A smoothness absorbency tester for testing the porosity characteristic of an elongated porous strip of material. A movable surface is provided on a frame and is adapted to support thereon the strip to be tested. A drive mechanism is provided for driving the movable surface. A blade is provided on the frame and is supported for movement toward and away from the movable surface. The blade defines an upwardly opening reservoir with one wall of the reservoir being defined by the aforesaid movable surface having the strip of material supported thereon. A liquid dispensing device is provided for dispensing a liquid of a predetermined viscosity into the reservoir so that the liquid contacts the strip of material. The blade means prevents a run-off of the liquid in the direction of movement of the strip of material and thereby holds the liquid in the reservoir to be absorbed by the strip of material moving relative to the blade. Structure is provided for detecting and indicating the absence of the liquid in the reservoir. Timing apparatus is provided for timing an interval of time between the introduction of liquid into the reservoir and the indication of the absence of liquid therein.

This invention arose out of a need to determine the smoothness and absorbency characteristic of paper. However, it is to be recognized that the features of this invention are readily applicable to the testing of the smoothness and absorbency characteristic of any type of porous material.
A problem has heretofore existed in the manufacture of paper, to one side of which is applied a silicone substance to enable the writing on the opposite side thereof to be transferred onto the upper surface of a separate second page without the use of a separate sheet of carbon paper. Often times this coated material will smear onto the upper surface of the second page. It was heretofore thought that the substance which was coated onto the paper was at fault and primarily responsible for the smearing characteristic. However, recent tests have indicated that the smearing characteristic is directly related to the smoothness and absorbency characteristic of the paper. It has now become a problem to determine which paper has suitable characteristics to enable this coating procedure to take place and to eliminate the smearing characteristic.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a smoothness and absorbency apparatus to facilitate the determination of the porosity characteristic of a porous material prior to its being coated with a coating substance.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a method for determining the porosity characteristic of a porous material prior to its being coated with a coating material.
It is a further object of this invention to provide an apparatus which is durable, simple to operate, easy to maintain and to provide the necessary data from which it can be determined whether the tested material has a suitable porosity characteristic for the application of a specified coating material thereto.
It is a further object of this invention to provide an apparatus capable of driving an elongated strip of material at a specified speed relative to a reservoir from which is applied a liquid having a predetermined viscosity and a timer for timing the interval of time that it takes for the liquid to be absorbed into the moving strip of material.


A wearable device, a monitoring method and an intelligent monitoring system are disclosed. The wearable device includes an obtaining module, a timing module, a processing and a reminding module. The obtaining module is configured to obtain a current motion state of a user. The timing module is configured to generate a triggering signal when the time for which the user is in the current motion state reaches the predetermined time, so as to trigger the processing module to obtain a reminding signal corresponding to the current motion state of the user. The reminding module is configured to issue a reminder to remind the user to change the motion state.

Smart watches usually have built-in intelligent operating systems and can connect with the Internet or mobile phones, thereby going beyond the only function of timing in the past.
However, the smart watches in the related art can only accomplish commonly used functions such as recording information, displaying information of incoming calls, providing weather forecast information and performing voice communications. In the context of the Internet of Things, there lacks a technical portal for providing functional technologies that achieve interconnection between people and between people and things, and better user experiences.

Wearable device, monitoring method and intelligent monitoring system


In a magnetic tape cassette of the type having an upper shell, a lower shell and a pivotable guard panel assembled together to hold therein a magnetic tape wound on a pair of tape reels, a mouth is provided in said lower shell along a front side of said tape cassette for receiving therein a loading pole for withdrawing a segment of the magnetic tape from said tape cassette, and a protective plate is pivotably mounted on said lower shell behind said guard panel and is cooperative with said guard panel to enclose the segment of the magnetic tape for protecting the latter against damage. The protective plate is pivotally movable within the mouth independently from the guard panel and hence it does not increase a maximum height of the tape cassette when the guard panel is disposed in the open position. The protective plate is lockingly engageable with the guard panel to hold the latter in the closed position against displacement. A plurality of independently movable plate members compose the protective plate.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a magnetic tape cassette particularly suitable for use in magnetic recording and/or reproducing apparatus such as video tape recorders.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In general, magnetic tape cassettes of the type concerned include a housing composed of an upper shell and a lower shell assembled together to contain a length of a magnetic tape wound on a pair of reels. The magnetic tape is protected by a guard panel except when the tape cassette is loaded in a magnetic recording and/or reproducing apparatus such as a video tape recorder. One such known magnetic tape cassette is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. 59-168979.
The disclosed tape cassette includes a front lid and a rear lid normally disposed on opposite sides of a segment of the magnetic tape extending across the front side of the tape cassette, so as to enclose and thereby protect the magnetic tape against damage. The rear lid is integrally formed with a generally T-shaped top cover and includes a pair of pivot pins connected to the front lid, a pair of support arms and a pair of guide pins formed on the support arms, respectively, for pivotal movement of the rear lid relative to the tape cassette. The rear lid thus constructed has a complicated configuration. In addition, the lower shell has a pair of guide grooves in which the guide pins on the rear lid are slidably received.
The front and rear lids are pivotally movable between a closed position in which they enclose the magnetic tape in the manner described above, and an open position in which they are superposed one upon another on the upper shell. With this superposed arrangement, the maximum operational height of the tape cassette (namely, the distance from the under surface of the lower shell to a highest part of the front lid) is 1.5 times as large as the distance between the under surface of the lower shell and the upper surface of the upper shell. The tape cassette having such a large operational height is disadvantageous because a higher video tape recorder is needed.
When the front and rear lids are disposed in the closed position, the front lid is locked in position against displacement by a lock lever resiliently urged by a torsion coil spring. When the tape cassette is loaded in the video tape recorder, an unlock member abuts against a releasing projection on the lock lever to turn the lock lever against the force of the torsion coil spring, thereby unlocking the front lid. At the same time, a lid opening member lifts the front lid up until the front lid and the rear lid connected thereto turn in an open direction through an angle of about 90 degrees against the force of the torsion coil spring, thereby opening a front recessed portion or mouth across which a segment of the magnetic tape extends.
The lock lever and the torsion coil spring, which are provided to lock the front and rear lids in the closed position against accidental exposure of the magnetic tape, increase the number of structural components of the tape cassette and make a lid locking mechanism complicated in construction.

Magnetic tape cassette with a plurality of independently movable protective plate members


A device is disclosed for transferring electrical signals and electric energy to a data memory (6) of a cassette (1) for radiation-sensitive recording material (11), the memory being connectable to a signal processing unit (4) and a power source (5) of a cassette identification apparatus (2). Means are provided between cassette (1) and cassette identification apparatus (2) for radio-frequency and galvanically insulated transfer of the signals and the electric energy. Such means feature a coupling device (3) having capacitive, inductive or opto-electric coupling elements that are resistant to corrosion, soiling and wear. Furthermore, the means comprise a signal processing unit (4) having signal transmitter circuits (41, 42, 43) and signal receiver circuits (44, 45, 46) for radio-frequency signals, and a power source (5) having an energy transmitter circuit (52) and an energy receiver circuit (53) for a radio-frequency voltage. The signal processing unit (4) is provided with a microprocessor-controlled CPU (40) for producing and processing the signals, and the energy transmitter circuit (52) features an oscillator circuit (51) for producing the radio-frequency voltage, said oscillator circuit being controllable by means of the signals emitted by the CPU. The energy receiver circuit (53) comprises a signal separating circuit (54) to produce a signal for activating the memory (6).

Devices for transferring electrical signals and electric energy used in cassettes and processing apparatus for radiation-sensitive recording material are known.
From DE-OS 37 31 204 or EP-AP 0307760 an X-ray cassette and a cassette identification apparatus are known to transfer electric energy and electrical signals. Fixed to the X-ray cassette is a memory, in particular a semi-conductor memory (EEPROM), for storing data referring to the patient, the recording material and the cassette. The memory can be connected to a data entry, retrieval and erase section and a power source of the cassette identification apparatus.
It is the object of the invention to provide a device of the generic type having a simple, sturdy and compact structure, in particular a coupling means which is resistant to corrosion, soiling and wear.
The cassette holding radiation-sensitive recording material should also offer safe and easy handling with respect to a cassette identification apparatus and particularly the memory should be protected against loss of data caused by electrostatic charges when handling the cassette and interfering pulses produced by the cassette identification apparatus.
Moreover, a low-loss transfer of both signals and energy at a high transfer rate should be guaranteed.

