An optical coupler capable of reducing the number of terminals of a star coupler per node and allowing easy expansion of a network configured by star couplers. A star coupler of the invention has a plurality of terminals and allows an optical signal to be inputted to and outputted from a single terminal. The star coupler also has such a transfer characteristic that an input signal to an initially inputted terminal is not distributed as an output signal from the initially inputted terminal but distributed as output signals to its terminals other than the initially inputted terminal.

The invention relates to an interconnectable star coupler and to an optical communication network configured using such star couplers.
In recent years, local area networks (LAN) are gaining in popularly as a data communication network between computers and workstations installed relatively close to one another. "Ethernet.RTM." developed by Xerox Corporation is one such example.
FIG. 30 is a diagram showing an Ethernet-based network. In FIG. 30, reference numeral 20 designates a coaxial cable; 21, taps (branches); and 22, nodes (a terminal or station).
Each node 22 is connected to the coaxial cable 20 through the tap 21. To increase nodes 22, taps 21 must be additionally provided for connection to additional nodes.
Development in optical communications using optical fibers as transmission media is noticeable. Such excellent characteristics as wide bandwidth, low loss, high noise resistance of the optical fiber make the optical fiber suitable to LAN. However, since the optical fiber cannot provide taps as with the coaxial cable, it is difficult to configure a network similar to Ethernet.
To overcome this problem, a network in which separate terminals are provided for transmission and reception at each node and all the nodes are distributed by a star coupler has been proposed. See, e.g., G. Rawson, IEEE Transactions on Communications, Vol. COM-26, No. 7, July 1978, "Fibernet: Multimode Optical Fibers for Local Computer Networks."
FIG. 31 shows the proposed example of an optical communication network using a star coupler. In FIG. 31, reference numerals 23a, 23b designate optical fibers; 22, nodes; 24, a star coupler of a mixing rod type; and 25, terminals.
A signal from each node 22 is converted into an optical signal by each light-emitting element 22a and supplied to the star coupler 24 through each optical fiber 23a. These optical signals are mixed all together by the star coupler 24 and then distributed to the light-receiving elements 22b through the optical fibers 23b, respectively, converted to electric signals again, and supplied to the nodes 22, respectively, in the form of electric signals. Accordingly, the characteristic that a signal transmitted from a single node is transmitted to all the nodes (or multiple transmission) is provided, thus allowing a communication network similar to Ethernet to be implemented.
As shown in FIG. 32, various types of actual couplers implemented on, e.g., a glass substrate are reported. See, e.g., Wada, Okuda, and Yamasaki, 1980 National Convention of Institute of Electronics and Communication Engineers of Japan, p. 963 and E. Okuda, I. Tanaka, and T. Yamasaki, "Planar Gradiene-Index Glass Wave Guide and Its Applications to a 4-Port Branched Circuit and Star Coupler"; Applied Optics, Vol. 23, No. 11, pp. 1745-1748.
In FIG. 32, reference numeral 23 designates an optical fiber; 25, terminals; 26, a mixing section; 27, waveguides; and 28, a glass substrate. The waveguides 27 and the mixing section 28 are formed by diffusing thallium (T1) ions, etc., into the glass substrate 28.
Similarly, there is a star coupler that is formed by a different process from the star coupler formed on the glass substrate. This example is implemented on a plastic substrate such as polycarbonate and has the same function as the aforesaid star coupler. See, e.g., Takato and Kurokawa: "Technology for Fabricating Optical Waveguides Using High Polymers", O plus E, November 1984, pp. 78-83 and T. Kurokawa, N. Takato, S. Oikawa and T. Okada, "Fiber Optic Sheet Formation by Selective Photopolymerization"; Applied Optics, Vol. 17, No. 4, pp. 646-650 (1978).
However, an optical communication network using such a star coupler has the shortcoming that network expansion is limited by the number of terminals the star coupler has.
This is because interconnection between star couplers results in forming a closed loop within the transmission path and this causes phenomena such as oscillation and attenuating vibration.
For example, as shown in FIG. 33, if one star coupler A has three pairs of input/output terminals 5-6, 7-8, 9-10 and another coupler B has three pairs of input/output terminals 11-12, 13-14, 15-16, then the input terminals 10, 11 must be connected to the output terminals 12, 9 in a cross form to interconnect both star couplers. In FIG. 33, X.sub.k, x.sub.n designate input signals to the input terminals 10, 11; and Y.sub.k, y.sub.n, output signals from the output terminals 9, 12. The input signal X.sub.k supplied to the input terminal 10 of the star coupler A is outputted from the output terminal 9 as the output signal Y.sub.k while converted to a signal level determined by a transfer constant A.sub.kk from the input terminal 10 to the output terminal 9. The output signal Y.sub.k is applied to the input terminal 11 of the other star coupler B as the input signal x.sub.n. Similarly, in the star coupler B the input signal x.sub.n is outputted from the output terminal 12 as the output signal y.sub.n while converted to a signal level determined by a transfer constant B.sub.nn from the input terminal 11 to the output terminal 12. The output signal y.sub.n is applied to the input terminal 10 of the other star coupler A as the input signal x.sub.n. Thus, a closed loop shown in FIG. 34 is actually formed, circulating the signals and causing oscillation and the like.

Star coupler and optical communication network


The invention is of a Shotgun hiker, a mechanical football hiker that propels the football five yards in a consistent direction and manner in order to allow football teams to practice the shotgun offense without the use of a trained team member to hike the football.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to mechanical football hikers.
2. Background Information
Football is a national passion, and where there are football games, there are football practices. Football practice seasons and football practice sessions are typically regulated by league rules in order to ensure consistency and fairness. These rules, for instance, may limit the amount of time a team can practice or limit the length of the practice season a team can require players to be present for practice.
Working within these constraints, consistency is difficult to maintain when propelling or hiking a football to the quarterback during practice sessions. This is true because the job of hiking the ball during practice typically falls to an "expendable" member of the team or training staff because the official ball hiker is most likely performing his own training. It would be inefficient to utilize a valuable member of the team to perform such a monotonous, repetitive function as hiking the ball to the practicing quarterback, when that team member could be furthering his own skills, especially when practice time is limited. Another variation of this problem is encountered during off season practice sessions when attendance is not required and therefore the presence of a hiker is optional. This has led to the development of mechanical ball hikers.
Currently, the mechanical ball hikers that are available merely "hand" the ball to the quarterback, and do not propel it in the manner required to simulate that required for the "shotgun" formation. Therefore, existing ball hikers may be adequate for teams using standard line-ups and plays, but are useless for those employing the "shotgun" offense, in which the quarterback typically stands back from the offensive line about five yards. This line-up is advantageous in certain situations because it gives the quarterback more time to throw the ball and is very hard to defend against. It is an advantageous offense to use with a light, quick front line and a quarterback who knows how to run as well as throw the ball. More and more high school and college teams are taking advantage of the unique plays that such a line-up favors.
The shotgun hiker of the present invention solves the problem of how to train a quarterback in the shotgun offense by creating the force needed to mechanically propel a football over a distance, consistently and in a predictable direction. This allows football team members to maximize their practice time and football coaches to most efficiently and effectively train quarterbacks and other team members in the shotgun offense.


A nasopharyngeal airway device for receiving a nasal cannula is provided. The device has a flexible tube having first and second open ends and a flexible receptacle open at its upper end and integral with the flexible tube first open end. The flexible receptacle has a diameter greater than a diameter of the flexible tube and contains a lower end opening that communicates with the flexible tube first open end and opposed recesses arranged at an upper edge thereof and configured to receive and retain a nasal cannula. Preferably, the receptacle further includes a bottom wall containing the lower end opening and side wall containing the recesses. When the flexible tube second open end is inserted into a nasal passage of a patient, tubing of a nasal cannula is arranged in the recesses to deliver oxygen to the patient via the receptacle and the flexible tube.

The present disclosure relates to a nasopharyngeal airway device and more specifically to a nasopharyngeal airway device that is adapted for receiving and retaining a nasal cannula.
A nasopharyngeal airway (NPA), also known as a nasal trumpet, is a type of airway adjunct used for treating soft tissue upper airway obstruction. NPAs are pliable, hollow cylinders made of soft plastic or rubber in variable lengths and diameters. The NPA extends through nasal passages to the posterior pharynx and beyond the base of the tongue. It typically has a flared end flange that prevents the outside end from passing beyond the nares and becoming lost inside the patient's nose, mouth, or further into the lungs or GI tract.
In a semi-conscious or unconscious patient, the jaw muscles commonly relax and allow the tongue to slide back and obstruct the airway. This obstruction makes airway management necessary, and an NPA is one of the available tools for relieving the airway obstruction. It is tolerated by most patients, even those who are conscious, and might be better tolerated in the lightly anesthetized patient as compared to an oropharyngeal airway (OPA). In cases of oropharyngeal trauma, a nasal airway is often preferable to an oral airway.
Supplemental oxygen is almost always used when an NPA is in place. The patient in the hospital setting with an NPA in place may be semi-conscious or unconscious as a result of sedation administered as part of a medical/surgical procedure which results in reduced ventilation, often requiring that supplemental oxygen be provided to maintain adequate patient oxygenation.
The most common method of delivering supplemental oxygen to the patient with an NPA is via a nasal cannula. A major benefit of using a nasal cannula with the NPA is that the same nasal cannula can be used for a period of time even after the NPA is removed but while the patient still requires supplemental oxygenation. This reuse of the nasal cannula results in significant cost savings. With the NPA, the nasal cannula is used with either one or both cannula prongs arranged inside the flange portion of the NPA.
The current problem when using a nasal cannula with an NPA is that the NPA is not specifically designed for either the one-pronged or two-pronged nasal cannula approach. The nasal prongs of a typical two-pronged nasal cannula do not simultaneously fit unencumbered inside the flange of an NPA, nor can the cannula be easily secured to the NPA flange, resulting in decreased oxygen intake, wasted oxygen and issues with maintaining a connection between the cannula and NPA. The main problem is that the flange of an NPA was designed solely as a safety mechanism to prevent the loss of the proximal end of the NPA from going further into the nose.
Further, when both nasal cannula prongs are arranged inside of the NPA flange, the prongs are too long relative to the depth of the flange resulting in a very poor fit. The prong(s) may then bend or be pushed up directly against the flange wall limiting oxygen flow. Frequently because of the poor fit, the nasal cannula prongs dislodge from the inside of the flange.
When only a single nasal cannula prong is used with an NPA, the other prong does not direct oxygen through the open channel of the NPA, but rather blows oxygen around the nose and mouth of an obstructed airway. Therefore, potentially half of the oxygen is being wasted to the ambient air, and the oxygen flow rate that is set at the flowmeter may be significantly different than what is actually delivered to the patient through the open NPA. This difference may be compensated for to a certain extent by increasing the oxygen flow rate resulting in significant waste of the supplemental oxygen. In addition, the single nasal cannula prong that is arranged inside of the NPA flange may rub directly against the flange and become partially or fully obstructed. The oxygen then escapes through the path of least resistance, which is the prong outside of the NPA.
Currently there is no ideal way to attach a nasal cannula directly to a standard NPA. The rounded plastic tubing of the nasal cannula adjacent to the prongs rolls on the outside of the NPA flange causing the cannula prongs to frequently dislodge from the inside of the flange. It is often necessary to either pull the nasal cannula neck strap very tight around the face to keep the cannula prongs in place, and/or use significant amounts of tape to hold it in place. Even these strategies have retention issues, and tightening nasal cannula straps around the head and face can be very uncomfortable for a patient waking up from sedation.


