A stereo image processing apparatus is provided. The apparatus comprises an imaging device for taking a pair of images of an object for stereo image processing purpose; a stereo processor for correlating the pair of images for each small area thereof to thereby perform stereo matching processing for identifying corresponding areas, and obtaining an evaluation function as a result of said stereo matching processing, distance information to said object obtained based on said evaluation function, and reliability information indicating a reliability of said distance information; a parallax corrector for setting an adaptive search range around a small area in question according to said reliability information, obtaining a corrected evaluation function by correcting said evaluation function obtained for said small area in question based on said evaluation function obtained for a respective small area within said adaptive search range, and correcting said distance information based on said corrected evaluation function obtained.

An image processing by so-called stereo method is generally known as a 3-dimensional measurement technology using imaging. This method employs 2 cameras (stereo cameras) to take a pair of images of an object from different positions, correlate the pair of images to thereby obtain information on a distance to the object with the triangulation principle using camera parameters such as stereo camera positions, a focal length, and the like from a parallax for the same object.
In image processing employing the above stereo method, a disparity between the 2 images is detected by determining a position where 2 sets of image signals from the stereo cameras match while sequentially shifting the 2 sets of image signals to thereby calculate a distance to the object. In general, the above position where 2 sets of image signals match is obtained by comparing brightness of the image signals from the 2 cameras.
This image comparison is performed for each small area with a predetermined pixel count due to a computation speed and the like. For a base image and a reference image, for example, a city block distance is calculated to correlate each other for each small area (also called a "matching block") of each image to thereby perform stereo matching processing for identifying corresponding areas to obtain 3-dimensional image information (a distance image), which is a numeric expression of information on a distance to the object obtained from a pixel disparity (=parallax) according to a distance to the object.
In the stereo matching processing for the 2 images, however, a mismatch problem may occur where the correspondence is incorrect.
To address this mismatch problem, JP-A-2001-160144 discloses an apparatus comprising a mechanism for determining the existence of the mismatch from a result obtained in the image matching processing.
Also JP-A-H11-248446 discloses a technique for voting on the parallax for the matching block in question and its surrounding 8 blocks to reduce the mismatch.
Further, JP-A-H8-279045 discloses a technique for specifying a priority for a tentative corresponding point candidate against other corresponding points, and obtaining the parallax consistent with the correspondence.
However, the above JP-A-2001-160144 technique simply determines the presence of the mismatch and a mechanism for reducing a mismatch influence to improve the stereo matching accuracy is not disclosed.
Moreover, the proposal in the JP-A-H11-248446 does not offer sufficient effect when actual space has 3-dimensional depth equivalent to a resolution of the matching block, or for areas such as a wall surface without sufficient image features for the matching processing.
Likewise, the proposal in the JP-A-H8-279045 does not provide enough correction effect for areas such as a wall surface.


Improved convoluted flanges including one embodiment having a metal inset in a polymer casing in which the inset has a convoluted configuration similar to the outer convoluted configuration of the casing and another embodiment of a convoluted, slip-on, welding flange for welding to a pipe having a cross sectional, convoluted contour that is configured using stress analysis to shift the effective loading of connecting bolts from the centerline of the bolt holes in the flange to a locus closer to the pipe to which the flange is welded.

This invention relates to improvements in the design of piping flanges and relates to the use of stress analysis to assist in the design of optimum configurations for a flange coupler as described in my prior patent, U.S. Pat. No. 5,413,389 issued May 9, 1995 and entitled, "Cast Convoluted Piping Flange". In the referenced patent a piping flange was described having a convoluted design with a transition in thickness from an outer rim to an inner rim of the flange. The convoluted design provided the rigidity or stiffness necessary to insure a uniform coupling face for uniform deformation of a gasket or seal, while minimizing the weight of the flange by eliminating unnecessary material.
The convoluted flanges and flange couplers of the type described in the reference patent are successful in accomplishing the objectives enumerated. Furthermore, the technique of computer aided stress analysis in the design of piping flanges has led to further improvements in the configuration of flanges that address the issue of stresses transmitted to the pipe, and in the design and construction of composite material flanges.
With regard to the latter, my prior patent, U.S. Pat. No. 4,458,924 issued Jul. 10, 1984, entitled, "Bimetal Flange Connector", describes a bimetal flange that utilizes a hub of a first metal bonded to a rim of a second metal. The concept of a composite flange of two materials and the use of a recess to reduce weight and optimize stress distribution is described in the referenced bimetal flange patent.
The subject invention includes certain of the features of the devices in the referenced patents. The advantage of computer aided stress analysis provides embodiments of piping flanges that fully consider the effect of the flange configuration in transmitting stresses to the pipe as well as efficiently distributing stresses in the flange itself.


A decoding arrangement for decoding audio signals previously encoded in accordance with the dbx format, includes a wideband expander instead of a full dbx expander. The wideband expander employs a relatively simple, and therefore inexpensive, peak detector in place of the true RMS detector of a full dbx expander, and does not include apparatus for spectral expansion of the audio signal. Although the decoding is noncomplementary with respect to the encoding, the stereo audio reproduction as perceived by a listener, is surprisingly good.

The broadcasting of multichannel or stereo sound programs for television in the United States is in accordance with the system adopted by the Broadcast Systems Television Committee (BTSC) of the Electronic Industries Association (EIA). This television multichannel sound system provides for the transmission of the sum of the left and right stereo audio information (L+R) in a main audio channel in the spectrum space of the television signal formerly occupied by the monophonic audio signal (mono). This was done so that new stereo signal would be compatible with existing monophonic television receivers. The television multichannel sound system also provides for the transmission of the difference of the left and right stereo audio information (L-R), modulated onto a subcarrier.
The television multichannel system also provides for the option of simultaneously transmitting a second audio program (SAP) which typically may be used to carry a second language version of the program being provided in the main (L+R) audio channel. The audio frequency of the SAP channel is in the range of 50 Hz to 10 KHz, which is relatively restricted as compared to the 50 Hz to 15 KHz for the main channel and the (L-R) subchannel. The restricted bandwidth of the SAP channel has been deemed to be sufficient for the nature of the bulk of the program material expected to be carried on the SAP channel.
The L-R stereo subchannel and the SAP channel both use subcarriers at frequencies above the audio range and due to the nature of the frequency modulation (FM) transmission system used, these channels tend to exhibit relatively high noise levels in comparison with the main audio channel. Companding is therefore utilized for the stereo subchannel and the SAP channel to provide acceptable noise performance. The companding system presently used is referred to as the "dbx Companding System", or simply the "dbx system". It should be noted that dbx is a registered trademark of Carillon Technologies, Inc of Newton, Massachusetts. The dbx Companding System is described in detail in an article by Leslie B. Tyler et al., in the IEEE Transactions on Consumer Electronics, November 1984, Volume CE-30, No. 4, pages 6333-640 and in an article by C. G. Eilers, in the IEEE Transactions on Consumer Electronics, February 1985, Volume CE-31, No. 1, pages 1-7.
The dbx companding system sets out to improve the attainable signal to noise ratio. Fixed and variable preemphasis are applied to the audio signal before transmission. The additional use of variable preemphasis is intended to avoid two problems which may occur when fixed preemphasis is used alone. First, audio signals which contain predominantly high frequencies would be boosted excessively causing overmodulation. Second, low level audio signals lacking sufficient high frequency content would not be sufficiently boosted to mask noise
The transmitter of a dbx system includes a signal compressor in which the L-R and SAP audio signals are passed in cascade through a fixed preemphasis circuit, a variable preemphasis circuit which is responsive to a first control signal, a variable gain stage which is responsive to a second control signal, and a second fixed preemphasis circuit.
The variable preemphasis circuit provides "spectral compression". In spectral compression, the variable preemphasis circuit reduces high frequency gain when the high frequency content of the audio signal is relatively high, because the level of the high frequency portion of the audio signal is sufficient, by itself, to mask noise introduced in the transmission path. Conversely, the variable preemphasis circuit increases high frequency gain when the high frequency content of the audio signal is relatively low, in order to mask noise introduced in the transmission path. The variable gain stage provides "wideband compression". In wideband compression, gain is reduced when the signal level is high, and conversely, gain is increased when the signal level is low.
According to the dbx system, the first and second control signals are generated by first and second control signal generators, each of which comprises a bandpass filter and a "true RMS" detector. A typical "true RMS" detector is known from U.S. Pat. 3,681,618 (Blackmer). The first and second control signal generators provide first and second control signals representative of the energy content of the audio signal over first and second respective frequency ranges.
The inverse of the compression operation, known as "expanding", takes place in the receiver so as to restore the audio signal to its original condition. The received L-R and SAP audio signals are passed in cascade through a fixed deemphasis circuit, a variable deemphasis circuit which is responsive to a first control signal, a variable gain stage which is responsive to a second control signal, and a second fixed deemphasis circuit. The variable deemphasis circuit provides spectral expansion. The variable deemphasis circuit increases high frequency gain when the high frequency content of the received audio signal is relatively high, to restore the level of the high frequency portion of the audio signal. Conversely, the variable deemphasis circuit further decreases high frequency gain when the high frequency content of the audio signal is relatively low, in order to attenuate noise introduced in the transmission path. The variable gain circuit provides wide-band expansion. In wide-band expansion, the gain is increased when the level of the audio signal is relatively high, to restore the original signal levels. Conversely, gain is decreased when the signal level is low, to attenuate noise introduced at the receiver.
Just as in the above-described transmitter, a dbx expander includes two control signal generators, each of which comprises a bandpass filter and a "true RMS" detector, for providing the first and second control signals representative of the energy content of the audio signal over first and second respective frequency ranges.
Unfortunately, the dbx decoder circuitry tends to be somewhat complex and requires a relatively large number of electronic components to implement the functions. This is an undesirable characteristic for a circuit which is to be included within a consumer electronic unit, such as a television receiver, in today's highly competitive market. For this reason, television manufacturers have been searching for a low cost alternative to the costly dbx expansion arrangement. There are television receivers having stereo audio capability, which provide no expansion of the compressed L-R audio signal at all. The model no. RJ 4340, produced by Magnavox Corporation, is such a television receiver. Stereo signals in this receiver are derived by matrixing the sum (L+R) stereo signal from the main audio channel and the unexpanded difference (L-R) stereo signal from the stereo subchannel. Not surprisingly, the stereo image separation performance and noise masking performance of this arrangement has been found to be inadequate over the full range of audio signals received, due to the complete elimination of the dbx decoding circuitry from this receiver. The poor noise masking performance of this receiver causes a perceptible hiss in the reproduced stereo audio sound.

