A new method for the treatment of ocular disease and injury is provided. The method involves the administration of a biocompatible implant, the porcine small intestinal serosa (or serous membrane), as graft/patch directly to the eye, for inducing restoration, remodeling, and repair of a tissue in a variety of injuries or conditions in the cornea, conjunctiva, and/or the eyelid due to trauma, diseases, or surgery. A focus on product interactions, safety profile has been fully defined and the membrane is reasonable in process, easy and convenient to prepare and significant in therapeutic effect. A simple standardized and straightforward method has been developed to fabricate this ultra-thin, delicate, and transparent material. Derived from well-defined mechanical strength, the serous membrane demonstrates consistency and flexibility that provides agile solutions for the physician.

In the field of ophthalmology, the regeneration of a healthy ocular surface epithelium after traumatic injury or reconstruction techniques is one of the most difficult challenges for repair, and sometimes arise structural changes (vascularization and scarring, epithelial erosions or ulcerations occur among others) and/or functional (corneal opacity or lack of transparency) of undesirable consequences (Maldonado, 1995).
Regardless of origin, tissue damage is accompanied by complex systems of reparation for a high level of organization and differentiation, whose mechanisms are activated immediately after the aggression for proper restoration of the structures (Huang, 1991).
The healing consists of multiple processes, including migration of adjacent cells, mitosis (Kuwara, 1976), cell proliferation and differentiation and rearrangement structures of adhesion of extracellular matrix (Kaufman, 2009).
When the healing process fails to regenerate normal tissue transparency, is produced an opaque scar tissue, and depending on the severity of the case, can lead to visual defects (Rojas, 2009).
With the intraocular application of certain products, it is intended that the healing is complete with stable epithelium, minimal scarring, and prevent conjunctivalization and neovascularization (EMA, 2013).
Corneal epithelium integrity plays a pivotal role in maintaining health ocular surface (Tseng et al., 1997). Clinical conditions associated with epithelial defects and persistent and progressive corneal ulcers include "viral infections, autoimmune and endocrine diseases, thermal and chemical burns, and multiple ocular surgeries", according to Emiliano Ghinelli in US patent 20080108045.
Healing of the corneal epithelium is compromised by several ocular surgical procedures and is associated with numerous disease states. Delays in the reconstitution of the corneal epithelium, may result in permanent structural and functional perturbations with undesirable consequences (Maldonado, 1995).
According to Claes H. Dohlman "The corneal epithelium fulfills important functions since its absence or disease can lead to serious consequences. In the presence of a long-standing epithelial defect, the stromal surface dries easily and becomes irregular, the stroma swell, and clouds, ulceration and scarring may follow, and the entire eye becomes vulnerable to infection.
In the healed stage, the epithelium may have developed surface irregularities and reduced transparency. Such residual damage of the epithelium, resulting from acute or chronic disease or injury, is responsible for reduction of vision in an enormous number of people the world over." (Dohlman, 1971).
Good vision contributes greatly to a person's ability to interact with and function in his or her environment. Diseases of and injuries to the eyes can be severely debilitating and occur in a wide variety of forms.
In the treatment of various pathologies of the ocular surface have been used with varying success, the following:
Amniotic membrane transplantation (Koizumi 2000) Autologous transplantation of nasal mucosa (Kuckelkom 1994), oral mucosa (Shore 1992), Tenon orbital (Teping 1989), artificial epithelium (Reim 1990) conjunctival transplantation (Thoft 1979) and treatment with autologous serum among others (Geerling 2004; Kojina 2005).
Particularly the amniotic membrane has been used to solve various problems of the ocular surface in at least 20 ophthalmic procedures, including persistent corneal epithelial defects, pterygium surgery, and conjunctival defects after removal of superficial tumors, acute and chronic chemical injuries, Steven Johnson syndrome, and in the treatment of ocular cicatricial pemphigoid among others (Sangwan 2007).
The amniotic membrane and chorion has been used in surgeries, documented as early as 1910 with the use by Davis on burned and ulcerated skin (Davis 1910)
The isolated amnion alone was first used by Brindeau in 1935 and Burger in 1937 as a graft in forming artificial vaginas. Between 1941 and 1948, Kubanyi used "live" amnion in patients with burns, traumatic skin wounds, and enterocutaneous fistula secondary to surgery for lysis of adhesions. The isolated amnion, with preservation in a technique termed "amnioplastin", was first reported by Chao and associates in 1940. Chao used amnioplastin for continual dural repair, peripheral nerve injuries, conjunctival graft and flexor and tendon repair. In the Russian literature, this technique was also used for fresh trauma by Pikin in 1942.
In ophthalmology, the use of an amniotic membrane was first reported by De Rotth in 1940 for treatment of conjunctival tissue loss (De Rotth A., Arch. Ophthalmol., 23:525-5 (1940)). In 1993, Batle and Perdomo reintroduced the use of an amniotic membrane as a conjunctival substitute (Batle J F, Perdomo F J, Ophthalmol., 100:107 (1993).
Kim and Tseng then showed in 1995 that an amniotic membrane facilitated corneal surface reconstruction in rabbits after epithelial removal and limbal lamella keratectomy and introduce a method of preservation and storage of this material (Kim J C and Tseng S C, Cornea, 14:473-84 (1995)).
Presently, the amniotic membrane has been recognized as an excellent material for the treatment of certain ocular disorders such as persistent corneal epithelial defects with ulceration, pterygium and for conjunctival surface reconstruction (Baradaran 2007).
It is noteworthy that the amniotic membrane has a thick basement membrane, which in the likeness of ocular tissues, and indicate that this material can replace conjunctival basement membrane and promote epithelialization (Fukuda 1999).
International patent application number PCTVUS2003/029390 from Ghinelli describes the use of a human amniotic membrane for prophylaxis and treatment of diseases and conditions of the eye and skin.
Several methods for the preparation of amniotic membranes for surgery have been described. These include alcohol dehydration, preservation in antibiotics in saline, either with or without separation of the amniotic and chorionic layers (Dua 1999).
Other methods have been disclosed more recently. For example, Tseng (U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,152,142 and 6,326,019B1) discloses a method relying on freezing for preservation of the amniotic membrane; Hariri et al, (US Patent 20040048796) disclose a method designed to decellularise the amniotic membrane leaving it devoid of all but a collagenous membrane.
The use of amniotic membrane as a technique of choice in certain pathologies of the ocular surface with conjunctival involvement (pterygium, especially primary, symblepharon and sinequiantes processes with restricted ocular motility), found a higher recurrence of pathology prior and more aggressively after transplantation of said material (Lopez, 2012).
Unfortunately, an improvement in the patient's visual outcome following application of amniotic membrane tissue is often unsuccessful (Solomon et al., 2002). U.S. Pat. No. 7,494,802 by Scheffer observed an early dissolution of the AmnioGraft™, i.e., shorter than one week in human patients with an exposure problem.
And Dua, in his patents US20080193554, and WO2007010305A3 detected inconsistencies in the clinical outcome following the use of amniotic membrane and refer: "in the treatment of certain conditions have been observed within the inventors' clinical practice, including excessive scarring in severe conjunctival wounds".
In preparing competitive products, after the human extraction of the raw material, sophisticated laboratory equipment and manufacturing expertise is needed (for example, Engineers and personnel for the assembly and processing) before obtaining the final product.
The main limitation of these products is their expense: high price in order to compensate the high investment cost.
There is an ongoing need for alternative therapies for the treatment of ocular diseases and injuries, particularly low-cost therapies that are readily accessible and easy to use.
It should be noted that in the process for the purification and isolation of the tunica serosa from the small intestine of porcine tissue (or serous membrane), which comply with all rules and regulations, the sophisticated processes of competitor are simplified, with lower costs and less human skill to prepare the final product.
The serous membrane of the present invention is abundant, inexpensive and the methods to process provide effortlessness to manufacture while the competitors require high degrees of synthesis which drive up costs.
Constituents of the Fine Structure of the Intestinal Serosa
The microscopic observation shows that a three-layered serous membrane (the Latin anatomical name is tunica serosa) is structurally composed of one layer of squamous epithelial cells (simple squamous epithelium), known as mesothelium, which face the peritoneal cavity, which rests on a basement membrane (basal lamina) and a deeper layer of loose connective tissue (Janik, 1982; Whitaker, 1982; Eroschenko, 2008; Van der Flier, 2009).
For purposes of the patent, it is necessary to do a more extensive description of two of these structures: the mesothelium and the basement membrane, and past use of the Golbeater's Skin.
The Mesothelium
The epithelial layer, known as mesothelium (that covers the external surfaces of the digestive organs, lungs, and heart), consists of a single layer of avascular flat nucleated cells (simple squamous epithelium) which produce the lubricating serous fluid. These cells are bound tightly to the underlying connective tissue (Eroschenko, 2008).
The mesothelium is composed of an extensive monolayer of specialized cells (mesothelial cells) that line the body's serous cavities and internal organs (Eroschenko, 2008).
Morphological studies of the mesothelium of several mammalian species, including rat, mouse, dog, hamster, rabbit, horse and humans have shown, with minor exceptions, which are essentially similar irrespective of species or anatomical site. (Whitaker, 1982; Odor, 1954).
The main purpose of these cells is to produce a lubricating fluid that is released between layers, providing a slippery, non-adhesive, and protective surface (Van der Flier, 2009).
With the gradual accumulation of information over the years, the mesothelium is now recognized as a dynamic cellular membrane with many important functions (Mutsaers, 2002).
These include transport and movement of fluid and particulate matter across the serosal cavities, leucocyte migration in response to inflammatory mediators, synthesis of pro-inflammatory cytokines, growth factors and extracellular matrix proteins to aid in serosal repair, release of factors to promote both the deposition and clearance of fibrin, antigen presentation, immune surveillance, and regulation of inflammatory processes and wound healing (Mutsaers, 2002).
The Basement Membrane
The basement membrane is a specialized extracellular matrix compartment, which participates dynamic and active in important roles in cell differentiation, tissue architecture and repair mechanisms (Martinez, 1983; Weber, 1964).
