An isolated gene having a DNA sequence coding for the polypeptide having a degrading activity of the sulfated-fucose-containing polysaccharide or having the functionally identical activity as above.

The present invention relates to genes which codes for polypeptide having a degrading activity of the sulfated-fucose-containing polysaccharide useful for Structural analysis of sulfated-fucose-containing polysaccharide and also for preparation of degraded products of the said polysaccharide; to a method for manufacturing the said polypeptide by means of genetic engineering; and to a polypeptide obtained by the said method.
The sulfated-fucose-containing polysaccharide derived from marine algae is a mixture of sulfated polysaccharides which is called fucoidan as a whole mainly consisting of fucose and that which contains galactose, glucuronic acid, xylose, mannose, glucose, etc. as well has been known. Types and amounts of such constituting sugars vary depending upon the type of the marine algae used as a material. For examples, there is a report where commercially available fucoidan manufactured by Sigma is divided into molecular species of as much as 13 [Carbohydrate Research, 255, 213xcx9c224 (1994)]. They are roughly classified into two types where one is that where uronic acid is not substantially contained but most of the constituting sugar is fucose and another is that where uronic acid is contained but fucose and mannose are contained as constituting sugars.
With regard to the biological activities of sulfated-fucose-containing polysaccharide, various activities such as potentiation of macrophage activity, inhibition of metastasis of cancer and anti-coagulation of blood have been reported. However, since sulfated-fucose-containing polysaccharide has several molecular species, it is necessary to investigate after separating and purifying the sulfated-fucose-containing polysaccharide for checking which molecular species have the real activity. However, in the conventional methods, it is not possible to separate sufficiently and, therefore, it is difficult to prepare a large amount of the product to be used as a pharmaceutical. In addition, sulfated-fucose-containing polysaccharide is a sulfated polysaccharide having a high molecular weight and, when it is used as a pharmaceutical as it is, there are problems in view of antigenicity, homogeneity, anticoagulant activity, etc. whereby it is said to be necessary that the sulfated-fucose-containing polysaccharide is to be degraded to some extent.
A method where sulfated-fucose-containing polysaccharide is enzymatically decomposed to prepare a low molecular products is advantageous since the reaction can be carried out under mild conditions and uniformly degraded products are obtained due to a substrate specificity of the enzyme. It has been reported already that awabi (ear shell or abalone), scallop, sea urchin, marine microbes, etc. produce the enzyme which degrades the sulfated-fucose-containing polysaccharide. However, such an enzyme is usually contained in living organisms only in small quantities and, in addition, there are plural sulfated-fucose-containing polysaccharide degrading enzymes therein whereby it is necessary to conduct various purifying steps for preparing a single enzyme. Moreover, amino acid sequences and genetic structures of those enzymes have not been clarified at all.
An object of the present invention is to offer the gene which codes for polypeptide having a degrading activity of the sulfated-fucose-containing polysaccharide which is useful for preparation and structural analysis of sulfated-fucose-containing polysaccharide and also for preparation of degraded sulfated-fucose-containing polysaccharide. It is also to offer a polypeptide being able to be manufactured by a genetic engineering means using the said gene and having a degrading activity of the sulfated-fucose-containing polysaccharide.
The present inventors have carried out an intensive investigation for the gene of microorganisms which produce the sulfated-fucose-containing polysaccharide degrading enzymes in order to clarify the amino acid sequence and base sequence of the polypeptide having a degrading activity of the sulfated-fucose-containing polysaccharide. As a result, they have clarified that there are each two types of gene coding for polypeptide, having a degrading activity of the sulfated-fucose-containing polysaccharide, derived from bacteria belonging to genus Alteromonas and Flavobacterium, respectively, elucidated their total base sequences, firstly clarified the amino acid sequence of the said polypeptide and succeeded in developing a method for an industrially advantageous manufacture of the polypeptide having a degrading activity of the sulfated-fucose-containing polysaccharide using the said gene whereupon they have accomplished the present invention.
Outline of the present invention will be that the first feature of the present invention relates to an isolated gene having a DNA sequence coding for the polypeptide having a degrading activity of the sulfated-fucose-containing polysaccharide or having the functionally identical activity as above.
The second feature of the present invention relates to a recombinant DNA containing the gene of the first feature of the present invention.
The third feature of the present invention relates to an expression vector where microorganisms, animal cells or plant cells in which the recombinant DNA of the second feature of the present invention is inserted as host cells.
The fourth feature of the present invention relates to a transformant which is transformed by the expression vector of the third feature of the present invention.
The fifth feature of the present invention relates to a method for the manufacture of polypeptide having a degrading activity of the sulfated-fucose-containing polysaccharide or that having the functionally identical activity as that, characterized in that, the transformant according to the fourth feature of the present invention is incubated and polypeptide having a degrading activity of the sulfated-fucose-containing polysaccharide or that having the functionally identical activity as that is collected from the incubated product.
The sixth feature of the present invention relates to a polypeptide having an amino acid sequence represented by any of the SEQ ID NO:1 to NO:4 of the Sequence Listing and having a degrading activity of the sulfated-fucose-containing polysaccharide or to a polypeptide having the functionally identical activity as that.

Enzymes capable of degrading a sulfated-fucose-containing polysaccharide and their encoding genes


A metallized uniaxially heat-shrinkable, biaxially oriented, multilayer film having a polypropylene-containing core layer comprising at least 70 wt. % of said multilayer film and at least one polyolefin-containing skin layer adjacent said core layer is prepared by biaxially orienting a coextrudate and thereafter orienting said coextrudate by stretching 10 to 40% in the machine direction. The core layer contains isotactic polypropylene and a modifier which reduces the crystallinity of the polypropylene by increasing chain imperfections or reducing isotacticity of the polypropylene-containing core. Such modifiers can be selected from the group consisting of atactic polypropylene, syndiotactic polypropylene, ethylene-propylene copolymer, propylene-butene-1 copolymer, ethylene-propylene-butene-1 terpolymer, and linear low density polyethylene. The skin layer can be high density polyethylene or ethylene-propylene-butene-1 terpolymer. A metallized layer, such as aluminum, is deposited on the corona treated skin layer.

The present invention relates to the field of polymer films and, more particularly to a uniaxially heat shrinkable biaxially oriented polypropylene film.
As noted in U.S. Pat. No. 4,194,039, polyolefins can be used to prepare shrink films for wrapping purposes. Other suitable synthetic resins include various ionomers, polyvinyl chlorides, polyesters, polystyrenes and polyvinylidene chlorides.
A shrink film's distinguishing characteristic is its ability upon exposure to some level of heat to shrink or, if restrained, to create shrink tension within the film. This ability is activated by the packager when the wrapped product is passed through a hot air or hot water shrink tunnel. The resulting shrinkage of the film results in an aesthetically pleasing transparent or opaque wrapping which conforms to the contour of the product while providing the usual functions required of packaging materials such as protection of the product from loss of components, pilferage, or damage due to handling and shipment. Typical items wrapped in polyolefin shrink films are toys, games, sporting goods, stationery, greeting cards, hardware and household products, office supplies and forms, foods, phonograph records, and industrial parts.
The manufacture of shrink films requires relatively sophisticated equipment including extrusion lines with "racking" capability, irradiation units when cross-linking is desired, tenter frames, mechanical centerfolders, and slitters. "Racking" or "tenter framing" are conventional orientation processes which cause the film to be stretched in the cross or transverse direction and in the longitudinal or machine direction. The films are usually heated to their orientation temperature range which varies with different polymers but is usually above room temperature and below the polymer's melting temperature. After being stretched, the film is rapidly cooled to quench it thus freezing the molecules of film in their oriented state. Upon heating, the orientation stresses are relaxed and the film will begin to shrink back to its original, unoriented dimension.
Certain applications, e.g., labeling, covering, or packaging of materials such as boxes, plates, vessels, bottles, tubes, cylindrical material, e.g., pipes, and rods, etc. are especially susceptible to covering with heat shrinkable films. However, in certain situations it is desirable to effect shrinkage along a single axis without substantial shrinkage in the cross-direction. For example, in the process of labeling bottles by shrinking a tube of heat shrinkable material, if the film shrinks along its length, the label may not be placed in the right position but rather placed at above the desired position upon shrinkage. Moreover, printing and other conversion processes of such label surfaces require heat stability in substantially one direction to meet machinability requirements. Uniaxially shrinkable materials can also be used in preparing tightly wrapped containers by lap heat sealing or lap hot melt adhesive sealing uniaxially shrinkable film resulting in shrink down of the wrapping.
In order to obtain uniaxially shrinkable materials it is possible to employ uniaxially oriented materials, i.e., materials which are oriented in only one direction. However, uniaxially oriented film can lack the requisite strength and toughness necessary for use in such applications. Inasmuch as biaxially oriented films exhibit desirable strength and tear resistance in both directions of orientation, it would be desirable to obtain a uniaxially heat shrinkable film which is biaxially oriented and thus substantially stable in the cross-direction.
For more detailed disclosures of heat shrinkable films, reference may be had to aforesaid U.S. Pat. No. 4,194,039, as well as U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,808,304; 4,188,350; 4,377,616; 4,390,385; 4,448,792; 4,582,752; and 4,963,418, all of which are incorporated herein by reference.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,292,561 (corresponding to EPA 0498249) discloses a process for producing polyolefin shrink films having high unidirectional shrinkage (at least 10% longitudinal shrinkage and less than 2% transverse shrinkage at 100.degree. C.) under conditions comprising an MD reorientation mechanical MD/TD draw ratio between 1.01 and 7.5. The base layer of the films contain propylene polymer and optionally, hydrogenated hydrocarbon resin.
EPA 0204843 discloses a low temperature shrinkable film comprising linear low-density polyethylene resin having film shrink properties of 30% or more MD and 5% or less TD at 90.degree. C., which is prepared by drawing the film at a high draw ratio (3 to 6) in the machine direction.
EPA 0321964 describes a process for extruding a shrink film from a linear low density copolymer of ethylene and at least one alpha-olefin having 3 to 6 carbon atoms to provide a material which exhibits shrinkage at 135.degree. C. of at least 30% MD and at least 10% TD.
EPA 0477742 discloses a transparent polypropylene shrink film which exhibits shrinkage at 100.degree. C. of at least 10% MD and less than 2% TD. The polypropylene comprises a 15% or less, preferably 2 to 6% n-heptane soluble component.
EPA 0299750 discloses a mono- or biaxially stretched film having a heat shrinkage of 20% or more in one of the longitudinal and transverse directions and 60% or more in the other direction. The film comprises principally a linear polyethylene and optionally, a branched low-density polyethylene.
EPA 0595270 discloses a heat sealable laminate having high unidirectional shrinkage produced from biaxially oriented polymeric film such as biaxially oriented polypropylene or blends of polypropylene and copolymers of propylene with minor amounts of ethylene or an alpha-olefin. Uniaxial shrinkability is achieved by balancing MD reorientation process variables such as temperature, draw ratio, line speed, and oriented polymer film properties. Heat sealability is imparted by the presence of a heat seal layer.
By utilizing a metallized label, containers of different construction can be given the same appearance as a standard aluminum can. For this look to be effective the label must wrap completely around the container and conform to the shape of the container.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a metallized uniaxially heat shrinkable, biaxially oriented multilayer film comprising a polypropylene core.