Wideband expander for stereo and SAP signals


In the processing preparation operation for checking a processing program and the tool compensation amount, a series of confirmation operations for all the tools are easily made using the processing program as conventionally used, without having limitations on the creation of the processing program. When a read skip signal 110 is externally input into a numerical control apparatus, the same instruction as stored in mandatory execution instruction storing means 104 is executed, when commanded in the processing program 100, until the same instruction as stored in read skip end instruction storing means 105 is commanded, but the other instructions are skipped, until the same instruction as stored in read skip end instruction storing means 105 is commanded. Then, when the instruction stored in the read skip end instruction storing means 105 is read, the instruction and subsequent instructions are executed.

The operator who operates the conventional NC apparatus performs a trial operation of a processing program using a single block and an override at the time of processing immediately after completing the set-up of the workpiece and the tool. At this time, the operator visually checks whether or not the correct tool is mounted in exchanging the tool. Then, when the tool approaches the workpiece, the operator once stops the tool prior to getting to the workpiece to confirm the residual movement amount displayed on the display screen of the NC apparatus. Moreover, the operator judges whether or not there is any problem with a tool number command (T command) of the processing program, a tool compensation number command (D number) of the processing program, and a tool offset number command (H number), a set value of the tool compensation amount, and a set value of the tool offset. If there is no problem, the operator checks the processing program to continue the processing.
However, in the case where a plurality of tools are commanded in one processing program, it was required to make the above confirmation for all the tools in the order. At this time, the operator accustomed to the operation may neglect the confirmation for all the tools, and perform the processing by mistaking the tool offset or the tool number. Furthermore, the tool is struck against the workpiece at the fast feed, damaging the bearings of the principal axis, or causing a burn-in of the principal axis to lead to a failure or breakage of the machine tool in some cases.
Thus, a method for overcoming this problem may be employed, in which the processing program is divided into every process of tool exchange, with the sequence number being attached to every divided process, whereby the above confirmation is made by searching the sequence number for each process.
Also, another method may be employed in which an optional stop instruction for temporarily suspending the execution of program is inserted into every process, and the above confirmation is made for each tool while interrupting the execution of program.
However, the method for searching the sequence number for each process had a problem that it took much labor to attach the sequence number to the portion to be searched, and further search the sequence number. Also, with this method, if the processing program for allowing the next tool to be ready at the standby position of a magazine in advance by commanding the next tool number during the execution of the current process in order to shorten the processing time, there was a problem that the processing program can not be checked, because the tool number is commanded before the location search by the sequence number.
Also, in the method for inserting the optional stop instruction into every process, the operator needed to confirm the end of each process one by one, and insert the optional stop instruction to give rise to a dead time.


A tensioning tool for applying tension to string-like material includes a first member having a first handle section and a first engaging section opposite the handle section facing a first direction for receiving and engaging a first strand. A second member is pivotally connected to the first member and has a second handle section and a second engaging section opposite the second handle section. The second engaging section faces a second direction opposite the first direction for receiving and engaging a second strand, and moving the handle sections of the first and second members towards each other urges the first and second engaging sections apart. The first strand can be attached to the second strand so that when the first and second handle sections are moved toward each other the first and second engaging sections move away from each other thereby tensioning the first strand.

The invention relates to a tool that can separate and exert pressure on string-like material, such as strings, fibers, ropes, etc. One embodiment of the invention is particularly useful in forming rope loops on archery bow strings.
Rope loops, also known as string loops, bow loops and/or D-loops, are a common feature on archery bow strings, as they provide several benefits to the archer. Such benefits include the prevention of premature wear on the serving, and the elimination of "nock pinch" when at full draw, which prevents the arrow from falling off the bow string at full draw. The rope loops are typically attached to the bow string via a pair of cinch knots.
While rope loops are popular in archery, forming the rope loop on the bow string with the necessary amount of tension in the cinch knots of the loop without damaging the bow string serving and/or the loop can be difficult. Tapered needle nose pliers and/or screw drivers have been used to pull hard on the rope to tighten the cinch knots. However, such a method has a risk of damaging the bow string.

Tensioning tool and method for using same


The purpose of the invention is to remove copper selectively from a concentrated zinc sulphate solution by ion exchange. The method enables a significant reduction in the use of zinc powder during the solution purification of zinc sulphate solution and makes possible to avoid usage of arsenic or antimony trioxides as a precipitation chemical. The method is to be combined with the chloride removal that occurs as a sub-stage of solution purification.

In a hydrometallurgical zinc production process, a zinc-containing ore is concentrated, roasted and leached into sulphuric acid. At least some of the zinc concentrate can also be leached directly without roasting. In addition to zinc, copper, cobalt, nickel and cadmium are also released during leaching. Traditionally these metals or impurities are removed or separated from the concentrated zinc sulphate solution by reduction with zinc powder in the solution purification process. In addition to zinc powder arsenic or antimony trioxide is utilized as a reagent to precipitate these metals out from the solution. The separation of metals can be carried out in one or several stages in precipitation reactors or the equivalent. After removal of the above-mentioned metals, zinc is reduced from the solution electrolytically. Impurities must be removed from the zinc sulphate solution in the solution purification stages, so that successful and effective electrolysis can be achieved to reduce the zinc. The zinc raw material may also include chloride and this has to be removed from the zinc sulphate solution to a certain level before electrolysis, where it would create problems of corrosion and work hygiene.
The separation of copper from the zinc sulphate solution is important, because copper is precipitated with zinc onto the cathode in electrolysis, causing impure zinc. In addition, copper may cause the generation of local couples, which reduces the current efficiency. Conventionally copper is cemented with zinc powder either in a separate copper removal stage or together with cobalt and cadmium. Cementation is an electrochemical exchange reaction, where the more precious metal is precipitated and the baser metal dissolves. When copper is precipitated in a separate stage, it is preferable to leave a small amount of copper in the solution for the following solution purification stages, because a small amount of copper is beneficial especially in the cobalt precipitation stage. The following reactions occur in the copper cementation stage:CuSO4+Zn→ZnSO4+Cu  (1)CuSO4+Cu+H2O→+Cu2O+H2SO4  (2)2CuSO4+Zn+H2O→+Cu2O+ZnSO4+H2SO4  (3)
The copper precipitate can be used as raw material in a copper smelter for example.
The second stage of solution purification is generally the separation of cobalt and nickel. Zinc powder is often used in this stage in addition to arsenic and antimony compounds as extra reagents. Nickel and cobalt precipitation, however, require the presence of copper in the solution. The final purification stage is usually the removal of cadmium.
As mentioned above, the amount of chloride in the zinc sulphate solution has to be reduced to a certain level (in general to less than 200 mg/l) before the solution is routed to electrolysis. When the zinc sulphate solution is prepared from the concentrate, which is first roasted, most of the chlorine is already removed during roasting. The aim is to make a concentrate mixture from various kinds of concentrate where the Cl content of the solution generated does not rise too high. Since direct leaching processes without roasting have become so widespread, Cl removal has been and will continue to be an essential process stage.
The amount of zinc powder required in the solution purification of zinc sulphate solution is from 2-10% of the process output, depending on the plant. Thus the zinc consumed must be produced again in electrolysis, so that the demand for electricity is increased considerably. The amount of zinc produced is also correspondingly smaller.
Since the costs of preparing zinc a second time are considerable, various methods of reducing the amount of zinc powder used in cementation have been sought. EP patent application 134644 suggests that some kind of flocculant be introduced into the solution to improve the separation level of metal impurities and reduce the amount of zinc powder. Redox-potential regulation has also been used in an attempt to control the feed of a suitable amount of zinc powder, which is mentioned in U.S. Pat. No. 4,252,622.
AU patent 536376 mentions that in addition to zinc powder cementation, copper can be removed from a zinc sulphate solution by cementation with metallic iron, steel, sulphide precipitation or by precipitation as an alkaline sulphate, as well as liquid-liquid extraction and ion exchange. Apart from this sentence however, the patent does not describe any other method than zinc powder cementation.
In Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry, 5th Edition, VCH Verlagsgesellschaft & Co, Germany 1996, Vol. 28A, it is mentioned in the section on Zinc by Graf, G., p. 524, that the removal of metals more precious metals than zinc from a zinc sulphate solution using ion exchangers is still at the development stage.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,005,174 describes the removal of chloride from a zinc sulphate solution. In this method, monovalent copper is introduced into a zinc sulphate solution containing chloride that forms copper chloride at a pH of below 2.6, which then precipitates out of the solution. Monovalent copper is obtained in the solution by adding for instance copper(II)sulphate and zinc powder to the solution. Copper powder can be used in place of zinc powder. One alternative is to feed monovalent copper oxide Cu2O into the solution. When copper (I) oxide is fed directly into the solution, zinc powder is saved from the feed for the chloride removal stage. In this case, Cu2O is produced from the copper chloride generated in chloride removal e.g. using sodium hydroxide. After chloride removal, 0.5 g/l of divalent copper should remain in the solution, which is reduced using zinc powder to monovalent. The solution from Cl removal is routed to the copper removal stage and the soluble (divalent) copper generated during Cl removal is precipitated using zinc powder precipitation. For instance, the method is used in the handling of galvanization dusts and copper is not normally present in these processes.