Device for transferring electrical signals and electric energy to the memory device of a cassette


An external pulling tool for retrieving a fish from a wellbore comprises a mandrel fixedly secured to an upper sub, an outer cover fixedly secured to and depending from the upper sub, a collet assembly telescopically surrounding the bottom portion of the mandrel and a support sleeve telescopically surrounding the collet assembly and positioned between the collet assembly and the outer cover. An expandable fluid cavity is formed between a portion of the facing surfaces of the support sleeve and the mandrel. A coil spring, which is disposed between the support sleeve and the upper sub, downwardly biases the support sleeve so that it rests against a lower shoulder on the outer cover when fluid pressure is not applied to the expandable cavil. The collet assembly includes a plurality of collet fingers, each having a collet head at the end thereof. The collet fingers are naturally outwardly radially biased in the direction of the outer cover. When the support sleeve rests on the lower shoulder, the collet heads are radially inwardly displaced or wedged. Before lowering or raising the outer cover to surround the fish, the support sleeve is raised by introducing fluid pressure into the expandable catty, which causes the collet heads to assume their inactive position. When lowering the external pulling tool onto the fish in this manner, collet fingers, which have low bucking resistance, do not collide with nor are axially displaced by the fish.

A great variety of tools have been devised for the purpose of recovering articles dropped or broken off in oil well operations. Such lost objects are usually referred to as "fish" and the retrieval tool as a "fishing tool."
In U.S. pat. No. 5,242,201, granted to the applicant of the present invention, there is disclosed in one embodiment one form of a fishing tool known as a fishing spear. With reference to FIG. 13, the fishing spear A of the '201 patent includes an upper sub 10' having a shoulder 14' against which spring 16' bears. The opposite end of spring 16' bears on shoulder 18' formed on collet ring 20'. Collet ring 20' is mounted for translatable movement on mandrel 12'. Collet ring 20' has an outer cover 22' fixedly attached thereto. A variable volume cavity 34' is formed between collet ring 20' and mandrel 12'.
Collet ring 20' includes a plurality of collet fingers 36' with each collet finger 36' having a collet head 38' at the end thereof. Collet heads 38' are shown abutting the lower surface of mandrel 12'. More particularly, collet heads 38' are positioned against large diameter portion 40' of mandrel 12' immediately above shoulder 46'.
Fish 48' has an internal groove 50'. The outside diameter of collet heads 38', when seated against the large diameter portion 40' of mandrel 12', is larger than opening 54' of fish 48'. When spear A is used to retrieve fish 48', the end of mandrel 12' is inserted into fish 48' as shown in FIG. 13. As further seen in FIG. 14, further displacement of the end of mandrel 12' into fish 48' causes collet heads 38' to come into contact with fish 48', causing the upward displacement of collet heads 38' as the end of mandrel 12' continues to enter fish 48'. As collet heads 38' are pushed upwardly along mandrel 12' due to the engagement with fish 48', spring 16' is compressed and variable volume cavity 34' increases in volume.
A lower lip 47' is formed on the bottom of upper sub 10'. Spring 16' surrounds lower lip 46'. The expansion of variable volume cavity 34', i.e., the upward movement of collet 20', is limited by the full compression of coil spring 16'. During the upward movement of collet 20' along mandrel 12', collet heads 38' first slide along enlarged diameter portion 40' of mandrel 12', and then up inclined ramp 42'. Collet heads 38' are cammed towards reduced diameter portion 44' by fish 48' after sliding up inclined ramp 42'. Collet 20' continues to slide upwardly along mandrel 12' until spring 16' is fully compressed. A circumferential gap 24' is created between fingers 36' and cover 22'. At this point, the external diameter of collet heads 38' is less than opening 54' of fish 48', so further axial movement of spear A into fish 48' causes collet heads 38'to enter fish 48'.
When collet heads 38' are positioned within fish 48' (not shown in FIGS. 13 and 14), and more particularly when collet heads 38' are adjacent internal groove 50' in fish 48', the direction of mandrel movement is reversed. This causes collet heads 38' to slide down inclined ramp 42'. As they do so, collet heads 38' are pushed radially outwardly into internal groove 50' of fish 48'. Mandrel 12' is further raised until collet heads 38' are again positioned immediately above lower shoulder 46' of mandrel 12'. Collet heads 38' are then locked into internal groove 50' and fish 48' can be raised.
The fishing spear of the '201 patent requires an initial collision between collet heads 38' and fish 48' in order to push collet heads 38' up large diameter portion 40' and along inclined surface 42' on mandrel 12' to the point where their diameter is reduced far enough so that they can enter fish 48'. The collet ring 20' of the '201 patent is generally a relatively thin tubular body, having essentially cantilevered collet fingers 36' extending therefrom. Due to their relative thinness, collet fingers 36' inherently have low buckling strength. The repeated collisions and buckling forces sustained by collet ring 20' weakens fingers 36', sometimes to the point where fingers 36' rupture, leaving broken collet fingers 36' and collet heads 36' in the well casing.
Further, well casings are generally rather harsh environments. Debris such as sand, carbolite and scale accumulate within and on the sides of the well casing. In addition, when using wireline units, segments of wire become torn from the unit and are left in the well casing. Moreover, segments of the well casing are often attached with casing collars, which can create irregularities in the internal diameter of a well casing. Consequently, when fishing in a well casing, the tool collides with the irregularity. Still further yet, the well casing itself sometimes is not perfectly axially aligned, creating further irregularities which must be traversed by the fishing tool. These and numerous other general characteristics of well casings create hazards for fishing tools.
The '201 fishing spear design includes external operating mechanisms, including collet ring 20', cover 22' and spring 16', which reciprocate to contribute to the retraction and expansion of the collet heads 38'. Spring 16', cover 22' and shoulder 46' are exposed to the inside of the well casing. Consequently, when traveling down the well casing to engage a fish and when being pulled from well casing after the fish has been secured, sand, carbolite, scale and other debris tends to accumulate in the toroidal space defined on the outside by spring 16', on the inside by mandrel 12', at the top by lip 47' and at the bottom by shoulder 18'. Not only does the presence of these foreign substances cause spring 16' to wear, they also impact on the performance of the fishing tool by, e.g., preventing complete compression of the spring during expansion of cavity 34'.
In addition, after collet heads 38' ride up inclined surface 42' on mandrel 12' and become positioned against reduced diameter portion 44', circumferential gap 24' (FIG. 14) opens. Debris within the well casing often collects within circumferential gap 24'. The debris in gap 24' tends to wedge collet fingers 36' and collet heads 38' into the inactive position, i.e., against reduced diameter portion 44' of mandrel 12'. Under normal operations when mandrel 12' is raised after it has been inserted into fish 48', collet heads 38' ride along inclined surface 42'. Any debris within gap 24', however, tends to prevent collet fingers 36' from returning flush with casing 22'. If the collet heads 38' are forcefully returned to the active position, i.e., against enlarged diameter portion 40', collet fingers 36' may be caused to bend slightly about a point defined by the debris. In an extreme case, debris accumulates in gap 24' to the extent that collet heads 38' are prevented from sliding down inclined surface 42' and against the enlarged diameter portion 40' of mandrel 12'. In other words, the tool jams.
Still further, since the '201 fishing spear is mechanically actuated, collet heads 38' may begin sliding up mandrel 12' without encountering a fish. This could occur, for instance, if the tool traverses a misaligned casing collar. Casing collars are generally provided every 30-50 feet in the well casing. With well casings often exceeding 10,000 feet in depth, collisions between fish and misaligned casing collars are not uncommon. Thus, if any of the casing collars are out of alignment, the '201 fishing spear abuts against them, causing premature actuation of the fishing spear. While the '201 spear often successfully passes misaligned collars, gap 24' is opened to debris.
Another fishing tool disclosed in the '201 patent is depicted in FIGS. 15-18. This form a fishing tool is referred to in the industry as an overshot or an external pulling tool. For convenience, reference numerals in FIGS. 13-14 are used in FIGS. 15-18 to depict similar elements. With reference to FIG. 15, overshot A includes an upper sub 10' having a shoulder 14' against which spring 16' bears. The opposite end of spring 16' bears on shoulder 18' formed on collet ring 20'. Collet ring 20' is mounted for translatable movement on mandrel 12'. An outer cover 22' is fixedly attached to upper sub 10'. Outer cover 22' includes at the lower end thereof a lower shoulder 46', vertical small internal diameter surface 40', inclined surface 42' and vertical large diameter surface 44'. A variable volume cavity 34' is formed between collet ring 20' and mandrel 12'.
Collet ring 20' includes a plurality of collet fingers 36' with each collet finger 36' having a collet head 38' at the end thereof. Collet heads 38' rest on lower shoulder 46' of outer cover 22'. Fish 48' has an external groove 50'. The inside diameter of collet heads 38', when seated on lower shoulder 46' of cover 22', is larger than the outside diameter of fish 48'. When overshot A is used to retrieve fish 48', outer cover 22' is lowered over fish 48' as shown in FIG. 15. As further seen in FIG. 16, further displacement of overshot A causes collet heads 38' to come into contact with fish 48', causing the upward displacement of collet heads 38' along surface 40'. As collet heads 38' are pushed upwardly along surface 40', spring 16' is compressed and variable volume cavity 34' increases in volume.
During the further upward movement of collet 20' along mandrel 12', collet heads 38' then slide up inclined ramp 42'. Collet heads 38' are cammed towards vertical large diameter surface 44' by fish 48' after sliding up inclined ramp 42'. At this point, the internal diameter of collet heads 38' is greater than the external diameter of fish 48', so further axial movement of overshot onto fish 48' causes collet heads 38' to surround fish 48'.
When collet heads 38' are adjacent internal groove 50' in fish 48' (FIG. 17), the direction of overshot movement is reversed. This causes collet heads 38' to slide down inclined ramp 42'. As they do so, collet heads 38' are pushed radially inwardly into external groove 50'. Overshot A is further raised until collet heads 38' rest on top of lower shoulder 46' (FIG. 18). Collet heads 38' are then locked into external groove 50' and fish 48' can be raised.
As with the first prior art embodiment, overshot A requires an initial collision between collet heads 38' and fish 48' in order to push collet heads 38' up surface 40' and along inclined surface 42'. The repeated collisions and buckling forces sustained by collet ring 20' weakens fingers 36'.
These and other disadvantages of the fishing spear and overshot of the '201 patent are addressed by the improved fishing spear and overshot/external pulling tool of the claimed invention.