Metallized uniaxially shrinkable biaxially oriented polypropylene film


Flushing cache memory of dirty metadata in a plurality of file systems without either letting the caches reach their maximum capacity, or using so much of the total system IO process bandwidth that host system IO process requests are unreasonably delayed, may include determining the length of an interval between sync operations for each individual one of the plurality of file system, and how to divide a system wide maximum sync process IO operation bandwidth fairly between various ones of the plurality of file systems. A computer dynamically measures overall system operation rates, and calculates an available portion of a current calculated sync operation bandwidth for each file system. The computer also measures file system operation rates and determines how long a time period should be between sync operations in each file system.

Host systems writing data to a persistent memory device or storage system, typically a persistent memory or non-volatile data memory media such as a magnetic hard disk drive (HDD), an electronic flash drive (EFD), or a solid state disk (SSD), may use what is known as a storage processor (SP) system to control how the input and output operations (IO) from the host system are transmitted to the storage system. The storage processors (SP) may have many parallel file systems operating in one, or in a plurality of SP systems, that perform the data mapping and data format translations needed for transmitting IO operations from the host system to the storage system. The SP file system operations may generate and also keep track of various pieces of information about the IO data that the SP file system is sending to the storage media. This data about the data being handled in the SP file system may be known as metadata. Metadata may be information about inode tables, block metadata (BMD), slice mapping, special block data, file type, and other forms of information about the data, and may be temporarily stored in a cache memory in the SP file system.
The SP file system may temporarily locally store the generated metadata to a cache buffer memory location in the SP file system, and the SP file system may mark the buffer as being dirty, since the metadata in the SP file system buffer is now not the same as in the storage system due to the handling by the SP file system, i.e., the data is not synchronized. The SP file system may perform what may be known as a sync operation, for example every 10 to 40 seconds to sync the metadata. These sync operations require that a selected portion of the total IO process bandwidth be dedicated to the IO needed for the sync operation, and thus may reduce the total number of IO processes available for host read and write (R/W) requests. This may increase the host latency time for IO operations in high usage situations.
The sync operation for the flushing of dirty metadata from a cache memory to the persistent memory needs to occur often enough for the cache to remain available, and yet not use so many IO operations that the host IO operations are delayed.

Managing metadata synchronization for reducing host system latency in a storage system


A system and method for detecting a seat belt violation in a vehicle. The method may include receiving an image including a region of interest where a seat belt is visible if the seat belt is buckled. One or more first features may be extracted from the image. The one or more first features may be compared to one or more second features extracted from a plurality of sample images. It may be determined whether the seat belt is buckled in the image based upon the comparison.

It is a traffic violation in most states when a passenger in the front seat of a moving vehicle does not have his or her seat belt fastened. As used herein, "passenger" refers to any person in the front seat of the vehicle, whether on the "driver's side" or the "passenger's side." In the majority of states (e.g., 33 states), seat belt violations are primary enforcement laws, meaning that an officer may stop and ticket a passenger for not wearing a seat belt, even when no other violations have occurred.
One current practice for enforcement involves police officers on the roadside visually examining passing vehicles to determine whether the front seat passenger has the seat belt fastened. Another practice involves a police officer or other operator examining video from a remote location to determine whether the front seat passenger has the seat belt fastened. Both of these practices, however, are expensive, difficult, and do not have a high detection rate. What is needed, therefore, is an improved system and method for detecting seat belt violations.

System and method for detecting seat belt violations from front view vehicle images


A prefetch mechanism using prefetch attributes is disclosed. In one aspect, an explicit request for data stored in a memory is provided, and a prefetch attribute in a page table entry associated with the explicit request is examined to determine whether to provide one or more prefetch requests based on the prefetch attribute. Another aspect includes determining dynamic prefetch attributes for use in prefetching data, in which prefetch attributes are adjusted based on memory access requests that target next sequential blocks of memory relative to the most recent previous access in a page of memory.

Typical processor system designs use various cache techniques to minimize the effects of memory access latency on processor performance. A cache is a smaller block of memory than main memory that can be accessed faster than memory levels organized beneath it. When a block of memory is accessed from lower levels such the main memory, it can be copied into the cache. Future accesses to that memory can retrieve the data more quickly from the cache than from main memory, creating much less likelihood that the processor will stall when waiting for data to be fetched from memory.
Prefetching of data or instructions prior to explicit requests for that data from the processor is a technique that is sometimes used in conjunction with a cache, in an attempt to improve cache effectiveness. Prefetching obtains data from memory and makes it available to the processor in the cache before potential accesses to the data occur from the processor executing instructions, thus reducing memory latency. Cache lines (contiguous blocks of data in a cache, each fetched as a unit) can be brought into the cache preemptively, before a demand miss occurs to those lines in which the data requested by the processor is not in the cache.
Requests for prefetching data are typically based on previous explicit requests. For example, if an explicit request from the processor is for a particular block in memory, then a prefetch request following that explicit request can issue a read command to memory for the next sequential block of data after the explicitly-requested block. The prefetch request is typically for a block the size of a cache line.
Prefetching can be very effective for some scenarios, such as sequential code execution, sequential data access, or stack operations. However, prefetching may actually be detrimental to performance for other scenarios, such as a function call to a short procedure, non-sequential or random data access, linked list processing, or a regular stride (distance in bytes between accesses) greater than one cache line through a large data structure. Thus, it is useful to be able to distinguish the scenarios in which prefetching is efficient, and scenarios in which prefetching is detrimental.
Prior solutions to determine the value of prefetching for particular data involves a hardware prefetch mechanism that examines a number of accesses by the processor to memory and examines access patterns. From these patterns, the prefetch mechanism could determine which data was sequentially accessed and/or likely to be accessed in the future, and prefetch that data in the detected sequence. However, a problem with this method is that the prefetch mechanism must not prefetch any data for several initial accesses, before any pattern is detected. Thus, there are several missed opportunities for prefetching data that are missed, causing less optimal performance. In addition, prior mechanisms may have difficulty in detecting a stride in the processor accesses other than one cache line. Strides of greater than one cache line might be used, but the prefetch mechanism might have to examine several accesses before an unusual stride is detected, at which point it can prefetch data at the correct stride addresses.
Cache touch instructions can potentially be useful for some of the scenarios that are not handled well with prefetching. Cache touch instructions, when executed by the processor, can prefetch data that will be needed after a few iterations, e.g., the touch prefetches data from the next cache block. However, compilers are seldom effective at using cache touch instructions.
Accordingly, what is needed is an apparatus and method for providing prefetching of data and instructions that is more reliable and efficient than the prior prefetching techniques. The present invention addresses such a need.

Prefetch mechanism based on page table attributes

International Business Machines Corporation


A blend of bonding polyester with an acid resistant polyester and heat dispersant filler providing a liner especially suitable for concrete structure subjected to acidic environments. The blend can also be used in combination with aggregate or fibers to be extruded or molded into articles which are substitutes for conventional concrete.