Method for the removal of copper from a zinc sulphate solution


A cannula is placed in an enlarged opening through a bladder wall and an abdominal wall by applying pulling tension to a placement guide extending through a small pathway to hold an inflated placement balloon in sealing contact with the bladder wall. The seal confines distension fluid in the bladder to establish sufficient reactive resistance to enlarge the opening through the bladder wall with blunt force dilation from an obturator.

Minimally invasive surgery is a surgical procedure performed by making a very small incision through which to insert surgical instruments to perform the surgical procedure. A minimally invasive procedure is usually performed in the abdominal region, by inserting a cannula through an abdominal wall of the patient. The cannula provides access to the surgical site for inserting, manipulating and removing the surgical instruments at the interior surgical site. Minimally invasive surgery substantially reduces the amount of trauma to a patient compared to a completely open surgical procedure in which a large incision is made to directly visualize and contact the tissue that the surgical site. In most cases, the time for the patient to recover from the surgery is substantially reduced. In urological surgery performed on or in the bladder, minimally invasive surgery avoids a substantial incision in the wall of the bladder which will complicate and prolong healing.
A dilation instrument, such as a trocar or obturator, is commonly used to place the cannula within the abdominal wall. The trocar or obturator is used to expand an initial small surgical pathway through the abdominal wall into a wider opening to accommodate the larger cannula. The typical dilation procedure involves forcing the trocar or obturator through the small surgical pathway to expand or spread the tissue surrounding the small surgical pathway into the enlarged opening for the cannula. Once the enlarged opening has been formed, the cannula is inserted and the trocar or obturator is removed, leaving a relatively large pathway through the cannula for inserting, manipulating and removing the medical instruments.
Significant physical force is required to spread the surrounding tissue when expanding the small surgical pathway into the enlarged opening. Typically, the leading end of the trocar or the obturator has a pointed or flared configuration which expands the tissue when physically forced through the small surgical pathway. This expansion technique is known as blunt force dilation.
Blunt force dilation usually requires a considerable amount of pushing force to create the enlarged opening. Considerable force is required because the tough, relatively non-expandable characteristics of the exterior skin on the abdominal wall and of a fascia layer located at the internal margin of the abdominal wall creates substantial resistance to expansion of the tissue surrounding the small surgical pathway. A layer of mostly vascular and adipose tissue separates the exterior skin and the interior fascia layer in the abdominal wall, but this intermediate portion does not generally create substantial resistance to expansion. The physically tough and relatively nonexpandable characteristics of the exterior skin and the interior fascia layer are responsible for the considerable force required to accomplish blunt force dilation through the abdominal wall.
To diminish the force necessary to penetrate the exterior skin layer, small enlarging cuts radial cuts are made in the exterior skin surrounding the initial small pathway, usually with a scalpel. However, making similar manual cuts the interior fascia layer is more difficult and engenders significant risks, because such cuts may extend beyond the internal fascia layer into adjacent internal organs and damage those organs. In most cases with minimally invasive surgery in the abdominal area, insuflation expands the abdominal wall away from the adjacent internal organs and tissues sufficiently so that penetrating the internal fascia layer with blunt force dilation usually carries no attendant risk of damaging adjoining internal organs.
Some types of trocars and obturators have cutting surfaces or blades formed on their leading tips to facilitate cutting from the outside through the abdominal wall, including the internal fascia layer. Using trocars and obturators with cutting surfaces and blades carries the risk of unintended deeper penetration into and damage of adjoining internal organs. The considerable force required to break through the internal fascia layer may propel the tip of the trocar or obturator into the adjoining organs when breakthrough of the fascia layer occurs. Even with blunt tip trochars and obturators that do not have cutting surfaces or blades, there is a risk of damage to the adjacent internal organs.
To accomplish minimally invasive bladder surgery, it is necessary to penetrate the bladder wall to gain access to the interior of the bladder. Penetrating the bladder wall with a trocar or obturator is difficult because the bladder wall is very flaccid and easily deformable and movable. The bladder wall offers very little reactive resistance to force applied during blunt force dilation, regardless of whether or not a small surgical pathway has been made initially through the bladder wall. In response to blunt dilation force, it is typical that the bladder wall depresses and moves away from the tip of the trocar or obturator and/or deflect sideways from the initial position, even when the initial small surgical pathway has been formed in the bladder wall. The lack of significant reactive resistance from the bladder wall itself makes it is very difficult to penetrate the bladder wall from the outside to the inside of the bladder, which of course is the direction of penetration for enlarging the opening to insert the cannula. Even when penetration is achieved, that penetration may occur in a location different from that desired or at a location separated from the initial small surgical incision, due to the sideways deflection of the bladder wall.
To attempt to make the bladder wall more resistant to deflection and sideways movement, the bladder may be filled with fluid to distend the bladder wall. The distension fluid creates a reactive resistance to movement of the bladder wall, and allows penetration to be more effectively accomplished at the desired location. However, making an initial small surgical pathway or incision through the bladder wall prior to expanding that small pathway causes the distention fluid to leak from the bladder, thereby losing most of the benefit derived from fluid distention.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,118,826, which is assigned to the assignee hereof, describes an advantageous procedure for making an initial small surgical pathway starting inside the bladder and progressing outward through the bladder wall and the abdominal wall to the external skin. Such an inside-out incision is relatively more controllable because the bladder wall is pushed against the more reactively resistant abdominal wall. A cutting element readily pierces through the bladder wall and the abdominal wall to create the initial small surgical pathway. However, if the initial alignment of the surgical pathway through the bladder wall and the abdominal wall is lost, as it will be if the advancement member which makes the inside-out initial small surgical pathway is withdrawn from that pathway, it is virtually impossible to regain the alignment of the small pathways through the bladder wall and the abdominal wall to facilitate enlarging the small pathway with outside-in blunt force dilation. Attempts to regain the alignment are resisted by the flaccid nature of the bladder wall which easily shifts sideways relative to the location of the small pathway in the more stable abdominal wall. Under such circumstances, when penetration of the bladder wall is finally achieved, the penetration may occur in a different position from the small surgical pathway initially made through the bladder wall.
Thus, forming the initial small surgical pathway through the bladder wall does not facilitate enlargement of that opening, but instead may result in creating an extra opening through the bladder wall. Even if the alignment of the initial surgical pathways through the bladder wall and abdominal wall is maintained, the flaccid nature of the bladder wall may cause it to deform in response to the blunt force from a trocar or obturator, thereby distorting the location of the enlarged opening in the bladder wall.

Method and apparatus for placing a cannula in a bladder


A color code system for encoding information on products and other substrates. The color code is printed by a color printer using single intensity colors in specific shapes aligned side by side successively. The code is predetermined. The code can be read by a video device and decode by a computer. The present invention allows for densely packed encoded information in a small space that can be cheaply and easily read and decoded.

The use of machine read encoded information systems is prevalent in all aspects of our market dominated society. We find encoded data on products of industry, documents and living beings. The information encoded can be identification, demographics or machine functions and is carried by magnetic tapes or stripes, optical disks or cards, or printed labels. There is a demand to store greater amounts of information using a machine read encoded information system.
One common form of encoding information is by bar code. The bar code is a pattern of bars of various widths distanced apart from each other by varying widths of spaces. The bar and space have different light reflective properties thereby allowing a binary code to be digitally encoded. A typical binary bar code is eight spaces in size which allows encoding two choices (bar or no bar) in eight spaces arranged successively. This yields an 8 bit number or 256 choices to encode information in 1 byte. Bar codes have been modified and improved on in many ways but still lack an adequate data packing density to meet industry needs.
A one-dimensional code is read only linearly. The one-dimensional bar code format allows a machine read encoded information system to access a database using the code it has read. The database holds the information that is sought. Reading a one-dimensional bar code only allows for further processing in some database. A two-dimensional code is read vertically and horizontally. This allows for greater packing density within a bar code sequence and therefore can contain the information that is to be accessed without further processing.
A common method for achieving a two-dimensional code is by stacking a bar code in rows and columns. This however can lead to the loss of vertical synchronization. The loss of vertical synchronization is overcome by using row and column identifiers but at an obvious reduction in information density.
One approach for achieving great packing density while maintaining a simple syntax and overcoming any loss in vertical synchronization would be the use of colors for encoding.

Color and shape system for encoding and decoding data


Methods of turning on and/or turning off amplifier segments in a scalable periphery amplifier architecture are described in the present disclosure. The turning on and/or turning off the amplifier segments according to the various embodiments of the present can reduce spectral splatter in adjacent channels. In some embodiments, amplifier performance and efficiency can be improved by dissipating heat more uniformly.