External pulling tool and method of operation


The present invention relates to a system for dispensing a product. The system may include a receptacle containing the product, a tilt-type valve on the receptacle, and a dispensing head for actuating the tilt-type valve and dispensing the product. The dispensing head may include at least one orifice for dispensing the product. The dispensing head and the tilt-type valve may be configured such that actuation of the tilt-type valve may be achieved only by applying a force on the tilt-type valve in a direction lateral to the tilt-type valve.

The present invention relates to a system for dispensing a product, for example, a cosmetic product such as a care product, a body-hygiene product, a hair-care product, a make-up product, and/or a sunscreen product. The product could optionally be, for example, in the form of a spray, a foam, a mousse, a gel, or a cream.
In the field of aerosol packaging, two general types of valve are known. The first type is a so-called push-in valve whose actuation may result from a force exerted exclusively on an actuation surface along an axis of the valve. The second type is a so-called tilt-type valve whose actuation may result from a force exerted laterally (i.e., transversely) to the axis of the tilt-type valve or a force exerted axially (i.e., along the axis of the tilt-type valve). The choice of the valve type may depend on the location to which the product is to be applied. An exemplary tilt-type valve is described in International Publication No. WO 95/03234.
One of the possible advantages of tilt-type valves may lie in the fact that, by virtue of their configuration, actuation may be generated in response to both a lateral force and an axial force. This characteristic may enable the use of such a device in numerous actuation positions.
This actuation characteristic of tilt-type valves, however, could, in certain applications, be a disadvantage due at least in part to the strong tendency of certain products to clog or to oxidize on contact with air. For example, in some applications, it may be desirable to close off the dispensing orifice as hermetically as possible. To this end, it may be desirable to use a cap whose inner surface includes a member (e.g., a spike) which when on the dispenser, bears against the edges delimiting the dispensing orifice in a substantially leaktight manner. In such a configuration, the placing of the cap on the dispenser may generate an accidental actuation of the valve by means of an inadvertent axial pushing-in of the valve, resulting in an unintended dispensing of the product. The product could possibly soil the dispensing head, which may interfere with the intended use of the device.
In the above-mentioned WO 95/03234 reference, the risk of accidental actuation may be somewhat reduced (although not fully eliminated) by arranging the dispensing orifice at an end of a passage located in a recess delimited by the dispensing head, with the axial position of the orifice being below the axial position of an upper opening delimited by an edge of the recess. This configuration, however, may fail to solve the accidental actuation problem encountered when the product is of a type requiring a highly leaktight closure of the outlet orifice, for example. In fact, a cap equipped with a stud capable of engaging with the outlet orifice of the valve rod may generate accidental actuation of the valve rod by transmitting an axial force on the valve when the cap is placed on the dispenser.
Moreover, such a device may be unsatisfactory for dispensing a product in the form of, for example, a cream, a foam, or a gel. These products may have a high viscosity such that they cannot be sprayed. Such products may need to be transferred onto a finger of the user when they exit the dispensing orifice. Transferring product onto a finger, however, may be difficult to accomplish when the dispensing orifice is inside a recess.
A similar accidental actuation problem may arise in the device described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,583,607. In this reference, the dispensing orifice emerges laterally and is on a piece slipped over the valve rod. The piece delimits an actuation zone in the form of a tongue, which may be capable of causing product to exit in response to a force exerted both laterally and axially.
An optional feature of the invention is to provide a system of the aerosol can-type that may use a tilt-type valve and which substantially reduces the risk of accidental actuation when replacing a protective cap. Optionally, the system may address one or more disadvantages of conventional devices.
Another optional feature of the invention is to provide a system that is economical to produce and that is simple and reliable to use.
Yet another optional feature of the invention is to provide a system that uses a tilt-type valve and may be used with products in the form of a cream, a gel, and/or a foam.
Yet another optional feature of the invention is to provide a device that can be used with products that may deteriorate on contact with the air.
In accordance with the purpose of the invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, the invention includes a system for dispensing a product. The system may include a receptacle for containing a product, a tilt-type valve provided on the receptacle, and a dispensing head for actuating the tilt-type valve and dispensing the product. The dispensing head may include a passage selectively in flow communication with the receptacle through the tilt-type valve, and at least one orifice at one end of the passage. The at least one orifice may be axially fixed.
According to another optional aspect, the dispensing head for actuating the tilt-type valve may include at least one orifice for dispensing the product. The dispensing head and tilt-type valve may be configured such that actuation of the tilt-type valve may be achieved only by applying a force on the tilt-type valve in a direction lateral to the tilt-type valve.
In yet another optional aspect, the dispensing head may include a passage selectively in flow communication with the receptacle through the tilt-type valve, and at least one orifice at an end of the passage. The dispensing head and tilt-type valve may be configured such that the end of the passage having the at least one orifice remains substantially stationary when the tilt-type valve is actuated.
According to still another optional aspect, the dispensing head may include a passage selectively in flow communication with the receptacle through the tilt-type valve, at least one orifice at an end of the passage, and an actuation surface. The dispensing head and tilt-type valve may be configured so that an axial force applied to the actuation surface does not actuate the tilt-type valve.
A force exerted laterally on the tilt-type valve is a force exerted in a direction that is not parallel to the axis of the valve or the axis of the valve rod with which such a tilt-type valve is equipped. For example, a lateral force may be a force in a direction substantially perpendicular to the axis of the tilt-type valve or the axis of the valve rod. Thus, unlike conventional devices that may be equipped with a tilt-type valve that can be actuated both by axial pushing-in and by lateral tilting, the valve of the system according to the present invention optionally may be actuated only by lateral tilting.
In other words, according to one optional aspect of the invention, the configuration of the dispensing head and the tilt-type valve may be selected such that actuation of the valve by axially pushing in the valve cannot take place. Only a force exerted transversely to the valve rod may be able to actuate the tilt-type valve.
Thus, when the system includes a cap having a part intended for engaging in a substantially leaktight manner with the dispensing orifice, the risks of accidental actuation of the tilt-type valve when replacing the cap may be substantially reduced.
Similarly when the product (e.g., in the form of a gel, a foam, or a cream) is to be taken directly from the dispensing orifice, such as with a finger or the hand, the risks of generating an undesired actuation of the tilt-type valve when the product is being taken may also be substantially reduced.
In another optional aspect, the dispensing head may include means for fastening the dispensing head onto the receptacle. For example, the means may include snap-fitting the dispensing head on the receptacle, the use of adhesive bonding, and/or the use of threads to fasten the dispensing head onto the receptacle. The dispensing orifice may emerge in a portion of the dispensing head fixed axially relative to the receptacle.
An additional optional aspect may include a system wherein the receptacle defines an axis, and wherein the at least one orifice is located substantially along the axis of the receptacle. Alternatively, the at least one orifice may be located outside of the axis (i.e., not substantially along the axis). In this latter case, the dispensing orifice may be oriented, for example, in a direction inclined relative to the axis. The choice of one configuration or another may depend on the product to be applied and/or on the application surface.
Yet another optional aspect of the invention may include a system wherein the dispensing head may include at least one actuation surface for actuating the tilt-type valve. The at least one actuation surface may be configured to flex about a zone of the dispensing head located substantially adjacent to the at least one orifice. The zone may alternatively be located on a portion of the dispensing head substantially opposite from the at least one orifice.
In still another aspect, the dispensing head may be provided with two or more actuation surfaces. These actuation surfaces may be distributed in a substantially equidistant manner along a periphery of the dispensing head. Such actuation surfaces may be delimited at least partially by a cutout formed, for example, when molding the dispensing head. Optionally, the actuation surface(s) may be molded initially in a position corresponding to an operating position. The dispensing head may consist of a single piece.
According to another optional aspect, the dispensing head may further include a coupling element. The coupling element may couple the at least one actuation surface to a portion of the dispensing head.
In yet another optional aspect, when the dispensing head includes the passage, the passage may include a channel emerging at the orifice. The channel may be defined by the portion of the dispensing head that includes the zone about which the at least one actuation surface flexes. This portion of the dispensing head may be optionally configured to engage the tilt-type valve, for example, by force-fitting.
According to another optional aspect, when the dispensing head does not include the passage, the dispensing head may include a channel emerging at the orifice. The channel may be defined by the portion of the dispensing head that includes the zone about which the at least one actuation surface flexes.
In another optional aspect, the at least one actuation surface may be configured to move from a first position (e.g., molding position) in which the coupling element is remote from the portion of the dispensing head that includes the flex zone and the channel, to a second position (e.g., operating position) in which the coupling element is configured to engage with the portion of the dispensing head that includes the flex zone and the channel and to actuate the tilt-type valve in response to a force exerted laterally on the at least one actuation surface.
In an aspect, the at least one actuation surface may be molded in a position other than that corresponding to the operating position. The moving of the at least one actuation surface from one position to the other may include, for example, pivoting about an axis (e.g., film hinge) perpendicular to the axis of the valve.
According to another optional aspect of the invention, the system may include a cap for removably covering the dispensing head. The cap may include a member configured to provide a substantially leaktight closure of the orifice. Such a cap may be mounted removably on the system, for example, by threading onto the dispensing head or receptacle, by snap-fitting, by grip-mounting, or other appropriate method. Such a cap may optionally include a member, such as a stud, a boss, a skirt, or a spike, for example, capable of being applied in a substantially leaktight manner against the at least one orifice of the dispensing head. This member may be produced of the same material forming the cap or a different material. In the latter case, the cap may be obtained by dual injection. For example, the seal may be formed of an elastomeric material, and the remainder of the cap may be formed of a rigid or semi-rigid material, such as polypropylene or polyethylene.
In yet another optional aspect of the system, the product may be pressurized. The product may include a cosmetic product, for example, a hair-care product, a body-hygiene product, a make-up product, a care product, and/or a sunscreen product.
The optional systems described herein may be useful for preparing a cosmetic composition, for example, a hair composition, with a first product being an oxidizing agent and a second product being a dye.
Aside from the structural and procedural arrangements set forth above, the invention could include a number of other arrangements, such as those explained hereinafter. It is to be understood, that both the foregoing description and the following description are exemplary.