The protection of construction materials from the corrosive effects of chemicals in the environment has always received a great deal of attention from not only the designers of buildings, dams, piers, hydraulic systems, and storage vessels but also from the owners who want low maintenance structures and systems that remain in operating condition for long periods of time. Coatings, liners, paints, and various surface treatments have all been employed with varying degrees of success, and any chipping, cracking, pinholes, or delamination in the coatings or liners usually leads to rapid deterioration of the underlying surface.
Perhaps the most widely used construction material today, other than wood, is concrete and this is in part due to its cost, formability, and its resistance to adverse conditions. Among the adverse conditions which give the most challenge to designers of concrete structures are those conditions encountered in the handling of waste water and sewerage.
While concrete is widely used in waste water collection and treatment facilities, it is subject to significant corrosive attack when exposed, unprotected, to sulfide generation in waste water. Sources of sulfides in waste water include unregulated industrial discharges, degradation of sulfur-containing organic material, and the microbiological reduction of other forms of sulfur. Urban development and the construction of regional collection and treatment centers has increased waste water travel time in collection systems which consequently increases the opportunity for sulfide generation.
Hydrogen sulfide is a major portion of the odor associated with manholes and waste treatment facilities and it is toxic and corrosive. For concrete, the corrosion process begins with the oxidation of hydrogen sulfide to sulfuric acid. The acid subsequently reacts with the limestone based cement binder in the concrete thus weakening the surface structure leading to the deterioration of manholes, lift stations, and other exposed concrete surfaces.
In the past, a number of solutions to the problem of concrete corrosion have been sought. One early attempt employed vitrified clay liners, but these proved unsatisfactory. More recently, many epoxy coatings have been tested but these tend to fail wherever exposure to significant sulfuric acid attack occurs. Perhaps the most satisfactory protective system developed so far has been the application of pre-formed polyvinyl chloride (PVC) liners to concrete surfaces during construction. While this solution may hold promise for some new concrete construction, there are drawbacks such as handling and properly aligning the PVC sections, sealing the seams, the cost of sufficiently rigid and large diameter PVC structures, and the lack of a water-tight bond between the PVC liner and the underlying concrete which provides space for moisture and condensation to collect.
Furthermore, there is yet to be found any clear cut satisfactory method or materials for rehabilitating existing corroded concrete surfaces, particularly manholes. The current practice of coring out a manhole, inserting a PVC liner, and filling the resulting cavity between the liner and cored out wall with concrete grout has not proven to be a satisfactory solution as the grout tends to crack, become filled with moisture, and allow movement of the liner, requiring additional costly repair.
Another problem in rehabilitation efforts is that these projects do not readily allow for down time, so that conventional concrete surface repair using cement cannot easily take place. Thus, one object of the present invention is to devise a coating that bonds to concrete even while wet and provides protection from sulfuric and other acids.
While bonding coatings and liners have been used in the past, one of the problems is applying the coating so there are no cracks or pinholes. It is through these pinholes that acid can penetrate into the underlying concrete surface. Thus, it is another object of the present invention to provide a concrete liner which is resistant to pinhole and crack formation.
In a report entitled "Evaluation of Protective Coatings for Concrete" by John A Redner, et.al. of the County Sanitation District of Los Angeles County, Wittier, Calif. dated February 1995, it is concluded that: "To survive, the coating not only has to be acid proof and able to bond to the concrete substrate, but it also has to be applicator friendly." Therefore, it is still another object of the present invention to provide a composition which can be readily and successfully applied to concrete surfaces under varying conditions and with a high rate of success.
In the above report by Redner, et.al., the known concrete coatings were placed in the following categories: coal tar, coal tar mortar, concrete sealer, epoxy, epoxy mortar, liner, phenolic, polyester, polyester mortar, polyurea, silicone, specialty concrete, urethane, vinyl ester, and vinyl ester mortar. None of these proved satisfactory in all aspects.
It is, thus, yet another object of the present invention to provide for the application of polyester resin blended in a unique manner not previously employed and to achieve a degree of success not previously available with polymeric resins.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a concrete liner which can be applied to a concrete surface having an acidic or basic surface, i.e. a pH which is either greater or less than 7.
One further object of the present invention is to provide a binder matrix into which aggregate or reinforcing material can be added in order to form molded, extruded, or cast articles which are substitutes for conventional concrete.
The foregoing and other objects are achieved by the present invention which is described below.


A pipe coupling (1) comprising a tubular body (2) having at least one open end (3,4,5), a stop component (14) disposed within the tubular body distal to the open end to stop a pipe when it is inserted a predetermined distance into the tubular body. A sealing component (15) is intermediate the stop and the open end and a pipe engaging component (17) is disposed intermediate the sealing component and the open end having a variable diameter to clamp and release an inserted pipe as a result of the diameter of the pipe engaging component reducing and increasing respectively. A pipe release component (21) is disposed intermediate the pipe engaging component and the open end, the pipe release component being movably mounted on the open end and having a pipe clamping position.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a pipe coupling and in particular to a pipe coupling for connecting to at least one pipe in a fluid tight manner.
2. Description of Prior Art
Traditionally, copper pipes have been joined by plumbers who clean the insides of pipe fittings and the ends of the pipes to be inserted into the pipe fittings with wire wool. Flux is then applied to the inside of the pipe fitting with a brush and the clean end of the pipe is pushed inside the pipe fitting. Some of the fittings already have solder inside although it is recommended to add extra solder. The plumber heats a piece of solder wire off a coil with a burner and locates the heated solder against the joint of the pipe and the pipe fitting. Capillary action draws the solder into the joint and seals the joint. In recent times, a variety of push-fit solder free fittings have been produced for both plastic and copper pipes in order to reduce the time required to install plumbing fixtures and fittings.