There is provided a deck lid provided to move so as to cover an opening portion of a roof storage room in a roof closed state in which an openable roof covers over a passenger cabin and in a roof open state in which a portion of the openable roof is stored in the roof storage room and to open the opening portion of the roof storage room in a transitional state between the roof closed state and the roof open state. This deck lid comprises a base portion, a pair of right-and-left protrusion portions which are integrally formed at both end portions, in a vehicle width direction, of the base portion, protrude upward relative to the base portion, and extend in a vehicle longitudinal direction, and a connecting portion which interconnects respective upper portions of the pair of protrusion portions in the vehicle width direction.

The present invention relates to a rear vehicle-body structure of a so-called open car provided with an openable roof.
Vehicles with an openable roof (convertible type open car) have been developed, and examples of those vehicles are disclosed in International Publication No. WO 2005/061253 A1 and Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2007-261405.
As shown in FIGS. 13-15, an automotive vehicle 100 disclosed in the above-described first patent document comprises a foldable roof 100, a housing 102 to store the foldable roof 101 (see FIG. 14), and a lid 103 to close an opening portion of the housing 102. The lid 103 comprises a plate-shaped base portion 104 and a pair of vertical fins 105 which are provided at both sides, in a vehicle width direction, of the base portion 104. The base portion 104 comprises a central portion 104a which is of a rectangular shape in a plan view and a pair of side portions 104b which are integrally formed at both sides, in the vehicle width direction, of the central portion 104a. Each of the side portions 104b protrudes rearward beyond the central portion 104a in the plan view (a rear portion of the base portion 104 is of a concave shape in the plan view). The vertical fin 105 is configured to protrude upward at the side portion 104b of the base portion 104 and extend in a vehicle longitudinal direction. The vertical fin 105 is of a right triangular shape, when viewed from a vehicle side, such that the hypotenuse of the right triangle slants rearward and downward. An acute-angle portion 105a of the right triangle which has the smallest angle is positioned at a rear end portion of the side portion 104b.
The both-side side portions 104b of the base portion 104 are rotatably attached to a back face of a rear deck 107 via arc-shaped hinges 106 (see FIG. 14). The arc-shaped hinge 106 is a so-called swan hinge, and its one end portion is rotatably attached to a lower face of the rear deck 107 around a horizontal axis, and its other end portion is fixed to a lower face of the side portion 104b of the base portion 104.
A flat-shaped transparent panel 109 which forms a rear window of a passenger cabin 108 is arranged vertically at a border of the passenger cabin 108 and the base portion 104. The transparent panel 109 is guided by a vertical side guide portion (not illustrated) at its both-side end portions so as to move vertically.
The transparent panel 109 is configured to partition the passenger cabin 108 from a space formed between the right and left vertical fins 105 in a state in which the transparent panel 109 is pulled out upward.
For a transition from the closed state in which the foldable roof 101 covers over the passenger cabin 108 (see FIG. 13) to the open state in which the foldable roof 101 is stored in the housing 102 (see FIG. 15), the lid 103 is opened as shown in FIG. 14, then the foldable roof 101 is folded into the housing 102, and finally the lid 103 is closed (see FIG. 15).
According to the automotive vehicle 100 of the above-described first patent document, the vertical fin 105 creates a coupe-style appearance at a rear portion of the vehicle in a side view, so that the automotive vehicle 100 equipped with the roof can be superior (excellent) in design. Further, a driver can view (see) backward through the transparent panel 109.
The above-described second patent document discloses an automotive vehicle which comprises a retractable roof, a storage space to store the retractable roof, an openable lid to cover an opening portion of the storage space, and a link mechanism connecting the lid and a bottom portion of the storage space.
The above-described link mechanism is a mechanism to open or close the lid. The link mechanism is configured to be folded in a state in which the retractable roof is stored in the storage space (an open state) and in a state in which the retractable roof covers over the passenger cabin (a closed state).
Meanwhile, in the transition from the open state to the closed state, and in the transition from the closed state to the open state, the link mechanism rises up and the lid goes up, moving rearward, relative to the opening portion of the storage space.
According to the automotive vehicle of the above-described second patent document, since the lid goes up, moving rearward, relative to the opening portion of the storage space, the retractable roof can be stored in the storage space through the opening portion.
However, in the automotive vehicle 100 of the above-described first patent document, since the right-and-left vertical fins 105 are merely interconnected at respective lower end portions, the lid 103 does not have a sufficient (high) rigidity.
Herein, in a case in which the lid 103 is configured move by using the link mechanism shown in the above-described second patent document in place of the hinges 106, there is a problem that a twist of the lid 103 may be generated during the moving because of the insufficient (low) rigidity of the lid 103, so that the stability of the move may be deteriorated.


A universal cylinder of a revolver comprises a cylindrical case, this case has apertures for cartridges, executed in the case, and the open zone grooves of a lateral cylindrical surface for input and output cartridges.

Revolvers are very popular firearms particularly with law enforcement officers. They are convenient to use and economical to make and persons can be trained to use them relatively easily.
One of important elements of revolvers is the cylinder, which purpose is to hold cartridges ready to use (shooting). The cylinder has various quantities of apertures for cartridges, depending on the size (caliber) of a cartridge and diameter of the cylinder
The cylinder gets filled up with cartridges from the back face party of the cylinder in forward direction. After use (shot) the shells get release from the cylinder in opposite direction i.e. from the front face party to the back face party of the cylinder. The operation of reloading the revolver perform manually and time consuming and inconvenient.
A major problem with revolvers however arises from the fact that they are slow and clumsy to reload in comparison with automatic pistols. This can be of very serious effect when a person using the firearm is under stress or under fire.
The purpose of the present invention is creation of the advanced—universal cylinder, allowing facilitating and simplifying process of filling of the cylinder by cartridges. The universal cylinder opens new perspective to the process of loading and unloading revolvers.


A loudspeaker apparatus includes an acoustic diaphragm; a support member having a housing, which is a hole in a surface of the support member facing the acoustic diaphragm; a magnetostrictive actuator having a magnetostrictor and a drive rod coupled to an end of the magnetostrictor, the magnetostrictive actuator being inserted into the housing such that the drive rod contacts the acoustic diaphragm, the magnetostrictive actuator applying vibration to the acoustic diaphragm; and a spring inserted into the housing from a position opposite to a position of the drive rod of the magnetostrictive actuator, the spring pressing the magnetostrictive actuator toward the acoustic diaphragm and applying a load to the magnetostrictor.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a loudspeaker apparatus that reproduces sound by applying vibration to an acoustic diaphragm by a magnetostrictive actuator.
2. Description of the Related Art
A loudspeaker apparatus that reproduces sound by applying vibration to an acoustic diaphragm by a magnetostrictive actuator has been suggested.
In particular, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2007-166027 discloses as shown in, for example, FIG. 8, a configuration in which a cylindrical acoustic diaphragm 110 made of acryl or the like is vertically supported, a plurality of magnetostrictive actuators 130 are arranged at a lower end of the acoustic diaphragm 110, and drive rods 135 of the magnetostrictive actuators 130 contact a lower end surface 112 of the acoustic diaphragm 110, to apply vibration to the acoustic diaphragm 110 in a direction perpendicular to the lower end surface 112, or in a plate-face direction.
In this case, the lower end surface 112 of the acoustic diaphragm 110 is excited with a longitudinal wave. As a vibration elastic wave is propagated in the plate-face direction of the acoustic diaphragm 110, a transversal wave is generated in addition to the longitudinal wave. The transversal wave causes an acoustic wave to be radiated in a direction perpendicular to a plate face of the acoustic diaphragm 110, thereby providing a widely spread sound field.
The magnetostrictive actuator is an actuator using a magnetostrictor the shape of which is changed when an external magnetic field is applied. A giant magnetostrictor is recently available, a deformation thereof being as approximately thousand times large as a deformation of a magnetostrictor in the past. In addition, the magnetostrictor generates a large stress when the shape is changed. Even when the magnetostrictive actuator is small, the magnetostrictive actuator can cause the acoustic diaphragm to produce relatively laud sound, and the magnetostrictive actuator can cause a hard acoustic diaphragm made of, for example, an iron plate to produce sound.
Further, the magnetostrictive actuator has a high response speed. The response speed of a single magnetostrictor is based on a nanosecond order.


