A coordinate measurement device sends a first beam of light having first and second wavelengths to a target point. The device includes a fiber-optic coupler that combines the first and second wavelengths and launches them through an achromatic optical element to produce collimated and aligned light. The device also includes first and second motors, first and second angle measuring devices, a distance meter, and a processor that determines 3D coordinates of the target point based on the measured distance and two angles.

The present disclosure relates to a coordinate measuring device. One set of coordinate measurement devices belongs to a class of instruments that measure the three-dimensional (3D) coordinates of a point by sending a laser beam to the point. The laser beam may impinge directly on the point or on a retroreflector target in contact with the point. In either case, the instrument determines the coordinates of the point by measuring the distance and the two angles to the target. The distance is measured with a distance-measuring device such as an absolute distance meter or an interferometer. The angles are measured with an angle-measuring device such as an angular encoder. A gimbaled beam-steering mechanism within the instrument directs the laser beam to the point of interest.
The laser tracker is a particular type of coordinate-measuring device that tracks the retroreflector target with one or more laser beams it emits. Coordinate-measuring devices closely related to the laser tracker are the laser scanner and the total station. The laser scanner steps one or more laser beams to points on a surface. It picks up light scattered from the surface and from this light determines the distance and two angles to each point. The total station, which is most often used in surveying applications, may be used to measure the coordinates of diffusely scattering or retroreflective targets. Hereinafter, the term laser tracker is used in a broad sense to include laser scanners and total stations.
Ordinarily the laser tracker sends a laser beam to a retroreflector target. A common type of retroreflector target is the spherically mounted retroreflector (SMR), which comprises a cube-corner retroreflector embedded within a metal sphere. The cube-corner retroreflector comprises three mutually perpendicular mirrors. The vertex, which is the common point of intersection of the three mirrors, is located at the center of the sphere. Because of this placement of the cube corner within the sphere, the perpendicular distance from the vertex to any surface on which the SMR rests remains constant, even as the SMR is rotated. Consequently, the laser tracker can measure the 3D coordinates of a surface by following the position of an SMR as it is moved over the surface. Stating this another way, the laser tracker needs to measure only three degrees of freedom (one radial distance and two angles) to fully characterize the 3D coordinates of a surface.
One type of laser tracker contains only an interferometer (IFM) without an absolute distance meter (ADM). If an object blocks the path of the laser beam from one of these trackers, the IFM loses its distance reference. The operator must then track the retroreflector to a known location to reset to a reference distance before continuing the measurement. A way around this limitation is to put an ADM in the tracker. The ADM can measure distance in a point-and-shoot manner, as described in more detail below. Some laser trackers contain only an ADM without an interferometer. U.S. Pat. No. 7,352,446 ('446) to Bridges et al., the contents of which are herein incorporated by reference, describes a laser tracker having only an ADM (and no IFM) that is able to accurately scan a moving target. Prior to the '446 patent, absolute distance meters were too slow to accurately find the position of a moving target.
A gimbal mechanism within the laser tracker may be used to direct a laser beam from the tracker to the SMR. Part of the light retroreflected by the SMR enters the laser tracker and passes onto a position detector. A control system within the laser tracker can use the position of the light on the position detector to adjust the rotation angles of the mechanical axes of the laser tracker to keep the laser beam centered on the SMR. In this way, the tracker is able to follow (track) an SMR that is moved over the surface of an object of interest.
Angle measuring devices such as angular encoders are attached to the mechanical axes of the tracker. The one distance measurement and two angle measurements performed by the laser tracker are sufficient to completely specify the three-dimensional location of the SMR.
Several laser trackers are available or have been proposed for measuring six, rather than the ordinary three, degrees of freedom. Exemplary six degree-of-freedom (six-DOF) systems are described by U.S. Pat. No. 7,800,758 ('758) to Bridges et al., the contents of which are herein incorporated by reference, and U.S. Published Patent Application No. 2010/0128259 to Bridges et al., the contents of which are herein incorporated by reference.
In the past, laser trackers that have absolute distance meters have used more than one wavelength. A visible light beam has been used for at least two purposes—(1) providing a beam that lands on a position detector to enable tracking of a retroreflector target, and (2) providing a pointer beam by which a user may determine the pointing direction of the tracker laser beam. An infrared light beam has been used for an absolute distance meter. Such laser beams vary in wavelength from 780 nm to 1550 nm. Difficulties that arise from the use of two different wavelengths include (1) difficulty in obtaining precise alignment of the two different laser beams in traveling from the tracker to the retroreflector, (2) added expense resulting from the need to have two laser sources, extra beam splitters, and other components, and (3) larger required size of the laser beam because of the more rapid spreading of infrared wavelength beam of light compared to that of a visible beam of light. Because of the requirement to align the two different beams of light, additional production steps have been required, thereby increasing production costs. Furthermore, performance of the tracker has never been quite as good as it could have been if the alignment were perfect. The larger required beam size has also meant that beams were clipped by retroreflector targets, thereby resulting in decreasing accuracy in some cases and losing beams in other cases.
Another requirement of beams of light having multiple wavelengths is that optics may not properly collimate each of the wavelengths. This is particularly true if the optical configuration prevents each of the wavelengths from having its own optics to optimize collimation of the light launched out of the tracker. What is needed is a laser tracker capable of launching multiple beams of light being mutually aligned and collimated at a minimum of expense and complexity.

Laser tracker that uses a fiber-optic coupler and an achromatic launch to align and collimate two wavelengths of light


A signal processing circuit is provided that generates output signals to be output from spatially different output ports based on bit combinations of an input word consisting of a plurality of bit signals. A distributed memory, a ROM and a DAC in which the signal processing circuit is used are also provided. A recognition circuit includes a serial port to which a bit signal is input and 2N output ports recognizing an input N-bit word and corresponding uniquely to 2N bit combinations. Output ports of the recognition circuit are connected to 2N input ports of an electric circuit. With no signal input to the recognition circuit, all outputs are constantly in a Low level state. In a case where a bit signal is input to the serial port of the recognition circuit, only one of the output ports corresponding to the bit combinations turns to a High level state.

In order to deal with a substantial increase in demand for communication traffic, a data rate of a transmission system has been significantly increased. At present, a transmission system processing several-tens-of-gigabit to several-hundred-gigabit data per second is commonly required. The demand for a data transmission rate has drastically changed compared to the demand over the past 10 years.
Such a high speed data signals can be electrically transmitted only a short distance. However, using an optical carrier wave enables long-distance transmission so long as a band for an optical link and a reduced loss are maintained. These high-speed data signals transmitted as optical signals are converted at a receiving side into electric signals suitable for signal processing. Known bit-by-bit data processing is the only reliable method for electrically processing high-speed data signals. However, this is a factor hindering accomplishment of the objective to increase the transmission rate.
A method for serial-parallel conversion of high-data-rate bits is a common means for processing these bits using a low-speed electric circuit. FIG. 1 illustrates, by way of example, a serial-parallel converter 2 with N conversion channels. All bit signals input through a transmission line 1 to the serial-parallel converter 2 as optical signals constitute a succession of groups each constituted of N consecutive bit signals. The conversion channels of the serial-parallel converter 2 individually convert N bit signals included in one group into respective electric signals and subsequently similarly individually convert N bit signals included in a succeeding group into respective electric signals. In this manner, each of the conversion channel performs one operation for one group, and the bit signals output from each conversion channel are each extended by a factor of N. In other words, the speed of converted bit signals depend on the number of bits N and decreases with increasing N.
An output from each channel of the serial-parallel converter 2 has a slight time difference from an output from the preceding channel. The time difference leads to a delay in time of arrival at the first channel to be processed. The time difference can be corrected by a delay circuit by providing a progressively increasing delay to each of the channels starting with the last channel to be processed. This enables N converted bits to be simultaneously generated and allows all the bits to be input to a logical circuit 4 with a single latch signal simultaneously input to the logical circuit 4.
As described above, high-data-rate bit signals can be connected to a low-speed electric circuit by using the serial-parallel conversion method, and the speed of processing depends on the speed of the electric circuit. The processing speed of the electric circuit is mostly limited by transistors constituting the circuit. Silicon CMOS transistors are used for digital processing circuits as very reliable and energy-efficient transistors. For an increased speed of CMOS transistors, reducing the size of the transistor, particularly the width of a gate channel is effective.

Signal processing circuit, distributed memory, ROM, and DAC which signal processing circuit is embedded

Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation


A rendering method converts three-dimensional streak tube imaging lidar (STIL) data to two-dimensional contrast and range maps thereof. A temporal portion of the STIL data is processed for each pixel of the three-dimensional image. Each temporal portion includes a Gaussian-like portion and non-Gaussian-like portions. Processing for each pixel includes: (i) removing noise from the temporal portion using the non-Gaussian-like portions wherein a filtered form of the Gaussian-like portion is formed, (ii) determining a non-integer center of mass of the filtered form of the Gaussian-like portion with the non-integer center of mass being indicative of a range value, and (iii) applying a mathematical interpolation function to determine amplitude of the filtered form of the Gaussian-like portion at the range value defined by the non-integer center of mass. The amplitude so-determined is indicative of a contrast value. The process is repeated for all pixels to thereby produce range and contrast maps.