The present invention relates to an LCD module and an LCD device that minimizes movement of a light guide plate. In an embodiment of the present invention, the light guide plate has catching jaws and projections. The catching jaws are formed by cutting at least one corner of an end portion of the light guide plate. The projections extend outwardly from sidewalls of the catching jaws, which have a thinner thickness than the catching jaws. A mold frame receives the light guide plate and the lamp unit and has catching bosses and recesses. The catching bosses are formed at positions corresponding to the catching jaws on a bottom surface of the mold frame to engage with the catching jaws to fix the light guide plate in the mold frame. The recesses are formed at respective positions corresponding to the projections at sidewalls of the mold frame to receive the projections.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a liquid crystal display (LCD) device, and more particularly to a LCD module and a LCD device that can minimize the movement of a light guide plate received in a mold frame by improving the structure of the light guide plate and the mold frame of the LCD device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, an information processing device has been developed to have various shapes, various functions, and a rapid information processing speed. The information processed in the information processing device has an electrical signal. In order to confirm the information processed in the information processing device with the naked eye, a display device that functions as an interface device is needed.
Recently, a LCD device that is lighter, and smaller than a CRT type display device has been developed. The LCD device now displays a full color spectrum in a high resolution. As a result, the LCD device is widely used as a computer monitor, a television receiver, and other display devices.
The LCD device applies a voltage to a liquid crystal layer to change the molecular arrangement of the liquid crystal layer. The LCD device changes the optical properties in the liquid crystal and uses the modulation of a light by using a liquid crystal cell.
There are two kinds of LCD devices: a TN (Twisted Nematic) type, and an STN (Super-Twisted Nematic) type. Also, they can be grouped into an active matrix display type that uses a switching device and a TN liquid crystal, and a passive matrix display type that uses a STN liquid crystal according to the driving type.
The active matrix display method is used in a TFT-LCD and drives an LCD by using a thin film transistor (TFT) as a switch. The passive matrix display method does not use any transistor and does not require a complex circuit.
Further, LCD devices are grouped into a transmissive LCD device that uses a backlight and a reflective LCD device that uses an exterior light source, according to a method for using a light source.
The transmissive LCD device using the back light as a light source is relatively heavy and voluminous due to the back light, but it is widely used since it does not use an exterior light source and displays an image independently from the exterior light source.
FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view schematically showing a conventional LCD device. FIG. 2 is a partial exploded perspective view of the LCD device shown in FIG. 1.
Referring to FIG. 1, the LCD device 900 has a LCD module 700 to which an image signal is applied to display an image, and a front case 810 and a rear case 820 for receiving the LCD module 700.
The LCD module 700 has a display unit 710, which includes a LCD panel for displaying the image.
The display unit 710 has a LCD panel 712, an integrated and printed circuit board 714, a data side tape carrier package 716, and a gate side flexible circuit board 718 manufactured by the COF (chip-on-film) method.
The LCD panel 712 has a TFT substrate 712a, a color filter substrate 712b, and a liquid crystal layer (not shown) interposed therebetween.
The TFT substrate 712a is a transparent glass substrate on which TFTs are formed in a matrix shape. Data lines are connected to source terminals of the TFTs, and gate lines are connected to gate terminals of the TFTs. Pixel electrodes of indium tin oxide (ITO), which is a transparent conductive material, are formed on drain terminals.
If electrical signals are inputted to the data lines and to the gate lines, the electrical signals are inputted to the source terminals and to the gate terminals of TFTs and the TFTs are turned on or off so that electrical signals for forming pixels are outputted to the drain terminals.
The color filter substrate 712b is attached to the TFT substrate 712a. RGB pixels that pass light through to realize color display are formed on the color filter substrate 712b by a thin film process. A common electrode comprised of ITO is coated on the front surface of the color filter board 712b.
If electric power is applied to the gate terminals and to the source terminals of the transistors and the TFTs are turned on, an electric field is formed between the pixel electrode on the TFT substrate and the common electrode of the color filter substrate. The arrangement angles of the liquid crystals injected between the TFT substrate 712a and the color filter substrate 714b are changed by the electric field, and the light passages are changed due to the arrangement angle changes to obtain a desired pixel status.
A driving signal and a timing signal are applied to the gate line and to the data line of the TFT to control the arrangement of the liquid crystal of the LCD panel 712 and the timing when the liquid crystal is arranged. The data side tape carrier package 716, which is a kind of flexible circuit board for determining the timing when the data driving signal is applied, is attached to the source side of the LCD panel 712, and the gate side flexible circuit board 718 manufactured by the COF method for determining the time when the gate driving signal is applied is attached to the gate side of the LCD panel 712.
The integrated and printed circuit board 714 for receiving image signals from outside of the LCD panel 712, and for applying driving signal to the gate line and to the data line, is connected to the data tape carrier package 716 of the data line side of the LCD panel 712. The integrated printed circuit board 714 has a source portion to which the image signals generated from an exterior information processing device (not shown), such as a computer, are applied to provide the data driving signals to the LCD panel 712 and a gate portion for providing the gate driving signals to the gate line of the LCD panel 712. Namely, the integrated printed circuit board 714 generates the gate driving signals for driving the LCD device, the data signals, and a plurality of timing signals for applying the signals. The gate signals are applied to the gate line of the LCD panel 712 through the gate side flexible circuit board 718, and the data signals are applied to the data line of the LCD panel 712 through the data tape carrier package 716.
A back light assembly 720 for providing a uniform light to the display unit 710 is provided under the display unit 710. The back light assembly 720 has a lamp 721, which is provided on one side of the LCD module 700 to generate the light. The lamp 721 is protected by a lamp cover 722. A light guide plate 724 has a size corresponding to the LCD panel 712 of the display unit 710, and is located under the LCD panel 712. The lamp side of the light guide plate 724 is thicker than the other side opposite to the lamp side, and it guides the light generated by the lamp 721 towards the display unit 710 to change the passage of the light.
A plurality of optical sheets 726, for making the luminance of the light irradiated from the light guide plate 724 and passed towards the LCD panel 712 uniform, are provided above the light guide plate 724. A reflection plate 728, for reflecting the light leaked from the light guide plate 724 to increase the efficiency, is provided under the light guide plate 724.
The display unit 710 and the back light assembly 720 are fixed and supported by a mold frame 730 that is a receiving receptacle. The mold frame 730 has a box-shape, and the upper surface of the mold frame 730 is open. That is, the mold frame 730 has four side walls and a bottom surface, and openings, for bending the integrated printed circuit board 714 along the outer side surface of the mold frame 730 and positioning the integrated printed circuit board 714, are formed on the lower surface of the bottom.
A chassis 740 for bending the integrated printed circuit board 714 of the display unit 710 and the gate tape carrier package 718 outside of the mold frame 730, and for fixing the integrated printed circuit board 714 of the display unit 710 and the gate tape carrier package 718 to the bottom surface of the mold frame 730 to prevent the deviation of the display unit 710, is provided. The chassis 740 has a box-shape in the same manner as a mold frame 730. The upper surface of the chassis 740 is opened to expose the LCD panel 710, and the side walls are bent inwardly to cover the upper surface peripheral portion of the LCD panel 710.
On the other hand, referring to FIG. 2, first and second catching bosses 731 and 732 are integrally formed with the mold frame 730 on the corner portions of the mold frame on which the lamp 721 (see FIG. 1) is installed in the receiving space of the mold frame 730. The corner of an end portion, which is located on the side of the lamp 721 in the light guide plate 724 received in the mold frame 730, is cut off to form first and second catching jaws 724a and 724b.
FIG. 3 shows the state in which the light guide plate shown in FIG. 2 is received in the mold frame. FIG. 4 is a partially enlarged view of section "P1" showing the fixing structure of the light guide plate shown in FIG. 3 and the mold frame. FIG. 5 is a top view showing the size of the light guide plate shown in FIG. 3.
Referring first to FIG. 3, if the light guide plate 724 is received in the mold frame 730, the first and second catching jaws 724a and 724b are engaged with the first and second catching bosses 731 and 732. Therefore, even when exterior impacts are applied to the LCD device 900, the light guide plate 724 does not move towards the lamp 721 due to the presence of first and second catching bosses 731 and 732.
However, it is now desirable for the thickness of the side wall of the mold frame 730 to become thinner so as to minimize the size of the LCD device 900. Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the width of the light guide plate 724 of the end portion of the side of the lamp 721 is identical to the width of the end portion of the opposite end portion. That is, width W1 equals width W2. Therefore, it is not easy to sufficiently guarantee the thickness of the first and second catching bosses 731 and 732 that are integrally formed with the mold frame 730. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 4, the catching force of the first and second catching jaws 724a and 724b of the light guide plate 724 and the first and second catching bosses 731 and 732 of the mold frame 730 can not be sufficiently guaranteed so that preventing the light guide plate 724 from moving towards the lamp 721 is difficult.
On the other hand, if the width of the light guide plate 724 increases by the gap between the light guide plate 724 and the mold frame 730 to guarantee the catching force (i.e., by width W3), the catching force of the first and second catching jaws 724a and 724b and the first and second catching bosses 731 and 732 can be obtained. However, without the gap between the light guide plate 724 and the mold frame 730, the thermal expansion space of the light guide plate 724 according to the temperature change and the humidity change cannot be guaranteed, thereby greatly inducing the folding phenomenon. Especially, in the wedge type light guide plate 724 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, since the thermal expansion rate is large at the portion where the light guide plate 724 is thin, the sufficient gap between the light guide plate 724 and the mold frame 730 is necessary.
On the other hand, even though it is not shown in the figure, the movement of the light guide plate 724 can be prevented by protruding a portion of both side surfaces of the light guide plate 724, forming a boss, and forming a recess at a position that corresponds to the boss on both side walls of the mold frame 730. However, in that case, it is not easy to guarantee the catching force between the boss and the recess and to prevent the light inputted from the lamp 721 from being concentrated at a corner portion defined by the boss and the recess.


An apparatus for measuring a fouling resistance and a cleanliness factor of heat-transfer surface and which is capable of continuously and accurately monitoring a build-up degree of deposits on a heat-transfer surface of a heat exchanger includes a fouling sensor having a given length of metal wire wound inside the heat-transfer surface for measuring an average temperature of the heat-transfer surface, a direct current voltage supply member for supplying a voltage to a heating wire of the fouling sensor, an accurate resistance measuring member connected with a temperature measuring metal wire of the fouling sensor for measuring an electrical resistance of the metal wire, an inlet/outlet portion water temperature measuring member for measuring the temperatures of the inlet/outlet portions of the apparatus, a water flow rate measuring member, and a data calculation apparatus for computing a fouling resistance and a cleanliness factor of a heat-transfer surface.