Compositions and methods of treating androgen-associated hair loss, in particular decreasing the progression of male pattern baldness using a nucleoside Oligomer or Oligomers useful in the described methods are provided.

Androgens are steroid hormones found circulating at varying levels in both men and women. They are essential in sex differentiation, development, and reproductive function. However, androgens can also play a role in undesirable physiological conditions, including different types of baldness.
One of the most prevalent types of baldness is male pattern baldness (MPB). This condition is widespread, affecting two of every three men. MPB, which is inherited as a autosomal dominant trait with partial penetrance, is known to be androgen-dependent. This is evidenced in the fact that castrated males do not develop baldness.
Hair follicles initially appear in utero. No new follicles are created after birth, and it is believed that none are lost in adult life. However, in MPB, hair follicles do become progressively smaller (miniaturized). Hair follicles exhibit cyclic activity. Each period of active growth of hair (anagen) alternates with a resting period (telogen), separated by a relatively short transition phase (catagen). Hair growth on the human scalp is a mosaic of follicular activity with each follicle at a stage independent of its neighbors. At any one time, between 4-24% (average 13%) of follicles are in telogen and <1% in catagen. Hairs reach a terminal or definitive length, which depends mainly on the duration of anagen, and partly on the rate of growth. In the human scalp, anagen may occupy three years or more; however, the percentage of follicles in telogen increases with age, resulting in a gradual thinning. In MPB, the ratio of telogen to anagen is increased still further. Also, in MPB the hairs in affected areas become steadily shorter and finer, and ultimately may be reduced to the short (<2 cm), fine, unpigmented hair known as vellus hair.
Although the endocrine system does not directly initiate or curtail the activity of the hair follicle, androgens do accelerate or retard the normal cyclic activity of hair growth described above.
Testosterone (T) is the major circulating androgen. Because circulating T is largely bound to sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG), the availability of T depends not only on its total concentration, but also on the level of SHBG. While plasma T levels in MPB appear to be normal, SHBG levels tend to be low. This implies that bald males may have higher levels of free testosterone. This implication is borne out by the demonstration that bald males have high T concentrations in their saliva.
T itself has minimal activity in the hair follicle. A much more active metabolite which is believed to be responsible for MPB is 5-alpha-dihydrotestosterone (DHT). DHT is formed in the cytoplasm of hair follicle cells after reduction of T by the enzyme 5-alpha-reductase. Because balding men have increased 5-alpha-reductase activity in the hair follicles and skin of the frontal scalp, it has been suggested that this enzyme may be involved in development of MPB. Two genes have been reported, each of which codes for a distinct 5-alpha-reductase enzyme (Genbank locus:HUM5AR and HUMSRDA).
The effects of androgens in MPB are mediated by the binding of an androgen (primarily DHT) to the androgen receptor (AR). Androgens bind specifically to the AR, which is either situated in the nucleus or transferred to it from the cytoplasm. The AR belongs to a subfamily of steroid/thyroid hormone/retinoic acid receptors, whose activity is controlled by the tight and specific binding of the cognate ligand. Evidence for the involvement of the AR in MPB includes the demonstration that androgenic alopecia (a type of pattern baldness in women) can be alleviated by treatment with antiandrogens. These antiandrogens, such as spironolactone, cyproterone acetate, flutamide and cimetidine, bind to the AR and competitively inhibit DHT binding. In addition, sebaceous glands of bald scalps were found to have greater binding affinity and capacity for androgens than those in hairy scalps.
In the past, baldness was treated only with surgical procedures, such as hair transplants and scalp reduction. Recently, however, there have been some advances in medical treatment of baldness. The most publicized of these is minoxidil (Rogaine.TM.). Minoxidil is a potent vasodilator which has been used as a treatment for hypertension. A noted side effect of this treatment was the growth of hair on parts of the body. This led to the testing of topical minoxidil on balding areas of the scalp. The result in some cases was an apparent decrease in vellus hairs with a concomitant increase in terminal hairs. Many of the subjects studied reported that their rate of hair loss decreased. However, not all subjects responded to treatment with minoxidil. It was found that younger men who only recently (within five years) had begun to bald responded better than older men, and that minoxidil worked best on small areas of vertex baldness.
Research indicates that minoxidil will not help the majority of balding men, although it does help a specific population of minimally balding young men. The reason for the effectiveness of minoxidil is not known. It might be due to an increase in blood flow caused by the vasodilating effect of the drug. The longterm effects of minoxidil treatment are not known.
Other treatments are directed at reducing the production of DHT from testosterone, thereby preventing its cytosol-nuclear binding and/or translocation. Topical or intralesional progesterone can also be used to reduce the production of DHT from T. Since progesterone is similar in structure to testosterone, it competes with testosterone for 5-alpha-reductase, the enzyme that converts testosterone to DHT.

Compositions and methods of treatment of androgen-associated baldness using antisense oligomers


An active interphase reactor for twelve-pulse diode rectifiers is disclosed. The system draws near sinusoidal currents from a power utility. In one embodiment, a low kVA (0.02 P.sub.o (PU)) active current source injects a triangular current into an interphase reactor of a twelve-pulse diode rectifier. This modification results in near sinusoidal utility input currents with less than 1% THD. In alternative embodiments, a low kVA, 12-pulse system with an autotransformer arrangement (kVA rating of 0.18 P.sub.o (PU)) is implemented with the proposed active interface reactor. The resulting systems draw clean power from the utility and are suitable for powering larger kVA ac motor drive systems.

Large harmonics, poor power factor, and high total harmonic distortion (THD) in a utility (power supply) interface are common problems when nonlinear loads such as adjustable speed drives, power supplies, induction heating systems, UPS systems and aircraft converter systems are connected to the electric utility.
In some systems, the interface to the electric utility includes a three phase uncontrolled diode bridge rectifier. Due to the nonlinear nature of some loads, the input line currents can have significant harmonics. For adjustable speed AC motor drive systems with no DC-link smoothing inductor, the discontinuous conduction of the diode bridge rectifier can result in high current THDs which can lead to the malfunction of other sensitive electronic equipment.
One recommended practice to address these issues, IEEE 519, has evolved to maintain utility power quality at acceptable levels. See, "IEEE Recommended Practices and Requirements for Harmonic Control in Electric Power Systems", IEEE PES and Static Converter Committee of IAS, January 1993.
A number of methods have been proposed to overcome the presented problems. See, e.g., J. Schaefer, "Rectifier Circuits: Theory and Design," John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1965; B. R. Pelly, "Thyristor Phase-Controlled Converters and Cycloconverters, John Wiley & Sons, 1971; R. W. Lye, etc. al, "Power Converter Handbook," Power Delivery Department, Canadian General Electric Company Ltd., 1976; G. Seguier, "Power Electronic Converters AC/DC Conversions," McGraw-Hill, New York, N.Y., 1986; G. Oliver, etc. al, "Novel Transformer Connection to Improve Current Sharing on High Current DC Rectifiers," IEEE IAS Conf., 1993, pp. 986-992; S. Miyairi, etc. al, "New Method for Reducing Harmonics Involved in Input and Output of Rectifier with Interphase Transformer," IEEE Trans. on Industry Applications, Vol. IA-22, No. 5, September/October 1986, pp. 790-797; A. R. Prasad, P. D. Ziogas, S. Manias, "An Active Power Factor Correction Technique for Three-Phase Diode Rectifiers," IEEE Trans. on Power Electronics, Vol. 6, No. 1, January 1991, pp. 83-92; Ned Mohan, "A Novel Approach to Minimize Line-Current Harmonics in Interfacing Renewable Energy Sources with 3-Phase Utility Systems," IEEE APEC Annual Meeting, 1992, pp. 852-858; S. Kim, P. Enjeti, P. Packebush and I. Pitel, "A New Approach to Improve Power Factor and Reduce Harmonics in a Three-Phase Diode Rectifier Type Utility Interface," IEEE Trans. on Industry Applications, Vol. 30, No. 6, November/December 1994, pp. 1557-1564; I. Pitel and S. N. Talukdar, "A Review of the Effects and Suppression of Power Converter Harmonics," IEEE IAS Conference, May 1977; S. Choi, P. Enjeti, I. Pitel, "New Polyphase Transformer Arrangements with Reduced kVA Capacities for Harmonic Current Reduction in Rectifier Type Utility Interface," IEEE PESC Conf, 1995, pp. 353-359; D. A. Paice, "Power Electronic Converter Harmonics: Multipulse Methods for Clean Power," New York: IEEE Press, 1996.
One approach is to use a conventional twelve-pulse diode rectifier which requires two six-pulse diode rectifiers connected via Y-.DELTA. and Y--Y isolation transformers. An interphase reactor is required to ensure the independent operation of the two parallel-connected three-phase diode bridge rectifiers. The operation of the conventional twelve-pulse diode rectifier results in the cancellation of the 5th and 7th harmonics in the input utility line currents.
To increase the pulse number further to 18 or 24, additional diode bridge rectifiers along with complicated multiphase transformer arrangements become necessary, undesirably adding to the cost and complexity of the overall system.

Active interphase reactor for 12-pulse rectifier


A novel digital attenuator circuit and associated pre-power amplifier (PPA) that substantially increases the dynamic range of the amplifier. Increased dynamic range is achieved by placing a digital current attenuator circuit at the output of the pre-power amplifier so that the minimum possible current output of the transistor switch array of the PPA can be further attenuated. The attenuator functions to split the current between the load and the power supply VDD (i.e. AC ground) based on device ratio that is controlled digitally via an input power control word. The digital attenuator is constructed as a segmented digitally controlled matrix or cell array comprising at least a pass and bypass matrix or array. The pass matrix controls the amount of current output from the PPA while the bypass matrix controls the amount of current shorted to the AC ground (i.e. power supply). By varying the number of transistors on or off in each matrix, the power output of the PPA can be easily and accurately controlled.