1. Field
The present application relates to power amplifiers. More in particular, it relates to methods and devices for impedance matching in power amplifier circuits.
2. Description of Related Art
In the field of mobile radios, a manufacturer can be dependent on the ability to quickly turn changes to power amplifiers (PA) or a Power Amplifier Module (PAM). These changes can be due to last minute changes in specification for the mobile radio to meet desired system specifications. This is a very difficult task for those PA's and PAM's dependent on silicon technologies due in part to long design cycle times and also long fabrication cycle times. These technologies include, but are not limited to, CMOS, SOI CMOS, SOS CMOS and BiCMOS. Such changes can affect an internal operating temperature of the PA/PAM.

Methods and devices for impedance matching in power amplifier circuits


An air gap semiconductor structure and corresponding method of manufacture. The method includes forming a sacrificial polymer film over a substrate having metal lines thereon. A portion of the sacrificial polymer film is subsequently removed to form first spacers. A micro-porous structure layer is formed over the substrate and the metal lines and between the first spacers. A portion of the micro-porous structure layer is removed to form second spacers. The first spacers are removed by thermal dissociation to form air gaps. A dielectric layer is formed over the substrate and the metal lines and between the second spacers.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a metal-oxide-semiconductor structure and corresponding method of manufacture. More particularly, the present invention relates to an air gap semiconductor structure and corresponding method of manufacture.
2. Description of Related Art
Following the rapid reduction of semiconductor line width, the accompanied increase in resistor-capacitor (RC) time delay has greatly reduced the operating speed of integrated circuits. To reduce RC time delay, methods that can lower resistance is frequently adopted. The most common trend now is to replace conventional aluminum wires by copper wires.
A second way of reducing RC time delay is to reduce capacitance between conductive wires in a multi-layer design. Conventional silicon dioxide is no longer versatile enough for this purpose because silicon dioxide has a relatively high dielectric constant. In general, low dielectric constant organic or inorganic material is used to form inter-metal dielectric layer. However, a medium having the lowest dielectric constant is air (a dielectric constant of 1). Therefore, air is ideal dielectric medium for lowering the capacitance of a capacitor.
Although air is the best dielectric material for lowering capacitance, overall mechanical strength of the device is reduced correspondingly. A weakened structure can have serious effect in various aspects of subsequent integrated circuit fabrication.
A device having air as a dielectric medium generally has air gaps between metallic lines. Air gaps will destabilize the semiconductor device and lead to structural deformation. Moreover, the air gaps are normally distributed all over the substrate. Although capacitor has low capacitance when air is used as a dielectric medium layer, poor heat conductivity of air often leads to a rapid accumulation of heat and a rise in temperature during operation.
Accordingly, one object of the present invention is to provide an air gap semiconductor structure and corresponding method of manufacture. The method includes forming a sacrificial polymer film over a substrate having metal lines thereon. A portion of the sacrificial polymer film is subsequently removed to form first spacers. A micro-porous structure layer is formed over the substrate and the metal lines and between the first spacers. A portion of the micro- porous structure layer is removed to form second spacers. The first spacers are removed by thermal dissociation to form air gaps. Finally, a dielectric layer is formed over the substrate and the metal lines and between the second spacers.
In this invention, air gaps are only formed on the sidewalls of the metal lines. Other sections of the substrate are covered by conventional dielectric material. With this arrangement, not only can RC delay be lowered to increase operating speed of integrated circuits, mechanical strength of the integrated circuit can also be maintained.
In addition, the micro-porous structure layer increases the diffusion efficiency of by-products generated during the dissociation of the sacrificial polymer film, especially in the region between neighboring metal lines where height/separation ratio is high.
Furthermore, since only spacer-like air gaps are formed on the sidewalls of the metal lines, heat generated during device operation can easily be channeled away through surrounding conductive layer. Hence, heat dissipation problem can be ignored.
It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary, and are intended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed.

Air gap semiconductor structure and method of manufacture


In the present invention, dimethylbutanes are removed from the raffinate component of the feed to a dehydrocyclization process. Thus, according to a preferred embodiment, a process is provided for producing aromatics by the following steps:. (a) contacting fresh paraffins rich feed hydrocarbons, containing 0.1 to 20.0 wt. % dimethylbutanes with a highly selective dehydrocyclization catalyst in a reaction zone, under dehydrocyclization reaction conditions, to convert paraffins to aromatics and obtain an aromatics rich effluent; PA1 (b) separating aromatics from the effluent to obtain an aromatics lean raffinate; PA1 (c) removing dimethyl butanes from the raffinate to obtain a raffinate of reduced dimethylbutane content; and PA1 (d) recycling the raffinate of reduced dimethylbutane content to the reaction zone.. Preferably, the dehydrocyclization catalyst used is a nonacidic, monofunctional catalyst. Platinum on L zeolite is a particularly preferred highly selective dehydrocyclization catalyst for use in the process.

In the process of the present invention aromatics are formed from feed hydrocarbons by dehydrocyclization. Other reactions may take place in the reaction zone, and the reaction step may more generally be referred to as reforming. Thus, in the reaction step of the process of the present invention, besides the dehydrocyclization or aromatization reaction, other reactions can occur, such as dehydrogenation, isomerization, hydroisomerization, cyclization and hydrocracking. The main reaction is dehydrocyclization to form aromatics from paraffins.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,104,320, which was granted Aug. 1, 1978, discloses that it is possible to dehydrocyclize paraffins to produce aromatics with high selectivity using a monofunctional nonacidic catalyst. Preferably, the catalyst comprises a type L zeolite. The type L zeolite preferred in the U.S. Pat. No. 4,104,320 process are those having exchangeable cations of which at least 90% are sodium, lithium, potassium, rubidium or cesium. The catalyst used in U.S. Pat. No. 4,104,320 also contains at least one Group VIII noble metal (or tin or germanium). In particular, catalysts having platinum in an L zeolite, wherein potassium in the L zeolite has been exchanged to replace a portion of the potassium with rubidium or cesium, are claimed in the '320 patent to achieve exceptionally high selectivity for n-hexane conversion to benzene. As disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,104,320, the L zeolite used is typically synthesized in the potassium form. A portion, usually not more than 80%, of the potassium cations can be exchanged so that other cations, preferably rubidium or cesium, replace the exchangeable potassium.
After U.S. Pat. No. 4,104,320 in 1978, an important step forward was disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,434,311; 4,435,283; 4,447,316; and 4,517,306, all of which patents were granted in 1984 and 1985. These patents describe dehydrocyclization catalysts comprising a large-pore zeolite exchanged with an alkaline earth metal (barium, strontium or calcium, preferably barium) and wherein the catalyst contains one or more Group VIII metals, most preferably platinum. An essential element in the catalyst of these patents is the alkaline earth metal. Especially when the alkaline earth metal is barium, and the large-pore zeolite is L zeolite, the catalysts of these patents were found to provide higher selectivities than the corresponding alkali exchanged L zeolite catalyst disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,104,320.
These platinum on L zeolite catalysts referred to in the previous two paragraphs, whether in the potassium form, or other alkali metal form, or in the alkaline earth metal exchanged form, are substantially "nonacidic". These nonacidic catalysts have been referred to as "monofunctional" catalysts. Such nonacidic, monofunctional catalysts are highly selective for forming aromatics via dehydrocyclization of paraffins.
Having a highly selective catalyst, commercialization seemed straightforward. However, that was not the case. It was found that the high selectivity L zeolite catalysts containing a Group VIII metal were unexpectedly susceptible to sulfur poisoning at ultra low levels of sulfur in the feed. U.S. Pat. No. 4,456,527 discloses this discovery. Specifically, it was found that the concentration of sulfur in the hydrocarbon feed must be reduced to ultra low levels, preferably less than 50 parts per billion, to achieve acceptable stability, i.e., long run length, for the catalyst when used in the dehydrocyclization process.
With the progress of U.S. Pat. No. 4,456,527, more attention was given to the process arrangement under which the overall dehydrocyclization process to produce aromatics was carried out.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,648,961 and 4,650,565 disclose processes using a highly selective dehydrocyclization catalyst wherein a paraffins rich feed is contacted with the catalyst to form aromatics, then the aromatics are separated from the reaction zone effluent by means of a solvent extraction step, or via molecular sieve separation, and a raffinate paraffins rich stream from the solvent extraction or molecular sieve separation step is recycled to the dehydrocyclization reaction zone.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,594,145 and Reissue Pat. No. 33,323 disclose a process using a highly selective dehydrocyclization catalyst wherein a paraffins rich feed is contacted with the catalyst to form aromatics, then aromatics are separated from the reaction zone effluent, and the remaining paraffins are recycled to the reaction zone.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,568,656 and 4,595,668 disclose use of highly selective dehydrocyclization catalyst wherein the Group VIII metal component of the catalyst is highly dispersed on a zeolite L support. These two U.S. patents state (see Col. 16, line 38, of the '668 patent): "Since the catalyst is monofunctional and does not promote isomerization without cyclization, feed compounds such as dimethylbutanes are not effective."
Another process oriented patent using a highly selective dehydrocyclization catalyst is European Patent 335,540. This patent discloses a process wherein a hydrocarbon feed is (a) separated into a first fraction comprising C.sub.5 minus hydrocarbons and dimethylbutanes, and a second fraction comprising C.sub.6 plus hydrocarbons; (b) separating the second fraction into (i) a light fraction comprising not more than 10% by volume dimethylbutanes, the light fraction being selected from a C.sub.6 fraction, a C.sub.7, a C.sub.8 fraction, a C.sub.6 -C.sub.7 fraction, C.sub.7 -C.sub.8 fraction, C.sub.6 -C.sub.8 and a fraction consisting essentially of C.sub.6 and C.sub.8 hydrocarbon; and (ii) a heavy fraction; and (c) dehydrocyclizing the light fraction under dehydrocyclization conditions in the presence of a monofunctional catalyst. Thus, according the EP 335,540 process, dimethylbutanes are removed from the hydrocarbon fresh feed prior to dehydrocyclization of the fresh feed to form aromatics.