A process and apparatus for producing light conducting fibers characterized by introducing multi-component glasses into a quartz glass crucible, melting the multi-component glasses, homogenizing and refining the melt, subsequently drawing the glass fiber through an opening in the base of the quartz crystal and then coating the fiber with an optically active synthetic material. During the homogenizing and refining of the melt, gas, such as dry oxygen, is introduced and passed through the melt. So that fibers of any length can be drawn, additional glass material in the form of premanufactured, highly pure glass rods are introduced into the crucible as necessary.

The present invention is directed to a process and apparatus for the production of light conducting fibers which have a low degree of attenuation and a high numerical aperture. The glass fiber is coated with an optically active synthetic casing or cladding.
Low attenuation light conducting fibers having a high numerical aperture are currently produced by a glass, plastic process in which commercially available quartz glass rods are drawn to form fibers at a temperature of approximately 2000.degree. C. and are then coated after drawing with an optically active synthetic casing material which generally consists of polysiloxane. A discussion of these methods are contained in an article by J. G. Grabmaier et al, "Preparation and Properties of Low-Loss Optical Fibers with Fused-Silica Core and Plastic Cladding", Siemens Forschungs-und Entwicklungsbereicht, Vol. 6, No. 5, 1977, pp. 314-319. The use of an extremely pure quartz glass rod as a fiber core material means that these fibers are relatively expensive and furthermore can only be produced in a specific length which is dependent upon the size of the rod. Thus, the process is a discontinuous process. Furthermore, during the fiber drawing process, particles of dust and dirt can pass from the heating zone to the quartz glass rod and to the fiber surface with the result of which the tensile strength of the fiber is considerably reduced and attenuation is increased. A discussion of these problems is contained in an article by H. Aulich et al, "Preparation of Optical Fibers of High Tensile Strength", Siemens Forschungs-und Entwicklungsbereicht, Vol. 7, No. 3, 1978, pp. 158-165.

Process and apparatus for the production of light conducting fibers


A tubular duct is provided for ship propellers with blade tips having barrier plates extending transversely therefrom. The tubular ducts are effectively arranged to extend the barrier plates in a manner which, in operation, directs a fluid stream in substantially shock-free contact with such plates.

The following techniques may be employed to impart finite circulation (or loading) values to blade tips of marine propellers used to power ships:
(a) having the propellers operate inside a nozzle or in any closed duct having a circular cross section which is coaxial with the propeller, and PA1 (b) adding closing plates to the tip sections of the propeller blades in a manner similar to that described in such U.S. patents as No. 28,688 (Porter), No. 170,937 (Cook), No. 652,123 (Lavigne), No. 675,477 (Hall) and No. 695,389 (Hammond).
The noted closing plates can be linked to form a concentric ring with the propeller.


A heart-assist device which includes a flexible catheter carrying at least a ventricular balloon, such balloon corresponding in size and shape to the size and shape of the left ventricle in the heart being assisted, the ventricular balloon being progressively inflated creating a wave-like pushing effect and deflated synchronously and automatically by means of a control console which responds to heart signals from the catheter or elsewhere, the catheter optionally also carrying an aortic inflated and deflated automatically and synchronously (but in opposite phase) with the ventricular balloon by means of the control console to ensure high speed inflation-deflation.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to heart-assist devices and, more particularly, to such devices incorporating balloon pumps.
2. Prior Art
During the past thirty years there has been an ever-increasing frequency of heart surgery and greater study and knowledge of the functions of the heart. One of the product groups which has resulted from this increased activity in the knowledge of the function of the heart has been what are known as temporary circulatory-assist devices. The purpose of such devices is to stabilize, hemodynamically, a failing circulatory system resulting from a failure in the pumping action of the heart. Beneficial results have been realized by the use of heart-assist devices in patients with cardiogenic shock and in severe acute myocardial ischemia. Further, in the critical moments before or after a heart transplantation or after open heart surgical procedures, temporary support of the cardiocirculatory system is crucial.
These heart-assist devices are intended to give the heart muscle the necessary time to rest and optionally to recover.
The best known of the circulatory-assist devices is the intra-aortic balloon with its counterpulsation capability. With the development of percutaneous techniques for the balloon insertion (for example, through the femoral artery) it is possible to give immediate response to a critical heart condition. However, with the intra-aortic balloon, the cardiac output is increased approximately thirty to forty percent. It is clear that a more effective heart-assist device is necessary, particularly in the first moments of intervention, to prevent deterioration of the circulatory system of the patient.
Therefore, it is an object of this invention to provide a heart-assist device which is compact, is easily handled by a single specialist, is completely a traumatic both to the ventricular chamber and to the blood volume constituents, and is highly effective so as to achieve nearly normal physiological conditions during its use.

Heart-assist balloon pump with segmented ventricular balloon


A removable battery cover on an electrical device such as a toy or appliance is secured to the device with a tether. The tether may comprise a flexible elongated member with an adhesive connector attached to each end.

Many electronic appliances and toys require batteries. These batteries are typically contained in a cavity covered by a removable cover. Often the cover is needed to hold the batteries in place. If the cover is lost, batteries are not maintained in adequate contact with the appropriate electric terminals and power is lost to the appliance or toy rendering it useless. Further, if the cover is lost, batteries fall out and again power is lost to the appliance or toy. There is thus a need for a way to prevent loss of battery covers for such appliances and toys.


A pulp washer including: a cylindrical assembly of trays to receive pulp, wherein the assembly rotates the trays through at least one wash stage; a housing having a header to direct pulp to the trays and the at least one wash stage, wherein the housing has at least one access port aligned with one or more of the trays; a screen plate in each tray of the assembly, wherein the screen plate has apertures sized to retain pulp fibers and allow liquid to pass through the plate, and a screen hinge attached to a side edge of the screen plate and to the tray, wherein the screen plate pivots about the hinge to allow a cleaning spray to be applied to an outer screen plate surface and a back screen plate surface.

The present invention relates to pulp washing systems and, particularly, to a method and apparatus for periodically cleaning screens in a drum pulp washing system.
Drum washers are used in various fiberline process stages to displace high solids filtrate from pulp stock. A drum displacement washer, such as the Drum Displacer® (DD) Washer supplied by Andritz Oy of Finland, is typically a pressurized multistage washer. A DD Washer includes a rotating drum having rows of trays filled with pulp as wash liquid is sprayed on the trays. The wash liquid passes through the pulp in the tray and removes chemicals and filtrate from the pulp. Screens in the bottom of the trays allow the wash liquid to pass through the trays and retain the pulp in the trays.
The screens may clog and corrode due to the pulp fibers retained by the screens and the flow of wash liquid, chemicals and filtrate through the screens. The screens are periodically cleaned to open clogged screen slots and remove corrosion on the screens. The screens are cleaned while the drum is stopped and the washer undergoes maintenance.
Cleaning both sides of conventional screens typically requires the screens to be removed from the tray by sliding the screen from the end of the tray. Accessing the ends of the trays to remove the screens is difficult due to the housing encasing the drum. Cleaning of the screens is typically a time consuming operation because of the difficulty in removing and replacing screens from the axial ends of the trays. Alternatively, the screens are partially cleaned by spray washing the upper surface of the screens. This alternative spray washing technique does not spray the bottom surfaces of the screens. This alternative spray washing technique is performed quickly and, thus, has advantages over cleaning by removing the screens. However, the alternative spray washing technique does not clean the bottom of the screens. Accordingly, there is a long felt need for an improved system and method to clean both sides of the screens in the trays of a pulp washer.