1. Application Fields of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for monitoring fouling resistance and cleanliness factor of a heat-transfer surface of a heat exchanger, and in particular, to an improved system for monitoring the precise fouling tendency on a heat-transfer surface of a heat exchanger and a method thereof which are capable of continuously and accurately observing scale deposition in a heat exchanger due to hardness components and suspended solids contained in cooling water by measuring an average temperature on the heat-transfer surface of a heat exchanger.
2. Description of the Conventional Art
A plurality of heat exchangers are used in cooling systems of power plants, and petro-chemical plants. Since there are various impurities in cooling water such as dusts, suspended solids, microorganisms, and metal oxides, when cooling water containing impurities flows in the heat exchanger, scales and deposits are usually formed on a high temperature heat-transfer surface or in a low flow rate zone of the heat exchanger. The thusly-formed scales cause a decrease in heat-transfer efficiency of the heat exchanger and increase the flow resistance of a liquid.
Scale components which cause deposit formation on a heat-transfer surface of a heat exchanger include minerals such as calcite, whitlockits, gypsum, sepiolite, iron oxides, silica, etc. These scales are produced by the following chemical reactions.
i) Calcite EQU Ca.sup.+2 +2HCO.sup.-.sub.3 .fwdarw.CaCO.sub.3 +CO.sub.2 +H.sub.2 O
ii) Hydroxyapatite/whitlockits EQU 5Ca.sup.+2 +3HPO.sup.-2.sub.4 +4OH.sup.- .fwdarw.3H.sub.2 O+Ca.sub.5 (PO.sub.4).sub.3 OH
iii) Gypsum EQU Ca.sup.+2 +SO.sup.-2.sub.4 +2H.sub.2 O.fwdarw.CaSO.sub.4.2H.sub.2 O
iv) Sepiolite EQU 2Mg.sup.+2 +3Si(OH).sub.4 +4OH.sup.- .fwdarw.4.5H.sub.2 O+Mg.sub.2 Si.sub.3 O.sub.7.5 (OH).3H.sub.2 O
As shown in Table 1, since the above-described scale components have relatively low heat-transfer coefficients compared to metals, when such scale components deposit on the heat-transfer surface of the heat exchanger, the heat-transfer efficiency of the heat exchanger decreases.
TABLE 1 ______________________________________ heat-transfer coefficients of typical metals and scales Classification Thermal transfer coefficient ______________________________________ Metal Al-Brass 700 Cu--Ni (70:30) 310 Scale Calcite 3 Whitlockits 26 Gypsum 18 Oxidized steel 7 ______________________________________
Therefore, in order to prevent the efficiency of the heat exchanger from decreasing due to scale deposits on the heat-transfer surface of the heat exchanger, a fouling monitoring system is used. The water treatment method of a cooling system can be improved based on the thusly-measured results which are obtained by the fouling monitor, and a proper cleaning period of the heat exchanger tube and an efficiency of the heat exchanger are determined.
In addition, Table 2 illustrates the operation values of fouling resistances of the heat exchanger which is generally applied in the industry. As shown therein, the fouling resistance coefficients are different in accordance with the kinds of liquids which pass through the heat exchanger. Actually, during the operation of the heat exchanger, the heat exchanger should be operated within the permitted fouling resistance values thereof so that the heat exchanger is not fouled excessively, whereby it is possible to obtain the design efficiency of heat exchangers.
TABLE 2 ______________________________________ Typical operation limits of heat exchanger fouling resistance Tube-side liquid.backslash. Two-phase state of Cell-side liquid Vapor Liquid Vapor and liquid ______________________________________ Vapor 3.9 5.1 6.0 Liquid 5.1 6.7 7.9 Two-phase state of 4.8 5.1 6.5 vapor and liquid ______________________________________
With a conventional method for monitoring the fouling resistance of the heat exchanger due to the impurities contained in water, the deposit formation conditions on the heat-transfer surface of a heat exchanger can be visually observed or a surface analysis of the heat exchanger tube can be performed or the deposit weight thereon can be measured. However, with these methods, it is impossible to continuously monitor deposit formation while the system is being operated. In order to monitor the fouling resistance, the operation of the system should be shut down.
In addition, in order to overcome the above-described problems, an apparatus is disclosed for monitoring a deposit build-up by inserting a thermocouple in the heat-transfer surface of the heat exchanger. FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional apparatus for checking deposit formation on the heat-transfer surface of the heat exchanger. As shown therein, in an inlet of the apparatus an inlet temperature sensor 1 and an outlet temperature sensor 2 are installed for measuring the temperature of the inlet and output portions of the apparatus. A temperature sensor (thermocouple, Pt-100.OMEGA., thermister) 6 is inserted in the heat-transfer surface 5 of the heat exchanger disposed within an outer circumferential surface of the heating element 4, which generates heat by power supplied from a power supply unit 1, and then the temperature variation of the heat-transfer surface is measured, thus checking the fouling resistance of the heat exchanger.
As shown in FIG. 1, in the conventional apparatus for monitoring a deposit formation an inlet temperature sensor and an outlet temperature sensor 2 are disposed in inlet and outlet portions of the apparatus for measuring water temperature. A temperature sensor [(thermocouple), Pt-100.OMEGA., thermister] 6 is inserted in a heat-transfer surface 5 of a heat exchanger on an outer circumferential surface of a heating element 4 which generates heat by electric power supplied from a power supply unit 3, so that a temperature variation of the heat-transfer surface of the heat exchanger is measured and the fouling resistance of the heat exchanger is monitored.
As shown in FIG. 1, the heat generated by the heating element 4 is heat-exchanged with the cooling water flowing through the heat-transfer surface 5 of the heat exchanger. If scales having low heat-transfer coefficients are formed on the heat-transfer surface 5, the heat transfer rate of the heat-transfer surface 5 is inhibited, and the heat is not transferred to the cooling water, thus increasing the temperature of the heat-transfer surface 5. As the thickness of the scale is increased, the heat transfered to the cooling water is decreased, and the amount of heat insulated by the scale is gradually increased, whereby the temperature of the heat-transfer surface 5 is increased. At this time, the temperature variation of the heat-transfer surface 5 is directly influenced by the thickness of the scales which inhibits a heat-transfer, namely, by the fouling resistance of the heat-transfer surface 5. The temperature sensor 6 is installed on the heat-transfer surface 5 based on the condition that the temperature of the heat-transfer surface 5 is varied by the fouling resistance of the heat-transfer surface 5, thus measuring the temperature variation of the heat-transfer surface 5, so that the fouling resistance of the heat-transfer surface of the heat exchanger is measured.
However, the conventional fouling resistance monitoring method has the following problems.
First, the conventional fouling monitoring method which uses the temperature sensor 6 installed within the heat-transfer surface 5 is capable of detecting an increase of fouling resistance only when great amounts of scale are formed on the heat-transfer surface. When a small amount of scale is formed on the heat-transfer surface 5, it is impossible to check the temperature variation of the heat-transfer surface 5, and it is impossible to accurately monitor the fouling resistance thereon.
Second, since the scales are not uniformly formed on the heat-transfer surface, an erroneous measured fouling resistance, based on the position of the temperature sensor 6, may be measured.
Factors which cause a fouling resistance of the heat exchanger include the condition of the heat-transfer surface, the flow rate of water, and the water quality. Since the above-described factors are not uniformly applied to the whole heat-transfer surface, the scales are not uniformly formed on the heat-transfer surface. Namely, the scales formed on the heat-transfer surface may be detached therefrom when water flows at high speed, and the thickness of the scales may be increased when water flows at low speed. Under an experiment conducted therefor, the scales were not uniformly formed on the heat-transfer surface. If the fouling resistance is computed based on the erroneously measured temperature at only one point, the fouling resistance may become a factor which causes a serious problem.
FIGS. 2A through 2C illustrate operational principles with respect to a conventional fouling monitoring apparatus. FIG. 2A illustrates a case where the heat-transfer surface 5 is not fouled, and FIG. 2B illustrates a case where scales are uniformly formed on the heat-transfer surface 5. In this case, the temperature measured by the temperature sensor 6 may be considered as a representative temperature of the heat-transfer surface 5. However, as shown in FIG. 2C, if the scales are partially formed on the heat-transfer surface, the temperatures measured in accordance with the installation position of the temperature sensor 6 are different from each other. Therefore, there may be serious errors in the fouling resistance calculated by the measured values.

Fouling monitoring apparatus of heat exchanger and method thereof


After a syringe containing a radioactive sample therein and housed in a radiation shield case is mounted on a radioactive sample holder and set in a radioactive sample measuring apparatus, an upwardly projecting handle of the radioactive sample holder is depressed to cause a syringe holder base supported on second shafts to lower a flange of the syringe held by the syringe holder base, pulling the syringe out of the radiation shield case. Then, the amount of radioactivity of the radioactive sample contained in the syringe is measured.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a radioactive sample holder for holding a syringe containing a radioactive sample, the radioactive sample holder being adapted to be loaded into a radioactivity measuring apparatus for measuring an amount of radioactivity of the radioactive sample.
2. Description of the Related Art
There have been developed a method of and an apparatus for measuring a level of radiation emitted from a radioactive sample that is administered to an examinee and which concentrates on a certain body region of the examinee, thereby inspecting the state of the examinee.
The radioactive sample is usually introduced from a radioactive sample dispenser (see Japanese Patent Publication No. 3-31468) into a syringe, and then administered from the syringe to the examinee. For accurately inspecting the state of the examinee, it is necessary to supply the syringe with a sufficient amount of radioactive sample. A radioactivity measuring apparatus disclosed in a catalog entitled "CURIEMETER IGC-7" (issued by ALOKA CO., LTD. in September, 2000) has been developed for measuring an amount of radioactivity of the radioactive sample held in the syringe.
The disclosed radioactivity measuring apparatus utilizes an ionizing action of radiation emitted from the radioactive sample. As shown in FIG. 16 of the accompanying drawings, a syringe 2 containing a radioactive sample therein is held by a holder 4, which is inserted into a hollow cylindrical detector 6 having a built-in sensor for measuring a level of radiation emitted from the radioactive sample.
The holder 4 has an engaging arm 8 disposed on its upper end for engaging an upper open end of the detector 6. The holder 4 also has a holder ring 12 for holding the syringe 2, the holder ring 12 being mounted on the lower end of a shaft 10 extending vertically downwardly from the engaging arm 8. The syringe 2 has a hollow cylinder 14 including a flange 16 on its upper end and a needle 18 extending downwardly from the lower end of the hollow cylinder 14. The syringe 2 is held by the holder ring 12 with the flange 16 resting on an upper surface of the holder ring 12 and the needle 18 extending downwardly.
When the syringe 2 is held by the holder ring 12 with the needle 18 extending downwardly, the radioactive sample contained in the syringe 2 may possibly leak out through the needle 18. Usually, a plurality of syringes 2 of different sizes containing respective different amounts of the radioactive sample are provided for use with the radioactivity measuring apparatus. In order to hold the different syringes 2, the radioactivity measuring apparatus must have a plurality of holders 4 having respective holder rings 12 with different sizes matching the sizes of each of the syringes 2. In addition, as shown in FIG. 16, when the exposed syringe 2 is to be inserted into the detector 6, the operator needs to exercise adequate care in handling the syringe 2 to avoid exposure to the radioactive sample contained in the syringe 2.