Dehydrocyclization process with downstream dimethylbutane removal


The main characteristic of method is that before the onset of menopause in women at age 30-45 years, part of the cortical and medulla layers of one or both ovaries is surgically resected and cryopreserved (frozen), and in perimenopause beginning, these tissues are autotransplanted subcutaneously in a form of suspension or small ovarian pieces prepared from thawed tissues fragments of their own ovaries. This “return” is repeatedly periodically each 4-6 months for 10-15 years. That helps to obtain normal level of ovarian antiage factors in blood till age 60-65 years, thus slowing aging.

There is a known way to prolong the life of women by prescribing estradiol drugs or metabolites as a component of menopausal hormone therapy [Gouw A M, Efe G, Barakat R, Preecha A, Roles of estrogen receptor-alpha in mediating life span: the hypothalamic deregulation hypothesis//Physiol Genomics. 2017 Feb. 1; 49(2):88-95; Taylor F I S, Tal A, Pal L, Li F, black DM//effects of oral vs transdermal estrogen therapy on sexual function in Early postmenopause: ancillary study Of the Kronos early estrogen prevention study (keeps)//JAMA Intern med. 2017 Oct. 1; 177(10): 1471-1479.].
The disadvantage of this method is that in this treatment option, the physiological effect results only from the estradiol component, and biologically active substances (and there are more than 100 of them) produced in the ovaries along with estradiol are not taken into account. Moreover, there are artificially synthesized no other antiage ovarian factors—so they are not available. This is why the anti-aging effectiveness of estrogen therapy is low. In addition, the appointment of estrogens containing drugs is strictly contraindicated in a number of conditions, and can also lead to the development of such dangerous complications as thrombosis.
The closest to the claimed method is to extend the life of mammals (mice) by allogenic transplantation of whole ovaries from young to old [Mason J. B., Cargill S. L., Anderson G B, Carey Jr.//Transplantation of young ovaries to old mice increased life span in transplant recipients//J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2009 December; 64(12):1207-11]. The disadvantage of the method chosen as a prototype is that due to the allogenic nature of the transplant, there are a number of problems associated with the graft rejection reaction. Moreover, the entire ovary is transplanted into the abdominal cavity, which eliminates the possibility for stage-by-stage restoration of ovarian function, and also requires laparotomy and general anestesia.
Also, with this method, it is impossible to periodically update the transplanted tissue, its dosage due to the absence of a conservation stage.
Cryopreservation and autotransplantation of ovarian tissue is used in oncofertility, showing possibility of autotransplants to produce estradiol after return [Salama M, Woodruff T K.//New advances in ovarian autotransplantation to restore fertility in cancer patients//Cancer Metastasis Rev. 2015 December; 34(4):807-82].

Method for slowing down aging in women by prolonging ovarian function


The window hardware system of the invention comprises a variety of different types of poles in different finishes, colors and styles. A variety of different types of finials are also provided in different colors, materials, styles and shapes. A variety of different types of separate collars are also provided where certain types of collars may match the color, style and finish of the poles. A connection mechanism is provided to connect the finial, collar and pole to one another such that any combination of finial, collar and pole can be assembled. The body of the finial can have a modular construction such that the finial can be assembled from a variety of components to create a custom look.

The invention relates generally to window hardware and more particularly to a modular, customizable finial system for curtain rods.
It will be appreciated that window coverings such as draperies are commonly suspended from decorative window hardware that comprises a pole and attached finials. Typically, the drapery or other window covering is fit over the pole and the finials are screwed into the ends of the pole. The poles are sold in a variety of colors, finishes and styles and the finials are sold in an even wider variety of styles, shapes colors, styles, finishes and materials. Typically, the finials and poles are sold as a set where the finials match the poles in color, style and finish. While this arrangement is widely employed it does not allow the customer to easily change the look of the window treatments because the customer must buy and install new poles and finials to replace the existing poles and finials.
In attempt to solve this problem it is known to sell the finials separately from the poles where the user can buy different styles of finials that may be attached to the same pole. While this provides greater flexibility in the look of the window hardware it is not a satisfactory result because the finials do not necessarily match the poles. For example a black pole could be fitted with a mother of pearl finial having a brass collar where the different look of the brass trimmed finial mounted on a black pole make the components look as if they do not "go together". As a result consumers that install black poles, for example, would only consider finials that had black collars. The desired flexibility and customization potential is limited because it is not commercially viable to stock finials in all possible combinations of finish, color and style.
Thus, an improved modular window hardware system that allows customization is desired.

Modular, customizable window covering hardware system


The present invention relates to an improved additive composition for control and inhibition of polymerization of aromatic vinyl monomers including styrene comprising one or more of aromatic nitro compounds and one or more of aliphatic tertiary amines. In one embodiment, the present invention also relates to method of use of presently provided composition. In another embodiment, the present invention also relates to method of controlling and inhibiting polymerization of aromatic vinyl monomers including styrene by employing presently provided composition. In still another embodiment, the present invention also relates to method of preparation of presently provided composition.

The polymerization of aromatic vinyl monomers including styrene during processing is a matter of concern, because it causes formation of unwanted polymers and results in loss of yield of end product and makes the process un-economical.
In the art use of inhibitors and retarders, and combination thereof to overcome problem of polymerization of styrene has been reported.
The problem of using the inhibitors alone is that these are to be added continuously or at regular interval, because once they are consumed, the polymerization will re-start.
The problem of using the retarders alone is that these are not very effective to reduce polymerization of styrene to a level of substantial inhibition or to the acceptable level of inhibition.
The prior art [U.S. Pat. No. 5,254,760 (US'760)] discloses the polymerization inhibition of vinyl monomers using a combination of nitroxides (i.e. nitroxyl compounds) including 1 oxyl-2,2,6,6,tetramethylpiperidin-4-ol (4HT) and aromatic nitro compounds including dinitro-butylphenol [re abstract, Col. 3, lines 26-32; Col. 4, lines 1-2, 12 of US'760] as the polymerization inhibitor.
The US'760 discloses and teaches use of combination of nitroxides (i.e. nitroxyl) compound and aromatic nitro compound. The US'760 discloses and teaches against the use of either of nitroxides (i.e. nitroxyl) compound or of aromatic nitro compound [Re Col. 5, lines 50-56; Col. 6, lines 10-14 and 42-46; Col. 7, lines 36-41 of US'760].
However, the aromatic nitro compounds including DNBP are to be used in higher amounts and/or are also known for their toxic nature for human exposure [re Col. 1, lines 64-68 of US'760].
Therefore, the industry is aiming for additive composition wherein the amount of aromatic nitro compounds can be reduced or minimized so that the resulted composition is economical as well as safe for human being. Any effort to reduce or minimize consumption of aromatic nitro compounds will lessen the problems of the industry.

Additive composition for control and inhibition of polymerization of aromatic vinyl monomers, and method of use thereof

Dorf Ketal Chemicals (India) Private Limited


Thin-film photoelectric conversion elements are spaced from each other on an insulating belt-like film. Respective common conductive tapes are soldered to the terminal electrodes of the elements at the two edges of the film. The common conductive tape is in contact with non-adhesive resin in gap portions between adjacent photoelectric conversion elements. For forming a module, the assembly can be cut at these portions, followed by removal of the non-adhesive resin to expose the common conductive tape for external connection of the module.

The present invention relates to modules of semiconductor devices for converting light into electrical energy.
Flexible, lightweight, photoelectric conversion elements have a flexible substrate, e.g., a polymer film, and further include an amorphous silicon layer and electrode layers laminated on the substrate. Such an element can be brought into intimate contact with any desired curved shape. The amorphous silicon layer has a PIN-junction on the substrate. One of the electrode layers is transparent. Such photoelectric conversion elements can be combined into modules.
FIGS. 2a and 2b show the front and rear surfaces, respectively, of a conventional photoelectric conversion module. A plurality (three in the figures) of submodules 21 are connected in series. The submodules are laminated with a surface-protecting film. A frame 22 is attached to the periphery for reinforcement. Electrical connection is via a terminal box 23 mounted on one surface.
In conventional photoelectric conversion modules, photoelectric conversion elements are laminated in a module having predetermined shape. This limits the size of the module. Where large-area coverage is desired as, e.g., on the roof of a building, many modules must be interconnected by lead wires in series and in parallel, or a connecting terminal box must be provided for each module. In the latter case, it is necessary to take out electrically connected portions from the module with conductive tape. The need for such connections lowers the manufacturing efficiency, impedes mass production, slows down installation, and impairs the reliability of power generation unless costly sealing is provided for wiring connections.