Streak Tube Imaging Lidar (STIL) is used for the imaging and detection of targets in a turbid medium such as water or air. In terms of imaging an underwater region, STIL uses a pulsed fan beam to illuminate a thin strip on the ocean bottom that corresponds to a single (cross-track) line in the rendered imagery. Photon returns of the ocean bottom and corresponding adjacent water column are captured in a CCD array, essentially capturing a thin volumetric slice, or shot of the ocean in terms of volumetric pixels or voxels as they are known. Each pixel can be represented by a temporal profile which contains an approximate Gaussian shaped curve of the bottom return.
The three-dimensional nature of STIL data yields large data files which require relatively large amounts of time to process and/or transmit. Accordingly, the three-dimensional STIL data is often rendered into two-dimensional forms thereof. In general, STIL data can be rendered into two-dimensional contrast and range maps by finding the peak value of the temporal profile of each pixel. The magnitude of the peak value corresponds to the contrast and the location of the peak value corresponds to the range.
Current methods of rendering involve searching the temporal profile for a matched Gaussian curve fit. However, this technique is limited in that the prior estimates of the Gaussian curve width must be known. That is, problems arise when the true width of the Gaussian curve in the temporal profile is different from the fitted width. In addition, prior to the Gaussian curve match fit, dark field and ambient light fields must be determined and removed from the temporal profile. The current methods use a separate dark field file to remove the dark field values and must estimate a Ksys value (i.e., a measure of how turbid the medium is in terms of how rapidly the STIL system's laser beam decays) to compute the ambient light field exponential decay curve. However, this means that a separate dark field file must be provided. Also, poor estimates of the Ksys value yield poor rendering results.

Rendering three-dimensional streak tube imaging lidar (STIL) data to two-dimensional contrast and range mappings thereof

The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy


Hydraulic steering for automobiles and self-propelled machines features at least two steering wheels and has a steering wheel linked to a hydraulic distributor, characterized in that it has at least two hydraulic modules. Each module includes a module body including an assembly having a double piston integral in translation with a rack. The piston is housed with a sliding aptitude in a cylinder body in which it delimits two opposite chambers. Each module also includes a gear meshing with the rack. Each of these modules is linked, on the one hand, through the intermediary of its pivoting element to one of the steering wheels and, on the other hand, through the intermediary of its fixed organ, to the vehicle chassis, and in that said distributor is connected to one of the chambers delimited by the rack piston of each module, the second of the chambers communicating with each other.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention concerns hydraulic steering of vehicles making use of hydraulic modules generating a rotary movement of variable amplitude derived from a constant hydraulic output.
The invention falls into the domain of self-propelled vehicles featuring at least two steerable wheels. More specifically, it concerns the field of self-propelled machines with two steerable wheels, allowing, for example, turning radii according to Jeantaud's diagram. It is especially applicable to: the equipment of grape harvesters; and vehicles or self-propelled machines with at least two steerable wheels, for which the users would like to have available machines capable of achieving the smallest turning radius possible.
2. Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 37 CFR 1.98
Self-propelled machines with at least two steerable wheels are equipped with steering mechanisms which make it possible to steer them while they are in motion. These steering mechanisms act directly on each steerable wheel to obtain the turning radius of the machine.
In order to achieve this turning radius in an efficient manner and to avoid the phenomenon of "wheel slipping" (the wheels sliding instead of rolling, thereby degrading the soil as well as the tires), it is necessary, during the turn, that the rotating axes of each of the wheels of the machine, regardless of whether they are steerable or not, be concurrent in a single point which is the instantaneous center of rotation (ICR) of the machine in projection to the ground: this is the application of the principle in the Jeantaud diagram.
Various methods exist to obtain this diagram (mechanical, electric, hydraulic, even combined steering mechanisms), the most common one actuating steering tie-rods and jacks which make it possible, according to a geometry adapted and known by the experts, to approximate this diagram.
The major setbacks of this steering system are: the space requirement; a wide turning radius of the vehicle, because the maximum turning angle is limited b the technology of this tie-rod and jack system; and a very significant loss of torque at the steering lock due to the kinematics of this type of steering.
For a self-propelled machine of the type used, for example, in agriculture and in particular for a straddling vehicle (grape harvester, trimming machine, etc.), it is very important to increase the maneuverability of the machine, especially on short headlands, and to limit the number of maneuvers in steering operations. That is why one seeks to limit the turning radius of the machine to the smallest value possible.
But obtaining this small turning radius is not possible with the mechanical technologies existing today while respecting the Jeantaud diagram, from the straight line to the maximum turn, especially with machines equipped with connecting rod and cylinder steering systems or even with conventional rack cylinders.
Furthermore, in the case of a straddling machine, the travel lane of the vehicle is related to the distance between two plant rows, which varies depending on the region and the type of plants cultivated. If one plans to build a variable track vehicle, it is difficult to be satisfied with a mechanical steering system based on connecting rod assemblies and cylinders.
The builders of such vehicles are therefore intent on:                doing away with the mechanical linkages of the steering wheels;        being independent of the variability of the vehicle's driving lane;        being mindful of the Jeantaud diagram at any point during the turn; and        having at their disposal a system which allows them to reduce the turning radius to its possible minimum when this is necessary.
Various solutions for steering systems exist today:                Steering system by mechanical rodding and cylinders: the oldest and today most conventionally used system. Generally the left and right rodding assemblies of such a system are mechanically linked.        Electric steering system: such as described for instance in document EP-0.300.185, applied to a wheel-chair for handicapped persons, where the two front wheels are coupled, each to a directional motor that is manually activated over a mechanical/electrical transmitter/calculator of the directional angle of the wheels.        Hydraulic steering system: by way of, for example, a hydraulic cylinder system with a straight rack, as described in documents FR1.201.675 or FR-2.694.535 describing a hydraulic transmission by hydraulic cylinder with a piston rod positioned at each of the steering wheels;        Mechanical steering system with a dual rotary steering cam as described in the US-2007/01 44796 document.
Among the systems cited above, the electrical steering, system as described for the wheel-chair mentioned in the EP-0.300.185 document, presents several advantages to meet the requirements at hand, but when one speaks of a vehicle weighing several hundreds of kilograms or even several tons, the electrical systems to deploy (steering motors, electrical drive motors for the wheels, etc.), are certainly feasible with present technologies, but those are complex and expensive solutions, because the currents needed require the set-up of power electronics that are complex and still somewhat unreliable. This is under consideration for all-electric vehicles with only limited range.
As to mechanical steering systems, rodding systems are excluded with respect to the objectives aimed for by the invention and the dual rotary cam systems may well provide solutions for light vehicles such as riding mowers, but they are hardly practical due their complexity on a straddling vehicle that is also capable of adapting to a variety of terrains.
Also, on a straddling, vehicle where traction on the wheels is achieved by hydraulic motors, it would be desirable to make use of the same energy to steer those same wheels.
The hydraulic steering systems that is proposed in document FR2.694.535 is nevertheless not satisfactory because it completes the hydraulic solution with a mechanical rodding assembly at each wheel and does not allow, taking into account the space requirements of the cylinders and said mechanical rodding, to easily achieve turning angles above 90 degrees.
Documents WO-01/25071 and U.S. Pat. No. 2,757,014 describe hydraulic steering systems of prior art.
In the other domains, for the most part already mentioned such as light vehicles (wheel-chairs, riding mowers, etc.) the latter make reference rather to electric or mechanical steering systems for farm or utility, or even military, vehicles.
Apart from the application in the area of light vehicles or that of articulated vehicles with more than two steering vehicles (forest vehicles for example), there is no known hydraulic steering system capable of satisfying the demands for enabling turns with a very small value of turning radius. The aim of the invention is indeed to remedy the drawbacks and insufficiencies of steering systems at the state of the art.

Hydraulic steering of vehicles and self-propelled machines


An object of the present invention is to provide a friction stir welding tool which enables friction stir welding of a wide range of materials, from low-melting temperature metallic materials including aluminum to high-melting temperature metallic materials including steel.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a friction stir welding tool and a friction stir welding apparatus.
2. Prior Art
As one of welding methods for welding a material to be welded without melting, there is a friction stir welding method. The friction stir welding method is a method wherein a welding tool, made of cylindrical member substantially harder than the material to be welded, is forcibly inserted into the welding portion of the material to be welded while the tool rotates, thereby welding the material by means of frictional heat generated between the welding tool and the material to be welded while the tool rotates and moves. The friction stir welding method softens the material to be welded due to frictional heat generated between the welding tool and the material to be welded and uses the plastic flow phenomenon associated with the rotation of the welding tool; and the method is based on the principle different from the principle on which an arc welding method for melting a material to be welded is based.
With regard to tool material used for the friction stir welding method, well-known materials are those made of PCBN which is a ceramic (for example, see the patent document 1), those made of W-based material including solid solution reinforcing material such as Re (for example, see the patent document 2), and those made of WC-type ultrahard alloy containing Co (see patent document 3).
[Patent document 1] National publication No. of International Patent Application 2003-532543
[Patent document 2] Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2004-358556
[Patent document 3] Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2005-199281

Friction stir welding tool and friction stir welding apparatus

Abstract: An entire friction stir welding tool or a tool tip including a pin is made of Mo alloy having a dual phase microstructure of Mo and intermetallic compound Mo5SiB2. It is desirable that the Mo alloy be composed of 6.0 to 10.0 mol % of Si, 10.0 to 20.0 mol % of B, and 20 to 60% of Mo-phase volume content. This Mo alloy tool has excellent high-temperature strength and wear-resistance properties and hardly deform and wear when used for the welding of steel.