It is recognized that the intact basement membrane is vital to the control of normal growth and epithelial differentiation (Stoker, 1990) and pre-existing components are required to promote the reconstruction of the basement membrane (Andriani, 2003; Herrick, 2007).
Typical, "common" basement membranes are usually described as being composed of three layers (Kefalides et al., 1979).
The dense sheet, the lamina lucida, and fibroreticular sheet, which basement membrane attached to the underlying connective tissue (Kefalides, 1979; Vracko, 1974; Madri, 1984, Inoue, 1983).
The lamina densa, the main layer of the basement membrane, is separated from the surface of adjacent cells by a lucent layer or space, the lamina lucida, while the third layer, the lamina (or pars) fibrorecticularis, forms a transitional zone between the lamina densa and connective tissue (Mutsaers, 2002; Dohlman, 1971).
Basement membranes are extracellular sheet-like layers, no wider than 200 nm, which separate certain tissues including epithelia, endothelia, muscle fibers, and the nervous system, from connective tissue compartments (Kefalides et al., 1979; Inoue, 1989).
Basement membrane of the corneal epithelium is not in any way unique—most epithelia of the body have a similar structure—but it may be of critical importance to the adhesion of the corneal epithelium in a way not quite understood (Goldman, 1969).
If the basement membrane is surgically removed, the development of epithelial adhesion is much slower (Goldman, 1969). Long-standing epithelial defects and recurrent erosion in the eyes of patients may be explained by damage to the basement membrane (Goldman, 1969).
Eventually, however, the epithelium secretes new basement membrane and becomes well attached again to the rest of the cornea (Dohlman, 1971). Basement membrane that provides support to the corneal epithelium is important in maintaining cell polarity and in wound healing processes (Maldonado, 1995).
Taking advantage of its basement membrane content, in a similar way to the amniotic membrane, the new serous membrane (or serosa) has in its constitution a basal membrane, as preexisting component can accelerate the reconstruction of the ocular structure.
Golbeater's Skin
Golbeater's Skin or intestinal serous membrane has a long history. The Ebers Papyrus compiled around 3750 B.C. describes Egyptian surgeons using dried intestine for suturing wounds. And the gold leaf that adorns ancient sarcophagi was made with "goldbeater's skin," the incredibly thin but strong outer membrane of calf intestine (Schwarcz, 2013).
Egyptian craftsmen managed to produce gold leaf that was an almost unimaginable 0.000125 millimetres thick and separating the layers with "goldbeater's skin" was critical to prevent the leaves from fusing together (Schwarcz, 2013).
Antoine Germain Labarraque, solved the problem of stench in the "boyauderies," the factories where animal guts were turned into strings for musical instruments, sutures and "goldbeater's skin" (Schwarcz, 2013).
Joseph Thomas Clover in 1862 invented an apparatus for the inhalation of chloroform "Clover portable regulating ether inhaler". This consisted of a large reservoir bag lined with goldbeater's skin. (Sykes, 1960).
U.S. Pat. No. 174,465 was issued to Alexander Graham Bell in 1876, which used to build your stretched diaphragm or drum with goldbeater's skin.
It has also been reported using when repairing holes and tears of damaged parchment manuscripts. " . . . on Sep. 30, 1898, at the second meeting of the Society Bibliographica Italiana in Turin, report from Franz Ehrle, s.j., . . . spoke . . . about the severe degradation of paper . . . and the need to find ways to staunch the massive destruction that threatens millions of items and the discussion turned to the use of Goldbeater's skin" (Ehrle, 1909).
U.S. Pat. No. 552,612 in Jan. 7, 1896 was issued to Warren Herbert Frost for the construction of their musical instrument "Zobo" by diaphragm made from goldbeater's skin.
Around 1912 the Germans adopted the material for the internal gas bags of the "Zeppelin" and then used in the USS Shenandoah. (Steadman, 2006).
To date, other industrial application of these sheets can be used to make clarinet, piccolo, or flute pads or in the Talas Online catalogue used for repairing parchment and vellum.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,562,920 entitled "Tubular sheet and strip form prostheses on a basis of biological tissue" in Feb. 16, 1971 Berhard Braun use the Goldbeater' skin in his construct.
The 920 Braun Patent comprising a plurality of structural elements to form prosthesis that work together, viewed from the perspective to accomplish the intended use, and must be considered that the individual components not perform the same function derived is needed structural combination to achieve that goal.
Braun uses his discovery to produce prostheses capable "for use as vascular, esophagus, bronchus, intestinal, ureter and cardiac valve prostheses and as other corrective part of various organs such as liver", "as used for prosthetic repair of the cystic duct, the ureter, the esophagus or, in special cases, blood vessels". "to close defect in the tympanic membrane and the heart wall, for hollow-walled organs or as heart valves . . . are also used to repair damage to parenchymatous soft tissue, for example, in the liver, kidney, spleen and pancreas." which is achieved by means of invasive techniques (make cuts in the skin which cause damage to tissue, nerves, and blood vessels) and fixation with sutures, whose use is totally different from the intended use of the graft of the present application.
The U.S. patents: A. U.S. Pat. No. 3,562,920; B. U.S. Pat. No. 5,755,791; and C. PGPUB 2005/0202058 show several common elements: change natural resources (raw materials) for the construction of a finished product with variable layers in sequence, so that the final product is treated as a single unit for interoperability.
When changes are made any change affects the entire model and affecting their attributes. The preparation of the products in this "complex" technology "requires the existence of a rigid structure (hard materials) to ensure the stability of the final product to carry out the proposed function.
In U.S. patent 2005/0202058 by the inventor Michael C. Hiles, the text is not clear, and careful analysis shows that the submucosa plane (site from which 058 patent obtain the extracellular matrix materials) can never include the serous layer in its constitution, because the submucosal plane in the anatomy and histology of the digestive organs lies one level below the serous layer with different structure, cellular composition and bioactive components.
It should be noted a considerable difference between the manner of use of the prosthesis or graft in Patents 920, 791 and 058 and the use the graft of the applicant.
The patents 920, 791 and 058, refer than the graft being placed over vital structures such as vessels (vascular patches), viscera's (esophagus, bronchus, intestinal), or even heart or lung, and also used to repair damage to parenchymatous soft tissue, for example, in the liver, kidney, spleen and pancreas.
To apply the prosthesis or graft of Patents 920, 791 and 058, invasive procedures are required that make cuts in the skin. Tissues, nerves and blood vessels are damaged during these procedures.
By contrast, the procedure of the applicant is a non-invasive technique that does not damage the tissues, and not penetrate the eyes at the site of implantation, that pursues restoring this vital structure. The intended use of the graft in this invention is directed for tissue regeneration and repair damaged ocular surfaces at the site of implantation.
Golbeater's Skin has a long history of use according to the description was described in previous lines and includes use of the product of bovine origin sold in Talas Online catalogue.
Prior experience with this product by the author, to compare materials from the intestines of cattle and pigs the applicant describes the complications associated with the use of this product of bovine origin to be implanted in the wound site, which include rigidity, and higher disadvantage by the damage to the fragile, newly formed epithelium, thus extending healing times, prolong the duration of hospital stays and demand additional therapeutic interventions.
In the Design Control Guidance for Medical Device Manufacturers the U.S. Food and Drug Administration establishes the following Requirements*: Ҥ 820.3 (s) Quality means the totality of features and characteristics that bear on the ability of a device to satisfy fitness-for-use, including safety and performance (Design Control Guidance for Medical Device Manufacturers 1997)
§ 820.30(f) Design verification. Each manufacturer shall establish and maintain procedures for verifying the device design. Design verification shall confirm that the design output meets the design input requirements. The results of the design verification, including identification of the design, method(s), the date, and the individual(s) performing the verification, shall be documented in the Design History File.
§ 820.3(y) Specification means any requirement with which a product, process, service, or other activity must conform.
§ 820.3(z) Validation means confirmation by examination and provision of objective evidence that the requirements for a specific intended use can be consistently fulfilled. Verification means confirmation by examination and provision of objective evidence that specified requirements have been fulfilled."* *(http://www.fda.gov/MedicalDevices/DeviceRegulationandGuidance/PostmarketRequirements/QualitySystemsRegulations/§ 820.3(aa)
The objective of design controls is to ensure adequate oversight by making verification activities explicit and measuring the thoroughness of their execution.
Following are a few examples of verification methods and activities recommended in Design Control Guidance for Medical Device Manufacturers from the US Food and Drug Administration: 1. Failure modes and effects analysis. 2. Package integrity tests. 3. Biocompatibility testing of materials. 4. Bioburden testing of products to be sterilized, which are not followed in any of the preparation processes of the product of bovine origin sold in Talas Online catalogue.
As with any new product, the introduction into clinical use need adequate controlled study, issues involving side effects and the efficacy in the clinical experience.
This can lead to unanswered questions regarding appropriate use and indications of the Golbeater's Skin material from Tales online catalogue.
The applicant aware that the above information may be used to conduct a risk-based assessment before any decision is taken about the use in Goldbeater's skin product for ocular surface lesions and it is not considered that the product meets neither requirement.
Overall, the medical need to replacing the deficient stromal connective tissue as well as stimulating re-epithelialization in the injured ocular surface, has not been met.
As described above, according to the present invention, with the use of serous membrane of the present invention set forth in the examples, it is possible to improve the deficient stromal connective tissue as well as stimulating re-epithelialization in the injured ocular surface, and higher therapeutic effects can be expected.
From a social perspective the product is accessible, reasonably, for the benefit of the population who are economically disadvantaged and, in the future, may need it.
For developing countries, take into account concerns of "access" to technology. The present invention addresses this need.
In summary: technology improves the lives of hundreds of thousands of patients and solves a major problem for the less developed areas of the world by providing an economic product.