Flexible photoelectric conversion module


A system which is preferably employed in a laser alignment instrument produces up to five orthogonal beams from a single laser diode beam. The optics take advantage of the elliptical shape of the beam from a laser diode to produce a plurality of masked, parallel collimated beams which are then reflected by combinations of 45.degree.-angled and 90.degree.-angled mirrors, some fully reflective and some partially transmissive, to produce the orthogonal beams.

This invention is concerned with laser diodes and more specifically with the efficient generation of five intersecting laser beams which are mutually orthogonal. These beams are used in alignment applications where the beams represent reference lines. Other beam generators are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,500,524 and 5,617,202 assigned to the assignee of this invention and the disclosures of those patents are incorporated herein by reference in this application.
Generally, visible laser diodes have a much wider divergence in the direction perpendicular to the junction than that parallel to the junction. Typical values are 35.degree. in one axis and 10.degree. in the other. Normally, the central zone or portion of the beam is apertured to produce a beam which is nearly round, cropping a portion of the beam's power. If other beams are required, a beam splitter and subsequent optics are used to manipulate the newly created beam. The present invention uses the elliptical shape of the collimated beam from a diode laser with masks to generate three parallel beams, which subsequently produce five beams of light by using partial reflection. The beams form an xyz coordinate system which can be used as reference lines.

Co-linear and intersecting five light beam generator


The present invention addresses this need in the art by providing a cutter insert comprising a plug section and a cutter pedestal. The cutter insert is preferably formed of tungsten carbide, except for two exterior surfaces covered with PDC. The plug section may be circular or oval in cross section perpendicular to the axis of the insert. The plug section and the pedestal each defines a shoulder which is coated with a PDC layer. In this way, two cutting surfaces are applied to the formation, enhancing the cutting ability of the insert.

PDC inserts are commonly used to increase the wear resistance of surfaces in certain types of downhole tools. For example, inserts on a reamer, in association with a drill bit, are used on outer blade surfaces to resist wear from the bore hole wall. The reamer enlarges the bore hole to a diameter larger than that created by the drill bit.
The function of the reamer is to maintain the diameter of the hole as the drill bit proceeds downwardly through the rock formation. As the bore hole is being drilled, the rock drill bit gradually wears to undersize and thus the hole which is cut gradually becomes of undersize diameter. The function of the reamer, which typically has PDC inserts along the outer blade edge, is to grind the circumference of the hole, shortly after it has been cut by the rock drill bit, and thus keep the hole diameter to size.
Inserts are also commonly used in fixed cutter drill bits along a cutting blade which is stationary in respect of the drill string, in contrast to roller cone bits. Such a fixed cutter drill bit typically has a leading face from which a plurality of blades extend, each blade carrying a plurality of cutting elements comprising PDC inserts. Inserts may also be placed along a gauge pad at the extreme outer diameter of each blade.
PDC inserts have a polycrystalline diamond surface formed on wear surfaces, which may be formed in a variety of ways, principally in a conventional process under heat and pressure, or by sintering. The inserts are formed of a tungsten carbide material, and the wear surface is then applied. In the past, such inserts commonly have had a flat or slightly ovoid outer contact region, where the insert contacts the rock formation being cut. Regardless of the configurations of the inserts, they have all had a characteristic in common, and that is the inserts define one point, line, or area contact with the rock formation. As the rock formation increases in hardness, the resistance or "work load" necessary to disintegrate the formation at that area also increases. The increased resistance causes two common problems. The increased resistance on individual inserts can cause premature chipping or breakage failure of the inserts. Also, the combined increase of resistance on all the PDC inserts increases the amount of torque required to drive the bit and causes the bit to stop momentarily while drilling, a condition known as "stick slip" drilling. There is a present need in this art for PDC inserts that can drill harder formations with less risk of failure and with less risk of "stick slip". The present invention is directed to this need in the art.

Stepped polycrystalline diamond compact insert


In embodiments, apparatuses, methods, and storage media may be described for identifying subframes in a radio frame on which a UE may receive a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) or enhanced PDCCH (ePDCCH) transmission. Specifically, the UE may receive multiple indications of uplink/downlink (UL/DL) subframe configurations and identify one or more subframes in which the UE may receive the PDCCH or ePDCCH transmission. The UE may then monitor one or more of the identified subframes and base discontinuous reception (DRX) timer functionality on one or more of the identified subframes.

The background description provided herein is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. Work of the presently named inventors, to the extent it is described in this background section, as well as aspects of the description that may not otherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neither expressly nor impliedly admitted as prior art against the present disclosure. Unless otherwise indicated herein, the approaches described in this section are not prior art to the claims in the present disclosure and are not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.
DRX functionality may be used to save battery power in a user equipment (UE) of a wireless network by skipping reception of signals in the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) or enhanced PDCCH (ePDCCH). Specifically, the UE may monitor one or more radio subframes of the radio frame in a wireless network for a PDCCH/ePDCCH signal. However, in uplink (UL) subframes of the radio frame, the UE may not monitor for a PDCCH/ePDCCH signal. Additionally, DRX functionality may involve one or more timers, and if those timers have expired or are not running, the UE may not monitor for a PDCCH/ePDCCH signal.


A storage virtualization selection technique “automates” a virtualization selection process to create virtual disk (vdisk) storage objects over a volume of a file system implemented by a storage operating system of a multi-protocol storage appliance. The file system provides a virtualization system that aggregates physical storage of a set of disks or portions (e.g., extents) of disks into a pool of blocks that can be dynamically allocated to form a vdisk. The file system also provides reliability guarantees for the vdisks in accordance with its underlying architecture. That is, the file system organizes its storage within volumes created among the managed disks. The vdisk is thereafter created as a storage object within a volume and, thus, inherits the underlying reliability configuration associated with that volume. The portions are aggregated and allocated as a vdisk with reliability guarantees in response to a request to create the vdisk from a user of the storage appliance and without further user involvement.

A storage system is a computer that provides storage service relating to the organization of information on writable persistent storage devices, such as memories, tapes or disks. The storage system may be deployed within a storage area network (SAN) or a network attached storage (NAS) environment. When used within a NAS environment, the storage system may be embodied as a file server including an operating system that implements a file system to logically organize the information as a hierarchical structure of directories and files on, e.g., the disks. Each "on-disk" file may be implemented as a set of data structures, e.g., disk blocks, configured to store information, such as the actual data for the file. A directory, on the other hand, may be implemented as a specially formatted file in which information about other files and directories are stored.
The file server, or filer, may be further configured to operate according to a client/server model of information delivery to thereby allow many client systems (clients) to access shared resources, such as files, stored on the filer. Sharing of files is a hallmark of a NAS system, which is enabled because of semantic level of access to files and file systems. Storage of information on a NAS system is typically deployed over a computer network comprising a geographically distributed collection of interconnected communication links, such as Ethernet, that allow clients to remotely access the information (files) on the filer. The clients typically communicate with the filer by exchanging discrete frames or packets of data according to pre-defined protocols, such as the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP).
In the client/server model, the client may comprise an application executing on a computer that "connects" to the filer over a computer network, such as a point-to-point link, shared local area network, wide area network or virtual private network implemented over a public network, such as the Internet. NAS systems generally utilize file-based access protocols; therefore, each client may request the services of the filer by issuing file system protocol messages (in the form of packets) to the file system over the network. By supporting a plurality of file system protocols, such as the conventional Common Internet File System (CIFS), the Network File System (NFS) and the Direct Access File System (DAFS) protocols, the utility of the filer may be enhanced for networking clients.
A SAN is a high-speed network that enables establishment of direct connections between a storage system and its storage devices. The SAN may thus be viewed as an extension to a storage bus and, as such, an operating system of the storage system enables access to stored information using block-based access protocols over the "extended bus". In this context, the extended bus is typically embodied as Fibre Channel (FC) or Ethernet media (i.e., network) adapted to operate with block access protocols, such as Small Computer Systems Interface (SCSI) protocol encapsulation over FC or TCP/IP/Ethernet.
A SAN arrangement or deployment allows decoupling of storage from the storage system, such as an application server, and placing of that storage on a network. However, the SAN storage system typically manages specifically assigned storage resources. Although storage can be grouped (or pooled) into zones (e.g., through conventional logical unit number or "lun" zoning, masking and management techniques), the storage devices are still pre-assigned by a user, e.g., a system administrator, to the storage system.
Storage virtualization generally involves the pooling of storage resources from multiple storage devices, such as physical disks, typically across a network by one or more storage systems to create a "user-defined volume". The term "volume" as conventionally used in a SAN environment implies a storage entity that is constructed (by a system administrator) by specifying physical disks and extents within those disks via operations that combine those extents/disks into a user-defined volume storage entity. An extent is a set of contiguously addressed blocks (or "slices") of storage within the specified physical disks. Such construction can occur on either the storage device or application server. Storage virtualization is often used as part of a SAN deployment, wherein the user-defined volume appears as a single storage entity to the operating system, regardless of the types of storage devices pooled. Virtualization thus separates the representation of storage to the operating system from the actual physical storage connected over the network.
Storage virtualization has many interpretations, including decoupling of physical disk size limitations and underlying physical structure from a user-defined volume corresponding to a disk or lun. Virtualization may also refer to management of luns, including defining underlying reliability guarantees of the storage. Commonly, this aspect of virtualization is accomplished through explicit mirroring or Redundant Array of Independent (or Inexpensive) Disks (RAID) protection levels to a lun that is formed from the storage pool. That is, the system administrator explicitly defines the underlying reliability guarantees of the constructed user-defined volume. It can be appreciated that this administrative procedure is complex, time consuming and, therefore, costly.
Virtualization may further denote the ability to modify an existing configuration of a lun (e.g., to increase its size) along with the performance characteristics of the lun. However, conventional physical disks and strategies that explicitly construct larger units of storage for use by clients may suffer performance limitations. For example, bandwidth to a user-defined volume constructed through explicit aggregation of a number of disks and/or "slices" (extents) of those disks may be limited by physical constraints of the underlying properties of the constructed volume.
Therefore, the conventional notion of storage virtualization involves presenting a view of storage (i.e., a user-defined volume) to a client wherein the volume is formed from extents of various disks accessible to the client that are selected by a user or system administrator. The selection process performed by the administrator generally includes (i) choosing the various extents from the disks associated with the storage accessible to the client, (ii) applying underlying reliability guarantees (such as RAID or mirroring) to those extents to ensure the reliability of the volume, and (iii) presenting those reliable extents as a single storage entity (e.g., disk or lun) to a client. The present invention is directed to efficiently carrying out a storage virtualization selection process on a storage system.