It is well known in the communication arts that a transmit (Tx) buffer is required for both wired and wireless communications systems to interface the transmit path signal to the outside environment. In many cases, the transmit buffer is required to apply a variable gain to the transmit signal in order to increase or reduce the amplitude of the output signal. One such case occurs when the transmitted signal is part of an amplitude modulated communication system and the transmit buffer itself is used to implement the amplitude modulation function. The signal to noise ratio (SNR) requirements of such Tx buffers in most systems are extremely strict, meaning that any amplitude control circuitry should contribute no more than negligible noise to the buffer output. The reverse isolation (which can also be considered gain accuracy at low gain levels) of such transmit buffers is also an important concern. In addition, the current consumption requirements for these transmit buffers are limited such that any gain control scheme cannot 'burn' or waste current in order to meet the power consumption budget and the strict signal to noise requirements stated above.
A prior art digitally controlled near class E power amplifier designed for the Bluetooth wireless communication standard provides a limited number of bits for amplitude control (e.g., only 3.5 bits of amplitude control) and is used for power regulation of the transmitted constant envelope RF output. The previous lowest reported power consumption for a prior art GSM transmit chain, having no power control, is 17 mW with −7 dBm output power. The design for such a system has a transmitted power efficiency of 2.7% for an output power of 0 dBm.
There exist in the prior art multiple transmit chain architectures for transforming a digitally encoded bit stream into an RF modulated waveform at a power level suitable for transmission. The transmit power level for a cellular transceiver integrated circuit (IC) is typically around 3 dBm for interfacing with external power amplifiers (PAs). This output power level, however, is not constant in amplitude-modulated standards, such as EDGE, and must be controlled with appropriate variable-gain circuitry. Typical prior art architectures, such as single-sideband upconversion, perform digital-to-analog conversion on-chip and employ a variable gain pre-power amplifier (PPA) to transmit the required signal at the desired power level. In these architectures, the overall power consumption of the transmit chain, including all the DAC and variable gain buffer components, is at least 50 mW which is a relatively high amount of power. It is desirable to be able to reduce the power consumption of the transmit chain significantly.
All digital CMOS pre-power amplifiers exist in the art. A pre-power amplifier is designed to generate an output signal having desired waveform characteristics that is fed into the final power output stage before being transmission over the wireless channel. Previous CMOS pre-power amplifiers have typically been designed for relatively low dynamic range wireless standards such as Bluetooth and GSM/GPRS. High dynamic range wireless standards such as WCDMA or CDMA2000 require approximately 100 dB of dynamic range which represents an additional 30-40 dB over the Bluetooth and GSM/GPRS wireless standard dynamic range requirements.
There is thus a long felt need for a pre-power amplifier having high dynamic range that is able to meet the more demanding dynamic range requirements of high dynamic range wireless standards such as WCDMA and CDMA2000, for example. In addition, the pre-power amplifier should be able to be implemented using digital CMOS processes.

High dynamic range pre-power amplifier incorporating digital attenuator


A process to deposit a thin film by chemical vapor deposition includes evacuating a chamber of gases; exposing a device to a gaseous first reactant, wherein the first reactant deposits on the device to form the thin film having a plurality of monolayers in thickness; evacuating the chamber of gases; exposing the device, coated with the first reactant, to a gaseous second reactant under a plasma treatment, wherein the thin film is treated by the first reactant; and repeating the previous steps.

The present invention relates to semiconductor thin film processing by nanolayer deposition ("NLD"). The fabrication of modem semiconductor device structures has traditionally relied on plasma processing in a variety of operations such as etching and deposition. Plasma etching involves using chemically active atoms or energetic ions to remove material from a substrate. Deposition techniques employing plasma includes Chemical Vapor Deposition ("CVD") and Physical Vapor Deposition ("PVD") or sputtering.
PVD uses a high vacuum apparatus and generated plasma that sputters atoms or clusters of atoms toward the surface of the wafer substrates. PVD is a line-of-sight deposition process that is more difficult to achieve conformal film deposition over complex topography, such as deposition of a thin and uniform liner or barrier layer over the small trench or via of 0.13 μm or less, especially with high aspect ratio greater than 4:1.
In CVD, a gas or vapor mixture is flowed over the wafer surface at an elevated temperature. Reactions then take place at the hot surface where deposition takes place. Temperature of the wafer surface is an important factor in CVD deposition, as it depends on the chemistry of the precursor for deposition and affects the uniformity of deposition over the large wafer surface. The high temperatures typically required for CVD deposition may not be compatible with other processes in the semiconductor process. Moreover, CVD at lower temperature tends to produce low quality films in term of uniformity and impurities. More details on PVD and CVD are discussed in International Pub. Number WO 00/79019 A1 or PCT/US00/17202 to Gadgil, the content of which is incorporated by reference.
In atomic layer deposition ("ALD"), various gases are injected into a chamber for as short as 100–500 milliseconds in alternating sequences. For example, a first gas is delivered into the chamber for about 500 milliseconds and the substrate is heated, then the first gas (heat optional) is turned off. Another gas is delivered into the chamber for another 500 milliseconds (heat optional) before the gas is turned off. The next gas is delivered for about 500 milliseconds (and optionally heated) before it is turned off. This sequence is repeated until all gases have been cycled through the chamber, each gas sequence forming a highly conformal monolayer. ALD technology thus pulses gas injection and heating sequences that are between 100 and 500 milliseconds.
The ALD approach requires a high dissociation energy to break the bonds in the various precursor gases, which can be, for example, silane and oxygen. ALD thus requires high substrate temperature, for example, on the order of 600–800 degrees Celsius for silane and oxygen processes.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,916,365 to Sherman, entitled "Sequential chemical vapor deposition" provides for sequential chemical vapor deposition by employing a reactor operated at low pressure, a pump to remove excess reactants, and a line to introduce gas into the reactor through a valve. Sherman teaches exposing the part to be coated to a gaseous first reactant, including a non-semiconductor element of the thin film to be formed, wherein the first reactant adsorbs on the part to be coated. The Sherman process produces sub-monolayers as a result of adsorption. The first reactant forms a monolayer on the part to be coated (after multiple cycles), while the second reactant passes through a radical generator which partially decomposes or activates the second reactant into a gaseous radical before it impinges on the monolayer. This second reactant does not necessarily form a monolayer, but is available to react with the monolayer. A pump removes the excess second reactant and reaction products completing the process cycle. The process cycle can be repeated to grow the desired thickness of film.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,200,893 to Sneh entitled "Radical-assisted sequential CVD" discusses a method for CVD deposition on a substrate wherein radical species are used in alternate steps to depositions from a molecular precursor to treat the material deposited from the molecular precursor and to prepare the substrate surface with a reactive chemical in preparation for the next molecular precursor step. By repetitive cycles, a composite integrated film is produced. In a preferred embodiment, the depositions from the molecular precursor are metals, and the radicals in the alternate steps are used to remove ligands remaining from the metal precursor reactions, and to oxidize or form a nitride of the metal surface in subsequent layers.
In one embodiment taught by Sneh, a metal is deposited on a substrate surface in a deposition chamber by: (a) depositing a monolayer of metal on the substrate surface by flowing a molecular precursor gas or vapor bearing the metal over a surface of the substrate, the surface saturated by a first reactive species with which the precursor will react by depositing the metal and forming reaction product, leaving a metal surface covered with ligands from the metal precursor and therefore not further reactive with the precursor; (b) terminating flow of the precursor gas or vapor; (c) purging the precursor with inert gas; (d) flowing at least one radical species into the chamber and over the surface, the radical species highly reactive with the surface ligands of the metal precursor layer and eliminating the ligands as reaction product, and also saturating the surface, providing the first reactive species; and (e) repeating the steps in order until a metallic film of desired thickness is achieved.
In another aspect of the Sneh disclosure, a metal nitride is deposited on a substrate surface in a deposition chamber by: (a) depositing a monolayer of metal on the substrate surface by flowing a metal precursor gas or vapor bearing the metal over a surface of the substrate, the surface saturated by a first reactive species with which the precursor reacts by depositing the metal and forming reaction product, leaving a metal surface covered with ligands from the metal precursor and therefore not further reactive with the precursor; (b) terminating flow of the precursor gas or vapor; (c) purging the precursor with inert gas; (d) flowing a first radical species into the chamber and over the surface, the atomic species highly reactive with the surface ligands of the metal precursor layer and eliminating the ligands as reaction product and also saturating the surface; (e) flowing radical nitrogen into the chamber to combine with the metal monolayer deposited in step (a), forming a nitride of the metal; (f) flowing a third radical species into the chamber terminating the surface with the first reactive species in preparation for a next metal deposition step; and (g) repeating the steps in order until a composite film of desired thickness results.
The Sneh embodiments thus deposit monolayers, one at a time. Because the objective is to create a thick film, the Sneh process is relatively time-consuming.
Atomic layer deposition (ALD or ALCVD) is a modified CVD process that is temperature-sensitive and flux-independent. ALD is based on a self-limiting surface reaction. ALD provides a uniform deposition over complex topography and is temperature-independent, since the gases are adsorbed onto the surface. ALD can occur at lower temperature than CVD, because ALD is an adsorption regime.
As discussed in connection with the Sherman and Sneh patents, above, the ALD process includes cycles of flowing gas reactant into a chamber, adsorbing one sub-monolayer onto the wafer surface, purging the gas reactant, flowing a second gas reactant into the chamber, and reacting the second gas reactant with the first gas reactant to form a monolayer on the wafer substrate. Thick film is achieved by deposition of multiple cycles.
Precise thickness can be controlled by number of cycles, since a single monolayer is deposited as a result of each cycle. However, the conventional ALD method is a slow process to deposit films such as those around 100 angstroms in thickness. Growth rate of Atomic Layer Epitaxy ("ALE") TiN for example was reported at 0.2 angstrom/cycle, which is typical of metal nitrides from corresponding chlorides and NH3.
The throughput in device fabrication for a conventional ALD system is slow. Even if the chamber is designed with minimal volume, the throughput is still slow due to the high number of cycles required to achieve the desired thickness. Conventional ALD is a slower process than CVD, with ALD having a rate of deposition almost 10 times slower than CVD. The process is also chemical-dependent; that is, it is necessary to ensure the proper self-limiting surface reaction for deposition.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Nanolayer thick film processing system and method


A display device (100) of the present invention is configured in such a manner that a liquid crystal module (30) is inserted in the inside (of the inner faces) of a positioning frame (20) that is attached to a top window (10). This eliminates the need to consider a positioning tolerance for the attachment. As a result, the display device can be reduced in size and a narrow frame can be achieved.