Serous membrane for ocular surface disorders


High-voltage insulation in which mica tape employing a binder resin is used for wrapping around electrical apparatus, and the wrapped apparatus is impregnated with a heat-setting epoxy resin. The binder resin for the mica tape is a polyester containing a tertiary-bound nitrogen which is effective as an adhesive for the tape and also as an accelerator for the epoxy resin.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to high-voltage insulation for electric conductors especially for the winding bars and coils of electric machines by wrapping mica tape around the electric conductor and impregnating the wrapped conductor with epoxy resin, and to the mica tape for wrapping the electric conductor.
2. Background of the Invention
In insulation technology, especially in connection with the high-voltage insulation, to be impregnated with hot-setting epoxy resin, of electric machines and apparatus, the problem of a storable and flexible synthetic-resin system which can be used at the same time as tape adhesives for wrapping tapes and as accelerators for the subsequent epoxy resin hardening exists. The high-voltage windings of electric machines and apparatus, including particularly turbo-generators, transformers or parts thereof, are wrapped for insulation with mica tape. For impregnating the wrapped or bandaged parts, large tanks with impregnating resins are used, into which the products to be manufactured are immersed. The quantity of resin consumed is small as compared to the quantity in the impregnating tank; it is replaced when necessary to replenish the resin. In this connection it is of great importance that the resin in the impregnating tank retain its properties as long as possible, including its viscosity, so that the same impregnating conditions can be used for every product to be impregnated, i.e., that the maintenance of the constant properties of the hardened resin does not take place at the expense of the desirable or applicable setting conditions. As the resin-hardening system, a hot-setting epoxy resin of the bi- or higher-functional glycidyl ether type or of the epoxy compound and acid anhydride type, the viscosity of which is less than 30 cP (at about 60.degree. to 70.degree. C.), is preferably used.
In insulation technology, the accelerator for the hardenable resin is incorporated for this purpose, according to the present state of the art (German published prosecuted application No. 1 219 554, German published prosecuted application No. 11 62 898), either by immersion of the carrier material into a solution of the accelerator or by incorporating the accelerator into the binder which acts as the adhesive between the top and bottom side of the wrapping tape. The accelerators incorporated into the adhesive resin are either accelerator resins of the epoxy resin type with tertiary-bound amine nitrogen, which serve at the same time as adhesive resins, or conventional epoxy resin hardening-accelerators of the tertiary amine type such as 4,4'-dimethyl-amino diphenyl methane (T-base) which are embedded in the adhesive resin.
The disadvantage of these depot resin systems is in the time-limited storage stability, caused by anionic polymerisation of the adhesive resin by the embedded tertiary amine. This polymerisation leads to hardening which impairs the wrappability of the insulating tape. With the accelerator resins of the epoxy resin type with tertiary-bound amine nitrogen, which are used in situ, application over an area is furthermore not possible because these resins are solid resins, so that impregnating the tape with the low-viscosity impregnating resin mixture of the epoxy resin type is difficult. It has been attempted to counter this difficulty by applying the accelerator resin spot-wise in an amount just sufficient for cementing (German published prosecuted application No. 2 215 206).

Method of using nitrogen-containing polyester resins as epoxy resin hardening accelerators in winding bands for high-voltage insulation of electric machines and apparatus and mica tape therefor


A computer-implemented method, system and computer program product for managing USB ports on blades in a blade center are presented. A set of remotely-transmitted instructions causes a multiplexer to physically disconnect one or more selected USB ports on a blade. In one embodiment, the same one or more selected USB ports are also software-disabled by a USB software-based controller.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to the field of computers, and specifically to server blades. Still more particularly, the present disclosure relates to managing physical ports used by particular blades in a blade center.
2. Description of the Related Art
While early computer architectures utilized stand-alone single computers, often referenced as Personal Computers (PCs), more powerful modern computer systems often use multiple computers that are coupled together in a common center. An exemplary common center is known as a blade center, which utilizes multiple blades that are coupled by a common backbone of a blade chassis. Each blade is a pluggable board that comprises at least one processor, on-board memory, and an Input/Output (I/O) interface. The multiple blades are capable of communicating with one another, as well as sharing common resources, such as storage devices, monitors, input devices (keyboard, mouse), etc.
As noted above, each blade may contain an I/O interface. An exemplary I/O interface is a Universal Serial Bus (USB) port. Each USB port provides connected USB devices with an address, power, and paired data pipes from the blade. Presently, remotely disconnecting a USB port in a blade is performed via software, which tells the blade's I/O controller to disable a particular USB port on the blade. This software method of disabling a USB port is unsecure and unreliable.

International Business Machines Corporation


A pneumatically driven bellows pump includes a bellows that is reciprocable by a driving force effected by air. The bellows has an integral form of a bellows body, an expansion portion and a mounting portion. The mounting portion includes a threaded member, through which the bellows is brought into threaded engagement with a threaded member formed in a pump-driving member in such a manner as to seal the bellows.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an improvement in a pneumatically driven bellows pump with a bellows that is reciprocable by a pneumatic force.
2. Discussion of the Background
Conventionally, the pump of the type or a reciprocable pump includes a cylinder 51 and cylinder heads 52 arranged at the opposite ends of the cylinder 51, as illustrated in FIG. 8. Outside of the cylinder 51 are provided a plurality of slide cylinders 53 which interconnect the cylinder heads 52 of the opposite ends of the cylinder 51 together. Interlocking shafts 54 are respectively inserted into the slide cylinders 53, each being secured at its opposite ends to interconnecting plates 55 via mounting bolts 56.
A pair of pistons 57 are oppositely disposed within the cylinder 51, which respectively include pump shafts 59 that are reciprocable along the longitudinal axis of the pump and with regard to shafts 58 extending inwardly from the central portions of the corresponding interconnecting plates 55, and shaft plates 60 mounted to corresponding ends of the pump shafts 59. The pistons 57 are respectively supported by bellows bodies 63 whose outer ends are respectively mounted to corresponding shaft plates 60 via mounting bolts 61, and inner ends are respectively welded to a pump-driving member 62. The pistons 57 are reciprocable along the longitudinal axis of the pump by the expansion and contraction of the bellows bodies 63. An air chamber 64 for allowing the bellows bodies 63 to be reciprocated therein is formed by the cylinder 51, the cylinder heads 52 and the shaft plates 60.
A sensor (not shown) senses the stroke end of the bellows in order to allow the switching of the introduction of the airflow for the air chamber 64. Whereby, fluids or the like can be discharged from the pump-driving member 62 via reciprocation of the pistons 57. Valves 65 are respectively urged by springs 66 so that the oppositely positioned bellows within the pump can be communicated with each other.
In accordance with the pump of the above arrangement, the bellows bodies 63 which limit the reciprocation of the pistons 57 seal the spaces inside of the bellows by the arrangement that the inner ends of the bellows bodies 63 are welded to the pump-driving member 62. Referring to FIG. 9, as an alternative to this arrangement, the bellows bodies 63 whose outer ends of the bellows bodies 63 are respectively mounted to the shaft plates 67 are held at their inner ends between pump-driving member 68 and spacers 69, and fixed therebetween via bolts 70, as illustrated in FIG. 9, in which the arrangement only for one of the bellows bodies 63 are illustrated, since the arrangement for another bellows body 63 is the same as that for the one bellows body 63.
When parts such as the bellows bodies 63 are damaged in the pump of the above arrangement, it may not easy to replace them with new ones since the replacement of these parts involves a troublesome work due to the above arrangement. Thus, the pump having the above arrangement may be in trouble with its maintenance.
To avoid such trouble, it is conceivable to employ the arrangement that the bellows bodies 63 are mounted to the pump-driving member 62 by fastening screws or bolts. However, this arrangement also poses a problem that heat or vibration caused by the operation of the pump may loosen the screws or bolts, and subsequently cause clearances in the mounting portion of the bellows bodies. This may lead to leakage of the fluid, and deteriorate a sealing effect within the bellows bodies 63. Therefore, this arrangement does not provide an essential solution for the above problem.
Therefore, the present invention has been conceived to solve the above problems. It is an object of the present invention to provide a pneumatically driven bellows pump with the arrangement that has ease of maintenance of the pump by replacing the bellows in a simple manner.


A power storage module includes: a power storage unit with a plurality of power storage elements; and a circuit unit attached to the power storage unit. The circuit unit includes: a high-current member through which a composite current obtained from the plurality of power storage elements flows; a low-current member through which a detection current for detecting a state of the individual power storage elements flows; and a lower case and an upper case that hold the high-current member and the low-current member.

Patent Document 1 (JP 2013-106400A) describes a power storage module in which a wiring module is attached to an electric cell group in which a plurality of electric cells are lined up. The wiring module includes detection wires connected to the respective electric cells to detect a state of the electric cells. With this, the electric cell group and the detection wires are combined into a single device.


Fused, crystalline eutectic material comprising Al2O3-rare earth oxide-ZrO2 eutectic. Examples of useful articles comprising the fused eutectic material include fibers and abrasive particles.