Storage virtualization by layering virtual disk objects on a file system


A semiconductor component comprises a semiconductor body comprising a first component electrode arranged on one of the surfaces of the semiconductor body, a second component electrode arranged on one of the surfaces of the semiconductor body, and a component control electrode arranged on one of the surfaces of the semiconductor body. In this case, active semiconductor element cells are arranged in a first active cell array of the semiconductor body, the semiconductor element cells comprising a first cell electrode, a second cell electrode and a cell control electrode and also a drift path between the cell electrodes. At least the component control electrode is arranged on a partial region of the semiconductor body and a second active cell array is additionally situated in the partial region of the semiconductor body below the component control electrode.

This disclosure relates to a semiconductor component with cell structure and a method for producing the same. The semiconductor component includes a semiconductor body including a first component electrode arranged on one of the surfaces of the semiconductor body, a second component electrode arranged on one of the surfaces of the semiconductor body, and a component control electrode arranged on one of the surfaces of the semiconductor body. In this case, active semiconductor element cells are arranged in an active cell array of the semiconductor body, the semiconductor element cells including a first cell electrode, a second cell electrode and a cell control electrode and also a drift path between the cell electrodes. At least the component control electrode is arranged on a partial region of the semiconductor body.
A semiconductor component of this type is also referred to as a transistor arrangement with a structure for electrical contact-connection. The transistor arrangement has for example a source terminal as first component electrode, for example a drain terminal as second component electrode and for example a gate terminal as component control electrode. The semiconductor body of a transistor arrangement of this type is formed by a semiconductor substrate with an active cell array. The transistor arrangement or a semiconductor component of this type also has a partial region.
One disadvantage of semiconductor components of this type is that in the partial region or in the region of the gate terminal, the transistor arrangement is not active and therefore does not contribute to the current flow in the switched-on state or to reducing the on resistance Ron. In particular, the source region is omitted in the partial region in order to ensure the required robustness of the transistor arrangement. This appears to be necessary since in the case of an n-channel transistor for example holes which arise at the body zone flow through the relatively high-resistance body zone and thus cause a voltage drop in the body zone, the voltage drop being all the greater, the longer the distance to the nearest body contact.
Consequently, if a source zone lies in the body zone, then the base of a parasitic npn bipolar transistor is thereby biased and the transistor arrangement can be switched on even in the case of small currents, which can generally lead to destruction of the transistor arrangement on account of the splitting of the avalanche effects.
Since, in the partial region, the monolayer metallization used in power transistors does not enable the body zones to be contact-connected with the aid of the source metallization, these regions which are connected to the source metallization must remain free of source zones. This is particularly applicable to semiconductor components with trench structures having a plurality of electrodes, for which the space requirement is very large since all the electrodes in the partial region have to be led upwards and connected. For this purpose, the electrodes situated at a deeper level have to be connected further outwards in the partial region than electrodes situated at a higher level especially as the electrode situated at a higher level must otherwise be interrupted for the connection of an electrode situated at a deeper level.
For these and other reasons, there is a need for the present invention.

Semiconductor component with cell structure and method for producing the same


An embodiment vehicle body coupling structure of a vehicle that includes an underbody and an upper body coupled to the underbody includes a front back beam assembly provided on a front side of the underbody, a first mounting part provided on a front side member of the upper body and coupled with the front back beam assembly, and a first body coupling part provided on the front back beam assembly and engaged with the first mounting part.

Recently, the vehicle industry has introduced a new concept of future mobility visions for realizing a human-centered dynamic future city. One of these future mobility solutions is a purpose-built vehicle (PBV) as a purpose-based mobility unit.
The PBV is an environment-friendly mobility solution that provides customized services necessary for occupants during the time of moving to a destination on a ground, and it may also perform setting of an optimal path and cluster driving for each situation using electric vehicle-based and artificial intelligence.
For example, the PBV is capable of setting an optimal path and cluster driving for each situation, and may further be a box-type design vehicle with a large indoor space.
The vehicle body of such a PBV is composed of an underbody (also referred to as a rolling chassis or a skateboard in the industry) and an upper body mounted on the underbody. Here, the battery module is mounted on the underbody. In addition, the upper body may be a space frame formed by welding a steel plate or a pipe to form a skeleton.
However, such a PBV has a problem that, as the front vehicle body is designed in the box shape, the front frame strength is weak and the impact absorption performance in cases of a front collision is weak.
The above information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the invention, and therefore it may contain information that does not form the prior art that is already known to a person of ordinary skill in the art.


A table leg assembly for a table top used for an indoor or outdoor table having two identical elongated plastic brace members used for interconnecting two legs at both ends of the brace members. A recess located at each end of the brace members is shaped and disposed to receive a table leg. Two legs are secured together to the preassembled brace members by screws extending through the brace members and the legs. Optionally, a central recess in each brace member forms an aperture for receiving an umbrella pole for an outdoor furniture table assembly. Several bosses and receptacles on the brace members cooperate to align and connect the two brace members together.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a support structure or a base for a table top for patio use. More particularly, it relates to a brace assembly for supporting and connecting legs of a table, and optionally, for receiving a pole of an umbrella.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Patio tables generally have support structures which constitute metal legs which are extruded tubing with a welded joint and welded to a circular metal brace member, which legs and circular brace member form a guide for receiving a pole of an umbrella.
An example of a table support construction for outdoor use is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,092,042,wherein a plurality of tubular legs constructed of steel tubing are banded together with a central post providing an open passage for receipt of an umbrella. The legs are positioned away from the central post by rings attached to the post by welding. These rings have peripheral notches which receive the legs. The post and legs are held together by steel bands tensioned by screws.
Other examples for a support or a base for a table top are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,467,080; 2,759,780; 3,074,771; 3,366,079; 3,738,287; 3,643,608; 3,934,519; 3,990,663; 4,003,320; and 4,700,915. Quite a number of these bases of the prior art require intensive labor especially those involving weldment of the several pieces.
In spite of the known bases or supports for a table top, there remains a very real and substantial need for a table support that is easily assembled without welding. There is also a need for a table support that not only provides connections for the legs but also a support for an umbrella pole.


A battery powered tire pressure sensor system with a high sensitivity stretch sensor assembly having a variable resistance longitudinal displacement characteristic. The stretch sensor assembly has at least two juxtaposed stretch sensors, each with a first layer bearing the variable resistance element and a second support layer. The sensor assembly is mounted on or in the side wall of a pneumatic tire so that the assembly is displaced by the tire side wall and the resistance is a function of internal tire pressure. The assembly is coupled to a processor which samples the resistance of the stretch sensor assembly periodically. When the processor determines that the pressure is outside a safe range, an r.f. generator is activated by the processor to generate an unsafe tire pressure signal. This signal is converted by a receiver to a warning for the driver. A power saving unit controls application of electrical power to the system as a function of tire speed to prolong battery life.

This invention relates to automotive tire pressure sensors. More particularly, this invention relates to a battery powered method and system for monitoring internal tire pressure of vehicle tires using a sensor system with improved sensitivity and a power saving device.
Tire pressure sensor systems are known and are commonly used to monitor the internal air pressure in individual pneumatic tires of a vehicle and to provide a warning signal to the driver whenever the internal air pressure in one or more of the vehicle tires is dangerously low or high. The warning signal is typically generated by an r.f. signal generator controlled by a microprocessor connected to the tire pressure sensor, the warning signal being generated whenever the internal tire pressure measured by the sensor lies outside a predetermined normal operating range, signifying either a high or a low pressure condition. This r.f. signal is transmitted to a vehicle-mounted receiver, which uses the warning signal to alert the driver either visually (by activating a warning lamp or display) or audibly (by activating an audible alarm) or both. Electrical power to the sensor circuitry is provided by a battery, which must be replaced when the available power drops below a useful level.
Known tire pressure systems, such as that disclosed in commonly assigned, co-pending patent application Ser. No. 10/346,490 filed Jan. 21, 2003 for "External Mount Tire Pressure Sensor System", the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference, use a mechanical strain sensor having an essentially linear variable resistance characteristic in one branch of an electrical bridge circuit to measure the internal pressure of a tire to which the sensor is attached. This type of sensor is relatively insensitive to mechanical vibrations, which are regularly encountered in an automotive environment. In addition, the configuration of the electrical circuitry (i.e., the electrical bridge circuit) is relatively simple, has well-known performance characteristics, and has been found to be reasonably reliable in operation.
In spite of the effectiveness of the known sensor circuitry using the strain sensor and bridge circuit, there are inherent limitations which limit the performance of such devices. Firstly, due to the fact that only a single variable resistance element (the strain gauge) is incorporated into one branch of the bridge circuit, the sensitivity of the sensor circuit is limited to the variable resistance range of the single strain gauge used. This limits the potential measurement range of the sensor system. In addition, the known sensor circuitry is susceptible to measurement inaccuracies due to different coefficients of thermal resistivity of the variable resistance strain sensor and the fixed resistances forming the bridge circuit. Secondly, since the sensor circuitry is continuously powered by the essential battery, the useful lifetime of the battery is limited by the battery energy capacity. This drawback is compounded by the need for components having relatively small physical size due to installation constraints. As a consequence, battery replacement is a major constraint to the efficacy of such known sensor systems.
Efforts to provide a simple yet accurate and durable tire pressure monitoring system devoid of the above-noted disadvantages have not been successful to date.