Hinged screen plate for drum pulp washer and method for cleaning the plate


A Si or Ge semi-conductor substrate includes an oxygen monolayer on a surface thereof. The oxygen monolayer can be fractional or complete. A Si4+ or Ge4+ oxidation state of the surface of the Si or Ge substrate, respectively, resulting from the presence of the oxygen monolayer represents less than 50%, preferably less than 40% and more preferably less than 30% of the sum of Si1+, Si2+, Si3+ and Si4+ oxidation states or the sum of Ge1+, Ge2+, Ge3+ and Ge4+ oxidation states, respectively, as measured by XPS.

The next generation of semiconductor devices will benefit from thin dielectrics in order to achieve low equivalent oxide thickness. However, thin dielectrics lead to increased leakage current. High-k dielectrics have been considered as a potential candidate to replace silicon dioxide. A technique widely studied for the deposition of such high-k dielectrics is Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD). ALD has the advantage of enabling control of the dielectric thickness at the single atomic layer level.
Ge and Si tend to oxidize in air and form a so-called native oxide layer on their surface. This native oxide layer is however an insulator of relatively poor quality and its thickness is variable. A typical operation before high-k deposition is therefore the removal of this native oxide layer. For Si, this is typically performed by a cleaning step in a HF solution. The resulting surface is hydrogen terminated and therefore hydrophobic.
High-k dielectric materials tend not to nucleate properly on hydrophobic surfaces. For instance, Gusev et al. (Microelec. Eng., 69, 145 (2003)) demonstrated that HfO2 nucleates poorly on H-terminated Si substrates, resulting in high transistor gate leakage current. A more reactive surface is required to enable chemisorption of high-k dielectric ALD precursors. Chemisorption reactions depend on reactivity and on the number of surface sites. Obtaining a complete hydrophilic surface having an as limited as possible impact on the quality of the dielectric layer is a much sought-after target. For the moment, a common approach to make the Si substrate hydrophilic is, after removal of contamination, to oxidize the Si substrate by rapid thermal oxidation. The thickness of the hydrophilic layer obtained is however difficult to control and typically relatively thick.
M. Meuris et al. (Solid State Technology, 38, 109 (1995)) discloses a method wherein a Si substrate is cleaned by a wet process involving a 30 second exposure to a 2% HF solution. This leads to the removal of the native SiO2 layer and to making the Si substrate hydrophobic. After removal of the native SiO2 layer, the substrate is reoxidized in 20 ppm O3/H2O until a 1 nm hydrophilic SiO2 layer is obtained. The thickness of the obtained silicon oxide layer is however around 1 nm, which unnecessarily increases the equivalent oxide thickness.
B. Onsia et al. (UCPSS VII, Solid State Phenomena, 103-104, 19 (2005)) discloses a similar approach wherein the ozone (O3) concentration was reduced to 1-5 ppm O3/H2O (scaled wet oxide). This approach reduced the oxide thickness down to c.a. 0.3 nm, i.e., to the thickness of a monolayer. However, the hydrophilic layer appeared incomplete. HfO2 was grown on this substrate by ALD, and RBS measurement indicated some level of substrate inhibition. Also, a poly-Si gate electrode layer grown on top of the HfO2 layer showed epitaxial alignment of some grains with the substrate, which indicated the presence of holes in the scaled wet oxide and the HfO2 layers.
Further experiments performed by L. Nyns et al. (J. Electrochem. Soc., 155, G269 (2008)) confirmed that scaled wet oxides grow in islands (see, e.g., FIG. 2B and FIG. 3). Therefore, a problem with this approach is that Si—OH moieties (good ALD nucleation sites) created thereby are present only in small oxide islands on the substrate, leaving much of the substrate surface with Si—H moieties (bad ALD nucleation sites). This leads to islands of high-k dielectric ALD materials surrounded by high-k free substrate areas.
Generally, it is desirable to develop ways to enable good high-k nucleation on a Si or Ge substrate, which keeps the equivalent oxide thickness to a minimum.
Furthermore, according to the International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors, high-mobility materials to replace traditional Si channels will be desired to continue scaling of CMOS from the 12 nm node onward. Major issues arose in the quest for Ge and III-V channels, the most challenging of which were important defect densities and very difficult to passivate gate stack interfaces (M. Heyns and W. Tsai, MRS Bulletin 34, 485-492, 2009). An alternative could be offered by silicon/dielectric superlattices, consisting of alternating periods of silicon atoms and foreign atoms such as O, N, or C atoms. These superlattices are affirmed to offer an enhanced mobility in the lateral direction combined with reduced gate leakage in the vertical direction. Such a superlattice avoids the problem of large lattice mismatch during epi growth and offers a normal Si surface for gate stack passivation. However, the interlayer of foreign atoms between two layers of epitaxial silicon material is preferably kept as thin as possible.
Generally, it is desirable to find ways to enable good Si or Ge epitaxial growth on a Si or Ge substrate, which keeps the foreign atom interlayer as thin as possible.


Systems and processes for reducing the energy requirements of an ammonia recovery stripper in a chilled ammonia-based CO2 removal system. The systems and processes include a nanofiltration or reverse osmosis unit for physically separating the washed liquid from a wash vessel configured to receive an ammonia slip feed stream from the main absorber of the chilled ammonia-based CO2 removal system and provide first and second feed streams. Relative to the washed liquid from the wash vessel, the first feed stream has a decreased ammonia molarity whereas the second feed stream has an increased ammonia molarity. The second feed stream is then fed to the ammonia recovery stripper, which reduces steam consumption. The reduced steam consumption translates to significant energy savings, among numerous other advantages. Additionally, the systems and process provide a reduction of equipment sizes related to the stripper unit as may be desired in some applications.

The present disclosure generally relates to gas purification systems and processes of use, wherein absorbed ammonia and carbon dioxide are recovered. In particular, the present disclosure relates to wash systems and processes configured to utilize nanofiltration or reverse osmosis to reduce the steam duties of an ammonia recovery stripper for reducing the ammonia slip and other contaminants from a gas stream that has been subjected to an ammonia-based CO2 removal process.
In conventional industrial technologies for gas purification, impurities, such as H2S, CO2 and/or COS are removed from a gas stream such as flue gas, natural gas, syngas or other gas streams by absorption in a liquid solution, e.g., in a liquid solution comprising ammonia and/or one or more amine compounds. The used liquid solution is subsequently regenerated in a regenerator column to release the impurities comprised in the solution, typically by countercurrent contacting with steam. The steam needed for regeneration is typically produced by power plant turbine system. In addition, a reboiler in fluid communication with the regeneration column may provide further release of impurities comprised in the liquid solution.
In current chilled ammonia processes and systems, ammonia slip from the main CO2 absorber is first captured in a water wash vessel and subsequently regenerated in the ammonia recovery stripper by heating the ammoniated rich solution with saturated steam. The ammoniated slip solution typically has a NH3 molarity of 0.1 to 2.0 mol/liter depending on the operating conditions. The current ammonia recovery process from the stripper is an expensive process (approximately 20% heat duty of the main CO2 regenerator) in terms of both capital and operating cost because it is very difficult to integrate stripper overhead heat with the main regenerator network.
Accordingly, there is a need for improved systems and processes for more efficiently recovering the ammonia slip so as to provide reduced energy consumption.


An antenna system and method for tire monitoring systems provides a flexible conductor having sufficient elongation characteristics as an antenna in a tire monitoring sensor system. A conductive strand is formed by wrapping a conductive tinsel ribbon around an extensible strength member. One or more conductive strands are combined to form an antenna cable that affixes to the inner liner of a tire. According to one aspect of the invention a conductive strand is formed by spiral wrapping at least one conductive tinsel ribbon around the strength member. According to another aspect of the invention, multiple tinsel ribbons may be wrapped around the strength member in braided fashion.