An improved composite material of high temperature and chemical resistant material and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) is provided. The composite material incorporates a coherent strand of commingled filaments of fiberglass and PTFE which is far more resistant to flex, abrasion, and chemical attack than conventional materials. Preferably filaments of expanded PTFE tow yarn and filaments of PTFE are combined through a process of air-jet texturing. Fabrics made from the composite fibers are combined with thermosetting phenolic or epoxy resins to produce pleated cartridge filter elements exhibiting superior performance in high temperature and corrosive environments.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to improved cartridge filters and materials and methods for producing them. More particularly, the present invention relates to an improved pleated filter media and cartridge filters fabricated from improved composites of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) and other high temperature and chemical resistant fibers.
2. Description of Prior Art
Fiberglass textiles are widely employed today in numerous applications. This is due to the many favorable properties of fiberglass, including relatively low cost, excellent mechanical strength, dimensional stability, good insulative properties, and excellent resistance to temperature and humidity. Among the popular present uses of fiberglass are as an architectural fabric, in the electronics industry (e.g. as a printed circuit board), as a filtration media, and as a structural composite.
Due mostly to its relatively low cost, fiberglass presently dominates the high temperature filtration market (typically defined as those filters operating at temperatures greater than 300.degree. F.). In this regard, fiberglass often costs 33 to 95% less than some competitive synthetic textile fibers (e.g. polytetrafluoroethylene, aramids, polyphenylene sulfide, polyimides and copolyimides).
Although fiberglass performs adequately in these applications, it suffers from numerous deficiencies. Perhaps the greatest problem with fiberglass is that it is quite fragile, being easily damaged when flexed or abraded. As a result. fiberglass fabric is incapable of performing in many applications. For instance, where a cartridge or bag filter must be vigorously flexed to free filtrate and clean the filter media (e.g. in a "shaker"-type bag house filter or a pulse-jet bag house filter), a fiberglass fabric will quickly fail. Even under less demanding regenerative procedures (e.g. reverse air cleaned bags), where far less bag flex is encountered, fiberglass has relatively limited operational life.
Another deficiency of fiberglass is that it is subject to certain chemical attack. Chemicals attack the glass filaments in the textile primarily when the process gas phase goes through a dewpoint excursion. Chemical attack can also occur in the gaseous phase or when solid particulate contacts the fiberglass.
In an effort to address some of the problems of chemical attack, a number of finishes and protective coatings have been developed. Examples of such treatments include constituents of silicone oils, graphite and PTFE dispersion coatings. Although such treatments have proven relatively effective at protecting fiberglass from chemical attack, they do not improve the problem of flex failure.
Another common problem with fiberglass is that it is difficult to handle and work. By way of example, if the fiberglass is not carefully handled during weaving, the low abrasion resistance of the fiberglass often leads to friction damage to the glass fibrils. Likewise, abrasion caused by weaving equipment can result in surface imperfections (e.g. glass pills) which can cause problems in later processing. Further, even a single fold in the glass material during processing can lead to fatigue and later failure.
In light of these many problems, synthetic fibers are the fibers of choice where long filter life is needed and/or extreme operative conditions are expected. Unfortunately, the costs of synthetic fibers restrict their accepted uses. Additionally, certain synthetic fibers, while having many exceptional characteristics, are also limited in certain respects. For example, PTFE tends to have stability (creep) problems in reverse air bag houses, with tension on the bag elongating it to a point at which proper cleaning and flexure does not occur. Copolyimides and aramids hydrolyze in the presence of moisture and high temperatures. Polyphenylene sulfide oxidizes and embrittles when exposed to oxygen and high temperature.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,456,983 and 5,549,966 overcome many of the problems mentioned above with respect to performnance, particularly in the case of bag filter applications. These patents teach a composite fiber comprising a coherent strand of fiberglass and PTFE which is far more resistant to flex, abrasion, and chemical attack than previous fiberglass fibers. The composite fiber is preferably created by combining an expanded PTFE tow yarn and a fiberglass yam in an air-jet texturing apparatus. By so combining, the filaments of expanded PTFE become intertwined around the filaments of fiberglass so as to form a single strand of strong, flexible composite material. The material can be readily formed into a fabric with a wide range of possible uses, including as a filter media, as an architectural fabric, as a structural fabric (such as when combined with an epoxy resin), etc. It is taught in these patents that the demands of filtration require improved flex fatigue resistance in the filling direction only, and as such, the composite fibers need only be applied in that direction.
While these materials have experienced significant success in the case of bag filter applications, significant limitations still exist with respect to the performance of these materials in cartridge filter applications.
Thus, it is a purpose of the present invention to provide an improved heat and chemical resistant pleated composite material and improved filter cartridges which can withstand the rigors of pleated cartridge filtration filtering and cleaning operations.
It is another purpose of the present invention to provide an improved thermoset resin impregnated composite material with self supporting pleats that provides superior flex life and durability over existing high temperature and chemical resistant structural fabrics. Most current filters made from heat and chemical resistant fabrics require a metal support structure to hold the non-rigid fabric into a pleated form as taught by Manniso et al in U.S. Pat. No. 4,878.930. Pleated cartridge filters made from rigid nonwoven materials offer the benefit of greater filter area and lower weight than those with metal support structures. Cartridge filters made from composite laminates of expanded PTFE and nonwoven or felt textile backings, as taught by Tronto et al in U.S. Pat. No. 5,207,812, allow open pleats, spaced with less than 7 per inch, without requiring external support structures. The open pleats maximize cleaning effectiveness by expanding and flexing during the pulse jet cleaning process; however, current rigid, high temperature materials are too brittle to withstand repeated flexing. The present invention provides such an improved pleated structural composite and improved cartridges which can withstand this flexing without cracking or breaking, and operate in high temperature and corrosive environments.
It is a further purpose of the present invention to provide an improved pleated composite material and improved cartridges which can withstand flexing of the filter media with the pleat folds being parallel to the filling direction, whereby the greatest increase in flex life and durability of the pleated filter media in a cartridge can be gained by inclusion of composite yarns of expanded PTFE and a high temperature and chemical resistant material in the warp direction or in both the warp and filling directions.
These and other purposes of the present invention will become evident from a review of the following specification.

Filter material and cartridge filters made therefrom


A door assembly for selectively interlocking opposing doors each pivotably mounted at a hinge side thereof to a door frame so as to both open and close in the same direction includes a door handle assembly mounted to one door at a latch side thereof opposite the hinge side and carrying a first plurality of magnets, and another door handle assembly mounted to the other door at a latch side thereof opposite the hinge side and carrying a second plurality of magnets. The door handle assemblies are arranged relative to each other with the first and second pluralities of magnets aligned such each aligned pair of the first and second pluralities of magnets have opposite magnetic polarities, and the aligned first and second pluralities of magnets magnetically couple to each other as the door handle assemblies are brought into contact with each other.

Two doors may conventionally be co-mounted in a single doorway of a building, one example of which is a conventional exterior door and a conventional storm door co-mounted to and within a single door frame of a commercial or residential building. Such co-mounted doors are typically separately and independently operable to latch and unlatch each door to and from a latch side door jamb, and are also typically separately and independently operable to lock and unlock each door.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Door assembly for selectively interlocking opposing doors

Larson Manufacturing Company of South Dakota, LLC


An object of the present invention is to provide a lyophilized formulation having improved storage stability of hepatic growth factor compared to conventional lyophilized formulations. The present invention provides a lyophilized formulation comprising (1) a hepatic growth factor, (2) trehalose and (3) one or more compounds selected from the group consisting of arginine, histidine, lysine, meglumine, glutamic acid, aspartic acid, proline, creatine, creatinine, tris(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane, and pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof.

Hepatic growth factor (HGF) is a bioactive peptide having proliferation activity of hepatic parenchymal cells and has been found in various animal species. In humans, human hepatic growth factor (hHGF) has been found in plasma from patients with fulminant hepatitis (Patent Literature 1), and in recent years, recombinant human hepatic growth factor (rhHGF) can be mass-produced by biotechnology (Non Patent Literature 1). It is expected that these hepatic growth factors may be used as therapeutic and prophylactic agents efficacious for hepatitis and cirrhosis by increasing normal hepatic parenchymal cells and, because of various biological activities thereof, as curative agents for kidney failure and lesions in stomach, duodenum, skin and the like resulting from side effects of anticancer agents.
A lyophilized formulation comprising hepatic growth factor has been disclosed in Patent Literature 2, which comprises a hepatic growth factor and a stabilizing agent such as glycine, alanine, sorbitol, mannitol or dextran sulfate.
Patent Literature 3 discloses a lyophilized formulation comprising a hepatic growth factor at a concentration as low as less than 5 mg/mL that is suitable for medicaments, the formulation comprising a stabilizing agent such as arginine, lysine, histidine, glutamic acid or aspartic acid.
Patent Literature 4 discloses a lyophilized formulation comprising a hepatic growth factor and a stabilizing agent such as purified sucrose.


A liquid ejection apparatus comprises a liquid cartridge for storing a liquid, a liquid ejection head for ejecting the liquid toward a target, a liquid supply path for guiding the liquid to the liquid ejection head from the liquid cartridge, and a capping device for drawing the liquid from the liquid ejection head. The liquid supply path comprises a plurality of wall surfaces, and a part of the wall surface is formed of a flexible member that is flexed by the inside-and-outside pressure difference of the liquid supply path. A pressure pump for adjusting the pressure of a fluid within the liquid supply path in the upstream side of the flexible member is provided.