Tire pressure sensor system with improved sensitivity and power saving


A turbine rotor blade for use in an industrial gas turbine engine in which the blade includes a root section with a fillet region formed between the root and the platform of the blade. The platform region includes a diamond shaped root slot to discharge cooling air from the internal cooling passage out through the trailing edge of the blade. The diamond shaped cooling slot of the present invention comprises a smaller radius at the upper and lower corners and a much larger radius at the mid section of the slot. The cooling slot is positioned in the trailing edge root section where the upper corner is positioned above the fillet run out location. The diamond shaped cooling slot thus minimizes the high stresses induced by the stress concentration from the cooling slot and the fillet run out location.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a turbine blade in a gas turbine engine, and more specifically to cooling of the fillet along the trailing edge of the turbine blade.
2. Description of the Related Art including information disclosed under 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98
In an industrial gas turbine engine, the hot gas flow developed within the combustor is passed through a multiple staged turbine to convert the hot gas flow into mechanical energy by rotating the shaft of the engine. It is well known, in the art of gas turbine engines, that the engine efficiency can be increased by providing for a higher gas flow temperature entering the turbine. However, the highest temperature that can be passed into the turbine is depended upon by the material properties and the cooling effectiveness of the first stage stator vanes and rotor blades, since these airfoils are exposed to the highest temperature flow.
Also in an industrial gas turbine engine, the life of a particular blade or vane is another important factor. When a turbine part is damaged from thermal or stress degradation, the engine cannot operate for a long period of time or the efficiency is decreased from a damaged part. The first stage turbine blade of an IGT engine is exposed to a stream of working fluid that is extremely hot (above 2000 degrees F.) and moving very quickly (above 500 ft/second). The rotor blades and stator vanes in this environment must tolerate not only extreme thermal loads, but also high-magnitude dynamic loads as well. As a result, these turbine parts are traditionally rigid, internally cooled structures that often include external thermal barrier coatings.
While robust architecture and thermal barrier coatings help the blades and vanes withstand external thermal and mechanical loads, they do not address all of the issues associated with exposure to the working fluid. For example, non-uniform temperature distribution between the cooled airfoil portions and relatively hot shroud portions introduces thermal gradients that produce internal thermal stresses. Cooling channel exits also produce localized thermal stresses, by inducing thermal gradients in the areas immediately surrounding the exits, as a result of sharp drops in temperature.
In these airfoils, thermal stress of an especially large magnitude occurs between the base portion and the platform of the rotor blade. The reason for this can be explained by the fact that since the moving blade has a smaller heat capacity than the platform, the temperature of the moving blade increases at a higher rate and within a shorter time period than that of the platform upon start of the gas turbine. On the other hand, the temperature of the moving blade falls at a higher rate and within a shorter time than that of the platform, whereby a large temperature difference occurs between the moving blade and the platform. This in turn generates thermal stress. Consequently, the base portion is shaped in the form of a curved surface conforming to the fillet ellipse to thereby reduce the thermal stress.
Recently, however, there is an increasing tendency to use a high temperature combustion gas to enhance the operating efficiency of the gas turbine. As a result, it becomes impossible to sufficiently suppress the thermal stress with only the base portion structure shaped in the form of the above mentioned fillet ellipse portion R, and cracks develop more frequently in the base portion where large thermal stress is induced. Under these circumstances, there is a demand for a structure of the blade base portion that is capable of reducing the thermal stress more effectively.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,481,967 B2 issued to Tomita et al on Nov. 19, 2002 and entitled GAS TURBINE MOVING BLADE shows a turbine rotor blade in FIGS. 1 and 2 with a row of trailing edge discharge cooling slots to provide cooling to the trailing edge and the fillet formed between the airfoil portion and the platform of the blade. High thermally induced stress is normally predicted at the junction of the blade trailing edge and the platform location. Also, due to the different effectiveness level of cooling mechanism used for the blade and platform and to the mass distribution between the blade and the platform, the thermally induced strain during transient cycle becomes much more severe. One method to alleviate this high thermal strain is by the use of a compounded fillet radii as shown in FIG. 3 which is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,851,924 B2 issued to Mazzola et al U.S. Pat. No. 6,851,924 B2 on Feb. 8, 2005 and entitled CRACK-RESISTANCE VANE SEGMENT MEMBER. As a result of this approach, the blade root section wall thickness must be increased which lowers the effectiveness of the trailing edge root section cooling slot. This results in a hotter trailing edge fillet metal temperature and a lower low cycle fatigue (LCF) capability.
It is an object of the present invention to provide for a turbine blade with a trailing edge root section cooling slot that will reduce the metal temperature in order to increase the LCF over the cited prior art references.

Turbine blade with trailing edge root slot


The present invention relates to a process for the preparation of solutions of aluminum salts, characterized in that an aluminate of an alkali metal and/or alkaline earth metal is dissolved in an acid solution to the formation of a solution which is used as such or is diluted to a suitable concentration.

At purification of water different types of aqueous solutions of metal salts, such as aluminum sulphate, aluminum chloride, ferri chloride, and the similar are used. The basic polysalts of aluminum chloride and aluminum sulphate or mixed aluminum-ferri chloride are in this case particularly effective and of interest. Common to all processes for the manufacture of such solutions are that they all require high temperatures and concentrated acids in order to have the dissolution and reaction with the minerals, which are the source of the metal salts, to run with a reasonable speed. Due to these process parameters all equipment has to be made of corrosion resistant materials, as well as the equipment materials shall all be able to resist high pressures in those cases an elevated pressure is used to speed up the process.
Further the process capacity of the plants is limited due to the fact that the reaction time is long, two hours being the shortest time, and is hereby due for the more simple products, such as aluminum sulphate and aluminnum chloride. More advanced products, such as the basic salt solutions require a longer time and e.g., polyaluminum chloride-sulphate requires 6 hrs at 160.degree. C. to be produced.
There is thus a well grounded demand for obtaining better processes which can increase and cost-reduce the production of such aluminum and ferri salt solutions, in particular since the world community today requires increased water purification of economically weak nations and communities as well.

Process for the preparation of aluminum salt solutions


Intermediates of the following formulae (I) and (II): ##STR1## wherein R.sup.1 represents a hydrogen atom or an alkyl group ##STR2## wherein R.sup.1 represents a hydrogen atom or an alkyl group, and R.sup.2 represents a hydrogen atom, an alkylcarbonyl group, arylcarbonyl group, alkylsulfonyl group, arylsulfonyl group, alkoxycarbonyl group or aryloxycarbonyl group. and acid salt thereof are useful for synthesizing ticlopidine hydrochloride from an inexpensive and easily available compound in short steps.

The present invention relates to new synthetic intermediates useful for producing ticlopidine hydrochloride having an effect of inhibiting platelet aggregation in an economical manner on an industrial scale, and a process for producing them.
Reports were made from old times on the synthesis of a 4,5,6,7-tetrahydrothieno[3,2-c]pyridine skeleton of ticlopidine hydrochloride. The processes for the synthesis can be roughly divided into two processes. One is a process wherein a thiophene derivative is used as the starting material and a tetrahydropyridine ring is closed [see, for example, Japanese Patent Publication for Opposition Purpose (hereinafter referred to as "J.P. KOKOKU") No. Sho 56-2068, Japanese Patent Unexamined Published Application (hereinafter referred to as "J.P. KOKAI") No. Sho 62-103088 and EP 439404A2] and the other is a process wherein a piperidone derivative is used as the starting material and a thiophene ring is closed (see, for example, J.P. KOKAI Nos. Sho 63-2992 and Sho 63-I26883, EP 360293A2 and DE 2,701,511). The reaction schemes of them are as follows: ##STR3##
The known reaction schemes 1, 2 and 3 are disclosed in J.P. KOKAI No. Sho 62-103088, EP 360293A2 and J.P. KOKAI No. 63-2992, respectively. Although the known reaction scheme 1 comprising only a small number of the reaction steps is an advantageous process, a further improvement is demanded, since it has problems that a cyanide is used as the starting material and that side reactions occur in the course of the reduction. The investigations of the known reaction schemes 2 and 3 were started relatively recently and only a very small number of reports were proposed. Thus no process for producing the intended compound from an inexpensive starting material by short steps has been found yet.

3-amino-5-o-chlorobenzyl-4,5,6,7-tetrahy drothieno[3,2-c]-pyridine-2-carboxylic acid compounds