A midecamycin hyper producing strain having improved productivity of midecamycin which is a member of macrolide antibiotics, and a method for producing midecamycins using the strain are provided. The midecamycin producing actinomycetes comprises a midecamycin biosynthesis gene or a homologue thereof, wherein at least one module in a polyketide synthase gene of a midecamycin biosynthesis gene or partial sequences of the at least one module, is substituted so as to encode the corresponding amino acid sequences of the other module.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a midecamycin hyper producing strain having improved productivity of midecamycin which is a member of macrolide antibiotics, and a method for producing midecamycins using this strain.
2. Background Art
Macrolide antibiotics are antibacterial agents effective upon Gram-positive bacteria, Mycoplasma, Chlamydia and the like and classified into clinically important antibacterial agents because they can be orally administered and have low toxicity. Among them, commercially available 16-membered ring macrolide antibiotics are broadly used in the world including Asian countries, because they have advantages in that resistances are hardly induced, interaction with other drugs is less in comparison with 14-membered ring macrolide antibiotics and influence upon the intestinal tract is also less.
Midecamycins (FIG. 1) are 16-membered ring macrolide antibiotics produced by Streptomyces mycarofaciens (ATCC 21454) and the like species of actinomysetes. Miocamycin as an acylation derivative thereof (Omoto, S. et al., J. Antibiot., 29, 536 (1976); Yoshida, T. et al., Jpn. J. Antibiot., 35, 1462 (1982)) is clinically broadly used and produced from a fermentation product of Streptomyces mycarofaciens. In addition, since Streptomyces mycarofaciens does not produce leucomycins, it also has an advantage in that removal of leucomycins by purification and the like steps can be omitted by the use of this strain.
Actinomysetes have been occupying an important position for a long time in the field of fermentation industries as producer strains of antibiotics, physiologically active substances and the like secondary metabolites, and improvement of their productivities have been carried out by various strain breeding techniques. Strain breeding by mutagenesis using various mutagens has also been carried out on the production of midecamycin by Streptomyces mycarofaciens. According to such a strain breeding method, it has an advantage in that a strain having a phenotype of interest can be conveniently obtained, but it cannot be elucidated about what a type of mutation was introduced into which gene. As a result of introducing random mutation, there is a possibility that a mutation that is not useful (e.g., not increasing a productivity) is jointly introduced in the breeding thereafter.
From such a point of view, it is possible to extract a useful mutation by comparing genomic sequence of a low production strain with that of a hyper producing strain, and it is possible to create a hyper producing strain in which a useful mutation alone is accumulated making use of recombinant DNA techniques.
In the microorganisms which produce macrolide antibiotics, the majority of macrolide biosynthesis genes are together concentrated within a region of from 70 to 80 kb of the genome in many cases (Donadio, S. et al., Science, 252, 675 (1991); MacNeil, D. J. et al., Gene, 115, 119 (1992); Schwecke, T. et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., 92, 7839 (1995)). A high homology gene coding for a giant multifunctional protein called type I polyketide synthase (to be referred also to as PKS hereinafter) is present in the center of their cluster.
The PKS gene is generally constituted from 3 to 5 genes, and its protein forms a complex consisting of an initiator module and several extender modules. Each of them adds a specific acyl-CoA precursor to a polyketide chain in the middle of its synthesis and specifically modifies β-keto group. Accordingly, the polyketide structure is determined by the composition and order of these modules in PKS. The modules contain several domains, and each of them carries out specified function.
The initiator module consists of an acyl carrier protein (to be referred to as ACP hereinafter) domain to which acyl group of the precursor binds and an acyl transferase (to be referred to as AT hereinafter) domain which catalyzes addition of acyl group to the ACP domain. Depending on the specificity of this AT domain, the kind of acyl-CoA to be added thereto is determined. All of the extender modules contain a β-ketosynthase (β-ketoacyl acyl carrier protein synthase, to be referred also to as KS hereinafter) domain which adds the previously presenting polyketide chain to new acyl-ACP by decarboxylation condensation, and AT domain and ACP domain.
Also, each of the extender modules contain some of the domains which modify specific β-keto groups, in addition to these, and modification of the β-keto groups is determined based on the structure of the domain to be contained. These include a β-ketoreductase (to be referred also to as KR hereinafter) domain which reduces β-keto group to hydroxyl group, a dehydratase (to be referred also to as DH hereinafter) domain that removes hydroxyl group and forms double bond and an enoyl reductase (to be referred also to as ER hereinafter) domain which forms saturated carbon bond.
The last extender module is completed with a thioesterase (to be referred also to as TE hereinafter) domain which releases polyketide through its cyclization from PKS. Boundaries of modules, domains and open reading frame (to be referred also to as ORF hereinafter) of PKS can be estimated based on the sequence information on already known PKS genes.
The polyketide backbone formed by PKS undergoes methylation, acylation, oxidation, reduction, specific sugar addition and the like additional modifications, and a macrolide antibiotic is finally synthesized. Most of the genes necessary for these modifications are present in the periphery of the PKS gene.
Genes which encode deoxy sugar biosynthesis enzymes have been revealed regarding erythromycin, tylosin and the like (Summers, R. G. et al., Microbiology, 143, 3251 (1997);Gaisser, S. et al., Mol. Gen. Genet., 256, 239 (1997); Merson-Davies, L. A. and Cundliffe, E., Mol. Microbiol., 13, 349 (1994)). Synthesis of these deoxy sugars comprises activation of glucose by the addition of nucleotide diphosphate and subsequent deoxygenation, reduction, epimerization, amination, methylation and the like reactions. These sugars are introduced into macrolides by the action of specific glycosyltransferase.
Since the structures of midecamycin bear resemblance to the structures of tylosin, it is considered that it passes through almost the same biosynthetic pathway. Biosynthesis of midecamycin starts with the synthesis of malonyl-CoA, methyl malonyl-CoA, ethyl malonyl-CoA and methoxy malonyl-CoA which are precursors of the polyketide backbone. These precursors undergo cyclization through the stepwise condensation reaction by polyketide synthase, and the polyketide backbone is synthesized as a result. Thereafter, midecamycin is finally synthesized via sugar saccharide addition, hydroxylation, formylation, acylation and the like modification reactions.
In order to improve its productivity by gene recombination techniques, expression reinforcement of genes encoding the rate-determining biosynthesis reactions, expression reinforcement or gene disruption of genes which regulate expression of the biosynthesis genes, interception of unnecessary secondary metabolism systems and the like have been carried out (Kennedy, J. and Turner, G., Mol. Gen. Genet., 253, 189 (1996); Review: Balts, R. H., Biotechnology of Antibiotics Second Edition, Revised and Expanded, Marcel Dekker, Inc., New York, p. 49 (1997); Review: Hutchinson, C. R. and Colombo, A. L., Ind. Microbiol. Biotechnol., 23, 647 (1999); Review: Brakhage, A. A., Microbiol. Mol. Biol. Rev., 62, 547 (1998)). Accordingly, when the biosynthesis gene is specified, the productivity can be improved by means of gene recombination techniques, by connecting it to an appropriate vector and introducing into a secondary metabolite producing strain.


A header for an agricultural harvester includes a plurality of row units, a plurality of feed/snapping units, and a plurality of chopping units. Each feed/snapping unit is associated with a respective said row unit and operable at a first operating speed. Each chopping unit is associated with at least one respective feed/snapping unit and operable at a constant second operating speed, independent of the first operating speed.

1. Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates to agricultural harvesters, and, more particularly, to header configurations for such harvesters.
2. Description of the Related Art
An agricultural vehicle known as a "combine" harvester is historically termed such because it combines multiple harvesting functions with a single harvesting unit, such as picking, threshing, separating and cleaning. A combine includes a header which removes the crop from a field, and a feeder housing which transports the crop matter into a threshing rotor. The threshing rotor rotates within a perforated housing, which may be in the form of adjustable concaves, and performs a threshing operation on the crop to remove the grain. Once the grain is threshed it falls through perforations in the concaves onto a grain pan. From the grain pan the grain is cleaned using a cleaning system, and is then transported to a grain tank onboard the combine. The cleaning system includes a cleaning fan which blows air through oscillating sieves to discharge chaff and other debris toward the rear of the combine. Non-grain crop material such as straw from the threshing section proceeds through a straw chopper and out the rear of the combine. When the grain tank becomes full, the combine is positioned adjacent a vehicle into which the grain is to be unloaded, such as a semi-trailer, gravity box, straight truck, or the like; and an unloading system on the combine is actuated to transfer the grain into the vehicle.
A "header" can broadly include row crop headers (such as corn headers) and cutting platforms (such as bean headers). In the case of a corn header, the header typically includes a number of row units with each row unit including a feed/snapping unit positioned at the bottom side thereof. Each feed/snapping unit typically includes a pair of stripper plates spaced apart from each other and extending in a direction of the row crop, a pair of stalk rolls positioned underneath the stripper plates, and a pair of gathering chains for moving the stalks into the space between the stripper plates and moving the stripped ears of corn rearwardly. It is also known to provide the header with a number of chopping units, with each chopping unit being associated with a respective row unit. As the corn stalks are stripped downwardly through the stripper plates by the stalk rolls, the chopping units chop the stalks, leaves, etc. (also known as "material other than grain" or MOG) into finer pieces which are then distributed onto the field.
It is known to separate the mechanical input drive at the header between the feed/snapping units and the chopping units. A single mechanical input drive is provided on the header, and the input drive is split in a parallel manner onboard the header between the feed/snapping units and the chopping units. The parallel feed from the single input drive to the feed/snapping units can be configured with a variable operating speed by varying the shaft speed of the input drive, and the other parallel feed to the chopping units can be somewhat constant at a given input drive speed by varying a gear ratio within a transmission. However, as the operating speed of the single input drive changes the operating speed of the chopping units also changes. During this transitional speed change, this can result in an operating speed of the chopping units which is below a desired threshold operating speed as the input drive speed from the base unit changes. Moreover, since the shaft speed of the single input drive can infinitely vary between upper and lower operating ranges, but the transmission only has discrete stepped gear ratios, the operating speed of the chopping units is not constant.
What is needed in the art is a header for an agricultural harvester which better accommodates different drive needs of various sub-systems onboard the header.