In recent years, display devices such as personal digital assistants that require operations including menu selections are increasingly provided with a touch panel. Through the touch panel, a user performs an operation such as selecting a desired menu by pressing the panel with a stylus or a finger in accordance with the display on the screen. For touch panels used in such personal digital assistants, various known types are employed such as a resistive type, a capacitive type, a photosensor type, and an infrared type, to detect a pressed position on the panel.
In most cases, display devices equipped with such a touch panel are provided with a surface protector such as a decorative laminate or a cover so as to protect the surface touched by a finger and the like. The surface protector is attached to a touch panel or a liquid crystal module with a touch panel so as to make no gap therebetween, but even when a positioning tool and the like are used upon installation, in some cases, the surface protector is slightly displaced from a prescribed installation position. If the dimensions of the respective parts are designed without taking into account the displacement amount, it is possible to cause a problem that a touch panel (liquid crystal module with a touch panel) having the surface protector attached thereto cannot be installed in a device case. For this reason, conventionally, the tolerances have been designed taking into account the displacement amount.
However, the larger the tolerances are, the more difficult it becomes to achieve a size reduction and a narrower frame in the display device, and therefore, techniques to reduce the tolerances have been proposed up to now. For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2005-222091 discloses a configuration of an electronic device equipped with a shielding member that has a structure to determine a position of a touch panel with respect to a module including a display device.

Display device and method for producing same


A novel two-step reaction process for preparing 5-substituted-2-methoxybenzaldehyde compounds is disclosed wherein the substituent group is either isopropyl or trifluoromethoxy. The process involves (1) reacting a corresponding 4-substituted phenol compound with dimethyl carbonate in the presence of a tertiary-amine base to form the corresponding 4-substituted anisole compound, and (2) thereafter subjecting the latter intermediate product obtained in the first step to aromatic C-formylation on the ring with hexamethylenetetramine in the presence of trifluoroacetic acid, followed by hydrolysis, to ultimately yield the desired aldehyde compound. The two aromatic aldehyde compounds so obtained, viz., 2-methoxy-5-trifluoromethoxybenzaldehyde and 2-methoxy-5-isopropylbenzaldehyde, are known to be useful as intermediates that specifically lead to (2S,3S)-cis-3-(2-methoxy-5-trifluoromethoxybenzyl)amino-2-phenylpiperidine and (2S,3S)-cis-2-(diphenylmethyl)-N-[(2-methoxy-5-isopropylphenyl)methyl]-1-a zabicyclo[2.2.2]octane-3-amine, respectively. The latter final products, in turn, are both known to be useful in the field of medicinal chemistry as substance P receptor antagonists.

This invention relates to a new and useful process for preparing aromatic aldehydes by the direct introduction of the formyl group into a benzene ring system. More particularly, it is concerned with a novel two-step method for synthesizing a 5-substituted-2-methoxybenzaldehyde compound wherein the substituent group is either isopropyl or trifluoromethoxy. These two aldehyde compounds are known to be of value as intermediates that lead to certain substance P receptor antagonists.
In accordance with the prior art, there has already been described certain compounds which are known to be of value as substance P receptor antagonists. Included among these are such nitrogen-containing heterocyclic ring compounds as (2S,3S)-cis-3-(2-methoxy-5-trifluoromethoxybenzyl)amino-2-phenylpiperidine , which is described and claimed by J. A. Lowe, III et al., in Published P.C.T. International Patent Application No. WO 93/00331 (published Jan. 7, 1993) and (2S,3S)-cis-2-(diphenylmethyl)-N-[(2-methoxy-5-isopropylphenyl)methyl]-1-a zabicyclo[2.2.2]octane-3-amine, which is described and claimed by F. Ito et al., in Published P.C.T. International Patent Application No. WO 92/21677 (published Dec. 10, 1992). Both compounds are useful as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory (N.S.A.I.) agents, being of specific value in the treatment of arthritis, asthma and inflammatory bowel disease.
In the past, these particular compounds have been prepared by various synthetic means but essentially by a method which involves the reductive amination of the appropriate aldehyde compound, i.e., by reacting either 2-methoxy-5-isopropylbenzaldehyde or 2-methoxy-5-trifluoromethoxybenzaldehyde, as the case may be, with the corresponding heterocyclic 3-amino compound in the presence of a source of hydrogen, or else by first condensing the aforesaid 3-amino compound with the aldehyde and then reducing the resulting imine intermediate to ultimately give the key benzylamine side chain. The starting aromatic aldehyde component in this particular reaction scheme had always been prepared in two steps starting from the corresponding known and readily available 4-substituted phenol compound and this, in turn, initially involved (1) first methylating the phenol compound with methyl iodide in an acetone solvent medium in the presence of solid potassium carbonate, followed by (2) direct formylation of the resulting 4-substituted methylated phenol (i.e., 4-substituted anisole compound) with .alpha.,.alpha.-dichloromethyl methyl ether in a methylene chloride solvent system in the presence of titanium tetrachloride as catalyst. However, this particular two-step method for the production of the aldehyde suffers from the drawback of being conducted in a non-homogenous reaction system in the first step, with all its attendant disadvantages, and in employing the somewhat hazardous titanium tetrachloride reagent as catalyst in the second step. In the latter connection, it should be noted that certain stringent safety requirements are normally called for when handling the latter agent, particularly when unit operations are conducted on a large scale. Additionally, the use of various hazardous waste disposal techniques are also required for the removal of the titanium tetrachloride byproducts that are usually formed in the aforesaid aromatic formylation reaction.
In the past, F. Merger et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 4,192,949 indicate that they have prepared various methyl phenyl ethers, including both 4-methylanisole and 4-methoxyanisole, from the corresponding phenol compounds, using dimethyl carbonate in the presence of a tertiary-amine base as catalyst without the presence of a solvent. Although the Merger et al. patent also includes p-isopropylphenol in a long list of many other possible phenolic starting materials for the aforementioned reaction, there is no indication that 4-isopropylanisole was ever actually prepared in this particular manner. On the other hand, W. E. Smith in the Journal of Organic Chemistry, Vol. 37, No. 24, p. 3972 (1972) reports on the direct C-formylation of several aromatic compounds, including 2,6-dimethylanisole, via a method which involves the use of hexamethylenetetramine in trifluoroacetic acid in a modified Duff reaction, but there is no indication in the aforesaid paper by Smith that such a reaction could ever be successfully carried out using other non-acidic derivatives of anisole as substrate. In particular, there is no indication that the reaction of Smith could be applied to parasubstituted derivatives of anisole.

Formylation process for aromatic aldehydes


The invention relates to a crop residue chopping-and-distributing arrangement for a combine, with a straw chopper (60) and two distribution blowers (100) arranged laterally alongside one another, on the periphery of which is provided a respective first shield (144), adjustable about axis of rotation (108) for modifying the distribution characteristics, that can be brought into an active position. It is proposed that the first shields (144) are respectively mounted on a rotary holder (176) rotatable about axis of rotation (84) of the associated distribution blower (100) and additionally carrying a second shield (146), which has a smaller dimension in the circumferential direction than first shield (144), so that second shield (146) can selectively be brought into an active position instead of first shield (144).

Agricultural combines are large machines that harvest, thresh, separate and clean agricultural crops that bear grain. The clean grain obtained is stored in a grain tank arranged on the combine. The threshed straw is generally either chopped and spread out on the field across the width of the chopping mechanism, or diverted around the straw chopper and deposited unchopped in a swath in order to be subsequently taken up in a baler. The remaining crop residue at the rear outlet of the cleaning device, such as chaff and small pieces of straw, is distributed on the field by a chaff scattering device, or directed through the straw chopper and spread on the field.
DE 199 08 111 C1 describes a combine with a straw chopper and two distribution blowers following the straw chopper, arranged one alongside the other, for strewing the straw widely across the field. For the purpose of a material transfer that does not change direction, the outlet of the straw chopper and the inlet of the distribution blowers, which are arranged in a housing and have paddles rotating about a roughly vertical axis, are arranged in a single plane. Partial casings that join one another between the distribution blowers in a tip pointing toward the straw chopper are arranged around the distribution blowers. In the rear area, the partial casings transition into shields with openings, in order to emit the straw onto the field through the openings. The shields are rotatable or height-adjustable to adjust the distribution width.
No operating mode is provided in DE 199 08 111 C1 in which only the chaff is led through the straw chopper, while the straw is deposited in the swath on the ground, as is described, for example, in DE 10 2008 001 460 A1. Accordingly, the adjustment range of DE 199 08 111 C1 does not comprise a position in which the crop residue is deposited only to the side, but not exactly toward the back. In the swath-laying mode, however, it is desirable in many cases to emit the chaff to the side some distance away from the straw in order to be able to gather and further use the latter without chaff content.

Crop residue chopping-and-distributing arrangement for a combine


A clutch comprises an input side and an output side, which are disposed rotatably. First frictional partners are non-rotatably connected with the input side and axially movable and second frictional partners are non-rotatably connected with the output side and axially movable. Furthermore, a compression device is provided to compress the frictional partners axially, in order to provide a torsional connection between the input side and the output side. Both sides are decoupled axially from the respective frictional partners with which they are engaged.