It is common to employ annular apparatus, including an antenna, for electronically transmitting tire or wheel identification or other data at radio frequency. The apparatus includes a radio-frequency transponder comprising an integrated circuit chip having data capacity at least sufficient to retain identification information for the tire or wheel. Other data, such as the inflation pressure of the tire or the temperature of the tire or wheel at the transponder location, can be transmitted by the transponder along with the identification data.
It is known in the art to employ an annular antenna to transmit, at radio frequencies, data from a transponder contained within the structure of a tire or tire and wheel assembly. The antenna comprises a wire or strands of wire formed into a loop that may be sheathed in an extruded covering formed from a suitable material such as plastic. The plastic sheath in combination with the antenna form a unitary body that may be affixed to a green tire in a pre-build assembly process or attached to a finished tire in a post-cure operation. While the antenna and transponder may be incorporated into a tire during "pre-cure" manufacture, in practice it is very difficult to do this. Both radial ply and bias ply tires undergo a substantial diametric enlargement during the course of manufacture. Bias ply tires are expanded diametrically when inserted into a curing press, which typically has a bladder that forces the green tire into the toroidal shape of the mold enclosing it. Radial ply tires undergo diametric expansion during the tire building or shaping process and a further diametric expansion during the course of curing. Any annular antenna and the electronic circuitry associated therewith built into the tire must be able to maintain structural integrity and the mechanical connection between the antenna and transponder package during the diametric enlargement of the tire during its manufacture. Once assembled into the tire, any detected malfunction in the antenna, transponder, or antenna to transponder connection that cannot be repaired destroys the utility of the tire and may necessitate a scrapping of the tire. Hence, placement of an annular antenna-transponder assembly into a tire during its manufacture carries risk that subsequent failure or breakage of assembly components will necessitate the destruction of the otherwise suitable host tire.
Not only is the risk of damage to an annular antenna-transponder system present during its incorporation into a tire during manufacture, but damage to such systems are not uncommon from operation of the tire on a vehicle. Loop antennas and the electronics associated therewith are subjected to substantial compressive strain and at the sidewall a high strain amplitude. Such locations represent high load and deformation to regions of the tire. Consequently, antenna, transponders, and the connections therebetween in such locations are prone to breakage and mechanical or electrical failure.
There is, accordingly, a continuing need for an antenna apparatus suitable for incorporation into a tire either in a pre-cure or post-cure procedure. The antenna apparatus must provide sufficient structural integrity to withstand the stresses attendant tire building processes and post-manufacture use on a vehicle. Moreover, the antenna apparatus ideally will maintain its optimal, intended configuration and shape throughout the tire build operation and subsequent use on a vehicle. Since the performance of the tire pressure monitoring system is dependent upon efficient communication between the tire electronics and a remote reader via the antenna, maintaining the antenna in an optimal configuration is highly desirable. Finally, a suitable antenna apparatus will provide the requisite level of conductance required to convey signals to and from a transponder in a tire monitoring sensor system.

Flexible tinsel ribbon antenna and assembly method for a tire


A SOI (Silicon On Insulator) logic circuit including serially connected power switching SOI MOSFETs (44, 45) and a logic circuit (43) constituted by SOI MOSFETs. The bodies of the MOSFETs of the logic circuit are made floating state, thereby implementing low threshold voltage MOSFETs. The bodies of the power switching MOSFETs are biased to power supply potentials, thereby implementing high threshold MOSFETs. The low threshold voltage MOSFETs enable the logic circuit to operate at a high speed in an active mode, and the high threshold voltage power switching MOSFETs can reduce the power dissipation in a sleep mode.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a low voltage SOI (Silicon On Insulator) logic circuit using a SOI field effect transistor operable by 1 V dry battery.
2. Description of Related Art
As a conventional low voltage logic circuit, one such as shown in FIG. 1 is known. The logic circuit employs a bulk CMOS circuit and is disclosed in Japanese patent application laying open No. 6-29834 (1994), and S. Mutoh, et al. "1 V HIGH SPEED DIGITAL CIRCUIT TECHNOLOGY WITH 0.5 .mu.m MULTI-THRESHOLD CMOS", IEEE, 1993, pages 186-189.
This circuit has a basic arrangement, in which a CMOS logic circuit group 3 is connected between a power switching MOSFET 4 and a power switching MOSFET 5 which are connected to a high potential power supply line 1 and a low potential power supply line 2, respectively. Here, the power switching MOSFETs 4 and 5 are MOSFETs with high threshold voltage, and the logic circuit group 3 is composed of low threshold voltage MOSFETs.
The high threshold voltage power switching MOSFETs 4 and 5 are provided with a sleep signal SL and its inverted signal *SL at the gates thereof, respectively. The MOSFETs 4 and 5 are kept nonconducting by a high level signal SL in a sleep mode (during a waiting time period) of the logic circuit group 3, thereby stopping power supply to the logic circuit group 3. Reversely, the power is supplied to the logic circuit group 3 in an active mode by keeping the sleep signal SL low, thereby maintaining the MOSFETs 4 and 5 in a conducting state.
Generally, although low threshold voltage MOSFETs have characteristics of high speed operation, their leakage current in a nonconducting state is large. In contrast, although high threshold voltage MOSFETs have characteristics of low speed operation, their leakage current in a nonconducting state is small. Therefore, the circuit as shown in FIG. 1 can operate at a high speed in the active mode of the logic circuit group 3 while maintaining a small leakage current in the sleep mode.
It should be noted here that individual substrates of MOSFETs of the logic circuit group 3 are connected to the high potential power supply line 1 or the low potential power supply line 2 in the conventional low voltage logic circuit. This substrate bias is applied for preventing faulty operations due to latch up which will readily occur in bulk CMOS. Incidentally, although the substrates of MOSFETs of the logic circuit group of FIG. 1 of the above-mentioned paper of Mutoh, et al. are shown as though they were not connected to any points, this is for the simplicity of drawing, and the substrates of these MOSFETs are actually connected to respective power supply lines.
Applying such construction to a SOI CMOS logic circuit presents a problem that a device area will increase. This will be described below.
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing the structure of a conventional SOI MOSFET. A buried oxide 12 is formed on a silicon substrate 11, and an active region 13 consisting of a single crystal silicon layer is built on the buried oxide 12. The active region 13 consists of a source 131, a drain 132 and a body 132 sandwiched between them. The active region 13 is covered with a gate oxide 14, and a gate electrode 15 is formed on the gate oxide 14. By applying a voltage on the gate electrode 15, a channel 134 is formed in the top portion of the body 133. Thus, the active region 13 consists of the source 131, the drain 132 and the body 133, and the body 133 is insulated from the silicon substrate 11 by the buried oxide 12.
FIG. 3A shows a method of applying a bias to the substrate of a bulk MOSFET, and FIG. 3B shows a method of applying a bias to the body of a SOI MOSFET. In the bulk PMOSFET as shown in FIG. 3A, an N well 20 is built in the substrate, a P+ source 21 and a P+ drain 22 are formed therein, and a gate electrode 23 is formed on the top surface of the well 20 via a gate oxide. In addition, an N+ bias region 24 is formed in the well 20 in such a fashion that a potential is applied thereto through contacts 25 from the top of the silicon.
On the other hand, since the body 133 is insulated from the silicon substrate 11 as shown in FIG. 2 in a SOI PMOSFET shown in FIG. 3B, the body 133 must be extended via a connecting portion 34A to a bias region 34, in which contacts 35 are formed.
As a result, the area of the bias region increases in the SOI MOSFET as compared with the bulk MOSFET, so that the SOI MOSFET has a disadvantage that its occupied area increases by that amount. In particular, an increase in size of MOSFETs constituting the logic circuit group 3 poses a problem that it will increase the whole circuit area, and hence, reduce the degree of integration.

Low voltage SOI (Silicon On Insulator) logic circuit

Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation


A method of changing the shape change transition temperature range (TTR) of an object made from a nickel-titanium based shape change memory alloy by selection of the final annealing temperature.

This invention relates to metal alloys and more particularly to nickel-titanium base metal alloys which have shape change
The Nitinol alloys are nickel-titanium-base metal alloys having shape change memories. The general method for using the memory properties of these alloys is to:
(1) shape the alloy into a permanent form at a temperature below the temperature transition range (TTR);
(2) constrain the alloy in this shape;
(3) anneal the alloy at 500.degree. C.;
(4) cool the alloy to a temperature below the TTR;
(5) remove the constraint; and
(6) shape the alloy into an another form.
The alloy can then be converted from its other shape to its permanent shape by heating it to a temperature above the TTR. An excellent discussion about the theories and properties of Nitinol is given by William J. Buehler and William B. Cross, "55-Nitinol: Unique Wire Alloy with a Memory," Wire Journal, June 1969. Methods of preparing Nitinol are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,174,851, entitled "Nickel-Base Alloys," which issued to Buehler and Wiley on Mar. 23, 1965. The shape change memory properties of nickel-titanium alloys containing from 53.5 to 56.5 weight percent nickel, the remainder being titanium, are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,403,238 entitled "Conversion of Heat Energy to Mechanical Energy," which issued to William J. Buehler and David M. Goldstein on Sept. 24, 1968.
In the prior art, the usual method of changing the TTR was to change the ratio of nickel to titanium or to substitute cobalt or iron for nickel. A limitation of this previous method of alloying, has been the requirement to prepare by melting a different composition of alloy for each different transition temperature desired. This limitation presents significant economic disadvantages to the manufacturer of these alloys. In addition to an infinite number of TTR possibilities, it is difficult to precision alloy to control to a pre-selected composition. For example, a shift in total cobalt on the order of 0.2% of the total composition can change the midpoint (50% recovery) of the TTR by 8.degree. C., an unacceptable amount in many applications. Even worse from the standpoint of reproducibility, a shift of 0.2 weight percent nickel can shift the midpoint of the TTR by 25.degree. C.
Hence the alloy manufacturer may find it necessary to remanufacture the alloy or to prepare several melts of slightly different compositions to achieve his intended final composition. Normal melting losses make it exceedingly difficult to anticipate the final composition with adequate precision. The alloy manufacturer can encounter high scrap losses.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,144,057, entitled "Shape Memory Alloys," issued on Mar. 13, 1979, to Keith Melton and Olivier Mercier, discloses Nickel--the use of from 0.5 to 30 weight percent of copper and from 0.01 to 5 weight percent of at least one element selected from the group consisting of aluminum zirconium, cobalt, chrome, and iron in nickel-titanium alloys. They report that the transition temperatures in these alloys are less sensitive to compositional changes. The use of copper, however, is not desirable in some cases. Therefore, it is desirable to have another method of adjusting the TTR. Moreover, even when copper is used, it is desirable to have means of further fine tuning the TTR.