Header for an agricultural harvester with independent sub-system drives


A hybrid-propulsion car system having one axle driven by an internal combustion engine and another axis driven by an electric motor. The waste heat of the internal combustion engine is absorbed by the engine cooling fluid, and is then heat exchanged with an evaporative fluid in a closed circuit. The evaporative fluid is vaporized by the heat of the engine cooling fluid in order to drive an expander which in turn drives an electric generator. The electric generator supplies current to a storage battery and to the electric motor.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a hybrid car having an internal combustion engine, and a battery powered electric drive motor, and having a system which recovers the heat energy usually rejected to the atmosphere from the internal combustion heat cycle, and recovers the kinetic energy from relative movements between the vehicle wheels and the chassis frame which is usually damped in the shock absorbers, to produce useful electric power for storage in an electric battery, and to operate the vehicle's electric drive motors.
2. Description of Prior Art
The continuing increases in the cost of fossil fuel, and the increased environmental concerns have forced global attention on a variety of energy-conserving, and energy-generating technologies which were previously difficult to be economically justified. The major automotive manufacturers in the U.S.A., and in Japan, had aggressive programs for developing new advanced electric driven vehicles having higher efficiencies, and improved electric batteries.
In the past, many extensive attempts have been made to achieve potential fuel consumption savings for gasoline and diesel fueled vehicles through use of methods to recapture the waste heat energy usually rejected into the atmosphere from the engine cooling fluid, and from the hot exhaust gas stream. Many other attempts were also made to recover the waste kinetic energy usually dissipated in the shock absorbers.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,570,077 disclosed a system where a gas turbine is actuated by recovering the heat from the exhaust gas stream. U.S. Pat. No. 4,342,200, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,164,850 disclosed systems utilizing evaporative fluid for cooling the engine block, and utilizing the recovered heat to operate an air conditioning system using ejector means for compression. U.S. Pat. No. 4,120,157 disclosed a system for power generating and air conditioning utilizing waste heat from an internal combustion engine to heat and pressurize gas working fluid employed for a power cycle. U.S. Pat. No. 3,554,849 disclosed a system utilizing an evaporative fluid to recover waste heat from the engine lubricating oil and from the hot exhaust gas stream. Many other systems were invented to generate power by capturing and utilizing the physical relative movements of the vehicle wheels and chassis frame. U.S. Pat. No. 3,981,204 disclosed a shock absorber using rack and pinion gear assembly to drive electric generators, U.S. Pat. No. 4,387,781 disclosed an electric generating system utilizing the relative movements of the vehicle frame, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,381,041 disclosed another electric power generating system utilizing the superfluous movements of the vehicle. However, none of the above prior art attempts, individually or collectively, proposed the system and embodiments indicated and disclosed by the present invention.
It is, therefore, a principle object of the present invention to increase the fuel economy of gasoline or diesel fueled vehicles.
It is further a principle object of the present invention to provide an energy recovery system for a hybrid car which has both internal combustion engine, and battery driven electric motor drive.
It is further a principle object of the present invention to utilize the waste low temperature heat usually rejected in the engine cooling fluid, and in the exhaust gas stream to generate useful electric power.
It is further an object of the present invention to utilize the relative mechanical movements between the vehicle wheels and chassis frame which is usually absorbed by the shock absorbers, to generate useful electric power.
It is further an object of the present invention to provide a high efficiency hybrid automotive vehicle system having manual and automatic operating controls to allow selection of the drive for the best possible operating efficiency at either high speed long range highway driving, or at low speed intermittent city driving.
It is further an object of the present invention to provide an automotive vehicle system which conserves energy, and reduces the vehicle's potential environmental impact.
The invented hybrid car system provides a solution for the shortcomings of the electric driven car, more specifically, the limited storage capacity of the electric battery, short battery life, short driving range, and low speed and torque output. Also, providing a solution for the shortcomings of the gasoline or diesel fueled vehicles, more specifically, the increased fuel consumption, and increased exhaust gas emissions at idle and low speed operating conditions.
These objects and others which will become apparent from the following detailed descriptions and drawings are fulfilled by incorporating a heat exchange system to recover waste heat energy from the engine cooling fluid, and from the engine exhaust gas stream, and by utilizing the waste kinetic energy usually absorbed by the shock absorbers, to operate a hermetically sealed gas expander-electric generator unit, and to produce useful electric power for charging a battery and driving the vehicle.
While the present invention has particular usefulness in connection with an automotive vehicle, the invented system can be employed with other gasoline or diesel fueled internal combustion engines for many applications, including passenger cars, buses, trucks, marine vessels, and stationary power generating engines. The invented electric power generating system may be added to an existing installation, without the need to modify the basic design of the internal combustion engine.

High efficiency hybrid car with gasoline engine, and electric battery powered motor


A versatile binder comprising at least one or more sulfopolyesters is provided. These sulfopolyester binders can enhance the dry tensile strength, wet tensile strength, tear force, and burst strength of the nonwoven articles in which they are incorporated. Additionally, the water permeability of these binders can be modified as desired by blending different types of sulfopolyesters to produce the binder. Therefore, the binder can be used in a wide array of nonwoven end products and can be modified accordingly based on the desired properties sought in the nonwoven products.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to sulfopolyester binders for use in nonwoven articles.
2. Description of the Related Art
Nonwoven articles are found throughout the consumer marketplace. Nonwoven articles, which are generally made up of microfibers and/or nanofibers, are generally produced using a wet-laid or dry-laid process. Various methods or compositions are generally utilized in order to hold the fibers within a nonwoven article together. For example, it is known that nonwoven articles can be held together by (1) mechanical fiber cohesion and interlocking in a web or mat; (2) various techniques of fusing of fibers, including the use of binder fibers; (3) use of a binding resin; (4) use of powder adhesive binders; and/or (5) combinations thereof. The fibers are often deposited in a random manner, although orientation in one direction is possible, followed by bonding using one of the methods described above.
Unfortunately, many of the methods or compositions mentioned above lack versatility in their methods or properties, thus limiting their application to specific end uses. In addition, many of the binder compositions utilized above lack the ability to be modified in order to fit a wide array of end use products. For example, many binders have a fixed water permeability which cannot be significantly modified without sacrificing the integrity of the binder composition. Thus, these binders are limited in scope to certain nonwoven articles that can utilize their narrow range of water permeability properties.
Accordingly, there is a need for a versatile binder that is capable of being optimized in accordance with the desired end uses of the nonwoven article.

Wet-Laid process to produce a bound nonwoven article


A fuel cell system optimizing the ratio of width of a channel to a width of a rib forming a passage for supplying fuel and air, the ratio of width thereof to a height of a channel, and the number of passages, thereby improving the fuel diffusing performance and reducing a pressure drop therein is provided. The fuel cell system includes at least one stack for generating electrical energy by an electrochemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen, a fuel supply portion for supplying fuel to the stack, and an oxygen supply portion for supplying oxygen to the stack. The stack is formed into a stacked configuration having a plurality of membrane electrode assemblies separated by separators. The separators have ribs which closely contact the adjacent membrane electrode assemblies and form channels through which the oxygen and hydrogen flow. The ratio of the width of a channel to the height of the same is between about 0.6 and about 0.8.

A fuel cell is a system for producing electric power. In the fuel cell, chemical reaction energy between oxygen and hydrogen contained in hydrocarbon-group materials (e.g., methanol, natural gas) is directly converted into electric energy. Such a fuel cell is characterized by the production of electric energy and thermal energy as a by-product of an electrochemical reaction occurring without combustion.
Depending on the type of electrolyte used in a fuel cell, the fuel cell may be classified into one of many different types of fuel cells, for example, phosphate fuel cells, molten carbonate fuel cells, solid oxide fuel cells, and polymer electrolyte or alkali fuel cells. Although each of these different types of fuel cells operate using the same principles, they differ in the type of fuel, catalyst, and electrolyte used, as well as in drive temperature.
A polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) has been developed recently. Compared to other fuel cells, the PEMFC has excellent output characteristics, a low operating temperature, and fast starting and response characteristics. The PEMFC may be used for vehicles, in the home and in buildings, and for the power source in electronic devices. The PEMFC, therefore, has a wide range of applications.
The basic components of the PEMFC are a stack, a fuel tank, and a fuel pump. The stack forms the main body of the fuel cell. The fuel pump supplies to the stack fuel reserved in the fuel tank. A reformer may also be used to reform the fuel to create relatively pure hydrogen gas and to supply the hydrogen gas to the stack.
In the PEMFC, the fuel pump operates to send the fuel from the fuel tank to the reformer. The fuel is reformed in the reformer to generate hydrogen gas, and the hydrogen gas is chemically reacted with oxygen in the stack to generate electric energy.
Fuel cells using direct methanol fuel cells (herein referred to as "DMFC") supply liquid methanol fuel containing hydrogen directly to the stack and therefore would not include a reformer. This lack of a reformer is the difference between the PEMFC and DMFC.
FIG. 7 is a partial cross section of a stack used in a fuel cell system according to the prior art where MEAs are assembled with separators. The stack may be composed of a structure of stacked unit cells. The stacked unit cells may contain a few unit cells, or ten or more unit cells having MEAs 51 and separators 53a, 53b.
The MEAs 51 have an electrolyte membrane, and an anode electrode and a cathode electrode mounted on opposite surfaces thereof. The separators 53a, 53b have respective passages 55, 57 through which the hydrogen gas and/or air needed for the oxidation/reduction reaction of the MEAs 51 is supplied to the anode electrode and the cathode electrode. That is, the hydrogen gas is supplied to the anode electrode and the air is supplied to the cathode electrode through passages 55, 57, respectively, of the separators 53a, 53b. In this process, the hydrogen gas oxidizes at the anode electrode and the oxygen reduces at the cathode electrode. The flow of electrons generated during this operation creates a current. In addition, water and heat are generated by the electrochemical reactions.
In more detail, each separator 53a, 53b includes plurality of ribs 59 closely faced against the adjacent surfaces of MEAs which define the passages 55, 57 for supplying the hydrogen gas and air needed. Substantially, the passages are interposed between each of the ribs 59.
Typically, where separators are positioned on both sides of MEAs 51, the passages 55, 57 for supplying each of the hydrogen gas and air needed are orthogonal to each other. Thus, in the cross section illustrated in FIG. 7, a single passage 55 for supplying the hydrogen gas is illustrated while a plurality of passages 57 for supplying air are illustrated.
In the fuel cell system described above, the structure of a stack should enhance the diffusing performance in the stack while maintaining the pressure of the fuel during diffusion in order to enhance the efficiency of the fuel cell. Here, one important condition for designing the structure of a stack is the size and the number of the passages 55, 57. That is, in the separators 53a, 53b, the size and the number of passages 55, 77 plays an important role in diffusing hydrogen gas and air to diffusing layers thereof from the active area of the MEA 51, and also for handling the contact resistance of current generated in the MEA 51.