The present invention relates to a liquid ejection apparatus and a driving method thereof.
Heretofore, in general, as a liquid ejection apparatus for ejecting a liquid from a nozzle toward a target, an ink jet recording apparatus has been widely used. This ink jet recording apparatus comprises a carriage and a recording head mounted on the carriage. While moving the carriage on the recording head, the apparatus ejects ink from the nozzle formed on the recording head and performs printing on a recording medium.
Such an ink jet recording apparatus, when not being operated, often suffers an increase in viscosity of the ink in the nozzle and solidification of the ink because of evaporation of the ink solvent, such as water vapor and the like from the nozzle of the recording head. As a result, there is the possibility of poor performance of the printing, such as dust deposition on the nozzle and poor ink ejection.
To solve these problems, an ink jet recording apparatus comprising capping means has been known. In more detail, the capping means comprises a cap capable of covering the nozzle surface of the recording head and a suction pump capable of depressurizing the inside of the cap. When not being operated, the nozzle surface of the recording head is covered by this cap with humidity in the space formed by the recording head and the cap being maintained, thereby preventing the ink from being solidified.
Moreover, the depressurization of the inside of the cap by the suction pump in a state of covering the nozzle surface of the recording head by the cap allows ink, dust and the like to be drawn from the nozzle. This protects the ink from increased viscosity, dust and the like in the vicinity of the nozzle, thereby making it possible to maintain the performance of the nozzle in an optimum state.
In the ink jet recording apparatus as described above, there are often cases where bubbles and impurities mixed in the ink are stagnated in the ink flow path from an ink cartridge to the recording head. Because of these bubbles and impurities, it is feared that the ink filling factor in the ink flow path is reduced, supply property of the ink to the recording head is reduced, bubbles and impurities flow out of the nozzle during printing, and printing quality is reduced.
Hence, to increase the ink filling factor in the ink flow path, an ink jet recording apparatus comprising a valve unit, which is a "choke valve", has been known (for example, see Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application Publication No. 2001-38925). To describe it in detail, this valve unit is provided in the ink flow path between an ink cartridge and the recording head, and is capable of opening and closing the ink flow path.
By putting the valve unit into a closed state, and covering the nozzle surface of the recording by the cap, and depressurizing the inside of the cap by suction means, a negative pressure accumulates within the ink flow path in a section downstream from the valve unit. After that, by putting the valve unit into an open state while the negative pressure is in an accumulated state, the flow speed of the ink in the ink flow path is increased instantaneously. Thus, "choke cleaning" is performed, which discharges from the nozzle the bubbles and impurities stagnated together with the ink flow speed sped up instantaneously. As a result, it is possible to increase the filling factor of the ink in the ink flow path.
More specifically, as shown in FIG. 51(a), the inkjet recording apparatus described in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2001-38925 includes a valve device 403 arranged between the recording head 401 and the ink cartridge 402. The recording head 401 is connected to a lower end portion of the valve device 403. A passage 401a defined in the recording head 401 thus communicates with a passage 403a defined in the valve device 403. An ink supply needle 404 is formed at an upper end portion of the valve device 403 and communicates with the passage 403a. An ink cartridge 402 is connected to the ink supply needle 404. Ink is supplied from the ink cartridge 402 to a passage 401b defined in the recording head 401 via the ink supply needle 404 and the passage 403a. The ink is then ejected from nozzles 401b of the recording head 401. Further, a columnar shaft 405 is rotatably passed through the valve device 403 in such a manner as to cross the passage 403a from a side surface of the valve device 403. The shaft 405 includes a communication hole 405a communicating with the passage 403a. As illustrated in FIG. 51(b), the shaft 405 disconnects the communication hole 405a from the passage 403a when being rotated. The supply of the ink to the recording head 401 is thus blocked.
When the above-described cleaning operation is performed, the shaft 405 is rotated for stopping the ink supply to the recording head 401. Further, the nozzles 401b are sealed by a capping member 406 and negative pressure is applied from a non-illustrated suction pump to the nozzles 401b through the capping member 406. When the negative pressure is accumulated on the nozzles 401b, the shaft 405 is rotated in such a manner as to resume the ink supply to the recording head 401, as shown in FIG. 51(a). As a result, the accumulated negative pressure causes the ink to be rapidly ejected from the nozzles 401b of the recording head 401. At this stage, the bubbles and impurities trapped in the passages 401a, 403a are ejected from the nozzles 401b, together with the ink.
Incidentally, the valve unit disclosed in the above publication is configured such that the switching of its valve opening and closing is usually performed by an actuator and the like. Consequently, it is necessary not only to perform the drive control for the cap and the absorption pump, but also to perform the drive control for the actuator of the valve unit, which is a cause of making the control complicated. Further, there is a need to consider arrangement of space for the actuator, and this can increase the size of the apparatus.
The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and an objective of the invention is to provide a liquid ejection apparatus and a driving method thereof, which is capable of choke cleaning with simple control without increasing the size of the size of the apparatus.

Liquid ejection apparatus and method for driving the same


A tack spraying device mountable on an engine driven vehicle having a storage tank for maintaining tack stored in the container under pressure during operation, a first line connecting the exhaust pipe of the vehicle engine to the storage tank in a manner to permit transfer of the engine exhaust to the interior of the storage tank and to serve as a source of the pressure within the container, and a second line connecting the storage tank to a spray nozzle in a manner to transfer the tack in the storage tank to the spray nozzle.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates in general to tack spraying apparatus, and more particularly to motorized tack spraying vehicles and to spray nozzles utilized in tack spraying apparatus.
2. Prior Art
"Tack" is commonly known in the art to encompass asphaltic emulsions, liquid asphalt, or a variety of other substances that are coated onto a surface to be paved prior to distributing and compacting the hot mix asphalt (HMA) into a mat to bind the HMA to the underlying surface. Typically, the emulsion comprises liquid asphalt, water and an emulsifying agent. In more current formulations, the emulsion can also include polymers, such as SBS and SBR polymers.
Tack is typically applied, just prior to a paving operation, by being sprayed onto the surface to be paved from a spray bar extending transversely over the surface. A tack truck operated independently of the paving machine is normally used for this purpose. The typical tack truck includes a self-propelled chassis on which are mounted a tack storage tank and a tack spray assembly. The truck travels in front of the paving machine while coating the surface to be paved with a layer of tack. The truck travels at 5 to 10 miles per hour, considerably faster than the 20 to 40 feet per minute operational speed of the paving machine, and hence must periodically stop to wait for the paving machine and associated components of the paving system to catch up with the truck. Examples of such tack application systems are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,828,429 to Kirchner et al; U.S. Pat. No. 4,684,289 to Gnesa, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,793,731 to Gnesa. These systems have various drawbacks such as the paving equipment becoming covered with the tack, the accidental spraying of tack on vehicles passing in an adjacent lane of the road being paved. Solutions to some of these problems have been addressed by incorporating the tack storage tank and tack spraying equipment into the paving machine. Examples of such systems are seen in U.S. Pat. No. 5,851,085 to Campbell, U.S. Pat. No. 5,131,788 to Hulicsko, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,944,632 to Dillingham.
However, serious problems remain in providing a simple tack application system that can uniformly distribute the tack with downtime to fix clogged spray nozzles and transfer lines. This problem has become more acute with the increasing use of polymer material in the tack emulsion. These polymers have a greater tendency to form relatively large globules if the tack becomes cool or after prolonged storage. When this occurs these globules can enter and clog the transfer lines or spray nozzles preventing further dispersion of tack, or cause uneven distribution or application on the road surface.
Another remaining problem is the costs of all the various pieces of equipment involved in applying emulsions on both hot-mix overlay and soil cement applications. Reduction in the number of pieces of equipment and associated costs would be a desirable advance in the art.
Still other problems in the art include the ability to measure the amount of tack within the storage tank, as well as the tack output on a continual basis.


Disclosed is a shell-and-tube reactor or heat exchanger, which alternately comprises a doughnut-type baffle plate and a first disc-type baffle plate in order to increase heat transfer efficiency. In the reactor or heat exchanger, a second disc-type baffle plate is placed in an empty space inside of the doughnut-type baffle plate, and some tubes, through the inside of which a first object for heat transfer with a heat transfer medium, are present in a region inside of the doughnut-type baffle plate and outside of the second disc-type baffle plate. Also disclosed is a method for producing an oxide, comprising: using said reactor or heat exchanger, and causing a catalytic vapor-phase oxidation reaction in the tubes, through the inside of which the first object for heat transfer with the heat transfer medium is passed.

Generally, a shell-and-tube heat exchanger-type catalytic reactor is a kind of reactor which is used to efficiently remove reaction heat. In such a reactor, a solid catalyst is filled in a plurality of reaction tubes, reaction gas is fed into the reaction tubes to cause a chemical reaction for obtaining a desired product, and a heat transfer medium is circulated through the reactor shell such that the chemical reaction can occur in the optimal state.
In the shell-and-tube catalytic reactor, hot spots tend to occur at a local point in the reaction tubes, and such hot spots cause problems, such as the deterioration of a catalyst, leading to a reduction in catalyst life, and a reduction in the selectivity to the desired product. Thus, various methods for efficiently transferring heat to the reaction tubes in the reactor to reduce hot spots have been attempted.
Korean Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2001-0050267, for example, discloses an attempt to improve heat transfer performance by maintaining a constant flow rate of a heat transfer medium in any region in a reactor through the use of a shell-and-tube heat exchanger, which comprises a circulator for the heat transfer medium, and doughnut-type and disc-type baffle plates, which are alternately disposed in the reactor shell. Also, circulation channels without reaction tubes are provided between a upper tube sheet and a lower tube sheet and between the peripheral portion and central portion in the cross section of the shell. Heat transfer medium can be transferred from the central portion to the peripheral portion or from the peripheral portion to the central portion through circulation channels in a shorter time than through the reaction tube region. Accordingly, the heat transfer medium passing through the circulation channel recovers only a small amount of reaction heat because of less frequent contact with the reaction tubes, such that it can reach the peripheral portion or the central portion at a relatively low temperature in a relatively short time, and thus can handle the reaction tubes in these portions with a relatively fresh condition of heat transfer medium.