This invention pertains to fused material comprised of Al2O3-rare earth oxide-ZrO2 eutectics. Examples of useful articles comprising fused Al2O3-rare earth oxide eutectic material include fibers and abrasive particles.
A variety of fused eutectic metal oxide materials are known in the art, including binary and ternary eutectic materials. Fused eutectic metal oxide materials are typically made by charging a furnace with sources of the various metal oxides, as well as other desired additives, heating the material above its melting point, and cooling the melt to provide a solidified mass (see, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 1,161,620 (Coulter), U.S. Pat. No. 1,192,709 (Tone), U.S. Pat. No. 1,247,337 (Saunders et al.), U.S. Pat. No. 1,268,533 (Allen), U.S. Pat. No. 2,424,645 (Baumann et al.) U.S. Pat. No. 3,891,408 (Rowse et al.), U.S. Pat. No. 3,781,172 (Pett et al.), U.S. Pat. No. 3,893,826 (Quinan et al.), U.S. Pat. No. 4,126,429 (Watson), U.S. Pat. No. 4,457,767 (Poon et al.), U.S. Pat. No. 5,143,522 (Gibson et al.),. U.S. Pat. No. 5,023,212 (Dubots et. al), and U.S. Pat. No. 5,336,280 (Dubots et. al).
There is, however, a continuing desire for new materials which may offer performance characteristics (including combinations of characteristics) that are different than conventional materials, are easier to make, and/or cheaper to make.
The present invention provides a fused, crystalline eutectic material comprising eutectic of at least (a) crystalline ZrO2 and (b) at least two of (i) crystalline Al2O3, (ii) first crystalline complex Al2O3.rare earth oxide, or (iii) second, different (i.e., different from the first crystalline complex Al2O3.rare earth oxide), crystalline complex Al2O3.rare earth oxide material.
One preferred eutectic material according to the present invention comprises eutectic of at least (a) crystalline ZrO2 (b) crystalline Al2O3, and crystalline complex Al203.rare earth oxide. Another preferred eutectic material according to the present invention comprises eutectic of at least (a) crystalline ZrO2, (b) first crystalline complex Al2O3.rare earth oxide, and (c) second, different, crystalline complex Al2O3.rare earth oxide.
In another aspect, the present invention provides a fused, crystalline eutectic material comprising eutectic of at least (a) crystalline complex Al2O3.rare earth oxide and (b) crystalline ZrO2.
In another aspect, a fused, crystalline material according to the present invention preferably comprises, on a theoretical oxide basis, at least 30 percent (or even at least 40, 50, 60, 70, or 80 percent) by weight Al2O3, based on the total metal oxide content the material.
In this application:
xe2x80x9csimple metal oxidexe2x80x9d refers to a metal oxide comprised of a one or more of the same metal element and oxygen (e.g., Al2O3, CeO2, MgO, SiO2, and Y2O3);
xe2x80x9ccomplex metal oxidexe2x80x9d refers to a metal oxide comprised of two or more different metal elements and oxygen (e.g., CeAl11O18, Dy3Al5O12, MgAl2O4, and Y3Al5O12);
xe2x80x9ccomplex Al2O3.metal oxidexe2x80x9d refers to a complex metal oxide comprised of, on a theoretical oxide basis, Al2O3 and one or more metal elements other than Al (e.g., CeAl11O18, Dy3Al5O12, MgAl2O4, and Y3Al5O12);
xe2x80x9ccomplex Al2O3.Y2O3xe2x80x9d refers to a complex metal oxide comprised of, on a theoretical oxide basis, Al2O3 and Y3O3 (e.g., Y3Al5O12);
xe2x80x9ccomplex Al2O3.rare earth oxidexe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9ccomplex Al2O3.REOxe2x80x9d refers to a complex metal oxide comprised of, on a theoretical oxide basis, Al2O3 and rare earth oxide (e.g., CeAl11O18 and Dy3Al5O12);
xe2x80x9crare earth oxidesxe2x80x9d refer to, on a theoretical oxide basis, CeO2, Dy2O3, Er2O3, Eu2O3, Gd2O3, Ho2O3, La2O3, Lu2O3, Nd2O3, Pr6O11, Sm2O3, Th4O7, Tm2O3, and Yb2O3; and
xe2x80x9cREOxe2x80x9d means rare earth oxide.
In another aspect, the present invention provides a method for making fused, crystalline material according to the present invention, the method comprising:
melting at least one Al2O3 source, at least one rare earth oxide source, and at least one ZrO2 source to provide a melt; and
converting the melt to the fused, crystalline material.
Fused crystalline material according to the present invention can be made, formed as, or converted into fibers or abrasive particles.

Fused Al2O3-rare earth oxide-ZrO2 eutectic materials


A pneumatic tire 20 is disclosed. The tire 20 has a carcass 21, a belt reinforcement member 26 disposed radially outwardly of the carcass 21, an annular tread 32 disposed radially outwardly of the belt reinforcing member 26, the tread 32 having a net-to-gross ratio of less than 35%. The tread 32 comprises an inner tread 34 and a plurality of traction lugs 50. At least 25% of the lugs 50 have aligned axially inner and axially outer portion is separated by a notch 60 extending between the leading edges 52 and trailing edges 54 and having a depth (n.sub.h) greater than 50% of the radial height (l.sub.h) of the lug 50 at a center of the notch along the leading edge 52, the center being located at a position 40% to 60% of the lug length (l.sub.L) from the axially inner end 53. Both the axially outer and inner portions of the notched lugs 50 have axially inner ends including enlarged lug heads. The tread lugs 50 made according to the present invention have increased flexibility which can reduce soil compaction while improving traction.

This invention relates to pneumatic tractor tires for use on farm tractors and similar agricultural type vehicles. Tractor tires must have good vibration characteristics on and off the road while maintaining good traction or drawbar characteristics. Such tires must also provide for the removal of soil, mud, etc., during in-field use.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,534,392 describes a prior art tractor tire known in the industry as having good traction characteristics while also exhibiting good vibration characteristics. This patented tread pattern is employed in the Goodyear Dyna Torque.RTM. Radial and the Kelly-Springfield Power Mark.RTM. L/S radial tractor tires. Each of these tires was used as prior art control tires for comparative purposes.
The present invention was employed on a tractor tire having a modified tread pattern relative to that described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,534,392. Comparative test results indicate that the tire made according to the present invention had better drawbar traction, less soil compaction, equivalent or better fuel efficiency, the same or slightly worse vibration characteristics dependent on the tractor speed when compared to the prior art control tires.
The tire made according to the present invention additionally exhibits a reduction in lug induced soil compaction. Soil compaction is considered by many a serious problem which can result in increased topsoil erosion. The tractor tire lugs compress the soil. The compressed soil is less capable of absorbing rainfall which contributes to runoff of water, which in turn leads to soil erosion. The loss of topsoil means that the productive agricultural farmland becomes less productive requiring an increase in fertilizer and chemical usage to compensate for the depleted soil.
In 1992, The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company introduced a new tractor tire having two sets of primary and secondary lugs. The tire is commercially sold as the DT 710 and is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,046,541. As described in the patent, this tire has good traction, vibration and cleaning characteristics. These primary and secondary lugs are shorter in length than most tractor tire lugs. The tire effectively increases the number of lugs, and, therefore, has an increase in lug surface area. This increases the performance capabilities of the tire. The flexible nature of these relative short primary and secondary lugs may also help reduce the soil compaction potential of the tire even though more lug surface area is employed.
The present invention maintains or exceeds the high performance capability of these prior art tires while at the same time greatly reducing the soil compaction potential of the tread lugs. The soil compacting surface area of the lugs is actually reduced when compared to the above referenced tractor tires.

Pneumatic tire for use on agricultural tractors and other like vehicles


An electric welding machine consisting of a high-power resistor, a power transformer, and an inductor, wherein the high-power resistor is controlled to change the constant voltage of the power transformer so that the end voltage and end electric current of the electric welding machine provide a negative resistance characteristic for keeping the electric arc stable.

The present invention relates to electric welding machines, and relates more particularly to such an electric welding machine which uses a variable resistor to control the operation of an annular power transformer and an inductor so as to maintain the electric arc stiff during welding.
FIG. 1 shows a regular electric welding machine, which comprises a substantially rectangular transformer 10 and a movable iron core M3 at the center opening of the transformer 10 to close the magnetic line of force so as to limit electric current. The transformer 10 comprises an iron core, which consists of two iron core parts M1 and M2, a primary winding 20 and a secondary winding 30 respectively wound the iron core M1 and M2. The central iron core, namely, the movable iron core M3 is driven by a handle to move forward or backward in the transformer 10, and therefore the output current is regulated. The relationship between the position of the movable iron core M3 and the output current is shown in FIG. 2a, 2b, and 2c. When the movable iron core M3 is moved out of the transformer 10 as shown in FIG. 2a, the magnetic line of force from M1 is transferred completely to M2, and the electric welding machine receives the maximum value of electric current. When the movable iron core M3 is partially moved into the transformer 10 as shown in FIG. 2b, the magnetic line of force from M1 partially passes through M3, therefore less magnetic line of force is induced by M2, and less electric current is outputted. The value of output current is relatively reduced when the movable iron core M3 moves backwards inside the transformer 10. When the movable iron core M3 is completely moved back inside the transformer 10 as shown in FIG. 2c, the magnetic line of force from M1 is completely blocked up between M1 and M2, the output current reaches the minimum value. Because the movable iron core M3 blocks up a part of the magnetic line of force in between M1 and M2, the remainder of the magnetic line of force is transferred to M2. Because the induced magnetic line of force is constant, a constant value of electric current is given to the electric welding machine. However, this structure of electric welding machine is still not satisfactory in function. Because the primary winding 20 and the secondary winding 30 are respectively wound on the transformer 10 at two opposite sides, the course of the magnetic line of force is long. The size of the iron cores must be greatly increased. Therefore, this structure of electric welding machine is big and heavy (for example, an electric welding machine of 300A weights over 120 kgs). Because the passage of the magnetic line of force is long, the energy loss is high, and the efficiency is low. When not in welding, the loss of static current is quite high (the utilization percent is about 45%, the efficiency is about 45%, and the static current is about within 10-15A). FIG. 3 is a voltage-current curve obtained from tests made on the aforesaid structure of electric welding machine, showing the relationship between the end voltage and the end current, in which A indicates the arc current; B indicates the arc voltage. Furthermore, the transformer 10 is complicated and expensive to manufacture. The iron core M1 and M2 is made by: processing silicon steel sheets into substantially U-shaped elements, and I-shaped elements, then alternatively connecting the U-shaped elements and I-shaped elements into shape. This iron core production procedure takes much working time, and produces much waste material.