Methods of making polymeric fibers are provided and include spinning a solution containing at least one polymer, a modified pigment having attached at least one organic group, and a solvent. The polarity of the solvent and the polarity of the modified pigment are selected such that the polymer is soluble in the solution and the modified pigment is maintained dispersed throughout the solution. The polarity of the modified pigment may be substantially the same as the polarity of the solvent. Fibers of acrylic-containing polymers and other polymeric fibers are also provided. Articles and reinforcing material containing the various fiber(s) are also described.

The present invention relates to spinning processes for forming polymeric fibers. The present invention also relates to colored polymeric fibers.
Acrylic and acrylic-containing polymeric fibers and other polymeric fibers are often colored with pigments to form colored fabrics. The ability of the fiber to retain the color of the pigment depends in part on the degree of incorporation of the pigment into the structure of the fiber. Wet and dry spinning are methods of forming acrylic and acrylic-containing polymeric fibers. In such methods, a poorly dispersed pigment in the spinning solution can produce fibers having poorly incorporated pigment. Without good dispersion of the pigment in the spinning solution, the pigment can plug up the filter screen and spinneret holes, and the fibers spun from the solution can break easily and exhibit poor color strength and color retention. Pigments that are not substantially compatible with a spinning solution can form non-stable dispersions, agglomerate, and/or clump together in the solution. Although mechanical mixing can be used to disperse a pigment in a spinning solution, the pigment will generally settle out of the solution and/or agglomerate if the pigment is not substantially compatible with the solution.
Thus, there is still a need for pigmented polymeric fibers which exhibit good, if not, excellent color retention and uniformity. There is also a need for a solution for spinning polymeric fibers, wherein the solution includes a pigment that can remain highly dispersed throughout the solution and become substantially incorporated into a fiber made from the solution. There is also a need for a spinning method for making polymeric fibers exhibiting uniform pigment distribution throughout the fibers, and high jetness when the pigment is a black pigment, like carbon black.
The present invention provides polymeric fibers which preferably exhibit uniformity of color throughout the fibers and have uniform weather and light-resistant color. The present invention also provides a solution for spinning polymeric fibers, wherein the solution includes a polymer and at least one pigment that remains highly or substantially dispersed throughout the solution, preferably over a period of one day or longer. The present invention also provides a polymeric fiber having a pigment which is substantially uniformly and homogeneously dispersed throughout the fiber. The present invention also provides spinning methods for making polymeric fibers. The fibers preferably exhibit a uniformly dispersed pigment distribution throughout the fibers.
The present invention relates in part to a method of making a polymeric fiber having incorporated therein a modified pigment, for example, a modified carbon black. The modified pigment has at least one organic group attached thereto. The attached organic group preferably provides the pigment with a polarity that enables the pigment to be highly dispersed in a spinning solution. Preferably, the polarity of the modified pigment is compatible with the polarity of the solvent such that the modified pigment can become highly or substantially dispersed in the spinning solution when combined together, and such that the modified pigment remains dispersed throughout the spinning solution, preferably for a period of time, for example, for 24 hours or more.
Preferred organic groups attached to the pigments for use in the present invention include groups containing a) at least one aromatic group or a C1-C12 alkyl group, optionally with b) at least one ionic group, at least one ionizable group, or a mixture of an ionic group and an ionizable group.
According to the present invention, methods are provided which include forming a spinning solution of at least one polymer, at least one modified pigment having at least one organic group attached thereto, and a solvent. The solvent substantially maintains the polymer in a dissolved state. The modified pigment preferably remains highly or substantially dispersed throughout the spinning solution.
Herein, the term xe2x80x9cacrylic-containing polymerxe2x80x9d refers to polymers formed from monomeric reactants including at least one monomeric acrylic structural unit. The acrylic-containing polymer may be a polyacrylic homopolymer containing repeating units of reacted acrylic monomers, or the polymer may be a polyacrylonitrile copolymer containing units of acrylonitrile monomers and units of polymerizable olefinic monomers. These acrylic-containing polymers also include xe2x80x9cacrylicxe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9cmodacrylic fibersxe2x80x9d as these terms are understood in the art. Other acrylic-containing homopolymers, copolymers, terpolymers, and oligomers may also be used according to the present invention so long as each contains at least one acrylic structural unit in the polymer.
According to the present invention, the polarity of the solvent used in the spinning solution and the polarity of the modified pigment are such that the modified pigment is maintained substantially dispersed throughout the solvent. In addition, as mentioned above, the solvent is capable of substantially maintaining the polymer in a dissolved state under the conditions used for spinning. Preferably, the polarity of the modified pigment is compatible with, or substantially close to or the same as, the polarity of the solvent used for dissolving the polymer.

Polymeric fibers and spinning processes for making said polymeric fibers


A catcher for a gas turbine engine includes a central hub, a plurality of struts, and a first ring. The plurality of struts are connected to and extend outward from the central hub. The first ring is connected to a mid-section of the plurality of struts and extends therebetween.

The invention relates generally to turbomachinery, and more particularly to a containment structure for a gas turbine engine.
Auxiliary power units ("APUs") are gas turbine engines, and therefore, typically include multiple sections that are used to extract energy. These sections include an inlet section, a compression section, a combustor section, a turbine section, and an exhaust nozzle section. The inlet section moves air into the engine. The air is compressed in the compression section. The compressed air is mixed with fuel and is combusted in combustion areas within the combustor section. The products of the combustion expand in the turbine section to rotatably drive the engine. The products of the combustion are exhausted from the APU via an exhaust housing of the exhaust nozzle section.
It is desirable for APU manufacturers to demonstrate that the cases and other structures of the APU are able to limit damage caused by a catastrophic failure of a high energy rotor and blades. One such rotor failure can occur if the turbine wheel breaks into pieces or breaks loose from a bearing capsule and compressor impeller. Such a failure can result in the turbine wheel (or pieces of the turbine wheel) being ejected aft through the exhaust housing of the exhaust nozzle section. Typically, a containment structure is positioned aft of the rotor in order to absorb at least some of the energy of the turbine wheel (or pieces of the turbine wheel) when it fails.
One containment structure design comprises a catcher. The catcher is positioned within the exhaust nozzle section to slow the speed of fragments of the rotor. To date, catcher designs can be susceptible to vibratory excitation, which is detrimental to the operation of the APU, or requires added stiffness to fulfill its design intent.


