a stereo camera having a prism finder for synthesizing one picture by the one-half portions of photographing pictures of right and left lenses.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There are as a stereo camera having two photographing lenses aligned in parallel in one camera body, a reflex-type stereo camera which views the pictures of right and left photographing lenses separately by right and left pentaprisms and a rangefinder type stereo camera which views a photographing field by one range-finder type finder or a real image type finder.
The reflex-type stereo camera has an advantage that a user can view the actual photographing picture through photographing lenses, but the structure that the two finders are simultaneously viewed by two eyes is difficult to have easy operability from the structure that one finder is viewed by a single eye. Particularly, it is difficult to simultaneously view the two finders in a stereo camera in which the pitch between right and left finders exceeds a distance (about 63.5 mm is known) between two human eyes from being limited by the outer diameter of the lens and the size of the lens-mounting mechanism.
In the conventional stereo camera that the distance between the right and left lenses is fixed, non-overlapping areas are generated at the outside of the right and left pictures due to the difference of the photographing fields of the right and left lenses. There are disadvantages that the loss of the picture is large since it is necessary to mask the non-overlapping areas which do not obtain stereo effect at the time of mounting.
Accordingly, the inventor of the present invention has proposed a stereo camera in which a composite prism is provided to synthesize one picture by introducing the outer one-half portions (inner one-half portions of a film exposing surface) of the photographing fields of right and left photographing lenses, enabling the synthesized picture to be observed through one finder, wherein a mechanism for adjusting the distance between the optical axes of the lenses interlocked to a focal point adjusting mechanism is provided, so that the photographing fields of the right and left lenses at a focal distance are brought into agreement with each other at all times to suppress the loss of the picture (Japanese Patent Application No. 8-053476).
Since this stereo camera brings the photographing fields of the right and left lenses at the focal distance, the focal point can be adjusted while observing the sideward deviation of the image of the right and left one-half portions of the finder picture synthesized by the one-half portions of the right and left photographing fields, and there are no deviation of subject image of the right and left one-half areas of the finder picture. When the right and left one-half portions of the finder picture become one normal image, the subject is focused.
Referring to FIG. 19(a), a circular subject is shown, and referring to FIGS. 19(b), 19(c) and 19(d), the finder images of the stereo camera are shown. When the subject of FIG. 19(a) is positioned at the center of the finder picture, the subject that is in focus appears in a real shape as shown in FIG. 19(b). The subject that is farther than the focal point, appears being broadened as shown in FIG. 19(c). The subject that is nearer than the focal distance, appears being narrowed as shown in FIG. 19(d). The focal point can be adjusted while observing the sideward deviation of the finder image of the right and left one-half portions of the finder image.
However, there exists not almost the state that all the subject in the pictures are disposed at the focal distance in fact, and the subjects are frequently mixed at various distances. When the certain subject is focused, the subject of the closer distance in the same picture is photographed in the state that the inter-optical axis distance correcting amounts of the lenses might become insufficient with respect to the close range subject in the same pictures. Since the human visual senses have collimation for noting a close range subject, a stereo slide that the subjects of various distances are mixed is appreciated by a viewer, the close range subject is focused at the extremely close range to be observed unnaturally. In order to correct it, at the time of mounting, it is necessary to suitably mask the outer areas of the right and left pictures.
Therefore, in the case of photographing at a close distance or the case except the photographing at the close distance that other subject does not exist between the main subject and the lenses, it might effectively suppress the loss of the picture the stereo camera is so constituted that the ranges of the photographing fields of the right and left lenses are brought into agreement at the closer distance than the focal distance.
In FIG. 20, an exponential curve A shown by a broken line shows the inter-optical axis distance/focal point adjusting focuses of the principal point of the right and left lenses that the ranges of the photographing fields of the right and left lenses are brought into agreement at a focal distance at all times. The exponential curve A of the conditions that the focal distance of the lenses is 36 mm and the pitch between the right and left exposure surfaces is 66 mm is shown in FIG. 21.
Let it new be presumed that a piece of thin lens is employed and that:
Focal distance of the lens - - - f PA1 Distance from the subject to the principal point of the lens - - - L PA1 Distance from the focal point of the lens to the image-forming position - - - .DELTA.if.
Then, there holds .DELTA.if=f.sup.2 /(L-f) and, hence, the distance between the principal point of the lens to the surface of the film becomes f+.DELTA.if.
Moreover, if the pitch between the right and left exposing surfaces of the stereo camera is P.sub.1, the shifting amount S1 of the right and left lenses for bringing the right and left photographing ranges into agreement s given by. EQU S1=(P.sub.1 /2).times.(f+.DELTA.if)/(L+f+.DELTA.if).
That is, the right and left lenses may be moved in a direction to approach each other by a shifting amount S1 calculated from the above equation with a decrease in the distance L from the subject to the principal point of the lenses. The exponential curve A is the locus based on the above equation.
Referring to FIG. 21, a solid line B is a straight line for connecting the point of shifting the right and left lenses from the exponential curve A to the inside at an infinite remote focal position F.sub.I to the point of bringing the photographing fields of the right and left lenses into agreement with each other at the shortest distance focal position F.sub.S, and except the shortest distance focal position F.sub.S, the photographing fields of the right and left lenses are brought into agreement at the close range from the focal distance. When it is so constituted that the right and left lenses are moved along the line segment of more inner shifting amounts in the entire area of the solid line B or the focal point adjusting range, the remote or close distance feeling adapted to the real photographing state that other subject exists at close distance from the subject of the focal distance is obtained.
However, when the stereo camera for synthesizing the one finder picture by the outer one-half portions of the above-mentioned right and left photographing pictures mounts the linearly moving type inter-optical axis distance and focus adjusting mechanism, the right and left lenses are shifted further inside from the position that the ranges of the photographing fields are brought into agreement at the shortest distance focal position F.sub.S (in the case of the solid line) or all focal point range (in the case of more line segments of the inner shifting amount from the solid line B). Accordingly, the subject image at the focal distance is observed to be broadened as shown in FIG. 19(c) even if the subject image is focused. Therefore, it has a disadvantage that focusing at the subject while observing the deviation of the finder image becomes impossible.
It therefore becomes necessary to solve the above-mentioned technical problem, so that the right and left focal photographing pictures can be viewed through one finder, and to provide a stereo camera having inter-optical axis distance/focus adjusting mechanism of inter-optical axis distance correcting amount adapted to the real photographing condition and and enabling to accurately adjust the focus by the finder image. The object of the present invention therefore is to solve the above-mentioned technical problem.