No. 109, Alley 75, Lane 668, Yu Nung Road


A method of optical communication in a well can include launching light having substantially coherent phase into an optical waveguide extending in a wellbore, modulating light having substantially coherent phase in the wellbore, and receiving the modulated light transmitted via the same optical waveguide. A well system can include at least one optical waveguide extending in a wellbore, and a downhole optical modulator which modulates light transmitted via the optical waveguide, the optical modulator comprising a potassium titanyl phosphate crystal. Another method of optical communication in a well can include launching light into an optical waveguide extending in a wellbore, the light launched into the optical waveguide having information modulated thereon using a carrier, modulating light in the wellbore, the modulating comprising modulating information using a subcarrier of the carrier, and transmitting the light modulated in the wellbore via the same optical waveguide.

High temperatures (for example, ˜200 deg. C. and above) and long distances (for example, ˜3 km and more) can make optical telemetry very impractical and/or unreliable using conventional techniques. For these reasons and others, it will be appreciated that improvements are continually needed in the art of downhole optical communication. Such improvements may be useful whether or not the optical communication is performed at relatively high temperatures or over relatively long distances.


A dental care material comprising a titanium sintered body has no harmful effects on the human body and easily produces products with complicated shapes having a high level of strength. A mixture of titanium powder and an organic binder is injection molded and subjected to binder removal and sintering processes to form a bracket for orthodontic or dental implant materials. Pure titanium powder, with an average granule diameter of no more than 40 .mu.m, a carbon content by weight of no more than 0.3%, and an oxygen content by weight of no more than 0.6%, preferably is used to produce a titanium sintered body of combined carbon and oxygen content by weight of no more than 1.0%. Colored layers can be formed on the surface of the titanium sintered body using various methods as needed.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is concerned with a dental care material and a method for producing the material. It is especially concerned with a material suited for orthodontic appliances and dental implantation.
2. Description of Related Art
Among the materials used in a human mouth are wire and brackets for orthodontics and dental implantation. Depending on the use, plastics, ceramics, and stainless steel, etc., have traditionally been the most commonly used materials. In some cases utilization has been made of Ti--Ni system alloys, Ni--Cr system alloys, and Fe--Ni--Cr system alloys. However, there is an increasing number of patients who suffer from metal allergies, caused by a particular metal touching and irritating the skin and causing roughness or inflammation. Among such metal allergies are skin allergies caused by earrings, necklaces, and other accessories, and allergies caused in the mouth by the metals used in dental care. No one metal is the cause of the allergies, and individuals differ in regard to which types of metal cause allergies. More serious than allergies is the carcinogenic nature of such metals as Ni and Cr. The use of Ni--Cr system alloys on a living human body is even prohibited in some countries.
With each of the dental care materials mentioned above there are problems, such as mechanical characteristics, production costs, the elution of the material into the body, compatibility with living tissues, etc. For example, plastics may break due to lack of strength; ceramics are too expensive; stainless steel results in too much elution, which, like the alloys mentioned above, may cause problems such as allergies and cancer.
In addition, from the molding material perspective, brackets and dental implantation have traditionally been produced by the casting method and mechanical processing. With the casting method, the problem of breakage during use often occurs due to defective casting, especially due to the formation of casting pockets. In addition, the creation of complicated shapes is difficult in casting due to the problem of running liquid. For example, the shape of the surface of a bracket to be bonded to teeth, or the shape of the screw component for an implant material, is too complicated to be produced exactly as designed. Thus, in the case of the bracket, there is insufficient bonding strength. In regard to the dental implantation, after implanting an implant material, the screw may loosen causing breakage of the upper structure or a mismatching bite, resulting in difficulty in chewing food.
On the other hand, when the process involves mechanical processing, such as cutting, there is difficulty in processing materials with a high level of hardness, especially titanium materials that have poor machine processability, resulting in products with poor precision. For example, the screw component of a dental implantation must be mechanically processed because it cannot be produced by casting. Poor precision in the screw component can allow the entrance and spread of infectious agents to the screw component, which is screwed inside the mandibula. These infectious agents include Escherichia coli, Candida, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, staphylococcus, and aureus, which cause halitosis and susceptibility to gum diseases.

Dental care material and manufacturing method


Systems and method for automatically composing resources with redundant fabric switches to support dual path HA storage access operation in a data center are provided. A data management module can be used to determine one or more drives in the data center that are connected to fabric switches. The fabric switches have a same chassis ID. The data management module can then associate the one or more drives to a first computer system via one fabric switch of the fabric switches, and associate the one or more to a second computer system via the other one fabric switch of the two fabric switches. In response to receiving a request from a specific user, the data management module can compose suitable resources of the data center to match the request based at least upon the one or more drives, the two switches, the first computer system, and the second computer system.

Data center technology is becoming increasingly important in today's world. Not only are individual users utilizing their mobile devices and computers for entertainment and other needs, but corporations also depend on enterprise computing systems to carry out mission-critical tasks. All these applications and devices are supported mostly by data centers.
Data centers typically comprise three major components: servers, network, and storage devices. Further, data center management software is typically used to manage these components in the data centers. For example, data center management software receives requests from end users and then composes appropriate resources of the data center to service these requests. Composed resources may include computing capacity, memory and storage sizes, NIC (Network Interface Card) speed, and VLAN (Virtual Local Area Network) ID (Identification).
However, conventional data center management software, such as Intel® RSD (Rack Scale Design), only supports basic single path non-HA (High Availability) storage pool compose, and require further improvements to better support requests from corporations and end users.

High availability storage pool compose mechanism


A composition and method for treating autoimmune disease includes administering an effective amount of an aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) ligand. The AhR ligand includes 11-Cl-BBQ, 10-Cl-BBQ, an analog of 11-Cl-BBQ, or combination thereof. The AhR ligand is administered topically, orally, transdermally, intravenously, subcutaneously, or with a nanoparticle. The AhR ligand induces regulatory T cells (AhR-Tregs). AhR-Treg cells block the differentiation of cytotoxic T-lymphocytes (CTL). The AhR ligand activates AhR in CD4+ T cells to induce CD4+ AhR-Tregs that suppress the development of effector CTL, thereby suppressing the development of CTL that attack host cells in graft versus host disease (GVHD) or β-cells in the pancreas in diabetes mellitus type 1 (T1DM). The AhR ligand can also suppress development of CTL independently of Foxp3+ regulatory T cell induction. The AhR ligand can therefore be used to treat autoimmune diseases characterized by an absence of functional Foxp3+ regulatory T cell.

Autoimmune disease is caused by a failure of the immune system to recognize the difference between healthy tissue and harmful substances in the body. The immune system attacks healthy tissue and causes damage that may affect one or more tissue type or organ. For example, type 1 diabetes (T1DM), also known as diabetes mellitus type 1, is an autoimmune disease in which cytotoxic T-lymphocytes (CTL) attack and destroy the insulin-producing beta cells (β-cells) in the pancreas. Current management of T1DM involves administration of insulin and various formulations of insulin. Currently, an estimated 80,000 children develop T1DM each year and approximately 3 million people have T1DM in the United States. Complications from T1DM include heart disease, stroke, kidney failure, foot ulcers, and diabetic retinopathy. In addition, insulin treatment can lead to low blood sugar, or hypoglycemia, which can result in coma and death. Another immune-mediated disease, graft versus host disease (GVHD), can occur after a tissue transplant or blood transfusion. GVHD develops when grafted donor cells recognize the recipient's cells as foreign and differentiate into CTL that attack a recipient's healthy cells. GVHD can cause a range of symptoms from mild to severe, including death.
Current immune-suppressing drug therapies for GVHD, T1DM, and other autoimmune disorders produce global immune suppression throughout the body in order to reduce the autoimmune activity of CTL. Such immune suppression results in undesirable side effects associated with general immune suppression including an increased risk of infection and certain cancers. Thus, conventional immunosuppressive treatments of autoimmune diseases fail to provide long-term remission without severe side effects.
Targeting T cells is a promising therapeutic strategy for the prevention or treatment of autoimmune diseases. The aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) represents a potential drug target as a ligand-activated transcription factor that directly alters T cell differentiation without cytotoxicity. 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) is a potent AhR ligand. Studies with TCDD have shown that AhR signaling during the early stages of cluster of differentiation 4 positive (CD4+) T cell activation results in induction of CD4+ regulatory T cells (Treg cells or Tregs) and premature cessation of cluster of differentiation 8 positive (CD8+) effector CTL differentiation. Treating mice with TCDD has been shown to prevent or ameliorate several different types of autoimmune and allergic diseases supporting the therapeutic potential of the AhR pathway and AhR as a potential therapeutic target. However, TCDD has unfavorable pharmacological properties due to TCDD's high lipid solubility and resistance to metabolism, which leads to a TCDD half-life of approximately seven years in humans. Additionally, the notoriety of TCDD as an environmental toxicant is likely to limit TCDD's acceptance for pharmacologic uses.