The self-contained apnea monitor of the invention detects an apnea event or shallow breathing in a patient such as an infant, and generates an audible and visual alarm in response thereto. The monitor includes an elastic fabric belt for snugly encircling the abdomen or chest of an infant and a detector unit for detecting expansion or contraction of the elastic fabric belt caused by respiration. To this end, the belt includes a helical spring extending along its length. An inextensible wire is provided within the spring connecting a remote end of the spring to the detector unit. Thus configured, respiration of the infant causes the wire to be withdrawn from the detector unit. Within the detector unit, the wire is mounted to a recoil spring assembly which provides a biasing force for recoiling the wire subsequent to respiration. A detecting arm or magnet is mounted to a barrel containing the recoil spring within an electrical circuit provided to detect motion of the detecting arm or magnet. The electrical circuit measures a time interval between consecutive respirations and generates an audible alarm if the time interval exceeds a predetermined period of time.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to respiration monitors and, in particular, to a self-contained apnea monitor for use at home or in a hospital.
2. Description of Related Art
Apnea, the transient cessation of breathing, is a significant health problem. Apnea most often occurs during sleep and is often undetected. Apnea during sleep is commonly called "sleep apnea."
In a mild form of sleep apnea, a person temporarily stops breathing during the night, often several times. Each individual instance of a cessation of breathing is referred to as an "apnea event," and such events are deemed to occur when breathing stops for at least 20-35 seconds.
Left untreated, mild sleep apnea can result in, e.g, excessive tiredness during the day, an irregular heartbeat at night, anxiety, depression, or an inability to concentrate, including a possible loss of memory. In its more serious forms, sleep apnea can result in death, particularly for infants. Recent research has shown that apnea may be a leading cause of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.
Generally, sleep apnea takes three forms: obstructive sleep apnea, central sleep apnea, and mixed sleep apnea. In obstructive sleep apnea, structures in the throat block the flow of air to and from the lungs, or the obstruction may be caused by a foreign object lodged within the airway. Central sleep apnea occurs when the brain does not send out necessary signals to continue breathing, i.e., the person simply "forgets" to breathe. Mixed sleep apnea is a combination of both obstructive sleep apnea and central sleep apnea.
Another breathing phenomena, closely related to apnea, is "periodic breathing" or "shallow breathing." Shallow breathing occurs due to a lack of breathing volume over an extended period of time, perhaps 15-20 minutes or more. Due to a lack of adequate breathing volume, blood oxygen saturation levels become depleted, leading to a "hypoxic" state. With apnea, breathing merely ceases, quickly leading to hypoxia. With shallow breathing, oxygen depletion is more gradual. Many conventional apnea monitors are not equipped to detect hypoxia resulting from shallow breathing.
Numerous devices have been designed to detect apnea events, either for the purpose of diagnosis or for the purpose of alerting a physician or parent that an apnea event is occurring such that the patient may be revived as necessary. Such devices detect or measure one or more aspects of breathing including: respiration, heart rate, oxygenation or ventilation. Respiration monitors detect either actual airflow to and from the lungs by means of a mouth or nasal thermistor, or by means of a carbon dioxide detector. Alternatively, the monitors detect an effort at breathing by means of electrical activity sensors having electrodes for measuring skin impedance or inductance. Heart rate is typically measured using a continuous ECG or a cardio-tachometer. Oxygenation and ventilation are detected through transcutaneous oxygen tension and saturation and transcutaneous carbon dioxide, respectively.
Exemplary respiration monitors are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,576,179 to Manus et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,433,693 to Hochstein, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,782,368 to Reibold.
Manus et al. discloses a respiration monitoring apparatus mounted on a belt for encircling the thorax of a patient. A piezoelectric crystal is mounted within the device such that outward extension of the thorax causes a bending or deformation of the piezoelectric crystal, thus producing an electrical signal which is monitored.
Hochstein also discloses a respiration monitoring device mounted on a belt for encircling the thorax of a patient. The device includes an oscillator for generating an electromagnetic field having an output frequency in the radiofrequency range, and further includes a high Q passively-tuned LC circuit, which has a resonant frequency variable in the radiofrequency range generated by the oscillator. These devices are positioned on the belt encircling the patient's thorax such that expansion of the thorax varies the resonant frequency of the LC circuit. Extension of the thorax is thus detected when the resonant frequency of the LC circuit corresponds with the frequency of the electromagnetic field generated by the oscillator.
Reibold discloses a monitor including a moment actuated transducer unit mounted to an elastic belt for encircling the thorax of a patient. The moment-actuated transducer includes a piezoelectric element having a predetermined capacitance. The piezoelectric element is connected to the belt by a pair of bending arms such that expansion of the thorax bends the bending arms and, thus, deforms the piezoelectric element. Means are provided to detect an electrical signal output from the piezoelectric element.
Related devices are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,996,922 to Basham, U.S. Pat. No. 3,638,642 to Heflin, Sr., U.S. Pat. No. 4,630,614 to Atlas, U.S. Pat. No. 4,671,297 to Schulze, Jr., U.S. Pat. No. 4,648,396 to Raemer, U.S. Pat. No. 4,580,575 to Birnbaum et al.. U.S. Pat. No. 4,625,733 to Saynajakangas, U.S. Pat. No. 4,595,016 to Fertig et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,546,778 to Sullivan. U.S. Pat. No. 4,509,527 to Fraden. U.S. Pat. No. 4,506,678 to Russell et al.. U.S. Pat. No. 4,478,224 to Bailey, U.S. Pat. No. 4,475,559 to Horn, U.S. Pat. No. 4,444,201 to Itoh, U.S. Pat. No. 4,417,589 to Favaloro. U.S. Pat. No. 4,414,982 to Durkan. U.S. Pat. No. 4,365,636 to Barker, U.S. Pat. No. 4,350,166 to Mobarry, U.S. Pat. No. 4,289,142 to Kearns. U.S. Pat. No. 4,146,885 to Lawson, Jr.. U.S. Pat. No. 3,802,417 to Lang, U.S. Pat. No. 3,882,847 to Jacobs, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,713,436 to Hardway, Jr.
The apnea detectors and monitors of the prior art are generally expensive, and may be unreliable, and difficult to use. Many require training to operate and constant supervision to maintain.


An applicator element and a cap are adapted to be mounted on a neck provided on an upper part of a container. The cap is mounted on the neck by a capsule carrying the applicator element and capable of directly ensuring closure of the container by the cooperation of a first screw thread provided on an inner surface of the capsule with a corresponding second screw thread provided externally on the neck of the container. The capsule also carries a seal adapted to cooperate with an edge of the neck when the capsule is placed on the container in the closed position. The cap is mounted on the capsule and connected to the capsule by a screw-type connection in the same direction as that of the first and second threads. The connection between the cap and the capsule offers less resistance than that between the capsule and the neck of the container.

This invention relates to a closure device for a container comprising an applicator element.
Containers comprising an applicator element are generally small in size so that they can fit into a handbag. This is the case, e.g. with nail polish bottles. Consequently, the length of the applicator element, e.g. a brush, is limited, and when the applicator element is too short application often becomes inaccurate and difficult.
It has already been proposed to mount the applicator element carried by a closure cap slidably in the cap so as to increase the length of the stem of the applicator element outside the cap during use. This is the case, e.g. with the device described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,525,090. This solution has a number of disadvantages. Slidable mounting does not guarantee that the stem will be held in the extended position during use and, in addition, a special additional movement is required to extend the stem, which does not guarantee correct use of the device. In order to obviate the first disadvantage, it has been proposed, e.g. according to U.S. Pat. No. 4,990,014, to use a screw-type connection between the applicator element and the cap. However, this connection is independent from that between the cap and the container, so that in this case once again, extension is not automatic and correct use of the device is not guaranteed.


Buffers are provided in a computer system to allow posting data to the buffers, followed by concurrent operation by different portions of the computer system. A CPU buffer is provided to buffer CPU accesses, a CPU-to-PCI buffer is provided to buffer CPU accesses to the PCI local bus, and a memory buffer is provided to buffer CPU accesses to main memory. This configuration allows the CPU-to-PCI buffer to write data concurrently with the memory buffer accessing data from main memory.

1. Technical Field
This invention generally relates to computer systems, and, more specifically, to a buffering scheme used in a computer system for improving system performance by providing concurrent operation of CPU cycles, cycles to memory, and cycles to a local bus under specific circumstances.
2. Background Art
A modern microcomputer system typically comprises a CPU coupled to a local bus, and coupled to a main memory via a memory bus. The local bus is typically connected to an expansion bus, such as a typical ISA, EISA, or Micro-channel.RTM. bus. One example of a local bus is the Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus commonly used in microcomputers based on the Intel Pentium .RTM. CPU. One of the most efficient ways to improve performance in a computer system is to use posted data buffers. For example, a host bridge interposed between the CPU and the PCI bus may include posted data buffers to store several CPU-to-PCI write operations, thereby freeing up the CPU to continue processing while the host bridge becomes a PCI bus master by arbitrating for and obtaining ownership of the PCI bus, and then passes the data to the appropriate PCI device. Posted data buffers may also be used when the host bridge is acting as a slave device on the PCI bus, such as when another PCI device wants to write data to main memory. The posted data buffers within the host bridge can store data for multiple PCI writes to main memory (usually to consecutive locations), thereby freeing up the PCI bus for other PCI devices to use.
One example of a posted data buffer is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,224,214 "Buffers for Gathering Write Requests and Resolving Read Conflicts by Matching Read and Write Requests" (issued Jan. 29, 1993 to Rosich and assigned to Digital Equipment Corp.), which is incorporated herein by reference. Other types of data buffers are known, as shown in U.K. Pat. No. GB 2 248 128 A "A Single Board Computer" (issued Mar. 25, 1992 to Coates et al. and assigned to Online Computing Limited); and U.S. Pat. No. 5,239,636 "Buffer Memory Subsystem for Peripheral Controllers" (issued Aug. 24, 1993 to Dujari et al. and assigned to Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.), which are incorporated herein by reference.
Two problems associated with posted data buffers are data coherency and possible deadlock conditions. Maintaining data coherency is essential to assure that data in main memory is updated with the contents of any posted data buffers containing the data prior to another device accessing the data. For example, when a host bridge is acting as a slave on the PCI bus, it may receive write data from a PCI master and store the data in its posted data buffers, followed by the PCI master releasing the PCI bus. At that point, the PCI master will signal the CPU via interrupt that the transfer has taken place, and the CPU will then retrieve the data from main memory. To maintain data coherency, the data in the posted data buffers must be transferred to main memory before the CPU is allowed to read the data. Otherwise, erroneous data will be returned to the CPU.
Another problem with posted buffers is the possibility of deadlock. Potential deadlock conditions exist when a first PCI device holds data to be written to a second PCI device in its posted data buffers, and the second PCI device also wants to send data to the first PCI device. If both devices cannot receive new data until they have transmitted their write data, then a deadlock occurs. Two devices that may become deadlocked are interlocked devices. For example, an expansion bus bridge coupled to the PCI bus and to a typical expansion bus (such as ISA, EISA, Micro-channel.RTM., etc.) may become interlocked with other PCI devices. Once the expansion bus bridge wins arbitration of the PCI bus for an expansion bus device, it cannot relinquish the PCI bus if the intended PCI target cannot accept the data. If the PCI target device has posted data to send to the expansion bus that it must transmit before it can accept new data, a deadlock condition exists. If either of the expansion bus bridge and the PCI target device could receive data while waiting to transmit write data, the deadlock would not exist.
One possible solution to avoid the deadlock of interlocked devices is to use side band signals (i.e., signals that are not part of the PCI bus protocol) to force a flush of all posted write data buffers in interlocked PCI devices to memory, and to acknowledge that this flush has been completed. The two needed signals are FLUSH and ACKNOWLEDGE. The PCI bus arbiter would signal FLUSH before it granted the bus to the expansion bus bridge so that each interlocked device that has write data in its posted data buffers can arbitrate and transmit all the data in its buffers. Once the interlocked devices have emptied and disabled their buffers, ACKNOWLEDGE signals the expansion bus bridge to grant the expansion bus to the requesting device and gain ownership of the PCI bus for it. Then the transfer can take place with assurance that all interlocked devices can accept new data. This solution requires the use of at least two pins for the side band signals, potentially increasing the cost of the devices that need the side band signals since higher pin counts usually require larger, more expensive packages. In addition, since these side band signals are outside of the PCI specification, care must be taken to ensure that any interlocked devices support the same protocol or risk potential deadlocks within the computer system, adding complexity to the system.
The disadvantages of the side band signal solution to the data coherency and deadlock problems that arise when using posted data buffers result in the need for a solution that uses no side band signals (i.e., conforms to PCI bus specifications), and that maximizes concurrency in the computer system while assuring data coherency and avoiding deadlock conditions.