Baffle structure improving heat transfer efficiency of reactor or heat exchanger


An electropolishing method for removing potential device-contaminating particles from a wafer, is disclosed. The method includes immersing the wafer in an electropolishing electrolyte solution and removing defects and particles from the wafer by rotational friction between the wafer and the electrolyte solution in combination with electrolysis. The method is effective in removing particles from via openings of all sizes, including via openings having a width smaller than about 0.2 μm.

In the fabrication process for semiconductor devices, numerous fabrication steps, as many as several hundred, must be executed on a silicon wafer in order to complete integrated circuits on the wafer. Generally, the process for manufacturing integrated circuits on a silicon wafer substrate typically involves deposition of a thin dielectric or conductive film on the wafer using oxidation or any of a variety of chemical vapor deposition processes; formation of a circuit pattern on a layer of photoresist material by photolithography; placing a photoresist mask layer corresponding to the circuit pattern on the wafer; etching of the circuit pattern in the conductive layer on the wafer; and stripping of the photoresist mask layer from the wafer.
Prior to deposition of the conductive and insulative layers on a wafer, the wafer is typically subjected to a polishing operation to provide an extremely level starting surface on the wafer. During the subsequent structuring of the substrate, the various processing steps are used to build up the layers of conductors and dielectrics, for example, on which other layers are formed to fabricate the circuits. With structuring becoming ever finer, the associated replication processes are becoming more sensitive to surface variations on the substrate. Therefore, it has now become necessary to "re-level" the wafer surface even while production of the integrated circuits are in progress. The re-leveling operation is referred to as planarizing and is typically accomplished using the CMP (chemical mechanical planarization) method using a chemical mechanical polishing process.
In chemical mechanical polishing, an abrasive suspension agent or slurry is dispensed onto a polishing surface. Relative movement between the polishing surface and the wafer produces a combined mechanical and chemical effect on the surface of the wafer. This process creates a highly level surface on the wafer. In order to remove the still-moist remains of slurry, as well as small surface defects which may remain in the wafer and disrupt the otherwise planar continuity of the wafer surface after the CMP process, post-CMP cleaning steps are required.
One of the cleaning steps carried out after the chemical mechanical polishing process is facilitated using rotating scrubber brushes which are actuated inside a scrubber cleaner. Accordingly, a special washing fluid and a rotational movement with multiple pairs of scrubber brushes can clean both sides of the wafer using contact pressure against the wafer. Because the wafer becomes considerably more valuable with each successive planarizing operation, the post-CMP brush cleaning operation is commercially significant.
One of the most common post-CMP scrubber cleaners used to remove residues from a wafer substrate after a CMP operation is the Dai Nippon Screen (DNS) brush scrubber cleaner. The DNS brush scrubber cleaner cleans wafers using a combination of rinsing, megasonic rinsing, and brush cleaning. The wafer substrates, having been previously subjected to chemical mechanical planarization, are loaded into a wet environment, typically water, and then transported through a series of cleaning chambers for the brush cleaning cycle. The brush cleaning cycle involves rotating the wafer at high speed, typically about 1500 rpm, while a jet of deionized water is sprayed on the wafer to dislodge any loose debris from the CMP process. Simultaneously, the wafer is brushed with a foam brush.
In addition to being used to clean wafers after a CMP process, the DNS scrubber cleaning method is used to remove metal particles from trenches and vias after a metal seed layer has been deposited in the trenches and vias typically using a dual damascene process. A typical dual damascene structure 10 is shown in FIG. 1 and includes a metal line 14 formed in a substrate 12. A bottom dielectric layer 16 is deposited on the substrate 12. A top dielectric layer 18 is deposited on the bottom dielectric layer 16. A via opening 20 is etched in the bottom dielectric layer 16, and a trench opening 22 is etched in the top dielectric layer 18, over the via opening 20.
A metal barrier layer 24 is deposited over the sidewalls of the trench opening 22 and over both the sidewalls and bottom of the via opening 20. A metal seed layer 26, typically copper, is deposited over the barrier layer 24. Finally, copper (not shown) is deposited in the via opening 20 and the trench opening 22, on the seed layer 26, using CVD (chemical vapor deposition) or metal electroplating techniques.
In the dual damascene process, particles 28 sometimes fall from the environment or from the seed layer 26, onto the bottom of the via opening 20 and/or trench opening 22. These particles 28 adversely affect the Rs and Rc performance of the metal interconnects formed in the via opening 20 and trench opening 22. Accordingly, the DNS scrubber cleaning method is frequently used to remove particulate contaminants from a via opening and/or a trench opening after formation of a seed layer in the opening and prior to electroplating the metal interconnects in the via opening and trench opening.
One of the limitations of the scrubber cleaning method to remove particulate contaminants from via openings in a damascene structure is that the method is ineffective in the removal of particles from via and trench openings having a width of less than about 0.2 μm. Consequently, the particles often remain in the openings upon subsequent electroplating of the metal interconnects, compromising the functional integrity of the interconnects in the finished IC device. Accordingly, a novel method is needed for the removal of particles from via openings and/or trench openings formed on a substrate, particularly via openings and trench openings having a width of less than about 0.2 μm.
An object of the present invention is to provide a novel method which is suitable for cleaning a substrate.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a novel method which is suitable for removing metal particles from via openings and/or trench openings in a substrate.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a novel electropolishing cleaning method which is potentially capable of enhancing the Rc and Rs performance of IC devices fabricated on a semiconductor substrate.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an electropolishing cleaning method which utilizes a novel electrolyte solution to both remove defects from a seed layer deposited in trench and via openings and dissolve or remove potential device-contaminating particles remaining on the seed layer.
A still further object of the present invention is to provide a novel electropolishing cleaning method which is applicable to cleaning via and/or trench openings of various sizes on a wafer.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a novel electropolishing cleaning method which utilizes a combination of a rotational mechanical force and a series of electrical pulses or a continuous electrical pulse to remove defects from a seed layer in via and/or trench openings and dissolve or remove potential device-contaminating particles remaining on the seed layer.

Electropolishing method for removing particles from wafer surface

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd.


A method for decomposing a GRF into individual force profiles, comprising: receiving a global GRF measured while a subject performs at least one movement on the force platform, the movement comprising at least two motion configurations; identifying individual time regions contained in the time measurement of the global GRF and assigning a respective one of the at least two motion configurations to each time region using a logical order of motion configurations and an identification of a reference motion configuration; for each time region, determining an individual GRF for each one of the at least two support contacts using the identification of the motion configuration for the time region and the global GRF, thereby determining a contribution of each one of the at least two support contacts to the global GRF; and outputting the individual GRFs.

In gait laboratory, ground reaction forces (GRFs) are recorded using floor-mounted force platforms in order to evaluate GRF patterns and compute the joint torques using either an inverse dynamic approach or an angular momentum calculus, as known in the art. Traditionally, to obtain valid measurement a subject must place two consecutive steps on individual force platforms with no foot contact outside the surface of the individual force platforms (usually 50×50 cm). This condition can lead to an important number of trials before achieving valid measurements because the subject must not voluntarily "target" the force platforms with their footsteps. In fact, in target conditions, the participant is prone to change his/her gait pattern, which could impact GRF measurements. A change in step length, as little as substantially 10%, has been shown to affect GRFs. Thereby, targeting has been cited as a major limitation of gait studies.
Gait studies have intuitively attempted to reduce the effect of targeting, and simultaneously reduce the number of redundant trials, by fine-tuning each subject starting position in order to make the footsteps coincide with the force platforms. Nevertheless, the number of trials made to obtain valid GRF measurements could remain important because starting position definition is especially uncertain with people with impaired gait, as well as in children, because of the spatiotemporal gait parameters variability. Thereby, recording several trials across the force platforms, until a series of adequate tests have been performed, impose a lot of trials and can be time consuming. The duration of gait evaluation may be problematic in children because their compliance to a research protocol is limited in time. Moreover, increasing the number of trials with a participant prone to muscular fatigue can result in major methodological bias because fatigue results in gait pattern modification.
For these reasons, the use of a large force plate on which a subject may place at least two successive steps ensures ground reaction force measurement for all trials and allows investigators to record data for numerous footsteps while avoiding the "targeting" problem. This comes with the drawback of needing to decompose the GRF for each footprint. One prior art method has been developed to decompose the left and right GRF profiles from the global values of the GRFs measured with a single large force plate. This method was based on the examination of the side-to-side oscillations of the global center of pressure (COP) corresponding to the measured global GRF. Despite the fact that this method is often referred for the decomposition of superimposed vertical GRF into left and right force profiles during gait on a treadmill, several points of this method remain unclear and/or difficult to implement. Major assumptions are necessary in order to apply this method: the time samples at which the double and single support phases begin and end must be defined based on a visual inspection of the measured COP plot, which may not be reliable; the method was based on the assumptions that the definition of the start and end of the stance phases is based on these side-to-side oscillations, which were invalidated. Specifically, this point imposes to assign a threshold and define a boundary between double and single stances based on the COP path, but in numerous cases, medio-lateral position of the COP does not systematically show a clear side-to-side inflection point. Furthermore, this method may be questionable if used for children since their gait pattern differs from adults one and is also known as being more variable than for adults, which in turn increases the variability of the side-to-side oscillations of the global COP.
Therefore, there is a need for an improved method and system for decomposing a group reaction force into foot force profiles.

Method and system for decomposing superimposed ground reaction forces into individual force profiles