Compounds and methods to suppress autoimmune response


An inkjet printer for printing on a print medium includes at least one print cartridge, a carriage shell adapted to hold the at least one print cartridge and traverse the print medium, and a carriage skirt extending from the carriage shell. The at least one print cartridge includes a printhead having a scan axis and a plurality of ink orifices formed in a front face thereof. The carriage shell traverses the print medium along the scan axis during printing and the carriage skirt extends from the carriage shell substantially parallel with the front face of the printhead in a direction of the scan axis.

The present invention relates generally to inkjet printers, and more particularly to an inkjet printer having a carriage skirt which extends beyond a print cartridge of the inkjet printer to influence airflow between the print cartridge and a print medium during printing.
As illustrated in FIG. 1, a portion of a conventional inkjet printer 90 includes a printer carriage 91 and a print cartridge 92 installed in the printer carriage. The print cartridge includes a printhead 93 which ejects or fires ink drops 94 through a plurality of orifices or nozzles 95 and toward a print medium 96, such as a sheet of paper, so as to print a dot of ink on the print medium. Typically, the orifices are arranged in one or more columns or arrays such that properly sequenced ejection of ink from the orifices causes characters or other images to be printed upon the print medium as the print cartridge and the print medium are moved relative to each other. In one arrangement, the print medium is held stationary as the print cartridge traverses the print medium to create a band or swath of print on the print medium. The print swath has a length, measured along a scan axis of the print cartridge, and a height, measured perpendicular to the scan axis along a paper advance axis of the print medium.
Image quality and performance of inkjet printing is rapidly approaching that of silver halide photographs and offset printing. The greatest improvement in image quality has been achieved by increasing image resolution which is a measure of the number of dots printed per height of an image, for example, dots-per-inch. Image resolution has been increased by reducing orifice spacing of the printhead and reducing a volume of the ink drops with an understanding that the volume of an ink drop corresponds to a size of the dot formed on the print medium. By reducing the orifice spacing of the printhead and the size of the ink drops, an image becomes sharper, less grainy, and more detailed.
As orifice spacing and drop volume decrease to increase image resolution, however, it becomes necessary to operate the printhead at higher firing frequencies and faster printing speeds to achieve the same throughput. Unfortunately, smaller, more closely spaced ink drops ejected at higher firing frequencies are more greatly influenced by surrounding air than larger, more widely spaced ink drops ejected at lower firing frequencies. In addition, when the printer carriage and the print cartridge move relative to the print medium in a printing direction, as indicated by arrow 97, for example, a stagnant region of air is created at a leading end of the printer carriage and the print cartridge, as indicated by region 98 in FIG. 1.
As printing speed and, therefore, speed of the printer carriage and the print cartridge increases, a high pressure region develops at the leading end of the printer carriage and the print cartridge which forces more air under the print cartridge and generates air currents between the printhead and the print medium. The air currents, however, misdirect the ink drops as they are ejected toward the print medium. Unfortunately, misdirection of the ink drops yields images which have undesirable print defects or artifacts, such as swath height error.
Swath height error is characterized by a variation in the height of the print swath created by the ink drops as the printer carriage and the print cartridge move relative to the print medium during printing. One cause of swath height error is the stagnant region of air created at the leading end of the printer carriage and the print cartridge during printing. As such, the stagnant region of air contributes to air currents which cause a misdirection of the trajectories of the ink drops in a positive or outward manner thereby resulting in a diminishing and/or increasing swath height.
Attempts to mask or hide these print defects have utilized multi-pass print modes, reduced printing speeds, one direction printing, and/or reduced spacing between the print cartridge and the print medium (i.e., printhead-to-paper spacing). These attempts, however, are leading in a direction contrary to the desired direction of inkjet printer advancement, such as single-pass print modes, faster printing speeds for higher throughput, bi-directional printing, increased printhead-to-paper spacing for accommodating a greater range of print medium thickness, and higher resolution, lower drop volume printheads.
Accordingly, a need exists for an inkjet printer which substantially eliminates objectionable print defects, such as swath height error, caused by air currents generated by printing operations, without compromising image resolution, printing speed, and/or print medium flexibility.
One aspect of the present invention provides an inkjet printer for printing on a print medium. The inkjet printer includes at least one print cartridge, a carriage shell adapted to hold the at least one print cartridge, and a carriage skirt extending from the carriage shell. The at least one print cartridge includes a printhead having a scan axis and a plurality of ink orifices formed in a front face thereof. As such, the carriage shell is adapted to traverse the print medium along the scan axis and the carriage skirt extends from the carriage shell substantially parallel with the front face of the printhead in a direction of the scan axis.
In one embodiment, the carriage skirt further extends from the carriage shell substantially parallel with the front face of the printhead in a direction substantially perpendicular to the scan axis.
In one embodiment, the carriage skirt extends a first distance in the direction of the scan axis and extends a second distance in the direction substantially perpendicular to the scan axis. As such, the second distance is less than the first distance.
In one embodiment, the carriage skirt extends from the carriage shell substantially parallel with the front face of the printhead in a second direction of the scan axis opposite the first named direction of the scan axis.
In one embodiment, the carriage skirt has a surface oriented substantially parallel with and substantially co-planar with the front face of the printhead.
In one embodiment, the plurality of ink orifices of the printhead form at least one column of ink orifices. As such, the carriage skirt extends from the carriage shell in a direction substantially perpendicular to the at least one column of ink orifices.
In one embodiment, the printhead is adapted to eject ink drops through the ink orifices and into a print zone between the printhead and the print medium during printing. In one embodiment, the carriage skirt influences airflow through the print zone during printing. In one embodiment, the carriage skirt reduces a component of the airflow oriented substantially perpendicular to the scan axis during printing. In one embodiment, the carriage skirt produces substantially uniform airflow through the print zone during printing.
In one embodiment, the carriage skirt affects air currents acting on the ink drops during printing to prevent print defects caused by the air currents.
In one embodiment, the carriage skirt reduces air pressure at a leading end of the at least one print cartridge when the carriage shell traverses the print medium during printing.
In one embodiment, the at least one print cartridge includes a plurality of print cartridges and the carriage shell is adapted to hold the plurality of print cartridges. As such, the carriage skirt has at least one opening defined therein which is configured to accommodate at least one of the plurality of print cartridges.
In one embodiment, the plurality of print cartridges are arranged to include a leading print cartridge and a trailing print cartridge when the carriage shell traverses the print medium during printing. As such, a first portion of the carriage skirt extends from the carriage shell adjacent the leading print cartridge and a second portion of the carriage skirt extends from the carriage shell adjacent the trailing print cartridge.
Another aspect of the present invention provides a method of printing on a print medium with an inkjet printer including at least one printhead having a scan axis and a plurality of ink orifices formed in a front face thereof. The method includes supporting the at least one printhead in a carriage shell and traversing the print medium with the at least one printhead along the scan axis, ejecting ink drops through the ink orifices into a print zone between the at least one printhead and the print medium during printing, and affecting airflow in the print zone while ejecting the ink drops through the ink orifices during printing. Affecting airflow in the print zone includes influencing airflow through the print zone by extending a carriage skirt from the carriage shell substantially parallel with the front face of the at least one printhead in a direction of the scan axis.
Another aspect of the present invention provides a carriage adapted to hold at least one print cartridge of an inkjet printer. The at least one print cartridge includes a printhead having a plurality of ink orifices formed in a front face thereof. As such, the carriage includes a shell adapted to support the at least one print cartridge for movement along a scan axis and a skirt extending from the shell in a direction of the scan axis such that the skirt is configured to extend substantially parallel with the front face of the printhead when the at least one print cartridge is supported by the shell.
Another aspect of the present invention provides a method of forming a carriage for at least one print cartridge of an inkjet printer. The at least one print cartridge includes a printhead having a plurality of ink orifices formed in a front face thereof. As such, the method includes providing a shell adapted to support the at least one print cartridge for movement along a scan axis and extending a skirt from the shell in a direction of the scan axis such that the skirt is configured to extend substantially parallel with the front face of the printhead when the at least one print cartridge is supported by the shell.
The present invention provides an inkjet printer which influences airflow between a print cartridge of the inkjet printer and a print medium to affect air currents acting on ink drops ejected from the print cartridge during printing. More specifically, the inkjet printer reduces or eliminates a component of airflow oriented substantially perpendicular to a scan axis of the print cartridge to produce substantially uniform airflow between the print cartridge and the print medium during printing. As such, undesirable print defects, such as a variation in height of a print swath created by the print cartridge during printing, are avoided.

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


A monitoring apparatus for monitoring an ablation procedure applied to an object comprises an ultrasound signal providing unit for providing an ultrasound signal. The ultrasound signal is produced by sending ultrasound pulses out to the object, by subsequently receiving dynamic echo series after the ultrasound pulses have been reflected by the object, and finally by generating the ultrasound signal depending on the received dynamic echo series, whereby ultrasound scattering properties of the object are determined that represent blood perfusion. The monitoring apparatus further comprises an ablation depth determination unit for determining an ablation depth from the provided ultrasound signal.

WO 2006/064495 A1 discloses a method for monitoring heat damage to tissue during a heat ablation procedure. While a certain part of the tissue is ablated, ultrasound images of neighboring parts of the tissue are acquired, and from these ultrasound images a parameter is extracted, which is indicative of a biological response of the neighboring parts of the tissue to heat. In an embodiment, the parameter is the accumulation of bubbles and a damage of the neighboring parts of the tissue is determined based on this parameter. The aim of this monitoring method is the detection of unwanted damages to the neighboring parts of the tissue. The monitoring method monitors therefore a possible damage of the tissue by observing spatial and temporal changes in the ultrasound images and by relating these changes to bubble formation. This monitoring leads to inaccuracies in determining possible damages of the tissue, because bubble formation reflects only high temperature in the tissue, but is not directly linked to the extent of tissue damage.