A clutch, in particular a multiple plate wet clutch, generally includes an input component and an output component, which are supported coaxially to each other so that they can rotate with respect to each other. A first set of frictional elements are non-rotatably connected to the input component and are capable of being axially displaced. Similarly, a second set of frictional elements are non-rotatably connected to the output component and are also typically capable of being axially displaced. Typically, the frictional elements of the first set are disposed alternately with the frictional elements of the second set in the axial direction. A compression device axially compresses the structure of first and second frictional components and the first set of frictional elements frictionally engage the second set of frictional elements. Depending on the degree of compression, a partial or complete transmission of torque between the input and output components is achieved in this way. Typically, a clutch of this sort can be placed in a drivetrain before or after the transmission, in particular a dual-clutch transmission. The clutch can be used for selectively interrupting a flow of torque during a gear change by forming a partial or complete connection between the input and output components.
A tooth arrangement is typically used for the torsional support of the frictional partners on their respective sides, such that the frictional partners are axially movable. If the clutch is only partially engaged, then the torque transmitted between the frictional partners brings about a relative rotation of the frictional partners relative to the tooth arrangement of the sides assigned to them. This rotation exerts a force operating in a circumferential direction, which puts a strain on the tooth arrangement of the frictional partners, so that the movability of the frictional partners in the tooth arrangement may be made more difficult. The greater the transmitted torque, the more severely the frictional partners tend to stick to the tooth arrangement and resist axial movement. In a normal stack of first and second frictional partners, under a load provided on one side by the compression device, the force operating axially on one frictional partner may therefore decrease as its distance from the actuating side increases.
This loss of axial force may lead to torque hysteresis, which may make it difficult to precisely control the torque transmissible by means of the clutch. A connection between the axial force exerted by the compression device and a rate of transmission of torque by the clutch can depend on a prehistory of the actuation, in particular on whether an increasing or decreasing compression force is affected.
If the clutch is part of a drivetrain of a motor vehicle, then this may detract from precise gear changing and gentle acceleration with minimum jerking. The object of the invention is therefore to specify a clutch which realizes improved controllability by reducing torque hysteresis.


A gas supply pipeline system for process equipment which is adapted to supply at least two kinds of process gas. The system includes two independent flow passages formed between each process gas supply pipeline and a purge gas supply pipeline. The system further includes plurality of flow passages each of which is connected between one of the process gas supply pipelines and the process apparatus. Each of the process gas supply pipelines can be purged independently and the stagnation of gas in the pipelines which are not in use can be prevented by flowing purge gas constantly therethrough.