Method of modifying the transition temperature range of TiNi base shape memory alloys

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


Implementations of a wall appliqué are provided. In some implementations, a wall appliqué may be used to decorate and/or accent a wall or other suitable surface of a building. In some implementations, a wall appliqué may be used in lieu of traditional shoe moulding, panel moulding, ceiling moulding, door moulding, stair brackets, chair rails, and/or window moulding. In some implementations, the wall appliqué may be applied to a wall or other suitable surface with an adhesive. In some implementations, the wall appliqué comprises a body portion having a front side and a back side. In some implementations, the body portion may have a decorative shape. In some implementations, the front side may have a three-dimensional relief thereon. In some implementations, the wall appliqué may be manufactured from a flexible, polyurethane material. In this way, the wall appliqué may be applied to both flat and irregular surfaces.

Old homes, castles, commercial buildings, and estate homes from the 1300's through the 1900's were frequently adorned with one or more architectural embellishments such as trim or moulding. Architectural moulding can include panel moulding, ceiling moulding, scrolls, rosettes, fleur-de-lis, urns, medallions and/or other suitable designs, shapes and symbols. Architectural moulding and embellishments were used alone, or in combination, to add an elegant look to an interior room and thereby elevate the appearance and value of the building. Traditional architectural moulding typically is made of wood, plaster, or stone. Accordingly, the manufacturing and installation of traditional architectural moulding can require relatively expensive machinery and skilled labor. Many homes built in the 20th and 21st century do not include architectural moulding or other embellishments because they are expensive and difficult to install.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,627,284 ("'284 patent") discloses a decorative wall and ceiling device having a base member comprised of a cross-linked polyethylene foam wherein an adhesive layer is located on the back side of the base member to attach the base member to a wall. The '284 teaches that the cross-linked polyethylene foam is for manufacturing large wall and ceiling devices, for example, a head board for a bed.
However, the decorative wall and ceiling device disclosed in the '284 patent has several disadvantages. First, the cross-linked polyethylene foam may not be suitable for cutting because a cut edge of the foam may expose its porous nature. Second, the decorative wall and ceiling device may not be suitable for cutting with a pair of scissors due to the thickness and/or rigidity of the cross-linked polyethylene foam material. Third, the cross-linked polyethylene foam material has limited flexibility and may not be suitable for use on curved surfaces or to form curved structures after its initial manufacture.


A device for wet coating, in particular printed circuit boards, with lacquer using at least one applicator roller (20, 21) and sparing at least one edge area of the printed circuit boards. The device uses a doctor blade arrangement situated between a lacquer reservoir and the printed circuit board that can move in an axial direction, one edge of which touches the applicator roller (20, 21). The doctor blade arrangement is designed can also remove excess lacquer, for example, photo-resistant lacquer from a multilayer board, from both longitudinal edges of the printed circuit board without any residue. This is also possible for multilayer boards of varying widths in particular. By laterally displacing the lacquer from the respective peripheral edges of both applicator rollers (20, 21) that are to kept free of lacquer, this lacquer is directly fed back into a lacquer reservoir via the outer edge area of the pertaining applicator roller without leading to an accumulation of lacquer, dirtying and breaking-down of the machine.

1. Technical Field
The invention relates to a device for wet coating, in particular printed circuit boards, with lacquer by means of at least one application roller, leaving at least one edge area of the printed circuit board free and employing a doctor blade arrangement.
2. Prior Art
Such an arrangement is known from DE-GM 85 03 321, it is essentially used to obtain a lacquer-free gripping edge in multi-layer printed circuit boards which are coated on one or both sides, in particular with variable coating widths, in the course of a rolling method. A more detailed description of this problem can also be found in DE-PS 44 17 518.
The doctor blade arrangement in accordance with the first-mentioned utility model consists of two independent strippers, which leave the problem of what to do with the lacquer stripped off in the area of the circumference of the roller. If no reasonable solution is provided for this, this known solution can lead to accumulations of lacquer at undesired places, soiling, and interference with the operation of the entire device.

Device for wet coating, in particular printed circuit boards, with lacquer


A power source unit includes a battery main body including at least one battery cell, an electric device located on the battery main body, and a wall located along a lateral side of parts included in the electric device. The wall is taller than a height of the parts.

Secondary batteries are widely utilized not only as a substitute for a primary battery but also as a power source for electronic apparatuses such as mobile phones and IT devices. In particular, non-aqueous electrolyte secondary batteries, typically exemplified by a lithium ion secondary battery, have been increasingly applied to electric vehicles and large-scale industrial machines, because of the capability of providing high energy density. Further, to obtain an even higher voltage, non-aqueous electrolyte secondary batteries, which are battery cells, are stacked to constitute a battery module.
In the secondary battery, the electrolyte loaded therein is decomposed and vaporizes because of repeated charge and discharge cycles, and hence the casing is swollen and deformed. In order to suppress such deformation of the casing, many of the battery modules including stacked secondary batteries are provided with binding plates located around the stack so as to tightly hold the stack therebetween, for example as disclosed in Patent Literature 1.
In the case of the lithium ion secondary battery, the charging is performed under a low-current constant-voltage control, and therefore a control circuit is provided for controlling the charging and discharging. In power source units having the battery module in particular, the surface of the plate provided on a side face of the stack is utilized for attaching the control circuit (see FIG. 2 in Patent Literature 1).


The present invention relates to a liquid thioether carboxylic acid ester, a process for the preparation of the liquid thioether carboxylic acid ester, an article comprising the liquid thioether carboxylic acid ester as well as a use of the liquid thioether carboxylic acid ester as a component or substantial part of an optical system, tunable lens, adaptive optical module and materials thereof, actuator, electro-active polymer, laser and all related products, optical liquid, cover glass, lens or container material, tiltable prism or optical calibration liquid or optical refractive index matching liquid and a use of the liquid thioether carboxylic acid ester as a component or substantial part of a color filter, window material, coating, varnish, lacquer, dye or pigment formulation, immersion liquid, ingredient or additive in a plastic material or ingredient or additive in a polymer.

The current development towards ever smaller and lighter optical systems demands novel approaches for the technical realization of optical devices for these intended applications. Especially heavy and slow optical devices based on glass and/or solid lens systems which are moved back and forward for focusing or zooming are sought to be replaced by so called liquid tuneable lens systems. The main part of such lens systems is a liquid-filled core element comprising a rigid container and a deformable membrane, which encloses a so-called "optical liquid". The lens is typically formed by a lens shaper, which defines the optically clear aperture of the lens and the initial deformation of the lens. In case of manually tuneable lenses (ML), the shaper is pushed directly into the membrane by hand/manually, whereas in case of electrically tuneable lenses (EL), an electromagnetically actuated bobbin is pushed into the membrane, deforming the liquid filled volume and therefore changing the curvature of the lens as a function of the applied force to the actuated bobbin.
The optical liquid is enclosed by a soft membrane and a rigid container. The initial shape of the lens is defined by the lens shaper and the amount of optical liquid in the volume. When a bobbin is pushed into the deformable membrane, fluid is pumped from the surrounding of the lens into the centre, resulting in a deformation of the central part of the lens and therefore in a change of the focal length of the lens.
The optical liquid is a crucial component of the liquid tuneable lens system. In particular, it is desirable that the optical liquids have high refractive index (1.5), Abbe's number ≥40, transparency in the visible range (400-800 nm) of at least 90%, low volatility, wide operational range of temperature from desirably about −20° C. to +100° C. and chemical compatibility with other components of the lens system (e. g. membranes, container materials, glues). Further, the viscosity of the optical liquids should be preferably not higher than 5000 mPas.
However, materials having high Abbe's numbers ν (νd=(nd−1)/(nF−nc) with refractive indices nd at 587.56 nm, nF at 486.1 nm, nc at 656.3 nm or νD=(nD−1)/(nF−nc) with refractive indices nD at 589.3 nm, nF at 486.1 nm, nc at 656.3 nm) as well as high refractive indices n (n=sin αi/sin αr), i meaning angle of incident light and r angle of reflective light) are not easy to obtain because said features normally cannot be enhanced in parallel. Thus, the materials presently available and which are used as optical liquids represent a compromise between those features.
In the art, several attempts for providing materials fulfilling at least some of these requirements have been proposed. For example, commercially available fluorocarbon/perfluoropolyether fluids (DuPont, Nye, Solvay Specialty Polymers) show Abbe's numbers of ν>100 but have refractive indices of n≈1.3. Recently, a new class of polythio ether sulfones based compounds exhibiting high Abbe's numbers and high refractive indices have been reported by Y. Suzuki et al. Macromolecules, 2012, 45, 3402. The polythio ether sulfones based compounds are of the following formula:
However, the afore-mentioned materials are solids at room temperature including their monomeric building blocks and are therefore not suitable as optical liquids in liquid tuneable lens systems.
Another class of materials has been disclosed by T. Okubo et al. J. Appl. Polmer Sci., 1998, 68, 1791 and T. Okubo et al. J. Mater Sci., 1999, 34, 337. Further, materials based on the thio phenol ether motif (n>1.6) are proposed as ingredients. The thio phenol ether motif of the materials is as follows:

However, these compounds have Abbe's number of 23 and are only available as mixtures and are very costly. In addition the quality is variable and available amounts are low. Other materials containing an oligo-sulfide motif and additionally reactive acrylic residues are used to produce polymers with high nD and ν (see e.g. DE 4011868, EP 0 284 374 A2).
Thus, there is a need in the art for providing liquids which are suitable as optical liquids, especially in liquid tuneable lens systems. In particular, it is desirable to provide a liquid having high Abbe's number ν as well as high refractive index n. A high refractive index is needed for a high optical power whereas a high Abbe number is beneficial for low chromatic aberration/dispersion (dependency of the wave length on the refractive index).
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a liquid which is suitable as optical liquid. Furthermore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a liquid which is suitable as optical liquid in liquid tuneable lens systems. It is an even further object of the present invention to provide a liquid having an improved balance of (high) Abbe's number ν and (high) refractive index n (refractive index≈1.27 and higher, Abbe's number≈35 and higher). A still further object of the present invention is to provide a liquid having high transmittance in the visible range. An even further object of the present invention is to provide a liquid having good compatibility with the membrane materials. Further objects can be gathered from the following description of the invention.


The present invention discloses a forward-flyback converter with active-clamp circuit. The secondary side of the proposed converter is of center-tapped configuration to integrate a forward circuit and a flyback circuit. The flyback sub-circuit operating continuous conduction mode is employed to directly transfer the reset energy of the transformer to the output load. The forward sub-circuit operating discontinuous conduction mode can correspondingly adjust the duty ratio with the output load change. Under the heavy load condition, the mechanism of active-clamp flyback sub-circuit can provide sufficient resonant current to facilitate the parasitic capacitance of the switches to be discharged to zero. Under the light load condition, the time interval in which the resonant current turns from negative into positive is prolonged to ensure zero voltage switching function. Meanwhile, the flyback sub-circuit wherein the rectifier diode is reverse biased is inactive in order to further reduce the power losses.

Since the functions of the electronic products on the market are reinforced, the power supply is demanded to provide relatively greater output energy as a response. At the same time, the products are demanded to have smaller volume and lighter weight. These trends form two requirements towards the power converters: raising the power density and improving the conversion efficiency. Based on these two requirements, a large amount of active-clamp forward-flyback converters and their derivative circuits are applied to various power supply products due to their advantages of transmitting energy to the output continuously and having soft-switching function for the power switch.
FIG. 1 shows a circuit diagram of a conventional active-clamp forward-flyback converter, which has a DC power source Vin for providing a DC input voltage, a main switch S1, an auxiliary switch S2, a resonant inductor Lr, a resonant capacitor Cr (contributed by the sum of the parasitic capacitances of S1 and S2), a clamp capacitor Cc, a transformer Tr having a primary winding N1, a first secondary winding N2 and a second secondary winding N3 (the turn ratio of N1, N2 and N3 are: n1:n2:n3), a first diode D1, a second diode D2, an output inductor Lo, an output capacitor Co, and a load RL. The active-clamp forward-flyback converter can supply a stable DC voltage Vo. Moreover, the secondary side of transformer Tr with the central-tapped design could transfer energy to the output during the turn-on and the turn-off period of the main switch S1 such that the circuit has a larger energy processing capability. Meanwhile, current could be continuously outputted during a switching period. This feature produces smaller current ripples on the output capacitor such that the capacitance of output filter is smaller. Besides, the incorporation of the active-clamp circuit into the forward-flyback topology provides three main functions: clamping the voltage spike across switch S1 while this switch is turned off, magnetic reset of transformer, and achieving zero-voltage-switching (ZVS) for the power switches. Also, ZVS function could effectively decreases the switching losses of the power switches such that higher switching frequency could be chosen to reduce the volumes and weights of the passive elements.
The ZVS of main switch S1 of the active-clamp forward-flyback converter happens in predetermined dead time. This small interval is arranged between after auxiliary switch S2 is turned off and before main switch S1 is turned on. Within this interval, the current iS1 flowing through the main switch S1 resonates to the negative direction so as to discharge the parasitic capacitance of switches to be zero value, and then force the anti-parallel diode of main switch S1 to conduct. When the anti-parallel diode of main switch S1 is conducting, main switch S1 is turned on to achieve ZVS operation. However, in the actual circumstance, the ZVS of main switch S1 could not be smoothly achieved as aforementioned. The reason is explained as follows. FIG. 2 is a circuit diagram showing discharge process of the parasitic capacitance of switches of the active-clamp forward-flyback converter. At the moment, the current of the second secondary winding N3, iN3, is decreased gradually and the current of the first secondary winding N2, iN2, is increased gradually. With the increase of iN2, the current of the primary winding N1, iN1, will turn into flowing into the dot from flowing out the dot according to Ampere's law. When the current iN1 flows into the dot, the current iS1 rapidly turns into small and correspondingly the discharging speed of the parasitic capacitance of switches Cr is dramatically decreased. Due to the aforesaid feature, VCr could not be decreased to zero before main switch S1 is turned on. As a result, the ZVS could not be effectively achieved when main switch S1 is turned on, which is detrimental to conversion efficiency improvement and this drawback becomes serious under the heavy load condition. To overcome this drawback, the increasing speed of the current of the first secondary winding N2, iN2, is curbed when the parasitic capacitance of switches Cr is discharging via adding an extra inductor or a saturable reactor between the first secondary winding N2 and the first diode D1 in the prior art of this field. The addition of extra inductor or reactance is actually helpful to achieve the ZVS of main switch S1 and effectively solve the over-heating problem of the switch. However, the extra inductor or reactance will induce quite a lot of iron loss when operating at high frequency. Hence, there is still a space of improvement for solving this problem.
Different from the active-clamp forward-flyback converter, the active-clamp flyback converter does not have the first secondary winding N2 transmitting the energy forwardly. As a result, the resonant current iLr would not become small dramatically so as to influence the ZVS function of main switch S1 when the parasitic capacitance of switches Cr is discharging. In the active-clamp flyback converter, the peak value and the valley value of the resonant current iLr would be determined by the value of the load RL. The resonant current iLr would have relatively larger peak and valley values under the heavy load condition. Therefore, it would facilitate the ZVS of main switch S1 under the heavy load condition.
For effectively improving the ZVS scheme of active-clamp forward-flyback converter under the heavy load condition, using the ZVS design of the active-clamp flyback converter is a feasible strategy. Besides, due to the requirements of load variation in a wide range, the efficiency performance at light load has been getting more and more attention. Since the two sub-circuits of the secondary side are both conducted, more conduction losses are correspondingly induced under the light load operation. In the specification of the voltage regulator module (VRM) newly published by Intel (VRM/EVRD 11.1), the requirements for improving the efficiency under the light load condition are set out. Although this kind of specifications are not adopted in the communication systems or in other industrial fields using the isolated power converters, this requirement is most likely to be proposed in the near future.
Keeping the drawbacks of the prior arts in mind, and employing experiments and research full-heartily and persistently, the applicant finally conceived a forward-flyback converter with an active-clamp circuit.

Forward-flyback converter with active-clamp circuit


Varying electrical currents are selectively applied to each pixel within an OLED display to create desired images. High applied electrical currents to groupings of nearby pixels create high luminance features, while low applied electrical currents to groupings of nearby pixels create low luminance features. A combination of a high luminance and low luminance features may be present on the OLED display. Pulse-width modulation (PWM) is often used to increase the current applied to the OLED display by modulating the applied current, particularly when creating low luminance features. The presently disclosed systems and methods detect a gray portion of an image to be presented, and select PWM independently of peak luminance based on the detected gray portion. The allows the OLED display to display low-luminance features at high quality, even when high-luminance features are also present within a frame.

With increasing consumer expectations of digital display performance, including accurate and consistent image quality, image variations at low gray levels are increasingly unacceptable to consumers. Further, as consumer devices increasingly incorporate multiple displays oriented in close proximity to one another, variations in image quality are more noticeable to consumers. While display devices often utilize pulse-width modulation (PWM) to improve image quality at low gray levels, selection of PWM is typically based on peak luminance and not varying display gray portion over time.

Pulse-width modulation based on image gray portion