Apparatus for determining a property of an object using ultrasound scatter


Logic array circuits are formed on SOI substrates. The pull-down network (130) of the logic array circuit comprises NMOS transistors (125) and PMOS transistors (120) configured in series.

The invention is generally related to the field of logic circuits and more specifically to a novel design methodology for achieving faster circuits with a more compact circuit layout.
Designing small, fast, low-power, and reliable logic circuits is becoming more difficult with scaling. Integrated logic circuits on silicon on insulator (SOI) substrates are beginning to find increasing usage in an effort to achieve these goals. SOI refers to a silicon substrate where the top layer (in which the devices are fabricated) is separated from the xe2x80x9cbulkxe2x80x9d portion of the substrate by a insulator layer. This can be contrasted with bulk silicon substrates which have no buried insulator layer. In bulk CMOS circuits, NMOS transistors are fabricated in p-type wells and PMOS devices are formed in n-type wells with both well structures formed in the substrate. These well structures provide the electrical isolation required between the NMOS and PMOS transistors in CMOS logic circuits. The spacing requirement of these well structures for proper electrical isolation in bulk CMOS logic circuit fabrication has led to grouping of NMOS and PMOS transistors to maximize circuit density. In bulk CMOS circuits, basic transistor networks performing logic functions can be classified as the following three types: pull-up network (PUN), which conditionally forms a current path between the output node and the circuit power supply, pull-down network (PDN), which conditionally forms a current path between the output node and the circuit ground, and pass-transistor network (PTN), which conditionally forms a current path between the output node and the pass inputs. In general only PMOS transistors are used in a PUN, only NMOS transistors are used in a PDN, and only PMOS or only NMOS transistors are used in a PTN except for pass gate logic. In early NMOS logic circuits, both enhancement and depletion mode NMOS transistors were used as pull up devices. In these NMOS circuits however, the gate of the enhancement transistor was connected to a fixed voltage (usually the supply voltage) and the gate of the depletion transistor was connected to the output node.
In general, digital circuits can be divided into two groups, static and dynamic circuits. Dynamic circuits can be further subdivided into one-phase xe2x80x9cdominoxe2x80x9d circuits, two-phase ratioed, and ratioless circuits. Ratioless dynamic circuits can be further divided into two-phase and four-phase circuits. Logic networks generally comprise combinational and sequential networks. Combinational networks comprise gates and programmable logic arrays, and sequential networks comprise latches, registers, counters, and read-write memory. Combinational logic networks operate without the need of any periodic clock signals. However all but the very smallest digital systems require sequential as well as combinational logic. As a practical matter, all systems employing sequential logic require the use of periodic clock signals for correctly synchronized operation. In static SOI logic circuits, combinational or sequential, clock signals are introduced only at normal gate inputs, identical to those used for logic inputs. In applications where circuit delay is important and where silicon area is at a premium, CMOS dynamic logic circuits are used. Dynamic gates require clock signals that perform a precharge function to reduce circuit delay.
Another class of logic circuits is array logic. Array logic refers broadly to the address decoders of memories, the programmable logic arrays, the programmable array logic, and the content addressable memories. Shown in FIG. 1 is block diagram of a typical logic array circuit. In an array logic circuit the output signals 70, output1 to outputx are functions of the input signals A1 to An 30 with the functionality defined by the interconnection in the pull-down network 10. The address input lines 30 are fed into an address predecoder 20. This address predecoder 20 produces a number of address inputs 40 that are fed into the pull-down network (PDN) 10. Typically, these address inputs 40 are fed to the gates of the MOS transistors that comprise the PDN 10. The PDN 10 is also typically connected to the circuit ground. The PDN 10 provides a number of output lines that are connected to a number of pull-up networks (PUN) 50 resulting in a number of array output lines 70.
Conventional SOI logic circuits are based on bulk CMOS logic with conventional SOI circuits and bulk CMOS circuits sharing the same circuit topology. This is the case for the static, dynamic, and array logic circuits and networks discussed above. Thus in conventional SOI logic circuits, only PMOS transistors are used in a PUN, only NMOS transistors are used in a PDN, and only PMOS or only NMOS transistors are used in a PTN except for complementary pass gate logic. This circuit layout and design methodology while optimized for bulk CMOS circuits does not take full advantage of the unique properties of SOI substrates. A new circuit design methodology is therefore required that fully utilizes the properties of SOI substrates for CMOS logic circuits.
The instant invention comprises array logic fabricated on SOI substrates. The unique nature of SOI substrates allows novel circuit configurations. In particular, an array logic circuit on a SOI substrate, comprising: a pull-down network comprising a plurality of rows wherein each row comprises a plurality of NMOS or PMOS transistors connected in parallel; a plurality of input address lines connected to the gates of said plurality of NMOS or PMOS transistors; a plurality of pull-up networks connected to said plurality of rows; and a plurality of output lines connected to common nodes of said pull-up networks and said plurality of rows. In addition, the pull-up network comprises a depletion mode NMOS transistor; the pull-up network comprises a precharge PMOS transistor with a clock input; and at least one of said MOS transistors in said pull-down network has a gate tied to a floating substrate body.
A further embodiment of the instant invention comprises; a pull-down network comprising a plurality of rows wherein each row comprises a plurality of NMOS or PMOS transistors connected in series; a plurality of input address lines connected to the gates of said plurality of NMOS or PMOS transistors; a plurality of pull-up networks connected to said plurality of rows; and a plurality of output lines connected to common nodes of said pull-up networks and said plurality of rows. In addition, the pull-up network comprises a depletion mode NMOS transistor; the pull-up network comprises a precharge PMOS transistor with a clock input; and at least one of said MOS transistors in said pull-down network has a gate tied to a floating substrate body.

Logic array circuits using silicon-on-insulator logic


A part measurement system includes a press machine, a part measurement sensor and a press controller. The press machine includes a lower die coupled to an upper die, wherein the lower die includes a top surface supporting a strip of material to be formed into a part after a stripper plate coupled to the upper die contacts the strip of material. The part measurement sensor is located in the lower die and measures a critical dimension of the part while the part is in the lower die. The press controller is coupled to the press machine and the sensor, and controller processes a measurement signal from the part measurement sensor of the critical dimension of the part, compares the measurement signal to a predetermined threshold value, and generates a command signal to the press machine to either reject or accept the part.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a programmable industrial controller configured to measure the critical dimensions of a part while the part is passing through a progressive die machine.
2. Description of the Related Art
Traditionally, progressive die machines include an upper die that is reciprocally moveable with respect to the lower die. A motor imparts rotational motion to the output shaft that, in turn, rotates a eccentrically-mounted pin on a concentrically-mounted plate on an output shaft, thereby tracing a circular path. The rotational motion, in turn, results in a ram mounted on an upper surface of the die to move reciprocally with respect to the lower die.
A rotation of the output shaft of the motor is a xe2x80x9cstrokexe2x80x9d of the machine that ranges from 0 to 360 degrees. The point at which the pin on the plate of the motor output shaft is located at the uppermost vertical position with respect to the plate is the xe2x80x9czero positionxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9ctop dead centerxe2x80x9d. At the top dead center position, the upper die is positioned with the greatest extent above the lower die. The point at which the pin on the plate of the motor output shaft is located adjacent to the lowermost vertical position with respect to the plate is the xe2x80x9c180 degree positionxe2x80x9d. In the 180 degree position, the upper die is positioned adjacent to the lower die and this is the position whereby the forming operations are performed on the web. Between the 0 and 180 degree positions, the upper die is lowered with respect to the lower die and between the 180 and 360 degree positions, the upper die is raised with respect to the lower die.
The upper and lower dies cooperate to define several forming stations therein. Each forming station includes an individual forming tool and a die which are configured and dimensioned so that a particular predetermined operation can be performed on the web fed between the upper and lower dies. The web is typically an elongated strip of material provided as a feedable supply adjacent the machine, such as on a spool. The progressive die machine typically includes a feeding apparatus mounted adjacent the lower die which sequentially advances the web between the upper and lower dies and through each of the forming stations therein.
The number of forming stations is determined by the number of forming operations necessary to form a desired part. A portion of each of the forming tools is located on the upper die and are driven in unison in reciprocal fashion by the ram. Therefore, a forming operation is performed at each forming station during each stroke of the ram.
Following each stroke, the web is advanced so that each portion of the web is positioned within the next successive forming station in the machine. When a portion of the web has passed each forming station in the progressive die machine, a desire part is formed. The last station in the machine typically includes a severing tool and a discharge chute. The severing tool cuts the formed part from the web so that the formed part can fall into the discharge chute and be accumulated therein.
Typically, progressive die machines are plagued with many uncontrollable problems resulting in formed parts that are not within a certain tolerance that have to be thrown away. In many cases, the tolerances that the parts must fall within are of a critical importance and a part that falls outside of the tolerances can cause a catastrophic failure in the system or machine in which the part is ultimately installed. In particular, progressive die machines often experience problems due to changes in the thickness of the web material from which the parts are formed, flaws in the web material, wear on the forming tools and dies, and foreign matter located on the web material. These problems cause the formation of unacceptable parts that often go undetected by the machine and/or its operator until the parts are ultimately manually measured as to whether they are within the specific tolerances.
Due to the difficulties associated with monitoring the formation of a part in a progressive die machine to ensure that all of the parts are within very specific tolerances prior to manufacturing a pile of malformed parts, there is a need for measurement system located within the die that is configured to test every part while it is still in the die to determine whether each part is within the specified tolerance range. There is also a need for a measurement system that is capable of operating within a high-speed press (e.g., 180 to 300 strokes/minute).
While there have been attempts in the past to measure parts in the die of a progressive die machine, these attempts have been either unsuccessful or cost-prohibitive. In particular, one such attempt involves the installation of several transducers including transformers and cores mounted therein on separate upper and lower bodies that are mounted onto the upper and lower dies, respectively. A separate transducer is a xe2x80x9ctrigger devicexe2x80x9d that signals the initiation of the measurement process and provides a xe2x80x9czeroxe2x80x9d reference plane for comparison with the remaining transducers. All of the transducers in both the upper and lower bodies must contact the part in order to generate an error signal indicative of whether the particular part is within acceptable tolerance limits. In this case, significant modifications to both the upper and lower dies are required in order to use this kind of measurement system. Unfortunately, these modifications are costly and difficult to make on a traditional progressive die machine. Thus, there is also a need for a part measurement system that requires only minor modifications to the standard progressive die machine.
Accordingly, one object of this invention is to provide a part measurement system that includes a press machine, a part measurement sensor and a press controller. The press machine includes a lower die coupled to an upper die, wherein the lower die includes a top surface supporting a strip of material to be formed into a part after a stripper plate coupled to the upper die contacts the strip of material. The part measurement sensor is located in the lower die and measures a critical dimension of the part while the part is in the lower die. The press controller is coupled to the press machine and the sensor, and controller processes a measurement signal from the part measurement sensor of the critical dimension of the part, compares the measurement signal to a predetermined threshold value, and generates a command signal to the press machine to either reject or accept the part.
Another object of this invention is to provide a part measurement system including a press machine having a lower die coupled to an upper die, wherein the lower die includes a top surface supporting a strip of material to be formed into a part after a stripper plate coupled to the upper die contacts the strip of material, a part measurement sensor located in the lower die, wherein the sensor measures a critical dimension of the part, and a press controller coupled to the press machine and the sensor, wherein the controller processes a measurement signal from the part measurement sensor of the critical dimension of the part, compares the measurement signal to a predetermined threshold value, and generates a command signal to the press machine to either reject or accept the part.
Yet another object of this invention is to provide a method of measuring a critical dimension of a part in a press machine. The method includes the steps of feeding a strip of material through the press machine, wherein the machine includes a lower die coupled to an upper die and the lower die includes a top surface supporting the strip of material, forming the strip of material into the part, wherein a stripper plate coupled to the upper die contacts the strip of material and the upper die punches the strip of material, measuring the critical dimension of the part with a part measurement sensor located in the lower die, and processing a measurement signal from the part measurement sensor of the critical dimension of the part, wherein a press controller compares the measurement signal to a predetermined threshold value, and generates a command signal to the press machine to either reject or accept the part.