In recent years, in the dry etching process for high quality thin film formations or fine patterns, the ultrapurification of the process atmosphere, i.e. the technique of supplying ultrapure gases to process apparatuses has become very important.
For instance, in the case of semi-conductor devices, to increase the integrity of integrated circuits, the dimension of unit elements has diminished year after year; in order to practidalize semi-conductor devices of 1 micron to the size of submicron, or even smaller than 0.5 micron, research and development are being actively undertaken. The manufacture of this kind of semi-conductor device is carried out by means of repeating formations of thin films and etching these thin films into specific circuit patterns. Then, this kind of process is usually done by putting the silicon wafer in a process reaction chamber and in a reduced pressure atmosphere infused with specific gases. The purpose of putting it in a state of reduced pressure is to control the etching of through holes or conduct holes with high aspect ratio, to lengthen the mean free path of gas molecules for cave filling, and to control gas phase reactions.
If impurities are introduced into the reactive atmosphere during these processes, some problems will result: the degradation of the quality of thin films, incapability to attain accuracy of fine process, a great selective ratio of etching among different materials, and lack of adherence among thin films. In order to fabricate the integrated circuit, having patterns of submicron or low submicron, in high density and high yield on a wafer of large diameter, it is essential to completely control the reactive atmosphere contributing to the formation of thin films and etching. This is the reason why supplying ultrapure gases has become very important.
Gases used in the manufacturing device of semi-conductors include comparatively stable normal gases (N.sub.2, Ar, He, O.sub.2, H.sub.2) and special material gases possessing properties of strong toxicity, self-sustained combustion, and corrosion (AsH.sub.3, PH.sub.3, SiH.sub.4, Si.sub.2 H.sub.6, HCl, NH.sub.3, Cl.sub.2, CF.sub.4, SF.sub.6, NF.sub.3, WF.sub.6, etc.). As normal gases are easier to handle, they are almost always directly introduced by pressure from the purifying device to the semi-conductor manufacture device. Therefore, through the development and improvement of storage tanks, purifying devices, and piping materials, supplying ultrapure gases to semi-conductor manufacturing devices has become possible. (Ohmi Tadahiro, "A challenge to ppt--a challenge to the concentration of impurities approximating ppt by the gas piping system for semi-conductors." Nikkei Microdevice. July 1987, pp. 98-119.) On the other hand, for special material gases, as careful attention is needed in handling them, the quantity used is very small in comparison to normal gases; therefore, gases in the cylinder are introduced by pressure to the semi-conductor manufacturing device through a cylinder-cabinet piping device.
Up to now, the most serious problem in the ultrapurification of gases supplied from the cylinder through the cylinder-cabinet piping device is the dirt inside the cylinder itself, the existence of large external leakage in the joint of the cylinder-valve and the cylinder, as well as pollution caused by productive absorbing gases, which are engendered because the inside of the cylinder is not accessible to cleaning. However, this problem is also almost overcome by treating the inside to become a specular surface of no processing deterior layer by means of complex electropolish, and the development of cylinder-valves having external threads and which use MCR (Metal C Ring fitting) with built-in purge valves (Ohmi Tadahiro, Murota Junishi. "Technique of Cleaning Bombs and Filling Gases." The Sixth VLSI Ultracleaning Technology--Symposium. A Collection of Drafts "High Performance Process Techniques III." January 1988, pp 109-128). In addition, all the pipelines of the cylinder-cabinet piping device which contains the gas cylinder and supply process gas are double sealed against the atmosphere; moreover, the purge gas supply pipes are devised in a structure purgeable at any time; the realization of such devices to suppress the pollution caused by the entrance of the atmosphere into the pipeline system or by gases chiefly released from water moisture in the internal walls of the pipeline material makes the supply of ultrapure gases possible.
In general prior art, when one kind of gas is supplied to one process apparatus from one gas cylinder, there are few problems because the purging gas supplied to the cylinder-cabinet pipeline device purges the process gas supply pipeline as well as the process gas supply and control pipeline in the process apparatus. However, when using a device for various gases (e.g. reactive ion, etching device (RIE), electronic cyclotron resonance device (ECR), low pressure chemical vapor deposition device (LPCV)), one kind or several kinds of process gases must be selected and mixed from the various process gases before transporting them to the process device. Under this circumstance, when selecting and mixing process gases, if some process gas is left behind in the process gas supply and control pipeline, then replacement of process gas will not take place in that part, hence reducing the degree of purity of the process gas to be supplied to the process device. Besides, although there is no problem concerning the process gas supply and control pipeline when it is used to supply process gas to the process device, the process gas supply and control pipeline is oftentimes in a state of sealing in gases when it is not used to supply process gas; therefore, it will be polluted by the gas chiefly released from water moisture in the inside of the pipeline; and when the process gas supply and control pipeline is used again, this will become the reason for the reduction in the degree of purity of the process gas supplied.
In this way, if the flowing of gas stops and residual gas exists in the gas piping system, it occurs to pollute the piping system and to reduce the purity of the supplied gas. As a result, the process will be tremendously affected.
For instance, the most recently developed DC-RF coupled mode bias sputtering device can also obtain an excellent Al thin film of specular surface with entirely no hillock, even after a heat treatment of 400.degree. C. (T. Ohmi, H. Kuwabara, T. Shibata and T. Kiyota. "RF-DC Coupled Mode Bias Sputtering for ULSI Metalization." Proc 1st Int. Symposium on UltraLarge Scale Integration Science and Technology. May 10-15, 1987. Philadelphia; and Ohmi Tadahiro. "Thorough Elimination of Impurities, Grasping the Conditions for Al Film Formation Without Hillocks." Nikkei Microdevice. October 1987, pp. 109-111). When Al film is formed using this device, it is understood that only when the amount of water moisture contained in Ar is suppressed to below 10 ppb, then the optimum manufacturing conditions for Al film formation can be found out. If Ar Sputter atmosphere contains more than 10 ppb of water moisture, the morphology on the surface of the Al film will degrade. Under this circumstance, the parameter of Al film formation with the resistivity equals to Al bulk and without hillocks after being subject to heat treatment is impossible to be obtained.
In addition, in the method of reducing pressure CVD, if ultrapure SiH.sub.4, H.sub.2, and N.sub.2 containing less than 10 ppb of water moisture are used to engage in thin film formation, and when the absorbing water on the surface of the wafer is suppressed to become very small in quantity, even when under the practical conditions (temperature: 650.degree. C., pressure: a few Torr) wherein there was previously no selective growth nor epitaxial growth in the thin film formation, selective growth and epitaxial growth can be seen. That is, the epitaxial growth of Si on clean Si surface can also be obtained; the film formation of polysilicon above SiO.sub.2 can be suppressed to very few (Murota Junichi, Namamura Naoto, Kato Manabu, Mikoshiba Nobuo, and Ohmi Tadahiro. "An Ultracleaning CVD Technique Having High Selectivity." The Sixth ULSI Ultracleaning Technology--Symposium. A Collection of Drafts "High Performance Process Techniques III." January 1988, pp. 215-226).
FIG. 31(a) through (c) is a most preferred embodiment of the known gas supply pipeline of the process apparatus which supplies a number of process gases to the process apparatus.
A brief description of the above is given with reference to FIG. 31(a). For simplicity sake, FIG. 31(a) shows three kinds of process gas are supplied to the process gas supply piping device for the process apparatus. In FIG. 31(a), 601 is the reaction chamber of the process apparatus, which is connected with the vacuum exhaust device. 608, 609, 610, 614, 615, 616, 617, 618, 619, 629, 630, 631, 632, 633, 634, 635, 636, 637, 643, 644, 648, 649, 650, 652, 653, 654, 658, 659, and 663 are stop valves; among these, 614 and 617, 615 and 618, 616 and 619, as well as 653 and 654 are respectively 3-way dual valves integrating two valves into one. 602, 603, and 604 are process gas supply pipelines, which usually carry the process gas filled in the cylinder or gases for purging pipelines (e.g. Ar) from the cylinder-cabinet pipeline device to the process device pipelines. 611, 612, and 613 are pressure regulators. 620, 621, and 622 are mass flow controllers. 623, 624, and 625 are gas filters. 655 and 660 are spiral pipes for preventing the entrance of atmosphere by reverse diffusion through the blowoff opening for purge gases. 656 and 661 are needle valves for controlling the flow of purge gases. 657 and 662 are floater flow meters. Pressure regulators 611, 612, and 613, mass flow controllers 620, 621, and 622, and gas filters 623, 624, and 625, all these constitute the process gas control pipelines. The number of process gas control pipelines is the same as that of the process gas supply piping lines. 638, 639, 645, 646, and 647 are process device piping lines, the piping system introducing process gas to the process device. 626, 627, and 628 are bypass lines, 640, 641, 642, and 651 are the exhaust pipelines for purge gas and vacuum exhaust pipelines of gas piping, 605 and 606 are purge gas exhaust pipelines, 607 is a vacuum exhaust pipeline, these are severally connected to the exhaust duct or the exhaust device. Generally, these piping lines are composed of 1/4" electropolished SUS 316L pipes.
Next, the function and the operation of the apparatus shown in FIG. 31 (a) are described with reference to FIG. 31 (b) through (f). Here, the supply of process gas from the process gas supply piping line 602 to the reaction chamber 601 is used as an example, and its operation is separately explained in points (1) to (5).
(1) When the Device Stops
As a general rule, when the process device is not used for the process gas, as shown in FIG. 31 (b), and when stop valves 608, 609, 610, 614, 615, 616, 617, 618, 619, 629, 630, 631, 635, 636, 637, 643, 644, 648, 649, 650, 654, 658, 659 and 663 are all in an open state, and stop valves 632, 633, 634, 652 and 653 are all in a closed state, the purge gas (e.g. Ar) passes from the process gas supply piping lines 602, 603, and 604 through needle valves 656 and 661 for flow regulation to the front of the reaction chamber of the process device; and all this time the purge gas inside the piping system is constantly flowing. The thick lines represent the flow of the gas.
(2) When Process Gas Is Substituted for Purge Gas
Next, in order to supply ultrapure process gas to the process apparatus, the operation of substituting the residual purge gas (e.g. Ar gas) in the supply piping system with process gas is carried out. First of all, from the state as shown in FIG. 31(b), close valves 658, 663, 654, 656, 659, and 661, then close valves 635, 636, 637, 649, and 650, and stop the supply of purge gas (e.g. Ar) from the process gas supply piping line 602. Subsequently, open valve 653, the process gas passes through the reaction chamber 601 to proceed with the vacuum exhaust discharge in process gas supply pipelines 638, 639, 645, 646, and 647; open valves 632 and 652, and use the vacuum exhaust pipeline 607 to engage in vacuum exhaust discharge in piping lines 626 and 640 as well as the piping lines of the cylinder-cabinet piping device (FIG. 31(c)). And valve 635 is in its original close state. After the degree of vacuum inside the piping lines reaches a degree of, say, 1.times.10.sup.-2 Torr, close valves 648 and 653. Then, open valve 635, and supply process gas from the process gas supply piping line 602 to fill the piping system with process gas (FIG. 31(d)). Next, stop the supply of process gas, open valves 648 and 653, and allow vacuum exhaust discharge, the same vacuum exhaust discharge for purge gas, to take place in the piping system (FIG. 31(c)). This supply of process gas from the process gas supply pipeline 602 and the vacuum exhaust discharge in the piping lines are generally repeated more than five times, and then close valves 608, 614, 617, 629, 632, 643, 644, 648, and 653.
(3) The Supply of Process Gas
After the above-mentioned operation, with valves 608, 617, 635, 643, 644, and 653 in their open state, regulate the supply pressure and flow of process gas by means of the pressure regulator 611 and the mass flow controller 620 and supply the process gas to the reaction chamber 601. Then close valve 652, open valves 649, 650, 659, 661, and 663, and begin anew the purging of piping lines 603 and 604, which have not supplied process gas. This state is as shown in FIG. 31(e).
(4) Stopping the Supply of Process Gas
Following, the method of stopping the supply of process gas is described. This operation is similar to that of the supplying process gas; not that process gas will substitute for purge gas, but that purge gas (e.g. Ar) will substitute for process gas. The supply of purge gas and the vacuum exhaust discharge in the piping lines are usually repeated more than five times in this operation. Then, close valves 608, 614, 617, 629, 632, 635, 643, 644, 648, 652, and 653, and supply purge gas from the process gas supply piping line 602. Next, open valves 608, 614, 617, 629, 635, 643, 644, 648, 654, 656, 658, 659, 661, and 663, and begin purging (FIG. 31(f)). When purging starts again from the system of piping lines 603 and 604, the state shown in FIG. 31(b) is obtained.
However, although, in the apparatus shown in FIG. 31(a), for instance, when process gas from the process gas supply pipeline 602 is supplied or checked, the substitution of purge gas with process gas or the substitution of process gas with purge gas is taking place. At this time piping lines 627, 641, 628, and 642 in the other cylinder gas cabinet piping devices 603 and 604 should allow no passage of purge gas, and they should be completely closed (FIGS. 31(c) (d)). Furthermore, when the process gas supply piping line 602 is supplying process gas, though purge gas is flowing in the piping system of the process gas supply piping lines 603 and 604, piping lines 626 and 640 for discharging exhaust of purge gas of the process gas supply piping line 602 and for vacuum exhaust discharge of the gas pipelines must be thoroughly closed (FIG. 31(e)). In this way, under the condition that the gas supply piping system is completely closed, the inside of the system will be contaminated by gas released chiefly from water moisture in the inner walls of the piping material.
FIG. 32 shows the dew point change in this kind of gas piping system when the system is practically sealed. In the system wherein the dew point has already been lowered to -98.degree. C. by means of subjecting the supply piping system to baking or the like, under the condition that gas is reintroduced 9 days after stopping the supply of gas, the dew point of the gas will rise to -42.degree. C., and 3 days are needed for it to resume its former value. Therefore, closing the gas supply piping system will pollute the inside of the piping system, hence becoming a big problem for the process apparatus of the gas supply system which requires ultrapure gases.
Furthermore, in the apparatus shown in FIG. 31(a), when supplying process gas from process gas supply piping line 602 (FIG. 31(e)), process gas supply piping lines 638 and 639 of the process gas supply piping lines 603 and 604 will become the dead zone for the gas, and hence no exchange of gas can take place, causing the reduction of the purity of the process gas supplied. Moreover, when supplying process gas from the process gas supply piping line 604, not only the piping lines 628 and 642, which are used for exhaust discharge of purge gas and vacuum exhaust discharge of the gas pipelines, but the process gas supply piping lines 638, 639, 645, and 646 are also closed; therefore, the pollution inside the pipelines becomes more severe (FIG. 31(g)). The known technique as described above illustrates the situation wherein there are three process gas supply piping lines; in real installation, the number is much greater, and hence the effect of pollution becomes worse.
Therefore, for a piping system which supplies a number of process gases to one single process apparatus, it is hoped that there is a systematic technique wherein purging and vacuum exhaust discharge can take place independently in each process gas supply pipeline and each piping line of the process apparatus, no dead zone of gas is created in the confluent part of each process gas supply piping line, and purge gas can be flowed continuously through an unused piping system.
In view of the above, the primary object of the present invention is to offer a gas supply piping system for a process apparatus of a structure wherein, when supplying a number of process gases to a process apparatus, residence of gas is completely absent in the piping system, and purging as well as vacuum exhaust discharge can independently proceed within each process gas supply piping system.

Gas supply piping device for a process apparatus


A hearing aid has improved immunity to RF electromagnetic interference produced from wireless communications devices. A microphone receives audio signals from the environment. Audio circuitry is connected to the microphone and amplifies the audio signals. A speaker is connected to the audio circuitry and directs the audio signals into an ear canal of the user of the hearing aid. The audio connection lines connect the microphone and audio circuitry and the speaker and audio circuitry. A filter is connected into each of the audio connection lines and operative for reducing the RF coupling from a wireless communications device.

When some mobile wireless communications devices or other wireless communications devices are used near some hearing aid devices, for example, a cochlear implant or a behind-the-ear (BTE) hearing aid having a tone hook and earmold, users often detect a buzzing, humming or whining noise, or other unwanted audible noise such as a Global System for Mobile communications (GSM) buzz, which can be annoying to users. Some hearing aids are more immune than others and have appropriate filters for suppressing this interference noise, while some phones vary in the amount of interference they generate.
The wireless telephone industry has developed ratings for some mobile phones to assist hearing aid users in finding a phone that is more compatible with their hearing aid. Not all phones have been rated, however, but typically, a phone should have a rating listed on its box or on a label on the box. These ratings are not guarantees and some results vary depending on the type of hearing aid and user hearing loss. Some ratings use an M-ratings scale with phones rated M3 or M4 meeting FCC requirements that are likely to generate less interference to hearing aids than phones that are not labeled. M4 is a higher rating. A T-ratings scale occurs with phones rated T3 or T4 meeting FCC requirements, and likely to be useable with a hearing aid telecoil ("T-switch" or "telephone switch") than unrated phones. T4 is the better quality. Some hearing aid devices, however, do not include telecoils. Also, some hearing aids can be measured for immunity to this type of interference.

Hearing aid having improved RF immunity to RF electromagnetic interference produced from a wireless communications device


A telecommunication system for wideband analog input video signals, data signals, facsimile signals, and the like which comprises a synchronous pixel analog modulator circuit for converting the wideband analog input signals into a multi-bit multi-level discrete code signal, and a transmission gate modulator circuit for modulating the multi-level discrete code signal on a carrier at high speed and within a limited bandwidth.