Computer system buffers for providing concurrency between CPU accesses, local bus accesses, and memory accesses

International Business Machines Corporation


A convertible game cart including a first wheel rotatable about a first axis, a second wheel rotatable about a second axis, and a pivoting mechanism. The pivoting mechanism couples the first wheel and the second wheel. The pivoting mechanism is configured to pivot the first wheel relative to the second wheel from a first orientation with the first axis and the second axis being generally parallel to a second orientation with the first axis and the second axis being generally perpendicular.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to carts, and, more particularly, to a dual use game cart.
2. Description of the Related Art
Hunting wild game involves skill and a great deal of time in the outdoors. Part of the process requires the transportation of hunting and support gear to the hunting area, and ensuring that there is a comfortable place to sit. Once the prey, in the form of a large game animal is killed, after field dressing, the hunter must transport the animal back to a vehicle or preferably retrieval of a game cart to transport the animal. The first option may be accomplished by dragging or carrying the animal, which requires a great deal of effort while the second may require twice the travel distance if the cart is with the vehicle. Also, reacquiring the location of the carcass, left while retrieving a cart, can result in reduced carcass value.
The game carts commercially available today, are generally single purpose devices normally left in with the hunter's vehicle until needed. Over the years various carts have been developed in order to assist the successful hunter in transporting his take through various types of wilderness. One of the more successful solutions to this problem has been the use of carts specifically designed to carry a large animal carcass.
A problem with prior art carts is that they perform a single purpose and are just used at the end of the hunt for the transport of the game.
What is needed in the art is a multipurpose game cart.


A substrate is formed with a plurality of spiral contactors on an upper surface serving as a first surface and a plurality of connecting terminals on a lower surface serving as a second surface. Since the spiral contactors are arranged in a matrix on the upper surface serving as the first surface, a lot of spiral contactors can be provided on the substrate of the present invention, and a mount area can be enlarged, and the size of the connector can be decreased.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a substrate mounted in a connector for connecting a circuit board such as a flexible printed wiring board with other electric circuit, and in particular, to a substrate with a large mount area whose size can be reduced, and in which the length of cable can be elongated, thereby a high-frequency characteristic can be satisfactorily obtained.
2. Description of the Related Art
In FIGS. 1 to 7 of Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 7-335342 illustrated below, a connector for connecting a flexible conductor such as a flexible printed wiring board etc. with a printed substrate serving as a circuit board is described. The connector described in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 7-335342 comprises substantially U-shaped contact pins; and a housing that is provided on the printed substrate serving as a circuit board and has the contact pins mounted thereon. A plurality of contact pins is provided and disposed in the width direction of the housing at predetermined intervals in a row. Each of the contact pins is formed with a contact point extending in the upper direction of the housing and a terminal portion extending in the rear direction of the housing. The terminal portion is connected with a circuit surface of the printed substrate by soldering. Also, the housing is formed with a jack that includes a dome-shaped housing-receiving portion formed on its upper portion.
On the other hand, the front end of the flexible conductor is formed with a plug-in end portion to which a reinforcing plate is attached, and a conduction circuit is exposed on the rear surface of the plug-in end portion.
In the connector described in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 7-335342, the plug-in end portion of the flexible conductor is inserted into and fitted with the jack formed on the housing, and the housing-receiving portion directly or indirectly presses the upper surface of the plug-in end portion. In this case, a contacting protrusion formed at the side of the jack hunches over the plug-in end portion, and the plug-in end portion is locked in the jack.
When the plug-in end portion is fitted with and locked in the jack, the housing-receiving portion presses the upper surface of the plug-in end portion, thereby the plug-in end portion is reliably locked in the jack, and the contact point formed in the contact pin is pressed to contact with the conductor circuit exposed on the rear surface of the plug-in end portion, thereby the electrical contact between the flexible conductor and the connector can be satisfactorily obtained.
As described above, when the flexible conductor is connected with the connector, a cable way is formed from the flexible conductor to the circuit surface of the printed substrate through the contact point and the terminal portion of the contact pin.


This invention is directed to a seal device for an energy conversion device which has a rotating shaft supported by bearing assemblies containing lubrication. The seal device inhibits migration of the lubrication from a first portion of the shaft near the bearing assembly to a second portion of the shaft near electronic circuitry. The seal device includes a seal mounting structure which separates the first portion of the shaft from the second portion of the shaft. The seal mounting structure has a shaft receiving surface through which the shaft is placed. A groove is located in the shaft receiving surface and a seal is secured in the groove by various means and remains stationary with respect to the rotating shaft. The seal has an inner segment that surrounds the periphery of the shaft.

AC and DC electrical motors convert electrical energy into mechanical energy by utilizing the electromagnetic force produced by current carrying conductors within an electromagnetic circuit. This mechanical energy is typically in the form of a shaft undergoing rotation due to a changing electromagnetic field within the motor. The electromagnetic field change is caused by current variations in the electromagnetic circuit which is a function of the angular position of the shaft. The electromagnetic field incrementally changes its magnitude around the shaft inducing continuous rotation of the shaft.
To accomplish a change in current within the electromagnetic circuit, many electrical motors use a series of brushes to make electrical contact between components of the electromagnetic circuit located on the rotating shaft and other components which are stationary. The rotating commutator slides across the brushes providing an electrical connection between the rotating and stationary electronic components.
Generally, the brushes are made of carbon or a metallic material. Throughout the life of the motor, the repeated contact of the brushes causes wearing of the brushes and a release of brush particulates into the encapsulated environment within the motor housing. Build up of these electrically conductive particulates on the components of the electromagnetic circuit can cause an electrical short. Once an electrical short occurs, the efficiency of the motor degrades until the point in which it must undergo maintenance to clean and replace components within the motor. Additionally, the buildup can cause "arcing" of current within the motor which can be dangerous if the motor is used in a potentially explosive environment, such as a coal mine. And, large releases of current within the motor also present a safety hazard to individuals near the motor.
Fans are often placed near these motors to push air through openings in the motor housing to cool the motor and force the particulates from the motor housing. However, fans by themselves cannot solve the particulate problem because of an additional compound, lubrication, found in the encapsulated environment within the motor. Because the shafts rotate at thousands of revolutions per minute, various types of bearing assemblies containing lubrication are used to mount the shafts. Lubrication is exposed to the shaft and the air around the shaft since the bearing elements contact the shaft. The solid lubrication migrates along the shaft from the bearing assembly and is thrown from the rotating shaft. When the lubricant is released into the air, it settles on the electronic circuitry as the particulates do. The air movement by the fans cannot keep the particulates from "sticking" to the circuitry due to the mixture of lubrication and brush particulates. Not only can the particulate and lubricant mixture cause an electrical short due to the conductivity of the particulates, but the nonconductive lubricant can inhibit the electrical connection between the brushes and the rotating commutator.
In addition to the solid lubricant released into the environment surrounding the electronic circuitry, the drastic temperature rise during operation causes an increased outgassing of lubricant vapor from the solid lubricant. The liberated lubricant vapor then condenses back onto the colder surfaces within the housing. This process results in deposits of lubrication and brush particulates on all surfaces within the housing including the electronic circuit components.
Another problem with the motor occurs during bearing failure when the shaft cuts into the bearing cap and enlarges the through-hole through which the shaft passes. Thus, the minimal tolerance, usually about 1/32", between the outer periphery of the shaft and the through-hole can be greatly expanded to over 3/8". The expanded gap causes increased leakage of the lubricant from the bearings which results in a quicker failure of the bearings. Additionally, the particulates from the brushes can easily migrate into the bearing assembly through the expanded gap and lessen the effectiveness of the bearing assembly.
Considering that many of the motors are very large and weigh several thousand pounds, it can take several hours to access the surfaces coated with the lubricant and particulate mixture, clean those surfaces, and reassemble the motor. A vapor degreasing process is typically employed using various solvents such as trichloroethylene which releases hazardous vapors into the air. If the problem is not regularly addressed through periodic maintenance which is generally required every one to three months depending on the motor, then current arcing between the components damages the electromagnetic circuit. If the motor must be cleaned and the damaged components replaced, the motor "downtime" can last several days. Any "downtime" in the motor causes a downstream stoppage in the processes which rely upon the mechanical energy produced by the motor. In addition to the financial loss due to "downtime", the replacement of components and the man-hours necessary to perform repairs and maintenance is very costly.
As stated, the mere movement of air through the housing does not entirely alleviate the particulate build-up due to the presence of the lubricant. Throughout the motor industry, no attempt to isolate the lubricated bearings from the housing cavity has been successful. To accomplish this long felt need to eliminate the problems associated with the lubricant-particulate mixture and increase efficiency, many manufacturers have developed efficient "brushless" motors which utilize a series of electronic switches that open and close based on the angular position of the shaft which changes the current within the electromagnetic circuitry. Thus, with the removal of the brushes, no particulates are released. However, motors employing brushes continue to be produced. And, due to the high cost of new motors, the hundreds of thousands of existing brush electric motors continue to be used in every industry.
Additionally, attempts to retrofit existing motors by affixing a seal to the rotating shaft have been made, but have failed. The extreme vibration of the shaft loosens the seal and the means by which the seal is fastened to the shaft which ultimately leads to leakage of the lubricant into the housing cavity. In another retrofit attempt, a plastic seal fastened to a plate mounted on an inboard wall of the bearing assembly was utilized. Again, the vibration proved too much for the plastic seal.