A recessed wall lighting fixture is disclosed comprising a recessed enclosure, a tray connected to and extending out from the recessed enclosure, and means for mounting the recessed enclosure in a predetermined orientation. The recessed enclosure has a back wall and an opened face with a flange portion. The tray extends out from the flange portion and provides a platform adapted for supporting a light diffuser. The tray also has an upright partition. The platform extends from the upright partition to the flange portion of the enclosure. The tray also includes an adjustable connecting means extendable between the upright partition to the flange portion for engaging the light diffuser. The tray can be attached to either of adjacent side walls of the enclosure, thereby allowing the light diffuser associated therewith to be oriented in either a horizontal or vertical position. The lighting fixture includes wall connecting structure allowing it to be either recessed behind a finished wall or attached to a wall under construction. The lighting fixture itself can also be mounted in the wall in either a horizontal or vertical orientation.

Wall lighting fixtures arc commonly used in commercial, residential, and public access buildings. Such wall lighting fixtures include the common term "sconces" that mount flush onto a wall and contain a light source (such as an incandescent or one or more fluorescent lamps). These wall sconces include an integral light diffuser that commonly projects outward from the wall and into an area, such as a room, corridor or other opening, by a distance greater than four (4) inches.
Lighting fixtures placed in public access buildings must now conform to the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 which has as one of its requirement a limitation on a distance from which devices, such as lighting fixtures, extend from sidewalls, corridors or passageways to be no greater than four (4) inches. This four (4) inch requirement is applicable from a height of about 27 inches (27") from the floor to a height of about 80 inches (80") from the floor. This requirement has created a strong driving force on the lighting industry to provide conforming wall sconces in such public access buildings as well as in hospitality, managed housing, restaurants, and retail store facilities. It is required that wall sconces be provided with means to limit their outward extent from walls to be no greater than four inches.
The light diffusers of the wall sconces provide the lighting fixture with different types of lighting patterns, such as indirect lighting, direct lighting, and combinations thereof. The use of different materials for the light diffusers achieve different lighting patterns and even different colored lighting patterns. For example, these diffusers may be either translucent or opaque to produce different light diffusion characteristics desired for different lighting applications. Further, the light diffusers may be selected to have different styles, such as shapes, textures and finishes to provide different lighting aesthetics. It is desired that means for the wall sconces be provided that allows the light diffusers to be conveniently changed so as to provide different lighting patterns and the different styles that meets the need of various lighting applications.
In addition to the light diffusers, the orientation of the light source of the wall sconce, which is determined by the orientation of the (recessed) lighting fixture itself, may also be arranged so as to provide for particular types of lighting such as up-lighting, down-lighting, or combinations thereof. These different types of lighting patterns are selected for particular requirements for the lighting application. The orientation of the recessed wall lighting fixture is dependent on the selection of a particular diffuser that may provide a certain light pattern or aesthetic style. The combination of various diffuser media and styles affords the user a wide selection of light patterns and style options.
Recessed wall lighting fixtures may be installed into new buildings under construction or into finished buildings. The installment of a recessed wall lighting fixture into a building under construction must accommodate the mounting onto wood or some other material, such as metal or masonry, frame members, such as support studs, exposed during new construction. Conversely, for finished buildings the recessed wall lighting fixture must accommodate the mounting onto a finished wall because stud framing members are no longer exposed. It is desired that means be provided to allow the recessed wall lighting fixtures to be installed into either buildings under construction or into finished walls of completed facilities.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a recessed wall lighting fixture having the capability of being installed into buildings that are either under construction or in their finished condition.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a recessed wall lighting fixture that may be oriented in either a horizontal or a vertical orientation so as to allow for up-lighting, down-lighting and combinations thereof.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a recessed wall lighting fixture having means that allow the associated light diffusers to be conveniently connected and reconnected so as to provide different lighting patterns, different diffuser styles and allow for the maintenance thereof in an easy and rapid manner without disturbing the electrical connections and components therein.
Moreover, it is an object to the present invention to provide recessed wall lighting fixtures that accommodate associated light diffusers which limits the outward extent of these light diffusers from the wall to be no more than four (4) inches so as to more than satisfy the requirement of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent in the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Low profile recessed wall lighting fixture


A gage, for determining the taper angle of the inner faces of the end walls of a continuous casting mold, includes a pair of rigidly connected, spaced apart, elongated, wall contact strips having parallel straight edges for engaging the wall for substantially its full height. A center, measuring strip is arranged between the wall contact strips and is pivotally connected to them at their lower ends. The measuring strip is pivoted by a manually operable screw that connects its upper end to the upper end of a wall contact strip. A level indicator mounted upon the top of the measuring strip indicates when that strip is vertical. A distance indicator gage mounted on the strips measures the amount of pivotal movement of the measuring strip until it becomes vertical. The taper gage is suspended in a mold and the wall contact strip straight edges are pressed against a mold end wall. Then the operator manipulates the screw to pivot the measuring strip until the level indicates that it is vertical. At that point, he reads the distance measuring indicator which may be calibrated to directly read the wall taper.

The invention herein relates to a measuring device for manually determining the slope or taper angle of the end wall faces of a continuous casting mold. An example of such a type mold is illustrated and described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,964,727 issued Jan. 22, 1976 to Floyd R. Gladwin. Another example of such type mold and the operation of the continuous casting process with which such mold is used, is illustrated and disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,023,612 issued May 17, 1977 to Charles Richard Jackson.
In general, the continuous casting process involves pouring molten steel into the open upper end of a bottom-less, box-like casting mold. The mold walls are cooled so that the molten metal begins to solidify while in the mold.
As the metal cools within the mold, a surface skin is formed where the metal contacts the cooled mold walls. That skin surrounds an interior molten core. Thus, the cast strand comprising a solidified skin enclosing a molten core, gravity feeds downwardly through the open bottom of the mold. The downwardly emerging strand is supported by rollers or roller aprons which prevent the skin from bursting due to the ferrostatic pressure within the core. Meanwhile, water sprays are applied to the strand to continue the cooling. Ultimately, the strand is solidified throughout and then lengths of the strand are cut off to form predetermined sized slabs.
The continuous strand or cast slab, while varying considerably in size, may be roughly on the order of four to twelve inches in thickness and two to five feet in width. The continuous strand is cut to desired length pieces.
The mold typically is formed of a pair of spaced apart broad or wide mold walls. Between the wide walls are an opposing pair of narrow, end walls. The walls are formed of a heavy fabricated steel wall construction with inner facings or linings made, usually, of copper. Cooling channels arranged between the interfaces between the copper linings and the steel walls, carry cooling water for removing heat from the molten cast material which contacts the copper lining inner faces.
Because the molten metal shrinks as it cools, the end walls usually are tapered or sloped from top to bottom, so that they are closer together at the lower end of the mold than at the upper end of the mold.
Various mechanical mounting means are used to position and to secure the end walls between the broad walls and to permit the end walls to be angled slightly to provide the desired slope. Thus, it is necessary to measure the slope or tilt of the end walls.
Because of the nature, size and location of the mold within the continuous casting apparatus, it is relatively difficult and time consuming to determine the slope or taper angle of the end walls. Hence, the invention herein is concerned with a measuring device which can be utilized manually to rapidly determine the slope.