A photoconductive device comprising a photoconductive portion for generating carriers by applied excitation light; a resistance portion in contact with the photoconductive portion; a first conductive portion in contact with the resistance portion; and a second conductive portion that is provided so as to have a gap with respect to the first conductive portion and is in contact with the photoconductive portion.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a photoconductive device which can be used as a device for generating an electromagnetic wave in the frequency range of 30 GHz or more and 30 THz or less, i.e., in the frequency region from a so-called millimeter wave to a terahertz wave (which is also called a terahertz wave herein), and a method for producing the same, and apparatus using the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, technological developments utilizing terahertz waves have become active. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-223017 discusses a terahertz wave generating device. As shown in FIG. 10A and FIG. 10B which is a cross section view taken along line 10B-10B of FIG. 10A, the device includes a conductive portion 163 (163a and 163b) formed on a photoconductive portion 162 on a substrate 161 with the two sides separated from each other by a gap 165. One conductive portion 163a and the other conductive portion 163b of the conductive portion 163, which are separated by the gap 165, are disposed to have the gap 165 of about 5 μm. The photoconductive portion 162 often uses low-temperature-grown (LT-) GaAs with crystals grown in a temperature from 200° C. to 300° C. Applying a voltage of about 10 V to the conductive portions 163a and 163b and irradiating the gap 165 with a pulsed laser (its pulse time width being about 100 fs) generates a pulsed terahertz wave. The photoconductive portion 162 and two electrodes (the conductive portion) 163 together are also called a photoconductive antenna.


To eliminate needle-stick risk by encapsulating the needle of a syringe immediately after discharge of syringe contents, the entire syringe is housed in a device comprising a hollow body, a spring and a plunger. The barrel of the syringe is held in the body interior against the force of the spring by latching formations internal to the body. The plunger is hollow to provide a chamber to receive the syringe piston and at least part of the barrel. The plunger has deflectable engagement elements at its forward end so it is pushed into the body, it reliably displaces the syringe piston/rod to discharge the syringe contents via a hollow needle, the elements ultimately being deflected outwards as the contents are fully discharged so as not to impede syringe retraction into the hollow plunger. The plunger also has latch opening projections at its forward end.

Many drug doses are supplied in miniature glass syringes (MGS), for example of the type supplied under the trade name BD HYPAK by Becton, Dickinson and Company. Each such syringe has an integral needle and it is factory filled with a specific drug dose.
There is a demand for needle point safety and the elimination of needle-stick risk in respect of such pre-filled syringes which cannot be met by regular automatic needle retraction syringes. An object of this invention is to address this demand.
Earlier known syringes and blood sampler devices, as described in the applicant's earlier WO 92/18187 and WO 93/23098 employ an integrally moulded latch array to hold a needle assembly in position against the force of a spring until the injection is completed when the latches are released by the action of a plunger formation thus allowing the needle to retract safely into the device under the released force of the spring.

Actuator and containment device for a syringe