Seal device for isolating bearing assemblies in a motor


The present invention relates to a process for cooling fatty acid distillate from scrubbing section in a fats and oils refinery comprising cooling the fatty acid distillate by heat recovery in at least one heat-exchanging zone with refined oils having a temperature above about 50° C. heating the refined fats and oils to a temperature above about 70° C. The present invention relates further to a process for refining crude fats and oils, and refining plant for refining crude fats and oils.

Conventional refining processes for refining fats and oils are using clean cooling water to cool both fatty acid distillates and the hot deodorised oils in heat exchangers. Since water and especially clean water is a resource, which in many parts of the world is very limited and often poor quality, therefore, there is a need for alternative cooling systems or cooling fluids, or to eliminate the use of clean cooling water.
Examples of processes for refining oils are disclosed by WO95/33809, WO86/04603, U.S. Pat. No. 4,089,880, U.S. Pat. No. 3,999,966, GB704232 and GB704232.
An aim for the present invention is to find an alternative process for the cooling of fatty acid distillates.
Another aim is to improve the heat recovery balance for production of refined oils.
Yet another aim is to improve the continuous process of crude oils and thus achieving high heat recovery and lower operating costs.


The charge transporting layer as the surface layer of an electrophotographic photosensitive member includes a charge transporting substances represented by any one of formulae (1) to (5), a specific compound, and a specific resin (binder resin). The specific compound is hexanol, heptanol, cyclohexanol, benzyl alcohol, ethylene glycol, 1,4-butanediol, 1,5-pentanediol, diethylene glycol, diethylene glycol ethyl methyl ether, ethylene carbonate, propylene carbonate, nitrobenzene, pyrrolidone, N-methylpyrrolidone, methyl benzoate, ethyl benzoate, benzyl acetate, ethyl 3-ethoxypropionate, acetophenone, methyl salicylate, dimethyl phthalate, or sulfolane.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electrophotographic photosensitive member, a process cartridge, and an electrophotographic apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
An electrophotographic photosensitive member which contains an organic photoconductive material (charge generation material) is commonly used as an electrophotographic photosensitive member mounted on an electrophotographic apparatus. Since an electrical or mechanical external force such as charging, exposure, development, transfer, and cleaning is directly applied to the surface of an electrophotographic photosensitive member when an electrophotographic apparatus repeatedly performs image formation, the surface of the electrophotographic photosensitive member needs to have durability against the external force. Furthermore, the surface of the electrophotographic photosensitive member needs to have reduced friction force (lubricity and sliding properties) applied to a contacting member (e.g. cleaning blade).
In order to have lubricity, the use of a polycarbonate resin having a specific siloxane moiety for the surface layer of an electrophotographic photosensitive member is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-195905 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-328416. In Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2010-126652, a polyester resin having a specific siloxane moiety is disclosed.
As a result of investigation by the present inventors, it was found that there is room for improvement in positive memory when a resin (polycarbonate resin or polyester resin) having a siloxane moiety at the end as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-195905, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-328416, and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2010-126652 and a charge transporting substance having a specific structure as a charge transporting substance are used.
The positive memory is a memory phenomenon caused by positive charging (charging with positive charge) of the surface of an electrophotographic photosensitive member. Examples of the situation that the surface of an electrophotographic photosensitive member is positively charged include a case that an electrophotographic photosensitive member and a charging member or a cleaning blade in contact with the electrophotographic photosensitive member are subject to sliding friction under impact due to vibration or falling in physical distribution so that positive charges are generated on the surface of the electrophotographic photosensitive member, and a case of positive charging during transferring.

Electrophotographic photosensitive member, process cartridge and electrophotographic apparatus


A disposable scrubber attachment for a windshield wiper effective in removing insect remains on a windshield glass is provided. The scrubber attachment is constructed by an elongated piece of a foam rubber wrapper in an elongated mesh netting. On one side of the foam rubber, a V-shaped channel is formed for intimately engaging a wiper blade. A fastening means, such as Velcro may be used to fasten the scrubber attachment to the wiper blade.

Windshield wipers have been used on motor vehicles since the motor vehicles have been invented. A windshield wiper assembly normally includes a control arm and a rubber blade for wiping and scrubbing. When a windshield wiper assembly is used in conjunction with a spray of windshield washing fluid on the glass, it is efficient in removing dirt and other normal debris found on a vehicle windshield after normal operation of the vehicle. However, when a motor vehicle has been operated at higher speeds, and especially in a rural location, i.e. driving on an expressway, flying insects are smeared on the windshield and become stubborn deposits that are very difficult to remove by the rubber blade and the washing fluid. After an extended period of expressway driving, one has to stop the vehicle on the roadside or at a gas station and try to clean the smeared insect remains from the windshield with a squeegee and a bucket of detergent. This becomes a hassle for long distance travelers, such as a professional truck driver to have to constantly clean his windshield.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an attachment for a wiper blade that can be used to clean insect remains from a windshield effectively.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a wiper blade attachment for effectively cleaning insect remains from a windshield that is low cost and readily disposable after use.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a wiper blade attachment that can be easily attached to wiper blade for cleaning insect remains from a windshield.

Disposable scrubber attachment for wipers


Embodiments of collimators for use in substrate processing chambers are provided herein. In some embodiments, a collimator includes: a body having a central region, a peripheral region, and a transitional region disposed between the central and peripheral regions; a first plurality of apertures in the central region having a first aspect ratio; a second plurality of apertures in the peripheral region having a second aspect ratio less than the first aspect ratio; and a third plurality of apertures in the transitional region, wherein the third plurality of apertures are cut so the transitional region forms a conical shape surrounding the central region.

Reliably producing submicron and smaller features is one of the key technological challenges for the next generation of very large scale integration (VLSI) and ultra large scale integration (ULSI) of semiconductor devices. However, as the miniaturization of circuit technology continues, the shrinking dimensions of interconnects in VLSI and ULSI technology have placed additional demands on the processing capabilities. For example, as circuit densities increase for next generation devices, the widths of interconnects, such as vias, trenches, contacts, gate structures and other features, as well as the dielectric materials therebetween, decrease while the thickness of the dielectric layers remains substantially constant, with the result of increasing the aspect ratios of the features.
Sputtering, also known as physical vapor deposition (PVD), is a commonly-used method of forming metallic features in integrated circuits. Sputtering deposits a material layer on a substrate. A source material, such as a target, is bombarded by ions strongly accelerated by an electric field. The bombardment ejects material from the target, and the material then deposits on the substrate. During deposition, ejected particles may travel in varying directions, rather than generally orthogonal to the substrate surface, thus resulting in overhanging structures formed on corners of high aspect ratio features in the substrate. Overhang may undesirably result in holes or voids formed within the deposited material, resulting in diminished electrical conductivity of the formed feature. Higher aspect ratio geometries have a higher degree of difficulty to fill without voids.
Controlling the ion fraction or ion density reaching the substrate surface to a particular range may improve the bottom and sidewall coverage during the metal layer deposition process (and reduce the overhang problem). In one example, the particles dislodged from the target may controlled via a process tool such as a collimator to facilitate providing a more vertical trajectory of particles into the feature. The collimator provides relatively long, straight, and narrow passageways between the target and the substrate to filter out non-vertically travelling particles which impact and stick to the passageways of the collimator.
The actual amount of filtering accomplished by a given collimator depends at least in part on the aspect ratio of the apertures through the collimator. As such, particles traveling on a path approaching normal to the substrate pass through the collimator and are deposited on the substrate, which improves coverage of the bottom of high aspect ratio features. However, certain problems exist with the use of prior art collimators, which typically have an overall hexagonal shape. Unfortunately, PVD chambers with a prior art collimator leave a six-point deposition near an edge of the substrate due to shadowing of the corners of the hexagonal collimator.
Thus, the inventors have provided improved embodiments of apparatus with improved deposition uniformity.

Collimator for use in substrate processing chambers