The present invention is concerned with a telecommunication system for the transmission and reception of wide band analog information signals such as video, data, facsimile signals, and the like.
The system of the invention was conceived for the purpose of transmitting and/or recording high definition video and audio signals and other data signals is particularly directed to a system, to be designated herein as a component direct transgated video (CDTV) system which provides for the pickup, processing, storage, transmission, reception and presentation of high speed data in analog mode.
The system of the invention was conceived for the purpose of transmitting and/or recording high definition video and audio signals and other data signals. The system was devised specifically for the purpose of transmitting high quality video information without the inherent problems encountered in prior art systems. The system of the invention responds to standard video information and operates in the component mode of red, green and blue, plus sync, audio and other components. The system allows a resolution of over 1600 lines per color. The system may be applied to existing communication systems such as satellite and wideband terrestrial. The uniqueness of the system, which will be discussed and explained, is that it provides a very narrow band transmission signature thus allowing stacking or multiple carrier utilization.
The input of the system is based on the utilization of video component channels, whether they be derived from standard signals such as NTSC, or originated or developed by an advanced camera technology. The signals are generated and processed through the system and transmitted via a carrier to a satellite, for example. The signals are then returned to the receiver portion of the system in which they are reconverted and displayed on standard monitors in red, green and blue, or projected on high resolution screens that can be constructed up to but not limited to 40 feet.
The resolution capability of the system is over 2400 lines per color. The signal-to-noise requirement for satellite use is about 24 db signal-to-noise ratio which is substantially half the requirements of conventional prior art television systems. Prior art television signals in standard transponders require about 56 db signal-to-noise ratio in order to produce a broadcast quality picture. Even with its signal-to-noise requirement of 24 db, the system of the invention provides a signal-to-noise ratio in video of about 60 to 65 db, even though the carrier only has a ratio of 24 db signal-to-noise ratio.
The audio portion of the processed signal may be carried in the form of a standard AES/EVU digital signal, and the system also carries, for example, command signals which are standard FM channels for sub-audio or informational codes. The system by its own uniqueness of operation provides its own encoding. The system allows interpolation to standard formats such as NTSC, PAL, SECAM by computer conversion, or interpolation of the component signals. The base frequencies of operation are designed so that existing formats and future formats of encoding systems such as SECAM or PAL operate on a base frequency to which the base frequency used in the system of the invention can be interpolated out at any given frame rate or field rate.
It is accordingly a general object of the present invention to provide a system which incorporates the features and advantages described above and which is capable of receiving signals from high speed data sources and of transmitting the signals without compressing or limiting the resolution or quality of the signals.
Another objective of the invention is to provide a system which incorporates a standard of encoding that is universal for presentation formats.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a system capable of expansion and integration of existing and future formats of data and information sources for transmission and storage.
A feature of the invention is the use of the component values of input video to maintain a 256 gray scale level, and a resolution of 1600 H by 1280 V pixels per color. A particular embodiment of the invention utilizes 640 H by 480 V component video with dual sub-carrier stereo audio, and AES/EBU data.
A general objective of the invention is to provide a system which is capable of pick-up, processing, storage, transmission, reception and presentation of high speed data in analog mode.
The system of the invention, unlike the prior art systems, does not require the large bandwidth commonly associated with the type of data communications under consideration. The system of the invention has a feature in that it permits, but is not limited to, the transmission and reception of non-compressed, ultra high resolution, video and multi-channel signals over existing communications satellites. Because of the narrow bandwidth requirements of the system of the invention, the signals may be stacked for multi-channel access without any corresponding loss of signal quality or resolution which is normally encountered when compression techniques are used.
The transmitter portion of the system of the invention includes a transmission gate modulator circuit, and a synchronous pixel analog modulator (SPAM) circuit. The synchronous pixel analog modulator circuit converts analog input signals into a 4-bit (GRBA) digital signal, and the transmission gate modulator circuit provides for the modulation of the 4-bit (GRBA) signal on a carrier generated at the transmitter. The analog input signals may, for example, be television, facsimile, data signals, and the like.
The transmission gate modulator circuit of the invention provides a unique mode of carrier modulation by high speed digitally encoded data within a limited bandwidth, this being achieved without loss of quality and without signal degradation. The circuit is designed to avoid inherent loss of signal quality due to harmonic aberrations which are encountered in most prior art modulators.
The transmission gate modulator circuit of the invention achieves its objectives through the use of digital techniques. Digital encoding of analog input signals is accomplished in the transmission gate modulator circuit by the synchronous pixel analog modulator (SPAM) circuit, which will be described in detail in the following specification. The SPAM circuit provides a standard of encoding of the analog input signals into a digital code which is universal for presentation formats.
The SPAM circuit uses the component values of input video signals to maintain a 256 gray scale level, and a resolution of 1600 H.times.1280 V pixels per color. The SPAM circuit utilizes synchronous comparison of the data levels of the analog input signals which are summed to provide a 4-bit 16-level continuous pixel perfect code. The transmission gate modulator circuit receives the digitally coded signals from the SPAM circuit and it triggers the enable gate of a phase coherent oscillator included in the transmission gate modulator circuit. The phase coherent oscillator is constructed to emit a phase coherent signal burst at a predetermined frequency which is directly proportional to the levels and timings of the digitally encoded trigger signals received from the SPAM circuit.

Telecommunication system for transmitting and receiving non-compressed high resolution analog signals


A locking device is disclosed for a door. In an embodiment, the locking device includes a locking slider which is slidable into at least two positions, wherein in the first position the door is locked and in the second position the door is released for opening; and includes a guide within which the locking slider is slidably arranged. The locking slider includes a door interrogator, wherein the door interrogator can be displaced by the door into at least two door interrogator positions, wherein in the first door interrogator position with the door closed the locking slider can be shifted into one of its at least two positions, and wherein in the second door interrogator position with the door open the locking slider cannot be shifted into the first position for locking the door.

The function of electrical switchgear such as circuit breakers is to decouple a number of power-consuming loads from a voltage supply network if a specific malfunction occurs. The classic malfunction is the occurrence of a short-circuit current, and traditionally the circuit breakers are designed to move a switching element in the event of such a short-circuit current and thereby decouple the connection between loads and network.
Electrical switchgear is usually installed in switchgear cabinets in order to provide protection therefor. Typically such a switchgear cabinet is arranged in the vicinity of a machine which is controlled by the electronic equipment housed inside the switchgear cabinet. In order to prevent unauthorized third parties from gaining access the electrical switchgear it is known to embody the switchgear cabinet doors as lockable. For activation and deactivation purposes the electrical switchgears are equipped with drives. In other words, the drives are arranged on the electrical switchgears and enable the electrical switchgears to be switched on and off. In this case use is made in particular of drives which are movable between a switch-on position and a switch-off position in order to activate or deactivate an electrical switchgear.
Examples of known drives include direct drives, door coupling rotary drives, sidewall rotary drives and motor drives. Mechanical door locking devices for rotary drives for electrical switchgear, such as low-voltage switchgear, are known for the purpose of protecting people. In this case the mechanical door locking device in direct drives, as an integral part of the direct drive, is released as part of the electrical switchgear. In door coupling rotary drives the mechanical door locking device is released as an integral part of the coupling element between shaft and operating handle. No mechanical door locking device is known in the case of sidewall rotary drives.
When electrical switchgears are in an energized state the switchgear cabinet door should be locked for safety reasons so that an operator cannot come into contact with live parts. Furthermore, the lock should ensure that the electrical switchgear can only be activated when the switchgear cabinet door is closed.
In prior art solutions switchgear cabinet doors are locked by way of door coupling rotary drives, expanded direct drives or direct drives. In order for said drives to be able to lock the switchgear cabinet door they must be mounted directly on or behind the switchgear cabinet door. So-called remote door locking devices can be used in the case of a remote arrangement of electrical switchgear and/or drive of the electrical switchgear and switchgear cabinet door. A problem in this situation is that prior art remote door locking devices cannot detect whether the switchgear cabinet door is open or closed.


A bracket for removably fastening a flexible web article to a generally planar support surface. The bracket includes first and second generally closed bands of approximate equivalent size adapted to grip the flexible web article and fastening element adapted for engagement with the support surface for affixing the closed bands thereto. The fastening element includes a first side portion having a surface adapted to attach to the support surface and an opposite second side portion which carries the closed bands in juxtaposition to each other. In one embodiment, the closed bands, in the form of two planar rings, are coupled to the second side portion in an abutted position to permit pivoting of each ring about the second side portion. In a second embodiment, an attachment band is carried by the second side portion and loops through two planar rings to fasten them to the fastening element. In a third embodiment, an attachment band which loops through two planar rings is swivelably coupled to the second side portion.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a support for affixing articles to relatively planar surfaces and more particularly to a bracket for removably attaching flexible web articles to vertical or horizontal surfaces.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Brackets have been provided for removably attaching flexible web articles such as towels or cloths to relatively planar surfaces. However, in general, these brackets do not fasten the article to the surface in a manner which precludes removal thereof by simply grasping the article. In fact, most towel and cloth racks are designed to permit ease of removal of the towel or cloth. Fastening devices have been provided which restrict removal of the article when grasped, but often require holes be formed in the article for hooking it to the device or that the article be tied about or similarly altered for attachment to the device. Still other fastening devices cannot be removably attached to the planar surface without scarring the surface and/or cannot be used for fastening the article to horizontal surfaces. Some of these devices, despite their techniques for retaining the article, allow the article to be easily removed from the device by children.
As can be seen from the foregoing, there is a need for a new and improved bracket for attaching towels, cloths and similar webbed articles to relatively planar surfaces which overcomes the disadvantages of the foregoing.
Of course, overlapping rings of the type disclosed herein have been used in belts and backpacks, but there has been no suggestion for using such rings for the purpose discussed herein.